(Fast forward 2 years: the boys are in college and living together in an apartment outside of school)

Fucking great! For like the nth time this week, Xi Gu once again called to cancel dinner plans and to say that he'd be home late because he had a shitton of work that he needed to get ahead on. He was a fucking freshman! Just how much coursework would they be having this early on that he was tied up so much?! Of course, Hao Ting was aware that Xi Gu was not only busy with school work. As soon as they had gotten to college, Xi Gu had immediately gotten himself involved with student council within the first week.

Now, it came as no surprise to Hao Ting that Xi Gu was so hardworking and liked to think ahead about his future. When they had sat down and discussed what they looked forward to and what each of them expected from the new experiences they were about to embark on, to no one's surprise, Hao Ting's response had been a rather silly one. On the other hand, Xi Gu had spoken in length about how he planned to keep his head straight, maintain a perfect GPA and, of course, the Student Association.

Since meeting Hao Ting, it was no secret that Xi Gu had learned to open up and step out of his shell more and more, therefore he could now foster friendships and speak to other people more comfortably now. It made Hao Ting happy. More so when he saw how lively Xi Gu had gotten over the past many months.

Xi Gu had gone from that introverted kid that Hao Ting hardly ever noticed in school to his favorite person in the whole world ... and to this grown, smart, handsome and ambitious young man that Hao Ting both admired and loved so much.

Student council was an opportunity Xi Gu aspired to be a part of. It was a great opportunity that, if taken and handled well, would help out even in the future and even though it took up a lot of Xi Gu's time, Hao Ting couldn't really be mad at that.

But it had been several days now of Xi Gu committing long and late hours and Hao Ting was beginning to get lonely. They had already postponed date night twice and, on night three, Hao Ting's impatience and frustration was getting the better of him. He had a mind to march over to campus and drag Xi Gu out of those meetings but he'd have to push such a thought to be rearmost part of his mind... only when he was desperate to get into real trouble with Xi Gu would he do such a thing.

It was a difficult position to be in: wanting to spend all his time with his boyfriend and knowing that he had to keep his distance in some matters and let Xi Gu venture out on his own because, as much as he wanted to, it was impossible to be the only entity revolving around him.

Well, another ruined night! Hao Ting changed out of his clean clothes because, well... no need and threw on the closest sloppy, casual thing he could find: baggy shorts and an old, saggy T-shirt.

He was just gonna grab the controller and play the first game he saw on the monitor until he couldn't think about anything.

He was not mad. He just missed his sweetheart so much!Thinking about taking him out on the town to a nice restaurant to eat good food, holding his hand while they walked along the streets, coming home and throwing themselves onto the couch, a little drunk and awfully touchy with each other... aw, fond memories. Fond and arousing memories!

This was just haunting. Out of nowhere, he had started to picture all the things he would do with Xi Gu right here on the very couch he now sat on. Oh, if walls could speak! Those conquests were definitely not sanitary nor proper for a couch that they let their guests sit on but hey, the rules of don't-ask-don't-tell applied.

Perhaps he needed some company right about now -someone to distract him from the lewd, sweet, torturous thoughts that were threatening to invade his mind any minute now. He knew all too well where that train of thought led; he'd soon be pulling up one of the videos they'd made while making love. Then he'd so shamelessly cast it onto a larger screen --the television-- and then everything would disappear around him as he reached down his pants and pulled out his cock and would then spend the next... god knows how long, tugging it like a pubescent teenage boy who had just discovered his penis and women –both at the same time. Yes, he knew he was a dirty motherfucker. He acknowledged it. It didn't matter, though.

Before he could sink into his newfound genius idea fueled by his immense yearning and loneliness, a sudden loud banging came from the door. Only two people in his life ever did such atrocities to his door and that was Sun Bo and Xia En. He didn't even get to yell, "Come in!" because it was already flying open and hitting the wall real hard as the two fellas marched right in.

"You know you don't have to attempt to break my door every time you guys come over, right?" he jibed as he stared ridiculously at them.

Sun Bo lightly chuckled and playfully slapped Hao Ting's back. Xia En had already opened the fridge and was helping himself to an unknown snack. After looking around, Sun Bo noticed something was missing and scrunched up his brows, "What's up, dude? Why's it so quiet in here?"

"What do you mean?" Hao Ting asked.

"Just... feels a little depressing in here. Where's uhh... where's Yu Xi Gu?"

Hao Ting huffed and glanced over the couch at Sun Bo, "He's busy with a school activity. He'll be back later, though."

Sun Bo shrugged with slight disinterest and mumbled an, "OK."

"So what are you guys doing here anyway?" Hao Ting asked when he saw that Sun Bo had already run off to join Xia En in raiding the fridge, "And did you not eat before you came here? What's up with you two?" he was only asking because they were going at it as if they'd just come from spending some weeks in a deserted desert island.

"We just came by to see if you wanted to go out tonight since you're not doing anything." Xia En responded between bites of a cold sandwich that Hao Ting's mother had made and dropped off this afternoon.

"Wait.." Hao Ting frowned, "So you stormed in here assuming that I was all alone and I had nothing to do?!"

Xia En dismissively nodded, "pretty much, yes."

Unbelievable! Xia En and Sun Bo had just stormed into his apartment, unannounced and without knocking because they had assumed that he'd be all alone and apparently not doing anything? While they might have been right, still!

He turned sharply and incredulously glared at his friends, "You didn't even call to confirm whether I might be busy! Xi Gu and me would have been doing something and then you two could have walked in on us!"

"But you're not..." Sun Bo matter-of-factly stated.

"But we could have been!" Hao Ting insisted as if he was trying to prove a point.

"But you're not!" Sun Bo insisted.

Seeing where this was going, Xia En quickly stepped in, "Alright, alright! So, are we doing this or not?!"

Hao Ting settled back down and sank back into the couch. He exasperatedly sighed and then said, "I don't know... I was planning on staying here and waiting for Xi Gu to come back home so we could do something together."

"You mean sex?" the blunt question came out of Sun Bo. Well, it was not a secret to his friends that he and Xi Gu had sex and lots of it. But getting walked in on would be a whole other matter. Hao Ting was actually surprised that it hadn't happened yet seeing as he and Xi Gu did it out here in the living room a lot and his friends had no sense of privacy at all, all willy-nilly with the barging in.

"Why do you care?"

Hao Ting's face flushed a bit and the other two found an opportunity to mockingly laugh at him for a while. He really wanted to stay and wait to receive Xi Gu as he got home because he'd be exhausted and spent. He hadn't seen him all day and, not to be clingy, he missed looking at that cute, little face. It really was the highlight of his day.

But then again if he refused to join them he'd be forced to remain alone in this mind-numbing, quiet room, waiting like a tortured little puppy. Maybe going out nonetheless would do him no harm. It was too depressing being all alone which would definitely lead to him doing some very depressing things.

"Alright!" after thinking it over for a minute, he shrugged and said, "I'm just gonna call Xi Gu and let him know so he won't have to wonder when he gets back and finds that I'm not here."

After two dials without an answer on the other end, he decided to leave a text message before throwing on a fresh pair of clothes and, within a few minutes, they were out the door.

Sun Bo picked a small bar & grill they went to often. It was a little early on in the night so the place was still quiet and not a lot of people were in here. The plan was to have a few drinks and some food, have a good time with his friends and then leave when Hao Ting started complaining about being out too late and how Xi Gu didn't like that.

His friends liked to rip on him about how much little Xi Gu had him wrapped around his little finger but it was all in good fun and, anyway, there was no lie in those accusations. He was definitely whipped and head over heels for Xi Gu. In fact, he was very often submissive to Xi Gu in bed, too, but that was a secret known only to Sun Bo and one of those secrets he was never allowed to tell anyone else.

Hao Ting and Sun Bo had two kinds of secrets between each other: ones that were OK to tell and ones they swore to keep to their deaths. Neither of them could break it because Hao Ting, too, knew some of the deepest of Sun Bo's secrets in great detail. Of course, there was also the matter of best friendship, therefore the codes of guaranteed confidentiality and the like applied.

Sun Bo and Hao Ting chatted away on unimportant matters while Xia En stayed to the side, wolfishly eyeing a group of girls that sat close by. His friends did not even mind him. That was how he was. Once girls came into his head, everything else disappeared. The other two could get up and abandon him and he wouldn't notice.

As they were leaving, finally deciding to leave Xia En behind, Hao Ting took out his phone and glanced at it. He shook his head and tensed his jaw while he slid it back into his pocket. Sun Bo noticed the change in his demeanor and asked, "What is it?"

"It's Xi Gu. He must be really busy since he hasn't contacted me to let me know that he's home yet." Hao Ting answered.

Sun Bo was about to speak when something caught his eye from the far end of the room. His brows furrowed in confusion as he turned his head back to Hao Ting before asking, "Where did you say he was again?"

"At a late student council meeting at school." Hao Ting responded without paying attention to the expression Sun Bo was displaying on his face.

"Then who's that over there?" Sun Bo pointed at a man and a woman who were sitting across from each other at the far end, very cozy and busy chatting away, "He looks an awful lot like Xi Gu!"

Hao Ting whipped his head around sharply in the direction Sun Bo was pointing to. When his eyes settled on the two people, he had to rub his eyes twice to make sure he was seeing right. To the far right corner at a quiet spot sat what looked like Xi Gu on a date with a very beautiful girl who seemed to be enjoying his company immensely telling by how much she was smiling and blushing.

"What the fuck!" Taken aback, Hao Ting spat out.

"Relax, man." Sun Bo was quick to pacify after he saw the state in which Hao Ting had suddenly gotten into.

"What's Xi Gu doing here?!" Hao Ting looked to Sun Bo for an answer as if he knew what was going on.

Sun Bo shrugged, "I don't know. I'm looking at the same thing you are!"

A certain chord inside Hao Ting suddenly snapped while his face flamed up with the hottest color imaginable. Just what was he looking at? How was Yu Xi Gu here right now? What was going on and who was that girl with him?! Hao Ting's head filled up with so many unanswered questions that it could have exploded.

He couldn't just stand here and do nothing about it. His questions needed answers and who better to provide them than the culprit himself? His were pure, uncut feelings of jealousy and rage as he started to charge forward but before he could take two steps, Sun Bo jumped and restrained him by the shoulders.

It was obvious the thoughts running through Hao Ting's head. Sun Bo knew the conclusions that Hao Ting was already drawing and could tell by the look on his face that he was furious and a little confused.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Sun Bo said as he restrained Hao Ting by the collar, "what are you doing? Calm down first and think before you run over there and end up doing something you'll probably regret!" he was right. Hao Ting was not exactly known for thinking before he acted and, while Xi Gu knew it, too, Sun Bo was not sure that particular attribute would play out well in this situation.

Sure, this did not look good at all. The picture of Xi Gu sitting with a beer in front of him and, across from him, a gorgeous girl sipping delicately on a cocktail appeared very suspicious. It was out of character for Xi Gu.

Hao Ting took in his friend's words and decided to think for a minute, "You're right, I can't just go over there. Maybe it's not what it looks like." However, his brain really was not registering what his mouth was saying. What it looked like was his boyfriend on a date. What was he expected to think?

"Yes, she's most likely just a friend grabbing a drink in a very casual way." While Sun Bo spoke, he remembered to keep a tight hold on Hao Ting because otherwise Hao Ting would have already shot over to Xi Gu like a cannon.

By this time, Hao Ting's mind had already gone a bit numb out of a strong refusal to accept rationality. There was nothing on earth that Hao Ting was as possessive over as Xi Gu and right now every fiber of his being was leaning towards rushing over there and scratching the girl's face off. It was a good thing Sun Bo was doing his best to ground him.

His heart constricted from the slow pangs of pain that were already manifesting. A fit of anxiety mixed with rage settled at the pit of his stomach and made him feel like he could throw up. A certain sadness engulfed him as a new realization came upon him -he wasn't sure when but he was suddenly realizing a deep-set insecurity he didn't know he had.

By looking into Hao Ting's eyes, Sun Bo could practically read all the things that were going on within his mind. He had been around Hao Ting's possessiveness enough to know where this would lead. He needed to defuse this situation stat before Hao Ting's impulses caused him to fly off the handle and who knew what disasters would follow?

So, to run interference, with all his might, he managed to drag Hao Ting out of the building amid struggles and protests. When he finally let go, Hao Ting was seething as glared at him, "Why did you do that!?" he bellowed prompting Sun Bo to take a quick step back to create some distance.

"OK, calm down," Sun Bo began to defend his actions before Hao Ting would charge at him, "Let's think about this for a minute."

"What's there to think about?" Hao Ting spat, "Weren't you in there with me? Didn't you see what I just saw? Xi Gu is in there with a girl and they're on a date!" he furiously paced back and forth as Sun Bo continued to block the pathway in case Hao Ting tried to go back in.

"We can't be sure what was really happening in there. She could be a friend and if you go in there and cause a scene and you turn out to be wrong... imagine what that would do to Xi Gu. Also, most importantly, your relationship!" That made a lot of sense at a time Hao Ting desperately wanted to cling onto his irrational fears and anger. It was just that he had had a really tiresome commute back home, excited for date night, only to be left hanging. He, of course, understood why but he had somehow conveniently forgotten what those reasons were.

He knew Sun Bo was right and that he needed to think this through. His heart told him that Xi Gu would never step out on him but his mind was still all over the place. He just couldn't help the jealousy that choked him and made it hard for him to swallow.

He didn't know any of the people that Xi Gu worked with because he'd not met them yet therefore he couldn't really tell whether that girl was one of them. He thought of her back in there enjoying Xi Gu's company. How her beauty shone bright even in such low lighting. They looked perfect together. Anybody could easily assume that they were an item and that little piece of information made Hao Ting want to run back in there, take Xi Gu's hand, pull him close and kiss him until the whole world knew it was him Xi Gu belonged to.

"Why would he lie to me?" Hao Ting helplessly asked as he leaned back onto the brick wall behind him. This fear he was harboring refused to go away no matter how much he tried to internally reassure himself.

Sun Bo frowned at his best friend. He wondered how he was supposed to come up with enough answers that made enough sense for Hao Ting to calm down. He shrugged and then said, "Maybe he didn't. Maybe he was on his way home and ran into a friend. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he gets home." When in doubt, spitball.

Hao Ting continued to pose endless questions and it became Sun Bo's job to counter them with sensible enough responses until Hao Ting was finally able to agree to go back home peacefully. He made sure that Hao Ting was calm enough and wouldn't do such a stupid thing as to go back out to where Xi Gu was. And, even though he knew Hao Ting wouldn't do that, he also knew that he was going to be in a state of unrest, most likely waiting by the door until Xi Gu came back –after which he would lose his mind all over again.

Hao Ting waited and waited. An hour passed by while all he did was stare intently at the clock on his phone or at the door. The only things that filled his mind were the deeply upsetting things he had seen back there with Xi Gu and the girl.

He hated going to a different college. He hated the tiring commute and the traffic. He would have thought that he would have caved in and moved closer to campus by now -a notion made even clearer by his dad, but it just never turned out that way. The commute wasn't the worst and no ease of travel could ever beat getting to come home to Xi Gu every day.

He only had to worry about Friday evenings like today. That was when the worst traffic was on but the weekends made up for the nightmare.

Hao Ting had been so excited for this night but it was not shaping up to the excitement he had hoped for. Instead he was being forced to face his worst fears. Like what if Xi Gu was broadening his horizons and attempting to taste different waters? That couldn't be, Hao Ting argued within himself. There was no way that Xi Gu had already stopped loving him. This had to be a misunderstanding. That girl had to be a non-factor.

He knew he should stop torturing himself -partly because Sun Bo had laid out some good points and partly because he trusted Xi Gu. But the thing about jealousy is that it really does not care about common sense. And worse when it came to man with such obsessive feelings towards his boyfriend.

How could such a small matter take the most secure thing in his life, tarnish it and then turn it into something as ugly as jealousy and insecurity? That's not how they were as Hao Ting and Xi Gu.

Their hearts were intertwined as one and the trust between them was unbreakable.

While Hao Ting paced restlessly across the room, he heard a key turn in the keyhole and in walked Xi Gu, poised. Hao Ting froze in place as soon as he saw him and remained staring. The oblivious Xi Gu smiled widely when he saw his Hao Ting standing there seemingly impatiently awaiting him.

He dropped his bags by the door and ran forward excitedly to throw his dainty arms around Hao Ting's neck, "Hey, babe!" he said against Hao Ting's skin, "I missed you so much!"

Hao Ting reciprocated the hug, loving the feel of Xi Gu's body against his and the touch of those soft lips when they warmly pecked him on his cheek. A moment ago, he had been extremely fired up about getting the answers straight out of Xi Gu but upon the sight of that gentle, flawless face, he found himself losing his voice. There was no way he could see fault in this outstanding human.

He now understood Sun Bo's advice to take it easy. He thought about what he had seen earlier and how angry and betrayed it had made him feel but how to bring it up without sounding unreasonably jealous?

Xi Gu reached out and took both of Hao Ting's palms in his and squeezed as he squinted with an obvious look of guilt spread across his face, "I am SO sorry I missed our date again. I promise it will never happen again. This is the last time, OK?"

That cute face he was making... Hao Ting's kryptonite. He so badly wanted to question who that girl he'd been with and all kinds of questions surrounding the subject but Xi Gu kept talking and lowering his will to bring up unpleasant things.

"Did you eat?" Xi Gu asked and Hao Ting nodded.

Hao Ting hadn't spoken actual words since Xi Gu got back and it was starting to seem suspicious. Although a thousand things swam through his mind, not one word made it out of his mouth. He was also starting to notice that Xi Gu had no intentions of mentioning where he'd really been.

Suspicion mounted within the recently mute Hao Ting as Xi Gu caught on to the strange atmosphere in the room, "Something wrong? Are you really that mad that you won't talk to me?" Xi Gu pulled out his lower lip and puffed his cheeks in a cute pout, stepping forward to wrap his arms around the taller male's waist, "want me to make it up to you?"

Make it up... that sounded like something Hao Ting definitely wanted to do in every sense that Xi Gu meant it. His pulse was already racing as he looked at Xi Gu's flirtatious face and felt the delicate hands run up and down his back invitingly.

Tempting...

When he felt Xi Gu's hand reach down and grab his ass, Hao Ting jumped back with the realization that if he did not voice out his concerns now, he wouldn't be able to for the next very many hours. He wasn't pleased with Xi Gu treating what he had done as if it was nothing either but when Xi Gu seized him again and planted a strong kiss on his lips, the will of a feeble man with a weakness for his partner's kisses prevailed.

His lips willfully moved in response to Xi Gu's wet tongue, enjoying the way his boy enthusiastically kissed him –clearly ready to make up in every corner of the apartment all night long. A sudden realization struck him; he was sure he had seen him drinking earlier but he couldn't understand why he couldn't taste a single hint of alcohol as he tasted his mouth.

When they pulled apart, Xi Gu had a slight frown when he asked, "Mmm, you taste different. Did you have a drink?" the question was more a curiosity than an accusation.

"Just a bit," Hao Ting affirmed with a hoarse voice brought about by staying quiet for so long, "Sun Bo, Xia En and I went out for a drink tonight."

Xi Gu guiltily looked down and muttered an, "Oh." Of course he was aware that Hao Ting was possibly lonely being by himself after their plans for the night had been canceled so he might have called his bros and gone out to kill the boredom and/or frustration.

"It was fun but then I had to come back so that I'd be home when you got back," Hao Ting said, putting on a small side smile. He was aching to bring up the girl now that they were finally both using words to communicate. Not that he wasn't enjoying the need for passion in Xi Gu, but because her face refused to leave his head however hard he tried.

"I'm sorry again that I wasn't here," Xi Gu apologized once again. He really felt like the worst boyfriend ever for treating Hao Ting like an afterthought. That was not the way he intended it. As he studied Hao Ting's face, he was aware of the unhappiness that lay beneath those usually bright eyes and there was nothing he wanted more than to kiss all the troubles away but he could do him one better, "but I've got some good news that I think is gonna make you really happy!" his mischievous smile came on as he poked at Hao Ting's side playfully.

"Who was she?" Hao Ting suddenly blurted out with obvious disregard of what Xi Gu was trying to say because he had hardly been listening.

"Huh?"

"The girl you were with, who was she?" the question escaped out of Hao Ting's mouth with a heavy hint unintended mistrust and doubt.

"What?" Xi Gu had not yet caught up with what Hao Ting was driving at or how he even knew.

"The place you two were, that's where I just came from," Hao Ting filled in the blanks impatiently, "I saw you. Is that why you've been so busy and coming home late?"

"You were there, too? Why didn't you tell me so that way we could have come back home together?"

"Didn't wanna disturb your cozy date."

It was then that Xi Gu developed a proper reaction to this line of questioning by backing away from Hao Ting and then looking up at the taller male with an incredulous expression on his face, "What?!" his voice came out sharp, "what are you trying to say?"

Hao Ting's tone was calm and collected the entire time as he continued to accuse, "I'm asking why my boyfriend would take a girl out on the night he knew we were having a date."

Just what in the hell was happening all of a sudden? The mood had gone from please rip my clothes off to why are you cheating on me? at the drop of a hat.

"Are you being like this because I was hanging out with a girl?" for some reason, albeit the blatant display of doubtfulness by Hao Ting, Xi Gu almost chuckled humorously from Hao Ting's behavior.

"Why, don't I have a right to be?"

Xi Gu should've been offended that that was how Hao Ting viewed him; as someone who would be so easy to cheat, but really, Hao Ting's sourpuss demeanor appeared incredibly cute to him, "Hao Ting, that's a senior from my faculty!"

Hao Ting turned away and lightly scoffed, "Sure."

"I mean it. There's nothing between me and her... she's also the Student Association president. I was with her because I had something to speak with her about."

The skepticism in Hao Ting insisted, "Was there a need to have that talk in a bar over drinks?"

Xi Gu pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Well, not really but she was meeting her boyfriend there and what I was gonna tell her wouldn't take long anyway. And I did not even touch my drink!" The mention of a boyfriend surprised Hao Ting as well as made him feel stupid and unreasonable.

"And what was that exactly?" wow, what was with Hao Ting tonight? Usually, he wouldn't be this quick to assume things and Xi Gu was noticing this new change. Hao Ting's paranoia was baseless but still real and Xi Gu wanted to smack the silliness out of him.

Anyway, it was time to put Hao Ting out of his running thoughts and out of his misery, "I was talking to her about relinquishing my duties as the freshman representative of my faculty in the Student Association."

Hao Ting's eyes immediately went wide with shock, "What!?"

"Yea, I'm quitting." Xi Gu affirmed as he looked at a dumbfounded Hao Ting.

All of Hao Ting's worries were gone and replaced with brand new ones. He knew the level of importance that position held in Xi Gu's heart, "What! Why would you do that?"

It was now Xi Gu's turn to turn away shyly. He cleared his throat and stepped forward to cradle Hao Ting's face in his hands when he saw the confusion written across it, "No, it's OK. I can rejoin next year... it will be fine."

Hao Ting remained confused, "But why would you quit. What about your scholarship and the future and all that stuff that's important to you?!"

"My scholarship only depends on my academic performance –which is great right now, so that won't be a problem if I left my position in the Student Association. It's only keeping me too busy and away from the important things I actually want to do." His eyes never left Hao Ting's as he spoke.

"What important things?" he knew, to a certain extent, what was running through Xi Gu's mind and an excitement sprung inside him like a newly budded flower.

"Everything... with you." Xi Gu offered a warm smile, stood on his tippy toes and pecked Hao Ting's lips.

The sweet words soared all through Hao Ting's system and gathered in his heart, making him feel as if he could float up into the air. He was dumbfounded. They said sweet words to each other often but it was a whole other matter on its own, what Xi Gu was giving up for them. Some sacrifices were amazing but this one in particular made Hao Ting feel a certain way. His toes tingled and he found himself feeling as if he'd just traveled back in time to the day he had first fallen in love with Xi Gu.

The giddiness of back then... the excitement, the frantic beating of his heart and his entire being getting consumed by the love and affection he felt. It all flooded back. It was the gesture Xi Gu had just shown so soon, moments after Hao Ting had so foolishly started to develop doubts about what was between them.

No words could form fast enough in his brain to enable him to enunciate what he was feeling so he expressed the jolly sensations in his system by kissing Xi Gu for the next several minutes. He explored Xi Gu's mouth and feasted on the most delicious lips he had ever had the pleasure of kissing. He tirelessly rained more kisses still, never having enough of the taste... all over Xi Gu's face, into his hair, gentle bites to his earlobes and licks while his hands never let go of that slender waist.