A Single Father’s Troubles - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Won’t Let Go. Life is Like a Play

It was still early, and the restaurant was empty with not many people around.

Kuang Ye led Lin Tingwan into the private room with the best view.

The menu was exquisitely bound, and the names of the dishes were very fashionable. Lin Tingwan lightly pinched his own wallet. He pushed the menu toward Kuang Ye: “You order!”

Kuang Ye gave a laugh, took it, and ordered seven or eight dishes in one breath.

“That’s all for now.”

The waiter took the menu and left. The door was tightly closed, and neither of the two in the private room spoke; only the sound of shallow breathing remained.

Kuang Ye lifted his eyes to look at Lin Tingwan. Lin Tingwan sat stiffly on the cushion, his two legs pressed together under the low table.

Kuang Ye lowered his eyes, fiddling with the teacup in front of him. It was a long while before he spoke: “…Shall we talk?”

Lin Tingwan nodded.

Kuang Ye gestured with his eyes for him to speak.

The strange thing was, Lin Tingwan clearly had a belly full of words he wanted to say, but once he was face-to-face with Kuang Ye, he didn’t know how to start.

“Kuang Ye…”

“Mhm. I’m here.”

Lin Tingwan’s face was full of difficulty; he bit his lip, hesitating to speak.

Kuang Ye looked at him with concern, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Seeing Lin Tingwan motionless, he boldly pressed his hand onto the back of Lin Tingwan’s hand: “Did you have a fight with your partner?”

Lin Tingwan was off-guard and startled. Before he could pull his hand back, Kuang Ye had proactively withdrawn his hand. “Sorry, I’ve overstepped the boundaries of a colleague again.”

He gave a bitter smile: “I just can’t help myself. Don’t blame me.”

Lin Tingwan had never seen Kuang Ye in such a humble and lowly state. He felt a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m not angry, don’t be like this.”

Kuang Ye curled his lips into a smile. He lifted his eyes to look at him, and as he watched, his eyes gradually turned red.

Lin Tingwan’s eyes widened in astonishment; he thought he had seen wrongly.

Kuang Ye… was crying?!

“What’s wrong with you?”

As if unable to control his emotions, Kuang Ye turned his head away, blocking his own face with his palm.

Lin Tingwan couldn’t see the calm, almost expressionless face beneath the palm; he could only hear the trembling, seemingly agonized voice: “I’m fine, I’m just, I’m just a bit upset… I can’t do what I promised you.”

Kuang Ye took two deep breaths, making his expression look pained and mournful again.

“I’ll confess to you, I lied to you about one thing.”

Lin Tingwan looked down at the beautiful wood grain on the dining table and gave an absent-minded hum in response.

Kuang Ye gazed at Lin Tingwan, his tone tender and his eyes lingering: “I can’t just be a colleague with you.”

Lin Tingwan hadn’t expected him to say these things and jumped up from his chair in a panic. “I, I’m going to the restroom.”

Just as he stood up, his wrist was gripped tightly.

“Don’t go.”

Kuang Ye’s arms tightly encircled his waist. The familiar embrace made him tremble all over.

“Kuang Ye, let go of me!”

“No.” Kuang Ye pressed him into his embrace even more forcefully, his head buried deep in the crook of Lin Tingwan’s neck, holding on as tightly as a drowning man clutching his only piece of driftwood.

“All these years, I’ve been waiting for you.” The low, husky voice pierced through his eardrums, seemingly vanishing into Lin Tingwan’s body, sounding so surreal.

Sensing that Lin Tingwan had stopped struggling, Kuang Ye pushed his luck and cupped Lin Tingwan’s face.

Their gazes merged.

Looking at this face he had thought of day and night, Kuang Ye felt as if his heart had fallen into a hot spring. The skin beneath his palms was steaming, and the scent unique to Lin Tingwan lingered at the tip of his nose, full of fatal attraction.

“I miss you.” He leaned in and affectionately rubbed against Lin Tingwan’s snowy-white neck.

Lin Tingwan’s body jolted, and he began to struggle. “Let go of me.”

Kuang Ye held him without letting go. “Answer me, and I’ll let go.”

“…Answer what?”

Kuang Ye looked at him tenderly, pulling Lin Tingwan’s hand to press it against his own chest.

Lin Tingwan felt that what was beneath his palm wasn’t a heart, but felt like a giant drum, thundering boom-boom.

“Your heart is beating so fast, do you want to go get it checked?” Lin Tingwan said very seriously.

Any romantic atmosphere was completely ruined by this single sentence from Lin Tingwan.

Kuang Ye’s affectionate disguise instantly shattered. Lin Tingwan seized the opportunity to jump out of his embrace, distancing himself and pressing tightly against the door.

Kuang Ye realized something was wrong, glaring at him through gritted teeth: “Did you do that on purpose?”

Lin Tingwan didn’t look like a little fool at all anymore; he glared warily at Kuang Ye, who looked ready to seize him again: “Speak properly if you have something to say, don’t get all handsy!”

Thinking about it, he still felt a bit uneasy, so he opened the door.

Kuang Ye looked at the open door. The air from the hallway, which was several degrees cooler, rushed in and blew Kuang Ye into clarity.

He thought the other party was a little fool, but it turned out he wasn’t stupid at all.

Kuang Ye stopped acting the part of the grieving lover and returned to his original self, sitting unceremoniously on the cushion. With his limbs stretched out, he tilted his eyes to look at Lin Tingwan.

Lin Tingwan shivered without warning.

That was a leopard in the middle of a hunt; as long as the prey dropped its guard for a moment, he would leap up and bite through the other’s neck.

“Try leaving and see!”

Lin Tingwan wanted to run but didn’t dare. He stood with his body tensed against the wall, glaring at Kuang Ye with frustration: “What… what exactly do you want?!”

“What do I want to do? Don’t you know perfectly well?” Kuang Ye bit the soft flesh inside his mouth and gave a thin snort that wasn’t quite a smile, mocking: “What are you playing dumb for?”

Lin Tingwan bit his lip and turned his head away.

Kuang Ye waited for a long time without hearing an answer. His patience ran out, and he barked with a frown: “Speak!”

“What do you want me to say? You’ve been faking it! Lying to me! You aren’t upset at all!”

Kuang Ye’s gaze froze. Lin Tingwan felt uncomfortable all over being stared at by that fierce gaze.

“You knew I was acting all along?” Kuang Ye asked through gritted teeth, his voice chilling.

At the thought that he had believed he was putting on a good show only to be humored by Lin Tingwan, his teeth itched with rage.

“You knew I was faking it long ago, yet you’ve been lying to me?! You liar!”

Lin Tingwan felt like vomiting blood from frustration upon hearing this. Kuang Ye was either lying to him or being mean to him. He was played like a fiddle by Kuang Ye, only to be questioned in return. Who had he offended?

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of grief, and he grew angry too: “Who exactly is the liar! You aren’t single at all, you have a girlfriend!”

As he said this, Lin Tingwan didn’t notice at all that his eyes were filled with two pools of tears, looking as piteous as could be.

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