Chapter 2

Xu Qing Nuo and Mai Yao have been together for seven years, and their relationship has been very good, but they would also have quarrels, cold wars, and awkward times like any other couple.

Two months ago, when they had a big fight over a trivial matter, Mai Yao slammed the door and left without returning all night. The next day, Mai Yao gave in first, and the two reconciled.

Since then, no matter how big or small, Mai Yao tried his best to accommodate Xu Qing Nuo. He said: “Quarrels hurt feelings. I won’t quarrel with you anymore. We will have a good time.”

Xu Qing Nuo was very touched; he deeply reflected on himself and became more empathetic, thinking of also putting Mai Yao first.

In novels and TV, when a man cheats on his wife, he often buys a lot of gifts for her or becomes gentler to compensate the other party who is kept in the dark. When Xu Qing Nuo wrote his novels, he also wrote similar passages.

Later, after investigating the truth of Mai Yao’s infidelity and remembering how obedient he had been to him at the time, he realized what a big fool he had been.

Xu Qing Nuo was not a stupid person; he just trusted Mai Yao too much.

He only realized something was wrong because of a pair of underwear.

Mai Yao was usually busy at work, and all their daily necessities were bought by Xu Qing Nuo. This was something Xu Qing Nuo enjoyed very much. Every time he bought underwear for Mai Yao, he would imagine his sexy and sultry look when he put them on or took them off. So when a pair of underwear that he didn’t recognize as belonging to Mai Yao appeared in the washing machine, he immediately became alert.

He held back and did not immediately question Mai Yao. He began to observe quietly, and as a result, he found many clues that shocked him.

Mai Yao also had two extra pairs of socks that he didn’t recognize.

He would occasionally avoid him and go to the balcony to talk on the phone, saying it was official business.

Mai Yao’s phone bill suddenly went up a lot last month.

…

What made Xu Qing Nuo most suspicious was that although their frequency did not change – it was still three or four times a week, Mai Yao was obviously not as obsessed with his body as in the past.

Xu Qing Nuo became very entangled.

On the one hand, he comforted himself, no matter how strong and passionate their relationship, he and Mai Yao were no longer hairy boys. (1) Being two old husbands, Mai Yao’s fading sparks were normal, and it was also normal for their life to become monotone. So don’t be suspicious like a jealous woman…

On the other hand, he couldn’t control his thoughts and constant nightmares at night, dreaming of Mai Yao being entangled with other naked men, just like a GV. (2)

He was going crazy.

He wanted to grab Mai Yao by the throat and ask him fiercely: “You bastard, did you mess around outside? Did you?”

But it wouldn’t work.

Xu Qing Nuo understood Mai Yao very well. He was a person who felt superior and never wronged himself. If he no longer loved him, he would tell him directly because he couldn’t bear to hurt him out of guilt. That was not his style.

Mai Yao still loved him, so no matter how messed up the situation, he would deny that he cheated.

So now Xu Qing Nuo was confused again, should he believe him?

Although he was careless in his daily life, he had his own set of principles. Ambiguity and vagueness were not tolerated in his world, and there was no grain in his eyes. (3)

He gave his loyalty and trust to Mai Yao, and he couldn’t stand lies and betrayal. He couldn’t open one eye and close the other (4), and he couldn’t continue to be suspicious day after day. Without getting a real answer, sooner or later he would torture himself into madness.

To make himself feel better, Xu Qing Nuo started investigating.

He only really did one thing, checking Mai Yao’s bank card transactions and mobile phone call records. Very vulgar and just what a woman would do, right?

Xu Qing Nuo despised his actions, but this was the simplest and most effective method.

He was also a man. He understood that men had an inexplicable self-confidence when they lied. They felt they had a clever way of covering up and would not be easily seen through. With this mentality, they would conveniently ignore many obvious traces.

Mai Yao used the same number for work and private calls, and there were many people who called him every day. In that list of call records, except for Xu Qing Nuo himself, he found no suspicious people who would frequently call him.

There were no big problems with the bank card transactions either. Although Mai Yao bought some things in the mall that were unfamiliar to him, Xu Qing Nuo knew that those could be gifts to his boss or to friends. In the past six months, except for a few business trips, Mai Yao had no records of opening a hotel room by swiping his card.

Xu Qing Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and laughed secretly that he might have really thought too much.

He was about to destroy the corpse (5) before Mai Yao went home, when he suddenly thought of something. His eyes widened suddenly, and he quickly unfolded the two paper slips, carefully looking at the records of the day he and Mai Yao quarreled two months ago.

He clearly remembered that before they fought that day, Mai Yao complained that he wanted to buy him a cake, but he didn’t have enough cash on him, and the nearby ATM broke down, so couldn’t get the money.

After reconciliation the next day, he pretended to be fierce and asked Mai Yao where he stayed the night before. Mai Yao said that he slept in a room at the Times Hotel.

Now that he thought about it, Xu Qing Nuo realized that Mai Yao’s expression and eyes were not quite right at the time.

As if he had done something wrong, his face was forcefully calm, his eyes flickered, and he didn’t dare to look at him.

He had no cash on him.

He said he stayed at the Times Hotel.

There was no record of his spending when booking a room that day.

Obviously, Mai Yao lied to Xu Qing Nuo.

Xu Qing Nuo’s instinct was not wrong; he really cheated. It was the night they quarreled.

Moreover, that person was someone Mai Yao was very familiar with.

(1) 毛头小子 máo tóu xiǎozi | hairy boy (idiom) – young, inexperienced person

(2) GV | gay adult video

(3) 眼里容不下一粒沙子 yǎn lǐ róng bùxià yī lì shāzi | can’t tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes (idiom) – if it’s not in line with one’s heart, it should not be tolerated

(4) 睁一只眼闭一只眼 zhēng yī zhī yǎn bì yī zhī yǎn | open one eye and close the other (idiom) – pretend not to see something that can be prevented, tolerate conspiring

(5) 毁尸灭迹 huǐ shī mièjī | destroy the corpse (idiom) – eliminate the evidence of a crime