Jiang Xu turned his head to look at Gu Li, his gaze sweeping over the flamboyant red hair and moving to the even more flamboyant face. "Choosing to be a low-key person today?"
Gu Li tossed his hair again, his entire demeanor completely devoid of any hint of being low-key. "I've always been low-key," he said, placing his cup on the table. "However, I'm quite at ease with it."
Jiang Xu pulled out a chair and sat down next to Gu Li. "What are you relieved about now?"
Gu Li looked at the dishes on the table one by one, and said with satisfaction, "I trust myself, and I trust you too."
The satisfaction in his tone was unclear—whether it was for the food or for the person. Jiang Xu thought for a moment and then said, "I think I misspoke. You were just being tactful today; you weren't being low-key at all."
Gu Li propped her chin on her hand and looked at Jiang Xu, handing him a pair of chopsticks with her other hand. "What do you mean?"
Jiang Xu tried to take the chopsticks, but couldn't budge them. Gu Li held the other end, not intending to let go. He raised an eyebrow, put his hand down, and looked at Gu Li. "Your confidence doesn't need me to praise it, does it?" He spoke the question with the air of an affirmation.
Gu Li slightly raised her chopsticks. "You're just as confident as I am, aren't you?" Yet another person who used a question to express affirmation.
Jiang Xu reached for the chopsticks again, and they easily slipped into his hand. “One who stays near ink gets stained black,” he said, looking directly at Gu Li, “while one who stays near vermilion gets stained red.”
Gu Li, as if struck by a sudden thought, said, "Then we really are both dark and red." Her curved eyebrows and eyes made her smile look like a smug cat.
Jiang Xu, "..." This interpretation was unexpected. "You truly understand the art of language."
Gu Li picked up a shrimp and put it in Jiang Xu's bowl, then picked one up for herself and slowly peeled it. "That's what happens when someone is smarter."
Jiang Xu looked at the shrimp in the bowl. "Since you've put food on my plate, I'll agree with what you said."
Gu Li had just finished peeling the shrimp and generously placed it into Jiang Xu's bowl. "I not only picked it up but also peeled it. It's perfectly normal for you to agree with me."
Jiang Xu picked up a shrimp with his chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and chewed it. "Yeah, yours tastes better."
“Even if you say that,” Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu with a hint of wariness, “I’m only peeling this one. I still hope you can be self-reliant.”
Jiang Xu picked up a piece of pork rib and put it into Gu Li's bowl. "You can eat without worry. You don't need to peel it anymore. Just eat more and don't be picky."
Gu Li looked at the dishes on the table and said, "I like everything you ordered. You really didn't give me any chance to be picky."
Jiang Xu: "That would be perfect."
The meal wasn't slow. Gu Li was probably quite hungry, so she ate gracefully but quickly, occasionally putting some dishes that Jiang Xu thought were good on her plate while she ate.
The two ate their meal quietly, occasionally making the clinking sound of chopsticks picking up food, with only the soft sounds of chewing remaining. As time quietly passed, Gu Li and Jiang Xu put down their chopsticks.
Gu Li pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth. "Are you going out today?"
Jiang Xu glanced out the window. The weather was quite nice today, but he still shook his head. "I'm not going out. I have other plans."
The curtains were drawn, and there was no light in the room. Snacks and drinks were placed on the coffee table. The television went black for a moment and then turned on again, creating the initial atmosphere.
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu, who was holding the remote control, and after finishing his tomato-flavored potato chips, he took one out of the bag and handed it to Jiang Xu. Watching Jiang Xu naturally open his mouth to eat it, he asked, "What do you want to watch?"
Jiang Xu rummaged through the items, chewing something in his mouth, and simply replied, "Mmm."
Gu Li looked at Jiang Xu's puffed-out cheeks and asked with a mischievous grin, "What are you talking about?" As she asked the question, she continued to stuff potato chips into Jiang Xu's hand.
Jiang Xu subconsciously ate the potato chips and then pressed play, looking at Gu Li beside him. He slowly chewed the food in his mouth until he swallowed it. Seeing Gu Li trying to put potato chips in his mouth again, he stopped Gu Li's hand. "Do you really want to know what we're talking about?"
Gu Li sighed with a hint of regret and looked at the prelude to the movie. "Really?" she said uncertainly, "but maybe not." The last sentence, however, sounded quite certain.
Jiang Xu said, "It's something you like to watch, so watch it carefully."
Gu Li understood what Jiang Xu said, but he tilted his head and asked in a questioning tone, "A horror movie?"
"Hmm." Jiang Xu responded, unpacked the AD calcium supplement, inserted the straw, and handed a bottle to Gu Li. "It looks pretty good."
Gu Li took it and asked, "You've seen it?" with a hint of knowing the answer already.
Jiang Xu spoke as if he hadn't noticed anything amiss, "Yes, I found it specifically for you, while you were away." His voice trailed off after that.
Gu Li's teasing mood subsided, and he felt a little uneasy, a bittersweet feeling. He took a big sip through the straw, and only after feeling the sweetness in his mouth did he speak, "Then I'll have to watch carefully."
Jiang Xu took advantage of the darkness to pull Gu Li's hand over and rub the back of his hand, then interlocked his fingers with hers. "I look really good too, it feels quite different." With you here, it's quite different; even things I've seen before now make me look forward to them.
Gu Li naturally understood Jiang Xu's meaning. He shook hands with him, thought for a moment, and asked, "Aren't we being a bit too clingy?"
Jiang Xu paused, then asked, "Really? I don't feel anything sticky."
"Let me think," Gu Li replied after a moment's thought while watching TV, "It seems there isn't one, that's good." After saying that, he adjusted his posture and leaned closer to Jiang Xu, looking even more relaxed.
Jiang Xu reasonably suspected that Gu Li had laid the groundwork by relying on him, and that he was being clingy. Next time he asked him if he was being clingy, he would teach him a lesson about what clinginess really meant.
But he still relaxed and leaned against the person. The foreplay on TV was over, the main program had started, and they watched it properly.
Sundays go by quickly, holidays always pass quickly. Time flows like water, leaving no trace.
When the Monday sun shone into the room, Jiang Xu opened his eyes and looked at Gu Li beside him. They seemed to have tacitly fallen asleep together, even though it had only been two days, they were unusually used to it.
He looked again at the ray of sunlight streaming in. The curtains had been drawn too hastily last night, and now the light slipped in through the overlooked gap, reminding him that morning had arrived.
Jiang Xu chuckled, rubbing his forehead as he recalled what happened last night. Gu Li was unusually energetic, dragging him to bed before he could even close the curtains properly.
Then Gu Li pulled out a book and insisted on reading a story, calling it a "bedtime treat." Jiang Xu was puzzled; he listened to the little ducks and rabbits without feeling sleepy at all, but what could he do? His girlfriend wanted him to read, so he listened.
Not long after, Gu Li put down the book and ran to get a drink of water. Jiang Xu picked up the book and looked at it. He really didn't know where Gu Li had found it. He flipped through it and thought for a moment, then said when Gu Li came back, "How about I tell you about it?"
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