My Ex-Boyfriend is Obsessed with Getting Back Together - Chapter 5

He had slept so deeply that he lost all track of time. When Pei Ran finally blearily opened his eyes, he saw a figure sitting by the head of the bed.

The man sat upright, casually flipping through a fashion magazine provided by the room. He glanced at his watch before setting the magazine down, leaning over to call out softly.

“Ran-ge? It’s time to get up. If you keep sleeping, you’ll have insomnia tonight.”

After such a heavy afternoon nap, being suddenly woken up left Pei Ran with a rare touch of grumpiness. He sat up straight without a word, his face set in a stony expression, several strands of hair sticking up from sleep.

Seeing this, Gu Chen only pulled the curtains open a crack, careful not to let the light hurt Pei Ran’s eyes.

“What time is it?” Pei Ran was still a bit dazed, his gaze following Gu Chen’s movements. After a long moment, he regained his bearings, his voice dry and slightly raspy, “How did you get in?”

“It’s almost seven. I kept knocking earlier but no one answered, and you didn’t pick up your phone. I was really worried, so I went to the front desk for a spare key card.” Gu Chen brought over a glass of warm water and handed it to him, “I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you right away.”

Pei Ran took small sips of the water. His throat felt much better, and he finally felt fully awake. He ran a hand through his hair and checked his phone, seeing over a dozen missed calls and messages.

“Sorry, I was out cold and didn’t hear it.” Pei Ran moved quickly to reply to a few work texts, then set the phone down and took his clothes into the bathroom.

The sound of the shower eventually faded. Once Pei Ran was finished getting ready, Gu Chen led him to the restaurant for dinner.

Just as they reached the entrance, a server stopped them, “Apologies, gentlemen, the restaurant has been booked for a private event today and is temporarily closed to the public.”

Gu Chen felt a bit deflated. This restaurant had Pei Ran’s favorite macarons, and he had planned to pack some for him after their meal. He hadn’t expected the whole place to be reserved.

“Ran-ge…” Gu Chen looked at him with frustration, “I didn’t plan this well. Is there anything else you’d like to eat?”

Pei Ran patted the back of his hand, “We can just find another place.”

Gu Chen’s mood instantly lifted. He flashed a smile and took Pei Ran’s arm to leave.

Just then, a waiter from inside the restaurant jogged over. With a slight smile, he spoke up to stop them, “The owner says he would like to invite you both to dine with him.”

Both Pei Ran and Gu Chen were confused. They looked around to see if anyone else was there, but it was just the two of them. Still, they asked to confirm, “Us?”

The waiter nodded with a smile, “Yes.”

Pei Ran waved his hand, intending to decline, but a familiar voice reached them before the person did.

“Pei-Pei!” Qi Heyun walked toward them, his eyes sparkling the moment he saw Pei Ran. However, his expression soured when he noticed Gu Chen standing nearby, and he gave a lukewarm greeting, “Oh, you’re here too.”

Pei Ran was surprised to see him, “Xiao He, what are you doing here? Did you book this restaurant?”

“Yeah,” Qi Heyun intimately draped an arm over Pei Ran’s shoulder and led him inside with long strides, completely ignoring Gu Chen behind them, “Blame my sister and Gugu, they said it was too noisy, but things are only fun when there’s a crowd…”

The floor-to-ceiling windows offered an unobstructed view of the scenery outside. The hanging chandeliers reflected off the marble floors in shimmering light, creating a warm, golden atmosphere with a hint of domestic comfort.

Gu Linchuan and Mei Ye sat facing each other, the table filled with an array of exquisite dishes.

However, it was clear that neither of them had much of an appetite, as the food was mostly untouched.

Gu Linchuan leaned back in his chair, looking down at his phone while his fingers rhythmically tapped the table.

Mei Ye finished a piece of foie gras that Qi Heyun had tossed to him earlier and leisurely wiped his mouth, “So, how was your first experience as a chauffeur?”

“Not bad, he’s pretty dim-witted.” Gu Linchuan looked up from his phone and arched an eyebrow. A smirk tugged at his lips, though there was no real warmth in it, “He’s been gone so long, yet he hasn’t gotten any smarter.”

Mei Ye shrugged and raised his glass to clink against Gu Linchuan’s. He didn’t wait for a response before draining it, teasing, “Don’t you usually think everyone is stupid?”

“True,” Gu Linchuan replied.

Mei Ye chuckled softly, “Qi Heyun misspoke today, don’t take it to heart. He wasn’t in the country during the years you two were apart, so he didn’t know the details.”

Gu Linchuan looked somewhat puzzled, but he stated the facts calmly, “If I were the type to take things to heart, I would have died of anger long ago.”

Mei Ye didn’t argue, but he still tried to cover for Qi Heyun, “He’s just a child speaking without thinking.”

Gu Linchuan looked back down at his phone. Hearing that, he didn’t even lift his head as he let out a scoff, “A twenty-five-year-old child.”

Qi Heyun’s chirping voice approached from behind. Pei Ran stood beside him, smiling as he listened and occasionally responding.

“Look! Who do you think I brought back?” Qi Heyun stood behind Pei Ran, resting both hands on his shoulders as he peeked out with a grin.

A flicker of surprise crossed Mei Ye’s eyes, and he instinctively glanced at Gu Linchuan. The latter remained unmoved, still looking down at his phone without sparing them a single glance.

Mei Ye stood up to greet Pei Ran, “Long time no see.”

Pei Ran gave a faint smile, “Long time no see.”

Gu Chen, standing in the back and seeing that no one was acknowledging him, forced himself to step forward and greet them, “Brother, Ye-ge.”

Only then did Gu Linchuan look up. His gaze swept past Pei Ran and landed squarely on Gu Chen. He gave a slight nod to show he had heard him.

Qi Heyun whispered a complaint into Pei Ran’s ear, “He’s just like that, no manners, you don’t have to mind him.”

As he spoke, he walked to the table and pulled out a chair for Pei Ran. The seat was directly across from him, right next to Gu Linchuan.

Gu Linchuan looked straight ahead and suddenly asked, “Where is the Marone I asked you to get?”

“Oh, I forgot!” Qi Heyun finally remembered that he had only crossed the lobby to fetch the wine at Gu Linchuan’s request when he ran into them.

Gu Linchuan didn’t seem to care and didn’t ask anyone else to get it, returning his focus to his phone.

Qi Heyun, on the other hand, quickly summoned a waiter to fetch it for him. After giving the order, he hooked his arm around Gu Linchuan’s neck and apologized affectionately, “Sorry about that, Gugu.”

Gu Linchuan skillfully dodged him, but Qi Heyun didn’t mind at all.

“We all know each other, so no need to be formal. Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Qi Heyun picked up his steak knife and called out excitedly.

“Who’s that? I don’t know him,” Gu Linchuan said abruptly.

Qi Heyun: “?”

Mei Ye: “…”

“Are you joking? This is Pei-Pei!”

Qi Heyun had a look on his face that said ‘stop messing around.’

Gu Linchuan’s tone was casual, “I have amnesia, I don’t remember.”

Qi Heyun: “?”

Mei Ye: “…”

Gu Linchuan stared fixedly at Pei Ran. His dark eyes were deep, like a bottomless pool, where the ink-colored water rippled as if it wanted to swallow a person whole.

Silence stretched between them. Even someone as slow as Qi Heyun realized something was off, and his gaze darted between the two of them.

He then signaled Mei Ye for help. Mei Ye shook his head helplessly and grabbed Qi Heyun by the collar to pull him back, telling him to stay quiet.

Pei Ran let out a very subtle sigh and stepped forward to introduce himself, “Hello, Mr. Gu. I am Pei Ran, a good friend of Heyun. I’m sorry for disturbing your meal, we’ll leave now.” He turned to take Gu Chen with him.

“Stay,” Gu Linchuan finally put down his phone and stood up, stopping in front of Pei Ran, “Since you’re a friend, it’s not a disturbance.”

Gu Linchuan was tall, and the shadow he cast nearly enveloped Pei Ran. A cool night breeze blew in, carrying the faint scent of oranges from Gu Linchuan, wrapping around Pei Ran.

Pei Ran felt a pang in his chest. He frowned almost imperceptibly, then shook his head with a smile, still intending to decline.

Gu Linchuan looked at his younger brother, “Stay and eat.”

Gu Chen felt as if there were needles at his back and was instantly filled with trepidation. He looked at Pei Ran, seeking his opinion.

Not wanting to make things difficult for Gu Chen, Pei Ran had no choice but to stay. Seeing Gu Chen’s miserable expression, he gave him a small, comforting smile.

Gu Linchuan very gentlemanly pulled out the chair for Pei Ran again and had someone hand him a menu, “Mr. Pei, order whatever you like. Don’t be formal.”

“Thank you,” Pei Ran said. After ordering, he handed the menu to the waiter and gave a polite smile to Gu Linchuan beside him, “Then I won’t be modest.”

The main courses were slow to arrive, so the waiter first served escargot and cream of mushroom soup. The aroma of mushrooms and cream wafted up, and a single sip felt warm all the way down his throat.

While waiting for the food, Qi Heyun chatted about everything under the sun. Pei Ran responded to every word, and since his usual job was stolen, Mei Ye could only sit aside and peel crab for him.

“Why does Mr. Gu have amnesia? Was he injured?” Pei Ran asked, seemingly in passing.

“Huh?” Qi Heyun didn’t react immediately. It was only when he saw Pei Ran instinctively glance at the person beside him that he understood, “Oh, right! In early June, he went racing in Malaysia and crashed into a tree, messed up his head.”

Gu Linchuan shot him a look but said nothing.

Pei Ran’s hand paused as he ate. He fought the urge to turn and check the other man’s injury, instead offering words of comfort, “Fortunately, Mr. Gu is young and has recovered quickly.”

Then, as if still uneasy, he added, “It’s fine to seek excitement, but you should still be careful about safety, especially before your injuries are fully healed.”

Hearing this, Qi Heyun stopped eating and buried his face in the crook of Mei Ye’s neck, shaking with laughter. It was rare that he successfully teased someone.

Since Pei Ran and Gu Chen had just returned from abroad, they naturally didn’t catch the underlying meaning. Seeing Qi Heyun so happy, they simply smiled along.

After that little interlude, everyone was full and satisfied. They spent the rest of the meal chatting about childhood stories, with Qi Heyun leaning on Mei Ye, laughing hysterically.

Gu Chen felt like a third wheel and didn’t want to join in the noise. He politely said his goodbyes and reminded Pei Ran to call him if it got too late so he could pick him up.

Qi Heyun pouted, looking a bit dissatisfied, and hurried him to leave, “I’ll make sure Pei-Pei gets back safely. A kid like you doesn’t need to worry about it.”

Gu Chen pursed his lips as if he wanted to say more, but ultimately said nothing and walked away.

Qi Heyun muttered about how annoying that guy was, then pulled Pei Ran back to continue telling embarrassing stories about Gu Linchuan’s childhood.

He happened to mention the time the four of them were taking horse riding lessons together. Someone had tampered with Gu Linchuan’s horse, adding stimulants to the feed.

During the lesson, while the teacher was instructing them, Gu Linchuan’s horse suddenly stopped listening and began racing wildly around the field. Gu Linchuan reacted quickly, pulling the reins tight, but it was no use, and he eventually suffered a heavy fall.

“At that time, no one dared to go in, except for Pei-Pei. He stumbled right in, threw you over his back, and dragged you out,” Qi Heyun winked at Gu Linchuan.

See! He’s been so good to you since he was little!

Although he didn’t know why Gu Linchuan was pretending not to know Pei Ran today or why he was lying about amnesia, he knew one thing, Gu Linchuan still liked Pei Ran. As a brother, he was more than happy to help their relationship along.

Unfortunately, his good brother wasn’t appreciative.

“That happened?” Gu Linchuan looked up, seemingly indifferent, “I have no memory of it.”

Qi Heyun was so frustrated he wanted to kick him, snapping back, “Don’t you have amnesia? It’d be weird if you did remember.”

Pei Ran waved it off, “It’s okay if he doesn’t remember, it was just a small thing.”

“How is that a small thing! You literally saved his life!” Qi Heyun almost jumped out of his seat, but Mei Ye held him down.

“That’s too much of an exaggeration,” Pei Ran was amused by his indignant look, his eyes crinkling as he laughed.

The waiter brought out the desserts, which were Pei Ran’s favorite macarons.

As the waiter headed toward Gu Linchuan, Gu Linchuan gave a subtle look. The waiter understood, paused mid-stride, and handed the beautifully packaged box to Pei Ran instead.

Pei Ran took the macarons, looking at Gu Linchuan in surprise. However, he realized Gu Linchuan wasn’t looking at him, so he quickly looked away, scolding himself for being over-imaginative.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said his final goodbyes to everyone and turned to leave.

Gu Linchuan stood coldly in place, his gaze never leaving Pei Ran’s retreating back. There was something dark and brooding about his presence, his thoughts unreadable.

The intensity in his eyes was like a storm, or like a lion on the savannah that had been hungry for a long time, finally spotting delicious prey.

Lurking, slowly approaching, then striking.

Pinning the unsuspecting prey down, sharp teeth sinking into the fragile neck, feeling the prey struggle violently in his arms, in that moment, his blood would boil with excitement.

He would wait until the prey stopped struggling, then slowly, bit by bit, devour it whole.

Because his back was turned to the others, the emotions in his eyes were revealed without restraint, fierce and lingering.

The light hit the side of Pei Ran’s face, the cool tones making his neck look as white as porcelain. Gu Linchuan narrowed his eyes as he watched, his Adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably.

Up ahead, Pei Ran answered a call. He whispered a few words to the person on the other end, his expression softening as he picked up his pace.

That smile is such an eyesore, Gu Linchuan thought to himself, yet he didn’t look away for even a second.

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