Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Damn, What a Top-Tier Green Tea Man.

“Mmh…” Chen Kongqing was wrapped tightly in the scarf, his chin lightly tickled by the soft fabric.

He reached out, pressed down the slightly “puffy” material, and tilted his neck. “Let’s head in then.”

As the Rabbit lifted his gaze, the person beside him quickly retracted his sharp look, his lips curving into a faint smile. “Alright.”

“Oh, right.” Chen Kongqing felt he should play the role of the central hub, so he actively reached out to introduce them. “This is Zhang Cheng. Dr. Xu, you should have seen him before.”

“I have. He’s the captain of the Kun University basketball team.” Xu Jingmo replied, his gaze following the Rabbit’s hand as he extended his own in a refined, gentlemanly manner. “Isn’t that right, Captain Zhang?”

Zhang Cheng: “…”

If he hadn’t caught that predatory look just a moment ago, he might have actually believed this guy was a pushover…

Who would have thought that after getting rid of a Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao’s cousin would show up…

Zhang Cheng also forced a smile, reaching out to return the handshake. “Hello there, Cousin.”

Xu Jingmo: “…”

Both faces were smiling, but their clasped hands let go instantly.

Chen Kongqing didn’t notice anything unusual and smiled. “Let’s go in, the movie is about to start.”

The three walked into the mall in a row, heading straight for the cinema. The timing was perfect. As soon as they sat down, the lights in the theater dimmed.

Chen Kongqing sat in the middle. He thought this was better, since Zhang Cheng and Xu Jingmo only knew each other in passing; sitting them together would be awkward. Although… truth be told, he wasn’t that close to Zhang Cheng either.

Fortunately, it was a hilarious comedy, and the atmosphere in the theater was lively and relaxed.

“Here, eat them while they’re hot.” Zhang Cheng handed over the bucket of potato wedges he was holding.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Jingmo handed over the bucket of popcorn in his hands. “Caramel flavor. You should like it.”

Chen Kongqing looked down. Two buckets of fried food were practically shoved against his knees.

“Okay…” He grabbed a couple of pieces from each to be fair. “That’s… that’s enough.”

But for some reason, both buckets remained perfectly still, with neither man showing any intention of taking them back. After a few seconds of deadlock, Zhang Cheng finally pulled the potato wedges back. The popcorn bucket followed suit, retracting slowly.

Chen Kongqing was a bit dazed. He popped a potato wedge into his mouth, but at that moment, he felt a wave of heat and prickling on the left side of his face.

He cautiously tilted his head. In the dark theater, the only light came from the screen. The light and colors shifted with the movie’s scenes. Right now, the light was dim.

So, he couldn’t actually see clearly. He couldn’t see if the person beside him was looking at him. But he could feel it. A pair of burning eyes was fixed on his cheek.

Suddenly, the movie scene transitioned to a bright, sunlit sky. The light intensity jumped several levels.

In the Rabbit’s pupils, a pair of deep phoenix eyes was reflected. Those eyes were staring directly at him, revealing a hint of… grievance? Or was it hurt?

Chen Kongqing felt it was strange to describe it that way, but that was exactly the feeling he got.

He licked his lips, swallowed the potato wedge, and leaned closer to Xu Jingmo, whispering very softly, “What… what’s wrong?”

A second or two passed.

Xu Jingmo suddenly leaned in, shrinking the already small distance between them significantly. His lips were almost touching that pink ear when he finally spoke: “Do you not like the popcorn?”

Hot breath sprayed against Chen Kongqing’s earlobe. Even the tiny fuzz on his cheek was affected.

It was so itchy. The Rabbit instinctively pulled back a little, grabbing the armrest in a slight panic. “No… no, I like it.”

As if to prove he liked it, he lifted the single piece of popcorn he was still holding. But his hand was completely uncooperative; the popcorn slipped through his fingers and rolled away.

The Rabbit lowered his head to look for it, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Look for it when the lights come on,” a soft voice hovered over his head.

The Rabbit looked up. A new piece of popcorn entered his vision. Before he could react, the popcorn was already fed to his lips.

Chen Kongqing stared at the popcorn, his gaze slowly traveling up to meet those phoenix eyes. In the dim light, the look in those eyes was uncontrollably burning and assertive.

For some reason, as if possessed, Chen Kongqing bit down on that piece of popcorn.

In reality, he and Dr. Xu had done things far more intimate than this. This shouldn’t be a big deal. But when his teeth bit into the sugar-coated popcorn, his lips inevitably brushed against Xu Jingmo’s finger.

It was a bit firm. A wave of heat rushed to the Rabbit’s face.

Quickly, the Rabbit snatched the popcorn away, lowered his round head, and chewed slowly.

Why is my face so red? It’s not like we haven’t done things more… than this.

The Rabbit chewed without tasting, his mind replaying Xu Jingmo’s deep phoenix eyes. Why was the upward curve of the corner of his eyes exactly the same as in his dreams?

“What are you doing, Kongqing? Look, it’s the climax of the plot,” Zhang Cheng whispered, noticing the person beside him was looking down instead of at the screen.

Chen Kongqing lifted his head, sounding a bit distracted. “Okay…”

After that, he couldn’t really focus on the movie. He just laughed whenever everyone else laughed. By the time they walked out of the screening room, the tips of his ears were still tinged with pink.

“I think it was pretty funny, the jokes were very dense,” Zhang Cheng initiated the conversation. “And they weren’t vulgar.”

Chen Kongqing nodded. “Right…”

“Hey, Cousin, did you feel like there was a generation gap watching that?” Zhang Cheng asked with seemingly innocent sincerity.

Chen Kongqing also wondered if such a low-budget comedy was boring for Xu Jingmo, so he glanced over too. “Did you find it boring?”

Xu Jingmo: “…”

Is this Rabbit also looking down on my age, thinking I don’t get the jokes?

“No. At my age, I still know how to use a smartphone and surf the internet,” the man replied calmly, lifting his eyelids.

Hearing this answer, Chen Kongqing felt something was odd, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Are you hungry?” Xu Jingmo naturally moved to the next topic. He reached out smoothly and took the scarf hanging from the Rabbit’s wrist. “What do you want to eat?”

Today was New Year’s Day, and many shops in the mall were closed. Chen Kongqing looked around and politely asked Zhang Cheng, “Captain Zhang, what do you want to eat? My treat.”

“How could it be your treat, little junior?” Zhang Cheng said, reaching out to pat the youth’s thin shoulder.

Chen Kongqing’s condition had stabilized significantly lately, so he wasn’t as sensitive to people getting close as before. However, as Zhang Cheng’s hand came over, his body instinctively retreated.

He instinctively leaned toward Xu Jingmo beside him.

This was a natural physical choice made in a split second. By the time his brain caught up, Zhang Cheng had already awkwardly retracted his hand and was scratching his head with a dry laugh. “Haha, it seems there’s not much to eat here except KFC or McDonald’s. Do you want that?”

Xu Jingmo, standing by, watched the Rabbit leaning against him and then cast a shadowy look at Zhang Cheng. Zhang Cheng looked down, avoiding the conflict.

“Sure, I haven’t had that in a long time,” Chen Kongqing chimed in quickly, fearing Zhang Cheng would feel more awkward.

Zhang Cheng: “McDonald’s then?” “Okay.” The Rabbit turned his head to look at Xu Jingmo. The man nodded.

The three moved to McDonald’s. Xu Jingmo got up to take a phone call. Chen Kongqing ate his fries while quietly listening to Zhang Cheng talk about interesting stories from the basketball team, eventually leading to the recent inter-school league.

“He’s already quit the school team,” Zhang Cheng pursed his lips. “I really should have told you sooner. Sorry, Kongqing.”

Chen Kongqing, who had just dipped a fry into bright red ketchup, said hurriedly, “No… Captain Zhang, the fact that you told me at all helped me a lot.”

“So how did you get so close to his cousin?” Zhang Cheng was truly curious.

“It’s a long story.” Chen Kongqing didn’t know how to summarize the… fate between him and Dr. Xu. It probably counted as fate.

Zhang Cheng was sensible enough not to pry. “So where are you living now? I remember you aren’t local.”

“Renting,” Chen Kongqing smiled, giving an answer that was basically no answer at all.

Zhang Cheng felt a bit defeated and smiled, taking a large bite of his burger. Xu Jingmo returned at that moment and sat back down.

“You’re back? Did something happen?” The Rabbit’s eyes were bright as he stared at the man with the perfect proportions.

The man sat down, his coat slightly open, and met those willow-leaf eyes with a gentle gaze. “It’s fine. A call from the hospital. It’s been handled.”

The Rabbit nodded obediently and pushed the tray toward the man. “Eat quickly, it won’t be good once it’s cold.” “Okay.”

After eating, Chen Kongqing prepared to pay the bill.

“It’s already been paid,” Xu Jingmo said. He had bought water at some point and handed it to the Rabbit. “Are you thirsty? Have some water.”

Chen Kongqing didn’t like carbonated drinks, so he had been eating the McDonald’s dry.

“Thank you.” Chen Kongqing took the water—the cap had even been loosened for him—and took a large gulp.

“…” Zhang Cheng was silent.

There was nothing else to see in the mall. Chen Kongqing was about to tell Zhang Cheng they should call it a day, but he hadn’t opened his mouth yet.

“Hey, Kongqing, why don’t we go to an internet cafe and pull an all-nighter? I know a place that’s open on New Year’s Day. I have a car, I can drive you back tomorrow morning,” Zhang Cheng said, naturally leaving Xu Jingmo out of the plan.

Chen Kongqing was startled, not quite knowing how to phrase a rejection.

Instead, it was Xu Jingmo who spoke first, his tone incredibly gentle: “Go if you want to. You must find it dull staying with me. It’s good to go have some fun. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but want to throw a fit.

Damn, what a top-tier Green Tea man.