BIAS Chapter 6: Present

After watching Chi Ye’s tall and straight back figure disappear under the light of the street lamp, Yan Xu closed the door and went upstairs..

The second floor was a small one-bedroom apartment; it consisted of a small living area that could barely be considered a living room, along with a bedroom and a bathroom. Although it was cramped, it was very cozy. The biggest advantage was that there was a kitchen, so there wasn’t any issue with cooking fumes.

Yan Xu sat on the small sofa in the living room, lazily leaning back on it with his head tilted back as far as possible. His eyes were blankly staring at the pure white ceiling above his head.

While his head was empty, some not-so-pleasant images unconsciously appeared before his eyes—

The exquisite cake, birthday candles, and the table full of delicious food; his wet and dusty white socks and the ash-blue cotton slippers; Lu Qiuying’s shove, Fang Jianguo’s superficial smile, Yan Bai’s contempt, as well as Fang Jincheng’s soft whisper.

Yan Xu immediately sat up as if he had been electrocuted. His elbows rested on his knees, and his face buried in his palms as he rubbed his hot cheeks.

People would always remember their own embarrassing and awkward matters for a long time and deeply—so long that they would suddenly think of them when they were old and frail, and so deeply that they would curl their toes in their dreams at night. What’s more, for him, the embarrassing and awkward scene only happened more than two hours ago.

He put a hand in his hair, staring at the dark grey blended rug under the coffee table. After a long time, he let out a long breath and stood up.

He smoothed his messed up black hair, unzipped his down jacket that was zipped to his chin, and then put his hands in his pockets to take out the things in his pockets. A folded receipt was placed on the coffee table with the keys and phone. When he saw the receipt, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to return it to Chi Ye earlier.

He pressed the receipt under his phone. Yan Xu silently reminded himself to definitely give it back to Chi Ye if he sees him tomorrow. Chi Ye’s finger was obviously a work injury, so he must have the receipt for reimbursement.

When he thought of Chi Ye, Yan Xu’s tense chest seemed to have been gently brushed by a feather, and his brows also relaxed.

He was thinking, today actually wasn’t that bad.

There was someone to celebrate his birthday with and wished him a happy birthday. He made a wish, blew out the candles, and ate cake—it was pretty nice. Thinking of this, he took off his beige sweater and walked into the bathroom.

The following day, Yan Xu got up early in the morning and opened the shop.

When it was almost noon, the customers in the shop gradually dispersed, and the busy work of more than three hours finally came to an end. He rubbed his sore waist and neck and began to clear the dishes that were left on the tables.

At this moment, he heard a knock on the glass door.

He instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Chi Ye was standing outside the door. The tall and big guy blocked half the light outside.

“Why are you already here in the afternoon?” Yan Xu revealed a look of surprise on his face and asked. The reason for his question was because Chi Ye and his coworkers had never come in the afternoon. When they were chatting in the shop, he overheard them. From the construction site to the dumpling shop, it was a twenty minute walk, and forty minutes to go back and forth. There wasn’t much time for lunch break, so it was better to eat a few mouthfuls of the big pot rice in the construction site cafeteria, then go out to eat a full meal after work in the evening. However, he immediately realized that it was very rude of him to ask this question. What else could he be doing when coming to his place except for eating? Thus, he immediately changed his words, “Come in and sit.”

Chi Ye shook his head. “I have dirt all over, so I won’t go in.”

Yan Xu gave him a once over; Chi Ye was wearing a navy canvas work overalls. There was lime, cement, and dust smeared on his clothes, but it wasn’t considered that dirty. He heard Chi Ye’s words implying that had something else to do, so he said, “You aren’t, just come in. It’s cold outside.”

However, Chi Ye still insisted, “No need, I’m here to give you something.”

“Huh?”

Yan Xu didn’t understand, but Chi Ye had already turned and walked toward the motorcycle parked not far away. He took off something that was tied with a rope on the back of the motorcycle.

Chi Ye walked directly toward him, lowered his eyes to look at the box in his hands, and hesitated for a moment before deciding to hand it over to Yan Xu. He stammered, “H-happy birthday, T-this is a present.” He suddenly realized that he was still wearing his dirty nylon gloves, so he bit a corner of it to take them off. He explained in a low voice, “It was windy when I was riding my bike and I forgot to take them off.”

Yan Xu stared blankly as Chi Ye took off the nylon gloves that were already frayed and pilling, then watched as the not-so-small packaged item was handed to him. From the pattern on the box, it could be seen that it was a neck massager.

He was stupefied, unable to react for a long time, until Chi Ye asked uneasily, “Do you not like it? Then how about I take you to buy another one when you have time?”

Yan Xu snapped out of his daze and said hurriedly, “No, I like it.” Then he asked in disbelief, “For me?”

Chi Ye nodded. “My coworkers said that presents should be given as soon as possible. It was too late yesterday and the shop was closed. We went to work early, but the shop wasn’t open yet, so, so I’m giving it to you now.”

Yan Xu finally understood why Chi Ye had appeared here at noon—he came here after work to pick out a present for him, then immediately came over to give it to him. His mood was very complicated; he was happy, touched, but also guilty. Yesterday, he stopped the other party on an impulse. That plate of shabby pan-fried dumplings was not worthy of the expensive neck massager in front of him.

“I can’t accept this.” Yan Xu sighed deeply, then smiled. “It’s too expensive.”

“It isn’t.” Chi Ye pushed the massager to him. “You treated me to a meal, so it’s rude if I don’t give you something in return.”

“How is that considered to be a meal…” Yan Xu felt guilty. “It was just a plate of pan-fried dumplings.”

Chi Ye stubbornly said, “It’s still a meal. I was happy you invited me to celebrate your birthday.” He pondered in his heart for a while, and added, “Even if you don’t need this thing, you still can’t give it back. I often see you press your neck, so it should be useful.”

It was hard for Yan Xu not to be touched. He raised his eyes and looked at Chi Ye’s earnest and sincere gaze. The words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t bear to say them. He pondered over it—how about inviting Chi Ye to dinner when he has some free time in the next few days? Thinking about it, he figured it was a good idea, so he reached out his hands to take it. “Alright then, I’ll accept it. Thank you for the present.”

The corner of Chi Ye’s eyes raised slightly. Then he attentively advised Yan Xu to use it twice a day and no longer than fifteen minutes each time. If he felt uncomfortable after using it, then he shouldn’t use it anymore.

Yan Xu listened in earnest, nodding in response from time to time.

Chi Yeu realized he had spoken too much, so he waved his hand saying he had to go since he still had work in the afternoon.

When his eyes fell on the wound wrapped in gauze, Yan Xu remembered the receipt and quickly took it out.

“Thank you,” Chi Ye said. “I was even planning to go back to ask for a new one.”

Yan Xu stared at the gauze on Chi Ye’s thumb which had become dirty, then asked, “You’ve got injured at work, right? Didn’t the construction worker give you a day off?”

“They did.” Chi Ye calmly put his hand behind his back. “I got a day off yesterday. It just looks serious, but it really isn’t.”

“But you should still remember to apply ointment on time everyday.” Yan Xu suddenly remembered that he had hurried over here. “You still haven’t eaten lunch yet, right? Come in, I’ll cook you some noodles or dumplings. It’ll be real quick.”

“No need, I’ve eaten already.” Chi Ye rubbed his stomach through his clothes. “I had a quick meal before coming here.”

Yan Xu nodded, but didn’t know what to say, so he proposed, “Do you have time in the next few days? Let me treat you to dinner. After all, a plate of dumplings is too…”

Chi Ye was stunned, then suddenly swallowed. “I-is that okay?”

“Pfft—” Yan Xu chuckled. “Of course. It’s decided then. When do you have time?” He took out his phone. “How about we exchange contacts?”

“O-okay.” Chi Ye rubbed his hands on his pants before taking out his phone to give to Yan Xu. They both added each other on WeChat and exchanged numbers.

Yan Xu returned Chi Ye’s phone number to him. “Do you have time the day after tomorrow? Should we eat hot pot?”

“Okay.” Chi Ye thought about it, then hesitated a bit. “Then your shop…”

“I’ll give myself a day off. Are you okay with hot pot?”

“Yes, I’m fine with anything.”

After the two made an agreement, Chi Ye rode on his motorcycle back to the construction site.