CH 35

Zhou Qingbo could be unreasonable at times. Even though Pei You had no intention of interrogating him, he was forced into checking the chat records with Ge Xing.

“I didn’t lie to you,” Zhou Qingbo said with his elbow on the car window, raising an eyebrow in a strange tone, “You shouldn’t listen to him and let him manipulate us.”

“I know,” Pei You didn’t want to invade Zhou Qingbo’s privacy, so he just glanced at the screen, quickly checked, and then locked the phone before giving it back to Zhou Qingbo.

“That’s good,” Zhou Qingbo moved closer to him, wanting to make eye contact. He stubbornly said, “You and I are on the same side, you know. Don’t listen to him.”

Zhou Qingbo acted childishly, almost like a young child insisting on being the best friend, as if he wanted to win this favor.

Pei You couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by his sudden assertiveness. He subconsciously leaned back and placed his hand on Zhou Qingbo’s shoulder.

“…I wasn’t listening to him to begin with,” Pei You looked into Zhou Qingbo’s eyes and said helplessly, “You insisted on showing me the chats.”

“I’m maintaining a good trust relationship,” Zhou Qingbo always had his reasons and said firmly, “If I don’t explain it clearly to you, what if Ge Xing manipulates you? He might introduce you to all kinds of random people who are not fit for you.”

Perhaps thinking of the “blind date party” Ge Xing had arranged for him before, Zhou Qingbo frowned slightly, showing a subtle look of disdain on his face.

“But…” Pei You suddenly asked, “Why are you so concerned about this?”

Pei You had wanted to ask this question for a while, but it wasn’t until the conversation led to this point that he finally had the chance to voice it.

In his opinion, Ge Xing wasn’t someone who blindly meddled in other people’s business. If he wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t force Pei You to meet a blind date.

But for some reason, Zhou Qingbo always seemed very resistant to Ge Xing. Pei You didn’t understand where this hostility came from, nor did he understand why Zhou Qingbo cared so much about his potential blind date partners.

Zhou Qingbo seemed surprised by Pei You’s sudden question. For a brief moment, he was at a loss and couldn’t answer casually, unlike his usual eloquence in twisting the logic to easily defeat others.

Indeed, Zhou Qingbo thought Pei You wasn’t an ignorant young boy who could be easily deceived.

As this thought crossed Zhou Qingbo’s mind, he felt an inexplicable feeling, unable to put it into words. He subconsciously didn’t want to entrust Pei You to some unfamiliar guy, and so he had been subconsciously preventing Pei You from getting blind dates.

Now, Pei You’s question had broken through that hidden barrier, and Zhou Qingbo hadn’t yet figured out the answer. He felt a bit annoyed, not understanding where this sudden restlessness came from or what it represented. He only felt that this elusive feeling couldn’t be grasped, and he couldn’t discern if it was worry or some more mysterious emotion.

Zhou Qingbo felt like he was in a subtle state, as if some common sense had passed in front of him, but he couldn’t see it clearly.

“I…” He blinked blankly, trying to grasp the answer to this question, but suddenly, the car in front of them made an abrupt stop, and Zhou Qingbo’s train of thought was interrupted.

Zhou Qingbo was sitting with a slanting posture, without any balance, so due to the sudden stop, he moved forward slightly, almost rolling off the backseat. Fortunately, Pei You quickly caught him.

“We’ve arrived,” the driver pulled up the handbrake, inexplicably giving the two of them a glance through the rearview mirror, speaking in the local dialect, “It’s 162 yuan.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

The brief moment of confusion was shattered, and Zhou Qingbo suddenly returned from that inexplicable daze. He felt that the strange feeling had disappeared along with it, as if it had never existed.

“…Strange,” Zhou Qingbo pinched his nose, sat up straight with the help of Pei You and wondered, “What happened? My heart was beating so fast, and my vision just turned gray.”

“Maybe it was a lack of oxygen?” Pei You scanned the QR code to pay the fare, looking puzzled at Zhou Qingbo. Then he used the back of his hand to touch his forehead and said, “Did you eat too little for lunch? Low blood sugar, perhaps?”

“Possible,” Zhou Qingbo assessed himself and said, “Or maybe I’m just tired.”

Zhou Qingbo, who had always been carefree, didn’t think too much of it and simply attributed the fleeting subtle feeling he just had to positional hypotension.

He lowered his head and followed Pei You’s lead, pulling his hand out of the car and then casually resting it on Pei You’s shoulder. With the back of his foot, he closed the car door.

“Oh, by the way… What were we talking about just now ….” Zhou Qingbo raised an eyebrow, continuing the previous question from Pei You, ” the answer is, it’s because you haven’t graduated from my teachings yet. If I let you go too soon, it would damage my reputation as the gold medal love instructor.”

Pei You: “…”

When did he acquire such a title? Pei You wondered.

Pei You could never keep up with Zhou Qingbo’s unpredictable train of thought, but wisely chose not to ask about the title. He just made a sound to indicate that he had heard it.

In fact, even if Zhou Qingbo hadn’t said it, Pei You had no plans to meet new matches recently.

His interactions with Zhou Qingbo had reached a comfortable level. They could share their secrets about their sexual orientations with each other, and Pei You didn’t have to constantly try to impress Zhou Qingbo.

Zhou Qingbo didn’t mind his lack of excitement and would occasionally add some fun to their lives. On the other hand, Pei You could interact with Zhou Qingbo at his own pace and didn’t have to exhaust himself trying to fit into every topic.

As the saying goes, it’s easy to transition from basic living to luxury, but difficult to go back to basic living after experiencing luxury. Even though Pei You and Zhou Qingbo weren’t involved in a romantic relationship, he had gradually become accustomed to this free and comfortable way of being together. He didn’t want to engage in awkward blind dates anymore.

With this in mind, Pei You turned his head slightly and glanced at Zhou Qingbo’s hand resting on his shoulder.

His sleeve was pulled up a bit, revealing a boneless hand that dangled down and swayed with his movements as they walked.

Zhou Qingbo didn’t seem to notice Pei You’s gaze; his attention was not focused. At that moment, he was more interested in surveying the street in front of the hotel, looking at the candied chestnut stall with a hint of anticipation.

Pei You used his hand to wipe off the faint gray marks on Zhou Qingbo’s sleeve.

“Gold Medal Love Instructor” might be questionable in terms of its effectiveness, but Pei You felt that Zhou Qingbo seemed to have raised his standards for potential partners.