In the Same Boat

Qu Yiheng is not really the kind of person who just goes around, he is usually very restrained and never has a relationship with anyone other than his lover. Of course, the relationships he has had are extremely limited. Twice, and both times he has seen the other person enter the marriage hall.

For a while he hated it, and was so discouraged and disappointed that he felt that he would not look for it in future, and find one to get married. It made him seem like an old man in the world. In the end, he was left with an empty house full of scattered memories all over the floor.

He doesn’t like gay people who cheat on their marriage, and he doesn’t have pressure of a family, so he doesn’t have the problems that most homosexuals have. It’s good to be alone like this, and he lives at ease.

The last time he broke up was three years ago. When the other party meant that he was going to get married and would come back to spend time with Qu Yiheng from time to time, making it seem like he was treating Qu Yiheng well.

This made Qu Yiheng feel disgusted enough. In order to avoid that person, he moved his house and changed his mobile phone number, and stopped communicating with that person at all.

It was when he decided to live on his own and couldn’t really afford to worry about that anymore.

He didn’t know how Yao Zhan was doing now. He was in his thirties. Most people get married and have children at this age. No one mentioned this topic when the two of them met, and no one asked each other any private information until they kissed and fell on the bed.

It was as if they had met just to have sex and the relationship was so pure that there shouldn’t be any emotionally charged conversations involved.

In the middle of the day, the curtains were closed, and the two of them were sweating under the covers.

Qu Yiheng felt that he hadn’t done this kind of thing for a long time, and felt ashamed of the gestures he was making.

In a daze, he repeatedly reminded himself that this was Yao Zhan. When they were young and high in spirit, they had been in each other’s arms so many times, and he had sucked off this man so many times, but they had never done it for real.

In the end, they were still too young to do anything. There were some things that they didn’t dare to do.

The two of them were about to become adults that year, and they always felt that they were adults, but when they really had to do adult things they were too scared.

And after all, they were different, and they were both empty in heart.

When you are seventeen or eighteen you don’t know where you are going, and once you start something, it’s hard to turn back.

Unlike now, in his thirties, although he doesn’t understand life, he doesn’t care about many things anymore, and happiness is the first priority.

If it was anyone else, Qu Yiheng would not have done it, but if it was Yao Zhan, he would not refuse.

It was as if he had made up for the missing piece in adolescence, and was trying to make it complete.

Yao Zhan didn’t drink as much as Qu Yiheng. He knew exactly how the two came and what they did, and even how they felt when they did it.

However, the combination of drinking and yelling in the middle of the day ended up with them sleeping together late into the night.

Qu Yiheng woke up first and glanced at the time. It was half past eleven in the evening.

His body was sticky, hot and uncomfortable. He pushed the person holding him, wanting to take a shower.

Yao Zhan woke up when he nudged him and said, “Good Morning.”

Qu Yiheng smiled, “What morning? It’s night.”

He got up from bed, but he started to feel a little embarrassed afterwards.

He didn’t know what it was, but he suddenly became a little worried that Yao Zhan thought he was a casual person.

While taking a bath, Qu Yiheng thought, ‘Again, Let’s just think about it. Who knows if we will see each other in the future. Just think of it as a casual encounter to quench our thirst. What’s the point?’

When he came out of the bathroom, Yao Zhan was sitting at the edge of bed playing with his mobile phone, without any clothes on, with his back to him.

“Would you like something to eat?” Qu Yiheng asked politely.

Yao Zhan glanced back at him and said “No.”

He put down his phone and started to get dressed. “I have got to go. Have you been here recently?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Yao Zhan paused for a moment, before continuing to get dressed, “Do you need a ride?”

“No, you are busy.”

“That’s fine.” Yao Zhan fastened his belt and slipped his mobile phone into his pocket, “I’ll go first then.”

Qu Yiheng nodded and walked him to the door.

From beginning to the end, the two of them didn’t talk about their past and didn’t care about each other’s present. They didn’t even leave each other’s contact information. They didn’t communicate much and when they did communicate, they weren’t indifferent, but they weren’t warm either. After all, they hadn’t seen each other for so many years. So they were definitely rusty, even if the body was hot not long ago, the heart was not close.

Regarding the contact information, Qu Yiheng deliberately didn’t say anything, and Yao Zhan really forgot.

That night, after Yao Zhan left, Qu Yiheng went downstairs to a noodle restaurant and ate a bowl of noodles in clear soup. When he returned, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He took a notebook and drew pictures under the lamp.

He had no idea what he was doing, but in the end, he actually drew the basketball court he remembered from high school.

The basketball court was on the second floor of the gymnasium. The dark corner where he gave Yao Zhan a blowjob, and when he looked up, he could see the students playing basketball.

Qu Yiheng’s return flight was in the afternoon. He saw on the Internet that there was an art gallery near the hotel, so he was going to check it out before he left.

He went to check out after nine o’clock, intending to temporarily store his luggage at the front desk, but when he was checking out, he suddenly remembered that he had left the umbrella he had rented in Yao Zhan’s car.

It doesn’t matter if the deposit of fifty yuan is non-refundable, but this matter is settled in Qu Yiheng’s heart.

On his way to the art gallery, he saw the class president talking in the group again, and he specifically asked him if he wanted to get together today.

He would definitely not speak in the group until he had to, but now people were talking to him directly, and it was too impolite not to say something.

Qu Yiheng replied, “I’m ready to go. See you next time.”

Everyone in the group chatted, and soon drowned out his news. He sighed with relief and put his phone back in his pocket. He was still not used to being noticed by others, and even if it was a friendly concern, he felt uncomfortable.

Qu Yiheng didn’t stay long at the art gallery, and was not feeling well.

It was probably because he hadn’t done it for so long that Yao Zhan was a bit over-excited after drinking, which made him feel awkward when walking.

Qu Yiheng picked up his luggage early and went to the airport, sitting in a cafe and waiting for the time to check in.

He took out his mobile phone and looked through the group messages, and saw Yao Zhan saying that he had a lot of work to do today, and the department was too busy.

At that moment, Qu Yiheng was a little curious about Yao Zhan’s work. He clicked on Yao Zhan’s WeChat profile picture but his signature and friend circles were empty. He stared at the ‘Add to Contacts’ for a while, but didn’t press it down.

He remembered the Yao Zhan of fifteen years ago, the young man who sat at his desk smoking a cigarette and giving him lectures from time to time.

In fact, Qu Yiheng couldn’t calm down at all after giving Yao Zhan for the first time. For several days after that, he kept an eye on Yao Zhan, but Yao Zhan was as if nothing had happened, which made him unable to see through.

Later, Qu Yiheng added Yao Zhan’s QQ number, and opened his QQ space with trepidation, expecting to catch some secret, but in the end, he failed and there was nothing in it.

Fifteen years later, he was still like this.

As soon as Qu Yiheng got off the plane, he received a call from his editor, who said urgently, “Mr. Qu, can you help me?”

He asked what was wrong, and the editor said with a sobbing voice, “A painter of teachers has opened a window of opportunity, and you are my only hope.”

Qu Yiheng smiled helplessly and asked, “How long?”

“Two days.”

He frowned, but finally agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Qu Yiheng dragged his luggage to take the subway. It cost nearly two hundred yuan to take a taxi home from the airport, but only fifteen yuan for the subway.

This is why he took this job.

In today’s world, the standard of work is similar, but the income varies enormously.

Some painters earn a lot of money, but some struggle on the line of food and clothing, and Qu Yiheng is the latter.

There was no empty seat on the way back, so he held his suitcase in one hand and grabbed the handle with the other. His body swayed with the subway, his eyes closed, thinking that it would be all night again in the next two days.

When Shao Wei went to see Yao Zhan with his son in his arms, Yao Zhan was prescribing medicine to a child.

“Busy? Dr. Yao.” He put his son down, and the little chubby boy ran straight over and plonked himself on Yao Zhan’s lap.

Yao Zhan finished seeing the last patient of the day, gave the prescription to the child’s mother and gave her a few more instructions, before picking up Shao Wei’s chubby baby.

“Aigoo, he’s gotten fat again!” Yao Zhan was very fond of Shao Wei’s son. The boy was fat and cute, and he was also close to him. When he sees Uncle Yao, he kisses him more than when he sees his own father.

Shao Wei asked him, “Where did you take Qu Yiheng that day?”

Yao Zhan didn’t expect him to ask this, and raised his eyebrows, “What?”

“Nothing, I just thought I hadn’t seen him for years, and I wanted to treat him well when he came back for the first time, but I didn’t even get to eat a meal.”

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of it for you.”

When Shao Wei heard this, he understood a little bit, “Did you two have a relationship before?”

“No.” Yao Zhan suddenly froze, “Fuck.”

Only then did he remember that he didn’t leave with Qu Yiheng’s phone number.

“Don’t swear in front of my son, the child is learning badly.” Shao Wei disliked him.

Yao Zhan smiled, “It’s alright, this thing will have to be learned sooner or later.”

Dr. Yao got off work, took off his white coat, chatted with the doctor on duty, and went out with the child in his arms.

“Feel free to choose whatever you want to eat tonight.”

“Don’t let him pick whatever he wants,” Shao Wei picked up the child and tucked him into the back seat, and sat in by himself. “He’s on diet, so let’s go eat some veggies.”

Yao Zhan drove and looked back at the aggrieved child and said “Come on, he’s fat, you can take him to exercise, just controlling your diet and not exercising is useless.”

The two big men led a chubby boy to eat steak. The adults didn’t eat much, but the child did.

Shao Wei said, “If you are like this, you won’t be spoiled when you have children in the future.”

“I have to be able to have one too.”

Shao Wei sighed and asked him, “Then what are your plans? I said that if you are alone like this, it’s better to find someone, at least a companion.”

“What’s the point of having a companion? We have good heating here in the winter, we don’t need to warm our bed.”

Shao Wei snorted, “Anyway, I’m putting my brother’s words here, if you’re not looking for a woman, then find a man who is practical.”

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When he said that, Yao Zhan remembered that he had tormented Qu Yiheng so much that he had tears in the corners of his eyes. But what impressed him most was not this, but the tattoo in the hidden corner of his body.

Yao Zhan couldn’t remember how many tattoos Qu Yiheng had on his body. Five? Ten? A lot anyway. Each tattoo was small, and he didn’t take a closer look at the pattern at the time. There were words and pictures, he just remembered that there was a phrase at the base of the man’s thigh, and he even kissed it a few times.

Yao Zhan frowned: “Why are you so nosy?”

“I’m concerned,” Shao Wei said, “I don’t know what kind of person Qu Yiheng is now, but he used to be silent, he couldn’t get along with anyone, but you. But I heard that he is still single, and just like you, you know what I mean.”

At this point, Yao Zhan didn’t understand, “Who did you hear this from?”

Shao Wei smiled, “Who said that? His ex-boyfriend!”

Shao Wei said: “I was working on a project last month, and the project leader of the other party was sent over to work with us for two weeks, and he hasn’t left yet. I said I was in fifth middle school, and he said that his ex-boyfriend was also from the same school. Is this a coincidence? We were drinking together, and that kid jumped out when he drank wine, and asked me if I knew Qu Yiheng, and said that it was his ex-boyfriend!”

After hearing this, Yao Zhan had one though:

It’s really unlucky for Qu Yiheng to have such a mouthy ex.