Heartbeat Command - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: You still have other people.

Jiang Luo said this with complete sincerity, because Gu Shiyue was objectively very handsome. His refined way of eating, combined with his handsome features, naturally made him a feast for the eyes.

Gu Shiyue didn’t respond. He was already familiar with Jiang Luo’s candid side and knew his words were devoid of any hidden meaning. However, Gu Shiyue wasn’t quite used to this level of candor yet. This person always threw straight pitches; not only were they direct, but they were also sweet, providing full emotional value. He said exactly what was on his mind, and you never knew what might pop out of his mouth next.

Jiang Luo stared intently at Gu Shiyue for a while longer. No one dared to stare so brazenly at Gu Shiyue, checking him out from all angles. Gu Shiyue raised his eyelids and glanced at him: “Shall I record a video for you to watch as ASMR when you go back?”

Jiang Luo bit his straw and laughed: “I think I’ll stick to the live version. If you don’t want me to look, just tell me, and I promise to be obedient.”

Gu Shiyue let out a scoff, lowered his eyes to pick up his food, and stopped looking at Jiang Luo. He didn’t smile often, and when he did, it wasn’t obvious—just the corners of his mouth lifting by two pixels—but it looked very good. Jiang Luo felt this was his achievement; he had made the man laugh. He was indeed intentionally teasing Gu Shiyue’s emotions; he didn’t usually act this cheeky with others. Gu Shiyue was just too cold, his emotions always at a low ebb, like an ice cave, and he wanted to thaw him out.

Speaking of ice, Jiang Luo suddenly remembered there was ice cream at the self-service seasoning station. He stood up and asked: “I’m going to get some ice cream. Senior, do you want any?”

Gu Shiyue shook his head.

“How about fruit?”

Gu Shiyue said: “I’m not eating any. Just get what you want.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Luo didn’t take any fruit, but he took a little bit of every flavor of ice cream. This barbecue place didn’t use off-brand stuff, so it tasted quite good. Jiang Luo had a small appetite and hadn’t eaten much of the main meal, so he used the rest of his stomach space for cola and ice cream.

His phone on the table vibrated several times, buzzing incessantly. Jiang Luo picked it up to take a look—it was Weibo notifications for retweets. With the National Day holiday coming up, Jiang Luo was going to a large convention for a signing session. He had received the invitation from the organizers a long time ago, and today the official Weibo account had posted the announcement, tagging the invited guests.

The official announcement was being retweeted heavily, and Jiang Luo had received many notifications. He tapped on them to see.

— Holy crap, is this actually true? Is Luo C really coming??

— Finally officially announced!!!!!!!!

— Oh my god, oh my god, where do I grab tickets? Where do I grab tickets?

— I’m going crazy, it’s actually true. I’m going crazy, I’m going crazy!

— Ahhhhhhhhhhh, baby, I’m coming!

— Heaven please bless me to get a ticket!

— I give up, why is it being announced only now? What date is it already?

— Sob sob sob, baby, I must see you…

…

The characters Jiang Luo cosplayed were mostly youthful in style, so he had quite a lot of “mom fans.” Every time he posted photos on social media, the comment section would be filled with older fans calling him “baby,” and he was already used to it.

This announcement post reminded Jiang Luo that he wouldn’t be on campus during the National Day holiday. If Gu Shiyue needed help feeding the cat, Jiang Luo wouldn’t be able to make it, so he had to give him a heads-up in advance.

“Senior,” Jiang Luo called out.

Gu Shiyue raised his eyes to look at him.

“Do you need anyone to feed the cat during the National Day holiday?”

“Depends. Why?”

“I won’t be on campus during the holiday. If you need someone to come over, I probably won’t be able to make it. I just wanted to report that to you in advance.”

Gu Shiyue let out an “Mm,” and said: “It’s fine. I’ll find someone else.”

Jiang Luo let out an “Ah,” poked at the ice cream in his bowl with a spoon, and looked at him: “You still have other people.”

The question was actually quite inexplicable—of course there were other people; otherwise, who did Gu Shiyue find to feed the cat before he hired Jiang Luo? But as soon as he thought about someone else being able to visit Gu Shiyue’s place to feed the cat, Jiang Luo’s mood became somewhat subtle. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling—perhaps it was a sense of competitive rivalry?

Gu Shiyue stared at him for a moment and countered: “Can’t there be other people?”

Jiang Luo hurriedly said: “No…” He lowered his head and stirred the ice cream in his bowl. “I didn’t mean that. I just… I have a sense of professional crisis, you know? Afraid someone might steal my job.”

Jiang Luo’s brain was a mess, and he started rambling. He hadn’t even figured out his own psychology, and what came out was something else entirely. After saying it, even he laughed at himself, ate a spoonful of ice cream, and said: “Senior, I’m sleep-talking. Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“From which sentence did the sleep-talking start?”

Jiang Luo looked up, blinked his eyes: “All of it.”

“‘You still have other people.’” Gu Shiyue said in a nonchalant tone. “Was that part of it too?”

“I suppose so…” Jiang Luo said vaguely, looking down and smiling slightly. “I just said it without thinking. You can just let it go, Senior.”

“There are no other people,” Gu Shiyue said. “And no one is stealing your ‘job’.”

Jiang Luo looked up at him, stunned for a moment, and asked: “Then who is this ‘other person’ you were talking about?”

“The nanny at home.”

“Ah…” Jiang Luo wore an expression of sudden realization.

“Still have a sense of professional crisis?” Gu Shiyue asked.

Jiang Luo was amused: “Nope, not anymore.”

He and Gu Shiyue were indeed very compatible; they were on the same wavelength, and they could seamlessly keep up with each other’s jokes.

His phone was still vibrating non-stop, so Jiang Luo turned off the Weibo notifications and continued eating his ice cream.

The National Day convention was in the same city. Jiang Luo had a complimentary ticket as an invited guest, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was there for work, he would have loved to invite Gu Shiyue to walk around the convention with him.

Jiang Luo was eating ice cream and pondering this. Gu Shiyue saw him looking distracted, with ice cream even reaching his mouth, and asked: “What are you thinking about?”

“Hm?” Jiang Luo snapped out of it, biting the spoon and staring at him blankly, a smudge of melted chocolate-colored ice cream at the corner of his mouth.

“I asked what you are thinking about.” Gu Shiyue’s gaze landed on the corner of his mouth; he just looked, without giving him a hint.

“I was thinking about inviting you to the convention.” Jiang Luo put the ice cream aside and explained the situation to Gu Shiyue.

“It’s just that I won’t have much time to stay with you that day, and I’m afraid you won’t be interested in conventions or anything like that.” Jiang Luo rubbed his nose. “That’s just what I was thinking about.”

“So, do you want me to go, or do you not want me to go?” Gu Shiyue asked.

“I want you to go,” Jiang Luo said immediately. “But it depends on whether you’re interested. If you are, you can go and have some fun; it’s actually quite interesting.”

“I might not be free for the whole day, but if I have time, I’ll go.”

“You’re going?” Jiang Luo’s eyes brightened. “Then are you bringing a friend? I think I can secure one more spot. You can bring a buddy.”

“I’m not bringing anyone.”

Jiang Luo let out an “Oh”: “Then you can find Ying Zong (Qi Xueying) there; she’s going too, you two can keep each other company.”

“Do I have to bring someone?”

Jiang Luo smiled: “I’m just afraid you’ll be bored on your own. So, are you coming to see me?”

Gu Shiyue thought to himself: Who do you think I’m doing this favor for?

“Besides you, who else would I go to see?” Gu Shiyue said.

Jiang Luo smiled radiantly: “That’s true too.”

While they were chatting, someone passed by their table and suddenly turned their head to look at them—their gaze fixed on Gu Shiyue. It was a young woman who looked like a university student. She took one glance, looked away, and whispered something to her companion. Then the companion also turned around to look at Gu Shiyue.

This barbecue place wasn’t far from their school, so students often came here to eat. It wasn’t strange to run into people from school. Jiang Luo guessed that these two were from their school, so he asked Gu Shiyue: “Senior, do you know those two?”

Gu Shiyue followed his gaze and said: “No.”

“Ah, then why do they keep turning around to look at you?” When Jiang Luo spoke, the corner of his mouth was still dark with chocolate ice cream, and since Gu Shiyue hadn’t reminded him, he hadn’t noticed.

“Mouth,” Gu Shiyue prompted. “Wipe it.”

“Huh?” Jiang Luo was startled.

Gu Shiyue didn’t speak, just stared at the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Luo instantly realized what happened. He used his phone screen to check, and was so annoyed he laughed: “Are you doing this on purpose, Senior? You’re telling me only now.”

Gu Shiyue nodded and said nonchalantly: “Yeah, I did it on purpose.”

As the meal was ending, Jiang Luo received a message from Cheng Jiashu asking him to go to the school gym to play badminton. Jiang Luo took a moment to reply: “I’m still eating.”

Cheng Jiashu called him: “Where are you eating? It’s so late and you’re still not finished?”

“Outside, almost done.” Jiang Luo checked the time; it was only 7:30 PM, how was that late?

“Then come over when you’re done; we haven’t gone over yet. I’ll go to your dorm to get your racket.”

“I need a while longer.”

“Just eat your meal; we’ll start playing and wait for you.”

“Fine.”

Jiang Luo hung up the phone. He originally wanted to ask if Gu Shiyue was interested in playing badminton, but thought that since the man didn’t know anyone else besides him, he would probably feel uncomfortable, so he didn’t ask.

“Anything up?” Gu Shiyue asked.

“Nothing much. A friend asked me to go to the gym to play badminton. I’ll head over after I finish my meal, no rush.”

“Mm.”

After the meal, they returned to campus together. Gu Shiyue didn’t go back to his apartment off-campus; he still had to stop by the department. They said goodbye at the school gate, and Jiang Luo went straight to the gym. Cheng Jiashu and a few others had already started playing. Jiang Luo sat on the bleachers, waved to Cheng Jiashu, who walked over with a racket and placed it on the chair next to him.

“I want to rest for a bit.” Jiang Luo stretched out his legs and swung them. “You guys keep playing, I need to let my food settle.”

Cheng Jiashu sat down on his other side: “Where did you go for a fancy meal without inviting me?”

Jiang Luo squinted and smiled: “Sorry, I had a date with a ‘beauty.’ Couldn’t invite you.”

Cheng Jiashu turned his head sharply: “What the hell? What kind of beauty? You’re dating someone?”

Jiang Luo laughed and stopped joking: “No, just kidding. But the ‘beauty’ is definitely a beauty—a super handsome guy.”

“Try speaking in riddles one more time.” Cheng Jiashu locked his arm around his neck and pulled him into a headlock. “What ‘super handsome guy’? Speak like a normal person.”

Jiang Luo broke free: “You know him too.”

“I know him too?” Cheng Jiashu paused. “Super handsome guy? Ying Zong’s brother?”

Jiang Luo glanced at him: “Your brain works fast.”

“Bullshit, among people we both know, who else besides him qualifies for the ‘super handsome guy’ label? How did you end up eating with him?”

“We just have a good relationship,” Jiang Luo said, shaking his body.

“Heh.”

Cheng Jiashu had invited his roommates today. One of them brought his girlfriend, and she brought a female friend—in short, they had gathered a whole crowd. After playing for a while, those people walked over to say hello and sat down to rest.

There were several courts in the gym—basketball, volleyball, and badminton. The court Jiang Luo and his friends were at was the one closest to the entrance. As Jiang Luo sat there, he saw a few people walk in. The leader was holding a basketball, and the last one to enter was a familiar figure.

Jiang Luo’s gaze paused, fixed in that direction.

Gu Shiyue’s stature was far superior; he was tall and stood out in the crowd. Even from this distance, Jiang Luo could spot him immediately.

Gu Shiyue suddenly turned his head, seemingly sweeping a glance toward this side. Jiang Luo held his breath. If there hadn’t been so many people around, he definitely would have waved to say hello.

Gu Shiyue seemed to have seen him; his gaze suddenly stopped in his direction, then he said something to the person in front of him and walked toward them.

Jiang Luo sat still, his brain turning a bit slowly. He wasn’t sure if Gu Shiyue was coming to find him, so he didn’t dare to wave proactively. It would be embarrassing if he weren’t looking for him.

Cheng Jiashu saw Gu Shiyue: “Hey, isn’t that Ying Zong’s brother?”

The others followed his gaze. The female friend brought by the roommate’s girlfriend looked at him with surprise: “You know Gu Shiyue?”

“Huh? You know him too?” Cheng Jiashu was even more surprised. “How do you know him?”

The girl smiled: “He’s very famous.”

Cheng Jiashu, being single-minded, didn’t quite get it: “In what sense?”

“What other sense could there be?” The girl chuckled. “Because he’s handsome, of course… A lot of girls in our class know him; he’s a prominent figure in our school. He’s also in the School of Aeronautics; he’s very impressive.”

Cheng Jiashu instantly understood: “Got it, got it.”

Just as they were talking, Gu Shiyue had already approached. Under the eyes of everyone, he walked up to Jiang Luo.

Cheng Jiashu let out a “Yo”: “The ‘beauty’ is here.”

Jiang Luo jumped to his feet: “Senior.”

Gu Shiyue let out an “Mm.”

“Are you… looking for me?” Jiang Luo asked in a low voice.

Gu Shiyue looked at him: “Besides you, who else would I be looking for?”