Chapter 50 - I’ve Liked You Since Three Years Ago
When He Cheng Ming came out from the office, he found that Ji Liao had disappeared. As he walked, he sent a message to him: Baby, I was wrong. Where are you?
The other boy didn’t reply. He hurried to cla.s.s twelve and saw Ji Liao slumped on his table in a discontented manner. Originally, he was facing the window, but upon seeing him, he instantly turned to the other side.
This meant he was angry.
When Xu Xiao Jing saw the big-shot school bully standing at the door wanting to speak yet not saying anything, she poked the shoulder of the person in front of her. “Ji Liao, He Cheng Ming seems to be looking for you!”
Ji Liao glanced at her, then said sullenly, “Don’t bother about him.”
Xu Xiao Jing was shocked! Since he had the nerve to say that about He Cheng Ming, he wasn’t afraid of the number one person in the school! Thinking about it, the two of them might have fallen out with each other. It was as if the hot-tempered seme lord was kneeling and begging the adorable little uke for forgiveness. It was simply too cute! She fell into the sweet but unrealistic fantasy.
He Cheng Ming didn’t leave until the bell rang for cla.s.s. During this time, Ji Liao didn’t even glance at him.
What reason did he have for being fierce to him?!
Ji Liao flattened his lips and felt wronged. After allowing his thoughts to run wild, he wondered if He Cheng Ming wanted to cut ties with him in front of his mother, hence had yelled at him and asked him to leave.
Did he regret it?
But he had already laid his cards out on the table with Xu Ai Wen.
That feeling of insecurity reappeared.
Ji Liao wasn’t in the mood for cla.s.s and checked his phone from time to time. But until school was over, there was only one lonely message.
Alone, he packed his bag and left, only to finally meet the person he wanted to see at the school gate.
When He Cheng Ming saw him, he strode over. Ji Liao wanted to avoid him but he held him firmly by his shoulders.
“Don’t ignore me. It’s my fault, I’m sorry,” he pleaded in a low voice.
Ji Liao turned his head away, not wanting to forgive him just yet.
Without warning, his face was kissed. His eyes widened and he looked around in a panic. School had just been let out and there was a huge flow of people at the school gate. Many people who saw it froze on the spot.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” He Cheng Ming was still apologising.
At first, the students nearby hadn’t paid attention to what was going on, but now they understood the situation. Everyone seemed to have been struck by lightning – the two of them were dating?!
Moreover, He Cheng Ming seemed to have done something wrong and was begging the other boy for forgiveness?
It was pandemonium, and some even wanted to use their phones to take some photos. But after a sweeping gaze from the school bully He, they were frightened into restraining their phones.
Ji Liao couldn’t think straight, and his mind blanked. Although he didn’t have any intention to conceal it, their revelation didn’t have to be so high-profile, right?!
When he recovered, the person beside him had already held his hand, and with a smile, said, “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it that you forgive me.”
Forgive my foot!
Ji Liao glared at him, then pulled his hand away and turned to walk elsewhere. After taking a few steps, he realised that He Cheng Ming was still standing at his original spot with an expression like a dog that had just been abandoned by his owner. He felt an ache in his heart and returned to pull him along.
“I knew that you couldn’t bear to blame me.” He took this undeserved gain for granted as he received a kick from Ji Liao.
“f.u.c.k!”
“This can’t be real, right?!”
“My male G.o.d is gay. I’m heart-broken.”
“Who’s the other guy?!”
When they disappeared together, the melon-eating crowd gradually recovered but could hardly contain their excitement. In a flash, the story spread, shocking the school’s discussion forum and QQ s.p.a.ce.
At the same time, Ji Liao was beating He Cheng Ming violently. Supposedly violent, but there wasn’t actual force since he was just venting some anger.
He Cheng Ming stood there, allowing him to vent. When the other boy cooled down, he sighed and said, “I haven’t married you yet, but I’ve already experienced domestic violence.”
Ji Liao was embarra.s.sed at the word “married.” His face turned red and he stared daggers at him.
Who wanted to be taken as a wife by him! He was a man!
Moreover…
“You’re the one who used domestic violence!” He had a fierce look on his face, like a rabbit that was baring its teeth and brandishing its claws.
However, He Cheng Ming found him adorable and pinched his face, whispering, “I would never hit you.”
Ji Liao couldn’t win with words, and he hated it so much that his teeth itched. In the end, he brought up an old issue. “Explain to me why you treated me like that in front of your mother.”
He pulled a face and put on an air of importance.
He Cheng Ming said earnestly, “Because my relationship with my mother isn’t very good.”
I was afraid that she would say something bad to you.
Ji Liao didn’t expect such a reason, and his tight expression relaxed. He looked at the person in front of him and asked carefully, “Does she also not understand?”
Just like Xu Ai Wen, who was not able to understand why he liked boys.
“Whether she understands or not isn’t important. I only care about how you feel.” The youth spoke words of endearment candidly, his eyes tender and full of expectation. The sharpness of his body turned into gentleness, and he looked nakedly at the person in front of him.
Ji Liao hummed, then thought of something Zhao Mei Lan had said and asked curiously, “By the way, why did your mother say that I made you bent for three years?”
The question stunned He Cheng Ming for a while, and panic flashed for a moment in his eyes, which Ji Liao caught.
“Are you hiding something from me?” He asked uneasily.
It took a long time for the other boy to let out a sound, but with difficulty, “Mmm.”
Then he explained in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “I’ve liked you since three years ago.”
Although Ji Liao thought about it carefully, the only thing that came to mind was that they shared the same high school. “But we didn’t know each other three years ago.”
He Cheng Ming said, “You didn’t know me, but I knew you.”
With that, he looked at the boy’s expression and continued, “In Qing Zhi Mountain, there is a He family villa there.”
“Oh.”
Ji Liao didn’t suspect anything else, only that it was very coincidental. Moreover, they didn’t meet around that time and yet he came to like him? But this also explained why he had suddenly confessed his feelings from the beginning. As it turned out, he had his eyes on him for a long time!
Ji Liao felt sweetness blossoming in his heart, and his lips pursed in a smile.
His wild thoughts of unease vanished completely, becoming a thick, honeyed feeling.
When He Cheng Ming saw his changed composure, he heaved a sigh of relief. Since he had confessed this much, there was no way to retreat; let time uncover the rest of the truth.
His arms encircled the person in front of him, and he asked softly, “If I did something wrong, would you forgive me?”
“What is it?” Sensing the boy’s uneasiness, Ji Liao looked up and asked.
He Cheng Ming rubbed his head and said with a smile, “It’s nothing. Just scaring you.”
Although Ji Liao didn’t say it out loud, he felt that something wasn’t right. He Cheng Ming wasn’t someone who would ask such a thing for no reason.
But he couldn’t figure out what He Cheng Ming could have done wrong to make him so anxious. The only connection between them was Qing Zhi Mountain. Could it be something related to Ji Qing Wen?
His heart jumped, but it was quickly negated. The police had determined that Ji Qing Wen’s matter was an accident. He didn’t take any safety measures when climbing onto the roof. It had also been raining heavily, so he slipped and fell.
This was the truth. As Ji Liao had often gone to the construction site, he knew that Ji Qing Wen had never taken any safety measures.
He always thought that his dad would be all right ever since he was young, but something unexpected happened.
“I’m going back.” Since He Cheng Ming didn’t want to say anything, he didn’t press the topic any further.
He Cheng Ming hummed in acknowledgement and sent him up the bus.
Ji Liao had just found a seat when his phone started vibrating continuously.
He opened it and saw that Lin Jiang, Xu Xiao Jing, Meng Yao Yao, and even Li You Xin and Chen Li Wen had sent him messages, all with the same content: He and He Cheng Ming had been exposed.
Ji Liao knew that he couldn’t hide it, but he didn’t think about how quick the news would spread.
That was fast!
With trembling hands, he replied to them: I know.
On He Cheng Ming’s end, he received a call from Gu Ming Ren, who asked him straightforwardly, “Did you do that on purpose?”
He clenched his phone and answered, “Mmm.”
Gu Ming Ren was silent and had to admit that He Cheng Ming had more guts than him. He had actually dared to come out openly. “What will you do next? Your father will never let you get away with this.”
He Cheng Ming let out a laugh. “My Mom will control it. It’s okay.”
Zhao Mei Lan would never let this matter spread to He Yue Jin. There could only be so many mouths in the school. Besides the princ.i.p.al, there were just a few others left who could report this directly to He Yue Jin.
He took this opportunity to send Zhao Mei Lan a warning to stop her from keeping her eye on Ji Liao.
“But your father will know sooner or later.” Gu Ming Ren’s remark was also for himself.
Prolonging it was never the best solution.
“Then we’ll talk about it when it happens.” He hung up.
He Cheng Ming stared at his phone. He actually understood what Gu Ming Ren wanted to ask, but he had no answer. People like them, who were born into powerful families, were not allowed to come out. But his resistance was hopeful because he still had He Mu Sheng. He wasn’t the only one in the He family with guts. The worst-case scenario was to leave the family, which made no difference to him.
But it wasn’t the same for Gu Ming Ren as he was the only child of the Gu family. Not only did he have a huge fortune to inherit, but he also had to carry on the family line. He wanted to resist too, but it was fruitless.
Since he realised that he liked Lin Jiang, Gu Ming Ren became increasingly conflicted and miserable. He wanted to get closer but was unable to commit to the boy. All the love that acc.u.mulated in his heart had become stronger over time, which made him unbearably restless. He tried his best to suppress it with logic, and in the end, he could only rely on cigarettes to numb himself.
But Lin Jiang didn’t like the smell of cigarettes, so he gave up smoking.
When Ji Liao returned home, Xu Ai Wen was preparing a meal in the kitchen. The two of them had been in a cold war since before the New Year and had not reconciled yet.
Ji Liao washed his hands and sat at the dining table. He heard Xu Ai Wen ask him, “How did you do for last semester’s final exams?”
“Quite good.” He showed his results slip to her.
When Xu Ai Wen glanced at it and found that he had made quite an improvement, she shut her mouth. She thought that Ji Liao’s performance would decline after having a boyfriend, but she never expected it to improve instead.
At night, when she saw the light on in Ji Liao’s room, she cracked the door open and saw him working on his homework. Upon witnessing this scene, she went to the kitchen to prepare some supper for him.
“Thank you, Mom.” Ji Liao smiled at her, then started devouring the noodles.
At that moment, Xu Ai Wen realised that her son seemed to have changed and was no longer as depressed as before. The smile directed at her from earlier was as warm as the sun, just like how Ji Qing Wen used to be.
Ji Liao’s helpless face flashed in her mind when he had told her that he had grown up, but she didn’t believe him.
“Rest early.” Xu Ai Wen reached out and touched Ji Liao’s head.
“Okay.” Ji Liao nodded.