When Bo Jin moved in closer, Xie Ruan swatted him away and chased him into the bathroom to take a shower. Then, he opened a window, letting the night breeze cool his blushing face.
He sat down, staring blankly at the new contact in his phone: Shen Xizhou’s WeChat.
While he didn’t show it outright, Xie Ruan knew that when Bo Jin suggested moving in together, he had felt genuinely tempted.
Originally, he had planned to gradually cut ties with his family once he entered college. This year, he could put up with it, as Chen Wei still paid for his expenses.
Besides, he was short on time, almost living on a schedule of every second counting, and he didn’t want to waste it on trivial family matters.
But Shen Xizhou’s appearance had provided him with a choice. Plus, knowing He Jinqing’s character, it was unlikely he would accept him after the inheritance issue.
Xie Ruan bit his lip and looked towards the bathroom.
The wooden door blocked his view but not the faint sound of water splashing.
On one side was his mother, who had put all her focus on her new family, and on the other, the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The choice was obvious.
Letting out a sigh, Xie Ruan smiled slightly.
Maybe… moving in with Bo Jin was a pretty good idea after all.
Bo Jin came out of the shower and saw Xie Ruan studying English vocabulary. The dazed look was gone, replaced by a good mood. Bo Jin raised an eyebrow, drying his hair as he approached. “What’s got you grinning like that?”
Xie Ruan didn’t answer, inching away slightly with a frown. “Don’t get me wet.”
“You haven’t showered yet,” Bo Jin teased, flicking a damp towel at him. “So many little quirks.”
Xie Ruan stood up and tidied the table without saying a word.
Something seemed off.
Bo Jin squinted, walking over as if to say something. But just as he approached, Xie Ruan swung his bag over his shoulder and, while standing sideways, asked, “What time do you think your Sunday medical check-up will finish?”
Bo Jin felt his heart skip a beat, assuming Xie Ruan was still bent on visiting Sunshine Orphanage. Nonchalantly, he stretched the estimated time. “It’ll probably go until the evening. Why?”
“Oh.” Xie Ruan responded slowly, but offered no further explanation.
This behavior left Bo Jin feeling uncertain, forcing himself to suppress his anxiety. He grabbed the strap of Xie Ruan’s bag, pulling him back slightly. “Don’t want to go with me?”
“No,” Xie Ruan glanced up at him, a little uneasy, and looked away, “It’s just that—”
Bo Jin waited quietly for him to continue, his fingers twitching a little with tension, jaw faintly clenched.
“Come home with me after your check-up.”
Bo Jin was taken aback.
“What are you looking at?” Xie Ruan coughed, trying to sound natural. “You said I should move in, right? So… I will. After all, I—”
Before he could finish, Bo Jin pulled him into his arms.
“Alright.” Bo Jin buried his face in Xie Ruan’s neck, inhaling deeply. The light scent of laundry detergent lingered, and his lips turned up in a smile. “I’ll go with you to move.”
Bo Jin’s hair was still damp from his shower, clinging slightly uncomfortably to Xie Ruan’s neck. Xie Ruan nudged him forward with a knee. “Get off; you’re getting my clothes all wet.”
Bo Jin, clearly pleased, had finally won over his little boyfriend after all this effort! “If they’re wet, I’ll wash them for you.”
“As if,” Xie Ruan muttered.
“What do you mean, ‘as if’?” Bo Jin teased, pinning him gently against the table as he playfully corrected him. “Have I never washed anything for you? And who was it who insisted I’d dirtied that pair of briefs last time? Remember the white pair with black trim—you said I got them dirty after we—”
“Enough,” Xie Ruan cut him off, cheeks flushed, covering Bo Jin’s mouth. “Stop talking.”
It was true, but he hadn’t actually asked Bo Jin to wash them! He’d been so out of it at the time he couldn’t even give orders. By the time he’d realized, Bo Jin had already washed and hung them up.
Bo Jin chuckled, knowing Xie Ruan could be shy, and refrained from further teasing. No point risking his newly secured boyfriend getting away.
“Think you have a lot to pack? Should I bring the car?”
Xie Ruan didn’t think so. Most of his everyday items and books were at school; his home just held some seasonal clothing. But still, it was a place he’d lived for over a decade, so there’d probably be a few things to gather up.
“Alright,” he nodded, then hesitated. “You know how to drive?”
“Of course,” Bo Jin arched a brow, hands still on Xie Ruan’s waist, teasing him, “Don’t think I know how to drive?”
Xie Ruan: “…”
Where did this guy get all these ridiculous lines?
Bo Jin laughed, leaning in to kiss Xie Ruan’s lips lightly. “Don’t worry. I’ve had my license over a year now. I’ll drive you there so you don’t have to lug a bunch of bags back and forth.”
Xie Ruan nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m doing all this work for you…” Bo Jin whispered close to him, voice low, “Is there a reward?”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even for a boyfriend! Xie Ruan looked up. “What reward do you want?”
Laughter and footsteps echoed down the hallway, close enough to be right outside the door.
Bo Jin gently ran his thumb across Xie Ruan’s lips, his suggestion clear.
Xie Ruan neither responded nor moved.
Bo Jin didn’t push, just kept smiling at him.
After a moment, Xie Ruan reached up, tugged Bo Jin’s collar down firmly, and tilted his head up to kiss him.
A glimmer of amusement appeared in Bo Jin’s eyes as he slipped his arms around Xie Ruan’s waist.
Time passed quickly amidst school days. That Sunday, Xie Ruan and Bo Jin turned down their friend Sun Haoxiang’s invitation to play games, heading straight to the hospital’s check-up center after leaving the campus.
Bo Jin had already registered online, so he didn’t need to fill in information or wait in line; he could start right away.
Xie Ruan, with nothing to do, found waiting idle boring. He went online, found some ancient Chinese poems they were required to memorize this term, and found a quiet corner to begin studying.
He was always focused while studying, able to tune out any distractions.
One passage down, he was about to move to the next one when Bo Jin came out.
“Finished already?” Xie Ruan glanced at his phone in disbelief. It wasn’t even 4 p.m. Yet Bo Jin had previously estimated he’d finish close to the evening. Since when was the hospital so efficient?
Bo Jin thought to himself, Of course.
If words weren’t like spilled water that can’t be taken back, he would have gone straight to the He family after school. Securing things in hand is the only reliable truth.
“Yeah,” Bo Jin took the disinfectant gel offered by the nurse, unfazed. “Guess I got the timing wrong; I’ve never done a check-up before.”
Was that so?
Xie Ruan, without second-guessing, tucked his phone away and followed Bo Jin out. “So… do we need to call a ride to pick up the car?”
Bo Jin was about to reply when his phone buzzed. Glancing down at the message, he showed the screen to Xie Ruan with a grin. “Turns out we don’t. Our ride’s already here.”
Xie Ruan looked at the screen. From the message, it was clear it was Bo Jin’s friend, someone he knew well, waiting at the south hospital gate with a black car, license ending in 668.
“You sure have a lot of connections.”
“Jealous?” Bo Jin smirked, pulling him close by the shoulders, playful as ever.
“Jealous my foot,” Xie Ruan raised a fist playfully, giving him a look, “Try anything funny, and see what happens.”
“Not at all,” Bo Jin chuckled softly, grasping his hand and explaining, “He’s just a friend from the tech group chat; we’ve only had a few meals together.”
While they were talking, they spotted a young man in black leaning against a car, waving at them.
Bo Jin walked over and exchanged a few words with him. The guy tossed Bo Jin the keys, then gave Xie Ruan a mischievous wink and a whistle before leaving.
“Ignore him. He’s just got a lively personality. No time today, but I’ll introduce you all properly someday,” Bo Jin said as he backed up the car. “Are you sure your mom’s okay with you moving out?”
“It’s fine,” Xie Ruan said with a slight smile. “She doesn’t really keep tabs on me.”
From the rearview mirror, Bo Jin noticed his expression, his lips tightening briefly.
“A deal like that?” Bo Jin smirked. “Then, I guess you’re all mine now.”
“Oh, shut up!” Xie Ruan laughed, his recent gloominess dissolving.
The two chatted and joked along the way and soon arrived at the He residence.
Xie Ruan asked Bo Jin to wait in the car and headed up alone.
After being away for some time, the place looked the same but somehow felt different.
A layer of dust covered the usually pristine floors, with a few stray hairs visible here and there. The sofa cover was askew, and the cushions were piled haphazardly, showing clear signs of neglect.
Neither He Jinqing nor He Chen was home, and the usual sound of Chen Wei playing videos in the living room was missing. Xie Ruan found her in the main bedroom, looking pale.
“I just came to grab some things,” Xie Ruan said.
After a pause, he added, “Are you sick? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”
Chen Wei looked at him with a complicated expression, staying silent.
She had thought Shen Xizhou’s visit would be a pleasant reunion of old friends, only to be blindsided by a devastating shock. She’d been barely holding it together, signing documents by day and enduring He Jinqing’s endless anger and frustration at night.
It was all gone, just like that. The money she’d put aside was no longer hers. She’d even had to sell some jewelry to barely cover a hole and give some money to Xie Ruan.
For a brief moment, Chen Wei even resented this child she had painstakingly brought into the world.
She’d finally found a peaceful life, and he had to ruin it? She hadn’t wronged him or held back financially—why did he have to fight over a little bit of money?
Was this child born to curse her?
She knew she shouldn’t think this way, but she couldn’t help it.
Chen Wei closed her eyes, refusing to look at Xie Ruan.
Soft-spoken as she was, she wouldn’t explode in anger. But Xie Ruan knew her well enough. Waiting for a response that never came, he understood perfectly.
In the past, he might have felt sad or anxious, but now—
Xie Ruan simply smiled and went back to his room to pack.
If she ignored him, so much the better; it saved him the trouble of finding words to say.
Xie Ruan didn’t have much to pack, just enough to fill a single 28-inch suitcase.
Chen Wei’s lack of attention meant he had few clothes, mostly school uniforms.
After taking one last look around the room he’d lived in for over a decade, Xie Ruan exhaled, pulled his luggage, and left.
The wheels of his suitcase rattled against the floor.
Standing at the doorway of the main bedroom, he called out, “Mom, I’m leaving.”
As expected, Chen Wei didn’t respond.
Xie Ruan wasn’t bothered; he checked the time and put the house key on the coffee table before walking away.
The door clicked shut behind him. Silence fell over the house—no more of Xie Ruan’s footsteps or the sounds of him searching through things.
Suddenly, Chen Wei found the silence suffocating, filling her with an inexplicable panic.
She threw off the covers and ran out, frantically opening the door to chase after him, but he was nowhere to be seen in the hallway.
She tried to reassure herself: the school break was coming up soon, and the dorm wouldn’t be open then, so he’d have to come back.
Children can’t stay mad at their moms, right? She’d just been too sick to talk to him earlier.
This thought comforted her a little as she shuffled back inside. Then her eyes landed on the coffee table, and her body froze as tears suddenly filled her eyes.
On the dark marble table, a single key lay quietly: the key to the front door.
As Xie Ruan stepped out of the elevator, Bo Jin took his luggage without a word.
“How about barbecue tonight?” Bo Jin suggested.
Xie Ruan’s spirits lifted as they walked further away from the building. “Sure! Where?”
Bo Jin named a place.
It was a famous spot known for its delicious grilled beef—and its high prices.
At two thousand per person, Xie Ruan had only heard about it but never gone.
He swallowed involuntarily, saying, “It’s way too pricey. We should skip it.”
“No way,” Bo Jin laughed, putting the luggage in the trunk and ruffling Xie Ruan’s hair. “Get in the car. Moving deserves a nice meal to celebrate.”
He added, with a meaningful look, “Of course, if you want to celebrate another way, I’m open.”
“No, no, just dinner,” Xie Ruan quickly declined, waving his hands.
Bo Jin laughed, nudging him into the passenger seat.
The black SUV sped off, leaving the neighborhood behind. Xie Ruan sat in the car beside Bo Jin, with a bright future ahead.
And he never looked back.
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more chapters of The Infatuated Cannon Fodder Quits right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
