Chapter 46 Proposal
It snowed lightly outside today, and the snowflakes clung to Ji Tong's body. When the door opened, the snowflakes were hit by the warm air and turned into tiny watermarks.
Ji Tong's eyelashes were wet.
Song Zhenshu pushed the person through the door, didn't say another word, and turned to leave.
The cotton-padded coat and scarf that Ji Tong was wearing were put on him by Song Zhenshu. He was wrapped up very tightly, but Ji Tong was still chilly.
Gu Lin caught him, as if catching a handful of snow.
He raised his hand, half-encircled the person, and reached through the scarf from behind to touch the back of Ji Tong's neck.
It's very cold.
The scarf didn't even keep me warm.
"Is anything bothering you?" Gu Lin frowned and took off his scarf, which was slightly damp from the snow.
Ji Tong didn't answer. Ever since Song Zhenshu pushed him through the door, he had been looking up at Gu Lin, his gaze never leaving him.
"What's wrong?" Gu Lin pinched the back of his neck and said, "Your eyes are wet. Shall I get you some tissues?"
The moment Gu Lin turned around, Ji Tong, like a startled bird, suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his clothes.
The force was so great that it got somewhat out of control, and two buttons on Gu Lin's loungewear were ripped off.
Gu Lin stopped in his tracks.
"No." Ji Tong clutched the hem of his clothes.
Gu Lin was clearly right there on the peninsula, right in front of them.
Ji Tong, however, felt it was very far away.
"Don't say anything."
Gu Lin needed to know what Song Zhenshu had told him.
Gu Lin was still turned to the side, and Ji Tong groped her way forward, lowered her head, and approached him little by little.
Ji Tong wanted to say "No need for tissues," but what came out was—
"Don't go back to Germany."
Gu Lin finally understood why Song Zhenshu had sent him here.
"Who told you I was going back to Germany?" Gu Lin turned around. "Your uncle?"
Not hearing his voice, Gu Lin continued.
He's lying to you.
"My passport and ID card are with you, how can I get out?"
Before today, Ji Tong, clutching Gu Lin's ID card, would have felt reassured and calm upon hearing him say that.
But now—
Passports can be reported lost, and ID cards can be replaced.
It's useless.
It's completely useless.
Only today did Ji Tong truly understand that if Gu Lin wanted to leave, he could disappear completely on the most ordinary day.
Just like that winter break.
He couldn't keep him.
How to keep it?
The Gu family's company is based in Germany. Gu Lin grew up in Germany, his parents are in Germany, and his grandparents are in Germany.
Ji Tong's eyes reddened, and he finally admitted that his uncle was right.
He developed an excessive, unrealistic, and over-the-top fear of separating from Gu Lin, leading to catastrophic imaginings.
He's sick.
Anxiety swelled rapidly, enveloping Ji Tong and gripping him tightly.
Ji Tong raised her hand and tightly encircled Gu Lin.
Gu Lin's heart clenched, he closed his eyes and hugged him.
"I won't leave."
"I won't leave now, and I won't leave after graduation."
"If you're here, how can I leave?"
Ji Tong's body was torn open, and these words were no longer enough to fill those gaps. He even absurdly wondered why there couldn't be an unbreakable umbilical cord between him and Gu Lin.
He desperately needs something to bind him.
Contracts, certificates, agreements, Party A and Party B—anything is fine.
He wanted something unbreakable, forceful, and effective—something that, even if Gu Lin disappeared from his world again, would allow him to use the evidence binding them to search for him openly.
Desperate and grasping at straws, Ji Tong suddenly recalled his dream from that morning and abruptly spoke—
"Gu Lin, let's get married."
"If Anjing won't work, then we'll go abroad, to Germany."
"It doesn't matter where we settle the bill."
"Let's get married."
Gu Lin never imagined that he would hear these words under such circumstances.
He lowered his eyes, looked at the person clinging to him like a vine, and sighed.
I was genuinely terrified.
"Marriage is fine." The warmth of Gu Lin's palm seeped through Ji Tong's neck, seeping into her skin little by little, as if it were going to seep all the way to her bones.
"Answer me one question first."
Gu Lin gently squeezed the back of his neck soothingly and asked in a low voice, "Are you gay?"
Ji Tong's brain still retained some memory, and just like when she answered Ke Tongguang, she subconsciously said, "No."
Gu Lin guessed it, but he wasn't annoyed. He even chuckled lightly and said, "Then how do we get married?"
Ji Tong finally calmed down after Gu Lin's soft chuckle.
Gu Lin looked at him intently, his eyelids lowered: "Do you know what you need to do to get married?"
Whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or health, in pain or joy, in good times or bad, they all belong to one another until the very last moment of their lives.
In life, we will never be apart; in death, we will never be separated.
Gu Lin said it to himself, word by word.
He didn't tell Ji Tong.
Gu Lin didn't want to scare him, nor did he want to say this while he was in such a confused state.
It's not time yet.
Therefore, Gu Linpu's actions were exposed on the surface.
"Hug, kiss, or even do more intimate things."
Ji Tong had calmed down, but he didn't want to think about it. He simply went along with Gu Lin's words: "Then let's not kiss, let's not do those things, let's just... get married."
When Gu Lin heard Ji Tong say that he was not gay, he was not angry. But when he heard this, he was really amused.
We'll get married without kissing or doing those things.
I've only ever heard of gay men and women maintaining a nominal marital status for a purpose, but I've never heard of two men having a "marriage of convenience."
"Ji Tong".
Gu Lin pinched the back of his neck as punishment.
"This isn't marriage, it's a marriage of convenience. Just make do."
Ji Tong, in a fit of despair, said, "Then we'll just make do."
Gu Lin slightly lifted his eyelids: "I can't do it."
"Why can't you do it?" Ji Tong himself didn't realize that his tone was somewhat aggressive.
Ji Tong admitted that he was sick and that his possessiveness toward Gu Lin was abnormal, but he was not stupid.
The uncle never explicitly mentioned that he liked Gu Lin, but every word he uttered conveyed that meaning.
So he must like Gu Lin.
Gu Lin probably likes him too.
Then why won't you agree to marriage, or even just make do?
Ji Tong began to doubt whether he had misunderstood Song Zhenshu's meaning. His brows furrowed, and the anxiety that had disappeared was showing signs of resurfacing. Just as he was thinking this, Gu Lin called his name again.
"Ji Tong".
Ji Tong looked up.
Gu Lin remained calm.
"I have normal physiological needs."
"Including sex."
Ji Tong suddenly paused.
Gu Lin did it on purpose.
He could speak tactfully or subtly, but he insisted on speaking bluntly and sharply.
They left Ji Tong no room to retreat.
"Can you accept a man's kiss, or anything more intimate?"
Gu Lin didn't even say "I," but used the pronoun "a man," because he was afraid of confusing Ji Tong.
Ji Tong opened his mouth.
Something more intimate?
How can two boys become closer... by helping each other?
Ji Tong didn't know why, but subconsciously looked down and glanced at a certain spot below Gu Lin's clothes.
Gu Lin seemed to know what he was thinking, pinched his face and lifted it up, thrusting straight in and out.
"Including, but not limited to."
Ji Tong's fingers unconsciously curled up twice.
The two were still standing at the entrance. The door wasn't very soundproof, and Gu Lin could hear a few footsteps.
Like a countdown reminder.
"My uncle is still waiting at the door," Gu Lin said softly. "Go pack your things?"
Gu Lin saw Ji Tong's entire expression and knew that he didn't want to, but he also knew Song Zhenshu's intentions.
Ji Tong needs time to sort herself out.
Getting too close to him now isn't a good thing for him—
They even said things like "just make do".
He doesn't yet know what will happen if he actually gets married.
Even the kisses were light.
Gu Lin led Ji Tong back to the master bedroom. The first thing he did was not to tidy up, but to go into the bathroom, get a towel, and wipe the water stains from Ji Tong's hair that were wet with snowflakes.
Ji Tong remained silent, sitting at the foot of the bed, looking at Gu Lin.
Nothing was moved, and nothing was tidied up.
Gu Lin even tidied up his underwear for him.
I didn't have much stuff, just a small suitcase.
Eight minutes later, Song Zhenshu knocked on the door, just in time.
It was Gu Lin who opened the door.
Song Zhenshu took the suitcase, stared at Ji Tong's face and mouth for a while, and only after confirming that there was nothing wrong did she say to Gu Lin, "I'll take him back to his dormitory. You stay here."
Ji Tong remained silent until the moment she saw the suitcase, when she vaguely recalled the dream she had this morning.
In his dream, he saw Gu Lin marry someone else, and he moved out of the apartment.
His uncle also came to pick him up.
Ji Tong wanted to turn around and take a look, but Song Zhenshu blocked her view.
Song Zhenshu reached out and pulled the hood of Ji Tong's cotton-padded coat up: "Let's go."
Going downstairs, getting into the car, and fastening his seatbelt, Ji Tong didn't throw a tantrum at Song Zhenshu. He was very well-behaved and just didn't say anything.
We stopped at a red light.
Out of the corner of her eye, Song Zhenshu saw Ji Tong looking at her phone.
At first, Song Zhenshu thought he was chatting with Gu Lin, but upon closer inspection, the screen didn't seem to be a WeChat chat interface; it looked like an image.
Ji Tong looked very serious.
The red light was going on for a while, and Song Zhenshu couldn't help but turn his head to take a look, finally seeing what the photo on the screen was.
—Anhui University's academic calendar and winter break arrangements.
Ji Tong is calculating the time for winter vacation.
Song Zhenshu: "..."
As soon as the red light ended, Song Zhenshu stepped on the gas.
After a while.
"...Your uncle doesn't necessarily want you to live in the dormitory."
Ji Tong paused, slowly lifting her gaze from her phone.
Song Zhenshu tapped his fingers twice on the steering wheel and sighed, "You can go back to the Peninsula when you've thought things through yourself."
-
"Tongtong hasn't replied to your message yet?" Zhou Tian asked Li Yuan after finishing organizing the two documents.
“No,” Li Yuan also found it strange. “I sent him Lin Ge’s photo and he hasn’t replied to me since.”
As Li Yuan was speaking, the computer beeped.
[Tang Jianbo, Zhiyuan: Photo.jpg]
[Tang Jianbo from Zhiyuan: Damn, is this some kind of divine revelation? A prophecy that I'll be driving a Rolls-Royce someday.]
[Tang Jianbo from Zhiyuan: I encountered it once in the morning and again in the afternoon.]
[Li Yuan: ? ?]
[Li Yuan: Where is the car parked?]
[Tang Jianbai, Zhiyuan: It's the three doors behind our dormitory building.]
[Li Yuan: Is it still stopped there?]
[Tang Jianbo from Zhiyuan: Yes, I just took this picture. There doesn't seem to be anyone in the car.]
Li Yuan suddenly turned around in his chair: "Tang Jianbai said that his uncle's car is parked behind our dormitory building right now."
Zhou Tian & Cui Mingying: "?"
Just as the two were about to look, there was a knock on the door.
"He's here, wait a minute!" Li Yuan turned the computer around and showed the chat history with Tang Jianbai to Zhou Tian and Cui Mingying. "It might be A Liang. He just said he was coming to pick up the test papers."
"You two go first, I'll go open the door."
Li Yuan casually grabbed the test paper from the table and went to open the door.
"Why so fast? Didn't you say you'd go first—"
Li Yuan suddenly fell silent.
Two seconds later.
"...Uncle? Tongtong?"
Zhou Tian and Cui Mingying suddenly turned their heads.
Fifteen minutes later.
"If there's anything missing, just call your uncle and I'll bring it over."
"Mm," Ji Tong replied, standing beside the wardrobe.
It didn't take long to tidy up the dormitory. Although Ji Tong always lived in the Peninsula, she never moved out. Sometimes she would wait for Gu Lin to finish class and then go back to the dormitory to lie down for a while. Her pillow and blankets were always clean.
While Song Zhenshu was helping to pack the luggage, Li Yuan, Cui Mingying, and Zhou Tian each held a deer antler knife and stood aside, not daring to breathe loudly.
They communicate with each other using only their eyes.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know."
"Why did Tongtong suddenly come back?"
"I don't know."
"What about Brother Lin?"
"I don't know."
"Is this because they've separated? Or did they have a fight?"
"I don't know."
Just as the three of them were about to have their eyes twitch, Song Zhenshu had finished helping them pack up. He turned around and said to the three of them, "Tongtong has been staying in the dormitory for a while now. Thank you for your help."
The three quickly shook their heads: "What are you saying, Uncle? It's no trouble at all."
The snow outside the window stopped and then started again, and it seemed like it was going to snow heavily again. Ji Tong was worried that Song Zhenshu would have trouble getting back, and she was also concerned that he wasn't feeling well.
“Go to the peninsula for a nap before going back,” Ji Tong said. “Sleep in my room.”
"...I'll stay in the dorm."
Song Zhenshu patted his head: "No need, we'll go to Xuyao's place later."
Zhu Xuyao is the owner of the club.
Ji Tong knew the location of the club, which was very close to Anhui University, so he nodded: "Then hurry up and go, it will be difficult to drive if the snow gets too heavy."
Song Zhenshu hummed in agreement, put on his coat, and glanced back at Ji Tong as he was about to leave.
Song Zhenshu's book cart was temporarily parked at the back gate, in a very remote location, and it was snowing, so there were very few students on the road.
He went downstairs and walked towards the back door. As he turned the corner, he saw a figure.
Gu Lin was leaning against the wall, smoking.
The cigarette had been shortened by half, with the remaining half held between his right index and middle fingers.
The light was dim, and the cigarette tip flickered in and out of existence as the wind blew it.
A thin layer of snow brushed against the shoulders of his black coat, indicating that he had been standing there for a while.
I told him not to deliver it, but he still came.
Song Zhenshu had been holding back all the way, but now he couldn't resist either. He walked over, lit a cigarette, and stood next to Gu Lin.
"Senior."
Gu Lin didn't call him "little uncle," he called him "senior."
You scared him.
Song Zhenshu remained noncommittal.
He took a drag of his cigarette and said calmly.
"I didn't scare him."
"Gu Lin, you scared him."
A moment of silence fell between them.
Thinking about Ji Tong's expression along the way, Song Zhenshu flicked his cigarette ash and casually started a conversation.
"What did he say to you during those twenty minutes in the apartment?"
After flicking off the ash, Song Zhenshu brought the cigarette to his lips.
Gu Lin remained calm and uttered five words—
"He proposed to me."
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