Gu Jiqing wants to go to the hotel with this person?!
How many days have they known each other?!
And didn’t he just hold his hand and say he liked him yesterday?
Is Gu Jiqing’s love this casual?
At that moment, an inexplicable sense of sourness and anger surged uncontrollably into Zhou Cibai’s heart.
He didn’t care much about his rationality and refinement anymore. With a cold face, he grabbed Gu Jiqing’s wrist and threw a “I have something to talk to him” at Pei Yiming, then left without looking back.
Without any other words, without waiting for the other party to explain, as if it’s certain.
So much so that Pei Yiming originally wanted to stop him but felt like he shouldn’t have gotten involved, so he just smiled a bit meaningfully and stood there watching the commotion.
And it wasn’t until they reached the downstairs of their dormitory that Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but stop. He turned to look at Gu Jiqing and said anxiously, “Gu Jiqing, how many days have you known him? Do you know what kind of person he is? What if something happens later? Do you even know how to protect and cherish yourself? What is in a man’s mind? Don’t you have any idea?”
Gu Jiqing was talking to Pei Yiming nicely about fostering Zhou Zhou, and suddenly he was dragged away. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was going on, he was preemptively asked such questions in a roundabout way. Any random person would have lost their temper already.
Fortunately, Gu Jiqing saw Zhou Cibai’s reaction and quickly and calmly made a judgment. He just asked in a warm voice, “Did you misunderstand something?”
He asked frankly and calmly.
Zhou Cibai, who was originally confident, became slightly stiff.
Gu Jiqing was sure of his misunderstanding and explained, “My family has brought my dog and is waiting for me to pick it up at the hotel. Pei Yiming’s pet shop happens to be next to the hotel, so it’s more convenient to go there together.”
Zhou Cibai’s hand that was grabbbing Gu Jiqing’s wrist froze completely.
Gu Jiqing smoothly drew back his wrist and put it into his pocket, then casually asked, “So is there anything else?”
His tone was very calm.
Or, to put it another way, his reaction to his upsetting was too calm.
So much so that Zhou Cibai had an inexplicable illusion in his heart that everything seemed to be within Gu Jiqing’s control.
But that’s not important, what is important is, how could he think Gu Jiqing would go and open up a room with a man he just met for the first time?
When Zhou Cibai realized how absurd and dirty his thoughts were, he quickly withdrew his right hand, avoided his gaze, and nervously handed over his wallet and scarf. “That…you forgot to bring it.”
“En, thank you.” Gu Jiqing took his wallet, put it away, paused slightly, and instead of changing the topic, he said, “Your reaction today was very out of control.”
Zhou Cibai’s figure slightly paused.
Gu Jiqing looked at him and said seriously, “Actually, even if Pei Yiming and I really want to go to a hotel, as an adult man, it’s normal. You don’t have to worry so much.”
When Gu Jiqing said this, he just assumed that Zhou Cibai probably had a strong moral compass because his moral values were so strong, so strong that he couldn’t even accept that those around him were potentially morally tainted and at risk of being harmed. That’s why he was so mad.
But he also felt that between him and Zhou Cibai, there was actually no such need to care about each other’s private lives or explain their private lives to each other in terms of responsibility and obligation.
So he is just trying to use a gentle expression to show Zhou Cibai the sense of boundary that he feels should exist between them.
However, it became another meaning in Zhou Cibai’s ears—Gu Jiqing was implying to him that since he had already rejected him, he could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted, and he had no control over it.
The hand that Zhou Cibai had withdrawn unconsciously clenched into a fist.
Indeed, since it is impossible for him to like Gu Jiqing, as an independent adult man, Gu Jiqing can date and go to a hotel with anyone he likes. It has nothing to do with him, and he has no reason to care, let alone be mad.
But he doesn’t know why, whenever he thought of Gu Jiqing might really have something to do with that Pei Yiming, and the thought of Gu Jiqing lying underneath him that day appeared in front of others, he became extremely agitated and suffocated.
Gu Jiqing saw that he didn’t speak and thought he understood: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first. Pei Yiming is still waiting for me.”
Upon hearing these three words, Zhou Cibai’s fists clenched even tighter.
But no matter how tightly he clenched his fists, he couldn’t find a proper stance to say the right words. After seeing Gu Jiqing and he was hesitated to speak for a long time, he could only reluctantly give a cold “En” and then turn around and leave.
After taking two steps, something came into his mind, and he turned back with a foul expression. He stuffed his thick scarf into Gu Jiqing’s hand, then turned around and walked faster.
He couldn’t care less about him anyway, so why not go faster?
The more Zhou Cibai thought about it, the darker his face became.
When he walked to the door of the dormitory, Wang Quan saw his stinky face, as if his wife had just been robbed. He couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Zhou, what’s wrong? It’s a big holiday, who offended you?”
“No one.”
Originally, Zhou Cibai wanted to say that it was that Pei Yiming that you introduced, but he also couldn’t figure out how Pei Yiming had offended him. He can only continue to have the stinky face, take out the key, and proceed to open the door.
Halfway through, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn’t help but look up at Wang Quan and ask, “If someone had just said they liked you yesterday and then left with another guy in front of you today and still told you that it had nothing to do with you, what does he mean?”
“What else could it mean?” Wang Quan didn’t even think about it. “It’s just to stimulate you and make you jealous.”
Jealous?
When Zhou Cibai heard these two words, he instantly felt as if he had been hit by the truth somewhere, and his hand, which was opening the dormitory door, paused.
Seeing the other party add someone else on WeChat would make you unhappy.
Seeing the other party laughing with someone else would make you unhappy.
Seeing the other party go to the hotel with someone else would also make you happy.
If it’s not jealousy, then what else could it be?
But why could he get jealous over Gu Jiqing?
How could he, a straight man, get jealous over another guy?
At that moment, Zhou Cibai suddenly remembered one of the guidelines that Lu Ping had mentioned at the time—be neither close nor distant, make the other party be overanxious about one’s own interests, start to get jealous, and inspire the other party to be protective.
Zhou Cibai: “……”
He doesn’t know if Gu Jiqing has such thoughts, but he can be certain that he must have been influenced by Gu Jiqing; otherwise, how could he unconsciously start caring about these inexplicable things?
Who does Gu Jiqing likes, who does he date, how he’s going with who—what does it have to do with him?
Zhou Cibai lowered his head and quickly twisted the key that he hadn’t unlocked in a long time. His heart skipped a beat as he thought, when Gu Jiqing came back at night, he must speak more clearly and directly.
He is a straight man, and he can never be bent.
Zhou Cibai felt that he had never been so calm before.
Then with a “ppa,” he broke the dormitory key in the lock.
Zhou Cibai: “……”
F*ck.
.
Pei Yiming, on seeing Gu Jiqing come back wearing a thick scarf that he could see at first glance it didn’t match his temperament, opened the car door and casually asked, “Does that guy just now like you?”
“No.” Gu Jiqing answered casually as he sat in the passenger seat. “He has homophobia. He can’t possibly like guys for the rest of his life.”
He is certain and careless, as if stating an established common sense known to all.
Pei Yiming thought of the hostile gaze of the boy looking at him just now, as if male animals on the grassland were vying for mates. He smiled silently, closed the car door, and drove slowly towards the hotel address Gu Jiqing gave him.
The hotel is indeed quite close to the school, just a few minutes by car.
Yin Lan was staying at the penthouse suite, and as soon as the door card was swiped open, a beautiful white furry dog jumped out and threw Gu Jiqing onto the carpet. It then buried its head and bit his scarf, as if it really liked the smell on it.
Gu Jiqing was so enthusiastic that it took him a long time to put the scarf around his neck. Then he reluctantly pushed it away and touched its head, revealing a rare genuine smile: “Gu Zhou Zhou, are you getting fat again?”
“Yes, it has gained weight—two pounds heavier than before when your school started, but you have lost weight again.” Yin Lan touched Gu Jiqing’s face, her eyes filled with heartache. “Isn’t it because you didn’t eat well? In the meantime, mom will cook for you in the hotel, mom must make you many delicious things to fatten you up.”
Gu Jiqing dared not look into her eyes. He lowered his head and touched Zhou Zhou’s head, which was circling around him with its silly joy. He lets out an “En,” then just as he was about to say something, the door to the room across the hall opened.
“Ah Ji is here? Right on time, I was about to tell you on the phone about tonight’s Free party, you…”
Halfway through the conversation, Gu Jue saw Pei Yiming and paused before changing the topic. “Your friend?”
“En, he comes to pick Zhou Zhou up.” Gu Jiqing has no intention of introducing Pei Yiming to Gu Jue.
Gu Jue was not interested in this type of college student either. He just nodded and said, “Good, he looks pretty handsome and reliable. Then you can finish the task with your friend first, and I’ll talk to you later.”
After finishing speaking, Gu Jue hurriedly left while putting on his coat.
Gu Jiqing packed all Zhou Zhou’s things and followed Pei Yiming downstairs.
Because Zhou Zhou really likes Zhou Cibai’s scarf. He keeps biting and has already got a lot of saliva on it. Gu Jiqing could only send away the dog and scarf together, then he thinks about buying a new one and apologizes to Zhou Cibai.
When the elevator door closed, Pei Yiming asked, “That person just now……”
“My brother.” Gu Jiqing answered briefly.
Pei Yiming nodded and said, “He looks good too, but he doesn’t look like you. I thought he was some other friend of yours.”
Gu Jiqing lifted his eyes.
Pei Yiming said casually, “Free is right under my house. If you encounter any trouble, you can contact me, and I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Free has been a bit chaotic lately. If someone else were to invite Gu Jiqing, he definitely wouldn’t recommend him going. However, since he is Gu Jiqing’s brother, he thinks that there should not be any problems. If there were any, it’d also not be his turn as an outsider who he has just met for the first time to speak either.
Pei Yiming could tell that Gu Jiqing was completely uninterested in him at the moment, but he didn’t mind making friends with such smart, beautiful, and good-tempered person, so he expressed his kindness perfectly.
And Gu Jiqing thinks that Pei Yiming’s personality traits are very similar to his in some aspects, making it convenient to communicate.
As for what kind of place Free is, he didn’t understand at all. He just knew that it should be a bar. He nodded and thanked him, then sent Pei Yiming and Zhou Zhou away.
When he returned to the hotel room, Yin Lan was about to take out a clay pot. When she saw him, she quickly called out, “Zhi Zhi, come over and have some soup. Mom’s been cooking all afternoon and has put a lot of cordyceps in it. Mom just wanted to help you replenish your body. Mom has also bought you clothes and weaved you new gloves.”
After finishing speaking, she took out a pile of beautiful clothes and a pair of delicate and soft cashmere gloves, insisted that Gu Jiqing try them on.
Yin Lan’s skills and aesthetics have always been good.
The soup is delicious, the clothes are beautiful, and the size of the gloves is just right.
Gu Jiqing felt a lot warmer in his body.
And Yin Lan looked out the window and suddenly exclaimed, “Zhi Zhi, it’s snowing.”
She quickly led Gu Jiqing towards the balcony.
Yin Lan, who grew up in the south since a kid, saw large snowflakes falling on her expensive and exquisite cashmere skirt. She turned around and smiled at Gu Jiqing, saying, “Zhi Zhi, you come and see, these snowflakes won’t melt.”
From childhood to adulthood, many people say that Gu Jiqing looks like Yin Lan.
It’s just that Gu Jiqing is light at heart, while Yin Lan is soft at heart.
Soft like a dodder flower.
That’s why, ever since she married into the Gu family, she’s always been afraid that the man he’s clinging to will be unhappy with her, and she has to carefully play the role of the most perfect wife and stepmother, to the point where she has to give out her love for her own son.
Gu Jiqing looked at her beautiful face, which had never been aged with time, gently and innocently smiled like a young girl. He lowered his head and gently stirred the soup in the bowl.
He dares not admit that he actually enjoys such a rare time that only belongs to him and Yin Lan.
No Gu Jue, no Gu Jue’s father, no members of the Gu family who need to be pleased.
Yin Lan no longer has to be cautious and afraid of making mistakes, nor does she have to be a perfect wealthy lady and gentle stepmother. She can focus all her energy on the beautiful things she likes.
Buy nice clothes for Gu Jiqing, and stay at home for several afternoons while cooking all night with a facial mask on, just to knit a new pair of gloves for Gu Jiqing.
It seems like they had returned to when Yin Lan had not been married into the Gu family and their mother-son pair relied on each other.
It’s just that, at that time, they couldn’t afford to buy clothes and couldn’t bear to use seafood to make soup. And the yarn for weaving gloves could only be removed from the beautiful sweater that Yin Lan couldn’t bear to wear in order to make clothes for Gu Jiqing.
Yin Lan loves him; otherwise, she wouldn’t have married the man she was actually afraid of because of his serious illness back then.
But later on, many things were forgotten and ignored.
For example, Yin Lan had been watching the snow happily. But when she received the phone call, her smile instantly converged into a gentle look. When she hung up the phone, her gaze towards Gu Jiqing was filled with lingering guilt and heartache.
Gu Jiqing just glanced at her and understood. He lowered his head and continued to drink the soup from the bowl, saying calmly, “It’s okay, I’ll go tonight.”
Yin Lan sat back at the table and looked at Gu Jiqing, feeling a little guilty as she spoke softly, “Zhi Zhi, Mom knows you don’t like going to that kind of place, but your brother has promised mom that he will never allow you to be bullied. Just go for a scroll and give Li Wang and his group some faces.”
“En.”
Gu Jiqing understands Gu Jue, it’s true that he won’t allow him to be bullied subjectively, but he has limited objective intelligence, so his guarantee cannot be relied on.
However, he was too lazy to say anything and just whispered, “Mom, I will be 20 years old after Chinese New Year, and I want to move out of the Gu family.”
Yin Lan was somewhat stunned.
In a rare move, Gu Jiqing didn’t try to comfort her but just calmly spoke his words. “I have a scholarship, I can also do tutoring and draw some amateur illustrations. I can cover my own tuition and living expenses. As for the past decade or so, I have recorded it in my account, and I will calculate it together according to the inflation ratio in the future to repay it to him.”
“Zhi Zhi……”
“Mom, you and he are legal husband and wife, and you don’t owe him. This time I promised to help Gu Jue win this project to thank him for agreeing to take in Zhou Zhou. I won’t do other things anymore.”
After finishing the last spoonful of soup, Gu Jiqing looked up and said, “So, does he have any other requirements this time?”
His expression and voice were as lazy and gentle as ever, as if speaking the most ordinary words.
But when Yin Lan saw his gaze, she inexplicably felt heartbroken. Then she quickly looked away and said in a warm voice, “It’s also nothing, he just said he wants you to bring your classmate surnamed Zhou…”
“Zhou Cibai?”
Gu Jiqing calmly interrupted her words.
“It seems to be this name.”
“I’m not very familiar with him, and his family background and status are not comparable to those of Gu Jue and Li Wang, so I don’t want him to go, nor can I be sure he will go. All I can do is convey Gu Jue’s invitation, and I won’t do anything else. I also advise Gu Jue and his group not to do it.”
Gu Jiqing didn’t think Zhou Cibai would be interested in such an occasion, nor could he find any reason why Zhou Cibai should go. Therefore, he agreed to ask on behalf of Gu Jue, just because he didn’t want to make things too difficult for Yin Lan.
After all, he could think of Zhou Cibai’s answer—expressionlessly said, “won’t go.”
Yin Lan also understood these things. She pursed her lips and responded gently, “Okay, I will tell your brother.”
Gu Jiqing took out his phone, stood up, and went to the balcony.
He originally intended to send WeChat, but he felt that when asking such a thing, sending WeChat would be troublesome, so he eventually dialed Zhou Cibai’s phone number.
And Zhou Cibai, because he blocked the dormitory’s keyhole and the repairman had not yet arrived, could only make a stinky face. And with his own strength, he plummeted the temperature in the neighboring dormitory by ten degrees.
And when it was already dark and Gu Jiqing hadn’t returned, the temperature dropped by another ten degrees.
Fortunately, as a professional matchmaker, Wang Quan was completely focused on his own career and didn’t even bother with Zhou Cibai’s unhappiness. He was just browsing his social media when he suddenly fell into a slot and said, “You’re amazing! Brother Pei!”
Brother Pei?
One of the three words that Zhou Cibai hates the most now, one of them is Pei, the indoor temperature is already pushing the outdoor temperature.
Wang Quan, however, was only interested in sharing the joy of gossiping and unknowingly handed his phone to him, saying, “Look! No wonder Gu Gu didn’t come back! There’s something!”
Upon hearing the words Gu Gu, Zhou Cibai raised his eyes in frustration and then stood still.
On the screen is a circle of friends.
The sender’s name is Pei Yiming.
Moment content: On Christmas Eve, I took in a cute little child with the surname Gu.
Picture: A big Samoyed who grins foolishly, not so smart looking at first glance, and there’s a scarf around the Samoyed’s neck.
It was the light brown Hermès scarf that originally belonged to Zhou Cibai.
And now it’s wrapped around Pei Yiming’s dog’s neck, appearing at Pei Yiming’s house, and was being boasted by Pei Yiming on his social media.
Zhou Cibai: “……”
At that moment, he could no longer describe his true feelings. He only remembered Gu Jiqing’s words, “Even if Pei Yiming and I really want to go to a hotel, as an adult man, it’s normal.” His heart suddenly burst into an extremely sour and distressing sensation, his knuckles tightly clenched, as if they were about to be crushed.
Coincidentally, his phone rang. He impatiently took out his phone and was about to hang up directly. However, he saw Gu Jiqing’s name, and his fingertips paused instantly. After a moment of silence, he picked up, and his voice became incredibly calm: “Is there any problem?”
“En.” Gu Jiqing responded softly, “I would like to trouble you with a favor.”
Zhou Cibai remained calm, “En, you say.”
“I won’t go back to the dormitory tonight.”
Zhou Cibai was manic, “You?!”
“Accompany my mother at the hotel.”
Zhou Cibai obediently said, “Oh.”
He suddenly felt his heart slow down, it still seems to be a problem with a not-so-good heart.
“Do you want me to help Aunty take leave for you?” Zhou Cibai took the initiative to ask in a decent tone.
Gu Jiqing lets out an “En” and continued. “But there’s still something else.”
Zhou Cibai remained calm and said, “You say.”
“Just…” Gu Jiqing hesitated and pondered for a while before asking softly, “Do you have any plans for tonight?”
The moment the words fell, Zhou Cibai’s heart pounded heavily.
Tonight is Christmas Eve. What does Gu Jiqing mean by this? Does he want to invite him out to play on Christmas Eve?
Christmas Eve has always been called a confession night, what does it mean to ask him out at this time?
Zhou Cibai held his phone tightly, and his knuckles turned pale.
Gu Jiqing continued to ask slowly, in his unique lazy and gentle tone, “If there’s no arrangement, are you interested in Free’s party?”
“Free?”
A very familiar name.
Zhou Cibai frowned slightly.
And without waiting for him to react, Wang Quan, who was next to him, said with a peptic face, “Isn’t Free the newly opened gay bar near the school? Well, it’s said that they’re going to have a Christmas Eve party today, inviting many foreign guys to strip dance. The invitation letter was done in a slutty way.”
After speaking, he handed his phone to Zhou Cibai and said, “Look.”
On the screen, there are faint blue nightclub breeze lights.
In the center of the light were several fierce men with blood-pumping figures and only a triangular piece of fabric, each scratching their heads around the steel pipe.
And below the fierce man is a row of huge glowing floral art words—no man can leave straight, Free is waiting for you to come tonight.
“……”
No man.
Can leave straight.
“……”
So what places did Gu Jiqing go to before getting to know him?! What are all these things he’s watching?! And what exactly does he mean by inviting him to such a place on Christmas Eve?!
At that moment, Zhou Cibai looked at the muscular and fierce men on the screen who were not as tall as him. Finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore. He tightly held his phone, gritted his teeth, and coldly said, “Gu Jiqing, can you stop trying to bend me all day long?”
