Even if You Lie to Him, He's Still Happy

In Jiang Xu's room, it was hard to find any personal old items, whether photos or other things. After all, he didn't seem like a sentimental person. He only maintained occasional phone contact with the fair-weather friends he used to know, and eventually, they all drifted apart as their life paths diverged.

A lot of groceries were bought. Gu Qingzhou was incredibly glad that although Jiang Xu didn't have a pot, he did have a fridge at home. He put the items away, sorted by category, and then started cooking. Jiang Xu leaned against the kitchen doorway, playing a game on his phone while keeping him company.

In the cramped space, the two of them would bump into each other if they weren't careful turning around. The moment their eyes met, Jiang Xu would look at Gu Qingzhou with a grin, then kiss him without any warning before pulling his gaze away and returning it to his phone screen.

For the first time, the aroma of a fresh home-cooked meal filled the house that never used its stove. Gu Qingzhou's cooking skills were neither good nor bad, but the abundance of ingredients made up for it. He made four dishes and a soup. Jiang Xu glanced at them and found them familiar, as if they matched his old tastes. It was just that after so many years of getting used to instant noodles and fast food, he had gradually almost forgotten his own preferences.

Jiang Xu said, "Why didn't you make something you like to eat?"

Gu Qingzhou glanced at him, unhurriedly rolling up his sleeves. The simple action carried a hint of aristocratic grace. "Did you think everyone is as picky an eater as you?"

Jiang Xu pouted and said nothing more.

After dinner, Gu Qingzhou went to take a shower. Since he hadn't brought a change of clothes, he could only make do with wearing Jiang Xu's. Strictly speaking, their builds weren't that different, but Gu Qingzhou was slightly thinner, so the clothes looked a bit loose on him.

The weather had already turned a bit cold, so it was no longer possible to just lie on the sofa and play on his phone after a shower like usual. Gu Qingzhou burrowed directly into the blankets and habitually curled into a ball, revealing only the top of his dark hair. He used his phone to book a hotel online for the company's annual party.

Jiang Xu watched from a distance, seeing only a lumpy bulge in the blankets. He casually slapped it. "Gu Qingzhou, you've practically curled into a ball. Not even a little brat sleeps like you."

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou ignored him. Only when Jiang Xu got into bed did he stretch out his limbs again, then turn to hug him. Maybe it was because he had a slight cold, but his voice had a faint nasal tone when he spoke, "How did you guys do your annual parties before?"

Jiang Xu was always warm, unlike Gu Qingzhou, who was cold even when curled up in the blankets. He casually ruffled the other's hair. "Pretty simple. We'd just get together for a meal, chat a bit, and then break for the holidays. Everyone goes back to their own homes."

Back when Gu Qingzhou was at headquarters, he didn't really manage these things and would deliberately avoid banquets. Now that he was here, he couldn't just be a hands-off boss. He calculated the number of employees, then booked the hotel. He said to Jiang Xu, "How about next month? After the annual dinner, the company can start its holiday break."

Jiang Xu asked him, "Are you going home for the New Year?"

Gu Qingzhou didn't speak. A moment later, he said, "Not sure. We'll see when the time comes."

As was his custom in previous years, Jiang Xu would usually go home for the New Year. After all, he was normally too busy with work and didn't have many chances to go back. He remembered that Gu Qingzhou always seemed to be all alone and suddenly said with a smile, "If you're not going back to City A, you might as well come home with me for the New Year."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingzhou stiffened slightly, then raised his eyes to look at him, as if trying to determine whether Jiang Xu was being serious or joking. But after studying him for a long while, he couldn't figure it out. "...Aren't you afraid your mom will find out?"

Jiang Xu, however, wasn't as hesitant as before. He was quite calm. "I'll just say a friend is visiting. Besides, she might not know now, but she'll find out eventually. It can't be hidden forever."

He was quite open-minded about it. Face it or hide from it, the result is the same. Might as well just live happily.

Gu Qingzhou's breath caught. Then, he tugged lightly at the corner of his mouth and said, as if joking, "The elderly lady is getting on in years. Aren't you afraid of making your mom sick with anger?"

Gu Qingzhou's love was blind and passionate. He was all alone, lived a comfortable life, and by now, there was nothing that could hold him back. But Jiang Xu was different from him; he had family and friends. Jiang Xu had once told him that this path would be very, very difficult. At that time, Gu Qingzhou couldn't deeply understand what he meant. Now, considering things from Jiang Xu's perspective, he realized that some things weren't as simple as he had imagined, and for some people, mutual affection wasn't enough to be together.

Jiang Xu, for some reason, slowed his pace in the game. "My mom may not be in good health, but she's not that fragile mentally."

A lonely woman who had raised her son on the city streets clearly had a spirit tougher than most. At least, for as long as Jiang Xu could remember, he had never seen Mother Jiang cry. That woman had been feisty when she was young. As she gradually grew older, her temperament finally mellowed into something more benevolent, but the traits in her bones had hardly changed.

Gu Qingzhou closed his eyes and didn't speak, just wrapped his arms around Jiang Xu's neck. A moment later, he suddenly whispered, "Jiang Xu, don't hate me, okay..."

He knew full well that Jiang Xu was unwilling to walk this path, yet he had willfully dragged him into this quagmire. Gu Qingzhou had always treated Jiang Xu with all his heart, but he had never considered that he himself was the culprit who had shattered his stable life.

Hearing this, Jiang Xu subconsciously lowered his head but could only catch a glimpse of Gu Qingzhou's lips, pressed so tightly they were turning a little pale. Being thick-skinned, he sometimes had trouble catching the other's more sensitive emotions and couldn't help but ask, "Why on earth would I hate you?"

Gu Qingzhou said, "...Do you think this path is very difficult to walk?"

"It is pretty difficult," Jiang Xu said honestly. "But it's okay if two people walk it together."

Sometimes, what people fear isn't the difficulty itself, but the feeling of bewilderment from moving forward all alone. No one to accompany them, no one to tell them right from wrong, they can only walk on aimlessly, not even knowing when they will reach the end.

Jiang Xu's current mindset was a bit like when he was seventeen or eighteen—fearing neither heaven nor earth. He wouldn't back down even after getting a demerit for a group fight at school. He could still return home with his head held high, only to be ruthlessly beaten with a stick by Mother Jiang and sent scurrying like a street rat. The next day at school, it would be business as usual. If someone provoked him, he would fight back without hesitation!

After speaking, seeing Gu Qingzhou still looking a bit downcast, he said with a grin, "What's there to be upset about? If you want to solve the problem, it's simple. Just break up with me."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingzhou immediately snapped out of his previous mood. He looked at Jiang Xu with a sharp gaze and asked in an emotionless tone, "What did you say?"

Jiang Xu, bold and fearless, repeated himself, "Break up. That way, neither of us will have to worry anymore."

The only reason Gu Qingzhou didn't punch him in the face right then and there was thanks to the patience he had cultivated over so many years. Even so, he was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He grabbed Jiang Xu's collar and said sullenly, "Break up? Not in this lifetime. You'd better give up on that idea right now."

Jiang Xu was amused. 'This petty guy still can't take a joke,' he thought. He simply turned off the bedside lamp, pulled Gu Qingzhou's hand down in the darkness, and then tugged the blankets to hug him tightly. "Sleep, sleep."

Gu Qingzhou didn't speak, but his muscles remained tense, and his chest heaved, clearly quite angry. Jiang Xu gave him a slap below the waist that was neither light nor heavy and lowered his voice in a half-intimidating, half-threatening tone, "If you don't go to sleep, believe it or not, I'll do you?"

Gu Qingzhou said coldly, "Do it if you have the guts."

Jiang Xu hissed at his words. 'Gu Qingzhou is really asking for it,' he thought. 'If I really did it, the pain would kill you.' He didn't even need to use the real thing. His palm moved down to a certain spot behind him and pressed lightly through the fabric. He asked with a half-smile, "You really want me to do it?"

Gu Qingzhou had clearly overestimated himself. His body trembled imperceptibly under the covers, and his expression changed, but he was still being stubborn. "I'm telling you to do it. I'm just afraid you don't dare."

"Fine. You've got guts."

Jiang Xu, not knowing whether to be angry or amused, nodded and said no more.

In the pitch-black bedroom, the faint silhouette of the blanket propped up by the two of them was vaguely visible, along with the low voices of Jiang Xu and Gu Qingzhou.

Jiang Xu was still fully clothed, but he did something that made the person beside him shudder. "I'll ask you one more time, are you sure?"

Gu Qingzhou could be really messed up sometimes, insisting on being difficult about this kind of thing. "Sure..."

Jiang Xu continued to apply more pressure, asking with a raised eyebrow, "Sure?"

...

He fell silent, and Jiang Xu didn't stop. About ten minutes later, he finally took pity and stopped. By then, Gu Qingzhou was buried in the blankets, his waist and legs trembling, unable to even speak. The pain stimulated physiological tears that gradually welled up in his eyes, soaking his eyelashes and clumping them together. If the light were on, one would see that the rims of his eyes were incredibly red.

Jiang Xu seemed a bit helpless. "Alright, I haven't even done anything yet, just pressed a couple of times, and you're already crying for your mommy and daddy in pain. Where did you get that courage?"

He then asked, "Does it really hurt that much?"

Gu Qingzhou didn't know if he had cried, but the area around his eyes was wet. One half of his pale face was reddened from rubbing against the pillow. He lay paralyzed on the bed like a dead fish, his eyes unfocused. It took him a long while to gather his wits. He covered his eyes with the back of his hand, and after a good while, he said in a hoarse voice, "It hurts..."

Gu Qingzhou had still overestimated himself.

Jiang Xu reached out, pulled a few tissues from the bedside table to wipe his tears, and said, both exasperated and amused, "Hey, Gu Qingzhou, you should work on that stubborn temper. There's no need to act tough in this kind of situation."

Gu Qingzhou wanted to say it was a matter of a man's dignity, but then he remembered he was the one on the bottom and kept quiet. He buried his face in the pillow, slowly calming himself. Seeing this, Jiang Xu pulled him into his arms from behind. He saw that Gu Qingzhou's dark eyes were still wet, having dampened a small patch of the pillow. "Aiyo," he said, "Are you made of water? Was it that stimulating?"

He unconsciously began to gently rub his lower back.

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou shot him a glance. "Why don't you try being on the bottom some day? Then you'll know just how stimulating it is."

Jiang Xu always felt that Gu Qingzhou wasn't the type to cry over a little pain. Of course, he wasn't about to go seek out that kind of stimulation himself to experience whether one could really cry like that. He could only pat Gu Qingzhou's back and say, "Alright, sleep. It's late, stop messing around."

Having been busy cooking for a good part of the day, Jiang Xu was already sleepy. After speaking, he kissed Gu Qingzhou, then pulled the blankets up and went to sleep. In a daze, he felt arms wrap tightly around his waist, and then Gu Qingzhou's somewhat surreal voice sounded by his ear.

Gu Qingzhou's reaction time seemed to be a bit longer than others'. "Jiang Xu, what you said earlier about taking me home... was it true?"

Jiang Xu said, "It was a lie. Don't you dare believe it."

...

Gu Qingzhou didn't get angry, which didn't quite fit with Jiang Xu's usual assessment of him as sharp-tongued and petty. He just carefully adjusted his position. His dark hair fell across his forehead, a bit irritating to his eyes. His fair fingertips touched Jiang Xu's Adam's apple, and then he said, "It's okay if it was a lie."

Gu Qingzhou said, "Jiang Xu, even if it was a lie, I'm still happy..."