TOW 8

They ended up going to the Forbidden City.

Liang Xuan drove over in a Land Rover SUV. But he seriously underestimated how packed it would be around the Forbidden City. They had to park several blocks away and walk the rest of the way through the sea of people. Red lights were everywhere, like stars in the sky. Xu Fei honestly couldn’t figure out what kind of fever dream made him agree to join the crowd.

Liang Xuan, however, was surprisingly patient. Even with people occasionally turning to sneak glances at him, he didn’t seem to care. Hands tucked into his pockets, walking through the crowd like a runway model. When they finally got close to the entrance, he even leaned toward a narrow alley and turned to Xu Fei.

“Want a roasted sweet potato?”

“Are you stupid?” Xu Fei shot back.

A girl passing by gave him a scolding glare, clearly upset on Liang Xuan’s behalf. How could anyone talk like that to a guy this good-looking? Xu Fei laughed to himself and nodded politely at her, only to get glared at again. It was just so unfair.

Once they queued up and made it inside, the place was packed wall to wall. They wandered aimlessly for a while, then bumped into a tour group and ended up following it. The guide’s voice buzzed fuzzily through a mic, giving a speech that neither of them really listened to. When they reached the Hall of Preserving Harmony, two shy girls came over.

“Hi, are you Liang Xuan? We just watched Holding Up with One Hand last night. You were amazing.”

Liang Xuan thanked them politely. The girls blushed and asked for a photo. Xu Fei jumped in immediately. “I’ll take it for you.” He grabbed their phone and snapped several photos in quick succession. Liang Xuan shot him a stiff, awkward look.

Once the girls ran off, Xu Fei teased, “Not bad. Got yourself some fans already.” Liang Xuan didn’t react, still keeping up that stone-faced persona.

Past the Gate of Heavenly Purity, the crowds thinned out a bit. Xu Fei took a turn onto a quieter path. On one side stood the tall palace walls, cold and looming in the early March wind. After turning another corner, they suddenly found themselves alone. The red lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed in the wind, looking like something straight out of a black-and-white film from the 1930s.

“I used to come here a lot as a kid,” Liang Xuan said out of nowhere. Xu Fei turned to look at him, and he added, “My parents were always busy, so I lived with my grandfather. He’d come here every morning to exercise, and I’d tag along. Back then it wasn’t this crowded. Early in the morning, you could see the whole Meridian Gate clearly.”

Xu Fei didn’t really know why Liang Xuan was telling him all this. But since he had started, Xu Fei decided to play along. “I heard your parents were with the cultural troupe?”

Liang Xuan hesitated, then nodded. “How did you know?”

“People talked about it on set.” Xu Fei asked, “Is that why you became an actor? Family legacy?”

But Liang Xuan shook his head. “I watched Scent of a Woman in middle school. Al Pacino blew me away. That’s when I decided to go down this path.” He glanced over at Xu Fei and asked, “What about you?”

Xu Fei shrugged. “Didn’t plan on acting at first.”

“Rock star?” Liang Xuan guessed.

Xu Fei gave him a light punch. “You mocking me?” But he answered honestly, “I started out in photography. Back in college, I needed cash, so I worked as an assistant for a photographer from Elegance. Did party gigs, shooting whatever I could. Then I formed a band, got into weed, blew through all my photo money, and a friend hooked me up with a few small acting gigs. I used that money to fund the band. It wasn’t until Director Li asked me to join The Informant that things shifted. He said I had a good sense for it and suggested I focus on acting more. But I still don’t really think of myself as an actor.”

Liang Xuan immediately latched on to one line. “You had a weed addiction?”

“I quit a long time ago,” Xu Fei replied indifferently.

Seeing Liang Xuan frown at him, he added, “I’ve been clean since 2009.” Then he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “Now I just smoke these.”

Liang Xuan paused for a moment before quietly saying, “You should cut down on that too.”

Xu Fei rolled his eyes. “Alright, Mom.”

They kept wandering around the Forbidden City until afternoon. They hadn’t eaten lunch, and by 2 PM both their stomachs were growling. Xu Fei had no choice but to give in to hunger. They found the nearest restaurant just outside the gates and ordered hotpot. When the pot arrived, it had nothing in it but small, delicate cubes of tofu. White, smooth, and soft enough to fall apart with the slightest poke. Once they tossed in the lamb, the smell instantly filled the air. Xu Fei dove in, mixing the dipping sauce like his life depended on it, practically burying his face in the bowl. Liang Xuan couldn’t take it anymore and reminded him quietly, “Be careful.” It was like their personalities had swapped north and south.

Back in Liang Xuan’s car, Xu Fei hummed contentedly. Instead of getting in the passenger seat, he climbed into the back, flopped over, and grabbed a small blanket to throw over his face, neck, and chest. Liang Xuan glanced at him through the rearview mirror, watching him lie there like a corpse. After a while, not knowing what else to say, he asked, “Where do you want to go next?”

Xu Fei peeked out from under the blanket, exposing half his face. “You were the one who said you wanted to take me around, and now you’re asking me where to go?”

Liang Xuan didn’t budge. “We should still go somewhere you want to see.”

Xu Fei pulled the blanket back over his head. After a long thirty seconds in the dark, he finally said, “Then let’s go to the Union Art Museum. I always wanted to go when I was in school.”

Liang Xuan blinked. “The Union Art Museum?”

Xu Fei suddenly threw off the blanket. “See? I knew it. People like you, from upper-class backgrounds, always look down on others.” He shot Liang Xuan a glare and made a dramatic face like he was in the middle of a class war. “For your information, big bro here majored in oil painting in university. Learned it since I was a kid. If I hadn’t wanted to become a rockstar, I’d probably be sitting in a gallery somewhere, being a proper artist.”

His mom still brought it up from time to time. She had hoped since he was a child that he’d grow up to be a painter. Instead, he ended up a washed-up C-list actor.

Even though he knew Xu Fei was just putting on a show, Liang Xuan still played along. “Sorry,” he said seriously.

Satisfied with his response, Xu Fei dropped the act and lay back down. “Let me check what exhibitions they’ve got going on.”

They went to see the Käthe Kollwitz exhibit. The gallery was huge, but there weren’t many people. Black-and-white sketches lined the walls, alongside large posters and woodcuts. There was also a self-portrait of Kollwitz, her lips pressed tight and her gaze sharp. Standing there surrounded by her work, Xu Fei felt like he was being encircled by ghosts.

Liang Xuan stood quietly beside him, hands behind his back, studying the pieces with a focused, almost academic expression. He looked like a student from the nearby art school. The air conditioner in the corner rumbled softly. Lights spun from the ceiling, casting shadows over the marble floor. Two young women peeked at Liang Xuan from the far corner, their cheeks turning pink.

When they walked out, the girls chased after them. “Have we seen you somewhere before?” one of them asked. “Are you a model?”

Liang Xuan answered, “No.”

Then one girl gasped. “I remember! You’re Feng Zijun’s boyfriend!”

Liang Xuan’s face darkened. He glanced at Xu Fei, then replied, “No.”

The girls giggled. “Can we take a picture with you?”

They snapped a few shots outside, in front of a massive steel sculpture.

By sunset, the two of them were driving toward the outskirts of town.

“They dug out an artificial lake here,” Liang Xuan explained. “Facilities are still pretty basic, but the scenery’s nice. There’s a restaurant by the lake that does fish. It’s really good.”

Xu Fei wasn’t a big fan of fish. But since Liang Xuan rarely made suggestions like this, he didn’t want to be a buzzkill.

They got a table on the second floor of the restaurant, right by the window. Outside was a vast expanse of lake. A row of streetlights stretched along the shore, glowing orange against the darkening sky. There weren’t many customers, so the owner came over personally to take their order. Liang Xuan took the menu, brows furrowed in concentration as he studied it.

“What’s this fish?” he asked.
“How do you cook that one?”

His voice was calm, his posture poised, as if he were judging the entire imperial banquet. Xu Fei couldn’t help but laugh as he watched.

He turned his face away to sip his tea. In his ears, he could hear the restaurant owner going on and on, explaining each dish to Liang Xuan one by one. By the time Liang Xuan finally finished ordering and the owner wandered off, Xu Fei had nearly drained his whole cup.

“You really know how to order,” he teased, reaching for the teapot. But Liang Xuan got to it first.

“I’ve got it,” he said.

So Xu Fei just sat there, letting Liang Xuan pour for him. Above them hung a light shaded with a bamboo cover. Its glow filtered down in specks, dancing across the back of Liang Xuan’s hand. His lowered face was caught in the light too, eyelashes casting soft shadows over his cheeks. He looked so calm, like something out of a poem.

Xu Fei found himself frozen for a moment, fingertips itching with the impulse to reach out, grab his chin, and kiss him. But that wasn’t the kind of thought he should be having.

He gave a dry laugh to himself. When Liang Xuan pushed the cup over, Xu Fei didn’t reach for it. Instead, he stood up and said, “I’m going out for a smoke.”

The night air outside was biting. Xu Fei followed the wooden walkway all the way to the edge of the lake. Cigarette hanging from his lips, he leaned against the railing and listened to the waves lapping against the shore, soft and rhythmic. There wasn’t a single soul around, just the orange glow of streetlights faintly reflecting off the pitch-black lake.

Footsteps approached from behind. Xu Fei looked over his shoulder and saw Liang Xuan coming. He started to take the cigarette from his mouth, but Liang Xuan said, “It’s fine.”

Even so, Xu Fei hesitated, then stubbed it out anyway.

“Isn’t it kind of rude that we left like that?” he asked.

“I canceled the food,” Liang Xuan replied.

Xu Fei chuckled. “The owner’s probably going to blacklist you now.” He flicked the cigarette away and stretched against the railing. Liang Xuan turned to look at him but said nothing. His expression was hard to read in the dim light.

They stood there for at least ten minutes. Neither of them spoke, as if locked in some meaningless contest. Until the night wind made Xu Fei’s nose red and fingers cold, he sighed and said, “I’m freezing. Do you have heating at your place?”

Of course Liang Xuan had heating, and plenty of it. Xu Fei took off his coat, yanked up his sweater, and pushed Liang Xuan into the living room. Liang Xuan let himself be pushed, lowering his head to bite at Xu Fei’s lips. His hands slipped under Xu Fei’s shirt, cold fingers pressing against warm skin, making Xu Fei shiver. “Fuck you,” Xu Fei cursed, slapping his hand away, then shoved him onto the couch, pulling off his own sweater, unbuckling his pants, and sitting right on Liang Xuan’s lap.

Liang Xuan ran a hand up his chest, fingers brushing over the tattooed wings on Xu Fei’s chest, making him tremble again.

“When did you get these wings?” Liang Xuan asked. Xu Fei, annoyed by the grinding, reached down and grabbed Liang Xuan’s half-erect cock, making him groan.

“What’s it to you?” Xu Fei replied, but still answered, “High school. My mom chased me around the house for half an hour.”

Liang Xuan smiled. Xu Fei glared at him and squeezed harder, nails scraping over the sensitive tip, drawing another muffled grunt from him.

Liang Xuan’s hand slid down and cupped his ass.

They didn’t bother with much foreplay. Xu Fei was impatient. He barely stretched himself before bracing on Liang Xuan’s shoulders and sitting down hard, swallowing that thick cock into his hole. The lack of prep made his insides sting sharply, but he pressed down harder until Liang Xuan’s balls were flush against him. Xu Fei groaned low in his throat, hands on the back of the couch, watching as Liang Xuan buried his face against his chest, biting his nipples and neck.

The pleasure was dizzying.

Liang Xuan lifted his hips to thrust up into him, fucking straight into the deepest part. Each time he pulled out slightly, Xu Fei rocked down again to take him back in. “Xu Fei…” Liang Xuan murmured against his skin, fingers kneading the soft flesh of his ass, before sliding down to prod at the stretched entrance. Xu Fei gasped and tried to push him away. “No, not there…”

Liang Xuan kept rubbing the rim, soft and wet and red from being fucked so hard, juices already smeared all over. He kissed Xu Fei’s neck, then started to slip a finger in alongside his cock. Xu Fei stiffened immediately.

“No, no, Liang Xuan..” his moans almost sounded like sobs, but his body betrayed him, clenching around both the cock and the finger that pressed inside. His breathing grew sharp and ragged, precum spilling freely and soaking Liang Xuan’s abdomen.

Liang Xuan pulled his finger out after a few seconds. Xu Fei barely had time to catch his breath before Liang Xuan shifted him down onto the couch, lifted his legs over the backrest, and pushed in deep. Each thrust was powerful, leaving Xu Fei breathless, unable to do anything but moan.

Liang Xuan’s fingers roamed his body. “And this one?” he asked.

Xu Fei had no idea what he was talking about, not until Liang Xuan leaned down and kissed the swirl on his left shoulder. “When did you get this spiral?”

Xu Fei could barely speak, just whimpering out broken words. “Freshman year… fuck… don’t hit that spot. Freshman…”

Liang Xuan slammed into his prostate again. Xu Fei’s whole body jerked. His hole seemed to have a mind of its own, clenching desperately around that cock. “Liang Xuan…” he gasped, begging. Liang Xuan kissed him gently and stroked his cock. “And the bird?”

“Also freshman year…”

“The fish?”

“Graduation day… please…”

“And the tree?”

“During the album launch…”

Liang Xuan’s hand tightened around Xu Fei’s throbbing cock. A sob escaped Xu Fei’s throat as he came hard.