Chapter 8 - Old Stories

He Bing's hands kept getting warmer as they rubbed against Liao Yucheng's skin. His mouth went dry and he swallowed hard, leaning forward without thinking, eyes fixed on the bruised skin under his palms. His hands pushed harder without him noticing, matching his breathing.

Just when He Bing's "massage" was getting really out of hand, Liao Yucheng suddenly pushed himself up and sat, head down. He Bing's motions were interrupted and the charged atmosphere snapped like broken wire. Feeling completely disoriented, he stared blankly. "Why'd you get up?"

Liao Yucheng's voice had this joking tone, like he was trying to defuse the awkwardness. "Did you go so long without a girl that you're feeling me up like I'm one?"

He Bing felt a sudden flash of panic, like he'd been caught red-handed. His hands jerked back, eyes darting to the side. "H-how is that possible?"

Liao Yucheng leaned back against the couch, legs casually spread, with a prominent bulge between them. "Well, the way you were touching me just now got me hard."

He Bing finally noticed Liao Yucheng's erection and his heart slammed in his chest. Even his ears felt hot. Feeling both guilty and embarrassed, he stammered, "I don't really know how to do massages... I was just, you know, doing whatever felt natural."

Liao Yucheng wouldn't let it go. "So did touching my waist feel natural to you?"

He Bing's face reddened. "Pretty much..." Then he caught himself."I was putting medicine on you!"

Liao Yucheng cracked up. "I know. I'm just messing with you."

He Bing's hands were covered in oil. "I—I'm gonna go wash my hands. They smell like medicine." With that, he fled the living room.

While vigorously washing his hands with soap, He Bing couldn't help replaying Liao Yucheng's words. Liao Yucheng had joked about him treating him like a woman, but He Bing knew perfectly well he hadn't thought of Liao Yucheng as a woman at all. That body, that sensation—nothing about it was feminine. But he couldn't deny that while he was touching—massaging—he'd felt some vague stirrings of desire. Was he just lonely after the breakup? Or was it something more dangerous? 

Remembering this morning's situation, He Bing reached down with his soapy hands in a rush to check himself. Finding nothing unusual, he let out a long breath of relief.

Back in the living room, Liao Yucheng had turned on the TV and was channel surfing. He Bing sat down about a foot away. Figuring Liao Yucheng getting hard probably wasn't totally his fault, he asked, "Yucheng, do you have a girlfriend right now?"

Liao Yucheng kept his eyes on the TV. "No."

"What about before..."

Before He Bing could finish, Liao Yucheng answered decisively, "Never."

"No way." He Bing's eyes widened, completely forgetting why he'd even asked. "You look like that, you're that nice, and you've never had a girlfriend?"

Liao Yucheng glanced at him with a smile. "Does being a catch mean I have to date? Doesn't work like that, right?"

He Bing's brain worked for a moment, and he thought he'd found a reasonable explanation. "Is your workplace like mine? Surrounded by guys and too busy to meet women?"

Liao Yucheng thought about it. "Not really."

He Bing was lost. "Then why not?"

Liao Yucheng smiled and dodged the subject. "Enough about me. What about you? How many girlfriends have you had?"

He Bing answered honestly. "One in college, one after I started working. That's it."

So just one since graduation. Liao Yucheng felt oddly pleased hearing this. "You're not bad yourself, but you've only had two girlfriends in all these years."

"I can't compare to you." He Bing said, "I remember middle school—girls were always swarming around you. So many had crushes on you."

Liao Yucheng grinned. "How many? You seem to know better than me."

He Bing suddenly wanted to come clean about his childish jealousy from back then. Looking sheepish, he said, "Don't laugh, but back then when I saw how you were better at everything and so popular with girls, I was pretty... I guess I was jealous, haha."

You think I didn't know? Liao Yucheng joked, "Really? Had no idea. That's not why you distanced yourself from me, is it?"

He Bing quickly denied it. "No, no, of course not." Subject change time. "Actually, there were girls who liked me, too. Got a love letter once, but I thought dating while we were still in school was wrong, so I said no."

Now Liao Yucheng was interested. "When was this? What'd it say?"

The memory of this love letter felt like yesterday for He Bing. "It was right at the start of high school. Came into class one morning and found a letter in my desk. Didn't think much of it at first, but when I opened it, it was a love letter. She said she'd been watching me forever, that I was her first crush."

He Bing got a goofy, shy smile just talking about it. "That was my first love letter ever. Never threw it away."

Liao Yucheng's chest felt warm. "It's just a love letter. Was it really worth treasuring for so long?"

"You don't understand." He Bing said seriously. "By then everyone had phones and just texted—nobody wrote letters anymore. The fact that she put in that effort was special. And no matter what, it was my first. It's a keepsake."

He Bing didn't mention that back when they started high school, Liao Yucheng had gotten popular fast, with many girls noticing him. That was when He Bing felt most bitter about Liao Yucheng. Receiving a love letter from an admirer at that time was a huge confidence boost for He Bing—it soothed all his teenage insecurity.

"What happened next?"

Next? There was no next. He Bing never found out who sent it, just kept her as this hazy, beautiful memory. But he wanted to look good in front of Liao Yucheng, so he said, "I found her name later—she was from the next class. Wrote back saying we needed to focus on studying, and we should talk after college entrance exams."

Listening to He Bing's complete bullshit, Liao Yucheng couldn't help laughing. 

Already feeling guilty, He Bing asked, "Wh-why are you laughing?"

Liao Yucheng stopped. "Just thinking that's sweet." It was worth it.

He Bing scratched his head. "How'd this become all about me? What about you? Actually, I wanted to say earlier—you getting hard just now wasn't all my fault. You probably just haven't, you know, gotten off in a long time, so anything sets you off." He Bing nodded as if confirming his own theory. "Yeah, that's it."

"I haven't dated because there's someone I really like. Only person I've ever truly loved."

He Bing said matter-of-factly, "If you like her, you should go for it!"

"I can't. If only it were that simple."

He Bing didn't understand. "What, she doesn't want someone like you? Is she already taken?"

Liao Yucheng let out a soft sigh, looking dejected. "Forget it. Don't ask."

"You... fine, I won't ask." He Bing felt like weird tightness in his chest, making him uncomfortable.

Liao Yucheng smiled to himself. Perfect—now you want to know even more, don't you?