Love, Expired

Chapter 2 – Accompany Me to Buy Medicine

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June 13, his birthday, soon arrived. It was a Monday.

Zhou Hao did not go to the laboratory today. He prepared a bowl of noodles for himself in the morning, and added two fried eggs to it. After breakfast, he went out to buy groceries.

There was a riverside market south of his residential area, and everyone who lived here would buy their groceries there. If he left early, the groceries he bought would also be fresher.

Arriving at the market, the raw poultry and seafood could be smelled, and people could be heard bargaining loudly. It was noisy, pungent and messy, and this was the unchanging impression Zhou Hao had of the market.

Jiang Yuqian had always said, “You don’t even blink when you swipe my card, yet you’re so stingy when buying groceries. Can’t you buy them at the supermarket?”

Each time, Zhou Hao would glare at him, and ignore what he said.

This person would probably never understand that the market was a completely different place from a supermarket. When bargaining at the market, Zhou Hao would feel that he was budgeting for their lives together.

Thinking about that, he would feel that everything was worth it, and could feel the warmth in his heart.

Because, their lives would only get better.

Walking around the market, he bought some chicken, beef and vegetables. Returning back, he went to the bakery at the entrance of his residential area to collect the cake he had ordered yesterday.

Reaching home, Zhou Hao put down the cake and groceries. He took out his phone and sent Jiang Yuqian a message —

“Hey. Come over. I’m making curry chicken today.”

Zhou Hao did not know how to be coy, and he never bothered trying. Every time he spoke to Jiang Yuqian, it sounded as though he was commanding him.

There was no response. Zhou Hao seemed to be used to it already. The excitement he had because of his birthday had gradually faded away. Putting the groceries away, he went back to his room and lay down.

Saving himself some trouble, he had a slice of cake for lunch, as well as a coke from the refrigerator. At night, his gastric pain recurred, and he was in immense pain. Suppressing his pain, he went downstairs to buy some medicine. Luckily, there was a pharmacy at the entrance of his residential estate.

Before he even stepped through the gate, Zhou Hao saw two people walking side by side. He could no longer care about the rolling pain in his stomach, and his eyes gradually narrowed, staring straight at those two people…

They were Jiang Yuqian and Cheng Zixu.

Who was Cheng Zixu? This was a long story. The first time he heard this name, he had only just got to know Jiang Yuqian. There was a time when Jiang Yuqian was drunk. In his confusion, Jiang Yuqian had forcefully kissed him. Tasting nothing but alcohol, he heard this person murmuring with a red face, “Xuxu…”

He abruptly wrenched himself away from that passionate situation. It was his first time hearing this name that would affect his extraordinary life.

Only after that did he learn, Xuxu was Cheng Zixu. He was Jiang Yuqian’s high school classmate, and they were apparently deskmates.

As deskmates, there was bound to be some feelings involved. The biggest coincidence was that Cheng Zixu was even in the same faculty as him, and was also in the clinical department.

Over the years, Jiang Yuqian never got what he wished for, the reason being that the little Cheng fellow never managed to accept being a homosexual.

And so, the two of them muddled along like this, and in between them appeared a troublemaker Zhou Hao.

This three-sided relationship was fixed firmly.

The apartment Zhou Hao currently lived in was Jiang Yuqian’s property. Then, this person had a brainfart, and bought an apartment in the same estate as Cheng Zixu. Would a normal person do something like this? Insisting on placing his will-o’-wisp ¹ together with his fuckbuddy.

Fuckbuddy…

Although Zhou Hao was unwilling to admit it, he was clear that this was how Jiang Yuqian saw him. That person had good manners, and never really knew how to swear. However, when Jiang Yuqian was provoked by him to his breaking point, he would roar, “Who do you think you are? You’re only just a person looking to get fucked!”

Each time he heard this, Zhou Hao would lunge at him like a crazy tiger, tearing, biting, swinging his limbs at him, hitting him as savagely as he could. If Jiang Yuqian gave in, the matter would drop; If Jiang Yuqian was still angry, Zhou Hao would drag him onto the bed.

Flaming up his desires, teasing him thoroughly, then running away, tossing aside the man that had been turned on. This method was immediately effective, and Jiang Yuqian would definitely give in, coaxing him onto the bed.

Zhou Hao did not like Cheng Zixu, mainly because that person was too sissy. His features were fine and delicate, and his way of talking was very soft and gentle.

Zhou Hao sniffed, enduring his pain, and walked up to them.

“My gastric hurts, go buy medicine with me.” By this time, cold sweat was running down Zhou Hao’s face due to the pain, but he still pretended to be composed.

Cheng Zixu greeted him, “Senior.”

Zhou Hao snorted, “Junior, how are you.”

The three people stood openly in the same space, a little awkward, but Jiang Yuqian did not want to bother about Zhou Hao at all.

Zhou Hao was the sort of person who would insist on making his presence known the more he was ignored. This time, his cockroach-like undaunting spirit took over him, and he deliberately said, “Hubby, go buy medicine with me.”

The colour of Cheng Zixu’s face drained away. He lowered his head slightly, looking down at the bare ground.

Jiang Yuqian did not even look at Zhou Hao, but turned to look at the blank Cheng Zixu.

So afraid of his little lover getting jealous?! A savage expression appeared on Zhou Hao’s face, and he yelled, “What are you afraid of? He knows about our relationship anyway!”

Cheng Zixu nodded a little. “I’ll go back first.”

Jiang Yuqian’s cold and handsome face tensed up, it was a sign of his impending outburst of fury. His eyes were like icy sharp knife piercing cutting into Zhou Hao, then he turned and caught up with Cheng Zixu’s slow steps.

Zhou Ha watched the two people depart. “Fuck!” Hugging his stomach, he went to the pharmacy to purchase some medicine for gastric pain, then to the convenience store next door and bought a bottle of water, twisting the cap open and gulping a large amount down.

The pain in his stomach gradually lessened. He placed the bottle and the medicine in the plastic bag, holding onto it and heading home.

Upon pushing the door open, he was surprised to see the lights on. Zhou Hao changed into his slippers at the door, and as expected, Jiang Yuqian was sitting on the sofa and coldly glaring at him.

Zhou Hao shivered. The air-conditioning at home was too cold.

“It’s not the weekend today, why are you here?”

“You did it on purpose.” With the sinister tone, Zhou Hao knew that this person was incensed.

“My stomach hurts. It’s not illegal to look for someone I’m familiar with to go buy medicine with me.”

The man on the sofa suddenly sneered. “When have I been familiar with you.”

Zhou Hao did not capitulate, “We’re not, we only know each other in bed.”

Somehow, this sentence made Jiang Yuqian stand up and push Zhou Hao towards the bedroom. As they pushed and shoved at each other, they rolled onto the bed.

Another battle in bed, and in the end, they were both a little weary.

“What madness took over you today?” Zhou Hao asked, then mumbled to himself, “It actually felt quite good.”

Jiang Yuqian did not respond, and the distance between the two dragged apart.

Zhou Hao then understood. This person probably had wanted to prove that they were unfamiliar with each other on the bed as well. However, their bodies could not lie, and now he was deeply doubting himself.

“Hey.” Zhou Hao started mocking him, “Is it time for philosophy? What are you thinking about.”

He was ignored.

“I told you, in bed we’re definitely familiar with each other. Your low groan just now was really captivating.”

“Zhou Hao, you disgust me!”

When Jiang Yuqian was pushed, he would occasionally spit out, “You disgust me.”

These words were really quite hurtful. The first time he heard it, the colour of Zhou Hao’s face did change. However, now that his skin had thickened, he was long used to it.

He had no choice but to get used to it.

Jiang Yuqian turned his back towards him, and Zhou Hao stared at the back of his head. Staring for a long time, he felt his eyes starting to ache. He then leaned over towards his back, pretending that they were lovers sleeping together in a bed.

Cheng Zixu… Xuxu…

Zhou Hao lay on the bed, not sleeping. Silently, he repeated this name over and over again.

In the past, he had half-jokingly, with some jealousy, asked Jiang Yuqian to call him Haohao, but Jiang Yuqian always looked scornful. At that time, he had felt that this person was unreasonable. Would he die addressing him like this?

After that, he then learnt that the meaning of Xuxu was not something ordinary, and it was not a privilege Zhou Hao could snatch over with a couple of words. Fortunately, he was observant, and knew that there were things that could not be forced, and so he did not waste his energy doing so.

The two of them still addressed each other mutually by their full names. Occasionally, when he was pushed to the edge by this person in bed, Zhou Hao would even plead with him, calling him “Hubby”. However, no matter times he called him hubby, it would never be as intimate as Xuxu.

Why were the two of them together today… This question only flashed across Zhou Hao’s mind for a short moment, and quickly disappeared.

It was not that he was big-hearted, living like an idiot, but that after so many years, he was already used to it. It did not matter, so what if Jiang Yuqian like him? The road for Jiang Yuqian and the Cheng fellow was bound to be rough, and it would be hard for them to end up together.

Anyway, this man was now lying next to him.

Seeking the good in adversity was probably something like this.

It might be because they had been in conflict for so long, the part of his body that was supposed to secrete his emotions had long been eroded away. Those feelings at the start, whether it was his happiness or sadness, he now already could not really sense them.

The person next to him was breathing steadily. Zhou Hao pressed his face into his back, quietly calling him “Hubby”… then he shut his eyes.