Chapter 8: Exposed?

This question startled Jian Mingzhou, almost making him fail to maintain his composure.

Xie Jing still heard it!

He pursed his lips, showing a bit of confusion. “What?”

Xie Jing, with a slightly lowered eyelash, patiently said, “Just now, those two girls, were they looking at us the whole time? Calling out something like ‘still yunger,’ ‘cute,’ right?”

“…” Jian Mingzhou, “Yes.”

Passing under a street lamp, the light flickered twice.

A glint appeared in the dark depths of Xie Jing’s eyes, and a somewhat elusive smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Do you know what this means, Uncle?”

Jian Mingzhou’s throat moved, and he felt his ears heating up.

He maintained a composed expression, thinking that even if he knew, he couldn’t tell Xie Jing what it meant! Did he have to say, “‘Still younger’ means the one who’s older when it comes to roles in a relationship”?

And besides, how could he be the “cute”?

Jian Mingzhou kept his gaze forward, translating, “Perhaps they were saying you are ‘adorable.'”

“…” Xie Jing softly said, “No matter how you think about it, that doesn’t seem right.”

The two walked in silence for a while.

The dim sky enveloped the surroundings in a hazy ambiguity.

Xie Jing didn’t say anything more, and Jian Mingzhou didn’t know if he believed it or not. Just as he was anxiously waiting for the next question, he heard a relaxed tone beside him: “Hmm… forget it.”

Xie Jing casually changed the topic: “You just mentioned, what happened in front of your company the day before yesterday?”

Jian Mingzhou looked at his profile, blinked, and smoothly picked up the new topic: “Oh, the day before yesterday, the guard dog and the security guard downstairs in our company got into a fight…”

Xie Jing turned his head.

—

Although this topic was skipped, Jian Mingzhou still had it in mind.

For two days, he couldn’t resist and finally asked Xia Ye, “I have a question.”

Xia Ye was reviewing manuscripts, not looking up. “Deadline at the end of the month; no leave allowed; no performance bonus yet. Anything else? Go ahead.”

“…” Jian Mingzhou, “I wanted to ask, if one day a same-sex friend around you asks you about ‘still younger,and ‘so cute,’ how would you respond?”

Xia Ye lifted his head and pushed his glasses. “Of course, you explain it in detail, introduce them to it, get them hooked, and then promote all the books published by our editing department to them.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

Jian Mingzhou clapped his hands. “It’s hard to imagine how someone with your talent was kicked out of the literature department.”

Xia Ye’s eyes sharpened for a moment. “This is a forbidden topic!”

The two continued their discussion with pens.

Jian Mingzhou was about to stop when he suddenly heard Xia Ye ask, “So, who asked you this question?” The lenses reflected a flash of light. “The kid you live with?”

He was hit right on target, and his movements paused.

The pen cap slid off, and ink splattered on his clothes.

Both of them looked over and said, “Ah.”

The white T-shirt was stained with ink, basically rendering it unusable.

On a whim, Qian Qian wanted to vent about it. She used to be a manga artist, but due to her mediocre drawing skills, she switched careers and became an editor.

Jian Mingzhou stretched his clothes and let her do as she pleased.

Xia Ye watched, and after a while, he shifted his gaze to Jian Mingzhou’s side.

The slightly lowered profile was gentle, youthful, and patient. It was the kind of demeanor that could unknowingly attract people. However, in terms of emotions, he was like a blank sheet of paper.

Thinking of the two times they had met the kid…

Xia Ye furrowed his brows slightly, intending to remind him of “Mingzhou.”

Jian Mingzhou raised his head and asked, “What?”

Xia Ye hesitated. “That kid in your house…”

“What!?” Qian Qian suddenly looked up, her pen shaking. “Assistant Editor, do you have a child? When did you give birth?”

The conversation was cut short.

Jian Mingzhou calmly adjusted his clothes and said, “I can’t give birth anytime; please respect my physiological structure.”

Qian Qian lowered her head shyly.

Xia Ye adjusted his glasses and tilted his head. Forget it; why bother with this?

—

Wearing this outfit when he got home in the evening indeed caught Xie Jing’s attention.

The latter, with long limbs, leaned on the sofa, looking at his phone. When he heard the movement, he glanced up for two seconds and said, “Manga?”

Jian Mingzhou replied, “Drawn by a colleague.”

“Oh…” Xie Jing observed. “So, Uncle, you’re a manga editor?”

There didn’t seem to be any harm in admitting that.

Jian Mingzhou paused and nodded. “Yes.”

Xie Jing seemed somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow. Jian Mingzhou, feeling a bit guilty, added, “Boys’ manga.”

Two boys’ manga—why not consider them boys’ manga?

Xie Jing chuckled. “Unfortunately, I don’t read manga much.”

…

After finding out that Xie Jing wasn’t familiar with these terms, Jian Mingzhou didn’t dwell on the questions of “still younger” and “cute” anymore. He probably genuinely didn’t know and just asked casually.

On Wednesday afternoon, Xie Jing went out for training.

Jian Mingzhou tidied up and was also preparing to go out.

The tankobon for his subordinate Snowyin’s work was released today, and he planned to go to the nearby bookstore to check the sales.

The Corner Bookstore was located not far from home, on the edge of the pedestrian street.

Pushing open the glass door with hanging windchimes, a clean and tidy store layout greeted his eyes.

Books were neatly organized on shelves, and literary books were conveniently facing boys’ love manga across the aisle.

Jian Mingzhou stood on the literary book side, pretending to flip through books, while observing the customers buying boys’ love manga on the opposite side.

While he was observing, a familiar color suddenly appeared in his line of sight: a tuft of blond hair poking out from the bookshelf, looking quite conspicuous.

Jian Mingzhou:…

Wait a minute, isn’t that He Yi?

Could it be that he’s also here to buy boys’ love manga? But this surreptitious appearance is just too suspicious.

The clerks around were already showing a bit of alertness.

Jian Mingzhou couldn’t bear to watch, walked over, and called out, “Xiao Yi.” He wanted to say there’s no need to be so sneaky, just act natural…

“Ah!!!” He Yi was suddenly startled, turned around, and shouted.

The surrounding gazes focused instantly.

“…” Jian Mingzhou stopped in his tracks, gently closing his eyes.

He Yi, realizing something was wrong, covered his mouth and peeked out. “Brother Mingzhou?”

Jian Mingzhou lightly patted him and said, “Speak more quietly.”

“Oh oh.” He Yi still held a boys’ love manga in his hand, and he immediately blushed, explaining, “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not for me! It’s for my sister.”

Afraid that people wouldn’t believe him, he pulled up the chat records and said, “Look!”

Jian Mingzhou glanced at it, and indeed, it was a request from his sister.

He sighed inwardly. He thought he had gained a fellow enthusiast.

But why isn’t Zhou Xuyang here today? “Sneakily buying boys’ love manga without the deadpan character being noticed” seems like a good plot twist…

“Brother Mingzhou?” He Yi tentatively called.

Jian Mingzhou returned to his senses and asked, “Yes, what’s the matter?”

He Yi cautiously looked at him. “Just now, for a moment, it felt like your gaze was unfathomable…”

Jian Mingzhou softened his voice and said, “You must have seen it wrong.”

“Oh…”

With this little distraction and a known face accompanying him, He Yi became more natural. He started searching for the manga according to the list on his phone.

Jian Mingzhou chatted, “Why isn’t Zhou Xuyang with you today?”

“He’s not. He said he wanted to practice more. Oh, right!” He Yi suddenly took out his phone again, enthusiastically sending a message: “I have to tell him that I met Brother Mingzhou, haha~”

“Your relationship is quite good.”

“Yeah, best buddies!”

Jian Mingzhou suppressed the smile that almost surfaced and said, “Oh.”

After sending the message, He Yi looked up and met Jian Mingzhou’s slightly shifting gaze. The conversation seemed to pause.

Why did he feel like Brother Mingzhou was even happier than they were?

“Are the books picked out yet?”

“Oh, oh, not yet, Brother Mingzhou; can you accompany me a little longer?”

—

At the entrance of F University, Zhou Xuyang and Xie Jing were leaving together.

It was three in the afternoon, just after the additional training session had ended.

Zhou Xuyang had mentioned earlier that he would go find He Yi after it was over, so Xie Jing bid him farewell, “Then, I’ll head back first.”

“Yeah, he’s messaging me right now… oh!” Zhou Xuyang suddenly stopped Xie Jing. “Wait, he said he’s with your uncle in a bookstore.”

Xie Jing halted, turning around.

“…at Corner Bookstore. I’m going to find him there. Do you want to come too?” Zhou Xuyang pulled out his phone and scrolled.

Beside him, after a two-second pause, he said, “Sure.”

The two then headed in that direction together.

The afternoon sunlight cast shadows clearly defined at the edges beneath their feet.

Zhou Xuyang glanced down to reply to a message, suddenly realizing he hadn’t looked at Xie Jing beside him. Xie Jing’s profile was distinct, his expression calm, and his gaze fixed into the distance, making it hard to discern his true feelings.

Thinking about the last time they exchanged WeChat and the visit to the bookstore this time…

Zhou Xuyang hesitated. “Uh… Xie Jing, would you mind if your uncle gets along better with other friends?”

He said it and immediately had a surreal vision:

*gie gie* Your uncle is having fun with He Yi. You won’t be upset, will you?

“Mind what?” Xie Jing smiled beside him.

Xie Jing still had that indifferent look, calmly saying, “It’s not like we’re blood-related uncles and nephews.”

Zhou Xuyang reeled back the somewhat voyeuristic feeling and said, “That’s true.”

…

Inside the Corner Bookstore, He Yi finally finished choosing his books.

“I’ll go to the checkout first. Later, Zhou Xuyang will come to find me.”

Jian Mingzhou’s gaze shifted. “So, these books…”

 He Yi was happy. “It’s just right for him to help me carry some stuff.”

Jian Mingzhou: … You’re really calm!

He bought a total of about ten manga, and He Yi was currently counting them with his head down. Suddenly, two familiar covers flashed by.

Jian Mingzhou took a look. Weren’t these from their publishing house?

“Wait a moment; I grabbed the wrong one.”

He pointed to two manga with the same title: “This one isn’t the first and second volumes; it’s the collector’s edition and the new edition.”

He Yi flipped to the back and looked, suddenly realizing, “Wow, thanks! Brother Mingzhou, you are still clear.”

The conversation abruptly stopped, and he looked up:?

“…”

Both of them held their breaths.

In the long and silent gaze, a deafening silence settled.