Tattoo刺青

Chapter 3

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When Xiao Ke got home, it was already three thirty. The sun was about to rise. He took off his leather jacket; the T-shirt he had been wearing was already a little damp. It was still hot during the end of August. Leather jackets were sexy, but also allowed for no air flow. He felt so uncomfortably stifled. He casually showered, then knocked out as soon as he hit the bed. The next day wasn’t a weekend, so he still had class.

It felt like he had only been asleep for a little while when his alarm rang. Xiao Ke dragged it out for ten minutes before finally getting up. He furrowed his brows because his head felt like it was about to explode. He really knew how to fuck himself over, drinking so much alcohol and only sleeping three hours. 

During class, a student sitting in the first row asked him, “Teacher Xiao didn’t sleep well last night?”

Xiao Ke nodded and said, “Un, insomnia.”

“Xiao Shuai gets insomnia? What are you stressing about?” The student chatted with him from his seat. Xiao Ke was young, so the students didn’t really feel distanced from him.

Xiao Ke replied, “I stress about how you guys are going to pass the final. Just looking at the homework you guys turn in, you won’t even be able to pass if I purposefully write easy questions.” 

Between classes, Xiao Ke sprawled on his desk with eyes closed, napping. He had just brought up last night, so now couldn’t help but remember the strange events that had occurred then. What originally should’ve been a sorrowful evening changed because of a stranger.　　

And the stranger had been……truly quite handsome.

Xiao Ke reminisced what the man who had called himself “Zhou Zui” last night looked like. A cigarette dangled from his mouth; his expression was light. Xiao Ke rubbed his head against his arm, not even bothering to hide his appreciation for the other’s physical appearance. He had been taken for so many years, so hadn’t dared to take any extra glances at people he found aesthetically appealing at all. If he stared at a handsome man on the street for two extra seconds, he felt like he had wronged his significant other. Since breaking up, he hadn’t met anyone who caught his eye yet. Now that he finally found one, it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t dwell on him a little longer.

After class, Xiao Ke took a trip to the laboratory to retrieve a dataset. Before leaving, he glanced at the clear little fish in the incubator. He didn’t have class later, so planned on going home and taking a nap. 

His phone rang. He glanced at it. It was his mom, Doctor Xu.

“Coming home tonight, Xiao Shuai?”

Xiao Ke was exasperated. “Don’t mock me, Leader. Xiao what Shuai, ah? Tell me what orders you have directly.”

“No orders. But hasn’t the weekend come up? Just asking if you’re coming back or not,” she sounded from the other end of the phone. 

“I’ll be back. Coming,” Xiao Ke replied.

"That's it then. See you  tonight."  Doctor Xu curtly hung up the phone afterwards.

Xiao Ke was originally planning on going back home to sleep, but now that plan looked like it had fallen though. Normally what Doctor Xu meant by asking if he was coming back or not was for him to come back. Besides, Xiao Ke hadn't gone home in a while. He didn't have anything against his home, and had a good relationship with his parents. Ever since he had broken up with Lin An, though, Doctor Xu always found the opportunity to ask him about it. This made him feel quite exasperated.