Let Me Meet You chapter 29

No Points

Both elevators were stuck on the ground floor and wouldn’t come up. When people are emotional, their patience seems to disappear entirely. Li Xuan pressed the down button repeatedly with no response, then gave up and opened the stairwell door, walking down ten floors in one go.

As he exited the stairwell, he saw a boy of about seven or eight playing with the elevator—running in and out of one door, then another. Next to him was his grandpa, who didn’t stop him but helped him press the buttons. No wonder the elevator wouldn’t move. Li Xuan couldn’t help but shout.

“Sir, have some common sense, please. What are you doing?”

“What’s it to you…? Does it bother you?” The old man turned around, realizing he was being addressed, and responded irritably.

“Of course it bothers me. Otherwise, what? I came down ten floors for a workout?” Li Xuan smirked. “Kids don’t understand, but at your age, shouldn’t you know better? Besides, it’s not safe—he could get hurt if the doors close.”

“Watch your mouth. My grandson’s not going to get caught in the door! … Ah, these young people these days, so hot-tempered. Not like back in my day…” The old man grumbled, though he seemed to reconsider arguing further, given Li Xuan’s unfriendly expression. He grabbed the boy’s hand and muttered, “Come on, let’s go.”

“But I want to play…”

“We’ll play at home.” The old man pulled the boy into the elevator. The child threw a tantrum, tugging on his grandpa’s arm, but as he looked out at Li Xuan, his crying suddenly stopped.

“Young Master Hou! Grandpa, it’s Young Master Hou!”

His voice went high with excitement. The strange title made Li Xuan hesitate for a moment before he frowned and looked over. The boy started shouting even louder.

“What the heck…” The old man muttered.

“He’s from TV! Jie watches him every night—it’s him!” The boy said, trying to dash out.

“Oh, I see… a familiar face…” The old man, reminded by the boy, suddenly recognized him a little. He forgot to hold on to his grandson, who almost bolted out of the elevator. Li Xuan instinctively stepped back, but the elevator doors closed just in time, leaving only the sounds of the boy’s shouting and the old man’s muttering: “Which star was that? A celebrity, but what lousy manners; doesn’t even know how to respect his elders…”

The smooth door clearly reflected Sheng Min’s silhouette. Li Xuan snapped back to his senses, realizing that the boy had probably been referring to a character played by Sheng Min. He pressed his temple with his hand, feeling a bit disoriented after the chaotic night. He had completely forgotten that he was now a public figure.

He didn’t follow the entertainment industry closely, and despite being tall and slender, attracting glances from people on the street, he had never had an experience of being recognized face-to-face. He had only a vague idea of how famous Sheng Min actually was. He never imagined that just stepping out, he would become familiar to everyone from eight-year-olds to eighty-year-olds.

He found it strangely amusing but couldn’t quite laugh, still upset inside. He reached for his backpack zipper to pull out a mask but was interrupted by his phone ringing.

Li Xuan glanced at the incoming call and immediately hung up. The ringtone stubbornly repeated several times, but he didn’t answer. Eventually, Sheng Min stopped calling.

“Giving up already?” Li Xuan muttered.

His mood was hard to describe. He felt bothered by the call from Sheng Min, but also realized it felt wrong not to answer. After staring at the canceled calls for a couple of seconds, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and resumed searching for the mask. However, he had been in a hurry earlier and only remembered to pack his laptop out of habit. He had forgotten other things.

He checked all his pockets and found only two pieces of chocolate. Before leaving for the recording earlier that morning, Sheng Min had given them to him, worried he might get hungry.

Li Xuan even clearly recalled Sheng Min’s expression as he seriously told him, “This one’s not too sweet, you can eat it.” Li Xuan had tried one and said it was okay, and Sheng Min had smiled, a bit pleased with himself for getting it right.

The gold-foil-wrapped candy sparkled under the light, and Li Xuan was about to toss it, but stopped as he reached the trash can. After a brief pause, he put the candy back in his pocket and turned to leave the lobby.

The area wasn’t very busy, and by nine o’clock, only a few pedestrians remained on the street. Li Xuan stopped by a convenience store at the entrance of the neighborhood, bought a bottle of water and a mask. The cashier was busy with the accounts, which spared him from being recognized again. He put on the mask, glanced at the glass door, and then bought a hat.

The locust trees were blooming, filling the air with a sweet scent, and petals fluttered down with the breeze. Li Xuan stood by the road for a moment, brushed the fallen flowers off his shoulder, and watched the car lights flicker at a distance.

He didn’t have an ID, so he couldn’t book a hotel room. He knew a few places that didn’t require IDs, like shady motels and internet cafés, but with Sheng Min’s face, it would be inconvenient. Li Xuan couldn’t be sure he’d keep the mask on all the time. If he were recognized, it would just cause more trouble.

Feeling increasingly frustrated, he rubbed his nose and thought for a moment before dialing Qi Boyuan’s number. A sweet female voice answered instead.

“Boyuan went downstairs to buy food and forgot his phone,” said Zhou Jia, who Li Xuan had met a few times. “Should I have him call you back? He’ll probably be back soon.”

“Alright,” Li Xuan said, hanging up. He took a sip of water but felt a bit hungry, so he went back to the convenience store for a sandwich and asked the cashier to heat it up. He sat at a corner table in the back, waiting for Qi Boyuan’s call, while dialing Yang Xu’s number.

“Li Xuan?”

Li Xuan almost responded, but then stopped himself and said, “No, it’s me.”

“Ge?” Yang Xu asked, confused. “Haven’t you swapped your phones back yet?”

“Where are you now?” Li Xuan ignored the question. “…Did you just get home? Can you come over here? There’s a little situation… we had a disagreement, and I left.”

“You left?! What do you mean you left?”

Before Li Xuan could explain, Yang Xu shouted, “What, did he kick you out after you argued? What kind of person is that? I even thought Li Xuan seemed decent, but this is worse than some people I know!”

“Stop making stuff up…” Li Xuan sighed, trying to regain control of the conversation. But Yang Xu didn’t listen, continuing angrily, “Ge, where are you? Wait for me, I’ll come find you. I’ll beat him up for you, Li Xuan’s such an idiot!”

“What do you mean, idiot?” With Yang Xu still ranting, there was a sound of shoes being put on in the background, likely getting ready to go out. Li Xuan had to raise his voice to interrupt, “Calm down, listen to me!”

“I’m listening, I can hear you! Is the signal bad? You don’t need to shout.” Yang Xu was still in full “hero” mode, “Should I bring a stick?”

“Bring your brain instead!” Li Xuan was starting to regret calling Yang Xu, “I didn’t ask you to start a fight… You with your skinny arms and legs holding a stick, it’d probably hurt you more than him. I just thought you could go over and keep him company, since he might be in a bad mood.”

“Huh?” Yang Xu sounded surprised and deflated, “I’m supposed to keep him company? But I don’t even know him.”

You couldn’t be more familiar with him, Li Xuan thought to himself.

Just then, the cashier returned with the heated sandwich. She seemed to have noticed the loud conversation and gave Li Xuan a curious glance. Li Xuan casually adjusted his mask and said, “Thanks.”

“Just do as I tell you to, since you’re already going out,” Li Xuan said after the cashier left, finally opening the sandwich and taking a bite. It didn’t taste great, but it was edible. He then remembered that Sheng Min still hadn’t eaten.

“Pick up dinner for him on your way too.”

“What should I buy?”

Li Xuan had planned to say “whatever,” but paused before replying, “Mango sticky rice.”

“He likes that too? Alright then.” Yang Xu muttered, then asked, “Ge, where are you? Should I bring one for you too? …Will you be staying at my place tonight?”

“You don’t need to worry about me, just take care of him.”

“Okay,” Yang Xu responded, sounding slightly unhappy, but still dutifully asked, “Do you need anything else?”

Li Xuan supported his head with one hand, while the other unconsciously twirled the two chocolates in his pocket. He casually said, “The snack shop should be closed by now, right?… Will you pass by Binjiang Road? See if that dessert shop is open. If it is, could you buy some osmanthus sugar? You know which one I mean.”

Sheng Min had even insisted that he bring that candy when he went to “pay respects,” so it seemed like he bought it often, and Yang Xu probably knew about it too.

“Yeah, I know,” Yang Xu responded, a bit annoyed. “But Binjiang Road is in the south of the city, and I live in the north. You know that, Ge..”

Li Xuan had no idea where he lived and was about to say forget it when Yang Xu added, “Also, that shop went out of business last year.”

“Out of business?” Li Xuan was stunned.

“Yeah, you used to buy from there every week. After it went out of business, you never ate that stuff again. You didn’t want anything from other places either…” Yang Xu paused, then asked carefully, “Did you really forget where I live, or are you so angry at Li Xuan that you’ve gone crazy?”

His tone was very serious, clearly not joking. As if Li Xuan just saying “Hmm” could lead to him rushing to take him to the hospital.

“If I really went crazy, it’d be your fault,” Li Xuan sighed, pressing his forehead, remembering when Sheng Min had mentioned that dessert shop—he had almost jumped off the building but was forcibly dragged back by him from the balcony. Was that moment when he forgot?

But even on the verge of death, he was thinking about buying it. Did he love it that much?

Li Xuan glanced at the glass window nearby, thinking about how Sheng Min loved sweets but still had perfect teeth, making his lips look particularly rosy. Li Xuan absentmindedly touched his tongue to his lips and immediately felt embarrassed, turning his face away quickly. He grabbed a bottle of water and drank it in a hurry.

“Ge?” Yang Xu called out when he heard the noise.

“Nothing,” Li Xuan wiped his mouth carelessly. “If it went out of business, then forget it.”

“Okay,” Yang Xu replied, then continued, “But Ge, you’re being way too nice to him. He kicked you out, and you’re still thinking about what he eats, buying him food and dessert…”

“I left on my own,” Li Xuan corrected him. “You don’t have to fuss about it. He’ll feel better if he eats something sweet… If not, it’s fine.”

“Are you in a good mood? Why do you care about him?” Yang Xu was upset.

“Am I in a good mood?” Li Xuan thought. “Not at all. Has my anger dissipated? Not even a little.”

After spending the entire afternoon and evening cleaning up Sheng Min’s mess, he didn’t even appreciate it. Instead, he kept trying to distance himself from him… But then, he thought about the defeated yet composed look on Sheng Min’s face when he left. Anger aside, not wanting to see him was one thing, but he still didn’t want Sheng Min alone at home, left to spiral into his own thoughts.

“Am I not kind-hearted?” Li Xuan sighed.

“Kind-hearted?!” Yang Xu didn’t believe him. “Ge, I’m not saying this to offend you, but you’ve changed completely since you started dating him. This is just…”

“Just what?”

“Just love brain!” Yang Xu laughed.

“Stop talking nonsense! Love-brain…” Li Xuan nearly choked, about to scold him. “Stop throwing around terms you don’t understand. How many times do I have to say it? It’s not that kind of relationship!”

Li Xuan thought he had made himself clear, but Yang Xu’s thoughts seemed to follow a single, unchangeable path.

“Not that kind of relationship? You two broke up…. Yet you left the house for him? Breakup gift?” Yang Xu fired off questions rapidly, not waiting for a response, then concluded, “I knew it. You’re no better than him.”

“My god… Fine, fine… whatever.” Li Xuan sighed, “If I could find someone else, I really wouldn’t be calling you. Think whatever you want. Just come quickly. Be polite and don’t talk nonsense. Just stay with him.”

“So, did you break up or not?”

“Why are you so concerned about my love life? Are you secretly in love with me?”

“I’m straight!” Yang Xu retorted, sounding panicked. “I mean, Ge, I didn’t mean anything by it…”

Who isn’t straight, Li Xuan thought, then heard Yang Xu ask, “So you two didn’t break up…”

It was clear that Yang Xu could only process things in one way.

“No, we didn’t. No, we didn’t.” Li Xuan stared at the ceiling, the harsh fluorescent light making his head hurt. He gave up on explaining. “Just come quickly, and remember to bring him food. If you don’t have anything else to do, stay with him for the night. Text me when you arrive.”

Yang Xu seemed to still be saying something, but Li Xuan hung up. He might not be very smart, but Yang Xu would definitely do what ‘Sheng Min’ asked.

Qi Boyuan still hadn’t returned his call, but Sheng Min had called several more times. However, his calls were automatically disconnected while Li Xuan was on the phone with Yang Xu.

The cashier finished sorting out the accounts and began tidying up the shelves. Li Xuan ate the rest of his sandwich, put his mask back on, grabbed his backpack, and walked out.

He stood at the intersection, called a ride-share, but the driver didn’t accept right away, probably because the location was off. Li Xuan wasn’t in a hurry, waiting while seeing a WeChat notification pop up. It was a message from Sheng Min.

Just a small period.

Li Xuan hadn’t figured out what he meant when the message was retracted.

Soon after, another message came through. It wasn’t anything else, and certainly wasn’t asking him to return. It said that since he didn’t have his ID, it might be inconvenient. He could go to a hotel near the northern airport, where Sheng Min had a fixed suite for convenience when catching flights. He could pick up the room key directly at the front desk. It even included the hotel location.

What did that mean? Was he trying to stop him from coming back?

Li Xuan licked his teeth, thinking how calling Yang Xu had been a brainless decision, infected with Sheng Min’s martyr complex. Another message came through.

“If you don’t want to go, just come back and sleep here. I can go out… You’re angry, but remember to eat and don’t stay up too late. My stomach’s bad, and I get migraines. If I don’t eat well or sleep late, it makes me feel worse.”

There was a small smiley face at the end. It was quickly retracted and sent again, this time without the smiley.

Li Xuan was stunned for a moment. Sheng Min didn’t apologize or mention the real issue between them.

However, what Li Xuan recalled was the initial message that had also been retracted—a simple period. Li Xuan suddenly realized that it was actually a cautious attempt to test the waters. Sheng Min had called him but probably thought he was blocked, and fearing that his WeChat might also be on the blacklist, he sent a period to see if he could get a response.

He wasn’t afraid of Li Xuan coming back, he was afraid Li Xuan didn’t want to see him.

And indeed, Li Xuan didn’t want to.

Li Xuan furrowed his brows, pressing his lips together, still not replying to the message. He stared at the phone screen for a long time without exiting the app.

“Are we leaving? Where to?” There was still no one picking up the ride share. A taxi, however, pulled up.

Li Xuan opened the car door and sat down, canceling the ride share order. He glanced at Sheng Min’s message once more, finally putting away his phone without mentioning the hotel address. “High-tech Software Park.”