【39】 Holding Hands, Kissing, or Something More Explosive?
Feeling that the person in his arms wasn’t struggling as much as before, Jiang Yan asked again in a gentle voice, “So Ran Ran, I’ll ask you one more time: do you want to date me?”
Wen Ran had never imagined that someone like him would be worth such an elaborate confession from Jiang Yan.
He had never experienced any of this. Li Hao hadn’t even confessed back then; he had just casually asked if they should be together. There was no passion, and not a single flower.
Wen Ran never knew that a confession could be this romantic.
It wasn’t that Wen Ran didn’t like roses.
Before, during Qixi Festival, Wen Ran had worked desperately as a booster to prepare a gift. He had even saved money by eating only one meal a day to give Li Hao a laptop. It was a decent brand; though the specs weren’t very high, it was enough for Li Hao’s studies.
But he never expected that Li Hao, upon seeing it, would only say with disdain that the specs were too poor—far worse than the ten-thousand-yuan computer his roommate had. He didn’t even give Wen Ran a single flower.
He had even told Wen Ran quite righteously: “What’s the use of a few broken flowers? They’re just for scaming money from couples. Besides, giving flowers on Qixi is a ‘tax on intelligence.’ Wen Ran, since you didn’t go to university, you’re easily fooled.”
“I’d rather buy you a cup of milk tea.”
So, Li Hao only gave Wen Ran a “buy-one-get-one-free” cup of milk tea.
Wen Ran felt uncomfortable, but he had been wandering for so long, and Li Hao was the first person willing to be good to him—even if that “goodness” was only a tiny bit.
He couldn’t say he had no feelings for Jiang Yan at all, but having experienced so much, he didn’t dare to hold much hope for relationships. He was like a little hedgehog, curling himself up and hurting anyone who tried to embrace him.
But this man, the one holding him, knew how to part his quills and gently touch the soft belly of the little hedgehog.
Wen Ran clenched his hands tightly, feeling incredibly nervous. Yet he spoke fiercely: “If you dare to lie to me, you’re dead!”
Jiang Yan was delighted. “So you’ve agreed?”
Wen Ran stammered, not daring to answer.
“Speak,” Jiang Yan urged, desperate to hear a definite answer from Wen Ran. “Hmm? Ran Ran? Are you agreeing to be my boyfriend?”
Wen Ran threw off his hand. “You’re so annoying!”
He had no momentum at all. With his ear tips red and even his neck flushed pink, he was like a posturing little kitten. Baring his tiny, clawless paws, he only made people want to bully him more.
Jiang Yan leaned in and pinched Wen Ran’s face. “Fine, I won’t ask.”
“Call me ‘Gege’ and let me hear it.”
Wen Ran: “…”
He wouldn’t call him that! He only ever played the role of other people’s ‘father’!
Wen Ran coughed uncomfortably. “Then I’ll head back to the base first.”
But just as he stood up and took a few steps, his waist was grabbed from behind.
Jiang Yan was incredibly strong; his arms were like iron pincers encircling Wen Ran’s waist. His gaze darkened.
How can it be so thin?
Thinking of the two shallow back dimples he had seen that night, Jiang Yan’s breathing became a bit heavy.
“Little bastard, it’s our first day together and you’re not going to spend time with your boyfriend?” He hooked Wen Ran’s hand with his other hand quite shamelessly, pulling him entirely into his embrace. “Give today’s time to me. I’ll send you back to the base tomorrow.”
“Okay?”
“It wasn’t easy to finally catch you,” Jiang Yan lowered his head and rubbed his face against Wen Ran’s neck. “I want to stay with you a bit longer.”
When Jiang Yan lowered his voice, the laziness carried a hint of sexiness, making Wen Ran subconsciously think of the scenes in his erotic dreams. He felt even more ashamed.
It was only seven o’clock. Jiang Yan took Wen Ran for hotpot and ordered a four-grid pot.
He first scooped a small bowl of soup from the bean curd pot for him, but Wen Ran only took one sip before frowning. “So bland.”
He looked at the spicy pot with eyes full of longing. “You eat the bean curd yourself later. My mouth is so bland I’m starting to lose it!”
“Your stomach is bad yet you’re still greedy,” Jiang Yan tapped his head. “How many times have I told you to pay more attention?”
Even so, Jiang Yan would still cook things in the spicy pot, then use serving chopsticks to rinse them in the clear water pot before putting them in Wen Ran’s bowl.
He also took him to a movie. They bought a couple’s booth.
As it turned out, neither of them actually watched the movie. Right after it started, Jiang Yan quietly held his hand. Wen Ran was also too stiff to move, letting him hold it.
Their thoughts were entirely occupied by each other.
Wen Ran had never been this happy. Song Zixuan was still livestreaming, his door shut tight, so he didn’t notice the two of them coming back at all.
When Wen Ran opened his door after hearing a knock, he saw Jiang Yan standing there. Water was still dripping from his hair as he looked at him with a smile.
Wen Ran felt a bit creeped out by the stare. He glared at him. “Staring at your father again? Is there money on my face?”
Jiang Yan wasn’t angry at all. He said with a grin, “Ran Ran, I’m afraid of the dark. Can I sleep with you?”
Wen Ran: “???”
“Then give me a kiss,” Jiang Yan said quite shamelessly. “Just one.”
Looking at him now, shirtless and showing off his abs—was this guy intentionally trying to seduce him? No ‘male virtue,’ no sense of shame!
Wen Ran immediately wanted to close the door, but Jiang Yan reached out and blocked it.
“The main thing is I want to take a photo,” Jiang Yan pressed closer. “Do you want to post to your Moments? For the official announcement photo, do you want to post a photo of us holding hands, or a kissing photo?”
As he spoke, he tugged his bath towel down slightly. “Or… something more explosive?”
“A bed…”
Before Jiang Yan could finish the word “photo,” he was shut out with a “slam” by Wen Ran.
Meanwhile, on the Liqing University forum—
[SHOCKING! Does Jiang Yan have a partner?!]
[Wherever there’s a post about my hubby, there’s me. Wait, let me look at the title again. What the hell is this?]
[Jiang Yan has a partner? Am I blind? Where’s the management? @Admin, are you not reviewing posts at all now?]
[Even rumors can be posted on the forum.]
[Read it. I’ve summarized the following six points: …]
[Laughing my head off. Do you really think others are new to Liqing University? Our school hunk Jiang Yan is famous for being ‘frigid.’]
[He’s the kind of person who would frown in disgust if someone touched him even a little.]
[Otherwise, with looks like that, rumors should have circulated several times already, right?]
[No, I’m not talking nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes!]
[When I walked past the piano room, I saw Jiang Yan coming out holding a guy’s hand. Then I secretly peeked into the room. Good lord, it looked like a marriage proposal scene.]
[JPG. JPG.]
[If you don’t believe me, look for yourselves. In a scene like this, could they possibly be discussing math problems inside?]
[Oh my god, there must be tens of thousands of roses there. What kind of tycoon is this? So generous!]
[Stay calm. If it’s Jiang Yan, it’s completely understandable. After all, his family background seems simple, and he’s partnered with others for a startup. To him, this is just pocket change.]
[And the piano… Help! Who else saw Jiang Yan playing at the school anniversary? It was literally love at first sight, okay?]
[Heavens, did he really confess to someone?]
[Is this really not a proposal scene from a prince to a princess?]
[Wake up! Did no one notice what the poster said? It was a guy.]
[A guy???!]
[What kind of shocking gossip is this? I’m breaking apart!]
[My male god, Jiang Yan, likes guys?]
[Poster, come tell me the specifics! I can’t take it anymore!]
[It really was a guy. I think I have that much vision. Although I only saw the side profile, he was really quite handsome.]
[He also had rose-colored hair—it was super eye-catching. So pretty!]
[The frigid school hunk likes men. What the hell? Could it be I was born the wrong gender?]
[There’s no need for that, after all, the guy is good-looking.]
[Wait, I clearly heard before that Jiang Yan didn’t like dyed hair. Didn’t he like the well-behaved type?]
[Who knows? Forget it. Right now I just want to know who is so lucky to be liked by the male god.]
[Waaaah! I don’t care, I’m heartbroken! I’m going to jump off the rooftop!]
[Sister, save a spot for me! My hubby ran off with another man! Waaaah!]
…
Jiang Yan himself rarely checked the forum, and the post was later buried by others, not causing a huge sensation.
The next day, when Wen Ran entered the training room right on time, Ai Fan was the first to speak to him. “Why didn’t you come back last night?”
“Otherwise, I would have thought you were kidnapped by the delivery man.”
Wen Ran still felt that yesterday’s experience was somewhat unreal. He coughed uncomfortably. “I went out for something. A friend asked me to hang out. It was a bit late, so I didn’t come back.”
“Oh, I see.” Ai Fan didn’t ask further.
A bit later, Zhang Xu ran into the training room excitedly waving his phone, announcing happily:
“We’ve scheduled a scrim!”
“It’s HG! The runner-up team!” Zhang Xu’s hand was still shaking. “Their coordinator said they couldn’t find a team to play with and actively came to ask us!”
Everyone except Wen Ran was stunned for a moment. “Brother Zhang, you’re not joking, right?”
“HG is scrimming with us? Really?” Four-Leaf Clover said. “I’ve wanted to lane against their ‘Everlast’ for so long. I heard he’s a very powerful young player.”
“And Twilight,” the Top Laner followed up. “Are the tactics of the League’s King of Supports really that legendary?”
“Dawn and I once crashed into Senior Twilight. His commanding even with random players was incredibly strong, let alone in a professional setting. Even if it’s just a scrim, we can learn a lot. Is that right, Dawn?” As soon as he heard Twilight’s name, Ai Fan instantly became a fanboy. “Right, Dawn?”
As soon as he heard it was HG, Wen Ran knew this must be Wind’s help. His idol was truly great.
Wen Ran wanted to say thank you, but “wrsxhd” in his list was not online. Perhaps his idol was busy.
At the moment Ai Fan called out to him, his phone suddenly vibrated.
Wen Ran had intended to ignore it, but somehow he accidentally clicked play. A lazy, sticky voice immediately drifted out:
“Ran Ran, you weren’t willing to kiss me yesterday. Can you give me a kiss now?”
Wen Ran: “…”
The teammates: “…”
The training room instantly became silent.
Jiang Yan’s voice message wasn’t long, but the degree of ambiguity was deadly. Wen Ran clicked frantically but couldn’t turn it off, and the volume wasn’t low either. The expressions on everyone’s faces froze.
Damn it. Should he just find a hole to crawl into?
Translator’s Note: Talk about an “explosive” ending to the chapter… LOL ! Poor Wen Ran—his secret is out in the most embarrassing way possible. Jiang Yan’s “Male Virtue” is clearly non-existent when it comes to teasing his boyfriend. And “Gege”? Jiang Yan knows exactly which buttons to push. I hope you’re all enjoying the fluff as much as I am!
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