Meng Fei was forced to go to bed earlier because of Li Jiong, but he only managed to sleep in the middle of the night. It wasn't his fault after all, the day had been very stressful and he couldn't clear his mind. Even so, early in the morning, he was up before five and making breakfast.

He wasn't surprised to see Li Jiong getting up so early as well. He wasn't such a complete layman that he didn't know that cultivators should have a strict discipline of sleep, training, and food.

"Good morning, Li Jiong."

"Good morning." Li Jiong responded in a milder manner. The distrust he harbored for Meng Fei was gradually dissipating.

"Today we're going to see if we can buy you some clothes." Meng Fei served breakfast, scallion pancakes, porridge and eggs.

"Is that really necessary?" Li Jiong asked after saying thank you for the meal.

"Yes, people here don't wear clothes like that and you'll end up drawing a lot of attention. Besides, you only have this outfit, what will you do when it's dirty?" Are you going to walk around naked again?

Li Jiong had to agree. And also he didn't know how long he would stay in this world. Upon entering the village, obey what resides in them. Yet he questioned, "Won't this get in the way of your work?"

"You were lucky, today is the weekend and some people like me don't work these days."

With no more excuses, Meng Fei took him to the store where he was used to buying his own clothes. The attendants were known to him and would believe anything he said. He soon sought out an acquaintance and told her a story.

"Ah, this is a friend of mine from a theater group who arrived on a trip. Well, he had an incident with his clothes luggage, you know, these loss at airports... And I accidentally spilled juice on the clothes that he was. So he wore the clothes from the play, but of course he can't walk around dressed like that..."

The attendant laughed. "Ah, Mr. Meng is so clumsy! What kind of clothes does your friend want?"

"Hmm..." He analyzed the cultivator and then left along with the attendant, sorting out some basic items, pants, shirts, coats, shoes... He led Li Jiong to the front of a booth.

"This is called a fitting room, it's to see if the clothes are good before buying." He whispered to the other as he pushed him inside.

Meng Fei hoped that the clothes weren't so disparate that Li Jiong didn't know how to wear them, so he left him alone and waited outside for a long time.

"Then?" he asked anxiously.

"Hmm... I don't think it turned out well." Li Jiong replied.

"Let me have a look."

Li Jiong left, but Meng Fei pushed him back. He had left the front buttons and zipper undone. "Ah! Damn!" Meng Fei's face turned cherry red.

"Did I get it really wrong?" Li Jiong frowned. Meng Fei started buttoning his shirt buttons, being forced to look directly at the wall of well-defined muscles in front of him. His former partner wasn't all that well endowed, he sighed inwardly.

"You close the buttons like this. And this is called a zipper..." Meng Fei looked down at the bottom. How would he close his pants for the other? Even with the underwear, that was very visible.

"Uh... And just pull it up. You can do it yourself."

Meng Fei even had to show the other how to tuck his shirt into his pants. He wishes he had a thicker face to do this

"Do you like it? That shade of blue suits you."

"These clothes you wear are so strange, so tight. It limits movement so much."

"Usually this size is fine (actually perfect), but I may order a larger size."

"If you say that's fine, then I'll follow what you suggest."

"........." Meng Fei blinked his eyes repeatedly.

Now he blindly trusts me? "See in the mirror how it looks."

Li Jiong turned to the mirror. He felt a strange sensation when Meng Fei buttoned his shirt. Very lightly he felt the tips of his fingers brush his skin. They were long, white, and manicured fingers. His touch was cool and soft and careful. He never thought that Meng Fei could have such beautiful hands.

Discreetly, he lifted his eyes and gazed at the other's handsome features. The small, pink lips were closed in a thin line. It rose when looking at the high bridge of the straight and well-shaped nose. And he paused at the slightly arched brows, as if he was always on high alert. Li Jiong swallowed hard and looked away. Why was he paying attention to all these details??

"That's fine with me." He answered in a low voice.

"Okay! You don't even have to change! Stay like this."

Meng Fei came out of the booth carrying the price tags and cultivation clothes. He felt his face burning because of the previous situation and he even had to buy underwear!

"If Zhou Chin saw this he would be jealous." The attendant commented laughing.

Li Jiong found the phrase strange and then noticed a trace of sadness in Meng Fei's eyes as he replied.

"Ah, didn't I tell you, Miss Xu? Zhou Chin broke up with me. It's been a month already."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Mr. Meng." She sighed. "You guys looked like such a happy couple..."

Li Jiong "..............."

Meng Fei paid for purchases on the card. He put away Li Jiong's supposed costume along with the other clothes and picked up the bunch of bags. "I'll take this to the car and I won't be long. Can you wait here?"

"I'll go with you, you're not going to take this alone, are you?"

Meng Fei thought that Li Jiong feared that he would drop him there, so he nodded his head.

They walked towards the parked car in silence, but halfway there the other questioned him: "Meng Fei, are you a mango cutter?"

"Hey, don't talk like that! How rude!…I am. Do you have a problem?"

Then Meng Fei realized that Li Jiong might be thinking something very wrong about him. "Wait a minute! I don't…" He fumbled with his lines, blushing again.

"I'm not helping you with ulterior motives! I'm gay but I'm not a pervert or anything like that! I don't have an affair with anyone I meet, I try to have a decent solid relationship!"

Li Jiong was quite surprised by this reaction and laughed. "Sorry! I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just... I was curious... I didn't think you could suffer for love..."

"Why not? I'm human after all. That other Meng Fei must really be an aberration for you to consider something like that. If I ever meet him, I'll kick his ass for tarnishing my reputation." Meng Fei moved forward, with a firm stance. Li Jiong watched thoughtfully.

Yes, you are quite human, flesh and blood, capable even of falling in love, of feeling fear, shame... The cultivator suddenly felt guilty.

By considering the other as a monster, he had forgotten that everyone had feelings. Even the evil Meng Fei could have loved someone someday. He didn't know his life, what would have led him to trace that path? Come to think of it, he didn't know anything about this Meng Fei either. He knew that he built houses, that he was smart, spoke other languages, cooked well and that he was heartbroken about ending a relationship. Only that.

Meng Fei put the clothes in the trunk of the car and they got ready to leave on foot.

"Where are we going now?"

"We're going to a bookshop owned by an acquaintance of mine, she confirmed that she has a book on Chinese symbology. It's close to here."

They walked through the busy streets, stopping first at an elegant coffee shop downtown, and then on until they came to a friendly neighborhood bookstore a little farther away, crammed with rows of books stacked to the door.

"Peng Niu!" Meng Fei called out. A gawky young woman stepped out from behind one of the piles of books and adjusted her round glasses on her face. She was very short and wore a long red skirt and a little wool coat. Her hair was tied back in a small braid that highlighted her round face. She smiled at the newcomer.

"Ah, Meng Fei. You're still very fond of books, aren't you? To make time to come here so early. I confess that this one was well hidden, it took some work to find it."

"The only thing that scares me other than this mess is your ability to remember all the books you have. Here, have your macarons."

The girl smiled and grabbed the package from the other's hands.

"You're so thoughtful! I don't know how that asshole Zhou dumped you."

"Dumped me for a younger guy with a bigger bank account. Now the book, please..."

"And this one with you? Aren't you going to introduce me to your new boyfriend?" Peng Niu asked as she munched on a vanilla macaron.

"Li Jiong is not my boyfriend, and he sure must be pretty straight if that's what you want to know." Meng Fei replied through gritted teeth. Li Jiong was not quite understanding this conversation but realized that the two were actually good friends.

"Hmm... bring him more often then. Or rather, since he already knows the bookstore, now he can come alone. Nice to meet you, Peng Niu!" The girl picked up a heavy book from the counter and threw it at Meng Fei as she gave Li Jiong a wink.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm Li Jiong." He bowed slightly, feeling both embarrassed and amused by the situation. It's not like he wasn't used to being flirted with by a girl. He discreetly glanced at Meng Fei, who was checking the book. Without taking his eyes off the old, yellowed copy, he spoke over his shoulder.

"It doesn't look like it but Peng Niu is a famous bookseller. She gets very old books that are no longer published. This one was in a reference but it must be one of the last ones in China... don't you have some others like that on this topic? "

"Oh, I knew you'd say that!" The girl smirked and placed five more books in front of Meng Fei. "Bring more straight friends here so I have a better chance of to marry."

"You? I doubt it. Only if it's in the next reincarnation, how are you going to meet someone if you don't leave the bookstore?"

"If I don't find anyone I'll marry you, you failed bachelor!"

"It looks like I'm going to marry a woman with a dog genius like you!"

"I wouldn't marry a workaholic like you!"

"You who are so desperate to get unstuck that you suggested marriage!"

The two burst out laughing, and in the end Li Jiong couldn't understand how Meng Fei managed to find time to pay for the books. In the end, he took everyone Peng Niu had separated.

"Aren't you spending too much on this?" Li Jiong asked worriedly. "You already bought all those clothes!"

"You don't have to worry about that. Besides, it's nothing unnecessary, I haven't found much material about archaic Chinese symbols on the Internet. Books are the most reliable source now. Do you recognize any?"

Li Jiong shook his head. Meng Fei had already expected this, but he wasn't to despair just yet. He decided to take a lunch break and took him to a restaurant he knew was quieter. He had noticed that the agitation made Li Jiong lost and dizzy. They sat on the far porch and ordered.

The house specialty was duck in a sweet bean sauce, but both preferred to share a not-too-spicy huo guo. Interestingly, Meng Fei ordered a bowl of ice cream and started eating before the meal arrived.

"Are you eating candy before?"

"Uh... It's sugar for the brain, hehe. But I confess, I have a soft spot for it. Do you want some?"

Li Jiong declined with a smile. His gaze wandered around the room slightly covered in darkness. There were a few families having lunch too, couples and groups of friends.

"It's very quiet here, I used to come here when I was at university, to do homework while I ate." Meng Fei said opening one of the books and started leafing through it.

Li Jiong returned to observe the surroundings. This world was so peaceful, people were living well and comfortably, quite different from the hardships that were taking place in his. He felt a twinge of…envy? He had never had this kind of feeling in his entire life, right now!

"Li Jiong, this symbol looks like the matrix design, what do you think? Li Jiong?" Meng Fei's voice sounded distant. He stared at the worried cultivator. Meng Fei felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes were cold and dark. Had he done something wrong?

Author's Note:

Li Jiong wondered why he was noticing Meng Fei so much: because love and hate always go together, my dear 😅.

[1] Huo guo: similar to a salty fondue, this is a stew where you choose the broth, usually spicy, and put the ingredients to cook. I prefer mine spicy, like Li Jiong.