During the pandemic, my crush lost his job. After hanging up the phone, I rushed to his apartment complex that night. The power was out in his unit, and he was drinking alone in the dark living room. I hugged him tightly in the darkness and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll always be here for you!” That night, we crossed a line. The next morning, I snuggled up to my crush and called out his name affectionately: “Ethan.” A deep male voice breathed into my ear and asked, “Who’s Ethan?” My heart skipped a beat as I realized the voice sounded different! I opened my eyes to a face completely unlike Ethan’s. Frightened, I quickly covered myself with the blanket and exclaimed, “Who are you?!” He gave me a meaningful look, smiling like a mischievous devil, and asked while playing with my hair: “Last night, you snuck into my place while I was drunk, hugging and kissing me, and now you’re asking who I am, hmm?” I stared into those dangerous fox-like eyes, trying hard to control my emotions as I recalled everything that happened last night. During the peak of the pandemic, Ethan’s company had layoffs, and he lost his job. He lived in a high-risk area. To comfort him, I took a cab to his apartment complex that night. Even if it meant being quarantined together, I wanted to be there for him during this difficult time. When I reached his door, the power was out, and he was drinking alone in the dark. He hugged me tightly in the darkness. I thought my crush of seven years had finally reciprocated my feelings, so I boldly kissed him. He hesitated for a moment but didn’t pull away, so I assumed he had accepted me. Now that I think about it, did I get the wrong apartment number? “Who are you?” I asked again. Hearing this, the man suddenly flipped me over, pinning me beneath him. He bit my lip lightly and said, “Remember this: my name is Adrian.”
In a flash, my mind went blank, and I could only push him away. The soreness in my body reminded me of everything that had happened last night. I lifted the blanket, but remembering the man next to me, I quickly covered myself again. He lay there, half-exposed, and said with interest, “Don’t bother covering up. I’ve already seen everything.” Oh no, I had lost my precious first time to this devilishly handsome stranger! Heartbroken, I picked up my crumpled clothes from the floor. My blouse was left with only one button, clearly unwearable. He kindly offered, “Want to borrow something?” “You have women’s clothes?” I asked in return. He replied calmly, “No, but I can lend you a shirt.” I thought to myself, “…” How am I supposed to face Ethan later wearing another man’s clothes? “No need,” I declined. As I was about to get off the bed wrapped in the blanket to find my coat, I accidentally exposed him completely. My face turned red instantly. Seeing a man’s body for the first time made my heart race. I didn’t know whether to drop the blanket or pull it away. He good-naturedly handed me his outer shirt. After taking it, I threw off the blanket and hid in the bathroom.
As soon as I entered, just about to change clothes, he followed me in. I, barely covered, startled like a frightened bird, “What are you doing?!” He handed me my phone. Seeing it was Ethan calling, I snatched it from his hand, feeling guilty. Ethan’s hoarse voice came through the phone: “Where are you?” “I…” I glanced at the man who had politely closed the door, my expression complicated, not knowing how to respond. He seemed to lose patience: “Never mind, don’t come over.” “Why?” I asked. “I’ve got a bit of a cold. What if I infect you?” So he was concerned about me. My guilt instantly doubled. “Um… where exactly do you live? I think I got the wrong apartment number,” I said. “You came to my complex?” he asked. “Yeah,” I replied, blushing. There was silence on the phone for a moment, then he said in an extremely unnatural tone: “Why don’t you go back home? If you leave now, you can still make it!” I said worriedly, “How can I do that? You’re sick, I can’t leave you alone. What’s your apartment number? I’ll… I’ll go to the store first, then come find you.” After I finished speaking, Ethan became anxious too: “I’m fine, really. My uncle just got back from abroad, he can take care of me!” So the sickness was a lie, he just didn’t want to see me. Holding the phone, my head felt a bit heavy: “So, last night when you said you wanted to see me, that was…?” Seeing that I hadn’t hung up, he said somewhat exasperatedly: “Vivian, let’s just say I was drunk last night, I was talking nonsense… You really don’t need to come over!”
I hung up the phone, feeling dejected. I had pursued him for seven years. So I took time off work and came here despite everything, all because of some drunken nonsense? Well, he was right about one thing – I really didn’t need to go over there anymore. I washed my face to calm myself down, then tied the shirt I was wearing into a big bow at the waist. I put on my jeans and coat, carefully checked myself in the mirror, and found that nothing looked out of place from the outside. When I came out, the man was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. He glanced at his phone and said casually: “Looks like someone was a bit presumptuous.” I rolled my eyes at him. Eavesdropping is eavesdropping, no need to act all proper. “Sorry, I got the wrong apartment. I’ll be going now.” He put down his phone and asked me: “Is my place a hotel? You come and go as you please?” I snapped back irritably: “What else do you want?” Should I stay and take responsibility? From the looks of his place, he seemed quite well-off, and he didn’t look like someone who couldn’t find a girlfriend. If he didn’t mind, I could make do. Right now, I had everything except a man and money. As we stood at an impasse in the living room, the doorbell broke the awkward atmosphere. I opened the door reflexively. A community worker came in and said that due to the pandemic, the entire building was being locked down, and they hoped we would cooperate with the quarantine. I agreed repeatedly, of course we wouldn’t cause trouble for others. Wait a minute, quarantine… that means I can’t leave, and I have to be quarantined here with this man for two weeks? I suddenly turned back to look at the man behind me, who had an amused expression, and asked stiffly: “So, what was it you wanted again?” This time, I was genuinely asking, not challenging. “Can you cook?” he asked. I nodded: “Yes!” When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I at least had that much sense. Besides, judging by his immaculate hands, he didn’t look like someone who could cook. Who knows if what he made would be edible? There were only the two of us here, so who else would cook?
After entering the kitchen, I washed my hands first, then skillfully opened the refrigerator, all in one smooth motion. The most common ingredients often only require the simplest cooking. A few minutes later, I placed two bowls of instant noodles on the dining table. When he smelled the aroma, he walked over with a look of disdain, “Is this what you eat for breakfast?” “What do you eat then?” I asked. Breakfast time is usually rushed, which working person would specially get up to cook nowadays? He stared at the two bowls of instant noodles and sighed: “Never mind, go sit on the sofa and watch some TV for a while.” So, I was banished from the kitchen area to the sofa zone. While watching TV, I kept sneaking glances at the kitchen. He complained my food wasn’t nutritious, so I wanted to see what delicious meal this pampered young master could whip up. As I was chatting with my roommate on my phone, I suddenly heard rapid footsteps coming from upstairs. My impression of the refined Ethan was shattered as he bounded down the stairs in a yellow pajamas, looking like a giant rubber duck with wings. “Uncle, I’m up!” he called out. I jolted up from the sofa, “E-Ethan?!” He looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting to find me in his living room. “Vivian, why are you here?” he asked, bewildered.
“I…” I stared at Adrian, who was cooking in the kitchen, at a loss for words. Ethan came up to me and asked in a low voice: “Didn’t I tell you not to come?” Noticing his accusatory tone, I retorted: “Weren’t you supposed to have a cold?” Is this how someone with a cold acts? Just then, a deep male voice came from behind: “Ethan, is that what you’re calling yourself now?” I turned around to see Adrian placing two plates of toast and eggs on the table. This didn’t seem like his usual style, but his movements showed no signs of awkwardness. The way he set down the plates reminded me of my boss placing documents on my desk to assign tasks. At this moment, he had shed his earlier devilish demeanor and looked quite serious, very much like an elder questioning a child in the family. Sure enough, Ethan fidgeted in front of him and said: “Uncle… I’m all grown up now, it’s embarrassing to be called Ethan. My colleagues all call me Ian now!” Adrian snorted lightly: “No wonder your mom couldn’t find you at your company for half a month.” Ethan looked somewhat troubled. He introduced me to Adrian: “This is my uncle.” Then he explained to Adrian, “Her name is Vivian, um… my college classmate.” Anyone could hear the dismissive tone in his voice; he clearly wasn’t very welcoming of my sudden appearance. Just as I was wondering how to salvage the situation, Adrian nodded and inexplicably said: “Alright, let’s eat.” “Unc-” The word “uncle” got stuck in my throat. I didn’t know whether to say it or not, because at that moment, only one thought was running through my mind. Last night, while my crush was asleep, I had slept with his uncle downstairs???
Just as I was wondering what to say, I heard Ethan ask me: “Why are you still wearing your coat indoors? Aren’t you hot?” “I…” How could I take it off without him seeing that I was wearing his uncle’s shirt while we ate? I tried hard to come up with an excuse: “I’m… not hot. I like wearing thick clothes.” As if! Ethan glanced at the air conditioner suspiciously: “But it’s 77 degrees in here. Are you really not hot?” I replied: “It’s fine.” Mom, I can now lie with a straight face. At this point, I thought I heard Adrian snicker. My cheeks instantly felt like they were on fire. I pretended to go wash my hands to escape further questioning. I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom for a while, feeling like the inside and outside of the bathroom were two different worlds. The thought of the two men outside made me feel like I was sitting on pins and needles. If we stayed together like this, something was bound to go wrong. If only I could talk to the community workers and ask them to quarantine me somewhere else. Just as this thought crossed my mind, I heard someone knocking on the door outside. I turned my head and asked, “Who is it?” “Come out,” came Adrian’s calm voice. Had he come to hurry me to eat so quickly? I said nervously, “What for?” “To wash my hands.” “…” I had no choice but to turn the doorknob. I was immediately met with a handsome face. My heart started racing as I looked into his fox-like eyes that seemed to be smiling yet not. I just wanted to quickly get away, so I stumbled out, bumping into the doorframe. There were only two breakfast plates on the table. Ethan asked me, “Can you cook?” Feeling guilty, I nodded obediently: “Yes, what would you like?” I can look it up online and try to make it. At this point, Adrian had finished washing his hands and came out. He directly pushed his plate in front of me and said: “You eat mine.” Ethan looked at us oddly. Adrian had already pulled the other plate of breakfast towards himself and said calmly: “If you want to eat, go make it yourself in the kitchen.” Ethan immediately pouted in disappointment: “Uncle, I don’t know how to make breakfast. How about…” Adrian: “There are two more cups of instant noodles here. You can take those.” Ethan glanced at the two cups of instant noodles forgotten in the corner with a look of reluctant acceptance. He grudgingly picked up both cups, muttering: “It’s so embarrassing to eat this for breakfast.”
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