MMH Chapter 51

Gu Jingchen had no objections; for him, birthdays were just an ordinary affair. He was more concerned about Xu Zhou’s mood.

Seeing him constantly scrutinizing himself with worry, Xu Zhou gradually broke into a smile, and his dimples became faintly visible.

Gu Jingchen touched his dimple, secretly relieved.

It seemed that Xu Zhou’s mood had improved.

He was a bit puzzled, not understanding why Xu Zhou had suddenly been upset.

Now that he saw Xu Zhou in a good mood, and being straightforward as always, he directly asked, “Xu Zhou, why were you upset earlier?”

Having grown up with Zhou Zhou, Gu Jingchen believed he knew Zhou Zhou very well. Zhou Zhou wasn’t the type to easily get upset without reason.

After a moment of silence, Xu Zhou thought that Gu Jingchen didn’t like beating around the bush, so he honestly said, “I don’t like them encouraging you to date and find a girlfriend.”

“Oh, I see,” Gu Jingchen thought it was a big deal and immediately said, “I’m not dating now, so don’t worry.” He thought Xu Zhou might be concerned that early dating would affect his studies.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou’s eyes gradually dimmed.

In other words, he would still have to have a girlfriend in the future…

By now, the car had already stopped at the entrance of Gu’s house. Gu Jingchen hesitated, “Xu Zhou, do you want me to accompany you home?”

Although Xu Zhou wasn’t drunk, he was afraid Xu Zhou might feel uncomfortable.

Xu Zhou shook his head gently, smiled, and said, “You should go back and rest.”

As the car moved forward for a while, Xu Zhou turned around and could still see the tall teenager standing at the door, watching him.

He lowered his gaze, thinking of what Zhou Nianyuan had said, silently making up his mind.

*

Soon, it was Gu Jingchen’s birthday.

Because Xu Zhou suggested organizing a birthday banquet, Gu Jingchen informed his family. When the family learned that he planned to invite many classmates, they let him use an empty villa under their name. The villa was spacious enough to accommodate many people, and there would be no adults to interfere, giving the kids more freedom.

On that day, the villa was carefully decorated, looking very festive.

Around noon, classmates from the class arrived, along with some students from the same grade who had a good relationship with Gu Jingchen.

There were several girls from other classes secretly admiring Gu Jingchen. Although they didn’t receive invitations, they begged Gu Jingchen’s friends to bring them to the birthday banquet. As a result, quite a few people showed up uninvited.

Among them was Meng Xinqi.

After her failed confession last time, feeling a bit unwilling, she decided to make another effort on Gu Jingchen’s birthday.

However, when she saw many beautiful girls with the same intention as hers, she hesitated.

Soon, the birthday banquet began, and Gu Jingchen was surrounded in the middle, singing birthday songs, making wishes, blowing candles, cutting the cake… everything went smoothly.

After eating the cake, Xu Zhou pulled him to the second-floor lounge.

Gu Jingchen was particularly happy.

He thought that Zhou Zhou must be planning a surprise for him. Although he received many gifts today, what he anticipated the most was the one Zhou Zhou prepared for him.

From childhood to adulthood, the gifts Zhou Zhou gave him were always what he wanted most at that time.

At this moment, everyone was playing in the living room, and there was no one upstairs. The lounge was quiet.

Xu Zhou took out the gift for him.

He unwrapped it, and indeed, it was a set of figurines he had wanted to buy recently.

This figurine set cost hundreds of thousands. Although he had a good amount of pocket money, he wasn’t a spendthrift. Originally, he planned to buy it for himself around the Chinese New Year, but unexpectedly, Zhou Zhou bought it for him.

He was excited and couldn’t contain his joy, giving Xu Zhou a big hug. “Zhou Zhou, thank you, I love it!”

Xu Zhou smiled, allowing him to embrace him. “As long as you like it.”

Gu Jingchen hugged him again and couldn’t let go, caressing the figurines lovingly.

Xu Zhou silently watched for a while, then suddenly spoke in a soft voice, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Gu Jingchen looked up, seeing his solemn expression. He quickly put down the figurines and said, “Go ahead.”

Xu Zhou patted the seat next to him, saying, “Come over and sit.”

Gu Jingchen moved to sit by his side.

Xu Zhou said, “Close your eyes.”

Could there be another surprise?

Gu Jingchen was curious but obediently closed his eyes.

The next moment, he felt a warm sensation on his lips, something touching them. Then, a tongue gently parted his lips, and he caught a faint scent of sandalwood from Zhou Zhou’s body.

He was stunned, and instinctively opened his eyes, only to see Zhou Zhou kissing him!

Due to the shock, he completely forgot to react.

Xu Zhou didn’t prolong the kiss too much and withdrew after a few seconds.

They stared at each other.

Gu Jingchen’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

Xu Zhou gently held his hand and said, “Jingchen, I like you.”

Gu Jingchen: “…”

He felt that this wasn’t a surprise; it was more like a shock…

“Zhou Zhou, are you deliberately trying to scare me?” he swallowed hard, thought for a while, and came up with a reason for Xu Zhou.

Xu Zhou stared at him in silence. “No.”

Gu Jingchen: “…”

Watching him being scared, Xu Zhou said slowly, “Originally, I was thinking of waiting until we graduate from high school, telling you on your eighteenth birthday… But since there are so many people who like you, I can’t wait. I have to tell you; I like you.” He paused and looked at Gu Jingchen with intense eyes. “I hope you also like me. Can you?”

Gu Jingchen’s mouth hung open, wanting to say something, but his mind was blank.

Xu Zhou continued holding his hand, not rushing him.

He was willing to give Jingchen time to think it over.

Growing up with Gu Jingchen, he naturally understood his personality. Jingchen had mentioned before about wanting a girlfriend to be with for a lifetime, implying two things: first, Jingchen liked women, and second, Jingchen took relationships very seriously.

Since Jingchen was serious about relationships, he didn’t want to pressure him into a quick answer.

So, he continued, “You don’t have to rush to answer me. Take your time to think it over and tell me your answer when you’re ready, okay?”

It was only at this moment that Gu Jingchen slowly came back to his senses, and his mind began to function normally.

He lowered his head, looking at the hands entwined with Xu Zhou’s, feeling particularly conflicted.

“You… are joking, right? You deliberately played a prank on me on my birthday, didn’t you?” He racked his brain to find reasons for Xu Zhou.

But as he reflected, Zhou Zhou had never played such a joke on him before… especially not on his birthday…

He felt a bit anxious and suddenly hesitated to meet Xu Zhou’s gaze.

However, Xu Zhou didn’t allow him to evade. He lifted his chin and leaned in to kiss his lips, saying, “Do you dislike me kissing you?”

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Jingchen shook his head.

He didn’t dislike it. He enjoyed kissing Xu Zhou’s dimples since childhood.

But kissing on the lips… and with two boys, it seemed a bit inappropriate.

Choosing his words carefully, he said, “I think this doesn’t seem right… we both should have girlfriends…”

Primarily, he had no examples of such relationships around him, and his grandfather often emphasized treating a girlfriend well. He had never thought about being with a boy…

Xu Zhou looked at him in silence for a few seconds and then said, “No, there are men who like men and women who like women.”

Gu Jingchen remained silent.

Xu Zhou stared directly into his eyes and said, “I like you and want to spend my life with you.”

Gu Jingchen: “…”

He didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Actually, he liked Xu Zhou a lot, but he had never thought about spending his life with a boy.

Understanding his dilemma, Xu Zhou said, “Take your time to think about it, and then give me an answer, okay?”

Gu Jingchen still thought Xu Zhou was joking, but he never refused any request from Xu Zhou, so he nodded and said, “Okay.”

Xu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

At least when he just kissed Jingchen, Jingchen didn’t show any aversion in his eyes.

He secretly thought, maybe there was still hope.

Knowing Jingchen’s personality well, he was afraid Jingchen might think he was joking, so he emphasized again, “I’m serious.”

Seeing the seriousness in Xu Zhou’s eyes, Jingchen finally realized that the situation was more serious than he had imagined.

He reached back and held Xu Zhou’s fingertips, whispering, “When you say you like me, is it like how a girl likes a boy?”

Xu Zhou replied, “…I’m not a girl, don’t treat me like one. But your understanding is not wrong. In short, I want to kiss and be intimate with you, just like a married couple, except we won’t have children.”

Now Jingchen was completely speechless.

He stared at Xu Zhou in a daze for a long time before saying, “Uh, I’ll think about it.”

Xu Zhou agreed.

They fell into a silent moment.

However, they didn’t let go of each other’s hands. Xu Zhou didn’t want to, and Jingchen’s mind was in chaos, forgetting about the situation.

Later, when they went downstairs, Xu Zhou remained composed, but Jingchen still looked dazed.

A girl stopped him and confessed to him. His face turned pale as he jumped several meters away, saying, “No… no… I don’t like any of you!”

His mind was filled with the image of Xu Zhou kissing him. At that moment, Xu Zhou had closed his eyes, and the reddened tongue withdrew from his mouth…

No, no… he couldn’t think about it anymore!

Other girls had originally planned to confess to him. If it were a normal day, he would politely reject them. Unfortunately, today he was under stress. Upon seeing any girl, he would detour, causing all the girls who liked him to miss their chances.

In the afternoon, Xu Zhou arranged for everyone to go singing at the KTV. However, as the birthday celebrant, Gu Jingchen grabbed Xu Zhou’s arm and hesitated, saying, “I… I want to go home for a bit. You guys go ahead.”

Xu Zhou squinted his eyes, looking at him indifferently, “Do you want to avoid me?”

“No!” Seeing the misunderstanding, Gu Jingchen quickly explained, “I want to go home and talk to my grandpa.”

Xu Zhou: “…”

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