Xu Mushen hadn't changed that much in appearance. He was still as clean-cut as he'd been back in high school but slightly taller and broader than Wen Rui remembered. He still had his glasses and still favoured neat collared shirts.
There was already a large crowd gathered outside Haidilao by the time they met at the entrance. It was the perfect weather for hotpot and also dinner time, so Wen Rui couldn't understand why. But a frisson of nervousness ran through him and he tugged on the brim of his cap and readjusted his mask.
Xu Mushen rolled his eyes. "Quit fidgeting," he said. "You look even dodgier when you do that like you're about to rob a bank or something."
"If I get mobbed and your identity gets pried out and splashed all over social media just because you're out with me, don't blame me for not putting in enough effort," Wen Rui shot back.
Luckily, Xu Mushen's booking was still effective and they were quickly led into the back of the restaurant in a corner that was blocked by a giant pillar.
"Sit first, I'll go take the food, you still eat the same stuff, right?"
Wen Rui didn't want to risk getting recognised so he let Xu Mushen go and collect the meat and vegetables, keeping his head low even when the waitress came over to order the soup bases and drinks from him.
"A yuan-yang pot (1) please, one Sichuan mala spicy broth and one chicken broth. The former was for Xu Mushen and the latter was for him. Wen Rui had the spice tolerance of a 5-year-old, which his friends would never cut him any slack about.
He heard the waitress let out a soft gasp and hurriedly placed a finger on his lips to shush her.
"RUI," she stammered out with a flush on her cheeks, "I'm a big fan!"
He still hadn't removed his mask but his eyes crinkled into a smile. For the last couple of weeks, he'd been stressed about the thought of dealing with his fans in person but Mu Feng had reassured him that he'd always taken the cold detachment route and so no one expected much interaction from him.
The way Mu Feng had said it sounded like he'd thought Wen Rui was just adhering to the persona the company had crafted for him. But Wen Rui knew that it was because deep down inside, his older self must have looked down on this idol job. Just like how Wen Rui had had a hard time accepting that he was a fame-hungry celebrity now, he was certain that the other him must have gone into this out of desperation but had been unable to shake off his disdain.
He didn't want to treat his fans badly anymore. This was his new life and he was going to make the best of it.
The waitress seemed stunned that Wen Rui hadn't ignored her. Having followed HEX4 since its debut, she was an old fan of the group and was more than aware that RUI was infamous for not giving his fans the time of the day. This had earned him many haters but also a very solid staunch group of 'girlfriend' stans who insisted that he was only gentle to them and them alone because they were his secret lover.
She wasn't as fanatical but her heart skipped a beat when he spoke to her gently.
"Can you keep this secret for me please?" he asked with perfect politeness. "I'm out with a high school friend and would like some privacy."
The waitress nodded frantically. "Don't worry," she promised with a determined gleam in her eyes. "I will handle your table personally so no one else finds out."
Without further ado, she rushed back into the crowd, heels clicking on the floor like she was on a mission to safeguard his identity. Wen Rui's smile widened. Having fans didn't seem like such a bad thing, after all. The overly enthusiastic ones made him uncomfortable but there were also plenty of them out there who knew how to respect their idols and give them personal space. It was pretty cute and he could learn to get used to this.
"Here you go, Your Highness, can this humble servant do anything else for you?"
Xu Mushen set down five plates in front of them, all piled up with delicious cuts. He'd even prepared Wen Rui's condiments for him just the way Wen Rui liked. The fact that he hadn't forgotten was touching. The earlier awkwardness that he'd felt at meeting this older version of his ex-best friend had faded away in the easy atmosphere that had returned between them.
"Hmm…" Wen Rui pretended to contemplate matters before retorting in a jokingly imperious tone, "My Highness doesn't have any further instructions for you at the moment, you may stand down."
Xu Mushen chuckled. "Fuck, you're as annoying as ever."
"Takes one to know one."
The meal ended up a relaxing one, despite Wen Rui's earlier reservations. They spoke about what Xu Mushen was doing in school now—engineering because his father's company manufactured heavy industry equipment—and what Wen Rui's plans for the future were—be a celebrity with his face plastered on billboards and TV screens such that his father would have no choice but to be reminded of him whenever he so much as stepped out of the house.
"Have you met him yet?" Xu Mushen asked tentatively.
Wen Rui fished about idly for the beef slices that had escaped his strainer scoop. "What, do you mean Wen Guoyan?"
…wow, he wasn't even addressing the man as 'Father' anymore.
"Yeah."
Wen Rui shrugged. "What's there to meet?" he asked. His voice was deceptively casual but Xu Mushen could tell that he was still affected. He was about to hurriedly change the subject when Wen Rui's phone buzzed. The caller ID flashed across the screen and Xu Mushen barely managed to read 'Good Xiongdi' before Wen Rui picked it up and brought it to his ear.
"Hello?"
There was a lot of noise in Zhou Ye's background too but it wasn't the same lively chatter that came from a casual family restaurant. Wen Rui could hear classical violin strings and the low murmur of conversation.
It sounded posh. Was Zhou Ye at a function? Or…a date?
The soup churned in Wen Rui's stomach. His mouth twisted. He knew he shouldn't have eaten so much for his second dinner, he was really uncomfortable now.
Zhou Ye's voice was quiet too. "You're…out for dinner?" he asked.
[What's it to you?]
"Yes, you too?" was Wen Rui's very casual reply. He didn't know what he wanted to hear but the words slipped past his lips before he could stop them. As though he needed to justify why he cared enough to ask, he quickly added on, "If you haven't, I can take away something for you later when I leave."
He was so engrossed in trying to figure out where Zhou Ye was—and why he even wanted to know—that he missed the strange expression that flickered over Xu Mushen's face.
"It's fine, I'm at a company function and will be back late."
[Why are you telling me?] Wen Rui thought contrarily. [It's not like I was going to wait up for you or anything…] Even though it was his first day of filming and he'd spent the better half of the day thinking about sharing the experience with Zhou Ye if they met in the apartment later in the evening.
But he chalked it up to just having a lack of close friends available. He could text Mu Feng about it in a bit. He could even tell Xu Mushen about it now, yes, he was going to do that after he put down.
"Okay," he heard himself say. "Do you need me to leave the door unlocked?"
"No, don't do that, it isn't safe. I have the card key and door code, just don't double-lock it from the inside."
"Okay."
"Wen Rui—" Zhou Ye was about to say something when he was interrupted by a young female voice.
"What is it?" Wen Rui asked. He hadn't noticed that he'd tensed up slightly, fingers tight around the chopsticks that he was still holding up.
"…nothing, sorry, I'll talk to you later." Zhou Ye ended the call before Wen Rui could say anything else.
Wen Rui put the phone back down on the table, slotting it between his plate and glass of cold plum juice with a bit more force than necessary.
"…I was about to say you sound like you're living in domestic bliss but now I'm not so sure."
"What domestic bliss?" was Wen Rui's flat retort.
Xu Mushen gave him a long look that he didn't like. "You don't realise what you sound like, do you?" he asked.
Wen Rui didn't reply because he didn't want to know. He stuffed a fishball in his mouth and chewed hard enough for his teeth to clack together. The slight pain cleared his mind and made him realise he was behaving like an idiot. So what if there was a woman in the background? Zhou Ye was at a company function. This was the 21st century, female employees were a thing too. And even if Zhou Ye had lied and he was on a secret date, so what?
He was only married to Wen Rui in name, there was nothing to cheat on. It wasn't like anything was stopping Wen Rui from going out there and finding himself a girlfriend too, except he was too gentlemanly to be such a scumbag to poor, innocent girls by preying on them while he was legally married to someone else.
Even if the marriage was a farce.
That must be it. That must be why he was irritated with Zhou Ye. It wasn't because he felt like Zhou Ye should be loyal to him, it was because he didn't like the idea of him lying to his dates.
After that, Wen Rui's heart wasn't in the food anymore. Xu Mushen seemed to be able to tell too because he stopped trying to talk to Wen Rui about the phone call and wrapped up dinner before their two-hour time limit was up.
Wen Rui had gone pretty much unnoticed for the entire meal thanks to that hardworking waitress. It was when Xu Mushen went to foot the bill at the cashier's counter and Wen Rui sneaked out to stand in a quiet corner near the entrance that he heard someone call out his name.
"Wen Rui?"
The speaker's voice was familiar, an elegant, mature woman's voice that had a melodic quality.
Wen Rui looked up and came face to face with his 'goddess'.