It was raining the night that Gu Liwei first met Sun He's friends. Sun He had been avoiding Tang Jing's probing into his relationship with Gu Liwei. Therefore, Tang Jing and Cao Zhiqiang decided to show up to Sun He's apartment for an impromptu visit. Tang Jing's hand sprung to his mouth, restraining his giggles. Sun He was sitting on the kitchen counter and between his legs, Gu Liwei stood devouring his mouth. Tang Jing looked at Sun He's blushing face, and his expression screaming of bliss and snapped a picture. Gu Liwei stopped at the sound behind him and cursed lowly. Sun He's eyes snapped open and he screamed at the sight of Tang Jing and Cao Zhiqiang in the kitchen doorway. "Get out!"
Tang Jing laughed mischievously and started moving towards Sun He and Gu Liwei. Sun He looked at him in horror and his eyes flew towards Cao Zhiqiang begging him to take Tang Jing away. Cao Zhiqiang sighed and grabbed Tang Jing hosting him over his shoulder. "You guys have 5 minutes before he comes back." He grunted heading towards the living room with Tang Jing.
Sun He looked down at Gu Liwei, his face apologetic. Gu Liwei landed a small kiss on Sun He's lips. "I'll meet you out there in a few." Gu Liwei helped Sun He get down before heading to the guestroom. Sun He pouted, deflated. He headed to his bathroom and threw water at his face, hoping to get rid of his redness. His eyes fell down on his swollen lips and he sighed. There was nothing he could do about them.
Tang Jing was lying on the sofa when Sun He went to the living room. He wiggled his eyebrows at Sun He, his eyes fixed on the swollen lips. Sun He flushed out of embarrassment and sat across from Tang Jing and Cao Zhiqiang. "Why did you not call before coming?"
"I am glad I didn't. I would have missed such a wonderful sight if I did." Tang Jing said sending Sun He the picture he was fortunate to snap. Sun He looked down at his phone and reddened instantly. It was a beautiful picture. Sun He would have appreciated the picture if only he and Gu Liwei were not its protagonists. He ran to Tang Jing demanding he delete the picture. Cao Zhiqiang looked at the childish men next to him and moved to the other sofa, waiting for them to finish playing. This was the scene that Gu Liwei walked in when he left the guest bedroom: Sun He was on top of Tang Jing trying to pry his phone out of his hand, while Tang Jing was screaming for Cao Zhiqiang's help. Cao Zhiqiang was sitting across from them with no intention of helping either side. Gu Liwei looked at the scene in front of him and he was surprised. This was a side of Sun He he had not witnessed before. Gu Liwei and Cao Zhiqiang's eyes met and Cao Zhiqiang pointed to the seat next to him. Gu Liwei headed towards the sofa and sat down.
"They will be like this for a while. You can just ignore them." Cao Zhiqiang said before extending his hand towards Gu Liwei. "I am Cao Zhiqiang. The one below Sun He is my fiancé, Tang Jing."
"Gu Liwei. It is nice meeting you." Gu Liwei briefly shook Cao Zhiqiang's hand before turning his eyes back to Sun He and Tang Jing. "Do they always fight like this?" Gu Liwei asked, a perpetual smile on his face.
"Yes, most of the time. They are both childish. I have only seen them genuinely fight once in the last eight years." Cao Zhiqiang thought about that fight and how gut-wrenching it was for all three of them. He shook his head returning his attention to his lover and his friend. He did not want to think about something so unpleasant.
Cao Zhiqiang and Gu Liwei made small talk while staring at their lovers. They both did not mention their talk on the phone. The conversation flew seamlessly and Gu Liwei found that he liked Cao Zhiqiang. He was mature and from what he could tell, Cao Zhiqiang really considered Sun He his little brother. Gu Liwei felt grateful that Sun He had such loving and caring friends in his life. Sometimes, Sun He would look so lonely that the mere sight of his loneliness would cause Gu Liwei a lot of heartache. Gu Liwei had the horrible suspicion that something more terrible happened to Sun He two years ago besides breaking up with his ex-boyfriend. Gu Liwei had been patiently waiting for Sun He to really open his heart to him. He knew Sun He did not fully trust him and although he kept telling himself he only had to wait and someday Sun He would truly be his wholeheartedly, Gu Liwei had to admit that Sun He's lack of trust in him hurt a little. Gu Liwei knew that he had fallen for Sun He faster than he himself could realize. He wanted to scream his love for Sun He to the whole world. He wanted to show him off to his friends, to his parents. He wanted a lot more than Sun He was ready to give him. He wanted a future with him, but he knew he could not push Sun He or he would lose him. Gu Liwei had never felt so powerless in his relationship. He had never doubted himself so much. Sun He awakened several sides of him that he himself was not aware he had. Gu Liwei wondered briefly it if was a good thing or a bad thing but looking at the lively man across from him, his heart melted. It really did not matter, he thought. He could not bear to lose him.
Sun He finally got Tang Jing to delete the picture on his phone. He got off him and he blushed at the sight of Gu Liwei's amused eyes on him. He elbowed Tang Jing slightly blaming him for making him look like a fool in front of his boyfriend. Boyfriend, Sun He thought, he really had a boyfriend.
Gu Liwei was surprised to learn that Tang Jing was an agent at an entertainment agency. His impression of Tang Jing was that he was someone who likes to have fun, very extroverted, but also irresponsible. However, to be able to be a top agent, Tang Jing definitely was not as simple as he seemed. Cao Zhiqiang, on the other hand, was an accountant. Tang Jing and Gu Liwei launched into a conversation about their work which most often coincide. Gu Liwei could feel his appreciation of Tang Jing increased the more they talked. He found himself exchanging contact information with Tang Jing. Tang Jing wanted to cooperate with his agency for some winter pictures for one of his artists. Gu Liwei also provided him with the contact information of Wu Peizhi, his business partner and friend. After interacting with Tang Jing, Gu Liwei could understand why he was a top agent. Tang Jing was born to be in the entertainment industry. He was comfortable to talk to and before you knew it, he would swindle you into building a connection with him. Gu Liwei chuckled thinking to himself that Sun He really had an interesting pair of friends.
Gu Liwei and Sun He braced the rain and followed Tang Jing and Cao Zhiqiang to a karaoke bar at Tang Jing's request. Their night was filled with laughter, talking and horrendous singing. Sun He was surprised to see how fast Gu Liwei and his friends had started referring to each other as brothers. Gu Liwei was drinking with Tang Jing talking a mile a minute about who was who in the fashion industry and were gossiping about any and everything. Then he would launch into financial talk with Cao Zhiqiang, like two minutes ago, he was not gossiping like an old auntie.
Sun He smiled at that scene. He thought about if there were any times in his and Fang Cai's relationship that they ever had such a harmonious night with his friends and shook his head coming up empty. It would be a miracle if Tang Jing and Fang Cai did not start fighting the moment that they laid eyes on each other. Sun He never understood why Fang Cai disliked Tang Jing; after all, Tang Jing had helped him when he built his entertainment agency. Even if he did not like Tang Jing, he should have at least been polite to him if not grateful. However, they got along like oil and water. Even Cao Zhiqiang who was the most polite person that Sun He knew had barely retrained himself for showing his dislike for Fang Cai. Looking at the harmonious scene in front of him, Sun He wondered if he was blind when he thought Fang Cai was the one.
Sun He drove Cao Zhiqiang and Tang Jing home, as he was the only person who was sober in his group of friends. He watched as Cao Zhiqiang supported Tang Jing inside their apartment building before turning to the quiet drunk next to him. If Sun He was not there to see how many drinks Gu Liwei had had tonight, he would have thought he was sober. Or maybe not. Gu Liwei was uncharacteristically quiet. He stared blankly at the sky as if he was in deep thoughts. Sun he helped him get to the guestroom and when he tried to help him change his clothes Gu Liwei stopped him. Gu Liwei stared at Sun He for what seemed to be a long time. His fingers brushed against Sun He's lips gently. He peered into Sun He's eyes and a barely audible sigh came out of his mouth. "I feel uncomfortable." He started. "I feel uncomfortable that I really don't know you as much as they do. I know it is irrational but I still cannot help feeling jealous."
Sun He closed the door behind him quietly. He stood in the hallway his back against the guestroom door thinking of the words Gu Liwei had uttered. A dejected sigh resonated in the dark hallway. He really doubted Gu Liwei would still treat him the same if he truly knew how broken he was.