ACBAM 85: Hug

Jian Lexin’s current mood is probably like watching his own cabbage being trampled by a pig.

In Jian Lexin’s heart, Su Shijin is both a close friend and someone he admires. Su Shijin is a perfect omega—strong-willed, kind-hearted, good-looking, and highly capable in his work.

If Jian Lexin were asked to write an essay titled “My Friend Su Shijin”, he could easily write two thousand words full of praise.

Such a perfect omega!

In this contractual marriage!

He actually ended up falling for an alpha with a complicated family background, an unclear personality, and damaged glands!

This is like flowers being stuck in cow dung!

Jian Lexin was heartbroken: [What do you like about him?]

Jian Lexin knew Su Shijin wasn’t someone who cared about material things, which made it even harder to understand—what kind of charm did this Gu Weiyang have, that Su Shijin would fall for him?

Jian Lexin boldly guessed: [You didn’t… get marked by him, did you!?]

Even cow dung can’t bite a flower!

In the next second, Su Shijin cut off his speculation: [No, it’s not that. I haven’t.]

Su Shijin thought it was probably because of the rumors, which led Jian Lexin, who had never met Gu Weiyang, to subconsciously harbor some prejudice against him.

This couldn’t really be blamed on Jian Lexin, after all, Su Shijin had initially kept his distance from the rumored Gu Weiyang as well.

But Su Shijin thought that since he had already confessed his feelings to Gu Weiyang, and the two of them would continue to move forward together, introducing Gu Weiyang to his friends was only a matter of time. He hoped to eliminate Jian Lexin’s prejudice against Gu Weiyang.

Su Shijin thought for a moment and said: [If you don’t mind, we could have dinner together on Saturday night.]

Jian Lexin sent a question mark in reply: [We refers to?]

[Su Shijin: Me, you, and Gu Weiyang. Once you meet him, you’ll see that he’s not the person the rumors make him out to be. He has a really good personality.]

Jian Lexin simply couldn’t associate the words “good personality” with Gu Weiyang, because he had a few friends who had business dealings with him, and they all said that Gu Weiyang had a strong, dominant personality and was definitely not easy to get along with.

But since Su Shijin said so, Jian Lexin didn’t want to make things difficult for him. He also wanted to see for himself what kind of person this “pig” was who had trampled on his “cabbage.” So, he agreed: [Okay, but he won’t be around when we go shopping in the afternoon, right?]

Su Shijin: [He won’t be.]

Jian Lexin then relaxed and decided that whatever he needed to say, he would wait until Saturday afternoon to talk with Su Shijin in person.

—

After Su Shijin made plans with Jian Lexin, he briefly mentioned it to Gu Weiyang, asking if he was free to have dinner together on Saturday night.

Of course, Gu Weiyang was free, and he was even happy that Su Shijin wanted to introduce him to his friends. For Gu Weiyang, this felt like Su Shijin was officially including him in his social circle, which, to him, was a clear sign that Su Shijin liked him!

Gu Weiyang was in a great mood, and his work efficiency that day was exceptionally high.

Since they were going to Grandpa Su’s house in the evening, Gu Weiyang finished his work in the afternoon and left the office early.

Around 7 p.m., Su Shijin and Gu Weiyang arrived at Grandpa Su’s house and had dinner with him.

Grandpa Su had gone fishing in the afternoon and hadn’t taken a nap, so after dinner, he became a little drowsy and retired to his room early.

Su Shijin and Gu Weiyang spent some time in the courtyard to digest their food and returned to their own room before 9 p.m.

Gu Weiyang, who hadn’t been able to sleep in the same bed as Su Shijin the night before, now looked at the only large bed in the bedroom and grinned like a fool at Su Shijin.

This was the first time the two of them would sleep in the same bed after exchanging their feelings. Su Shijin had a vague sense that something might happen, his ears turning red as he shoved his pajamas into Gu Weiyang’s arms. “You go take a shower first.”

Gu Weiyang, grinning, happily went to the bathroom. About half an hour later, he returned, hair dry and smelling fresh.

“Go ahead and get into bed,” Su Shijin said, immediately grabbing his own clothes and heading to the bathroom as soon as Gu Weiyang came back.

After Su Shijin entered the bathroom, he actually felt a little bit of regret.

He shouldn’t have let Gu Weiyang go shower first; he should have gone himself.

That way, when he finished showering, he could pretend to be asleep in bed and Gu Weiyang definitely wouldn’t wake him up to do anything.

Now, Su Shijin could only hope that by the time he finished showering, Gu Weiyang would already be asleep. Although he didn’t mind getting close to Gu Weiyang, they had to go out tomorrow, and Su Shijin had caught a glimpse of Gu Xiaoren. He felt that if something really happened tonight, he might have trouble getting out of bed tomorrow.

So, Su Shijin procrastinated, taking his time in the bathroom. It wasn’t until an hour later that he finally finished his shower, and even just drying his hair took over ten minutes.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he delayed, he knew he would have to face it sooner or later.

Su Shijin thought that as long as they talked things through, maybe Gu Weiyang would be considerate and wouldn’t do anything.

With that thought in mind, Su Shijin gathered his courage and returned to the bedroom.

The light in the bedroom was still on, and sure enough, Gu Weiyang wasn’t asleep yet.

When Su Shijin entered, Gu Weiyang was leaning against the headboard, playing on his phone. As soon as he heard the door open, his eyes instantly shifted from the phone to Su Shijin’s face.

Su Shijin felt like a little rabbit that had voluntarily stepped into a wolf’s den. The way Gu Weiyang looked at him, with no attempt to hide his intentions, made it clear he was almost openly displaying his desire to do something.

Su Shijin stood at the door, hesitating for a moment before asking Gu Weiyang, “Does the agreement still count?”

Gu Weiyang blinked in confusion. “Hmm?”

Then, Gu Weiyang suddenly realized—the agreement was still in place!!

Su Shijin had said he liked him, but he never mentioned that they wouldn’t get a divorce after a year!

Gu Weiyang’s heart shattered in an instant, and he almost asked with a trembling voice, “Do you still want a divorce?”

After they had already developed feelings for each other, was a divorce still necessary?

Gu Weiyang had thought that, for once in his life, he had finally caught a bit of luck—that he could be with Su Shijin for the rest of his life.

So it was all just his illusion?

Gu Weiyang’s eyes reddened instantly. The tall and imposing alpha, who was even a few years older than Su Shijin, now sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Su Shijin with an expression of deep hurt.

Su Shijin immediately understood that he had misunderstood and quickly shut the door, walking over to stand in front of him. He quickly explained, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Su Shijin remembered that the agreement stated Gu Weiyang couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to do but he had completely forgotten about the agreed-upon divorce time.

Now that he was certain he liked Gu Weiyang, and Gu Weiyang liked him too, there was no way Su Shijin would go through with the divorce.

Looking at the alpha with red-rimmed eyes, Su Shijin’s heart softened. He reached out and gently stroked his face, his finger grazing the corner of Gu Weiyang’s eye, as he said,  “No divorce, the agreement can be voided. What I actually wanted to ask was, does the part about you not forcing me still count?”

Gu Weiyang’s expression became even more hurt. “Even without the agreement, I wouldn’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“Yeah, I was just a bit nervous earlier. It wasn’t about not trusting you.” Su Shijin gently rubbed his tense face. “Alright, stop pouting. You’re not handsome when you do that.”

Gu Weiyang wrapped his arms around Su Shijin’s waist and tilted his head back to look at him. “So, no divorce?”

“No divorce. Since we both like each other, the agreement naturally becomes void.” Su Shijin had initially thought that he wouldn’t easily fall for Gu Weiyang within a year, but who would’ve thought that just a little over two months later, he’d completely overturned his previous thoughts.

Gu Weiyang rested his chin on Su Shijin’s shoulder, staring at his face for a moment before saying, “The agreement still needs to stay. If you ever feel like you don’t like me anymore, this agreement can offer you some protection.”

Su Shijin squeezed his face a little harder, causing Gu Weiyang to inhale sharply in pain before he coldly said, “So, in your mind, am I someone who could easily change my feelings?”

With his face being pinched and distorted, Gu Weiyang mumbled, “No, no, I didn’t mean that.”

Su Shijin frowned. “Then why would you say something like that? I don’t like hearing it.”

Gu Weiyang looked as if he were on the verge of tears. “I just wanted to give you some security, so you’d feel more at ease being with me.”

Su Shijin shook his head. “Even without your security, I would still feel at ease.” He paused, then added, “If one day our relationship reaches its end and we part ways, even without your protection, I’ll still be fine.”

That was Su Shijin’s confidence. He wasn’t Gu Weiyang’s kept bird—he had his own career and his own assets.

Gu Weiyang nodded repeatedly. “Mhm, mhm, I understand.”

Only then did Su Shijin release the hand he had been pinching. Gu Weiyang’s face was so easy to pinch and Su Shijin found himself getting a bit addicted to it.

What Gu Weiyang didn’t realize was that, at the beginning, it was Su Shijin comforting him, but by the end, it had somehow turned into him comforting Su Shijin instead.

Seeing that Su Shijin’s mood had improved, Gu Weiyang quickly wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned in, asking, “So, do we go to bed now?”

“I swear I won’t do anything,” Gu Weiyang vowed. “As long as you don’t want to, I absolutely won’t do anything.”

Su Shijin believed him. After plugging his phone in to charge, he climbed into the inner side of the bed.

Gu Weiyang turned off the ceiling light, leaving only the bedside lamp on. Then he turned to face Su Shijin, looking at him eagerly. “Do we have to sleep so far apart?”

Su Shijin lay flat on the bed, eyes closed, unmoved. “Didn’t we sleep like this before?”

Gu Weiyang subtly shifted closer to his side. “Before was before, but now it’s different.”

Su Shijin opened his eyes and glanced in his direction, asking, “What’s different now?”

Gu Weiyang replied, “Now we like each other.”

He carefully closed the gap between them, reducing the distance to only the width of two fists, then lay still, looking at Su Shijin with eager eyes. “I won’t do anything, just a hug, is that okay?”

“Just a hug?”

“Mm, just a hug.”

Su Shijin believed him. Seeing the eager look in Gu Weiyang’s eyes, he couldn’t help but soften. In the end, he sighed in resignation and pulled the covers off himself, saying, “Come over.”

Gu Weiyang immediately dove into his blanket, his tail—hidden from view—was almost spinning like a propeller from how excited he was.

Su Shijin felt a bit too hot hugging like this. “Can you lower the air conditioning a bit more? And also, turn off the bedside lamp.”

Gu Weiyang didn’t want to leave Su Shijin’s side, so he twisted his body awkwardly to reach for the remote, lowering the temperature, then made an effort to turn off the bedside lamp. Finally, he snuggled up to Su Shijin, content.

Dr. Su had a suppressant ring, so Gu Weiyang couldn’t smell his pheromones, but he could still detect the faint scent of the shower gel Su Shijin used—they were using the same brand.

As the scent lingered, Gu Xiaoren began to feel a bit restless, but Gu Weiyang knew this kind of thing needed to be done slowly, and that he needed Dr. Su’s consent. So, he shifted his lower body back a little to avoid accidentally touching Dr. Su.

But it wasn’t easy for the two of them to be in the same bed, and for Gu Weiyang to do nothing at all—it was making him unbearably itchy.

So, when Su Shijin was half asleep and half awake, Gu Weiyang leaned in and whispered very softly, “Dr. Su, can we kiss?”

Su Shijin instantly became fully awake, “Wasn’t it just a hug? No other business, right?”

Gu Weiyang blinked his innocent, big eyes. “Well, I’m asking for your opinion now. If you want to kiss me, then we can hug and kiss at the same time.”

Gu Weiyang’s plan was clearly audible to Su Shijin.

“Dr. Su, do you want to kiss me?”