Awkward Chapter 51

Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!

Chen Mo’s face instantly turned ashen, the atmosphere around them plunging into dead silence as if the temperature had dropped to freezing. His gaze swept over the two of them, and without another word, he stood there unmoving.

Yan Chen glanced at him with an air of disdain, then opened the car door and got in, also opening the passenger door for Ye Mu.

Ye Mu lowered his eyes, his expression flat and emotionless, and he climbed into the passenger seat.

He fastened his seatbelt, and without saying goodbye, they drove off in a flash in a small BMW, leaving behind a cloud of foul-smelling exhaust.

Sun Xiangyang pinched his nose in disgust, his eyes stinging as he stepped back. Seeing his friend still standing there like a statue, he couldn’t help but pull on him, “Come on, stop staring. Let’s go. If we don’t hurry, we won’t be able to get any late-night snacks.”

Chen Mo didn’t respond, his face dark as he stared at the direction the car had disappeared for a long time. After a while, he squatted on the steps, pulled out a cigarette, and silently started smoking, his sharp features cutting through the night.

Sun Xiangyang was completely puzzled, “Hey, what’s the deal? So what if you didn’t get to take him home? What’s there to be mad about?”

Chen Mo didn’t reply, just took a few deep drags and then crushed the cigarette on the ground with venomous intent, “I told you to change that scooter ages ago. Why don’t you ever listen?”

Sun Xiangyang wasn’t happy, “Change it for what? This little scooter is great—convenient, fast, and it runs for days on a single charge. I even save on gas.”

Chen Mo glared at him, his eyes flashing with anger, “I don’t care about anything else, but why does a grown man like you ride a pink scooter? Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous?”

Sun Xiangyang retorted, “Why do you care? I used this pink scooter to win my girlfriend over. She loves it—says it’s stylish. Pink is trendy now; you just don’t get it.”

Chen Mo’s teeth ground together audibly, his narrow eyes filled with fury, “Get lost! If it weren’t for that cr*ppy scooter, he wouldn’t have run off with that jerk!”

Sun Xiangyang gave him a look of disbelief, “What? It’s just about taking someone home. What’s the big deal? Why are you so pissed?”

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment but quickly regained his icy demeanor, “Anyway… he’s one of my company’s employees. If he gets poached, are you going to cover the loss?”

Sun Xiangyang rolled his eyes, “Oh, so that’s what this is about? Now that you know he might be poached, just take precautions.”

Chen Mo rubbed his face in frustration, the wind tousling his hair, adding to his irritated demeanor, “You wouldn’t understand business matters.”

Sun Xiangyang shrugged, “Fine, I don’t get it. Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go get something to eat.”

Chen Mo frowned, leaning on his long legs as he stood up, his attitude hostile, “No, I’m not in the mood.”

“Come on, we hardly ever get out. Besides, you won’t find a cab out here.” Sun Xiangyang quickly added.

Chen Mo ignored him, scowling as he climbed onto the pink scooter. Before Sun Xiangyang could react, he started the engine and sped off, leaving nothing but his sharp silhouette behind.

Sun Xiangyang was left standing there, annoyed, and cursed, “D*mn it! Who was just complaining about a grown man riding a pink scooter? You seem to ride it pretty well yourself!”

***

The road in the suburbs was narrow, and some places were inaccessible by car, so Yan Chen parked at the entrance.

Ye Mu thought Yan Chen would leave immediately, but to his surprise, he got out and walked with him.

From the entrance to the house, it was a few hundred meters. The two walked silently, neither of them saying a word.

In the light, their long shadows seemed close, yet so far apart.

Yan Chen lowered his head, his long eyelashes casting a deep shadow across his handsome face, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

Step by step, the distance between them shortened.

At the last corner, Ye Mu suddenly stopped, glanced sideways at him, and said coolly, “This is it. Thanks for today.”

Under the light, the man’s features were even more distinct, inexplicably attractive, almost making it hard to look away.

Yan Chen looked down at him, his gaze deep, with a hint of tenderness so subtle that even he might not have noticed. Slowly, he raised his hand to gently caress Ye Mu’s pale, slender face.

Ye Mu slightly lowered his eyes and turned his head away, avoiding the touch.

Yan Chen swallowed, pressed his lips together, wanting to say something, but unsure of what to say.

Ye Mu remained silent and simply said, “I’m leaving.”

With that, without waiting for a response, he turned and disappeared around the corner.

Yan Chen stared in that direction for a long time, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes deep as the night.

After returning home, Ye Mu didn’t think much more about it. Perhaps he had really come to terms with it. After washing up, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, on the way to the company, he got stuck in traffic and ended up being two minutes late. By chance, he ran into the little boss.

He had expected the man to take the opportunity to use last night’s incident to settle a personal grudge, but to his surprise, Chen Mo merely glanced at him with a cold expression and walked away as if Ye Mu didn’t exist.

Ye Mu found it odd but, with many work matters to handle, he didn’t ask.

In the afternoon, when he brought some documents to the president’s office, he was prepared to have them rejected and to rewrite them, but Chen Mo, just like in the morning, didn’t make things difficult. He simply approved them.

Ye Mu gave him a glance and said coolly, “It’s rare for you to be so agreeable today.”

The words echoed heavily, but there was no response.

Chen Mo kept his head down, reviewing documents with a blank, young, and handsome face, as if Ye Mu wasn’t even in the room.

Ye Mu looked at him and continued, “Was that car your friend’s yesterday?”

Chen Mo still didn’t speak, his long fingers holding a pen as he wrote smoothly, looking completely absorbed.

Seeing that Chen Mo wouldn’t respond to personal matters, Ye Mu shifted to business. “Sister Liu has already booked the flight for the day after tomorrow to London. Besides the laptop and related authorization documents, is there anything else you need me to prepare?”

In the past, Chen Mo would have demanded a lot, asking Ye Mu to help pack and ship his luggage and buy various disposable underwear and sleep masks.

But this time, the answer was nothing but a cold silence, chilling to the bone.

Chen Mo kept his head down, working seriously and earnestly, unaffected by any external disturbance.

Ye Mu assumed he was genuinely busy, so he said nothing more and quietly left.

But after a few days, he sensed something was wrong.

Chen Mo wasn’t busy; he simply didn’t want to talk to him, opting for a cold shoulder to cut off all communication. It was as if they were strangers, which was even harder to adapt to than when Chen Mo used to intentionally cause trouble.

Ye Mu didn’t like this way of interacting but found himself powerless to change it, so he let it be.

Gradually, their relationship grew increasingly distant.

A few days later, they both arrived in London, and due to a temporary room shortage, they were placed in a twin room.

The bedroom was deathly silent as they each unpacked, neither speaking.

It was as if they were invisible to each other.

Chen Mo kept his head down, his bangs covering his forehead, obscuring his expression and making it impossible to know what he was thinking.

Ye Mu could barely hold it in.

“I know what you’re angry about.”

“It was wrong of me not to take your car that day and embarrass you. But it was so cold that night; if it were you, you would have chosen to stay in the car too, instead of freezing on a scooter.”

Chen Mo ignored him, and after finishing his unpacking, he coldly laid on the bed and started looking at his phone.

Ye Mu frowned, pursed his lips slightly, walked over, and threw his things aside. “If you’re going to keep up this attitude just because of that incident, then I can only say your behavior is childish.”

Chen Mo picked up his phone again, continuing to scroll without expression, still silent.

Ye Mu, unable to stand it any longer, took Chen Mo’s phone and held it behind his back. “Tell me, what will it take for you to cool off?”

Chen Mo shot him an icy look and said with a chilly tone, “Give it back.”

Ye Mu lowered his eyes and handed the phone over. “I hope you can have a proper conversation with me. There was a misunderstanding that night.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo let out a cold, mocking laugh, his voice dripping with disdain. “What misunderstanding? You were just being snobby, looking down on me for riding an electric scooter.”

Ye Mu saw that he had finally spoken, and his tightly knit brows relaxed slightly. “It’s not about snobbery; it was just a matter of considering several factors.”

Chen Mo turned his head away, his narrow eyes filled with sarcasm. “You make it sound so nice.”

Ye Mu lowered his long eyelashes, his expression serious, with a hint of sincerity. “I have severe rheumatism. If I had taken your scooter that night, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed the next day.”

Chen Mo scoffed. “Keep lying. We’ve known each other for so long, and you’ve never mentioned this.”

Ye Mu closed his eyes briefly. “I’m not lying. I never told you before because it’s not something that really matters.”

Chen Mo raised his eyes slightly to glance at him, his lips curling into a mocking smile. “Sure, keep telling yourself that. You just liked that scumbag and couldn’t wait to get into his car.”

Ye Mu frowned, his face darkening. “That’s never happened. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Chen Mo stood up, his eyes filled with arrogance as he provocatively said, “Why not say it? It’s the truth, but you just won’t admit it…”

Ye Mu stared at him coldly. “I don’t want to drag this out any longer. We already argued about this once before.”

Chen Mo snorted derisively, his eyes sharp. “Yeah, last time you wanted to fight. How about we go at it again today?”

For some reason, Ye Mu felt increasingly irritable. “I’m not in the mood to play along with your nonsense.”

Chen Mo’s gaze turned fierce. “Which eye of yours sees me as crazy? If you’re so tough, come fight me.”

Ye Mu looked up at him, his gaze unwavering. “Go ahead, if you’ve got the guts, hit me first.”

Chen Mo gritted his teeth. “You think I won’t?”

Ye Mu’s eyes darkened, and he challenged, “Try me.”

Chen Mo’s lips twisted with a hint of menace as he clenched his fist and swung it up into the air but hesitated to bring it down.

Ye Mu looked up at him, saying nothing.

Minutes passed, and no one moved. Chen Mo bit his lip, stayed silent for a moment, then angrily lowered his fist.

“Bang!”

A loud noise echoed as he slammed the bathroom door shut and locked himself inside, refusing to come out.

Ye Mu was furious but chose to ignore him.

They stayed in London for quite a while, and aside from speaking politely when meeting clients, the rest of the time was spent in a complete cold war, with neither saying a word or making contact with the other.

On the day they were packing to return home, they faced each other and started arguing over the same issue again.

“In the end, you just can’t let go of that scumbag. Why else would you meet him so late at night?”

“I told you, I went because I had no choice.”

“Heh, ‘no choice’? You’re just being hypocritical. Oh, and you had a candlelight dinner, didn’t you? Must have been so romantic, right? Don’t forget, that scumbag is married. You’re playing the homewrecker!”

“Chen, you’re getting more and more ridiculous. We’re just regular friends now, nothing more. Watch your mouth.”

“What, you don’t like hearing the truth? Too bad! Interfering in someone else’s marriage won’t end well for you.”

“Chen Mo, that’s enough! Take off your clothes, let’s fight!”

“Bring it on! You think I’m scared? Last time, I only held back because I felt sorry for you. Whoa, you’re serious this time!”

“I don’t need your pity. If you’re really that angry, then hit me back. Stop spouting nonsense!”

“I don’t fight with gays!”

“So what if I’m gay? Gays are men too. Chen, I’ve never been this annoyed with you before!”

“Hey, that’s enough! Don’t go too far!”

Bang!

Maybe the pain was too much for Chen Mo, and like last time, he chose to retreat, locking himself in the bathroom.

Ye Mu, furious, shouted, “Come out! Why do you always hide in the bathroom? What are you doing in there?”

Chen Mo, with a grim face, checked his bruises, glared at the door, and gritted his teeth. In a low voice, he replied from inside, “None of your business! I’m cleaning the toilet, okay?”

Ye Mu, with his handsome face clouded by anger, retorted, “Why clean the toilet for no reason? Does it make you feel better?”

Chen Mo snorted, “I don’t know, but I always use your toothbrush!”

Ye Mu’s face turned completely dark, nearly spitting blood in anger.

D*mn, you win this round!