The Little Deaf Man Decided to be Spoiled

61

Chapter 61
"... Ms. Liu expressed her profound gratitude to the sanitation workers of the community for helping her find her beloved dog and promised to offer assistance wherever possible..."
At home, Aunt Zhao hummed a tune while preparing dinner, listening to the news. The integrated elevator chimed, and she hurriedly turned off the stove to see who it was.
"Oh, why are you back so early today?" Aunt Zhao brightened up seeing both of them enter together.
But Ji Ruan's expression was grim, and young Gu looked equally serious. He whispered something into Ji Ruan's ear, trying to embrace him. Ji Ruan, however, held out his arm in refusal.
Aunt Zhao whispered, "What happened?"
Gu Xiuyi offered a reassuring smile, "It's nothing, Aunt Zhao. Could you make dinner a bit lighter tonight? He's not feeling too well. We'll head upstairs for a chat."
"... Alright."
Holding her spatula, Aunt Zhao's hand slowly lowered, her eyes following the two retreating figures up the staircase with a puzzled expression.
The study door was gently closed, and Ji Ruan went straight to the small sofa and took a seat.
Gu Xiuyi handed him a cup of warm water, "Drink this, your lips are dry."
The cup of water also granted Ji Ruan a moment of respite. He slowly sipped half of it, wondering where to begin.
However, it was Gu Xiuyi who broke the silence.
"I like you."
"Choke!"
Water spilled everywhere as Ji Ruan began to cough, covering his mouth.
"Ji Ruan?!"
Gu Xiuyi instantly patted his back and fetched a tissue to wipe his hands, "That's on me. I should've waited for you to finish drinking."
Ji Ruan wasn't choking so much from the water as from sheer astonishment. He could never have dreamt that Gu Xiuyi would be so forthright.
Such a candid confession right off the bat; in his entire life, he'd never encountered such an approach.
Gu Xiuyi's directness was purely a lesson learned from their previous "Discussion of Today's Matter" incident.
He felt Li Sui'an made an excellent point. Even if the content remains unchanged, the sequence of words can have a decisive impact on the outcome of an event.
Had he confessed his feelings to Ji Ruan before discussing legal matters that day, he might not have brought Ji Ruan to tears. Perhaps he would have shared a kiss with Ji Ruan much sooner instead of waiting till now.
In hindsight, every day and night, Gu Xiuyi deeply regretted his approach.
He had come to realize that when conversing with Ji Ruan, he must address the most critical matters first. Otherwise, any subsequent sentence might bring Ji Ruan to tears, rendering him inconsolable and unable to hear anything else.
Although, admittedly, his current approach didn't seem entirely successful either.
He gently stroked Ji Ruan's back, asking cautiously, "Feeling better now, darling? Any discomfort?"
Ji Ruan waved a hand dismissively, "Why... why did you bring that up all of a sudden?"
His eyes, red-rimmed from the coughing, gazed up at Gu Xiuyi, looking pitiable, as if he had just shed a river of tears. Yet, they also brimmed with shock and confusion, as if a large question mark hovered above his head.
Gu Xiuyi couldn't resist patting his crown, noting the thick, soft hair.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat under Ji Ruan's increasingly puzzled gaze, "Because that's the most crucial conclusion for today."
Observing Ji Ruan's condition, he added considerately, "Take your time to digest this. I'll explain the rest in detail later."
Ji Ruan: "............"
Somehow, Ji Ruan felt an irrational fear, as if being dominated by a math teacher.
This kind of confession, both resembling a class lecture and a meeting, was a first for Ji Ruan. He thought he'd probably never experience such a thing again.
Amidst the shock, he also felt a peculiar sense of... grievance?
Gu Xiuyi was utterly unromantic!
But now wasn't the time for grievances; there were many things he still needed Gu Xiuyi to clarify properly.
Ji Ruan steadied himself: "Alright, go on."
Gu Xiuyi reached out, drawing him into his embrace. Feeling the warmth, Ji Ruan could barely believe he wasn't in a meeting.

"I-"
Buzz, buzz.
His phone rang.
Gu Xiuyi took a glance at it and frowned, swiping it away.
"I've never-"
Ring-a-ling.
A direct call came through from the other side.
Gu Xiuyi: "..."
After pondering for a moment, he showed the caller ID to Ji Ruan: "It's my high school class president."
With Ji Ruan's nod of approval, he answered and put it on speaker.
"Hello? Mr. Gu? Hahaha, it's me, Old Ma!"
"Hello, class president."
"Ah, after all these years, you're still so formal. Listen, our class has a reunion the day after tomorrow. Can you make it?"
Gu Xiuyi casually set the phone on the coffee table and pulled Ji Ruan into a tight embrace: "I'm sorry, I've been quite busy recently."
"Eh? I specifically chose that day because I heard you were free. Mr. Gu, listen," the class president said in a lowered, conspiratorial tone, "Bai Yue is back!"
"-This reunion is basically a welcome-back party for him. I rushed over to let you know."
Gu Xiuyi looked at Ji Ruan. The young man was looking down, his long eyelashes casting shadows, revealing a curve of his porcelain-white cheek, which looked as delicate as carved ivory.
He was idly fiddling with his fingers, seemingly uninterested in what Gu Xiuyi was discussing.
Gu Xiuyi couldn't resist and kissed the nape of Ji Ruan's neck. The man in his arms shivered instantly, and that patch of white skin turned pink in a blink.
Ji Ruan lifted his head, glaring at him, a mix of embarrassment and resentment evident on his face. Aware that someone was on the phone, he didn't voice his indignation but hissed into Gu Xiuyi's ear:
"I haven't agreed to anything yet!"
Not wanting to genuinely upset Ji Ruan, Gu Xiuyi hastily appeased, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Mr. Gu? Mr. Gu, are you still there?"
Gu Xiuyi's eyes and brows hinted at his amusement, but when he spoke into the phone, his voice betrayed no emotion:
"Class President Ma, I'm not sure where you heard I'm free the day after tomorrow. But even if I were, I'd choose to spend it at home with my loved one, don't you think?"
"-It's fine, I'll hang up now."
Though his "loved one" seemed taken aback by this intimate term, his cheeks flushed crimson.
"Uh... ah..." Ma, the class president, who'd tried to gain favor, was evidently taken aback, his voice sounding choked.
"No, Mr. Gu, I didn't mean... I wasn't-"
Beep beep beep.
Gu Xiuyi ended the call.
In the sudden quiet that ensued, Ji Ruan silently met his gaze.
The phone call had been rather off-putting for Ji Ruan, but strictly speaking, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
At the very least, it brought to light the most significant weight on Ji Ruan's mind, laying it bare in front of Gu Xiuyi.
Gu Xiuyi's smile faded, and he looked seriously at Ji Ruan: "Do you want me to explain?"
This was exactly what Ji Ruan was waiting for, he nodded: "Go on, I'm listening."
Gu Xiuyi paused for a few seconds: "First, I've never had feelings for him."
"Second, while Bai Yue and I did meet early on, our relationship has never been close; we haven't even built a solid foundation for friendship."
"Third, the rumors about me and him have no basis in reality. We've never had any inappropriate relationship."
"For each of the points I've just made, I'm willing to elaborate further based on your questions."