Chapter 83: The Most Familiar Stranger

Chapter 83 The Most Familiar Stranger

He decided to find a place first, otherwise, if he confessed and Su Lichen immediately kicked him out, he'd be at a disadvantage.

After regaining his memory, living together was honestly quite awkward for Xu Moxing. He was always afraid that Su Lichen would kiss him or do something even more intimate.

Sharing a bed was already hard enough for him to accept; if kissing were involved, he would run away even if he hadn't found a rental yet.

Fortunately, after the New Year break, Su Lichen stopped all intimate gestures. He wouldn't try to kiss him, let alone mention wanting to engage in that kind of activity. At most, he would hold his hand.

After work resumed post-holiday, Xu Moxing started coming home late a lot. Su Lichen wasn't busy yet and texted him every day.

"Mo, is there anything you'd like to eat tonight? I'll leave work early."

Xu Moxing still didn't reply promptly. After half an hour, he responded, "I'll be back late. Don't wait for me for dinner."

"Okay, do you need me to pick you up?"

"No need."

Xu Moxing was apartment-hunting and didn't want Su Lichen finding out.

Su Lichen wanted to ask why he had to start working overtime right after the holiday, but Xu Moxing hadn't offered an explanation, so he didn't want to pry.

Recently, Su Lichen had been going out of his way to show his best side. He knew once Xu Moxing got his memory back, he definitely wouldn't want to get close that way anymore, so he'd kept his distance physically on purpose.

To be honest, Su Lichen had been quite anxious lately.

He was scared Xu Moxing would leave before he could show how sincere he was. This fear made him rush to prove himself, but the more eager he was, the more anxious he became.

His efforts and sincerity couldn't be too obvious or exaggerated. If he seemed too desperate, it would come across as insincere in Xu Moxing's eyes.

Xu Moxing had no clue what was going on in his head. His current focus was on work and finding an apartment. His way of dealing with Su Lichen was distant but polite—he didn't reply right away, kept things cold, and showed only the bare minimum of decency, like a familiar stranger—someone he used to know well.

Someone once close, now just irrelevant.

Being single had its perks: his residence could change with his job location. He could move closer to his workplace whenever he changed jobs, without having to worry about a roommate.

During work hours, Xu Moxing sneakily scrolled through rental listings, filtering based on location, price, orientation, layout, soundproofing, and signal quality.

Originally, he thought about asking a colleague who lived near the office, but then he reconsidered. If his coworkers knew he lived close to the company, he'd be the first one they thought of for overtime. So he dropped the idea.

By the end of February, he had shortlisted three places and finally chose one that was a 30-minute walk from his office. It wasn't a gated community but a private rental house built by the owner.

He'd visited it at night and also checked it out Saturday during the day. After looking into every detail, he made up his mind.

It was a big studio, south-facing, sunny—pretty nice looking.

Xu Moxing signed the contract, paid the deposit, and got the keys.

The keys were cold metal in his hand, but soon they warmed from his body heat, and he slipped them into his pocket.

On his way back, he sent a message to Su Lichen: "Want to get hotpot? My treat."

Yesterday, after work on Friday, Su Lichen had suggested, "Mo, how about going out this weekend to enjoy the spring flowers? It's a great time for an outing."

Xu Moxing, planning to look at apartments, declined.

"Probably not. I have something going on tomorrow."

Xu Moxing first politely refused his invitation, then thought for a moment and added, "If I finish my business tomorrow, could I take you out to eat?"

Su Lichen had been rejected so much lately that it had become routine. He thought Xu Moxing would come up with another excuse—work, exams, or something else—so he was caught off guard when Xu Moxing offered to pay.

Unable to hide his emotions, Su Lichen looked at Xu Moxing with both joy and surprise.

"Of course! Sure! Then I'll wait for you to contact me after you're done."

Seeing how happy Su Lichen was, Xu Moxing found it a bit odd. Su Lichen's income was so high—could a free meal really make him this excited?

But if the apartment rental fell through, this goodbye meal would have to wait. Xu Moxing didn't want to let him down too much; having felt disappointment himself, he knew how unpleasant it was, so he quickly added a caveat.

"Yeah, but it's not certain. You don't have to wait specifically. If things go smoothly, I'll text you. If you've already eaten, we can do it another time."

"No problem. Your schedule comes first. I'm free on weekends, so don't worry."

Xu Moxing nodded and said nothing more.

Remembering last night's events, Xu Moxing glanced at the time on his phone: 11:30 AM. He wondered if Su Lichen had eaten yet.

Su Lichen shot back quickly: "Not yet. That sounds good. Hotpot is perfect for this weather. Where should we meet?"

Xu Moxing responded: "Let's go to our usual spot. I'm heading over now. I'll be there in about 50 minutes. Leave whenever you're ready."

"Great! See you then!"

Xu Moxing didn't reply again. He shoved his phone in his pocket and hurried to the subway.

On the subway, he started planning how to explain everything to Su Lichen. But then he reconsidered; it was impossible to make everything perfectly clear. No one could fully understand another person. He just needed to say what he thought and stick to his guns.

And whether Su Lichen got it or not no longer mattered. Even if he didn't get it, as long as Xu Moxing achieved his goal, that was enough.

Meanwhile, Su Lichen was busy getting dressed.

"Tch, I think I need to buy new clothes."

The wardrobe doors were wide open, and several outfits were piled on the bed.

He rummaged through them in frustration, but couldn't find a decent date outfit.

Normally, the drive took only fifteen minutes, but he spent thirty-five minutes just picking out clothes.

He drove a little faster so he wouldn't be late and could make a good impression on Xu Moxing.

How much he cared about meeting Xu Moxing reminded him of the days when he was chasing Xu Moxing, and when they had first gotten together.

Xu Moxing still got there first and sent Su Lichen his seat number.

Su Lichen sent Xu Moxing a voice message: "Mo, I'm almost there. Hang on."

Xu Moxing quickly replied, "No rush."

Su Lichen arrived at their usual hotpot place and walked in with a big smile, looking at Xu Moxing, who was on his phone.

"Mo, sorry to keep you waiting."

Xu Moxing looked up at him. "No, I just sat down myself. Let's order."

"You order. I'm good with whatever."

Well, I've already ordered what I want, but I didn't order anything for you. You'll have to order some of your favorites. I ordered the half-and-half pot base (spicy and mild). Is that okay?

Xu Moxing never even considered ordering food for Su Lichen. From the start, he planned to order only for himself and let Su Lichen order when he arrived.

That's how ordinary friends eat together—respectful yet distant. There's no need for false politeness; everyone orders what they want.

Su Lichen hesitated, his smile freezing briefly before quickly snapping back to normal. "Okay, I'll order myself," he said.

Su Lichen had spent more than half an hour carefully putting together his outfit, but Xu Moxing didn't notice at all. When he spoke to Su Lichen just now, his gaze was deliberately vague out of respect—in reality, he barely looked at Su Lichen during their exchange.

Once the waiter brought the dishes and the pot base, Xu Moxing's eyes were glued to the food and the hot pot.