Chapter 1: An Unexpected Reunion at the Matchmaking Agency

“Mr. Xie, hello. To… to better help you find a suitable partner, we need to understand you…”

The young woman’s entire face flushed, and her words stumbled. She kept her head down, not even daring to meet his gaze.

Who could have imagined that the Best Actor, who had walked the red carpet and held a little golden man at an international film festival just last week, would be sitting across from her today?

Moreover, he wore a scowl on his handsome face, his mood seemingly foul.

Xie Xu had no patience to wait for her to finish. He made a gesture, cutting her off.

“Are you new here? Get your boss.”

The young woman mustered her courage for a quick glance, but meeting Xie Xu’s icy stare, she trembled.

Her gossiping heart instantly cooled. Nodding, she clacked up to the second floor on her high heels.

Xie Xu pulled out a cigarette case, extracted a cigarette, then, after a moment’s thought, put it back.

****

When Guan Qing descended the stairs, this was the scene that greeted him. A man, over 1.8 meters tall, was slumped in a small sofa, clutching a cigarette case, his stubbled chin unshaven, and heavy dark circles beneath his eyes.

Xie Xu was usually impeccable. Even Guan Qing rarely saw him in such a state of despondency.

Guan Qing approached, catching a strong whiff of smoke. He sat across from Xie Xu, holding his files, his tone strictly businesslike.

“Mr. Xie, hello.”

Xie Xu abruptly lifted his head, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice terribly hoarse. “Guan Qing.”

Seeing him in such a state, a pang of bitter heartache instantly seized Guan Qing. Yet, he resolved that he absolutely could not soften now.

Having come this far, there was no reason to turn back.

Xie Xu realized his lapse in composure. He lowered his head, wiped his face, then looked up, forcing a smile.

“You… have you caused enough trouble? When do you plan to come back?”

Guan Qing steeled himself to remain calm. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’m not causing trouble.”

Xie Xu spoke as if he hadn’t heard. “Why aren’t you answering my calls? And where have you been staying these past few days?”

Guan Qing lowered his eyelids, raising his voice. “Xie Xu, wake up. I’m really planning to break up with you. Weren’t we clear enough before?”

He thought for a moment. “This is my workplace. If you don’t have any legitimate business, you… may excuse yourself.”

Xie Xu stared at him with bloodshot eyes. “Who says I don’t? I have legitimate business. I’m looking for a partner.”

Guan Qing, his back to Xie Xu, froze completely, yet he tried to feign diligently tidying his files.

“You’re looking for a partner? What kind?”

Xie Xu fixed his gaze on Guan Qing’s back, his voice hoarse as he spoke each word distinctly.

“He’s a beta, 175cm tall, 26 years old, very fair-skinned, with lovely dimples when he smiles. His name is Guan Qing. He loves me very much, and I love him very much… Have you seen him?”

Guan Qing, still facing away, replied steadily. “I’m sorry.”

Xie Xu’s voice took on a slight nasal quality, very low, almost a murmur. “Where is he, Guan Qing? Where have you hidden him?”

Guan Qing reached the door. Hearing his words, he gripped the doorknob tightly, almost unable to suppress his trembling.

But in the end, he walked out and gently closed the door.

He told the front desk, “The gentleman inside, let him sit if he wants. If he asks about me, just say I’m busy and have already left for the day.”

The young woman at the front desk glanced at him cautiously. “Okay.”

She looked at her boss, and finally couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, you… why are you crying?”

****

Guan Qing spent the rest of the workday distracted, even making some very basic mistakes. By the time he left, Xie Xu was no longer there.

It made sense. Xie Xu was in the golden period of his career, sometimes not seen for two or three months. How could he possibly linger so long merely over a breakup?

Guan Qing opened Weibo, and trending topics related to Xie Xu automatically popped up. He subconsciously clicked, only to remember that he no longer needed to learn his lover’s news through others.

He no longer possessed Xie Xu.

There were so many people in this world who cared about Xie Xu; surely he wasn’t indispensable.

However, he still habitually read the entire article, saved the pictures of Xie Xu, and inadvertently scrolled to the hot comments. The content he didn’t want to see appeared directly before his eyes:

“Did Xie Xu and Jiang Lu get married today?”

“Doesn’t Xie Xu have a boyfriend? Can you CP fans calm down?”

“Xie Xu hasn’t broken up yet? I heard his boyfriend is a beta, with ordinary looks and a job. How can he be worthy of him? Besides, they’ve been dating so long without marrying, which shows Xie Xu doesn’t really like him.”

“Isn’t that going too far?”

“The person may be ordinary, but who can deny their good luck? Not everyone has the fortune to be Xie Xu’s classmate.”

“If you ask me, love still needs to be a good match. I support Xie Xu breaking up soon and getting together with Jiang Lu. Jiang Lu is not only Xie Xu’s junior, but he also entered the entertainment industry because of him.”

Guan Qing masochistically read from beginning to end. For some reason, his heart had grown numb. He even fell asleep while reading.

Before drifting off, he vaguely wished for pleasant dreams.

Breaking up with someone you love was too difficult, too bitter. It was like pouring iodine on his own wound, knowing it would help heal, but the pain was unbearable…

He was almost at his breaking point.

His dreams, however, did not grant his wish. He heard Xie Xu’s voice, coming from far away:

“Guan Qing, will you agree? I’m so handsome, so good, and I like you so much.”

“Qingqing, I’ll cherish you every day, love you, hold you to sleep at night, and kiss you awake in the morning, making you happy every single day… So, let’s live together, okay?”

Guan Qing knew he was dreaming, yet just like back then, he couldn’t control the smile on his lips. He could almost see Xie Xu—a flower dangling from his mouth, a roguish grin, leaning against a wall like a hooligan, blocking his way, refusing to let him pass until he agreed.

And just like back then, he really wanted to say… yes.

Xie Xu’s voice continued, but its warmth slowly faded.

“Sorry, I’m filming tonight, so I might not be able to come home.”

“Guan Qing, I’m going to Country Y to film for about three months.”

Guan Qing frowned. The dream began to grow noisy, still Xie Xu’s voice: “What’s wrong with moving to S City with me? I know this apartment is ours, I know your job is here, your mom is here…”

“The apartment I bought, the property deed can also have your name on it. It’s only two hours by plane. What else are you dissatisfied with? This place is too remote, it’s very inconvenient for me. Guan Qing, can’t you be a little more understanding?”

Xie Xu’s expression was cold; he frowned at him as if Guan Qing were some criminal. Guan Qing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but that Xie Xu quickly receded.

“Guan Qing, you’re a beta, you can’t even give him a child—but I can. You can stay together, it’s fine, I don’t mind. I just want a child of his, can’t you be less petty?”

This was Jiang Lu’s voice, Guan Qing remembered. The pale young man looked at him with a cruel innocence, so self-righteous, demanding a child from Xie Xu.

“Guan Qing, you’re holding him back. What can you do to help his career? You’re just a matchmaker. And you can’t have children… Listen to my advice, leave him before Xie Xu gets tired of you. I’ll thank you on his behalf.”

Guan Qing’s mother was very calm, with the arrogance of a wealthy matriarch. She was condescending, believing she saw through everything.

“Xie Xu break up soon,” “Xie Xu and Jiang Lu are a match made in heaven,” “Xie Xu’s boyfriend’s whole family die”…

Various noisy voices surged forward, men and women, old and young. In the dream, countless dark figures moved closer to Guan Qing, cornering him, making him curl into a ball.

He heard himself whispering something, difficult to discern amidst the clamor. He strained to listen—

“Xie Xu, where are you?”

“Aren’t you holding me to sleep tonight? Aren’t you kissing me awake in the morning?”

“It doesn’t matter whose name is on the property deed, and I don’t mind the back and forth. This is the house we saved up for together, don’t you have any lingering attachment?”

“I hate myself like this.”

“Xie Xu… I’m not happy.”

The television light flickered across his face, a bizarre, frame-by-frame kaleidoscope of images. He heard no sound. Using the light, he saw his tear tracks.

The entire room’s noise fell silent. Finally, he distinctly heard his own voice:

“Xie Xu, I’m not happy.”

“Let’s break up.”

Pouring iodine on his own wound, of course it hurt immensely. But without it, it would never heal.

If he didn’t stop the bleeding in time, the wound would only tear wider, one day exposing his entire heart to the biting cold wind.

That would surely hurt even more. He couldn’t bear it.

****

Upon waking, life had to continue.

Presumably, everyone’s breakups were like this: for the first couple of days, you felt so heartbroken you might die. As time passed, life went on, and everything slowly improved.

Two weeks had passed since Xie Xu last came to the matchmaking agency to find him. Guan Qing had changed his phone number, avoided all places where he might encounter Xie Xu, went to work and came home normally every day, thought less and less about Xie Xu, and had fewer nightmares.

In these ten-plus days, Xie Xu hadn’t returned. He had initially thought Xie Xu would pester him longer, but then he considered that perhaps his importance in Xie Xu’s heart was merely that. Xie Xu was always proud; perhaps losing someone not so important, in Xie Xu’s eyes, meant the efforts he made to reconcile were already sufficient.

So, this was the end.

Xie Xu, Jiang Lu, Xie Xu’s mother…

Those people who frequently appeared in various news and trending searches felt so distant from him, like a dream. And his life, after eight years, seemed to have returned to its proper track.

Eight years ago, Guan Qing met Xie Xu at a very good age, like a beautiful dream.

It was time to wake up.

He should live like this: in a small rental apartment, waking up at seven in the morning, making only his own breakfast, buying groceries, cooking, and slowly waiting for the night to pass and the day to return.

But this day was special.

He remembered the date clearly: August 25th. Eight years ago on this day, at the freshman orientation gathering point at Z University, he met a boy. Through the faint morning light, the boy turned his head to look at him, the edges of his smile blurred in the light, so beautiful it seemed unreal.

And eight years later, this was just an ordinary workday. Guan Qing thought both he and Xie Xu had forgotten. He went to work just like countless other days, parked his little Honda in the only available spot, fed the stray cats with the fish and rice he had prepared in the alley, walked along the old residential buildings, and then…

Guan Qing’s steps faltered.

Xie Xu should perhaps be at a film festival, under the spotlight, at the wrap-up celebration for a new movie.

But he shouldn’t be here.

In such an ordinary office building, with a ridiculously cartoonish sign for “Dear Matchmaking Agency,” office workers carrying fried dough sticks and sipping soy milk walked past, glancing at him doubtfully, thinking, ‘That person looks a bit like that big star.’

Xie Xu leaned against the wall, wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, a flower dangling from his mouth. He stood in front of Guan Qing, his gaze lingering on his face for a long time. After a while, he slowly smiled:

“I’m so handsome, so good, and so… *cough*.

“Guan Qing, find me a partner, won’t you?”

Guan Qing sniffled, feeling a sudden urge to cry, and then realized…

Something seemed a little off?