Chapter 11 “ 约会呀个约会 / A Date! A Date!”
After arriving at the company, Gu Qin deliberately distanced himself from Qin Mu and took the lead. Qin Mu didn’t try to catch up but just walked behind him unhurriedly. Both of them kept a low profile tacitly, but the news that Qin Mu came to the company in Gu Qin’s car still spread like wildfire.
“Hey, Qin Mu. What’s going on with you and President Gu?” Colleague Xiao Li nudged Qin Mu’s waist with an elbow, the expression on his face was very meaningful. Qin Mu just pretended to be stupid, “What do you mean?” Just judging from Gu Qin’s reaction, he shouldn’t want the relationship between the two of them to be exposed, so he should be a low-key person.
“You are not hiding from me.”  Xiao Li looked around and made sure that no one was paying attention to them before leaning into Qin Mu’s ear and whispering: “Someone saw you getting out of President Gu’s car.” Qin Mu replied offhandedly, ” Oh, that. President Gu is just a pretty good guy. He saw that I was going to be late for work and offered to give me a ride.”
“Do you think I’m going to believe that excuse?” There was a look on his face of Don’t think you can lie to me, Xiao Li lowered his voice and asked mysteriously: “Explain clearly, do you live with President Gu or not?”
Qin Mu: “Where did you hear that?”
Xiao Li: “A lot of our colleagues saw you commuting to and from work with Mr. Gu. Everyone thinks you must be dating.”
Qin Mu just laughed. On the contrary, Xiao Li became even more vigorous, like crackling beans in a hot pot.”I have seen that Xue Ping was plotting against you, and you are still this dense… unfortunately I didn’t see his thoughts about you.” Before Qin Mu could speak, he shook his head again and sighed: “You are blind to your own looks. You could have easily taken the domineering general attack route, instead, you chose silly and sweet.” As he turned he left with “But now with Mr. Gu behind you, no one dares to bully you.”
Qin Mu:” …… ”
Later that night, I mentioned these things to Gu Qin. Gu Qin put down the knife and fork in his hand, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and the last word rising in pitch with surprise, “Living together?”
Qin Mu smiled, “They are just joking.” These words fell into the young man’s ears, his eyes went dim, and he did not continue on this topic.
After dinner, Gu Qin took Qin Mu to a movie as every couple would do. To suit the occasion the two went to see a romantic literary movie. The film was probably made just to win some awards. The long film and surrounding darkness made Qin Mu drowsy, but Gu Qin sat upright, his eyes glued to the big screen, and it seemed that he was looking seriously. Qin Mu quietly yawned in the darkness, and simply closed his eyes and took a nap.
Hearing the uniform and long breathing of the man beside him, Gu Qin turned his face slightly. The light from the movie fell on him, highlighting his clear and handsome face with eyes deep as the sea. The man who fell asleep did not notice this, his long eyelashes were closed, and his plump and seductive lips were slightly parted. When Gu Qin saw this, his eyes turned intent, focusing on him for a long time. Finally, he lifted the corners of his mouth in a shallow smile. The smile seemed to dissolve the coldness that had lasted for thousands of years.
When Qin Mu woke up he didn’t know when the movie ended. He and Gu Qin were the only two left in the huge movie theater. Following his gaze, Qin Mu looked forward. The movie was long over, and he didn’t know what Gu Qin was watching so seriously. Later, Qin Mu would learn that Gu Qin had bought out the theater just because he didn’t want to wake him up.
When he got out of the movie theater the youth stayed silent. Qin Mu thought that he had shown his lack of interest when he fell asleep just now, so he couldn’t discuss it with him. “The movie just now was pretty good.”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night. So I was just a little sleepy, what did you say in the back of the movie?”
Gu Qin: “…”
“What’s wrong?”
Gu Qin changed the subject: “…Why didn’t you sleep well last night?”
Qin Mu curled his lips and said in a dull tone: “I missed you.”
The young man lowered his eyes and said nothing. After a while, he said, “I’ll take you home.”
“Okay.” Qin Mu said with a smile. Tonight it was Gu Qin who drove the car in person. The two of them were silent the entire way. When they arrived at his place, Qin Mu repeated what he had said last night: “Would you like to go upstairs for a cup of coffee?”  He said this with the expectation of being rejected again. After all, Gu Qin’s personality and those he used to interact with were different.
Gu Qin lowered his eyes, and the street lamp downstairs cast a hazy halo on his face. His face was white and smooth, and as gentle looking as a beautiful jade. Qin Mu thoughtfully said, “Next time then.” With that, he took the lead to say goodbye to Gu Qin. Just as he was about to turn around, his right hand was suddenly caught. He paused, turning back around. The young man in front of him raised his clear pupils and studied Qin Mu carefully for a long while, his thin lips opened slightly, and he said softly: “Okay.”
After entering the house, Qin Mu went to make Gu Qin a cup of coffee, and when he came out, he saw the young man sitting on the sofa in the living room properly without changing his posture. Putting the coffee lightly in front of Gu Qin, Qin Mu sat down beside the young man with his shoulders next to his shoulders. Qin Mu’s posture seemed casual, but if seen by outsiders it looked almost as if he was holding Gu Qin in his arms.
There was a faint smell of tobacco from the man’s breath, Gu Qin stiffened, and the fingers holding the cup became a little stiff. His slender eyelashes quivered, he squeezed his eyes shut, and quickly took a drink of the coffee. “Hot!” Putting down the coffee in his hand abruptly, the youth’s complexion was flushed, and his white forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat.  His lips that had been burned looked red and plump, making the watching Qin Mu subconsciously lick the corners of his own mouth and his eyes darkened. He managed to distractedly ask, “Are you okay?”
Gu Qin shook his head, eyes covered by a sheen of reflexive tears. “I’m fine.” Qin Mu only felt that the youth’s appearance at the moment was so pitiful, and the thoughts he had suppressed in his heart were about to move.
If you can’t eat it, you can always taste it.
“Wait here, I’ll go get you some ice cubes.”
“No need— ” The man got up before he could finish his sentence, making Gu Qin swallow the words of refusal. He lightly touched his tingling lips while gazing at the other man. Then it fell on the still-steaming cup full of coffee. He hadn’t had time to taste it just now… Thinking about this, he picked up the coffee once again. This time he remembered to blow the coffee to cool it first, and then slowly took a drink.
The mellow and silky taste spread through his mouth. Making the young man purse his lips, a slight smile appeared on his face, the spring snow in his eyes melting into warmth. It didn’t take long for the man’s footsteps to return to his ears. Gu Qin raised his head but saw the man’s hands were empty, and his dark pupils reflected a strange brilliance.
“You didn’t…” The youth’s eyes flashed with doubts as Qin Mu sat back in his original position. In a smooth motion, Qin Mu cupped the youth’s face with his hands and pressed a kiss upon the other’s lips. Gu Qin was stunned, but he passively accepted the man’s kiss. He hadn’t kissed anyone before, he didn’t know where to place his hands and what his feet should do and ended up just sitting still like a wooden carving of a man.
When the forgotten ice cubes on the floor melted, Qin Mu pulled away and chuckled at someone who was still in a daze: “Idiot, remember to close your eyes when kissing.” The young man blinked slowly and blushed slowly. It covered his ears and neck, making him look as if he was in boiling water.
With thick eyelashes trembling constantly, Gu Qin breathed out quietly. This kind of passiveness was something he had never experienced before, but not only was he not disgusted, but he actually liked it…
Gu Qin calmed down. The corners of the man’s eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles as if laughing at his clumsy inexperience. Inexplicable shame and embarrassment grew in the young man’s heart. He suddenly pulled Qin Mu’s arm to him and under the other’s astonished gaze, he pressed his lips to his.
After some indescribable behavior, Qin Mu gasped and smiled and asked, “Why did you think of kissing me?”
Gu Qin: “…reciprocity.”
Seeing that the young man turned his face away and dared not look at him, Qin Mu smiled even more: “Is your mouth feeling better now?”
Gu Qin: “…”
It turned out that the man had kissed him for this, but he had stupidly gotten the wrong idea and actually kissed him back. In order to regain the initiative, Gu Qin lowered his head and coughed slightly. When he raised his head again, his face had returned to its usual calm.
“Are you… moving over to live with me?”