Chapter 79

Half an hour later, Yang Yunran arrived at Jiang Yi’s research institute. Professor Chen parked the car and offered to walk him inside.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Jiang Yi. The last time he came to see me was to look at your childhood CT scans,” Professor Chen said, checking his watch. “It’s about time for him to finish work too, right?”

Professor Chen had completely overlooked his own role as a third wheel, shattering Yang Yunran’s dream of seeing his boyfriend change clothes and perhaps get intimate.

Jiang Yi came out of the office after changing clothes and saw Yang Yunran and Professor Chen standing together.

As a prominent figure in the field, Professor Chen was easily recognized.

“Isn’t that Professor Chen Fangru, the director of the Institute of Biological Sciences? I heard he’s Professor Jiang’s teacher.”

“So that’s Chen Fangru? I just cited his paper yesterday. He doesn’t look that impressive, quite scholarly.”

Yang Yunran leaned against the side, wearing a hat and a well-fitted suit, looking relaxed.

When Jiang Yi emerged, the students who had stayed late in the lab were inevitably excited to see him.

“Wow, so handsome!! It’s the first time I’ve seen Professor Jiang in formal attire!”

One female student in the lab nearly fainted while holding up her phone. “He’s so insanely handsome!”

“You didn’t know? I applied to this lab because I saw how handsome and reputable he is in photos.”

“How can someone this handsome be gay?!”

Ever since Yang Yunran had visited last time and Jiang Yi didn’t shy away from holding his hand as they left on the ground floor, the news had spread throughout the lab. There wasn’t a single person in the lab who didn’t know about it.

Yang Yunran straightened up and looked over, his eyes lighting up. Jiang Yi was wearing clothes specially selected by him, both of them having ordered from the same shop. The tailored garments were crisp and highlighted Jiang Yi’s powerful and well-proportioned physique with his broad shoulders, long legs, and inverted triangle shape, perfectly complemented by the mouse-grey wool fabric that emphasized his strength and smooth lines.

Yang Yunran couldn’t help it… His eyes were slightly fixed.

He thought to himself, luckily Jiang Yi often dresses randomly, otherwise how could he manage?

Yesterday, when he wore the magic robe, many people stared at him.

“Professor Jiang…” A student greeted him, and Jiang nodded in response, walking over to Yang Yunran.

Yang Yunran raised his head but lightly pressed his hat down because someone was taking photos.

Jiang Yi turned back: “Put away your phone, no photos in the lab.”

“Oh, okay.” The student immediately complied.

It’s clear that Jiang Yi is not an easy person to talk to in the lab.

Jiang Yi approached Yang Yunran, looked at him first, then at Professor Chen, and called out, “Teacher, you’re here too?”

Professor Chen: “Am I not welcome here?”

Jiang Yi: “Of course you are.” He glanced at Yang Yunran for confirmation.

Professor Chen: “I just brought the little one over and thought to check on you, see if your research is progressing, if you need any help?”

They had a sharing agreement between their laboratories, and some data had been transferred from Professor Chen’s research institute. Within certain limits, Jiang Yi could discuss the experimental process with Professor Chen.

“I’ll come to talk to you about this in a few days,” Jiang Yi said. “It’s dinner time; I’ll take him out to eat. Should the professor come along?”

Professor Chen declined, “No need. There’s dinner waiting for me at home. Alright, you two go ahead.”

The three of them left the laboratory. Professor Chen and Jiang Yi were discussing something about cell division that others couldn’t understand.

Not far away, in the parking lot, there were passing vehicles. Professor Chen and Jiang Yi almost simultaneously pulled Yang Yunran back. One on each side, they grabbed his hands.

Professor Chen: “There’s a car!”

Jiang Yi: “Baby, come with me.”

Professor Chen looked at Jiang Yi incredulously. “…”

Jiang Yi’s face showed no significant expression, neither embarrassment nor awkwardness, just his usual calm demeanor. He led Yang Yunran away, bid farewell to Professor Chen, and promptly opened the car door for Yang Yunran.

Professor Chen sat in the car, and they drove away one after the other. Through the car window, he saw Yang Yunran waving goodbye and telling him, “Drive slowly.”

Professor Chen stared at Jiang Yi and Yang Yunran for a long time.

Despite knowing Jiang Yi for many years, Professor Chen saw Jiang Yi in a romantic and caring light for the first time. Previously, he had thought this kid was too cold and assumed Yang Yunran was with him only for his looks. He didn’t expect Jiang Yi to be so different in public and private.

In the car,

Yang Yunran glanced at the rearview mirror and breathed a sigh of relief after their cars diverged from Professor Chen’s. He looked at Jiang Yi beside him, his nose, long eyelashes, well-groomed hair today, his neck tied with a tie, and his prominent Adam’s apple.

Yang Yunran blinked.

Jiang Yi glanced sideways and said, “I’m driving.”

“I know you’re driving.” So Yang Yunran behaved properly.

“We’ll play more tonight.” Jiang Yi noticed during a break in driving, “There’s a hickey on your neck. Didn’t cover it?”

Yang Yunran pulled down the mirror to check, “Covered… Is it still obvious? You sucked too hard.” He took out his concealer and covered it again.

Because Jiang Yi didn’t talk much in bed, his mouth was never idle. He loved kissing his lips or other parts, especially his neck, shoulders, and chest.

Jiang Yi watched his movements, his fingers lightly resting on the steering wheel, gradually tightening.

It was only 6:20 in the afternoon now, not yet rush hour due to everyone working late. The drive to the Chinese restaurant Yang Yunran had chosen would take just over ten minutes.

In the private room, Mr. Xu and his wife had brought their dog along.

Yang Yunran led Jiang Yi in, introducing him, “This is the renowned biology professor.”

“This is my mother, and this is my father.”

Jiang Yi addressed them politely as uncle and aunt.

Normally not one to smile much, even in such situations, he remained polite and calm, sitting beside Yang Yunran.

Mr. Xu and Mrs. Yang Wanyu scrutinized Jiang Yi. In terms of appearance and temperament, there was nothing to pick on. Mr. Xu had checked and knew his romantic history was clean, a blank slate, with a good education and a sharp mind. But for some reason, he found him slightly displeasing.

Mrs. Yang Wanyu was more affable, calling him “Little Jiang” and saying, “I don’t know what you like to eat, so I’ve ordered some dishes that Yang Yang loves. Would you like to add some dishes you enjoy?”

Jiang Yi had little experience interacting with elders, and couldn’t pretend otherwise. Besides being very polite, he remained detached.

Mr. Xu asked about his current research direction and future plans.

Jiang Yi replied, “Our lab’s main projects currently focus on stem cell regeneration and non-biological transplantation. Until we can provide new possibilities for organ transplantation and treatment in the medical field, I will continue this research.”

Mr. Xu further inquired, “Non-biological transplantation, is your lab developing new transplantation technologies?”

Jiang Yi nodded, “Yes, using new biomaterials, studying immune suppression strategies, and attempting to solve issues of rejection and donor scarcity in traditional organ transplants.”

Mr. Xu asked, “For example?”

Jiang Yi paused briefly and summarized, “Stem cells as seed cells can differentiate into muscle cells, nerve cells, etc., combining with biodegradable materials like biological collagen or polylactic acid. They can gradually degrade and be absorbed in the body without toxicity or rejection reactions. We can construct functional tissue or organ models such as heart tissue, liver tissue… The success rate of our experiments is currently quite high.”

Clearly, in his field, Jiang Yi was exceptional. Mr. Xu could confirm his expertise.

But… he still felt something was off.

After dinner,

Mr. Xu shook hands with Jiang Yi, needing to look up at him because Jiang Yi was much taller and his presence was imposing, making him seem like someone who needed to be listened to obediently. Mr. Xu frowned at the thought.

Seeing Yang Yunran looking like he wanted to follow his boyfriend, he called him back, “Not going home tonight?”

Yang Yunran hesitated, “Um… I…,” scratching his head.

Deep down, Yang Yunran was still a child who listened to his parents, so he didn’t dare to defy them and say he was going to his boyfriend’s place to sleep.

His boyfriend wasn’t unreasonable either, so he couldn’t stop him.

So he obediently got into the driver’s car with Mr. Xu. He gave Jiang Yi a helpless look.

Mrs. Yang Wanyu kindly said to Jiang Yi, “Xiao Jiang, goodbye. See you next time.”

Jiang Yi bid farewell as well. After their car left, he went back to his own car.

Mrs. Yang Wanyu said in the car that Jiang Yi was nice, complimenting him on being ambitious, handsome, and intelligent. Beside her, Mr. Xu said, “He’s too mature, he’s already thirty.”

Yang Yunran defended, “He’s only twenty-eight! Twenty-eight!!”

“To me, there’s no difference.”

Yang Yunran: “Dad!”

Xu Xing: “Alright, Dad won’t say anything bad anymore, nor am I dissatisfied with him. He’s only twenty-eight, just a professor, not the Chairman of the Chinese Biological Society…”

Yang Yunran: “You want him to be twenty-eight, doing research, and mixing in the official circles too?”

Xu Xing: “If I were dissatisfied with him, I would have asked about his family. So, Dad isn’t meddling in your relationship.”

But he hadn’t really asked about his family just now.

Xu Xing said, “You two are guys, you don’t have to get married and have kids, Dad isn’t worried.” So if Yang Yunran ever feels unhappy, he can come home anytime.

Yang Yunran: “Who says we’re not getting married?”

Xu Xing sat up: “You’re getting married? Why didn’t you mention it just now?”

Yang Yunran looked bewildered: “I’ve already brought him to meet you guys, of course, it means we’re getting married.”

Xu Xing: “Marriage abroad? Marriage abroad is fine.” If it’s not legally recognized, then Ran Ran will still be safe. If he’s uncomfortable, he can just tear up the marriage certificate and come home.

Yang Yunran understood his implication and didn’t respond, instead asking Yang Wanyu, “Mom, do you like Jiang Yi?”

Yang Wanyu had just accepted the fact that her child had come out recently. Raised away from her since childhood, when he returned, he was sensible and affectionate, with a good personality that made people feel sorry for him.

Yang Wanyu said, “Mom likes whoever you like.”

Yang Yunran looked at her and said, “Thank you, Mom…”

Back home,

Yang Yunran texted Jiang Yi saying they had arrived.

“My mom really likes you.”

Jiang Yi replied, “Your dad doesn’t seem to like me much.”

Yang Yunran typed, “Really?”

Jiang Yi could tell but didn’t dwell on it. Jiang Yi replied, “As long as you like me, your father’s feelings towards me don’t matter.”

Yang Yunran typed back, “Then I really like you too!”

After a dozen seconds, Jiang Yi replied, “I like you too.”

Yang Yunran: “Wow, your input method is so advanced. No ‘you’ character? Send it to me so I can study it.”

“Ran Ran, eat your fruits.”

Yang Yunran heard Yang Wanyu’s voice.

“She’s here!” He put down his phone and went over to talk with Yang Wanyu and Xu Xing for a while, mainly asking about their future plans and thoughts, whether they wanted to continue studying, and so on.

“No more studying. My job is stable, and I usually write songs and do live broadcasts at home. Jiang Yi bought a new house and hired a renovation company. In a couple of years, I’ll move in there.”

Previously, Yang Yunran had been short of money and worried about not having enough for medical treatment, which led him to take on variety shows. Now he could finally take a breather, as he preferred staying home to write songs rather than engaging with people in the entertainment circle.

He thought that for a long time to come, he could work from home while Jiang Yi went to the office. He could also go to recording studios and workshops to work on his songs without needing to interact with many people. He could even leave work early to pick up Jiang Yi…

After chatting with his parents for nearly an hour, Yang Yunran finally entered his room and checked his phone.

There were several unread messages from Jiang Yi.

“You.”

“You ignoring me?”

Since Yang Yunran hadn’t responded, Jiang Yi guessed, “You’re chatting with your parents. What did you talk about?”

A few minutes ago, Jiang Yi sent another message:

“I’m going to shower.”

Yang Yunran locked the door and went into the bathroom. He made a video call to Jiang Yi, who was halfway through undressing when he heard the ringtone. Jiang Yi picked him up, and Yang Yunran saw him on the video, his upper body half-naked, his high-quality white shirt loosely unbuttoned, revealing a full, pink chest. Jiang Yi was unbuttoning while holding the phone at a strange angle, looking down.

Yang Yunran looked up at Jiang Yi from a lower, angled view on his phone screen.

The angle was somewhat embarrassing, and his ears grew warm, his face flushing noticeably under the bright lights.

Jiang Yi raised the phone slightly and asked him, “Chatting with your parents? Did they mention me?”

“They did. My parents don’t object. They both really like you…” Yang Yunran’s gaze shifted. “Why haven’t you taken off your pants yet?”

Jiang Yi placed the phone on the sink.

He pulled the shirttail and glanced at the washing instructions, folding the shirt neatly to the side. “I’ll take it to the dry cleaners tomorrow.” It was a gift from Yang Yunran, and Jiang Yi cherished it.

Yang Yunran said, “Just toss it in the washing machine, it’s fine…” Yang Yunran halted mid-sentence, as Jiang Yi was undoing his belt. Yang Yunran squatted down and commented, “Black really makes it look small.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Yi moved the screen away, lowering his head to face, “No screenshots.”

“Huh? I wasn’t…” Yang Yunran showed embarrassment at being caught, and the impact of Jiang Yi’s handsome features on the screen made him hold his breath. Jiang Yi said, “If you want to eat, come over.”