Mr Earnest is My Boyfriend 4

As soon as Xue Nan is not paying attention, Xia Chen elbows Xue Chen beside her. She whispers, “Why does your sister keep looking at me oddly?”

Xue Chen looks at his sister sitting opposite him, whose head is lowered as she fiddles with her phone. “You’re overthinking it.”

“I’m not overthinking it!” Xia Chen is very sure of her gut feeling. She narrows her eyes and asks, “Did you complain about me to her?”

Under her fierce stare, Xue Chen looks away. “I would never complain about you,” he says.

“How is that impossible? You know nearly all of my embarrassing episodes. Even if you’re sleep talking, you can bring up a few episodes.”

Xue Chen smiles. Turning around, he tells her, “So you’re aware you’ve done a lot of stupid deeds. I say, you’re a girl but you don’t know how to take care of your image. Typical guys prefer the gentle and virtuous kind.”

This kind of attack was never effective to her, now it’s even more so. “Aren’t there atypical men?”

Xue Chen nods. “Yes. And there’s one in front of you…”

“I met one today and just so happens I’ve already captured him, hehe.” Xue Chen looks smugly at Xue Chen, whose eyes widen from suprise. He always says that no one wants her but reality says otherwise. Even if it’ll eventually end in a breakup but that’s a matter for the future.

“What are you two whispering about?” Xue Nan suddenly looks up, jokingly teasing the two persons looking very affectionate in front of her.

This sentence sounds very familiar. It seems to be every teacher’s favourite saying. A top scholar is indeed a top scholar. Even the words she say carry a thick campus flavour.

“We’re saying how Xue Nan jie has become more beautiful.” Xia Chen is not merely flattering her. Her impression of Xue Nan has always been that of a bookish nerd but now that she has started working, she seems to be more womanly and attractive.

Xue Nan is not very beautiful. At most she can be considered as average but now, um, above average. She’s unlike the devastatingly good-looking Xue Chen, whose deadly combination of good looks and beautiful singing has captivated thousand of girls.

Xue Nan smiles widely at the compliment. “Xia Chen really knows how to sweet talk. No wonder so many people like you.”

“Jie, have you had enough? If you’re full, then go home, pack your bags, and have a good rest.” Xue Chen is evidently in a bad mood.

His words anger Xia Chen, who is unable to stop herself from defending Xue Nan. “What kind of person are you, forcing someone to go home!”

“Exactly. Can someone come and toss him out?” Xue Nan is smiling, not at all unhappy. She knows her own brother. She knows he’s just afraid she would reveal what he has kept hidden in his heart.

Xia Chen’s words has formed a chasm in Xue Chen’s mind. He wants to know what she means by those words. When he gets up, the chair is forcibly pushed behind him, creating a grating noise.

It gives everyone a fright. They turn to look at him.

“I’ll go pay the bill!” Xue Chen has tried to suppress his emotions but ultimately fails.

After he leaves, everyone get together to discuss about him. “What’s wrong with him?” The Cabbage band drummer Da Qu asks in surprise.

“Don’t know. He was still fine earlier.” Bassist Zhou Le too finds it confusing.

Thinking for a moment, Xia Zhen says, “It’s probably because Xue Nan jie is going to leave soon. He misses her already but doesn’t know how to express his feelings, that’s why he’s being awkward.” She knows the siblings actually have a good relationship but is also aware that Xue Chen has long gotten used to farewells. When she spoke to Xue Chen earlier, his reaction…

Xia Zhen decides not to think about it. She adds with a smile, “It’s alright. We’ll accompany him to go singing later. He’ll feel much better.” They are all music lovers. Whether their moods are high or low, they all like to express it through music.

Xue Nan raises her eyebrow and tells Xia Zhen, “En, help me comfort him later.”

Emboldened with a sense of responsibility, Xia Zhen answers, “No problem!”

By the time the group of people walk out of the restaurant, the sky is already dark and the temperature has gotten much lower. Even though Xia Zhen has long replaced her skirt with jeans and put on a down jacket, but as an easily-cold person, the difference in temperature makes her neck shrink.

“Take this! Since you know you’re bad with cold weather, why didn’t you wear a scarf?” Xue Chen stuffs his scarf into Xia Chen’s hands, his expression still sour.

“Do you think she’s you? Not cold yet still insisting on wearing a scarf,” Xue Nan quips.

This two siblings really…

“Who said I don’t feel cold? Today’s temperature is low,” Xue Chen protests.

“Then why did you still give me your scarf? I’m just not used the drop in temperature from the heated restaurant. I’ll get used to the temperature in a moment.” Xia Zhen tiptoes to put the scarf around Xue Chen and says, “The reason I don’t wear scarfs is to show off my beautiful and graceful neck. I’m already wearing so many years. No matter what, I should show a slender part of my body.”

It is at that moment Xia Zhen’s phone rings. She fishes out her phone from her pocket. When she sees the caller ID, she looks puzzled.

“Whose call?” Xue Chen asks. He has a strong sense of foreboding.

Xia Zhen loosened the tense muscles in her shoulders. “Don’t know. It’s an unknown number, maybe it’s one of those scam calls.”

“Then don’t answer it.”

“How can I not answer! I should at least give the person some hope.” She answers the call without any hesitation. “Hello, this is Zhen Zhen Financial Company. My company recently introduced a series of investment portfolios…” When it comes to scam calls, she especially loves to play along and would occasionally takes the initiative to catch the scammer off guard.

“Xia Zhen…”

The voice that interrupts Xia Zhen sounds familiar to her. She takes the phone away from her ear and confirms that it is really an unknown number. Fine, she finally remembers that the voice belongs to Pei Cheng An. Earlier, when her mother gave her his number, she didn’t save it to her contacts.

Everyone else who has been laughing their heads off at Xia Zhen’s nonsense turns to look at her in surprise. She is now fawning over the person on the call.

“Ah, it’s Mr Pei. I answered without looking at the caller ID and thought it was another friend of mine. Please don’t mind me.”

The line is quiet for a moment before he says, “En. The reason I’m calling is to ask if you’ve had your dinner.” It is now 8 pm. Pei Cheng An has not eaten but he knows Xia Zhen most likely has. But as a boyfriend, he feels guilty for not being able to accompany her this afternoon. He wants to make it up to her, whatever little he can do.

“I’ve already eaten. What about you? How’s your mentor?”

“I haven’t ate. My mentor is now stable but he has to be hospitalised.”

“Oh. It’s great if he’s doing well. I hope he gets better soon. You should also take proper care of yourself and hurry up and have your dinner.”

“Thank you. You… are you free now?” He has spent his entire afternoon in the hospital settling his mentor in and is only done now. It is still early and there is probably still enough time to watch a movie. To occasionally break the rule and sleep after 10 pm is also acceptable.

“Right now…? I’ve just finished dinner with my friends and we’re going for karaoke now.” A little forcibly, she asked a question that she wants to kill herself for: “Do you want to come?”

“Okay. Tell me the address and I’ll come over now,” Pei Cheng An answered without seeming to even think about it.

Xia Zhen: “...”

Why didn’t he refuse? They’re not that close! Even though it is in her plans to take him singing with the rest of the gang and let him see the sight of her singing passionately and crazily, but that is only when they two have gotten closer. And that time is not now. If she scares him off today, she wouldn’t be invested in the relationship enough to pretend that she’s heartbroken!

“You’re already very tired today and you didn’t have dinner either. Why don’t you go home and rest?” Xia Zhen advises gently. Who would expect Pei Cheng An wouldn’t appreciate her kindness and says he’s not tired? Thus Xia Zhen has no choice but to reluctantly tell him the address.

After hanging up the phone, she shows everyone a tearful face and says, “I have a friend who wants to come.”

“Who?” Xue Chen asks.

“You don’t know him. Later when he’s here, I’ll introduce him.” Ai, earlier she has planned to tell them what happened earlier in the day, including her little scheme. Since things have now changed, everything is not needed.

“A male?” Xue Nan asks.

Xia Zhen grins as she nods.

Right at this moment Da Qu has managed to flag down a taxi and calls for Xue Nan. It is true that Xue Nan has to go home early because she is flying tomorrow. She wouldn’t be joining their singing session.

After she left, Xue Chen asks, “What other male friends you have that I don’t know of?”

This tone sounds as if he’s interrogating a cheating lover. “There are many more you don’t know of.” Xia Zhen doesn’t want to anger Xue Chen. His mood is already bad and she doesn’t want to shovel coal into his fire.

She walks to the side of the road to get onto a taxi with Da Qu.

Due to the changes in her plan, Xia Zhen needs to carefully reevaluate her next steps. Should she follow her original plan or change it? Her distracted state makes Xue Chen very unhappy.

An unhappy Xue Chen makes a beeline for the karaoke machine as soon as they arrive and selects all the explosive and challenging songs. He sings the songs powerfully, while the rest follow his pace. They have been friends for many years and understand each other very well. If someone is unhappy, they will accompany him to go nuts. If someone wants to talk, they will listen. If someone needs comfort, he will only need to tell them his thoughts.

When Xue Chen sings, he doesn’t look at Xia Zhen, not even a glance.

Pei Cheng An’s call arrive just as Xue Chen finishes his third song. It is too noisy inside, so she steps out to answer the call. Pei Cheng An is already here but he doesn’t know which room they are in. She tells him the number of their room and waits at the door for him.

She has already made up her mind. If things have sped up earlier than planned, just let it be. Perhaps this is destiny. Perhaps their fate only lasts until this moment.

In a short moment, Pei Cheng An appears in the hallway leading to their room. He smiles when he sees Xia Zhen. She also tugs at the corners of her lips. Honestly, she isn’t able to quite smile.

“Let’s go in. I’ll introduce you to my good friends.” Maybe he will have second thoughts as soon as he meets her friends. They are all men. A lot of men don’t like their… girlfriend hanging out with too many male friends. It’s not just men, women are the same. Zhou Le and Wei Feng both have girlfriends. When she was still ignorant, she would still play around and joke with them. When she found out that their girlfriends would get jealous, she began to keep a distance from them.

But she’s not afraid Pei Cheng An would have any second thoughts.

As for whether he will be jealous, Xia Zhen thinks they have not gotten to that stage yet. Even if they are currently in a relationship, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re not close.

“Let me introduce you to my boyfriend Pei Cheng An.” Xia Zhen is throwing everything out the window. This is now a gamble.

“Hello,” Pei Cheng An politely greets.

Everyone is surprised but quickly introduces themselves, except for Xue Chen. He stares at Pei Cheng An before turning to Xia Zhen. He finally looks away and says, “I’m going out for awhile.”

“His mood is not good today. Don’t mind him,” Xia Zhen explains.

Pei Cheng An smiles, not at all concerned.

After seating him, Xia Zhen heads to the karaoke machine. Before she selects her songs, she takes in a deep breath.

[illustration by Heo Jisoon]