FSGOR Ch74

These past few days—

Even though Jiang Tian seemed to behave normally, Chu Xuyu knew very well that his lover was in a constant state of insecurity.

The most obvious sign was how clingy Jiang Tian had become. Unlike a few months ago when he simply showed care in little ways, now it was as if—both emotionally and physically—he couldn’t bear to be apart from him.

He stuck close all the time, and you could see the anxiety in his expression. Only when he was near Chu Xuyu did that fear subside a little—otherwise, he looked no different from a sick little puppy.

Chu Xuyu felt guilty and distressed, knowing all this was a side effect of Jiang Tian trying to overcome his trauma. He could only think about staying with him and helping him heal.

Even if Los Angeles was urging him to return, as long as his grandfather’s condition wasn’t critical, Chu Xuyu tried to stall and avoid taking Jiang Tian anywhere just yet.

They built a little love nest in the hotel high above the city, spending their days in an endlessly clingy lifestyle that was hardly any different from those intense three days and nights. It was as if as long as they had each other, that fear could be buried deep, giving Jiang Tian some peace.

Eventually, even someone with Chu Xuyu’s physical stamina was worn thin—he knew they couldn’t go on like this forever.

Outside, snowflakes began to flutter down in the subzero New York air.

Chu Xuyu, wearing a bathrobe the same color as the white snow outside, had kiss marks starkly visible on his neck. He didn’t hesitate to lean in toward Jiang Tian.

“Ge.”

Jiang Tian was sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, dressed in a T-shirt and lounge pants. The red marks on his neck had mostly faded. “It’s snowing outside.”

“Mhm.”

Chu Xuyu, holding a fruit plate, caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and chuckled as he sat down. “You really are like a little puppy.”

Jiang Tian responded slowly, looking over in confusion two seconds later. “…Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Chu Xuyu silenced him with a kiss, pressing him against the window and sharing a sticky, drawn-out kiss—feeding him a soft cherry with his lips.

Jiang Tian didn’t react in time. Their tongues entwined as sweet juice spilled from the corners of their mouths, the taste endlessly lingering.

During the kiss, Jiang Tian felt fingers press and brush against the corners of his mouth. Opening his eyes, he saw Chu Xuyu right in front of him, watching him like he was some fascinating artwork.

He instinctively looked toward the mirror. Seeing the smeared juice trails, so suggestive and messy, he couldn’t help but blush and feel his heart race.

Chu Xuyu smirked and said in a low voice, “Sweetheart.”

“Do you want to go out today?”

Jiang Tian shifted his gaze away, looking a little dazed, and unexpectedly leaned in to whisper, “Say it again in English?”

Chu Xuyu froze for a second. “…”

Jiang Tian: “I want to hear it.”

This clingy side of Jiang Tian was a rare sight. Chu Xuyu lowered his face, and his usually sharp features softened as his ears turned a bit red.

He used his deep, magnetic voice and said, “Sweetheart.”

“Dear.”

“Darling.”

“What else do you want to hear?”

With each nickname, Jiang Tian’s cheeks flushed deeper and redder, fueling Chu Xuyu’s mischievous glee at teasing his lover.

He had originally asked Jiang Tian if he wanted to go out, thinking they shouldn’t be holed up doing “bad things” all the time, but somehow, he was always the one lighting the match first.

And just like that, his hand wandered somewhere dangerous. Jiang Tian no longer resisted like before—in fact, he responded with burning enthusiasm, having let down all his walls.

Chu Xuyu: “…”

He’d barely gotten halfway when he had to awkwardly stop mid-move, the moment turning terribly awkward.

Jiang Tian didn’t even notice.

He had wrapped up all his personal matters. Since his final exams had been rescheduled, school wasn’t impacted much. He just had to follow his lover’s lead.

He didn’t understand why Chu Xuyu had stopped and leaned closer with a muffled voice, “Ge, your English sounds really nice.”

“Sometimes…”

“Even your moaning sounds nice.”

Chu Xuyu’s pupils shrank slightly—was Jiang Tian possessed or something? He reached out to feel his forehead. “Do you have a fever?”

“Hm?”

Jiang Tian draped over him like jelly, resting his chin on his shoulder and chuckling. “I rarely get sick.”

No matter how he acted, Chu Xuyu’s heart remained soft. Still, even the strongest body would eventually wear out—they couldn’t just keep doing “that.” He decided it was time to take Jiang Tian out.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

Chu Xuyu kissed his forehead and coaxed him gently, “Don’t just stay in all the time. We don’t come here often.”

Jiang Tian obediently nodded. “Okay. Wherever Ge goes, I’ll go too.”

Chu Xuyu: “…”

He couldn’t even explain what exactly pushed his buttons. Just a little bit of submission from Jiang Tian, and it felt like he could get a nosebleed on the spot.

Thankfully, he managed to contain himself. After freshening up a bit, this stylish city boy took his clingy little puppy out for a stroll.

***

In New York’s elite district—

The street was swept by cold wind, and snow fell thick and fast. Passersby hurried along, and the storefront lights cast warm glows through their windows.

The two walked at a leisurely pace until Jiang Tian stopped in front of a window display selling scarves.

“What are you looking at?” Chu Xuyu, wearing leather gloves with one hand in his pocket, leaned in coolly.

In the corner of the window sat two cartoon figurines from the collab series “Wolf Ge and Pup,” wearing miniature couple scarves that matched the store’s merchandise.

The scarves weren’t expensive, just classic striped styles, but somehow they had a magnetic pull. Even someone as picky as Chu Xuyu felt compelled to buy them—for the sake of the matching look.

“Pretty cute,” he said, nodding toward the little figures. “Can’t believe we ran into this here.”

“Mhm.” Jiang Tian smiled. “Want to go in?”

Naturally, Chu Xuyu followed. They went straight to the display, tried on the couple scarves together—Jiang Tian chose a dark red plaid one, and Chu Xuyu picked a brown-green striped one, just like the cartoon characters.

Worn on them, the scarves gave off an air of London street fashion.

The shop owner, an Englishman, chatted with them casually and explained that he was a fan of the “Wolf Ge and Pup” series, which is why he used the official figurines as models.

He hadn’t expected to attract two customers who looked uncannily like the original characters.

Because of how well they matched the fictional pair, the owner even gave them a 10% discount. They paid with Jiang Tian’s VISA card.

When Jiang Tian took out the card, Chu Xuyu’s shock nearly matched the moment he found out Jiang Tian had prepared a visa in advance.

“How did you…?”

Before he could finish, Jiang Tian, already wrapped in the couple scarf, gave him a peck and said, “The shop owner said kissing gets us an extra discount.”

Chu Xuyu: “?!”

***

Afterward—

Jiang Tian used that faint smile of his and spoke fluent English to complete the purchase, buying the couple scarves for himself and his lover.

In front of strangers, he always seemed calm and composed, able to handle anything. But the moment they stepped out of the shop, he turned back into a lost little puppy who couldn’t find his way unless he was holding Chu Xuyu’s hand.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier. The snowflakes landing on their lashes sparkled like stardust—romantic and gentle.

No matter how you looked at them, this tall, handsome couple seemed inexplicably perfect together.

As the global financial capital, New York housed a branch of the Chu Corporation nearby. As they passed by it, Jiang Tian found it oddly surreal.

At that moment, he fully realized—he had crossed thousands of miles, flown across the ocean, just to be by his lover’s side.

“Turns out, after going through all that, flying doesn’t seem so scary anymore.”

He murmured the words softly, in a voice only he could hear.

Chu Xuyu didn’t quite catch it, so he leaned in to ask him to repeat it—only to have his hand taken as Jiang Tian changed the subject, asking if they could stop by a Korean fried chicken place.

“Ge.”

Jiang Tian used that subconscious, gentle whine. “Can I eat this?”

Forget fried chicken or burgers—even if he asked for the stars and moon, Chu Xuyu would do his best to get them.

But Jiang Tian rarely asked for anything. Chu Xuyu knew that all he could give him was love and companionship—everything else was secondary.

Going out like this was a great way to relax.

As the day darkened, they sat by the window, listening to romantic music playing in the store, snowflakes dancing outside the glass, chatting about nothing in particular.

Chu Xuyu couldn’t help but sigh for the hundredth time: how was it possible that Jiang Tian really appeared before him like this—even eating fried chicken so aesthetically, like a lover tailor-made by the universe.

That comment came out of nowhere while Jiang Tian was talking about a stray kitten at school. He slurped a bit of cola, flustered: “Why would you say something like that…”

“Can’t I tell the truth?”

Chu Xuyu rested his chin on one hand, staring at him intently, voice laced with innuendo. “Going back to the hotel after this?”

Jiang Tian nodded, clearly understanding what that meant. He brought up that they’d run out of essentials. “We should stop by a convenience store and get two boxes.”

“Two won’t be enough.”

Chu Xuyu brushed his fringe back with a look that was sexy and dangerous. “You use them up in a single night.”

Jiang Tian choked on his drink. “That’s not possible!”

Chu Xuyu took a casual swig of his beer, lips curled in a mischievous smirk. “You burn through them pretty fast.”

“Why are you reacting so strongly?”

“……”

Jiang Tian licked his lips, completely flustered with nowhere to look—feeling the shame of having their intimacy exposed in broad daylight.

Just then, a commotion broke out nearby.

Jiang Tian didn’t notice at all. Chu Xuyu, lost in admiring his lover’s beauty, didn’t realize until much later that something was happening near the cashier.

A Chinese-American man in a baseball cap was fist-fighting the Korean shop owner, knocking over tables and trying to grab the register—it looked almost like a staged play.

The restaurant descended into chaos. Customers screamed and ran. But Chu Xuyu just scoffed coldly: “That old man’s stirring up trouble again.”

Jiang Tian, having only seen these things in the news, saw how relaxed Chu Xuyu was—still chewing fried chicken—and assumed it was just an act. “Another fake robbery?”

“Mhm.”

Chu Xuyu nodded toward the commotion. “That guy didn’t even pull out a gun.”

Bang—

A very real gunshot rang out!

Jiang Tian: “?!”

Chu Xuyu: “???”

Turns out… they were actually witnessing a real robbery?!

All the other customers had fled. Their table wasn’t particularly eye-catching, but in this kind of mess, they really could’ve been hit by a stray bullet.

On the snowy streets of New York, sirens soon blared. The chaos ended as abruptly as it had begun—neither the shop owner nor the robber was seriously hurt.

A team of armed local police rushed in, quickly restoring order.

Then—one officer spotted them still sitting calmly by the window, eating fried chicken and drinking beer. He blinked in surprise, then gave them a thumbs-up and asked if they’d be willing to give a witness statement to help reconstruct the scene—

He even said they were the calmest Asian people he’d ever met.

Jiang Tian: “……”

Chu Xuyu: “……”

Truth be told, they weren’t that calm. They were just too busy being in love to realize it was a real crime scene.