After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Kiss Under the Lemon Tree

He Niannian was so stunned that her mouth hung open. She stared at Tao Ning as if she had seen a ghost. “You, you…” She stammered for a long time, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Zhao Jingqun couldn’t stand it anymore. He snatched the glasses and put them back on Tao Ning’s face. He closed his eyes for a moment, concealing the overflowing possessiveness, and said expressionlessly, “Take the picture like this.”

He Niannian didn’t object, but her gaze kept lingering on Tao Ning’s face, as if she were trying to stare at him until flowers grew. Thinking about it, maybe it was because she had never truly looked at this country bumpkin before that she had overlooked so many things.

Only now did she realize that this country bumpkin had fair, delicate skin and excellent features. It was a shame that he always wore such old-fashioned glasses, and his long bangs were never cut. With his head down, he looked so simple and honest, completely unremarkable in a crowd.

So he… he was that good-looking?

Snap, snap, snap.

The photos were taken. The date was August 13, 2012.

In the photos, the pouting, pigtail-wearing girl looked unwilling to stand next to the flustered young man, but her peripheral vision was glued to him.

He Yan took four or five pictures with a Fuji 500AF. However, the poses of the two people in the photos hardly changed. The girl was always awkward, and the young man was always flustered.

Secretary Liu looked at the photos that came out of the camera and said in surprise, “This little box is really amazing.”

He Niannian rolled her eyes, too lazy to explain to him. She slammed two of the photos onto the table and said, her eyes looking at the door, “Here, they’re for you.”

After saying that, she awkwardly pulled Zhao Jingsui and left, her pigtails bouncing up and down in the air, just like they did when she first arrived at Huangmeng Village.

Before Tao Ning could even look at the two photos, they were in Zhao Jingqun’s pocket. On the way back, Zhao Jingqun held his hand tightly. Tao Ning felt his hand hurt a little. After spending more than half a month together, he knew that the man was a little angry.

Although he didn’t understand why, he knew that understanding a person’s thoughts was indeed harder than doing homework, and figuring out what was going on in Zhao Jingqun’s mind was even harder than the most difficult math problem.

With a rare hint of helplessness in his voice, Tao Ning asked, “…What’s wrong?”

Zhao Jingqun tightened his grip on his hand, his eyes darkening. “Nothing.”

In truth, the problem was with him, not Tao Ning. He couldn’t stand Tao Ning being close to anyone else, even just to take a picture. His jealousy made his heart feel like it had fallen into corrosive acid, and his rationality was on the verge of collapsing.

He was envious and extremely possessive, to the point of being psychologically disturbed. But Zhao Jingqun didn’t dare to say it, afraid that Tao Ning would be scared of him.

…

That night, Zhao Jingqun patted Tao Ning’s back to coax him to sleep. In the dim room, he stared at the sleeping young man in his arms without blinking, just watching him motionless.

Only after he was sure that the person in the bed was in a deep sleep did Zhao Jingqun get out of bed. He took out the two photos that Tao Ning had taken during the day and couldn’t help but caress the young man’s shy smile in the photos, his eyes filled with a dark obsession.

But more than that, there was jealousy.

He expressionlessly tore the photos in half, keeping only the parts with Tao Ning. Then he took out his phone and carefully looked through the photos in his album—two-thirds of the photos were of Tao Ning.

In the past ten-plus days, he would secretly take pictures of Tao Ning when he wasn’t paying attention. There were pictures of him seriously doing homework with his head down, daydreaming with his hand propping up his head, sleeping soundly… Zhao Jingqun had recorded all of it.

He put the torn photos in his wallet. After doing all this, Zhao Jingqun scanned the small, dilapidated room, like a male wolf patrolling his territory. He finally stopped in front of his partner’s desk.

Remembering the things that Tao Ning had hidden that day, Zhao Jingqun had only been curious then. Now, he felt uncomfortable, so he didn’t hesitate to start searching through the pile of math and science workbooks. He wanted to know what Tao Ning was hiding from him.

Zhao Jingqun didn’t want Tao Ning to hide anything or have any secrets from him.

“…What are you doing?”

The man who was looking down and searching froze instantly. His fingers trembled. He turned his head. Tao Ning was rubbing his eyes and looking at him. His pajamas were a little loose, revealing half of his fair, delicate shoulder.

The system had just woken him up: Simpleton, stop sleeping! Zhao Jingqun is looking for our secret books. I can only give them to you, not take them back. If he finds them, he’ll definitely be suspicious…

That’s right. How could a bookworm who looked like he only studied possibly read those kinds of novels? A person like Zhao Jingqun, who could think of ten different scenarios for one thing, would definitely start to have doubts.

Zhao Jingqun was silent for a few seconds. He walked over and pulled up the collar of Tao Ning’s pajamas that had slipped down his arm. “…Looking for a cigarette.”

Tao Ning looked at him, his expression clearly disbelieving, but he didn’t expose him. “But you promised me you would quit.”

Zhao Jingqun hugged him and kissed the soft crown of his head. His voice was slightly husky. “It’s my fault. Be a good boy, go back to sleep.”

The man hugged Tao Ning to sleep, confining the person in his arms in the same way he always did, as if his body were a cage, wishing to trap Tao Ning inside forever, where he would never see the light of day.

But Tao Ning was not a weak bird; he was a sapling that could grow into a towering tree.

…

The next day, Tao Ning didn’t have any classes to tutor, so he decided to go to the mountain with Zhao Jingqun and Tao Yuan. When Zhao Jingqun found out, he got up early to make breakfast and also stir-fried five dishes to put in the thermos, all of them Tao Ning’s favorites.

Zhao Jingqun took a backpack worth a few thousand dollars out of the cabinet where the “pig feed” was stored. Inside, he put Tao Ning’s usual workbooks, as well as tissues, medicated oil, a folding fan, a foldable stool, and the honey bread he had bought in town that day.

The most noticeable items in the bag were two black pens and two red cloths.

When it was time to go, Zhao Jingqun picked out a set of clothes that were completely covered up for Tao Ning. In the past few days, he had also asked someone to buy many clothes for Tao Ning, as well as for little Meng and Tao Yuan.

This made Tao Yuan so happy she couldn’t stop smiling, and she kept praising Zhao Jingqun and saying she wanted him as her son-in-law.

Zhao Jingqun didn’t reply. His eyes were all on Tao Ning. He had originally wanted to help Tao Ning get dressed, but he had been rejected several times, so he had no choice.

He could only squat down and put on Tao Ning’s socks and tie his shoelaces. While doing so, he would use his rough fingertips to touch the foot on the palm of his hand a few more times.

The young man’s feet were several sizes smaller than his. The nails on his five toes were neatly and smoothly trimmed, round like jade beads. Zhao Jingqun would stare at them with an extremely dark, greedy gaze, as if he wanted to lick them with his tongue.

But he only swallowed a few times and held back.

Zhao Jingqun was trying his best to restrain the filthy desires in his heart, but he didn’t know how long he could hold back. However, as long as Tao Ning could stay by his side forever, he could keep up the pretense.

Tao Yuan came out yawning and saw Zhao Jingqun carrying a large bag and holding things in both hands. She was shocked. “Didn’t you say we were going to the mountain today… Jingqun, are you going home?”

Zhao Jingqun said, “No. Tao Ning is coming with me today, so I brought more stuff.”

Tao Yuan: “…”

She thought about how her brother couldn’t help much anyway, so it was fine for him to be a good-luck charm.

The three of them walked, stopping now and then, until they reached their work location. This time, they were going to pick lemons on the mountain. However, the lemons were almost all picked. Today, there were only a few boxes of work, not much. After they finished picking and packing them, the village would collectively transport them to town to sell.

Zhao Jingqun found a cool, clean spot for Tao Ning to sit and told him about all the things in the backpack. Only then did he roll up his sleeves and get to work with peace of mind.

In the twenty-seven or twenty-eight-degree weather, the man took off his shirt, revealing his well-defined eight-pack abs. He was obviously well-built, and his movements were quick and efficient. It was impossible to tell that he came from a wealthy family.

As the sun grew hotter, fine beads of sweat appeared on the man’s deeply chiseled face. His wheat-colored skin grew darker. He wiped the sweat from his forehead but didn’t feel tired at all.

This was because Tao Ning would occasionally come over to give him water and wipe the sweat from his face with a towel. As soon as Zhao Jingqun saw Tao Ning, he was instantly filled with energy, and there was even a hint of wanting to show off.

By noon, most of the lemons had been picked. Tao Yuan had some things to do in town today, so she went back first.

So in the endless mountain wilderness, besides the chirping of insects and birds, only Tao Ning and Zhao Jingqun were left.

Tao Ning handed him a slightly cool bottle of mineral water. Zhao Jingqun tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He then crushed the plastic bottle and put it in his backpack, before using his moist lips to take a taste of the sweetness from Tao Ning’s lips.

Zhao Jingqun’s beast-like eyes were fixed on the young man who was breathless from his kiss. Only when he was about to run out of breath did he let him go.

A sticky string of saliva, like a small string of jade beads, separated from their lips. Zhao Jingqun breathed heavily, and his voice was low and husky as he asked, “…My good boy, will you come and make a vow with me?”

After Tao Ning finished talking about the ancient legend that day, an idea came to his mind, but it was quickly extinguished. Now, he suddenly realized that he wanted to go and make a vow with the young man. Even if it was just a legend, he wouldn’t let go of the hope of being with Tao Ning forever.

Tao Ning was stunned for a few seconds. His heart moved almost imperceptibly, and he nodded. He gave a soft “mm.”

He led Zhao Jingqun to another hidden mountainside. The sunlight streamed into the dense forest, and because of the Tyndall effect, the light that fell on the withered branches and leaves on the ground was reduced to a few scattered spots.

They arrived under a hundred-year-old locust tree with a diameter of one meter. The locust flowers were like a white sea in the air, surrounding Tao Ning and Zhao Jingqun.

“This locust tree is over a hundred years old. We can tie the red silk on its branches.”

Tao Ning looked up, and a few white petals happened to fall, drifting into his slightly curly hair.

Zhao Jingqun looked over. The light shone on the face of the person next to him. His beautiful, delicate features were especially clear. The sunlight made the young man’s body seem to radiate a faint halo, making him seem so beautiful, like an angel about to leave the human world at any moment.

So beautiful that a despicable person like him could never hold onto him.

Zhao Jingqun’s heart was pierced fiercely. He couldn’t help but rush forward and pull the “angel” into his arms. He kissed the young man’s hair, which was covered in petals, over and over again, and the thick, inky darkness in his eyes could no longer be concealed. “…Tao Ning, you can only be mine.”

The person in his arms didn’t say anything. Zhao Jingqun took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and lowered his head to capture the young man’s soft lips. A gentle breeze blew, and they kissed under a sky full of locust flowers.

However, the impassioned Zhao Jingqun didn’t notice that seven or eight meters away, a hunched figure was hiding behind a bush, staring at them. After seeing them kiss, a flash of shock appeared in his murky eyes…

And finally, a sense of malicious intent filled his gaze.

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