What did he just say?

Indeed, sometimes he couldn’t tell the difference between dreams and reality. Last time, he had a dream about escaping through the jungle, and when he woke up, his hand was clenched tightly, afraid he might lose the key from the dream.

So, what does this mean? He couldn’t possibly accuse Gu Qianxing, saying, “It’s all your fault for teasing me in the dream.”

How nice, in an instant, Yu Ju had accomplished the feat of turning as red as a tomato.

At this moment, he completely understood the meaning behind the phrase “wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.”

What made Gu Qianxing a true gentleman was this: even though he had clearly seen it, he said nothing, as though he hadn’t just talked with Yu Ju a moment ago.

He placed the coffee in front of Yu Ju and continued to pour his own cup.

But he didn’t remain completely silent.

He smiled.

Yu Ju was now fully awake. He lowered his head, raised his hand to make a gesture as if shielding his forehead with a hat brim, and wondered how to explain this situation.

How to explain this… you actually called him “husband.”

Yes, husband…

Help.

If it weren’t for Gu Qianxing’s current attitude, Yu Ju would really have been embarrassed enough to leave his house without looking back.

He picked up the coffee from the table, drinking a sip with some tension.

With all this going on, even the coffee tasted a bit bland.

“How is it?”

Gu Qianxing asked Yu Ju.

Yu Ju lowered his head even further. “W-What do you mean?”

Gu Qianxing smiled. “I’m asking how the coffee tastes.”

Yu Ju replied with an “Oh.”

He continued to shield his face with his hand, trying to sound as natural as possible. “It’s good.”

Gu Qianxing hummed in acknowledgment and then asked, “Did you fall asleep just now?”

Yu Ju shielded his face even more. “Mm.”

In the not-so-clear shadows on the table, Yu Ju saw that Gu Qianxing had also picked up his cup.

Only then did Yu Ju slowly let out a breath.

After what seemed like a moment of easing up, Yu Ju could finally taste the flavor.

It really was exceptionally good.

“I was just thinking,” Gu Qianxing suddenly spoke, “If I agreed to you, would that count as taking advantage of you?”

Yu Ju’s face stiffened again.

Yu Ju’s face burned again. He didn’t dare to speak, and he wanted to leave even more now.

It wasn’t long before he heard Gu Qianxing speak again.

Gu Qianxing asked, “Who did you think I was just now?”

Yu Ju hesitated for a moment.

Gu Qianxing’s tone was very calm, and since Yu Ju didn’t look at his expression, he couldn’t tell what his mood was.

It sounded like a casual question, but it also felt like gossip.

It could have been a way to ease the tension, or it could have meant, “You better explain yourself.”

If it was a misunderstanding, then it seemed like…

Although it wasn’t exactly good, it wasn’t bad either.

Yu Ju lowered his head even further, but this question was easier to answer.

“No one,” he said weakly. “I just called out the wrong name.”

Gu Qianxing asked, “Really?”

Gu Qianxing didn’t sound like he believed him.

Haha, who would believe that?

After a moment, Gu Qianxing asked again, “Who did you dream about just now?”

With precise intuition, Yu Ju could only shake his head awkwardly. “No one,” he said again. “My brain’s messed up, just shouting nonsense. Don’t ask.”

Please, stop asking.

Gu Qianxing really did stop asking once Yu Ju told him not to.

Halfway through his cup of coffee, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the groceries Gu Qianxing had ordered.

Gu Qianxing said, “I’m going to cook.”

It wasn’t until Gu Qianxing left the bar counter and moved out of Yu Ju’s line of sight that Yu Ju finally let out the breath he had been holding in his throat.

Then, he kicked the marble of the bar counter with force.

What’s wrong with me, shouting things like that?

Ah, my foot hurts.

After picking up the groceries, Gu Qianxing merely passed by the bar counter from a distance, nodding to Yu Ju in a silent gesture before heading into the kitchen.

Giving plenty of space.

Since Gu Qianxing didn’t seem to take this seriously, Yu Ju could…

Ah, this is so annoying! What kind of idiot am I?

Turning around, Yu Ju noticed that Gu Qianxing’s cup of coffee was already empty.

It looked like he had only taken a couple of sips—one sip, half a cup?

There was a little mess left on the counter from making the coffee, and after finishing his own cup, Yu Ju simply tidied up after Gu Qianxing.

Once done, he went around to the kitchen. Gu Qianxing had already started preparing.

Yu Ju deliberately made some noise, clearing his throat a couple of times at the door.

Gu Qianxing, who was focused on chopping vegetables, didn’t even look up. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Ju poked his head in. “Do you need help?”

Gu Qianxing replied, “No need, just sit in the living room.”

Yu Ju said, “Oh.”

Yu Ju knew that some people liked to cook alone. Having another person around would only disrupt their rhythm.

And he knew Gu Qianxing wouldn’t be polite with him. When Gu Qianxing said no help was needed, it really meant no help was needed.

So, why did Yu Ju know that Gu Qianxing wouldn’t be polite with him…?

He sat back down on the sofa, and his group chat buzzed with a new message. His teammates asked him to help check where the data went wrong.

Yu Ju opened the densely packed images.

Just when his eyes were about to go blind, he finally spotted the mistake.

He highlighted it with a red pen and sent it out.

The team members flooded him with thanks before moving on to the next step.

With this, the group went wild in the chat, sending their progress and tagging Yu Ju.

Yu Ju had no choice but to get to work.

He really knew his teammates too well. Even though they had agreed to work and have the meeting tomorrow, one by one, they all started working as soon as they got home.

Yu Ju was struggling to read the messages on his phone, so he decided to ask everyone for their opinion—how about just meeting in the afternoon at school?

Sure enough, he got unanimous agreement from the group.

After setting the time, Yu Ju went to knock on the kitchen door and told Gu Qianxing about the plan.

Gu Qianxing put down his knife after hearing this. “You’re leaving after dinner?”

Yu Ju nodded. “Leaving after dinner.”

Gu Qianxing smiled helplessly.

Yu Ju pressed his lips together. “What’s wrong? Do you have something to do?”

Gu Qianxing replied, “Nothing,” and picked up the knife again. “I’ll take you there after dinner.”

Yu Ju said, “No need, I’ll go on my own.”

Gu Qianxing still insisted. “I’ll take you.”

Yu Ju answered, “It’s fine, really.”

Gu Qianxing sharply chopped the vegetables. “I’m taking you.”

Yu Ju glanced at the vegetable leaves on the cutting board. “Fine then.”

Yu Ju returned to the living room, and then he realized something interesting—the sofa in the living room was positioned so that only the very farthest corner on the right side could see the kitchen.

This was the conclusion Yu Ju came to after spending several minutes shifting around the sofa, so in the end, he sat at the very edge of that corner.

It was the perfect spot—lean back, and he could see Gu Qianxing; lean forward, and he couldn’t. A clever little position.

Just when Yu Ju was feeling smug about his perfect idea, he happened to look up—and spotted a very obvious camera on the ceiling.

Yu Ju: “……”

Is it too late to leave now?

Why is he such an idiot even when Gu Qianxing isn’t around?

He started trying to comfort himself: under normal circumstances, homeowners don’t check their home surveillance footage.

…Unless Gu Qianxing was a creep.

After being away for three days, the Xinli groups had also exploded with messages.

He had two Xinli group chats—one for work, one for gossip.

Because Xiao Jie knew he was busy these past few days, most of the announcements in the work group didn’t involve him.

But in the gossip group, they were currently talking about Lin Jian attending an event recently hosted by Gu Qianxing’s studio.

Naturally, Yu Ju started reading very seriously.

After skimming through, he pulled out a few key points.

“Mr. Gu drank alone with Lin Jian.”

“Mr. Gu even looked several times at the necklace Lin Jian was wearing.”

“Mr. Gu is clearly giving our Xinli extra attention.”

Tch…

Yu Ju leaned back.

Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu is cooking for me right now.

Do you guys even know how handsome Mr. Gu looks stir-frying in home clothes?

Tch…

The person posting those messages was Lin Jian’s assistant. In Xinli, he always sided with Lin Jian, constantly flaunting his connection with him—super annoying.

Further down, the group chat moved on to other topics, so Yu Ju stopped reading.

He put away his phone and leaned back out of habit, wanting to sneak a peek at Gu Qianxing—but this time, he got caught.

Gu Qianxing was leaning against the stove, staring straight in his direction, as if he’d been waiting for quite a while. Who knows how long he’d been watching?

When Yu Ju met his gaze, Gu Qianxing raised his knife and gestured for him to come over.

Yu Ju silently mouthed an “oh” and walked around the living room toward him.

The closer Yu Ju got, the better it smelled. He hadn’t even figured out how to praise him yet when he spotted a tablet placed next to the stove.

On the screen, the boldest, most obvious words read: “Instructions for Garlic Pork Belly.”

Yu Ju burst out laughing with a pfft: “I thought you knew how to make it—why didn’t you ask me?”

Gu Qianxing picked up the half-prepared dish. “I was trying to look cool.”

Yu Ju said, “You’re so funny.”

Gu Qianxing picked up a slice. “It’s not easy making you laugh.”

Yu Ju replied, “Nonsense, I’m a sunshine boy.”

This time, Gu Qianxing was the one who laughed.

And then Yu Ju turned red.

What the hell was that line?

There was absolutely no need to go that far just to argue with Gu Qianxing.

So ridiculous.

“Sunshine boy?” Gu Qianxing repeated. “Says who?”

Yu Ju spouted nonsense: “The principal of my elementary school. How about that?”

Gu Qianxing nodded along, very cooperatively: “Mm, suits you perfectly.”
Then he handed over a still-not-quite-finished slice of garlic pork belly.
“Here, open up.”

Yu Ju responded with an obedient, “Ah—”

Just the right size for a full roll.

He took two bites, and Gu Qianxing asked, “How is it?”

Yu Ju made two muffled “mm-mm” noises with his mouth still full, then, realizing Gu Qianxing might not understand, he immediately nodded hard three times: “Mm! Mm! Mm!”

Might as well throw in a big thumbs-up too.

Gu Qianxing looked at him and said, “Swallow first, then praise me properly.”

Yu Ju laughed with his mouth full, letting out a muffled “huhuhu.”

Gu Qianxing laughed along with him, but after a moment, his eyes lingered on Yu Ju’s lips. Then he reached out and wiped the corner of Yu Ju’s mouth.

It was probably soy sauce. Yu Ju instinctively stuck out his tongue and licked the spot.

Gu Qianxing had already looked away, but when he saw Yu Ju lick his lips like that, his gaze paused for a few seconds longer.

Yu Ju knew Gu Qianxing was joking earlier, but after swallowing the last of the food, he still leaned in a bit and clumsily complimented him, “It’s really delicious.”

Gu Qianxing replied, “Hearing that makes all the effort worth it.”

Yu Ju let out a chuckle.

Garlic pork belly was, admittedly, a bit of a hassle to make.

That was delicious for a first try—Gu Qianxing really does have some skill.

Since it looked like Gu Qianxing would still need a bit more time, Yu Ju decided not to hang around the kitchen.

But just as he reached the doorway, Gu Qianxing called out to him.

“Where are you going?” Gu Qianxing asked.

Yu Ju replied, “Just going to sit in the living room.”

Gu Qianxing, back turned to him while simmering the soup, said casually, “Isn’t it more convenient to stay here and watch me?”

Yu Ju: “…”

Yu Ju: “Who’s watching you, huh?”

Gu Qianxing: “Who’s watching you, huh?”

Yu Ju: “…”

Yu Ju forced himself to stay calm.

A few seconds later, he scoffed, “As if I’d stay here just to watch you.”

Gu Qianxing chuckled.

Yu Ju: “…”

Although Yu Ju’s reaction was a bit slow, still—brother, weren’t you laughing just a little too loudly?

Of course Yu Ju left, and it wasn’t until Gu Qianxing called him over to eat that he came back.

He had to call him three times.

The food was simple, just an ordinary home-cooked meal.

Gu Qianxing ate quietly. Yu Ju didn’t say much either, but in the end, he couldn’t help bringing up Lin Jian.

“A few days ago, Lin Jian was invited to one of your events?” Yu Ju asked.

Gu Qianxing shook his head. “I didn’t invite him. I only found out that afternoon that my assistant had.”

Yu Ju let out an “oh.” “Did you two drink together, just the two of you?”

Gu Qianxing shook his head again. “No.”

Yu Ju pressed his lips together, clearly pleased. “I heard you’ve been keeping a close eye on Xinli lately.”

Gu Qianxing, looking helpless, picked out a piece of fish and placed it on Yu Ju’s plate. “Why do you think I’d be paying attention to Xinli?”

Yu Ju raised an eyebrow slightly.

One last question.

“That necklace Lin Jian was wearing that day—did you notice it?” Yu Ju asked.

Gu Qianxing responded casually with a soft “mm”: “It’s mine.”

Yu Ju hadn’t expected that answer and froze. “Yours?” He suddenly choked on his own voice. “You… gave it to him?”

Gu Qianxing shook his head again and continued picking the bones from the fish for Yu Ju, his tone calm and understated. “I was planning to find a chance to tell you. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

Without meaning to, Yu Ju bit down on his chopsticks, listening intently.

“One of the new hires at the studio stole that necklace,” Gu Qianxing said. “He saw that I had a lot of them and assumed I wouldn’t notice.”

“Stole it?” Yu Ju was shocked. “Huh? Then… then—”

As if knowing what Yu Ju was about to ask, Gu Qianxing said, “He’s been let go. And in this industry, he probably won’t find another job.”

Yu Ju’s mouth fell open in surprise.

Gu Qianxing added, “Lin Jian won’t be getting any collaboration opportunities with me either.”

“Oh,” Yu Ju said, then added quietly, “Thanks.”

Gu Qianxing smiled as he placed another piece of fish on Yu Ju’s plate. “What are you thanking me for? We’re on the same side.”

Yu Ju glanced up at him, stealing a look before quickly lowering his gaze again to watch Gu Qianxing’s hands.

A little touched, just a little.

Even though Gu Qianxing had only said a few words, to Yu Ju, it was a pretty big revelation.

So that’s what had been going on with Lin Jian, from beginning to end.

So really, the same story can sound completely different depending on who’s telling it.

After dinner, Yu Ju wanted to help Gu Qianxing clear the table, but Gu Qianxing turned him down again—so back to the living room he went, effectively exiled.

Before heading to campus, Gu Qianxing first dropped Yu Ju off at his apartment so he could put away his suitcase, then drove him to school.

Spring was nearly over, and the sun was blazing in the sky.

The weather today was, in fact, incredibly nice.

There weren’t many cars downtown around noon, so they reached the school pretty quickly.

On campus roads, there was a strict speed limit. Even though there were no cars in front of them, Gu Qianxing drove leisurely.

Then again, it wasn’t just this part—he drove like a turtle on the main roads too, an embarrassing pace for someone in such a fancy car.

Once they arrived, Yu Ju politely said thank you and reached for the door.

But—

“The door’s locked.”

Yu Ju gave the handle a tug, then turned his head back.

Gu Qianxing responded with a nonchalant “mm,” making it clear it was intentional.

Yu Ju raised an eyebrow. “Something you need?”

Gu Qianxing said, “Just one question.”

And after saying those three words, he fell silent.

After a moment.

Yu Ju: “Huh?”

Gu Qianxing: “Do you like guys?”

Yu Ju froze.

That was… sudden.

He pressed his lips together, suddenly tense.

And he began to wonder—should he deny it?

Gu Qianxing added, “You don’t have to answer.”

Yu Ju’s throat tightened.

Gu Qianxing continued, “Not answering means yes.”

The words to deny it wouldn’t come out at all.

Click.

A soft unlocking sound came from the car door.

Gu Qianxing’s voice carried a hint of a smile: “Alright, got it.”