Chapter 47: Whatever you want to do is up to you

“What were you about to say just now?” Fu Xingran raised his head to look at Su Lixu, pinching his chin and running his fingertips over his flushed lips, observing the slightly red and embarrassed look in his eyes. “If you dare to talk about breaking up with me, you won’t get away with it.”

Su Lixu listened to this guy being domineering again, pushing away Fu Xingran’s hand, intending to get off him. “I meant that if you fail a subject, tell your dad. You’re overthinking, and this is the office.”

Seeing Su Lixu attempting to leave, Fu Xingran exerted a little force with the arm around his waist, pulling Su Lixu back into his embrace, sensing his anger. “Sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to scare you. Don’t cry.”

“Who’s crying?” After Su Lixu spoke, he caught sight of the slightly open office door and a shadow passing by, suddenly standing up.

Before he could say anything, Fu Xingran moved towards the door.

Su Lixu’s pupils contracted slightly, feeling uneasy. “What are you doing…”

Before the student who had just passed by the door could fully escape, a strong hand grabbed the back of his collar, rendering him unable to resist. Frightened, he quickly begged for mercy, “I’m sorry! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!”

Just as he finished speaking, he was forcefully turned around, facing Fu Xingran’s grim expression, trembling in fear.

“What did you see?” Fu Xingran’s tone was flat, devoid of emotion, yet exuded a palpable sense of oppression.

The student shook his head frantically, trembling as he said, “I… I didn’t see anything.”

“If you saw anything, you won’t see anything tomorrow.” Fu Xingran’s hand gripping the student’s collar tightened gradually, casually replying, with a dark undertone in his ink-like eyes. “Understand?”

Feeling the terrifying threat at his neck, the student nodded hastily, “I understand, I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

Fu Xingran expressionlessly released him.

As the student saw an opportunity to escape, he ran off without looking back, as if fleeing from a ferocious beast.

Fu Xingran stared at the departing figure of the student, his gaze growing darker. He wasn’t concerned about people knowing about his relationship with Su Lixu; rather, he didn’t want Su Lixu’s reputation tarnished, nor did he want to hurt him because of himself.

“Fu Xingran.”

Hearing Su Lixu’s call from behind, Fu Xingran instinctively swallowed, turning around to find Su Lixu looking at him expressionlessly. Suddenly realizing what he had impulsively done earlier, especially in front of Su Lixu, he was sure Su Lixu was angry.

“Babe, I just didn’t want him to blabber. I didn’t mean to.” Fu Xingran walked up to Su Lixu, grabbing the hand at his side, pleading and trying to appease him by gently shaking it.

There was no trace of the domineering attitude from earlier; if there were two big dog ears, they would have perked up.

Su Lixu had initially wanted to criticize this guy’s temper. The imposing manner from earlier had left him trembling with fear, but the whole incident ended in just a minute, surprisingly quickly. He found this guy surprisingly easy to deal with.

Just as he was about to speak, Fu Xingran said to him.

“Blabber?” Su Lixu looked up at Fu Xingran, suddenly realizing why Fu Xingran had acted impulsively.

Fu Xingran pulled Su Lixu back into the office.

Su Lixu thought about the door being left slightly open just now, and his sense of shame surged up instantly.

He was a faculty member at the university, an exemplary figure. Although teaching wasn’t his main job, the substitute teaching was about to end. However, he would still have lectures and classes afterward. The clearer his role, the more he cared about what had just been seen.

The moment he was pulled back into the office by Fu Xingran, he instinctively turned and locked the door.

How could he forget to close the door?

Annoyed, he bumped his head against the door, wishing he could bury himself somewhere.

The next moment, his forehead landed in a warm palm. Su Lixu froze, feeling Fu Xingran embracing him from behind, using one hand to protect his forehead.

“Don’t hit the door, it will hurt. If you want to hit something, hit my hand.” Fu Xingran wrapped his arm around Su Lixu’s waist, rubbing his forehead with his hand, sounding guilty yet gentle. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have acted like that in the office. I got carried away and forgot that you’re a teacher, a doctor. Baby, I’m sorry.”

Su Lixu stared at the door, feeling Fu Xingran’s comforting presence behind him. Despite still feeling embarrassed, Fu Xingran’s soothing words had some effect. “Being caught is one thing, but don’t do this again in the future. Why did you treat that student like that? What if he reports you to the school?”

“I won’t give him a chance to report me. I have ways to shut him up, but I don’t want you to suffer even a little bit.” Fu Xingran rested his head on Su Lixu’s shoulder, his cheek against his, speaking softly. “Whether people call me domineering or bad, that’s who I am deep down. You’re someone I care about, so I won’t let anyone bully you. I don’t care about anything else.”

Su Lixu couldn’t help but be moved by these words, but his rationality reminded him that this guy was sometimes prone to extremes, which worried him.

The honeymoon phase was indeed sweet, but he had to consider their future.

That meant Fu Xingran needed to undergo another psychological evaluation.

“What happened in the office just now is one thing, but you can’t act like that just because someone accidentally saw it. I’m worried about you.” He turned to face Fu Xingran, his eyes showing concern. “Babe, should we go see a doctor?”

Fu Xingran remained silent for two seconds upon hearing this.

Su Lixu’s throat tightened, fearing Fu Xingran’s resistance.

“I’ll tell you on your birthday.” Fu Xingran smiled, ruffling his hair. “I’ll be obedient for now. Don’t be angry. I’ll go study now.”

With that, he walked back to the sofa and sat down, starting to study obediently.

Seeing Fu Xingran’s sudden change in mood, Su Lixu’s feelings became somewhat complicated. Was he resisting or not? Or was he just upset?

Since that day in the office, Su Lixu noticed that this guy was becoming increasingly strange. Not only did he start studying diligently, but even when there were no exams, he was busy with his own art exhibition and the Jiang Tianyi Su project. He even said he wanted to go out for workouts in his free time at night.

By the time winter break came, they were still busy together all day long, except for sleeping at night, they were always together, busy all the time.

Su Lixu began to suspect if his suggestion to see a doctor had hurt him. Otherwise, how could this guy, who seemed to be in heat every day, suddenly cool down like an extinguished flame, not making any advances and only kissing his face, starting to be gentle and chivalrous towards him? Their recent interactions could even be described by another term: mutual respect.

He counted and realized it had been about ten days since he bought cola. The idea of Fu Xingran always sticking to him, kissing and hugging him all day, seemed impossible now.

This was bad.

Maybe suggesting to take him to see a doctor that day really hurt his feelings, maybe even his enthusiasm. It was already late at night, and seeing this guy getting up to go work out made him feel even worse.

“This is bad, this is bad.”

He Shi leaned back in his chair, holding the mouse and correcting the final exam papers. He glanced at Su Lixu, who looked melancholic, raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing. “How come you have time to come see me today? Didn’t you go out with your little boyfriend?”

Glancing at the calendar beside him, it was January 14th today.

Su Lixu’s birthday was tomorrow.

“I suspect he’s not interested in me anymore,” Su Lixu said seriously, then his brows furrowed. “…Otherwise, why doesn’t he hug me anymore?”

He Shi’s hand holding the mouse paused abruptly, the expression under his glasses slightly subtle. “What?”

These two were quite interesting.

One asking how to resist not kissing and hugging his boyfriend.

The other asking why his boyfriend didn’t touch him anymore.

“He hasn’t hugged me for a long time,” Su Lixu confessed to He Shi, sounding a bit frustrated. “He’s been acting really weird lately. I’ve never seen him so busy. Even when I told him I would spend time with him after finishing grading the papers, he said his dad’s company project needed to meet deadlines, which is very unlike him.”

He Shi adjusted his glasses, his palm conveniently covering the downturn of his lips. He raised his head, pretending to be nonchalant, and understandingly uttered, “I see. Maybe he suddenly feels the need to take on some responsibilities. Isn’t that good? He doesn’t have to cling to you all the time. Don’t you dislike him being too clingy?”

Su Lixu asked incredulously, “Where did I say I don’t like him being clingy?”

,..

He Shi smirked, “So you actually do like someone clingy? And you like him hugging you too?”

“Did he talk to you about something?” Su Lixu noticed something off in He Shi’s expression, immediately sensing something was amiss.He Shi didn’t intend to hide it. He nodded, “Yeah, he did come to me, but it was just to ask for some advice, nothing unusual.””When did you two become so close?” Su Lixu asked suspiciously. “What did he ask you about?”He Shi chuckled, clearing his throat. “It’s nothing special, just… what to do if his boyfriend can’t handle his strong desires? Is there a good way to control his daily cravings?”Su Lixu: “…””I just told him to distract himself more, not to focus on you all the time. He can study, he can paint, and if it gets too much, he can go work out to release it.” Su Lixu suddenly didn’t know what expression to make. “Is that why he gets up in the middle of the night to work out?”He Shi couldn’t help but laugh, “Going to the gym in the middle of the night is beyond my expectations. It also shows that your attractiveness to him exceeds my imagination. In other words, did you say something to him?”Su Lixu pondered, he didn’t say anything… did he? He tried hard to recall the events of the past few days. “I only mentioned taking him to see a doctor. Could it be because of that?”He Shi chuckled deeper, “He probably thought you wanted him to see a doctor because his needs were too frequent. Recently, he’s been abstaining to restore his image.”Su Lixu: “…I didn’t suggest that because of that.” Thinking about what happened that day was hard to articulate. “It’s just that day in the office when the door wasn’t closed, and a student saw us, and then he grabbed the student.”He Shi frowned upon hearing this. “He hit someone?””No, it was less than a minute. He just warned the student not to talk nonsense and let him go.” Su Lixu leaned back, clasping his hands in front of his abdomen, looking at He Shi. “I’m just worried about him.””He didn’t tell you?” He Shi asked.”Tell me what?”He Shi seemed to remember something, glanced at today’s date, and smiled. “Forget it, I think he’ll tell you. Don’t worry too much. Sometimes he cares too much about what you say, so if you don’t make it clear, he’ll misunderstand that you think he demands too much and dislike him for it.””I never said that.” Su Lixu smiled helplessly.”But it’s good that he’s willing to ask me this question. At least he cares about you enough to control his desires. From this, it can be seen that he’s improving, and significantly so, indicating that the treatment is effective.”Su Lixu looked surprised when he caught the word “treatment” and glanced at He Shi.A realization hit him hard.He Shi smiled, “Go find your little boyfriend. Oh, and early happy birthday.” He took out a card from the drawer and pushed it towards Su Lixu. “Tonight at the Lovafe Private Cinema, room number 1314, specifically reserved for you, the lucky number.”The snow in midwinter was especially heavy, falling like silver frost, covering the world in a vast expanse of white.With winter break already underway, there were few students in the school, especially in such weather, where student figures were even scarcer.Su Lixu left He Shi’s office and stood on the steps of the teaching building, looking at the heavy snow outside. He thought that only Fu Xingran, that guy, would still come back to paint in this weather. Although he also returned to grade papers, it was nice to have someone accompany him.So, he wasn’t attentive enough.His heart wasn’t passionate enough.Because Fu Xingran’s feelings for him were too delicate and too passionate, he was about to be overshadowed by Fu Xingran’s love.He had to do something, especially tonight, as he was truly stepping into his thirties; he couldn’t let Fu Xingran surpass him. Just as Su Lixu was about to walk out, he felt something blocking over his head, heard the sound of an umbrella opening, and looked up to see Fu Xingran suddenly appearing next to him, holding up an umbrella, his eyes showing some surprise.Fu Xingran opened the umbrella and held it over Su Lixu’s head, not looking at him, his gaze falling on the snowy ground outside. “Shall we go?”The space under the umbrella wasn’t large, but because this person suddenly appeared when needed, it felt close and gentle.Sensing something, Su Lixu pinched Fu Xingran’s waist. “Did you say you’d paint just to come back and help me grade papers?”

With such a large studio, why would he come back to the school to paint?Caught off guard by the waist pinch, Fu Xingran felt a tingling sensation, and suppressed thoughts surged again. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and without looking at Su Lixu, he said, “…The school has a better atmosphere.””What atmosphere? Your classmates aren’t here. Who’s going to keep you company?” Su Lixu held the hand that was holding the umbrella, leaned forward, and stared at him. “Baby, do you want me to stay with you?”The overly close distance made Fu Xingran feel restless again, so he moved to the side. But for every step he took, Su Lixu came closer.Already feeling pent up, now Su Lixu was getting even closer, and any man couldn’t resist when someone they liked kept getting closer!”Su Lixu, you—” Fu Xingran’s irritable words stopped abruptly when he saw what Su Lixu had in his hand.”Shall we book a room?” Su Lixu held out the card for the private cinema, slipped it into Fu Xingran’s hand, then grasped that hand, locking eyes with him. “Lovafe Private Cinema, Room 1314. Whatever you want to do, it’s up to you.”