TLDMDTBS Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Ji Ruan always thought that someone like Gu Xiuyi would only eat at various upscale restaurants when going out, but he didn’t expect that he would choose a very down-to-earth hotpot restaurant.

Located just two streets away from Jing Da, the entrance looked ordinary, yet it was packed inside. By the time they entered, there were no more seats available.

Ji Ruan was thinking about whether to change to another place when Gu Xiuyi directly led him into a private room in the back.

It seemed he knew the owner of the restaurant, chatting amicably as the dishes were brought out.

After the broth was prepared, Gu Xiuyi cooked some vegetables, noticing Ji Ruan’s curiosity, he casually said, “When we were in university, our dormitory often came here to eat. Every year on the winter solstice, we would definitely eat hotpot.”

“Really?” The temperature inside the restaurant was high, and after sitting for a while, Ji Ruan’s cheeks felt a bit flushed. He took off his scarf and said, “No wonder you seemed so familiar with the owner earlier.”

Gu Xiuyi smiled, “He was my university roommate.”

“….Ah?”

Ji Ruan was momentarily dazed.

Frequenting this place with his roommate, but the roommate is the owner… he didn’t quite get this relationship, and as he was halfway through taking off his down jacket, one sleeve hung awkwardly on his shoulder:

“So you’re helping your roommate’s business?”

Gu Xiuyi shook his head, smiling, and helped Ji Ruan take off his coat, placing it aside, “No, he took it over after he graduated.”

Ji Ruan poured himself a cup of hot tea: “So he bought the restaurant?”

“This is quite an interesting story,” Gu Xiuyi said as he picked up some lamb from the pot and placed it on Ji Ruan’s plate: “Take it easy; it’s hot.”

Ji Ruan blew on it and took a slow bite, signaling Gu Xiuyi to continue.

“My roommate really liked the hotpot here. Besides coming with us, he would often come alone, and over time, he got to know the previous owner well.”

Gu Xiuyi spoke while eating, his pace unhurried, as if chatting aimlessly with a friend or telling a bedtime story to a child.

“The previous owner had been running this place for decades and didn’t have any children. After a few years, he might not be able to maintain it.”

Gu Xiuyi chuckled, “My roommate felt he couldn’t live without this hotpot for the rest of his life, so he decided to take the previous owner as his master and learn the craft.”

Ji Ruan’s eyes widened: “Is that possible? It completely changed his life path…”

“Yes,” Gu Xiuyi nodded, “It sounds quite rash, right? A finance major switching to hotpot. At that time, his parents were preparing to send him abroad for further studies, and when they found out about this, they were almost going crazy. But he was very persistent.”

Gu Xiuyi’s tone was flat, his expression calm, without any hint of exaggeration, yet it unexpectedly piqued Ji Ruan’s interest.

He didn’t even care about his chopsticks: “Then what happened?”

Gu Xiuyi smiled as he served him more food: “Focus on eating well.”

“—The first few years were tough. His parents thought it was irresponsible to himself, and for a while, they cut off contact. But he maintained a steady mindset and kept learning the craft diligently.”

Gu Xiuyi looked at Ji Ruan’s eyes, which looked like a little rabbit, and continued telling the story:

“Later, when the old man couldn’t manage anymore, he took over the restaurant and recognized the old owner as a godfather, treating him like a father. They even had a daughter last year, and their family relationship gradually improved.”

Ji Ruan sipped the soup, subconsciously savoring it.

Honestly, the flavors here were genuinely delightful; the broth was rich, and the lamb was tender without any gamey taste. It was extraordinarily fresh upon entering his mouth.

Even someone like him, who wasn’t knowledgeable about it, could sense that the owner must have put a lot of heart and passion into the craft.

Ji Ruan took a bite of the spoon and gulped down a few more sips, inexplicably feeling that the taste combined with the story behind the soup made it even more flavorful.

He licked his lips and smiled, “Your roommate is quite a character.”

Gu Xiuyi raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly pondering this comment, and nodded:

“Indeed, he follows his heart. In the last couple of years, his business has been doing better and better. Every day he’s cheerful, and it seems he’s much happier than if he were a high-level executive in a multinational company.”

Gu Xiuyi reflected, “But it also requires him to be stable enough and to demonstrate through actual actions to his parents that his choices were correct. Now both families have a great relationship.”

Ji Ruan never expected to hear such a story from Gu Xiuyi.

In his perception all this time, Gu Xiuyi was just a cold, tough, and shrewd businessman.

Someone like him should live a life typically narrated in most domineering CEO novels, living in luxury and excess, admirable yet ultimately quite hollow.

But in this small private room, among the swirling steam and aroma of lamb hotpot, Gu Xiuyi shared with him a story that was slightly ordinary yet exceptionally warm.

Perhaps it was precisely because he had such warm stories around him that his edge hadn’t completely hardened into armor in the daily battles, occasionally revealing a side full of life.

And what Ji Ruan loved most was this sense of life.

He picked up a piece of bok choy, munching on it like a little rabbit, his cheeks steamed pink by the hot pot, and his eyes were misty and unfocused, not knowing what he was thinking.

Gu Xiuyi leaned against his forehead, pinching his soft earlobe: “Why are you always dazed? Do you like listening to stories so much?”

Ji Ruan’s earlobes had also turned pink; the warm sensation felt just right. Gu Xiuyi couldn’t resist pinching it again, and Ji Ruan shifted sideways to dodge.

“Not dazed,” Ji Ruan covered his earlobe, looking warily at Gu Xiuyi: “I’m just thinking.”

His gaze, resembling that of someone watching a big bad wolf, made Gu Xiuyi feel it was amusing, “Thinking about what?”

Ji Ruan pressed his lips together and picked up food for himself, mumbling, “Thinking that you suddenly seem like a real person…”

Gu Xiuyi clearly heard him, chuckling lightly, and pinched Ji Ruan’s earlobe again, his tone teasing: “Hmm?”

Ji Ruan couldn’t maintain his laughter, swatting his hand away: “I warn you not to touch my ears; you’ll scare me if I can’t hear later!”

Mr. Gu spoke about scaring him but couldn’t hide his happiness.

After finishing their meal, the weather outside cleared up, and the warm sunlight felt nice. Ji Ruan was in a good mood, looking at Gu Xiuyi with a smile: “Are you busy later?”

Gu Xiuyi didn’t answer immediately: “Why?”

Ji Ruan hadn’t put on his scarf, looking up, revealing his fair neck: “How about coming to see me paint?”

His eyes sparkled, causing Gu Xiuyi’s heart to stir.

Gu Xiuyi pondered for a moment, “Won’t it disturb others?”

“It won’t,” Ji Ruan shook his head with a smile, “The other two have things to do this afternoon. I’ll go ahead and paint first; you can leave when they come back.”

Gu Xiuyi’s smile returned, and he couldn’t help but stifle a cough while covering his mouth: “Alright.”

·

The top floor of the bell tower had excellent lighting, and the indoor light was transparent.

Beijing had been gloomy for nearly half a month, but today finally welcomed a hint of sunshine, the sun hanging brightly in the sky.

Ji Ruan found a small remote control and pressed it, and the sound came from above the ceiling. The light-blocking panels slowly opened, illuminating the entire studio even more.

Gu Xiuyi discovered that the roof was embedded with transparent skylight glass, with sunlight streaming in, scattering star-like spots throughout the room.

The bell tower had been renovated in recent years since his graduation, and Gu Xiuyi faintly felt the passage of time.

Once the heating turned up, Ji Ruan took off his down jacket and tied a dark oilcloth apron in front of him, with several spots of lighter-colored paint visible on it.

On the wall was a huge canvas, looking like it was in the finishing stages, while the completed work before it was covered with a dust cloth, entirely concealing its original appearance.

Ji Ruan casually rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, explaining, “This painting took three of us several months to complete. If it’s not covered, it gathers dust, and that’s hard to clean.”

His exposed wrists and forearms were slender, the skin so pale it was dazzling, and in the transparent natural light, it almost seemed to share the same color as his white sweater.

Gu Xiuyi crossed his arms, moving his gaze away from Ji Ruan’s snow-white arms: “I see… Are you planning to paint while standing on that?”

Ji Ruan was about to get on the ladder; the large painting was high up, and he needed assistance.

“Of course,” Ji Ruan smiled: “Otherwise, how else would I reach it?”

But Gu Xiuyi frowned; the ladder was made of iron. While it seemed somewhat sturdy, it had sharp edges and no handrails—what if he fell?

He instinctively took a couple of steps closer, standing beside Ji Ruan and looking up at him, feeling that this height was quite terrifying.

Yet Ji Ruan was painting with great focus.

His lips pressed together, a light dimple showing on his cheek; the fingertips gripping the brush were turning pale from the pressure, while his knuckles were flushed pink.

Gu Xiuyi suddenly thought that Ji Ruan’s eyes at this moment were exceptionally beautiful.

It was as if he was painting the sun.

In the top corner of the far-right side of the canvas, Ji Ruan sketched a rising sun with deliberate strokes. Gu Xiuyi didn’t understand art, but the halo surrounding the sunrise looked beautiful.

Ji Ruan was silent, and Gu Xiuyi didn’t speak to disturb him. He didn’t know how long it passed before Ji Ruan paused slightly, straightening up.

His waist ached from standing, and he wanted to rub it, but when he reached behind, he remembered his hands were stained with paint, not wanting to dirty his white sweater, so he could only use the back of his hand and wrist to lean against.

His side felt both sore and tingling, like this waist didn’t belong to him.

Seeing Ji Ruan leaning oddly against his waist with a pained expression, Gu Xiuyi reached out to steady the ladder: “Is your back uncomfortable?”

Ji Ruan forced a smile and sighed: “Yeah, I’ve been standing too long these past few months.”

In reality, his lower back was killing him; he even cramped up while sleeping the night before, waking up suddenly.

Ji Ruan had never heard of someone cramping in their lower back, but maybe… he had a tendency to cramp.

Gu Xiuyi’s expression turned serious; he reached out with an unmistakable tone: “Come down first.”

Ji Ruan glanced at the wall painting; actually, he had nearly finished his part, and it was indeed time for a break: “Alright.”

He shook his paint-stained hands at Gu Xiuyi, “No need to support me; I’ll just get some on your hands later.”

“Hmm.” Gu Xiuyi casually replied but completely ignored him.

He reached up and held Ji Ruan’s forearm, not using much strength as he pulled him down, placing him safely on the ground.

Ji Ruan felt stiff all over; any large movement strained his lower back, and he couldn’t help but hiss.

Gu Xiuyi steadied him at his lower back, examining Ji Ruan’s face closely, and noticed his lips had turned slightly pale.

“Why don’t I…” Gu Xiuyi paused for a moment, slowly suggesting: “Help you massage a bit?”

Ji Ruan’s lower back felt stiff, uncomfortable, and he frowned at Gu Xiuyi: “…Does Mr. Gu also know how to do massages?”

Gu Xiuyi seemed to want to make a joke but kept a straight face: “I don’t know; just pressing is fine. Want to try?”

“So honest…” Ji Ruan chuckled, leaning slightly against him: “Alright, give it a try.”

Gu Xiuyi continued to gently support Ji Ruan’s lower back. His sweater was thin, and he could feel the delicate waistline clearly.

Ji Ruan felt Gu Xiuyi used a little force, and at the moment of contact, the muscles around his waist began to swell.

The other seemed to be silently observing his reactions, and then applied a bit more pressure, this time much stronger than before, releasing a sharp ache and tingling sensation that shot straight to the top of his head.

Ji Ruan immediately felt numb, instinctively letting out a gasp.

The hand on his waist froze suddenly.

Ji Ruan looked up and found Gu Xiuyi seemed to be a bit tense, his Adam’s apple rolling lightly.

Ji Ruan was stunned for a moment before he belatedly realized that the sound he made just now seemed a bit strange.

It didn’t seem very nice…

No, it couldn’t be called unpleasant…

Perhaps it was just too nice!

Thus it became extraordinarily easy to misinterpret!

Ji Ruan’s face turned red, and having never really experienced an embarrassing moment like this in his life, he abruptly covered his face: “S-sorry…”

Gu Xiuyi stayed silent for several seconds, Ji Ruan couldn’t even feel his breathing.

After a while, his paint-stained hand was pulled down; he heard the other let out a gentle sigh:

“Your face is all painted.”