Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 42
Only Kissing May Not Be Enough
Gu Jiahe buried his head in Li Zhao’s chest, absorbing his warmth. The sunlight scattered on his back, reflecting a soft light in his hair.
They stood in front of the courthouse for a few minutes until someone passed by and said excuse me. Gu Jiahe then somewhat embarrassedly released his arm.
When Gu Jiahe lifted his head, Li Zhao noticed his slightly red eyes.
Li Zhao asked him, “Did you cry?”
“No,” Gu Jiahe shook his head.
But when he took a step back, Li Zhao glanced down at his shirt front. There was clearly a small water stain there.
As they walked towards the parking lot, Gu Jiahe followed behind Li Zhao. Li Zhao had changed back into his black suit, looking tall and broad-shouldered from behind.
Gu Jiahe opened the passenger door and got in.
Li Zhao took off his coat, tossed it onto the back seat, and prepared to start the car.
“Um…” Gu Jiahe spoke up first.
“Hmm?” Li Zhao turned to look at him.
“About what we…”
Just then, Li Zhao’s phone suddenly rang. He looked at it and gestured to Gu Jiahe. Gu Jiahe glanced up and saw it was a call from Qin Yi.
“Alright, I’ll head back now.” Li Zhao replied a couple of sentences and then hung up.
Looking at Gu Jiahe, he said, “I have to go back to the office.”
“Do you have something else to attend to?” Gu Jiahe’s words choked in his throat halfway through.
“Yeah, Qin Yi just got a new case. I need to go back.”
Gu Jiahe could only nod, his fingers tapping nervously on his knee as he looked out the car window.
As the car entered the congested city traffic, red lights and green lights flashed incessantly. Honking horns, radio broadcasts, and construction noise from nearby sites filled the air outside the car.
After dropping Gu Jiahe off at home, Li Zhao remained silent for the entire afternoon.
Gu Jiahe held it in until late at night. It was past eleven when he finally picked up his phone and sent Li Zhao a WeChat message: “Are you done with your work?”
After a while, Li Zhao replied with a few words: “Finished, getting ready to sleep.”
Gu Jiahe’s throat moved, his finger hesitated for a moment, and finally he typed two words and sent them: “Good night.”
Li Zhao replied with two words too: “Good night.”
That night, Gu Jiahe lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
It didn’t quite match the scenario he had imagined.
Soon, his lawsuit with Gu Jianmin was settled, and Gu Jianmin didn’t file for a second appeal. Through relatives in Pingcheng, Gu Jiahe learned that Gu Jianmin was in urgent need of money because he had invested his savings in a bogus company a few years ago and lost everything, leaving him with significant debts.
The excuse about his son needing money for schooling was nothing but a lie.
There was nothing new under the sun. Gu Jianmin would always fall into the same pit twice in his life, and there was no one to blame but himself.
After the case was closed, Li Zhao didn’t mention anything about his legal fees.
After thinking it over, Gu Jiahe decided to transfer the money to Li Zhao.
However, just half an hour later, Li Zhao returned the money.
Li Zhao only replied with two words: “Not necessary.”
Gu Jiahe thought to himself that he would have to give it to him in person next time.
Early the next morning, Gu Jiahe was dragged by Wu Mou to attend an end-of-year review meeting. Gu Jiahe hated this kind of formalistic meeting where all he did was listen to the leaders speak and his colleagues boast. Sitting next to Wu Mou, he felt drowsy and uncomfortable.
Finally, nearing noon, the meeting was adjourned. Gu Jiahe returned to his office and collapsed into his chair. He held his phone, repeatedly turning it on and off. His mind was in a haze.
He felt that his relationship with Li Zhao was a bit strange now.
It was as if they were together, but they hadn’t explicitly stated it. If they weren’t together yet, why did he boldly ask for a hug in front of the courthouse? And Li Zhao didn’t refuse.
Occasionally, they would wish each other goodnight and share what they had done each day, seemingly having nothing to hide from each other. But apart from that, there were no other signs.
Back in his freshman year, when they were in a relationship for the first time, it had started ambiguously between him and Li Zhao. It seemed like they didn’t even have a formal confession, yet they ended up in bed together.
Now, was he going to repeat the same mistake again?
Gu Jiahe thought about it. He had told Li Zhao that he was trying to mend things. Shouldn’t he take the initiative this time?
Should he ask Li Zhao out for a meal, and solemnly announce to him, “Zhao Ge, let’s get back together starting from today?”
No, Gu Jiahe shook his head at the thought, that would seem too arrogant of him.
Li Zhao never promised him anything from start to finish.
Ah, headache.
Gu Jiahe lifted his head, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.
The HR manager from next door happened to walk in from outside and saw Gu Jiahe looking absent-minded, tapping his desk with a folder in his hand.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Gu Jiahe quickly opened his eyes and looked at her. “Ah, nothing. Is this the new version of the labor contract?”
The HR manager nodded. “Yes, it includes a newly drafted non-compete agreement. Can you take a look when you have time?”
“Sure, no problem,” Gu Jiahe shook his head and decided not to dwell on these trivial matters.
He had been busy with various tasks this year, and even got involved in a lawsuit. He didn’t have a proper New Year’s celebration either, and before he knew it, it was already January.
The company had issued a new desk calendar, and Gu Jiahe reached out to flip through it, realizing that most of January had already passed.
Only a little over half a month left until Chinese New Year.
His finger landed on a date in January, and he drew a circle on it. After putting the cap back on the pen, Gu Jiahe thought for a moment and then reopened it, adding a heart inside the red circle.
During the lunch break, there was a commotion from the HR department next door, and Gu Jiahe, wearing an eye mask, was awakened halfway through his nap. He was forced to listen to their conversation.
A group of people gathered around, seemingly watching some internet variety show on an iPad, with exaggerated sound effects occasionally coming from it.
“They kissed. Doesn’t that mean she accepts him?”
“Wait and see the next episode. Maybe it’s just misleading editing.”
“No, they have kissing scenes. It definitely means they’re acknowledging their relationship.”
Kissing—
Acknowledging their relationship?
Gu Jiahe suddenly took off his eye mask, deep in thought.
Just after the coldest day of winter, snow began to fall again in North City.
Since joining the law firm, Li Zhao didn’t have fixed rest days. This Sunday, he came to the office to organize the materials for the client Qin Yi took him to visit last week.
He Xiao and Wen Qi were still working on some finishing paperwork for the IPO, and Li Zhao had to handle these trivial matters by himself.
The entire law firm seemed empty, with only him around, and it was so quiet that he could hear the sound of the elevator’s hinges moving at the top.
Li Zhao took the elevator down and drove out of the underground parking lot. The snow had eased up a bit outside, and there was some snow accumulation on the road. He slowed down and turned on the windshield wipers.
As he waited at the intersection for the red light, his phone on the center console suddenly lit up.
He swiped it open and saw a WeChat message from Gu Jiahe.
It only had two words: “Turn around.”
Li Zhao quickly looked back at the rear of the car.
There was someone sitting on the familiar bench by the roadside. Just like last time, he was hugging his knees, with his head down.
Li Zhao immediately turned the steering wheel, made a U-turn, and parked by the roadside.
“Why did you suddenly come over? Didn’t I tell you to call me in advance if you were coming?” Li Zhao hurriedly opened the door and got out of the car, walking up to Gu Jiahe. His tone was somewhat anxious.
At this moment, the snow stopped. Li Zhao brushed off the snowflakes on Gu Jiahe’s down jacket.
Gu Jiahe was bundled up tightly today, with the hood of his down jacket covering his head, making him look round and chubby.
Li Zhao glanced at their chat history, thinking that he might have missed a message from him. However, upon checking, he found out that Gu Jiahe hadn’t said anything to him at all; he had just come by himself.
“I missed you,” Gu Jiahe said softly, exhaling a puff of white breath. “He Xiao said you were at the law firm.”
Li Zhao chuckled and patted his hood. “You should have waited at the front desk. It’s too cold here.”
“Today, there’s no one in the office building, and the entrance was locked when I came. You can only swipe your card from the inside to open the door,” Gu Jiahe replied softly, bowing his head.
“Why? Do you want me to feel sorry for you?” Li Zhao lifted his face.
“No. I just wanted to surprise you,” Gu Jiahe shook his head.
“What surprise?”
Gu Jiahe got up from the chair, walked around to the back of the bench, and took out a square box from behind it.
He held up the box, brought it in front of Li Zhao, and looked into Li Zhao’s eyes. “I just wanted to tell you that seven years ago, on that winter day, I bought a cake.”
He happened to be standing under a street lamp, saying softly, “Happy birthday, Zhao Ge.”
Li Zhao was stunned, checked his phone, and saw that the date was January 27th.
Li Zhao smiled, reached out to take the cake, and put it back on the bench. He opened his arms and hugged Gu Jiahe’s body, resting his head on his shoulder.
Gu Jiahe didn’t expect Li Zhao to hug him, and his body stiffened for a moment.
“Thank you, Jiahe,” Li Zhao’s voice came from his ear.
Gu Jiahe was hugged for over ten seconds, and suddenly remembered that there were other tasks he hadn’t completed yet.
He pushed Li Zhao’s chest away, took out a small box from his pocket, and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” Li Zhao raised his eyebrows.
But Gu Jiahe didn’t answer. He said, “Two months ago, I went on a business trip to Ningcheng.”
“I wanted to see the lock you hung on Lover’s Slope when we went on a trip together. But the staff at the scenic spot told me that all those locks were gone.”
“So I got a new one.”
Li Zhao opened the box, and inside lay a platinum tie clip in the shape of a lock.
Then Gu Jiahe took out a shiny little thing from his collar. “The key is with me.”
It was a necklace matching the tie clip, with a key-shaped pendant hanging from it.
“Are you saying I’m the lock?” Li Zhao asked.
Gu Jiahe didn’t know what he was asking, his eyes filled with confusion.
“Shouldn’t I be the key?” Li Zhao smiled.
Gu Jiahe suddenly understood what he meant, and his ears tingled. “Li Zhao, why are you like this?”
But Li Zhao’s smile didn’t fade, as he looked at Gu Jiahe. “Come on, is there any other reason for you to come today?”
Gu Jiahe was seen through by him at a glance, and didn’t avoid it either.
He raised his head, staring into Li Zhao’s eyes, his lips parted and closed again. Then, gathering his courage, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Li Zhao’s neck.
“Zhao Ge, I want… to clarify the relationship between us.”
His breath spread between Li Zhao’s neck, “I want to kiss you now.”
Li Zhao leaned in, his forehead touching Gu Jiahe’s, softly replying, “You don’t need to ask for my permission.”
Gu Jiahe’s heartbeat accelerated, trembling as he kissed Li Zhao’s lower lip. He gently kissed twice, then gathered courage and bit Li Zhao’s lip.
Li Zhao quickly pressed the back of his head, taking control, his breath becoming faster.
The kiss gradually deepened, carrying some unknown implications.
Li Zhao used his tongue to push open Gu Jiahe’s teeth, and the hand holding the back of his head began to exert force.
Gu Jiahe’s originally pale lips were licked by him until they turned slightly red.
The two passionately kissed under the dim light, surrounded by pure white snow, in complete silence. Only desire broke the silence, surging out uncontrollably.
Until Gu Jiahe was about to lose his ability to breathe, the two finally separated their lips.
Li Zhao used the tip of his nose to touch Gu Jiahe’s nose and said softly, “Just kissing might not be enough.”
Gu Jiahe’s brain lacked oxygen, and he asked back, “Not enough for what?”
“Not enough to clarify the relationship between us,” Li Zhao’s gaze was intense.