Chapter 101 - Side Story 11 – I Can’t Do Without You (Gu Ming Ren x Lin Jiang)
The scene of a son coming out of the closet due to his mother catching him in the act was very painful.
This was especially so for Lin Jiang, whose entire body stiffened after hearing Gu Ming Ren call the woman “Mom”. There was only a thin sheet covering his body and underneath that thin sheet, he was naked. Although Gu Ming Ren’s mother couldn’t see, he himself knew it and felt indescribably cheap.
Li Yan had been born into a well-known family. Her good upbringing determined that she wouldn’t say or do anything ugly regardless of how shocked and angry she was. After recovering from the shock, she even averted her eyes and went into the living room, giving Lin Jiang the chance to get out of bed and dressed.
It was precisely such gentleness and propriety that made Gu Ming Ren unable to disregard everything and come out at home. If one out of the two sides was bad, he would not hesitate to choose the other side. But his parents trusted and loved him, so he subconsciously considered their feelings and couldn’t do anything reckless.
Gu Ming Ren knelt down in front of Li Yan with a thud. This action made Li Yan cover her mouth and her tears fell.
She thought that her proud son would never have such a vulnerable side but now, he was kneeling in front of her for the boy in the room. Li Yan knew her son. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t show weakness easily.
When the second son of the He family came out, she was very worried that since her son was so close to the other boy, he might have problems in that area as well. Sure enough, it had been verified today.
Lin Jiang came out after getting dressed, saw Gu Ming Ren kneeling upright and froze. His gaze shifted to Li Yan. Li Yan turned away, facing her back to him and lifted a hand to wipe at the tears on her face as if in a gesture of rejection.
Lin Jiang wanted to be polite by calling her “Auntie” but it seemed to be unachievable in this situation. He paused then went straight to the door to put on his shoes. He should be self-aware and leave before he was chased away.
Gu Ming Ren was so alarmed that he stood up immediately but his arm was held by Li Yan.
“Mom, I’ll just say a few words. I’ll be right back.” He pushed Li Yan’s hand aside then ran out to chase after Lin Jiang.
Lin Jiang was waiting for the elevator, his eyes on his feet and his heart reluctant. He had never felt like this before, his chest swollen and painful like as if he was drowning and he couldn’t breathe.
Gu Ming Ren pressed down on his shoulder, looked into his eyes and said slowly, “Go back to the dormitory and wait for me. Don’t go anywhere else and keep your phone on, okay?”
Lin Jiang smiled at him and with a casual tone, said, “Okay, I know.”
Looking at his smiling face, Gu Ming Ren was extremely uneasy. He stared at the other boy’s face for a long time, then said earnestly and with certainty, “Lin Jiang, I can’t do without you.”
So please stay by my side.
Lin Jiang’s pupils widened and even the tip of his heart trembled. Many years later, he recalled that he had been willing to stay with Gu Ming Ren for ten years without any status, largely because of this statement.
From the moment her son pushed her hand away, Li Yan knew his choice. She felt coldness and heartache. Why did he have to like men? She wasn’t repelled by homosexuality. If they were just an ordinary household, she wouldn’t be so opposed to it. But they weren’t. Gu Ming Ren was not only responsible for the future of the Gu family but also for the future of the Li family.
“Break it off.” Li Yan closed her eyes. “The earlier the better.”
Gu Ming Ren’s knees touched the ground. He looked at Li Yan and said hoarsely, “I can’t do it.”
Listening to him uttering these words with difficulty, her nose stung and she almost dissolved into tears. “Then what are you going to do?”
The matter of coming out not only had to be explained to the Gu family elders but also her mother’s side. At the thought of that kind of pressure, Li Yan felt like she was going to faint.
On Lin Jiang’s end, he returned to his dorm room with a lot of worries on his mind. When Hao Meng saw him, he rushed over and cried, “Boo hoo hoo Lin Jiang, you’re back at last. Do you know what happened last night? A bird flew into the dormitory! I was scared to death.”
Hao Meng complained expressively, “Do you know how scary that bird was? He even pooped on your bed!” Only upon hearing this did Lin Jiang respond. “What did you say?!” He quickly climbed up into his bed and found a lump of bird droppings beside his pillow.
“Fuck!” Lin Jiang cursed, resigned to his bad luck.
Hao Meng muttered from below, “Who told you not come back at night to sleep!”
Lin Jiang rolled his eyes at him. Originally, he was still immersed in the misery of being caught in bed by Gu Ming Ren’s mother. Now facing such an incident, he no longer had time to be miserable and rolled up the bedsheets, throwing them into the trash can.
He went downstairs to buy new ones and Hao Meng followed, asking for guidance in a small voice, “Lin Jiang, how did you pick up your boyfriend? Teach me.” He hadn’t dated for a long time and really wanted to talk about it.
Lin Jiang wasn’t listening to him at all and randomly hummed in response.
“What are you humming about? Don’t tell me it’s because you’re better at oral sex?” Hao Meng scratched his head.
Lin Jiang walked into the small supermarket and after a glance at the three-piece set on the shelf, he picked a colour that matched Gu Ming Ren’s home. When he went to cashier to pay, Hao Meng was still jabbering on. “Why don’t you tell me? Who pursued whom?”
Lin Jiang paid and walked out of the supermarket. He took out his phone to check but there were no calls.
“Familiarity breeds fondness.”
If he hadn’t taken the initiative to give himself to Gu Ming Ren, the two of them would likely not have gotten together. Gu Ming Ren was one who kept things to himself and was unwilling to force him. In actuality, he was the type of person who needed a push. Without it, he would never know what he wanted.
“That’s going too far!” Hao Meng pursed his lips. At his height, he had difficulty even hooking up. How was he to get into a situation of fondness being bred by familiarity?!
“You even said you were straight. You can really conceal it!” Even deeper than his deeply-closeted self.
Lin Jiang didn’t answer and walked away silently.
He only received Gu Ming Ren’s call that night. It was very late, at around eleven.
The voice on the other end of the phone was very low and Lin Jiang’s ears tingled listening to it. He got up from his bed and leaned against the wall in the moonlight. “Are you okay? Need me to comfort you?” He joked.
Gu Ming Ren was locked in his room to reflect and had just gotten his phone. While his parents were sleeping, he commissioned a housekeeper who felt sorry for him.
After the disclosure, he found that he was much more relaxed. No longer under the great pressure, he just had to wait for the trial. Hearing Lin Jiang’s voice, Gu Ming Ren couldn’t hide his smile. “You can comfort me.”
Lin Jiang smiled as well, his sharp canine teeth were especially adorable under the moonlight. “Don’t worry. If I haven’t drained you, I wouldn’t break up with you.” This was exactly the assurance that Gu Ming Ren wanted to hear. He never expected Lin Jiang to say it so easily and his heart bloomed instantly.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to be with me for the rest of your life.”
Lin Jiang said in disdain. “Don’t be so sure. Keep your kidneys healthy! The day you can’t perform, I’ll kick you out!” Gu Ming Ren was about to say that he could count on him when the housekeeper called out softly at his window, “Young master, it’s almost time.” He could only make a ten-minute phone call.
Gu Ming Ren explained briefly, “I might not be at school these few days and my phone will be confiscated. Lin Jiang, remember what you just said, that you wouldn’t break up with me until you’ve drained me. If I go out and don’t see you, you’re dead.”
Lin Jiang laughed wildly. “What kind of domineering president’s tone is this? Hahaha…”
When the call ended, Gu Ming Ren passed the phone to the housekeeper through the window.
Lin Jiang grinned from ear to ear at the screen of his phone, inexplicably having the feel of dating.
He suddenly remembered his sand sculpture love from high school and being cheated by Li Si Ran. Fortunately, he had resisted her at the time and didn’t have much physical contact or he would really be disgusted.
But why did he resist Li Si Ran at that time? Was his body naturally capable of warning him of bitches? Or was he already bent at that time…
Lin Jiang didn’t dare to think about it and decided to go to sleep first.
The next day, almost the entire school knew that Gu Ming Ren had a fiancée, although the source of the news was unknown. It was the lady boss of the milk tea shop from the student street. It was said that she was six years older than Gu Ming Ren and was also a senior from their school — a graduate student from University A.
After Zhang Wei’s status came out, Lin Jiang became very embarrassed when he was pointed out by others without any reason. Even Hao Meng asked him, “What happened with the two of you?”
Hao Meng didn’t think Lin Jiang had broken up with Gu Ming Ren. Last night, he heard the phone call between them and the tone was so sweet that he was envious.
“Was it forced by his family?” Hao Meng guessed.
Lin Jiang closed the book impatiently and slumped onto the desk while waiting for the teacher to arrive.
“I don’t know.”
Gu Ming Ren said last night that he was being locked up. That didn’t mean that he was being starved right? After all, he was their biological son, Lin Jiang thought silently. Hao Meng saw his worried face and didn’t ask further, obediently waiting for the class to start.
In the end, the teacher didn’t come. Instead, a beautiful senior came and the class instantly let out a cheer. Lin Jiang looked up and saw that it was Zhang Wei!
Today, Zhang Wei was wearing a business casual outfit and held a teaching plan in her arms, looking somewhat like a teacher.
She looked around the class and said with a smile, “I’m your Xuejie, surname Zhang. I’m called Zhang Wei. Professor Lee has been temporarily sent to an archaeological dig for about a month. During this month, I will be the substitute until Professor Lee comes back.”
No one disliked a beautiful teacher and even the girls were no exception. There was a round of applause in class and only Lin Jiang frowned.
“Zhang Xuejie, was the milk tea shop in the student street opened by you?! I patronize it often!” Someone said.
Zhang Wei replied to her, “Thank you to this regular patron. I hope that you’ll attend my classes often in the coming month as well. Next, let’s take attendance.”
When Lin Jiang’s name was called, Zhang Wei paused meaningfully and her eyes flared. Lin Jiang scoffed and looked away.
Before the class started, someone asked, “Zhang Xuejie, is Gu Ming Ren from the finance faculty your fiancé?!”
Lin Jiang looked at the person asking the question and saw that she wasn’t an archaeology student but the one who ran out crying during the moral education class!
Zhang Wei gave a bright smile and admitted, “Yes, we’ve known each other since we were very young.” The girl looked at Lin Jiang smugly and felt very happy!
How could she lose to a stinking boy!
Lin Jiang snorted out a laugh. Not to be outdone, he pulled aside his collar. The night before last, he and Gu Ming Ren had done it vigorously, leaving a lot of marks on his body, which could be conveniently used to provoke her at that moment.
Lin Jiang lowered his head for a look to confirm that the hickey was still visible and he felt reassured.
The girl’s face immediately became as green as a cucumber and she scolded in a frail voice, “You’ve no shame!”