He Xuan · Chat

The instant the bathroom door swung open, steam rushed out, carrying the sweet scent of green-grape body wash. He Xuan was bare-chested, his black hair dripping wet, only a dark gray bath towel wrapped around his waist. Beads of water still clung to his cool-toned pale skin, tracing down his collarbones and slipping into the gaps of his silver chain. He was biting a green-grape hard candy, looking down at his feet. Two stool-high EBO robots stood side by side, blocking the bathroom doorway. Four electronic eyes glowed in unison, unmoving. The one on the left had a black bow stuck to the top of its head; the one on the right had a little black snake sticker pasted on its forehead. The air went quiet for about two seconds. He Xuan crunched the candy, crouched down, and met the two little robots at eye level. He reached out, gently turned the bow-wearing one to face the corner, nudged the black-snake one toward the air purifier, then clapped his hands and stood up, his tone as calm as if he were assigning seats: "You two — one faces the wall, one purifies the air. Fits you perfectly." The bow-wearing EBO's speaker burst with Xu Wan's voice, laughter barely contained: "He Xuan, what the hell — you get out of the shower, skip the clothes, and start philosophizing with robots?" The other one followed right away with Ling Yun's lazy electronic voice, made even more insufferable through the tiny speaker: "Decent build, but shake that towel a couple more times and it's coming off." He Xuan raised an eyebrow, reached down, and tugged at the edge of the towel as if about to let it go: "Then you two call the cops right now — tell them someone on the 37th floor is being indecent, and while you're at it, let the police review the surveillance footage of you two trespassing." Both little robots took a half-step back at the same time. Xu Wan spoke first: "Who trespassed on your place? You sent the door lock password to the group chat yourself the day you got back." He Xuan said with utter confidence: "I sent it to the group so you could order takeout for me — not so you could drive your surveillance bots over to shoot a post-bath pictorial of me." The black-snake robot piloted by Ling Yun rolled forward half a turn and bumped He Xuan's calf with its body, its voice languid: "I'm not interested in your bare chest." A pause. "Come to 'Twilight.' The booth at the very back is waiting for you. Old Xie and Yao Yao can't make it." He Xuan stood up and nudged both little robots toward the living room with his foot: "Fine. You two wait outside. I'm changing." The bow-wearing robot stubbornly turned itself around: "Wear something decent. Lots of good-looking guys and girls there." He Xuan looked back and flashed it a grin, his black hair sticking up messily: "Xu Wan, what I wear is none of your business. It's not like you're trying to get with me." "Scram, you psycho." Both tiny speakers rang out at once. He Xuan slammed the bedroom door shut with a bang. Through the door panel, he could still hear Xu Wan banging the robot against the door. Smiling, he pulled a T-shirt over his head and yanked a black hoodie out of the closet. Once dressed, he walked straight out, glanced back at the two little robots at the entryway, then closed the door and took the elevator down.