Thinking Tao Zhi probably needed to get back, the guy had waited.
He added, “It’s just me in the car. No crowding.”
“Oh.” Tao Zhi nodded.
But.
“Thanks for the offer, but someone’s picking me up.” Tao Zhi said.
“Who?” the guy blurted out.
“Uh… a friend.” No need to explain details to a stranger, so Tao Zhi brushed it off.
They walked out while talking.
Rejected twice, the guy didn’t give up. At the door, he said, “Can we add WeChat then?”
He quickly added, “Easier to book you directly next time.”
He paused.
His cheeks flushed slightly.
Tao Zhi tilted his head.
He didn’t refuse this.
DMs adding clients privately for scheduling was normal. He had a few regulars before. Hearing this, Tao Zhi naturally pulled out his phone.
They added each other at the door.
Tao Zhi looked up and smiled at him: “All set.”
“Mm.” The guy looked up, and seeing Tao Zhi’s smile, his flush deepened: “Your smile is so…”
“Tao Zhi.”
A male voice suddenly interrupted.
The word “nice” didn’t come out.
Hearing his name, Tao Zhi naturally turned.
Fu Si Heng’s car was parked at the door. Following the voice, he saw Fu Si Heng leaning against the car door, watching him.
The older man was tall with long legs, upright and handsome. Standing there, he looked like a male model.
Hard to say if the pose was deliberate.
It suddenly reminded Tao Zhi of one morning during summer break when he woke up and saw Fu Si Heng coming out of the gym. He had curiously asked, “Didn’t you say you work out four days a week? I’ve been here seven days, and you come out of the gym every day.”
Fu Si Heng had replied then, “Four days was enough before. Not anymore.”
Tao Zhi hadn’t understood, tilting his head at him. Fu Si Heng kissed his cheek and said lazily, “Gotta maintain my figure to seduce you now.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
He hadn’t believed it then, thinking Fu Si Heng was just teasing.
Now…
Tao Zhi blinked, unmoving, just staring at him.
Fu Si Heng walked toward Tao Zhi: “Off work?”
“Mm-hm.” Tao Zhi nodded, turned to the guy to say goodbye: “I’m heading out then. Message me if you need anything.”
The guy nodded, puzzled gaze shifting from Fu Si Heng: “Okay.”
Tao Zhi smoothly opened the passenger door, buckled up, and said happily to Fu Si Heng, “I’ll treat you to grilled fish near my school.”
“New place. Everyone says it’s great.”
The money he earned today was just enough to treat Fu Si Heng.
Tao Zhi was stingy with himself but generous with those close to him.
He was happy. After buckling up, he looked up—
His cheek was suddenly nipped.
Tao Zhi froze slightly.
Fu Si Heng bit lightly, then released quickly.
“What was that for?” Tao Zhi wiped his face. “Why bite me again?”
“Who was that guy just now?” Fu Si Heng asked.
His tone was obviously jealous, checking up like a husband.
Tao Zhi got it immediately.
He found it a bit unbelievable, even thinking Fu Si Heng was… childish?
“A client… Are you jealous?” Tao Zhi asked directly.
“Of course.” Fu Si Heng admitted readily, tone and demeanor utterly justified. “You added him on WeChat.”
“But I’ve added others before,” Tao Zhi said. “Guys and girls. You never got jealous.”
Fu Si Heng: “That’s different.”
Tao Zhi: “How?”
Fu Si Heng: “The way he looked at you was different.”
“No way.” Tao Zhi didn’t believe it.
He didn’t think there were that many gay people in the world. Two around him was already rare. He figured Fu Si Heng was overthinking.
Fu Si Heng was always like this.
Very possessive, loved getting jealous.
But arguing about it with Fu Si Heng was pointless.
Tao Zhi said sincerely, “Don’t be jealous. I only like you.”
“Really?” Fu Si Heng asked.
“Really.” Tao Zhi nodded vigorously.
Fu Si Heng still wasn’t satisfied. He pinched Tao Zhi’s face and bit him again.
Tao Zhi thought and tried to list Fu Si Heng’s merits: “You’re better looking than him.”
“?” If he hadn’t said it, it was fine—but now Fu Si Heng was even more sour.
The older man paused for seconds, then chuckled: “He’s younger than me.”
His laugh was tangy with jealousy.
His tone too.
Huh?
Tao Zhi was puzzled again.
What did being young have to do with it?
Tao Zhi didn’t get it.
Fu Si Heng fell silent, twirling a soft strand of Tao Zhi’s hair with his fingers.
Tao Zhi found it odd, paused, and a bold idea popped into his head.
“You wouldn’t be… feeling insecure about your age, would you?”
Once said, even Tao Zhi found it unbelievable.
Too weird.
Insecure?
Impossible!
This was Fu Si Heng!
Tao Zhi: “No, I mean…”
“Not insecure exactly,” Fu Si Heng said. “Lacking a sense of security, yeah.”
“…Insecure?”
Tao Zhi had no idea where this came from.
“It’s normal for me to feel insecure,” Fu Si Heng twirled his hair, voice growing more sour. “I’m ten years older. It doesn’t show now.”
“But in ten years?”
“In ten years, I’ll be forty, you’ll be thirty—a prime lawyer at your peak. And me…”
Even without ten years.
Tao Zhi’s current age was the phase where love was enough sustenance.
As long as there were feelings in a relationship, nothing else mattered.
Riding on a bike backseat was joyful.
What if he met someone he really liked?
It was strange.
When competing with Fu Zheng before, he’d never thought he might lose. But now, with a stable relationship with Tao Zhi, these untimely thoughts crept in.
Maybe because having something made it harder to let go, breeding insecurity.
Or… Tao Zhi had nailed it.
Fu Si Heng tugged his lip.
Tao Zhi was stunned.
He hadn’t thought that far.
“I’m really insecure, Tao Zhi.” Fu Si Heng kissed his earlobe.
“…What do we do then?” Tao Zhi felt at a loss, unsure how to respond.
Fu Si Heng thought: “Live together?”
“Or get married?”
Tao Zhi: “…”
Looks like the cohabitation topic wasn’t over.
Tao Zhi silently turned his face away, ignoring Fu Si Heng.
Fu Si Heng smiled.
He turned Tao Zhi’s face back.
“I’m not joking.”
“Let’s get married, Tao Zhi.”
