Chapter 45
Lin Zheng stared at the unfamiliar bracelet in his hand. He had thought it looked completely different from his, and it turned out Wu Yu really had brought the wrong one.
But the two bracelets were so different. How could he have mixed them up?
Oh, maybe he kept them in two identical boxes and accidentally grabbed the wrong one when he left.
Thinking about it that way, it seemed possible.
In any case, the bracelet wasn’t anything particularly valuable. It wouldn’t be a problem if it stayed with Wu Yu for a while longer. Getting it sooner or later didn’t make much of a difference. “Okay,” Lin Zheng agreed. “You can just bring it next time we meet.”
The corners of Wu Yu’s mouth tilted up slightly. “Alright.”
Then, he shifted his gaze to Gu Lin, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Mr. Gu, it’s fate that we’ve met. I was going to ask if you’d like to join us next time, but seeing as you’re a very busy man, I’ll skip the invitation for now and ask you out some other time.”
Gu Lin looked at the refined man across from him. He had sensed something was off the moment Wu Yu took out that bracelet, but he hadn’t expected the man to be this persistent.
The first time he met him, Gu Lin had thought he was just a gentle, talented artist. But now he realized that behind that scholarly exterior was someone who was anything but docile.
Gu Lin smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m not that busy. If Mr. Wu wants to meet, I’m available anytime. Like you said, meeting is fate. We should see each other more often to deepen that fate.”
Just as Gu Lin finished, Lin Zheng chimed in from the side, “Didn’t you say you’ve been busy with a big project these past few days? You’ve been so busy you haven’t even had time to come home. Where are you going to find the time to meet with him whenever he wants?”
Gu Lin, so ruthlessly exposed, was speechless.
He shot a look at Lin Zheng, who was clearly siding with the outsider.
Lin Zheng’s expression screamed, I’m just telling the truth, what are you looking at me for?
Hearing this, Wu Yu’s smile deepened. “It’s alright, Mr. Gu,” he said graciously. “We can get together when you have time later.”
“Exactly,” Lin Zheng added, twisting the knife.
He’s stuck at the company all day, barely sleeping a few hours, and yet he says he’s available whenever Wu Yu wants to meet? What’s he going to be available with?
Lin Zheng scoffed internally.
Gu Lin sighed silently.
He had lost this round.
Not to anyone else, but to Lin Zheng.
The food they ordered arrived quickly.
Lin Zheng had ordered the curry rice. It was steaming when it was brought to the table.
When he ate curry rice, he liked to use both a spoon and chopsticks.
Gu Lin picked up the chopsticks on the table, unwrapped them, and handed them to Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng glanced at the chopsticks, then shook his head. “No thanks,” he said, adding a polite “thank you.”
Gu Lin’s hand, holding the chopsticks, paused in mid-air.
He watched as Lin Zheng picked up the spoon next to his plate and started eating directly.
He had no choice but to retract the chopsticks and place them back on the table.
Wu Yu and Lin Zheng didn’t set a specific time for their next meeting, only saying they’d see each other when they were both free.
After leaving the restaurant and walking to the car, Lin Zheng, without waiting for Gu Lin, got into the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and was done with the whole process while Gu Lin was still standing outside the car.
Normally, Lin Zheng was slow and deliberate, taking ages just to buckle his seatbelt.
But today, he was acting strangely.
That evening, only one lamp was on in the living room.
Gu Lin sat on the sofa, working on the computer, finishing up the work he hadn’t completed during the day.
He had just gotten out of the shower, his hair still damp. He looked relaxed, not too different from his daytime self, but the charm he exuded was vastly different.
During the day, whether at work or in conversation, Gu Lin unconsciously emitted an oppressive aura that made people hesitant to approach. But now, he had an air of casual laziness about him.
The common thread was that no matter which side of him he showed, Gu Lin was incredibly attractive to those around him.
He attracted capable people to work with him and drew the frequent gazes of admirers.
But no matter how attractive he was to others, or how many people gathered around him, his gaze was always fixed on one person.
Thinking about the day’s events, Gu Lin put down his files and looked up toward the second floor.
Upstairs, Lin Zheng emerged from the bathroom, humming a little tune. He tossed his clothes into the laundry basket, gave his hair a quick, careless blast with the hairdryer, and once it was half-dry, he put the hairdryer away and started rubbing his head with a dry towel.
Standing in front of the mirror, he held the towel with one hand and leaned in, turning his head from side to side, examining his features.
Then, with a satisfied nod, he tossed the towel aside and climbed into bed.
He was just about to fall asleep when his stomach let out an uncooperative growl.
Lin Zheng’s eyes snapped open.
He was a little hungry.
He had to find something to fill his stomach.
Lin Zheng left his bedroom and went downstairs.
Gu Lin’s kitchen was open-plan, so as soon as Lin Zheng saw the kitchen, he also saw Gu Lin still sitting in the living room.
Normally, Gu Lin was in charge of all his meals.
Seeing him, Lin Zheng subconsciously called out, “Gu Lin, I’m hungry.”
Mainly because Gu Lin was a great cook and could make anything he wanted. So today, he had called out by habit.
But as soon as the words were out, he clamped his mouth shut.
Gu Lin had lost his focus on his documents the moment Lin Zheng came downstairs. Hearing him say he was hungry, he put his files down, got up, and walked toward the kitchen. “What do you want to eat?”
Lin Zheng was still standing by the stairs, one hand on the railing. He thought for a moment, then changed his tune. “Ah! Suddenly I’m not hungry anymore. I think I’ll just skip it.”
He said to Gu Lin, “You go on with your work. I’m going up to sleep.”
Without another word, he turned to run upstairs, but he had only taken two steps when a hand grabbed his arm from behind.
He turned his head and saw a look of helplessness on Gu Lin’s face.
Before he could say anything, Gu Lin gave his arm a gentle tug.
He stumbled backward into Gu Lin’s chest, and an arm wrapped tightly around his waist from the front.
Gu Lin’s sigh echoed in his ear. “Why are you acting so strangely today? What’s really going on?”
Gu Lin had noticed something was off with Lin Zheng back at the restaurant with Wu Yu. Lin Zheng seemed to be avoiding him, both his gaze and his touch.
This wasn’t like him at all.
Lin Zheng averted his eyes. “It’s nothing,” he said in a normal tone.
“Perhaps…” Gu Lin ventured, “is it because I went with you to your appointment today without your permission? Are you upset with me?”
Lin Zheng laughed. “I’m not upset.”
“If you’re not upset, why are you avoiding me?” Gu Lin didn’t back down an inch.
“…”
Lin Zheng didn’t answer for a moment. Then, he tried to change the subject. “Aren’t you still busy? You should get back to work.”
As soon as he said it, he heard Gu Lin ask, “Is it because of Wu Yu?”
Lin Zheng’s body stiffened.
It was only for a few seconds, but Gu Lin, holding him, felt it clearly.
He knew he had guessed right.
He should have realized it back at the restaurant when Lin Zheng refused to take the chopsticks from him.
“You… don’t like me meeting with Wu Yu, do you?” Gu Lin asked bluntly.
Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “Is it because you think, based on the ‘setting’ you know, that he and I are supposed to be a couple? And then I said I could meet with him anytime, so that made you unhappy, is that it?”
Lin Zheng was stunned. After a moment, he let out a couple of laughs. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand a thing. You were right about the first part, but whether you two meet often or not doesn’t have much to do with me. Why would I be unhappy? Haha, you’re overthinking it.”
“Am I really overthinking it?” Gu Lin asked, his face turned towards him.
“Of course you are.” Lin Zheng touched his still-damp hair and tried to change the subject again. “I’m so sleepy, and my wet hair is uncomfortable. I’m going to go blow-dry it and then get some sleep. Can you let me go?”
Gu Lin let out a silent laugh.
Then, he really did release Lin Zheng. But as Lin Zheng went upstairs, he followed. When Lin Zheng went into his room, he followed him in too.
Lin Zheng turned around warily. “What are you doing, following me in here?”
Gu Lin raised an eyebrow and pointed to his own head. “My hair is wet too. How about you do me a favor and blow-dry it for me?”
Lin Zheng’s mouth twitched.
So he just wants a free blow-dry.
Fine. I’ll do it.
After drying his own hair, Lin Zheng sat on the bed and pushed Gu Lin to sit on the floor in front of his legs.
Gu Lin laughed at his roughness.
Lin Zheng raised his hand and gave Gu Lin a light tap on the head.
Gu Lin pretended to be in great pain, hissing.
Lin Zheng hadn’t actually hit him hard at all; it was just a touch. “Don’t you dare try to frame me,” he said, glaring.
Then he picked up the hairdryer and started drying Gu Lin’s hair.
Gu Lin’s hair was a bit coarser than average. If it were shorter, it would probably feel prickly to the touch, but luckily it wasn’t too short. As the strands passed through his fingers, they just felt a little heavy.
It was surprisingly pleasant to touch. As Lin Zheng dried Gu Lin’s hair, feeling the warm air from the dryer, his eyes suddenly felt heavy, and a wave of sleepiness washed over him.
Just as he was about to lose his grip on the hairdryer, he quickly turned it off. He ran a hand through Gu Lin’s hair; it was completely dry.
“Alright, it’s done,” he said with a yawn.
He was really sleepy now and wanted to go to bed.
He tossed the hairdryer aside, lay down on the bed without another word, pulled the covers over himself, and mumbled to the person beside the bed, “Can you turn off the light and close the door on your way out? I’m so tired, I want to sleep. Thanks.”
Gu Lin looked at the person on the bed, who had, as usual, wrapped himself up like a burrito. He smiled helplessly.
But he didn’t leave right away.
He stood there for a moment, then knelt by the bed, looking at the person who was probably already asleep. “I don’t know what your ‘original world’ was like,” he said softly, “but I can tell you this for certain: for me, there is no other world. There is only this world, the one with you in it. You’re the only one I care about. There’s no doubt about that.”
Gu Lin couldn’t resist. He reached out and gently stroked Lin Zheng’s cheek, his voice a low whisper. “Don’t you ever worry that I’ll fall for someone else. Because I’ve already given all my love to you, my silly rabbit.”
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Okey. Alright. THIS IS SOOOOOO CUTE(/▽＼*)｡o○♡