Unflirtable

Jiang Xu glanced at him imperceptibly, then averted his gaze again. His fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the steering wheel, looking as if he was thinking about something. Finally, looking at the increasingly congested traffic outside the car window, he decided to head home first and talk later.

As Jiang Xu started the car, he tried to make small talk and casually asked, "Are you cold?"

It was already autumn, and the temperature dropped sharply at night, the chill profound. Gu Qingzhou was only wearing a half-damp white shirt, and his figure looked a bit thin. He was originally staring blankly at the rain outside. Hearing this, he glanced at Jiang Xu, then shook his head. "Not cold."

For some reason, Jiang Xu inexplicably felt like having a smoke. He freed one hand and subconsciously reached for his pocket. As if suddenly remembering something, he paused, then withdrew his hand and turned to Gu Qingzhou, saying, "Got a smoke?"

Gu Qingzhou faintly raised an eyebrow. "What if I say I don't?"

Jiang Xu knew he had cigarettes, he just didn't want to give him any. He shrugged and said, "Then I'll just go back to my own place to smoke."

Gu Qingzhou was silent for a moment upon hearing this. His mood was just like the weather outside, overcast and rainy. He couldn't help but press his lips together.

If he had a bit more backbone right now, he should have said to Jiang Xu: Fine, then go back to your own home. But in reality, Gu Qingzhou could only take out an unopened pack of cigarettes from the car door compartment and toss it into his lap. Compromise seemed to have become a habit.

Jiang Xu took the cigarettes, pulled one out, and stuck it in his mouth, but didn't light it. While waiting at a red light, he glanced at the messages on his phone screen. The frequency of his fingertips tapping on the steering wheel unconsciously quickened, as if feeling a bit impatient with the congested traffic.

Gu Qingzhou leaned against the car window for a while, then shifted his position. Messages came one after another on his phone, all birthday wishes from others, whether familiar or not; all were perfunctory gestures. For some reason, he turned his head to look at Jiang Xu. Seeing the latter holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth out of boredom, his chaotic heart suddenly calmed down.

Jiang Xu noticed his gaze and raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at me for?"

Gu Qingzhou hadn't asked for anything in all these years, and he wouldn't now. In fact, his current situation was already much better than before. He looked at Jiang Xu quietly, was silent for a moment, and then suddenly said, "You can't make me angry today."

Jiang Xu didn't hear clearly. "Hmm?"

Gu Qingzhou said, "...Jiang Xu, can you not make me angry today."

'It's not like I can control that sort of thing,' Jiang Xu thought. He parked the car downstairs and asked with a knowing smile, "Why can't I make you angry today? Can I make you angry tomorrow then?"

Gu Qingzhou had long guessed that no good words would come from his mouth, so he said nothing. Seeing they had arrived home, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car directly, not even holding an umbrella. The pouring rain outside fell slanted, drenching him completely in no time. Rainwater slid down his well-defined jawline and into his collar. A lock of his ink-black hair fell, making his already cold, pale skin seem bloodless.

Jiang Xu was locking the car and was half a step behind. He opened a not-so-large black umbrella and held it over Gu Qingzhou's head and asked with a half-smile, "Manager Gu, does it feel good to be in the rain?"

When people are sulking, they can say all sorts of nonsense.

Gu Qingzhou said in a cold tone, "It feels good."

Jiang Xu thought that Gu Qingzhou had either had his brain damaged by his mother's slap last time, or he had gotten water in his brain from the rain just now. Otherwise, how could he say such nonsense?

He hadn't noticed it outside, but when they entered the elevator lobby, Jiang Xu discovered that Gu Qingzhou was soaked through. His exposed skin was icy cold, faintly exuding a chill. 'This person still loves to be so hard on himself,' he thought.

Jiang Xu didn't say anything the whole time. But just as they were about to enter the apartment, he suddenly called out to him, "Gu Qingzhou—"

Gu Qingzhou was opening the door with his key. He paused slightly at the words. He glanced at him, then said in an emotionless voice, "What is it?"

With his hands in his pockets, Jiang Xu approached him from behind without warning, getting close to his ear. Then, he asked slowly and seriously, "Is today your birthday?"

The sentence came unexpectedly. Just a few light words, but they exploded like fireworks in his mind.

Gu Qingzhou's steps came to an abrupt halt. For a moment, he thought there was something wrong with his ears. He subconsciously turned back, looking up at Jiang Xu in surprise. "What?"

Jiang Xu said, "It's your birthday today, isn't it?"

While changing his shoes in the entryway, he took a gift box from his pocket under Gu Qingzhou's gaze and handed it over. 'I'm really not cut out for this romance stuff,' he thought. He could only say two simple and sincere words: "Happy birthday."

The gift box was only half the size of a palm, tied with a thin satin ribbon bow. It was so exquisite that it didn't seem like something Jiang Xu would give. Gu Qingzhou took it in a daze, his face showing no emotion. But after opening the lid and finding a sterling silver cross earring lying quietly inside, his eyelids couldn't help but tremble.

Jiang Xu had been watching the change in his expression. Seeing this, he said, "I found it when I was shopping. I thought it looked okay, so I bought it."

Actually, it wasn't bought, but custom-made. If one looked closely, they would discover that the style of this earring was exactly the same as the one he had given Gu Qingzhou a few years ago. It was just that Jiang Xu felt it would be weird to say so deliberately, so he just made up a random reason.

Gu Qingzhou kept his head down, and only after a long while did he look at him. He asked in an emotionless tone, "Did you buy it at a street stall again?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xu's fingertips twitched. He really wanted to flick him on the forehead, but on second thought, he decided against it. He stared at him and said, word by word with emphasis, "It's sterling silver."

Su. Per. Ex. Pen. Sive!

Gu Qingzhou didn't say anything more after hearing that. He lowered his head to look at the earring again. He pressed his lips together, as if he wanted to smile, but couldn't. It felt like something was caught in his throat, preventing him from saying a single word. What gradually spread through his heart, besides joy, was actually more of a bittersweet sorrow.

Jiang Xu said, "This one won't fade. Do you like it?"

Gu Qingzhou nodded silently. Then he slowly closed his fingers, clenching the earring in his palm. Perhaps because he was squeezing too hard, a faint, sharp sting came from it. "I like it..."

Jiang Xu glanced at the reddened corners of his eyes and was silent for a moment. Then he smiled and held out his arms. Without a single word needing to be said, Gu Qingzhou had already leaned into his embrace on his own accord. Although he rested against his shoulder without speaking, his completely dependent appearance made one's heart soften a little.

Jiang Xu asked as if to confirm, "Do you really like it?"

Gu Qingzhou tilted his head and kissed his Adam's apple. His eyes were dark, and upon closer inspection, a startling possessiveness could be seen within them. He unconsciously touched his own earlobe. "I like it, but I don't have an ear piercing."

Jiang Xu was stunned for a moment. He had forgotten about that when he gave the gift. He glanced at Gu Qingzhou's fair earlobe, then reached out and pinched it. He smiled mischievously, "What should we do then? How about I pierce one for you?"

Gu Qingzhou had only a partial understanding of this matter. "How do you pierce it?"

Jiang Xu slowly rolled up his sleeves. "Find a needle, poke it through in a flash, and it'll be done. I guarantee it won't hurt."

He was clearly teasing him, but Gu Qingzhou was always quite gullible when it came to Jiang Xu. Hearing this, he pondered for a moment and took it seriously. "Don't you need to disinfect it?"

Jiang Xu: "...I'd quite like to disinfect your brain."

He sometimes wondered how on earth Gu Qingzhou became a manager. Who pierces ears with a needle these days? Just thinking about it, you'd know it was a joke.

Gu Qingzhou also realized it when he heard that. "You're tricking me again."

It was just a very ordinary sentence, but it seemed like nothing had changed in all these years. Whatever Jiang Xu said, Gu Qingzhou would believe.

Jiang Xu's eyelid twitched. 'This shouldn't count as tricking, right? At most, it's just a joke,' he thought. Just as he was about to say something, his waist was tightened as Gu Qingzhou suddenly wrapped his arms around his neck again. After a long time, he said in a low voice, "I won't be angry with you today."

Jiang Xu glanced at him. 'Has Gu Qingzhou's mind, which is smaller than the eye of a needle, finally broadened a tiny bit?' he thought. "Does this count as you being soft because you took my gift?"

Gu Qingzhou said, "You can think of it that way if you want."

His clothes were all soaked. He hadn't felt it earlier, but now that they were hugging, his body was ice-cold. Jiang Xu gave him a little push. "Go take a shower first."

He said this out of the blue, and it was very easy to misunderstand. Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou looked at him impassively. A dark glint flashed through his eyes. He paused, then asked in return, "I'm going to take a shower?"

"Yeah," Jiang Xu pulled at his collar, showing him, "it's all soaked."

Gu Qingzhou glanced down at himself but didn't seem to care. He continued to hug Jiang Xu's neck tightly without letting go, and whispered in his ear, "Give me a kiss, and I'll go."

Jiang Xu was never one to dilly-dally in these matters. He did as he was told and gave him a kiss. Then, his gentleness lasting no more than three seconds, he urged, "Hurry up and go."

Gu Qingzhou could only get a change of clothes from the room and go take a shower in the bathroom. Jiang Xu glanced at his phone, then opened the fridge to look for something to eat, only to find that although it was fully stocked with vegetables and meat, there was no ready-to-eat food.

Gu Qingzhou leaned against the doorframe. Seeing him rummaging through the fridge like a headless fly, he unhurriedly loosened his tie. The pure black fabric wrapped loosely once around his long, fair wrist, inexplicably carrying a certain bewitching allure.

Gu Qingzhou suddenly smiled. "Jiang Xu,"

Jiang Xu looked at him instinctively. "Hmm?"

Gu Qingzhou watched him quietly. His shirt collar was loose, faintly revealing his sexy collarbones. His voice was low. "Want to come in and shower together..."

Jiang Xu: "No."

Gu Qingzhou: "..."

It had to be said, a man like Jiang Xu could sometimes make one feel utterly defeated. Gu Qingzhou turned and walked into the bathroom with a blank expression, then closed the door behind him.

Jiang Xu successfully fished out a box of cherry tomatoes from the fridge. He gave them a quick rinse, then sat on the sofa and ate them. Before long, a knock suddenly sounded from outside. He got up and went to open the door.

A delivery guy was standing outside. He handed a cake box to Jiang Xu and said, "Hello, your delivery has arrived."

"Thanks."

Jiang Xu closed the door, a little worried that the cake might have been damaged from being jostled during the journey. He opened the packaging to check and was relieved to see that its shape was still more or less intact.

When Gu Qingzhou came out of the shower, his mood was still subtly defeated. But as soon as he walked into the living room, he saw a strawberry cake on the table and couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Jiang Xu was sitting on the sofa and waved him over. "Come eat cake."

Seeing this, Gu Qingzhou couldn't help but close his eyes, his fingertips tightening slightly. He kept feeling that today wasn't quite real. Seeing Jiang Xu preparing to cut the cake, he asked, "...Aren't you going to blow out candles and make a wish?"

Jiang Xu: "How old are you? Still believe in that stuff? It's fake."

He used to wish to become a millionaire on his birthday, and isn't he still a poor bastard now?