GDRG CH21

Chapter 21: The Green Tea Schemer Goes Skydiving

Going skydiving the next day. Shi Xueqing specially woke up early, searching for guides on how to look good in skydiving photos, dedicating his whole heart to preparing for the several-hundred-dollar full video follow-shot.

Consequently, although the hotel provided a luxurious and hearty breakfast, Shi Xueqing only ate a few bites. He was very afraid that, as some Xiaohongshu guides said, he would vomit right after jumping.

That was a romantic and high-class extreme sport; how could he come down from the vast sky and vomit on the broad earth?

Shi Xueqing was immersed in the excitement of the upcoming skydiving, forgetting that Xing Jun also existed at the dining table. It wasn’t until shortly before departure, when Xing Wei called everyone to take photos on the beach, and Shi Xueqing raised his hand and hit someone, that he was startled.

Xing Jun was standing right next to him.

“…Sorry about that,” Shi Xueqing said.

“It’s okay.”

Xing Jun glanced at him and actually spoke very normally.

Shi Xueqing blinked, and the selfie camera on his phone recorded his slightly stunned expression at that moment.

Xing Jun’s normality was abnormality. How could he be so normal towards him?

When departing, Shi Xueqing was about to climb into the SUV again. But Lu Yimeng said she absolutely didn’t want to sit in the Ferrari anymore. She complained that with Xing Jun there, she didn’t dare chat about anything with Xing Wei.

“Him sitting there gives me so much pressure,” Lu Yimeng grumbled.

“Then I’ll go,” Jason happily went over.

A moment later, he came back looking crestfallen and unhappy. Glancing at Shi Xueqing, he said reluctantly: “He’s calling you over.”

“Huh?”

Shi Xueqing walked towards the Ferrari, thinking that Chinese was bad in this regard; a single “ta” didn’t distinguish between “he” or “she”, so he didn’t know if Jason meant Xing Wei or Xing Jun.

Fortunately, he heard Xing Wei shouting from the car window: “Xiao Shi, walk faster, we need to leave quickly.”

Shi Xueqing felt relieved. He thought it must be Xing Wei calling him, and belatedly felt very happy.

He remembered his main mission of getting close to Xing Wei again.

Of course, Xing Jun was still in the car. Shi Xueqing didn’t dare challenge Xing Jun’s patience as a brother, and he wasn’t sure how long Xing Jun’s “normality” would last.

However, along the way, Xing Jun was really normal. He focused on driving, listening to Shi Xueqing and Xing Wei talk, occasionally chiming in with a sentence or two.

Until they got out of the car, Shi Xueqing couldn’t figure it out. He thought to himself that he hadn’t done anything particularly good in the past two days; had Xing Jun’s impression of him changed significantly?

Luckily, Shi Xueqing never internalized things for long. Seeing the skydiving site, he became happy again.

The sky in Hawaii was a boundless blue, and the landing grass was lush green. Several huge parachutes were floating down in the air, like colorful little mushrooms.

Xing Wei had booked the package with a separate cameraman for everyone; the young miss was wealthy and generous.

Shi Xueqing was expectant at first, but after signing the waiver and listening to the explanation, he started to get nervous.

Lu Yimeng was obviously scared. Tao Shu comforted her: “An instructor will hold you and jump down with you.”

Lu Yimeng said: “What if the instructor is ugly? I don’t want an ugly man in my video…”

Shi Xueqing didn’t say anything, maintaining his aloof persona, but his hands started to get nervous, failing to fasten the safety belt several times.

“Open your arms,” someone said.

Shi Xueqing subconsciously opened his arms. That person’s hands went around him, fastening all the safety buckles. Shi Xueqing hurriedly said: “Thank you…”

His brain suddenly realized, why was the instructor speaking Chinese?

Looking up, he was dumbfounded.

Xing Jun lowered his head, tightening the straps one by one, his hands pressed against Shi Xueqing’s waist and thighs, and even used his fingers to test if they could fit into the gaps. Shi Xueqing couldn’t even speak properly, staring at his side profile in shock.

“Th-thank you, Brother Xing,” Shi Xueqing stammered. He felt that even through his clothes, Xing Jun’s hands were terrifyingly hot.

Touching Xing Jun’s hands through the fabric seemed to make his skin especially sensitive, tingling continuously. Even after the other’s palm had left, he could still feel the pressure.

Xing Jun stood up. Shi Xueqing quickly turned his head away, really not understanding why he had this feeling. He heard Xing Jun say: “No need to thank me. We help each other out when away from home.”

A very calm and normal tone.

Shi Xueqing still didn’t quite dare to look at Xing Jun. He thought, could it be because Xing Jun’s physique was too large, his muscle lines too obvious and strong, bringing a sense of male aggression and oppression that was too intense?

As a tall, thin, long-haired man going for the artistic beauty style, it was hard for him not to feel the contradictory repulsion between the two.

And a sense of being threatened.

Perhaps because of this, he reacted so strongly to Xing Jun’s touch.

Shi Xueqing’s mind was in a mess. It wasn’t until he was taken up to an altitude of 4,000 meters and was about to jump with the instructor that he realized he hadn’t tied his hair.

“Wait a second—”

Too late, he had already been dragged down by the instructor.

Still with his mouth open.

After a brief, terrifying sense of weightlessness, Shi Xueqing wanted to cry but had no tears. The wind was too strong, he couldn’t close his mouth, and his hair was flying wildly. Looking at the coastline meeting the ocean and the beautiful scenery of Honolulu below, he felt not a shred of emotion in his heart.

Only despair.

He could almost imagine what the finished photos would look like.

Sure enough, after landing, amidst the excited screams of Xing Wei and Tao Shu, he saw his photos and videos. In the video, his hair was disheveled, and his face was distorted by the wind.

“…”

So despairing. After looking for a long time, not a single one was postable.

While Shi Xueqing was despairing alone, Xing Wei was excited: “Too thrilling! I want to jump again.”

She pulled Tao Shu to the counter to use her money power. Shi Xueqing looked lonely at those ugly photos. Jason just had to come over at this time. Seeing the beauty making a fool of himself, he was in a particularly good mood: “Hey, why didn’t you close your mouth when jumping?”

“…”

“Does anyone else want to jump again?” Xing Jun said right then.

??

Shi Xueqing immediately looked up, then felt it was inappropriate, and lowered his head a little. As if he hadn’t seen his awkwardness, Xing Jun said naturally: “Let’s go together. Use my member account anyway.”

“Brother Xing, you’re a senior member here?” Jason immediately started sucking up.

“I also have an instructor license.”

Xing Jun seemed to be answering Jason, but glanced at Shi Xueqing.

Only Lu Yimeng insisted she didn’t want to go. Zheng Songtao stayed to accompany her. Xing Jun said again: “Coming? Jason, Shi Xueqing.”

Actually, adding Jason was all for Shi Xueqing.

Shi Xueqing dawdled and followed them to the counter. On the way, Xing Jun heard him say from behind: “Thank you, Brother Xing.”

Quite obedient.

“No need to thank me, let’s go together,” Xing Jun said.

Listening to Xing Jun’s increasingly human-like replies, Shi Xueqing struggled between the temptation of skydiving and huge doubts. Moreover, for some reason, his right eyelid was twitching wildly. Instinct told him that the current Xing Jun was actually making him more and more afraid.

Arriving at the counter, Shi Xueqing thought the prophecy of his right eyelid had come true. The receptionist regretfully told them that because the decision was too last-minute, there weren’t enough available tandem instructors, only two.

“I can jump by myself. I often went skydiving in San Diego,” Jason immediately said, showing his privilege as a rich kid.

The two instructors naturally had to go to Xing Wei and Tao Shu. Shi Xueqing fell into huge disappointment again.

Sigh.

He saw Xing Jun say a few words to the manager, then come over: “Let’s go, get geared up.”

Shi Xueqing consciously went to the other side. Before he moved two steps, he heard Xing Jun say: “Where are you going?”

It took Shi Xueqing a moment to realize Xing Jun was talking to him.

Weren’t there only two tandem instructors?

“I have an instructor license. I’ve taken other friends jumping at this club before,” Xing Jun said.

???

Shi Xueqing was stunned.

“Don’t want to jump anymore?” Xing Jun said again.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Shi Xueqing hurriedly said, adding, “Thank you, Brother Xing.”

The heart wanting to skydive and post on WeChat Moments ultimately conquered reason.

Seeing his eager look, Xing Jun raised an eyebrow, thinking coldly in his heart that Shi Xueqing was just that easy to control.

Everything was under control.

Everything today was a means for him to achieve his goal. Xing Jun had no patience before achieving his goal. He gave himself three days, and today was the first day.

This time, Shi Xueqing remembered to tie his hair before jumping. Discovering that Xing Jun had found a follow-shot photographer for everyone again, his joy reached its peak. Before jumping, he ran to the restroom to tidy up his appearance.

Tying a small ponytail actually looked quite good. He smiled at the mirror, his expression relaxed and happy, as if being embraced by stars and spring breeze.

And the purest luck in this world.

Until he got on the helicopter, Shi Xueqing’s happiness was no longer pure.

He shifted his body a bit awkwardly. Xing Jun said behind him: “Don’t move around.”

“…”

The instructor who jumped with Shi Xueqing before was an American big guy. Similarly straddling the long bench together, similarly with back and chest pressed tightly together, tied in the other’s arms, Shi Xueqing hadn’t felt this strange sensation before.

Pressed tightly against Xing Jun, he could almost feel the other’s breath hitting the side of his neck, heavy and hot, with Xing Jun’s intense aura.

So uncomfortable. He felt sweat on his forehead, his body even more tense and stiff than the first time he jumped.

Was he afraid of Xing Jun being unprofessional, or afraid that Xing Jun would unbuckle the safety belt halfway, letting him fall to his death from 4,000 meters?

Their bodies were pressed closely together, and they had to shuffle forward bit by bit as the people in front jumped. Although there was actually some distance, Shi Xueqing felt as if his butt was being pressed against by the other, trembling more and more.

“Close your mouth.”

“Ah…”

Shi Xueqing immediately understood what Xing Jun meant. Without time to think more, he quickly closed his mouth.

Then, with Xing Jun’s force, the two fell together from the helicopter at 4,000 meters high.

The wind howled in his ears, the same intense weightlessness as the first time. Without the despair of failed image management to cushion it, intense fear surged into his heart at this moment. Shi Xueqing had an urge to turn around and hug Xing Jun, this life-saving straw, tightly.

Ahhhhh.

Xing Jun, however, was making hand signals to him. Shi Xueqing was panicked but finally saw the other’s gesture clearly.

It wasn’t time to open the parachute yet.

Then, a reassuring gesture.

Strong, steady, yet confident.

Perhaps because of air resistance, or perhaps because of this gesture, the sense of weightlessness became less intense.

It was like the falling sensation gradually turned into a constant speed. From that moment on, Shi Xueqing had the illusion of floating and swimming in the air.

The azure sky was like a huge fish tank. He swam in the fish tank. Below him, half was land, half was jade-green ocean.

White beaches, dark green forests, and orderly buildings; the world beneath his feet turned into a beautiful sand table.

Waves rolled with white foam, rushing towards the beach wave after wave.

“The blue sea and mulberry fields (vicissitudes of life).”

Suddenly, he thought of these four words.

The parachute opened right at this moment. Xing Jun could also speak now. He told Shi Xueqing to grab the toggle: “Pull it yourself.”

“Pull?”

“Adjust the direction,” Xing Jun said. “Do you want to drift towards the sea or the beach?”

Shi Xueqing tried pulling it and discovered he could actually control the parachute’s movement. He repeated the process tirelessly until Xing Jun said: “Stop pulling for now. Let’s play something exciting.”

“What… Ah!”

Under Xing Jun’s action, the parachute seemed to drift in the air. Shi Xueqing screamed, his eyes widening in surprise.

Xing Jun couldn’t see his expression, but pressed tightly together, he could almost hear Shi Xueqing’s heartbeat.

He had originally just been pretending to achieve his goal, but at this moment, he also seemed to feel Shi Xueqing’s joy.

Right in his arms.

“Brother Xing, you’re so good.”

“I like you.”

Amidst a burst of cheers, he suddenly heard Shi Xueqing seem to shout this sentence too.

Xing Jun was stunned. He wanted to listen further, but Shi Xueqing saw the follow-shot photographer’s camera again. Shi Xueqing adjusted his expression reservedly towards the lens, vowing to get perfect photos this time.

Behind him, slowly, Xing Jun’s face turned cold again.

The two landed slowly. Shi Xueqing ran to see the photos as soon as he landed, running faster than a rabbit after unbuckling the safety harness.

This vain and shallow appearance was also within Xing Jun’s expectations. Xing Jun couldn’t be bothered with him. He took off his gear, just wondering if Shi Xueqing had actually said that sentence.

A member he knew happened to be there. Xing Jun talked to him for a while before thinking of going to see the video taken by the photographer. After saying goodbye to that person, he found that Shi Xueqing was actually not with the others.

“Xiao Shi is chatting with the manager,” Lu Yimeng played with her phone without looking up. “The manager said he wanted to put a few photos on the official website as promotional images and asked him to confirm.”

Promotional images?

Xing Jun was stunned for a moment, then thought it was normal for Shi Xueqing to encounter such things given how beautiful he was.

“By the way, Brother Xing, do you want to go take a look too? You should be in those pictures as well,” Tao Shu looked up and reminded him.

Almost forgot about that point.

Xing Jun didn’t like showing his face in public—probably because he was too suspicious, he always suspected others would use his photos to Photoshop kidnapping pictures to extort money or something. But walking to the office, he thought again that this was a high-end club with guaranteed security, and skydiving was a niche sport, so there probably wouldn’t be potential risks.

The manager’s office door was open. From afar, he heard the manager and Shi Xueqing choosing photos. The manager was asking: “I think this one is excellent.”

“…Uh, maybe change one?”

He heard Shi Xueqing’s slightly hesitant voice.

Why hesitate? Was it not beautiful enough? Or was his mouth open? Xing Jun didn’t go in immediately, wanting to know what Shi Xueqing was conflicted about. The manager said at this time: “I think the atmosphere of this one is very good.”

He became a little curious until he heard Shi Xueqing’s next sentence.

“It feels a bit… I don’t really want my sexual orientation to be misunderstood. I’m straight.”

Shi Xueqing said jokingly.

“Wow, I thought you two were… many photos have a lot of tension.”

Xing Jun’s calmness lasted until Shi Xueqing’s next sentence.

“He’s not my type.”

The tone in which Shi Xueqing said this sentence in bookish English was exactly the same as when he communicated about the menu with the chef in the Japanese restaurant.

…

Shi Xueqing finally selected the photos. He successfully kicked the wide-mouthed laughing photos loved by Americans out of the promotional photos, leaving a few that made him look reserved and beautiful. Leaving the office, he found the others were buying souvenirs.

He looked left and right, subconsciously asking Tao Shu next to him: “Where’s Brother Xing?”

It seemed that after skydiving, he was psychologically closer to Xing Jun. Perhaps because Xing Jun was his only reliance high in the sky.

“I thought he went to find you,” Tao Shu was puzzled.

Shi Xueqing was stunned. The receptionist who already knew them walked over: “Are you talking about Jensen? I saw him go to the restroom.”

Water rushed in the restroom. Xing Jun washed his face in front of the sink, looking at himself in the mirror.

Arrogant, unkind, domineering, with hidden violence in his eyes.

From childhood to adulthood, his habitual nature.

“When Jensen wants to achieve a goal, he never cares about other people’s feelings,” his friend Chen Fan had jokingly said about him in university.

The face in the mirror gradually transformed into Shi Xueqing’s face. Xing Jun thought to himself, it was always so.

Straight?

Not his type?

Slowly, Xing Jun sneered.

He turned off the faucet and left the restroom, but unexpectedly saw Shi Xueqing in the corridor. Shi Xueqing was holding his phone, taking pictures of the scenery of the members-only skydiving club here and there.

Shi Xueqing’s back view holding the phone was slender. His T-shirt was tucked into slim-fit jeans; from behind, it was another beautiful scenery.

Xing Jun stood aside without speaking. Until Shi Xueqing switched his phone to selfie mode and was startled by the shadow behind him.

He quickly turned around, another obedient sentence: “Brother Xing, I was helping Vivi come find you.”

Vivian was Xing Wei’s English name. Xing Jun remembered that on the day they landed in Hawaii, Shi Xueqing still called Xing Wei Vivian.

Two days later, he was already calling her Vivi.

Xing Jun looked down at Shi Xueqing. The height difference of half a head and the size difference made Shi Xueqing’s scalp tingle. Shi Xueqing wanted to step back a bit, but thought that the rich guy had just taken him skydiving, so doing so might not be good.

And at this moment, Xing Jun had only one thought.

Why should a person like Shi Xueqing make him wait three days?

He wanted it tonight.

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