After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Sit on My Back

Tao Ning couldn’t help but laugh out loud. At first, he didn’t think anything of it when Father Xu called him “J-Jian’er.” It turned out that this “Jian’er” was not that “Jian’er,” but rather “J-Juan’er.” It was a little hard to imagine that a man with a cold, “don’t-mess-with-me” face would have a nickname like “J-Juan’er.”

Xu Jun watched Tao Ning quietly.

From his observation, Tao Ning was timid but full of curiosity and innocence about the world, much like a soft little animal hiding in its cave. But at the same time, he rarely smiled and rarely showed too many emotions. Only occasionally would he turn into a lemon on a tree and show a brilliant smile.

He watched for a while longer and asked: “Do you like it?”

Was he asking if he liked the photo or the person in the photo?

On the sofa, Tao Ning turned his head. The man’s gaze was calm, and there was something in his eyes that he couldn’t understand. He nodded and replied: “I do.”

But the man didn’t seem satisfied with this answer. His aura sank, and he said something that Tao Ning didn’t understand: “It’s okay. It’s better not to understand.”

He moved closer to Tao Ning. His long hand rested on the photo album with restraint, guiding Tao Ning to turn to the next page. His indifferent voice was like a gentle stream, telling the story of his childhood to the person who was slowly relaxing his body and gradually leaning against his chest.

“Is this in C City?”

The boy in the photo was thirteen or fourteen years old, with an indifferent expression. Behind him were thousands of lights and a tall bridge.

“Yes, this is Hongyadong… Do you want to go?”

Tao Ning nodded. His soft, slightly curly hair, accompanied by a sweet lemon scent, intertwined and unknowingly touched the tense cheek above. The veins on the back of the hand on the photo album faintly appeared. Xu Jun held his breath and let go of the person in his arms.

“I’ll take you there in the future.”

“Really?” The farthest Tao Ning had ever been was to Haizhou. Before he was eighteen, he was trapped in the mountains that seemed to have no end, so he longed to go out and see more of the world.

“Really.”

Xu Jun looked into his eyes. His always indifferent gaze was ignited by a few sparks. Tao Ning looked back at him blankly. He thought Xu Jun’s way of doing things was like his mother’s. At this moment, he suddenly realized that Xu Jun might be more like his father, with a combination of gentleness and tenderness.

Of course, it would be even more so if he didn’t deduct his points.

Xu Jun couldn’t stand Tao Ning’s direct gaze. He moved his eyes away as if nothing had happened and said blandly: “But it requires a little reward.”

As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Tao Ning thought for a moment and answered him very seriously: “I have a gold bracelet. It’s worth about seventy thousand yuan if I sell it at the current gold price, but I want to give it to my sister. I also have ten thousand yuan on me, which is my living expenses for a year, but I can pay you one thousand five hundred yuan as a reward, because it’s about one thousand two hundred kilometers from Haizhou to C City. If we take the train…” And so, Tao Ning seriously calculated the most cost-effective travel expenses and the most suitable route.

After he finished, he raised his small face and looked over with sparkling eyes, as if he was looking for praise.

Xu Jun: “…”

For the first time, he felt helpless. This lemon not only didn’t get it, but he was also a fool. He couldn’t help but poke this foolish lemon’s forehead with his finger. The “lemon essence” instantly widened his eyes, looking even more foolish and dazed.

Xu Jun said: “The only reward I want is a photo of you.”

Tao Ning covered his forehead and said “oh.” He suddenly remembered the photo that He Niannian had taken of him… It was probably taken away by Zhao Jingqun along with that love letter. He had searched the room but couldn’t find it. But he couldn’t tell Xu Jun these things.

Feeling guilty, Tao Ning’s gaze dodged a little. He lowered his head and said: “I… I don’t have a photo.”

He was the worst at lying.

The system was eating sunflower seeds and watching the show: [Little dummy, your lying skills are getting better and better. You’re a bad little dummy now! Lies just come out of your mouth!]

Tao Ning was already nervous about lying. With the system saying that, he became even more nervous. A crimson color burned from his slender neck to his ears, and he couldn’t even speak clearly: “You, you’re talking nonsense.”

The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses narrowed slightly. Xu Jun frowned: “Who are you talking to?”

Oh no, he was so nervous that he forgot to use ‘telepathy’ to answer the system. If he was facing Song Yuceng, Tao Ning knew that the second young master was stupid and wouldn’t get to the bottom of things. But the person opposite him was also an IMO opponent. Tao Ning had dealt with these people before. Besides being occasionally lacking in some areas, they were all extremely smart, as if they had several brains. They could detect even the slightest thing that was off.

Of course, Tao Ning also thought of himself this way. He remembered his medicine and had a flash of inspiration. He stammered and made up an excuse: “I… I have a mental illness. Sometimes I talk to myself.”

Xu Jun looked at him calmly.

Tao Ning: “The medicine I usually take is for my brain.”

Xu Jun: “Is that so? But I’ve asked a doctor. Those medicines are usually used for people with blood coagulation disorders.”

Tao Ning: “…”

The words on those bottles and jars of medicine were in various languages. How did he know all of this? Wait, why was Xu Jun looking at his medicine? Tao Ning belatedly realized that Xu Jun seemed to know too much about him.

Tao Ning stopped talking. He lowered his head and didn’t look at him. If someone who was familiar with the boy were here, they would know that his stubbornness had returned. He would stop talking and lower his head, extremely stubborn and unwilling to pay attention to anyone.

Knowing that the little lemon was unhappy, Xu Jun naturally knew to stop exposing his lies. But this also gave him a new understanding of Tao Ning. It turned out that this dazed lemon could lie.

It was just a lie. This was not an unforgivable mistake. Everyone had secrets. Xu Jun would respect his little lemon, but the premise was—that the little lemon didn’t lie to other men.

Xu Jun put the photo album away and changed the subject at the right time: “Do you want to go to my room? There’s exercise equipment in there.”

The dazed lemon was appeased with one sentence. He looked up, and his originally dull eyes instantly lit up. “Okay.”

“But you have to take your medicine first.”

“…”

Xu Jun got him some warm water. Like he was coaxing a child, he also made Tao Ning a cup of watermelon juice. In the end, he pulled out a few postcards from somewhere. On them were buildings like Hongyadong and Hong’ensi Temple in C City. “A reward for taking your medicine.”

“Oh.”

Tao Ning took the medicine out of his bag. There were more than ten bottles and jars, and he would take dozens of pills each time. But he always took them all in two gulps. If he was in a bad mood, he would split them into three gulps. If he was in an even worse mood, he would split them into four. He was in a very good mood today because there was a reward for taking his medicine.

As he swallowed the pills, he suddenly heard the person next to him ask: “Is it bitter?” The man’s tone was a little strange. At first listen, it was calm, no different from usual, but if you listened closely, there was a hint of a tremble.

Tao Ning took a sip of watermelon juice. “It’s okay, but some of the medicines don’t have a sugar coating, and they occasionally dissolve in my mouth… It’s a little bitter.”

His hand was suddenly taken by the man. The thin postcards were placed in his palm. They were warm. Xu Jun said: “This is a reward.”

“Thank you.”

“What’s the illness?”

He had just lied that it was for his brain. Tao Ning was a little embarrassed: “Aplastic anemia. I need a bone marrow transplant to be cured.”

Xu Jun was silent for a moment. “How much is the surgery fee for a bone marrow transplant?”

“The doctor said it’s between two hundred thousand and one million. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Xu Jun’s room was extremely clean and tidy, spacious and bright. It was obvious that the house was cleaned regularly. However, Xu Jun made Tao Ning stand at the door. He took a bottle of disinfectant spray and sprayed it all over before letting Tao Ning in.

Inside, there was a treadmill and a few wooden dumbbells of different sizes.

Xu Jun took off his clothes, folded them, and put them in a plastic dust-proof bag on the table. His smooth muscles were completely exposed. He looked at Tao Ning, who was full of curiosity about the treadmill. He moved closer to him, his expression indifferent: “I’ll do some push-ups.”

“Okay.”

He took out the yoga mat and placed it in front of the treadmill, facing the curious Tao Ning. He casually took off his glasses, revealing his sharp eyes. These eyes were now staring at the dazed boy, as if the venomous snake hunting behind the bushes was no longer hiding, cold but fiery. He asked: “Can you hold these for me?”

The cold glasses instantly fell into his palm. There was no warmth. Tao Ning was chilled, as if he was touching the scales of a cold-blooded animal. He looked over blankly. The man’s expression was indifferent. Only his eyes showed a little warmth.

For some reason, Tao Ning felt that Xu Jun’s gaze without his glasses was a little dangerous. He lowered his head and said “hmm.”

Xu Jun’s push-up form was very standard. His strong, powerful elbows supported him on the ground. The muscles on his back rippled with his up and down movements. His shoulders were very broad and opened and closed forcefully with his movements, giving a strong visual impact. But when he put on his clothes, you couldn’t tell anything.

Tao Ning watched silently, thinking about how long it would take him to be like this. If he was like this, he could chase away the people who bullied him with a few punches.

It wasn’t until the man doing push-ups suddenly said in a hoarse voice: “Tao Ning.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I lost my weight.”

“Then, then buy another one?”

The man stopped his movements, took a slight breath, and supported himself on the ground with one hand. His body was as stable as an iron hoop, without the slightest tremor. Salty sweat beads rolled down his temples. He turned his head and gave the dazed Tao Ning a faint look. “What I mean is, can you be my weight?”

Tao Ning was confused: “I can, but how do I do that?”

“Sit on my back.”

Tao Ning was shocked: “What if I crush you?”

Xu Jun: “…You won’t.”

Did he look weak? Xu Jun felt it was necessary to prove to this dazed lemon that he wasn’t just for show.

Tao Ning still didn’t believe him: “I’m very heavy.”

“Yes.”

“Then you still dare to let me sit on your back?”

Xu Jun sighed slightly and switched arms to support himself on the ground. “Come on up.”

Tao Ning half-believed him and went over. A faint scent of soap came towards him. Xu Jun was very clean, and so was the scent on his body, a clean, refreshing scent of soap. He looked at the man’s muscular back and hesitated: “Then… then I’ll sit on you?”

“Yes.”

“But I’m still wearing my clothes. You seem to be a germaphobe. Will you mind if my pants are dirty?”

“No.” After a moment of thought, Xu Jun added: “Never.”

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