[Not happy with how this is going, so I'm pausing for now. I'll update again after I get my footing and revise it.]
Heartbroken and unemployed, He Ran had taken one blow after another. Then, on a whim, he walked into a bar.
His boyfriend had said, "Being with you is like drinking plain water. You can see the end of every day coming."
His boss had said, "You're too well-behaved. You don't have the aggressive drive people need in the workplace."
So He Ran stopped being so well-behaved and slept with someone. The guy was really tall. Based on what He Ran had learned from his grandmother, a tailor, he was at least 190 centimeters tall.
It hurt like hell. Haha, I've learned my lesson.
He packed up his things and slunk back to his hometown. The county town where he'd grown up was lush and green, and the air felt free. He felt wonderful all over. This was where he belonged.
He was going to make a name for himself, take over his grandmother's business, and open a tailor shop!
Except...
Why was he here too?
One morning, He Ran went out to throw away the trash and saw the 190-centimeter guy he'd slept with, dressed in crisp athletic clothes and taking out his own garbage.
He Ran, forcing a mechanical smile: "Haha, well, this is awkward."
-
He Ran was on guard when the man he'd slept with in a city thousands of miles away turned up in his hometown as his new neighbor.
Was he stalking him? Had he dug up his personal information? Did he want to do it again?
It turned out the man was a teacher at the nearby school: upright, proper, and a man of impeccable character. That night had just been an accident while he was away on business. "I went out to buy you medicine that morning. When I came back, you'd vanished. You cried so hard that night, I was worried something might have happened to you."
He said, "Your watch is still with me. I'll bring it over in a bit."
He said, "Would it be all right if we added each other on WeChat? If you'd rather not, that's fine too."
He said, "Don't worry about what other people think. You're fine just as you are. It's your life, so you can live it however you want."
He Ran gradually began to think Teacher Song was a pretty good guy, and felt ashamed of his suspicions.
Until one morning, he woke up in Teacher Song's bed in a lot of pain again.
"I really shouldn't have trusted you!"
* Righteous-to-a-fault, big-bad-wolf teacher top (Song Shiyun) x gentle, soft, and easygoing little tailor (He Ran)
* They see each other's vulnerability and ordinariness, as well as the way they shine
Theme: See the shining soul in you
Is it only each other that can attack and support body and mind?
Can the author please open the paragraph comments?