Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Just before the end of the lab session, Jiang Tiyan received several phone calls in a row. He waited until leaving the lab to answer.

Jiang Tiyan had enjoyed his freedom for a long time. Joining showbiz was all his idea. Though his family wanted to force him to take over the family business, they had allowed him to act for three years—then he'd have to come straight home.

Thinking it was no big deal, Jiang Tiyan answered the phone casually: "Weren't you traveling? Why are you calling my domestic number?"

But the voice on the other end wasn’t his mother’s—it was Xiaoli, who worked for her: "Young master, your mother is sick. You need to come home."

Jiang Tiyan's face fell, and tension crept into his voice. "I’ll be right there."

He changed out of his lab coat and rushed home, only to find his mother not sick at all but instead berating him immediately: "We didn’t oppose you entering the entertainment industry, but if you like men, you can forget about acting—you’ll be blacklisted!"

She slapped him. The sting wasn’t much, but fury flared inside him—all his pent-up anger at Qi Yanyu.

Jiang Tiyan bristled. "Who told you I like men?"

His mother sneered. "Why else would you keep seeking out that Qi family weirdo? Are you trying to kill me with anger?"

That weirdo… Jiang Tiyan nearly laughed at the absurdity of the term. "He’s just—" someone I owe an apology to.

But before he could explain, his mother cut him off with a furious warning: "If you go near that Qi family weirdo again, forget about acting—you won’t be taking over the family business either."

Coming home meant being grounded, basically. He could either stay put and learn the ropes of the family business from his father or get dumped on some backwater film set working nonstop.

After his mother left, he angrily smashed his phone. Qi Yanyu was just as infuriating as he remembered.

When Qi Yanyu finished the lab session, Jiang Tiyan was nowhere to be seen—just like he figured. That guy had probably been summoned home by his mother.

The idea made him smirk. But he was scared shitless Gu Jinglan might get the wrong idea and think he had a messy personal life. If Gu Jinglan doubted him over something like this, then what was even the point of dating?

So when he returned to the dorm to change, he couldn’t help glancing at Gu Jinglan.

Qi Yuanhan and Gu Jinglan were huddled together talking, discussing what would happen if Qi Yuanhan failed his finals and had to retake them.

As long as Gu Jinglan didn’t tease him, Qi Yanyu noticed that Gu Jinglan was giving him the cold shoulder.

Was he pissed at him? Qi Yanyu wondered.

If he really was, Qi Yanyu thought, why bother chasing after him?

Back in the dorm, his roommates hadn't hit the showers yet, so Qi Yanyu took the opportunity. He had been looking forward to going out with Gu Jinglan tonight.

The longer he dwelled on it, the worse he felt. Would Gu Jinglan just start ignoring him now?

Over something so trivial. Was Gu Jinglan really that upset with him?

Qi Yanyu lowered his lashes, stepping out of the shower. Instead of drying his hair right away, he sat in his chair, fingers tightening around his phone, his eyes glazed over.

Was Gu Jinglan just gonna leave him hanging? Was his coldness because of him?

Scrolling through his phone, he saw no messages from Gu Jinglan—no plans for the evening. Was this how Gu Jinglan pursued someone?

Qi Yanyu face-planted onto his desk. He should have outright rejected Jiang Tiyan. He hadn’t slept last night, and the weekend wiped him out. His mind had been too out of it this morning, letting Jiang Tiyan sit with him and even join them for lunch.

None of that should have happened. But would Jiang Tiyan tell Qi Muyao about his relationship? Probably not. Right now, Jiang Tiyan was probably dealing with his own mess—too swamped to stick his nose in his business.

If he felt like crying over this, that would be totally lame. That’s what Qi Yanyu told himself.

He was still typing into the search engine: "In gay relationships, does a boyfriend getting jealous mean you’ll break up?" But the results weren’t quite what he wanted, so he changed "boyfriend" to "pursuer" and "breakup" to "stop pursuing."

He didn’t know how many entries he had read when a finger lightly tapped his cheek. Qi Yanyu froze, and soon a hushed voice said, "You’re not gonna dry your hair? Let’s go out for dinner tonight."

"Who with?" Who was going out to eat?

"Who else?" Gu Jinglan looked at him. Qi Yanyu immediately sat up and glanced at Qi Yuanhan, who was playing a game, while Huang Shaoze had gone to shower. Gu Jinglan had changed out of his lab clothes, looking every bit the part for their date.

Qi Yanyu scrambled to get ready, searching for the hairdryer. Gu Jinglan said to him, "Let me help you dry it."

"..." But this was the dorm. "Don’t make it so obvious." Qi Yanyu dried his hair himself while Gu Jinglan waited, booking a ride in the meantime.

Seeing that Qi Yanyu was almost done, Gu Jinglan headed out, texting him: "Come down once you’re done drying your hair. I’ll wait for you there."

Qi Yanyu stared at the message, his head spinning, realizing how easily his emotions fluctuated. He half-dried his hair in a rush, not completely, and adjusted it in front of the mirror.

Qi Yuanhan had just "died" in the game and noticed Qi Yanyu meticulously changing clothes and styling his hair for the outing. "Got a date or something?"

Qi Yanyu mumbled, "Just meeting a friend for dinner." His lie came out awkward in his hurry—unlike his usual effortless fibs.

"Oh, that guy from the lab today?" Qi Yuanhan chuckled, no malice intended, as his in-game character respawned.

"No," Qi Yanyu flatly denied.

"Ah," Qi Yuanhan continued playing. While buying equipment in-game, he glanced around the dorm. "Where’d Gu Jinglan go?"

Qi Yanyu, feeling guilty, thought the question was directed at him. "Beats me." This lie was slightly more convincing.

"He said he’d tutor me, but now he’s vanished," Qi Yuanhan muttered, heading back into the game after restocking.

Qi Yanyu thought, *Maybe if you gamed less, you’d pass.* But seeing that over ten minutes had passed since Gu Jinglan’s message, he could delay no longer. Scooping up his wallet and ID, he headed out.

Probably wouldn’t need it, but... better safe than sorry. That was Qi Yanyu’s reasoning.

"Sorry for making you wait..." Qi Yanyu apologized immediately upon meeting Gu Jinglan, who had waited fifteen minutes downstairs.

Gu Jinglan noticed Qi Yanyu had changed outfits, dressed to blend in—like any other college kid. Compared to his usual effortless, casually stylish look, today’s attire gave him that wholesome student vibe.

"It’s fine. Where do you want to go?"

They walked side by side out of the dorm and campus, boarding the ride. Though seated in the back, they kept a noticeable distance.

"Dinner sounds good," Qi Yanyu said.

Gu Jinglan rattled off questions, noticing Qi Yanyu’s reluctance to face him directly, his soft profile slightly turned away: "Wanna do Sichuan? You sure you can take the heat? Any favorite places?"

Suppressing his soaring emotions, Qi Yanyu replied as calmly as possible, "Yeah, let’s do Sichuan."

"You sure you can handle it?"

"When I’m in a good mood, yes." Qi Yanyu’s mood was all over the place—plummeting earlier, now soaring sky-high.

Their ride headed toward a mall.

Gu Jinglan sat about 20-30 centimeters away—not far, but not close either. Qi Yanyu secretly wished he’d move closer.

But since Gu Jinglan hadn’t officially won him over yet, he couldn’t exactly cozy up to him yet.

"Do you want to see a movie?"

"What’s showing?" Qi Yanyu had no idea what was currently in theaters.

It was said that the must-do activities for couples on a date were dining, shopping, and watching movies. Even medical students followed this tradition.

Gu Jinglan asked him what genre he liked. Qi Yanyu lowered his eyes, suppressing the slight flush on his face caused by his wildly fluctuating emotions: "Just nothing too bad." If he were honest, the answer would be: As long as I’m with you, anything’s fine.

So Gu Jinglan bought tickets for *Zootopia*.

Qi Yanyu spent two whole days puzzled and worried, wondering why Gu Jinglan hadn’t asked him: Who was Jiang Tiyan—the person who’d been visiting him lately? What exactly was their relationship?

If Gu Jinglan had asked, he would have explained properly. But why didn’t he? Did he not care, or was he completely unfazed—not a single ripple in his heart?

When they got out of the car, Gu Jinglan waited for him and even guided him up onto the curb. Qi Yanyu thought to himself, he had lost many things before, but this time, he couldn’t lose this happiness.

They went to a Sichuan restaurant, and Gu Jinglan got a private room.

The private room required a minimum spend, and ordering extra dishes would be wasteful, so Gu Jinglan added a few bottles of alcohol to the order.

Qi Yanyu wondered if he was trying to get him drunk for some reason—not that he’d have minded. But Gu Jinglan never touched the alcohol, and when they left, he took the bottles with him, likely just to meet the minimum charge.

Feeling disappointed and confused, Qi Yanyu wondered why he was being so impatient.

After the dishes were served in the private room, Gu Jinglan served him food, pouring water or drinks for him.

"You’ve been exhausted lately, haven’t you?" Because Qi Yanyu had slept all morning and noon that day.

Qi Yanyu said to him, "I was out of it this morning, sorry..." He was actually explaining that he hadn’t refused Jiang Tiyan in time because he was too exhausted. On top of that, Jiang Tiyan had threatened to tell his family, so he hadn’t acted in what he considered the "right" way.

But Gu Jinglan didn’t seem to mind much: "It’s fine. When you were sleeping this morning..."

Qi Yanyu looked at him, expecting him to express dislike for Jiang Tiyan or his own behavior.

"I just wanted to hold you."

"..." Qi Yanyu, usually sharp-tongued, was now rendered speechless by Gu Jinglan’s relentless moves. Before, he might’ve teased: Go ahead and hug me now.

Gu Jinglan hadn’t expected his words to make the other blush so hard.

Not wanting to embarrass him further, they focused on eating.

The movie started a little past eight, and they’d be cutting it close to get back to the dorm. Maybe Gu Jinglan hadn’t planned to go back—Qi Yanyu had even checked the movie’s end time, realizing they wouldn’t make it.

During the movie, Qi Yanyu nodded off four times. Once, he woke up just in time to see the Godfather-esque white mouse.

For as long as he slept, Gu Jinglan watched him. Occasionally, he reached out, hesitating but persistent, gently steadying Qi Yanyu’s head as it drooped sideways.

Noticing Qi Yanyu waking up, Gu Jinglan teased, "Perfect timing—you woke up for the best part."

Qi Yanyu told himself he couldn’t fall asleep again. He struggled to stay awake a little longer, but soon his head tilted onto Gu Jinglan’s shoulder.

Gu Jinglan turned to look at him. Qi Yanyu’s lashes were closed, so Gu Jinglan slipped an arm around his waist.

By the time the movie ended, Qi Yanyu had slept soundly.

The theater had cleared out, and the cleaners were already sweeping before Qi Yanyu finally woke up. He glanced at the time in a panic—originally, if they hurried, they might have made it back to the dorm. Now, it was completely impossible.

"Wh-where to now?" Qi Yanyu stammered.

"Should we get a hotel room to sleep, or..." Gu Jinglan paused, "come to my place?"

Not wanting Qi Yanyu to think he was being indecent, Gu Jinglan added defensively, "I have several guest rooms at home."

On the way back to Gu Jinglan's place, while entering the passcode at the front gate, Gu Jinglan whispered to Qi Yanyu, "The code is 860409."

It sounded like a birthdate. Qi Yanyu looked up in surprise, "Aren’t you afraid... I might break in and steal something..." He rambled—who shares their door code with someone they’ve only brought home twice?

"Nothing in my place is worth stealing," Gu Jinglan replied. "If you want to 'steal' something, just tell me, and I’ll give it to you."

*What if I want to steal your heart? Would you give me your sincerity?*

Qi Yanyu only dared to think it, never speak it. He was afraid he couldn’t hold back the impulse to give everything, to eagerly hand over his entire heart.

He kept his breathing shallow as they entered the house together.

He had been here once before at night, but he couldn’t recall the details of that first visit.

He only remembered waking up that day to see Gu Jinglan sitting in an armchair by his bed, reading a book.

The courtyard had permanently lit decorative lanterns styled in traditional Chinese square designs. Yet the open lawn and the pool glinting pale blue in the distance leaned modern.

He wanted to ask Gu Jinglan if he had ever brought any other men or women home alone.

He had asked Nanny Fang before, and she said Gu Jinglan had brought classmates home before, including girls. He didn’t actually care—it was just his own mind playing tricks.

He wanted to know, but knowing would surely make him uneasy.

But this was the first time Gu Jinglan had brought him home since saying he was pursuing him. In this tangled, giddy happiness, Qi Yanyu didn’t ask about past guests.

Happiness didn’t come easy, and neither would protecting it.

Inside, the house was dark, save for the nightlight on the stairs for Nanny Fang.

"Is Nanny Fang home?" Qi Yanyu lowered his voice, treading lightly so as not to wake her.

"She’s long asleep by now." Tonight, Nanny Fang wasn’t awakened by their return, having retired early.

Gu Jinglan smiled, holding his hand as they passed the kitchen. Opening the fridge for a drink, he spotted chilled watermelon. "Want some?" *Little fool,* he thought.

Qi Yanyu nodded. His stomach pains had been less frequent lately. Sometimes he wondered—was his stomach trouble partly heartache radiating outward, or was it just his emotions acting up?

Gu Jinglan cut several slices for him before leading him upstairs to his room.

The entire time, Qi Yanyu stayed silent, afraid of waking Nanny Fang.

It clicked for Gu Jinglan—that’s why he was so quiet. Once in his room, he asked, "Want to play games?"

Qi Yanyu hesitated. *Shouldn’t we be doing... that kind of thing instead?*

Even though Gu Jinglan had said he was pursuing him, their relationship already felt like they were past that stage.

But Qi Yanyu wasn’t exactly a stranger to gaming either. He nodded, "Sure." Gu Jinglan turned on the PC, and Qi Yanyu launched *League of Legends*.

Yet Gu Jinglan, sitting in his chair, pulled Qi Yanyu into an embrace, whispering in his ear, "So my baby’s not so little, huh?"

Gu Jinglan held him, his chin hooked over Qi Yanyu’s shoulder.

Qi Yanyu didn’t speak, just steadying his breath. Eyes closed, he occasionally peeked out, mashing his mouse until his champion died, the screen going gray.

Gu Jinglan's lips grazed Qi Yanyu's neck, making it hard for him to breathe. His knuckles turned white from pain, trembling slightly, yet he controlled himself, not uttering a sound.

Qi Yanyu wanted to lower his head, but his left hand on the keyboard couldn't properly time the activation of his Q and W abilities, and his mouse failed to secure even a single CS.

He spammed clicks on the keyboard and mouse but couldn't manage to kill his opponent. This was his beloved League of Legends, yet in the top lane, he was getting farmed like a minion.

In his ear was Gu Jinglan's breath, as if the other had noticed his poor performance, chuckling lightly, "Need me to carry you, sweetheart?"

With difficulty, he forced out the words, "N-no." His fingers, already pale, turned red from his own nails digging into them.

"Next time we play, duo queue with me, okay?" The grudge-holding Gu Jinglan whispered in his ear, nipping playfully, though his hands were far less gentle than his tone, nearly making Qi Yanyu cry out.

Qi Yanyu endured, his hair falling over his brows as he hung his head. Needless to say, his screen went gray with another death timer. He reached out to grab Gu Jinglan's hand, signaling him to go easy.

But to Gu Jinglan, it felt like immense encouragement. Pressing close behind Qi Yanyu's neck, he gently turned his head to the side, aiming to claim his lips.

"Stop... I'll get reported." Qi Yanyu feared his account would be ruined from dying too much.

"Darling will boost you later."