Chapter 52
In Lin Yushu’s wardrobe, formal wear dominated the majority. He could attend formal dinners for a month straight without repeating an outfit. However, choosing an outfit for a date proved to be a bit challenging for him.
After rummaging through the wardrobe, it turned into a disaster zone. Luckily, he managed to find his college hoodie and jeans, along with sneakers and a windbreaker, giving him a sense of returning to his student days.
However, looking at his reflection in the mirror, Lin Yushu felt somewhat uncomfortable with the unfamiliar image. In the end, he went to Song Qiming’s wardrobe and casually picked a red bull baseball cap, which made him feel more at ease.
Looking at Song Qiming, he had on a short-sleeved jacket over a short down jacket and paired it with cropped pants and Martin boots, still as casual as ever.
“Where are we going today?” Lin Yushu buckled his seatbelt and asked as they sat in the passenger seat of the GTR. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Song Qiming countered.
“Anything is fine,” Lin Yushu replied, adding, “as long as it’s a place with few people.”
The movie theater would be dark even if there were many people, and no one would notice them.
Or going to an art exhibition or a museum would be nice, where everyone would quietly view the exhibits and wouldn’t pay attention to the two of them.
“Don’t worry,” Song Qiming shifted gears and pressed the accelerator, “the first place I arranged has few people.”
After about twenty minutes, the GTR parked in the underground parking lot of the Yong Xing Building.
Lin Yushu sat in the passenger seat, unwilling to move, and asked in bewilderment, “You brought me to Yong Xing for a date?”
Even though it was Saturday and hardly anyone would be working in the building, the security guards at the entrance and the cafe staff on the street would recognize them to some extent.
Moreover, who goes on a date at a company?
“We’re not going to the company,” Song Qiming raised his chin and pointed to a bank at the street corner. “The relationship manager is waiting for us there.”
If Lin Yushu remembered correctly, the bank did not conduct private business on weekends.
He followed Song Qiming into the bank, feeling puzzled. As expected, there were no tellers working.
“Mr. Song, please come in,” the relationship manager respectfully led them to the VIP area. During this time, Song Qiming tried to hold Lin Yushu’s hand, but Lin Yushu instinctively avoided it.
“Please sit here for now,” the relationship manager poured them tea, “I’ll go get it now.”
The relationship manager quickly returned, holding a shiny golden object in his hand. To be precise, it was a gold bar.
“A 1000g gold bar, take a look,” the relationship manager handed the gold bar to Song Qiming, who then passed it to Lin Yushu.
“Take a look,” he said.
Lin Yushu was quite familiar with the gold bars from this bank, as he had bought them here before. Their gold bars were trapezoidal, more like gold bricks than bars. Lin Yushu liked this shape, so when he started hoarding gold bars, he only bought them from this bank.
Today’s gold price was around 420 yuan, so a 1000g gold bar would be worth around four hundred thousand yuan.
“So, this is a thank-you gift?” Lin Yushu leisurely placed the gold bar back on the coffee table.
He had been bought with a wallet when he was with Song Qiming before, and now, when they had a little disagreement, Song Qiming was trying to resolve it with money again.
Though Lin Yushu liked money, this tactic wouldn’t work every time.
As these thoughts quickly flashed through his mind, Song Qiming’s response was far from what Lin Yushu had guessed.
“This is a one-month anniversary gift for us being together,” Song Qiming said.
He said it so naturally that Lin Yushu was stunned for a moment, forgetting to observe the relationship manager’s reaction.
“Or, according to our country’s customs, this could also be considered as a dowry?” Song Qiming said, looking at the relationship manager and asked, “Is that correct?”
“Yes,” the relationship manager remained composed, as if he was just answering a question about the gold bar’s price, “For you two, it can also be considered a bridal gift. It’s all the same meaning.”
“It’s not the same,” Song Qiming shook his head, looking at Lin Yushu, “Honey, give me the wallet, I’ll make the payment.”
“What?” Lin Yushu was now puzzled and absentmindedly handed over the wallet.
As they left the bank, this time when Song Qiming wanted to hold Lin Yushu’s hand, he didn’t resist because he was still trying to figure out what was going on.
Only when he sat in the passenger seat did he come back to his senses and asked, “Did you tell that person about our relationship?”
“No, I didn’t.” Song Qiming drove the GTR towards their next destination, “But he was more composed than I expected.”
…This is simply nonsense.
“Aren’t you afraid…” Lin Yushu furrowed his brows, about to say something to Song Qiming, but halfway through his words, he didn’t know what to be afraid of exactly.
Afraid of that person showing disdainful eyes?
Or afraid of that person kicking them out of the bank?
None of those were likely.
“What do you think he will do?” When they encountered a red light ahead, Song Qiming slowed down the car and looked at Lin Yushu, “Or let me rephrase, does he dare to do anything?”
“…Yes.” Lin Yushu understood Song Qiming’s meaning, “You mean, some people wouldn’t dare to meddle in our affairs.”
“Most people, actually.” Song Qiming said, “Shao Guangjie is an exception, but you don’t need to care about him.”
“But have you considered that as soon as we leave, that relationship manager might start gossiping about us with his colleagues?”
“Why do you care about gossip behind your back?” The red light turned green, and Song Qiming stepped on the gas pedal, “If you were to marry Shao Zhenrui, people would gossip about you as well.”
“Hmm.” Lin Yushu nodded thoughtfully, looking ahead at the road, “Well, you’ve somewhat convinced me.”
Rather than saying he was convinced, it was more accurate to say that the relationship manager’s reaction just now made Lin Yushu realize that it wasn’t so terrible after all.
It seemed that the gold bar was secondary; the important thing was to make him truly feel it.
Feeling couldn’t be accomplished all at once by throwing him into a crowd; it needed a gradual process. So, the next place they went to should have a few more people.
Half an hour later, Lin Yushu stood in front of an amusement park entrance, clearly expressing his refusal.
“Song Qiming, I don’t want to come here!”
Couldn’t they go to a museum or an art exhibition? Why did they have to come to such a childish place!
“Why not?” Song Qiming stood behind Lin Yushu, nudging him forward, “Many couples come here for dates.”
“Do you think you’re still young?” Lin Yushu resisted as much as he could, but he couldn’t match Song Qiming’s strength, “Look at those young couples, which one is as old as you?”
“How am I not young?”
“You’re turning thirty in April!”
“Is turning thirty not considered young?” Song Qiming became unhappy, “Or is it because I’m not good in bed?”
“You!” Lin Yushu quickly turned around and covered Song Qiming’s mouth, fortunately, there was no one around to hear their conversation.
“Go ahead,” Song Qiming held Lin Yushu’s wrist, removing his hand from his own mouth, “I want to ride the roller coaster with you. I haven’t been on one since I grew up.”
It was just a roller coaster ride, but Song Qiming managed to evoke a feeling of childhood nostalgia.
Lin Yushu suddenly felt a bit reluctant to refuse, so he could only pull down his baseball cap, covering most of his face. “Don’t hold my hand.”
“Then what’s the point?” Song Qiming became unhappy again, but he was good at problem-solving. He looked around and said, “Wait for me here.”
In just a few minutes, Song Qiming returned with a black face mask.
He put the mask on Lin Yushu’s face and pressed down his baseball cap brim, asking, “Is it better now?”
The face mask provided a sense of security more than the baseball cap. Lin Yushu lifted the brim that was covering his face and softly said, “Hmm.”
Looking around, they received more gazes after holding hands, but with the face mask protecting them, Lin Yushu didn’t mind as much.
No, not only did he not mind, but he also felt more liberated. At first, Song Qiming led him forward while holding his hand, but gradually, Lin Yushu took the lead.
“Hurry up, we might have to wait in line later!”
Who said amusement parks were childish? As a result, they ended up playing at every attraction they passed by.
They had ridden the pirate ship, the carousel, and even took some silly photo booth pictures. When Lin Yushu stuck out his tongue at the camera, even Song Qiming found it hard to believe.
“Have you unlocked your seal?” he asked with a smile.
“Nobody knows who I am anyway.” Lin Yushu looked at the photo several times and tucked it into Song Qiming’s down jacket. “Don’t show it to anyone.”
After waiting in line for a long time, they finally got on the roller coaster, but by now, only the front two seats were empty.
Those without courage wouldn’t dare to sit at the very front, but Lin Yushu and Song Qiming weren’t afraid, so they voluntarily sat there.
“I’ll hold your hat for you.” Song Qiming reached out to Lin Yushu, “Don’t let it get blown away by the wind.”
“Okay.” Lin Yushu took off his hat and handed it to Song Qiming, and after fixing his hair, he took off the face mask as well.
“The face mask won’t get blown away.” Song Qiming said.
“I want to take it off.” Lin Yushu folded the face mask neatly and put it in the pocket of his windbreaker. “There’s no one else around anyway.”
Song Qiming tried his best to cure Lin Yushu’s concern about other people’s gaze. After all, he had to cooperate, right? He couldn’t let Song Qiming do everything. It wasn’t right for him to take a hundred steps while Lin Yushu didn’t take a single one.
The five minutes on the roller coaster felt neither long nor short.
Lin Yushu stopped thinking about everything and suddenly realized that the amusement park wasn’t a childish place; it was a place to unwind. Here, nothing else mattered – not demotions, not coming out of the closet. At this moment, all he cared about was holding hands with Song Qiming by his side.
After a day, Song Qiming’s desensitization therapy seemed to be effective. At least, by the time it was night, Lin Yushu didn’t need to wear a face mask when they walked hand in hand on the street.
When they returned to their residential area in the evening, they parted ways naturally in front of their own homes.
Lin Yushu said, “Thank you for today’s date.” He thought Song Qiming might take this opportunity to end the week-long arrangement. However, unexpectedly, the big bad wolf was quite well-behaved and only replied with a casual, “You’re welcome,” before heading back home to accompany Wowo.
It’s alright if he doesn’t come, Lin Yushu thought, as it allowed him to continue resting.
After taking a shower and lying on the bed, Lin Yushu absentmindedly opened his work email.
However, for the first time in so many years, he lost interest in his work.
That wasn’t a good sign.
A certain thought emerged in his mind, something he had never thought about before. But before he could think further, he heard the sound of the door unlocking outside his bedroom.
Song Qiming appeared at Lin Yushu’s bedroom door, holding a pillow. He asked, “Wowo wet the bed. Can I sleep here tonight?”
Lin Yushu raised an eyebrow. “Wowo wet the bed?”
“Yes,” Song Qiming came over and lay down next to Lin Yushu, “He’s probably blaming me for coming home late tonight.”
“Oh?” Lin Yushu made as if he was going to get off the bed. “Let me check.”
“Forget it.” Song Qiming held Lin Yushu’s wrist, “I’ve already washed the sheets and cleaned him up. He knows he was wrong.”
Lin Yushu couldn’t help but smile, but still cooperated, “Alright, you can stay the night temporarily.”
Actually, if Song Qiming had directly ended their agreement, Lin Yushu would have agreed, considering the enjoyable date they had today. But it seemed that the big bad wolf was overthinking things.
His plan was evidently as gradual as taking Lin Yushu on a date.
Not coming over to sleep last night, then coming over tonight but not touching Lin Yushu – perhaps tomorrow night, he would directly make a move.
But Lin Yushu didn’t mind. He let Song Qiming put on his little act.
Since he wasn’t in the mood to work, he mindlessly opened a certain social media app. It seemed like the algorithm was at play, as several amusement park posts appeared on his homepage, and surprisingly, there were pictures of him and Song Qiming.
Almost instinctively, he sat up, and the photo was taken on the roller coaster from behind their seats.
From the surroundings, it seemed like the ride was coming to an end. At that moment, Lin Yushu and Song Qiming were holding hands, enjoying the thrill and relaxation after the ride.
The caption below read: “So, handsome guys are going gay now.”
Lin Yushu’s nerves tensed up. He was afraid of seeing unfriendly comments, but as he scrolled through the comments, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“How interesting,” Song Qiming sat up too, taking Lin Yushu’s phone and scrolling through the comments. “Seems like you have a lot of friends.”
“What friends?” A blush appeared on Lin Yushu’s cheeks, “Those are just kind-hearted netizens.”
Song Qiming read the comments out loud, one by one, “Author’s reply: I can’t bear to.
Kind-hearted netizen says: Respect and blessings.”
Lin Yushu couldn’t help but get a little annoyed, “Are you done? Give me back my phone.”
“Lin Yushu, oh Lin Yushu,” Song Qiming finally returned the phone, but the smile on his face couldn’t be hidden, “Weren’t we already together before you got promoted? If I remember correctly, this post was made on the second day after I came back from Germany, right?”
Oh no, Lin Yushu’s most hidden secret was exposed.
Why is this German guy so perceptive?
Just from looking at the date, he found the loophole in the post.
“What’s the matter?” Song Qiming laughed, “So, I said I wanted to pursue you, and we were already boyfriends?”
“You’re so annoying.” Lin Yushu turned his back, covering the lower half of his face with the blanket, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Sleep.” Song Qiming lay down and hugged Lin Yushu’s waist under the blanket. “Baby.”
“What is it?” Lin Yushu replied irritably.
“Next time we go to the amusement park,” Song Qiming whispered in Lin Yushu’s ear, his breath tickling Lin Yushu’s earlobe, “Don’t wear a face mask.”
Perhaps there still needed to be a process, but at least judging from today’s progress, this process shouldn’t take too long.
Lin Yushu lifted his chin from under the blanket and said, “Alright.”
awww.. finally.. 😍❤️