This might be the feeling of someone harboring a secret crush.
From the moment the young man first appeared in his sight, Lou Wang’s gaze had a target to pursue. He no longer maintained his composure, and his daily mood followed the young man. When the young man was happy, his mood would also become bright; when the young man was in pain, he would feel distressed. Like a kite held by a string in the hands of the young man, Lou Wang’s mood fluctuated with the actions of the kite holder.
However, that person remained completely unaware.
He didn’t even know there was a kite tied to his arm. As long as he severed eye contact, the kite would fall from the sky.
The young man had a boyfriend. Lou Wang had heard from subordinates that the young man had a stable relationship with his boyfriend, and perhaps they would enter the realm of marriage next year. Lou Wang had no qualifications to compete; he could only silently watch the young man and witness his happiness.
This is somewhat painful; he always feels like he arrived a bit too late. Otherwise, the person escorting the young man home every day, witnessing the young man’s smiles, taking care of his daily life, might have been him, not just limited to the ordinary superior-subordinate relationship.
He hopes that the man with the surname Zhou will treat the young man well, never doing anything to hurt him. He doesn’t want to see the young man wear a sad expression one day, as it would break his heart.
Lou Wang sincerely wishes them well, but he didn’t expect the day when the young man would be heartbroken to come so unexpectedly and completely catch him off guard.
The “incident” occurred at eight in the morning. It seemed like the young man, considering his boyfriend was about to go on a business trip for two or three days, got up early and busied himself in the kitchen, preparing a delicious pot of congee.
Seeing the bewildered Zhou Jinheng, the young man, wearing a pink apron, immediately broke into a lively smile and said, “Jinheng, you’re finally up. I cooked congee for you; it seems like I added too much salt. Quickly taste it.”
With that, the young man smoothly pulled the man to sit at the dining table, scooped a full bowl of congee, and placed it in front of him.
The young man’s cute smile, along with those intoxicating dimples, lit up the entire room, giving the originally cold house a warm atmosphere. It was the lingering taste of a home.
However, Zhou Jinheng felt the congee in his hands weighing more than a thousand pounds, making it hard for him to breathe. Clearly, he was just going to a meeting with Qiao An, but he felt like he betrayed the young man in an unforgivable way.
Not to mention the young man, who unusually expressed his affection for him. As Zhou Jinheng was about to leave, the young man skillfully tied his tie for him. The rare tenderness almost drowned Zhou Jinheng. Even after the young man finished tying the tie and removed his fingers, Zhou Jinheng still felt reluctant, struggling in his heart.
Perhaps out of guilt, he blurted out unconsciously, as if trying to make up for something, with words of affection, “Darling, when I come back on Sunday, I’ll take you to meet my parents. I swear, from now on, I’ll take good care of you and won’t do anything to hurt you. We’ll get married next year. I know you actually prefer dogs to children, so we’ll have a dog. I’ll walk with you every day. We’ll walk the dog together, watch the sunset together…”
“Someone once told me that in this era where even love is fast food, never believe in love. Don’t become a prisoner of love, don’t be a deserter of love, don’t believe in the future, just enjoy the present. I used to believe this wholeheartedly after experiencing heartbreak, but now I want to tear apart those bullshit words. The reason those people speak so cynically is that they haven’t encountered the right person.”
“I admit, at first, I liked you. I liked your outstanding and beautiful face, liked your gentle and perfect personality. Perhaps that’s how the process of falling in love goes. It starts with appreciating your looks, gradually admires your talent, matches your personality, and ends with your character.”
“With you, it feels like embracing sunlight; my heart will never be in the dark. With you, happiness always accompanies me, and my lips often wear a smile. You get angry, you shed tears, but in your eyes, I am there from beginning to end. I’m sorry; I didn’t cherish you before.”
“Also, thank you for liking me. Liking this flawed me. From now on, I will treat you well, with only you in my heart.”
Zhou Jinheng embraced the young man, and these words seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, spoken with sincerity.
Yin Minglu stood still, his eyes dazed. Perhaps this confession from Zhou Jinheng was what the original owner of the body most wanted to receive, but it was too late. The person who would truly be moved to tears by this confession was no longer there, having tragically ended their own life in the bathtub while struggling to take care of the child and maintain the family.
It’s too late, Zhou Jinheng.
Yin Minglu lowered his eyelashes, the smile on his lips under the sunlight seeming almost transparent. In the end, it faded into a faint sigh that dispersed into the air.
In the end, Zhou Jinheng reluctantly let go of the young man. He looked at his watch and said with lingering affection, “Darling, it’s almost time for me to go. Wait for me to come home this weekend.”
Yin Minglu did not respond because he knew that maybe there wouldn’t be that time anymore. If Zhou Jinheng truly loved him, he would have laid everything out on the table before leaving, rather than hesitating with an open mouth as he was about to go.
He would never believe the various vows of a scumbag uttered before leaving. Such sweet words often only represented the current state of mind, not eternity.
—
As night fell, the capital city was bustling, with countless men and women walking the streets arm in arm. Dazzling neon lights flickered on the tall buildings, resembling a city that never slept.
Hearing the voice of Zhou Jinheng, who was already drunk, and the seemingly caring but actually probing words from Qiao An, Yin Minglu couldn’t help but hook the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile. The curvature was sarcastic. He began to send a location message to “Miss Chen,” Qiao An’s supposed girlfriend.
“Miss Chen, do you know what kind of person your boyfriend Qiao An is? I believe you’ve had guesses in your heart. If you want to know the truth, come to Room 3-301 at the Xiangli Hotel. If you don’t trust me or fear danger, you can bring people with you. Let everyone know that your boyfriend is capable of such things. What’s even more pitiful is that you’ve been dating someone hiding their sexual orientation for two months. After the breakup, you’ll be blamed by everyone. That must be an unpleasant feeling, right?”
Since it’s about catching someone cheating, it has to be a grand gesture. Yin Minglu enjoyed watching a good show and even suggested to Miss Chen to bring others along.
Chen Ke was originally grading student assignments. When she heard the message alert, she picked up her phone casually. Soon, she was shocked, and her expression changed rapidly. After a while, she replied, “Who are you? Why are you texting me?”
What she really wanted to ask was how this person knew about her situation. She had confirmed Qiao An’s homosexuality just the day before, coincidentally because Qiao An was looking to buy battle underwear online, and the local shop he inquired about happened to be run by her friend.
Her friend emphatically assured her that it must be Qiao An, as the shipping address coincidentally matched the company’s address. Qiao An specifically instructed to blur the information on the package, stating that it should be labeled as regular mail.
The reason for shipping to the company instead of home was precisely to prevent Qiao’s parents from being indiscreet and opening the package. This attempt to conceal things was already very suspicious.
Chen Ke was so infuriated at that moment that she ran to Qiao’s parents to question them. However, the Qiao family dismissed her concerns, waving their hands and saying it was impossible. They firmly believed that their child was certainly interested in women, and the person named Qiao An must be someone with the same name and surname. They even turned the tables and asked Chen Ke if she wanted to break up and was making false accusations against Qiao An. They blamed her, saying that if she wanted to break up, they could part ways amicably. They scolded her not to defame Qiao An everywhere just because he didn’t like her. They emphasized that Qiao An was a robust young man and not a delicate girl, so why should he care about his reputation?
Qiao’s parents’ counterattack, and their refusal to return the money she spent on gifts earlier, nearly made Chen Ke cry. She spent the whole night crying, and her eyes were still swollen when she went to the podium today. The students came up and asked her what happened, wondering if she was upset by their pranks. Hearing this, a few troublesome students in the class actually thought it was the case. They lowered their heads and awkwardly apologized, promising not to sleep in class again.
This made Chen Ke smile through tears. However, she couldn’t tell her students about her worries, or even her parents. Her parents didn’t believe her because Qiao An had an excellent reputation. He was a talented and charming young man admired by many girls. He had relationships with women even when he was abroad. How could he possibly be gay? Everyone thought that Chen Ke lacked charm, couldn’t hold onto Qiao An’s heart, and resorted to breaking up and tarnishing Qiao An’s reputation.
Thinking of this, a cold and determined look flashed in Chen Ke’s eyes. Since no one believed her, she would present the evidence to prove her point.
Since the sender of the message suggested that she could bring people along and even provided the room number, Chen Ke decided to believe it for now. She brought along her good friends and even asked her close friend living around the hotel to check and confirm whether there was someone in room 3-301 and if the occupant was a young man. After obtaining precise information, Chen Ke’s suspicion about the content of the message grew. As she was about to leave, she thought again and decided to bring along Qiao’s elderly parents who were currently playing mahjong with others.
Upon hearing that Chen Ke intended to catch someone committing adultery, Qiao’s parents didn’t believe it at all. They insisted, “Don’t cause trouble! Chen Ke, your temper is so violent, it’s no wonder our Qiao An doesn’t like you! People need to have self-awareness. Not every young man who doesn’t like you is homosexual.”
They absolutely refused to believe and were unwilling to go, thinking that Chen Ke was being unreasonable. However, the people playing mahjong at the next table were interested. They might not necessarily believe Chen Ke’s words; they just wanted to join in the excitement. So, five or six people pushed and shoved Qiao’s parents out the door.
On the other side, Yin Minglu was also part of the adultery-catching team. To make his actions seem reasonable, he suggested to the party animals in the company that they should go to a club for drinks and games. Everyone immediately cheered and agreed. Friends gathered, shoulders linked, they were ready to enjoy the rare weekend.
However, before Yin Minglu could mention the location, the boss, Lou Wang, spoke up, saying, “Let’s go to the Xiangli Hotel.”
The young man was startled, thinking that the boss had peeked at his messages. However, Lou Wang explained to him in the next sentence, “That’s one of the hotels under my management. I’ll take them there, and we can get a discount or even stay for free.”
In reality, he only wanted to cover the young man’s expenses. But since it was a big group outing, he didn’t want to make his personal preference too obvious.
Amidst the cries of “Boss Lou is mighty!” and “Boss, I love you!” the clear voice of the young man accurately reached Lou Wang’s ears. He looked up and said, “Thank you.”
There was a profound meaning behind this thank you. It didn’t seem like gratitude for the boss’s care, but rather carried a complex emotion, as if a burden had been lifted. Lou Wang felt he understood, but he couldn’t fathom where the young man’s emotions were coming from.
However, soon enough, he would find out.
Author’s note: Ahem, I’ll try not to take leave in the future, but I really can’t control things like sleeping (>_<)
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