Chapter 22
Lin Zheng went downstairs to buy coffee for Gu Lin during a work break.
But as soon as he reached the first floor, he saw a familiar figure.
The person was wearing a stylish casual outfit: a light-colored trench coat over a white shirt. His outstanding looks and tall stature made him stand out in the crowd, but even more noticeable were the ruby earrings in his ears.
Zhao Yi! What was Zhao Yi doing here??
Zhao Yi greeted him.
“One black coffee, one mocha with double milk. To go.”
“One latte.”
After ordering, Lin Zheng and Zhao Yi sat down by the window.
Lin Zheng looked at the young man who kept staring at him. He coughed and said formally, “You saw the text I sent, right?”
The one rejecting Zhao Yi.
“I saw it. But what’s the point of a rejection via text? Don’t you think it’s perfunctory? Besides,” Zhao Yi leaned forward slightly, “I’m not the type to give up easily.”
Lin Zheng had thought Zhao Yi had given up since he hadn’t texted him again, but it turned out he was brewing a bigger storm.
Texting wasn’t enough; he came to him in person.
Although Lin Zheng admitted Zhao Yi was handsome, had a good figure, and sometimes exuded a bit of a loyal puppy/wolf-dog vibe, he was, after all, currently in a relationship.
He had no choice but to state the facts.
Lin Zheng said seriously, “Let me put it this way, I already have…”
“A boyfriend?” Zhao Yi chuckled, finishing Lin Zheng’s sentence, then added, “But aren’t you planning to leave him sooner or later?”
Hearing this, Lin Zheng looked at the man in disbelief.
How could Zhao Yi…
He hadn’t told anyone about this.
Zhao Yi looked at Lin Zheng’s incredulous gaze and lowered his voice, “If I said this was the second time I’ve witnessed this scene, would you believe me?”
What was he talking about?
Lin Zheng stared into Zhao Yi’s eyes, trying to find the answer he wanted, but those eyes held many things he couldn’t understand.
After a while, the mystery in Zhao Yi’s eyes turned into a smile. He laughed and said to Lin Zheng, “Just kidding.”
The coffee was ready.
Gu Lin was still waiting upstairs. Lin Zheng got the coffee. “Although I don’t know what your intentions are, don’t make jokes like that casually.”
He bowed slightly to Zhao Yi and started to leave.
But Zhao Yi stepped in front of him, reached out, and hooked onto his tie, expertly readjusting it. A twinkle of amusement shone in his eyes. “However, when I said I wouldn’t give up, I wasn’t joking.”
Lin Zheng’s eyes widened. He stepped back, looking at him defensively. “That’s not okay either. I’ve made it very clear.”
Zhao Yi was about to say something when a deep male voice cut in, “You went to buy coffee and took forever.”
Lin Zheng recognized the voice and looked over. It was indeed Gu Lin.
Gu Lin walked over, glanced down at Zhao Yi, skipped the pleasantries, and took Lin Zheng away.
Lin Zheng was taken into the elevator by Gu Lin. The doors slowly closed, leaving Zhao Yi outside.
Lin Zheng held the coffee, his nervousness palpable.
When had Gu Lin been there? What had he heard? What had he seen?
He didn’t know what Gu Lin had seen, but he looked angry!
To avoid a bigger conflict, Lin Zheng spoke first, “Let me clarify, Zhao Yi and I have nothing.”
“Can’t you tell he likes you?” Gu Lin’s tone was flat, but it still made people feel a little intimidated.
Knowing Gu Lin probably guessed, Lin Zheng didn’t hide it, “But I rejected him.”
“Rejected him, and then let him fix your tie?”
He saw it!
Lin Zheng knew he was in the wrong and explained, “It wasn’t what I wanted, he did it without my notice.”
Then, Lin Zheng looked at his tie and sighed, “This is my favorite tie. I don’t want anyone to touch it.”
The elevator reached Gu Lin’s office floor. Lin Zheng went in with the coffee, placing Gu Lin’s cup on the desk. “Okay, I’m going out.”
Gu Lin stood behind Lin Zheng, looking down at his white shirt collar. When Lin Zheng turned around, he extended a long finger and easily untied Lin Zheng’s tie, then threw it in the trash can.
“Okay, go out.” Lin Zheng was dumbfounded.
Looking at the tie Gu Lin had thrown away, his favorite tie, he asked, “What did you do? What did you do to my tie?”
Gu Lin’s tone was calm, “I don’t want to see things touched by others on you.”
Lin Zheng knew it was Gu Lin’s possessiveness acting up again.
But…
Lin Zheng was so heartbroken that tears welled up in his eyes, “Didn’t you hear me say it’s my favorite tie?”
“I’ll buy you a better one.”
“Buy my ass!”
That tie, in terms of style and quality, was irreplaceable, and it was already out of print.
He had clearly said he loved that tie.
Thinking of this, Lin Zheng gritted his teeth in anger.
He narrowed his eyes at the man sitting leisurely in his boss’s chair, pounced, and two minutes later, Gu Lin was forced against the chair back, his collar rumpled, the top buttons of his shirt undone, revealing his prominent collarbone and a bit of his chest muscles. His tie was gone.
Gu Lin held onto the armrests of the chair, looking up in surprise at the person whose knee was still resting on his leg, leisurely tying his tie.
Lin Zheng looked down at Gu Lin, tightened the tie, then removed his knee from his leg, glanced at him, picked up the mocha coffee, and swaggered out of the office.
Gu Lin looked down at his rumpled shirt and missing tie, feeling a little helpless but also a little amused.
As soon as Lin Zheng left the office, he bumped into Yan Yang.
Yan Yang looked at the tie around his neck and joked, “Wow, I didn’t notice, you and Gu Lin are wearing matching ties today?” Yan Yang looked again, puzzled, “No, isn’t this Gu Lin’s tie?”
Lin Zheng pushed him away, “Don’t bother me today.”
Yan Yang was bewildered. He opened Gu Lin’s office door and saw Gu Lin fixing his collar. He looked out again at Lin Zheng’s “extremely fierce” back and laughed, “Did you two have a fight in the office?”
Usually they went home together, but today he didn’t get into Gu Lin’s car. Standing at the company’s bus stop, he said he was going to the mall two kilometers away to buy a tie, emphasizing the word “tie,” implying his rebuke of Gu Lin.
Gu Lin knew he had gone too far that day and conceded, “I’ll go with you. I’ll pay.”
“No need, I can buy it myself.” Lin Zheng didn’t look at Gu Lin, but at the direction the bus was coming from.
The bus was slow to arrive, and Lin Zheng waited patiently. After a while, Gu Lin left.
Gu Lin drove his car and parked in front of him. Lin Zheng glanced at him, hugged his arms, and continued to wait for the bus.
But Lin Zheng underestimated Gu Lin’s patience.
Even though he didn’t get into Gu Lin’s car in the end, Gu Lin followed him for as long as he walked.
That evening, after buying things and returning home, Lin Zheng had only just stepped inside when his hand was grabbed by someone behind him.
Gu Lin held Lin Zheng’s hand with one hand and closed the door with the other.
Lin Zheng stood on a higher step than Gu Lin. He narrowed his eyes and looked back at Gu Lin, warning, “What are you doing?”
Gu Lin looked at the person who was cute even when angry, and his heart softened. “Throwing your tie away was wrong. I know I was wrong.”
Zhao Yi’s interest in Lin Zheng was too obvious. He was impulsive that day.
Lin Zheng looked at Gu Lin’s drooping, slightly curved eyes, looking at him half-believingly, “You’re faking it.”
Gu Lin chuckled, “I’m not faking it.”
Remembering how Gu Lin had followed him all the way to the mall, even if he was faking it, he wouldn’t have gone to that extent. Thinking about this, Lin Zheng’s tone softened a little, “Do you really know you were wrong?”
Gu Lin now understood that his boyfriend was the type who responded to soft treatment, not harshness.
Gu Lin nodded seriously.
Lin Zheng frowned, with a hint of reprimand, “Don’t throw away things I like next time.”
Gu Lin made a serious promise. To make Lin Zheng happy, he added, “Anything you say goes.”
Thinking of something, Lin Zheng said, “Then can you promise me something?”
Gu Lin asked, “What?”
Lin Zheng said mysteriously, “…Can we stop that emotional amnesia treatment?”
Gu Lin was startled, then smiled, and refused mercilessly, “No.”
Lin Zheng immediately put away his smile, clicked his tongue, and said, “Then promise me something else.”
Gu Lin approached him, his mood seemingly good, “Tell me.”
Lin Zheng looked at the person in front of him and said seriously, “In the future…I mean, in the future, you…”
Lin Zheng paused halfway, thought for a moment, and then changed his mind, “Forget it.”
Lin Zheng turned to leave, but his arm was pulled by Gu Lin behind him. Suddenly, the arm pulled him back into a broad chest.
Gu Lin’s coat, which he hadn’t had time to take off, carried the smell of the cold wind and a faint, pleasant scent.
Gu Lin lowered his head slightly, resting it against his forehead. One hand was around his lower back, pulling him close, his lips curved into a smile, his breath close to his face as he spoke, “Tell me, what do you want in the future? In the future…what do you want me to do?”