Chapter 31.2 (1/2)
Deep in the Act
Translator: Kotoni
Editor: Cien
Quality Check: Isalee
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter 31.2
You - she made it clear that she was using the singular p.r.o.noun, not the plural. Every one of her words was an explicit reproach directed at Zhang Zhun, cutting him to the quick and filling him with shame. Panic rose within him; he had never been as desperate as he was now for Chen Hsin to return to the room.
Feng Yunting continued, ”There are two halves here, one for you and one for me.” She tapped her chopsticks against the edge of the pot, her movements measured and deliberate. ”I don't care what you do with your half, as long as you stay clear of mine. Besides,” she paused and lifted her long tresses haughtily, ”what could a half like yours amount to anyway?”
Zhang Zhun felt his blood freeze in his veins, too cold to be thawed even by the bubbling red broth swirling before him. He wanted to explain himself or to rebut her, but he seemed to have lost his voice and forgotten how to speak altogether. Stumped, he sat speechless as cold sweat broke out on his back.
The door opened again. ”Yeah. Yeah, I know.” Chen Hsin returned, still talking on his phone. As soon as he stepped into the room, however, he sensed the abnormal tension in the air. Feng Yunting had resumed her look of doll-like perfection, flawless to the point of being fake, while Zhang Zhun's face was white as a sheet. Chen Hsin realized at once that something had gone terribly wrong. ”That's enough. We'll continue later when I get back.”
Chen Hsin ended the call and sat down at the table. ”Why's the fire out?” he directed the question at Feng Yunting, an interrogatory note in his tone.
”We didn't want to run out of soup while you were away,” Feng Yunting replied, natural to a fault. She switched on the stove with one hand and reached for Chen Hsin's thigh with the other. ”We were waiting for you to come back.”
Not bothering with any pretense of politeness, Chen Hsin pushed her hand off his leg at once. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhun started to get to his feet. ”The two of you take your time,” he said. ”There's something I need to tend to, so…”
Chen Hsin grabbed Zhang Zhun by the hand. ”Eat a little more.” Zhang Zhun did not dare to shake off the younger man's grasp. It would be too obvious, too telling, for him to pull away now; the more he tried to hide, the more he would expose himself. Chen Hsin tugged at his hand, almost pleading. ”Stay,” he repeated, ”and eat a little more.” All of a sudden, Zhang Zhun found himself hating Chen Hsin with all the bitter anguish of his own desperation to hug the younger man right now. His eyes reddened. He bowed his head and sat down once more, not daring to look in Feng Yunting's direction at all.
Very soon, the pot's contents started to boil again. Separated by the insurmountable divide between the two halves, Zhang Zhun picked at the red broth all by himself while the other two shared the white stock together. Yet, instead of keeping to his half, Chen Hsin reached across without warning and picked out some gla.s.s noodles from Zhang Zhun's side of the pot. Feng Yunting saw what he was doing and rushed to stop him. ”Honey!” She tried to pull back his hand. ”You'll upset your stomach!”
Chen Hsin shoved her out of the way. ”It's my stomach. I'll do as I please.” He did not stop at a single bite. Willfully indignant, he continued stuffing his mouth again and again with food from the other half. Knowing full well what the younger man was trying to prove, and for whom his display was intended, Zhang Zhun started to lose control over his tears. Before a single drop could fall from his eyes, he struggled to his feet, s.n.a.t.c.hed up his jacket, and fled.
Zhang Zhun dashed out of the restaurant, but did not make it far before his phone began to ring. He felt as if Chen Hsin was tormenting him out of his mind. Answering the call without sparing a glance at the number, he yelled into his phone, ”What the f*** are you calling me for? Don't you have the guts to get out here yourself?!”
His outburst was met with silence. Zhang Zhun slowed down without realizing it. Just as he was about to check the caller ID, however, someone spoke up from the other end of the line: ”It's me.” The speaker had a gentle voice that Zhang Zhun had not heard from for a very long time - not since that bedroom scene where he and Chen Hsin had gone completely out of line.
It was Xie Danyi.
This time, it was Zhang Zhun's turn to fall silent. As he floundered in bewilderment, at a loss for what to say or do, she asked, ”Are you alone right now?”
”Danyi…” Zhang Zhun breathed out her name in a daze. He swallowed before giving her the honest answer: ”I was with… friends… a while ago.” The long street stretched before him into the night. Towering buildings rose in the distance, their brilliant neon lights sparkling in the sky, while modest roadside stalls stood nearby with their dim, hazy glow. Grease oozed by his feet into the drains. He began walking down the street all alone. As if muttering to himself, he asked, ”How have you been?”