– CP | Chapter 9

The kiss was interrupted by a phone vibrating relentlessly.

It was as if a jacket draped over our heads, but I had almost suffocated.

Without question, it was the most thrilling kiss of my life.

I couldn’t quite explain why.

Maybe it was because the other person supposedly had ED. There was something bizarre about kissing someone I’d mentally classified as “disabled.”

A thin silver thread of saliva stretched between us as we pulled apart.

Most of my lipstick had been eaten off.

After catching his breath, he grabbed a tissue, turned my face toward him, and started wiping away the smeared lipstick.

I was genuinely surprised.

Wow. He’s actually this considerate?

Then I immediately realized I’d spoken too soon.

His movements were rough enough to make my lips sting.

“Damn it. Ate a mouthful of wax again.”

Alcohol reveals character.

Clearly, he wasn’t actually much of a gentleman.

I frowned and turned away.

“That hurts.”

He shoved the tissue in front of me.

“Then wipe it yourself.”

I pouted angrily.

Typical player. Kisses me and immediately changes his attitude.

Just as I reached for the tissue, he resumed wiping my lips.

This time he didn’t use the tissue.

He used his thumb.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Much gentler than before.

“It’s too dark to see. If you do it yourself you’ll probably make it worse.”

What I didn’t know was that my bright-red lipstick had been smeared all over my face, making me look like I was having an allergic reaction.

I snorted.

“I thought you said you only wanted steamed sea bass. Looks like braised pork works fine too.”

So much for principles.

“My tastes have changed just now.”

After finishing, he examined my face under the moving club lights from several angles with surprising seriousness.

My little face sat in his palm like a pearl that had just been polished.

I felt slightly awkward and immediately resorted to teasing.

“Maybe it’s because the downstairs equipment doesn’t work, so the upstairs skills are extra strong.”

The vibration had practically turned my tongue into a rolling consonant.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He didn’t seem remotely embarrassed.

In fact, he sounded weirdly proud of his ED.

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At one-thirty in the morning, he put me in a taxi home.

Inside the swaying cab, neon lights drifted across our faces as we chatted intermittently about random things.

At some point we started discussing the movie 500 Days of Summer.

“I never understood why Summer broke up with Tom,” I said.

“People don’t always need a dramatic reason to break up.”

His eyes were closed.

His voice was lazy.

“Sometimes the decision just appears in a single moment.”

I blinked.

“Holy shit. That’s so cold.”

Granted, I’d broken up with people for equally ridiculous reasons.

But hearing it stated so calmly—

No.

So coldly.

I couldn’t accept it.

Whenever I’d wanted to break up, I’d always found excuses to justify it.

Maybe I was trying to save him money.

Maybe his accent was too strong.

Maybe his buck teeth made kissing inconvenient.

At least I’d had reasons.

Han Che’s answer threw me into the same pile of coal dust.

 ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

When we got out of the taxi, he looked toward the pitch-black apartment complex.

Then he told the driver not to leave yet.

“What kind of garbage neighborhood doesn’t even have lights?” he muttered.

I pointed toward a lonely lamp hanging beside the security booth.

“There’s a light.”

He scoffed.

“The moon’s brighter.”

He never said he’d walk me inside.

He simply started walking with me.

We spent half the distance in silence.

The early-summer night air still carried a chill.

The wind swept away the last traces of alcohol.

Suddenly I felt sentimental.

I didn’t know when we’d hang out again.

“You know,” I said softly, “meeting you was actually pretty good for me. I think I’ll be better at judging men from now on.”

“Yeah.”

He nodded.

“Once you’ve met someone like me, anyone with a normal IQ basically becomes immune to being fooled by men.”

“Maybe one day I’ll even be able to spar with professional players.”

I felt rather proud of all the knowledge I’d gained.

He looked at me strangely.

“What do you think a player actually is?”

“Someone who sleeps around without getting emotionally attached?”

He stopped walking.

Then let out two cold laughs, as though the universally accepted answer was ridiculous.

He cupped my cheek and said teasingly:

“If there’s no emotional involvement, where’s the fun?”

“At that point you might as well hire a prostitute. It’s simpler.”

“Then what is it?”

What else could it be?

The moon reflected twice in my eyes.

So did he.

And the version of him in front of me seemed to grow larger.

“It’s about not being the one who falls.”

His kiss landed on me before I could react.

Long.

Warm.

Lingering.

Yet strangely, it didn’t make me lose myself.

Instead, it made me clearer than ever.

I stared at the moon.

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over my head.

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Life went on.

I didn’t sleep that night either, but it wasn’t painful.

I lay awake replaying his words.

Trying to understand them.

Failing.

Yet finding them endlessly fascinating.

My fingers touched my overworked lips.

Buried beneath the blankets, I laughed.

Ridiculous.

Ridiculously fun.

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A few days later, an ex-boyfriend I was still on decent terms with came to M City on a business trip and invited me to dinner.

I was free, so I happily accepted.

Coincidentally, that same day Han Che messaged me:

〚 Want to come out? There aren’t many people here. It’s boring. 〛

Apparently I’d been promoted to emergency substitute for filling empty seats at gatherings.

I replied:

〚 Having dinner with my ex. Busy. 〛

The shameless response arrived immediately:

〚 Dinner doesn’t last until midnight. You have the appetite of a baby bird. You’ll be done by nine. I’ll wait.  〛

〚 What if dinner turns into… other plans afterward? 〛

〚 Then that’s an hour at most. Come at one. We’re pulling an all-nighter tonight. 〛

Since when were we this close?

He was a guy who had hurt me, remember?

I had no intention of going.

But my ex’s endless rambling made me want to break up with him all over again.

Suddenly I realized I wasn’t even as decent as Han Che.

At least when he wasn’t interested in me, he’d still patiently protected my pride and complimented me against his own preferences.

Meanwhile, when faced with someone I wasn’t attracted to, I couldn’t even fake enthusiasm anymore.

At 8:20 PM, after washing up, another message arrived.

〚 Coming? I’ll introduce you to some rich, handsome guys. 〛

What did he think I was, eighteen?

Who was going to outperform Han Che in the combined categories of rich, handsome, and charming?

I replied:

〚 Guys with ED? 〛

A string of ellipses appeared.

While applying skincare products, I began wondering whether I’d actually hurt his feelings by constantly bringing that up.

I was trying to think of a way to change the subject when another message arrived.

〚 Not every guy with ED will honestly tell you. 〛

I sensed a hint of gloom.

Then:

〚 Most of them will tell you they’re amazing. That every ex-girlfriend had the time of her life. They’ll happily trick you into bed. Then it’s three centimeters, five thrusts, and they’re asking if you enjoyed it. The cigarette afterward lasts longer than the entire battle. 〛

〚 And you won’t even dare tell him he’s bad, because you’re busy protecting his self-esteem. 〛

This was far outside my realm of experience.

So I replied with another string of dots.

〚 I typed all that for free! Free education! Those are life lessons people usually have to learn the hard way! 〛

Clearly, he’d already categorized me as a backup teammate who could be summoned whenever someone was missing from the party.

I still hadn’t decided whether I wanted to join his friendship roster.

But I couldn’t deny it.

He was the most entertaining person I’d met in M City.

His patience was terrible.

I’d only spent three minutes debating.

I was already holding my foundation bottle when another message appeared.

〚 I miss you. 〛

I rolled my eyes so hard I could practically hear crows cawing overhead.

〚 I’m coming. 〛

A moment later he sent:

〚 Ohhh, so that’s how it works… 〛

〚 In that case… 〛

〚 Lin Wen, I miss you. I want to kiss you. 〛

〚 I miss you so much my ED is cured. Want to test it? 〛

I burst out laughing.

The foundation nearly creased.

This idiot was way too adorable.

〚 Too much. You should’ve stopped at “I’ll introduce you to rich handsome guys.” 〛

〚 Fine. Just come downstairs. I’m already outside your building. 〛

I looked at the time on my phone.

For the first time in my life, I had the feeling that—

〚 9 PM wasn’t late at all. 〛

The night was only just beginning.