Chapter 41
For two seconds, Lin Zheng was simply stunned, unable to process what Gu Lin had just said. When the meaning finally registered, his already hot cheeks burned even hotter.
Gu Lin’s body heat radiated toward him.
They weren’t pressed against each other, but even so, it felt as if they could sense the other’s temperature.
The atmosphere in the room changed, growing thick with an unspoken tension.
The head on his shoulder suddenly felt incredibly heavy. Lin Zheng could barely support the weight, and just as he thought his shoulder might give out, the head lifted slightly.
Gu Lin’s scorching breath fanned across his neck. It wasn’t cold, but the fine hairs there stood on end, a primal instinct sensing danger in the air.
Lin Zheng managed to call out his name. “Gu Lin…”
“Shhh…” Gu Lin murmured, nuzzling his neck with his hair. “Just like this. Don’t move. Let’s just stay like this for a moment.”
His voice was low and hoarse, laced with a raw, restrained emotion.
Lin Zheng’s fingers, hanging by his side, slowly curled into fists. He stood frozen, not daring to move. He was afraid that the slightest motion would provoke a reaction from Gu Lin.
He didn’t know how much time had passed. Just when he thought he might be stuck standing there indefinitely, the weight on his shoulder suddenly vanished.
Gu Lin had lifted his head, but in the next instant, he grabbed Lin Zheng’s other arm. A gentle but firm pressure guided Lin Zheng backward until his back was flat against the cool wall.
Gu Lin moved in closer.
Lin Zheng watched as the face before him grew larger, Gu Lin’s features magnifying in his vision. He instinctively reached out, his hands gripping Gu Lin’s well-defined arms.
A body warmer than his own pressed against him.
His knee, covered by the thin fabric of his pajama pants, brushed against Gu Lin’s leg.
As the distance between them closed, their breaths tangled in the air—two faint currents from different directions, colliding, intertwining, and finally merging into one.
It all happened in the span of a few short seconds, leaving Lin Zheng to operate on pure instinct.
He stared at the face just inches from his own: the dark pupils beneath long lashes, swirling with emotion; the straight, elegant bridge of his nose; and below that, the pair of thin, slightly parted lips.
The air between them was compressed until it was almost nonexistent. Unsurprisingly, Gu Lin’s face was still drawing nearer.
Lin Zheng’s heart hammered in his chest.
He felt like he had no time to react.
Just as he thought his lips were about to be covered, perhaps even bitten, by another’s, Gu Lin stopped, a mere few centimeters away.
Tick, tock, tick…
The second hand on the wall clock moved, step by step.
The room was so quiet that the sound of the clock was all that could be heard.
Gu Lin released Lin Zheng’s arms. His hands moved up to cup Lin Zheng’s face, his thumb stroking his cheek.
Their breaths met, a straight line connecting them.
“I’m sorry. I was impulsive just now.”
Gu Lin’s voice was deep and still a little raspy. His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed once.
He closed his eyes, and it looked as if he was fighting a great internal battle before he finally pulled his head back slightly. It took another few seconds for his hands to completely release Lin Zheng, and for him to take a small step back.
He pressed a hand to his forehead as if pained, his brow furrowed. “I was too hasty,” he muttered, almost to himself.
He was the one who had promised to give Lin Zheng time. But now, he was also the one who wanted to break that promise.
He had said he would wait, that he would go at Lin Zheng’s pace.
It was the most basic trust he could offer.
If he couldn’t even do that, how could he expect Lin Zheng to ever believe anything he said in the future? A relationship without trust couldn’t survive. It’s why Lin Zheng had left him—because he couldn’t believe his feelings were serious. So Lin Zheng had wanted to run, to escape.
He couldn’t afford to lose the tiny shred of trust Lin Zheng had in him, not when that foundation was already so fragile.
After apologizing, Gu Lin didn’t spare him another glance. He ran a hand through his hair and went straight back to his room, leaving the documents he’d brought out on the table.
Lin Zheng’s mind was a blank.
He remained standing in the same spot long after Gu Lin had left.
He stood there, dazed, for a few seconds before glancing toward Gu Lin’s room.
…That’s it?
With the atmosphere just now, Lin Zheng had been sure Gu Lin would follow through.
That was it?!
Wait, isn’t it better that he didn’t? What am I thinking?
Lin Zheng thought he must be losing his mind.
When he first sensed Gu Lin’s intentions, he had wanted to stop him. But his body hadn’t moved as fast as his brain, and Gu Lin had been so assertive that he hadn’t had time to react.
But in the end, Gu Lin had stopped.
That was a good thing.
At least Gu Lin knew that their current relationship wasn’t at a stage where they could do things like that. It was good that he had that awareness.
What kind of friends go around kissing each other?
This was for the best.
But why?
Why was there a small, quiet corner in his heart that felt a faint trace of… disappointment?
The next day was the weekend.
Yan Yang was home, so after breakfast, Lin Zheng went next door. He knocked for a while before the door finally opened.
Yan Yang looked like he had just woken up. He was leaning on the doorknob, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed.
Lin Zheng was about to ask, It’s almost eleven, and you’re just getting up? What kind of shady business were you up to last night?
But before he could speak, another head popped out from behind Yan Yang.
Lin Zheng blinked, then looked closer. He recognized the person as the young man from his company, the one he’d seen with Yan Yang in the break room.
The young man saw him and greeted him politely. He said something to Yan Yang and then left.
The entire time the young man was speaking, Yan Yang had a smile plastered on his face.
Lin Zheng watched from the side, completely floored.
The last time he’d seen them coming out of the lounge together, he’d assumed the kid was just another one of Yan Yang’s flings. But seeing them today, this was no fling. This was the person who had Yan Yang completely wrapped around their finger.
After seeing the young man off, Yan Yang finally turned to greet Lin Zheng.
Lin Zheng didn’t stand on ceremony. He walked right into the apartment.
Yan Yang’s place was cleaner than he’d expected. Seeing Yan Yang’s hungover appearance, Lin Zheng had assumed he’d been up all night drinking. But the living room was spotless. It was much neater than the last time he’d visited.
He had a pretty good idea who had cleaned up.
But it wasn’t his place to ask about other people’s relationships, so he didn’t say anything.
Yan Yang yawned and ruffled his hair. “Little chickadee, what brings you over?”
Lin Zheng flopped onto the sofa without a second thought, pulling out his phone. “Just bored,” he replied, scrolling. “So I came over to kill some time.”
“Bored?” Yan Yang sat down next to him. “If you’re bored, find something to do. Learn something, go for a walk. Besides, what’s the difference between being at my place and being at yours?”
“I don’t know what to do,” Lin Zheng said, rolling over but keeping his eyes on his phone. “I just want to lie around like a salted fish.”
Just a salted fish in a different environment.
An idea seemed to strike Yan Yang. “Hey, didn’t you tell me you wanted to build some muscle?”
Lin Zheng’s head snapped up. “Have you finally come around and decided to share your secrets with me?”
He had asked Yan Yang for muscle-building tips before, but everything Yan Yang told him was stuff he could find online. He’d tried it before with little success and was convinced Yan Yang was holding back some secret techniques.
“Want to go try today?” Yan Yang asked.
Yan Yang worked out regularly. Seeing how bored Lin Zheng was, he took him to his usual private gym. When they arrived, it happened to be a time when the gym wasn’t very crowded.
Yan Yang introduced him to a trainer.
He had planned to work out with Lin Zheng, but he suddenly got a call from his company. There was a business deal that needed his immediate attention.
Yan Yang had no choice but to leave Lin Zheng in the trainer’s hands.
“Hey, hey, you’re leaving already?” Lin Zheng called out as Yan Yang headed for the stairs.
“Something came up at work. You go ahead and train. Call me when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up,” Yan Yang said before disappearing down the stairs.
Lin Zheng had no choice but to stay by himself.
But since Yan Yang had introduced the trainer… Lin Zheng looked at the man’s bulging, hard muscles… it was probably worth a try.
The trainer was a sturdy-looking man, probably in his late twenties, with very short hair. He looked incredibly strong.
He first led Lin Zheng through a few simple warm-up exercises. Lin Zheng wanted to try the bench press, but the trainer told him to start with a few sets of light dumbbells first.
Fine, Lin Zheng thought.
But as he was working out, he suddenly felt that something was off.
“Wrong. Your grip here is still not right.”
Lin Zheng was holding a dumbbell when the instructor, standing behind him, deliberately brushed a hand down his arm.
That’s right, deliberately.
A wave of revulsion washed over Lin Zheng, and goosebumps broke out on his skin.
This was definitely not right.
It wasn’t the first time, either. He had noticed it earlier.
Lin Zheng let out a breath. Annoyed, he bent over and half-dropped the dumbbell on the floor. He raised a hand back. “Go on. I dare you. Touch me one more fucking time and see what happens.”
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