Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Gu Jinglan: "Mind if I look through your phone?"

Qi Yanyu took two seconds longer than Gu Jinglan to hesitate before unlocking his phone and handing it over.

Gu Jinglan opened WeChat, retracing Qi Yanyu’s earlier steps.

He was after one thing: Qi Yanyu’s chat history with Jiang Tiyan.

Next, he combed through Qi Yanyu’s call logs and texts—Jiang Tiyan had called several times, all under the name Qi Yanyu had saved.

"Who is this?" Gu Jinglan began his interrogation.

Qi Yanyu stared wide-eyed. "You didn’t ask me earlier—"

"Ask now, then. What stopped you before?"

Qi Yanyu answered the previous question: "Just a friend."

"How’d you meet?" Gu Jinglan checked Jiang Tiyan’s profile again. His feed was practically barren—only one post that read “idiot.”

He scrolled down to their chat log. Between insults, the only recent exchange was Jiang Tiyan dropping a pin—some restaurant.

"Did you go out to eat with him?"

"Yeah."

A shadow crossed Gu Jinglan’s face.

"Just grabbing food with a buddy," Qi Yanyu said, remembering how Jiang Tiyan had shaken him down, which put him in a funk. "Seriously, he’s got a girlfriend."

"—Bullshit," Gu Jinglan muttered.

"No sign of her on his feed," Gu Jinglan added bluntly.

"Maybe he doesn’t want to upset his fans," Qi Yanyu lied. He didn't really believe Jiang Tiyan had a girlfriend—he just assumed. A celeb like him? Definitely getting laid.

"What else did you two do together?" Gu Jinglan kept scrolling. The conversation history was sparse—probably because Qi Yanyu had deleted some stuff.

"Just kicked it," Qi Yanyu said vaguely, leaving out the blackmail. "Our families know each other."

Gu Jinglan’s eyes went cold. He remembered Jiang Tiyan swearing he was Qi Yanyu’s “real boyfriend,” claiming Qi Yanyu flirted with other guys just to piss him off while he was away filming.

"Were you single before we got together?"

Qi Yanyu didn’t even blink. "Of course."

So who was lying—Qi Yanyu or Jiang Tiyan?

"Then in the future, if you’re going out with friends or for dinner, give me a heads-up?"

Gu Jinglan was dead serious. Qi Yanyu thought for a moment before nodding. "Sure."

Following Qi Yanyu’s earlier path, Gu Jinglan checked his shopping apps—barer than his own—and moved on to the photo gallery.

The gallery was a ghost town. Not a single picture.

Gu Jinglan raised an eyebrow. "You never take photos?" "Then start taking some with me," Qi Yanyu said. "Seriously?"

Gu Jinglan had initially intended to check in on Qi Yanyu, but now he felt nothing but joy. Yet not a trace of emotion showed on his face.

He handed the phone back to Qi Yanyu. "Alright."

After eating a few packs of candy, Qi Yanyu watched Gu Jinglan take out his laptop to catch up on work. They had gone on a trip the week before last, and Gu Jinglan had spent the entire previous weekend playing with him—so he must have been quite busy.

Outside, the sunset painted the sky with streaks of color, and dusk crept in quietly.

Qi Yanyu leaned closer to look at the section of the competition Gu Jinglan was handling, resting his head against Gu Jinglan’s cheek.

Gu Jinglan, who had originally been typing with his left hand, now wrapped his left arm around Qi Yanyu’s waist, continuing to type one-handed while skillfully operating the touchpad with his right.

"What is it, Brother Yu? Any suggestions?"

"I'm just watching."

"Then can I take a look at Brother Yu's body later?"

Gu Jinglan effortlessly balanced work and flirtation. Holding Qi Yanyu close, he worked on building a statistical model using SPSS.

Qi Yanyu pretended not to care, so Gu Jinglan asked again:

"If I travel out of town for my defense later, will you come with me?"

"Hasn’t the statistical modeling defense always been held at Kanbei University of Finance and Economics?"

"It changed this year," Gu Jinglan replied. "It’s being held in a southwestern city now."

"Say please," Qi Yanyu said.

Gu Jinglan pulled him into an embrace, his breath warm against Qi Yanyu’s neck and ear. "Please, Brother Yu, come with me."

This man could act even more affectionately than Qi Yanyu had imagined. The moment he heard Gu Jinglan pleading, his heart melted completely. He could only agree “generously” and “with feigned indifference.” "Tch. Fine."

Gu Jinglan had clearly been spoiled since childhood—never lacking love from his family. He could easily turn on the charm with Qi Yanyu without any hesitation.

Qi Yanyu thought that if he went with Gu Jinglan, they could spend a few days exploring the southwest before returning.

Since Gu Jinglan was running data analysis and there were still over 40 minutes left in the journey, Qi Yanyu closed his eyes for a nap.

Noticing the sudden silence beside him, Gu Jinglan glanced over and saw Qi Yanyu's head drooping as he fell asleep.

He reached out and pulled him closer, and soon Qi Yanyu’s head tilted onto Gu Jinglan’s shoulder.

Gu Jinglan had originally been comparing simulation results, but now the weight of Qi Yanyu’s head rested on his shoulder. Tilting his face slightly, he saw the pale, peaceful expression on Qi Yanyu’s sleeping face.

He kissed Qi Yanyu’s cheek affectionately.

Setting aside the data, he gently cradled Qi Yanyu’s face where it rested on his shoulder, worried that he might not be comfortable.

His fingers traced the faint yellow bruise on the back of Qi Yanyu’s hand, rubbing it gently for a while. When he looked again, the man was deeply asleep.

He should have bought business-class tickets earlier—then his Yanyu could have slept more comfortably.

As they neared Haishi, Qi Yanyu began to stir.

Actually, he was woken by kisses. Seeing that he was still asleep, his features softened in slumber, Gu Jinglan kissed him a few more times before reluctantly calling out, "Hey, we're in Haishi now."

"If you want to sleep, you can rest properly at the hotel later." Gu Jinglan brushed the back of his knuckles lightly against Qi Yanyu’s cheek.

Once they arrived in Haishi, Qi Yanyu thought he wouldn’t sleep anymore—it was rare for them to travel out of town for fun.

“I’m hungry.”

“We’ll grab food right after we get off.”

As long as Qi Yanyu was fed and taken out to play, he’d be happy. Gu Jinglan thought, Qi Yanyu was such an easy keeper.

After leaving the train station, Gu Jinglan took a taxi to the city center. He had booked a hotel in the boardwalk area, where they’d spend the night and have fun.

Qi Yanyu checked out restaurant ratings on Yelp, and after getting out of the cab, the two chose a place to eat.

Because it was packed to the gills that night, Gu Jinglan couldn’t get a booth.

The reason he wanted a private room was so he could hold Qi Yanyu. He really liked holding him. Qi Yanyu ate slower than him, so when Gu Jinglan finished, Qi Yanyu would still be leisurely eating. That gave him the chance to pull Qi Yanyu close and let his hands wander.

Though his wandering was just limited to touching or hugging Qi Yanyu’s waist or legs. Otherwise, he’d kiss Qi Yanyu’s face or occasionally ask why he wasn’t eating this or that.

Qi Yanyu usually replied, “It’s fine. I eat everything.”

He truly did eat everything—he just wouldn’t order things he disliked. But he ate slowly and sparingly. Watching his appetite, Gu Jinglan thought it was like a bird’s. He hugged Qi Yanyu and said, “Try some of this crab.”

While waiting for their food, Qi Yanyu thought the restaurant was like the place was hosting a concert. Even an ordinary place was as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

It was Halloween night, and the boardwalk area was lively. Young people dressed up and filled the streets and squares.

Qi Yanyu scanned the crowd for young women, hoping none of them were Jiang Tiyan’s fans.

Then two girls came over to ask Gu Jinglan for his WeChat, thinking they were both available. Gu Jinglan said, “My boyfriend is right here.”

Only then did the girls glance at Qi Yanyu, wondering how someone so plain-looking could be with someone as gorgeous as Gu Jinglan.

After they left, Qi Yanyu went back to studying the paper menu, checking out the desserts for the night.

Gu Jinglan asked, “You okay?”

Qi Yanyu said no. A photographer approached, offering to take their picture, but Qi Yanyu turned it down right away.

Gu Jinglan told him, “We’ll take our own photos tonight,” still unaware of Qi Yanyu’s worries.

After dinner, they headed to the hotel they’d booked in advance. Gu Jinglan had splurged on a suite since nearby hotels in the boardwalk area were fully booked.

As soon as they entered the suite, Qi Yanyu flopped onto the gaudy gold sofa in the living room, face up.

Gu Jinglan was still turning on the lights and adjusting the AC when he saw Qi Yanyu sprawled out. He walked over, pinched Qi Yanyu’s lips, then leaned down to kiss him.

Outside, Gu Jinglan would only lightly press his lips to Qi Yanyu’s cheek or mouth—never too deep.

But in private, he’d devour Qi Yanyu’s lips, sucking and nibbling.

His tongue pried open Qi Yanyu’s teeth, exploring every inch of his mouth.

Five or six minutes later, Gu Jinglan finally pulled back, seeing Qi Yanyu dazed and red as a lobster. “Making a mess there?”

Qi Yanyu wiped his mouth—his lips had been left slightly open from the kiss, couldn’t help the drool.

“Yu-ge,” Gu Jinglan teased, wanting to mess with him further, “you get worked up so easy?”

If he keeps teasing Qi Yanyu like this, Brother Yu might just take back his favor.

"I was just kissing him, I didn't do anything else," Gu Jinglan said, seeing how truly flustered Qi Yanyu got—turning red at the slightest tease. "Brother Yu, with reactions like that, you must be so easy to pin down, huh?"

Qi Yanyu stubbornly retorted, "Not easy at all."

Gu Jinglan laughed again and asked, "Then would any random stranger out there easily steal my Brother Yu away?"

In his heart, Qi Yanyu thought, *No, I’m not interested in anyone else. You’re the only one for me.* But he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he replied, "So you better keep a close eye on your Brother Yu."

Smug, eyes bright, Gu Jinglan pulled him in for another kiss.

After flirting with him for over forty minutes, Gu Jinglan took out the clothes from his bag. "Change right here for me."

His tone was casual, since his hands were already working on the buttons of Qi Yanyu’s shirt.

Between kisses, he talked Qi Yanyu into undressing and then putting on the cosplay outfit.

Qi Yanyu muttered, "I don’t wanna." But he was only pretending to refuse—he just wanted to hear Gu Jinglan beg him some more.

Gu Jinglan "pleaded," "Please, baby, put it on for me."

He called him "baby."

The hotel streets were packed with Halloween partiers, so wearing cosplay would fit the occasion. But Qi Yanyu just wanted to see how far Gu Jinglan would go to "beg" him.

"Baby, come on, put it on and let me see."

Who could resist being called "baby" over and over? Dazed, Qi Yanyu just gazed at Gu Jinglan, who kissed him with half-lidded eyes, lashes lowered. When he noticed Qi Yanyu watching him, Gu Jinglan kissed him even more fiercely.

"Baby, take it off for me."