Chapter 47 So Be Good

Chapter 47 So Be Good

Jiang Tianyi looked up, her expression indescribable, and smiled at him.

"How can you be like this."

She called out "Guan Junshan," maybe a complaint, or maybe she was acting spoiled, but her tone was indifferent.

Guan Junshan didn't take the bait. He walked over, quickly reached out and gave Jiang Tianyi's shoulder a brief squeeze, then asked, "Want to go to the next place?"

"Alright." Jiang Tianyi blinked, quickly gave in, and didn't seem inclined to pursue the matter. She took out her phone, took two selfies, and turned around to instruct her assistant: "I've sent them. Process these two for me; I need to send them to them tonight."

Then she left the underwater restaurant.

Her back was close to Guan Junshan's shoulder, her steps were brisk, and she still looked happy and sweet.

The misunderstanding was casually brushed aside. And no one would take the joke seriously anymore.

The ocean park was huge, and walking around it was physically draining.

In the afternoon, the number of people in the park gradually increased, and sometimes the fast pass might require a short wait in line.

When it was time for the dolphin show, people swarmed towards the open-air theater. Lin Haoda was swept to the back of the line by the crowd. When he entered the venue, he looked up and spotted Guan Junshan in the central section of the stands, sitting in a seat with two empty seats next to him.

Lin Haoda walked over, stood sideways in the aisle, and asked, "Mr. Guan, where's Miss Jiang?"

Guan Junshan was looking at work messages, without lifting his head, and answered, "She said she was hot just now, and then said she had to step out to take a phone call."

Lin Haoda was about to say more, but then someone came through the aisle, saying "Excuse me, let me pass." Lin Haoda leaned slightly toward Guan Junshan, trying to give them room.

But the aisle was really narrow, and Lin Haoda wasn't properly seated. The last person passing was a bit chubby and bumped into Lin Haoda. His knee knocked heavily against Guan Junshan's. Before he could even cry out in pain, he lost his balance and fell directly towards Guan Junshan.

Fortunately, Guan Junshan was quick to react and reached out to support his waist.

Lin Haoda let out a yelp, his face turning pale. With everyone watching, he almost fell into Guan Junshan's arms. Not caring about anything else, he grabbed Guan Junshan's arm like a lifeline, barely steadying himself.

"Lin Haoda." Guan Junshan's voice dropped. He was about to scold him when more people came this way.

He immediately grabbed Lin Haoda's wrist and yanked him down. Lin Haoda fell onto the empty seat next to him.

The seats in the open-air theater were all plastic. Guan Junshan was too strong, and Lin Haoda fell so hard his butt felt like it split into eight pieces.

He was in so much pain tears came to his eyes. Grimacing in pain, he shook the spot where he had been pulled, his eyes and lips were red. "How come you're so strong!"

Guan Junshan snorted coldly, his tone was harsh. "Some people just have to fidget. Even kids know to stay in their seats."

"And you've got such a temper." Lin Haoda couldn't win an argument with him. He rubbed his rear and muttered softly.

There were still a few minutes until the performance started, and Jiang Tianyi hadn't returned yet.

Lin Haoda opened his phone, hesitantly scrolled through his contacts. Then the lights in the theater suddenly dimmed.

The tourists in the audience applauded expectantly. Lin Haoda thought about it, found it too loud, and put his phone away.

His peripheral vision caught the empty seat next to him. He stood up, about to move there, when Guan Junshan suddenly turned his face and looked at him, frowning, looking displeased. "What are you moving for again?"

"I want to move over there." Lin Haoda licked his lips, looking a bit hurt. "Otherwise where will Miss Jiang sit when she comes back."

Guan Junshan was silent.

After a few seconds, he spoke, telling Lin Haoda to 'just sit here' and 'don't move.'

He didn't answer. He was as domineering and autocratic as ever. He controlled the seating and Lin Haoda too. Even though he thought Lin Haoda was restless, he didn't allow him to easily leave his sight. He seemed hard to talk to and wouldn't tolerate any backtalk.

Lin Haoda stared at his profile, still wanting to say something about Miss Jiang. Then the music started, and the cheers and whistles around him drowned out his thoughts.

He turned his face to the stage, sat for a bit, and reluctantly began to clap along.

But after a few minutes of watching, Lin Haoda quickly forgot the unpleasantness, because he was the kind of person who was kind and loved to be part of the show. Every time the dolphins leaped out of the pool and touched the balloons, he was always the first to clap in response.

He also had many questions and was very curious.

During the seal arithmetic segment, he watched very intently and seriously, asking the same question several times. Since he couldn't get anyone else's attention, only Guan Junshan, who was closest, could answer.

The surrounding environment was too noisy, so Lin Haoda had to lean in very close and ask, "Why are they so fast at arithmetic?"

His warm breath tickled Guan Junshan's ear. Guan Junshan's fingers tightened slightly. He glanced sideways at him but didn't move away.

"I see." Lin Haoda quickly understood, but also felt a bit disappointed. "I thought it was real."

"Haven't you watched any science programs?"

"Huh?" Lin Haoda looked up, his expression dazed.

Guan Junshan's tone was very cold, and didn't match the innocent atmosphere here. "I thought that was common knowledge for any adult."

Lin Haoda froze for a few seconds, then realized. He frowned slightly and said to him, "Mr. Guan, don't talk that way."

Guan Junshan lowered his eyes to look at him, his intention unknown, silently waiting for him to finish.

Lin Haoda hesitated for a moment, then said half dismissively and half relieved, "...Never mind. Anyway, it'll be Miss Jiang who suffers in the end."

After saying that, he felt a little regretful, thinking that after spending so much time with Guan Junshan, even his speech was becoming more and more cold and heartless.

But because he felt uncomfortable, he ended up not taking it back.

Guan Junshan looked at him for a while, then averted his gaze. Everyone around was laughing at the cute seals or taking photos with their phones, but he sat there in silence for a long time.

Perhaps Lin Haoda's words were too much of a downer, momentarily making him forget to lash out. The noise around him became like a vortex, a vacuum that could suck a person in, rendering him speechless, emotions piling up in his chest, hard to find an outlet.

And the warmth and scent coming from Lin Haoda beside him made things even more confusing. It also left Guan Junshan briefly dazed, suddenly feeling that what he said was not wrong.

Because in a few years, in the life that everyone had planned for him, he would come here with the child he had with Jiang Tianyi, possibly accompanied by a nanny or driver. They would take the VIP entrance to get in early, sit in the best seats. After watching the show for a while, the child might ask him a similar question: "Dad, why are seals so smart?"

Guan Junshan imagined the expression he might have on his face at that time. All the impatience and dismissiveness would have to be well hidden.

Regardless of whether his marriage went smoothly, he didn't want to become another Guan Yongyue.

So he needed to answer like a truly good father: "See those trainers next to them, baby? Humans and animals are good friends, so the seals will listen to them."

As for what the correct answer actually was, it probably didn't matter anymore. Jiang Tianyi would be sitting next to him, already used to it, or maybe she had long lost interest in tolerating this kind of life. She wouldn't come in; the nanny would sit with them instead. Anyway, it would all be the same.

This would be his real future. Even if everyone said, "Tomorrow may not bring what you expect," for Guan Junshan, compared to the "future" he could look forward to or create himself, all the roads that had already been arranged and become established reality were the most solid foundation for happiness.

But what about Lin Haoda? Where would he be?

Would he still go into the open-air theater to watch a seal show?

Who would he be sitting beside then, and whose life would his future days be entwined with?

Guan Junshan couldn't help but wonder: if Lin Haoda asked those naïve questions again, how would the person watching the show with him respond? If the answers were patient, detailed, without a hint of impatience or mockery, would Lin Haoda still remember him?

Remember that one rather unsatisfying viewing experience, and the perfunctory replies from a man named Guan Junshan?

Or would too much time have passed, with too little contact, so even that memory got erased altogether?

Probably the latter, most likely—but given Guan Junshan's current temperament, that was simply unacceptable.

No matter how far in the future, the hypothetical Lin Haoda should not and must not forget him. Wasn't that only natural? Is it so hard to remember someone? He should have kissed him back at the winery, even if it changed nothing in the end, even if it was meaningless. At least then Lin Haoda wouldn't dare to so easily erase him from memory.

After all, kissing, love, and marriage were three entirely different things. Guan Junshan could afford to give some of them, but not all.

Of course, thinking about all this was just a pang of regret.

Guan Junshan felt he hadn't changed his mind, nor did he intend to fall in love with anyone. But he could no longer tolerate this Lin Haoda hovering around him, saying things that invited endless speculation, his attitude ambiguous—drawing close, then backing away. Whenever Guan Junshan reached out, he flew even further.

It wasn't supposed to come to this so soon. These vague thoughts, these feelings he didn't know how to articulate properly, should not have been spoken out loud at this moment.

Maybe because the theater was crowded and noisy, the air thick and stifling. Lin Haoda kept inching closer, his shoulder almost pressed against Guan Junshan's, and his pale, slender fingers kept waving back and forth in front of his eyes. Finally, Guan Junshan could take it no longer. He grabbed Lin Haoda's hand, his palm tightening slightly, some emotion swelling in his chest, to the brink of losing control.

"Lin Haoda." His dry lips parted slightly, and he heard his own voice, low and a little hoarse.

Guan Junshan let out a breath, not looking at him, and continued, "…Do you have any idea how distracting you are?"

After a few seconds, Lin Haoda let out an "Ah?" His expression was blank, thinking Guan Junshan was scolding him for chattering during the show, so he apologized, "Sorry, Mr. Guan. I'll move over a bit."

But Guan Junshan held his fingers tightly, not letting him pull away.

"Always saying these inexplicable things," Guan Junshan said, his expression faint but his brow furrowed. He met Lin Haoda's eyes for a moment, then suddenly raised his other hand and touched his cheek. "Making people overthink and then leaving them confused."

Lin Haoda flinched, his neck shrinking. In the dim light, his eyes widened a little, as if he couldn't believe it. He froze there, his thoughts scattered, his gaze going blank for a few seconds.

Guan Junshan withdrew his fingers, pursed his lips as if he had regained control, his tone softening slightly as he said to Lin Haoda, "Right now, the person with me is you."

He seemed to let out a soft sigh in that huge, crowded, slightly smelly open-air amphitheater, looking helpless, his heart softening with no way out, and then he told Lin Haoda, "So be good, alright?"

The spot where his fingers had touched Lin Haoda's cheek inexplicably began to burn. Lin Haoda stared silently at this handsome man, a faint sense of dislocation rising within him—as if he had stolen a dream that wasn't real.

Then he was quiet for a long time, lowered his eyes submissively, and hummed in acknowledgment.

They sat there holding hands for a while, neither speaking. Then, the animals on stage began to bow, signaling the end of the first half of the show.

The lights gradually brightened. People stood up from their seats and started moving in their direction.

Lin Haoda tried to pull his hand away again, but Guan Junshan still didn't let go.

The hanging lights from the steel beams of the ceiling stung his eyes. Lin Haoda gently closed his eyes and then said in a low voice, "Mr. Guan, you're hurting me."

Guan Junshan squeezed his fingertips hard for no apparent reason. Then he hummed in acknowledgment, and finally let Lin Haoda go.