DPT chapter 34

Once again, Zuo Chi realized Sheng Li’s naivety and cruelty. After they had kissed and slept together, Sheng Li asked if they were still friends.

The ease with which the words were spoken lasted less than a minute before Zuo Chi’s heart twisted in pain. He held onto the doorframe to steady himself and forced a smile. “Yes.”

Sheng Li said, “That’s good.”

“I’m going to sleep.” Zuo Chi quickly shut the door before Sheng Li could stop him. Sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, he let out a bitter smile after a while.

See? He made the right decision. From the moment the engagement was set until now, more than half a year had passed, and Sheng Li still only saw him as a friend.

What he wanted, he could never have. No matter how persistent he was, what was the point?

What he needed to do was adjust his mindset and be a proper, respectful friend, no matter who came into Sheng Li’s life.

But before he could do that, he needed to keep a certain distance from Sheng Li. He didn’t want to pretend everything was fine while feeling heartache anymore.

He didn’t want to be so pathetic.

Zuo Chi buried his face in his knees and closed his eyes, feeling the amber fragrance outside his bedroom fade away.

The next morning, he planned to start moving. He thought Sheng Li had gone to work, but when he arrived in the dining room, Sheng Li was sitting at the table having breakfast. There were two delicate pieces of cake on his plate, but they were untouched.

He seemed to be in a daze. When he saw Zuo Chi, he snapped out of it. “I went to the bakery this morning and bought some cakes. I got one of each flavor, and the rest are in the fridge.”

“Okay.” Zuo Chi opened the fridge and found that Sheng Li had put the cakes in the freezer.

“Why aren’t you at work?”

“Why didn’t you sleep a bit longer?”

They spoke at the same time.

Sheng Li, holding a fork in his right hand, kept twirling it. “I took half a day off. How about we go out for lunch?”

“No need,” Zuo Chi replied honestly. “I need to move my things later. You can eat by yourself.”

“Move things?” Sheng Li frowned. “Are you moving back to your family? What’s wrong with staying here?”

A trace of sadness crossed Zuo Chi’s heart. When he wanted to move in, Sheng Li first changed the locks and then set ground rules. Now that he was moving out, Sheng Li asked if it was okay to stay.

As long as he reclaimed the “friend” status, Sheng Li was still the loyal and affectionate person he remembered.

He said softly, “Since we’re breaking off the engagement soon, it’s not appropriate to keep living here.”

Sheng Li immediately said, “I don’t mind.”

Zuo Chi took a deep breath. “I’m not going back to my family. I’ve renovated a property I bought as an investment. I’ll live there.”

Sheng Li asked, “When did you start the renovation? Why didn’t I know about it?”

Had Zuo Chi been planning to move out for a long time? Why?

“Since your father started renovating the villa,” Zuo Chi no longer mentioned the “new house,” “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

Sheng Li looked dejected. “You don’t have to rush to move out.”

Zuo Chi put the cake in the microwave to heat it up. “I don’t have anything else to do today, so it’s convenient to move earlier.”

Sheng Li stared at Zuo Chi’s back, poking countless holes in his cake with the fork. “How are you going to explain this to your parents?”

Zuo Chi turned around. “Do you know our families’ cooperation is in trouble?”

Sheng Li didn’t care about the cooperation. “Hmm? I know a little, but not the details.”

“So now is the best time to bring it up. They are most likely to agree.”

Sheng Li said, “But… what if they don’t agree?”

Zuo Chi smiled faintly. “I have to try.”

They finished breakfast facing each other in silence. Zuo Chi went to his bedroom to pack. He didn’t have many things, and they all fit into the trunk of a small car.

Sheng Li insisted on taking him to his new home. Since Zuo Chi couldn’t refuse, he let him.

Zuo Chi’s new home was a three-bedroom, two-living-room unit. It was in a great location, nestled in a bustling area with a large shopping district just a five-minute walk away, along with nearby hospitals, supermarkets, and gyms. The decor was post-modern, using white and gray as the base tones—simple, rational, and artistically pleasing.

After touring the place, Sheng Li expressed some dissatisfaction: “Isn’t the house a bit small?”

“It’s more than enough for me,” Zuo Chi replied. He had planned to make one room his bedroom, another his study, and the third a home theater.

Sheng Li continued to nitpick: “Why does only one room have a bed? Where will your friends sleep?”

Zuo Chi had considered this: “The sofa in the home theater can turn into a bed.”

Sheng Li put it to the test, pulling out the folding part of the sofa and assessing its quality by touching the legs. “If I slept here, my legs would stick out.”

Zuo Chi didn’t understand what he meant and pretended not to hear. As the space became smaller, he could feel the oppressive feeling of being alone with Sheng Li. Rationality prevented him from getting closer, but emotionally, he couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at him. He took out his phone to check the time. “Let’s go eat first, or you’ll be late for work this afternoon.”

They sat down at a western restaurant in the nearby shopping district. When it came time to order, Zuo Chi didn’t speak, so Sheng Li ordered for him.

Sheng Li ordered dishes that Zuo Chi liked, but this time Zuo Chi changed two of them. Under Sheng Li’s surprised gaze, he explained, “I want to try something new.”

At the table, Sheng Li was very curious about Zuo Chi’s experiences over the past two months. He asked more detailed questions than Cheng Xiangwan, and eventually got to the question he cared about the most: “Did you meet anyone new in these two months?”

“I went traveling, not socializing,” Zuo Chi replied. “Of course, I met some interesting people, but since we just met in passing, we won’t keep in touch after the trip.”

“Oh…” Sheng Li said stiffly, “Tell me about the people you met. Were they Alphas or Omegas?”

“There were both. Does secondary gender matter?”

“I’m just asking.” Sheng Li lowered his head, finding the steak in his mouth hard to swallow. No matter how he asked, he couldn’t get any useful information from Zuo Chi.

Zuo Chi ate quickly; he had a comprehensive check-up at the hospital that afternoon and didn’t have time to waste. Sheng Li, however, seemed to have no appetite, spending ten minutes on a piece of beef rib.

Zuo Chi didn’t rush him because he didn’t know if this was the last time they would have a meal alone together. The thought made his nose tingle, and he pretended to look at his phone to hide his face.

No matter how long it took, the meal had to end. Sheng Li paid the bill and asked Zuo Chi if he could be removed from the blacklist.

Zuo Chi complied.

Sheng Li pressed further: “Don’t block me from your Moments either.”

Zuo Chi paused, remembering the situation. He had blocked Sheng Li from his Moments after Sheng Li joked, “Why do you always post such boring stuff? Who’s going to click on that?” Besides those news posts about real estate and the economy, Zuo Chi had nothing else to share, so he had set the permissions to block Sheng Li.

Sheng Li noted his expression. “You blocked me and didn’t even realize?”

“I didn’t notice,” Zuo Chi’s casual tone visibly displeased Sheng Li.

After leaving the restaurant, they walked in different directions. It was like a normal parting after a friend’s gathering, but their feelings were vastly different.

Sheng Li had insomnia the previous night and was in poor spirits, but the pain in his chest had finally stopped, allowing him to think clearly.

At twenty-five, he didn’t want to rush into marriage. Being single and being married were two entirely different stages of life. He wasn’t ready to take the next step under the pressure of his elders. Even Xiang Yiqun and Zhou Jing, who had been in a long-term relationship, hadn’t settled down yet, so why should he rush?

As for his feelings for Zuo Chi, whatever they were, after the dissolution of the engagement, everything would return to how it was before. He could take his time to figure it out and make a responsible choice. Whether they ended up as friends or lovers, it should be a free choice, not one bound by an engagement.

Sheng Li felt a bit lost about Zuo Chi moving out. But since they had lived together due to the engagement and the engagement was about to be annulled, Zuo Chi’s decision was normal, and he had no reason to stop him.

Last night’s time together felt like a dream. He was thrilled to have Zuo Chi back. Beyond the disappointment, there was joy in his chest. They were no longer separated by thousands of kilometers or time zones, and meeting up was easy now.

Sheng Li thought about inviting Zuo Chi to go skiing that weekend.

Zuo Chi felt each step he took was heavy. It was like he was bidding farewell to his feelings that had unknowingly sprouted. Perhaps Sheng Li entering his life had destined him to face this ordeal.

He had once thought the biggest obstacle between them was their secondary genders. After differentiating into an Omega, he realized that liking someone had nothing to do with gender, and not liking someone had nothing to do with gender either.

He once believed that a marriage contract was a heaven-sent opportunity, foolishly thinking friends could turn into lovers. Reality, however, had given him a harsh slap. Not all stories unfold like idol dramas; unfulfilled desires are a common theme in life.

He should have let go a long time ago.

He didn’t regret meeting Sheng Li. Without Sheng Li, he might have lived a robotic, repetitive life like an AI. Sheng Li had brought many colors to his youth, showing him what it was like to care about someone.

But that feeling was too bitter.

Zuo Chi stopped, wanting to turn back, a voice inside him saying: Just take one more look.

A voice said: “Don’t look back, keep walking.”

He struggled to suppress the urge to turn around and quickened his pace.