Jiang Que suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Shen Tazhi in disbelief. “You don’t believe what I said?”
He had been agonising over it alone for quite some time before finally speaking up.
Shen Tazhi paused in his actions, the previously confident demeanour
vanishing at Jiang Que’s questioning. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that you’re too young…”
“Oh, I’m too young.” The blush on Jiang Que’s face gradually faded.
He looked at Shen Tazhi, who had a slight blush on his ears.
Jiang Que asked bluntly, “So this is a rejection, right?”
Perhaps afraid of hurting him, Shen Tazhi softly said, “No, it’s not that. I just hope you’ll think about it more, given the age gap between us, and I…”
Jiang Que was tired of hearing his words and interrupted, “And what about you? Do you like me?”
Shen Tazhi fell silent, not saying anything.
Everything had happened too suddenly. All in all, he had only known about Jiang Que’s feelings for him for three hours. Naturally, he hadn’t sorted out his own feelings on the matter yet.
“I don’t know,” Shen Tazhi chose to be honest. “I was just thinking about it, but I haven’t figured it out… It’s all a bit too sudden for me.”
Jiang Que regained his composure, pulling Shen Tazhi’s hand to separate them.
“Well, take your time to think. I confessed first and you doubted me, I don’t like that. I won’t talk to you for the next week.”
Jiang Que got off the bed, pushed the door open, leaving Shen Tazhi standing there stunned.
From his contemplation earlier to now, the only conclusion Shen Tazhi reached was that Jiang Que might have acted impulsively. Jiang Que could be impulsive, but he couldn’t. He had to be responsible towards Jiang Que. He couldn’t let a child waste all those years dating him, especially when Jiang Que wasn’t even of dating age.
Alright, maybe at this age, many kids indeed dated… but Shen Tazhi still believed Jiang Que was a bit too young.
Hence, Shen Tazhi’s initial reaction was to guide Jiang Que, at least to let him reconsider this feeling on his own.
But Jiang Que was angry.
Had he… made a mistake?
…
Back in his room, Jiang Que vented his frustration by pounding on his pillow.
Shen Tazhi, that jerk, clearly knew what he said was true, yet he had to use those seemingly gentle but actually tactful words to delay the response.
He really wanted an immediate answer at the moment. And calling him “Xiao Que Que”, just because he thinks heās young, he doesn’t take his words seriously!!
Jiang Que fell asleep angrily hugging his pillow.
It wasn’t really anger, but there was definitely dissatisfaction in his heart.
Shen Tazhi clearly liked him but wouldn’t admit it. Even though he understood that it was all too sudden, being angry was justified.
After being rejected in his confession, isn’t he allowed to be angry for a bit!! He has his pride too!!
Until Shen Tazhi confessed to compensate for his actions, he didn’t want to have anything to do with Shen Tazhi.
…
Shen Qingxue never expected that her attempt to have a chat with the two children would end up making things worse between them.
This strain in their relationship manifested in various ways.
For example, in the morning when they should have breakfast together as a family, Jiang Que sweetly held her arm and praised her cooking, but the moment he saw Shen Tazhi coming downstairs, he coldly snorted and turned away without acknowledging him.
In the past, Jiang Que would have rushed to cling to Shen Tazhi, almost sticking to him to be fed.
Another example was when Shen Tazhi had just returned home, Zhao Ruxin immediately arranged for him to intern at the company.
Previously, Jiang Que would have definitely been the first to protest because he wanted to spend more time with his gege. Now, not only did he not protest, when he heard the news during breakfast, Jiang Que didn’t even lift his eyelids, not bothering to look in Shen Tazhi’s direction.
And also…
Jiang Que ignoring Shen Tazhi was one thing, but Shen Tazhi faced with Jiang Que’s cold shoulder looked guilty and didn’t dare to talk to him, as if he had done something to upset Jiang Que.
Shen Qingxue was puzzled and decided to pull Shen Tazhi aside after dinner to ask what was going on. Shen Tazhi hesitated, unable to explain clearly, saying it was a private matter between him and Jiang Que, asking Shen Qingxue not to interfere for the time being.
He couldn’t say it, whether it was “Jiang Que likes him” or “he likes Jiang Que”, Shen Tazhi didn’t think his parents would accept it right away.
Moreover, they both couldn’t even figure out their own feelings yet. Speaking out would only create chaos and no good would come out of it.
Shen Qingxue, not understanding Shen Tazhi’s evasiveness, just glared at him and said, “You better not bully Xiao Que, got it?”
“I wouldn’t dare…” Shen Tazhi weakly replied.
Jiang Que had been giving him the cold shoulder and glaring at him all morning. He couldn’t even pacify him in time, so how would he dare to bully him?
In the past, pacifying Jiang Que required delicate pastries or pretty little gifts, but this time what Jiang Que needed to be pacified was… Shen Tazhi himself.
While Jiang Que could treat love as a game, Shen Tazhi couldn’t. He needed to be sure he could be responsible for both of them; otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to either Jiang Que or himself.
Zhao Ruxin, on the other hand, remained nonchalant, saying, “It’s okay, just a minor disagreement between the kids. Let them sort it out themselves. It’s good to spend some time apart occasionally. Zhizhi, come work at the company tomorrow.”
Shen Tazhi responded and then glanced worriedly upstairs.
After finishing breakfast, Jiang Que left, saying he was going back to sleep, but in reality, he just didn’t want to be in the same room with him anymore.
Shen Tazhi lowered his gaze and thought to himself.
Upstairs, Jiang Que was curled up in bed, playing on his phone.
He wasn’t actually sleepy; he just didn’t want to deal with Shen Tazhi’s sneaky glances and silent treatment, so he decided to leave.
The one who was currently conflicted wasn’t him. He just liked Shen Tazhi. Let Shen Tazhi struggle with his own emotions.
After a night’s sleep, his mind was clearer. Shen Tazhi had to like him. Auntie and Qi Qing had both said that Shen Tazhi would like him, and last night Shen Tazhi’s ears had turned red.
He was so pretty and obedient; of course Shen Tazhi would like him.
Thinking this, Jiang Que happily started browsing online for supplies to take to university.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, the door was knocked on.
Jiang Que opened the door, and unsurprisingly, it was Shen Tazhi.
Just like the night before, Shen Tazhi was holding a fruit platter and awkwardly said, “Que Que, can we… talk?”
Jiang Que leaned against the door, not letting him in. “What’s there to talk about? Besides confessing to me, I don’t want to hear anything else from you.”
Shen Tazhi froze.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Que knew that Shen Tazhi hadn’t thought it through; he had just been pushed into it by Shen Qingxue, so he chuckled lightly.
With a nonchalant expression, the young man said, “Oh, it’s not a confession? Then leave, I don’t want to see you.”
After saying that, he closed the door directly, leaving Shen Tazhi looking surprised.
Both inside and outside the door were silent. Jiang Que knew Shen Tazhi hadn’t left. Unable to resist, he lowered his head and fidgeted with his fingers.
…How come he hadn’t noticed before that Shen Tazhi could actually look so pitiful? Besides clinging to Shen Tazhi, he could also bully Shen Tazhi in this way.
He remembered Qi Qiu’s evaluation of him last night as a “nasty guy”. Jiang Que flopped onto the bed and continued playing on his phone.
He wasn’t nasty; he was obedient. Clearly, Shen Tazhi was the one who actively gave him the opportunity to bully him.
Outside the door, Shen Tazhi lowered his head and silently gripped the fruit platter.
People can’t go through life without arguments, so Shen Qingxue initially thought it was just a simple disagreement.
But as it turned out, this disagreement lasted far longer than she had anticipated.
With most of the summer break gone, Shen Tazhi had faced countless rejections from Jiang Que, never once entering Jiang Que’s room.
Although she wasn’t sure what had happened, it was clear that Shen Tazhi had angered Jiang Que because every time he came back from work, he brought various novel cakes and snacks, hoping for a chance to talk with Jiang Que.
However, each time, Jiang Que kept him outside, and Shen Qingxue had to deal with the cakes.
Seeing that Jiang Que was about to start school, Shen Qingxue became anxious. She pulled Shen Tazhi aside several times to ask what was going on.
Shen Tazhi was also being taken by Zhao Ruxin to work and had to find a way to make Jiang Que happy. Though looking a bit worn out, he insisted that nothing was wrong and asked Shen Qingxue not to interfere.
If they didn’t want help, then so be it. After being rejected multiple times, Shen Qingxue eventually decided to let them handle their own issues. If they wanted to fight, they could resolve it themselves.
Shen Tazhi was feeling anxious, while Jiang Que also felt a bit of regret.
He hadn’t even tasted the cakes that Shen Tazhi brought back, and he really wanted to eat them. QAQ
But his tentacles had been growing too fast recently, and he was too scared to go out. He couldn’t queue up to buy things himself, especially his little cakes…
Well, there was also a tiny bit of regret towards Shen Tazhi because he had been shutting him out without listening to him lately, and Shen Tazhi had looked so worn out.
But it was only a tiny bit.
Amidst this anxiety, Jiang Que celebrated his seventeenth birthday and was getting ready to start school.
He had spent the whole summer at home, buying various odds and ends, so much so that even a car couldn’t fit all his luggage.
Just as Zhao Ruxin was about to bring another car to send him, Shen Tazhi spoke up, “Let me drive him there.”
As of today, it had been a full ten days since they last spoke. From initially asking him a few questions to later shutting the door every time they saw each other, Shen Tazhi, who was already unsure of what to do, felt even more chaotic inside.
He wished he could go back to that night when Jiang Que confessed to him, covering his mouth to stop his past self from speaking, even if staying silent was better than making Jiang Que angry.
Jiang Que glanced at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, just getting into the car driven by Driver Zhao.
The message was clear: he was willing to let him help with the luggage, but he definitely wouldn’t share a ride with Shen Tazhi.
Shen Tazhi forced a bitter smile and began loading Jiang Que’s luggage into the car.
Passing by, Shen Qingxue couldn’t help but shake her head. “What are you two even fighting about? What did you do to upset Xiao Que? Can’t you just apologize?”
…He did want to apologize, but the current Jiang Que was treating him like air.
Shen Tazhi felt a pang in his heart and sighed, “Mom, you don’t understand.”
Miss Shen, who had always been pursued and had never pursued anyone, could never understand this awkward situation of neither moving forward nor backward.
Zhao Ruxin seemed to have figured something out as he patted Shen Tazhi’s shoulder. “You upset Xiao Que, so you have to be the one to make it right.”
Shen Tazhi:…
In the past, Shen Tazhi would have confidently claimed that he could make things right.
But now, Jiang Que had grown up, and those past behaviors no longer pleased the other party. He even found it difficult to understand what Jiang Que was thinking.
— Or rather, from childhood to adulthood, it had always been Jiang Que clinging to him, and he was only responsible for indulging him. Now that Jiang Que wasn’t clinging to him anymore, he didn’t even have the chance to indulge him.
The more Shen Tazhi thought about it, the more despair he felt.
Did he really still have a chance to make things right with Jiang Que?
Inside the car, Jiang Que sat in the back seat and, through the rearview mirror, saw the car following behind. When he saw that it was Shen Tazhi driving, he coldly snorted.
If Shen Tazhi hadn’t come to send him, he would have been even angrier.
Due to the issue with his tentacles not being resolved, Shen Qingxue and Zhao Ruxin helped Jiang Que apply for a single dorm room and exemption from military training. As a result, Jiang Que started school a week later than his classmates.
He chose to study publishing, not a prestigious major, purely because Jiang Que didn’t lack money or time, and his unique circumstances meant that studying finance or law wouldn’t give him a chance to shine. He simply chose a major he was interested in to study casually.
The vehicles had been pre-registered, and they drove into the school, stopping below the dormitory building.
It was lunchtime, and students were finishing their meals and heading to their dorms for a nap. The two luxury cars parked near the dorm naturally attracted everyone’s attention.
Amidst the onlookers, the driver’s door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out, walking around to open the door for the person inside.
The first thing that caught the eye was the beautiful black hair. The young man wore a loose dark trench coat, had a tall figure, and striking features. His lazy eyes seemed uninterested in everything around him, making him appear unapproachable.
Whenever Jiang Que wasn’t with Shen Tazhi or his parents, he always had this distant and aloof aura. Driver Zhao was already accustomed to Jiang Que’s changing moods and diligently helped with his luggage.
It was just his exclusiveness; as long as Jiang Que liked his master, madam, and young master, and didn’t have any ill intentions towards them, it wasn’t the driver’s place to interfere.
But with this kind of appearance, Jiang Que’s aloofness clearly didn’t deter those who wanted to warmly approach him.
“Junior Classmate, what major are you in? Do you know where the dorms are?”
“Junior Classmate, are you in our publishing major? One person has been missing from our class.”
“Need help finding your way? Have you picked up your campus card?”
“Junior Classmate, have you joined our dormitory group chat? If not, add me, and I’ll add you to the group.”
The speakers included both men and women, causing Jiang Que to slightly furrow his brow.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Shen Tazhi getting off the car behind. Seeing Jiang Que being surrounded, Shen Tazhi took a few steps forward, then hesitated and took a few steps back, looking unsure whether to approach.
Let Shen Tazhi hesitate on his own.
Jiang Que casually picked someone and, for the first time ever, showed a brilliant smile to someone other than Shen Tazhi, saying, “I don’t know, gege. I’m in publishing. Do you know where the dormitories are?”
The person opposite blushed, stuttering, “I-I-I-I know, I’ll take you there now. Let me help you with your luggage!!”
It wasn’t that he liked men; it was mainly because Jiang Que was really good-looking.
This kind of beauty transcended gender; anyone would blush when Jiang Que smiled at them like that.
Although Jiang Que had a lot of luggage, it was all in suitcases. The person helping him carried one suitcase in each hand, not finding it too tiring, and briskly walked along with Jiang Que, introducing as they went.
“We only have twenty students in publishing this year, with only four boys. So when I saw you, I remembered to ask if you were in publishing.”
“Don’t worry, everyone in our class is very nice. They all heard that you were sick and couldn’t come to school, so they all care about you. I’ll add you to our class group later. The class monitor couldn’t find your contact information before.”
Jiang Que smiled and agreed, “Okay.”
He could see through human emotions, although it seemed somewhat superficial. But as long as Jiang Que wanted to, he could quickly make anyone like him, even if he just gave perfunctory answers.
Except for Shen Tazhi, he couldn’t understand what Shen Tazhi was thinking.
Thinking of Shen Tazhi, Jiang Que turned his head and saw Shen Tazhi and Driver Zhao helping to push the luggage.
“What’s wrong? We haven’t reached our dorm yet,” someone nearby asked when Jiang Que suddenly stopped.
Jiang Que smiled, “It’s fine, gege, let’s keep going.”
He clearly saw Shen Tazhi stumble behind and almost fall. If he still didn’t come up to him, Shen Tazhi… really knew how to be patient.
The publishing major’s dorm was on the third floor, requiring an elevator ride.
With limited space in the elevator, Jiang Que saw Shen Tazhi preparing to stay back, so he ignored him, taking the students from the same major into the elevator and closing the doors in front of Shen Tazhi.
“Driver Zhao, the elevator is full. You guys take the next one,” Jiang Que said with a smile.
Before the elevator doors closed, he took one last look at Shen Tazhi.
Jiang Que hesitated for a moment after pressing the elevator button.
Hiss… Why did it feel like Shen Tazhi’s expression just now was a bit fierce?
Must be an illusion, an illusion. Shen Tazhi couldn’t possibly be acting fierce towards him.
As the elevator doors closed completely, the classmate who accompanied him looked over, blushing and whispered, “Was I a bit abrupt just now? I didn’t mean anything else, I just thought you were good-looking.”
Really, he swore he was straight, he purely thought Jiang Que was good-looking and guessed they were in the same major, so he wanted to help out.
With Shen Tazhi not around, Jiang Que couldn’t be bothered to smile. He politely replied, “Thank you.”
The classmate breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s okay… mainly, I felt like your family gave me fierce looks just now, I need to explain, I really didn’t have any other intentions.”
Jiang Que, the kind of young master who seemed pampered since childhood, was fine as a little brother, but anything else, forget it. Just the way he handled the luggage was intimidating enough; usually, he would drive people crazy with his antics. …Wait, he never even thought about anything else!!
“Oh… I see.” Jiang Que pondered for a moment. “Don’t worry, I’ll help explain it to them.”
So, Shen Tazhi’s eyes really did look fierce just now? Just not directed at him.
The classmate finally relaxed.
It took Jiang Que two whole trips to move his luggage. After giving a generous sum of money to the classmate who helped him with the luggage, he bid farewell politely before returning to his dorm room.
Wearing a trench coat and moving things around in the autumn heat was unbearable. He needed to quickly turn on the air conditioning to cool off and relax his tentacles, then pack up his belongings later.
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Que opened the door to his dorm room.
“Huh.” He was slightly surprised.
Why was Shen Tazhi still here and not gone? Wasn’t he usually afraid of running into him?
Shen Tazhi stood still, and as Jiang Que pushed the door, he hesitated to speak.
Jiang Que closed the door and locked it.
Walking in, he tilted his head and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Shen Tazhi reached out, grabbing Jiang Que’s hand. “I… I’m sorry, Que Que, can I talk to you for a moment, please?”
Shen Tazhi looked very pitiful, and Jiang Que had no doubts that if he refused, the other party would leave feeling lost and desolate.
Although he had initially harboured some revengeful feelings, he wasn’t prepared to be so cruel, so he nodded slightly.
Jiang Que added, “Just two sentences.”
Shen Tazhi lowered his head, and his voice sounded muffled, “I’m sorry, I…”
Jiang Que interrupted him, “Shen Tazhi.”
His tentacles emerged from under the trench coat, directly entwining the other, causing Shen Tazhi to fall back onto the bed.
Jiang Que grabbed Shen Tazhi’s face, realising that it had been almost three months since they had a proper conversation. It wasn’t just Shen Tazhi feeling uncomfortable; he was also getting frustrated.
Jiang Que said, “Gege, you know what I want to hear. If you talk nonsense, don’t say anything.” “I can have other geges too.”
The last sentence probably struck a nerve with Shen Tazhi. He managed to free his hands from Jiang Que’s tentacles and, for the first time, boldly embraced him.
Both of them ended up on the bed with only wooden planks. Shen Tazhi’s voice was trembling, “Que Que… Don’t say that.”
“Stop it, Que Que, don’t ignore me. I like you… I like you, it’s my fault, I hesitated and doubted you.”
“If you want to date me, let’s do it. I’ll talk to my parents… I was wrong, I doubted you, and I doubted whether my feelings for you were enough. I realise now that I can’t accept the possibility of you being with someone else.”
Shen Tazhi’s eyes welled up, as if he was about to cry.
Jiang Que looked at him and after a while softly said, “How annoying, just two sentences, and you’re being stubborn.”
Seeing Jiang Que willing to engage, Shen Tazhi looked up.
But Jiang Que, with a smile, dropped the next line, “Thank you for liking me, gege. But gege, this is your first time liking someone. How do you know if your feelings for me are genuine?”
“Is this light confession considered love?”
He was questioning back with Shen Tazhi’s own words from earlier.
In truth, Jiang Que didn’t know how to answer that question. He just wanted Shen Tazhi to understand how hurt he felt back then.
Shen Tazhi hesitated for a moment and then softly said, “I’m sorry.”
Sorry for what?
Before Jiang Que could react, the room spun around him.
Shen Tazhi pulled him into his arms and leaned down to kiss him.
Unlike the kiss through the palm of their hands before, the older one clearly had a bit more experience in practical kissing than Jiang Que, who had never kissed before. This was a deep kiss.
Their breaths mingled, and Shen Tazhi guided Jiang Que in exchanging breaths, faintly smelling the clean scent of laundry detergent from Shen Tazhi’s body.
Jiang Que struggled to break free.
“You… pervert! Why are you kissing mmmph!” He was kissed by Shen Tazhi again.
The final kiss ended with Jiang Que angrily biting Shen Tazhi’s tongue.
“Bad person,” Jiang Que muttered softly.
He held onto Shen Tazhi’s waist, feeling a bit dizzy from the kiss. The little bit of anger he had felt before had dissipated.
Shen Tazhi wasn’t in a much better state. He lowered his head and softly asked, “Does this prove it now?”
“No,” Jiang Que, with his lips reddened from the kiss, maintained his principles. “How do I know if you’re not just greedy for my tentacles? Why not wait for my maturity at eighteen and my ** before you say you like me?”
Beside them were the ominous tentacles. Shen Tazhi hadn’t even thought about this question, but with Jiang Que pointing it out, his face flushed red. It took him several seconds to realize that Jiang Que was using his own words from last time to refute him.
Shen Tazhi bowed his head in apology, “I’m sorry, I truly understand my mistake now, I’ll never doubt your feelings again.”
He had come to terms with his true feelings, how could he dare to refuse Jiang Que so boldly?
Shen Tazhi’s attitude of admitting his mistake was good. Although it had taken a while, part of the reason was that he had intentionally delayed to tease Jiang Que. After thinking it over, Jiang Que decided to let Shen Tazhi off the hook.
“…Fine, I can consider forgiving you.”
In the long-lost embrace of Shen Tazhi, Jiang Que nestled in his arms obediently and said, “Actually, I was also wrong. I deliberately didn’t let you speak. If we had talked earlier, we could have resolved things sooner.”
Shen Tazhi admitted his mistake, “I’m sorry, I missed the chance at the beginning, which made you angry.”
“I’m not angry,” Jiang Que smiled.
He gently touched the corner of Shen Tazhi’s eye, “Gege, you look so cute like this, as if you’re being bullied miserably, when in reality, it was just me slamming the door on you.”
Shen Tazhi was stunned.
Jiang Que leisurely added, “Am I so bad that gege won’t like me anymore?”
“No, no, I still like you,” Shen Tazhi hurriedly replied.
“Oh, I don’t believe you.” Jiang Que used his tentacles to stop Shen Tazhi from struggling to get up, and finished his statement, “I’m still young now, how can I be in a relationship with gege?”
Shen Tazhi, completely fed up with his antics, was on the verge of surrendering, “It’s all my fault, really, Que Que… please don’t tease me like this, you can ask for any compensation you want.”
Jiang Que pretended to be surprised, “Wow, really?”
Jiang Que was smiling, but Shen Tazhi couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a mischievous motive behind his words.
As expected, Jiang Que continued:
“So, when I turn eighteen, gege should climb into my bed and confess again, then I’ll consider dating you.”
“You have to do it on your own initiative.”
Finally, three months late, Shen Tazhi realized, “Earlier, you were just…”
“I was intentionally teasing gege,” Jiang Que played along.
“Sorry, it’s just that you never said anything, and I got a bit angry. But you always looked so pitiful each time, so it just fit perfectly…”
Jiang Que nudged Shen Tazhi.
“Gege will forgive me, and agree, right?”
Shen Tazhi gazed at the beautiful face so close to him, “…Yes.”
At that moment, Shen Tazhi finally realized.
The little brother he had raised for so many years seemed to be a mischievous little devil in disguise.
