Xu Zhi didn’t know why he ran away from his own home, but being alone in a space with Zhou Mu always made him unable to think.
The bedroom window was still open, and the gauze curtain was gently blown by the wind, allowing Xu Zhi’s somewhat hot body temperature to slowly cool down.
He picked up the laptop from the table, walked to the chair on the balcony, sat down, and searched again for the outline of Zhou Mu’s character without giving up.
Still found nothing.
Xu Zhi’s mentality was pretty good. He thought that since the outline was missing, he had to start writing from the very beginning.
He created a new document and typed in the date: July 11th.
“Tuk-Tuk.” There was a knock on the door.
Xu Zhi put down the laptop, walked to the door, and opened it. Zhou Mu lowered his half-raised arm, “I want to take a bath.”
Xu Zhi’s heart was still beating dishonestly, but he ignored it and nodded, “I’ll take you to the bathroom.”
Xu Zhi lives alone. The house is a one-bedroom house. There is no bathroom in the bedroom, and there is only a small bathroom in the living room.
He walked out of the bedroom and found that the containers on the coffee table had been packed away, and one of them had never been touched.
Zhou Mu noticed the look in his eyes and explained, “I was afraid that you would be hungry soon, so I didn’t throw it away.”
Xu Zhi paused, glanced again subconsciously, and then led him to the bathroom, “You know how to use a water heater, right?”
“I know.” Zhou Mu said.
“That’s good,” Xu Zhi took out a new toothbrush from the drawer and handed it to him, “Then I’ll go out first.”
“Wait a minute,” Zhou Mu called to Xu Zhi, “Do you have a towel?”
Xu Zhi was stunned. In the morning, he locked all the towels in the cabinet. The reason was that he was not sure of Zhou Mu’s identity and was afraid that he would choke and kill someone.
He looked up at Zhou Mu. Zhou Mu’s size advantage was even more prominent in the small bathroom, and his whole body was enveloped.
“Yes,” Xu Zhi said, opened the cabinet and took out two towels. He handed one to Zhou Mu, “This one is new.”
Xu Zhi thought that no murderer would leave dinner for his victim.
“Thank you.” Zhou Mu said, and then he went to tidy up on his own.
Xu Zhi exited the bathroom and wanted to go back to the bedroom to write something, but he had no inspiration, so he sat on the sofa and opened the uneaten portion of porridge.
Although the air conditioner was on in the room, the porridge was still warm.
The sound of water in the bathroom echoed, and Xu Zhi listened happily while eating.
Zhou Mu took a quick shower. As soon as Xu Zhi finished eating the porridge, the sound of water dripping in the bathroom stopped.
Zhou Mu’s steady footsteps came from behind. Xu Zhi didn’t look back. He put the container into the bag and tied it, “I’ll go find a quilt for you.”
“Xu Zhi,” Zhou Mu walked around to the sofa, making an ambiguous sound as the water on his feet rubbed against the floor, “I have no clothes.”
Xu Zhi turned his head and glanced, then paused in his movements.
Zhou Mu stood naked in front of him. The water droplets on his waist and abdomen that had not been wiped off slid down the clear mermaid line and disappeared into the jungle that symbolized the male body.
Xu Zhi looked away with burning eyes and threw the garbage bag back on the coffee table, “Didn’t you still have a robe from the morning?”
“You should change into new clothes after taking a bath.” Zhou Mu didn’t seem to care that he was talking to someone naked and spoke to Xu Zhi in a natural tone.
He felt uncomfortable when he asked for clothes from Xu Zhi this morning, but now he was so calm.
Xu Zhi only briefly caught a glimpse of Zhou Mu’s naked body this morning, but he was too shocked at the time to have any other thoughts. Looking at it now, he felt a little flustered.
He suddenly thought of the plaster statues that were placed in the classroom when he was studying painting as a boy. He thought that Zhou Mu’s lines were in line with the aesthetic proportions of the human body and was very attractive.
Xu Zhi raised his head and looked at Zhou Mu pretending not to care, his eyes fixed on Zhou Mu’s chin and refused to go down, “Then I’ll find one for you.”
Zhou Mu suddenly laughed out loud. He took another step forward and observed Xu Zhi carefully.
“Xu Zhi, you’re blushing.” Zhou Mu said his observation.
Xu Zhi said in a cold voice, “What does it have to do with you?”
But it had no deterrent effect at all.
“Does it have nothing to do with me?” Zhou Mu said, taking another step forward, and the two of them got closer, “I thought you were shy.”
Xu Zhi calmly took a step back, then stretched out his right index finger to put it on Zhou Mu’s chest. His eyes were still very honest, and he did not dare to look around. He warned Zhou Mu, “Don’t go any further.”
He walked around from the other end of the coffee table, “I’ll get you some clothes.”
After saying that, he entered the bedroom and quickly came out with a robe and a thin summer quilt.
He threw the robe at Zhou Mu from a short distance, and Zhou Mu reached out to catch it.
Zhou Mu dressed very slowly, showing a natural elegance and dignity. It wasn’t until the straps of his robe turned into a beautiful single bow under his hands that Xu Zhi spoke.
“It’s true that I’m blushing because I’m shy,” Xu Zhi answered Zhou Mu’s question just now, “But it would be the same even if it were another person.”
Xu Zhi advised Zhou Mu, “So don’t be too narcissistic.”
Zhou Mu laughed, walked to the sofa, sat down, and said in a clear voice, “What should I do? I’m already narcissistic.”
Xu Zhi never expected that he would say this, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Zhou Mu seemed to especially like seeing Xu Zhi like this. He leaned back slightly and raised one hand to rest on the back of the sofa, like an entrepreneur negotiating.
He looked up at Xu Zhi and asked him, “When you wrote about me, did you make any assumptions about my sexual orientation?”
Xu Zhi froze on the spot holding the quilt. He did not make any assumptions about Zhou Mu’s sexual orientation.
“Hmm? Xu Zhi.” Zhou Mu was still asking.
Xu Zhi realized that, in fact, Zhou Mu did not lack curiosity; he was just very persistent when it came to the questions that interested him.
Xu Zhi looked down at Zhou Mu, and for some unknown reason, he said out of nowhere, “You like people of the same sex.”
His voice was dry, like an overextended rigid plastic bag, very parched, a stark contrast to his fierce daytime tone.
“Oh,” Zhou Mu responded in a drawn-out voice, and then asked, “Then am I single in your novel?”
“Yes.” Xu Zhi replied in a low voice.
Zhou Mu nodded, asking endless questions, “Then do I have someone I like?”
Zhou Mu still maintains a negotiating posture. When he has no expression, he makes people feel very serious. Most people will definitely not dare to lie when they are stared at like this.
But Xu Zhi still talked nonsense.
“No.” Xu Zhi said.
Zhou Mu did not answer immediately, and the room fell into silence.
Zhou Mu stared at Xu Zhi for a long time. Seeing that Xu Zhi’s limbs were stiff, he lowered his head and said in a very soft voice, “No?”
It was already dark outside. A floor lamp was turned on in the living room and placed opposite the sofa. Zhou Mu’s whole person was enveloped in the warm yellow light.
The cold and hard facial features are weakened, making him look very approachable.
The hair on his forehead was still damp, and it hung down to form a small shadow in the middle of the bridge of his nose. Xu Zhi could not see his expression clearly.
“That’s what I wrote.” Xu Zhi said blankly.
Zhou Mu looked up at Xu Zhi, his dark pupils bottomless, a little gentle, and a little dangerous.
Xu Zhi opened his mouth and said uncomfortably, “But now that you are here, it may not be completely consistent.”
“Yeah,” Zhou Mu answered quickly this time. He looked at Xu Zhi and smiled easily, “I think so.”
Xu Zhi didn’t ask whether Zhou Mu meant that his sexual orientation was inconsistent with his character outline or that ‘no one he liked’ was inconsistent.
He tossed the summer quilt he was holding onto the couch. “Goodnight.”
Then he fled back to the bedroom.
Xu Zhi walked to the balcony. His laptop was set to keep the screen on, so there was still an unfinished document open on the desktop.
Xu Zhi picked up the laptop, sat on the couch, and began to think about the significance of creating this document.
“Xu Zhi!” Zhou Mu shouted outside, “I still have the medicine prescribed by Doctor Wen.”
Xu Zhi heard it but ignored it.
His fingers typed a line of words on the keyboard.
There can be many records about Zhou Mu on July 11, for example, “Zhou Mu appeared on Xu Zhi’s bed without warning, scaring Xu Zhi to the point of almost having an anxiety attack.”
For example, “Zhou Mu did 12 checkups today.”
For example, “Zhou Mu’s sexual orientation is unknown”, or “His appetite is huge and requires two bowls of porridge.”
“Xu Zhi?” Zhou Mu stopped at the door and said to him, “I’ve brought you the medicine.”
“I know.” Xu Zhi responded.
Xu Zhi saves and closes the document, and the document is automatically named Doc1.
Xu Zhi thought, “If Zhou Mu suddenly disappeared one day, these documents could at least be remembered. Although Zhou Mu is a troublemaker, he is not a bad person, right?”
Doc1: On July 11, Zhou Mu made Xu Zhi’s heartbeat faster.
