The phone rang only once before it was answered, and a man’s voice filled with laughter came through the receiver, “Xiao Jing?”
“Mm.” Jing Li felt his ears tingling with the man’s deep, magnetic voice, but his expression remained calm, “Shen-ge, do you have time later? I’m missing some ingredients for the dishes I want to cook tonight, so I need to go to the supermarket.”
It was clearly an excuse, but Gu Tingshen didn’t hesitate, immediately responding, “It just so happens I’m free. Where are you? I can drive over and pick you up.”
Secretary Qin, standing beside him, glanced at him before silently gathering the stack of documents in his arms.
Jing Li, oblivious on the other end, smiled upon hearing the response, “No need, I’m in the family car and will be at your office building soon.”
Gu Tingshen was momentarily stunned before chuckling softly, “Okay, I’ll come down right away.”
With that, he hung up the phone, got up to grab his coat, and walked out, telling Secretary Qin as he went, “I need to step out for a bit. Attend the afternoon meeting on my behalf and send a summary to my personal email. Have the rest of the documents delivered to my house; I’ll look over them tonight.”
Secretary Qin had clearly anticipated this, calmly nodding, “Understood.”
After making work arrangements, Gu Tingshen eagerly left his office. In the elevator, he even checked his appearance and hairstyle in the reflective walls. Satisfied there were no flaws, he stood tall, his mood lifted as he watched the elevator numbers descend.
Reaching the lobby entrance, he spotted the familiar license plate of the Jing family car parked outside. Gu Tingshen unconsciously quickened his pace, about to open the door when the person inside beat him to it, revealing the face he’d been longing for day and night.
“Shen-ge~” Jing Li called out with a smile, his tone slightly elongated from his amusement.
As he opened the door, Jing Li leaned forward slightly, his head tilted to the side, appearing to be coquettishly teasing him.
In that instant, Gu Tingshen felt an electric current surge through his heart, a tingling itch spreading across him, even deepening his voice.
“Mm.” His voice was hoarse as he responded, then feigned a nonchalant smile, getting into the car and casually asking, “Did you wait long?”
“No, I just arrived.” Jing Li smiled, shifting inward to make room for the man. He tilted his head and blinked at him, “And even if I did wait for Shen-ge, no amount of time would be too long.”
Gu Tingshen’s motion to close the door faltered, nearly losing control and pulling the person into his embrace.
“Did our Xiao Jing coat his lips with honey today?” He laughed teasingly, using the excuse of closing the door to regain his composure before turning to the young man, about to find a subject to divert his attention.
But the person before him simply shook his head with a smile, then joked, “Being with Shen-ge is sweet enough. There’s no need for extra honey.”
Gu Tingshen’s breath caught in his throat. He opened his mouth but momentarily forgot what he meant to say. After a few seconds, he forced a casual smile, “Which supermarket does Xiao Jing plan to visit?”
As he spoke, he averted his gaze, for the first time somewhat reluctant to look directly into Jing Li’s eyes, afraid that his own emotions would be discovered.
“The one near Lishui Bay is fine, it’s close to home.” Jing Li casually replied, signaling the driver to start the car. He then turned to enjoy the view outside, though his brow furrowed slightly.
He had no experience with romance and didn’t know how to convey his affections. Even those earlier lines were hastily searched online, which were supposedly tried and tested.
But it seemed ineffective on Gu Tingshen.
Perhaps those lines didn’t apply universally to everyone.
Jing Li seemed to realize something and decided to try different approaches another time.
As he was lost in thought, he heard Gu Tingshen suddenly speak up from beside him, “I’ve had people look into the situation online. We should have news within the next couple of days at most. Don’t worry too much about it.”
It took Jing Li a moment to register that he was referring to the smear campaign against him on social media. He nodded in response, “Yeah, I had my team look into it too.”
After speaking, he smiled at the man beside him, half-jokingly saying, “If I’d known Shen-ge would lend a hand, I would’ve rushed over to hug your thighs from the start, saving me the headache.”
Gu Tingshen paused. He originally just aimed to find a subject to break the silence, worried Jing Li might take offense at his meddling. Hearing his response immediately put him at ease, giving Jing Li a teasing glance, “It’s not too late to hug now.”
The two exchanged a knowing smile, savoring the subtle sweetness in each other’s words while trying to restrain their emotions to avoid overwhelming the other.
Lost in their respective thoughts, they traveled smoothly to their destination and temporarily ceased their conversation as they exited the car toward the supermarket.
This was the largest supermarket in the new district, known for its complete range of goods and fresh ingredients, attracting the most foot traffic.
As a popular traffic star, Jing Li had disguised himself well before getting out of the car but kept his head down subconsciously just in case.
However, this limited his field of vision. Even with Gu Tingshen leading, he nearly collided with displays several times.
After pulling him back once more, Gu Tingshen could no longer bear it and directly took Jing Li’s hand in his own.
The man’s broad, warm palm immediately sent Jing Li’s heart racing. He instinctively looked up, meeting a gentle, smiling gaze.
“This way, you won’t bump into anything again.” Gu Tingshen smiled, giving his palm a light squeeze before turning to continue forward during Jing Li’s stunned silence.
Jing Li calmly responded, making no attempt to pull away, as though their linked hands were the most natural thing, save for the warmth spreading across his masked face that betrayed no oddities.
After a few steps, he would occasionally glance at their firmly clasped hands, feeling the transferred warmth, the corner of his lips unconsciously curving upward beneath his mask.
Hand-in-hand, they arrived at the vegetable display.
Looking at the baskets of various vegetables in front of him, Gu Tingshen held Jing Li’s hand in one, naturally using the other to examine the produce as he asked, “What do you need?”
Jing Li briefly looked at their intertwined hands before casually shifting his gaze to the vegetables, listing off, “Shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, radishes…”
As he spoke, he glanced around, seeing no one paying attention, so he pulled his collar up and lowered his mask to breathe easier.
“The radishes are over there.”
Just as Gu Tingshen spotted the white radishes diagonally ahead and reached for them, he failed to notice the slightly protruding display, stumbling as his leg knocked against it. His hand that was reaching for the radish jerked forward, pressing down on one buried beneath the top layer.
The radish he pressed shot upward, launching the ones on top in a scattered shower beginning to roll away.
“…Ah, be careful!”
Jing Li turned at the sound of his voice, saw Gu Tingshen’s unsteady balance, and reached out to steady him. Seeing the radishes rolling away, he hurriedly tried to catch them with one hand while supporting Gu Tingshen with the other.
After securing the radishes and helping Gu Tingshen regain his balance, Jing Li felt something did not feel right. Glancing down, he realized he had instinctively withdrawn the hand Gu Tingshen had been holding in the chaos.
Jing Li: “…”
Returning his hand now would be too obvious, wouldn’t it?
Jing Li flexed his left hand, feeling a tinge of regret but could only to let it go for the moment. He grabbed a produce bag and began selecting vegetables.
Gu Tingshen glanced at Jing Li’s left hand, a hint of frustration flashing across his eyes.
He had gotten ahead of himself, undone by such a minor incident.
But seeing Jing Li already occupied, he couldn’t make any further moves, resigning himself to finding another opportunity when they were leaving.
Gu Tingshen lowered his gaze and assisted Jing Li with the vegetables while keeping an eye on passersby to prevent any collisions.
As they chose, the sound of children playing came from behind. Gu Tingshen instinctively glanced back to see two young boys wildly pushing shopping carts down the aisle. One veered off course, heading straight for Jing Li, and the side facing him happened to be the edge of a chopping board.
“Xiao Jing!” Gu Tingshen’s pupils constricted as he swiftly pulled Jing Li into his embrace, angling his back toward the incoming cart.
Just as he secured Jing Li, the cart slammed into his lower back, the cutting board’s edge digging in as he let out a pained grunt.
The sudden commotion startled Jing Li. Hearing the grunt, he glanced down to assess the situation. Seeing where the board struck, he looked up to release himself and check on Gu Tingshen. But as Gu Tingshen lowered his head, their lips accidentally met.
The unexpected incident stunned them both into stillness, staring wide-eyed at each other, momentarily forgetting to move.
Their heartbeats raced uncontrollably in their chests, the pulsing tremors numbing their chests, as though yearning to merge through the connected point.
Gu Tingshen’s arms tightened around Jing Li with heightened force.
The sudden grip snapped Jing Li back to reality, his eyes widening further as the situation registered.
Feeling the soft warmth on his lips, his mind went blank, and his mouth felt a little dry.
Without thinking, he instinctively ran his tongue across his lips to moisten them. But as Gu Tingshen regained his senses and attempted to withdraw, Jing Li’s tongue grazed his lips, leaving a glistening trail.
Jing Li: “…”
Gu Tingshen: “…”
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