TLDMDTBS Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Publication

Qing Xi Mountain, a nationally renowned five-A scenic area, is actually located on the border between City A and City B.

Ji Ruan, feeling excited, was preparing for a business trip across the city with trembling hands for almost a week. In reality, it wasn’t as far as he imagined, with a total travel time of two hours, making it a popular day trip destination for many residents of City A.

However, Ji Ruan was still very happy. On the day of departure, he woke up early, setting a record for the fastest rise from bed in history, and surprisingly, he didn’t lean against the headboard feeling dizzy for half the day.

Cheng Zizhang came to pick him up with Cheng Yunxiu, and there were only the three of them in total.

When Gu Xiuyi sent him off to the car, the sun was still hiding behind the clouds, and the sky faintly glowed with clarity, the clouds stretched out like a thin film, just a step away from breaking through with beams of light.

All Gu Xiuyi could see was Ji Ruan’s cheerful back, along with the hair fluttering in the wind above his head.

It was just a three-day, two-night itinerary, so he didn’t need much luggage. Gu Xiuyi put Ji Ruan’s small suitcase in the trunk while Ji Ruan sat in the car holding a candy jar that was largely empty, and he even handed out a few pieces to Cheng Yunxiu and her daughter.

Aunt Zhao followed closely behind Gu Xiuyi, holding onto Ji Ruan’s hand that was stretched out from the car window, chatting non-stop.

“Make sure to take care of yourself, okay? Ruan Ruan.”

“It gets cold in the mountains at night, remember to wear an extra layer so you don’t catch a cold.”

“I’ve packed cold medicine and stomach medicine in your suitcase, you can just open it and see, okay?”

“Let me know when you arrive safely. Send a message to me… Oh no, don’t send it to me, send it to Xiao Gu. Haha, if you send it to him, I’ll know too…”

Ji Ruan was both amused and helpless. Aunt Zhao’s attitude made it seem like he was about to join the army, and wouldn’t be back for a year and a half.

He stuffed a handful of candy into Aunt Zhao’s hand and rested his chin on the windowsill obediently: “I know, Aunt Zhao, don’t worry. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow, it’ll be quick~”

“Oh my, our little darling…” Aunt Zhao looked at the large handful of red candies in her hand, grinning from ear to ear.

These were Ji Ruan’s favorite candies, which he usually wouldn’t even allow himself to eat, and now he had given her so many, didn’t that show her unique place in his heart?

A year’s worth of meals wasn’t in vain; their Ruan Ruan was truly a good child.

“Alright, alright, Auntie will wait for you to come back, don’t fall sick!” Aunt Zhao continuously caressed Ji Ruan’s head affectionately, while Ji Ruan showed no resistance, even squinting his eyes in delight.

Gu Xiuyi watched from the side, feeling a bit jealous.

Ji Ruan had never been this compliant when it came to him.

If Gu Xiuyi wanted to dish out affection to Ji Ruan, he had to either become a massage therapist or come up with all sorts of reasons to coax the kid.

At that moment, Aunt Zhao had taken over the entire window space, leaving Gu Xiuyi no room to intervene. By the looks of it, she had no intention of stopping.

“Ahem!” Gu Xiuyi cleared his throat.

Aunt Zhao paused her chatter, only then remembering there was someone else next to her. She gave an awkward smile: “Ah, look at my memory, Xiao Gu, you should say a few words too… Hahaha, go ahead, go ahead…”

She stepped aside to make room, popping a cherry candy into her mouth.

Ouch! It was so sour it nearly hurt her teeth…

Gu Xiuyi was about to head to the office, his suit neatly arranged without a wrinkle.

Although a person who wore suits year-round might seem boring, Gu Xiuyi never gave off that impression.

Ji Ruan had to admit that he really suited suits; the crisp, expensive fabric perfectly highlighted his tall and upright figure, making his presence even more composed and steady.

A slight tilt of his head to look through the car window captured a gaze that could easily make one’s heart race.

Gu Xiuyi remained silent and gently brushed Ji Ruan’s cheek with the back of his hand. The motion was very light, like a feather grazing him, tickling and warm, spreading heat to the nerve endings, causing his heart to race.

For familiar people, Ji Ruan liked to be touched, especially by someone like Gu Xiuyi whose body temperature skewed higher. Being softly rubbed against felt like a little swan shyly fluffing its feathers in his heart, feathers swirling wildly, filling his heart to the brim.

Ji Ruan bit his lip and looked up at Gu Xiuyi, wanting to know what he would say to him.

Gu Xiuyi’s eyes held a smile, his gaze sliding from Ji Ruan’s face to the candy jar in his arms. He languidly said:

“Don’t I get any candy?”

“…?”

Just this?

Did he really just want candy?

Ji Ruan’s expression blanked out, and then the corners of his mouth drooped.

Ha, sure enough, a man is a man. What was he expecting?

Ji Ruan lowered his head, reluctantly counting his candy jar. After being generous with his candy previously, it was nearly empty now!

Through the gaps in the candy wrappers, he could see the fuzzy coat on himself through the glass jar!

He just couldn’t bear to open the lid.

Gu Xiuyi, on the side, quietly observed the candy distribution among the surrounding people; Cheng Zizhang and her daughter each had about three to four pieces, while Aunt Zhao had a privileged bounty of seven to eight pieces, occasionally exuding a proud kingly disdain.

Gu Xiuyi thought for a moment that, given his standing in Ji Ruan’s heart and all the sincere care he had shown recently, he should at least get a dozen pieces, right?

Ji Ruan’s hands were small; one hand definitely couldn’t carry it all, would he still receive it with both hands?

Damn, how cute.

Just the thought made Gu Xiuyi feel a bit melted.

He struggled to suppress the upward curve of his lips, locking eyes with Ji Ruan, whose cheeks were blushing, looking adorably shy.

“What’s that…” Ji Ruan scratched his nose: “At your age, still eating candy? I thought you didn’t like—”

Before he finished, Ji Ruan saw Gu Xiuyi’s outstretched hand, long fingers confidently held out before him, seemingly expecting to receive a handful of candy.

“—right?” Ji Ruan finished with a dazed expression.

“Pfft—” Aunt Zhao immediately covered her mouth.

Gu Xiuyi: “…………”

Gu Xiuyi never expected this turn of events.

He really didn’t think the little brat would want to give him none at all.

What position did he hold in Ji Ruan’s heart?

With that palm in front of him, he couldn’t take it away, and Ji Ruan noticed the twitch at the corner of Gu Xiuyi’s mouth, struggling to speak.

He stared at Gu Xiuyi for a while, feeling warmth rising from his neck to his cheeks, turning red to the tips of his ears, as if his hair was about to smoke.

“…Fine, here, take it!”

He quickly opened the lid and stuffed a piece into Gu Xiuyi’s palm, then raised the car window, looking down and not at Gu Xiuyi.

Cheng Zizhang understood the cue, started the car, and wobbled forward. She stole a glance in the rearview mirror, watching how Mr. Gu’s tall figure became smaller and smaller, teasing: “You two seem to be quite affectionate.”

Ji Ruan hadn’t regained his composure yet, his face was so hot that his head felt a bit dizzy.

He touched his face, lowering his eyelashes: “Senior, please don’t say that…”

In response, he was met with Cheng Zizhang’s laughter followed by her dramatic gasp, clutching her cheeks with one hand while driving with the other—Ji Ruan’s candies were just too sour, her teeth felt like they might fall out.

Gu Xiuyi stood in place for a long time until that SUV was no longer in sight, and then he slowly opened his hand.

Only one.

Ji Ruan had only given him one piece.

The bright red candy lay in his large palm, looking pitifully small.

After a long time, Gu Xiuyi let out an amused, silent laugh: “…Little ungrateful.”

Aunt Zhao headed back inside the house; as she passed, she patted Gu Xiuyi’s shoulder, holding seven pieces of candy, the confidence of a player well in hand: “Ruan Ruan has hardly any left for himself, you should understand.”

“…”

Gu Xiuyi composed himself, tucking the one precious candy into his pants pocket, lazily walking towards the garage.

Aunt Zhao only heard him snort disdainfully from his nose, leaving behind a seemingly casual remark:

“At your age, you should eat less sugar. Aunt Fang from the Li family just found out she has diabetes last month, and now she’s crying all the time.”

Aunt Zhao was aghast: “What?! Xiao Fang has diabetes? Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t she tell me? Oh dear, she must be worried I’d stress out. I need to go see her…”

·

Ji Ruan and his group arrived at Qing Xi Mountain just after ten.

The event was set at the exhibition center at the foot of the mountain, with a nearby ancient town that hosted many backpackers.

The organizers originally intended for all the teachers and their disciples to stay in a designated hotel, but Cheng Yunxiu disliked the crowded hotel atmosphere and booked a bed-and-breakfast herself. It was a quaint two-story wooden structure with a yard, simple and elegant inside and out.

Ji Ruan was assigned a sunny room on the second floor, and as soon as he opened the door, he could see a small balcony bathed in sunlight.

He set his suitcase aside, didn’t step onto the balcony, and instead took a quick picture of the view outside to send to Gu Xiuyi.

“Buzz buzz—”

His phone on the conference table vibrated twice, and a small cherry icon illuminated the screen.

[Arrived safely.]

[Image.jpg]

Gu Xiuyi’s lips curved into a slight smile as he opened the picture—an ordinary balcony view.

He swiftly scanned for Ji Ruan himself, who didn’t appear in the frame at all, not even a finger showing. Apart from the reflection in the half-open glass door, there wasn’t a trace of him at all.

Gu Xiuyi furrowed his brows, using two fingers to zoom in for a closer look, barely making out the outline of Ji Ruan’s figure.

—When he zoomed in more, he could faintly identify the white, tender fingertips holding the phone, but most importantly, Ji Ruan’s face was completely obscured, not visible at all.

Gu Xiuyi: “……”

He seemed to have never felt so embarrassed before.

[Children need to send a selfie to report safety.]

[One picture isn’t enough.]

No response from the other side.

Gu Xiuyi waited for a moment, tapping his fingertips on the table…

[Alright, one is fine.]

But Ji Ruan still didn’t reply, as if he had completed the task of sending a message and had left his phone stranded across the ocean.

“…Sigh.” Gu Xiuyi exhaled.

What an ungrateful little one.

“This year, our collaboration with Lingzhou has stabilized, and their demands for next quarter are…”

The report ahead abruptly paused, and the staff members looked at Gu Xiuyi in fear.

What the hell, why did the boss sigh?!

Was my report not good enough?!

Or was there a mistake in the data?!

Why does he look like that? Am I going to get fired?!

The staff trembled, lowering their heads to flip through their own folders, beads of cold sweat forming.

Gu Xiuyi lifted his head from the phone, pressing off the screen and tossing it onto the table, his expression cold: “It’s not your fault, continue.”

Everyone witnessed the PPT’s poor unfortunate bear the brunt of the undeserved calamity as they exhaled in relief, nearly weakening at the knees, as if their souls suddenly floated in the aftermath of a near-death experience.

·

With three days and two nights packed with a tight schedule and heavy tasks, Ji Ruan couldn’t stay in the room too long; he had to quickly head down to check the venue.

After sending the message to Gu Xiuyi, he put his phone into his pocket, quickly organized his luggage, and sped off to meet Cheng Zizhang.

The exhibition hall at the foot of the mountain hosted several auctions every year, featuring items that were either priceless or rich in history. Thus, there were specialized storage rooms established inside the exhibition hall with extremely tight security.

Ji Ruan’s task was to accompany Cheng Zizhang and a few other teachers to the storage room to examine and confirm tomorrow’s displayed items and auction pieces.

As soon as Ji Ruan stepped into the room, he was amazed.

Countless display cabinets were arranged at varying heights, housing an array of either extravagant or simple embroidery pieces, with the cold white light from above revealing their exquisite craftsmanship.

To better preserve the exhibits, the indoor temperature was significantly lower than outside, and Ji Ruan felt his fingers turn chilly. No wonder Cheng Zizhang reminded him to wear an extra layer before going out.

Following Cheng Zizhang and the teachers, Ji Ruan noticed that the Han embroidery pieces were relatively few among the exhibits, most were from the four great embroideries, such as Suzhou and Hunan styles.

Some were created by contemporary masters in the last few decades, while others were from the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, splendid and magnificent. Ji Ruan felt a bit overwhelmed after only glancing at a few.

He donned white gloves, meticulously checked each piece with the guidance of the teachers, and once confirmed without errors, the teacher would lock the display cases for Cheng Zizhang to document.

After meandering past a dozen pieces, a long-haired girl with a blue work badge came running towards them, clearly pressed for time.

Ji Ruan recognized her; she seemed to be a close disciple of a certain Su embroidery master.

The girl was obviously familiar with Cheng Zizhang, eagerly greeting her, then turning to Ji Ruan.

“Oh, so you’re the new student my mom tirelessly pursued!” Cheng Zizhang patted Ji Ruan’s back to introduce him.

The girl gasped, covering her mouth: “Ah! You’re Ji… You’re so handsome…”

Ji Ruan was a bit confused as to why she seemed to know him, smiling humbly: “Thank you.”

After all, there was a teacher watching, and Cheng Zizhang couldn’t keep chatting, so she cut to the chase: “Weren’t you up there overseeing the venue? Why did you come down?”

“Oh, we’re short-staffed, so I came to find you,” the girl’s brows furrowed: “We just added a new VIP seating area, and we’re overwhelmed. Could you come with me to the third floor for a quick look?”

Cheng Zizhang said: “Wasn’t the VIP seating arranged earlier? How could it be overwhelming?”

“It’s different, this one is a special VIP!” The girl clenched her fists in front of her chest, visibly nervous at the mention.

Cheng Zizhang made an expression of “I haven’t seen much of the world, don’t scare me,” then turned her head to the teacher and asked: “Teacher, what do you think…?”

The teacher, with a cold expression, was actually quite amiable and nodded: “Go ahead; we can manage here with just a few of us.”

“Alright, thank you, teacher.” Cheng Zizhang accepted and handed her folder to Ji Ruan before being whisked away by the girl.

The two chatted away while walking; Ji Ruan held his pen and watched their backs. He heard Cheng Zizhang’s surprised “Eh” and then some familiar words followed.

But his ears weren’t good, and at a distance, he couldn’t catch it all clearly.

“Ji Ruan?” The teacher reminded: “Let’s get back to work.”

Ji Ruan came back to himself, taking off his gloves to continue Cheng Zizhang’s task: “Okay, teacher, you say.”

“Cabinet 18’s label is damaged, note replacement needed.”

“Okay.”

“Cabinet 19 is without abnormalities.”

Ji Ruan checked off the items promptly on the form.

There were too many exhibits in the storage room, and after two and a half hours of busy work, the teacher treated Ji Ruan to a few local specialty dishes in the quaint town for lunch before returning to finish up his tasks.

By three or four in the afternoon, they had confirmed all the exhibits. The teacher locked the storage room door, and Ji Ruan was called by Cheng Yunxiu to meet a group of masters—all notable figures who Ji Ruan had seen in the news.

Once everything was wrapped up, the evening sun began to set lower.

Ji Ruan declined Cheng Zizhang’s invitation to dinner, grabbed a takeout soup rice, and on his way back to the guesthouse, he suddenly felt extraordinarily tired, his back almost ready to break from standing all day.

He took a breath, having to pause halfway and squat for a moment before mustering the energy to continue onward.

Approaching the guesthouse along the small stone path, he spotted a group of people gathered, resembling the layout of stars surrounding the moon. Seven or eight uniformed staff members surrounded two individuals at the center, enthusiastically introducing something.

Even without seeing their faces, it was obvious that one was Gu Xiuyi, dressed in a simple light brown trench coat, radiating cool indifference, while the other was in a complete three-piece suit, seemingly performing verbal duties for the person next to him.

It was all too clear.

Ji Ruan stopped in his tracks.

Even without seeing their faces, he could tell it was Gu Xiuyi and Song Ling.

Gu Xiuyi seemed to sense it with the back of his head. Within a second or two, he turned his head.

Then Ji Ruan saw his cold expression gradually brighten in the sunset, little by little gaining warmth.

Ji Ruan was momentarily transfixed, his hand resting on his lower back unknowingly relaxing.

As soon as Gu Xiuyi walked briskly towards him and the chatter of the staff prospered behind him, Ji Ruan gradually came back to his senses.

Getting closer, he noticed Gu Xiuyi holding a glass jar filled with familiar red fruit candies, packed full.

For some reason, Ji Ruan’s heart suddenly felt overwhelmed.

He touched his lips, now parched from not drinking water, shifting his gaze to the candy jar: “…You, what are you doing here?”

Surely he wasn’t just here to deliver candy…

Ji Ruan couldn’t believe it in his heart, yet his face couldn’t help but turn red, trying hard to act nonchalant.

Gu Xiuyi absorbed every inch of Ji Ruan’s emotional display, nearly predicting all his thoughts.

He accepted the takeout, taking Ji Ruan’s hand, gently rubbing the palm that had been pressed by the plastic bag, a teasing smile playing on his lips: “Can you guess why I’m here?”

Surrounding them erupted with the sound of fabric rustling as the staff instinctively took a few steps back, turning their heads to pretend to play with their phones.

Ji Ruan felt a bit flustered from the commotion, pulling his hand away and glaring at Gu Xiuyi.

After a long day, his eyes were red and weary, making his glare harmless, appearing more like a pout.

Gu Xiuyi didn’t cling to holding Ji Ruan’s hand, taking a step closer, pulling out a dark green envelope from his jacket pocket, placing it in Ji Ruan’s hand, raising an eyebrow:

“Came to shop.”

“…?”

Ji Ruan looked down in shock.

The seal of the envelope prominently bore elegant characters: VIP Invitation Letter.

Gu Xiuyi’s lips curled into a smile as he watched Ji Ruan’s stunned expression, trying hard to suppress the urge to pinch his cheeks in front of everyone.

Seeing Ji Ruan’s drawn expression shift to anger, his cheeks puffing out in protest before exploding completely, Gu Xiuyi gently rubbed Ji Ruan’s cheek:

“Okay, I was teasing you.”

He pressed the jar of candies into Ji Ruan’s embrace and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, leading him away.

Once they created some distance from the people behind, Gu Xiuyi leaned in closer to Ji Ruan’s ear, whispering with a chuckle:

“Can you share a few more with me tonight?”

Ji Ruan’s ears flushed bright red.