Anything Goes

XiYou Draft June 7, 2020

“Hey brother!” Dao Ming Si hugged his best friend Xi Men Yan. “Welcome back!”
“Thanks bro!” They exchanged a secret handshake.
“You’ve been gone too long,” said Dao Ming Si as he pulled away and the two of them walked out of the airport. “Shanghai is glad that you’ve returned.”
“Just get straight to the point: you missed me,” Xi Men teased.
Dao Ming Si scoffed.
Xi Men turned his head around, “So where’s your girlfriend?” he asked.
“Shan Cai is with her best friend right now. But they’ll be joining us at the restaurant,” Ah Si replied.
Xi Men chuckled. “You’re not trying to set me up, are you?”
Ah Si smirked. “I’m not.”
Xi Men rolled his eyes. “Liar.”

“Tell me again why I’m coming along to your date with your boyfriend?” Jiang Xiao You asked.
“Well, I’m meeting Ah Si’s best friend. I’m a little nervous meeting him. He might not like me. And I could use a friend there, you know,” Shan Cai reasoned out.
“If I didn’t know any better you’re just trying to fix me up with Dao Ming Si’s best friend.”
“Of course not!” Shan Cai answered quickly.
“Liar,” Xiao You mumbled.

“Shan Cai, I’d like you to meet my best friend the one and only heart surgeon Dr. Xi Men Yan,” Dao Ming Si began as he made the introductions. “Xi Men this is my girlfriend Dong Shan Cai.”
Shan Cai and Xi Men shook hands.
“Hi,” Shan Cai spoke, “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
“Same here,” Xi Men smiled. “Ah Si has been telling me all about you.”
“And Dao Ming Si has been telling me all about you too,” Shan Cai shared.
“Hey! I just want my two favorite people in my life to meet each other and get along too.” Dao Ming Si butted in.
“Don’t worry Ah Si, I think Shan Cai and I will get along just fine,” reassured Xi Men.
“Good.” Dao Ming Si was pleased.
Shan Cai grabbed Xiao You’s arm who was silently standing behind her. “By the way, I’d like you to meet my best friend Jiang Xiao You.”
“Ni hao,” Xiao You greeted. “I’m Jiang Xiao You.”
“Ni hao Xiao You. I’m Xi Men Yan.” Xi Men said.
The two of them shook hands.
“Alright. Let’s have dinner.” Ah Si declared. He pulled the chair beside his and Shan Cai sat at once.
Xi Men eyed his best friend curiously who was unaware as he was too fixated on his girlfriend. Looking at Xiao You, “I hope you don’t mind sitting beside me.”
“Uh, no, of course not.”
Xi Men smiled and pulled the chair for Xiao You to sit.
The four of them happily ate the food they ordered.
While finishing their desserts Shan Cai, who has since relaxed in front of Xi Men, shared that Dao Ming Si was always boasting about him. “He just couldn’t stop talking about you. It’s Xi Men this, Xi Men that.”
“Really?” Xi Men asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. He’s really proud of you.”
“Ah Si never tells me that in person. Don’t you?” He eyed him.
Ah Si was embarrassed.
“I don’t know why you guys can’t be honest. Being emotional isn’t a bad thing. Why do you always have to act so tough all the time?” Shan Cai wondered aloud.
“I’m an emotional kind of guy. I’m a crier.” Xi Men admitted.
“Really?” Chorused Shan Cai and Xiao You.
“Ask Ah Si.”
“Is it true?”
Ah Si nodded.
“Now, why can’t you be like Xi Men too?”
“Hey! I can cry too.” Ah Si defended himself.
“To see is to believe,” said Shan Cai.
“What?!”
Xi Men and Xiao You both laughed.
“Ah Si, your girlfriend is challenging you to cry.”
“Shut up.”

While Ah Si and Shan Cai were caught up in their own moment, Xi Men and Xiao You were left to mind themselves.
“Never been so glad to be back home,” Xi Men muttered.
“How long were you gone?” Xiao You asked.
“Three years.”
“Shan Cai told me that you served in Doctors Without Borders. That’s amazing.”
He nodded his head. “That was before I got the heart surgeon study program scholarship in Australia.”
“I’ve never met or known a doctor as great as you.”
Xi Men chuckled. “Thank you.”
“The city of Shanghai is honored to have one of the best heart surgeons in the country.”
“You flatter me Xiao You.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I think you have an honorable and noble profession.”
Xi Men blushed.
They noticed that it had become suddenly quiet in their table and saw that their best friends were caught in a lip lock.
“They’re shameless.” Xi Men remarked.
Xiao You laughed. “Now that you’re back, I’m so relieved I’m not the only one who gets to witness this.”
“Wait, you mean, they do this very often in public?!”
Xiao You nodded.
“Geez.”
“You know what this means?”
“No.”
“I’ll be off the hook chaperoning these two.”
“Oh no!” Xi Men shook his head. “I’m not gonna replace you. Or chaperone them. I’m way too busy with my work.”
“Let’s see about that.” Xiao You smirked.