Chapter 55: TMS
Ji Mian’s cold had shown signs of improvement only after five days. He no longer had a fever, but he still lacked strength, feeling weak in his waist and legs, and could only lie in bed. After staying indoors for such a long time, his overall mental state seemed somewhat wilted.
Lu Ge found time to come over after work. Today, he seemed unusually formal, perhaps because of an important meeting at the company.
Dressed neatly in a suit, his tie still perfectly tied at the collar of his shirt.
Ji Mian attempted to sit up, but his arms trembled slightly as they supported his body.
“Muscle weakness?” Lu Ge couldn’t help but tease him.
Ji Mian ignored him and continued to use his trembling arms to prop himself up.
Seeing that Ji Mian was struggling, Lu Ge leaned down and supported Ji Mian’s arms from underneath, lifting him up with one strong motion.
His service was thorough; after lifting him, he helped adjust the blankets and pillow.
The distance between them suddenly closed, with Lu Ge’s breath falling softly on Ji Mian’s head. When Ji Mian looked up, he almost bumped into Lu Ge’s chin.
As Lu Ge moved, Ji Mian was forced to keep his head down the entire time.
This morning, Lu Ge had forgotten to wear a tie clip. His black silk tie dangled down as he leaned over, swaying in front of Ji Mian’s eyes.
Ji Mian felt dizzy from the swaying and, deciding to help Lu Ge “fix” it, reached out to grab the end of the tie.
However, the person whose tie he grabbed suddenly froze, his hand clutching the blanket hanging in mid-air.
When Ji Mian looked up, he saw Lu Ge’s gaze fixed intently on him, his dark eyes swirling with emotions that were suddenly incomprehensible.
Without realizing anything was wrong, Ji Mian tilted his head, “Lu—”
Before kissing the corner of Ji Mian’s lips, Lu Ge had never expected himself to be so easily drawn in.
It was just a tug on the tie; it just looked a bit like Ji Mian was leaning in for a kiss. They were simply too close, close enough to make him think that the person in front of him was within his reach.
But the moment their lips touched, Lu Ge felt as if he had awakened from a dream, his heart sinking.
He stared into Ji Mian’s bewildered eyes, realizing he had done something foolish.
His heart raced instantly, panic overtaking even the excitement of kissing Ji Mian.
Two seconds later, Ji Mian pushed him away from his chest.
The hand pushing against his chest wasn’t heavy and was still trembling, but it took all of Ji Mian’s strength.
Lu Ge sat up abruptly, speaking rapidly, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault. Don’t be angry.”
This was probably the first time Lu Ge had apologized so sincerely and quickly.
Ji Mian kept his head down, breath unsteady: “G-GO OUT…”
Lu Ge left the room.
The room fell silent, only the sound of Ji Mian’s heavy breathing remained.
【Oh, it turns out he really likes you.】 The system spoke.
Ji Mian took a moment to calm himself and remained silent.
【What do you plan to do? Reject him?】 The system added, realizing it might have stated the obvious.
Rejection was certain.
Ji Mian curled up his legs, hugging himself tightly.
Lu Ge liked him.
Ji Mian regarded Lu Ge as the most precious friend he had in this world, someone he cherished deeply.
After a brief moment of confusion, Ji Mian calmed down and began searching for a way to minimize the harm.
【Mr. Lu is a really good person. Truly.】
System: 【Yes.】
Lu Ge was indeed a good person and would make a great partner. But the system also knew that Ji Mian couldn’t accommodate another person in his heart.
Ji Mian: 【I don’t want him to be sad.】
Lu Ge wanted him to be happy, but all Ji Mian could offer in return was pain.
The system fell silent for a moment and finally said: 【Better a short pain than a long one.】
Outside the bedroom, Lu Ge stood by the door, licking his lips and savoring the taste.
It was bitter.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t regret it. It would also be a lie to say he wasn’t angry. Lu Ge was angry at himself, upset that he had hardly ever made foolish mistakes in his life but chose to do so at this moment.
He lowered his eyes slightly, his hands, which were in his pants pockets, trembling slightly.
Lu Ge had never been afraid of anything. But now, the soft “go out” from the person inside made him feel panicked.
He waited outside for over ten minutes, feeling increasingly uneasy. He feared that Ji Mian might do something reckless in his anger.
Turning around, he knocked on the door again.
No one answered inside. Lu Ge waited two seconds, then turned the doorknob and entered.
The young man in the bedroom still sat on the bed, his expression unchanged.
“Mr. Lu.” Ji Mian slowly opened his mouth, his tone even colder than when he first met Lu Ge.
The words that escaped his beautiful lips were even more heartless: “Don’t come over again in the future…”
As Lu Ge met Ji Mian’s slightly cold gaze, he immediately realized: their relationship had returned to square one.
That wasn’t even the worst part.
—He could never get close to this person again.
Lu Ge stood frozen, feeling like he had driven his car into a dead end.
His emotions felt like a roller coaster, suddenly soaring into the air, then crashing down. His heart would sometimes feel hot and feverish, only to be tossed into a freezing abyss the next moment.
No matter how much he likes him, this person does not belong to him.
“Is it that serious, Young Master?” Lu Ge chuckled, his fingertips trembling even more violently.
He was unwilling to give up and sat down beside Ji Mian, shamelessly saying, “The human heart weighs about 300 grams, so heavy. What’s the harm in adding one more?”
“…”
Ji Mian just looked at him silently.
Lu Ge’s hand tightened into a fist.
He knew he was doomed with Ji Mian; there was not even a chance of a last-ditch struggle.
If Ji Mian were healthy, Lu Ge would find a way to make him fall in love with him, and he would never let go no matter what.
But now, as Lu Ge looked at the thin youth lying on the bed, he felt a lump form in his throat.
He didn’t want him to be unhappy.
He was furious, his heart swelling with an unnamed anger that filled him to the brim, yet he was still angry at himself.
Lu Ge had a problem; he was angry with himself but wanted to indiscriminately lash out at others, especially Ji Mian.
He wanted to point a finger at Ji Mian and scold him, yet he couldn’t bear to do it. This emotion could be considered a peculiar kind of exasperation.
In a fit of rage, Lu Ge picked up half a piece of bread that Ji Mian had left and took a big bite out of it.
In shock, Ji Mian forgot to maintain his persona, his eyes widening. “You—”
He watched as Lu Ge took a bite from the very spot he had bitten, his cheeks bulging as he chewed and swallowed.
“You, you...?” Ji Mian was at a loss for words.
Why was he eating his food? No, why was he eating what was left over from him!?
After finishing, Lu Ge still wanted to provoke him: “Do you think the leftover meals were cleared up by someone else? Huh, like a trash can?”
Did he even know he had to exercise an extra hour every day just to burn off the excess calories!?
Ji Mian’s face turned crimson, but it wasn’t from anger; it was a mix of embarrassment and shyness.
—He really thought a trash can cleared it up!!
Lu Ge looked at Ji Mian's flushed face, biting his teeth in frustration, his heart aching from the resentment.
Damn it, why was he so likable?
No matter how much he liked him... he still didn’t belong to him.
—
Lu Ge no longer visited the Xu family.
His life returned to normal; he didn’t need to seek out Ji Mian anymore at night, and he spent even longer hours at the company, becoming a complete workaholic.
Once people get busy, they forget about everything else. Lu Ge clearly understood this principle.
Being fully engaged in work felt fulfilling, and when he had some free time, he could even convince himself: this isn’t so bad. After all, falling for a sickly person had no benefits.
Loving Ji Mian was no different from loving a piece of wood; at least wood wouldn’t cough in the middle of the night and disturb one’s sweet dreams.
Lu Ge thought this while lightly kicking the leg of the desk in front of him.
A week later.
“President Lu, here’s your schedule for today.” Assistant Tang placed a printed form on Lu Ge’s desk.
Lu Ge lounged in the chair behind the desk, leaning back so that the elastic chair back formed a wide angle. His arms were crossed behind his head, and his legs were awkwardly draped over the desk in front of him, staring blankly at the ceiling. The fabric of his suit around his waist was wrinkled from his posture, but Lu Ge didn’t care.
It was 8:30 in the morning, and Assistant Tang felt a bit worried: it had been half an hour since work started, and their workaholic boss hadn’t handled a single task.
While it was understandable for someone to feel lazy occasionally, it was quite baffling in Lu Ge’s case.
Moreover, Lu Ge had been in this state for more than a couple of days.
Not long ago, he was working himself to the bone, so much so that he wouldn’t even go home to the Lu family, choosing to stay at the company as a workaholic.
But since a certain day last week, he had suddenly changed to this slacker demeanor, which had lasted almost a week.
Despite his lack of motivation, Lu Ge still handled urgent matters but delegated all the trivial tasks to his subordinates.
Speaking of which, why hadn’t their boss visited the Xu family lately? Had he had a falling out with the young master Xu? Assistant Tang cautiously observed his boss.
Lu Ge’s rapid transition from a workaholic to this dejected state had its reasons.
He considered himself not purely a love-struck fool; even a few months ago, when he realized he had feelings for Ji Mian, he still maintained that work and love should be of equal importance.
But it wasn’t until he left the Xu family last week that he discovered that the sense of accomplishment from a week of intense work was actually less than the joy of coaxing Ji Mian to eat one more shrimp!
President Lu’s sense of ambition was seriously wounded, leading him to slam down his pen.
The ceiling was glaringly white.
Lu Ge blinked in his chair, unable to stop himself from thinking about whether that someone who didn’t like to eat had lost weight during these two weeks of his absence.
With this thought, his mind couldn’t help but wander.
Suddenly, he sat up, and under Assistant Tang’s astonished gaze, he dialed the phone on his desk.
Seconds later, the call connected, and a deep male voice came through. “Hello?”
Lu Ge’s voice carried his usual playful tone. “Long time no see, President Qin.”
Recognizing his voice, the tone on the other end instantly turned cold. “Is President Lu looking for something?”
“President Qin, do you still remember the favor you owe me?” Lu Ge smirked. “I’m here to collect.”
Comments