I Won't

Xiao Xu and Shen Yanlang both looked at Zhou Zhou's arm. Then Shen Yanlang said in a low voice, "Move 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 gave an oh but said nothing else.

The bookstore was not large. To the right after entering was an artistic bookshelf display area, while on the left was a flight of stairs leading down.

Following the stairs down, there was a huge pane of glass embedded underwater on the left. The waterline was about a meter up the glass. Through it, they could see aquatic plants and little freshwater snails clinging to the glass.

Duan Xu did not know whether they were actually freshwater snails, but they looked about right.

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

Heh... Cute.

Shen Yanlang was crouched beside Duan Xu. He had no interest in aquatic plants or snails. He only wanted to look at Duan Xu, so he kept watching him.

Duan Xu's ears grew a little warm when he heard that, and he lowered his hand without poking the snail again.

Just then, several thumb-thick little fish swam by. Duan Xu perked up again and instinctively grabbed Shen Yanlang's arm, giving it a shake as he whispered, "Fish! There are fish!"

He was afraid of disturbing the other people 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?"

"I have to!" Duan Xu immediately snapped a photo with his phone and caught them perfectly.

He stretched his phone to the side a little so Shen Yanlang could see the photo he had taken.

Shen Yanlang took the opportunity to lean closer. He even deliberately pretended he could not hold his crouch, tilting toward Duan Xu as his arm suddenly wrapped around him. "You took it very well."

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

His earlobe is red again.

It would have been better if he had not said anything. Now Duan Xu could control it even less, and it was even redder than before—vivid enough to seem ready to drip.

The arm Shen Yanlang had around Duan Xu unconsciously tightened, his eyes darkening.

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 a dangerous thought!

He abruptly raised his hand and shoved Shen Yanlang, then hurriedly stood up and retreated several steps.

Thud!

Shen Yanlang had been staring at him in a daze and had not expected Duan Xu to push him. He had been crouching too, so the shove sent him straight down onto the floor.

He looked at Duan Xu in stunned disbelief, his eyes holding a trace of confusion and bewilderment.

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

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

Xiao Xu shook his head. "No idea."

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

He hurried forward, supporting Shen Yanlang by the arm. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to."

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

Without thinking much of it, Duan Xu gripped Shen Yanlang's hand and pulled hard.

Shen Yanlang tightly held Duan Xu's hand, carefully savoring the feeling. He did not borrow Duan Xu's strength, instead bracing himself against the glass with his other hand as he 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 had fallen 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 would have been for nothing.

The people around them had already turned back and stopped paying attention to them.

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

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

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

What the hell?!

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

Seeing that Duan Xu was about to cry from anxiety, Shen Yanlang's heart chilled. He released him. "Okay, I've let go. Don't cry."

Duan Xu glared at Shen Yanlang with his nearly tearful eyes, then slipped past him and strode out of the bookstore.

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

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

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 coming out already?"

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

Watching him run off, Xue Jingshu adjusted his glasses and curled his lips into a smile. "Something's going on."

Han Xi stood beside Xue Jingshu and was also watching Shen Yanlang, though his tone remained flat. "He made him angry."

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

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

Han Xi looked up at him, his expression utterly still. "No."

"Really?" Xue Jingshu smiled meaningfully. "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 with no one around to calm down.

However, Shen Yanlang caught up to him very quickly and grabbed his arm tightly. "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 again right now.

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

Of course Shen Yanlang would not let go. He quietly admitted his fault. "That was my fault just now. I only wanted to make a joke. Don't be angry."

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

Shen Yanlang wanted Duan Xu to look at him, but Duan Xu kept his head turned away and refused to do so. It gave Shen Yanlang the feeling that Duan Xu disliked him.

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

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

Shen Yanlang: "..."

Even when he's angry, he's this cute.

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

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