Chapter 470: Plan 15: Winning Back My Boyfriend with Green Tea

He Yuchuan was startled, never expecting Jin Chen to suddenly lift his head; instinctively he tilted his head back a bit.

Before he could react, his ears had already flushed red; seeing this, Jin Chen actually reached out and poked his ear with a fingertip.

"Your ears are so red, are they hot?"

"No, I'm not angry either."

He Yuchuan finished answering the previous question just as the elevator stopped at the side lounge on the fourth floor; he breathed in the fresh air, relaxed, and they walked forward together.

In the small restaurant, the staff had already laid out the dishes one after another, leaving none for Gu Yuanheng, because in their hearts the two employers mattered most.

This time Jin Chen finally did not avoid it, choosing to sit beside He Yuchuan, almost leaning on him, and ate his meal in silence.

For a moment, no one spoke first.

Suddenly, He Yuchuan voiced the question that had puzzled him since morning.

"Why aren't you wearing the necklace?"

Jin Chen instinctively reached for his empty neck, his chewing slowed considerably, and he felt a vague sense of loss.

"I'm afraid Gu Yuanheng will get angry; if he moves in and sees it, it won't be good."

"And… the way you and Gu Yuanheng acted last night doesn't that prove this point?"

It really was because of this.

He Yuchuan looked at the boy, who seemed to understand everything but kept his grievance bottled up inside, feeling both sour and puzzled.

He couldn't understand why Jin Chen could so sway his emotions, when nothing like this had happened in the past twenty-plus years.

Even the former Jin Chen couldn't have done that.

He had finished his question, but Jin Chen still hadn't.

"Brother, how do you think I did today?"

"What?"

"I think you want me to keep a sense of distance; otherwise you wouldn't have acted that way last night."

Jin Chen looked at He Yuchuan, his expression turning much more serious, "Keeping a sense of distance, is that it?"

Before He Yuchuan could answer, Jin Chen turned his gaze away, feeling forlorn and awkward.

"I'm just too stupid; I can't possibly learn how to keep that sense of distance just right, so I can only do my best not to bother you, brother."

As Jin Chen spoke each word, regret flickered in He Yuchuan's eyes; he had indeed come to regret his actions.

For no reason, it made their relationship become like this.

"Jin… Chenchen, I'm sorry."

This time he didn't call him by his full name, but used the childhood nickname from his memory.

His icy brows and eyes softened a little, "I shouldn't have made things difficult for you."

"You didn't make things difficult for me," Jin Chen whispered, his fingers—longer than He Yuchuan's—twining around his, "You just sensed my thoughts, right?"

He certainly knew that after saying this, He Yuchuan could no longer deceive himself, even though his current favorable impression wasn't the right time.

But Jin Chen really didn't want to hear Gu Yuanheng keep calling him "my dear boyfriend" over and over.

He Yuchuan's voice suddenly went hoarse.

He lowered his eyes to avoid Jin Chen's fervent gaze, feeling increasingly oppressed.

He thought that if he truly had no other intentions, he would now speak righteously and say, "Chenchen, this is wrong."

But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Precisely because of this, He Yuchuan felt boundless pain welling up from deep within his heart.

Jin Chen is only twenty; he can be immature, but I cannot.

Silence stretched on, and he still didn't speak.

Jin Chen suddenly let out a laugh, his expression somewhat bitter.

"I understand what you mean."

His tone was too light, so light that it made He Yuchuan feel even more pity.

"Chenchen, you will meet someone you like, but… it can't be me."

As he spoke those words, He Yuchuan could clearly feel his heart being torn apart.

He suddenly felt that his innate emotional deficiency, in front of Jin Chen, was nothing but a joke, while his emotions were palpably intense.

"Is that so…"

Jin Chen stared off at the dishes on the table, "There will be someone I like, and that person can't be you, after which we'll just be ordinary friends."

"Having our own partners and families, then gradually drifting apart, becoming the most familiar strangers—is that what you mean?"

He Yuchuan's Adam's apple bobbed; hearing Jin Chen's description, his heart ached, and for the first time he felt his breath was a dull pain, this dull ache spreading from his heart to his limbs, impossible to shake off.

Yet he still didn't rebut, merely speaking in a hoarse voice, "It won't happen; as long as Chenchen listens, we will never become strangers."

"How could it not!"

Jin Chen seemed to suddenly explode, slamming his chopsticks hard onto the table.

His face was pale, but his eyes looking at He Yuchuan were bloodshot and brimming with tears.

"All it takes now is having Gu Yuanheng, and you have to weigh everything, seeking a balance point between me and him."

"Even after you realize I like you, you still have to team up with him to try to steer me back onto the right path."

By the end of his speech, large bean-sized tears still rolled down.

Jin Chen lowered his head, squeezing out the tears, unwilling to let them fall in He Yuchuan's presence.

"Why, He Yuchuan, why can't we be together?"

He Yuchuan fell into silence once again.

He clenched his fists around the chopsticks, which prickled painfully.

"Chenchen, no."

He only said that, not knowing whether he was persuading Jin Chen or persuading himself.

"Chenchen, sorry."

"……"

Jin Chen nodded, tears and smile appearing at the same time, looking even more broken.

He reached out his hand and took hold of He Yuchuan's fingertips.

I understand, Brother Chuan.

I won't make things difficult for you again.

You don't need to say sorry to me, never.

He Yuchuan held Jin Chen tightly in this posture.

This was his first time initiating an embrace; upon smelling the familiar agarwood, he suddenly felt an urge to tear up.

After a long while, Jin Chen spoke again.

Brother, promise me one thing, okay?

You say.

I want to move out.

He Yuchuan froze.

His pupils tightened, hardly believing what he had heard.

Jin Chen wanted to leave here, leave his side.

"Why......" "I'm unhappy here, Brother Chuan."

Jin Chen tightly wrapped his arms around He Yuchuan's waist, his cheek lightly rubbing against his neck, "Forgive me, I can't bear to see you loving another; it's too cruel for me."

No, after the heavy rain passes, Gu Yuanheng will leave, and I won't let him set foot in here again.

He Yuchuan tried to dissuade Jin Chen; he couldn't let Jin Chen leave.

But you two are still lovers as close as can be, the relationship I think of every day, yet you rejected me to my face.