34

"Sit down and have some water," Xiao Jian said, stepping forward to greet Wang Ting. Li Muqing stood to the side, remaining silent.

"Son, come and help me out," Xiao Jian's mother called from the kitchen.

"Oh! Coming!" Xiao Jian turned to look at Li Muqing and walked into the kitchen.

Li Muqing walked over to Wang Ting, sat down, and asked her directly, "Do you like Xiao Jian a lot?"

Wang Ting was taken aback by Li Muqing's sudden question and felt a little embarrassed: "Well...maybe, I..."

Li Muqing sneered: "Are you joking? You either like it or you don't. What do you mean by 'maybe'?"

Wang Ting smiled after hearing this: "Even if I don't know whether I like him or not, what does it have to do with you?"

Li Muqing calmly replied, "The answer is simple: because I like him."

Wang Ting was completely taken aback by Li Muqing's answer and was momentarily stunned. Just then, Xiao Jian came out of the kitchen: "Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Wang Ting glanced at Li Muqing in surprise, then turned to look at Xiao Jian. She was so shocked by this unexpected relationship that she was completely flustered.

As Wang Ting got up and walked to the dining table, she deliberately moved closer to Li Muqing and asked, "Then...does he like you too?"

Li Muqing turned around, gave Wang Ting an ambiguous smile, and said nothing.

Wang Ting ate her meal with great unease. She racked her brains, but couldn't figure out when Xiao Jian had started having an affair with Li Muqing. She suddenly remembered that when Xining had helped her with a blind date, Xining had told Wang Ting in a disgusting tone that Li Muqing and Xiao Jian had been flirting in the restaurant and were lesbians.

Until she spoke to Li Muqing, Wang Ting firmly believed that this was just a play put on by Xiao Jian and Li Muqing to get rid of Xining. But now that she's said this... Wang Ting dared not disbelieve it, yet she didn't want to truly believe it. Her heart began to struggle.

After the meal, Wang Ting said she had something to do at home and couldn't stay any longer. Xiao Jian's mother then asked Xiao Jian to take Wang Ting to the station. No sooner had Wang Ting and Xiao Jian left than Li Muqing said he was going back too. After saying goodbye to Xiao Jian's mother, Li Muqing kept a distance, observing Xiao Jian and Wang Ting. Li Muqing felt like he was going crazy; he felt like a madman catching his wife cheating. He would never have done such a shameful thing before, but the thought of Xiao Jian and Wang Ting alone together made him uneasy. Having made up his mind, Li Muqing followed them. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, at least he could see them, which made him feel more at ease.

"Wang Ting, I... can I ask you a question?" Before Wang Ting could speak, Xiao Jian spoke first.

Wang Ting was surprised that Xiao Jian, who was usually quiet, would take the initiative to talk to her. While she was happy, she also hoped that Xiao Jian would take back his words about breaking up last night, because their breakup was completely unreasonable. Xiao Jian said he didn't like her, but Wang Ting didn't believe him at all. That's why she came to his door again today, wanting to find out the truth: "Um, what's the problem?"

"You..." Xiao Jian hesitated for a moment before asking, then continued, "You...do you like Li Muqing?"

"Wh...what?" Wang Ting thought she had misheard and stared wide-eyed at Xiao Jian.

"Because I saw you two chatting happily in the living room just now, and when you came over for dinner you were whispering to him... and you kept glancing at him while we were eating, so I wanted to ask you..."

"I would like him???" Wang Ting was really annoyed by Xiao Jian's obtuseness. "Xiao Jian, I've never seen such a clueless guy like you. How could I like him? I've always... He just told me that he likes you. I think it's ridiculous, so I've been secretly observing him. Now that things have been brought up, I'll just ask you directly: Is what Li Muqing said true?"

Xiao Jian had no idea that Li Muqing would tell Wang Ting so quickly. He thought Wang Ting would never know about it. Now, facing Wang Ting's questioning, Xiao Jian really didn't know how to answer.

"Xiao Jian, let me ask you, is it true that Li Muqing likes you?" Wang Ting asked again.

Xiao Jian frowned and said, "Yes."

Wang Ting, however, seemed to have expected this: "I knew rich people weren't good people. Stay away from him in the future. I feel disgusted just looking at him. He's gay..."

It took Xiao Jian a while to realize that Wang Ting had misunderstood. He listened to Wang Ting's insults towards Li Muqing, his hands clenched tightly. Finally, he interrupted Wang Ting: "That's enough!"

Wang Ting was taken aback. She thought that Xiao Jian must be finding it hard to tolerate Li Muqing's constant clinging, but he was just too honest to refuse. Now that she was scolding Li Muqing on Xiao Jian's behalf, why was Xiao Jian stopping her? "Xiao Jian, you can't keep putting up with this! He's a pervert! If you spend all your time with a pervert, you'll eventually..."

“I like him too,” Xiao Jian said calmly.

Wang Ting thought she had misheard. She looked at Xiao Jian and asked, "What?"

Xiao Jian's voice was a little louder this time, but his tone remained calm: "I like him too, the kind of liking that comes from the bottom of my heart."

After hearing this, Wang Ting knew she had lost face. She hadn't expected that Xiao Jian, an honest country boy, would be gay. But... but no matter how she looked at Xiao Jian, she thought he was a normal man and couldn't see anything about him that suggested he was gay.

"Then why did you want to be with me in the first place...?"

"I was so naive back then, I didn't understand what I was thinking. To be honest, I struggled with it, really, I was in a lot of pain during that time, but once I figured it out, I felt much better. I've always been slow to understand relationships, and I think I hurt him too, but I don't want him to get hurt by anything anymore. Maybe you think we're disgusting, and I never thought about getting anyone's approval, but this is the path I'm going to stick to, and I will walk with him, no matter how hard it is."

Wang Ting was completely impressed by Xiao Jian's words. She never thought that Xiao Jian could say such things. She also thought that Xiao Jian had always given people a silly feeling and that he was passive in relationships. But now, seeing Xiao Jian protecting Li Muqing so much, Wang Ting suddenly didn't know what to say.

"Do you think you're acting in a romance novel? It's so cheesy!" At this moment, Li Muqing suddenly walked over from not far away. She went to Xiao Jian's side and tightly grasped his hand: "Don't let me hear you say things like that again. It gives me goosebumps!"

Xiao Jian smiled sheepishly and squeezed Li Muqing's hand tightly as well: "Oh..."

Looking at Wang Ting, who looked dejected, Li Muqing said, "If you're even a reasonable person, I hope you won't tell Xiao Jian's mother or Aunt Zhang about this. After all, they're both getting on in years, and too much stress would be bad for their health, especially Aunt Zhang who loves you the most..."

Wang Ting suddenly laughed: "I won't tell, I'm not that stupid, but... but I don't want to see you again."

"I think you'd better face reality sooner rather than later," Li Muqing said sarcastically.

Xiao Jian gave Li Muqing a wink, then said to Wang Ting, "I...I can only say, I'm sorry..."

Wang Ting shook her head, turned around, and walked into the station.

As Xiao Jian and Li Muqing watched Wang Ting's retreating figure, their hands clasped even tighter...