Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 166: Friend Request

Shen You looked like someone with an explosive personality, but he was really as pure as a blank sheet of paper when it came to relationships and love; he basically would never be able to win against those who were much more devious and scheming. Tang Yi Shan knew his personality well so he only replied with a succinct message:

[ Inside the candy is a bomb. Be careful of it exploding you to death ]

Gu Lai’s driving was very stable and safe, but it did not mean that he was very slow. So, not long after, they reached their destination. Gu Lai stopped the car by the entrance of the residential area and then unfastened his seatbelt, getting out of the car. He went around the side to open the door for Shen You and quietly reminded him, 

“You’re home now.”

Shen You had never been treated like this before and now he’s experiencing it with his ex. He felt that he himself was such a joke and with half of his face hidden in the shadows, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, his expression in some mix of mockery and disdain.

Shen You got out of the car and closed the door. Perfunctory and without much sincerity, he said, 

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” 

When Gu Lai smiled, his pair of peach blossom eyes were very beautiful and bright, and the side of his cheeks seemed to have dimples that appeared randomly, creating this feeling of innocence. With his hands behind his back, he seemed to recall something and asked very seriously, 

“Right, can I know your name?”

Gu Lai thought that to be a human, you need to have at least a few friends. But he did not know he was like a badger jumping up and down a field of melons, smashing furiously onto the minefield under Shen You’s territory.

Although Shen You knew that Gu Lai had memory loss, to say that he couldn’t even remember his name was a bit like being stabbed in the heart. Shen You’s footsteps that were about to leave suddenly paused and he turned back, emotionlessly looking back at the other. After a few seconds of silence, he closed his eyes and suddenly chuckled softly.

Who knew what he was laughing at. The night was deepening, and like an overturned inkstone, it covered up the darkness in his eyes.

He looked at Gu Lai with no emotions in his eyes and lightly spit out two words,

“Shen You.”

“Shen with an S?”1

“Mhm.”

“Shen… You……” 

Gu Lai quietly repeated his name once, solemnly entering this name into his memory. When he raised his head, there was a faint smile in his eyes, so light and strong like the spring breeze. Gu Lai nodded his head, 

“Ok, I will remember it.”

Shen You looked at him and then turned away to leave. He walked lazily as his shadow was pulled longer and longer by the faint color of the streetlights. He was skinny but he looked strong, and the strength and unyielding power etched into his bones was unconsciously revealed a little. All around him were thorns, ones that made others not dare to lightly touch him.

It was very quiet in this upper class district, with only the patrolling guards walking around. The trees swayed, and crickets would occasionally chirp. When Shen You passed by the garbage can, he subconsciously looked down at the bubble teas he held in his hands and a contemplative look appeared on his face, his eyebrows furrowing a bit.

Gu Lai followed a rigid schedule, so without any accidents, he would sleep before 10 pm. After he drove Shen You back home, when he was about to head up the stairs to his apartment, he suddenly remembered something and turned back around. He unlocked his car and carefully searched around the passenger and back seats before popping up his head in a daze of confusion.

Where were the bubble teas?

His nine cups of bubble teas… have disappeared.

He was not willing to let it go and went back into the car to look through it all again. When he finally confirmed that they did not roll to some nook or cranny, he sat on the carseat, dazed. Then he started to comb through his memory before realizing then that when Shen You left, his hands seemed to be holding a pile of unknown items. It had been too dark then so he had not noticed.

His bubble teas, sweet bubble teas, milk teas with pearls.

A total of nine cups, and none of which he has taken a sip.

Gu Lai slightly pursed his lips and looked down as he kicked at the rocks by his feet. After a while, he lightly sighed and locked up the car before heading home.

The interior design was very simple, a luxurious European style in light grey, fitting for a single man. On top of the coffee table was a very tiny goldfish bowl where two beautifully colored guppy fish lived. Gu Lai first fed them before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

His everyday routine was very rigid, as if he was a robot that had been set in its function and program: food, sleep, work. The only question to contemplate was probably, how should he live to be more like a human?

When Gu Lai came out of the bathroom, he blow dried his hair and then took out a diary from the desk drawer. Like before, he was very organized, he grabbed his pen to start writing the entry for today.

June 14, Sunny, Sunday

Today I participated in my first class reunion. I ate some very tasty fruit and I want to eat more in the future.

I met a new friend. He is called Shen You. I had only wanted to give him one bubble tea, but he took my remaining nine cups away. But it does not matter. I don't blame him. Friends should learn how to share (smiley face).

Tomorrow I must continue to work. Work hard to earn money and not be a kept man.

Gu Lai’s writing was very structured, like how a machine would print out words and as if he had no human personality. After he finished writing his diary entry that was like a grade schooler’s, he prepared to head to bed like usual. But suddenly at this time, his phone vibrated a few times.

A notification popped up saying that someone had requested to add him as a friend. The username only had two words: Yang Mian.

Gu Lai blinked and pressed yes. He very quickly then received a message.

Yang Mian: [ Ah-Lai, can we still be friends? ]

Friends?

Gu Lai thought about it, of course, and replied: [ Yes. ]

Yang Mian: [ Then will you….. converse with me often? ]

They were friends, so of course.

Gu Lai replied instantly: [ Yes. ]

After a minute, a message finally came back.

Yang Mian: [ …… Did you set up an automatic reply? Can you not treat me like this? ]

Gu Lai was successfully stumped into silence. Then he slowly typed out: [ Yes. ]

For whatever reason, this only seemed to have agitated the other.

Yang Mian: [ Ah-Lai, don’t delete me. I won’t be so annoying like before, as long as you just continue to talk with me, that’s fine. I know that you’re already tired of me, that you don’t even want to see me, but…… but you rest up early, take care of yourself. ]

Gu Lai: [ Yes. ]

Yang Mian seemed to have even been provoked into a craze and didn’t reply, only sending out a status on his friends’ feed —-

[ Everytime I send you a message, when you don’t reply, I always feel like I am a dumb idiot. ]

Gu Lai brushed his bangs back out of habit, not realizing one bit that Yang Mian was passive aggressively describing him. He prepared to turn off the lights and sleep when he suddenly recalled that he did not seem to have Shen You’s contact information and sat back up.

Since they were friends, how could they not have exchanged any contact information.

The university group chat comprised of about half of his network still had not been disbanded even though it was not moderated anymore. So, Gu Lai went through each registered member before finding Shen You’s friend ID. He clicked into his profile and sent a friend request before lying back down to sleep in comfort and relief, falling into sleep mode.

The hour hand just pointed to 10.

Shen You didn’t have a habit of sleeping early and was currently leaning against the headboard of his bed. 

Through the floor-to-ceiling window, he could see the most beautiful night landscape of the city. On top of the bedside table, there was a bottle of sleeping pills and a glass ashtray filled with ashes and cigarette butts. Leaning against the headboard, he lazily smoked, doing nothing and wasting his time.

Beside him, his phone lightly vibrated a few times. Shen You thought it was Tang Yi Shan and the other guys, so he finished off the cigarette slowly before grabbing the phone to take a look. But then he found that it was instead the notification for a friend request, and the user…… Gu Lai.

His fingers trembled in reflexive response and somehow absentmindedly clicked yes. 

And his chat window popped up with the message that a friend had been successfully added.

At that moment, Shen You really wanted to shoot himself in the foot?. He can’t delete him, but he also can’t not delete him. Shen You sat up straight in agitation, but he couldn’t think of or understand what Gu Lai was trying to do. Buying him bubble tea and adding him as a friend – he’s not thinking of trying to get back together with him, is he?

He lit up a cigarette and viciously took a drag. As he narrowed his eyes, he sent Tang Yi Shan a message: [ Fuck, he added me. What should I do? ]

Perhaps Tang Yi Shan was busy as he only replied after ten minutes passed: [ Who? That Casanova? Do whatever you want. ]

Shen You lightly knocked his lighter on the table: [ I’m serious. Not joking. ]

Tang Yi Shan immediately called him. When he accepted, a voice that was not hasty nor angry came through the speaker, 

“Let’s talk about it. What happened yesterday that I don’t know about?”

“Nothing.” 

With one hand on the phone and the other starting to subconsciously press down on the prayer beads in a cycle, Shen You continued, 

“He drove me home and then bought me bubble tea. That’s it.”

Tang Yi Shan ruminated over this for a while before he said hesitantly, 

“I feel like…… he may want to hook up with you.”

Shen You subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows, 

“Why would you say that?”

Tang Yi Shan started to break down his thought process, 

“Didn’t you say that he failed his startup? He must be deep in financial trouble, so wanting to leech off someone rich is fairly understandable. Besides, he drove you home. The moment he saw that you lived in an upper class residential area, he must have been motivated. So he sent you a friend request. If I haven’t guessed incorrectly, he will start sending you messages to shorten the distance between you and him, and then invite you out as much as he can until he has you in his hands.”

Shen You was more than alright at business, but he didn’t quite understand the complexity and convoluted facets of love and relationships. The furrow between his eyebrows deepened as he said, 

“Just tell me straight up what I should do.”

Tang Yi Shan laughed out of anger, 

“That depends on you. How can I teach you; what can I teach you? Feelings, these kinds of things, are on you. You have to take a look at yourself. How about this? I’ll ask you a question: do you still like him even now?”

Shen You’s face was suddenly as cold as ice, 

“I’m not fucking masochistic nor am I someone who lies down on the ground for people to step all over me.”

Tang Yi Shan said, 

“Then that means you don’t like him. Just delete him then. Don’t interact with him.”

At this, Shen You sunk into a long silence. He did not like Gu Lai but that didn’t mean he did not hate Gu Lai. To let him live on like this and continue how he was living, that was something he could not do.

Seeing him not respond, Tang Yi Shan probably understood what he was thinking, 

“Do you want revenge? It’s very simple. Just follow what I’ve said to do today and you’ll be golden. It doesn’t matter that you’re gonna be playing him when you had been lying in a hospital bed for so long, nearly falling into a coma, almost dying.”

Shen You still didn’t say anything.

Tang Yi Shan yawned, 

“I know that you aren’t one to do those kinds of things, but that depends on the person, you know? What morals are you going to talk about with shitheads? Wait a bit as he will definitely be sending you messages. You don’t need to reply to each one, and don’t reply instantly. Just keep him hanging at just the right moments. Just see what he’s up to. Break down what he wants to do and ruin it, you know?”

He seemed to be very tired and hung up after he spoke.

Shen You closed his eyes as if he was in deep contemplation. After a while, he opened them, beaten by the unwilling hatred in his heart.

He was not a good person. When Gu Lai and Nie Sui Chuan broke up and Gu Lai had been beaten up to the point of needing to go to the hospital, others had said that Nie Sui Chuan was ruthless. But to know, if Shen You had not been in the hospital himself and unable to move, he would have sent Gu Lai right off to the morgue.

In the end, he reached out to wake up his phone and silently waited for the other to send him a message.

And an hour passed.

Two hours.

Three hours passed by. When the night had darkened and his phone still had no new notifications, Shen You checked his network in confusion. But when he found that there was no issue, he angrily threw the phone onto the ground, growling out in the darkness, 

“Fuck!”

He should not have listened to that shithead Tang Yi Shan!

Notes:

*1 Shen with an S- In a very very basic and simplified meaning, Chinese characters have certain categories or symbols that depict the type of character it is and Gu Lai is basically asking here which specific character Shen You’s surname is (specifically, he’s asking whether the Shen in Shen You has three dots that signify for water in that character (游 (or you may have seen 遊 – means mostly the same thing/used in the same contexts) which you can see to the very left the three dots). It’s a bit hard to explain without adding more words, so I decided to simplify it and just go with what I translated it to there.