Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: “He might just see you as an uncle.”

“But now, we’ve already broken up,” the rabbit added in a tiny voice, his round head hanging low.

He had already broken up with Ling Xiao. And a reconciliation was absolutely impossible. There was no reason for Dr. Xu to continue taking such extra care of him.

Xu Jingmo remained silent. In the vast space, the only sound was the ticking of the mechanical watch on the man’s left wrist.

Chen Kongqing felt he should say something more.

“I still need to properly thank you, Dr. Xu. You’ve looked after me so much during this time.” The rabbit pursed his pink lips, solemnly saying what had been on his mind. “But you don’t need to do these things for Ling Xiao anymore. My leg injury was something I accepted willingly; no one needs to take responsibility for it. Ling Xiao was terrible to me, but you don’t need to make amends on his behalf.”

He thought Dr. Xu was likely acting from the perspective of an elder, thinking that since a junior in the family had acted recklessly, he had to clean up the mess himself.

Xu Jingmo: “…”

Still no response. The rabbit’s head dropped lower and lower, his bottom bite stinging slightly from his own teeth.

“So you think I’m doing all this for Ling Xiao?” Xu Jingmo finally spoke.

To be precise, he had finally recovered enough to speak. Ling Xiao’s punch hadn’t sent him to the hospital, but a single sentence from this rabbit was enough to cause cardiac arrest.

The rabbit lifted his head a fraction but remained silent.

Xu Jingmo took a deep breath and put down his chopsticks. “If I were doing this all for Ling Xiao, why would I have hit him?”

“Maybe you wanted to… educate him?” The rabbit’s eyes blinked innocently.

Xu Jingmo: “…”

The man’s expression grew darker. The rabbit didn’t quite dare to look and lowered his head again. He decided he should just eat. Chen Kongqing picked up his bowl and stuffed the remaining few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.

“I’m not that fond of playing teacher.” Xu Jingmo looked down at Chen Kongqing, who was eating heartily. Once the bowl was clean, the rabbit slowly tilted his neck up again.

He happened to lock eyes with Xu Jingmo again. Xu Jingmo’s gaze, which had been gloomy, slowly turned “partly cloudy.”

In the next second, the man’s thumb brushed against the corner of the rabbit’s lip. The pad of his thumb swept over the soft skin. “You have food on your face.”

It was over in an instant. The friction at the corner of his mouth vanished.

“I’m not doing this for Ling Xiao, Chen Kongqing.” The man withdrew his hand, the grain of rice from the rabbit’s lip still stuck to his thumb.

The full rabbit’s brain was turning even more slowly. “Uhm…” Not knowing what to say, Chen Kongqing busied himself by looking at the tissues on the table, pulling one out and handing it to the man. “Wipe your hand.”

Xu Jingmo exhaled but didn’t reach out. He still had half a sentence unsaid, but this rabbit simply wouldn’t ask. What was there to wipe? He was nearly dying of frustration.

Ultimately, he reached out to take the tissue. To his surprise, the rabbit didn’t give it to him. Instead, the youth used the tissue to carefully press against the man’s thumb, gently wiping it. “Then… what is the reason?”

Chen Kongqing was actually a bit afraid to ask. He didn’t know what there was about him that would make someone be so good to him. Since he was a child, no one had particularly liked him. Because of his unique family environment, many people naturally didn’t want to play with him. And because his interests were niche, he had very few friends he could truly talk to.

Since starting university, the hostility around him had decreased, but he still didn’t have any particularly close classmates. Counting them up, it was really only his fellow researchers and Gao Tianyou. He had always felt he wasn’t a likable person. So, when Ling Xiao initially didn’t care for him, he thought it was normal.

“For you.”

Just two words, yet they set off a ripple in the rabbit’s heart. He abruptly pulled his hand back, not daring to look up, his mind racing for a reason.

“Because… I’m your patient?” That would be a bit too attentive for a doctor.

Xu Jingmo: “…”

“Not entirely.” After several seconds, Xu Jingmo rallied his spirits. “I think we are… friends. Though I don’t know if I’m the only one who thinks so.”

Friends.

The rabbit’s ears twitched, and he gripped the tissue in his hand.

“Of course not…” Chen Kongqing reacted, his tone becoming hurried. “I’m very happy that you consider me a friend, Dr. Xu. I want to be friends too. I actually have very few friends… so… I seem a bit flustered, haha.”

“Then… is it okay to rent a room from a friend?” The man curved his lips slightly, his eyes falling undisguised on the rabbit’s bowed face. “Besides, your cooking is very good. When you’re free, I can eat the food you make.”

The rabbit finally looked up, his eyes sparkling. “Really? Do you really like it, Dr. Xu?”

“Of course. Today’s cabbage was delicious.” Xu Jingmo affirmed, adding, “I also want to try your braised pork trotters.”

“I can do that!” the rabbit agreed immediately, his light brown pupils darting around as if thinking.

After a long while, the rabbit spoke softly again: “Then… I’ll pay you a thousand a month for rent. I’ll take care of all the housework. If you want to come home for dinner and I don’t have class, I’ll go buy groceries and cook! I’ll keep looking for another place, and I’ll move out when I find something suitable.”

“That’s fine.” The man pursed his lips, controlling himself and speaking calmly. “I’ll help you bring your luggage up from the car later.”

“Okay, thank you, Dr. Xu.” Chen Kongqing nodded. “I’ll wash the dishes and then we can go.”

“There’s a dishwasher.” Xu Jingmo stood up and began clearing the table. “I’ll teach you how to use it so you can use it later. You can use all the pots, pans, the steamer, and the oven in the kitchen. No need to ask me.”

“Okay…” The rabbit was still a bit dazed.

And so, he dazed-ly followed Xu Jingmo to familiarize himself with the kitchen and was then led downstairs to get his luggage. By the time he regained his senses, it was late at night, and he was lying in bed.

He had… moved into Dr. Xu’s house?

Actually, from the moment Dr. Xu said he considered him a friend, he had been a bit flustered. Somehow, he had just agreed to everything, and he had even come up with the arrangement himself. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, still feeling a bit lost.

But sleep was nowhere to be found. He felt a thousand yuan was a bit too cheap. Maybe I should wake up early tomorrow and make breakfast for him? Right, and there was Black Cat Detective—he’d take over feeding and litter box duties. Also, he must make sure not to disturb Dr. Xu’s life; he’d mostly stay in his bedroom.

The rabbit’s mind was filled with a list of “renter’s rules” he had made for himself. He listed countless items before finally closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Perhaps because his thoughts were so chaotic before bed, or because the day of moving and fighting was too draining, the rabbit clutched the carrot plushie he had brought along and had one strange dream after another. In his dreams, those ink-black phoenix eyes appeared again. He could only see the eyes, not the face. He chased and chased, but the person had already turned away. He never managed to see that face.

…

3:00 AM.

Xu Jingmo had not fallen asleep. To be precise, his heart was racing so much he couldn’t calm down. So, he couldn’t sleep. That rabbit was currently downstairs. Sleeping in his house. From now on, they would eat together, cook together, chat together, and come home together.

The man pulled out his phone and dialed a number. The line buzzed for nearly a minute before a raspy, confused voice answered.

“Hello…”

Xu Jingmo: “You’re not asleep, are you?”

“…Bro, can’t you tell?” Zhou Mujun was speechless. “Who the hell is awake at three in the morning?”

“Since you’re awake anyway, talk to me.” Xu Jingmo was entirely unaffected by the irritability; his tone was lighter than ever.

“…” Zhou Mujun let out a long sigh. “This better be something huge.”

“He’s at my house. From now on, he’s living with me.” As he said it, the man still found it somewhat hard to believe. “By the way, don’t come over to my place anymore.”

“…Wait… what do you mean living with you? You moved in that fast?” Zhou Mujun curled his lip on the other end, deciding not to hold it against this “old house on fire.”

Xu Jingmo: “He hasn’t found a place yet, so I rented the downstairs guest room to him.”

“That’s it?” Zhou Mujun chuckled. “Come talk to me when you’re in the same bed. Then you can brag.”

But he had always been curious about one thing, and since Xu was in a good mood, he dared to ask: “Exactly how much older are you than him?”

Xu Jingmo: “He’s a sophomore.”

Zhou Mujun’s tone was shocked: “Good God, you really are robbing the cradle. That’s a whole twelve-year cycle difference.”

“Eight years. That’s not a full cycle.” The man’s eyes darkened.

Zhou Mujun: “Are you sure he can accept that age gap? He might just see you as an uncle…”

Xu Jingmo: “…”

He didn’t hear whatever Zhou Mujun said after that. Only one sentence circled in his brain: He might just see you as an uncle.

…

In Kunming’s winter, the days are short and dawn comes late. At 7:00 AM, the sky was only beginning to brighten. When Chen Kongqing woke up, it was nearly 9:00 AM.

He had originally wanted to make breakfast, but by the time he bought groceries, it would probably turn into lunch. The guest room had an ensuite bathroom, which was very convenient. He changed into a casual hoodie and stepped out of the room.

He wondered if Dr. Xu’s wound had become inflamed last night. As soon as he stepped out, Black Cat Detective came trotting toward him.

“Mimi!” The youth bent down, picked up the kitten, and kept walking. “You’re up so early. Are you hungry? I’ll feed you.”

Chen Kongqing carried the kitten past the living room sofa, heading straight for the kitten’s nest. Just as he was about to set Black Cat Detective down to prepare the milk, he tilted his body slightly.

A gloomy shadow flickered in his peripheral vision. The rabbit couldn’t help but shiver from the chill. Chen Kongqing turned and looked closely—it was Xu Jingmo.

The man was sitting on the sofa like a statue—a statue that looked like it had been drenched through by cold rain.