This weekend, Guo Yi saw Lin Guo for the second time.
The two of them had arranged to meet at a hotpot restaurant owned by a celebrity. The restaurant had good privacy measures, and they were in a separate private room, undisturbed by anyone.
Today, Lin Guo was dressed in casual clothes, with a loose top that exposed a lot of skin around his collarbone. It was an aesthetic that Guo Yi couldn’t appreciate.
“Can you handle spicy food?” Lin Guo looked at the menu and asked casually.
“Yes.” Guo Yi replied.
Actually, Guo Yi couldn’t handle spicy food. The first time he went out to eat with Ding Yinuo and Huo Zhixiao, he forced himself to eat spicy Hunan cuisine, sweating profusely from the spiciness.
Ding Yinuo had once told him not to be too stubborn. Honestly, he didn’t like being tough either, but he always felt that if he showed weakness to others, he would be looked down upon.
In the end, Lin Guo ordered a spicy hotpot with a sea of red oil and lots of chili and Sichuan peppercorns. Guo Yi’s scalp went numb just looking at it.
He ate exceptionally slowly, but his tongue could handle it. However, before long, Lin Guo propped up his chin with his hand and looked at him, saying, “Why are you so refined?”
“Refined?” Guo Yi was slightly taken aback. He had never been described like that before.
“Kind of different from what I imagined,” Lin Guo said. “I thought you were some wild boy.”
Guo Yi couldn’t understand why Lin Guo would think that way about him. Perhaps from his appearance, he did seem like a rough guy, but he didn’t think he had wild and reckless tendencies.
“There’s a video of you fishing in your social media,” Lin Guo added, “You look pretty domineering.”
Guo Yi instantly understood, but he was surprised that Lin Guo had been checking his social media. He explained, “That’s a tradition from my hometown.”
Guo Yi’s hometown was a small fishing village with a big pond. At the beginning of each year, the community would release fish into the pond, and by the end of the year, everyone could come and fish from the pond.
The one who caught the most fish was considered the most capable man. The video Guo Yi posted was of him competing with villagers and catching the biggest carp.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“What other customs does your hometown have?” Lin Guo asked.
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“Uh, I’ll start now.”
Guo Yi swallowed a piece of tripe, accidentally bringing along a chili pepper, which immediately made his forehead break out in fine sweat.
Lin Guo was a skilled actor who loved to observe people’s expressions. He tilted his head, assessing Guo Yi, and asked, “Can’t you handle spicy food?”
“I can,” Guo Yi quickly drank some water.
Lin Guo chuckled and teased, “The little country bumpkin loves to act tough.”
Hearing that nickname, Guo Yi put down his drink, furrowed his brow, and said displeasedly, “Can you stop giving me random nicknames?”
“Dislike it?” Lin Guo asked.
“You’re only 26, you are not that much older than me.”
“But I’m still older.” Lin Guo playfully said, “Try calling me ‘big brother’.”
Naturally, Guo Yi didn’t call him that, acting as if he hadn’t heard Lin Guo’s words.
When they had eaten their fill and left the hotpot restaurant, it was nearly 9 o’clock in the evening.
Guo Yi thanked Lin Guo for the treat and was about to take the subway home, but Lin Guo pointed to the parking lot and said, “Come with me.”
“Where to?” Guo Yi asked.
“My place,” Lin Guo replied.
Confused, Guo Yi followed Lin Guo’s steps, not understanding why he was being invited to Lin Guo’s home.
“Why do you want me to come to your place?” Guo Yi asked.
“To see the decoration style of my place,” Lin Guo answered.
With Lin Guo’s words, Guo Yi suddenly became curious. Whether it was cosmetic surgery or home renovation, people were always curious about before and after. Guo Yi knew what Lin Guo’s new home would look like, but he didn’t know how much the old and new houses would differ.
In his imagination, Lin Guo’s old place should be quite nice. But when he actually arrived at Lin Guo’s home, he realized that this big star’s residence was… simple and unadorned.
Just an ordinary two-bedroom apartment, no different from a normal home.
“Do you drink?” Lin Guo took out an orange glass bottle from the liquor cabinet and waved it at Guo Yi, who was looking around.
Guo Yi could tell it was imported liquor, something he had never tasted before, but he nodded with determination.
“When you’re not working, do you live here?” Guo Yi sat down on the sofa and received a glass from Lin Guo.
The drink was mixed with lemon tea, which balanced the spicy taste of the alcohol surprisingly well.
“Yes,” Lin Guo kicked off his slippers and lazily settled into the sofa. “When I first came back to China, I rented this place. I’ve developed a sentimental attachment to it.”
Only now did Guo Yi realize that this was a rented place for Lin Guo.
He suddenly felt a strange connection. It seemed that Lin Guo wasn’t as distant as he had imagined, because he, too, was currently living in a rented place.
“Are you willing to move out?” Guo Yi asked.
“Even if I’m not willing, what can I do?” Lin Guo shrugged. “The landlord isn’t selling.”
“That’s true.”
Speaking of this, Guo Yi’s gaze happened to fall on Lin Guo’s ankles. He casually asked, “Is your ankle healed?”
It had been quite a while, so it was probably better by now.
Lin Guo lifted his heel, placed it on Guo Yi’s thigh, and flexed his ankle nimbly, saying, “It’s fine now.”
Guo Yi felt a bit ticklish where Lin Guo’s foot touched, a purely physiological reaction. He gently moved away Lin Guo’s foot and said uneasily, “I’m glad to hear that.”
“But a few days ago, my waist was strained while doing aerial silks,” Lin Guo placed his glass on the coffee table, then leaned over Guo Yi’s leg. Turning his head to look at him, he said, “Can you give me a massage?”
“……?”
Guo Yi’s hands froze in midair, unable to figure out when he had become so familiar with Lin Guo.
But upon reflection, he had massaged Lin Guo’s ankle, calf, and even lower back before, as if massaging his waist wasn’t a big deal.
“You want me to help you?” Guo Yi asked.
Lin Guo nudged him, “I want you to help me.”
To be honest, Guo Yi hadn’t thought about it, because he was entering an unknown territory, and he simply didn’t know what the ‘want’ meant in this context.
Lin Guo pushed Guo Yi onto the armrest of the sofa, knees on either side of his waist. Gazing down at him from a higher position, Lin Guo hooked his lips, “Little country bumpkin, let big brother broaden your horizons.”
As the saying goes, third time’s the charm. This was the third time today that Lin Guo had used that nickname.
Gradually, the discomfort in Guo Yi’s heart subsided, leaving only shock. He furrowed his brows and emphasized, “I told you, I’m not little.”
“Is that so?” Lin Guo laughed, his expression devilish, “Let me see.”
Oh something sure is spicy! And it’s not just the hotpot.
Lin guo moves fast 😆