Episode Eight – Everyone Passes By (1)

Recently, Xia Zhi cared a lot about Ye Qia’s underwear. After the previous “outdoor binding” event, he had discovered that Gourmand and Magician’s underwear looked really good. 

They not only accentuated their buttocks, but made them appear more perky. The front wasn’t bad either, making their mermaid lines look even more enticing. On the other hand, his family’s Ye Qia only wore loose, baggy briefs. If viewed from the “right” angles, the eggs might be exposed, and a few stubborn hairs might peek out. 

“Your underwear is so ugly.” That evening, Xia Zhi announced this as he felt up a well-defined body. “Buy some new ones, some name brands.”

Ye Qia flipped over and trapped Xia Zhi’s hand under him. “I have some. I just didn’t wear them last time, I only wear them when I’m working.”

“Then, you should also trim your pubic hairs?” Xia Zhi’s strong hand just happened to wriggle into Ye Qia’s underpants. It was at this time that he realized the convenience of loose, baggy briefs. The groping hand remained unobstructed. “To sum it all up… Shit! How long has it been since you’ve trimmed your chest hairs? They’ve grown up to your collarbone.”

It would have been fine not to mention it, but once it had been said, Ye Qia abruptly flipped over, sat up, and bowed his head to look. He sighed, “The break was too long. It’s time to fix it.” Saying this, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

Xia Zhi stayed dumbly in bed for a few moments before he slapped himself in the face and scolded himself for running his mouth. Then, he ran into the bathroom, “Let me help you shave!”

Ye Qia’s skin was very smooth, the result of years of maintenance. As soon as Xia Zhi touched it, he sighed regretfully. Thousands of dollars of maintenance went into this skin that was distinctly unlike the average person. The skin of an average man in his thirties was rough in appearance, while Ye Qia’s was like silk, not only in touch, but also in appearance, delicate and gleaming under the lights. 

“You have the feel of a woman.*”

*famous last words, Xia Zhi

“Because I take care of myself like a woman.” Ye Qia sat on the toilet as Xia Zhi shaved the back of his neck and his armpits. “If you took care of it, your skin would be like this too.”

Now, there was no way Xia Zhi would ask stupidly “Why do you take care of it like this?” so he took great care to control his movements, making sure he absolutely didn’t damage the skin. Fortunately, the back was okay. Once he got to the front, he began to lose control. He scratched at his little buddy that had reared his head. 

Ye Qia was sitting on the toilet, and Xia Zhi sat a little higher on the edge of the bathtub, so it was easy for him to fiddle with Xia Zhi’s sword. He laughed, “Your nickname should be Stallion King.”

Xia Zhi’s hands shook in anger as he said furiously, “Stop messing around, do you want me to slit your throat?”

“You slit my throat, you won’t inherit my property.”

“Bah! Who wants your property!” Xia Zhi snorted. Then, he said gloomily, “Either way, it’s not like you’ll tell me how much you have.”

“Wanna know?”

“I don’t wanna know.” Xia Zhi replied listlessly. “It’s not like you’ll tell me.”

After a brief period of silence, Ye Qia said suddenly, “All right, I’ll tell you.”

With hands that trembled once more, Xia Zhi beat Ye Qia on the chest, clamouring angrily, “Stop playing with me!”

“I’m not playing around this time.” Ye Qia said earnestly. “Ask all you want.”

Xia Zhi replied doubtfully, “Really?”

“Really.”

“How much do you make a month?”

“It’s not always the same.” Ye Qia thought for a bit before he continued, “Every client charges different fees. But on average, it’s about one hundred thousand a month.”

Xia Zhi was a little surprised. “Only one hundred thousand?”

Ye Qia glanced at him. “You think that’s too little?”

“That’s not it,” he hesitated, “I just thought it would be a few hundred, I didn’t expect it to be so little.” As he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of the corner of Ye Qia’s mouth, which seemed to rise and say “you stupid kid.” He immediately changed his tune and said, “You have other sources of income, don’t you?”

Nodding, Ye Qia replied, “The bulk of my income comes from other goods, ranging from clothes to shoes, luxury items, cars and homes, stocks and bonds, and so on and so forth. But most of these can’t be utilized, only some of them. If you’re talking about tangible income, then it’s only so much. 

Xia Zhi thought about the car that Ye Qia normally drove as well as the clothes that he wore and nodded, asking, “Then, if you calculated all of these?”

“How do you want to calculate it?”

“Convert it into approximate income.”

Ye Qia sat silently as he calculated. “About a million.”

“… A month?”

“A year.”

Xia Zhi sighed with a relieved expression. “That’s good.”

Ye Qia was somewhat surprised. “I didn’t know I was so wealthy in your eyes?”

Xia Zhi rolled his eyes at him. “I’m a debt collector. If I wasn’t able to evaluate things, how could I still have this job?”

Ye Qia chortled and said, “Alright, so you know my income. Now what?”  

“Now what, what?” Xia Zhi was confused. 

“You don’t have any notions?”

“Why would I have any notions?” Xia Zhi threw him a scathing glance. “I just think that lovers should be honest with each other. If you don’t disclose anything, it seems like you’re guarding against me, so I feel uneasy.”

Watching as Xia Zhi drew closer and crouched down to shave his hair for him, Ye Qia felt his serious look was really adorable. To him, “Xia Zhi watching” had become a new type of entertainment. He often watched his dazed and silly actions, and without knowing it, had begun to imagine a future where they grew old together. 

Whatever he said in front of Gourmand and Magician didn’t matter, but once he made up his mind, a series of changes followed. 

For example, he was more willing to satisfy Xia Zhi’s sexual needs, even reducing his workload in order to do so. Although, he raised his work fees accordingly, of course.

Another example was that he was willing to disclose to Xia Zhi, his income. Even willing to open a joint account together, albeit, not immediately.  

Additionally, he would often watch in a careful and delighted manner as Xia Zhi was lost in thought. If Xia Zhi didn’t notice, he would continue to sneakily observe. When Xia Zhi was embarrassed, it was even more amusing. 

These behaviors were finally realized by Ye Qia, but didn’t stop doing them. Now that there were feelings between the two of them, he was more than willing to impart more on Xia Zhi. Just like now, when Sheng Le called, he didn’t really care, and was instead, a tiny bit nervous. 

“What’s the matter?”

“Just checking up on you.”

“Nothing happened. I’m hanging up.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Sheng Le shouted on the other end. “I saw Ge Yue!”

Upon hearing this name, Ye Qia was stunned into silence. After a while, he said, “And then?”

“There’s no and then, I’m just calling to inform you.”

“Okay, got it.” Ye Qia rapidly hung up and breathed, pretending to be unperturbed. 

He remained a little hesitant on whether to inform Xia Zhi about this matter. Although this was an affair he didn’t want to bring up, he didn’t know what Ge Yue’s reappearance would bring about. If he waited until that happened, Xia Zhi might be upset.

After thinking about it, Ye Qia thought of a solution. “Xia Zhi.”

“Yes?” Xia Zhi immediately dropped his indifferent look and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s talk about our exes.”

“Huh?”