CoP 28

Ji Ling didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation.

He stared at the dinner knife in his hand for a while, then returned to the private room first. Xu Taole had just hung up the phone and, seeing Ji Ling return, continued to chat with him without any reservation.

Ji Ling was actually quite full, but he still started eating the salmon tart on his plate again.

He didn’t know what he should do while listening to Xu Taole. Looking at his phone would be impolite, but Ji Ling also didn’t want to make eye contact with him.

The cross-section of the salmon tart was beautiful, but after the first bite, Ji Ling found the fishy taste almost unbearable.

There were some salmon crumbs on the blade of the knife. Ji Ling glanced at it and noticed the color looked a bit dull, indicating the fish was probably not fresh anymore.

When Sui Cannong entered the room, he saw Ji Ling looking down, quietly staring at the dinner knife in a daze.

Sui Cannong felt a chill in his heart.

He paused, then sat down beside Ji Ling again, picked up the teapot, and poured himself a cup of black tea.

As he put the teapot back, Sui Cannong subtly touched the dinner knife in front of Ji Ling, turning the handle toward Ji Ling and the blade toward himself.

Ji Ling looked up, somewhat confused, at Sui Cannong’s face.

Sui Cannong said, “Ah, I accidentally touched it.”

Ji Ling softly hummed in acknowledgment, not thinking much of it. Sui Cannong took a couple of sips of tea and said nonchalantly, “I’ve settled the bill. Let’s go.”

Xu Taole and Liang Juan were a step ahead, laughing and chatting as they left the private room first. Ji Ling slowly put on his coat, and Sui Cannong stood by patiently waiting for him.

After zipping up his coat, Ji Ling noticed Sui Cannong standing beside him, smiling at him.

Sui Cannong said, “You really like scones, right? I just asked the waiter, and they can be packed to go. I ordered two red bean ones for you to take home.”

Ji Ling blinked and said, “Thank you.”

Sui Cannong asked, “So, can you stop being unhappy now, Teacher Xiao Ji?”

Ji Ling: “…I’m not unhappy.”

Sui Cannong said, “Yeah, yeah, not unhappy at all. Just after eating a whole grilled fish with me at noon, you silently ate two big scones.”

Ji Ling paused for a moment, then said stiffly, “Because the scones are delicious.”

Sui Cannong looked into his eyes, smiled after a while, and said, “Okay, I understand.”

Sui Cannong noticed that although Ji Ling was mostly expressionless most of the time, if one paid close attention, they could see that he actually wore his emotions on his face.

For example, at this moment, Ji Ling, holding the paper bag with the scones, still had no expression on his face, but his eyes were very bright.

By the time they left the private room, Xu Taole and Liang Juan had already been waiting at the entrance for a while.

They seemed to be talking about Liang Juan’s partner. When Xu Taole saw Sui Cannong come out, he said, “Dr. Liang moved so fast, so this year, both of us need to work hard. At least by the time we meet next year, neither of us should still be single…”

Sui Cannong really wanted to seal Xu Taole’s mouth shut.

He instinctively looked back at Ji Ling beside him and noticed Ji Ling had lowered his head, staring at the jagged edge of the tear in the paper bag in a daze.

Sui Cannong frowned almost imperceptibly.

Ji Ling was visually measuring the length of the tear on the bag. Since it was an irregular curve, he couldn’t give an accurate estimate.

He thought the tear was probably between five to eight centimeters long.

Then, the next second, Ji Ling felt Sui Cannong suddenly hook his shoulder. He stumbled a step, then realized Sui Cannong had pulled him into his embrace.

“I might not need to work that hard,” he heard Sui Cannong say with a laugh. “You should work harder yourself.”

The air was quiet for a moment, and Ji Ling looked up at Sui Cannong’s face in astonishment.

Xu Taole also belatedly reacted, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Liang Juan directly pulled Xu Taole back, waved at Ji Ling, and said to Sui Cannong with a smile, “You two go ahead. I’ll explain it to him slowly.”

After returning home, Ji Ling put the scones in the refrigerator.

He carefully planned in his mind, deciding to eat half tonight, one in the morning, and the other half tomorrow night.

The paper bag for the scones was very pretty, and Ji Ling was reluctant to throw it away, so he folded it and placed it on the top shelf of the refrigerator.

Ji Ling didn’t quite understand the conversation between Liang Juan and Sui Cannong in the hallway.

He realized that there seemed to be a reason unknown to him why Sui Cannong had so hurriedly and proactively proposed to date him on Halloween.

That Halloween night, Ji Ling was indeed overwhelmed with joy.

Looking back now, before they started dating, apart from that time he mustered the courage to tell Sui Cannong that he really wanted to be in a relationship, Ji Ling hadn’t made any bold moves to pursue him. Most of the time, he was just carefully testing the waters within the bounds of friendship.

Thinking about it this way, Sui Cannong’s proposal to date him did seem somewhat abrupt.

Ji Ling felt somewhat lost.

But undoubtedly, Sui Cannong was a very good person. He could tell that Ji Ling ate a lot of scones because he was unhappy, and he also openly acknowledged Ji Ling as his partner in front of friends.

Ji Ling felt he shouldn’t overthink it or doubt Sui Cannong.

They were now considered a couple. Although there was a three-month limit, and twelve days had already passed, Ji Ling felt he should still cherish this time and make the most of this opportunity.

Sui Cannong had recently taken a liking to visiting Ji Ling’s classroom.

Sui Cannong’s classroom could be described as a small market for flowers, birds, fish, and insects, while Ji Ling’s classroom had a distinct personal style—simple and tidy, with half the wall covered in physics formulas and the other half with science posters made by students.

Today, when Sui Cannong entered, he found Ji Ling wasn’t there, but Sherry and Cindy, two familiar faces, were sitting in the middle of the classroom.

Sui Cannong watched the two girls scribble and write for a while, then couldn’t help but ask, “With the formula hanging right there on the wall, why are you still struggling so much with the problem?”

Cindy was angry: “Why should we be able to solve the problem just because we were given the formula?”

Sherry was even angrier: “Exactly, why don’t you try solving it with the formula we gave you?”

These two girls, who used to respectfully call him “Teacher Sui,” now spoke to him with a bit of irreverence since they had become more familiar.

Sui Cannong didn’t mind, though, because he saw Ji Ling walking into the classroom with a stack of printed materials.

Sui Cannong stood up, waved at Ji Ling, and said, “Teacher Ji, come quickly, save us three diligent students trapped by centripetal force.”

Sui Cannong noticed Ji Ling’s ears seemed to turn a bit red.

While explaining the problem, Ji Ling deliberately slowed down his speech. He looked focused and gentle, using two circles on the draft paper to represent two planets, patiently explaining the gravitational relationship between them.

Staring at those two circles, Sui Cannong felt a warmth in his heart.

When Ji Ling went to close the windows, Sui Cannong followed to help. When Ji Ling wiped the blackboard, Sui Cannong joined in. Finally, when Ji Ling got into the car, Sui Cannong also went to the passenger side and opened the door for him.

Ji Ling said somewhat embarrassedly, “We’re still at school, don’t do this.”

Sui Cannong said innocently, “It’s not my fault, there’s a centripetal force pulling me towards you, I can’t help it.”

Ji Ling hesitated for a moment, then seriously explained to Sui Cannong, “Actually, centripetal force only occurs during circular motion, so—”

He didn’t finish his sentence because Sui Cannong suddenly leaned down slightly and quickly kissed Ji Ling’s cheek.

“Is that so,” Sui Cannong thought for a moment, then said, “Then I’ll just call it ‘the attraction from Teacher Xiao Ji.'”

While driving, Sui Cannong was in an incomparably good mood. However, when he parked the car at Ji Ling’s doorstep, Ji Ling didn’t get out immediately.

Ji Ling asked Sui Cannong, “Do you have anything planned for the Christmas break?”

The Christmas break at the international school usually starts from mid-December and lasts until after New Year’s, making it a very comfortable short holiday.

“Christmas… I don’t think I have anything planned,” Sui Cannong thought for a moment, then asked, “I might visit my parents, why?”

Before Ji Ling could say anything, Sui Cannong smiled and asked, “Are we going on a date? I can set aside two days just for you.”

Ji Ling didn’t show any sign of surprise. He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Only two days?”

Sui Cannong was taken aback, “What do you want to do?”

Ji Ling didn’t speak. He stared into Sui Cannong’s eyes for a while, then suddenly tilted his face up and kissed Sui Cannong’s mouth tenderly and submissively.

“The Christmas break is twenty days long,” Ji Ling said softly, “Three days for you to visit your parents, a week for yourself, can the remaining ten days be all mine?”

This kiss from Ji Ling came quite suddenly, leaving Sui Cannong’s breathing unstable and his brain almost unable to function.

“…I can,” Sui Cannong finally said hoarsely, smiling, “But what big thing are you planning to do by monopolizing my time for ten whole days?”

Ji Ling said, “Go to the UK.”

Sui Cannong was stunned, “Why the UK?”

Sui Cannong vaguely guessed that Ji Ling wanted to go on a trip, but he thought that in the middle of winter, people usually travel to warmer regions.

However, Sui Cannong didn’t know that Ji Ling had been secretly planning this trip for a long time.

Ji Ling realized that pursuing someone wasn’t just about catering to their preferences and pleasing them. He hoped Sui Cannong could also learn more about him.

Ji Ling had spent nearly seven years in the UK. Firstly, he could be a great guide. Secondly, he could let Sui Cannong see the city where he had lived. Lastly, they could also celebrate Christmas together.

The Christmas atmosphere abroad is much stronger than in China. On Christmas day, they could walk hand in hand on the streets, and if it snowed, it would be even better. Ji Ling thought it would be very romantic.

But because it would take up so much of Sui Cannong’s time, he felt embarrassed to say to Sui Cannong, “It’s just because I want you to know more about me.”

Ji Ling hesitated, “I just suddenly wanted… to go back and see the places where I used to live, my school, and the streets and scenery I used to walk by.”

Ji Ling felt his excuse was perfect. People always reminisce about their past from time to time, and he thought Sui Cannong would understand such feelings.

However, when Ji Ling looked up, he noticed the smile on Sui Cannong’s face had suddenly faded.