Chapter 7

Bai Wei sat on the sofa, watching Lu Sen take out the shirt, jacket, tie, pants, and socks one by one from the shopping bag.

The pink and black gift bag was casually tossed aside by Lu Sen. This made Bai Wei’s forehead tense, but he couldn’t afford to miss Lu Sen’s movements, so he had to suppress his obsessive-compulsive tendencies and watch him closely. Lu Sen, meanwhile, took out his phone while holding the clothes, occasionally sneaking glances at Bai Wei.

“What are you doing on your phone?” Bai Wei asked, sensitive to the situation.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m looking up whether it’s normal for one spouse to ask the other to change clothes in front of them,” Lu Sen replied.

“Oh.” Bai Wei smiled awkwardly, feeling like Lu Sen was mocking him. “I think it’s normal.”

“Is it?” Lu Sen seemed surprised. He closed the browser, which was full of search results for terms like “sexual arousal” and “romantic interests,” and felt like he had learned something new. “Alright, then from now on, I’ll undress for you every day.”

Bai Wei: “…No need.”

He almost couldn’t hold back his expression.

Bai Wei rubbed his temples in frustration, thinking that if it weren’t for the expired “flower fertilizer” in that bag, he wouldn’t need to play along with Lu Sen. But as Lu Sen began to remove his jacket, Bai Wei immediately stood up. “Put the clothes you’re changing out of here. I’ll put them in the washing machine later.”

As he said this, Bai Wei casually touched the jacket pocket and naturally pulled out a few receipts. With this excuse, he could openly rummage through Lu Sen’s pockets.

There was nothing Bai Wei needed in Lu Sen’s jacket pockets. It was clear that the things Bai Wei was looking for were in Lu Sen’s pants. But as he continued to observe, Lu Sen’s upper body was already completely clean.

Until before leaving Black Harbor City, Bai Wei had a habit of exercising. His muscles were not exaggerated, but the thin layer of muscle covering his body was enough, and it beautifully accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. In the gym, many men had expressed interest in Bai Wei. They liked to show off their muscles, even standing next to Bai Wei on the treadmill, playing childish one-sided races and displays.

Bai Wei appreciated muscle lines as part of the beauty of the human body. He knew about architecture and had studied sketching and anatomy. Human muscles were like perfectly shaped marble, a part of the art that both ancient and modern artists loved to replicate. The direction of muscles also influenced the direction of the knife in anatomy. Where to apply strength, where to cut along the lines.

Sometimes, appreciating the human body was no different from appreciating a steak. The marbling in the red meat reminded one of the scent of oil melting in the mouth, and the flakes falling like snow in the forest. Bai Wei believed that muscles and veins should be appreciated in the same way.

But Lu Sen’s muscle lines were perfect. They were the kind of powerful, healthy forms that sculptors from all over the world have been portraying throughout history. Bai Wei, for the first time, was so focused on admiring them that he was stunned for a moment. Strong and powerful, like marble, like Roman columns, like a cheetah ready to pounce.

— Does a car mechanic, a “finance guy,” need muscles like that?

The undershirt was thrown aside, and clearly, there were no keys inside. When Bai Wei bent down to pick up the undershirt, he heard Lu Sen’s slightly hoarse voice: “Do you need to change the pants too?”

“Yes,” Bai Wei replied.

Even though Bai Wei was a person with a strong sense of purpose, he couldn’t help but turn his face slightly when Lu Sen changed his pants… Not because he was reacting, but because the distance between them felt too close.

Bai Wei was certain about this matter; he wouldn’t have any physiological reaction to Lu Sen. When he was fifteen, he realized he was different from others.

As other boys and girls began to feel curious about the opposite sex or same sex during puberty and started exploring related products, Bai Wei discovered that he had no physical reaction to either women or men.

—-

On the contrary, he developed an almost pathological need for cleanliness and death. Bai Wei had heard a rumor about a rich second-generation guy who often raced his motorcycle near their school and even caused a student to be seriously injured. Bai Wei had always disliked this person because his motorcycle would make a loud, obnoxious sound every quiet evening, and the exhaust would release black smoke, making the air dirty.

But one night, Bai Wei happened to pass by the spot where the person had died. The red-black marks on the ground had already been washed away, and as he lay on his bed, he repeatedly recalled the scene of that spot, imagining the motorcycle disintegrating, the doctor carrying the person away, and the janitor cleaning the ground. At that moment, he finally felt a strong sense of excitement, followed by a sense of peace and happiness.

After that, Bai Wei realized he was different from others. He told the doctor he was sexually indifferent, but he concealed his perverse tendencies. When his grandfather asked him to go on a blind date with Lu Sen, Bai Wei felt a deep resistance, both physically and mentally. He couldn’t imagine having an intimate relationship with a stranger, getting married, having sex, or having children… When he saw that the person for the blind date was a man, Bai Wei was even more confused.

But he thought this might be slightly better than marrying a woman and possibly having a child. For instance, now, he only needed to eliminate one person, Lu Sen, and the “family” would collapse.

Fortunately, nothing had happened between them after the marriage. It seemed Lu Sen was also content with the status of being “married.” But Bai Wei thought this was still acceptable. After all, Lu Sen was dead. Sometimes, a living husband could be more troublesome than a dead one.

But now, the distance between them… seemed too close.

Perhaps because they were too close, Bai Wei rarely noticed that the smell on Lu Sen’s body wasn’t as unbearable as he thought. He thought of summer beaches, where the sea would warm up at night. It felt like a long time ago, when his mother was still alive, and his father hadn’t yet become the coward unable to let go of his surname. The three of them had been at the beach, with sunlight shimmering on the waves, and the wind blowing the seagulls far away.

Bai Wei lost himself in the illusion of warmth for a moment. The next second, he felt sad—he was still in a “family,” but it wasn’t the one he had beautified in his memories. This family, recklessly assembled, had him, Lu Sen, a car, and a house pretending to be a home. But none of it felt as reassuring as the sea water at the shore. He had to correct this mistake.

Bai Wei didn’t realize he more so didn’t want to continue this kind of life. He probably really disliked Lu Sen.

Lu Sen threw a pair of pants at Bai Wei. Bai Wei quickly pulled out two sets of keys from the pockets—one set with familiar keys to the house and car, which he could easily identify. The other set was unfamiliar, with only one lonely key.

Bai Wei felt he had found it. Lu Sen had no space left to hide any keys. He had noticed earlier that Lu Sen’s shorts were very tight, and obviously, there were no pockets. The size of them made him quickly avert his eyes.

He looked up.

“What are you doing!!”

Bai Wei rarely raised his voice. After Lu Sen turned to face him, he quickly turned his head to the other side. “Don’t point that thing at me!”

“Oh, you don’t want to see this? I thought its shape was pretty nice.” Lu Sen’s reaction made him feel guilty. He had tried to mimic the best, most popular appearance in human society, but it didn’t seem to please Bai Wei. He felt as though he had worn an ugly checkered shirt to a Michelin restaurant date, disappointed and ashamed of his lack of good decoration.

Lu Sen’s response was something Bai Wei never expected. He even paused for a moment. “Terrible.”

Lu Sen suddenly felt a rush of urgency, like a contractor who didn’t know what was wrong with the project, unsure how to improve it to satisfy the client. Unlike a regular contractor who didn’t care, he genuinely loved the client and this job. Not knowing what to change, he lowered his head and observed for a while, trying to convince Bai Wei to accept his proposal. “It doesn’t look like much now, but you can see it in its full glory later. When it comes to life, it will have shape.”

Perhaps then Bai Wei would be satisfied. Lu Sen wanted Bai Wei to know that mimicking was like molding clay—his “clay” was actually pretty good. Maybe this was what people meant by craftsmanship. He remembered seeing this kind of talk in magazines about art. He was proud to have used another human term correctly.

If Bai Wei knew how quickly he learned to use so many human words just after becoming a human, how happy and proud Lu Sen would be! But he knew he could never let Bai Wei know. Otherwise, Bai Wei would know he was a monster.

At this thought, Lu Sen felt very wise. Before going home, he secretly hid the key to the cellar under the insole of his shoe. He would never let Bai Wei enter that cellar.

Bai Wei could hardly believe his ears. His upbringing had made it unimaginable for him to hear such words, and he couldn’t understand Lu Sen’s logic.

Was Lu Sen harassing him? How dared he say such things? How could Lu Sen be… flaunting it in front of him?

“Shut up.” Bai Wei knew his ears were turning red, his face burning, and his voice stammering. “Don’t, don’t say those things to me!”

Lu Sen was still looking down, trying to physically demonstrate his product for Bai Wei. “Actually, I’m not too familiar with my physiological activities. I remember this morning, it was quite lively. But now… well, I remember earlier when you were holding the clothes and looking at me, I was… also…”

Bai Wei almost screamed. But he still tightly gripped Lu Sen’s long pants (and the key inside them). “Put your shorts on first!”

Lu Sen thought of that office drama. He felt like a programmer showcasing his demo to the public, but the load configuration took over ten minutes. It was obviously inappropriate and exhausting the patience of the reviewer. Lu Sen realized that if there was a next time, he should show it only after everything was ready.

“Go change in the closet!”

Lu Sen grabbed all the new clothes scattered on the floor and ran into the closet. As he closed the door, Bai Wei pulled out two bars of soap from the cupboard. He pressed the unfamiliar key into one soap, and Lu Sen’s car repair shop key into the other.

Everything was packed away. Bai Wei finally had the chance to face the bedroom. Packaging papers and bags were scattered everywhere, and Lu Sen’s old clothes were tossed on the floor. Bai Wei’s OCD kicked in. He squatted down, set the paper bags aside, and threw the wrapping paper into the trash. When he passed a pink-black bag, he frowned, pulling out the contents, ready to fold them neatly.

“Bells, black lace, stockings… honey, are these for you?”

Lu Sen asked from behind him.