Chapter 22 Marry Me, Please
Jiang Ranxu returned to the restaurant. It was obvious that Zhou Xian had successfully completed the task, leaving Meng Weishen staring blankly at the table full of delicious food.
"Teacher A just said she was going to sue Li Lu for defamation and insult, and then they left. I don't know where they went." Meng Weishen, perhaps feeling embarrassed, refused to mention the misunderstanding between them. "It seems you ordered too much food. Eat as much as you can. I'll pack up the rest and feed it to Qin Shi Huang."
German cuisine is truly the cuisine of Northeast Europe; it's all meat. Meat in sauce, fried crispy, or stewed with tomatoes, all served in generous portions.
Jiang Ranxu nodded slightly, but to create a sense of weakness, he barely touched his knife and fork. He waited for Meng Weishen to finish cutting the steak on the plate before coughing softly:
"Meng Weishen, can you take me back later?"
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Ranxu said calmly, "I feel very cold and dizzy. It started this morning."
"You must have a fever again." His malicious misleading was not in vain. Meng Weishen made a wrong judgment and immediately tensed his back. "Wait a minute. I'll take you home after I pay the bill. Right away."
Jiang Ranxu went along with it: "I drove here, can we go back to the car first?"
So far, tonight's incident hadn't caused Meng Weishen's attitude towards him to take a sharp turn for the worse. Meng Weishen readily agreed, walked him out of the embassy area to find a car, put him in the passenger seat, walked around the front of the car, and took the driver's seat.
Jiang Ranxu had offered to lend Meng Weishen his car once during the Spring Festival holiday. Meng Weishen seemed to have mastered every function in the car, expertly adjusting the heating and music. He observed that Meng Weishen's exceptional learning abilities were unleashed as long as he wasn't interacting with living people.
It was the evening rush hour, and the honking horns and flashing lights were frantically agonizing over the nerves of city dwellers. Fortunately, the sealed car door formed a safety barrier, enclosing a private space just for the two of them. There was no noise, no impertinent waiter, and no damn divorce lawyer.
Seeing that the road on the left was almost blocked, Meng Weishen didn't rush to start the car. He hesitated for a moment, leaned towards the passenger seat, and touched his shoulder with his fingertips.
"Your shirt is still wet, no wonder you're cold. There's a mall nearby. Do you want to change? Or should I turn up the heat and help dry it for you?"
Meng Weishen was earnestly trying to help him think of a solution, but Jiang Ranxu seemed a bit distracted. He said innocently, "It's already soaked. You need to take it off first before changing. It's not very suitable."
"Then let's dry it."
Meng Weishen quickly retreated to the main driver's seat and turned up the heater by two levels.
Jiang Ranxu secretly grew impatient. He really wanted to teach straight men that when their partner says they're cold, it definitely doesn't mean they should tinker with the air conditioner.
He had no choice but to send out a more direct hug signal, curling up his upper body and making bursts of suppressed fake coughs.
Meng Weishen, indeed, showed a look of worry, and took the initiative to approach him again, soothing his heaving back. He seized the opportunity and fell into his arms.
"You're warm, let me lean on you for a moment." Jiang Ranxu spoke pitifully, his hand already reaching out to pinch the other man's neck. Meng Wei had no way out.
The moment their body temperatures touched, Meng Weishen seemed to have gone into a state of shutdown. His body was stiff, and he didn't know where to put his arms. After a moment, he obediently put his arm around his shoulder and hugged him. "Is this better?"
Only when he was in contact with Meng Weishen would Jiang Ranxu have the illusion that his illness was cured - there was no resistance, no imagination about pollutants, and his whole body and mind relaxed.
If he missed out on Meng Weishen, would he have a chance to meet another Meng Weishen in the few decades left? Or should he just hope to overcome his social nature and accept his fate of living alone?
He didn't dare and wasn't willing to take the risk.
He almost indulged in this deceived hug. He closed his eyes and began to rehearse in his mind:
Marry me, please. Marry me, please. Marry me. Please. Marry me...
Meng Weishen suddenly moved his shoulders and called his name, the voice transmitting from his chest to his eardrums, "Jiang Ranxu, there are some things I need to confirm with you."
Jiang Ranxu woke up as if from a dream, and immediately raised his tentacles of vigilance: "What did the lawyer say to you again? Lawyers' words are not trustworthy. He has a grudge against Asher, so he likes to throw mud at people."
"No, it has nothing to do with Li Lu." Meng Weishen hesitated, "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to answer me."
"Ask first."
Meng Weishen looked troubled, as if he was considering how to organize his words. After a long while, he finally threw out a thunderous statement:
"Last night, did I, how should I put it, have sex with you?"
"...I've already said no!" Jiang Ranxu's heart nearly jumped out of the car window, and he began to urgently maintain his beautiful and noble image. "Meng Weishen, I have always respected you, right? Would I be the kind of person who would take advantage of someone's misfortune and rape him?"
Meng Weishen was stunned and said, "Lawyer Li said that no matter how many excuses gay men make, they are essentially just obsessed with their primal impulses."
“It’s true that the social circle is chaotic, but we can choose not to be in the same circle.”
"And I searched online and everyone said gay men tend to get a fever after having sex. You..."
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't admit to having a fever. I feel much better now."
Jiang Ranxu immediately sat up straight and clarified righteously. His voice couldn't be squeezed at all.
"Actually, I'm not doubting your character. I'm doubting myself." Meng Weishen took a few breaths and then carefully asked him, "What I mean is, could it be that I not only sexually harassed you last night, but also forced you to do it?"
...Jiang Ranxu even wanted to murder the lawyer.
The straight man already had only a vague understanding of the subject, and the lawyer even promoted the bad habits and pornographic garbage in the circle. This caused the straight man's mind to be completely confused, and he even misunderstood the sex positions. He didn't know how much effort he would have to put in to correct it in the future.
In reality, being drunk is extremely dangerous, leaving one at the mercy of others. Jiang Ranxu isn't some modern-day Liu Xia Hui, unfazed by temptation. He's just trying to play the long game, so Meng Weishen should be more concerned about himself.
Before him lay a precious opportunity to play the victim, and a worthless dignity of a higher position. Jiang Ranxu didn't hesitate at all and decisively chose the former.
Jiang Ranxu said, "It's okay, I forgive you. You looked very upset at the time and kept begging me. I understand. You didn't mean it."
Meng Weishen didn't dare look at him anymore. He just hid his red face in his arms, pulled his hair, and let out a few annoyed hums.
Taking advantage of the other party's intense emotions, Jiang Ranxu changed the subject: "But our family has always had a tradition. Losing virginity before marriage is a serious sin. So will you be responsible for me?"
This excuse was so ridiculous that Meng Weishen almost regained his composure and raised his head from his arms. Shocked, he said, "The Qing Dynasty has been destroyed for over a hundred years, and your family is still so feudal? Is there really a title to inherit?"
"It's okay if you don't want to take responsibility." Jiang Ranxu turned his face away, giving the other party a tolerant side. "If you make a mistake, it's nothing more than family punishment. Expulsion from the family tree and kneeling for five hours are punishments. I can bear it. It doesn't matter. After the founding of New China, there is basically no need to be beaten..."
"I'll take responsibility." Meng Weishen had already made up his mind, "Let's get married. We went on a blind date for the purpose of getting married, isn't that a perfect match?"
No matter what formula you apply, the one that produces the correct result is the best formula. Jiang Ranxu continued to act pretentiously: "Really? You're so nice to me. I thought you were going to find someone else. Teacher A has many blind date candidates who are better than me. I've been asking him to help me find a partner, but no one wants me."
"No way, the young mothers in the clinic all like you. The aesthetic taste of these gay men is too bad."
"Maybe it's because my views on marriage are too traditional, so they think I'm boring. Sorry, I have known Teacher A for a long time, but I've failed too many blind dates and was worried that you would dislike me, so I hid the truth from you."
Jiang Ranxu had known Asher for a long time—this was obviously the least important part of all the facts. Since he could no longer hide it from his lawyer, Jiang Ranxu chose to admit it.
And Meng Weishen didn't seem to be bothered at all. His attention had already turned to studying the marriage appointment system. "Does getting a marriage certificate require an appointment a long time in advance now? If I choose a weekday, I'll have to ask my boss for half a day off in advance. Which day would be suitable for us?"
"Tomorrow morning would be the best time." Jiang Ranxu would never let the other person out of his sight until he succeeded. "Don't go anywhere tonight. Stay with me. Okay?"
——
In order to find a way to kill the night, drinking was too intense and sleeping was too boring, so the two chose a compromise: a night tour of the Second Ring Road.
The city has fallen into a deep sleep, and the evening lights acting as guards have also taken a nap, flickering their gazes on and off. The city is desolate yet vast, and the awakened people have become tiny insects dancing under the lights. No matter how wild their actions are, they are not enough to cause much noise, just to enjoy the excitement of life.
They passed through East City. The misfortune of the fire that destroyed the dragon veins forever haunted Longfu Temple. The newly built commercial street on the original site was deserted, shrouded in a gray hue. Only the Sanlian Taofen Bookstore remained open all night for ten years, even though the times were galloping by, and paper books had become abandoned by the wheels.
Passing Tiananmen Square, we caught the tail end of the peak tourist season, but there were still many tourists waiting for the flag-raising ceremony. Blankets, like psoriasis, grew against the cinnabar-red walls. A family sleeping on the floor must have been uncomfortable, but the faces of the tourists were filled with happy anticipation. Saving on room rates and securing a prime spot for the flag-raising ceremony tomorrow morning was a sure win.
Crossing West City, the imperial man-made lakes, known as seas, whispered in the night. One could faintly hear the soft thaw of the ice, perhaps spring had arrived. But before reaching Shichahai, the salesmen at the lakeside bars, all possessing the skills of assassins, suddenly leapt from the darkness and dragged one into another psychedelic and distorted world.
Around four or five in the morning, they found a convenience store, its lights on in the darkness. Near the refrigerator sat a group of three or five university students engaged in cycling, each clutching a can of Red Bull, their spirits high as if they'd just left school.
Unfortunately, youth is fleeting, and once the energy of one's twenties is gone, it's gone forever. Meng Weishen finished a bottle of coffee and didn't even stay awake until dawn, falling asleep in the car.
Jiang Ranxu was still extremely conscious, his heart was over-expanding due to congestion, making a thumping sound against his chest.
He touched Meng Weishen's cheek with his fingertips. Meng Weishen was completely unguarded and sound asleep. He touched Meng Weishen's lips again, but realized he couldn't continue. Otherwise, he would imagine kissing Meng Weishen every time he saw him in the future.
Dawn was approaching, and the outlines of the Bell and Drum Tower, one gray and one crimson, gradually became clear. The sound of birdsong reached the car window. There was no need to look up at the eaves or treetops; the old man carrying the black cloth cage had already leisurely given the answer.
Jiang Ranxu calculated the time and drove to the church with the sleeping person.
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