A smile in purgatory 火海一笑 (BxB)

Better than sex

Week 7, Friday evening

Zishu called Kexing from Boston.

Kexing: "Hello, Ah Xu? Where are you now? Are you flying back tonight?"

Zishu: "Yes Lao Wen, I'm at the airport now. Departing in about 30 mins."

Kexing: "How was training today?"

Zishu: "It was just a half day. Mainly for Questions and Answers. Extra practice. Book selling. Socializing. And then group lunch. You know me, I don't socialize much."

Kexing: "Did you like the group lunch? What did you eat?"

Zishu: "I had fish. It wasn't spicy enough for my taste. I like it better when you cook, you make it extra hot for me."

Kexing smiled proudly: "I'm not good at many things, but cooking is one of my strengths."

Zishu: "And kissing. By the way, you still... "

Kexing laughed. "I know, I still owe you sex, you don't need to remind me again, Ah Xu." Then he continued his chuckling.

This time, Kexing was very certain that he heard Zishu giggling at the other end of the phone line.

Zishu: "Lao Wen, how was work this week without me? Was it too much for you to do on your own?"

Kexing: "No, but Friday was extra busy. I had incoming and dispensing and cutting to do, and everything was urgent, so I went to Assembly to ask Tom for help. He was nice, he helped with cutting, so I did dispensing. Then we did incoming together. He didn't know you're in Boston this week. We were talking about his new job in Assembly, and he actually said that he missed working for you, and that you're a good boss. Like I told you, many people respect and admire you at work, you think they don't like you but that's not true."

Zishu: "If I remember well, you hated Tom. You complained about him all day long to me."

Kexing: "I didn't hate him. But I didn't want you to like him. Maybe I was just ... a bit jealous."

Zishu: "Jealous? Did you like me already back then when Tom started working with us?"

Kexing: "Yes... I ... did..."

Zishu: "When did you start to have... feelings towards me?"

Kexing: "I believe it was when I caught you smiling at Ziggy the first time you met him. You were ... beautiful. Your smile was ... heart warming. I've never seen a more ... fascinating smile in my life. I think I fell in love with your smile at that moment."

Zishu, surprised: "I smiled at Ziggy???"

Kexing: "You did. Don't you remember?"

Zishu: "Maybe I didn't pay attention..."

Kexing, with a hint of sadness: "Sometimes, I'm jealous at Ziggy too... You smiled at him and you petted him and you kissed him, but you're very cold and distant with me... You don't smile at me or kiss me the way you did with him."

Zishu: "You have to realize I've been alone since I was 14 years old. I don't remember how to be close to people. You just need to remind me, tell me, and I'll change. It'll take time, but I'll do it for you, Lao Wen. I will. But you need to verbalize it, be vocal, don't get upset silently, say it out loud so I know and I will change for you, Lao Wen."

Zishu's words were simple but they touched Kexing dearly. He recalled when they first met, Zishu had told him "If I have problems with you, I'll tell you, but if you've got problems with me, don't tell me, because I won't change."

Yet right now, Zishu just expressed that he would change for Kexing.

Just for his Lao Wen.