Chapter 63 – You Were the One Who Invited Me In

The pounding of his heart drummed against his eardrums, the entire world seemed to be roaring and shaking.

Li Tang wanted to run, but Jiang Lou had blocked the path tightly. When he looked up, he could see the left ear where the hearing aid was removed. If he slightly turned, the tattoo behind the ear was clearly visible.

It seemed there was no escape, no matter which dimension he looked at it from.

He wasn’t sure if it was due to being soaked in seawater, but there was a faint tingling near his tailbone. Li Tang’s thoughts were chaotic, still in a panic. Before he could figure out how to respond, footsteps and laughter approached from afar. A man who looked like a father and a child holding an inflatable ring walked towards the men’s restroom. Li Tang seized this opportunity to push Jiang Lou’s shoulder and squeeze out through the gap that appeared.

Back on the beach, several people were playing volleyball, Qi Sixian also participating.

Sun Yuxiang and Li Yuanyuan returned after eating, bringing fruits and snacks for everyone.

Now that the group wasn’t hungry to begin with, they were all too lazy to go for lunch. They said they would hold out until dinner, when they could feast at the buffet and get their money’s worth.

Li Tang returned under the umbrella, burying his feet in the sand, using his hands to scoop and scatter the fine sand.

Yang Baichuan handed him a loaf of bread. He patted his hands, took a few bites, but found it tasteless—nothing compared to the delicious pot helmet cold rice noodle he had eaten in Xucheng last time.

“Did you buy the bracelet later?” Yang Baichuan suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Li Tang came back to reality, “Oh, no, I haven’t bought it yet. There were so many kinds in the store, I got overwhelmed.”

“I have a store I often visit, the prices are fair and the quality isn’t bad…if you need, shall we go together next time?”

“Sure, I’m not familiar with it, you can introduce me to it.”

“No problem.”

The rising tide forced many people back to the shore, and more people started digging sand to build castles, making the atmosphere livelier than before.

But at this moment, Yang Baichuan asked an unrelated question, “President Jiang of ROJA, he and you are more than just classmates?”

Presumably, Qi Sixian’s loud “boss lady” had given it away. Li Tang simply admitted, “Yeah, he was my ex-boyfriend.”

“No wonder…” Yang Baichuan seemed somewhat emotional, pausing for a moment, “So you two are going to reconcile?”

Li Tang felt that Yang Baichuan was a bit strange today, but didn’t think much of it. Assuming that it was rare for them to be on vacation, finally able to put aside their boss and employee identities and chat like friends.

However, Li Tang didn’t intend to tell others too much about his love life. So he vaguely replied, “These things are unclear…”

As he spoke, a well-defined hand suddenly reached over beside him, placing down a coconut with a straw inserted.

Li Tang turned his head and found it was Jiang Lou.

Still feeling awkward about the incident in the restroom earlier, Li Tang didn’t speak. Jiang Lou also remained silent. Compared to the sunny weather, his expression was slightly gloomy. After putting down the items, he walked away.

This caused Li Tang’s heart to suddenly sink.

Was he upset because I saw his, but didn’t show him mine?

A subtle feeling of regret washed over Li Tang. He thought that he should’ve taken a picture with his phone then. What if he never showed it to me again in the future, or in a fit of anger, had the tattoo removed? What would he do then?

The worry persisted until dinnertime.

Everyone sat around a large table for the buffet. The girls led by Qi Sixian didn’t have big appetites, but loved to fetch food for everyone, saying it gave them a sense of shopping without spending money, grabbing whatever they liked. Therefore, even though Li Tang hadn’t stood up throughout, the food in front of him was piled high, more than he could finish.

The seafood buffet tasted decent, mainly relying on seasonings. Li Tang picked up a plate of beef sauce, dipping the food and taking a few bites, finding it a little spicy. He got up to get a drink. When he returned with his cup in hand, he found an additional plate of sauce on his seat. Looking at the color, it didn’t have any spiciness added; even the scallions and garlic that he disliked weren’t included. Only sesame seeds were sprinkled on top.

Later, Qi Sixian and the others brought beer and red wine. Everyone drank and chatted, and some even started playing drinking games. Those who lost had to take a shot, seeing who could hold it in without rushing to the restroom.

Amidst the laughter, Li Tang’s cheeks flushed red from the alcohol.

When asked how President Li, with such poor drinking capacity, managed to dominate at banquets, Li Zichu answered on his behalf, “Don’t be fooled by his appearance of helplessness, actually, he’s very clear-headed. The more he drinks, the smarter he gets, you have to be careful.”

After the meal, returning to the hotel, Li Tang walked behind the crowd. Yang Baichuan caught up and asked if he needed a hangover pill. Li Tang shifted his gaze, staring at Yang Baichuan until he felt uneasy.

Thinking of what Li Zichu said about him becoming smarter after drinking, Yang Baichuan feared being seen through. He didn’t linger long, bidding farewell and running off.

Taking the elevator upstairs, walking along the carpeted corridor, Li Tang felt like he was stepping on cotton. His foot involuntarily softened, and he was supported by a hand that stretched out horizontally.

Turning his head, he saw it was Jiang Lou.

Li Tang looked at him, after a while, sighing, “…Why is it you again?”

This sentence didn’t carry any complaint, it was just a feeling of powerlessness.

It seemed Jiang Lou had already occupied every inch of his territory in work, life, and even his thoughts. More terrifyingly, this person knew him inside and out. No matter how he tried to escape, he couldn’t fly beyond the boundaries.

Aside from that, there was also a bitter and sour feeling.

How much effort did it take to understand someone so deeply?

Were there many moments he didn’t know about, when Jiang Lou silently stood by his side, afraid of being seen?

Arriving at the room door, Li Tang swiped his card and entered first, his palm resting on the door frame. “Not coming in?”

Jiang Lou’s eyelids flickered, showing surprise.

“My shirt is still here.” Li Tang’s expression was solemn, as if drawing a line between ambiguity, “I don’t have space for it here, take it back.”

Jiang Lou followed in.

The room was decorated and arranged in the hotel’s monotonous style. Even as a leader, Li Tang hadn’t arranged a higher-end room for himself. One of the twin beds was used for sleeping, the other for piling luggage.

And Jiang Lou’s shirt was spread out on the bed used for sleeping.

There was no time to ponder whether it was some sort of hint. Li Tang took two cans of beer from the small fridge in the room, handing one to Jiang Lou.

Jiang Lou took one can, but also took Li Tang’s can.

“You shouldn’t drink anymore,” he said.

Li Tang frowned slightly, “But I’m so nervous.”

Jiang Lou thought for a moment, asking, “Because you’re in a room with me?”

It was just the two of them, in a hotel room.

It inevitably stirred up some unpleasant memories.

Li Tang nodded, then shook his head very slowly, “Yes, but not exactly.”

“In theory, I should be scared, but I don’t know why, I still look forward to what will happen next.”

He looked at Jiang Lou, his eyes misty, “…Am I weird?”

It was as if he had heard a similar question before.

When he first went to Li Tang’s home, entered his bedroom, and saw the dried red rose, Li Tang shyly asked if he thought it was strange that someone like him liked red?

And this time, the answer was the same as last time.

“Not strange,” Jiang Lou said, “I only feel that it’s indeed so.”

After Li Tang drank, he not only became smarter, but also more straightforward. Or rather, Li Tang was originally passionate and candid. Regardless of the carefree years of the past or the present, where the two of them were separated by layers of mountains, Li Tang never hid his lingering feelings for him.

He didn’t know how to hide it, nor did he disdain to hide it.

Those who carried true hearts were the brightest and most passionate colors in the world.

The person who captured this red was the luckiest person in the world.

Jiang Lou suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment. It turned out that the difficulties of the past twenty years were just the pitch-black darkness before dawn, just accumulating luck for this moment of sudden light.

Before Li Tang could react to the familiar answer coming from a memory, Jiang Lou raised his hand and removed the glasses perched on Li Tang’s nose, placing them on the table beside him.

Then, he leaned in closer.

Li Tang instinctively shrank back, but was held around the waist, unable to retreat.

Only now did he realize what he had said, but Jiang Lou didn’t allow him to take it back. Pressing his ear, he used an innocent tone with righteous indignation, “You were the one who invited me in.”

The kiss after eight years was far more intense than imagined.

Jiang Lou had waited too long, unable to wait any longer. Supporting Li Tang’s back of the head and pressing him forward, he bit into his soft lips, tasting the alcohol that hadn’t dissipated in his mouth and the refreshing mint candy he had chewed after the meal.

And Li Tang, also in this powerful, irresistible kiss, had his oxygen stolen, and his clear mind became muddled. Uncontrollably, he raised his arms, circling Jiang Lou’s neck and holding him tighter.

His chest ached in waves, caused by the difficulty in breathing when the lungs expanded excessively, but also the pain of filling the three-thousand-day void.

Without separating, Li Tang’s face was already wet with tears. Jiang Lou licked away a salty tear that slid to the corner of his lip, then moved upwards, his tongue lightly licking the moist corner of his eye.

Li Tang blinked impatiently, he should’ve dodged, but bit his lip and mustered the courage to lean in.

“On this side,” he revealed his still moist other eye, “…also.”

Thus, the kiss fell equally on the other side of the eye, licking away all the bitterness and unease.

The beer cans remained unopened.

Although Li Tang accepted the “equivalent exchange,” allowing Jiang Lou to touch the tattoo near his tailbone.

Facing each other, embracing, Jiang Lou’s hand leaped over the hem of the shirt, reaching for the lower back. The instant his fingertips touched the body, Li Tang couldn’t help but tremble.

That area had already scabbed over, but remained uneven. Li Tang said that in the previous two years when his condition was unstable, during episodes, he had dug at this tattoo with his hands. Every time he woke up, he would regret it, but it was already irreparable.

Jiang Lou didn’t care whether the tattoo was complete. His finger pads caressed the already healed scar, then held Li Tang’s left wrist, his thumb pushing aside the covered beads, caressing the skin that had been cut by a knife.

His voice couldn’t help but tremble, Jiang Lou asked, “Was it painful?”

Li Tang rested on his shoulder, “Painful, but I forgot it quickly.”

Humans were good at forgetting pain, hence the term “repeating mistakes.”

But repeating mistakes meant walking down the same old road where the car had overturned before. But what if the car hadn’t overturned before?

What if, originally, it was mutual affection, just played with by fate, blinded?

Why couldn’t they have a chance to start over?

The already healed wound itched under the touch of fingers. Li Tang couldn’t do nothing in this situation. So he lifted his free hand to touch Jiang Lou’s ear.

The left ear, wearing the hearing aid, Li Tang imitated his steps from today, first pulling out the earplug, then tugging on the transparent thin wire connected to the receiver.

He easily took it off. Li Tang was somewhat pleased, stretching his neck closer to observe the tattoo he hadn’t had time to examine carefully during the day.

Then he discovered that not only the form and format were identical, but even the font used was exactly the same.

The only difference was that because the area of skin behind the ear was limited, it could only be arranged vertically. But it perfectly matched the contour of the outer ear, following the shadow of the crease between the ear bone and skull all the way down. Black letters were etched on pale skin, creating a secretive sexiness.

Li Tang licked his lips, feeling an inexplicable itch in his throat.

At that moment, Jiang Lou suddenly asked, “Can you see it?”

Li Tang was taken aback, realizing he was doubting his vision, retaliating, “Then you, can you hear?”

Jiang Lou laughed, just about to say something, when he suddenly sensed the skin behind his ear being softly pressed.

Moist breath rushed over, leaving Jiang Lou momentarily stunned.

Over the years, he had harbored guilt and torment, treating this tattoo as a criminal’s brand, preparing himself mentally that he might never receive forgiveness.

But now, the person who should hate him the most, kissed his tattoo with warm lips, telling him, you are not guilty.

I still love you so much.

The two embraced and kissed again, collapsing onto the bed covered with the shirt.

Jiang Lou propped himself up with both arms above, “You looked, and you kissed, now it’s my turn to kiss.”

Li Tang pouted, “You kissed me a long time ago.”

“Then you can only kiss once.”

“…” Li Tang was speechless for a moment, “Next time.”

Jiang Lou pressed, “When is next time?”

“I don’t know.” Li Tang was somewhat troubled, “Isn’t our progress a bit too fast?”

If adding WeChat was 1%, then tonight’s progress had already leaped to 99%, almost just short of the final step.

Moreover…

Li Tang found it hard to say, “Actually, I kind of enjoy the current state. In the past, you never chased me…”

It was akin to delayed gratification, the same nature as buying things crazily as an adult for what you couldn’t get as a child.

So it wasn’t dragging his feet in response, but rather, he was unwilling.

Also afraid that he would be easy to pursue like before, easily obtained was never cherished.

Again surprised by Li Tang’s frankness, Jiang Lou was silent for a moment, and there was no reason not to agree.

He sighed lightly, rolling over to lie down beside Li Tang.

The two squeezed onto the narrow single bed. Li Tang naturally rested his head on Jiang Lou’s chest as he used to, listening to his strong heartbeat, saying rather like a playboy, “Rest assured, I’ll be responsible for you.”

Jiang Lou laughed, “At least give me a deadline, it can be something to look forward to.”

Li Tang wiggled his fingers, unable to calculate, “Or you decide.”

“Three minutes.”

“…Why didn’t I find out you were so impatient before?”

“Times have changed.”

Li Tang thought he was still upset about pushing him away in the morning: “In the morning, that was at the restroom door, with people coming and going, what if we were seen…”

“It’s not for that.”

“Then why?”

Jiang Lou fell silent.

Li Tang remembered that under the parasol at the time, it was only him and Yang Baichuan. Combining Jiang Lou’s previous behavior, he suddenly had an epiphany, “You wouldn’t be jealou—”

Before the word “jealous” could leave his mouth, a hand suddenly reached over, accurately covering Li Tang’s mouth.

Jiang Lou justified, “I’m not your boyfriend yet, I don’t deserve to use that word.”

Li Tang: “…”