CH 10

Jiang Heng’s family claimed to believe in independent education, which sounded nice, but in reality, it meant each person was on their own. Jiang Heng had been a boarding student since middle school, and he had smoothly grown up without ever experiencing his parents checking up on him.

But he could probably understand the middle-aged couple’s thoughts—no matter who knew that their son was gay, it was probably hard to accept.

Ge Xing had mentioned that Ji Yao’s family had a scholarly background, and they might even be more concerned about sexual orientation issues.

“We people have to go through this kind of challenge.” Jiang Heng smiled and drove the car out of the parking space. He comforted casually, “Some people keep things hidden well, conceal it for a lifetime, other people don’t like to hide, so they cause a big scene, and in the end, either they never communicate again, or they compromise a little with each other. The outcomes aren’t that different.”

Ji Yao seemed tired; he reclined his seat a bit and looked out of the window.

The warm light from the streetlamp cast a grid-like pattern on the car window, reflecting on him, feeling cool.

“What’s the point?” Ji Yao said casually, “Adults treat their children as possessions, trying to mold them into what they expect. If they turn out as expected, that’s fine. But if they don’t, they’re quicker than anyone to turn their backs—emotions, favors, everything becomes bargaining chips in a conflict. If things really escalate, the ultimate result depends on who is more willing to give up.”

Jiang Heng glanced at him, somewhat surprised that Ji Yao had such a sharp insight.

Ji Yao was from a good background and a complete family, and a growing environment without any significant flaws. Moreover, he was young, and even if it came to his sexual orientation, Jiang Heng found it hard to imagine that he would have any irreconcilable conflicts with his parents.

But since he brought it up voluntarily, he must have wanted to talk about it, so Jiang Heng kindly provided a platform for him to continue.

“Do you have constant conflicts with your parents?” Jiang Heng asked.

“No,” Ji Yao smiled and said, “It’s precisely because we don’t that I’m saying these things.”

Winter in Beijing was much colder than Shanghai. The warm air conditioning in the car quickly created a thin layer of mist on the windows.

Ji Yao extended his hand and casually wrote a few strokes on the mist, forming a signature with the grace of a dragon and a snake. He asked casually, “And you, which type are you?”

“I’m the last type, I keep nothing hidden,” Jiang Heng narrowed his eyes and said, “Nobody cares about me; I just speak my mind.”

“That’s good too,” Ji Yao said.

His tone was plain and indifferent, making it hard to tell if he was envious or not.

“Many things are like this,” Jiang Heng said, “It’s enough to keep up appearances. Some people are honest about it, while others are just hypocritical.”

“Indeed,” Ji Yao shifted the topic and said, “Do you know what my parents told me today?”

Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and shook his head.

“They heard rumors but didn’t dare to ask me directly, so they indirectly criticized and implied things,” Ji Yao raised an eyebrow, smiling, “So I spent the whole evening listening to analysis of cases involving AIDS transmission, financial scams, and even murder for same-sex relationships. It’s as if being gay is an unpardonable crime, and I felt like I’m on the brink of death.”

Jiang Heng chuckled.

“Then rest assured,” Jiang Heng said, half-serious, half-joking, “Breaking the law is a whole new level of crime, and I’m a law-abiding citizen.”

“I very much hate being misjudged,” Ji Yao said.

Jiang Heng hadn’t fully grasped the situation when he heard a crisp sound. Ji Yao had unfastened his seatbelt.

Coincidentally, they had just arrived at an intersection in Wangfujing, with the red light in front of them. The red brake lights formed a continuous line. Jiang Heng pressed the brake pedal steadily, and Ji Yao took advantage of the moment, leaning over and covering most of Jiang Heng’s field of vision, lightly pinching his chin, and kissing him.

Jiang Heng was momentarily surprised but soon relaxed his body, parting his lips to accept Ji Yao’s advances.

Ji Yao seemed to have eaten something sweet before coming. There was a faint aroma of tea between their lips. He was a skilled kisser, but his style carried an unexpected dominance. He hooked Jiang Heng’s tongue, not allowing him to evade, and they passionately kissed through the duration of the red light in the confined space of the car.

Jiang Heng’s gaze drifted outside and he saw a taxi with a familiar license plate in front.

As expected, he thought to himself. Do the old couple know that after they “caught an affair,” their son was in the car behind kissing a man?

He suddenly felt that Ji Yao was like a young cat, well-behaved and obedient in front of his owner, only daring to show his teeth and claws when his back was turned.

Jiang Heng became intrigued by Ji Yao’s controlled rebellion. His slightly cool fingers climbed along Ji Yao’s waistline, but before he could touch anything, Ji Yao grabbed his wrist and pressed it against the seat.

Jiang Heng chuckled softly, voluntarily moving back a bit, and affectionately kissed Ji Yao.

“Oops,” Jiang Heng said with a hint of distress, “It seems like I really like you.”

Ji Yao licked his lips, neither burying nor concealing his intentions, and indulged in the kiss. Perhaps he found the experience delightful. He hooked his lips and gave Jiang Heng a smile.

“The light’s green,” Ji Yao said.

Jiang Heng smiled, pressed the accelerator, and cut into the left turn lane, improvising their route away from the city center and toward an unknown destination.

Ji Yao didn’t ask where he was taking him. They drove past the taxi carrying the middle-aged couple at the intersection, heading in completely different directions. Watching the taillights of the other car disappearing, Ji Yao felt a sense of satisfaction.

“Did Ge Xing send you my information?” Jiang Heng suddenly said.

“Yes,” Ji Yao admitted openly, “The information even includes the fact that you don’t drink Pu-erh tea, and there’s a whole chapter on your romantic history.”

Jiang Heng knew that this would be the result, and he shook his head with a wry smile.

He turned onto a side road, and Ji Yao looked out, realizing they had entered a narrow and twisted alley.

In the dead of night, with no village or store nearby, Jiang Heng parked the car by the side of the road, away from the streetlights. He pulled the handbrake.

Ji Yao realized what Jiang Heng had in mind and probably guessed his intentions. It was just that he seemed even more uninhibited than Ji Yao had imagined.

“Ge Xing told me that if I want to date you, I need to pique your interest,” Ji Yao said. “And when you lose interest, it’ll be time to break up.”

“Indeed,” Jiang Heng smiled and admitted, “Do you want to try piquing my interest?”

Ji Yao was still thinking about the impromptu kiss from earlier. Jiang Heng was good-looking, and he was cooperative and understanding. Even though the kiss had been impulsive, Ji Yao didn’t dislike it.

Jiang Heng was still wearing his office attire, and his coat was on the back seat. He only had a thin shirt on him now, as the air conditioning was running strong, and he had undone two buttons.

Ji Yao was a visual person, and there was a hint of an indescribable rebelliousness within him. Everyone said that Jiang Heng was difficult to deal with, yet Ji Yao found him quite appealing.

Ji Yao slowly leaned over, kneeling on the car seat with one leg, and surrounded Jiang Heng with an embrace. He casually put down Jiang Heng’s car seatback.

Jiang Heng’s gaze gradually deepened, and he discreetly moved back a bit.

Ji Yao’s aggressiveness was extremely strong. Taking advantage of Jiang Heng’s evasive movement, he pressed forward, his knee pushing between Jiang Heng’s legs.

“Do you think men can have a birdling complex?” Ji Yao asked.

“I don’t know,” Jiang Heng didn’t mind being in an unsteady bottom position. He used one hand to support Ji Yao’s waist and lightly rubbed his fingertips on Ji Yao’s clothes a couple of times, ambiguously saying, “Perhaps.”

“Well, if I have you, maybe your interest can last a while longer,” Ji Yao said.

“This is unexpected,” Jiang Heng smiled, “You’ve already started thinking about the long term.”

Ji Yao: “…”

Ji Yao choked a bit, realizing that in just a few sentences, he had been led around by Jiang Heng, completely selling himself off.

Not for nothing is he a lawyer, Ji Yao thought. Both in words and between the lines, it’s all traps.

Using one’s own weaknesses to counter the enemy’s strengths was clearly not a wise move. Ji Yao didn’t feel like wasting words with him, so he simply leaned down and kissed him.

Jiang Heng let out a muffled laugh, stretched his arm to turn off the car, and the atmosphere lights inside the car instantly went dark, leaving only an ambiguous darkness.

In the narrow and confined space, the atmosphere of ambiguity escalated rapidly. Ji Yao soon felt a thin layer of warm sweat forming on his back, sticking his rough sweater to his skin.

Jiang Heng’s icy fingertips had an even stronger presence in this warmth. His slender and agile fingers slipped along Ji Yao’s clothes, barely touching his back, but it sent shivers down Ji Yao’s spine.

He was annoyed by this physiological response, and he grabbed Jiang Heng’s wrist, pulling him out and exerting a bit more force, trapping him firmly in the car seat.

Jiang Heng had been kissed until he was slightly short of breath, but he didn’t resist. He enjoyed this hot and proactive behavior, as well as the excitement of the struggle, feeling that Ji Yao was more pleasing to the eye the more he looked.

Ji Yao pressed Jiang Heng’s wrist against the side of his face, and Jiang Heng moved his hand a little, slipping his fingertips between Ji Yao’s fingers, forming a gesture of interlocking fingers.

This gesture was overly intimate. The warmth of their palms and the sweat intertwined, and Ji Yao felt a bit uncomfortable. He wanted to move away but was pulled back by Jiang Heng, who wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him in place.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Heng’s voice was muffled, his breath containing a hint of a pleasing smile, “You can kiss me, but I can’t touch you?”

Jiang Heng had always thought that compatibility in an intimate relationship, whether it was harmonious or not, was a crucial factor in determining whether the relationship could last.

First impressions were important, eye contact was important, personalities were, of course, important, but if intimacy felt awkward through a layer of membrane, whether it was fumbling or politely out of place, it would certainly not work.

If pursuing Ji Yao had been a spontaneous decision, then at this moment, that interest had clearly reached its peak.

Ji Yao probably had just come down from a practical class that day and didn’t have any accessories on him. He wasn’t even wearing a watch. Jiang Heng glanced at him from the corner of his eye and noticed that he had pushed up his sleeve, revealing his fair and slightly prominent wrist bone.

His slender and fair fingers rested lightly on the backrest, and when Jiang Heng held his wrist, it created a visually appealing effect.

Jiang Heng was aware of his own quirks, and now it seemed that this quirk was intensifying when it came to Ji Yao.

“Of course you can,” Ji Yao’s gaze deepened, “You have plenty of opportunities to touch me.”

He also seemed to be moved, saying that while biting Jiang Heng’s lip. His hand had already begun to wander upward on Jiang Heng’s waist, pulling his shirt hem out from inside.

Jiang Heng licked his slightly tingling lips, then suddenly used force, hugging Ji Yao closer to him.

The driver’s seat was extremely narrow, and it was difficult to maintain balance. Ji Yao’s knee tilted, and he nearly fell into Jiang Heng’s arms.

Jiang Heng had been too indulgent earlier, to the point that Ji Yao thought they had reached some sort of agreement under the atmosphere and things would progress further. Now Jiang Heng suddenly made a move, indicating a suspicion of “saying one thing and doing another.”

Ji Yao dangerously squinted his eyes, and his fingers moved along Jiang Heng’s waistline, lingering on his abdominal muscles.

“I also want something exciting,” Jiang Heng held his wrist, regretfully saying, “Unfortunately, the car is rented. Leaving stains behind wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Ji Yao: “…”

Should have said it earlier!

Ji Yao now reasonably suspected that Jiang Heng’s previous compliance had all been deliberate, purely because he had an exit strategy, which was why he had been so unrestrained.

“Deceiver,” Ji Yao gritted his teeth, “How many people have you fooled with that mouth of yours?”

“Unfortunately, I never deceive people,” Jiang Heng curved his eyes, “Only you caught up with me.”