Mr. Nice Guy refuses to separate
During lunch, Gu Yansheng was absent-minded and lacked energy. He glanced at Jiang Lin, who hadn't gone to work, and asked uncomfortably, "Why didn't you go to work?"
"There are no surgeries scheduled in the department, and the department's tasks were handed over yesterday. I'm packing up today and leaving tomorrow."
Jiang Lin explained his plans before leaving in a serious manner. Gu Yansheng felt even less interested. He bit his chopsticks and said, "Jiang Lin, your trip to the countryside this time shouldn't be related to Fan Zhong's complaint, right? You must answer honestly!"
He finally couldn't help but ask this question. After all, going to the countryside was too coincidental...
"Huh? Going to the countryside is related to my job title promotion. I should have gone a few years ago, but I never went. This year I just couldn't get away with it. It has nothing to do with you."
Jiang Lin looked somewhat helpless. Mr. Nice Guy always thinks too much.
After hearing that it had nothing to do with Fan Zhong, Gu Yansheng finally felt relieved. However, there was still a problem. Jiang Lin would be in the countryside for three months, and by then it would be autumn...their annual summer trip would be over...
But Mr. Nice Guy convinced himself in just one second - the future is more important than the promise!!!
Gu Yansheng's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and the heavy weight in his heart fell to the ground. But then came the reality that Jiang Lin would be gone for three months, like a new, thicker shadow, silently and imperceptibly looming over him. Silence fell again at the dinner table, broken only by the gentle clinking of dishes and chopsticks.
Gu Yansheng ate the last few grains of rice in his bowl, finding it tasteless. He stared across at Jiang Lin, who appeared calm, as if he were just on a short errand. The feeling of emptiness in his heart grew even more pronounced.
He put down his chopsticks, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the table, hesitating for a few seconds, and finally raised his head and looked at Jiang Lin, his eyes filled with cautious tentativeness and expectation, and his voice became softer.
"Jiang Lin...that...weekend...I mean, if I'm free on the weekend, can...can I come to see you?" After he asked, his eyes, which were usually gentle and peaceful, now stared at Jiang Lin brightly and unblinkingly like puppy eyes filled with stars, with undisguised expectation and a little bit of barely perceptible dependence.
Jiang Lin's action of picking up food paused almost imperceptibly.
He raised his eyes and met Gu Yansheng's overly bright, overly direct gaze. The pure expectation in those puppy eyes was like a soft feather, gently scratching the most vulnerable part of his heart, instantly disturbing the calm surface he had worked so hard to maintain.
Conflicting emotions collided violently in Jiang Lin's heart like two torrents.
On the one hand, reason was sharply reminding him: Jiang Lin, you need space! You need this trip to the countryside. You need to use physical distance and a brand new environment to cool your overly tense nerves and regain control of your emotions that are on the verge of losing control every time Gu Yansheng is hurt.
You need to prove that Gu Yansheng can live well outside your designated "safe zone," and that you can escape this almost pathological "stress response." Letting him come to you? Wouldn't that just be back to square one? What's the point of leaving?
But on the other hand, a deeper, more primitive, and more irrefutable desire, like a dormant beast, roared under the dam of reason: You need him! You need to see him by your side, you need to confirm his condition, and you need the unique comfort brought by his unconscious dependence.
Three months of separation. Just imagining that land without Gu Yansheng, how is this life any different from the days of our childhood? Let him come!! Gu Yansheng can't take care of himself properly.
Jiang Lin's brows frowned and relaxed almost imperceptibly, undercurrents surged in his deep eyes, and various emotions flashed through his mind quickly, eventually settling into a complex and indistinguishable deep pool.
His fingers gripping the chopsticks tightened slightly, his knuckles turning a little white. Time seemed to stretch for several seconds as they stared at each other in silence.
Gu Yansheng watched him in silence, watching the complex emotions surging in his eyes. The shining expectation was slowly tinged with a hint of uneasiness, and his long eyelashes drooped slightly, like a little animal afraid of being rejected.
Just when Gu Yansheng was about to give up and was about to say "Forget it if it's inconvenient", Jiang Lin's Adam's apple rolled up and down, as if he had finally made some kind of compromise with great difficulty.
He avoided Gu Yansheng's overly scorching gaze, lowered his head again, picked up a piece of green vegetables with chopsticks, and uttered a word in a low voice with an almost inaudible sigh, but with an extremely clear voice,
"……Um."
A slight nod and a "hmm" were like a ray of sunshine that instantly dispelled the uneasiness and gloom in Gu Yansheng's eyes.
"Really?!" Gu Yansheng almost blurted out, with a huge surprise on his face. The idea that he had just warned himself in his heart to "maintain independent space" and "not be too dependent" was immediately thrown out of the window after hearing the affirmative answer.
His eyes lit up surprisingly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, and his whole person became lively. "Great! Then I'll tell you in advance when the time comes!"
Seeing Gu Yansheng's expression suddenly change from gloomy to cheerful and overjoyed, Jiang Lin's awkward feeling caused by compromise was strangely replaced by a softer emotion. He lowered his eyelids to hide the helpless indulgence and... a hint of secret satisfaction deep in his eyes.
After lunch, Gu Yansheng shook off his previous depression and took the initiative to help Jiang Lin pack his luggage.
Shilong Town is located in a remote area, backed by mountains. It is said that the temperature difference between day and night is huge, the climate is humid and cold, and it will enter autumn in three months. Gu Yansheng rummaged through the boxes and found all the treasures he had hidden in the bottom of the box - a few pairs of thick and warm autumn trousers.
"Here, take this with you!" Gu Yansheng held up a pair of dark grey fleece autumn trousers and handed them to Jiang Lin like he was presenting a treasure.
Jiang Lin was folding a shirt. He glanced at the bulky style and immediately frowned in disgust, with undisguised resistance in his eyes.
"Need not."
"Why not!" Gu Yansheng immediately widened her eyes and turned on "Mother Gu" mode.
"Shilong Town is backed by mountains! It's very cold at night! And the temperature fluctuates so much. What should we do if it suddenly drops? My mom said that men should protect their legs! If you don't keep warm when you're young, the cold will penetrate your bones. When you get older, you'll suffer from cold legs and joint pain! Your wife will even despise you then!"
He was very serious and spoke in a tone as solemn as an old scholar, as if he had completely forgotten his past when he firmly resisted wearing thermal underwear at home and would rather shiver with cold than show his "grace".
Jiang Lin was choked by his sudden "lecture from an elder". Looking at his serious expression as he lectured others, the corners of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
He was too lazy to argue with this hypocritical guy, so he simply reached out and picked up the annoying autumn trousers and threw them on a chair beside him. His meaning was obvious - he was not going to take them.
"Hey!" Gu Yansheng was anxious and picked it up immediately. "Don't take it lightly! Take it with you! It's better to be prepared!"
While he was muttering, he took advantage of Jiang Lin turning around to get other things and quickly rolled up those ugly autumn trousers into a small ball. In the blink of an eye, he secretly stuffed them into the bottom corner of the suitcase and covered them tightly with several folded sweaters, making the disguise perfect.
After doing all this, he stood up as if nothing had happened, clapped his hands, and a sly and complacent smile appeared on his face, as if he had completed an amazing secret mission.
Jiang Lin came back with his toiletries bag, glanced at the suitcase which seemed unchanged, and then looked at Gu Yansheng's expression of "I was very good and didn't make any trouble". A hint of understanding and helplessness flashed in his deep eyes, but in the end he said nothing and just continued to pack silently.
The suitcase was gradually filled up with the "cooperation" of the two, mainly because Gu Yansheng stuffed things in unilaterally.
The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the room was filled with a strange feeling, a mixture of the faint melancholy on the eve of departure and the warm and trivial peace of the moment. Jiang Lin's departure no longer seemed a heavy ending, but a promise of a weekend visit from Gu Yansheng.
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