Difficult to Complete chapter 5

The next day, just before getting off work, a client suddenly arrived. Gu Yan and another department head accompanied the client to dinner, briefly discussing future cooperation.

The dinner went well, and many issues that had been unresolved for a long time were settled with just a few words.

Gu Yan had drunk a bit too much, and the swaying of the elevator made him feel nauseous. He vaguely felt he had forgotten something, but couldn’t quite recall what it was.

It wasn’t until the elevator doors opened and he saw Shen Qi waiting by the door that he remembered he had an appointment with Shen Qi to pick up something after work.

“Sorry for making you wait so long.” He rubbed his temples vigorously to clear his head and invited Shen Qi inside.

Everything related to Shen Qi had already been cleared out of the house; even the slippers were gone. Gu Yan had to give Shen Qi his own pair to wear:

“Go ahead and get what you need.”

Gu Yan could maintain friendships with many of his exes, but he couldn’t forgive Shen Qi. Offering his slippers was the last gesture of politeness he could manage. Beyond that, he wouldn’t go so far as to offer a drink or engage in pleasantries.

Shen Qi stood dumbfounded at the entrance while Gu Yan walked barefoot into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and then didn’t come out again.

Gu Yan probably wasn’t planning to come out before he left. Shen Qi thought.

So he didn’t touch the slippers, and, following Gu Yan’s example, walked barefoot into the room.

But to his disappointment, the photo that had been on the bedside table was now missing. He searched the room for a long time but couldn’t find it.

Not just the photo, everything that once belonged to him in this home had vanished.

Some of it he took when he left, and the rest… was probably thrown away or discarded by Gu Yan.

The sudden overwhelming sense of loss enveloped Shen Qi. He sat despondently on the floor, staring at the empty bedside table, obsessively thinking—

It shouldn’t be like this, it really shouldn’t. There should be a photo here, a photo of me and Gu Yan together, where Gu Yan is smiling at me, and his smile looks particularly beautiful.

But now that photo is gone. Everything is gone.

A long time later, Shen Qi finally got up from the floor and went out of the room. Gu Yan was still in the kitchen, but he had gone from facing the sink to leaning against it.

He was holding the glass they had bought together from the supermarket, sipping water intermittently.

When he saw Shen Qi approach, he lifted his eyelids slightly, and asked tiredly, “Did you find it?”

Shen Qi shook his head and slowly walked towards him, stopping just at the kitchen door, leaning on the glass door with a look of grievance, and asked:

“Gu Yan, where did our photo go?”

Gu Yan’s head was pounding. He wanted to ask Shen Qi which photo he was referring to since they had taken so many, but it didn’t really matter anymore. They weren’t together anymore—what was the point of having the photo?

So he bluntly said, “I threw it away.”

Shen Qi’s eyes turned red instantly, and he mumbled in disbelief, “You threw it away… how could you throw it away…”

Gu Yan’s head hurt even more. He just wanted to take a shower and go to bed, and he was exhausted from dealing with Shen Qi.

He started to wonder why, even though he was the one who was drunk, Shen Qi seemed to be even more out of control. What was Shen Qi trying to do?

“Shen Qi, what are you doing? If you’ve got what you need, please leave. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

His words were already quite rude, but Shen Qi seemed not to have heard them at all. He just stared at him blankly, repeatedly murmuring, “How could it be gone?”

Then he moved a step closer, as if trying to approach Gu Yan, but for some unknown reason, he pulled back.

The groove of the sliding door seemed like a chasm between them, making Shen Qi hesitant to cross it.

Gu Yan furrowed his brows, his remaining patience running out, “Shen Qi, please leave.”

He regretted letting Shen Qi in; he should have just told him that everything related to him had been thrown away, and whether it was compensation for money or items should have been stated clearly, without wasting time in this sad manner.

Shen Qi’s eyes were even redder now. The person who had hesitated to move a moment ago suddenly rushed over, grabbing Gu Yan’s collar and pulling him down, asking hoarsely:

“Gu Yan, I can’t find our photos. Where did you put them? Can you give them back to me, please?”

It was both a plea and a whine.

Gu Yan, who had been smelling strongly of alcohol, now noticed that Shen Qi also smelled of alcohol. It was clear that Shen Qi was drunk and causing a scene.

“Gu Yan…” Shen Qi continued to call him, the hot breath making Gu Yan very uncomfortable.

He lifted his hand to free his collar from Shen Qi’s grip, then subtly moved back, placing his arm between them, and said coldly, “Shen Qi, stop acting crazy.”

This wasn’t the first time Shen Qi was drunk. When was the last time? Five years ago, at the farewell dinner before graduation.

They didn’t study the same major or belong to the same college; Gu Yan was in design, while Shen Qi was in marketing.

The farewell dinner was with Shen Qi’s classmates. By the time Gu Yan arrived to pick him up, Shen Qi was already heavily drunk, calling a certain male classmate from his dorm “dad.”

His eyes were red, with a few tears on his eyelashes, looking both messy and innocent. The male classmate, embarrassed, seemed relieved to see Gu Yan.

“Oh my God, Gu Yan, you finally came. It’s been more than half an hour. I don’t want the whole hotel to know that I’m suddenly a dad!”

The conflict between Shen Qi and the classmate wasn’t big, and graduation was just around the corner, so it was easy to let go of the small disputes.

Gu Yan apologized and thanked the classmate, helping Shen Qi up, but Shen Qi refused to move from the chair, crying and burying his tear-streaked face into Gu Yan’s arms. His usually cold voice became soft and hoarse with the alcohol.

Gu Yan held him by the back, comforting him like a child, “Be good, let’s go home.”

But Shen Qi suddenly burst into loud and tragic tears, scaring the remaining classmates, who came over to offer their concern.

Shen Qi cried even louder, becoming drenched in salty tears.

Gu Yan, panicked and helpless, kept trying to comfort him and ask what happened, but Shen Qi refused to answer, only crying until he eventually fell asleep in his arms.

After returning home, Shen Qi woke up, and Gu Yan tried to clean him up so he could sleep better. But Shen Qi wanted him to stay and sleep with him.

That night, Shen Qi was unusually different, actively trying different positions and saying things he was usually too shy to express, as if offering himself entirely to Gu Yan.

In hindsight, Shen Qi was probably contemplating how to break up with him. Graduation was a good time for breakups.

They fooled around until very late, exhausted, and fell asleep in each other’s arms. But in the middle of the night, Shen Qi had a stomach ache, sweating profusely, and was taken to the hospital for acute gastroenteritis.

Gu Yan was anxious and annoyed, tending to Shen Qi all night. Since then, he had been keeping a close watch on Shen Qi, not letting him drink too much.

“Gu Yan, please, I beg you to return the photos to me…”

Shen Qi was really drunk, but Gu Yan was no longer willing to indulge him.

Whether he was drunk or sick, Shen Qi was no longer his concern. He had no obligation or responsibility to take care of him.

Moreover, Shen Qi was a straight man. Now that they had broken up, he might end up feeling disgusted or resentful if Gu Yan touched or cared for him, causing unnecessary trouble for both. Gu Yan wasn’t going to make that mistake.

“Gu Yan…”

Tears, which had filled Shen Qi’s eyes, finally surged out uncontrollably.

Gu Yan was actually the one who was most reluctant to see Shen Qi cry, but at this moment, those silent tears and this disheveled yet beautiful face seemed to have no effect on him at all.

In just two months, the person he once cherished so deeply had become nothing more than a familiar stranger to him.

And indeed, it was strange. After seeing each other day in and day out for seven years, he naively thought he knew everything about Shen Qi inside and out. But now he realized that he didn’t know his boyfriend at all, not even the fact that someone he had slept with thousands of times was actually straight.

It was enough. No matter what photos Shen Qi wanted or whether he found the things he was looking for, Gu Yan didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and dialed Tang Yan:

“Shen Qi is here with me. Come and take him away.”