FSGOR Ch41part1

A few days later.

Jiang Tian returned from Beijing to Ningcheng. The next day, his friends from the football team called him out. If they hadn’t worried about him being tired from the long trip, they would’ve dragged him out the night before.

The boys gathered on the second floor of KFC, filling the table with food. As soon as Jiang Tian opened his folded bag, it felt like he was distributing emergency rations—he pulled out merch and signed photos one by one according to a list.

“Holy crap! It’s a signed photo of my wife!”

“Ahhhh! It’s the limited edition badge of my fave! Ah-Tian, you’re amazing!”

 “Even the goddess’s sketch is mine now, wahhhh!”

 “Don’t fight me! I’ll be your dog for life, Tian-Ge!”

The air instantly froze.

That guy got collectively side-eyed. Even Jiang Tian couldn’t hold his expression, sipping iced cola through a straw with deliberate indifference—as if silently rejecting the offer.

“What’s wrong with that?”

The guy who offered to be a dog protested, “It’s not like Tian-Ge is dating anyone! What’s wrong with me being one more loyal hound?”

Jiang Tian nearly choked. “…”

Everyone groaned. Lu Qiao shouted, “If anyone gets to be his dog, it’s me—get in line!”

Only Zhao Yuanhao chuckled with narrowed eyes, shooting Jiang Tian glances, which he avoided with difficulty.

They finished off three family-sized chicken buckets, too stuffed to think straight, and wandered around the mall until they decided to play indoor soccer.

In the locker room—

As Jiang Tian was changing into his soccer uniform, Zhao Yuanhao approached—not exactly creepy-looking, but his eyes were definitely sneaking a peek at Jiang Tian’s collar.

“No wonder you insisted on wearing a button-up today.”

“?”

Jiang Tian instinctively looked in the mirror and spotted a faint reddish mark at the base of his neck, half-hidden beneath the loose collar of his jersey—one that Chu Xuyu had left.

He awkwardly pinched the back of his collar. Zhao Yuanhao just chuckled and patted his shoulder.

“It’s nothing.”

“If you’ve got questions, you can always ask me.”

“…”

Jiang Tian watched him walk over to the vending machine, supposedly to buy water, but those words made it feel like he was picking up something far more suggestive.

The thought left Jiang Tian stunned and numb.

Thankfully, Zhao Yuanhao didn’t pry further, and Lu Qiao didn’t suspect a thing. For now, Jiang Tian felt like he had control over his hidden relationship—relatively at ease.

As he bent down to slowly put on his cleats, he suddenly remembered that moment in the alley that night.

The tenderness Chu Xuyu had shown toward a stray animal had moved him—enough for Jiang Tian to take the initiative to get closer and admit he was willing to try being in a relationship.

Back then—

He hadn’t thought much about it. His emotions had overpowered his logic for once, leading to a decision he still found hard to believe.

But… did Chu Xuyu really want to date him seriously?

Jiang Tian thought—probably yes. From their interactions, even without prior relationship experience, it was impossible not to sense Chu Xuyu’s sincerity.

It didn’t seem likely that he’d be like some wolf in a nightmare, saying all the right things just to toy with his feelings.

He often felt that people his age liked him mostly for superficial reasons—his looks, or the halo effect of good grades.

—Having grown up reading people, Jiang Tian had always had a strong intuition for others’ intentions.

Later—

After agreeing to give love a shot, Jiang Tian stayed with Chu Xuyu in Beijing for two more days.

Upon returning to Ningcheng, he went from being single to “in a relationship,” and he gradually adapted. He messaged Chu Xuyu on his own, much like how couples check in with each other.

He used to think dating was such a hassle. But now, surprisingly, he was experiencing something pretty pleasant—something he’d never expected.

***

Meanwhile—

Back in Ningcheng, Chu Xuyu was buried in work. Having slept less than five hours, he was already up and grinding through meetings.

Near the end of one, he saw a message from his little boyfriend. The arc of his smile was unmistakably genuine.

KIRA: Ge.

KIRA: Were you busy again today?

Afternoon Tea: Mm.

Afternoon Tea: Not too bad.

Afternoon Tea: How about you?

He didn’t expect Jiang Tian to reply quickly, but the boy was already on a break, sipping mineral water while texting.

KIRA: Playing football with classmates.

KIRA: [shared a photo]

Chu Xuyu opened the image in his office and found it was a picture of the little dog figurine from a KFC meal set. He couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Afternoon Tea: A selfie?

KIRA: Nope.

KIRA: It’s a toy from the three meals we ordered.

KIRA: Did it fail to send?

Afternoon Tea: Got it.

Afternoon Tea: Looks like you.

Afternoon Tea: Sweetheart puppy.

Jiang Tian, caught off guard by the teasing: “…”

There he goes again.

But he didn’t find it strange anymore. Now that their relationship was official, even if their dynamic hadn’t changed much outwardly, he was gradually learning to accept such things as normal couple behavior.

So—

He brought up a new topic. In the past, he only ever started conversations like this during his fake online dating phase.

KIRA: When should I start working again?

KIRA: Is it tomorrow?

That message hinted at his desire to see Chu Xuyu again—though mostly, it stemmed from guilt. He’d signed an internship contract but hadn’t worked in days. It felt wrong.

Chu Xuyu leaned back in his chair, fingers against his jaw, unable to hide his grin. If Simon saw him like this, he’d probably be stunned speechless trying to guess what made the usually cold President Chu smile like that.

He kind of wanted to jump in the car and see his little boyfriend right away. Even though work had resumed in Ningcheng, dating should still continue.

But he wasn’t the type to get completely lovestruck, even if this was his first serious crush at thirty. Still, with work piling up, he wouldn’t be able to spend much time with Jiang Tian right now anyway. Might as well let him enjoy his time with friends.

That said, tonight looked manageable. If they could grab dinner, that wouldn’t be bad either.

Afternoon Tea: No rush.

Afternoon Tea: Rest a few more days.

Afternoon Tea: Playing again tonight?

Chu Xuyu leaned into his chair, imagining driving over to the soccer field, picking Jiang Tian up for a joyride, and returning to the Lake Jinting apartment to stay the night.

Even though less than 24 hours had passed since they’d last seen each other, he already missed him like crazy.

KIRA: I’m going shopping with Jie tonight.

KIRA: She’s going on a trip tomorrow.

Afternoon Tea: …

KIRA: What’s wrong?

Afternoon Tea: Nothing.

Afternoon Tea: Good boy.

KIRA: ^^

KIRA: Thanks, Ge.

Looking at that emoji—

Chu Xuyu raised his eyebrows, thinking that maybe seeing him tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad. But he held back. He couldn’t be too clingy—not mature.

Still, now that they were officially dating, he could definitely ask for a few more photos from his little sweetheart.

KIRA: Okay.

KIRA: I’ll take some later.

KIRA: Talk to you in a bit.

Compared to the scammy brat who almost broke up with him not long ago, the Jiang Tian now was the real deal—genuine sweetheart material.

Chu Xuyu curled his index finger to his lips, the smile never leaving his face.

He still had work to do, though—a meeting with a partner in the industry over dinner. By the time he returned to the office, it was nearly evening.

Buzz.

Chu Xuyu was just sitting on the sofa when he received a message from his little boyfriend. He tapped on the photo.

The boy was dressed in a dark-toned soccer uniform—long sleeves on top, paired with athletic shorts. Long socks hugged his well-shaped calves. He sat casually on a bench with legs slightly apart, snapping a mirror selfie in a relaxed, sporty pose.

“…”

In that moment, the living room lights seemed to brighten, highlighting the change in the man’s mature, handsome face. His narrow eyes seemed to hide a burning desire, and his entire body tensed with heat.

Just looking at that physique was already a challenge.

What made it worse was that the boy had a naturally clean and handsome face, paired with a restrained temperament. Even slightly sweaty from soccer, he exuded a sweetness in the air that was irresistible.

Sometimes, Chu Xuyu felt like he really was a pervert.

According to what he’d found out, Jiang Tian was very popular at school, admired by both boys and girls alike. On the internet, his age bracket was jokingly called the “diamond-stage high schooler”—

And the more he wanted the boy for himself, the stronger his uncontrollable, possessive urges became.

He knew better than anyone else: even if Jiang Tian said he was willing to try dating him, he hadn’t really earned this boy yet.

“…”

Chu Xuyu exhaled, his thoughts messy, but still remembered to set the photo as his wallpaper.

Then—

He directly called Jiang Tian. It rang twice before being answered. The background was noisy, like he was somewhere in a mall.

When he picked up—

Jiang Tian had just stepped into a coffee shop to wait for his sister. He hadn’t been separated from his friends for long. With his athletic bag slung cross-body, he sat upright near the entrance, planning to get a Frappuccino.

“Ge.”

The title now came easily to Jiang Tian. Because of their special relationship, his voice was naturally softer.