CH 7

Getting the marriage certificate is a physical task, and it was already past mealtime after completing everything.

Ji Ran felt lethargic when hungry, and he huddled in the backseat with little strength. Beside him, Gu Xiuyi remained unchanged, sitting upright with good posture.

The driver was already sent away by Gu Xiuyi, and now it was Song Ling driving the car himself. He fastened his seatbelt, glanced at the rearview mirror, and asked, "Which way should we go now, boss?"

Gu Xiuyi checked his wristwatch and asked Ji Ran, "What do you want to eat?"

What to eat? Ji Ran couldn't answer for a moment, as he was hungry and wanted to eat everything. After waiting for two seconds, Gu Xiuyi wasn't surprised that he didn't get a response. He was almost used to Ji Ran's way of following orders based on his mood alone and reached out to touch Ji Ran's hair beside his ear without even looking up. But this time, he didn't touch anything. Ji Ran interrupted him halfway through.

Gu Xiuyi looked up; his wrist was held by Ji Ruan's two hands. Each finger was very beautiful. Gu Xiuyi's skin color was already considered pale among most men, but Ji Ruan was still much whiter than him, as if he had never been exposed to the sun.

Ji Ruan pursed his lips and looked a bit helpless, "I heard it this time, but I haven't made up my mind yet." "..."

Gu Xiuyi withdrew his hand and subconsciously touched his wrist. The place where Ji Ruan had touched was still cold. Gu Xiuyi was a little surprised. He had never met anyone with such a low body temperature before... But then again, he hadn't had much physical contact with others.

Maybe it was just because his own body temperature was high.

Ji Ruan leaned back in his chair and looked out the window for a while, then suddenly glanced at his phone and said, "I want to eat fried chicken."

Gu Xiuyi was also looking at his phone and responded indifferently, "Don't be silly."

"What...why is it a big deal?" Ji Ruan turned to face Gu Xiuyi, with his hands resting on the chair: "Can't we eat fried chicken?"

Gu Xiuyi finally shifted his gaze to Ji Ruan and realized that this child seemed to be serious.

"Don't you think it's too greasy?" Gu Xiuyi asked.

"No, I don't," Ji Ruan tilted his head slightly, looking straight into Gu Xiuyi's eyes with his big ones. "Well... maybe I will feel sick if I eat too much, but the last time I ate it was in middle school, and now I can hardly remember what it tastes like."

He seemed to be seriously discussing the matter with Gu Xiuyi, lightly moving his head and letting his soft hair brush against the back of the chair: "Can't I be a little indulgent?"

Half of what he said was true, and half was false. It was unknown when the Ji Ruan in the book had eaten fried chicken last, but he himself had been unable to eat fried food due to illness. Now that he had a body that was barely healthy, Ji Ruan's mind was heated up and he wanted to try it.

Gu Xiuyi remained silent, looking at Ji Ruan.

Forget about middle school, he had never eaten fried chicken in his life, and he had lived to this age. He couldn't understand why today's kids were so fond of those heavy and tasteless fried foods.

But Ji Ruan called eating fried chicken "indulging oneself". Were a few cheap pieces of chicken really indulging oneself? Thinking about this, Gu Xiuyi couldn't bring himself to refuse. Ji Ruan was the kind of person who didn't have many desires, but once he wanted something, he had to have it. He also only spoke three-quarters of what he was thinking, and was very skilled at manipulating people. Ji Ruan relaxed and sat down, saying casually, "Today is Thursday." So what about Thursday? Gu Xiuyi loved working year-round, even during statutory holidays, which held no special meaning for him. "So?" "So it's KFC's Crazy Thursday." "..." "What's that?" Gu Xiuyi really felt the generation gap. Why would Thursday be crazy? It's better to go to work if you're idle. Ji Ruan thought for a moment. "A kind of promotion?" Gu Xiuyi turned his head. "I don't eat things on promotion." "Pfft..." Ji Ruan was amused by Gu Xiuyi's pretentiousness, "Oh, it's just an activity, an event." What event? It was just a means for businessmen to seek profit. Gu Xiuyi glanced at the dimple that appeared when Ji Ruan smiled. Only a child who loved to join in the fun would be so silly and happy.

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Ji Ruan had laughed enough and now he started staring at Gu Xiuyi again. Gu Xiuyi didn't make a statement, so Ji Ruan just kept staring. Gu Xiuyi couldn't stand it anymore. Wouldn't his eyes get sore if he kept them open for so long? He averted his gaze and pinched his brow forcefully, "Go, go, go- Song Ling, find a nearby place."

Fifteen minutes later, Gu Xiuyi sat expressionlessly in a booth on the second floor of a KFC in the commercial district. He was dressed in a full suit that he had worn after leaving a meeting at the company. He looked out of place in the casual atmosphere of the restaurant, and many people glanced at him secretly.

But "regret" was not in Gu Xiuyi's dictionary. He had agreed to accompany Ji Ruan to eat fried chicken, and he would stay with him the whole time. Other people's opinions were not important. The dinner rush was over, and there were fewer customers in the restaurant than during peak hours. Most of the remaining customers were energetic students, some of whom were doing summer homework while others were on dates.

After receiving his certificate, Ji Ruan changed back into his T-shirt and shorts, and sat across from Gu Xiuyi, scanning the menu on his phone and seamlessly blending into the atmosphere of the store.

Gu Xiuyi felt like a needle had suddenly pierced him. Although "regret" wasn't in the dictionary, but...

Gu Xiuyi couldn't help but feel a sense of it. He took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and opened the financial news to try and calm himself down.

Ji Ruan had chosen a set meal and was about to place his order when he suddenly remembered that he had already spent a huge sum of 21 yuan treating Han Xiaolin to beef noodles today. Gu Xiuyi was fully immersed in the charm of financial news, but he couldn't ignore the burning gaze coming from across the table. He looked up and met Ji Ruan's soft and watery eyes, with his long eyelashes trembling slightly. Gu Xiuyi: "?" Ji Ruan spoke casually as if he was talking to a good friend: "I remember you said you wanted to treat me to a meal?" Gu Xiuyi: "..." He never said that. But did Ji Ruan practice some kind of long-lost technique of not blinking? As long as Gu Xiuyi didn't avoid his gaze, he could stare at him endlessly. Stare at him until he softened. Gu Xiuyi sighed and handed over his phone. Ji Ruan immediately smiled, revealing his dimples, and took Gu Xiuyi's phone: "Thank you for treating me." He quickly scanned the QR code to add the set meal to the shopping cart and then asked Gu Xiuyi: "What do you want to eat?"

Gu Xiuyi watched as Ji Ruan's slender fingers quickly tapped and swiped on his phone screen, their skin glowing white under the fluorescent light. He had no interest in fast food and casually said, "Coffee, please."

Ji Ruan looked up and asked, "Just that?"

"Hmm."

As it turned out, the coffee at the fast-food restaurant didn't suit Gu's taste - it was too sweet. He took a symbolic sip or two before putting it aside, propping his chin up and watching Ji Ruan eat.

Ji Ruan, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, was not eating like he normally would. Although his posture was still upright and his eating mannerisms were still elegant, his cheeks were bulging even more and he was wiping his mouth with more force, causing his lips to turn red.

Gu Xiuyi stared at the red bead on Ji Ruan's lips for a long time before blurting out, "Why do you always press your lips like that?"

"What?" Ji Ruan didn't hear him clearly and looked confused.

Gu Xiuyi cleared his throat and looked away, saying, "Never mind, just eat."

It was summer break and the restaurant was filled with many student couples. Gu Xiuyi casually glanced around and suddenly seemed to be reminded of something, as he knocked on the table and said, "After we finish eating, let's go somewhere."

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On a hot summer day, the air conditioning in the shopping center of the commercial district was set to an extremely low temperature, causing Ji Ruan to start coughing as soon as he entered.

As Gu Xiuyi led Ji Ruan forward, he listened to him cough weakly and finally couldn't help but pat him on the back, asking, "What's wrong with your throat?" Ji Ruan covered his neck and furrowed his brow, his voice hoarse as he replied, "The air conditioning is too low, and the fried chicken... maybe a bit too salty..." Thinking of the row of small bones Ji Ruan had just gnawed on and the large glass of ice-cold cola he had drank, Gu Xiuyi sneered, "It serves you right." All that stimulating food, who wouldn't feel uncomfortable? Ji Ruan: "............" Gu Xiuyi led Ji Ruan into a luxury jewelry store, and Ji Ruan blinked in confusion, "?" Gu Xiuyi replied naturally, "To buy a wedding ring." "Ah..." Ji Ruan furrowed his brow and leaned against the wall, "But I'm so tired, I don't want to move." Whether it was because they had been running around too much that day or because he had been too focused on gnawing on the chicken leg earlier, Ji Ruan was now very tired and wanted to sleep. The air conditioning here was also too low, making his throat uncomfortable.

Gu Xiuyi looked at Ji Ruan's pale lips without changing his expression and said, "I didn't ask you to move, just sit and choose."

Although they were supposed to be buying wedding rings together, in reality, it was all Gu Xiuyi doing the picking, and he was very picky and hard to please. Ji Ruan randomly pointed out a few styles, but none of them satisfied Gu Xiuyi. Even the several new products that the manager strongly recommended didn't interest Gu Xiuyi after he looked at them. In the end, he requested a custom-made ring. Ji Ruan leaned against the sofa, holding a glass of water. From his angle, he could see Gu Xiuyi's profile, and he had a very serious and focused expression. However, this kind of expression should not match their marriage, which was only in name. Ji Ruan suddenly felt a sense of discomfort. When the manager went to call the designer, Ji Ruan gently tugged on Gu Xiuyi's sleeve. Gu Xiuyi turned his head and naturally leaned towards him a bit, asking, "What's up?" Ji Ruan bit his lip and whispered in his ear, "We're not really getting married, is it necessary to be so serious?" Gu Xiuyi stared at him for a while and didn't explain anything about the marriage, but simply said, "This is something we're going to wear on our hands for the next three years. Do you want something you don't like?" Ji Ruan was taken aback. Gu Xiuyi's eyes were very deep, and when he looked at people up close, even if he appeared calm like a deep pool, it would still show a different kind of focus. Ji Ruan seemed to suddenly understand why the original owner liked Gu Xiuyi so much. For someone who was already a little moved, seeing this kind of gaze, it was hard not to be presumptuous and wonder if the other person also cared about oneself a little bit? Fortunately, he was not the Ji Ruan in the original book. Ji Ruan let go of Gu Xiuyi's sleeve and smiled, "I understand now."

The designer made several sketches according to Gu Xiuyi's requirements. Ji Ruan was lying on the sofa, feeling drowsy. When Gu Xiuyi pulled him up to ask for his opinion, his eyes were blurry.

"These are just the basic styles," Gu Xiuyi explained. "Pick a few, and they will refine the designs in more detail." The designer was also looking at Ji Ruan eagerly. However, Ji Ruan was hesitant when faced with a row of sketches. He never thought his aesthetic sense was so "straight male," and he couldn't quite distinguish the differences between these styles. After a two-second stalemate, Ji Ruan decisively gave up. He suddenly leaned on Gu Xiuyi's body, his chin resting on his shoulder. With a gentle smile towards the designer, he said softly, "He'll make the decision." No man can resist the feeling of being the boss in front of others. Almost as soon as Ji Ruan spoke, Gu Xiuyi's body stiffened slightly. Then, as if his back had become even straighter, a kind of clear-headedness emanated from his expressionless face. The designer immediately smiled with envy. "You two are so loving!"

____________________________ Author's note:

Ji Ruan's three favorite tricks: "I didn't hear you," "I don't want to move," and "He'll make the decision." Ji Ruan: He's happy. Gu Xiuyi: I'm not. Can't you see that I'm expressionless?