Xiao Zhan slept frightfully downstairs for several days. Wang Yibo ignored him for most of it. Unexpectedly at breakfast one day, Wang Yibo casually told Xiao Zhan, “I’ll take you out for dinner.”
“Where?” Xiao Zhan’s hand stopped mid-scoop of oatmeal. He lifted his head to look at Wang Yibo.
He lived in Wang Yibo’s home, but Wang Yibo felt that he and Xiao Zhan had been geographically separated for a long time. The distance between them at the dining table seemed to be eight hundred meters, but Xiao Zhan’s expression was still so innocent.
“Someone will come pick you up,” Wang Yibo said. He suddenly lost interest in eating breakfast. Right now, he both wanted to see Xiao Zhan and to not see him. He pushed his bowl away and left the house.
At five in the afternoon, Wang HuoXuan arrived at Wang Yibo’s house to pick up Xiao Zhan. They headed outside the city. Xiao Zhan asked Wang HuoXuan, “Where are we going?”
Wang HuoXuan told him the name of the hotel; Xiao Zhan was silent.
The hotel was called Jian Island. It was built on an island close by that was connected to Ping City by underwater tunnel.
“We’ll be passing through the tunnel soon.” Wang HuoXuan thought he didn’t know where it was, so explained. Xiao Zhan said, “I know where it is. I’ve been there before.”
“You’ve been to Jian Island?” Wang HuoXuan was a little surprised. It didn’t seem like Xiao Zhan could be connected with a seven star hotel like Jian Island at all.
“Our class organized a field trip to that island.” Xiao Zhan gazed out the window at the view of the streets. He told Wang HuoXuan, “I’ve seen the hotel from the outside.”
Wang HuoXuan nodded and asked Xiao Zhan, “I heard you’ve recently started baking?”
Xiao Zhan reached a hand out to adjust the AC vent. He said, “I did once, but Mr. Wang didn’t like it. I haven’t baked since.”
Wang HuoXuan realized that every other phrase, Xiao Zhan brought up Wang Yibo, so lost interest and stopped talking. When the car entered the tunnel, everything became dark. Stirring music played from the stereo as the two remained quiet; because of this, it wasn’t terribly awkward.
At the hotel, Wang HuoXuan parked and brought Xiao Zhan inside. They got on the elevator and swiped the card, then pressed the button for the 35th floor.
“The top floor?” Xiao Zhan suddenly asked. Wang Yibo turned his head to look at him. Xiao Zhan’s expression was a little conflicted.
Wang HuoXuan had never seen this expression on Xiao Zhan’s face before. He inquired, “Is something wrong?” Xiao Zhan shook his head. “Nothing. I just remembered some things.”
The elevator doors opened. The scenic restaurant, located over a hundred meters in the air, was empty and silent. The lights were dim, and there was only one table set up in the enormous room.
Wang Yibo was sitting there, waiting for him. Outside the ceiling-to-floor windows and off in the distance were the dark sea and Ping City’s night view.
Xiao Zhan looked at Wang Yibo. Wang Yibo stood up and waved at him. Xiao Zhan walked over to that table.
Wang HuoXuan closed the door behind them and waited outside.
A few waitresses were standing there too. Normally, there would be a continuous flow of dozens of tables of customers for them to serve. Now that the entire restaurant had been booked and the food was being directly brought inside, they could finally catch a break.
Wang HuoXuan had nothing to do either, so started casually chatting with them. “The top floor isn’t normally all booked out, right?”
“I’ve never seen it,” a girl said. “What a rich person thing to do.”
“Not normally. Several years ago there was a customer who did.” Another waitress a bit older reminisced, “I only know of that one instance.”
“Really?” The other servers were extremely curious. They wanted the older employee to tell them about what had happened the last time the restaurant was booked out. Someone guessed that it was for a proposal.
“Not a proposal,” the waitress said. “That customer booked out the entire floor and seemed to be waiting for someone. But he waited for a whole night and the person never came.”
“A night?” Someone asked in surprise, “A whole night?”
The old employee nodded sympathetically. “He booked the whole place, you know, so the hotel didn’t feel right kicking him out. However long the customer waited for, we stood outside too. He left the morning after, but I was so tired I didn’t see what he looked like.”
“He must’ve been ugly.” The first girl who had spoken up covered her smile and joked.
But the old employee shook her head. “Everyone who saw him said he was stunning.”
“Oh……” A couple of girls grouped together, discussing that if someone invited them to a place like this and booked the whole restaurant out, even if he didn’t have Tiffany1, they would still definitely marry him.
Wang HuoXuan thought of Xiao Zhan who was inside. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad for the other.
Xiao Zhan hesitantly sat across from Wang Yibo. He couldn’t taste the exquisite dishes made by the Michelin star chef.
“Xiao Zhan, what are you thinking about?” Wang Yibo waved a hand in front of Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan took a bite of dessert before saying, “Mr. Wang is suddenly being so good to me. I’m a little unused to this.”
Wang Yibo paused. He didn’t continue along the topic Xiao Zhan had brought up, instead asking, “Xiao Zhan, do you want to go back to school?”
Xiao Zhan’s eyes brightened. He responded very quickly, “Of course.”
“I had someone contact the school for you. As long as you turn in your paper and take the exam, you can go back,” Wang Yibo said. He gazed at Xiao Zhan from beyond the candle light. For some reason, this procedure of giving Xiao Zhan a treat and then hitting him with a stick made it hard for him to breathe2.
Xiao Zhan stared at Wang Yibo. He was so happy it made Wang Yibo’s heart panic. He asked Wang Yibo, “Then I can go back to school?”
“Not yet,” Wang Yibo replied.
Xiao Zhan’s overjoyed appearance disappeared. He became silent, waiting for Wang Yibo to keep talking.
“Go stay with Song JiYang first,” Wang Yibo said. “He said he’ll let you go to school.”
Xiao Zhan looked at Wang Yibo and didn’t say anything.
“Actually, he helped to contact the school for you.” Wang Yibo continued. As he spoke, his throat felt dry. He picked up his wine glass and took a gulp.
“Okay.” Xiao Zhan said. He lowered his head. Wang Yibo could only see the loose hairs on his forehead, his thick eyelashes, and the soft angle of his face beyond the flickering candles.
Immediately after, he saw a drop of water fall onto Xiao Zhan’s plate. The other was crying.
Wang Yibo lifted a hand to squeeze Xiao Zhan’s chin. He wanted to raise Xiao Zhan’s face up, but was met with resistance. Wang Yibo stood and walked over to Xiao Zhan, then squatted down. He asked, “Why are you crying?”
Xiao Zhan shook his head and used his hands to cover his face, refusing to let Wang Yibo see. But his breathing was wet; his lips were tightly pressed together, the tears streaming down his face through the cracks in his fingers. They dripped onto the dark red cloth napkin on his legs.
Xiao Zhan felt hopeless. Wang Yibo probably couldn’t understand what he was feeling. He didn’t love Xiao Zhan, but watching Xiao Zhan cry made his heart feel like it was being covered by a damp and hot towel. He couldn’t breathe.
Wang Yibo forcefully removed Xiao Zhan’s hands from his face. Xiao Zhan’s crying appearance was as pitiful as that of a small child. He didn’t dare to say why he was crying, but couldn’t stop.
“That’s enough.” Wang Yibo unnaturally pulled Xiao Zhan up. Xiao Zhan was half a head shorter than him, so his head rested against Wang Yibo’s shoulder and neck. Wang Yibo deduced that Xiao Zhan was asking for a hug from him, so opened his arms and pulled Xiao Zhan into his embrace. “Stop crying.”
Xiao Zhan held onto him and convulsed, as if he were disregarding everything else. Wang Yibo felt his suit jacket and shirt get soaked by Xiao Zhan’s tears before Xiao Zhan finally stopped.
Even Wang Yibo couldn’t recall how he had ultimately coaxed Xiao Zhan back. At home, they stood in front of the staircase. Xiao Zhan clung onto Wang Yibo and asked, “Mr. Wang, can I sleep upstairs tonight?”
Wang Yibo used up the last of his compassion and held onto Xiao Zhan’s hand as they made their way upstairs. “Come.”
That night, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan didn’t make love. The two awkwardly laid in bed, trying to prevent any physical contact. Neither slept very well.
The next morning, Wang Yibo went to the airport. It was almost Chinese New Year; he needed to go to Europe to spend some time with his parents. The day before, Wang Yibo ordered Liu Haikuan to go to his house in the morning and pick up Xiao Zhan to bring to Song JiYang.
Strictly speaking, it was all because Wang Yibo had been too prideful while on the phone with Jili. He said that he would be giving Xiao Zhan away and couldn’t take his words back. It was also true that he really wanted to prove that Xiao Zhan didn’t mean much to him, which was why he exchanged the other for two of Xiao Investment’s customers and a piece of land after Song JiYang kept bugging him about it.
Wang Yibo and Song JiYang reached an agreement. They scheduled to meet for dinner and have a proper discussion after Wang Yibo returned from Europe.
Wang Yibo asked him if Sean would be coming. Song JiYang said that he was an authorized representative of Sean. Wang Yibo didn’t argue.
Before his flight, Wang Yibo sat in the waiting room. For some reason, he was extremely antsy.
He looked at his watch; it was ten thirty. He called Liu Haikuan and asked him a few questions about work. Liu Haikuan answered them one by one, then, as if knowing what he wanted to ask, said, “I just brought Mr. Xiao to Xiao Investment’s building.”
“Oh.” Wang Yibo only made this one sound, but didn’t hang up. Liu Haikuan didn’t dare to hang up either.
A moment later, Wang Yibo asked, “How did Xiao Zhan seem?”
“……Alright,” Liu Haikuan said. “Not exceptionally unhappy.”
This time, Wang Yibo really hung up. He needed to board. Wang HuoXuan trailed beside him. He watched as Wang Yibo almost walked into the wrong gate and started lining up behind the passengers in economy class. After Wang HuoXuan reminded him, he finally walked off in a daze to the business class entrance.
The next time they met was two weeks later. It was the second day after Wang Yibo had returned from Europe.
There was a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for the laboratory building Wang Technology had donated to Ping University. They had invited Wang Yibo to attend, but Wang Yibo had originally told the vice president of their company to go. Wang HuoXuan had a thought. In the morning when he was going over the schedule with Wang Yibo, he brought up this event.
At first, Wang Yibo didn’t respond. A while later, he called Wang HuoXuan back from where he had almost made it to the office exit. He said, “I’ll go to the groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon.”
Wang HuoXuan turned around and said yes, then left to update the vice president. He also got in contact with the preparatory committee for Ping University’s ceremonies. The committee was naturally extremely welcoming upon hearing that Wang Technology’s CEO was coming. They rushed to switch up all the slogans and backdrops for the ceremony.
The groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled for three in the afternoon at an empty piece of land recently demolished on the north side of Ping University.
Wang Yibo didn’t want to give a speech onstage. He only sat in the audience and watched the entire thing.
The school’s principal felt like he was sitting on thin ice as he accompanied Wang Yibo. He didn’t know why this big Buddha had decided to come to their school today. Ping University was a normal secondary education institute. The principal had heard about Wang Yibo’s reputation; it would’ve been fine if that vice president had come, but now that Wang Yibo was here personally, he was quite afraid that there would be a sudden shoot-out at their school. Everytime Wang Yibo’s finger twitched, he went into a panic.
The ceremony finally ended as the celebratory cannons fired in sync. Wang Yibo maintained a stern expression and stood up. The principal hurriedly rushed to get up too. “Mr. Wang, we organized a dinner——”
Wang Yibo turned his head and said, “I won’t be there for dinner; I have other plans. Have Wang HuoXuan go for me.”
The principal still wanted to follow him, but was stopped by Wang HuoXuan.
The groundbreaking ceremony lasted over two hours. Night fell earlier during the winter, and Ping University was at the foot of a mountain. By the time it was around five or six, the sun had already set behind the looming mountain. Only a wisp of red remained in the sky.
Wang Yibo had never visited Ping University before. His car parked close by. The driver sat in the car waiting for him. He didn’t directly walk over, though. Instead, he walked around Ping University. Liu Haikuan didn’t dare to try and figure out what Wang Yibo was thinking. He only dared to follow behind him.
Ping University wasn’t large. Wang Yibo took 20 minutes to walk around it, starting from the east-most side and ending up at the front gate in the west. Students passed through the gate in groups of two and three. Wang Yibo slowed his strides. At this time, someone called him to a halt.
“Mr. Wang?”
It was Xiao Zhan. Wang Yibo and Liu Haikuan both turned to look at him. Xiao Zhan was dressed very much like a student. He carried his backpack and walked towards the gate. Upon seeing Wang Yibo, he was both surprised and happy. “Why are you at our school?”
Wang Yibo had already made Liu Haikuan check for him while he was in Europe. Xiao Zhan had caught the last train3 and attended the school’s final exam last semester. He had also turned in his paper.
No matter how much he scorned Xiao Investment, Wang Yibo had to admit that Song JiYang treated Xiao Zhan very well.
“For business of course.” Wang Yibo’s face was expressionless, but his person was very obviously relaxed. He wasn’t as tense as he had been when walking around before.
Xiao Zhan nodded. Wang Yibo asked him, “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.” After Xiao Zhan replied, he suddenly smiled at Wang Yibo. “Are you going to treat me?”
Wang Yibo was surprised by this question, but couldn’t straight out say no. He was forced to dryly answer, “Fine.”
Liu Haikuan didn’t want to hear any more from where he was off to the side. But Wang Yibo was his boss, so he could only keep standing there like a door god4.
Wang Yibo brought Xiao Zhan onto the car and asked what he wanted to eat. Xiao Zhan didn’t have an answer, so Wang Yibo randomly chose a Chinese restaurant located inside a hotel.
They actually only hadn’t seen each other for around a dozen days. But maybe because their relationship was different now, Xiao Zhan was much more expressive in front of Wang Yibo. He stopped being so fearful. He held onto the menu and looked at it for a long time, but still couldn’t figure out what to order. Even the server standing on the side waiting for him was getting tired. In the end, it was Wang Yibo who grabbed the menu from him and ordered a few dishes.
After ordering, the waiter left. Xiao Zhan nervously looked at Wang Yibo and stammered out, “Are you here to see me?”
“No,” Wang Yibo said. “I’m just passing by.”
Xiao Zhan nodded. Wang Yibo pretended he believed this excuse and asked Xiao Zhan, “Is Song JiYang good to you?”
“He is.” Xiao Zhan only said two words. When the food arrived, he ate for a bit before speaking, “I’ve recently started learning how to cook.”
Wang Yibo instinctively looked at Xiao Zhan’s hands. Xiao Zhan held them out for him to see. “Yesterday I cut myself chopping vegetables.”
Wang Yibo grabbed his left hand to observe. There were tiny cuts on his middle and ring fingers. He was just about to let go when he suddenly noticed that the belly of Xiao Zhan’s index finger was slightly rough. He hadn’t noticed before, only discovering this fact now that his hand had brushed over it.
“This……” Wang Yibo held onto his fingertips, expression conflicted.
Xiao Zhan noticed Wang Yibo’s pause and pressed his thumb and index finger together. He smiled and told Wang Yibo, “My advisor said these are standard book-flipping calluses, but they’re in the same place as other people’s gun calluses.”
Wang Yibo had seen Xiao Zhan flip through books before; he really did use his index finger to flip the pages. He said to Xiao Zhan, “People who use guns don’t all have calluses. I don’t have any.”
He held his palm out for Xiao Zhan to hold. Xiao Zhan stroked Wang Yibo’s hand from his fingertips to his wrist, then said, “Mr. Wang has the hands of a pampered man.”
Wang Yibo was slightly aroused from his caresses, but maintained a polite smile and continued picking out food for Xiao Zhan.
They ate till past seven. Wang Yibo paid and walked out with Xiao Zhan. He had almost never taken Xiao Zhan out to eat in the past. The only time had been the once at Jian Island. Xiao Zhan hadn’t managed to eat properly then, having spent the entire duration holding onto Wang Yibo and crying instead.
When they reached the restaurant’s exit, Wang Yibo suddenly grabbed onto Xiao Zhan’s hand. He pulled him to the side. Xiao Zhan was completely trapped in Wang Yibo’s embrace. Wang Yibo stood very close to him and asked, “Do you know what’s above this restaurant?”
“……A hotel?” Xiao Zhan didn’t know what Wang Yibo was hinting at, so guessed at the answer.
“I had someone book a room. Will you come upstairs with me?” Wang Yibo held on tightly to Xiao Zhan’s hand. It made one wonder if he was actually giving Xiao Zhan a choice or just asking to be polite.
But Xiao Zhan very seriously considered this question. Wang Yibo stroked his wrist and could tell that Xiao Zhan’s heart was beating really fast. Soon after, Xiao Zhan copied Wang Yibo and leaned in close. His lips almost brushed against Wang Yibo’s chin; his breath was warm and tickled against Wang Yibo’s skin. He quietly answered, “Okay.”
Wang Yibo took him to the front desk downstairs and retrieved the key card. Xiao Zhan glued himself to him, following Wang Yibo upstairs and into the room.
Wang Yibo didn’t even bother turning on the lights. He grabbed Xiao Zhan and pulled him in, then pressed him onto the door. As soon as he lowered his head, he could smell the soft fragrance of sin on him.
“Mr. Wang.” Xiao Zhan felt ticklish. Wang Yibo bit his neck and rubbed his teeth against Xiao Zhan’s jugular vein.
A nervous whimper escaped Xiao Zhan. He moved, trying to escape Wang Yibo’s control. Wang Yibo kept pressing him down, refusing to let him go. He glued himself to Xiao Zhan’s ear and asked him, “Tell me, did you miss me?”
Xiao Zhan gently pressed his lips against Wang Yibo’s chin, then shifted towards his lips. Wang Yibo opened his mouth to kiss him.
What originally should’ve been a short kiss deepened as it lasted longer and longer. Xiao Zhan was wearing a loose sweater. Wang Yibo fondled him, starting from the waist and travelling up to the little nubs on his chest, squeezing them maliciously.
Xiao Zhan pushed at him, but Wang Yibo caught his hand. Wang Yibo was still waiting for his response. He could only obediently answer, “Yes.”
Wang Yibo was extremely pleased. He wanted to say something else to tease him, but Xiao Zhan struck first, using his soft and warm lips to block Wang Yibo’s mouth that was parted and ready to assign him a ten thousand word confession paper.
The hallways in the hotel were very quiet. But if you walked close to the door of a room at the end of the hallway, you would be able to tell that the door seemed to be shaking.
Wang Yibo held Xiao Zhan up by the buttocks. He pressed him against the door and moved him up and down on his dick. Xiao Zhan couldn’t hold in his cries. His voice sounded almost submerged, soft and seductive. His legs were limp and rested on both sides, swaying with Wang Yibo’s movements.
“Don’t be too loud.” Wang Yibo’s voice was low as he scared him, “If someone walks past, will they be able to hear how you sound in bed?”
Xiao Zhan didn’t dare to make noise again after that. He whimpered and used his hands to hold onto Wang Yibo tightly.
Wang Yibo could only see what seemed like tears in Xiao Zhan’s eyes. He finally realized that the room was too dim, so reached a hand out to turn on the lights. Xiao Zhan bit his lip and looked at him, tears formed in his eyes but not yet fallen. His nose was a little red while his lips were bright red. His teeth pressed against his lips, making him appear both pitiful and adorable.
Xiao Zhan closed his eyes in response to the sudden brightness of the lights turning on. He forced himself to open his eyelids; the way he looked at Wang Yibo was as sincere as could be, as if he liked him to death. He also looked like he was stuck in a thunderstorm on a deserted island, trying to escape from Wang Yibo but unable to no matter what.
Wang Yibo held onto Xiao Zhan’s waist, practically engulfed by the look in his eyes. He couldn’t control himself and asked Xiao Zhan, “Do you really like me a lot?”
Xiao Zhan kept biting his lips. He didn’t want to answer Wang Yibo’s disrespectful question.
“Do you?” Wang Yibo released one hand so that Xiao Zhan had to take him in deeper. Xiao Zhan was terrified he would slide down the wall. He reached out to hug Wang Yibo’s neck, but Wang Yibo brushed his hands away, all this time maintaining small thrusts upward.
Xiao Zhan’s entire body was as limp as a puddle of water. He cried and begged for mercy, “I do, I like you.”
Wang Yibo’s self control left him. He kissed Xiao Zhan as he continually pounded into him. Every thrust was completed with full force. The room was filled with fervent water noises.
Xiao Zhan was dizzy, but still let Wang Yibo fuck him. His erect member rubbed against Wang Yibo’s shirt, getting it wet. When Wang Yibo brushed Xiao Zhan’s prostate, Xiao Zhan tightened his legs around Wang Yibo’s waist and came with a shiver. The point at which they were connected was a mess. Wang Yibo pounded in a couple more times while Xiao Zhan squeezed. He came inside.
Wang Yibo kept standing while holding onto Xiao Zhan for a while before finally setting him down. The both of them were panting. Xiao Zhan’s back was red from being pressed against the door and fucked for so long.
Wang Yibo picked him up and threw him onto the bed. Xiao Zhan grabbed onto Wang Yibo’s hand, staring at him with wide eyes.
Wang Yibo leaned down and embraced Xiao Zhan. He prepared to cuddle with him and sleep.
Suddenly, there was movement at the foot of the bed. Something in Xiao Zhan’s backpack was vibrating.
Wang Yibo was still on him, his hand caressing his waist. Xiao Zhan pushed at him. “Mr. Wang, I have a phone call.”
Wang Yibo was displeased, but he had just finished bullying Xiao Zhan, so didn’t want to be too strict. He let go of Xiao Zhan and watched as he scooted slowly to the edge of the bed and pulled his phone out from his backpack.
When Xiao Zhan grabbed his phone, his back was to Wang Yibo. The blankets covered half his waist; his lower waist was covered with marks left by how hard Wang Yibo had gripped him.
Xiao Zhan’s phone vibrated once more, as if the person had texted instead since the call hadn’t been picked up. Xiao Zhan glanced at it and turned around to tell Wang Yibo, “I need to go home.”
Wang Yibo’s eyebrows were squeezed together tightly. “What do you mean go home? Just go directly to school tomorrow.”
They had only done it once. The night was just beginning.
“I can’t……” Xiao Zhan put on his sweater and turned to look at Wang Yibo. He stubbornly persisted, “I need to go home.”
Wang Yibo sat up and glared at Xiao Zhan. Seeing that he wasn’t going to give in, he could only ask, “Where do you live? I’ll take you there.”
Before Xiao Zhan could reply, his phone rang again. Wang Yibo glanced down at it, only to see “Mr. Song” displayed on the screen. Xiao Zhan answered and made several noises of acknowledgement, then said, “I’ll be back soon, there’s no need to pick me up.”
After hanging up, he told Wang Yibo, “You don’t need to drive me. I can take a car there myself.”
Wang Yibo’s face was green. He angrily asked Xiao Zhan, “You live with Song JiYang?”
“Of course.” Xiao Zhan then put on his pants. His legs were still slightly shaking.
“Why do you live with Song JiYang?” Wang Yibo refused to give up.
Xiao Zhan finished dressing himself. He finally turned around to look at Wang Yibo. He calmly said, “Didn’t you give me to him?”
There was no resentment in Xiao Zhan’s eyes. His tone was that of someone chatting with a friend, but the words he spoke caused Wang Yibo’s heart to freeze.
The arousal that Xiao Zhan had just caused him in bed instantly disappeared. He gazed speechlessly at Xiao Zhan, until Xiao Zhan bade him farewell.
Xiao Zhan left in a hurry. Wang Yibo sat there alone, feeling for the first time that he was the prostitute. A while later, he finally remembered. He hadn’t asked for Xiao Zhan’s phone number.
The next day, Wang Yibo received an invitation from Song JiYang to attend dinner. Song JiYang had called at a good time. If it were a few days later, Wang Yibo would’ve been out of town.
A local gang belonging to the Triad had robbed a shipment of cargo. They found an old negotiator to try and sell the goods to Wang Yibo. It was a huge amount of cargo, so Wang Yibo needed to see it first. They had scheduled to meet in Laos.
Wang HuoXuan knocked on the door and told him Xiao Investment’s Jiang Qi was asking when he had time for dinner in the next three days. Wang Yibo glanced at his watch and said, “Tonight works.”
Wang HuoXuan looked at his schedule and reminded Wang Yibo, “Tonight Mr. Jili arrives in Ping City. You were originally going to go to White Nest with him.”
“Cancel that.” Wang Yibo waved his hand impatiently. “Can’t Jili find ways to amuse himself without me?”
Wang HuoXuan’s head hurt thinking about Jili’s unpredictable temperament, then walked outside the reply to Song JiYang.
Song JiYang chose a newly opened restaurant that served Western cuisine. He and Wang Yibo were both ostentatious people, so he booked out the whole place.
Wang Yibo took care to arrive fifteen minutes later than the scheduled time. He was dressed very formally, like a peacock showing off his feathers, trying to outshine the person sitting across.
Song JiYang very politely stood up, only taking a seat again when Wang Yibo sat down. “I never imagined that one day Mr. Wang and I could sit together peacefully and eat.”
“You’re being too polite.” Wang Yibo gazed levelly at Song JiYang and clinked glasses with him.
The two made small talk for a while. When the main dishes were served, Song JiYang finally cut to the point. “Does Mr. Wang know what goods A·L sent you?”
The laboratory results had come back a long time ago. Other than the ashes of the cargo placed in the container, there was also a type of biopoison originating from a lab in country A. After the container caught on fire, he lost contact with the firearms dealer in country A. When Wang Yibo received this news, he had been in Europe. The entire event seemed fishy, to the point that even Wang Yibo’s father and a few of his seniors were notified.
Liu Haikuan returned to Ping City immediately and caught the middleman who had introduced them to the firearms dealer from country A. They interrogated him but got no useful information. It was only after Wang Yibo’s seniors helped that they realized the firearms dealer from country A and his only son were both real, but somewhere along the way, a fake A·L had taken the real A·L’s place.
“The container……” Song JiYang’s expression subtly changed. “Sean ordered people to burn it. I didn’t know before, so said it wasn’t Sean who burned it.”
Wang Yibo cocked an eyebrow. “Is it very difficult for you to see Sean once?”
Song JiYang was exasperated. “These days you can only see the dragon’s head but not his tail5. I asked him why he burned your container and he said it was for your own good.”
The poisons in the container were extremely volatile and strong. If the fake A·L had had bad intentions and left the poison unbottled, then it would’ve been entirely too possible for deaths to have occurred when the container was opened.
But Wang Yibo refused to believe that Sean had done it for Wang Yibo’s own good. He noncommitedly answered, “Is that so? Then I’ll have to thank him. But how did Sean know?”
Song JiYang shook his head. “Sean met A·L before, and also saw the A·L who came to Ping City last time. He’s only letting me say this much. To get Xiao Zhan from you this time, I gave up a lot of things. Sean already scolded me.”
Wang Yibo turned his attention back onto Song JiYang after hearing Xiao Zhan’s name.
“Oh right, Mr. Wang. Xiao Zhan was with you yesterday?” Song JiYang asked Wang Yibo, seemingly casually.
Wang Yibo glanced at him, then nodded quite arrogantly.
“No wonder he came home late,” Song JiYang spoke as he lowered his head and cut at his steak.
Wang Yibo didn’t know why he was in such a good mood. He provoked Song JiYang, partly as a way of showing off, “CEO Song’s methods of raising a sugar baby are really quite unique. You’ve raised him onto my bed.”
“I’m not as despicable as you,” Song JiYang shook his head. “I’m all about going with the flow.”
“That won’t be easy,” Wang Yibo said. “Last night Xiao Zhan was still crying and saying he liked me.”
Song JiYang lifted his head and looked at Wang Yibo as the corners of his mouth twitched. “Maybe one day he’ll also cry in bed and say he likes me.”
Song JiYang’s refute angered Wang Yibo so much he almost forgot to breathe, but he didn’t express this. His expression simply became colder as he shrugged and refused to reply.
They continued discussing business, which was when Song JiYang received a call. He looked at his phone, then apologized and walked out to answer. After he came back, he told Wang Yibo, “Sean said he wishes you well.”
Wang Yibo nodded nonchalantly. “I hope to greet Mr. Sean in person one day.”
“It’s Sean’s first time being in a relationship. He’s in a little deep, so is extra busy.” Song JiYang’s smile was protective. “Hopefully Mr. Wang can understand.”
“Is that so?” Wang Yibo gave a perfunctory response. Song JiYang really knew how to make stuff up. His lies almost sounded real.
He didn’t think Song JiYang would nod and continue saying, “But you know men. Everything’s the same when you get in bed. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to catch him either.”
Wang Yibo furrowed his brows. He thought Song JiYang was quite troublesome. Why was he sharing so much about Sean’s personal life out of the blue? But he still politely made a noise of “un” before taking his leave. “It’s late. I still have some business at the company. I’ll contact you when I’m free.”
Song JiYang walked with him to his car. The two shook hands; on the surface, it seemed that they were over their previous feud.
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Glossary
1. Tiffany : Jewelry from Tiffany & Co.
2. Giving someone a treat and then hitting him with a stick : Giving a reward/good news first, then following it up with a punishment/bad news.
3. Caught the last train : Making a deadline in just the nick of time.
4. Door Dog : Guardian spirit
5. Only see the dragon’s head but not his tail : Only getting news from him occasionally.
Vote and Comment if you enjoyed this chapter. Happy Thursday💜 Stay tuned for the next chapter! Stay safe and healthy😊 With luv, AR&SS❣
