Chapter 14

The Five-Sided Mirror - Romance (1)

Recently, Xie Xinqi increasingly felt that her brother was hiding a big secret—he was actually gay.

Every time she saw him, she would think back to a time when she was studying oil painting in the U.S. The art department was known for having a high concentration of gay men. They always wore eccentric clothes, swayed their hips, and arched their backs, which made her give up on the idea of campus romance. However, there was one boy who was like a clear spring amidst volcanic lava. He was of mixed British and American descent, standing at 1.8 meters tall, never hanging out with other gay men or girls. He spoke with a refined Oxford accent, which made countless American girls swoon. Xie Xinqi didn’t interact with him much, but he always held a place in her mental list of potential lovers. In her fourth year of college, this boy invited her to his birthday party. The unexpected invitation made her firmly believe that they would spark something. She arrived at his birthday party, radiating charm. He, too, was even more handsome than usual, stunning her. She walked toward him, but because she was so captivated, she felt a bit shy. Their eyes met, and his blue eyes were filled with tenderness. He said the first words of the evening: “Xinqi, your bag tonight is really nice. It matches your dress perfectly.”

Four years of unrequited love were shattered in that instant.

“Your bag is really nice”—when a man says that to you, no matter if he has eight-pack abs or a face full of scruffy stubble, he’s not going to like women.

Sure enough, soon after, the boy’s boyfriend made an appearance. She finally realized that the reason she couldn’t tell he was gay was because he was the “top” in the relationship! This past experience made her firmly certain of one thing: if a man is handsome, wealthy, charismatic, single for many years, not desperate, not foolish, understands women, dresses well, and when he looks at a woman wearing a low-cut red dress, he looks into her eyes rather than her chest, there is only one possibility: he’s gay, and he’s hiding his sexual orientation. These conditions fit Xie Xiuchen perfectly.

With this assumption in mind, Xie Xinqi began paying attention to the details of his life. For example, his room was like a hotel suite, spotless and pristine, even the sink was sparkling clean. Every time the housekeeper entered his room, they’d come out within five minutes. He was the best-dressed man she had ever seen—tailored suits, Italian leather shoes, and he had three different rotating tie racks. He knew seven ways to tie a tie, and whether he was at work or attending an event, there was never a wrinkle on his clothes. Though women were constantly around him, having grown up with him, she had never seen him seriously date anyone, nor had she ever seen him bring a woman home. Even the most cold-hearted man would have once had a girl like Shen Jiayi, but Xie Xiuchen hadn’t. In the past two years, as their father grew older and began urging him to marry, he repeatedly avoided the subject, using work as an excuse. Yet, he remained the same as ever—dabbling in affairs but never settling down. So, why would such a man have no girlfriend? The only possibility was that he had a boyfriend!

To verify this theory, one evening after dinner, Xie Xinqi said to Xie Xiuchen: “Brother, a good friend of mine just returned to the country. She’s one year older than me, a beautiful woman, 1.75 meters tall, 36D, and her family works in the oil industry.”

“Oh, really?”

He responded with his usual indifference. To rule out the possibility that her brother didn’t like older women, she added, “She came back with her cousin. Her cousin is two years younger than me, a little beauty, 1.XX meters tall, looks like a doll, knows how to act cute and clingy, and she’s really smart, with two master’s degrees.”

He got up and walked to the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge, saying slowly, “How long do you want to go out for?”

After dragging this out for so long, he gave her that kind of response! She quickly waved her hand, “How about you come with me to the airport to pick them up? I’ll show you their photos...”

“No need. I can go with you to pick them up.”

Seeing her brother’s tall, slim figure standing next to the refrigerator, half a head taller than the large appliance, with no extra fat on his waist, Xie Xinqi recalled how he especially liked to weigh himself. After all, for gay men, the two most important numbers are weight and age. She suspiciously added, “Brother, I’ll tell you a secret. They’re both single.”

Xie Xiuchen didn’t react much, opening a can of drink and drinking it leisurely. In contrast, their father, Xie Mao, looked up from the living room. “Xiuchen, you should go and meet them. You can’t keep playing around like this, it’s time to find a girlfriend.”

“Birds of a feather flock together. Can Xie Xinqi’s friends be worth looking at?”

Xie Xinqi nearly exploded, grabbing a cushion from the sofa and rushing over to hit him with it. “Xie Xiuchen, you’re taller than the refrigerator and still weigh less than 140 pounds!”

He caught the cushion and threw it aside, pinching her cheek. “Little brat, do you want to die?”

Not willing to back down, she stretched her hands out to grab his face. He tilted his head back, and with the advantage of his longer arms, he quickly moved away, spinning them both in circles. She couldn’t touch his skin. After a while, growing tired, she went to the fridge to grab some dessert to bake, and seeing Xie Xiuchen nearby, she pitifully looked at him and said, “I don’t know why, but every time I bake desserts, I end up burning them, so I usually let Anne do it. Could you help me bake them, brother?”

He shot her a cold glance before going to bake the dessert.

Whether it was the comment about his weight being less than 140 pounds or not, Xie Xiuchen’s attitude toward Xie Xinqi became unusually cold for the next few days. She was busy with her own matters, so she didn’t pay much attention to his strange behavior. After picking up the two women from the airport, the two beauties actually both took a liking to Xie Xiuchen, competing and fawning over Xie Xinqi to win his favor. Xie Xinqi enjoyed playing matchmaker, but Xie Xiuchen’s ambiguous attitude made it difficult for her to extricate herself. So, she began urging him to make a choice, to avoid the sisters falling out with each other. He smiled slightly, his most popular smile among women: “Haven’t had enough? Getting involved in your brother’s love life ends badly.”

After some new deductions, Xie Xinqi had come to a conclusion: her brother’s lover was his secretary. The secretary was about the same height as him, wore glasses, was gentle and refined, spoke softly, and always followed him like a little woman, obviously devoted and vulnerable. No matter where he went, he always had the secretary by his side, indicating a deep and inseparable affection. She felt sorry for them; such love was hard to come by, yet they had to bear the pressure of public opinion and engage in a secret relationship. So, even though she hadn’t had enough of love herself, she still hoped to lessen some of her brother’s pressure.

One afternoon, while she was getting ready in her room, trying on hundreds of outfits, she finally settled on a light pink dress. Xie Xiuchen passed by her room, leaning against the door with interest. “Xinqi, this outfit doesn’t seem like your usual style.”

She should have realized earlier; he could notice her style changes so quickly. She casually tested him in front of the mirror: “Brother, what do you think a male version of you would be like?”

“Just like you.”

“...” We’re from the same root, why the rush to harm each other? She smiled and twirled, holding her face in her hands. She could have gone straight to the stage to perform ballet: “How could there be such a charming and affectionate man in this world?”

He pushed aside her bangs, tucking her hair behind her ear, his eyes full of laughter. “Xinqi, you’re no longer suffering from princess syndrome, you have princess cancer.”

“You should focus on curing your own cancer before worrying about mine. I’m going out to dinner with a friend today.” Seeing him give her a questioning look, she quickly added, “A very proper friend, Su Jiannian, the pianist.”

After the awkward incident at Mrs. Su’s birthday party, Su Jiannian quickly came out to apologize. It turned out that she resembled one of his friends, and there was a bit of fate involved. They exchanged contact information and occasionally chatted on the phone. A few days ago, he invited her to dinner, and she, thinking it was all for her brother, agreed without hesitation.

Xie Xiuchen knew that his sister had never changed her style for anyone before, so he teased, “What’s this? Dressed so simply—are you serious about Su Jiannian?”

“Not just serious. I even want to get married.”

He paused, a bit surprised. “Married?”

“Yes, married! I even want to have a lot of babies. Who knows, I might become a parent before you, the older brother.”

She said this while observing his expression. She had guessed correctly—he was gay. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a look of shock that he couldn’t quickly conceal. Since realizing that her brother was gay, she no longer spoke to him so casually. She gently took his hand. “Brother, I really should settle down. So, when Mom and Dad pressure you to get married and have children, you don’t have to worry. I’ve got your back.”

Xie Xiuchen stared at her for a long time, then, uncertainly, spoke in a low voice, “…Did you figure something out?”

“Yes,” she said confidently. “I know you like someone you can’t have.”

She said it so easily, and he was left speechless, unsure how to hide his emotions. But he felt there was no need to try anymore. “So, you think this is saving me?”

“Yes, it’s the best way to make you happy.”

She saw him quickly close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. A vein on his forehead was visibly tense. After a moment, he opened his eyes again, his eyelids slightly red. He didn’t want to look at her anymore. Instead, he gazed out the door and spoke quietly, “Xie Xinqi, you really are something.” He pushed her hand away and turned to leave.

Xie Xinqi couldn’t help but clutch her chest, frowning with a heavy heart. Her brother was pitiful—his love was so difficult. The world was so unfair; why couldn’t there be more tolerance for this special group of people? She shouted after him, “Brother, it’s okay, I’m here for you! If it gets too painful, just go abroad!”

But Xie Xiuchen was already far away.

-Rose Theater-

Luo Wei: “Shan Niu said this is the most fairytale-like book she’s ever written. I’m honored to be the protagonist, haha.”

Xie Xinqi: “So, I’m the princess of this fairytale, oh ho ho.”

Xie Xiuchen: “Add the word ‘cancer’ to it.”

Xie Xinqi: “Go away.”

Xiao Lajiao: “The main characters are still Luo Wei and King-chan.”

Luo Wei: “I’m so happy to interact with Xiao Ying! Xiao Ying, you’re happy too, right? ^_^”

King: “Heh heh.”