Because he had drunk alcohol and enjoyed a wonderful bath, Liang Ling slept with an indescribable sense of refreshing comfort last night, so much so that he did not wake up until nearly ten o’clock the next morning.
Picking up his phone to check, Lu San and Lu Ming had called him a dozen times in a row. Scared completely awake, he hurriedly called them back.
“Beep, beep!” The call was connected quickly, and Lu Ming’s anxious voice came through: “Hello, Brother! Where did you run off to? When I saw you were not at the shop this morning and you were not answering your phone, my dad and I were about to call the police.”
Liang Ling rubbed his aching temples and said with a slight hint of apology, “Sorry about that, Lu Ming. I went out with a friend last night, and because it was too late, I booked a room at a hotel to sleep. I will be right back.”
Lu Ming was stunned, muttering half-doubtfully, “Alright then, hurry back. I even bought strawberries that you like.”
Liang Ling smiled and hummed an acknowledgment. Just as he put the phone down, a cold voice came from the doorway: “Who are you talking to on the phone?”
Liang Ling was startled, glaring with some annoyance at Wen Ming, who was leaning against the door frame. “Why did you barge in without permission? That is very impolite.”
Wen Ming shrugged, offering a completely insincere apology: “Alright, do not be mad. I just saw you had not replied to my messages for a long time and was worried about you.”
Liang Ling was taken aback, lowering his head to check his phone, and sure enough, he saw several unread messages sent by Wen Ming.
“Still, you cannot just do that.”
Wen Ming curved the corners of his lips, walked over, and handed him a set of ironed suit clothes, smiling. “I will not do it next time. I had someone order this for you. Try it on and see if it fits. If it does not fit, I will take it to get exchanged.”
Liang Ling was stunned for a few moments, looking at the exquisite and handsome suit in his arms. It did not even have a brand tag, looking like high-fashion custom clothing at a glance. He hurriedly wanted to return this ridiculously expensive thing to the other person, but Wen Ming pressed his hands down first. “Do not refuse me. Consider it a benefit for your new job.”
Liang Ling sighed, having no choice but to put it on.
“Mhm, it looks really good. Although you are slim, you can pull it off. The whole look is much more spirited.” Wen Ming looked him up and down appreciatively, unable to help clicking his tongue in admiration.
“I have caused you to spend money, thank you.” Liang Ling stood awkwardly on the spot, clutching his hem, and said dryly, “In the future, do not send me things anymore.”
Wen Ming smiled, gazing intently at his face with a gentle tone: “But it really suits you, you look great in it.”
A layer of pink flushed across Liang Ling’s earlobes.
Wen Ming leaned close to his neck, intoxicatingly sniffing the sweet peach juice sparkling water scent. For a moment, his thoughts wandered, and he asked softly in his ear: “What kind of perfume on earth do you spray? Why does this scent exist every day?”
Fragrant and soft, making one really want to kiss him.
Wen Ming was startled by his own thought, but for some reason, this person’s aura seemed to possess a natural attraction for him. Even knowing it was not good, he could not help wanting to get closer to him and do even more outrageous things.
Thinking this, he did just that, his lips almost touching the skin of Liang Ling’s neck. Right at the back of the neck were the glands. For an Omega, this was an extremely private area. Liang Ling stiffened into a log, yet for some reason, he was unable to push this bold and reckless person away.
Seeing him flush red and stay silent for a long time, Wen Ming simply could not restrain himself anymore, lowering his head to kiss his neck, which provoked Liang Ling into a spoiled-sounding muffled groan.
“You are so sensitive here?” Wen Ming asked the person in his arms with slight surprise and a smile.
Liang Ling hurriedly pushed the person away, gasping heavily for air as he tried to flush away the lingering Longjing fragrance around his nose. Blushing with embarrassment, he said, “Alright! I am going back!”
“Why in such a rush?” Wen Ming let go of him reluctantly, pointing at the time on his phone: “It is almost noon, let us go eat something first. You will not be able to make it to work this morning anyway.”
“No, I promised my boss.” Liang Ling refused with a firm attitude. “You do not need to drive me, I can hail a cab back myself.”
Wen Ming raised an eyebrow, somewhat displeased. What was there to be reluctant to leave about a crappy little mala tang shop? It did not make any money, and it was full of cooking fumes. Liang Ling being so eager to return, could it be because of that boy he called earlier?
His eyes darkened slightly, making him feel even more unhappy inside, though on the surface he put on a relaxed expression and smiled: “It is fine, this place is too far from S High, taking a cab is very expensive. I will drive you.”
Liang Ling originally wanted to say no need, but the moment he heard the cab fare was very expensive, he wilted immediately, following Wen Ming into the car with a gloomy expression as he let him drive toward the urban area.
Turning past a few intersections, the buildings ahead gradually became familiar. Liang Ling still did not know how to explain last night’s events to the Lu father and son, and he did not want them to know about Wen Ming’s existence, so he gently patted Wen Ming’s arm: “Hey, no need to go over there, just drop me off at this intersection. I will walk the rest of the way myself.”
Wen Ming pouted in dissatisfaction, turning his head to look at him: “Why? Am I that unpresentable?”
“It is not that you are unpresentable,” Liang Ling paused, analyzing it for him with a straight face: “Did I not say I am resigning from the shop? As my second boss, it would not look too good for you to show up openly at my current boss’s shop.”
Wen Ming looked at him make things up with a serious expression, feigning grievance as he said: “Alright then, it is just that as a boss, I served as a driver for my assistant all morning, and in the end did not even get to eat a single bite of food. What a huge loss.”
Hearing this, Liang Ling quickly spoke up to comfort him: “Next time, next time I will definitely treat you, okay?”
Hearing him say that, Wen Ming was finally willing to let it go, smiling with satisfaction: “You said it, it is a deal.”
Liang Ling smiled, waving goodbye to him obediently before jogging toward the shop.
When he breathlessly arrived back at the shop entrance, Lu San was just riding his tricycle back from buying stock. Seeing him, his first reaction was joy, and he patted his shoulder with a sense of relief: “You are finally back. Xiaoming and I were both very worried about you.”
Liang Ling scratched his head sheepishly: “Sorry to worry you guys. I went out to hang out with a friend last night, got drunk, and because it was too late and there were no cars back, I just checked into a hotel room to sleep.”
Lu San nodded with a smile: “It is fine, you young people are like that.”
“Brother!” As soon as Lu Ming saw him back, he was excited like a chirping little bird, immediately running up with a basket of strawberries: “Why are you only just back? It is almost time for lunch.”
“I slept in this morning.” Liang Ling naturally took the fruit basket from his hand, walked straight over to the sink, and started washing the strawberries.
Lu Ming picked one up, rinsed it under the tap, took a big crunching bite, and praised: “Mhm, so sweet, Brother, try one.”
Liang Ling looked at him amusedly: “There might be pesticide on the strawberries. You have to soak them in saltwater before eating.”
“It is fine, a little dirt never hurt anybody.” Lu Ming grabbed another one unconcernedly: “Right, which friend did you go out to play with? How come I have never heard you mention them before?”
At the thought of Wen Ming, Liang Ling’s face turned slightly red, and he said in a low voice: “Nothing much, an old classmate.”
Lu Ming looked at him with a mischievous smile, tilting his head as he leaned in closer: “Really? Just a classmate? A guy or a girl?”
Liang Ling poked his forehead: “Just a classmate, a guy.”
“Tsk, why am I finding that hard to believe.” Lu Ming gave him a meaningful sideways glance, suddenly lowering his voice mysteriously: “Brother, your relationship with this classmate is not ordinary, right? No need to be shy, this is an open era, boys liking boys is no big deal either.”
Seeing this little punk starting to talk nonsense again, Liang Ling glared at him unhappily: “I just went out to play with him once, how on earth do you conclude that I like him?”
Lu Ming blinked in surprise, pointing to a pale red kiss mark on his neck: “This, although I have never eaten pork, I have seen pigs run. This definitely was not caused by bumping into something, it was definitely kissed on by someone.”
“What?!” Hearing this, Liang Ling almost exploded, panicked as he covered his neck: “You are saying there is a mark.”
“Strawberry mark.” Lu Ming lifted the strawberry in his hand with a smile: “Red, round, strawberry mark.”
Wen Ming!
Liang Ling gnashed his teeth in anger, standing in place with a dark face and saying nothing.
Seeing that he was genuinely angry, Lu Ming hurriedly tried to patch things up: “Aiya, it is fine, I will not tell anyone. Brother, you are an adult anyway, what is the big deal about kissing and going to bed? Your mindset is even more old-fashioned than mine as a high schooler.”
Liang Ling glared at him: “Kids shouldn’t talk nonsense. Also, you are not allowed to tell anyone.”
Lu Ming threw him a mischievous wink and started bargaining: “Then you have to duo with me tonight, or you play the ladder challenge and I get to spectator mode.”
“Deal.” Liang Ling agreed without the slightest hesitation.
After finishing a meal of mala tang, Liang Ling did not even have time to rest before Lu Ming dragged him into his bedroom. After double-checking twice that his dad was in his room watching a ball game, Lu Ming felt relieved, lowering his voice to say: “Brother, quick, log on.”
Liang Ling smiled and patted his head: “Racing against time like this, if you put this kind of energy into your studies, your dad would have a lot less to worry about.”
Lu Ming grinned as he took two cans of cola from the desk, opening one and handing it to him: “Brother, you know how it is, I am just not cut out for studying. Here, I hid these while eating, they are still icy.”
Liang Ling took it, took a large gulp, and let out a satisfying burp. The kind of drinks he loved most in the past were carbonated beverages like these. Because of this, his high-ranking father always scolded him for being unrefined, but he simply could not quit.
Maybe it was because he loved drinking these so much that his pheromone smelled like peach juice sparkling water.
“Brother, what are you playing?” Lu Ming asked him excitedly.
Liang Ling blinked triumphantly at him: “Of course I am going to show you a round of Gilo.”
“Great! Then I am going to play Katerina to support you,” Lu Ming giggled as he pulled out his signature hero. “You have to carry me on a winning streak tonight, oh! Otherwise, I am going to spill the beans tomorrow about you and your little lover, hehe.”
“You dare!” Liang Ling feigned anger as if to hit him. Seeing the situation turn bad, Lu Ming hurriedly begged for mercy: “Good brother, I was just joking, do not take it seriously.”
The two of them achieved tacit coordination amidst an atmosphere of laughter and cheer, advancing all the way like a hot knife through butter. Not feeling satisfied yet, Lu Ming urged him to open the ladder challenge.
“Brother, with your ranking, just a few more wins and you will enter the national top 100. Who knows, you might even run into Leaf God.”