My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: We Could Try Dating Officially…

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, dark clouds gathered, and the sky turned a heavy leaden gray.

Song Ai stiffly averted his gaze, the tips of his ears too red to look at. Yet, his mouth remained as stubborn and cold as ever. “No. Stop being so full of yourself.”

Lu Tingyun gave an “Oh,” then asked with mock confusion, “Then why is your face so red?”

“Where the hell is my face—” Song Ai started to deny it instinctively, but catching a glimpse of his bright red reflection on the glossy coffee table, the words died in his throat. He pulled an excuse out of thin air: “It’s too hot in here.”

Lu Tingyun was silent for a few seconds before saying hoarsely, “Yeah. I think it’s hot, too.”

Hot enough to want to strip off all my clothes. Hot enough to want to pin you down ruthlessly.

Song Ai didn’t care if he was truly hot or just humoring him; he deliberately shrank back. “If it’s hot, stop leaning so close. Get away from me.”

Lu Tingyun didn’t budge. His palm still gripped Song Ai’s wrist, his long fingers tracing circles on the skin, his palm temperature continuing to rise.

The pungent scent of the medicinal oil mixed with the man’s faint cologne. The smell made Song Ai dizzy, so he simply shut his mouth and stopped talking.

In the silence, the wind outside grew tighter. Because a small gap had been left for ventilation, some of the accumulated heat in the room dissipated.

“Uncle Lin and my father are close friends,” Lu Tingyun suddenly spoke up, his thumb gently rubbing the bruise on Song Ai’s wrist. “So, Lin Zhiyuan and I have some history.”

He paused, then added: “But it’s limited to that.”

Song Ai’s eyelashes fluttered.

Is Lu Tingyun… explaining himself to me?

The man kept his eyes down, his expression looking somewhat serious.

“I’ve never dated anyone,” he stated slowly. His tone was indifferent, but the content was blunt enough to make one gasp. “Song Ai, you’re the first person who ever kissed me.”

Hearing this, Song Ai froze.

First, he was shocked that Lu Tingyun had never dated. Then he thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, the man’s reputation as “Mr. Abstinent” had spread throughout J City.

Then, he was a bit bewildered. …Why was he telling him this now?

Finally, his brain couldn’t quite process it all, and he didn’t know how to respond!

In the stalemate, a ringtone suddenly blared. It was Song Ai’s phone. Both of them locked their eyes on it at the same time.

Song Ai reached out to grab it—the screen displayed “Loudmouth Li.” Just as he was about to hit ‘Accept’ like it was a lifeline, the phone was snatched away.

“Let me finish,” Lu Tingyun said, setting the phone aside. He looked Song Ai in the eye, a faint trace of a plea in his gaze. “Otherwise, I don’t know if I’ll be able to say it next time.”

Song Ai blinked but didn’t say a word.

Seeing no response, Lu Tingyun took it as tacit consent. After rejecting the call, he said word for word:

“I’ve never dated. I don’t know what dating is like, let alone what it’s like to like or love someone.”

“But I can clearly perceive that my body and my logic are constantly changing because of you. Ever since the first time we slept together, I seem to have become addicted to it. I can’t control my brain from replaying every moment of our union, and I certainly can’t control having a reaction every time I see you.”

“You probably find me offensive right now. Sorry, this is the first time I’ve said such offensive things to someone. This severely contradicts the gentlemanly education I’ve received for years. If my sense of morality were any heavier, I might have died of shame from my own naked desires…”

“But these words have been in my heart for a long time. I can’t be sure if this is ‘liking’ or ‘love’ since it’s mixed with this damn lust and the physical aspect; at the very least, it isn’t a pure, sincere love. The internet calls this ‘physiological attraction’ (biological liking), so let’s call it ‘liking’ for now.”

“Since there are feelings involved, I don’t want to keep interacting in this vague way. Just like how you were jealous for my sake just now, maybe you have at least a tiny bit of a good impression of me… We could try dating officially, rather than being restricted by this alliance.”

“If you agree, you can tell me anytime. If you haven’t made up your mind, we can continue as we are now… interacting as ‘friends with benefits.'”

After Lu Tingyun finished speaking, he stopped rubbing his arm. He pulled out some tissues to wipe Song Ai’s arm clean, then stood up abruptly and left in silence.

Song Ai hadn’t even finished digesting that massive speech. He watched blankly as the man’s back disappeared through the door. It took quite a while before he finally snapped:

Who the hell is ‘friends with benefits’ with you?!!!

…

After Lu Tingyun stepped out, his mind was a chaotic mess.

He hadn’t expected himself to actually say those things! He was half-regretting his impulsiveness and half-thinking about what Song Ai would choose.

However, there was still a problem to solve. He immediately called Xu Wen to meet up. The two found a seaside cafe and sat across from each other.

Lu Tingyun had bought a pack of cigarettes on the way. He handed one to Xu Wen and lit one for himself. With a click, the spark glowed against the sea breeze.

Xu Wen squinted. “It really has been a long time since I saw you smoke.”

Lu Tingyun’s tone was flat. “It has been. We’ve known each other for seven or eight years, haven’t we?”

Xu Wen smiled. “Yeah.”

Smoke swirled around Lu Tingyun, making it hard to read his expression. His tone was even more unpredictable. “Usually, when people have known each other this long, they should understand each other to some extent. But it seems that isn’t the case for us.”

Xu Wen was taken aback. “Tingyun, what… what do you mean?”

“You’ve been trying to set me up with Lin Zhiyuan. I believe you mean no harm, but you should have at least asked if I had any interest in him.”

Hearing those words, Xu Wen was stunned. His mind raced. “So, you and Zhiyuan…”

“Zero interest,” Lu Tingyun said succinctly. “I didn’t speak up before just to save his pride. But today he affected the relationship between me and my partner. I called you out specifically because I hope you can convey my meaning to me. Otherwise, it will only lead to embarrassment for everyone.”

Xu Wen sat in the wind, his thoughts in disarray. Didn’t Lin Zhiyuan say they were deeply in love but were torn apart by their fathers? Didn’t he say Lu Tingyun was forced to marry that pretty but foul-tempered youth?

How… how is it completely different from what Lu Tingyun is saying??

…

Song Ai’s brain wasn’t very clear either. He curled up on the sofa and stared out the window for ages, still not sure how to reply to Lu Tingyun.

It wasn’t until Li Shang ordered barbecue and called him down to eat that he moved. He was hungry anyway, so he hopped up and headed out.

Li Shang and Wang Ruijing had booked a twin suite; it was spacious enough for them to huddle together and eat skewers. Song Ai had a headache from thinking too much and didn’t want to talk, so he just ate one skewer after another, looking “cool.”

Wang Ruijing and Li Shang exchanged a knowing look. Li Shang took the lead again. “What’s up, Ai-ge?”

Song Ai chewed and gave a perfunctory reply: “Leave me alone.”

Li Shang went silent for a moment, then, encouraged by Wang Ruijing’s gaze, spoke again: “Come on, Ai-ge. Tell us what’s bothering you. Three heads are better than one. Maybe we can help you out?”

Song Ai looked at him and reached an immediate verdict: “You can’t help.”

“…” Li Shang was thoroughly defeated.

Wang Ruijing took over. He speculated, “Did someone annoy you again? Lu Tingyun?”

Wang Ruijing hit the nail on the head. Song Ai reacted; even the hand holding his skewer trembled slightly.

Li Shang gave a small smile. Wang Ruijing felt rather uneasy. “Did Lu Tingyun… do something to you?”

Song Ai glanced at him, feeling frustrated. “Can’t it be that I did something to him??”

Wang Ruijing pursed his lips, his expression dimming. Li Shang was dumbfounded. “Huh? Ai-ge, you didn’t…”

Song Ai immediately stuffed a piece of squid into Li Shang’s mouth to stop his dirty thoughts. “No. Stop guessing. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.”

Li Shang finished the squid in two bites and said soulfully, “Ai-ge, your reaction is literally the definition of ‘methinks thou dost protest too much’…”

“Shut up.”

Song Ai pretended to be angry and curled up on the sofa to play on his phone. However, the tips of his red ears had already betrayed his thoughts, and Wang Ruijing saw it all.

…

Song Ai didn’t know how to face Lu Tingyun, so he stayed in Li Shang’s room until after 10:00 PM. Eventually, he couldn’t stay any longer and headed back to the penthouse.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw that the suite was pitch black. A tall figure was sitting motionless on the sofa like a ghost. Song Ai nearly jumped out of his skin.

“What the fuck… you didn’t even turn on the lights?”

Song Ai turned and slapped all the lights on. Then he heard the man’s resentful voice:

“I thought you weren’t coming back tonight.”

Song Ai swallowed. “Li Shang’s place didn’t have enough room.”

Lu Tingyun stared at him without blinking. “Oh.”

“…” Song Ai felt the atmosphere was awkward. He didn’t want to keep standing in the foyer, so just as he was about to hide in the bathroom, the man’s next sentence dragged him back to reality.

“So, have you considered it?”

Consider what? Dating him?? How old is Lu Tingyun, still doing this pure-hearted routine?

While grumbling internally, Song Ai replied dismissively: “I haven’t.”

He put on his slippers and hid in the bathroom anyway, closing the door. He wasn’t lying; he didn’t know how to consider it, so he just hadn’t.

Enduring three years and then divorcing Lu Tingyun was the plan Song Ai had made from the start. Even if he and Lu Tingyun had accidentally slept together—three times, to be precise—it shouldn’t affect his ultimate plan to leave the Lu family and J City.

As for dating… he was no different from Lu Tingyun. He’d never done it. He didn’t know what ‘liking’ was, so he couldn’t grasp his feelings for the man. Maybe he did care a little, otherwise he wouldn’t have been in a bad mood over Lin Zhiyuan. But does that care count as ‘liking’?

Forget it. Song Ai’s head hurt. He splashed cold water on his face to stop his brain from spinning.

He finished his routine—shower, brushing teeth, bathroom—and by the time he came out, it was 11:00 PM. Dark clouds still covered the sky, but the promised heavy rain hadn’t started yet.

Song Ai’s gaze shifted downward toward the room. When he saw a certain figure, his eyes widened.

Huh?? This guy is still sitting on the sofa?!

If this weren’t the real world, Song Ai would have thought the man had been paralyzed by an acupressure point. But… it was probably better not to wake him up now, lest he ask again if he’d finished “considering.”

Song Ai decided to sneak onto the bed. Just as he tucked himself in, the heavy rain began. Water lashed against the window, like pearls falling on a jade plate, creating a rhythmic melody.

Song Ai intended to use his phone to lull himself to sleep. But before long, he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. His vision blurred.

The youth soon fell into a dream, completely unaware that someone had climbed up.

A pair of large hands wrapped around his waist and arms from behind. Long, straight legs hooked over his own, intertwining. A body as hot as a piece of glowing iron pressed tightly against his back.

The man’s panting was right at his ear.

Outside, a flash of white light zipped by, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Song Ai woke up with a start, suddenly feeling himself held in a strange embrace. He turned his head sharply—

And met Lu Tingyun’s already blurred, hazy eyes.

The man’s breathing was heavy, his words tender and lingering.

“If you don’t want to take responsibility for my feelings, you should at least take responsibility for my body…”