What Are Your Tastes? chapter 61

 Familiar Patterns

“I’ll be good to you for a lifetime.”

This comforting statement from Zhou Yanchuan stirred another kind of pain in Lu Yunchu’s heart. Though his closest relatives were gone and he had lived a lonely life for many years, now he was still being comforted like this.

Thinking of this, his previous sadness seemed insignificant. Lu Yunchu managed a smile. “When did you learn to say such nice things?”

Zhou Yanchuan didn’t realize his words were particularly clever; he just said what was on his mind.

“No… Did I say something strange?”

“No, but it’s not complete,” Lu Yunchu turned around, hugging his neck. “I’ll also be good to you for a lifetime.”

Zhou Yanchuan, somewhat at a loss, returned the hug, shyly muttering, “It does sound a bit cheesy.”

“But you’re not allowed to back out.”

“Alright.”

When others said “a lifetime,” it might sound exaggerated, but Lu Yunchu had no doubts about the weight of Zhou Yanchuan’s promise.

“Zhou Yanchuan,” he buried his head in his neck, “do you want to do it?” The arm holding his back stiffened slightly. He continued, “Didn’t you buy something a few days ago?”

“Yes.” Last Monday, while having dinner outside, they passed by a pharmacy, and Zhou Yanchuan got out to buy it. However, since Lu Yunchu had been busy with work and always seemed sleepy at night, they hadn’t done it.

“So, do you want to?”

“I do,” he had never been with a man, feeling both nervous and excited. “Let’s go to the room.”

They leaned against each other kissing, moving from the living room to the bedroom. The sound of water came from the bathroom, and the heat between them surged once again.

…

Afterward, they took turns showering.

Lu Yunchu didn’t feel tired, but the afternoon was an easy time to get sleepy. With nothing else to do, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. When he woke up, two hours had passed.

Before sleeping, he remembered being embraced by Zhou Yanchuan. When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhou Yanchuan sitting at the bedside, dressed and about to get up.

“Where are you going?”

“To make dinner,” he turned back, “I slept all afternoon, now it’s time for dinner again. How about you? Feeling alright?”

“What do you mean?” Lu Yunchu was puzzled, his gaze sliding over Zhou Yanchuan’s flushed cheeks, a shy expression that often appeared when he was embarrassed, which made Lu Yunchu smile. “What are you thinking? Of course I’m fine. It was great.”

“Okay, that’s good,” he quickly changed the subject, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

Lu Yunchu thought for a moment, cheerfully saying, “Let’s have corn porridge from ‘Jiawei Restaurant’!”

“Don’t want to cook it ourselves?”

“Forget it,” he leaned against the bedpost, mimicking a hug, “I want to hold you for a while longer.”

Zhou Yanchuan rubbed his nose, “Why are you suddenly so clingy?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s not that… I like it.” Although he had many male friends, romance was different, transitioning from friends to lovers, and he wasn’t sure how to navigate this change properly.

Wanting to be more affectionate with Lu Yunchu, but also having doubts about whether Lu Yunchu would care more about personal space?

Therefore, when he learned that the other party had similar feelings, he just felt happy.

In addition to corn porridge for dinner, they also ordered pan-fried and goose liver. Then Zhou Yanchuan put his phone aside and lay down with Lu Yunchu cuddling, waiting for takeout.

“Zhou Yanchuan, you——”

“Yunchu,” Zhou Yanchuan looked at him strangely, “Don’t you think you should call me something else?”

Change of address?

Lu Yunchu was momentarily confused. 

“What should I call you?”

“What do you think?”

Inappropriately, an excerpt from a CEO romance novel Lu Yunchu once read flashed through his mind, sending chills down his spine. “Call… call you… Gege?”

But Zhou Yanchuan didn’t look pleased; instead, he furrowed his brows in confusion, almost reaching out to check if Lu Yunchu had a fever.

“I’m not your brother, why would you call me Gege?”

Lu Yunchu was in a complex mood. While he was sure that Zhou Yanchuan didn’t have these nasty intentions, he was embarrassed about his excessive imagination.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Zhou Yanchuan reminded him, “How do I call you?”

“You called me Yunchu——” He suddenly remembered that Zhou Yanchuan hadn’t called him by his surname these days, “You mean… calling you Yanchuan?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan said happily, “You call Ning Ruowei just by her name, and you’re so hesitant about addressing me like that?”

“It’s only awkward when I call you,” Lu Yunchu lightly pinched his face and whispered, “Alright, Yanchuan… why bring this up now?” He felt embarrassed.

“See how long it took you to figure it out. Who knew you’d forget,” he wasn’t bothered by the matter, “what were you going to say just now?”

Lu Yunchu hesitated for a moment, “I’ve forgotten what I wanted to tell you.”

“If you can’t remember, don’t worry about it,” Zhou Yanchuan didn’t mind at all, smiling broadly, “there will be plenty of chances to talk about it later.”

In the days ahead, they would spend time together, saying and doing whatever they wanted, with no rush.

Since moving in together, the two quickly adapted to their changed relationship. Life seemed unchanged, yet everywhere there were bubbles of love, and time passed imperceptibly.

In early May, with spring not yet over, the air was already warm and dry.

After a short vacation, Lu Yunchu received an order from an old client. Mr. Li, the client, was enthusiastic and insisted on treating him to lunch after discussing business.

“I knew I could entrust it to you without worry, no need to look at any designs,” the client said cheerfully. “I trust your creativity.”

“That’s not appropriate, I still need you to review it first.”

“Sigh,” he said, “we don’t have an artistic bone in our bodies here. I’m afraid to make the final call, worried we might go in the wrong direction and end up with something mediocre.”

“How could that be.”

Lu Yunchu recalled Zhou Yanchuan from a year ago and couldn’t help but smile. Fortunately, the client didn’t notice and continued chatting aimlessly.

During this time, Lu Yunchu went to the restroom. When he returned, he saw Mr. Li seemingly browsing Weibo, unaware that he had already returned to his seat.

“Sorry,” realizing he had been too engrossed in his phone, he apologized, mentioning the content he had just browsed. “K brand is launching a new series again.”

The “K brand” he mentioned was a famous local luxury brand. Lu Yunchu had bought their skincare products before and had a deep impression.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” he casually waved his phone, the screen still on the advertisement page. “My wife loves this brand, finds it really effective.”

It was this casual wave that startled Lu Yunchu.

“Mr. Li, could I take a look at this advertisement?”

“Of course,” he pushed the phone over, thinking Lu Yunchu was interested in the product, jokingly suggesting, “It’s really good, you should consider it for your girlfriend.”

However, Lu Yunchu’s attention was entirely captured by the product’s packaging. The logo featured a bird paired with a floral circular pattern—not an uncommon concept, but the detailed execution was vivid and unique, full of creative personality.

Lu Yunchu was intimately familiar with it; it was the design he had created years ago during his study abroad for an Italian professor’s brooch.