How To Deal With A Tsundere Gong

Chapter 5 - Sisyphus

What free time did Tang Jin suddenly have to search for his new number?

He was dumbfounded for a moment. After wiping his hands clean, he picked up the phone:

The person on the line didn’t say anything as only the sound of breathing could be heard.

Xu Bai Chuan questioned, “Tang Jin?”

Pressing the phone between his ear and shoulder, Xu Bai Chuan carried on coloring. He spoke again, “What’s wrong, hm? Why aren’t you speaking?”

There was still no answer.

Xu Bai Chuan feigned ignorance and deliberately said, “So it isn’t you. In that case, you’ve dialed the wrong number.”

The caller took in a breath and then Tang Jin’s voice overflowed from the receiver. His voice sounded slightly husky, “…Where are you right now?”

This is called knowingly asking the question. Even his new number has been found, how could Tang Jin not know where he is?

Xu Bai Chuan spoke in his usual manner, “H city. Right, I told Cheng Xu to tell you I came on vacation. Didn’t he say anything? He should have.”

Tang Jin sullenly replied, “He did.”

Xu Bai Chuan was bewildered. “Then why did you call me? What…did you miss me?”

He spared no efforts to disgust Tang Jin and to have him hang up the phone sooner by purposefully emphasizing the word “miss”. These past couple of days, he had been extremely busy and had no time to think of these heavy matters weighing on his heart. However, now that he heard this familiar voice, all kinds of physiological reactions stemming from emotions of emptiness and bitterness had returned once again. It felt too uncomfortable.

Just as expected, Tang Jin refuted at once. “You’re disillusioned.”

Xu Bai Chuan was becoming impatient. Although he was the one who first wronged the other, he had already turned over a new leaf. By trying to scram, he’s returning the rightful position of Tang Jin’s lover to its true owner. Couldn’t Tang Jin stop stabbing him with hurtful insults?

“Yeah, I am disillusioned. What does Young Master Tang want to say?”

“Can’t you speak less crudely?” Tang Jin raised his voice.

However, Xu Bai Chuan was unwilling to back down. “Did you call just to argue with me?”

“You!” Tang Jin angrily said.

Xu Bai Chuan replied, “Me?”

Unexpectedly, Tang Jin’s tense voice suddenly relaxed amidst the quarrel. He was silent for quite a while. When Xu Bai Chuan was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly uttered, “Are you really on a trip?”

Xu Bai Chuan’s hand trembled and the black paint grazed over the red heart. Shit. It’s ruined.

Scraping the colors again requires time and effort. Xu Bai Chuan looked at the paint covering his hand. Anger would usually pervade, but he felt strangely calm. While continuing his painting, he compared himself to a modern-day Sisyphus ¹. The difference was that Sisyphus had to push a rock for eternity while he had to keep applying color over and over again. Look, this is what happens when one enrages the God of Love!
[T/N: 1 Sisyphus was a cruel Greek king who was punished to push a large rock up on a steep hill. He is known for pushing the rock tirelessly till eternity.]

“Of course I’m here on a trip. Have I not mentioned to you multiple times that I like this place? Oh right, you wouldn’t remember.” Xu Bai Chuan unintentionally raked up his bitter past.

Tang Jin paused before asking, “You…why haven’t you called?”

Xu Bai Chuan cast the wooden board onto the table and silently chuckled. In an unparalleled gentle tone, he answered, “You’re so busy that it’s difficult to spare me time.” Busily accompanying that angel Song Yi Yu who had been pushed aside until now. 

There was a long pause on Tang Jin’s end this time. He was probably wondering how a person with skin as thick as a city’s wall would suddenly act so sensibly and not cling onto him. Afterward, he awkwardly continued, “It’s fine to be on a trip but why on earth did you change your number? Do you know how many times I’ve called you?” Not wanting to give the wrong impression, he quickly added. “I forgot where I placed the contract of the Ludi Group….do you even know how that held me up?”

There was a sudden itch on his cheek so Xu Bai Chuan raised his hand to rub it. Holding back a curse that would definitely displease Tang Jin, he rebuked in his heart, “You neglected it yourself and yet you dare to scold me?”

Xu Bai Chuan roughly wiped his face on his sleeve and sighed: How unmanly. Real men do not cry easily, can’t they cut me some slack? The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He hadn’t even received this month’s pay and it’s plain to see that Tang Jin had unfairly taken advantage of it. But now he goes so far as to be unreasonable and say that he was neglecting his duties.

However when thinking it over for a second time, Tang Jin is clearly acting like a person who forces others to have self-acceptance and would complain about them not truly loving themselves. How is this not ‘taking one’s undeserved gain for granted’?

The pent-up anger was promptly dispelled. In a calm tone, he said, “My hand just knocked against something. It wasn’t you. Xiao Wang knows where Ludi’s contract is, he’ll help you get it.”

Tang Jin eased his tone. “…When are you coming back?”

Xu Bai Chuan lied naturally, “In a month. By the way, I created an artwork for you. I’ll gift it to you when I return.”

Tang Jin was very surprised. “You made it yourself? Can I see?”

Xu Bai Chuan fiddled with the painting board once again as his fingers weakly brushed across those two black characters. He boasted, “I’ve never seen such a beautiful piece of art. You’ll definitely like it.”

Apart from the loud shouts at the beginning of the call, Tang Jin’s tone clearly became better near the end.

After thinking about the somewhat absurd occurrence, he let out a condescending snort. The truth was that the moment he picked up the phone, his heart still had hope. As Tang Jin had said, he really was disillusioned. His delusions went so far as to wonder whether Tang Jin was living unhappily with his little angel or they had just simply split up. Another useless thought was the possibility that Tang Jin suddenly realized that he had some feelings for him after he left…The greater the hope one possesses, the greater the disappointment will be.

People say that owners would still feel unaccustomed to losing a pet after having raised one for a long time. In his case, he wouldn’t even be regarded as a pet, but a 24-hour readily available full-time housekeeper at best.

Xu Bai Chuan created a list off the top of his head. The list included information on the location of various documents, the itinerary to be booked for the next one or two months and Tang Jin’s various habits. The first two only occupied three sticky notes on his phone while the last item was flowing over ten pages as it was written when thoughts entered his mind. He exported the images one by one over to Tang Jin’s company assistant Xiao Wang. As one image was sent over, the same image was deleted from his heart.

Xu Bai Chuan knew that it was him who was shameless. He also knew that he had been asking for trouble all along. That’s the reason why he had no complaints. If he really did have something to say, one phrase would perfectly sum it up. He helplessly laughed. “Serves you right.”