CH 21

Returning to the room and changing into dry clothes, Xiang Mo brought the laundry basket to the third-floor balcony and coincidentally met Du Chi, who was also about to do laundry.

The laundry machine on the balcony made it convenient to wash and dry clothes, improving the quality of life in Xiang Mo’s eyes. Just holding the freshly dried clothes in his hand, warm and imbued with the scent of sunlight, even doing laundry felt enjoyable.

However, the laundry machine worked for a long time, often taking three to five hours. If both of them needed to do laundry at the same time, one of them would have to wait for another day.

In the bathroom just now, Xiang Mo’s clothes had already been wet by Du Chi. Although he only had a few pieces of laundry, he didn’t want to postpone it to another day.

Looking at Du Chi’s laundry basket, it was half full, and it seemed that today was his laundry day, so he probably didn’t want to postpone it either.

Both of them stood at the balcony door, looking at each other without any communication. After a moment, Du Chi asked, “Do you want to do it together?”

From the time Xiang Mo came upstairs until Du Chi made the suggestion, the two of them hadn’t exchanged a single word.

They only looked at each other a few times, skipping unnecessary communication.

This feeling was great, Xiang Mo thought.

He had encountered some neighbors before, polite and reasonable in general, but once it involved their own interests, they would never back down.

For example, in this situation, if the other person was unwilling to compromise, Xiang Mo would have to explain that his clothes were wet and he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to wash them. The other person might say that today was their laundry day and they didn’t want to disrupt their plans.

In the end, perhaps one party would compromise, but it would still end in an unpleasant situation.

However, from Du Chi’s proposal, when he saw that Xiang Mo wasn’t moving, he already understood that Xiang Mo didn’t want to let his dirty laundry “ferment.”

Setting aside whether doing laundry together was feasible or not, at least Du Chi understood Xiang Mo’s thoughts and was trying to find a solution for the current situation.

“If you don’t mind,” Du Chi added.

Putting clothes in the washing machine and adding laundry detergent and disinfectant didn’t really require much consideration.

Moreover, understanding goes both ways. Du Chi had extended an olive branch, and if Xiang Mo still refused, it might make him appear a bit unkind.

“It’s fine.”

Xiang Mo put his few dirty clothes into Du Chi’s laundry basket.

After the beginning of summer, the afternoon sun was a bit scorching. The balcony’s potted plants flourished, giving it the appearance of a small garden. However, for Xiang Mo, who was used to shade, he might enjoy the balcony more in the evening.

With his hand shading his forehead from the sun, Xiang Mo endured the heat, and he didn’t know why he was standing here waiting for Du Chi to set the washing and drying program.

Perhaps it was because his clothes were inside, and he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Symbolically standing by the side at least showed that he didn’t treat Du Chi like a servant.

Du Chi’s skin was wheat-colored and didn’t seem to be afraid of the sun. He obviously hadn’t bothered to dry his hair properly, and the hair at the back of his head glistened in the sunlight.

It was at this moment that Xiang Mo suddenly felt that something was not right.

Washing clothes together with Du Chi seemed like a very natural thing, but the question was, did anyone really do laundry together with their neighbors?

Xiang Mo seriously thought about it, and whether it was Luo Yang or Zhao Xiaoqiao, he couldn’t really accept the idea.

It wasn’t that he looked down on these two, but doing laundry was a private matter, not something that neighbors should help with.

Then why could he accept doing laundry together with Du Chi?

The answer was obvious – it was because he and Du Chi had already surpassed the level of neighbors and both accepted this fact.

The washing and drying machine started its work, and Du Chi stood up, looking at Xiang Mo and asking, “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll go buy groceries.”

“Hmm?” Xiang Mo was a bit distracted and replied absently, “Whatever.”

Thinking about it, normal neighbors wouldn’t deal with each other manually like that.

Although both Xiang Mo and Du Chi acted as if nothing had happened and maintained their usual demeanor, in fact, in the bathroom just now, both of them showed a side of desire that they shouldn’t have shown to their neighbors.

Xiang Mo even remembered the feel of Du Chi’s… like a restless beast in his hands.

As he recalled, the places bitten by Du Chi were starting to itch faintly.

“How about mapo tofu?” Du Chi asked again.

While his mind was filled with these improper thoughts, Xiang Mo was momentarily stunned. “Eat mapo tofu?”

He didn’t know if his eyes betrayed him, but a perfectly innocent sentence seemed to have conveyed another meaning.

Du Chi’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Whose mapo tofu do you want to eat, Artist?”

Maybe he really should ban this smelly dog from calling him an artist.

“If you’re going to buy groceries, hurry up,” Xiang Mo said, leaving these words behind as he turned to leave. However, at that moment, Du Chi grabbed his elbow.

“You better change your clothes,” Du Chi raised his chin, pointing at Xiang Mo’s neck, “It doesn’t look good if Zhao Xiaoqiao sees it.”

At first, Xiang Mo didn’t understand what Du Chi meant, but when he looked in the dressing mirror back in the room, he realized that his collarbone was covered in red marks.

It seemed like he needed to add another rule: no biting allowed.

Thinking of this, Xiang Mo suddenly snapped out of it. Why did he assume there would be a next time?

Influence can be a little scary.

Dinner consisted of mapo tofu, stir-fried beef, and coix seed winter melon soup.

Du Chi timed the cooking perfectly, and Zhao Xiaoqiao came back from school. Just like when she left in the morning, she still seemed preoccupied.

Even though he felt it might not be appropriate, as her temporary guardian, Xiang Mo couldn’t help but ask, “Xiaoqiao, did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”

It wasn’t to gossip about the couple’s relationship, but with only a month left until the college entrance examination, anyone would inevitably feel worried for Zhao Xiaoqiao.

Zhao Xiaoqiao was startled, nearly choking on her food. She looked at Xiang Mo with a flustered expression and asked, “Boyfriend?”

“I saw him before,” Xiang Mo didn’t elaborate, “You seemed upset.”

Being the “big brother next door,” Xiang Mo wasn’t a real parent figure, so Zhao Xiaoqiao didn’t deny anything. She sighed and said, “It has nothing to do with him.”

After a moment of silence, she continued, “Yesterday, my mom called me. Although she didn’t say much, I could sense that she’s going to divorce my dad.”

The topic came unexpectedly, and Xiang Mo subconsciously glanced at Du Chi across from them, who also seemed unprepared.

If it was a relationship issue, they could still steer the conversation towards studying, but if it was a family matter, it became a bit tricky. Xiang Mo could only find something to say, “My parents divorced as well.”

“My parents divorced too.”

The same words were spoken from both Xiang Mo and Du Chi, and they looked surprised at each other.

Xiang Mo was even more amazed, looking at Du Chi and asking, “Didn’t your parents even take the marital bed with them?”

“Yeah,” Du Chi shrugged indifferently, “They divorced too.”

Xiang Mo: “…” Alright, it seems that the shelf life of love is indeed short.

“The reason my parents are still together,” Zhao Xiaoqiao said with a low mood, “is all because of me.”

Xiang Mo often heard arguments from the next-door couple. They probably hadn’t divorced yet because they wanted to wait until after Zhao Xiaoqiao’s college entrance exam.

This time, Master Zhao took his wife back to his hometown, and Zhao Xiaoqiao’s mother probably suffered again at her in-laws’ place.

“Divorce may not necessarily be a bad thing,” Du Chi spoke calmly, rather than comforting, it was more like casual conversation. “My mom has formed a new family now, but she still treats me well.”

“So, whether to divorce or not depends on the individual’s choice,” Xiang Mo followed Du Chi’s lead, “I followed my mom. She’s living abroad now and is still living a good life.”

“But,” Zhao Xiaoqiao was still worried, “my mom can’t do anything. How will she live if she leaves my dad?”

“Maybe she has the ability to open another knife-cut noodle shop?” Du Chi said, “Don’t underestimate your mom, I think she’s pretty capable.”

“If she really wants to leave,” Xiang Mo said, “you just need to respect her choice.”

Perhaps the experiences of the two, as people who had gone through it, were convincing enough. Zhao Xiaoqiao was successfully comforted by them and no longer looked anxious.

After the sun set, the temperature dropped.

The place where Xiang Mo was going to watch the movie was on the busiest street nearby, only about a kilometer away, and he could get there in about ten minutes on foot.

Staying in the room until 9:30 PM, Xiang Mo changed his clothes and prepared to leave. When he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, he suddenly heard Du Chi’s footsteps coming down from upstairs.

It wasn’t the sound of flip-flops, so it seemed like Du Chi was going out for something.

The two met in the hallway, and Du Chi slowed down his pace, greeting Xiang Mo, “Going out this late?”

Xiang Mo thought to himself, “Aren’t you doing the same?”

Seeing that Du Chi was dressed in a simple sports shirt and sportswear, not looking like he was going to a bar, Xiang Mo casually asked, “Going to watch a movie. What about you?”

Du Chi raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Me too.”

Xiang Mo mentioned the name of the cinema he was going to, and Du Chi said he was also heading there.

Since their destination was the same, there was no need to deliberately separate and go their own ways. On the quiet little road, the two walked side by side towards the bustling street. At this time, there were few people passing by on the road, and it seemed like the whole world was left with just the sound of their footsteps.

Xiang Mo felt a bit awkward.

His collarbone and chest were covered in marks from Du Chi, which could have been ignored as if nothing happened, but now they were walking together like they were on a nighttime stroll—what was going on?

“What movie are you watching?” Du Chi broke the silence.

“A documentary,” Xiang Mo replied concisely.

Du Chi suddenly stopped and said a keyword, “Egypt?”

Xiang Mo also stopped, looking slightly surprised, “How did you know?”

“I thought I booked the whole screening,” Du Chi said.

Recalling the “one in a million” on the ticket purchase page, Xiang Mo immediately realized that it was Du Chi.

He subconsciously took out his phone and checked. Indeed, the entire screening only sold two tickets—one in the sixth row and one in the seventh row, both in the middle seats.

Du Chi glanced at Xiang Mo’s phone screen and asked, “Just the two of us?”

“Mhmm,” Xiang Mo nodded.

“What’s this?” Du Chi seemed to find it amusingly coincidental and asked with a soft laugh, “A date?”

“It’s just going to the movies together,” Xiang Mo corrected him. He suddenly realized something—him and Du Chi seemed to be… quite in sync in various aspects.

Du Chi: I feel the same way.