Wen Yan observed whether Wen Congyan was enjoying himself, and he didn’t seem to care about Nan Ye’s presence. Nonetheless, Nan Ye seemed quite pleased.
Back when Nan Ye went overseas, it was partly because Wen Congyan also went there at that time.
Yes, Nan Ye had been secretly in love with Wen Congyan for a long time.
When he was in high school, he went to Wen’s house for the first time, to attend Wen Yan’s birthday party. There, he fell in love with Wen Congyan at first sight.
To be more precise, when they first met briefly, several girls in their class blushed just by seeing Wen Congyan from behind.
Wen Congyan was studying at that time at a university, and he was five years older than them.
The tall and slender guy carried a hint of youthfulness but already exuded an indescribable maturity and beauty. Unlike Wen Yan, who still looked like a child, Wen Congyan easily attracted everyone’s attention.
Unfortunately, Wen Yan and Wen Congyan didn’t get along. From childhood up until now, Wen Congyan was still like a thorn in Wen Yan’s side. So, Wen Yan certainly didn’t have a good impression of him.
Wen Congyan didn’t even look at them. When they first met, he just ignored them and walked away, so they barely saw anything more than his figure. They couldn’t even strike up a conversation.
But since then, Nan Ye had been obsessed with him. Every time Wen Yan invited him to Wen’s house, he would go there with the intention of seeing Wen Congyan. However, he hadn’t seen Wen Congyan that much.
Nan Ye also knew a bit about why Wen Yan disliked Wen Congyan. It all stemmed from Wen Yan’s father, who was the fourth son of Wen Jia1TL: Jia is a Chinese term for Family, Home or House. But it indicates here as Wen Family..
When Wen Yan’s father was young, he had a falling out with Mr. Wen2TL: I think this refers to their Father, the head of Wen Family. over money, especially with the third son of Wen Jia—Wen Congyan’s father. After all these years, even though Wen Yu and his cousins tried to repair the family’s relationships, neither side was very receptive.
Wen Yan’s father had already realized his mistakes—he was incapable in business and had irritated his father, leading to his own business failure. He had come back with a humble attitude to please his father and Wen Congyan’s father. However, his father was indifferent, and Wen Congyan, who had now taken charge of the family, continued to maintain his usual attitude of indifference.
Wen Yan’s father tried hard to please Wen Congyan and when Wen Yan saw Wen Congyan often, the more annoyed he became, and the angrier he got.
You can easily understand if you put yourself in his shoes.
Of course, all of this had nothing to do with Nan Ye. He was just happy to get a closer look at his idol, and today he had coincidentally learned of Wen Yan’s family gathering and managed to persuade himself to come after much insistence.
Seating himself next to Wen Congyan, Nan Ye felt ecstatic. This was probably the most thrilling thing he had experienced in the past week!
Seeing Nan Ye sitting next to Wen Congyan, Wen Yan was taken aback and displeased. He asked Nan Ye, “Why are you sitting there?”
Nan Ye hesitated for a moment, then turned back and awkwardly said, “Uh, then, where should I sit?” He asked, looking embarrassed.
Wen Yan replied, “Isn’t it obvious? Sit right here next to me!”
Wen Yu quickly intervened, “Why don’t you come over here too, Wen Yan? Sitting by the entrance may affect the serving of the dishes.”
Wen Yan looked puzzled, “…”
Just as the eldest brother of the Wen family arrived, they all began to order their dishes.
Nan Ye looked at the menu and turned to glance at Wen Congyan sitting beside him.
Wen Congyan was engrossed in his phone, and even his profile was enough to captivate Nan Ye. This man looked much more mature than he remembered, restrained and poised. His face was more handsome than any male celebrity Nan Ye had seen in the entertainment industry.
Nan Ye couldn’t help but daydream, wishing that Wen Congyan were not so indifferent and had more interest in male artists. If not for that, Nan Ye wouldn’t mind taking the initiative to approach him.
While Nan Ye indulged in his fantasies, he softly asked, “Congyan Ge, what would you like to eat?”
Wen Congyan replied in a calm tone, “You guys decide.”
Nan Ye suggested, “How about some scallops?”
Wen Yan objected grumpily, “I don’t eat scallops!”
Wen Congyan’s brother, Wen Yu, interjected, “Congyan can have scallops.”
Nan Ye agreed, “Alright, let’s order some scallops for Wen Ge!”
Wen Yan was bewildered.
He felt that something was not right!
Wen Yan leaned close to Nan Ye and whispered, “Didn’t you say you wanted to meet my family that’s why you came with me?”
Doesn’t Nan Ye want to define their relationship? Then, isn’t the focus supposed to be on Wen Yan? Right?
Nan Ye blushed and playfully glanced at him, then smiled, “Of course.”
Wen Yan stared at him, his lips pursed.
Nan Ye smiled and said, “Aren’t you fond of spicy cucumber? I ordered it for you.”
Wen Yan was surprised, “???”
As everyone chattered around him, Wen Congyan continued to stare at his phone, lost in thought. He furrowed his brows, suddenly feeling like he shouldn’t be sitting here at this moment but should instead be in his car.
*
Today’s random tasks were a bit unsatisfactory. Xu Yin had already run back and forth along Shijin Street, but he still hadn’t had any tasks as an hour passed by.
He stopped on his track, panting and asked 018 in his mind: “Should we go to another place to look for random tasks today?”
018 replied: “We should! It’s quite unreasonable for us to do tasks in one street all the time.”
Xu Yin agreed to what the system said. While Transmigration is metaphysical, generating random tasks on one street is a bit much.
Xu Yin walked up to a vending machine where a guy had just bent down to grab a bottle of cola. When the guy saw Xu Yin, he froze for a moment.
Xu Yin smiled at him and waited for him to move aside, then stepped forward to scan the code.
The guy blushed and stole another glance at Xu Yin before hurrying away with his cola.
018: “…”
018: “Slick! So sassy! Are you a wrench or what? Real men shouldn’t be that slick!”
Xu Yin: “Stereotypes aren’t good, little 018.”
018: “I’m not ‘little’ at all!!”
Xu Yin calmly chose a bottle of Sprite, about to open it when he saw a text appear in his field of vision on the task panel.
Task panel: [Please walk forward for twenty meters and turn right.]
Xu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the task had arrived. He decided to forgo the drink and moved forward.
On the second floor of the restaurant, when Nan Ye talked to him for an nth time, Wen Congyan stood up and said, “I need to take a call.”
Nan Ye drank some juice in disappointment.
On the other hand, Wen Yan, who had been nibbling on cucumbers, was now left with just a plate of them.
Wen Congyan walked to the corridor, where it was still bustling with restaurant staff. They politely greeted him as he passed by. He nodded in acknowledgment but quickly turned his gaze towards the staircase.
Descending it, he reached a quiet alleyway behind the restaurant, away from the noise.
The dimly lit alley was lit by yellowish streetlights.
There was no actual phone call for him to answer, but he had taken out a cigarette to light it when he heard footsteps approaching not far away and he looked up.
Two staggering figures were walking towards him, bumping into each other while mumbling nonsensical words.
Two steps away from Wen Congyan was a large trash bin.
As the two men got closer, one of them, who was unable to see the path clearly, crashed into the bin with a loud clatter. The bin tipped over, and the man fell with a “clang”. He let out cries of pain, and a foul smell filled the air.
After yelling, the man lifted his head, his intoxicated eyes glaring at Wen Congyan as he shouted, “How dare you bump into me! Hic!”
Wen Congyan: “…”
Meanwhile, following the navigation on the task panel, Xu Yin continued forward for twenty meters and then turned right. In the dimly lit alley, he saw two men surrounding another person, and one of them had already raised his fist.
Task panel: [Please rescue the innocent little CEO who was in trouble. Reward: 20 points.]
The phrasing in the task panel was always confusing, and Xu Yin had almost gotten used to it. However, today, he couldn’t help but be puzzled for a moment.
Nevertheless, he didn’t have time to dwell on the matter and immediately rushed towards them to intervene.
The fist came crashing towards his face, and Wen Congyan’s expression turned slightly cold. He took a step back and raised his hand to firmly catch the incoming punch, rendering it completely immobile.
The first drunk guy, stunned by how well his punch was caught, cursed and angrily raised his other hand into a fist.
Before Wen Congyan could react, a gust of wind came from behind, and the next second, the first drunk guy’s second punch was kicked away!
The first drunk guy let out a cry of pain and staggered, stumbling to the ground.
Wen Congyan’s pupils suddenly contracted.
018: “It was a roundhouse kick!”
Xu Yin breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, he had practiced self-defense for so many days.
He turned around to check on the “innocent little CEO” mentioned in the task panel, but unexpectedly met a pair of dark, familiar eyes.
Wen Congyan, “…”
Xu Yin, “…”
Xu Yin, “Ah.”
What a coincidence.
The first drunk guy had fallen hard, his eyes with tears, “Who… who kicked me? It hurts to death!”
The second drunk guy turned to look at his companion and then back at Xu Yin, shouting, “You dared to hit my brother, do you want to die?!”
After shouting, he, a tall and burly man, charged towards Xu Yin.
“Be careful!” Wen Congyan frowned, attempting to pull Xu Yin behind him. However, Xu Yin pushed him away instead. He watched as Xu Yin, with swift decisiveness, swept the second drunk guy off his feet with another kick.
“Argh!” The second drunk guy fell flat on his back, completely unprepared for Xu Yin’s swift action. The fall almost made him vomit out the alcohol he had just drank.
Familiar with each other from their previous encounters, Xu Yin didn’t hold back. He then turned around and placed his hand on Wen Congyan’s shoulder.
Wen Congyan was taken aback, not sure what Xu Yin was planning.
Without hesitation, Xu Yin pushed him back a couple of steps and made him sit on a small stool that seemed to have been abandoned by someone.
Once seated, Wen Congyan found a bottle of iced Sprite in his hand, already opened.
“…” Wen Congyan looked silently at the handsome young man in front of him.
With a cheerful smile, the young man said, “Sit tight, have a drink, and don’t get involved. If you interfere, I might end up hitting you too.”
Getting involved with outsiders would cost him points.
After all the days of practice, handling two drunk troublemakers was no problem for Xu Yin.
Wen Congyan: “…”
So he held his cold Sprite and watched in silence as Xu Yin turned around and dealt with the two drunks who were coming at him again, kicking one and twisting the other to the ground.
…He looked incredibly cool.
Wen Congyan tightened his grip on the Sprite and narrowed his eyes.
The two drunks were already almost completely beaten to a pulp but were unwilling to back down. As a result, they were almost completely at the mercy of Xu Yin, who was handling them with ease and cried out in pain.
The second drunk guy, who had been pinned down by Xu Yin for the third time, was lying face down and cursing with dirty words like “damn it”, “shit”, and “I’ll fvck you,” and Xu Yin simply put his hand around the back of the drunk’s neck and chuckled, “Hey… It seems that when you’re this drunk, the only way to sober up is to vomit a bit.”
The sensation of having his neck held sent shivers down the second drunk guy’s spine. He quickly gave in, “I was wrong, I’m sorry, don’t press on my neck, please don’t!”
The first drunk guy managed to climb to his feet, swaying unsteadily and roaring as if he was going to charge at Xu Yin again. However, the next moment, he saw the young man extend his hand behind his back, and when he swung it back out, a stick was perfectly positioned at the first drunk guy’s throat.
Yes, it was the self-defense stick Xu Yin had ordered online that night when he was dealing with the thief. Of course, he used it now at a crucial moment.
The first drunk guy almost couldn’t stop himself, colliding with the stick, and stumbled, falling flat on his face!
Wen Yan and the others heard the commotion from the private room, and when they came downstairs, they saw this scene.
Wen Congyan, who had said he was going out to answer a call, was sitting on a small stool, one unlit cigarette in his right hand, an opened bottle of Sprite in his left hand, and was staring intently in the direction ahead.
In that direction, the slender young man was pressing down on one guy with one hand and swinging a stick with the other, while another guy lay sprawled on the ground. The scene was quite bloody3TL: Not real blood tho. Just an expression..
Wen Yan, “What the fvck?!”
Nan Ye, “What the fvck?!”
Wen Yan stared in amazement, “Ah Yin?!”
Xu Yin turned his head to look and was also surprised. ‘Wen Yan and Nan Ye?’
“What are you guys doing here?” He asked.
Wen Congyan paused, his gaze sweeping over Wen Yan and Nan Ye before settling on Xu Yin.
Xu Yin relaxed his stance, and the two drunk men moved surprisingly agile now. They scrambled away and quickly disappeared.
Xu Yin didn’t bother chasing them, since he had already secured the points he needed.
He put away the stick, calmly tucking it back into his waistband, then looked at Wen Congyan and Wen Yan.
Wait a minute.
Now that he thought about it, he had a vague sense of familiarity when he saw the bystander. Seeing Wen Yan and the bystander standing together, he finally remembered… the original host had seen this bystander online before!
If Xu Yin remembered correctly, this bystander seemed to be Wen Yan’s cousin. The most outstanding man of Wen Jia’s younger generation. His net worth was difficult to estimate, and he had a huge career. However, what Wen Yan said about Wen Congyan to the original host was that he was a ruthless, heartless final boss who had bullied their family since childhood.
It was only after Wen Yan mentioned this that the original host became curious and searched online to find a picture of this “final boss”.
But… a final boss?
Xu Yin looked at the man who was now calmly sitting there, holding a cigarette in one hand and an opened bottle of Sprite in the other, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
He walked over and said, “If you’re not going to drink it, give it back to me.”
Wen Congyan’s gaze landed on Xu Yin’s hand, and he remarked, “Your fingers are bleeding.”
Xu Yin glanced at his left hand, where he noticed a small cut on his index finger oozing blood.
Without anything on hand to stop the bleeding, Xu Yin habitually raised his hand and licked the blood.
Suddenly, Wen Congyan’s body tensed, and he took a sharp breath.
Xu Yin finally got the Sprite back and took a sip. Meanwhile, Wen Yan regained his composure and stepped closer, asking, “A-Yin, what are you doing here? What happened just now?”
Wen Yu also realized the situation and added, “Congyan, what were those two guys doing?”
“Nothing, just a little accident.” Wen Congyan stood up nonchalantly, downplaying the situation, but his gaze remained fixed on Xu Yin.
Nan Ye, however, was alarmed by Wen Congyan’s focus on Xu Yin and couldn’t hold back asking, “Xu Yin, you didn’t follow A-Yan here, did you?”
The dim-lit alley fell silent for a moment.
No one expected Nan Ye to suddenly blurt out this question.
Xu Yin took a sip of his Sprite, slowly closed the cap, and raised his gaze to glance over.
Wen Yu and Wen Jia’s elder brother seemed to have figured something out. Considering Wen Yan’s orientation, they already had some suspicions about it.
They were also likely aware of the situation between Nan Ye and Wen Yan but chose to feign ignorance.
Looking at it this way, there seemed to be some connection between this handsome young man in front of them and Wen Yan. His presence here might not be purely coincidental.
Upon hearing Nan Ye’s words, Wen Yan’s eyes lit up. Xu Yin had actually followed him?
Nan Ye: “…”
‘Why the hell are you getting so excited?’
Wen Congyan furrowed his brows slightly.
Nan Ye again: “…”
‘Why are you frowning? Are you jealous!?’
Xu Yin picked up the earphones hanging around his neck, casually saying, “I was just jogging.”
Nan Ye sneered, “Just jogging, and you happened to run here?”
Wen Congyan spoke in his deep voice, “So?”
Nan Ye was taken aback.
Wen Yan was also puzzled.
Wen Yu exclaimed, “Wait, Congyan, do you know him?”
At this point, they almost believed that Xu Yin had followed Wen Yan here and had just coincidentally encountered the two troublemakers when Wen Congyan came downstairs. But judging by Wen Congyan’s tone, it didn’t seem that way?
Xu Yin remembered the days when he had stared at this bystander on the street for several days in a row and couldn’t help but laugh.
Wen Congyan’s gaze traveled from Xu Yin’s lips where a faint smile hung to somewhere else, his expression remained indifferent as he said, “He jogs here every night.”
Others: How do you know that? And why do you sound so proud?
Wen Yan started to feel something was off. He became agitated and demanded, “A-Yin, when did you get to know Congyan?!”
Xu Yin said, “Ah, it’s about time for me to leave.”
Wen Yan insisted, “Answer my question and I’ll give you a ride home!”
Just as Xu Yin was about to reply, another shadow cast over him.
It was Wen Congyan.
Wen Congyan lowered his gaze to Xu Yin and said, “I’ll take you back.”
Nan Ye and Wen Yan’s expressions shifted.
Xu Yin hesitated and replied, “It’s alright, I can run back by myself.”
Wen Congyan insisted, “You’re injured.”
Xu Yin: “…”
He was injured in his finger, not his leg.
Before Xu Yin could respond, Wen Congyan added, “I’ll call my assistant to come over and you wait for a moment.”
“Wait, there’s no need for you to call him!!” Wen Yan exploded in anger, “You have nothing to do with this!!”
Wen Congyan glanced at him.
Wen Yan immediately froze and bit his tongue.
Ever since he was young, he had always considered Wen Congyan a formidable rival. He despised Wen Congyan, never greeted him with a friendly face, and rolled his eyes at him disdainfully. Wen Congyan, on the other hand, always acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, completely ignoring him.
On one hand, Wen Yan resented Wen Congyan’s disregard for him, but on the other hand, he secretly believed that Wen Congyan might just be afraid of him.
However, at this moment, Wen Yan gulped down his words, didn’t dare to speak. He was frightened by the look of Wen Congyan’s eyes.
He realized, for the first time, that Wen Congyan’s indifference might truly be because he didn’t see him as a threat at all.
Nan Ye looked at Wen Congyan and then at Xu Yin, his frustration reaching the point of tears.
When did Xu Yin get so close to Wen Congyan?!
This atmosphere didn’t seem right at all!
But Wen Congyan wasn’t like Wen Yan. He couldn’t just cast a pitiful glance and redirect his attention. Nan Ye was getting more and more annoyed to death.
After making the phone call, Wen Congyan glanced at Xu Yin and asked, “Is it okay?”
Xu Yin smiled, “You called already, and now you’re asking me?”
In truth, Xu Yin didn’t really mind. He was tired, and running back would take quite a while.
In response to his question, Wen Congyan looked away and pretended not to hear anything.
Xu Yin found that a little funny.
Wen Yu thought for a moment and asked, “Congyan, are you leaving so soon?”
“That’s about it. I have a meeting early tomorrow. You guys continue eating,” Wen Congyan said.
With those words, Wen Yu could only say, “Alright.”
But Wen Yan wasn’t ready to leave like that. He stayed in place and gritted his teeth, “A-Yin, you can join us upstairs for a while.”
Xu Yin shook his head, “No need.”
Wen Yan was unwilling, “This restaurant is owned by my brother’s friend, and the food is excellent. After you finish, I can drive you back!”
Xu Yin sighed.
He looked directly at Wen Yan, his tone gentle as he said, “Really, no need, Mr. Wen.”
Wen Yan froze.
Mr. Wen.
It’s Mr. Wen again.
Since when did this start?
Ah, that day, on the rooftop.
It was from that day that A-Yin changed.
He could smile and tease him, block him, and treat him as if he didn’t exist.
While Wen Yan found it strange, he always believed it was temporary. A-Yin might be playing with him, because A-Yin would still smile and speak to him gently.
But at this moment, Wen Yan realized that something was wrong.
A-Yin’s current gentleness was different from before.
This gentleness felt distant, as if there were millions of miles between them.
Gentle, but out of reach.
In that long distance between them, was coldness.
Wen Yan stood there in a daze, watching Xu Yin. He didn’t know why things had turned out this way.
The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.
Wen Congyan whispered to Xu Yin, “Let’s go.”
Xu Yin nodded and turned around.
In the narrow alley, Wen Yan continued to watch, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth, but in the end, all he managed to say was a faint “A-Yin.”4TL: Atleast he didn’t do the Erkang hand lol~
*
After getting into the car, Xu Yin closed his eyes and sighed softly.
A voice from beside him said, “Disinfect the wound.”
Xu Yin opened his eyes, and the man handed him a cotton swab soaked in iodine.
“Thank you,” Xu Yin said as he took the cotton swab, breaking off one end and letting the iodine seep into the other end.
After cleaning his own fingers, he noticed the man beside him holding a band-aid. Just as he was about to take it, the man extended his hand, and their arms brushed past each other.
Xu Yin paused.
The man had a faint, pleasant scent of men’s perfume.
Wen Congyan lowered his gaze as his long fingers carefully smoothed the adhesive on both sides of the band-aid, securing it neatly around Xu Yin’s finger.
Once he finished, he withdrew his hand, turned around, and his face remained composed. It was as if he had just performed an entirely ordinary task. The subtle fragrance dissipated along with him.
Xu Yin bent his index finger and lightly caressed the smooth surface of the band-aid with his thumb. At this moment, some questions suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He spoke, “Mr. Wen.”
“Just call me Wen Congyan.”
“Wen Congyan.”
“Yes?”
Xu Yin asked, “Do you pass by this street every day?”
Wen Congyan replied calmly, “Yes.”
“Do you just happen to pass by here between 8 and 9 o’clock every evening?”
“Yes.”
Xu Yin couldn’t help but chuckle.
Inside the car, there was three seconds of silence, with the assistant in the driver’s seat watching the developments with a bewildered expression.
After those three seconds:
Wen Congyan calmly said, “It’s a perfectly normal thing.”
Xu Yin suppressed his laughter and replied, “Yes, you’re right.”
Wen Congyan remained expressionless but seemed to hide a small smile.
