I Only Want You chapter 35

“Aren’t you? I’m his uncle, and you are his uncle’s boyfriend. Isn’t that also an uncle?” Xie Yun Zhi said confidently, then walked towards the office desk. He seemed to have immersed himself back into work, but only he knew that his inner calm was just a facade.

Except for himself, no one knew that at this moment, he was extremely excited due to a sudden thought. The adrenaline rushed through his body, accelerating his breath. His mind went blank, and even his body felt numb because of this thought.

This peculiar state continued for who knows how long. He himself didn’t know. He was able to snap out of it thanks to Yan Lan, who noticed that something was off and walked over to check.

“I’m fine.” Xie Yun Zhi smiled, holding Yan Lan’s hand that reached out in front of him and kissing it, “I was just deeply absorbed in my thoughts.”

Yan Lan looked at him with a puzzled expression, not completely believing his words.

“How about having dinner together tonight?” Xie Yun Zhi suggested.

Yan Lan nodded.

“Should we eat at home or go out?” 

Yan Lan looked at him and signed “let’s eat with Tiantian at home.”

“Alright, we’ll eat at home. You’re always thinking about Tiantian. Can’t you also think about his uncle?” Xie Yun Zhi teased.

Yan Lan replied, “When did I not think about his uncle?”

“Too many times. You can check your WeChat. If there’s no reply for over half an hour, it means you’re not thinking about me.”

Yan Lan asked, “Can it be counted like that?”

“Of course. I always reply quickly unless I’m working. But you might be busy playing badminton with your junior.”

Yan Lan defended, “It’s a healthy activity.”

Xie Yun Zhi had an opinion on this matter. “You can play with your roommate. Why bring an outsider?”

Suddenly, Yan Lan had an idea. “Because we were invited to play by someone else, and we also planned to have a picnic on the weekend.”

Xie Yun Zhi thought he misunderstood the sign language’s meaning. “Wait… a picnic?”

Yan Lan nodded. “I’ve never been to one, so I agreed to go together.”

Xie Yun Zhi asked seriously, “And what about me?”

Yan Lan replied, “I’ll spend the day with them, and in the evening, I’ll come back to be with you.”

“And what about Tiantian?”

Yan Lan explained, “He has classes.”

“So you’re going to leave the two of us alone and go play by yourself on the weekend?”

Yan Lan looked at him quietly, expressing his question with his eyes: Is that not allowed?

Xie Yun Zhi was almost amused. Instead of saying it wasn’t allowed, he asked, “Saturday or Sunday?”

Yan Lan shook his head. “You don’t have time to come with me.”

“How do you know I don’t?” Xie Yun Zhi opened his tablet to check his schedule and showed Yan Lan his weekly agenda. Weekdays were fully booked, but weekends were relatively free. Saturday morning had an appointment, but the afternoon was free, and Sunday was the opposite.

“You see, I have time.”

Yan Lan raised an eyebrow, seemingly pleased but not showing it on his face. “Let’s go together then.”

That day, because Yan Lan was there, Xie Yun Zhi finished work early, around 5 PM.

When the two came out of the office, the seven or eight employees on this floor were still sitting at their respective desks. Upon hearing the door open, they all raised their heads and then lowered them again, pretending to be busy with their work, peeking at the young man standing next to Xie Yun Zhi through the corner of their eyes.

Although they didn’t see his face clearly, they could confirm from the tightly held hands that the young man was Yan Lan.

Entering the elevator, Yan Lan looked at Xie Yun Zhi with confusion. He remembered that Xie Yun Zhi came up from the underground parking lot.

Xie Yun Zhi explained when he noticed Yan Lan’s confusion, “It’s still early. I’ll take you to buy a new jacket first. I remember there are several stores near the company, just across the street and walking a few steps. I’ll have the driver pick us up there.”

Yan Lan, still not understanding, watched as Xie Yun Zhi checked the numbers descending on the elevator.

He finally understood when Xie Yun Zhi looked at him and said, “You rarely come, even if we can’t visit every floor, you must walk with me on the first floor.”

The elevator door opened as he finished speaking.

Xie Yun Zhi held his hand and walked out of the elevator. In the simple and elegant lobby on the first floor, people were coming and going. Wherever they went, whether it was someone calling him Mr. Xie or a colleague saying hi, he responded with a smile. Yan Lan walked beside him, unable to keep a straight face, forced to smile along.

Although it was only a short time, it was enough for many employees of Venus Jewelry to see what Yan Lan looked like. This was exactly what Xie Yun Zhi wanted.

“Your visit to the company today should have spread across the entire office. Even though they act as if they don’t care, they might be gossiping about why you’re here and if we’re really in a relationship. Instead of letting them guess, why not go out like this and let them see it with their own eyes? You’re here to pick me up after work.”

Hearing this, Yan Lan finally understood what he meant in the elevator. In this context, he couldn’t bear to disappoint him and nodded in agreement.

The two walked out of the headquarters building of Venus Jewelry and headed straight to the stores Xie Yun Zhi mentioned.

Stores in such a prime location were unlikely to be small brands. When they arrived, Yan Lan had mentally prepared himself, but when he sneakily checked the price tags, he was still shocked by the string of numbers.

Are you kidding? Five figures for one piece of clothing?!

This was quite a shock for him, who grew up frugally, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

With a somewhat reluctant expression, he pulled Xie Yun Zhi, who was picking out clothes for him, to the side and said, “Don’t buy anything here.”

“Don’t you like this brand?”

Yan Lan vigorously nodded and waved his hand, indicating that he really didn’t like it.

“If you don’t like it, let’s try another store; there’s one next door,” Xie Yun Zhi said, holding his hand and walking towards another shop.

This shop wasn’t any less famous than the previous one, and although the prices weren’t in the five-figure range, they were still beyond what Yan Lan could accept. The most expensive coat he owned was purchased on sale for a little over three hundred, and he hadn’t replaced it in three years. Xie Yun Zhi wanting to buy him a several-thousand-dollar piece of clothing, even if it wasn’t his money, still made him cringe. Regardless of how good-looking the clothes were, he kept shaking his head.

Several pieces of clothing were successively rejected without any hesitation, and Xie Yun Zhi finally noticed that something was amiss. He handed the clothes back to the shop assistant and affectionately hugged Yan Lan. “Yan, do you not like these clothes, or is it the price that you don’t like?”

Yan Lan frowned slightly, saying, “It’s just a piece of clothing; there’s no need to buy something so expensive.”

“It’s necessary,” Xie Yun Zhi insisted.

Yan Lan looked puzzled.

Xie Yun Zhi thought for a moment. “Do you know how wealthy I am?”

Yan Lan hesitated for a moment and nodded. Yang Xiaole had mentioned it while gossiping, and Xie Yun Zhi’s wealth was renowned worldwide.

“My expertise lies in making money. Let alone a few pieces of clothing, I could buy this entire store. I know you may not agree with what I’m saying, but sometimes, what I buy for you becomes a standard for others to measure my feelings for you.”

Yan Lan couldn’t deny this, because it was indeed true. In school, more than a few people would observe what he was wearing when they saw him.

Yan Lan wasn’t interested in understanding the psychology behind such observations, but he never felt that Xie Yun Zhi had to buy him luxury goods just because he was wealthy. He didn’t need them.

“I’ve said before that I work hard to earn money for Tiantian, because taking care of him is my responsibility. But Tiantian’s uncle, my partner, I also want to take good care of him. I want him to be able to buy whatever he wants. That’s what makes my hard work worthwhile.”

This touched something in Yan Lan, and for that phrase “take good care of him,” he didn’t shake his head again.

However, the consequence of not shaking his head was that Xie Yun Zhi continued shopping, and in the end, he didn’t even ask Yan Lan if he found the items good-looking. If they looked good and fit well, he took them and handed them to the shop assistant.

What was initially supposed to be buying a single piece of clothing turned into a pile of clothes and shoes at the checkout counter. Yan Lan couldn’t stop Xie Yun Zhi, so he could only watch as he swiped his card, instructing the shop assistant to cut off all the price tags.

On the way home, Yan Lan still felt a bit uneasy. Even if it wasn’t his money being spent, he had a subtle sense of guilt.

Xie Yun Zhi, on the other hand, was quite happy. “Do you still remember that we wanted to buy calligraphy copybooks for Tiantian?”

Yan Lan nodded slowly.

“When should we go?”

Yan Lan thought for a moment. “Sunday?”

“Then on Saturday, I’ll come to pick you up.”

Yan Lan said, “No, let’s meet at the destination.”

Xie Yun Zhi, puzzled, furrowed his brows. “Why?”

Yan Lan casually came up with a reason. “Because it’s inconvenient with so many people, and it’s faster to take the bus. We can get there quicker.”

Xie Yun Zhi subconsciously felt that this reason was strange but couldn’t refute it, so he had to go along with it.

On the Saturday that arrived, following the time and address Yan Lan sent for the picnic, Xie Yun Zhi appeared precisely at the appointed time under the animal sculptures in Liuxian Lake Park. However, Yan Lan and the others were running late.

He found a stone bench to sit on and repeatedly checked the time on his wristwatch. After waiting for a few minutes, he saw Yan Lan walking slowly down the park’s path, holding a large bouquet of flowers all by himself.

Xie Yun Zhi was momentarily stunned, then got up to greet him, looking at him and the flowers in his arms. “Wasn’t it supposed to be a picnic?”

Yan Lan shook his head and handed the bouquet to him. “I lied to you. Today, it’s just the two of us.”

Xie Yun Zhi, holding the large bunch of pink roses, noticed a card tucked among the flowers. It read: “Yunzhi, go on a date with me.”

Seeing Xie Yun Zhi still looking dumbfounded, Yan Lan had to explain again, “We spend too little time together. I’m busy with school, and you’re busy with work. We haven’t had a proper date since we started dating. I’ve always hoped that one day I could take you to this place, walk around, go to the lakeside, without doing anything special, without thinking about anything special, just you and me.”

Xie Yun Zhi remained silent for a few seconds. “Did you choose this place because it’s where we first met?”

A hint of a smile appeared in Yan Lan’s eyes as he lightly nodded. “Not entirely.”

“Can you tell me?”

Yan Lan said, “You can always know. I just hope you can remember it yourself. If you can’t, I’m willing to tell you without holding back.”