Gu Jiqing felt caught off guard and helpless by Zhou Cibai’s straightforwardness.
He said, “You put me down.”
Zhou Cibai thought he was going to refuse, so he immediately hugged him tighter.
Gu Jiqing’s tone was gentle but somewhat helpless: “Play in the living room by yourself for two hours first, let me finish preparing my lessons for the day after tomorrow.”
Is this a promise?
Zhou Cibai immediately put Gu Jiqing down happily.
He was so obedient that Gu Jiqing didn’t know what to say for a moment. He could only let Zhou Cibai kiss him again, then turn back to the bed, cross his legs, and turn on the laptop again.
Zhou Cibai stood obediently one centimeter away from Gu Jiqing’s door and asked, “But you just recovered from your illness. Do you have to go to make-up classes tomorrow? Six hours a day, and you even have to draw illustrations on weekdays too. Can your body handle it?”
“Yes.” Gu Jiqing answered without hesitation, “In fact, my physical fitness is not bad, just not as good as yours.”
He had learned to dance when he was a child, and his high school required him to jog in the morning. In college, he occasionally went to the gym to learn Muay Thai for excitement. Although he is thin, his physical fitness is indeed pretty good.
But Zhou Cibai doesn’t think so.
In his eyes, Gu Jiqing was like a paper man who could easily be picked up by a kangaroo. He was thin and delicate, as if he were about to break at a touch. He worked so hard, and his body couldn’t bear it.
“Why don’t you just postpone the following illustrations first?”
Zhou Cibai asked tentatively.
Gu Jiqing didn’t even think about it, “No.”
“Why?”
“Because they give a lot of money.”
Zhou Cibai: “……”
It was an unexpected but irrefutable reason.
“Then how about you reduce the tutoring hours a bit?”
Zhou Cibai asked tentatively again.
Gu Jiqing still didn’t even think about it, “No.”
“Why?”
“Because the little girl is very smart, if the training camp goes well, she may be able to join the national team next year.”
“But you’ll be very tired ah.”
“But her parents give me a lot of money.”
“How much money can you make from tutoring?”
“One class is one hour long, and one hour costs 800 yuan. There are 60 classes in one winter vacation, so that’s about 50,000 yuan.”
Zhou Cibai: “……”
Although fifty thousand yuan was not enough for the things he and Gu Jiqing used on a daily basis and it was just the price of one or two coats, but for a sophomore student’s half-month income, it is indeed a bit too high.
Gu Jiqing sensed his silence, looked up at him, and probably guessed what he was thinking. He lowered his head again, sorted out the types of questions, and explained slowly: “It was one-on-one tutoring, and I guarantee that they can get a bronze medal in the end.”
“What if they can’t get it?”
“Return the money.”
“Then doesn’t that mean that you’ve worked so hard for nothing?”
“It can’t be, the little girl is very smart and talented. As long as she is willing to study hard, she will have no problem winning the gold medal.”
“If she’s so talented, then why not find those gold medal lecturers?”
“Because the little girl is in adolescence, she is rebellious, loves chasing stars1It refers to those who love to chase after good-looking people., and likes good-looking young men.”
However, most of the gold medal lecturers in mathematics competitions are very bald.
It took Zhou Cibai a while to realize the twists and turns. He felt sour in his heart and said angrily, “Gu Zhizhi! This is called selling your look!”
Gu Zhizhi was indifferent and calmly and gently said, “I can only be considered to be using my appearance advantage reasonably, not selling my looks. Xia Qiao suggested that I post selfies on Weibo to increase my followers, and that is what is called selling the looks.”
“Xia Qiao actually suggested that you post selfies on Weibo to increase your followers?!”
As a normal male college student with access to a 5G network, Zhou Cibai often visits Weibo. He can imagine that with Gu Jiqing’s appearance, if he just posts some posed photos, there will definitely be a lot of people calling him Lao Gong2Husbandor Lao Po3Wife.
But Gu Jiqing is his future boyfriend! Who are these people to call him that?
Fortunately, given Gu Jiqing’s personality, he will definitely not take it.
Zhou Cibai thought so awkwardly and sourly.
Then Gu Jiqing casually hit the enter key: “But if I’m really short of money, it is not impossible to consider it.”
“???”
Of course it can’t be considered!
However, before Zhou Cibai could speak, Gu Jiqing said in a lazy and casual voice, “A certain jealous little friend, if I can’t finish preparing for the lessons before five o’clock, I might not be able to make it to today’s date.”
A certain jealous little friend: “Oh…”
Zhou Cibai suppressed his sour mood, responded, closed the door, sat back on the sofa with his legs apart, pursed his lips, and finally took out his mobile phone and opened Xia Qiao’s WeChat.
[White]: Xia Qiao, can I ask you something?
[Xia Qiao is not Xia Qiao]: En, en, you say
[White]: Is Gu Jiqing short of money due to some problems recently?
Before the holiday, because the two of them were not in the same department, their classes were often at different times, and Gu Jiqing also often returned to the dormitory very late, but he also didn’t know what Gu Jiqing was busy with, so he also didn’t know that Gu Jiqing, who looked so otherworldly, was actually busy making money.
Although the Gu family never truly cared for Gu Jiqing, but judging from Gu Jue and Yin Lan’s reactions, at least they had never treated Gu Jiqing harshly in terms of material things.
Gu Jiqing shouldn’t be short of money.
Xia Qiao obviously felt the same way: [No ah, Gu Gu has been tutoring and doing illustrations. Although he can’t be said to be rich, but among sophomores, he could definitely be considered a small, wealthy man with his savings.]
[White]: Then does he used to not rest even when he was sick, worked as a tutor for several hours a day, and also drew illustrations?
[Xia Qiao is not Xia Qiao]: Not really. Gu Gu still puts his studies first and takes good care of his health. He basically earns money slowly.
[White]: Then, is there any reason why he might be in a hurry to make money?
[Xia Qiao is not Xia Qiao]: Then it can only be because he is in a hurry to leave the Gu family. You also know the situation of his family. They will never miss any possibilities of squeezing surplus value from Gu Gu. If something suddenly happens and makes him feel that he must leave the Gu family immediately, he will probably start making money in a hurry.
[Xia Qiao is not Xia Qiao]: So Gu Gu has been in a hurry to make money recently? Did something happen?
Zhou Cibai was just thinking about this matter: [I don’t know]
You don’t know? You actually don’t know?! What kind of boyfriend are you? You’re staying with Gu Gu every day, and you don’t even know what happened to him! I give Gu Gu to you for nothing! If you can’t do it, I’ll switch you to someone else who can!
Xia Qiao started to question him angrily as someone from the mother’s family.
Zhou Cibai was not angry, he just felt a little confused because he really didn’t know.
Apart from his confession to Gu Jiqing, nothing much has happened recently. But could it be that his confession makes Gu Jiqing anxious to make money? It can’t be ah, it’s not like he can’t afford to support Gu…
Wait.
Zhou Cibai suddenly realized something.
If he and Gu Jiqing were together, given the Gu family’s personalities and their previous practice of using Gu Jiqing to please Li Wang, they would definitely find ways to gain benefits from the Zhou family.
Given Gu Jiqing’s character, he would definitely not allow such a thing to happen. However, given Yin Lan’s character, she would definitely try to kidnap Gu Jiqing in the name of love and gratitude, and Gu Jiqing would then be in a dilemma.
That’s why Gu Jiqing asked him to wait for him.
In addition to waiting for him to believe that he deserves to be loved and is willing to take that step bravely, he actually wants him to wait for him to completely become independent from the Gu family so as not to bring any unnecessary burden to Zhou Cibai.
Gu Jiqing wanted their relationship to be complete and clean, so he worked so hard to make money, even though his body was not fully recovered yet and he was so thin that it was uncomfortable to hold him in his arms.
At that moment, Zhou Cibai couldn’t describe how he felt. He felt so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe. He felt painful, swollen, and inexplicably sore.
How did he just think of this?
Because he grew up in a positive and warm environment, he feels that two people being together is a very pure and simple thing. As long as you like me and I like you, that’s enough.
But he forgot that everything is not so easy for Gu Jiqing.
Gu Jiqing was someone who was used to taking on everything by himself, not relying on others, and not asking for anything from others.
So, in a place that Zhou Cibai didn’t know, behind Gu Jiqing’s gentle and brave response, there was actually so much unknown firmness and determination hidden.
Zhou Cibai likes Gu Jiqing’s gentle yet strong independence, but he also feels sorry for Gu Jiqing’s gentle yet strong independence.
He wanted to become Gu Jiqing’s supporter, but he didn’t know what kind of confidence he should have to prove this to Gu Jiqing. After all, he was still using his family’s money.
No wonder; back then, Gu Jiqing used to say that he liked older men who are steady and gentle.
For the first time, Zhou Cibai felt that he was a little childish.
After preparing for the class, Gu Jiqing originally wanted to pack up and go out as usual. However, after giving it some thought, he finally carefully selected a short white jacket and washed blue jeans, put on a light yellow scarf, and then opened the door.
He remembered that Zhou Cibai particularly liked him dressing himself in a bright and lively manner.
Sure enough, as soon as he left the room, Zhou Cibai stood up from the sofa and stared at him, unable to say a word.
Gu Jiqing asked, “It doesn’t look good?”
Zhou Cibai quickly said, “It looks good.”
Usually, Gu Jiqing dressed very loosely and casually at home, and he looked lazy, with his collarbone, shoulders, waist, and legs often exposed without him noticing. He was inadvertently alluring, a little too good-looking. It always makes Zhou Cibai’s hormones surge unconsciously.
Very suitable for kissing.
But he still looks good dressed like this, it hides his lazy charm that unconsciously leaks out. He looks brighter and more beautiful, like a daffodil covered with dew in the early spring sun, sparkling, clean, and beautiful.
Like a high school student.
Very suitable for puppy love.
Zhou Cibai suddenly felt that the date plan he had thought of before was not worthy of Gu Jiqing.
What candlelight dinners in Western restaurants, what tickets to symphony concerts, what red wine, roses, and violins—these were all bland, boring, and dull tricks in the adult world and were not suitable for him and Gu Jiqing at all.
It also doesn’t make his love for Gu Jiqing seem more mature.
So Zhou Cibai returned to his room and changed his over-formal coat into a youthful outfit suitable for a college boy.
He was wearing a black short jacket, washed blue jeans, and a dark gray-purple scarf. From head to toe, he and Gu Jiqing looked like a couple. It exude a youthful vibe.
The childish thoughts of a straight man.
Gu Jiqing smiled but didn’t expose him. He just asked, “Are you dressing like this because you want to have a puppy love with me?”
Zhou Cibai’s thoughts were exposed, and his ears blushed quietly, but he did not deny it. He just squatted down to tie Gu Jiqing’s shoelaces: “En, we are in puppy love today, so we won’t drive.”
“?”
Gu Jiqing just made a joke, but he didn’t expect Zhou Cibai to actually hold his hand and go squeeze into the bus.
The place where the bus stops is, and the place where the bus arrived actually turned out to be a small park that looked quite old.
Outside the park, there are snack stalls with tables and chairs. The stalls are filled with high school students in school uniforms and headphones. Many students were writing on papers with pens in their hands while waiting for dinner.
They looked serious and busy, obviously students from a nearby high school with a heavy workload who had not had time for their winter break yet.
There are also many simple amusement facilities and game stalls in the park. The elementary and middle school students from nearby communities who are already on their holidays are queuing up in a noisy manner.
The youthful and noisy atmosphere faded away the solemnity and desolation that are usual in this city in the winter. It was different from the date and place that Gu Jiqing had imagined.
Zhou Cibai pulled him to a small stall and ordered two bowls of Sanjiao rice noodles. He then ran to the other side to buy him a roasted sweet potato. He peeled it and handed it to him, saying, “This is the place I came to most often in high school. At that time, there were many couples in our school who had puppy love. They would come here to date at lunch and dinner. At that time, I thought that if I were in a relationship, I would definitely bring him here to eat two big bowls of Sanjiao rice noodles.”
Zhou Cibai sat opposite him and looked at him, his eyes full of bright and youthful colors.
There were indeed quite a few small tables around, with boys and girls sitting side by side, each wearing headphones. There are also the still tender hands, secretly holding under the overly long sleeves of their school uniforms too.
Although Gu Jiqing was only one or two years older than Zhou Cibai, but he grew up too fast, and his childhood and adolescence were too short, so he did not have such young and naive, beautiful expectations and fantasies about love.
“But why do you have to eat Sanjiao rice noodles?”
No matter how Gu Jiqing thinks, he still can’t think of a romantic way to say it.
Zhou Cibai just looked at him and said, “You eat first.”
Gu Jiqing felt a little puzzled, but he still slowly picked up a handful of rice noodles, blew on them, and put them into his mouth.
Zhou Cibai asked, “How does it taste?”
Gu Jiqing said, “Not bad.”
Zhou Cibai, “Then take another bite.”
Gu Jiqing: “Okay.”
Then, after three bites, the bowl of Sanjiao rice noodles was finished.
Gu Jiqing wiped his mouth calmly, looked up at Zhou Cibai, whose expression gradually changed from hope to shock and then to disbelief, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Cibai watched Gu Jiqing drink up the soup in the bowl and asked incredulously, “Don’t you think it’s spicy?”
Gu Jiqing thought Zhou Cibai’s question was a bit strange: “I’m from Nanwu ah.”
Zhou Cibai: “……”
F*ck.
How could he have forgotten this?
He only remembered that Gu Jiqing liked sweet and sour flavors, but he forgot that Gu Jiqing is from Nanwu and is not afraid of spicy food.
Gu Jiqing looked at his suddenly depressed expression, paused, and asked tentatively, “Am I supposed to feel spicy?”
Zhou Cibai broke open the disposable chopsticks, lowered his head, and stirred the rice noodles, saying, “This Sanjiao rice noodle is famous for its spiciness. So there has always been a saying in our school that if you are in a relationship, you should bring your girlfriend here to eat Sanjiao rice noodle. This way, after the girl feels the spiciness, you can secretly kiss her. That’s why this Sanjiao rice noodle is also called the first kiss rice noodle.”
“……”
The last time Gu Jiqing heard similar talk about love was when he was in the third year of junior high school.
He had always thought that no one would take this matter seriously once they passed the age of nine years of compulsory education.
But it was obvious that the 1.9-meter-tall student from the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University sitting opposite him was very upset because his plan had failed.
Gu Jiqing couldn’t help but lower his head and laugh out loud.
Zhou Cibai quickly covered his mouth, “Don’t laugh.”
Gu Jiqing said with a smile, “Okay, I won’t laugh.”
“You’re still laughing.”
“It’s not a laugh unless you laugh out loud.”
“It’s still called laughing even if you don’t laugh out loud!”
“En, then I’ll laugh.”
“Gu Zhizhi.”
In the end, Zhou Cibai didn’t even have time to finish the bowl of Sanjiao rice noodles. He only had time to face the disgusted looks of the surrounding high school students who said, “Hey, this brother is so childish in love.” With red ears and walked away quickly while holding Gu Jiqing’s hand.
“Do you want that porcelain big white dog?”
Zhou Cibai, who was holding Gu Jiqing’s hand, stopped in front of a ring tossing stall.
He felt that, given Gu Jiqing’s experience, he must have neither the energy nor the opportunity to play with all these miscellaneous things when he was a child. He wanted to make Gu Jiqing happier, like the joy of a little kid.
Gu Jiqing put his hands in his pockets, looked at the big porcelain dog that was farthest from the catching line, and said softly, “Can you do it?”
“Of course.” Zhou Cibai scanned the code and said to the shop owner, “Give me five rings.”
Gu Jiqing raised his eyebrows, “Is five rings enough?”
Zhou Cibai said without hesitation, “Of course it’s enough. I was very good at it when I was in junior high school. I was the king of ring tossing in our class.”
Zhou Cibai spoke very calmly, without any boasting at all. His posture while standing outside the circle was very professional, and his throwing technique was neat and handsome.
The surrounding primary school students gathered in a circle in admiration.
Then, one went out of range, two went out of range.
After five, Zhou Cibai said, “Five more.”
Cycle back and forth.
The primary school students finally couldn’t help asking, “Uncle, can you even do it?”
Zhou Cibai touched the tip of his nose uncomfortably and coughed lightly, “My hands don’t feel good today.”
Gu Jiqing smiled and took the ring from him, “Let me try.”
“En, okay, you try.”
Zhou Cibai originally just wanted to make Gu Jiqing happy and relaxed, but when he saw that he was finally in the mood to play, he quickly gave up the last two rings in his hand, walked to the QR code, and prepared to scan another fifty pieces.
Then, a cheer from elementary school students rang out from behind: “Ahhhhhhhh!!! Gege is so good!!! Gege, do one more!!!”
Zhou Cibai didn’t react. He held up his phone, turned around, and saw that a bamboo ring was hung on the ear of the big porcelain dog.
Gu Jiqing stood outside the line and threw the ring casually, steadily catching a kitten figurine.
His expression was indifferent, and his posture was casual, as if throwing this ring was a very easy thing.
Zhou Cibai: “……”
“When I was a kid, there was one in front of our school. Gu Jue loved to play, but he was dumb and couldn’t make the shot, so I practiced.” Gu Jiqing took the two packaged ornaments from the stall owner, tilted his head to look at Zhou Cibai, and asked in a gentle voice, “Is there anything else you want? I can help you get it.”
At that moment, Gu Jiqing’s tone was gentle yet domineering, just like the omnipotent male protagonist in an idol drama.
Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but feel his ears getting hot. How could his future boyfriend be this awesome?
But this won’t work, he is the fierce 1. He wants to make Gu Jiqing feel his boyfriend’s manliness.
Just as he was thinking about it, a sweet voice from a girl next to him came over. “Wow! Laogong! That Stitch is so cute! Can you catch one for me?”
Zhou Cibai asked hurriedly, “Do you want Stitch? I’ll go get one for you.”
Gu Jiqing: “Okay.”
Zhou Cibai took Gu Jiqing’s hand and walked over.
There are two claw machines standing side by side at the entrance of the park.
Zhou Cibai was standing in front of the claw machine on the left, and Gu Jiqing was standing on Zhou Cibai’s left.
A boy who looks like he is still in high school was standing in front of the claw machine on the right, and his girlfriend was standing next to him.
A war without gunpowder between men has begun.
Then fail, fail, fail.
Two big boys with long arms and legs stood awkwardly in front of the pink claw machine, clumsily grasping the small joystick, each of them gambling their dignity on the machine.
Then, with the sound of coins falling to the ground, the men’s dignity was once again shattered.
At first glance, these two grown boys are straight guys who only know how to play ball and games, how could they know those little tricks here?
Gu Jiqing smiled and said, “Zhou Cibai, I want to play too.”
Zhou Cibai quickly gave up his seat to him, then lowered his head to help him toss three coins.
Gu Jiqing gently pushed the joystick with his palm, observed the angle of the claw, pressed the button, and swung the lever. The round Stitch rolled out from the exit.
Zhou Cibai, who was just about to put in another coin, was stunned.
The boy next to him, who looked ten thousand times more embarrassed than Zhou Cibai, turned his head away as if he were questioning his life, and the girl looked at him with extreme envy.
Gu Jiqing asked gently, “Is there anything else you want?”
Zhou Cibai quickly pointed at Stitch’s girlfriend: “I also want the pink one.”
“Okay.”
Gu Jiqing responded. The first time he grabbed the doll, the second time he changed its position, sent it to the exit, and at the third time, he swung the pole, and the young couple was successfully reunited.
Then he followed the same method and caught a round little turtle for Zhou Zhou to play with.
The two straight men present were stunned, and the girls were so envious that she almost cried.
Gu Jiqing stuffed the doll into Zhou Cibai’s arms, then put his hands in his pockets and turned around slowly: “Let’s go and see if there is anything else you want to play with. Shooting guns and throwing darts, I should be able to do it all.”
The girl behind him kicked her innocent boyfriend hard. “You look at other people’s boyfriend! He is gentle, good-looking and powerful! What use do I have of you?”
The boyfriend felt particularly aggrieved: “But I’m the one who likes you.”
But Gu Jiqing likes him.
Zhou Cibai clumsily followed Gu Jiqing, holding a bag full of cute dolls. He felt proud and happy, but also a little frustrated: “Gu Jiqing, how come you can do everything?”
“Some of it was because Gu Jue loved to play when he was a child, so my mother asked me to accompany him so I could play them. But I grabbed dolls because I didn’t have enough money when I was a kid and couldn’t afford to buy dolls. And after practicing well, I can grab a doll steadily with just a few dollars. I can give it to my mother as a gift.”
Gu Jiqing’s tone when he said this was gentle, relaxed, and even a little cute.
Zhou Cibai only felt heartbroken when he heard this.
He originally thought that Gu Jiqing must have never had a good time when he was a child, so he wanted to bring Gu Jiqing into his youth and let him feel the childish and immature happiness of his youth.
But he didn’t expect that Gu Jiqing had played all of them, it’s just that there were too many other factors involved.
He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Gu Jiqing. “Gu Jiqing, is there anything you never do?”
“En?” Gu Jiqing didn’t know why Zhou Cibai suddenly asked this. He happened to see the open-air ice rink in the park, so he said casually, “Skating. There are very few ice rinks in the south, and Gu Jue was afraid of pain when he falls, so I also haven’t learned it.”
When Zhou Cibai heard the news, his eyes lit up instantly. He hugged all the dolls in one hand and ran to the ice rink, holding Gu Jiqing’s hand with the other.
“Hello, please help me get two pairs of ice skate shoes, one pair of size 41 and another of size 46.”
After saying that, he put away the things, took the ice skate shoes from the administrator, quickly changed them, and then squatted on the ground to help Gu Jiqing put them on.
“No, Zhou Cibai, what are you doing ah…”
Although Zhou Cibai was used to helping Gu Jiqing put on socks and shoes at home, Gu Jiqing suddenly felt a little embarrassed when he did the same thing outside.
He didn’t expect Zhou Cibai to care so little about his man’s face, and he also didn’t care so much about others seeing that they had a different relationship.
Zhou Cibai, however, felt that this was simply a matter of course. He quickly helped Gu Jiqing tie his shoelaces. After making sure it was secure, he stood up, held Gu Jiqing’s hand, and asked, “Are you ready?”
“En? Ah! Zhou Cibai!”
Before Gu Jiqing could react, Zhou Cibai grabbed his hand and started sliding into the ice rink.
The unprecedented experience of possibly losing balance at any time and the extremely fast speed that seemed to be out of control made Gu Jiqing instinctively close his eyes and just hold onto the person in front of him tightly.
Zhou Cibai held him firmly in his arms, carrying him in the northern winter wind, and whispered, “Gu Jiqing, are you willing to trust me once? Believe me, even if you are not fully prepared, I can protect you.”
Gu Jiqing is the most outstanding, powerful, and perfect person he has ever met.
But there is no truly perfect person in this world.
Everyone has weaknesses and flaws.
He is willing to appreciate and respect all of Gu Jiqing’s strength and beauty, but he also wanted Gu Jiqing to know that even if one day Gu Jiqing fell into an unprepared situation, at least he still had him to rely on.
“Gu Jiqing, please give it a try. Try not to be so nervous. Try not to be so scared. Try to give yourself to me. I will definitely not let you get hurt.”
This was the most reliable and solemn promise he could make to Gu Jiqing when he was nineteen years old and had not yet fully grown strong and mature.
Gu Jiqing heard Zhou Cibai’s strong and powerful heartbeat in the howling north wind of Beijing in winter and also heard his own heart skip a beat in panic.
He closed his eyes in the darkness with the blade under his feet, and the only one he could rely on was Zhou Cibai.
He had never tried to rely on someone, but at this moment, he seemed to have no choice.
So after a long, long time, he finally hugged Zhou Cibai and said softly, “Okay, then can you hold me tighter?”
He was really afraid of pain and didn’t want to fall, but he wanted to try to see if he could also choose to rely on someone.
