In the Same Boat

When Yao Zhan got off the plane, Qu Yiheng was drawing a picture.

He was wearing a nighwear that was smeared with paint, holding a palette in one hand and a brush in the other.

The door of the room was open, Dou Yucong leaned against the door eating an ice cream and watched with great interest. He did not study this and didn’t even know anything about art, but he just felt that Qu Yiheng painted well, and he could paint anything.

Standing at his angle, he could clearly see what was on the drawing board. The painting was not yet completed, and now he could only see a rough outline. It should be a lying man, and moreover, naked.

He recalled the time when he went to the Art Academy to look for Qu Yiheng. Just as he arrived at the door of the classroom, coincidentally, Qu Yiheng came out and opened the door. Once the door was opened, he caught a glimpse of the scene inside. At that time, the students in the classroom were sketching a human body, in front of which sat a young boy who was naked.

He now especially wanted to interview his brother, and he didn’t want to ask anything else but which mannequin his brother had in his head when he was painting.

When he was thinking about it, Dou Yucong’s cell phone rang, which not only startled him, but also made Qu Yiheng’s hands tremble in fright.

Dou Yucong apologized and ran to the living room to answer the phone.

Qu Yiheng stared at the wrong stroke due to trembling of his hand, his heart didn’t ripple, he could fix it, but he heard Dou Yucong cursing in a low voice in the living room, and he didn’t need to think about it to know who called.

He was so distracted by the conversation over there that he couldn’t draw anymore, so he put down the tools in his hand and wiped his hands on his apron.

He glanced at the time, it was already afternoon, and he suddenly remembered that Yao Zhan said he would be here in the afternoon.

Qu Yiheng’s heart, which had been as still as water, suddenly accelerated by a few beats. He went to the table and picked up the phone, but there was no news from Yao Zhan.

He knew he was looking forward to it.

Rather than looking forward to Yao Zhan, it was better say he was looking forward to the things in the bed (sex), which he hadn’t done for so long, that once you did it, you just can’t stop thinking about it.

As for whether the person he is having sex is Yao Zhan or someone else, it can’t be said that it doesn’t matter, because if it wasn’t Yao Zhan, it’s likely that Qu Yiheng would still be in the abstinence stage by now. It can only be said that Yao Zhan is an added preference in this sex relationship.

Since it was preferential treatment, of course, he certainly looked forward to it.

He turned around and went out of the room, planning to take a shower and wait for Yao Zhan to contact him. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he heard Dou Yucong say: “I can’t believe this. What do you think I am? I have been with you for six years, and now I’ve ended up being just a friend with benefits?”

Qu Yiheng was trapped by the word ‘friend with benefits’, and he stood there thinking: ‘Are Yao Zhan and I considered friends with benefits?’

It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon when Yao Zhan arrived at the hotel. He didn’t expect it to be hotter here than there at home.

After getting off the bus and walking only about ten meters, he felt that he was almost unable to breathe. He wondered how Qu Yiheng had managed to stay in such a city, which is said to be swelteringly hot in summer and wet and cold in winter, and the four seasons are never distinct, which is very unsuitable for human habitation.

It was only when he entered the hotel that Yao Zhan became alive again. He put down his luggage without packing and went straight into the bathroom.

He couldn’t stand the sticky feeling on his body, and felt that those few steps were rancid on his body.

While taking a shower, Yao Zhan observed the room. Seriously, the design was quite coquettish.

There was a glass wall in the middle of the bathroom and bedroom, and the bathtub was for two people, so he incidentally made up a mental image of him and Qu Yiheng doing it in the bathtub. Although the space was a little smaller, it was creating an extra alluring atmosphere.

He only intended to take a quick shower without getting into the bathtub. After some brainstorming he stood under the shower and looked around.

The toilet was also surrounded by transparent glass walls. So it was estimated that they can see how many millimeters each other has pissed when they take a pee.

The bedroom has a large bed, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a large dressing mirror.

In short, this room is suitable for making love.

Of course, Yao Zhan understands that when people book a room, they definitely don’t go for this, he who had dirty thoughts all the time sees everything as dirty.

After he came out showering, it was 4:40.

He hesitated for a while and decided to send a message to Qu Yiheng after five o’clock.

When Qu Yiheng took a shower, he deliberately looked in the mirror for a while, and suddenly realized that he had to prepare more for this kind of meeting than he had to do for a normal date.

Yao Zhan is not his own lover and he will not be tolerant in many things, so he must make sure he is absolutely clean and beautiful. Of course, he hopes that Yao Zhan will treat him the same way.

When it comes to hooking up for a one night there must be mutual respect.

He raised his hand and touched the tattoo on his shoulder and turned around to look at it again.

Last time, Yao Zhan bit a red mark in this place, he guessed the other party didn’t even remember, but the tooth marks later left him with a bruise on the spot, which took days to fade after he returned.

He poked it with his hand, the tattoo was a phrase, tattooed in Spanish: ‘Blowing in the wind.’

This song once accompanied him through the most difficult time, and although he did not have a good time afterwards, at least, he came over.

“Brother, are you done washing?” Dou Yucong came over and knocked on the bathroom door.

Qu Yiheng came back to his senses from his world and took the bath towel to wipe his body: “I’m done washing.”

“Ah it’s alright, I just wanted to tell you that I’m going out.”

Hearing that he was going out, he thought about that phone call just now, Qu Yiheng frowned.

“I’m just going to get a few things.”

Qu Yiheng changed into his pajamas and opened the bathroom door.

A wave of hot air rushed out, causing Dou Yu to squint his eyes and take a step back: “I left something behind when I left the other day.”

Whether it’s true or not, it’s ultimately someone’s own business. Qu Yiheng actually wanted to say something to let him think about it clearly, but he also understood that he was in no position to meddle in other people’s lives, even if they were brothers in name.

“Well.” Qu Yiheng said, “I might go out tonight.”

“Huh? You’re going out?” Hearing Qu Yiheng took the initiative to go out, Dou Yucong was so surprised that he forgot the purpose he had just come to knock on the door.

“My classmate is here, I’m going to meet up with him.”

Another classmate.

Dou Yucong remembered the person who sent a message to Qu Yiheng earlier and asked with a smile, “Yao Zhan? So are you not coming back at night?”

Qu Yiheng glanced at him, said nothing and went into the bedroom.

The door of the room closed, and the more Dou Yucong thought about it standing outside, the more he felt that there was something fishy.

He is a gay and it is common to make jokes about men, but straight men usually try their best to defend themselves when encountering such jokes, and some people even get angry, but Qu Yiheng surprisingly didn’t say anything.

Dou Yucong looked at the closed door and scratched his hair in confusion. And as he was leaving, he suddenly figured it out. After all, this was Qu Yiheng, when had he ever defended himself to anyone?

Dou Yucong left and Qu Yiheng heaved a sigh of relief when he heard him close the door.

He took off his pajamas and squatted in front of the drawer to pick out his underwear.

The phone vibrated and it was a WeChat message.

At 5:03pm, Yao Zhan sent a message: ‘I’ve arrived at the hotel, it’s so hot on your side.’

The words “so hot” made Qu Yiheng feel hot. That day Yao Zhan pressed his ear and said he was “so hot” inside. He still remembers that voice, that tone and that feeling.

With that just one word he now got some reactions.

Qu Yiheng suppressed his own random thoughts, and replied to Yao Zhan: ‘It will be hot until October.’

After sending it, he simply sat on the bed and waited for Yao Zhan’s reply. He watched the words “Yao Zhan” turn into “the other party is typing” on the phone’s interface, and soon, the message came.

Yao Zhan: ‘Is it convenient for you tonight? Can we have dinner together?’

Qu Yiheng smiled, he knew what Yao Zhan meant too well, it was not as simple as eating.

He replied with a “yes” and then sent a second one: ‘Where are you, I’m going to find you.’

Yao Zhan originally thought that the two of them would first meet somewhere for dinner or drink some wine and then go back to the hotel, but Qu Yiheng was afraid that he would not find a place, so he smiled and sent to Qu Yiheng: ‘I am not a child. I’ll take a taxi and go there. You can tell me the location.’

Qu Yiheng had no choice but to cramp his feet and search online for places that would suit them both.

He had been living in this city for several years, but he didn’t know where to go. He didn’t go out to socialize, he didn’t go out to eat, drink and have fun. He wanted to find a nice place with a good environment and few people. A place which at least seemed a little romantic to have a meal and some wine. He really didn’t know where to go.

The information on the Internet was mixed with positive and negative reviews, but he still didn’t dare to make a random decision in the end, afraid of making a joke out of it.

After much hesitation, Qu Yiheng risked being teased and called Dou Yucong.

It took Dou Yucong while to answer the phone. After listening to his question, he laughed at him and said, “Brother, it’s rare, you care so much about this classmate, isn’t it? Unlike you.”

Qu Yiheng’s ears turned red because of this comment, but he didn’t bother to talk nonsense with Dou Yucong, so he just told him to recommend it quickly.

Dou Yucong also had things to deal with, otherwise he would definitely talk nonsense for a while. He said the name of the restaurant: “The first floor and second floor is a restaurant, which is quite bourgeois and the basement is a bar, do not worry, it’s not that shady kind of bar, I won’t recommend you that kind.”

Qu Yiheng wrote down the name and address of the restaurant and quickly hung up the phone.

Yao Zhan waited for a while before he heard from Qu Yiheng. He thought the man was angry, and he had already thought of the reasons for his anger – Qu Yiheng wanted to get straight to the point and had no intention of having dinner with him.

During the few minutes of waiting, he wondered if he was being too ambiguous by asking someone to dinner? Originally, the purpose of their meeting was to have sex, but now it seemed like they are going a date.

He was thinking about it when Qu Yiheng’s message came over.

After Qu Yiheng sent out the address, he said again: ‘Sorry, something happened just now.’

Yao Zhan replied with an “OK” emoji and told Qu Yiheng that he would see him later.

He packed his luggage, opened a box of condoms, put two in his pocket, and put the rest under his pillow.

The lube was not easy to carry around, so he also tucked it under the pillow, thinking that the ones in his pocket were just in case, they would not just mess around outside.

Thinking of “outside”, Yao Zhan also remembered the past.

When they were teenagers, they were much more daring than they are now.