Chapter 6

Before entering the clothing store, Lu Sen fixed his hair in the reflection of the window. After the long journey, he tried to make himself look a little more presentable. He looked at his handsome body, which had been artificially sculpted, and felt quite satisfied, until he noticed Bai Wei sitting on the other side of the glass, staring straight at him.

Lu Sen: …

He must have seen me looking foolish — Lu Sen awkwardly smiled and waved at him. But soon he realized that, even though Bai Wei was looking in his direction, he didn’t seem to notice him. The handsome young man had dark eyes, staring blankly.

“You’ve arrived! We’re closing in half an hour.” The store clerk noticed him first, and when Lu Sen entered the store, she looked up, shocked, “Wow, you’re really tall… good thing you took the biggest size. These clothes were bought for you by your wife. He specifically said to get the best and the most expensive. This is your wedding anniversary gift. You two seem to have a much better relationship than we expected.”

Bought clothes? Relationship?

No one had ever bought clothes for Lu Sen. He never cared about clothing, and when he went on missions, he bought sweatshirts and combat gear just to look more human. He had never cared about the value of things. To Lu Sen, who used to be a mercenary, even the most expensive collectibles were just targets to be seized. Whether it was Van Gogh’s paintings, Michelangelo’s sculptures, or Dior’s dresses, in times of war, these things were useless, and they could be taken and locked in a safe at any time.

But now, facing these few thin paper bags, Lu Sen felt like they were hot potatoes. He had never flinched when hired to seize treasures, yet these “town luxuries” made him feel like they could be torn apart at any moment by his own carelessness.

“These are for me? Why?” Lu Sen didn’t take the clothes but was eager to know the reason.

“Because it’s your wedding anniversary.” The store owner glanced at Bai Wei and suddenly understood, “You haven’t bought him a wedding anniversary gift yet, have you?”

So for humans, the wedding anniversary was such an important thing? But he hadn’t given Bai Wei anything…

“Your wife loves you so much, you should make it up to him.” The clerk couldn’t stand it and secretly nudged him, “And the bank card password, you should explain it to him properly later. Don’t let it affect your relationship.”

“Why?”

“He doesn’t seem to think that the day you’re referring to is the day you first met. After that phone call, I noticed he seemed a little down. Maybe he thinks that’s the anniversary of your meeting with some other mistress.” The store owner kindly reminded him, “If there’s any doubt between couples, it’s better to clear it up early. Letting things fester only leads to misunderstandings.”

She handed the pink-black paper bag to Lu Sen: “The gifts inside are for both of you. Happy first wedding anniversary, may your relationship get even better!”

Before Lu Sen could think much more, the store owner patted his shoulder and pushed him toward Bai Wei.

“Come back next time!”

They watched the two of them leave. The clerk kept secretly looking at Bai Wei’s back. She said, “I heard Bai Wei looked down on us before. But when I actually saw him, I felt like he was just really nervous… and he looks great!”

Then she said, a little indignantly, “But what’s up with his husband, can’t remember anything at all.”

“Yeah, some rumors really don’t need to be believed.” The shop owner shrugged, “And some people just don’t have good eyesight, so seeing doesn’t always mean believing.”

“Ah?”

“From the moment he entered until he left, his eyes never left Bai Wei. Can a couple with this kind of relationship be bad? Now that’s a ghost.” The shopkeeper said playfully.

—-

Bai Wei quietly sat in the passenger seat. He stared out the window, as if deep in thought, like a clean and beautiful angel statue. Lu Sen glanced at him, then at the paper bags in his arms, not believing that these items were bought by Bai Wei for him.

It seemed they had gotten used to being silent with each other in the car. Lu Sen didn’t know what to talk about with his wife while driving, and Bai Wei didn’t like to talk. They had lived in Snow Mountain Town for the past six months, but it felt like they were roommates. Lu Sen left early and came home late, while Bai Wei stayed in his room every day.

Lu Sen didn’t understand how he felt about Bai Wei. Taking Bai Wei was like taking a long-desired collection, using a house as a museum to keep and care for him. As for Bai Wei—he seemed to think that as long as he left his original family, it didn’t matter where he was, life would be the same, and he had never really seen the people around him.

They had never thought or prepared for “entering a new relationship” from the start. In the past six months, no one felt that anything was wrong.

At this moment, however, Lu Sen felt that this was wrong. He hadn’t expected that in the clothing store just now, the owner and the staff thought he was strange, and perhaps they would pose a threat to his secret in Snow Mountain Town. He hadn’t thought that playing the role of a good husband was his duty and something he should practice. He just suddenly started thinking about his “relationship” with Bai Wei, such a strange word, something that happens between people, not between a monster and a collection. This word not only included the two individuals, but also the invisible connection between them.

He should have said more to Bai Wei in the car. He didn’t understand why, but maybe it was because Bai Wei looked so lonely sitting there, looking pitiful.

More pitiful than a gem that was thrown away, but not placed in a cushioned box.

“I was thinking…”

“Why is your bank card password 270920?” Bai Wei tilted his head and asked. “Is it a special day for you?”

Lu Sen froze for a moment, and his hand on the steering wheel hesitated. “What if I said it was the day I first met you?”

Bai Wei chuckled softly. His laugh sounded like ice cubes clinking at the bottom of a bowl, enough to make anyone feel refreshed.

But he said, “Lying. I don’t remember meeting you on that day.”

Lu Sen felt a burning sensation under his tongue. He said, “Maybe I met you, but you didn’t remember… A year later, I met you again during a blind date. At that moment, I thought everything was destined.”

“Then things got worse. I was still in Black Harbor City that day. In Black Harbor City, it’s either robbers or homeless people.” Bai Wei asked casually, “Where did you meet me?”

Lu Sen paused. “…At the TV station?”

Bai Wei laughed again. His voice was elegant and warm. “Okay, at the TV station.”

Lu Sen’s answer made him feel relieved. Indeed, the fact about the bank card password, like their marriage, made him feel annoyed. Lu Sen only knew that he had worked at a TV station in Black Harbor City, but he didn’t know that he hadn’t actually gone to work there that day.

But it didn’t matter. No one would care what kind of secrets the soon-to-die husband might be hiding.

Everything about “husband” could be fake—the height of 180cm, the civil servant position, the study abroad experience, the 18cm length, the papers published in top journals, the retirement pension of his in-laws… but as long as the life insurance for the husband was real, the husband could still be a good, genuine one.

Lu Sen, who was holding the steering wheel, hesitated. Because he suddenly realized something.

—-

In September 2027, “Lu Sen” was not in Black Harbor City.

Bai Wei couldn’t possibly know that it was the day they first met. Back then, his appearance and condition were completely different from the current “Lu Sen.” He hadn’t found “Lu Sen’s” passport, nor had he assumed “Lu Sen’s” identity.

In September 2027, he had been betrayed by old acquaintances, fleeing the sea. To avoid being chased, he swam thousands of miles across the Pacific, ate a pirate to replenish his nutrients, and then stranded on the shore during a molting period, eventually wandering into Black Harbor City. His mind wasn’t clear, and the appearance he took on wasn’t the same as now.

In the end, he died on the street like a homeless man, and it was Bai Wei who gently picked him up, took care of him, gave him water, and they had such a happy night together. But unfortunately, after he fell into a deep sleep and woke up the next day in a garbage dump, they never met again.

The guest services in Black Harbor City were indeed terrible. He just hadn’t paid for the room for the next day, but they threw him into the garbage dump! Like throwing his body away after his death. After that, Lu Sen developed a strong prejudice against the service industry in Black Harbor City. If it wasn’t for searching for Bai Wei, he wouldn’t have spent a penny in the shops there. Though Lu Sen wasn’t human, this was still his choice as a consumer.

At that time, “Lu Sen” and his twin sister hadn’t yet died in the shipwreck. They were studying in France, partying every night, and their passports and identification were safely kept in a box at home. They were elegant and refined, entering high society places, kissing their beautiful lips with the most expensive champagne every day.

They were completely different from Lu Sen. Until Lu Sen found their passports in the wrecked ship, mistakenly mixing the fragments of the brother and sister’s passports, he pieced together the current “Lu Sen,” and in a chance blind date, met Bai Wei again.

—-

In the past, Lu Sen wouldn’t have thought there would be any problems keeping such secrets from Bai Wei. He could use his methods to keep Bai Wei in the palm of his hand—wasn’t that his skill? Hiding things wouldn’t change his shape, nor would it affect Bai Wei’s appearance.

But without realizing it, his mindset had changed. Thinking back, it all started from that meal.

If Bai Wei misunderstood that the day existed for someone else… he didn’t want Bai Wei to think he had a relationship with others as well. He turned to speak, but heard Bai Wei say, “Sometimes, I feel that leaving Black Harbor City is pretty good.”

“I hate every street, every person in Black Harbor City. The streets are filled with gangsters, self-degrading homeless people, indifferent city security guards, and mercenary thieves landing from the sea. Twenty years ago, it was the place where my mom and I lived. But now, even the bay is full of floating oil stains and dirty marine life. Living there, I constantly wanted to give Black Harbor City a major cleaning.” Bai Wei said with his hands together.

“You hate… mercenaries, homeless people, and marine life?” Lu Sen’s heart shook again, just like when they were having dinner. He felt that everything Bai Wei mentioned was somehow about him.

“Mm. It’s good that I left there, and after that, I met you, my husband.” Bai Wei smiled at him charmingly. “You’re completely different from Black Harbor City. You’re brave, motivated, elegant, educated, and have been to so many places… You’re like a god who pulled me out of the mire.”

“…”

“Husband, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Everything Bai Wei was saying was about “Lu Sen,” not about him.

Did Bai Wei like the identity of “Lu Sen,” or did he like him as his “husband”? Were these clothes really bought for “Lu Sen”? Would anyone who is “Lu Sen” be given these clothes?

It’s not fair. What he wanted to keep was the whole of Bai Wei. But for Bai Wei, it seemed anyone could be “Lu Sen.”

Lu Sen was silent the whole way. Bai Wei sat in the passenger seat, wondering if he had said something wrong.

But as they parked and entered the foyer, Lu Sen suddenly asked, “Why did you buy me clothes?”

Bai Wei turned and looked at him in surprise. “Because you’re good to me, husband.”

Lu Sen said, “Good to you?”

He genuinely sought an answer. Lu Sen had just started to understand relationships between people, and he felt like he hadn’t done much, so how could this possibly be “good” enough for Bai Wei to call him a good husband?

So, did Bai Wei like him because he was “good” to him?

Or was the goodness coming from comparison? If that was the case, what kind of painful life had Bai Wei lived before?

Lu Sen felt uncomfortable, yet also a bit excited. He felt uncomfortable because Bai Wei so simply thought he was “good” to him, as if no one had ever been willing to give Bai Wei “better” things. He felt despicably excited because Bai Wei was buying him clothes because he thought Lu Sen was “good” to him. Bai Wei didn’t like “Lu Sen”; he liked their relationship.

What does it matter if the identity of “Lu Sen” is fake? What does it matter if he’s not the gentleman on his passport? If Bai Wei’s liking for him is half because of his identity and half because of his “goodness,” then as long as he is even better to Bai Wei, in the future, Bai Wei will love him entirely for his “goodness,” not because he is “Lu Sen.”

The logic remains the same. Bai Wei was a treasure he had taken, so who can say Bai Wei is not his wife? “Lu Sen” might be someone else’s identity, but the “relationship” belongs to him. He will invest more into their relationship, possess him even more deeply than before.

Lu Sen pushed all the complicated feelings back inside. He felt like he must have caught a cold these past two days, which made him suddenly overthink everything. Bai Wei is his wife, and he is his husband. He would take the “relationship” seriously and make sure Bai Wei is his. They would live happily together. It was that simple, nothing more.

He regained his confidence.

A smile crept onto Bai Wei’s indifferent lips. He realized everything was still under his control. “And you’re my husband. If I don’t buy you clothes, who should I buy them for?”

“I think I should buy you an anniversary gift for our one-year wedding anniversary,” Lu Sen said, taking off his coat, wanting to add something more to their relationship, “What do you want?”

He laughed, “Anything you want, I can get it for you.”

Very confident.

Bai Wei directly skipped the conversation and grabbed the other side of the coat.

“I’ll hang it up.”

He quickly pulled the heavy coat, sliding his fingers inside the pockets—besides a packet of tissues and a Swiss army knife, there was nothing else. Lu Sen was clearly startled by his actions and looked very moved. “I’ll go make dinner…”

Saying this, Lu Sen walked past him upstairs.

No! He can’t let Lu Sen go! He must be hiding the keys somewhere else in the house! Bai Wei couldn’t let the target escape. He quickly stuffed the coat into the dirty wardrobe and rushed to catch up, “Lu Sen!”

“Don’t stop me, this is what I should do!” Lu Sen’s tone was very cheerful.

“No, don’t—”

“I thought about it, and the neighbor lady was right. Tonight, when I’m free, I’ll go dig the soil in the garden. It’s about time I took care of the garden. That way, when you’re writing, you’ll be able to look out the window and see the blooming flowers.”

He wants to expand the map and hide the keys in the soil!

“Tomorrow’s the weekend. I want to go out and buy you a gift,” Lu Sen thought about his safe in Black Harbor City, where he had hidden a lot of treasures he had stolen. “There must be something you want there. Speaking of which, actually, on September 20th, 2017…”

And he would also put the cellar key in it. By then, nothing could separate him from Bai Wei.

—Lu Sen still wanted to run away with the key! There must be ghosts in the cellar!

Bai Wei had to use his trump card. He interrupted Lu Sen’s confession and shouted, “Husband!”

Lu Sen, who was heading upstairs, immediately turned around to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” he said in confusion. “Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t you want me to go out tomorrow?”

Bai Wei froze for a moment. Soon, he made another expression.

“Husband, don’t rush upstairs.” He grabbed the corner of his clothes. “Don’t you want to try the clothes I bought for you?”

Lu Sen: “Oh.”

So Bai Wei wanted him to try on clothes!

Humans do have the habit of unwrapping gifts immediately after receiving them. This is to show their happiness in receiving the gift and to express their appreciation for the giver. Lu Sen picked up the shopping bag that was placed on the cabinet: “I’ll go change and come down…”

“No, I’ll go with you,” Bai Wei said.

Lu Sen looked at him for a moment, surprised.

Bai Wei focused on the waistband of Lu Sen’s pants as he entered the bedroom. He pulled the curtains shut and turned around to see Lu Sen, holding the bag, walking toward the walk-in closet.

The walk-in closet!

Just the thought of the neatly arranged shirts, coats, and sweaters, and the countless bags that could hide keys, made Bai Wei’s head spin. He immediately became alert and took a couple of quick steps. “Where are you going?”

Lu Sen, confused, replied, “To change clothes.”

“No, change right here,” Bai Wei said, thinking to himself that he couldn’t let Lu Sen get away.

Lu Sen: “… Change here?”

Bai Wei opened his mouth. In that moment, he realized that this scene seemed a bit too ambiguous. But luckily, Bai Wei was someone with a strong sense of purpose. This meant he would work hard to overcome any psychological obstacles and achieve his goals.

“Change right here,” he said expressionlessly.”