Curtain of Rain

Hearing that a leader from the company's upper management was coming down for an inspection, everyone was on high alert. If Old Luo were still around, he would have likely mobilized and reassured everyone. Gu Qingzhou, however, made no move, coming to work as usual and carrying on as if nothing was different.

If Jiang Xu were to slack off today, it would be like throwing himself in front of a gun, so he came in early in the morning and sat properly at his desk to revise the drawings. The leader from headquarters who came for the inspection was surnamed Yuan; his full name was unknown. The secretary next to him just called him Director Yuan. He was around forty or fifty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and exuded an imposing aura without being angry. When the little girl from the front desk went to pour him coffee, a single glance from him scared her so much she didn't dare to breathe.

For the entire morning, he was in the inner office looking at performance charts. When he came out at noon, he toured the company accompanied by Gu Qingzhou.

The workplace practice of flattering superiors was deeply ingrained. In the past, whenever someone came for an inspection, Old Luo would directly book a table at a hotel, offer cigarettes and coax them into drinking, ensuring both host and guest had a great time. Gu Qingzhou, on the other hand, sent the man off directly at noon without even treating him to a meal. However, that Director Yuan didn't seem angry; on the contrary, he was very polite to Gu Qingzhou.

Jiang Xu would only go look for Gu Qingzhou during the lunch break. As usual, he ordered two takeout meals and brought them into the office to eat with him. He leaned casually on the edge of the desk and said with a laugh, "Hey, you just let him leave like that? You didn't treat him to a meal or give him a pack of cigarettes or something?"

It might have been his imagination, but Gu Qingzhou felt that today's takeout seemed a bit more high-end. Usually, it was fried rice or fried noodles, but today it was some relatively light and exquisite snacks, along with a cup of stewed soup.

Hearing Jiang Xu's words, he opened the lid of his lunch box while saying nonchalantly, "Why should I treat him to a meal?"

Gu Qingzhou never wasted time on unimportant people.

Jiang Xu found him a bit rigid, but surprisingly, not in an annoying way. He reached out and poked his cheek, creating what looked like a small dimple, and teased, "Manager Gu, if you keep being so inflexible, you can forget about promotions and raises."

Gu Qingzhou chewed his food expressionlessly, his cheeks puffed out slightly, ignoring him.

For some reason, Jiang Xu felt he was a bit like a hamster. Although Gu Qingzhou's icy face had absolutely nothing in common with such a cute little animal, that was what Jiang Xu was thinking at this moment. He suddenly asked out of the blue, "How much rice can you hide in your mouth?"

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou paused his chewing, then slowly raised his eyes to look at Jiang Xu, a rare trace of confusion on his face. "What?"

Jiang Xu suppressed the smile on his lips and didn't answer, simply pushing the bowl of soup closer to him. "Drink it while it's hot."

It was pork rib and winter melon soup, light and delicious. Logically, it should have suited Gu Qingzhou's taste, but for some reason, he drank it absentmindedly, not even registering what it tasted like.

Halfway through the soup, Gu Qingzhou suddenly asked, as if unintentionally, "Are you coming to my place today?"

He was sitting in his chair while Jiang Xu was leaning against the edge of the desk. When Gu Qingzhou spoke, he had to look up at him. Those dark, tranquil eyes were always good at hiding all emotions—clean and pure, like a child asking an adult for candy.

Hearing this, Jiang Xu lowered his gaze to look at him, then reached out to pinch his face, pulling it to the sides. The mischievous streak in his nature faintly surfaced. Knowing full well that Gu Qingzhou was thin-skinned, he still deliberately asked back, "Do you want me to come?"

Gu Qingzhou's willingness to yield depended on the situation, for instance, when the two were kissing intimately in private. But clearly, when Jiang Xu was teasing him improperly, Gu Qingzhou couldn't bring himself to say anything soft.

The other's devil-may-care smile always made him feel insignificant.

Gu Qingzhou couldn't say the word 'want.' It would make him seem like he was begging for something. The humility of his three years in high school had, after all, left some shadows. He silently pulled Jiang Xu's hand away, then continued to lower his head and eat his meal without a word, as if he hadn't been the one to ask the question.

Sometimes, Jiang Xu felt he was quite a scoundrel. He would deliberately anger the person, only to have to painstakingly coax him back into a good mood in the end. What for? He leaned close to Gu Qingzhou and asked with a grin, "I'll go to your place tonight?"

"No need."

Gu Qingzhou had only eaten a small portion of his meal before putting down his chopsticks, seemingly having a poor appetite.

"Hm?" Jiang Xu hooked his pinky finger, tugging it like a pinky promise. "Why no need?"

Gu Qingzhou wasn't in a good mood today. Although a normal person would act happy on their birthday, he felt like there wasn't a single thing that could make him happy. On the contrary, he felt extremely miserable, and for no discernible reason.

The phone screen on the desk suddenly lit up. It was a message from Dou Xun urging him about the birthday dinner party tonight. Gu Qingzhou glanced at it and then turned it off without a change in expression. Jiang Xu noticed his movement and asked, "What's wrong?"

A moment ago, he had only been hooking Jiang Xu's pinky, but somehow, his hand was now fully clasping Jiang Xu's palm, making it impossible for the latter to pull away.

Gu Qingzhou lowered his gaze faintly, his eyes falling on his and Jiang Xu's intertwined fingers, then looked away. "It's nothing, just a message from a friend."

Hearing this, Jiang Xu exerted a little force, pulling him from the chair into his embrace. The slight impact pressed their bodies tightly together. Jiang Xu cupped the back of Gu Qingzhou's head and gave him a long, deep kiss, his words broken, "You really don't want me to stay over today?"

Gu Qingzhou was kissed until he couldn't breathe and couldn't utter a single word. He could only silently grip Jiang Xu's collar, trying to push him away. However, no matter how much force he used, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace. Jiang Xu's figure remained unmovable.

Jiang Xu's hand cupping the back of his head unconsciously changed to cradling his face—

This gesture carried a hint of cherishing, imperceptibly dispelling the gloom in Gu Qingzhou's heart. His struggles weakened, and the hand gripping Jiang Xu's collar unconsciously loosened its grip slightly. As if to vent the indescribable frustration in his heart, he began to kiss back, unwilling to show weakness.

The two went back and forth, their position gradually shifting from the desk to the guest sofa. They fell onto it, kissing inextricably, like two endlessly entangled snakes, probing back and forth, both attempting to devour the other, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

After an unknown amount of time, they finally separated when the roots of their tongues ached. Gu Qingzhou was pinned on the sofa by Jiang Xu, his back against the cool sofa, while his upper body was pressed against Jiang Xu's scorching chest. The contrast of cold and hot made his eyes lose focus, and it took a long while for them to slowly sharpen again.

His originally neat suit and shirt were now somewhat disheveled, but Gu Qingzhou lacked the energy to fix them. He pressed against Jiang Xu's shoulder, panting heavily, his dark eyes covered with a shimmering layer of moisture, indescribably radiant.

Gu Qingzhou didn't know why, but looking through the glass window at the sky outside that seemed about to rain, he suddenly asked Jiang Xu a question, "Today... what's the date?"

Jiang Xu paused upon hearing this, then concealed the inexplicable smile in his eyes and deliberately feigned ignorance, saying, "The twelfth, what's wrong?"

What could Gu Qingzhou say? He didn't want to say anything.

Jiang Xu was also a little absentminded, as if thinking about something else. He stayed for a little while before leaving. As he left, he pinched Gu Qingzhou's earlobe and then casually asked, "Dinner together tonight?"

It seemed like a very normal invitation, but it was a rarity coming from him, at least to Gu Qingzhou. He sat up from the sofa, straightened the wrinkles on his clothes, his lips still slightly red, and asked back with an unreadable tone, "Eat what? Takeout?"

To some extent, Gu Qingzhou seemed to have been assimilated by Jiang Xu.

Hearing this, Jiang Xu almost laughed out loud. He shook his head without a word, closed the door behind him, and left.

In the afternoon, it started to rain outside. Even the floor-to-ceiling windows looked misty, making the sky appear dim and gray, giving off an unwarranted sense of oppression. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, shaking the sycamore leaves from the trees, which rustled down like a shower of leaves.

This kind of weather was the most uncomfortable. It was cold with the air conditioner on, but stuffy with it off.

Fang Qia fanned himself with the documents in his hand. Finally unable to bear it, he got up and opened the window to get some air, only to be startled by the clamorous sound of the rain outside. He hurriedly closed it, but a few slanting strands of rain still drifted in.

Gu Qingzhou's office was still filled with cold air; he was already used to this temperature. He just got up to make a cup of black coffee and stared out at the curtain of rain, somewhat lost in thought.

Terrible weather, terrible people.

Gu Qingzhou thought, 'I wonder if it rained this heavily on the day I was born. It probably did, otherwise how could my life be such a mess in my twenties.'

He took a sip of coffee, probably because it was too bitter, and unconsciously frowned. He raised his hand to pull up the blinds and habitually glanced outside, only to see that Jiang Xu's desk was empty.

Gu Qingzhou just assumed he had gone to the restroom, or perhaps was smoking in the hallway. However, by the time he had finished his cup of coffee, Jiang Xu slowly walked back into the office, still looking as devil-may-care as ever. It was unclear what he had been doing, but his light-colored clothes were mostly wet.

Li Si'ao glanced at him, and seeing his dripping wet hair, couldn't help but ask, "What were you up to?"

Jiang Xu sat down at his desk, pulled out a tissue to wipe the water off himself, and said casually, "Went to get a package."

He usually didn't shop online, so upon hearing this, even Fang Qia looked over. Seeing a small package on Jiang Xu's desk, he couldn't guess what was inside. "What did you buy?"

Jiang Xu casually made up an excuse, "I forgot. An umbrella, I think."

Li Si'ao said cheerfully, "Perfect timing, you can use it today."

In the evening, after work, Jiang Xu quietly waited until everyone had left before going downstairs with Gu Qingzhou. As they walked out of the company's main entrance, he saw that the rain hadn't stopped and couldn't help but scratch his hair, looking somewhat troubled.

Gu Qingzhou glanced sideways at him, paused, and then asked, "Are we still getting dinner?"

Jiang Xu touched the tip of his nose. "Let's just order takeout."

Gu Qingzhou said nothing upon hearing this, making it impossible to tell if he was disappointed or in agreement. He simply bought a black umbrella from a vendor selling them at the company entrance, then leisurely opened it in the curtain of rain, his figure blurring for a moment.

Seeing this, Jiang Xu walked forward, took the umbrella from his hand, and tilted it towards him. "Let's go. The rain is heavy; the roads will be congested soon."

By the time the two got into the car, they were both more or less splattered with rain. Gu Qingzhou took off his jacket and rolled up his cuffs. A drop of rainwater fell from the tip of his dark hair, rolled down the side of his handsome face, and finally disappeared into his sexy Adam's apple.