Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
The hallway echoed with his furious curses, and even through the door, you could feel the murderous intent radiating from him.
Ye Mu leaned heavily against the door, panting. In just a few seconds, cold sweat appeared on his pale face.
It wasn’t out of fear or terror but shock.
In that moment when Chen Mo held him in his arms, he almost wanted to go crazy with him!
“Bang! Bang!”
The violent sounds of Chen Mo kicking the door followed, filling the air with noise and making Ye Mu’s head throb.
Ye Mu, irritated, wiped his face and sat down on the floor, his eyes weary. “Enough, stop causing trouble!”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was surprisingly clear.
Chen Mo clenched his fists, his face looking foul, “I’d love to, but what does it mean when you treat me like an idiot?”
Ye Mu’s eyes were filled with disdain. “Why don’t you admit you’re just easy to fool?”
Chen Mo flared up, “That’s only because I trusted your nonsense! Are you even a man? How can you not keep your word?”
Ye Mu frowned deeply, “Tell that to yourself. Who was the one who agreed to break up just a few hours ago?”
Chen Mo clicked his tongue and couldn’t help but retort, “Is that really the same thing?”
Ye Mu’s chest heaved, his breathing uneven, “How is it not the same? You say you hate me, but then you want to come back. What exactly are you thinking?”
Chen Mo’s face darkened as he scoffed, “If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t have been out here freezing in the cold all night.”
Ye Mu was impatient, “Then go back and think about it. Come back and tell me when you have an answer.”
Chen Mo’s expression was extremely unpleasant, “I already told you, I have nowhere to go. Where do you want me to go?”
Ye Mu was starting to get angry, “The street, a garbage dump, the sewer—go wherever you want, just stop bothering me.”
Chen Mo punched the door, “What the h*ll is your attitude?”
Ye Mu was on the verge of breaking down, “This is my attitude. If you don’t like it, then leave.”
Chen Mo’s fingers trembled with rage, but before he completely lost it, he took a deep breath to restrain himself.
D*mn it, he didn’t stay here tonight just to argue. If they kept fighting like this, it would be no different from before. Logic told him he needed to do something different.
He wanted to have a proper conversation with Ye Mu. Both of them had their issues, but he really didn’t want to break up.
A voice inside him kept repeating that he wanted to be with this man, not just now, but forever!
Chen Mo bit his lip hard, lowered his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose, remaining silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice, “Do you remember that variety show we watched together last time?”
Ye Mu tried to calm down, “We watched so many last month. I don’t know which one you’re talking about.”
Chen Mo opened his suitcase and said lightly, “The one about marriage counseling.”
Ye Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly as the TV images from that time flashed through his mind. “I remember a bit.” He didn’t quite understand why Chen Mo was suddenly bringing this up, but he didn’t ask further.
Chen Mo bit off the cap of a pen and tore a page from a notebook. “The psychologist on that show said that if two people can’t stop fighting, they should write down what they want to say to each other on a piece of paper. It helps avoid saying things in anger that could hurt each other and makes it easier to resolve issues.”
Ye Mu wasn’t interested, “It’s late, and you still want to play this childish game with me?”
Chen Mo lowered his head and quickly wrote something before slipping the paper under the door. “Stop complaining and just try it.”
Ye Mu frowned but glanced at the paper. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked it up.
The handwriting was strong and neat, with a dozen bold black characters written on it.
[I do hate you for what happened back then, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together.]
Ye Mu casually glanced at it, then scribbled a quick reply before sending the paper back.
[That’s a ridiculous idea, you idiot!]
Chen Mo exploded when he read it, but he held back his anger and wrote a response.
[What I mean is, despite that, I still want to be with you.]
This was a gentle approach, a concession implying that for the sake of their future, he was willing to let go of the past.
But Ye Mu’s response was lukewarm, written in elegant, clear handwriting.
[So what?]
Chen Mo was so angry he felt a pain in his liver, and he wanted to strangle him but held back his frustration.
[So, what are you thinking now?]
Ye Mu stared at the paper, lost in thought, remaining still for a long time before finally picking up the pen again.
[Are we just dating for sex?]
Chen Mo’s handsome face darkened as his eyes flickered with emotion. After nearly ten minutes of deliberation, he finally wrote down his response.
[I won’t deny it, I do like sleeping with you.]
Ye Mu sneered. When he read that, the warmth in his fingertips seemed to drain away.
[Go to a nightclub. There are plenty of people there who would be happy to sleep with you.]
Chen Mo’s eyes flashed with a complicated look. He tilted his handsome face and wrote a reply.
[I still feel the same as before. I despise all gay people, except you.]
This was supposed to mean that Ye Mu was special, different from the others. But to Ye Mu, it was just as insulting.
[Of course. You’re just used to sleeping with me. Are you sure you’re not just here to disgust me?]
Chen Mo rubbed his forehead, showing a trace of frustration.
[Calm down. I’m just trying to be honest with you, to tell you everything I’m feeling.]
Ye Mu lowered his eyes, his expression blank as he wrote another sentence.
[No matter what you say, I don’t need a relationship based solely on physical intimacy.]
Chen Mo hesitated as he wrote, unsure of what to say.
[Give me some time. Maybe then I’ll understand why I want to be with you so much.]
Ye Mu knew Chen Mo was trying to hold on, but he couldn’t suppress the discomfort he felt inside.
[No need for all this talk. Let me ask you a straightforward question, and think carefully before you answer.]
Chen Mo nodded and wrote a reply.
[Okay.]
Ye Mu pressed the pen a bit harder, leaving deep marks on the paper. After a long pause, he slowly wrote down his question.
[Do you like me?]
Chen Mo paused when he saw the question. For half an hour, he sat there, his bangs hanging low, gripping the pen without writing a single word.
Silence, silence, and more silence…
This question, which had troubled him for so long, remained unanswered.
Ye Mu waited for a long time, but no note came back. His eyes darkened, as if all the light had been extinguished.
As dawn broke, he passed a note to Chen Mo. It was a brief, casual message:
[Forget it, it’s not important.]
Chen Mo held that note, feeling his mind tangled like a mess of knotted strings. He wanted to reply but didn’t know what to write.
Ye Mu hadn’t slept all night and was feeling exhausted. He didn’t want to keep playing this back-and-forth game, so with dark circles under his eyes and a weary expression, he said, “The company has a morning meeting today. You should go to work.”
Chen Mo neatly folded the note and tucked it into his pocket, slowly moving his numb, frozen feet. “You should get ready too. There are some things on the PPT that need your analysis.” He was still worried about leaving Ye Mu alone at home.
Ye Mu stretched out his legs and, in a defeated posture, half-laid down. “No need, I’m taking the day off.”
Hearing how tired his voice was, Chen Mo insisted, “You can sleep at the office.”
Ye Mu’s eyes were ringed with red from lack of sleep, and he didn’t even have the energy to argue anymore. “I’m not going.”
Chen Mo had no choice but to compromise. “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll bring it over.”
Ye Mu closed his eyes, annoyed. “Just go. Stop bothering me.”
Chen Mo wasn’t in much better shape than Ye Mu, so he didn’t push further and left silently.
Staying up all night is bad for your health, especially when you’ve been out in the cold.
Over the next few hours, he went through the motions—approving documents, making phone calls to clients, reviewing materials—all while feeling dazed and unfocused.
By mid-afternoon, his body couldn’t take it anymore, and he passed out at his desk.
Liu Yi helped him with various procedures, and besides a high fever, he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.
When he woke up after surgery, it was already the next night.
As he opened his eyes, still disoriented, he found himself alone in the empty hospital room.
He fumbled around on the cabinet beside him for a while before finally getting hold of his phone.
He spent a long time scrolling through the unread messages and missed calls, his eyes gradually filling with disappointment.
There was nothing. That person hadn’t contacted him.
Chen Mo bit his lip, his young face as cold as ice, stubbornly refusing to make the call himself.
That night, he stared at the hospital room window the entire time.
Do I like you?
Setting aside the pleasure of the physical relationship, do I like you?
Not just you—I really want to know that myself.
During the nearly three days he spent in the hospital, this question kept replaying in his mind.
But sometimes, the more you think about something, the easier it is to get stuck in a mental dead end.
By the day of his discharge, he still hadn’t written a reply on the note, but he couldn’t resist driving to that apartment building.
There was no special reason—he just missed him too much.
If longing were an illness, then he was certainly gravely ill.
After ringing the doorbell for a long time with no response, he started calling Ye Mu’s phone.
“Beep, beep.”
After a few seconds of the ringing, a familiar automated message played.
“Sorry, the number you dialed has been canceled and is currently out of service.”
Chen Mo froze, a bad feeling creeping into his heart as a thought flashed through his mind. He immediately sent a message to a private investigator and continued waiting outside the apartment.
An hour passed, then two. From day to night, he didn’t see any sign of that person.
Late at night, a neighbor from across the hall bumped into him and told him the truth.
It turned out Ye Mu had already moved out.
The investigators were also stumped because after Ye Mu left, he hadn’t used any identification documents, so they couldn’t find any information.
The phone number was canceled, the address changed, and that person just disappeared into thin air.
No warning, no message left behind—just quietly gone.
Cruel and decisive.
Chen Mo was frozen in place, his expression indescribable.
