Jealousy

Gu Yuechen spotted Xu Rui the moment he arrived at the pet hospital.

"Morning." Gu Yuechen waved at him. "You're pretty early today."

Xu Rui was about to speak when his gaze suddenly fell on the coat Gu Yuechen was wearing.

He recognized the brand. It was top-tier menswear, and a single piece cost tens of thousands.

Ordinary people simply would not buy clothes that expensive. Given Gu Yuechen's salary, he should not have been able to afford it.

Xu Rui did not return his greeting, but Gu Yuechen was not the least bit displeased. He had never intended to get too close to his coworkers anyway. This kind of distant, lukewarm relationship suited him better.

He returned to his workstation, turned on his computer, and organized the files of the pets treated at the hospital yesterday.

"Yuechen." Xu Rui came over to the front desk, staring at Gu Yuechen's face with a complicated expression. "Are you seeing someone?"

Gu Yuechen's heart skipped a beat. Pretending to remain calm, he lifted his face with a faint smile. "No. Why would you ask that?"

Xu Rui had arrived at the pet hospital so early that he probably had not seen him getting out of Yu Yaochen's car.

"Maybe I misunderstood." Xu Rui gave an awkward laugh. "I'll get back to work first."

Xu Rui's ambiguous words left Gu Yuechen both frightened and agitated.

It was all Yu Yaochen's fault.

He had insisted on making him stay the night.

After that day, Yu Yaochen continued busying himself with creations for the art exhibition.

Not seeing Yu Yaochen's face put Gu Yuechen in a much better mood.

He placed a calendar at his workstation and marked each passing day with a red X, eagerly awaiting the day their engagement would be dissolved.

The coat Yu Yaochen had given him was incredibly warm, and Gu Yuechen wore it to work every day.

One afternoon, when he had nothing to do, Gu Yuechen took off the coat and searched for its brand on a shopping app.

When he saw the price, he nearly forgot how to breathe.

It cost almost eighty thousand.

He knew Yu Yaochen was rich, and that his clothes had to be expensive, but he had guessed they cost at most a few thousand.

Who could have imagined it would be this much?

Gu Yuechen touched the coat as though he were touching gold, and before long, his palms began to sweat.

This was simply beyond his comprehension. Eighty thousand—his annual salary might not even amount to that much.

Gu Yuechen suddenly remembered what Xu Rui had said a few days ago. It had happened to be the first time he wore this coat.

Could Xu Rui have mistaken him for being in a relationship because the coat was too expensive?

After learning the coat's price, Gu Yuechen no longer tossed it around carelessly as he had before. He was especially cautious whenever he wore it.

He planned to list it on a secondhand website once he had completely separated from Yu Yaochen. It should sell for some money and improve the lives of him and his grandmother.

Perhaps Yu Yaochen had been far too generous with him, because Gu Yuechen finally found himself wanting to see him.

That evening, he called Yu Yaochen.

Yu Yaochen answered quickly, his voice openly delighted. "Yuechen, are you not busy today?"

Gu Yuechen froze for a moment before remembering the excuse he had used to brush Yu Yaochen off lately.

Yu Yaochen had messaged him several times, wanting to see him, but Gu Yuechen had always refused on the grounds that he had no time.

Feeling guilty, Gu Yuechen rubbed his nose. "I'm not busy. Are you free to have dinner together tonight?"

"I am." Yu Yaochen smiled. "The art exhibition ended ages ago. I've been waiting for your call."

The smile on Gu Yuechen's face faded slightly. He did not like Yu Yaochen saying things like that, as if he were blaming him.

"I'm almost off work. Come over now." Gu Yuechen's tone turned much colder. "Remember to park farther away. Call me when you get here."

"Okay."

As the end of the workday approached, most of the pet hospital's customers had left.

Gu Yuechen sat at his desk, lowering his head to stroke the fabric of his coat.

An eighty-thousand-yuan coat—no wonder it was so warm.

The cheap coats in the closet at home were not only poor at keeping out the cold, but their stuffing would poke through at the slightest provocation.

Thinking of that, Gu Yuechen could not stop the ache in his heart.

He really wanted his grandmother to wear it.

But it was a men's coat. It would surely hang loose on her, greatly reducing its warmth.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Yuechen's phone vibrated, and a message from Yu Yaochen popped up.

[I'm here.]

A photo was attached as well.

Gu Yuechen opened it and roughly figured out where Yu Yaochen had parked.

He remained seated for a while, waiting until nearly all his coworkers had left before packing up his personal belongings and leaving his workstation.

It was the bitter cold of midwinter, and the frigid wind made Gu Yuechen's cheeks hurt.

He quickened his pace and ran toward Yu Yaochen's luxury car, hurriedly opening the door and slipping inside.

Seeing his pale cheeks and trembling lips, Yu Yaochen's heart ached terribly. He immediately took Gu Yuechen's icy hands and pressed them against his own warm neck.

Gu Yuechen's hands were truly freezing. Yu Yaochen frowned from the cold, but he did not move them away from his neck.

"Is this a little warmer?"

Gu Yuechen glanced at the heater in the car, then at Yu Yaochen's neck, reddened from the cold.

Is this an artist's idea of romance?

He was really asking for trouble.

"It's so cold out. How about hot pot?" Yu Yaochen asked.

Gu Yuechen was about to nod when he suddenly remembered the expensive coat he was wearing.

"No. I don't like hot pot."

Yu Yaochen had no choice but to suggest something else. "Then sukiyaki?"

When Gu Yuechen said nothing, he continued, "Or barbecue?"

Gu Yuechen was getting a little annoyed, and his voice rose despite himself. "Can you stop picking things with such strong smells?"

Yu Yaochen was startled by his sharp tone. It took him a long while to recover, and then he gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I haven't dated people much before, so I prepared this date guide rather hastily." Yu Yaochen paused, then smiled. "I should have asked what you wanted first."

Gu Yuechen caught the important part and hurriedly asked, "You've never dated Doctor Pei?"

"We went on one or two dates, but we always just went to the Western restaurant we frequented—the one where I first took you to eat."

Yu Yaochen had no feelings for Pei Huanyi, and Pei Huanyi felt the same way.

If not for pressure from their elders, they probably would not even have tried dating before the wedding.

Yu Yaochen pulled himself from his memories and looked at Gu Yuechen again. Just as he was about to ask what Gu Yuechen wanted to eat, he heard him say, "Could you take me to that restaurant again?"

Surprise showed in Yu Yaochen's eyes. "I thought you didn't like that restaurant."

"I feel like trying it again today." Gu Yuechen's eyes curved as his beautiful, delicate face revealed an obedient smile. "Maybe I'll fall in love with it this time."

Whatever Gu Yuechen wanted, Yu Yaochen would do his best to satisfy him. Without another word, he took him straight to the restaurant.

Once they sat down, Gu Yuechen had no intention of looking through the menu. He could not understand it anyway.

"Chenchen, could you order me the set meal Doctor Pei usually eats?"

Upon hearing that, Yu Yaochen felt inexplicably uncomfortable. He had felt the same way the last time he saw Gu Yuechen secretly wearing the ring.

"I can, but are you sure you don't want to look at anything else?"

"This is what I want." Gu Yuechen took Yu Yaochen's hand and lied, "After hearing that you two went on dates, I couldn't help feeling jealous of Doctor Pei. So I want to order the set meal he always gets. With me taking his place, you'll forget the days you dated him."

That was a lie.

He simply wanted to taste the food Pei Huanyi liked.

As the food stimulated his taste buds, he imagined how Pei Huanyi must have felt back then.