Chapter 4: Shared Rent

Chapter 4

Things began to spiral into a bizarre and uncontrollable direction.

When Xuan Congnan stood face-to-face with several police officers at the station, his expression was cold and indifferent.

“Officer, I just had a bit to drink and was passing by. I really didn’t do anything. Besides, he’s a guy, not a woman. How could I harass him? I’m not some pervert who goes after men. No matter how handsome he looks or how much he resembles a woman, it doesn’t count,” the drunken man standing below the apartment complex blushed, pleading his case to the officers with clear eyes no longer clouded by alcohol. He clutched his chest in a twisted manner, then suddenly pointed a finger and said, “He was the one who hit me first! Nearly beat me to death! Officer Li, you have to arrest him and throw him in jail! He assaulted me!”

Xuan Congnan replied, “Lying. He didn’t make the first move.”

Gu Shi, standing beside Xuan Congnan, added, “There’s surveillance footage.”

The drunken man choked, glaring with stammering words, “The cameras there, up front, have been broken for days, days.”

Officer Li sipped from a large porcelain cup late at night and said, “They were fixed yesterday.”

His gaze suddenly sharpened as he nodded toward the drunken man. “Why did you stop talking? What did you mean by that earlier? Refusing to admit guilt? And you think you can commit a crime just because the person’s a man, not a woman?”

The drunken man stammered, “No, no, that’s not... absolutely not...”

Officer Li glanced seriously at Xuan Congnan, finding him vaguely familiar, then turned fiercely to the drunken man. “If I’m not mistaken, you were here half a year ago for harassing this boy and had to reflect for half a month. You haven’t changed since then?”

The drunken man replied, “I didn’t realize it was him, I was just drunk…”

“If it wasn’t him, then what did you intend to do?” Officer Li said sharply. “Get down! Hands on your head!”

By the flowerbed, just as Gu Shi heard Xuan Congnan say, “Take me home,” Xuan Congnan thought this man was truly troubled. Before he could react further, a grimy gray hand grabbed his arm.

The stench of alcohol wafted over, causing him to wrinkle his nose, nearly vomiting.

Behind him came the drunken man’s lewd laughter: “Heh heh, heh heh… Little Xuan, why are you here all alone? I—ah!!!”

All words turned into a painful scream. Xuan Congnan raised his hand to struggle, but the drunken man was already thrown flying.

He turned around in shock.

The drunken man lay on the ground, clutching his chest and wailing, rolling twice on the spot. He vomited plenty of alcohol, making the air even more foul.

He had actually been kicked sick by Gu Shi.

Xuan Congnan stepped back two paces, unable to hide his disgust. After a few dozen seconds, the drunken man gathered some strength, cursing profanely as he got up and shouted for revenge.

A backpack flew up and slammed hard onto his face.

“Disgusting,” Xuan Congnan said.

Before the police arrived, Gu Shi calmly delivered two more kicks.

The drunken man was beaten into immobility.

Xuan Congnan said, “You called the police and then you attack him again? Aren’t you afraid of being charged with intentional injury?”

Gu Shi replied, “I’m not.”

Once inside the police station, Gu Shi removed his mask as required and gave his statement. Xuan Congnan observed him for a moment, secretly marveling at his perfectly sculpted face—top-tier features, ideal proportions—well suited for a human face model or painting.

During the statement, Xuan Congnan noticed that the three officers all showed varying degrees of shock upon seeing Gu Shi’s face, then stared at him as if trying to confirm something.

He was certain it was because Gu Shi’s face was just too striking.

The officers, seasoned and unflappable, continued with routine questioning, and the statement was recorded without incident. They asked a few simple additional questions.

“Is it really Gu Shi?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get involved in something like this?”

“By accident.”

“Are you working here?”

“Yes.”

“Did you bring an agent or assistant?”

“Yes.”

After all questions were answered, more than half an hour had passed, and the matter was swiftly resolved. The drunken man was kept at the station, while Xuan Congnan and Gu Shi were free to leave. As they departed, Officer Li kindly reminded them, “Wear your masks properly so you don’t cause a traffic jam.”

Xuan Congnan stepped ahead without planning to say goodbye to Gu Shi.

It was half past nine. After all the commotion, his hunger had completely vanished.

He wondered whether he should still eat dinner.

Under the streetlights, he opened his backpack to check its contents. The lower left corner of his sketchbook was bent from the earlier scuffle; he gently smoothed it out with care.

“Why are you following me?” A few minutes later, he noticed a shadow trailing him—not too close, not too far—with the same walking path.

Xuan Congnan looked back, frowning. “You helped me earlier, thank you. But please don’t follow me now.”

Gu Shi lowered his eyes and softly said, “Can’t I go home with you?”

Xuan Congnan replied, “I don’t know you.”

Gu Shi said, “I’m not a bad person.”

“I know.” Xuan Congnan repeated firmly, “But I don’t know you.”

Gu Shi said, “I mean no harm.”

He pondered for a moment, then spoke his first extended sentence since meeting Xuan Congnan: “If you’re worried, you can take me to the police station to register. Whatever happens to you, I won’t be able to escape responsibility.”

If they hadn’t just aligned their efforts moments ago, Xuan Congnan would have wanted to attack him.

It was almost ten o’clock, the city’s night revelry was just beginning, and the streets were busy. Before, they had passed each other like strangers without concern. But at some point, Xuan Congnan sensed something was off.

Several pairs of eyes were watching them.

Growing up, Xuan Congnan had been accustomed to the gaze of many people, especially now with his naturally dried long hair giving him a unique look. He had encountered many with ill intentions—like the manager Zhang invited into Xuan Ye’s home, or the drunken man detained at the station—but these strangers’ looks were different.

They were curious, verifying, without malice—much like the police at the station.

Xuan Congnan said helplessly, “Go home.”

Gu Shi said nothing, merely watching him from about a meter away.

Xuan Congnan asked, “Don’t you have a home?”

More eyes fixed on them. Several people had already stopped, even trying to approach. Though unaware of the specifics, Xuan Congnan’s instincts urged him that this was no place to linger.

If Gu Shi really had no home...

Compassion was always troublesome, so Xuan Congnan quickly said, “Come with me.”

Had they not just left the police station together, having shared hardship, and had the officers seen them both, Xuan Congnan would never have brought a stranger home.

His apartment was very clean. At first glance, it was a vast expanse of blue, as if living beneath a water-blue sky after rain—this was Gu Shi’s first impression.

He didn’t observe much further. Upon entering, he obediently sat on the worn sofa, eyes not wandering.

Removing his mask, he showed Xuan Congnan his indifferent yet perfectly featured face, aiming to ease his vigilance.

“You must have noticed, a lot of people were watching you earlier,” Xuan Congnan said, placing his backpack on one corner of the sofa, compressing Gu Shi’s space to make his seat smaller.

He didn’t bother with the usual hospitality of pouring tea, saying, “I don’t know why they’re curious about you. Are you some celebrity? But I don’t care. You can stay here only until four in the morning. By then, everyone will still be asleep and it’ll be safe. After that, you leave.”

Gu Shi said, “You don’t watch TV?”

The sudden question made Xuan Congnan frown. “I don’t have time to watch TV or scroll on my phone.”

The nearly bare walls hung a few oil paintings in melancholic blue tones. Gu Shi glanced quickly and said, “Your time is spent on painting.”

Rarely did he meet anyone who didn’t paint but seemed to understand. Xuan Congnan softened a little. “Yes.”

He asked pointedly, “Are you an art student? Do you paint?”

“No,” Gu Shi shook his head, “I don’t.”

“Oh.”

The kettle had little water left; it was lukewarm. Xuan Congnan poured a cup and pushed it toward Gu Shi. “Four a.m., you leave my place.”

Gu Shi held the cup and asked, “Can I stay here?”

With hands and feet, looking almost like a beggar face-to-face, Xuan Congnan frowned and was about to say no.

Gu Shi spoke again, “I’ll pay rent. Ten thousand a month. If that’s not enough, you can raise the price.”

Xuan Congnan’s “no” instantly caught in his throat, eyes wide in surprise.

“I’ll stay one month first, okay?”

The neighborhood was shabby, so cheap that rent was only 450 yuan monthly.

Few girls lived there due to poor security. Many gamblers and drinkers loitered downstairs, making it unsafe.

If it weren’t so cheap, Xuan Congnan wouldn’t live here either. Yet Gu Shi claimed he’d pay ten thousand to live here.

So wealthy, and not only wanting to move into a snail’s pace apartment but also to share it with him?

It seemed unbelievable.

Gu Shi took out his phone and said, “I’ll transfer now.”

Xuan Congnan was slightly startled. “...Huh?”

“My earnings are completely legal, I pay taxes on time every year. It’s clean money.” Gu Shi opened WeChat’s scan function and reached out his hand, as if afraid of being refused, adding, “Add me on WeChat, I’ll transfer. Rent is twenty thousand a month.”