Ex-boyfriend

Chapter 9

　　The class reunion is on Christmas day?

　　Xu Yue had a feeling of deja vu, but before he could remember why, he heard Zhou Xu ask, “A’Yue, you are coming, right?”

　　Xu Yue said, “I have to look at my schedule.”

　“Don’t be such a busybody. It’s just a night out.” Zhou Xu joked, “Feel free to bring your family[1], but you must participate.

    “Got it.”

　“Ok!” Zhou Xu thought of another thing and asked, “Are you in touch with Chu Yi?”

　“Why?”

　“Although he wasn’t very cordial in high school, he was our classmate nonetheless. So, he should also be invited. But there’re very few people in our class who were in touch with him because of that temper of his.”

　　Xu Yue opened his mouth and replied, “I don’t know him too well either.”

　“Ah, forget it. I’ll think of another way.”

　　Zhou Xu and Xu Yue exchanged a few more words and then hung up the phone.

　　After such an episode, Xu Yue no longer had any interest in drinking. After chugging a few more shots with Fu Mingjie, he left.

　　He took a taxi home. It was almost ten o’clock when he got home. Chu Yi hadn’t slept yet. Instead, he was lying on the sofa playing with his mobile phone. When Xu Yue came back, he rubbed his eyes and asked, “A’Yue, you back? Where did you go at night? Who were you with? Your new neighbour, Mr. Su?”

　　That round of grilling was no less than inquisition[2] in terms of rigour.

　　But, of course, Xu Yue didn’t answer him. He just said, “Zhou Xu called me this evening.”

　　Chu Yi looked blank. “Who?”

　　He had obviously forgotten who Zhou Xu was.

　　Xu Yue had to explain Zhou Xu’s identity and then talked about the class reunion, “I have never received an email invitation, but Zhou Xu received my refusal. How could that be? Any guesses?”

　　Chu Yi blinked and said innocently, “Maybe he got the email address wrong. Or maybe you replied to the wrong message?”

　　Xu Yue snorted coldly, “It’s also possible that someone sneaked into my mailbox and replied in my stead.”

　　Knowing that he couldn’t hide it, Chu Yi said with a smile on his face, “Why would you[3] use that someone’s birthday as your mailbox password? Were you trying to test out human nature[4]?”

　“And you clearly failed the test.”

　“A’Yue …”

　　Xu Yue did not want to continue the discussion. So, he said, “Class reunion on 25th of December. Zhou Xu asked me to inform you.”

　　Chu Yi said without thinking, “Won’t go.”

　　He stretched out his hand, hugged Xu Yue’s arm and said, “A’Yue, don’t go.”

　“Why?”

　“Because…” Chu Yi paused and said, “What’s the point of class reunions? It’s just a gathering of successful people to boast. And what if you see your first love and your old relationship rekindles?”

　　Xu Yue looked at him and said, “My first love? There is only one.”

　　Chu Yi was stunned.

　　After seeing his expression, Xu Yue regretted saying that. He turned around and said, “It’s time to go to bed.”

　　Chu Yi chased after him, hugged him from behind, pressed his thin lips to the back of his neck and said, “A’Yue, don’t go to the class reunion. This Christmas, let’s spend it together, okay?”

　　Xu Yue did not speak for a long time.

　　Perhaps the night was too gentle and he could not refuse Chu Yi.

　　Although Xu Yue didn’t promise anything, Chu Yi started to prepare early as though they would spend the Christmas together.

　“Where should we have dinner? Grand Hyatt[5]?”

　“Should we reserve a suite with sea-view?”

　“Should we book a band?”

　“Fireworks has to be arranged…”

　　It was just Christmas but he planned as if it was a wedding ceremony. Xu Yue quickly stopped him saying, “Don’t bother too much. Let’s just eat whatever we want at home.”

　“Good! That’s great.” Chu Yi smiled delightfully, “Let’s just eat at home.”

Xu Yue felt like he had walked himself into a trap. Yet when Christmas approached, he called Zhou Xu and informed him that he was very busy and he won’t be able to participate in the class reunion.

　　Zhou Xu, of course, wasn’t very please but he let Xu Yue go after nagging for a while.

　　The weather got bitter. When it was about to snow, Christmas came quietly.

　　The tinsel and lights that decked the street had long brought out the festive atmosphere. On the 25th December, Xu Yue greeted Su Yanwen, left work early[6] and returned home.

　　Before he could enter the password, the door opened from the inside.

　　Of course, it was Chu Yi who opened the door.

　　Xu Yue was taken aback when he saw Chu Yi’s appearance.

　　Chu Yi had procured a set of high school uniform from somewhere and was clad in those. The white shirt and dark trousers complemented his waist well. The buttons on the neckline are deliberately left undone, revealing his collarbone, making his neck look particularly pale and slender.

　　As Xu Yue scolded him for being shameless, he couldn’t help feeling parched[7].

　“Where did you get this dress from?”

　“Isn’t the class reunion happening today? Let’s be nostalgic[8],” Chu Yi said so and turned on his mobile phone.

　　He played a familiar melody on his phone, a song that was wildly popular a decade ago. Everyone used to study hard while listening to this song on their MP3 players[9].

　　Xu Yue also used to listen to it.

　　Chu Yi stretched out his hand in accordance with the rhythm and smiled, “Xu Yue[10], would you like to dance?”

　　Xu Yue held his stretched hand and asked, “Chu Yi[11], did you skip class again?”

　“Shush!” Chu Yi gently stepped on Xu Yue’s with bare feet, and whispered, “Don’t be such a wet blanket[12].”

　　The living room is too small for dancing. With the two of them embracing each other quietly, it was worth a thousand words.

　　Xu Yue had the illusion of turning back in time. As if the ten years in between had not passed and he and Chu Yi were still at the time when they fell in love.

　　Chu Yi wrapped his arms around Xu Yue’s neck, leaned on his chest and said, “A’Yue, have I ever told you that I really regret it?”

　“What do you regret?”

　“Regret many things. I regret that I didn’t hold your hand firmly.”

　　Xu Yue was silent for a moment.

Chu Yi raised his head. His lips chased Xu Yue’s, almost covering them. Before the kiss fell, Xu Yue heard him ask, “A’Yue, is it too late to start over?”

[1] Refers particularly to spouse, boy/girlfriend, significant other, etc.

[2] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘查岗’ ‘Chá gǎng’ which means ‘to do the rounds of guard posts; to inspect the sentries; to check up on sb (spouse, employee, etc)’.

[3] Literally ‘who asked you to’

[4] Human nature being good.

Super sidenote: In the Chinese tradition of Confucianism, as highlighted by philosopher Mengzi, human beings are born with a moral capacity to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong and with a natural inclination to take delight in what is good and right and to abhor what is evil and wrong (Source; DOI).

[5] Grand Hyatt hotel is ‘君悦’ ‘Jūn yuè’ literally ‘Pleased Lord’.

[6] Christmas is not a public holiday in China

[7] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘口干舌燥’ ‘Kǒu gān shé zào’ which means ‘dry mouth and sore throat’. 

[8] Kun Yi Wei Lou wrote ‘追忆似水流年’ ‘Zhuī yì sì shuǐ liú nián’ which means ‘Let us reminisce about the passage of time, like a stream of water’. 

[9] MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) where MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group is a data compression format for encoding digital audio, most commonly music.

[10] Literally ‘Classmate Xu Yue’

[11] Literally ‘楚逸同学’ ‘Chǔ Yì tóngxué’ i.e. classmate Chu Yi

[12] Spoilsport, killjoy