Tattoo刺青

Chapter 11

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Afterwards, Fang Xi added Xiao Ke on WeChat so he could directly notify him about the latest news. Fang Xi was a natural extravert, which made interacting with him easy. He didn’t allow people the chance to be shy.

He sent a WeChat message to Xiao Ke: Xiao Dabao*, do you know how to drive?
*Nickname literally translating to “big precious”.

His use of Xiao Dabao shocked Xiao Ke into confusion. He had known Fang Qimiao for over twenty years and the other had never called him by such a nickname. Xiao Ke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he replied: Yes.

Fang Xi said: Okay. How about you and Old Zhou take one car. You guys can take turns driving. The rest of us will drive a van.

Xiao Ke replied: Un, okay.

He knew that Fang Xi was purposefully leaving time for him and Zhou Zui to interact alone. He remembered this favor in his heart. Fang Xi was very obviously someone who had a lot of experience in dealing with people; he had been in the business field for many years so was accustomed to being greasy*. But this wasn’t a bad thing, nor did it mean that he was a bad person. Xiao Ke could tell that Fang Xi was interested in helping things along with him and Zhou Zui, which he liked a lot. Getting acquainted with Zhou Zui’s friends was another way of getting closer to the other’s life.
*Used to describe someone who’s very ingratiating and knows what others want to hear.

On Thursday night, Xiao Ke packed simply. He brought along a few days worth of clothes and a cotton-padded jacket. On a trip of only men, nobody would bring a suitcase. A larger bag would suffice. Thus, Xiao Ke didn’t bring a very thick cotton-padded jacket. By the time he finished packing, it was still pretty early. Though they would have to leave early the next day, Xiao Ke still couldn’t sleep.　

He ultimately called Zhou Zui. He dialed the other’s personal phone number.

The phone rang for a while before someone picked up. Zhou Zui’s low voice sounded from the other end. “Hello?”

Xiao Ke felt that hearing his voice was a pleasure. It really had been a long time since he had been so taken with someone. Even he himself thought his behavior and thoughts were pretty funny. Consequently, when he opened his mouth to speak, his tone was tinted with laughter. He greeted, “Good evening, Teacher Zhou.” 

“You’re an actual teacher. Maybe don’t call me that.” Zhou Zui’s voice sounded relaxed. He was probably already resting. His voice through the phone was a little different from how it was normally. It sounded quite seductive on a quiet, lonely night.

Xiao Ke said, “Okay.”

This was his first time calling Zhou Zui’s personal number. It had been saved in his phone for a while, but he had never called.

Zhou Zui asked him, “Is something up?” 

“Un. I wanted to ask,” Xiao Ke leaned against his bed, gently tapping his fingers against his knee, “Should I meet you at your shop tomorrow? Or what?”

“Fang Xi didn’t confirm with you?” Zhou Zui paused before saying, “I thought he would’ve told you. Just send me an address and I’ll go pick you up.”

Xiao Ke said, “Sounds good.”

After hanging up, Xiao Ke immediately shared his location with the other, not bothering to be polite at all. 

Zhou Zui received his location and looked at it; it wasn’t far from where he lived. He furrowed his brows and sent a message to Fang Xi, saying the other wasn’t dependable. Fang Xi had told him to go pick up Xiao Ke in the group chat earlier this afternoon, which Zhou Zui had ignored. This was because Fang Xi was a little irritating, calling Xiao Ke Old Zhou’s significant other every time he had to mention him. It made Zhou Zui not want to reply.