Chapter 42: The Beginning of Captivation

Jian Mingzhou paused, observing, “What’s wrong?”

It was quite warm just a moment ago.

Under the dim and quiet streetlights, Xie Jing remained silent for two seconds and then blinked his eyes slightly and said, “Nothing.”

He walked over.

As the light and shadows alternated, falling into his now calm eyes, it seemed like the momentary storm was just an illusion.

“Shall we go back?”

Jian Mingzhou withdrew his gaze and said, “Oh… okay.”

…

Back at home, close to nine o’clock.

The house still retained the same appearance as when they left, with two boxes of supplements placed on the dining table.

Jian Mingzhou went over to pick them up. Xiaojing, I’ve put them in the cupboard for you.”

“Then, let’s open the forbidden area and organize the books.”

Xie Jing took off his coat on the side and said, “Sure.”

The study’s light flickered on.

They had tidied up hastily during the day, and now manga was piled up haphazardly on the shelves and the floor.

Jian Mingzhou took a look.

Most of their manga was mixed together.

He decided to organize the read ones on the shelf and moved the unread ones next to the TV cabinet in the living room for easy access.

He rolled up his sleeves and started organizing them one by one.

Xie Jing was beside him, stretching his arm to arrange the books on the shelf. Jian Mingzhou was looking at a few new manga that had somehow entered his arms when, seemingly absent-mindedly, Xie Jing spoke up.

“Uncle, do you really want to be my real uncle?”

He paused, looking up.

Xie Jing’s profile, raised slightly, looked profound and calm, as if they were just chatting.

…Why was he still thinking about this topic?

Trying not to burst into laughter, Jian Mingzhou replied, “It’s not something that subjective.”

Xie Jing just said, “Oh,” and his gaze shifted. He looked at Jian Mingzhou, and his lips curled slightly.

“What about subjectively? Do you want to?”

The gaze that fell was deep and calm, and his tone was light.

Jian Mingzhou suddenly lost his words.

In the inexplicable palpitations, a sense of danger emerged. He lowered his head and changed the subject.

“Don’t you want to add a new member to your family?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a manga titled “[Big Brother’s Secret]” fell from his arms with a “pat.”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou’s gaze froze.

But soon, two more books were stacked on top.

Seemingly casually picking up what he was going to read, Xie Jing piled them in Jian Mingzhou’s arms and said, “Uncle, adding a member doesn’t mean adding up.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

He gently shifted his gaze and said, “Oh.”

The topic seemed to have gently turned.

The study fell into silence, interspersed with the faint scent of wood pulp. Occasionally, the two would exchange a few words, creating a quiet atmosphere.

With one hand holding the books, Jian Mingzhou reached for the top row of manga on the shelf.

In the midst of looking up, the light above his head flickered.

He suddenly realized: he and Xie Jing, it seemed like neither of them had answered each other’s questions…

Fingertips touched the side cover, and he paused.

In the two seconds of daze, a shadow suddenly enveloped him from behind.

Then an arm crossed over his head from behind, effortlessly grabbing the top stack of books. A voice came down from above.

“Taking this one?”

Jian Mingzhou came to his senses, and his heart skipped a beat!

Xie Jing stood behind him, extending his long arm, almost trapping him between his body and the bookshelf.

A warmth enveloped him, and his breath instantly became chaotic.

Jian Mingzhou involuntarily tightened his grip, turning around. His shoulder lightly rested against the bookshelf. As his line of sight turned, he directly faced Xie Jing’s profile, and he felt a more direct sensation:

This posture was just like…

“Is this like a classic scene from manga?”

Xie Jing suddenly laughed.

Jian Mingzhou’s heart skipped a beat! He looked up and saw Xie Jing’s slightly raised eyes, filled with a faint light, focused on him.

In the gaze exchange, his mind uncontrollably followed this sentence and flashed through various scenes of being pressed against the bookshelf. Moreover, Xie Jing was too tall, and his figure blocked half of the light.

No matter how you looked at it, he was the one being pressed…

Wait, what was he thinking?

Jian Mingzhou quickly stopped thinking! Pretending to be calm, he said, “What kind of scene is that?”

Xie Jing said, “A scene of borrowing books in the library where you can’t reach them.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

How embarrassing. How could he think of that…

Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard Xie Jing laugh again, turning his head to look at him. “Of course, there are other scenes too.”

“But I won’t say.”

In their gaze, Xie Jing added a smile, saying softly, “It feels like it would be too offensive to you.”

He finished speaking, withdrew, and went out holding the books.

The figure in front of him receded.

Jian Mingzhou stood still in front of the bookshelf.

After a long time, he raised his hand to cover his face, and the palms of his hands were burning.

…Xie Jing, don’t use such a respectful tone and say such suggestive words.

–

The next day at work.

The editorial department was still peaceful and busy.

Xia Ye came to talk to Jian Mingzhou about work. Jian Mingzhou yawned, and his gaze was straight ahead.

Xia Ye’s words suddenly stopped, pushing up his glasses.

“…Why are you so sleepy? What did you do last night?”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou covered his mouth.

He didn’t do anything last night; he just closed his eyes, and the image of the bookshelf scene appeared in his mind. Scenes from the manga also flashed by for a few moments.

He felt hot all over, turning over and over for half the night.

Seeing Xia Ye’s gaze gradually becoming sharp and murky, Jian Mingzhou quickly changed the topic.

“Yesterday, Xiaojing’s parents came.”

“…What?” Xia Ye paused. Then he took a deep breath, pretending to be surprised, and raised his voice.

“Did you meet the parents?”

“…” Jian Mingzhou.

As the words fell, the peaceful and busy office suddenly quieted.

Immediately, heads popped up one after another! Like mushrooms after rain, questions flooded into view:

“Deputy Editor! Whose parents did you meet?”

“Is it the younger sports student from your family!?”

Jian Mingzhou took a breath and calmly explained, “It’s Xiaojing’s parents who came to see him, and we had a meal together.”

The group in front seemed to automatically filter the information.

“Parents, having a meal together…!”

Xiaoyu looked as if he had lost his mind, full of energy. “How was it? Deputy Editor, what do you call them, Uncle and Auntie? Or should you just call them b—”

“Bro.”

Jian Mingzhou looked at him firmly.

Xiaoyu’s “a” got stuck in his open throat. After a while, a faint echo slipped out, “…a?”

The entire office was filled with question marks: ???

…

A confidently spoken “Bro” successfully silenced everyone.

Jian Mingzhou sat back at his desk and started working.

The outline for the next chapter from Xueying-sensei arrived.

The detailed storyboards and plot made him temporarily forget about yesterday’s events, focusing on reviewing the manuscript.

After circling a few questions, he annotated each one.

Jian Mingzhou sent the feedback back.

After about fifteen minutes.

Xueying’s message came back. The other areas had been modified, except for one, which read:

“Editor, I don’t think there’s an issue here. [Image]”

Jian Mingzhou clicked to view.

He pondered for a moment and discussed with others: the character is supposed to be cool and handsome. Should we use the term “cute” here?

【Xueying】: Ah, here. Actually, the seme has fallen for the uke, so I used “cute.” There’s a saying, right? When you find someone cute, you’ve already fallen.

Jian Mingzhou’s heart skipped a beat, stunned.

【Xueying】: Editor, haven’t you ever had thoughts like this? ^u^

Suddenly, a pile of [Big Dog Lying Down] and [Big Dog Curled Up] emoji packs floated into Jian Mingzhou’s mind…

His heart suddenly quickened.

He composed himself and replied, I find the emoji packs cute.

【Xueying】: …^u^?

【Mingzhou】: Then let’s go with the teacher’s idea here.

–

After finishing work with the author,.

At 5:30, Jian Mingzhou left work as usual.

The weather was hot recently, so he went to the supermarket first to buy some lemons, planning to make lemon tea for the two of them at night.

He returned home after buying the groceries.

Pushing the door open, just as he was about to greet, he heard Xie Jing’s voice from inside, as if he were on the phone:

“I already declined last time.”

Jian Mingzhou withdrew his greeting and quietly closed the door.

Changing his shoes, he walked towards the living room.

Xie Jing’s voice continued nonchalantly, “Knowing that I have someone and still inquiring…”

Jian Mingzhou’s steps suddenly stopped.

Xie Jing has someone.

But he was with him every day. Usually, we spend weekends together, even on holidays.

He had never heard anyone mention it before.

…It must be an excuse.

Jian Mingzhou pinched his fingertips, and the pocket made a slight rustle. The voice on the other end of the phone seemed to pause.

He steadied his emotions and walked in as naturally as possible.

After passing the hallway, he saw Xie Jing standing in front of the kitchen counter.

The white T-shirt made him look refreshing and handsome. The raised arm stretched out, forming a tight and smooth line.

Seeing him come back, Xie Jing’s gaze fell.

Jian Mingzhou made eye contact for a moment, then turned and walked to the kitchen counter, taking out the lemons from his pocket.

“Hey, Xiaojing?” came Xie Xiyun’s voice from the phone.

Xie Jing snapped back, “…Yeah.”

“I mean, if you really have a partner, you can introduce them to us next time.”

“This matter…”

The scattered conversation suddenly stopped.

Xie Jing’s gaze fell on Jian Mingzhou beside him. His clear profile was illuminated by light, with lowered eyelashes and slightly reddened earlobes. He flexed his fingers, and his throat moved slightly.

“Given the chance… maybe next time.”

Crack! The lemon was cut in half.

Jian Mingzhou’s hand hesitated, and lemon juice splattered on his face.

Instinctively avoiding it, he frowned and exclaimed.

Suddenly, a low laugh sounded beside him, as if suppressing a chuckle. Then a large hand reached out.

Fingertips brushed against his cheek.

Jian Mingzhou was stunned for a moment, then saw Xie Jing, still on the phone, smiling and reaching out to wipe his face.

His gaze seemed to say, What are you doing?

The warm and slightly rough hand rubbed across his cheek, and his heart accelerated for a moment. But quickly, he remembered the phone call from a second ago. His chest inexplicably felt like it had been hit, so he brushed away Xie Jing’s hand.

Xie Jing said they could meet next time.

That probably wasn’t an excuse.

Jian Mingzhou pursed his lips. Since he had someone, even if he himself was a man, he shouldn’t…

The hand that was pushed away seemed to stop in mid-air.

Then Xie Jing said, “I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”

Then he hung up and looked over. “Uncle?”

Jian Mingzhou didn’t look at Xie Jing’s expression, raised his hand to wipe his face, and said in as casual a tone as possible, “Xiaojing, if you have a partner, don’t do these things…”

“These things?”

“Like wiping the face like this. Also, what happened in the study yesterday.”

The front fell silent for a few seconds. Then, he heard Xie Jing’s soft voice,

“If there’s none, is it okay?”

“…” What?

Jian Mingzhou was stunned for a moment, looking up.

Just as he looked, the emotions in Xie Jing’s eyes, unable to be restrained, were bright and moist, with a hint of a smile.

In front of the bright, streamlined countertop, the sweet and tangy scent of lemons seemed to burst open for a moment, filling the entire air.

He slightly widened his eyes, feeling warmth on his face.

During the eye contact, a gust of wind suddenly passed by.

“I can’t take it anymore…”

Xie Jing leaned in, burying his head on his shoulder. One hand reached over his waist, supporting himself on the edge of the streamlined countertop behind him.

Jian Mingzhou, in the throbbing of his heart, heard a soft voice beside his ear.

“You shouldn’t be so cute, uncle.”