Chapter 147: These Two Argued Over Little Tabby All Night

Chapter 147: Those Two Kept Little Tabby Awake All Night

Xu Moxing got into the car and sat in the passenger seat, took the flowers from Su Lichen's hand to navigate for him.

"I've already called to confirm that the hot pot restaurant we used to go to is open. Let's just head over there, okay? It's been a while since we last had hot pot."

"Sure, sounds good."

He hadn't been back since he went there with Xu Moxing in February last year.

The reason was simple: it had bad memories attached to it. Just being near the place reminded him of when Xu Moxing said he wanted to treat him to a meal. He had thought it was a date, dressed up for it, only to find out it was a breakup meal.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they sat in their usual spot by the window.

It was their first time having hot pot during the Chinese New Year holiday, and the place was much quieter than usual.

There were also far fewer cars passing by on the street outside.

Xu Moxing ordered Su Lichen's favorites: duck blood, pork brain, and duck intestines, along with the beef and tripe they always got when eating hot pot together.

After ordering, he handed the tablet to Su Lichen. "See if there's anything else you want to order."

Su Lichen glanced around the restaurant—he hadn't been here in a year—and noticed some new items on the menu. He added two new dishes.

Once the order was placed, Su Lichen asked directly, "You said you had something to tell me. What is it?"

Xu Moxing was about to speak when the server started bringing over their dishes, so he held off.

"Let's eat first. We'll talk later."

Honestly, Su Lichen was still a little unsure. Even though lately everything else between them had felt like a real couple, aside from the physical stuff.

But having failed once before, he couldn't be a hundred percent confident.

Come to think of it, not being certain that their relationship would last forever actually kept him from taking it for granted or draining their relationship without thinking.

Actually, that mindset made the relationship more likely to last.

Once the broth and dishes were all set, the server finally stopped hovering around them.

Su Lichen watched Xu Moxing silently swishing the meat in the pot, guessing he must be really hungry—it was almost nine o'clock by now.

Su Lichen wanted to keep pushing for the earlier topic, to "get it over with fast like ripping off a Band-Aid," but considering Xu Moxing's empty stomach, he decided to hold back.

He let the meat cool for a bit before putting it in Xu Moxing's bowl.

"This is ready."

Xu Moxing ate it in one bite and gave a thumbs up.

Su Lichen had grabbed a bite with Jiang Xingzhou two hours earlier, so he wasn't very hungry. He didn't eat much himself, mostly just kept feeding Xu Moxing.

Occasionally, Xu Moxing would pick something from his bowl and bring it to Su Lichen's lips. "You have some too."

Su Lichen opened his mouth and ate it, then continued cooking for him.

Once Xu Moxing was about halfway full, Su Lichen finally asked, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Xu Moxing swallowed his food, met Su Lichen's gaze and got serious.

"I was going to ask if you'd want to be my boyfriend. I think you're really great, and I wonder if you feel the same way about me? If so, would you want to try being together?"

Su Lichen took a few seconds to process it, his eyes widening.

He had actually sensed that Xu Moxing planned to clear things up today, but he wasn't absolutely sure, which left him both nervous and excited.

And all that anxiety vanished with Xu Moxing's words.

"Of course, I'm willing! That's all I wanted!"

Su Lichen was thrilled—finally, they were officially together!

Xu Moxing was finally willing to date him again!

He finally had a proper status in the relationship!

The more Su Lichen thought about it, the more excited he got, his hands trembling.

"Thank you, thank you for being willing to try again with me."

Su Lichen kept repeating his thanks.

Xu Moxing looked at him with a gentle smile.

"And thank you, for teaching me how to love myself more and care more about my own feelings. Of course, most importantly, I should thank myself—because I recognized my own issues and made changes."

Xu Moxing showed a level of self-assurance that Su Lichen had never seen before.

If none of this had happened—if he hadn't gone through that painful experience—he might have always thought lovers should be totally open with each other. He might have endlessly poured his negativity onto his partner without realizing it, even guilt-tripping his partner.

But after everything, he learned to hold back, to understand that honesty has its limits. Just because someone is the closest person to you doesn't mean you should vent every emotion without restraint.

That kind of extreme openness actually hurts the relationship, slowly chipping away at the other person's feelings. After all, if he was being honest with himself, he wouldn't be able to handle total transparency from his partner either.

Be genuine, but know when to hold back.

You're the one you're closest to, and Su Lichen can be your second closest.

This change also gave Xu Moxing a greater sense of security.

Before, he had always felt there was nothing about him that Su Lichen could truly like—he was petty, held grudges, carried too much emotional baggage, and was stingy. After learning that Su Lichen was annoyed by him, he was even more convinced.

But now everything was different. He realized he had many good qualities: he was perceptive about malicious intent, he remembered kindness even more than he remembered grudges, and he was good at reflecting on himself.

He loved himself more now than before. He deserved to be loved.

"And thank you for helping me learn to build a relationship different from my parents' example."

Su Lichen also thanked Xu Moxing sincerely.

The two of them smiled at each other, until Xu Moxing finally broke the awkward moment of thanking each other back and forth.

"Alright, alright, no more thanking each other. From now on, I'll be relying on you."

Xu Moxing extended his hand, signaling a handshake.

Su Lichen caught on quickly and reached out too, but instead of shaking hands, he intertwined their fingers and gently squeezed Xu Moxing's hand.

Even though there weren't many customers in the hot pot restaurant, it was still a public place, so the two quickly pulled apart.

Eventually, Xu Moxing paid the bill, and they both returned to the car together.

Su Lichen didn't rush to start the car; he asked, "Mo, can we go back to my place?"

Xu Moxing thought for a moment.

"Sure, I don't have to start work until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, so I can go back to my rental place tomorrow."

Having gotten the go-ahead, Su Lichen drove straight home.

Hearing the noise, Little Tabby ran to the door to greet its owner.

When the door opened, Little Tabby also saw the person who had found it, given it to its owner, and often came over to play with it.

Little Tabby sat there meowing at them, signaling that they should pet it.

Unexpectedly, they didn't even look at it, just kept clinging to each other as if they were fighting.

After a long tussle, they both went to the bathroom. Little Tabby, worried they might be in danger, kept scratching at the door.

"Meow!"

"Let me in! I need to watch you and protect you! Taking a bath is very dangerous!"

No one paid it any attention. Little Tabby crouched by the door, scratching at it for a long time.

After who knows how long—Little Tabby had no sense of time, only that it seemed like a very long time—the two finally came out of the bathroom.

Su Lichen had no time for Little Tabby now; he wrapped his arms around Xu Moxing and headed to the bedroom to continue doing what couples in the honeymoon phase love to do.

As for other couples, he wouldn't know, but he sure loved doing it.

Seeing that these two foolish humans had safely emerged from the bathroom, Little Tabby was no longer curious enough to follow them into the bedroom.

It was time to go to sleep; it was way too late.

It was already past its bedtime, and staying awake this long was proof enough of just how worried it had been about their safety.

After the bedroom door closed, Little Tabby went to one of its cat beds and settled down to sleep.

The room was quite soundproof, but Little Tabby's ears were too sharp; to it, they were actually pretty loud.

But Little Tabby didn't care; it impatiently covered its ears with its paws and went back to sleep.

Little Tabby had no concept of time. In human terms, after a few hours, the bedroom door opened again.

The owner came out, grabbed something, and went back to the bedroom. A little while later, he came out again, put something away, and returned to the bedroom. Only then did it finally quiet down.

The two in the bedroom finally fell asleep. Little Tabby changed its sleeping position, no longer covering its ears, and continued to sleep soundly.

Of course, Little Tabby didn't understand. It was just a neutered little cat.

It didn't know that after holding back for a year, what these two accomplished tonight could only be described by comparing them to animals in heat, and that wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.