Chapter 30 In this respect, you didn't inherit it from me, did you...?

Liang Siheng was so smart, he naturally knew why Gu Shiyue had suddenly asked him to go back to his room.

"I'm not jealous of you." Gu Shiyue took the asparagus from Liang Siheng's hand and washed it under the tap.

Liang Siheng nodded, he understood everything: "Yes, what you're doing isn't jealousy, it's possessiveness acting up, and you're even taking it out on me. What, you know your uncle likes men, so you're keeping an eye on me?"

Gu Shiyue turned to look at him and said calmly, "If you say that again, you can leave."

Gu Shiyue simply disliked Jiang Luo appearing in front of others dressed like that. It had nothing to do with whether he was jealous or not, nor with whether Liang Siheng liked men or not. He didn't deny that it was the so-called possessiveness at work, and even his uncle was no exception.

Liang Siheng chuckled: "You're even telling me to get out? Don't you act like a nephew when you talk to me?"

“You don’t act like an uncle when you talk to me,” Gu Shiyue said. “No one needs to talk about anyone else.”

Liang Siheng couldn't argue with him, but it was true that he was reckless and didn't know his own words, insisting on saying unpleasant things.

Liang Siheng swirled his wine glass and nodded, saying, "Alright, alright, I misspoke."

Gu Shiyue took a kitchen paper towel, dried the washed asparagus, and put it on a plate for later use. The steak was fresh and had only been in the refrigerator for a short time, so it didn't need to be thawed. Gu Shiyue pressed the kitchen paper towel against the steak to absorb the blood.

Liang Siheng took a sip of wine and chuckled, "You didn't inherit that from me, did you?"

Liang Siheng had known he was attracted to men since his puberty, and he had always talked to men. Previously, out of consideration for Gu Shiyue's young age, Liang Siheng was careful in this regard, keeping any men he liked close to him and always avoiding him. It was only later that Gu Shiyue discovered this himself. At that time, Gu Shiyue was only in middle school, and Liang Siheng, fearing he would lead the child astray, even had a special talk with Gu Shiyue, despite his usually headstrong nature. His nephew, of course, was no ordinary child; his reaction was remarkably calm, requiring no intervention whatsoever.

Gu Shiyue knew what Liang Siheng was referring to. He rubbed some olive oil on his steak and said, "No."

Liang Siheng raised an eyebrow at him.

Liang Siheng's sexual orientation is innate, but Gu Shiyue is certain that he is not interested in men. All his psychological excitement and unique emotional experiences are brought about by Jiang Luo.

It's simply because it's Jiang Luo, regardless of gender.

After taking a shower, Jiang Luo and Cheng Jiashu lay on the sofa together watching anime. Global aesthetic standards have declined, and the current anime is not as good as it used to be. They can only watch the old series over and over again.

Jiang Luo was absent-minded, his mind not on the anime. The images on the TV screen passed by without him even realizing what he had watched. Half an episode had passed, and he didn't even hear Cheng Jiashu talking to him. He was just leaning against the pillow, lost in thought.

Cheng Jiashu patted his face with the back of his hand: "What's wrong with you today? Have you been possessed?"

Jiang Luo snapped out of her daze: "What?"

"Are you possessed?"

"I...I'm so sleepy." Jiang Luo tossed the cushion aside. "See? I'm going to sleep now."

Jiang Luo lay in bed with her eyes closed for half an hour after getting into bed, unable to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Gu Shiyue's face flashed through her mind, along with the scene of bumping into him at Gu Shiyue's house earlier that day.

He recalled Gu Shiyue's neck glistening with sweat, and also the way Gu Shiyue's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he drank water.

Of course, there's also the abdominal muscle definition that Gu Shiyue shows through the thin fabric of his clothes.

Jiang Luo covered her face with the blanket, which made her face even hotter.

Those images lingered in his mind, and his heart pounded faster and faster.

Jiang Luo threw off the covers and took a deep breath. He stared at the ceiling for a while, then picked up the phone next to him.

There's a saying that goes, "When you're desperate, you'll try anything," and that's exactly the situation Jiang Luo is in right now.

He foolishly opened Baidu and typed "boys like boys" into the search bar.

As soon as the webpage refreshed, Jiang Luo exited the app, tossed her phone onto the bedside table, her mind a jumble of thoughts, completely unsure of what she was supposed to do.

Jiang Luo tossed and turned in bed, and after a while he reached for his phone again. He covered his head with the blanket and didn't even notice the knocking.

Cheng Jiashu opened the door and walked in. Seeing the faint light on the bedside table, he knew that Jiang Luo was still awake.

"You don't even answer when I knock on your door," Cheng Jiashu clicked his tongue.

The sudden voice startled Jiang Luo, who nearly dropped his phone. He poked his head out from under the covers and said, "You scared me."

"I'm knocking, what else could you possibly hear?"

Cheng Jiashu was carrying a pillow, which he tossed onto the bed. He had taken the pillow to his room a couple of days ago, leaving only a blanket on the bed. Jiang Luo had been lying there for so long without realizing that there was nothing under his head.

Cheng Jiashu stood by the bed with his arms crossed, narrowing his eyes: "You're acting really strange today."

Jiang Luo stuffed the pillow under her head, turned over and covered herself with the blanket, muttering, "I'm tired."

"Nothing really happened?"

"No."

Cheng Jiashu frowned: "Could it be that your uncle and aunt have gone crazy again?"

Cheng Jiashu had gone off on a tangent, and Jiang Luo was amused by him: "No, I'm really fine, don't overthink it."

Cheng Jiashu is a typical straight man, thick-skinned and insensitive. He would never think about matters of the heart, nor is he the type to pry. If Jiang Luo doesn't want to talk about it, so be it. As long as she hasn't suffered any grievances or been bullied, that's fine.

"It's unnecessary to ask you." Cheng Jiashu glared at him. "Go to sleep."

Jiang Luo nodded: "Okay. Goodnight, my friend."

Cheng Jiashu chuckled and scoffed, then closed the door and left.

Jiang Luo fell asleep very late that night, and had many chaotic dreams, each featuring that familiar figure.

Jiang Luo set an alarm and woke up at 7:30 in the morning. He was going to work at the coffee shop today.

On the subway to the coffee shop, Jiang Luo sent Gu Shiyue a message: "Senior, I still have your jacket with me. I forgot to return it to you yesterday. Should I bring it to you next time we meet?"

Jiang Luo held his phone, staring at the screen, feeling inexplicably nervous. However, after waiting for several minutes, he still hadn't received a message from Gu Shiyue.

Just as they were about to arrive at the station, Jiang Luo's phone vibrated. He looked up at the screen—

Gu Shiyue: When is the next time?

Jiang Luo: I... don't know.

Jiang Luo: Listen to my senior.

Jiang Luo spent two minutes editing and revising those four simple words before finally sending them out.

Gu Shiyue has been busy these past two days and won't be back too early in the evenings. He replied to Jiang Luo: "Let's have lunch together on Wednesday."

Gu Shiyue knew that Jiang Luo had no classes on Wednesday afternoon, but he didn't know that Jiang Luo had accepted a commission that Wednesday. This was another debt Jiang Luo owed from before; it was his last commission, and once it was done, it would be the last, and he wouldn't take any more.

Jiang Luo usually schedules her commissions for weekends. This client was originally scheduled for a weekend as well, but her parents arranged for her to go abroad this year. The departure date was moved up, and she was to fly abroad next Saturday. She didn't know when she would be able to return, so she had no choice but to move the commission date forward. Jiang Luo was only free on Wednesday afternoon, so they arranged it for this day.

Jiang Luo replied to Gu Shiyue: I have something to do on Wednesday afternoon [bitterly]

Gu Shiyue: What is it?

Jiang Luo wasn't stupid. He could tell that Gu Shiyue had a problem with him accepting the commission. There was a small problem with the last commission, and Gu Shiyue's attitude was very clear, but he didn't say it outright.

Jiang Luo was afraid he would be unhappy, but she didn't dare to lie, so she honestly answered: I... have a cosplay commission.

Two minutes later, Gu Shiyue replied to the message with a calm response: "I understand."

After that, Gu Shiyue didn't reply. The conversation was interrupted by his "I know," and Jiang Luo didn't know what to say if she wanted to continue the conversation.

After arriving at her post, Jiang Luo seemed listless. She worked efficiently, but her mood was clearly low.

"Lolo, what's wrong?" a colleague asked with concern.

"Huh?" Jiang Luo snapped out of her daze. "What?"

"What's wrong with you? You look so listless. Are you in a bad mood?"

"No." Jiang Luo smiled slightly. "I got up early and I'm still a little sleepy."

Jiang Luo slowly poured the frothed milk into the coffee cup.

When a customer places an order, the front desk staff greets them with a smile: "Hello."

"A glass of Italian."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Luo abruptly raised her head.

Gu Shiyue stood in front of the cashier, his gaze casually sweeping over and landing on him.

The two looked at each other, and the receptionist asked again, "Would you like to take it away, or drink it in the store?"

Gu Shiyue looked at Jiang Luo and said, "Drink in the shop."

"Okay, please have a seat and wait a moment."

The coffee shop had a backyard with tables, but Gu Shiyue didn't sit inside. Near the back door stood a bookshelf filled with books for customers to borrow for free. Gu Shiyue picked a book from the shelf and took it to the backyard.

The espresso that Gu Shiyue ordered was made by Jiang Luo; of course, he had taken the initiative to order it himself.

Jiang Luo carried the coffee tray into the backyard. Gu Shiyue sat in a corner, quietly reading a book, with a flower wall behind him.

"Hello, here's your coffee." Jiang Luo gently placed the coffee cup on the table.

Gu Shiyue raised her eyes and met his gaze.

Jiang Luo was wearing a light brown apron with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was holding a tray in front of him with both hands. He had just washed his hands with hot water, and his knuckles were faintly red.

"You can call me if you need anything." It was a bit cold outside, and there were no other guests in the backyard, so no one would see them chatting. But Jiang Luo didn't know what to say, so after delivering the coffee, she turned and left.

"Wait a moment," Gu Shiyue called out to him.

Jiang Luo immediately turned around, still speaking in a working-class tone during work hours: "Is there anything you need?"

Gu Shiyue closed the book and pushed it aside, picked up the coffee cup on the table and gently swirled it, then said with his eyes downcast, "I need to take up two minutes of your personal time."

Jiang Luoren perked up and nodded, "Okay, no problem."

Gu Shiyue looked down at the coffee in his cup and didn't say anything.

Jiang Luo blinked: "Senior, is there... something you need?"

"I have something to discuss." Gu Shiyue put down his coffee cup and looked up at him. "I need to schedule a meeting with you."

Jiang Luo was taken aback.

Jiang Luo stood there, stunned, speechless for a long time.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Gu Shiyue looked at him.

"I..." Jiang Luo opened his mouth, thinking he had misheard, "Senior, you... want to commission someone?"

"Um."

"Why... why did you suddenly... ask for a commission?" Jiang Luo asked in a low voice.

"You just need to answer whether you'll answer or not."

Jiang Luo had no energy left to think; his CPU was almost overheated. He had already stopped accepting commissions, but he started applying double standards to Gu Shiyue again.

He nodded and whispered, "Answer it."

Gu Shiyue hummed in agreement, picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee, and said, "Let's go back to work."