DSMIS CH47

Chapter 47: Director Shen Throws Caution to the Wind

Sitting on his bed, staring at his phone, Shen Xing felt as if he had been struck by lightning. There was nothing inherently wrong with liking someone. The problem was that the person he liked was a man, and as luck would have it, he was also a man. This… this was a bit terrifying! Although he had never truly liked anyone before, he had always assumed he was straight. How on earth did he suddenly bend out of nowhere?

As the sky outside gradually began to brighten, Shen Xing remained dazed in bed. He reviewed the past twenty-odd years of his life, even recalling trivial incidents like fighting with a kindergarten desk-mate over a rubber eraser. Yet, he couldn’t extract a single conclusion from any event that suggested he liked men. He could confidently affirm that he had absolutely, positively never paid any attention to the same sex beyond normal friendship.

Could it… could it be that I’m just lusting after his looks? After all, Captain Jiang’s appearance was undeniably top-tier. But it wasn’t like there weren’t handsome guys with good physiques during his school days. He tried to recall the handsome guys from his student era, only to realize he couldn’t quite remember their faces.

Frustrated, Shen Xing picked up his phone and started searching for male celebrities in the entertainment industry. Staring at the screen, his frown deepened. Why do their makeup and hairstyles all look the same? He scrolled through several photos but couldn’t tell who was who. He finally found a few with relatively recognizable features, but… where is the masculinity? They were miles away from Jiang Lin’s aura. He then started searching for some veteran actors. Mm, their looks are definitely okay, but I really don’t feel a single trace of impure thoughts.

Shen Xing was starting to get confused by himself. While he was still brainstorming, the Samoyed beside him started restlessly pulling at his blanket. The reason was simple: it was time to go out and run wild. Shen Xing grabbed the dog and pulled it into his arms. The Samoyed obligingly flopped down in a massive heap, nuzzling its head against him to act spoiled. Pinching its jowls, Shen Xing muttered in frustration:

“Qianjin, I don’t think I have any ‘other’ feelings towards men in general. But… but my feelings towards your Uncle Jiang don’t seem very pure either… Ahhhh, what do I do?”

He buried his face in the Samoyed’s fur and rubbed vigorously. His brain was truly numb right now.

It would have been fine if he hadn’t realized it. But now that he had connected the dots, he suddenly didn’t know how to face Jiang Lin. They had known each other for quite a while now, and he hadn’t been able to tell if Jiang Lin was straight or bent. But based on intuition and seeing how Jiang Lin interacted with colleagues, he felt Captain Jiang was probably very straight!

Suddenly, the phone in his hand vibrated:

“Are you up?”

Looking down, he saw it was a message from Jiang Lin. Checking the time, it was exactly when they usually went out to walk the dogs.

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Xing finished washing up and grabbed the leash of the head-shaking Samoyed. As he reached the door, his hand subconsciously reached for the brick-red windbreaker hanging nearby. But just as he grabbed it, he suddenly let go and took the jacket next to it. He even put one arm into the sleeve before yanking it off again. In the end, he still put on the brick-red windbreaker, even pairing it with the Dr. Martens from yesterday.

Before walking out the door, he stared at his shoelaces for two seconds before forcing himself to look away. Shen Xing, have some dignity.

As soon as he stepped out, the door next door opened as well. Upon making eye contact, Shen Xing noticed Jiang Lin’s complexion wasn’t great. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and his exhaustion was obvious.

“Why don’t you look well? Are you feeling sick?”

“No, a case came up over in Tianjin City that has some connections to a criminal I arrested before. I stayed up for a while last night.”

Looking at his complexion, Shen Xing blurted out:

“You didn’t ‘stay up for a while,’ you stayed up all night, didn’t you? Then why are you coming out to walk the dogs? Go back inside and sleep. I’ll take them both out and bring you breakfast when I get back.”

“I’m n—”

Before Jiang Lin could even finish saying “I’m not tired,” Shen Xing snatched Heibao’s leash from his hand, pushed him back into his apartment, and with a smack, firmly closed his door from the outside.

Staring at the closed door, Shen Xing’s heart settled a little. Walking outside with Jiang Lin right now would be incredibly awkward. This was for the best; he needed to calm down.

To calm down, he didn’t even drive, opting to walk the two furballs instead. It wasn’t as noticeable when they drove, but walking them today, Shen Xing realized his Samoyed was way too clingy. Like a piece of cotton candy, it constantly circled Heibao, occasionally bumping into him, and then grinning widely at him afterward. In contrast, Heibao maintained his mob boss aura, only occasionally returning the nuzzles.

Shen Xing suddenly felt his own dog was acting far too cheap. He tugged at the Samoyed’s leash, trying to pull it to the side to keep it away from Heibao. Coincidentally, a Corgi walked up from behind and started barking at the Samoyed. True to form, the cowardly furball immediately flattened its ears into airplane mode upon being yelled at.

Shen Xing was used to its cowardly behavior and was fully prepared for the silly dog to hide behind him. Instead, he watched it shuffle its white paws and run towards Heibao. The usually calm and boss-like Heibao lunged forward with a bark, though showing restraint by not actually attacking the Corgi.

The Corgi was startled and backed up several steps. Shen Xing smiled apologetically at the person walking it behind them. Turning back around, he saw Heibao nudging the Samoyed with his nose, rubbing against it twice. The Samoyed recovered as quickly as it had been scared, instantly breaking into a grin again.

The walk was about three or four kilometers long, leaving Shen Xing covered in sweat. On the way back, he planned to go to the rice noodle shop downstairs to pack some breakfast. Perhaps due to the holiday, there weren’t many people out for breakfast on the second day of the Lunar New Year. The shop was practically empty. As soon as Shen Xing walked in, he noticed no one was at the noodle boiling station. He could faintly hear voices coming from the small partitioned room inside. It sounded like the tall, thin owner. The owner was usually gentle and friendly to everyone; this was the first time Shen Xing heard him sound somewhat exasperated:

“Your job is so good, why did you resign?”

“You worked so hard to test out of here and get into such a good university. What can you do coming back to this small county town? Sell rice noodles with me?”

“Why can’t I sell rice noodles with you? I’ve found a storefront on Fuxing Street. Once the lease here is up, I’ll take over that place. Then you won’t have to work yourself to the bone every day; we can hire more people.”

“Fuxing Street? How much will that cost? Don’t waste your money.”

“I’ve already signed the contract. If you don’t go, I won’t get the money back.”

The younger man’s voice sounded a bit petulant. Silence fell over the room for two seconds, followed by the owner’s voice, accompanied by a slight cough and a hint of nervousness:

“Xiao Shuo, you bought a car and took over a storefront. Where did you get all that money? Did you take out an online loan? Huh? I’m telling you, you absolutely must not touch those things…”

“I know, I know. I didn’t take out a loan…”

The conversation inside grew increasingly private. Shen Xing felt it wasn’t the right time for him to eat here. Feeling awkward about calling them out, he quickly turned and left before anyone noticed. He thought about going next door to buy breakfast, only to find both neighboring shops closed. It made sense; opening on New Year’s Day probably wouldn’t bring in many breakfast customers anyway. He simply took the dogs and headed home.

His hand rested on Jiang Lin’s door, about to knock, but he paused, turned around, and took the two dogs back to his own apartment. I’ll call him when the food is ready.

If he were eating alone, he’d definitely whip up a bowl of deluxe beef noodles. But considering it was the New Year, inviting someone over for instant noodles didn’t seem right. Shen Xing opened the fridge and scanned the contents, his eyes finally landing on two potatoes.

Fifteen minutes later, he called Jiang Lin:

“Hero, come over for breakfast.”

The moment Jiang Lin walked in, Heibao bounded toward him. He smelled the scent of cooking oil from the kitchen and saw Shen Xing carrying a plate out:

“Didn’t you say you were going to buy something? Why did you cook?”

Jiang Lin was wearing a collared loungewear top today. The neckline dipped just low enough to expose his collarbones. For some reason, Shen Xing recalled his dream from last night again. He quickly averted his eyes:

“Ah, the owner was inside talking to his employee. It sounded private, so I didn’t interrupt. Potato pancakes and seaweed soup. We’ll just have to make do.”

Jiang Lin looked down at the plate of potato pancakes in various shapes and sizes and smiled:

“It’s not ‘making do’. They look delicious.”

Shen Xing was starting to faintly understand why he liked Jiang Lin. Captain Jiang seemed exceptionally good at providing emotional value. From the time they met until now, he hadn’t heard a single negative word from Jiang Lin’s mouth. No matter what Shen Xing did, Jiang Lin always said it was good. Even during his medical treatments, Jiang Lin was incredibly obedient, nodding to whatever Shen Xing said. Shen Xing picked up a pancake, stirred the soup in front of him, and asked:

“Hero, considering you don’t have an ounce of temper, how did you lead your team back when you were working?”

Jiang Lin was taken aback. It wasn’t until he looked up and met Doctor Shen’s eyes that he realized the ‘person with no temper’ Shen Xing referred to was him. He licked a piece of seaweed stuck to the corner of his lips and, for the first time in his life, spouted complete nonsense:

“I relied on my gentleness to move them.”

Looking at Jiang Lin, Shen Xing actually felt a sense of worry that he might get bullied, and couldn’t help but nag him a bit more:

“You can’t act like this at work. You can’t just agree to whatever people do. If you do, you’ll end up with endless work and never get any appreciation, understand?”

Jiang Lin nodded very obediently:

“Mm, I understand.”

His demeanor made Shen Xing’s heart soften. So obedient. If only Captain Jiang were bent! Sigh.

Jiang Lin didn’t know why Doctor Shen seemed to grow unhappy as they ate. After the meal, he took the initiative to clean up the dishes, but was pushed away by Shen Xing:

“You haven’t slept all night. Hurry back and catch up on sleep. I’ll wash them.”

The plate in Jiang Lin’s hand was ruthlessly snatched away:

“Then come over to my place for lunch.”

Even though he knew Jiang Lin’s invitation was purely platonic, Shen Xing still shamelessly failed to decline:

“Alright.”

After Jiang Lin left, Shen Xing finished washing the dishes and sat cross-legged on his favorite carpet, spacing out. He felt incredibly conflicted right now. On one hand, he felt he shouldn’t get any closer to Jiang Lin; if he sank deeper, it would be hard to deal with later. On the other hand, he couldn’t bear to refuse him. Even if we’re just friends, seeing him often is still pretty good, right?

Wanting Jiang Lin to sleep a bit longer, Shen Xing didn’t rush over for lunch. It was past 12 PM when Jiang Lin finally messaged him to come over. When he arrived, he found that Jiang Lin had already prepared all the ingredients, and the hot pot broth was boiling, just waiting for him to start cooking the meat. Shen Xing’s mouth moved faster than his brain:

“Hero, do you have to be so virtuous? Didn’t you say I was going to do the cooking?”

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Jiang Lin replied:

“Maybe if I’m a bit more virtuous, someone will want me.”

Even though it sounded like a joke, the room instantly fell silent. Shen Xing felt a pang of sadness. True, Jiang Lin is in his early thirties. He definitely hopes to have a family, right? After saying it, Jiang Lin’s eyelid twitched. Afraid such ambiguous words would cause Shen Xing to feel repulsed, he was just about to say something to lighten the mood when he heard the person across from him say:

“Captain Jiang has a great physique, incredible looks, and outstanding achievements. You definitely don’t have to worry about no one wanting you.”

While Shen Xing spoke words of praise, his heart was swimming in vinegar. He looked down and saw the pickled cabbage (suancai) Jiang Lin had prepared on the table. He poked it with his chopsticks:

“Why is there pickled cabbage here?”

The resentment in his tone startled even himself. Jiang Lin looked at the pickled cabbage:

“Last time we had instant-boiled mutton, didn’t you say adding some pickled cabbage soup at the end makes it taste better? So I bought some, it just arrived yesterday. Do you not like it anymore? It’s fine, if you don’t like it, we don’t have to cook it.”

Shen Xing hadn’t expected that he was the one who said that. Of all things to crave, why pickled cabbage soup… I don’t even need to drink it to feel sour enough already.

The hot pot bubbled merrily. Jiang Lin felt that Director Shen was acting a bit strange today. But unlike previous times when he could guess why Director Shen was in a bad mood, he truly couldn’t figure out the reason this time. Wasn’t he perfectly fine last night?

After the meal, Jiang Lin adamantly refused to let Shen Xing wash the dishes. Shen Xing blurted out:

“Hero, you really don’t need to be this virtuous for someone to want you.”

It took every ounce of Jiang Lin’s strength to swallow back the words, “Then do you want me?” that were on the tip of his tongue.

In the end, the two of them squeezed into the tiny kitchen to clean up together. Shen Xing was stuffed. Logic told him that since the meal was over, he should go home. But his body very honestly showed no intention of leaving. To make it seem less deliberate, he played fetch with Heibao and Qianjin in the living room while Jiang Lin went to boil some water.

Shen Xing sniffed the air:

“Mm, what smells so good?”

“Tangerine peel. Boiling some tangerine peel water to help with digestion.”

Jiang Lin sat down next to Shen Xing, the distance between them less than a fist’s width. Shen Xing could even smell the scent of the shampoo Jiang Lin used that morning. He felt completely enveloped by Jiang Lin’s aura. This is going to be the death of me.

Unaware of Shen Xing’s inner turmoil, Jiang Lin noticed the medicated plaster on his hand had gotten wet while washing dishes. He casually peeled it off, tossed it into the trash can by the coffee table, took a new one from the drawer, and was just about to apply it when his wrist was grabbed by the person beside him.

Shen Xing only realized what he was doing after he had already grabbed Jiang Lin’s wrist. He closed his eyes for a second:

“You have a doctor right here. Let me massage it for you.”

Shen Xing simply threw caution to the wind. I’m already holding his hand; massaging it won’t make a difference. But then, realizing he was actually taking advantage of Jiang Lin under the guise of being his doctor, the sourness in his heart intensified.

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Author’s Note:

Director Shen, look up. He’s not reluctant at all for you to touch him. His heart is beating even faster than yours!