“Ah Li, you and I are the same kind. We can be friends and hang out together from now on.”
Gu Changheng was clear in his mind that since he had been reborn, he needed to keep Zhou Li close and not give him a chance to fall for anyone else.
After thinking it over during the summer vacation, Gu Changheng had come up with this perfectly reasonable justification—we’re the same kind—which made his sudden and overly familiar approach to Zhou Li feel natural and not confusing.
Under Gu Changheng’s sincere gaze, Zhou Li’s rationality had long faded away, and he found himself nodding. “Okay!”
The server quickly brought all the dishes to the table.
Gu Changheng helped Zhou Li sanitize the utensils with hot water before handing them over.
When Zhou Li took the utensils, his fingers accidentally brushed against Gu Changheng’s, and his ears instantly turned red. His heart raced as he awkwardly received them. He whispered, “Thank you.”
Feeling the warmth from Zhou Li’s hand, Gu Changheng gently clenched his fist, reluctant to let go, wanting to hold onto that warmth just a bit longer.
He looked at Zhou Li’s slightly flushed ears. This was the secret reaction that Zhou Li always had when he was shy.
It made Gu Changheng happy, knowing that Zhou Li still had feelings for him. He was tempted to directly say that they should date. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he held back, thinking it was better to take things slow.
During the summer vacation, Gu Changheng had thought many times about how to develop feelings with Zhou Li in this life. Before his rebirth, they had often chatted about this.
Once, Gu Changheng had asked, “Ah Li, if we’re still classmates in junior high school and I like you instead of Zhao Yunfeng, would you be with me?”
Zhou Li thought about it seriously, shook his head, and replied with a solemn look, “No.”
“I know my worth, and I know I can’t get close to you. I would feel insecure and wouldn’t want to tarnish you. I may be overjoyed at first, but then I will worry about holding you back and distance myself. I will probably run away.”
Having a second chance, Gu Changheng found many things he could let go of, but his feelings for Zhou Li and his parents were two things where he couldn’t afford to make mistakes.
The food at the restaurant was especially selected by Gu Changheng according to Zhou Li’s tastes, so naturally Zhou Li found it delicious. However, he was focused on the money in his pocket. He was afraid that he might eat too much and later need to order more. He only took a couple of bites from each dish and then focused on the rice in his bowl.
Gu Changheng asked, “Why are you eating so little?”
“I, I’m not hungry.”
“You’re not hungry, but this is too little!” Gu Changheng pointed out that Zhou Li hadn’t touched most of the dishes.
At this moment, Zhou Li’s stomach let out a loud growl.
The scene became awkward for a moment.
Zhou Li wanted to escape, wishing he could just disappear into a crack in the ground.
Gu Changheng was taken aback.
Zhou Li: …
Gu Changheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He remained silent. He picked up his chopsticks, divided the food from the plate into half for himself and half for Zhou Li, and said, “We’ll split this. We paid for it, so we can’t let it go to waste. We both need to finish it.”
Zhou Li saw that Gu Changheng split the food on the plate evenly. Gu Changheng had already lowered his head to eat his share. Zhou Li swallowed silently and joined in to eat.
After finishing their meal, Zhou Li followed Gu Changheng to the front desk to pay the bill. The cashier informed Zhou Li that Gu Changheng had already settled the bill.
Zhou Li reached into his pocket and wanted to give Gu Changheng the wrinkled 200 yuan bill. Seeing Zhou Li insistence, Gu Changheng took one of the bills and said, “This meal should be less than 95 yuan per person. Let’s split it. I don’t have change, so I’ll take 100 from you. Let me take advantage of you.”
Zhou Li smiled and said, “Okay.”
