Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Jiang Chen’s breathing quickened, and he couldn’t help but hold his phone closer.

Ling Sheng had already unbuttoned two buttons, and with a gentle flick of his finger, the third one came undone. As if thinking of something, he tugged at his collar, revealing hickeys on his right collarbone and shoulder: “Today, someone saw them.”

When Ling Sheng said that his life in Jiang City was going well, he didn’t deny it.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt a little better.

Ling Sheng noticed the change in his expression. He sat on the bed, his fingers dropping to the fourth button, and he could feel Jiang Chen’s face growing larger on the screen.

But he still didn’t unbutton it in front of him. He had drunk a little too much today, and his self-control was lacking. What if he really got aroused during the video call with Jiang Chen? There was no one around to put out the fire.

“Okay, don’t stay up late, go to sleep. I’m going to take a shower and sleep too, I have a meeting tomorrow.” Ling Sheng smiled at him, lacking his usual restraint and composure, and having a lazy, decadent feeling. He leaned forward to hang up the phone, and as he did, his shirt, which already had three buttons undone, momentarily revealed a glimpse of his chest.

Jiang Chen’s breathing hitched, and he didn’t want to hang up even more, but Ling Sheng had already picked up the phone, said “Goodnight,” and hung up.

How was he supposed to sleep now!

Jiang Chen tossed and turned in bed until almost dawn before finally falling asleep. When he went to school the next day, he was listless. At this time, Wu Xia sent him a message, thanking him for his previous help and wanting to treat him to a meal, asking if he had time.

The senior had told him everything about Wang Zhiqi’s matter, and the matter was basically resolved. His relationship with Wu Xia had also started because of Ling Sheng. They knew each other before, but Wu Xia was introverted, so they weren’t very close. If it weren’t for Ling Sheng, they might not have the friendship they had now.

Wu Xia chose the place, a small restaurant with a nice environment and reasonable prices.

He was a frugal person and rarely treated people to meals. He usually cooked for himself, but Jiang Chen had helped him a lot. If it weren’t for Jiang Chen, he might not know how much Wang Zhiqi had scammed him.

“I don’t have much money on hand right now. I was originally thinking of cooking at home, but you and Sheng Ge… I feel like it wouldn’t be good to invite you over alone. Once I pay off my debts, I’ll treat you to something good!” Wu Xia said a little embarrassedly.

Jiang Chen didn’t really care about these things. But as they were eating, Wu Xia kept looking at him, making Jiang Chen a little uncomfortable. He asked him, “Is there something on me?”

Wu Xia hadn’t eaten much, and he quickly put down his chopsticks and waved his hand: “It’s nothing.”

Jiang Chen had eaten enough as well, and he smiled and said, “If you have something to say, you can say it directly. Even if it wasn’t because of Ling Sheng, we were friends in the first place. If I know about your matter and can help, I will.”

If it weren’t for Ling Sheng’s matter, Wu Xia might not have had the courage to reveal his most private matter to others. After publicly coming out at the cafe, he suddenly felt very relaxed. What if people knew? In the future, he wouldn’t have to be alarmed by every little thing. The worst outcome would be that he would have to move again and live in another place.

He didn’t have any family anyway, so it didn’t really matter where he went.

But things didn’t get worse. The videos quickly disappeared from his life, and the people around him who knew about it showed him more kindness. Many old customers sent messages to encourage him, and the boss even gave him a thousand yuan raise, saying that he had brought traffic to the store.

A thorough explosion had actually made his life easier.

In the past two weeks, his complexion had gradually improved. Wu Xia said very sincerely: “I really thank you, and I also thank Sheng Ge. Not only because of this matter, but he was also very good to me when we were in Jing City. It’s just that I really didn’t deserve him. I was surprised when I found out you two were together, but it’s true… you are more compatible with him.”

Hearing the last sentence, Jiang Chen was indeed much happier, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel curious: “What was he like when he was in Jing City?”

He wanted to understand Ling Sheng’s past and know more about Ling Sheng.

Speaking of this, the tenderness in Wu Xia’s eyes became even stronger: “He is a very considerate person, a very good lover.”

Compared to his external attractiveness, being with him made people feel even happier. He knew that he didn’t like going to expensive places and didn’t like spending Ling Sheng’s money, so they often went to parks and surrounding free scenic spots. Those places weren’t prosperous or lively enough, completely different worlds from the places Ling Sheng went to with his colleagues, but Ling Sheng never felt bad about it. Instead, he would patiently listen to him talk about his memories of those places.

He respected his lifestyle and his spending habits, but he would also buy him clothes, shoes, and give him gifts, telling him that it was right to accept gifts from his boyfriend and that he deserved to be loved.

He always felt that being gay was a shameful thing, but Ling Sheng would introduce him to his friends with his consent, generously saying, “This is my boyfriend.” He sat in luxurious restaurants that he had never been to before, eating carefully, afraid of doing something wrong. Ling Sheng wouldn’t feel embarrassed by him, but would help him out when others joked and he couldn’t respond.

He was so good, the best person he had ever met in his life.

It wasn’t wrong to not want to give up such a good person, right?

The more Jiang Chen listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. What kind of mentality did he have, listening to the details of their love history in front of his boyfriend’s ex?

And listening to it like this, he didn’t even feel how special he was anymore. Was Ling Sheng… that good to everyone?

Wu Xia came back from his memories, looked at Jiang Chen, his eyes filled with envy and regret, but he smiled and said: “Sheng Ge always said not to provoke straight men, I really didn’t expect that he would end up with you, fate is really amazing.”

When the two came out after eating, it was already dark. Jiang Chen sat in the car and made a video call to Ling Sheng, but no one answered after two tries. It was a little after 7:00 PM, so he might be out socializing with colleagues again.

Jiang Chen felt even more lost. He had to find something to do, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to think about anything other than Ling Sheng all day.

He had been obsessed with love recently and hadn’t been hanging out with his friends as much as before. After thinking about it, he sent a message to Fang Xing.

Fang Xing was one of his best friends. When he argued with his family about whether or not to enter the system during his freshman year, he stayed at Fang Xing’s place for a month. Fang Xing was gentle and kind, and he even volunteered at orphanages on holidays and weekends. He was the nicest guy he had ever met, bar none.

And he remembered that Fang Xing could cook, so he might as well ask Fang Xing to teach him how to cook. He was going to cook better than Wu Xia!

The next afternoon, he went upstairs carrying two large bags of groceries. Fang Xing opened the door and was dumbfounded when he saw what he was carrying: “Are you sure you bought groceries for two people?”

It turned out that you shouldn’t let someone who can’t cook buy groceries. He had no concept at all. The last time he went with Ling Sheng, he was basically only responsible for pushing the cart and paying. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that Ling Sheng was the one who picked out everything. He really seemed to know what was good and how much was needed.

“You should take off the watch on your wrist first. That watch looks expensive, don’t get it wet.”

Jiang Chen looked at the watch on his wrist and couldn’t help but reach out to show it to Fang Xing: “Is it nice?”

Fang Xing took a look, his eyes filled with pure appreciation: “It’s nice, your taste has always been very good.”

Jiang Chen really wanted to tell him that it was the same model as his boyfriend’s, but Fang Xing still didn’t know that he was gay, so he held back, thinking of telling him later.

“The ribs have to be blanched first, so you can remove the blood.” Fang Xing guided him while picking vegetables.

“The roots here need to be removed, and then the large leaves removed.”

“You can’t wash bok choy just once, otherwise the sand won’t be cleaned and you’ll taste it.”

“Shredding potatoes requires good knife skills, let me do it.”

Jiang Chen bought too many groceries. Let alone for two people, it was enough for at least ten people. In the end, he made four dishes and a soup, and there was still a lot left, so he could only put it in the refrigerator.

And they didn’t finish the food. Fang Xing couldn’t bear to throw it away, so he planned to heat it up again tomorrow.

Jiang Chen was originally full of confidence, thinking that with his learning ability, cooking should be a piece of cake. In the end, it proved that even the most talented student has weaknesses. The back of his hand was red with soup, with three large blisters. He even cut himself twice while chopping vegetables. Under the circumstances of being covered in injuries, in all fairness, the meal he made was really average, and even two of the dishes were burnt.

“Why did you suddenly think of learning to cook?” Fang Xing was also stuffed and leaned back in his chair to rest.

Jiang Chen sighed while looking at the leftovers on the table, hesitating to raise his eyes to look at Fang Xing several times, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Fang Xing didn’t force him either. He stood up to clean up, and Jiang Chen also stood up to help. As a result, he was distracted and went to pour the soup, accidentally pressing on the wound on his fingertip. His hand slipped, and the remaining half bowl of soup spilled all over him.

“Don’t move, I’ll do it.” Fang Xing smiled kindly, took the soup bowl from his hand, and put it on the table: “Just go take a shower, you’re covered in grease anyway. I still have the clothes you left here, I’ll get them for you.”

Jiang Chen still wanted to help, but he was covered in soup, and soup was dripping wherever he went, so he was finally pushed into the bathroom by Fang Xing.

Fang Xing got him a T-shirt and sweatpants that he had left here before, so he wouldn’t be too cold even if he wrapped himself in a down jacket. Jiang Chen simply took a shower in the bathroom. While showering, he looked at the injuries on his hand, thinking that he originally wanted to cook a meal to show off to Ling Sheng, but now it seemed that he could only try to gain some sympathy.

He was getting dressed after showering when he suddenly heard Fang Xing’s stern voice outside: “Let go of me.”

“Little Xingxing, I haven’t seen you in two months. I just came back from Hainan, and I rushed over to see you without even going home. Just let me hug you, just for a moment, I…”

“Let go of me! Zhou Jiayan, where you go is none of my business!”

Jiang Chen quickly pushed the door open. He walked into the living room in slippers and saw Fang Xing being held in the arms of a handsome man, and Fang Xing was obviously unwilling and struggling.

When Zhou Jiayan saw him, and then saw his wet hair and the way he looked after just taking a shower, he was stunned. Fang Xing took the opportunity to break free from his arms.

“Who are you?”