Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Fingertips Pausing Uncontrollably on the Man’s Hand.

The temperature in the private room wasn’t high, yet Chen Kongqing felt a sudden wave of heat wash over him. He swallowed hard, unsure of how to react.

At that moment, Ling Xiao, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up. “Cousin, long time no see. Come, let’s get ready to eat.”

Cou… Cousin?

Chen Kongqing swallowed again, his throat feeling parched.

The man standing by the door, holding a gift bag, did not shift his deep, phoenix-like eyes. His gaze remained fixed on Chen Kongqing, who was tucked away in the corner. “Sorry, an impromptu meeting ran late. I’m behind schedule.”

“It’s fine, we haven’t started yet,” Ling Xiao said, stepping forward. The others put down their phones and stood up, preparing to take their seats.

The connection between their eyes was finally severed by the moving crowd, allowing Chen Kongqing to catch his breath. Gao Tianyou came over and patted his shoulder. “What are you dazing off for? Come to the table.”

“Oh, okay.” The youth stood up slowly and followed the group to the table.

Chen Kongqing was actually familiar with most of the people there; they were Ling Xiao’s close friends and classmates. Everyone knew about their relationship, so they naturally left the seat next to Ling Xiao empty.

Chen Kongqing sat down beside Ling Xiao, not daring to tilt his head even an inch to the left. Because to his left sat Xu Jingmo.

The youth closed his eyes briefly, trying to mentally prepare himself. It’s fine, right? So what if my attending physician is my boyfriend’s cousin? Maybe it’ll make future appointments more convenient.

Yeah. Sigh.

Before he could finish his internal sigh, a sharp “skreech” sounded by his right ear. It was the harsh sound of chair legs scraping against the floor tiles. Ling Xiao, who had been sitting right next to him, shifted his chair outward, pressing closer to the person on his right.

Chen Kongqing glanced over. He hadn’t seen the person next to Ling Xiao much before. He thought his name was Gu Chengjing—someone who had been competing abroad and only recently returned.

“The steam from the pot keeps blowing this way,” Gu Chengjing said, turning his face with a smile. It sounded as if he were making an excuse for Ling Xiao’s movement.

Chen Kongqing straightened his gaze, looking at the continuous white mist billowing in front of him. Although it wasn’t blowing directly at him, it was indeed annoying. But honestly… Ling Xiao could have moved toward him instead.

Mist seemed to drift into his eyes, blurring his vision.

“There’s smoke. Move a bit toward my side,” a magnetic male voice drifted into his left ear. The tone was calm, without much fluctuation.

“Okay…” he responded, grasping his chair and shifting it to the left. His eyes instinctively flickered toward the man.

Xu Jingmo sat upright, not looking at him at all. Maybe Dr. Xu has already forgotten me, he thought. And here I am, being nervous all by myself.

He smoothed out his stray thoughts and slowly picked up his wooden chopsticks.

The group began chatting about the basketball league. Since Chen Kongqing wasn’t in the sports department, it was hard to join in, so he focused on the food. He picked up a piece of pork rib, intending to feed it to Ling Xiao.

“This chicken is pretty good, try some,” Ling Xiao happened to speak at the same time.

Chen Kongqing was surprised, watching the man pick up a piece of chicken. Despite the surprise, a layer of sweetness felt like it had been spread over his heart. His hand moved toward his white porcelain bowl, ready to push it forward to receive the food. His lips parted, nearly letting out a “thank you.”

In the next instant, the piece of chicken traveled in the complete opposite direction, landing in Gu Chengjing’s bowl.

The hand supporting the porcelain bowl suddenly went rigid. His muscles felt frozen. It seemed to take an immense amount of effort to quietly pull the bowl back to its original position. He put the pork rib into his own bowl but kept his head down, not eating.

He told himself that Ling Xiao probably thought he didn’t like chicken.

The clay pot on the table bubbled “gudu-gudu,” providing a soundtrack to the chatter. Gao Tianyou, a chatterbox who never let the atmosphere go cold, raised a drink and asked, “Kongqing, do you want some?”

“No, no thank you.” The youth was still thinking about that piece of chicken and shook his head with a slight delay.

Gao Tianyou: “Right, I forgot you don’t like sodas. Want some plain water or coconut milk?”

“I still have some in my cup,” Chen Kongqing said, swirling his glass with a small smile.

As the conversation shifted to lab research, Chen Kongqing held his cup without drinking. He watched the swaying waterline, feeling as if there were water swaying inside his head too.

Suddenly, a well-defined hand entered his field of vision from the front-left. Long fingers rested lightly on the lazy Susan, slowly turning it. A few seconds later, the hand let go.

Chen Kongqing looked up slightly. Right in front of him was a plate of glistening chicken with black bean sauce. He wanted to turn and look at Xu Jingmo beside him, but…

It must be a coincidence, he thought. Maybe Dr. Xu just wanted the sautéed asparagus next to the chicken.

Thinking this, he picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. The black beans were fragrant and the meat was tender; it was truly delicious.

“Cousin, eat whatever you like, don’t be shy. These are all my good bros,” Ling Xiao said, turning his head and skipping over Chen Kongqing to address Xu Jingmo.

Gao Tianyou teased, “What? Kongqing is just your ‘bro’ too? We don’t live together with our ‘bros’.”

Everyone started joking. The youth felt embarrassed, his earlobes flushing red as he lowered his gaze. Consequently, he didn’t see that both Ling Xiao and Gu Chengjing’s expressions had become somewhat unnatural.

“Alright, alright, let’s eat,” Chen Kongqing said after a moment.

“Oh, by the way, Kongqing,” Gao Tianyou said, sensing his discomfort and skillfully changing the subject. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Can you prepare some herbs for me?”

At the mention of work, the youth put down his chopsticks, his shyness forgotten. He asked with professional detail, “Sure. Is it just poor sleep? Do you have trouble falling asleep, or do you wake up too early?”

As they talked, Ling Xiao spoke up dryly: “Herbs aren’t that useful, and they smell terrible.”

For a moment, only the bubbling of the clay pot could be heard. Ling Xiao didn’t stop there: “The herbal smell on him is very heavy—bitter and unpleasant.”

The man had said this many times before, but this was the first time he had mocked it in front of so many people. Chen Kongqing felt a suffocating sensation in his chest, but he kept his eyes down and replied softly, “Herbs are actually quite effective.”

For the next few seconds, the temperature at the table dropped several degrees. Chen Kongqing’s right cheek felt inexplicably hot, as if a layer of skin was being scorched.

“For the past two years, the state has been researching the efficacy of herbal medicine with great results, and the discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine is being actively supported. Herbal remedies are definitely worth a try for insomnia,” Xu Jingmo, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke. His ink-dark pupils shifted toward Ling Xiao.

As he turned, his gaze turned cold, like a blade of ice. The sheer chill of it silenced Ling Xiao, who didn’t dare say another word.

Gao Tianyou broke the tension: “Kongqing, let me know when I can come by to pick them up.”

The youth felt the blockage in his chest dissipate. “Okay.”

…

The meal continued awkwardly. Chen Kongqing didn’t interact with Ling Xiao again. Even though he liked him, he was still angry about being mocked publicly. But today is his birthday, he thought. I’ll be the bigger person.

After dinner, the cake arrived. Ling Xiao didn’t care for rituals; he opened the box and started serving it without lighting candles. He cut a slice for Gu Chengjing and naturally handed the knife to him. “You cut it; I’m not good at it.” Gu Chengjing took the knife just as naturally.

Chen Kongqing didn’t see this scene. He had gone to the bathroom to wash his face and clear his murky emotions. He planned to be proactive once he went back in and not stay mad at the birthday boy.

When he returned, everyone was already eating cake. Ling Xiao gave him a cool glance. “There’s some on the table. Help yourself.”

“Oh, okay.” The youth pursed his lips and walked to the table. Everyone else had moved to the sofa to chat; only Xu Jingmo remained at the table.

Chen Kongqing felt awkward as he walked toward the remaining slice of cake. The soft sponge was decorated with plump blueberries, and rich blueberry jam was oozing from the layers. It looked tempting.

Unfortunately, he was allergic to blueberries. A look of loneliness crossed his eyes, and the energy he had just regained in the bathroom vanished instantly. He felt drained and sat down limply. He reached out, wanting to just poke at the cake to feel a bit better.

Just as his hand gripped the spoon…

“You can’t eat that.” The silent man beside him suddenly spoke, his hand reaching out to press down on the edge of the paper plate.

The youth’s clear gaze followed the fingers on the plate upward. When their eyes met, Xu Jingmo’s knuckle was still pinned against the fragile white paper. “There are blueberries in this.”

Chen Kongqing was stunned. How did Dr. Xu know he couldn’t eat blueberries?

Regardless of how… Dr. Xu knew. But Ling Xiao didn’t. Or rather, Ling Xiao used to know, but he had forgotten.

Thinking of this, he was even more afraid to meet the doctor’s eyes. His mind was filled with the memory of him telling Dr. Xu how “great” his relationship was.

Chen Kongqing bit his lip and hurriedly looked away. As his gaze fell back to the cake, the man’s long fingers released the plate. Because the movement was too fast, a bit of white cream smeared onto his knuckle.

Both of their gazes landed on that bit of sweet, white cream. Chen Kongqing reacted first, pulling out a tissue. “It’s dirty.”

Feeling a sense of debt toward the doctor, he eagerly reached out. As the tissue in his fingers touched the man’s knuckle and their skin met, Chen Kongqing felt a wave of warmth from his palm. A scent that didn’t belong to him flooded his nose—Earl Grey tea, with a hint of lemon acidity and the freshness of bitter orange.

His body, which had been relatively calm, flared up under the stimulation. The foreign touch and body heat transmitted through his fingertips felt like a traveler lost in a desert finally stumbling upon a spring.

His fingertips paused uncontrollably on the man’s hand. One second, two seconds.

In those two seconds, his parched, withered body seemed to fully unfurl. His brain short-circuited, allowing himself this indulgence. Two more seconds passed.

Clenching his back teeth, the youth finally wiped the cream off the man’s finger. he squeezed the tissue into a tight ball in his palm. “It’s… it’s clean.”

The two hands, one large and one small, slowly drifted apart. The youth’s slender hand retracted. The man’s large, well-defined hand stayed in place for a moment, his fingers twitching ever so slightly.

The cream was gone, but the sticky, hot sensation was still spreading, crawling along the prominent veins of his arm all the way to his heart.

Two seconds later, Xu Jingmo suddenly reached his hand forward. The distance that had just grown was suddenly closed again.