The frightened good man
The elevator descended, leaving only the two of them in the cramped space. Jiang Lin still held Gu Yansheng's wrist tightly, his grip unrelenting, his expression still icy. It was clear that Director Liu's appearance had reminded him of something unpleasant.
Gu Yansheng secretly glanced at Jiang Lin's tightly pursed lips and tense jawline, and tactfully said nothing, but his wrist was clenched a little tighter.
The elevator led directly to the underground parking lot. Late at night, the parking lot was empty and quiet, with only the pale overhead lights casting large patches of light and deep shadows. The air was filled with the smell of gasoline and dust. Jiang Lin pulled Gu Yansheng and walked towards the parking space.
Just as they were about to reach Jiang Lin's black SUV, Gu Yansheng suddenly stopped.
Jiang Lin felt the pull and stopped, frowning and looking in the direction Gu Yansheng's somewhat straight gaze.
Behind a thick load-bearing pillar not far from their car, two figures were huddled together in the shadows.
The two seemed completely lost in each other's world, completely oblivious. One man was pressed against a cold pillar, while the other eagerly held his face. They kissed passionately, the subtle sounds of their lips and tongues mingling being particularly clear in the silent parking lot. Their gestures were so passionate that they almost oblivious to the surroundings.
Gu Yansheng recognized the style of the white coat of one of them—he was a nephrologist! He had seen him before when he took a relative to the hospital!
His mind went blank. Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at Jiang Lin beside him.
Jiang Lin's expression instantly turned extremely ugly under the pale light. His brows were tightly knitted into a knot, and his deep eyes were filled with undisguised, extremely strong disgust!
His gaze was cold and sharp, like a physical blade, piercing the couple kissing passionately in the shadow of the pillar with an almost physical revulsion. His lips were tightly pursed, his jawline was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring, and the low pressure emanating from his body almost made the air around him stagnate.
nausea!
This thunderous thought instantly exploded in Gu Yansheng's mind! Jiang Lin's expression was too clear! That naked disgust, like a basin of ice water, poured over his head, completely extinguishing the little warmth he had just felt because of the "seaside trip" and Jiang Lin's declaration!
A huge panic, like a cold vine, instantly wrapped around Gu Yansheng's heart, tightening wildly! He felt his blood run cold. Jiang Lin hated this! He hated men being so intimate in public! He felt disgusted!
Gu Yansheng always thought that Jiang Lin accepted and understood homosexuality, or at least did not reject it.
But at this moment, the naked expression of physical disgust on Jiang Lin's face, as if he had seen something filthy, was like a thunderbolt that split open all his self-deceiving fantasies!
Jiang Lin might... deep down, like most people, think that homosexuals are aliens and monsters!
This realization made Gu Yansheng feel as if he had fallen into an icy cave, and his whole body was cold.
Jiang Lin might just be... because they were childhood friends, because of the Gu family's parents' instructions, and because of the sense of responsibility that he was forced to do, so he had to tolerate this "different" person around! It was like tolerating a trouble that couldn't be shaken off!
Gu Yansheng can withstand any strange looks and malicious speculations from the outside world because he has his armor.
But he couldn't imagine that if one day, Jiang Lin also looked at him with the same eyes as he did now, looking at him as a "disgusting thing"... that would be more painful than killing him!
The panic brought by this realization was a hundred times stronger than when he heard "Doctor Shen" and "Director Liu's daughter" before! It almost suffocated him instantly!
"Let's go!" Gu Yansheng's voice changed tone, carrying a sharp, unconcealed fear and urgency. He could no longer care about anything else. He suddenly exerted force, almost dragging Jiang Lin, grabbing his arm with his backhand and pulling him towards the car with all his strength.
His movements were panic-stricken and his steps stumbled. He just wanted to escape immediately from this place that made Jiang Lin look so disgusted! Escape from this terrifying scene that exposed all his secret thoughts!
Jiang Lin stumbled slightly as he was pulled, his brow furrowing even deeper. A cold look of disgust seemed to still linger in his eyes. He glanced at the two men, oblivious to the situation, behind the pillar, then at Gu Yansheng, who stood beside him, his face pale and his eyes terrified, wanting to run away like a frightened rabbit. His Adam's apple rolled, but he said nothing, letting Gu Yansheng frantically pull him to the side of the car.
After returning, they kept silent about this episode. Gu Yansheng took a shower early and went back to his room to rest. For several days afterwards, Jiang Lin did not bring it up on his own initiative. He went to get off work and home as usual and urged him to go to psychological counseling. Their lives did not seem to be disturbed.
But Gu Yansheng knew that he was not without any disturbance. At least he had nightmares for three consecutive days. During those three days, Gu Yansheng tried hard to suppress the coldness and panic of that night in the parking lot into the deepest corner of his heart, and numbed himself with heavy work and deliberate busyness.
Time was like a layer of sandpaper, grinding slowly and roughly until the weekend.
Senior Wu Mingyi's wedding was today. Gu Yansheng stood in the living room, having changed into a light-colored suit for the wedding. His fingers unconsciously stroked his cuffs, his eyes drifting uncontrollably to Jiang Lin, who was feeding Xiaofei dog food. Jiang Lin, also in a neatly ironed dark suit, stood tall, his profile stern.
Gu Yansheng's heart was in suspense as he carefully observed Jiang Lin's expression. His face remained expressionless as usual, but Gu Yansheng nervously detected any hint of impatience or gloom in his brow. After all, it was a same-sex wedding!
Jiang Lin's look of deep disgust in the parking lot once again stung his nerves. He couldn't let Jiang Lin go. He couldn't bear to see the rejection that might be revealed in Jiang Lin's eyes in such an occasion.
"Jiang Lin..." Gu Yansheng took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound natural. "There are a lot of people at the wedding today, and it's quite noisy. How about... you stay at home with Xiaofei? It seems... it misses you a little?" He made up a lame excuse and avoided my gaze.
Jiang Lin paused in his lavish gesture, stood up, and fixed his calm gaze on Gu Yansheng's face. His gaze was sharp, as if it could easily penetrate his fragile disguise.
He didn't look at Xiao Fei, who was happily eating next to him, his tail shaking like a propeller. He just uttered two words lightly: "Reason."
"Uh... I'm just... I'm afraid you don't like that kind of occasion..." Gu Yansheng's voice became smaller and smaller, and he lost all confidence.
Jiang Lin didn't say anything. His deep eyes looked at him quietly, with silent pressure, as if waiting for an explanation that could truly convince him.
Gu Yansheng was almost exposed under his gaze. He was panic-stricken, but could not express his true fear - he was afraid that Jiang Lin would show the same heartbreaking expression of disgust to the happy bride at the wedding as he had in the parking lot.
Jiang Lin didn't wait any longer. He picked up the suit jacket draped over the armrest of the sofa and put it on with a deft movement. His assertive stance declared that he hadn't considered Gu Yansheng's retreat at all.
"Jiang Lin!" Gu Yansheng was anxious and took a step forward to try to stop him. "Really, I can go by myself! It's very close! I..."
Jiang Lin didn't even wait for him to finish. He stopped looking at Gu Yansheng, and didn't need to listen to any more feeble excuses. He walked straight to the entrance and picked up the car keys, his movements quick and decisive, without a moment's hesitation. His tall figure exuded an unquestionable control, as if all Gu Yansheng's resistance was a futile struggle.
Gu Yansheng followed to the door, watched Jiang Lin open the door and walk towards the elevator, and anxiously called out "Jiang Lin!"
He hurriedly followed. Jiang Lin didn't even look at him along the way. The elevator stopped in the underground parking lot and Jiang Lin stopped next to the driver's door.
He didn't turn around, just slightly tilted his face, the parking lot lights outlining his cold jawline. Then, he turned back, not giving Gu Yansheng any chance to argue, and directly opened the car door and got in.
The sound of the engine starting up sounded low, like a silent, irresistible declaration.
Gu Yansheng stood stiffly by the side, looking at Jiang Lin's stern profile in the driver's seat. The car window was down, and Jiang Lin didn't even turn his head to look at him, but just stared straight ahead, one hand casually resting on the steering wheel, and the fingers of the other hand tapping lightly on the edge of the car window, intermittently and with extreme impatience.
Da. Da. Da.
The sound was soft, but it struck Gu Yansheng's tense nerves like a drumbeat. Each beat conveyed the same message - get in the car, now, don't make me say it a second time.
That silent urging was more oppressive than any words. Gu Yansheng looked at Jiang Lin's aloof, uncompromising profile, feeling the absolute force of the cold blow, and the panic and bitterness surging in his heart almost overwhelmed him.
He knew that any struggle was futile. When it came to Jiang Lin's decisions, especially when it came to things he had decided on, he never had a choice.
Finally, under Jiang Lin's silent yet weighty urging, Gu Yansheng resigned himself to his fate, with a suffocating sense of compromise, and took heavy steps towards the passenger seat. He opened the door, got in, and fastened his seatbelt, his movements as stiff as a puppet.
The carriage was filled with Jiang Lin's faint cold aura.
Jiang Lin didn't even glance at him, as if his sitting down was a matter of course. The car drove smoothly out of the parking lot and merged into the weekend traffic.
Gu Yansheng leaned back in his chair, looking out the window at the rapidly receding street scene. The sunlight was a bit glaring. He tried to ignore the man beside him, whose presence was so strong, and also tried to ignore the dark cloud in his heart that was growing due to the upcoming wedding and the unspeakable fear.
What was the weather forecast for City A? He had no idea, and didn't dare ask. He only knew that Jiang Lin had inevitably led him to the destination that filled him with panic.
Jiang Lin, with his absolute silence and strong actions, blocked all his attempts to escape alone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
