TLDMDTBS Chapter 63
by VolareJi Ruan discovered that Gu Xiuyi seemed to be dedicated to giving him a love that was ordinary among peers.
Good morning kisses, goodnight kisses, sending flowers, picking up and dropping off from school, candlelight dinners were all basic practices.
Ji Ruan casually mentioned that many classmates had recently gone to see a certain movie, and without a word, Gu Xiuyi bought the tickets, even slyly opting for the second-to-last row.
He had recently consulted with Li Sui’an on essential love courses, fully aware that couples watching movies weren’t really there for the film’s quality; the further back they sat, the more they could secretly engage in some intimate activities.
Like stealing kisses from Ji Ruan and caressing him.
Wearing casual clothes and holding hands with his lover while walking through the mall was a first-time experience for Gu Xiuyi.
Ji Ruan was led by the hand, his arm brushing against Gu Xiuyi’s; he found it quite unusual.
In order to fit the youthful atmosphere of the cinema, Gu Xiuyi wore a very simple casual shirt and half-framed glasses, leaving behind his expensive watches. Standing beside Ji Ruan, they truly looked like an ordinary college couple at first glance.
Just a bit taller than others, better looking than most, and Ji Ruan was much cuter than anyone else.
“How is it? Are we going to be late?”
On the escalator, Ji Ruan anxiously tugged at Gu Xiuyi’s wrist to check the time, only to find he wasn’t wearing a watch, so he fished out his phone from his pocket instead.
He had napped in the afternoon and lazed in bed a bit, so by the time they reached the mall, he was already late and probably missing the movie’s start, making Ji Ruan very regretful.
“It’s fine,” Gu Xiuyi soothed him, “It’s okay if we’re late. I heard the first ten minutes of that movie are boring; if we miss it, then we miss it.”
Does the movie director know that?
Ji Ruan was helpless, pulling at his hand: “I meant, can we still make it to buy a bucket of popcorn?”
Gu Xiuyi: “……”
Gu Xiuyi wrapped an arm around Ji Ruan’s shoulder to avoid the crowd as they went down the escalator: “That stuff isn’t digestible; if you eat it, you’ll get a stomachache later.”
“I can eat less.”
Ji Ruan lifted his face, his big eyes turned a bit pitiful: “Everyone eats popcorn when they watch movies. If you don’t buy it for me, when we go in, everyone will have it and I’ll be the only one without.”
“……”
With just a short sentence, Ji Ruan hit Gu Xiuyi’s sore spot directly.
How could he let Ji Ruan be the only one without snacks?
What others have, his baby must also have, and more and better.
“…… Fine.” Gu Xiuyi compromised.
Ji Ruan was delighted, but before he could display his triumphant smile, he heard Gu Xiuyi say: “Buying it is one thing; eating it is another. I’ll only let you have five pieces.”
?!
Ji Ruan felt as if struck by lightning.
In a daze, it even seemed to him that Gu Xiuyi’s posture while paying became indifferent.
He followed behind Gu Xiuyi and argued: “Five pieces?! Are you joking? Even kindergarten kids can eat half a bucket!”
“…… Five pieces is really too much, Gu Zhong. You can’t oppress the masses just because they don’t resist, you know what ‘extreme means backlash’ means?”
“Let’s negotiate, seven pieces, just seven pieces.”
Gu Xiuyi stopped, holding the fragrant popcorn and looking back at Ji Ruan, his eyes full of laughter: “Alright, kiss me once, and I’ll let you eat ten pieces.”
Ten pieces!
Ji Ruan’s eyes lit up.
Wow, that’s double!
Is there really such a good deal in the world?!
“You can’t backtrack.”
“I absolutely won’t backtrack.”
“Mwah!!”
Ten minutes later, Ji Ruan sat with a bucket of popcorn in the second-to-last row, looking utterly forlorn.
He belatedly realized he was being foolish.
He actually believed Gu Xiuyi’s nonsense.
He glared at Gu Xiuyi fiercely: “You were actually planning to give me ten pieces from the start, weren’t you?”
He did intend to give ten pieces, but he knew Ji Ruan’s expectation was probably around seven to eight; so he purposely said five. By the time he added it to ten, Ji Ruan would feel like he hit the jackpot and would initiate a kiss himself!
The movie had long started, and although the theater was not crowded and their seats were near the back, Ji Ruan was still afraid of disturbing others, keeping his voice low, resembling a little citizen scammed by a bully, powerless to fight back.
The bully smiled slightly, taking away the little citizen’s bucket of popcorn, silent yet seemingly saying a thousand words.
A wolf’s ambition was blatantly clear.
Ji Ruan simply wanted to knock his own skull open to see what was inside, wondering how he had been fooled by such a crude trick.
But now that the matter had come to this, it was pointless to say more; he deserved to be scammed by such a slipup, Ji Ruan could only endure it.
“Gu Xiuyi.”
“What is it, baby?” Gu Xiuyi leaned closer with a smile.
This smile, in Ji Ruan’s eyes, turned into a capitalist’s arrogant grin.
He extended his fair finger, poking Gu Xiuyi’s shoulder one by one: “You are not allowed to kiss me until midnight tonight.”
The capitalist’s arrogant smile froze: “……?”
This expression somewhat balanced Ji Ruan’s heart. He turned his head, no longer looking at Gu Xiuyi, concentrating on watching the movie.
“Wait, Ji Ruan……”
“Don’t talk to me.”
“Baby……”
“Swindler!”
The Gu family swindler, who had dominated for many years, finally faced his career Waterloo in the IMAX lobby of a cinema at the age of thirty-one.
Ten pieces of popcorn had triggered his first emotional crisis with Ji Ruan.
Fortunately, the movie was indeed very boring.
So boring that the weekend afternoon attendance was less than thirty percent.
It was so boring that Ji Ruan, who bore the same surname of Ji, could not resist the drowsiness and fell asleep.
His lips slightly parted, long eyelashes hung down, as his head moved bit by bit, his lashes trembled gently, like a butterfly flicking its nimble wings.
Ji Ruan always dozed off like this, looking as if he would fall over at any moment, yet just managing to keep his balance.
Gu Xiuyi gently cradled Ji Ruan’s face; though not plump, it was smooth and tender, providing a very pleasant touch.
He cautiously let Ji Ruan lean on his shoulder. Under the dimming light of the cinema screen, Ji Ruan looked like a translucent crystal doll, shallow breaths brushing against Gu Xiuyi’s neck, a sensation so subtle it was hard to detect yet evoked a heartbeat that couldn’t be ignored.
Gu Xiuyi couldn’t help but pinch his face.
Perhaps sensing the intrusiveness even in his sleep, Ji Ruan slightly furrowed his brows but didn’t wake up.
Gu Xiuyi then took the opportunity to poke Ji Ruan’s nose and touch his eyelashes.
He had been single for thirty years without sharing such closeness with anyone, and had never been patient enough to watch someone sleep for so long.
Consequently, he had also never seen such long and beautiful eyelashes, truly resembling the wings of some butterfly, or the feathers of a swan, itching at the palms.
When awake, he didn’t allow kisses; when asleep, he could definitely kiss him, right?
With Ji Ruan’s sparkling lips presented before him, how could he not kiss?
Gu Xiuyi, feeling no guilt, held Ji Ruan’s chin and lightly pecked his lips.
Hmm, still asleep, deep in slumber.
Gu Xiuyi decided to push his luck, beginning to plant kisses on Ji Ruan’s eyelids, eyelashes, cheeks, and nose.
Until he was about to kiss Ji Ruan’s entire face, Ji Ruan still slept soundly.
Suddenly, Gu Xiuyi felt a pang of worry.
His child could sleep like this; what if he was too unsafe going out alone in the future?
Just as he thought about it, a light sigh came from below.
“How long are you going to keep kissing?”
Gu Xiuyi paused, then naturally wrapped his arms around Ji Ruan: “You’re awake?”
Ji Ruan opened his eyes: “You woke me up by kissing me.”
The one who had said he wouldn’t allow kisses until midnight tonight didn’t actually look that angry after being kissed.
Gu Xiuyi immediately understood Ji Ruan’s attitude, pulling him closer into his embrace, apologizing without burden: “I was wrong.”
Ji Ruan hmphed: “Wrong about what?”
Gu Xiuyi suppressed a laugh: “I shouldn’t have tricked you, like using ten pieces of popcorn to trick you into kissing me once.”
And he got glared at again.
“But you were really cute when you did that.”
Ji Ruan’s lips moved, trying to maintain a façade: “…… Then I want to eat five more pieces of popcorn.”
Gu Xiuyi gently replied: “No problem.”
“For dinner, I want a small steak.”
“Okay.”
“I still want to eat ice cream after this.”
“……”
Gu Xiuyi fell silent; ice cream wasn’t good for the stomach.
He pinched Ji Ruan’s chin: “You’re getting a bit too greedy, baby.”
Who knew Ji Ruan would be a bit proud, immediately pouting his lips, distancing himself from Gu Xiuyi? Not only did he not allow kisses, but he also seemed ready to not say anything before midnight.
“Okay…… Okay.” Gu Xiuyi compromised, pulling Ji Ruan back: “Ice cream is fine; it’s summer, so eating a little is no big deal.”
Ji Ruan triumphed, confidently stretching in Gu Xiuyi’s embrace.
Gu Xiuyi picked a great spot; it was dark and secluded, far from the crowd, where they could do anything without being noticed.
Ji Ruan quietly tilted his face: “Then kiss me again.”
And he received a gentle kiss.
·
After the movie ended, Gu Xiuyi kept his promise, dutifully going to buy Ji Ruan ice cream.
To prevent Ji Ruan from throwing a tantrum about wanting more, Gu Xiuyi directly cut it off, telling Ji Ruan to wait in the break area while he bought whatever he wanted.
Ji Ruan had no objections; he wasn’t particularly greedy for snacks, and pressing for ice cream was just a form of pampering.
Who told Gu Xiuyi to trick him just now?
There were several claw machines outside the cinema, and while waiting, Ji Ruan got bored and exchanged a few coins to start playing.
But the machine was very difficult.
Ji Ruan did embroidery, and while he had no other great strengths, his hands were steady.
Every time, he could aim for the prettiest bunny plush, and each time he could grab it, but the claw was too loose, failing to hold the plush all the way to the box, causing it to drop midway.
Ji Ruan often heard Han Xiaolin and the others say that the most insidious device in the commercial district was the claw machine.
Initially, he didn’t believe it, but after experiencing it, he realized that merchants were all the same, black-hearted.
The person who designed this machine might be more cunning than Gu Xiuyi.
“Ji Ruan?” A familiar voice came from behind.
Ji Ruan had a bad premonition.
He turned around and indeed saw Bai Yue smiling and waving at him, quickly approaching: “Isn’t it you? Why are you out here alone?”
Ji Ruan stayed cautious, not mentioning that he was on a date with his boyfriend, just pulling at the corners of his mouth: “Yeah, what a coincidence.”
Bai Yue was accompanied by two people, one man and one woman, who asked: “Xiao Yue, who’s this?”
Bai Yue looked as if he suddenly remembered: “Look at me, I even forgot to introduce him. This is the Han embroidery master I know; isn’t Grandpa Xiuyi’s eightieth birthday coming up soon? I ordered a gift from him.”
The man looked Ji Ruan up and down with some distrust, whispering to Bai Yue: “So young? Grandpa’s birthday is a big deal; it’s best not to have any mishaps.”
Bai Yue chuckled: “It’s fine; this is Teacher Cheng Yunxiu’s closing disciple.”
The man was shocked: “Really?!”
Cheng Yunxiu was quite a prominent figure. Even if the man didn’t care about embroidery, he had heard of her in the news occasionally.
He immediately changed his expression, smiling sheepishly at Ji Ruan, looking apologetic: “Sorry, sir, I might have judged by appearances; mainly, you look so young, haha……”
Ji Ruan smiled: “It’s okay.”
The girl next to them tugged at his sleeve, glanced at Ji Ruan, and covered her mouth: “This person looks a bit familiar……”
“Do you know him?”
The girl shook her head and handed over her phone.
On the screen was a news article showing Gu Xiuyi accompanying his partner to the alumni celebration. The legendary legitimate boyfriend looked exactly like the young man standing right in front of them.
Bai Yue chatted cheerfully, but the young man in front of him kept his head down, his expression indifferent, even showing a sense of fatigue that made him reluctant to engage.
The man’s eyes widened instantly, and after making eye contact with the girl, they both saw expressions of shock on each other’s faces.