Chapter 20
The wind seemed to have died down, gently lifting the hem of Lin Zheng’s clothes. He stared at his and Gu Lin’s intertwined hands, his ears slightly flushed.
What should he say now? Or should he say nothing at all?
He looked at Gu Lin, whose gaze was already fixed on the distance.
Lin Zheng looked away.
Then…he should say nothing.
He also looked into the distance.
Neither of them said anything.
Time passed, the layered colorful clouds slowly deepened in color.
Half of the sun had already set behind the mountains.
Their hands were still clasped together.
After a long time, night fell, and the surrounding plants were only visible as silhouettes.
Lin Zheng moved his hand, and Gu Lin looked at him.
He said, “Shouldn’t we go back?”
The old gentleman was still waiting for them at home.
There were no lights on the mountain; only the paths had streetlights. Gu Lin’s face was shrouded in the night, and Lin Zheng only knew he was looking at him, but he couldn’t see his expression clearly.
“Mm.”
Gu Lin slowly released his hand, withdrawing his fingers from between Lin Zheng’s. As he pulled his fingers away, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the sensitive skin of Lin Zheng’s palm.
The sensitive area was touched, and although it was only for a split second, the tingling sensation made Lin Zheng’s heart involuntarily tremble.
Gu Lin was unaware. Seeing Lin Zheng’s strange reaction, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Zheng quickly shook his head, “Nothing.”
It didn’t seem like Gu Lin did it on purpose, and he was too embarrassed to mention it.
They were both squatting on the ground. When Gu Lin stood up, Lin Zheng also intended to stand, but when he pushed himself up with his hands, he found something was wrong.
It was Lin Zheng who said they should go back, but Gu Lin didn’t see Lin Zheng get up for a long time, so he raised an eyebrow, “What? You can’t get up? Want to act cute and let me carry you?”
After a while, Lin Zheng looked up at the person standing next to him, his eyes welling up, “Gu Lin, my leg hurts.”
Gu Lin was stunned.
A few minutes later, Lin Zheng was still carried on Gu Lin’s back.
But not because he was acting cute, but because his leg hurt.
Gu Lin carried him back, “You idiot, who told you to sit cross-legged? And you sat there motionless for so long.”
Lin Zheng held Gu Lin’s jacket, hugged his neck from behind, and retorted, “Who kept holding my hand motionless? It’s all your fault!”
Gu Lin sighed, “I was holding your hand, not your legs.”
Lin Zheng straightened the jacket, wrapped it around Gu Lin’s neck, and threatened, “Don’t talk, it’s your fault.”
Gu Lin quickly conceded, “Okay, okay, it’s all my fault.”
Only then did Lin Zheng loosen the jacket and obediently lie on Gu Lin’s back, being carried down the mountain.
They didn’t stay in Yinlu County for long. After confirming that the old gentleman was fine, they returned to City A.
As soon as they got off the plane, Lin Zheng received a message from Zhao Yi.
[You’re back in City A? I’ll be in City A in a couple of days; I’ll come find you then.]
Lin Zheng looked at the message and sighed.
Sigh, being too charming isn’t a good thing.
Gu Lin looked at the person beside him whose face was about to burst into a smile, “What are you laughing at?”
Lin Zheng immediately stopped smiling, “Nothing, nothing.”
After getting their luggage, Lin Zheng replied to Zhao Yi. Although he and Gu Lin were still in therapy, he was essentially in a relationship, so he wouldn’t do anything inappropriate.
So in the message, he directly rejected Zhao Yi.
Although he didn’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings, if you’re too hesitant in rejection, that’s the cruelest thing to do.
After that, Zhao Yi didn’t reply.
Lin Zheng thought, he should have given up now.
On the other hand, Zhao Yi leaned back in Zhao Ming’s office. Zhao Ming glanced at his phone, “The person you like already has a partner; don’t waste your time.”
Zhao Yi snorted, throwing his phone on the desk, “Partner? Just a one-sided relationship bound by principles.”
Back at the company, Gu Lin had just entered the office when Yan Yang followed.
He familiarly sat opposite Gu Lin, “I heard from Lin Zheng that you went to see the old gentleman?”
Gu Lin sat behind his desk, reaching up to loosen his tie, “Mm.” “Is the old gentleman alright?”
“He’s fine.”
“That’s good.” Thinking of something, Yan Yang asked again, “What about you and Lin Zheng?”
Gu Lin looked at him hesitantly, “What?”
Yan Yang was playful and asked frankly, “Did you guys, you know, do anything on this business trip?”
Gu Lin narrowed his eyes, “I see you’re very free.”
Saying that, he threw a pile of documents at him, “If you have nothing to do, deal with these.”
Yan Yang caught them, “No, I’m concerned about your love life.”
Gu Lin glanced at him, “Just worry about your work.”
Yan Yang originally thought that Gu Lin would become more understanding after falling in love, but he was still as unsympathetic as ever.
In the end, he could only leave with the documents.
Near the end of the workday, Yan Yang passed Lin Zheng’s workstation. He had almost walked past but turned back. He looked at the person who had his head resting on the desk, playing match-three games, pinched his voice, and sternly said, “Comrade Lin Zheng, what are you playing?”
Lin Zheng, who had only been playing for less than two minutes, heard the voice and quickly turned off his phone.
Looking up, seeing it was Yan Yang, he was angry enough to hit him with his phone.
Who are you trying to scare?
Yan Yang laughed and dodged.
He said to Lin Zheng, “Little chick, I have something to give you. Do you want it?”
Lin Zheng looked at him suspiciously. After Yan Yang tricked him into going to Gu Lin’s house last time, he didn’t dare to trust Yan Yang anymore, so he refused without hesitation, “No.”
Who knows what Yan Yang wants to do this time.
Yan Yang never had good intentions.
Yan Yang knew what he was thinking and laughed, “Do you think I’m going to trick you again?”
Lin Zheng was very straightforward, “Yes.”
Yan Yang’s expression became serious, “I’m sorry, I did go a bit too far last time. The reason I want to give you a gift is also because of that; I want to apologize for the joke I made last time.”
Lin Zheng still refused firmly, “No need.”
Yan Yang paused, then chuckled wryly, “Okay, I know I went too far. Well, it’s almost time to get off work. See you later.”
Lin Zheng looked at Yan Yang’s departing figure and remembered his expression just now. He suddenly felt a little uneasy, “That, were you serious?”
Yan Yang turned back, “Of course.”
Lin Zheng sighed, “Then, okay.”
Lin Zheng said he had forgiven Yan Yang, but Yan Yang said that verbal forgiveness wasn’t enough; he had to give Lin Zheng a material gift to feel at ease.
Lin Zheng thought, Do all rich kids like to play this way?
No way, in order to reassure Yan Yang, Lin Zheng had to agree.
Yan Yang said he would give him a gift, so he took him directly to the mall, took him to a counter, and let him choose something he liked.
The goods were displayed dazzlingly in front of him, and Lin Zheng’s eyes were a little blurry.
Unable to decide, Yan Yang pointed to a watch in the display case, “Take that one out and have a look.”
The clerk took out the watch, praised the watch, and praised Yan Yang, saying his eye for fashion was excellent, instantly picking out the limited edition from the latest season.
But Lin Zheng checked the price; it was too expensive.
However, Yan Yang generously asked the clerk to wrap it up.
Lin Zheng’s impression of Yan Yang instantly changed.
Not daring to keep him out too long, after buying the gift, Yan Yang sent Lin Zheng back to Gu Lin’s place.
Back home, Lin Zheng put the gift aside, changed his shoes, and Gu Lin, wearing a beige sweater, was sitting in the living room with a laptop on his lap and a cup of coffee in his hand. Seeing Lin Zheng come back, he asked, “Where did you go with Yan Yang just now?”
Lin Zheng changed his shoes, picked up the gift again, walked in, and put the gift box in front of Gu Lin, “Yan Yang gave it to me. He took me to the mall just now.”
Gu Lin shifted his gaze to the gift box, “Yan Yang gave it to you? Why?” He looked at Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng smiled with relief, “He’s grown up. He said he wanted to apologize for tricking me into coming here last time and insisted on giving me a gift. He even took me to choose it himself.”
Gu Lin glanced at the brand tag on the box, “A watch?”
Lin Zheng nodded.
Gu Lin rubbed his forehead helplessly, “How can you just accept a watch from another man?”
Lin Zheng understood what Gu Lin meant, and explained, “Why not? Friends can also give each other watches; it represents a long-lasting friendship.”
Lin Zheng had checked beforehand. Gu Lin patted the space beside him and softly said, “Sit down.”
Lin Zheng sat down beside him.
Gu Lin put his coffee on the table, propped one hand on the back of the sofa behind him, and tapped the gift in Lin Zheng’s hand with the other, “Open it and let me see.”
Lin Zheng tucked his feet onto the sofa, glanced at him, and playfully bumped him with his shoulder, “Oh, you say you can’t accept it, but you’re actually curious what the watch looks like, aren’t you?”
Gu Lin said nothing.
Lin Zheng excitedly took the box out of the bag.
Although he had already seen the watch in the store, having someone beside him to open the gift made him excited.
The box had a matte finish, only the brand logo was visible on the front, looking very high-quality.
Lin Zheng opened the box with both hands.
He saw a very exquisite watch.
But inside the box, there was more than just a watch.
Lin Zheng picked up a black and gray oval object, about half the size of his palm, that also looked very exquisite, next to the watch. He asked Gu Lin with a puzzled expression, “What’s this? Is it a watch maintenance tool?”
Lin Zheng had never bought anything so expensive before, so he wasn’t sure.
Seeing that thing, Gu Lin’s eyes paused for a few seconds.
There seemed to be a button on it. Lin Zheng pressed it, and it immediately vibrated in his hand. He looked at Gu Lin with a curious expression, “This isn’t a maintenance tool, it’s a facial cleansing device! It vibrates so strongly.”
Gu Lin’s ears turned a little red. He wanted to take it, “Don’t play with it; that’s not a…facial cleansing device.”
Lin Zheng dodged him.
Gu Lin’s voice softened, “Be good.”
But Lin Zheng refused to listen.
The more Gu Lin didn’t want him to play with it, the more he wanted to.
To him, this was a facial cleansing device.
There was something that looked like an instruction manual next to the watch. Lin Zheng rolled the device on his face while picking up the instruction manual and pointing it out to Gu Lin.
He pointed to the product name, “Look, this is…”
After reading the product name, Lin Zheng’s face froze. He dropped the device on the sofa as if he had grabbed a burning coal.
No, it wasn’t a facial cleansing device.
He saw that the product name read—
[Adult Vibrator]