Chapter 6 It All Depends on How Well You Perform

I had just survived being run over by a train in the afternoon and a few hours later, I was about to experience the same thing all over again. The white petals of cherry blossoms landed on Xi Qingchuan’s back. I picked one off his back and took a sniff. It smelled sweet. He suddenly stopped moving. He stared at me, his palms pressing onto the stone table. “What is that?” “Cherry blossoms.” “Where did you get it?” “It was on your back.” He plucked the cherry blossom from my hands and placed it on my lips. Then he kissed me. His lips had the lingering taste of cherry blossoms. Oh. That was unexpectedly sensuous. The cherry blossom flowered but for a brief period. Xi Qingchuan lasted much, much longer. I had to admit that I had sunken into a slight euphoria near the end and had stopped worrying that anyone could have caught us in the act. He finally ended the prolonged session of love-making when his back had been fully covered by cherry blossoms. He threw his coat at me. I wrapped it around me snugly. He put on his shirt and had his post-sex cigarette. The light at the end of the cigarette brightened and dimmed intermittently in the night. A sudden sorrow came over me. My sorrow, from what he had just done to me in the garden, for no good reason at all, and his, for being cuckolded. Xi Qingchuan must know what was going on. He had a mind like a steel trap. There was no way he didn’t know. I trembled within the folds of his coat as I got down from the stone table and wore my heels. I stared at his back. “So, are you a bisexual?” Gay men typically couldn’t find it in themselves to perform the act with a woman. He had been extremely enthusiastic when he was with me though. I can only conclude that he wasn’t simply reacting adversely to trauma. He discarded his cigarette butt, turned and glanced at me. “You just don’t give up, do you?” I was merely stating the truth. He was the one who was denying everything despite all evidence to the contrary. He started to walk away. I followed him. “Your mother is playing mahjong with her friends in the living room. I’m not going to make a good impression, looking like that.” He stopped in his tracks and frowned. “You’re so troublesome.” I wouldn’t be in such a state if not for him. Who was he to blame me? He walked back, stopped right before me, then suddenly leaned forward and lifted me up in his arms. “What are you trying to do?” I gasped. “You wish,” he smirked. “You’re not that irresistible.” He made his way out of the garden with me in his arms. He was extremely tall. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, afraid that he might just throw me onto the ground. There was a lingering scent of cigarette smoke on him. When it wasn’t concentrated, the faint smoky scent smelled surprisingly good. This was so bizarre. The sudden intimacy after six months of marriage, after I had walked into his secret. Honestly speaking, I had been fine with being ignored. It was better than what was happening now—him doing whatever to me for no good reason at the strangest places. He carried me into the living room. The socialite club widened their eyes in surprise when they saw me in Xi Qingchuan’s arms and stopped playing mahjong altogether. Xi Qingchuan did not bother to greet them and headed upstairs. I hid my face in his shirt, too embarrassed to show my face. I could feel their stares burning into my back. The eyes of Xi Qingchuan’s mother were like lasers, burning holes into my back. He carried me into the room and threw me onto the bed. This was our bedroom, but he hardly ever stayed here. He usually slept in another bedroom. I took my pajamas and went into the bathroom for a shower. Once I was done, I found Xi Qingchuan still inside the bedroom. I grasped my pajamas collar and eyed him from the entrance of the bathroom, trembling. He was sitting on the sofa, one of his long legs pulled over the other. He sat like a king. My mobile phone was on the coffee table. Qiao Yi’s voice rang out from the phone. “Xiao Sheng, I exchanged contact details with Sen. We’ve arranged to meet again tomorrow evening. He seems quite interested in me. He even said that I had delicate features and looked like a girl. Hahahaha, the boy is so cute.” My face turned pale. What was Qiao Yi doing, calling me in the middle of the night and spewing nonsense over the phone without even checking if it were truly me whom she was talking to? Xi Qingchuan hung up the call. Then, he crossed his arms and gave me a look. I pretended to smile. “It’s late. Aren’t you going to bed?” “You and Qiao Yi went to a gay bar earlier tonight?” He finally asked. Momentarily stunned, I nodded. “Yah.” He got to his feet and walked towards me. Then, he held my shoulders. “Are you that interested in gay men?” “Erm,” I rubbed my nose. “Qiao Yi was the one who dragged me there. She said that men in gay bars are better looking.” He gave me a curious look. “Are they better looking than me?” He might be arrogant, but he asked a great question. He was very good looking. He had been the most eligible bachelor in Hua City. Women had lusted after him. Now he was the most good-looking gay men in the entire city. He studied me for a moment before turning away. There was wind beneath his feet as he walked. I stared at his back, words stuck in the back of my throat. Just as he was about to shut the door, I blurted out. “Xi Qingchuan.” He stopped, his back stubbornly turned towards me. “My dad is inviting us over for dinner tomorrow evening. Are you free to join us?” He had only met my family once, briefly, when we made the customary first visit to my family home after our wedding. After that first time, he had never attended any of the family dinners my father had invited us back for. His hand stayed on the doorknob. He stood still for a moment, then turned his head and stared at me. I broke out into cold sweat. “It all depends on how well you perform.” “How well I perform?” He smiled. I instantly got the creeps. “I’m going back to my room and grabbing my sleepwear. Wait here for me.” What did he mean by that? Hadn’t we already done it when we had been in the garden? Annoyance bubbled inside me as I watched Xi Qingchuan walk out of my room. He returned shortly, his pajamas in his hands. He threw them over to me and said, “I’m going to take a shower. Bring these in when I call for you later.” “There’s a rack in the bathroom,” I said. “I know. But you won’t get an opportunity to perform if I use that,” he grinned widely, his teeth flashing. It was a look of happiness, but I could only see the devil in his face. The pervert entered the bathroom and began his shower. I hugged his pajamas to my chest and sat uneasily on the bed. My gut was telling me that my life wasn’t going to be as easy as it had been. On the night of our wedding, Xi Qingchuan had handed me a contract that stated we were bound in marriage for a year. We would have a divorce when the year was up, and I would be given my due reward. I had thought that I would be able to pass the year peacefully. Six months had gone by. It appeared that I wasn’t going to get my wish after all. I was still in a daze when I heard Xi Qingchuan calling for me in the bathroom. “Xiao Sheng!” I leapt from the bed and rushed into the bathroom with a burst of adrenaline, his pajamas in my arms. I had a showering area and a bathtub. My eyes narrowed as I scanned the area. He wasn’t in the bathtub. He must be in the showering area then. I placed his clothes on the rack. “I’ve placed your clothes here.” “Hand me a towel,” his voice traveled from the showering area. It sounded slightly muffled. I found a towel in the cupboard. I slid the door to the showering area open slightly and held the towel out for him. Suddenly, his hand shot out, grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. The shower was still running. Water began pouring onto my head. I could see Xi Qingchuan through the heated fog. He was standing under the showerhead, water flowing from the top of head, downwards. His eyes looked dreamy in the steamy air. I didn’t have the guts to look down. But then my eyes met his. It was like receiving a sudden static shock from having skin touch a lousy woolen sweater. I took a step back. My back bumped into the glass door. It hurt. He reached his arms around my waist and hugged me. Then he whispered, his voice low in my ear. “There was one thing you said right today.”