“Do you dislike it?”
Jiang Zhou came from behind him. He was a head taller than Chen Ju, and he was sturdy. Chen Ju looked like a frail little chick.
“No, I like it very much.” Chen Ju said hastily. His gaze met Jiang Zhou’s in the mirror. Even though in the mirror, he could feel the tenderness in Jiang Zhou’s eyes, like a tranquil lake.
Chen Ju felt dizzy, lowering his eyes shyly, avoiding Jiang Zhou’s gaze.
“Alright, this set is decided. Then go and try the remaining two sets,” Jiang Zhou whispered, placing his palm on Chen Ju’s shoulder.
This posture, seen in the mirror, looked like he was going to embrace him from behind. When this thought came out of his mind, Chen Ju’s face became even hotter. He hummed indiscriminately, and hurried into the changing room.
After trying the last set, Jiang Zhou said without the slightest hesitation: “I’ll take all three sets.”
“Alright, Young Master.” The shop assistant responded respectfully and took the clothes to the counter.
Three, all three sets? Chen Ju swallowed nervously. When he tried on clothes, he had checked the prices. Three sets would cost a lot of money.
He wanted to hold Jiang Zhou back and say it’s not necessary, but thinking of the warning in Jiang Zhou’s eyes at that time, he finally held back.
After paying, Jiang Zhou carried three bags with one hand and wrapped his other hand around Chen Ju’s waist. Chen Ju’s body stiffened, his head feeling hot. The next moment Jiang Zhou lowered his head and whispered softly in his ear: “Act better. I don’t want others to figure it out.”
Jiang Zhou’s voice was like a whisper between lovers, but Chen Ju felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on him. His head, which had been dizzy just now, cleared instantly. The blush on his cheeks dissipated, leaving only unhealthy paleness.
He nodded obediently, lowered his head, and followed Jiang Zhou out of the store, his chest aching with sourness.
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.
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He was so foolish that he considered acting reality. Jiang Zhou clearly disliked him from the beginning. How could he be so gentle towards him? It was all just acting.
However, when he thought about it being just an act, a heavy stone seemed to press against his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“That’s it,” Jiang Zhou pointed to one of the pictures, then looked up at Chen Ju, who was sitting next to him. The man kept his head lowered, and the black-rimmed glasses blocked most of his face, looking quite obedient. Jiang Zhou withdrew his gaze and said, “Pick a good-looking frame for him.”
“Alright, Young Master~” the stylist smiled while holding the photo album.
Only then did Chen Ju raise his head and look at Jiang Zhou. The man was leaning back against the sofa, looking at him with half-closed eyes.
“Little Orange, come here.” Jiang Zhou reached out his hand to Chen Ju.
It had been many years since anyone called him by that nickname. He thought he had misheard it when trying on clothes. The nickname “Little Orange” was given back in high school. During a late self-study session, he sneaked out and told Jiang Zhou that he wanted Jiang Zhou to call him that, but Jiang Zhou never did.
He thought Jiang Zhou had forgotten.
Chen Ju knew he had to cooperate with Jiang Zhou’s act again, but his heart still couldn’t control its accelerated beating. He stood up and walked slowly towards Jiang Zhou. Before he could stabilise himself, his hand was grabbed. Jiang Zhou pulled him in front of him, with his knees clasping the sides of his legs, firmly trapping him between his thighs.
The scorching body heat spread to his legs through the fabric, like a snake, wriggling its body, crawling through the veins all over his body, causing a tremor.
He lowered his gaze, and happened to meet Jiang Zhou’s dark eyes. The man tilted his head back, and his fingers traced Chen Ju’s palm, like butterfly wings, causing an unbearable itching.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhou’s hand stretched out in front of his eyes. Chen Ju subconsciously thought he was about to be slapped, so he immediately closed his eyes.
However, there was no pain as expected. Instead, he felt only a light touch on the bridge of his nose as the glasses were taken off. Chen Ju narrowed his eyes and cautiously stole a glance at Jiang Zhou, who was examining his glasses in his hands.
“No degree?” Jiang Zhou raised his eyes and spoke deeply.
Chen Ju’s heart tightened suddenly, and his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched together.
Unfortunately, the secret was discovered.
“Yes, just a bit.” Chen Ju couldn’t control his tongue when lying. The stutter he had been suppressing for a long time was revealed again. He was a little annoyed, and added, “I usually wear them for convenience, to see things clearly.”
“I prefer you without glasses.” The corners of Jiang Zhou’s lips curved slightly, and a hint of an elusive smile appeared at the corners of his eyes.
Chen Ju was stunned for a moment, and his cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato. He told himself Jiang Zhou was acting, but his heart couldn’t help but beat wildly.
“Then, then I won’t wear them.” Chen Ju stammered again. He looked away shyly and noticed that the hairstylist and the staff at the hair salon were looking in their direction, causing his body temperature to rise a few degrees.
Jiang Zhou released Chen Ju’s hand, and said to the stylist, “Let’s not choose glasses for now.”
“Alright, Young Master~” the stylist walked up to Chen Ju and said with a smile, “May I know how to address this handsome gentleman?”
“His surname is Chen.” Jiang Zhou answered for Chen Ju, with a flash of impatience in his eyes. “Don’t talk about irrelevant things.”
The stylist was perceptive and said quickly, “Understood, Young Master! I’ll take Mr. Chen inside to wash his hair.”
As he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation, while Chen Ju stood awkwardly in place, and glanced at Jiang Zhou.
“Just washing your hair, it’ll be quick,” Jiang Zhou seemed to sense Chen Ju’s fear and said, “I’ll wait for you outside.”
Although it was just acting, Jiang Zhou’s comfort was miraculous. Chen Ju’s panic in his heart suddenly diminished by half. He nodded and obediently followed the stylist inside.
During the haircut, Chen Ju couldn’t bear it any longer. Exhaustion from a busy day, coupled with drowsiness, swept over him. His head nodded little by little until he eventually fell asleep.
“Mr. Chen…” The stylist wanted to wake Chen Ju up; this position was not easy to cut.
“Let him sleep.” Jiang Zhou, who was sitting on the sofa behind him, stood up and walked to Chen Ju’s side. Then, he said in a deep voice, “Just trim the ends of his hair a bit shorter.”
The stylist nodded and couldn’t help but steal a few more glances in the mirror. The expression on Jiang Zhou’s face was something he had never seen before. How to say, it’s hard to describe. Not entirely gentle, but his gaze did resemble that of someone looking at a lover. There was an added sense of patience and restraint.
After cutting his hair, Chen Ju had not yet shown signs of waking up. Jiang Zhou did not call him but instead bent down and lifted him up, holding him around his waist.
A faint furrow of the brow appeared on Jiang Zhou’s face as he felt the light and frail weight in his arms.
Too thin.
Not knowing how long he had been asleep, Chen Ju yawned and wanted to turn over. Sleeping in this position was very uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, as soon as he moved, he felt a force suddenly tighten around his waist, making him unable to breathe.
“Don’t move.” A deep voice came from above.
cute little orange… may he be blessed soon 😌
cute little orange…
Jiang Zhou is really going to screw himself over with this two-faced routine he’s doing. Once Chen Ju truly internalizes the fact that Jiang Zhou doesn’t love him (as stated will happen in the summary) from then on whenever Jiang Zhou is nice to him there will always be a little voice in the back of Chen Ju’s head that asks “what if he’s just acting?”
I need this man to grovel for Chen Ju for at least 10 chapters! Maybe even more!😤
Oh it definitely needs to be more!!!!
A heavy +1 on this 💔
This is some shooting yourself in the foot type leaves os stupid because just as you stated, now whenever Jiang Zhou does show sincerity there will always be a voice at the back of Chen Ju’s head questioning that sincerity. Loving this story so far, I need more 👁️👁️
For some reason I’m just worried about the quilt (was that it?) that he hid near the plant 😭
Wait, lmao. I forgot about that too.
I was thinking about the same thing 😄
You couldn’t wait to turn a little later? Now you won’t be able to sleep soundly anymore
Wonder why chen ju pretended to wear glasses if his sight is perfectly normal? Was it because he was bullied or smth? 😭
+1 I wonder why too!
Hes not acting at all but it’s a cover up hes gonna regret lol