Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: “It Means I Like You.”

The rain continued to fall.

Pitter-patter, it drifted before the stone steps, transforming into dancing rain-butterflies. The surrounding area was shrouded in water vapor, rising into a layer of hazy mist.

The two stood before the stone steps as a cold wind happened to brush past. It swept over Chen Kongqing’s cheeks, lifting his chestnut-tinged stray hairs. Perhaps because it was so cold, the chill jolted him into a state of partial clarity.

However, he still couldn’t be sure if he had misheard just now.

What was Dr. Xu… saying with his lips parted like that?

Boyfriend?

To be his boyfriend?

Another gust of cold wind hit, stronger this time, forcing one to squint.

“The wind is too strong here. Let’s head back first, we’ll talk once we’re back.” Xu Jingmo swallowed the heart that was nearly leaping out of his throat and pulled out a folding umbrella.

Chen Kongqing didn’t know how it happened, but he found himself once again huddling under an umbrella with Dr. Xu. They walked into the hazy rain; the noisy, dense sound of droplets hitting the oilcloth went drip-drap, drip-drap.

Every breath they took became intertwined.

His nose was once again enveloped by the scent of Earl Grey tea. It was the scent he had been thinking about for the past few days—so much so that he had inexplicably begun researching various citrus scents in the laboratory, trying to find that familiar aroma.

But today’s Earl Grey was a little different.

The tea scent was laced with a heavy smell of smoke. The smell of tar was thick, nearly overpowering the tea. He had smelled smoke on Dr. Xu before, but it was usually very faint, never this pungent.

Has Dr. Xu… been smoking a lot lately?

Chen Kongqing pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately nothing came out.

They walked side-by-side under the umbrella. The hazy drizzle grew more aggressive, dampening the “rabbit’s” shoes and the hems of his trousers. After Xu Jingmo ushered him into the passenger seat, he rounded the front of the car through the heavy rain and sat in the driver’s seat.

Shaking off the moisture on his body, Chen Kongqing glanced sideways. He first saw Xu Jingmo’s shoulder, which was already soaked through. A layer of water droplets floated on the surface of his cashmere coat.

Chen Kongqing pulled out a tissue, intending to hand it to Xu Jingmo to wipe himself down. However, his mind was in such a mess that when he reached for the tissue, his fingertips accidentally brushed against something.

The sealed ashtray on the center console suddenly popped open.

The canister was packed with cigarette butts. They were crowded together densely; even though they were just lifeless remnants, one could feel the agitation contained within them.

Xu Jingmo had just fastened his seatbelt. When he turned his gaze over, he saw the “rabbit” staring at the ashtray.

The man hurriedly snapped the lid shut again. “Did it smoke you out?”

The rabbit’s gaze remained fixed on the now-closed ashtray. He blinked and finally spoke: “Did you smoke all of these today? Why have you been smoking so much lately?”

“No… these are from the past few days,” Xu Jingmo said, rolling down the window slightly to let a gap of air in, hoping to disperse the smell of smoke inside the car.

“Liar.” Chen Kongqing pressed his lips together, his gaze slowly drifting upward to stare at Xu Jingmo’s face, which was still covered in a light mist of moisture. “You did smoke a lot. I can smell it.”

“It’s… I…” Scrutinized by those clear, large eyes, Xu Jingmo was momentarily at a loss for words.

“You’re not allowed to smoke so much.” Chen Kongqing didn’t know from what standing he was saying such things. He just… didn’t want Xu Jingmo to smoke that much. So naturally, as if without thinking, the words slipped out.

After saying it, he felt he might have been a bit… overbearing? What right did he have to tell Xu Jingmo to smoke less?

It was so strange.

Chen Kongqing.

The rabbit pursed his dry lips and licked them with the tip of his tongue.

The car suddenly became very quiet. The only sound left was the drip-drap of the rain against the car exterior.

“Okay, I won’t smoke anymore,” Xu Jingmo replied. With a smile, he pulled a pack of slim cigarettes from his coat pocket and handed them to Chen Kongqing. “You keep them for me.”

Chen Kongqing looked at the “Liqun” slims on his lap. His brain was in a total muddle.

Why give them to him to keep… What was their relationship?

Wasn’t everything supposed to be over? He had been following the trajectory of an ending this whole time—what was happening now? And what did Dr. Xu mean by that “boyfriend” thing earlier?

The rabbit sat dazed in the passenger seat. Xu Jingmo kept a slight curve on his lips but didn’t speak further. The windshield wipers scraped lightly across the glass, clearing the rain, but soon, dense droplets would fall and accumulate again.

Xu Jingmo had just stepped on the clutch and backed the car out of the parking space. He turned his head, wanting to ask the rabbit where they should go next to have a proper talk.

To his surprise, Chen Kongqing had somehow lit a cigarette and currently had it in his mouth, taking a drag.

Perhaps he inhaled too hard, or perhaps he didn’t know the technique for smoking. A mouthful of smoke made his throat sting painfully. “Cough, cough, cough…”

He coughed so hard his whole body shook, and two flushes of red bloomed on his cheeks.

Xu Jingmo was driving and couldn’t reach over to stub out the cigarette. He could only frown. “Put it out.”

Chen Kongqing, of course, wouldn’t listen obediently. He took another deep drag. This time was less choking than the first. But he still couldn’t handle the irritation and coughed twice more.

“Chen Kongqing…” Xu Jingmo said sternly, turning the car onto the main road. “I gave them to you to keep, why are you smoking them yourself?”

Chen Kongqing was immersed in a strong tobacco scent. “I don’t understand.”

Xu Jingmo: “What?”

Chen Kongqing stared at the burning cigarette between his fingers, thin wisps of white smoke drifting from the tip. “Why let me keep them… I have no reason to be managing Dr. Xu.”

“Because I want you to manage me,” Xu Jingmo paused, deciding to speak plainly.

Chen Kongqing felt his heartbeat go haywire. First, it raced, then it slowed down, then it went thump-thump in a frantic burst. He took another puff, trying to calm his emotions, but the nicotine only seemed to stimulate his central nervous system further.

Chen Kongqing exhaled a cloud of smoke and repeated distressedly, “I still don’t understand. Everything you’re saying now, and what you said before—I don’t understand any of it.”

In Xu Jingmo’s peripheral vision was a very troubled and confused rabbit.

How could he be this cute?

The man’s lips curled into a slight arc. “Wait a moment.”

As he spoke, he quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

The rabbit didn’t speak, just sat dazed in his seat, staring at the half-burnt cigarette in his hand.

Suddenly, Xu Jingmo shifted the gear lever back to ‘P’. Chen Kongqing only then realized they had stopped. He was a beat slow in turning his gaze from the window; by the time he looked back, the cigarette had already been taken from between his fingers.

His gaze moved up. Xu Jingmo, who had leaned over toward him, now had that small piece of cigarette between his own lips and took a deep drag.

That was the cigarette he had just smoked.

The tips of Chen Kongqing’s ears turned a shade of pink. For a moment, he didn’t know where to look, so his gaze simply stayed fixed on Xu Jingmo.

He watched as the man exhaled the final cloud of white smoke, popped open the ashtray lid, stubbed the cigarette out, and tossed it in.

The rising smoke momentarily blurred the space between them. For a second, everything was unclear.

As the smoke drifted away, the man’s handsome, well-defined face came into Chen Kongqing’s view. And those deep, phoenix-shaped eyes were staring straight at him.

It was as if they could speak.

“It means I like you, Chen Kongqing.” Xu Jingmo spoke word for word, bringing the blunt truth back to the table. “What I’m saying now, and what I said before—it’s all to express that I like you.”

The two were very close now. Every word Xu Jingmo uttered was crystal clear. There wasn’t even a chance for his ears to play tricks on him.

The rabbit gripped the hem of his clothes tightly.

Xu Jingmo said… he liked him.

Like… him…?

The rabbit instinctively shrank toward the car window. “How could that be… Dr. Xu, have you… smoked too much?”

“…” Xu Jingmo was silent for two seconds, caught between a laugh and a sigh. “Why wouldn’t it be possible?”

Chen Kongqing was stumped. Why wouldn’t it? He couldn’t quite say why; he just felt it wasn’t possible.

Xu Jingmo seemed to think of something. “Is it because you feel I’m so much older than you that saying these things is inappropriate? Does it trouble you?”

“No…” Chen Kongqing shook his head almost without hesitation. “Of course not.”

“Then why?” Xu Jingmo continued to watch him, not leaving a single gap or a moment to breathe, just staring straight at him.

The rabbit suddenly lowered his eyes, avoiding the man’s gaze. Only then did he find the courage to respond. “I just feel… it’s impossible. Why would Dr. Xu like… me?”

Why would Xu Jingmo like him? How could they possibly develop… that kind of relationship?

The rabbit instinctively grabbed the seatbelt beside him, the sharp edge of the strap pressing into his palm. It seemed to make him feel more awake, preventing his head from spinning too much.

“Because you are just that good, Chen Kongqing,” Xu Jingmo blurted out without pause. “I’ve always been afraid of becoming a burden or a disturbance to you, so I tried to exercise restraint.”

With his eyes still cast down, the rabbit continued to clutch the seatbelt. The lips he had been biting felt slightly numb.

“But clearly, I failed.”

Xu Jingmo smiled, his tone carrying a hint of self-deprecation. “If you feel troubled, I won’t pester you anymore. But it’s raining today—let me drive you back, okay?”

The rabbit remained with his head bowed, looking like he had been backed into a cliffside, curled into a ball against the car window.

Xu Jingmo slowly pulled back, turning his gaze toward the windshield. There was a darkness in his eyes, a layered, deep gloom. He gripped the steering wheel but didn’t know where to head.

Until the true navigator gave the order.

Chen Kongqing whispered softly, “I’m currently living in the residential buildings on Beihe Street…”

“Okay…” Xu Jingmo responded, shifting gears. He finally knew the direction forward.

The drive wasn’t actually long, but it was long enough for Xu Jingmo to think a lot.

He wouldn’t pester the rabbit. If the rabbit really found him annoying, he would just park on this street for a while every day and bring some of the rabbit’s favorite food along the way. Surely that wouldn’t count as pestering.

The man gripped the steering wheel, a trace of self-mockery resurfacing in his eyes. At the same time, he comforted himself. At least he knew where the rabbit lived now.

Eventually, the car stopped beneath the residential building.

Chen Kongqing unclicked his seatbelt.

Xu Jingmo hesitated, momentarily tongue-tied. “How about I… walk you up? It’s raining.”

Chen Kongqing looked out the window. Actually, the rain had stopped; there was even a faint glimmer of light breaking through. “The rain… has stopped.”

He stated the objective fact in a very small voice.

Xu Jingmo fell silent beside him, his thumb rubbing against the leather-wrapped steering wheel. “Then…”

“You can still walk me up even if the rain has stopped.” Chen Kongqing spoke up hurriedly. After finishing, he mumbled in a very, very small, slightly muffled voice, “If you want to walk me up…”