I Don't

Xiao Xu and Shen Yanlang both looked at Zhou Zhou's arm. Then Shen Yanlang said in a low voice, "Keep going forward. It's almost our turn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Xu grabbed Zhou Zhou's other hand and pulled him forward. "Come on, come on, we can go in now."

"Hey..." Zhou Zhou was dragged inside.

Duan Xu followed with a smile. The next moment, Shen Yanlang's hand landed where Zhou Zhou had been holding Duan Xu. "We don't have much time. We need to hurry."

Duan Xu let out an oh but said nothing.

The bookstore was not large. To the right upon entering was an artistic display bookshelf, while to the left was a flight of steps leading down.

At the bottom of the steps, a huge pane of glass embedded underwater stood to the left. The waterline was roughly a meter above the bottom of the glass. Through it, they could see aquatic plants and little pond snails clinging to the glass.

Duan Xu did not know whether they were really pond snails, but they looked about right.

He crouched down and pressed himself against the glass, extending a finger as white as jade to poke one of the little snails. Unfortunately, the snail was in the water and the glass was thick, so it did not react at all.

Heh... Cute.

Shen Yanlang was crouching beside Duan Xu. He had no interest in looking at aquatic plants or pond snails. He only wanted to look at Duan Xu, so that was all he watched.

Duan Xu's ears grew a little warm when he heard that. He lowered his hand and stopped poking at the snail.

Just then, several finger-thick little fish swam past. Duan Xu brightened again and instinctively grabbed Shen Yanlang's arm, giving it a shake. "Fish! There are fish!"

He was afraid of disturbing the others in the bookstore. It was relatively quiet inside, and there really were people reading at the desks.

Shen Yanlang lowered his eyes, the corners of his lips rising of their own accord. His peach-blossom eyes were full of tenderness. "Mm, I see them. They haven't swum away yet. Want to take a picture?"

"Definitely!" Duan Xu immediately snapped a photo with his phone, catching them just in time.

He held his phone out to the side so Shen Yanlang could see the photo he had taken.

Shen Yanlang leaned closer accordingly, deliberately pretending that he could not hold his squat anymore as he tipped toward Duan Xu. He wrapped an arm around him. "You took it well."

He was too close. His breath washed over Duan Xu's ear, and Shen Yanlang deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound especially magnetic. Duan Xu felt the ear on that side go numb.

His earlobe is red again.

It would have been fine if he had not said anything, but now Duan Xu could not control it even more. It was redder than before, vivid enough to look ready to drip.

The arm Shen Yanlang had around Duan Xu unconsciously tightened, his gaze turning dark.

I want to bite it.

Duan Xu: "!!!"

He had not understood while they were eating grilled sausage, but he understood now.

Shen Yanlang wanted to bite his earlobe!

Wait, Shen Yanlang had not said he wanted to bite his earlobe back then, had he? Then what had he wanted to bite?

Ah! This was not the time to think about that. He had to stop Shen Yanlang from having such dangerous thoughts!

He suddenly raised a hand and shoved Shen Yanlang hard, then hurriedly got to his feet and retreated several steps.

Thud!

Shen Yanlang had been staring at him in a daze and had never expected Duan Xu to push him. He had been squatting, too, and the shove sent him straight down onto the floor.

He looked at Duan Xu in stunned disbelief, his eyes still carrying traces of confusion and bewilderment.

The commotion was not small, and quite a few people curiously looked over. They found a very handsome man sitting on the floor and looking up at the person opposite him, while the other person stared at the handsome man with shock and guilt.

Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu were on the other side. Zhou Zhou whispered to Xiao Xu, "What are those two doing? How did someone end up falling over?"

Xiao Xu shook his head. "No idea."

"S-sorry." Duan Xu had only reacted instinctively. He had not meant to push Shen Yanlang over.

He hurried over and held Shen Yanlang by the arm. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to."

Shen Yanlang's eyes shifted slightly. He stayed seated on the floor and held out a hand instead. "Pull me up."

Without giving it much thought, Duan Xu took Shen Yanlang's hand and pulled hard.

Shen Yanlang clasped Duan Xu's hand tightly, carefully savoring the feeling. He did not use Duan Xu's strength, though. Instead, he braced his other hand against the glass and stood up.

So soft.

Duan Xu gave Shen Yanlang a puzzled look. He would not have thought much of it before, but now that he paid close attention, he noticed Shen Yanlang's gaze resting on his hand.

He suddenly felt that Shen Yanlang's hand was very hot and wanted to shake it off.

But Shen Yanlang gripped his hand tightly and said, "You knocked me down and think that's all there is to it?"

If I don't do something, this fall will have been for nothing.

The people around them had already turned back and stopped watching them.

But Duan Xu's face was burning. He still felt as though people were watching him. He tugged hard at his hand, but it was useless. "Let go of me first!"

"I won't." Shen Yanlang held his hand tightly and deliberately lowered his voice. "If you pull me, it hurts."

Are his hands this soft because he's about to differentiate?

What the hell!

Duan Xu was on the verge of breaking down. He smacked Shen Yanlang with his other hand. "Let go!"

Seeing that Duan Xu was nearly crying from panic, Shen Yanlang's heart chilled. He released him. "Okay, I'm letting go. Don't cry."

Duan Xu glared at Shen Yanlang with those near-tearful eyes, then skirted around him and strode out of the bookstore.

Shen Yanlang stood there blankly for a moment, his mind full of Duan Xu's eyes glimmering with tears. His eye rims had been faintly red, and he had glared at him, like a silent hook catching at Shen Yanlang.

For some reason, that instant thrilled him. He wanted to see Duan Xu cry for real.

By the time he came back to himself, Duan Xu had already gone around him and left the bookstore.

Shen Yanlang hurried after him, but Xue Jingshu stopped him at the entrance. "Didn't you just go in? You're out again already?"

Shen Yanlang did not even acknowledge him and went straight after Duan Xu.

Seeing this, Xue Jingshu adjusted his glasses. Watching Shen Yanlang's retreating figure, he curved his lips in a smile. "Something's going on."

Han Xi stood beside Xue Jingshu, looking at Shen Yanlang as well, though his tone was indifferent. "He made him angry."

They had both seen Duan Xu come out. His eyes had been a little red, and he looked as if he had been bullied. Not long after, Shen Yanlang had chased after him.

"Do you cry?" Xue Jingshu suddenly asked Han Xi.

Han Xi raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze utterly still. "No."

"Really?" Xue Jingshu smiled, his meaning unclear. "I don't believe you."

After leaving the bookstore, Duan Xu broke into a run. His mind was a mess, and he wanted to find somewhere empty to calm down.

But Shen Yanlang quickly caught up to him and forcefully grabbed his arm. "Duan Xu."

Duan Xu had no choice but to stop, but he twisted away and refused to look at Shen Yanlang. He did not dare listen to Shen Yanlang's thoughts anymore.

"Let go of me." Duan Xu struggled twice, to no avail.

Of course Shen Yanlang would not let go. He admitted his mistake in a low voice. "That was my fault. I only wanted to joke around. Don't be angry."

Duan Xu snorted inwardly. What joke? I heard it all! You clearly, clearly wanted to take advantage of me!

Shen Yanlang wanted Duan Xu to look at him, but Duan Xu kept his head turned and refused to do so. It made Shen Yanlang feel as though Duan Xu disliked him.

"Duan Xu, look at me." Shen Yanlang's voice sank a little.

Duan Xu stubbornly said, "I won't!"

Shen Yanlang: "..."

Even angry, he's this cute.

Duan Xu was shocked. Had three minutes not passed yet?

Only two minutes had passed from the time he left until Shen Yanlang caught up with him.