The next morning, when Wen Xia woke up, he discovered an additional 300,000 yuan in his bank account, transferred by Lin Fengqi in the middle of the night.
This jolted him awake immediately. During breakfast, he asked, “Why were you up in the middle of the night transferring money to me?”
Had he somehow hit a stroke of fortune? Yesterday during his livestream, the digital big boss had splurged over 200,000 yuan like he was triggered. Then, in the dead of night, Lin Fengqi transferred 300,000 yuan.
“Your salary,” Lin Fengqi replied.
“If I’m not mistaken, payday isn’t until the end of the month.” The contract clearly stated payment would be made on the 30th of each month.
“Advance payment.”
“Then why is there an extra 100,000?”
Lin Fengqi’s expression remained unchanged. “Commission.”
“There’s nothing in the contract about a ‘commission’ clause.”
“…”
Wen Xia looked at him meaningfully until Lin Fengqi, unable to maintain his composed demeanor under the scrutiny, finally said with a stiff expression, “It’s an additional term, I can have a new contract printed.”
“No need,” Wen Xia waved it off with a smile, “Thank you, jīnzhǔ papa.”
Wen Xia initially believed this marriage was simply a straightforward employment relationship, but it now seemed Lin Fengqi had just found an excuse to marry him. The guy was really clueless, not even knowing how to properly pursue someone. A single lie required countless others to cover it up, and whatever compensation they had agreed upon, he was bound to deliver.
Though at this point, Wen Xia wouldn’t mind even if he didn’t.
After breakfast, the two left together, entered the elevator together, and descended to the parking lot together, but…
No more together.
Hearing the footsteps behind him come to a stop, followed by the sound of a car unlocking, Lin Fengqi turned back to see Wen Xia opening the driver’s door of his own car. He raised a hand and waved at him, “See you. Drive safely.”
Lin Fengqi was a bit stunned. He watched as Wen Xia got into his car and was about to close the door. He hurried back a couple of steps. “You’re driving yourself today?”
Wen Xia closed the door and rolled down the window. “Yeah, why?”
Lin Fengqi seemed like he wanted to say something.
Wen Xia politely asked, “Is there something wrong?”
After a moment of silence, Lin Fengqi said, “Didn’t you say yesterday you wanted to save on gas?”
Wen Xia replied, “Yeah, but that was yesterday. Today is today. I was tight on cash yesterday, so I didn’t want to drive. But since you’ve already paid me today, why would I need to save gas?”
His reasoning was impeccable.
Lin Fengqi hesitated to speak, and then hesitated again.
“Don’t stand in front of the car, you’re in the way.”
Lin Fengqi obediently stepped aside, watching as Wen Xia’s car slowly backed out of its parking spot, turned a corner, and headed toward the exit.
At that moment, he suddenly understood the phrase, “hoisted by your own petard.”
He probably shouldn’t have transferred that 300,000 yuan.
They say the morning sets the tone for the day. The highs and lows of the morning can sometimes affect your mood for the entire day. For Lin Fengqi, this day was far from smooth. Every time he thought about how decisively Wen Xia had driven off that morning, he found himself caught in a cycle of frustration and excitement.
He had originally planned to accompany Wen Xia to and from work again today. He’d even decided to finish work early and pick up Wen Xia from the studio so Wen Xia wouldn’t have to wait for anyone else.
But today, Wen Xia didn’t need his ride.
The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and Lin Fengqi felt like he was falling apart.
Then he thought, It’s fine if he’s driving. I can still pick him up. I’ll just say that I’m heading home and we can go back together.
But on second thought, wouldn’t that be too childish? They weren’t elementary school kids who needed to hold hands and line up to go home—although, if he could hold Wen Xia’s hand, that would be nice too.
As he continued to ponder this, his thoughts drifted off, and several times he didn’t even hear when Zeng Yuan knocked on the door to deliver documents.
Later that afternoon, after wrapping up a meeting with a project partner, Lin Fengqi received a message from Liao Xingchen:
[Liao: I almost forgot to ask, how’s A Moo doing? You haven’t mentioned anything for the past few days, so I assume everything’s fine?]
Lin Fengqi wanted to ask how things were going between Liao Xingchen and Wen Xia, but exposing his own wound like that made him swallow the words.
[Lin: He’s fine now.]
[Liao: Alright, but just to be safe, when you have some time, bring him over and I’ll give him another check-up.]
Just as Lin Fengqi was about to reply.
[Liao: Or, if you’re too busy, Wen Xia can bring him over.]
Lin Fengqi: “…”
Lin Fengqi: “.”
No way Wen Xia was going.
Meanwhile, Wen Xia wasn’t experiencing the emotional rollercoaster Lin Fengqi was. He was calm and focused, working diligently and earning his keep.
Since he’d be away from the studio for at least two days early next month, he decided to move up the release date of the game’s demo. The demo was typically used to gather player feedback, like a beta test, allowing time to fix any issues before the official release.
This meant he’d have to work overtime for the next couple of days.
That was one reason he drove himself to work today. It wasn’t just about playing hard to get with Lin Fengqi. Though he was tempted to hitch another ride with Lin Fengqi, his reaction that morning had been… interesting, to say the least.
As evening approached, Lin Fengqi’s message came in right on schedule: [Are you off work?]
Wen Xia had just made himself a cup of coffee. He set the cup down and replied: [Working late.]
Biggest Sponsor: [Dinner?]
Wen Yi Xia: [Eating at the studio.]
Biggest Sponsor: [ ? ]
Wen Xia guessed that the question mark meant he was asking what he was going to eat, so he replied: [Ordering takeout.]
Half a minute later.
Biggest Sponsor: [Takeout isn’t good.]
Seeing this response, Wen Xia could almost picture Lin Fengqi’s serious expression as he typed out those words, his concern showing through despite not knowing how to express it properly.
Was this guy a lin xue jia?
Wen Xia couldn’t help but laugh at his own thought and replied: [When you’re working overtime, you can’t be picky. As long as there’s food, it’s fine.]
Biggest Sponsor: [……]
Biggest Sponsor seemed to be typing for a while, so Wen Xia took the opportunity to update Lin Fengqi’s contact name.
His phone buzzed.
Research Subject: [Do you often work late?]
Wen Yi Xia: [Not really, just when I need to catch up on progress.]
Lin Fengqi started to relax, but two more replies came in:
[But catching up on progress is the norm.]
[/Emoji/Emoji]
Two broken heart emojis.
Seeing these two emojis made Lin Fengqi’s heart tighten again. He typed: [You haven’t been working late these past two weeks.]
[Well, I haven’t, which is why I’m paying for it now. I’ve fallen behind and need to catch up.]
[/Emoji/Emoji]
This time, it was two wilted roses.
Lin Fengqi frowned, feeling a pang of concern.
Wen Xia sent those messages with a smile, then put his phone away and looked up, only to be met with Liu Feisi’s nosy face.
His smile vanished instantly. He reached out and pushed the young man’s face, which was almost pressed up against his. “What are you staring at?”
With his face squished, Liu Feisi mumbled, “Boss, who are you chatting with?”
“You don’t do any work all day, but you’re quite enthusiastic about prying into your boss’s private life,” Wen Xia pushed him away. “How about you work late by yourself tonight, and we’ll all go home?”
“Boss, that’s not fair,” Liu Feisi smiled ingratiatingly. “I was just curious…”
“What’s there to be curious about? Haven’t you seen people chat before?”
“I have, but I’ve never seen you smile like—” Liu Feisi exaggeratedly drew two lines across his own face, “—this when chatting. There’s definitely something going on.”
Wen Xia picked up his coffee cup and knocked it lightly against Liu Feisi’s head with his phone. “But I know something simple, and that’s firing you.”
“Don’t, Boss—”
Liu Feisi trailed after Wen Xia, showering him with flattery. Wen Xia ignored him, walked over to Ah Deng’s desk, and said, “By the way, no need to include me in the dinner order.”
“No need?” Ah Deng asked.
“Yeah, just order for the four of you, don’t worry about me.” Wen Xia said, returning to his desk with his coffee, looking like he was in a good mood.
Liu Feisi and Ah Deng exchanged glances.
Ah Deng mouthed, “What’s going on?”
Liu Feisi shook his head, deep in thought.
Ah Deng joked, “You must’ve upset him enough to make him lose his appetite.”
Liu Feisi protested, “Come on, no way!”
Wen Xia leaned over. “Are you guys planning to sleep here tonight?”
Liu Feisi shrank back and returned to his desk.
Wen Xia pulled back, checked his phone, and saw Lin Fengqi arriving home through the surveillance feed. A few seconds later, he nonchalantly exited the app.
As the sky grew darker, half an hour later, Ah Deng took out his phone to order takeout for everyone, and the group gathered around to pick what they wanted.
“Boss, you sure you don’t want anything?” Liu Feisi asked.
“No, you guys order for yourselves. I’ll cover it,” Wen Xia replied.
The four gathered around Ah Deng’s desk, engrossed in their discussion, when Wen Xia’s phone buzzed with a new message. He picked up his phone, leaned back in his chair, and turned to face the window.
Research Subject: [Have you eaten?]
Wen Xia deliberately waited two minutes before replying: [No time to eat.]
Research Subject: [How late are you working?]
Wen Xia: [Who knows, whenever I finish today’s work, I’ll go home.]
After a minute.
Research Subject: [Hungry?]
Wen Xia looked at the two restrained words and sighed before replying slowly: [I wasn’t hungry until you mentioned it.]
Research Subject: [ … ]
Wen Yi Xia: [Anything else, President Lin? If you’re done checking in, I’ll get back to work.]
Wen Yi Xia: [The sooner I finish, the sooner I can go home and eat.]
Research Subject replied instantly: [Didn’t you say you were ordering takeout?]
Wen Xia edited his response several times before finally settling on: [Didn’t you say takeout isn’t good?]
He added two angry face emojis at the end.
Research Subject remained silent for a moment.
Wen Xia watched the “typing…” indicator for half a minute.
Research Subject: [Wait for me.]
Seeing these two words, Wen Xia finally smiled, satisfied.
He turned his chair back around, just as Liu Feisi and the others finalized their order. Ah Deng placed the order and said, “Boss, I’ve sent you the bill.”
Wen Xia opened it and paid without hesitation.
Forty minutes later, the takeout arrived. By now, it was fully dark outside, and the city lights were twinkling, with traffic forming long lines of cars heading home.
They had ordered claypot rice. As Liu Feisi unpacked the boxes, he asked, “Boss, are you sure you’re not hungry? Want us to share some with you?”
Wen Xia replied, “You really know how to drag others down with you.”
Ah Deng chimed in, “No need to share. Boss, you can have all of mine if you’re hungry.”
Liu Feisi snorted, “Wow, Ah Deng, really stepping up your game, huh?”
Wen Xia commented, “Neither of you is very good at flattery.”
Wen Xia checked his phone. Since Lin Fengqi had sent the message saying “Wait for me” he hadn’t responded, and now over forty minutes had passed.
He picked up his empty cup and went to make himself another coffee.
Among the group, Liu Feisi was the most talkative. He kept quiet while working, but now that he had a break, he was letting loose, chattering non-stop even while eating.
He even mentioned Wen Xia’s livestream.
“You guys wouldn’t believe it, but last night the boss who was showering Wen Xia with gifts was on a whole other level. Bam, eight grand. Bam, another eight grand. Bam, bam, bam! Just like that, 240,000 yuan in the blink of an eye!” He exaggerated his gestures as he spoke, his voice full of amazement. “It was a sight to behold. You guys missed out.”
Hearing his employees discuss his business right in front of him felt a bit odd, so Wen Xia couldn’t help but interject, “Alright, can’t you keep your mouth shut even while eating?”
“I’m just sharing some interesting news with everyone,” Liu Feisi grinned. “But it goes to show, Boss, your charm is irresistible! That digital big boss clearly loves you!”
Lin Fengqi walked into the studio just as Liu Feisi finished his declaration.
The studio wasn’t as quiet and empty as it had been the day before. Liu Feisi’s voice drowned out Lin Fengqi’s footsteps, and since Lin Fengqi wasn’t in as much of a rush today, even Wen Xia didn’t notice someone approaching. Liu Feisi’s proclamation that “the digital big boss clearly loves you” was delivered loudly and unmistakably, and it was obvious who he was talking about.
Wen Xia mentally cursed.
Lin Fengqi’s sudden appearance caught the attention of all four employees, who turned to look at him with varying degrees of curiosity. Liu Feisi blurted out, “Whoa, handsome guy.”
Ah Deng rolled his eyes at him and then asked, “Hello, can we help you with something?”
Lin Fengqi looked at Wen Xia.
Wen Xia snapped out of it and feigned surprise, “What are you doing here?”
The group turned their gaze back to Wen Xia.
“I…” Lin Fengqi started to speak, but when all four employees shifted their gaze back to him, he hesitated and stumbled over his words.
He decided to stop talking, walked over to Wen Xia’s desk, and placed the insulated food container down, his expression serious. “Eat.”
Wen Xia glanced at the container. Even though he had suspected that his hints had worked when he received the “Wait for me” message, seeing Lin Fengqi actually follow through still made his heart beat faster.
And with four people staring at them with obvious curiosity, Wen Xia suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He cleared his throat and asked, “Did you really come just to bring me food?”
This question made the four employees’ gazes even more meaningful.
Lin Fengqi didn’t say anything. Perhaps due to the intense scrutiny from the four employees, a faint blush crept up from his neck to his ears.
“…Yes.” It was barely audible.
Wen Xia couldn’t help but feel pleased.
He tried to suppress a smile. “Oh, thanks.”
Lin Fengqi replied quietly, “…You should eat.”
He turned to leave, but Wen Xia, surprised, called out, “You’re leaving already?”
Lin Fengqi stopped and looked back at him, a bit confused.
At that moment, one of the employees noticed the ring on Lin Fengqi’s finger. She nudged the person next to her, then balled up some paper and tossed it at Liu Feisi. When he turned around to say something, she quickly pointed out her discovery.
Liu Feisi leaned back in his chair in shock.
Wen Xia, oblivious to the silent drama between the employees, didn’t want Lin Fengqi to leave. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Have you eaten?”
Lin Fengqi replied, “No.”
“Perfect, let’s eat together,” Wen Xia said.
Eating with Wen Xia was something Lin Fengqi looked forward to every day, but he hesitated. “It’s only enough for one.”
If they shared it, Wen Xia might not get enough to eat.
Wen Xia had already opened the container. It had three layers, each packed to the brim. It seemed like Lin Fengqi was worried about him going hungry because there was an excessive amount of food—enough for more than one adult male. If he finished it all, he might not be able to move tonight.
“This is too much food,” Wen Xia said. “I can’t finish it by myself.”
Lin Fengqi looked puzzled, as if to ask: Too much?
Do you think I’m feeding a pig here?
“Let’s eat together. Have a seat,” Wen Xia said, nodding toward the corner where there were extra chairs.
Before Wen Xia could finish speaking, Liu Feisi had already zipped over and brought a chair over. “Here’s a chair! Please sit!”
“…Thanks.” Lin Fengqi couldn’t leave, so he sat down.
Wen Xia went to the break area to grab an extra set of chopsticks—when they worked late, they often ate at the studio, sometimes even having hot pot, so they kept a good supply of utensils there.
He handed the chopsticks to Lin Fengqi. One of the container’s layers was filled with rice, while the other two were packed with dishes. Wen Xia split the rice, giving half to Lin Fengqi, then sat down. “Let’s eat.”
He then turned to the four employees, who were still watching them intently. “You guys finished eating? If you’re done, get back to work.”
The four of them quickly shook their heads and pretended to be engrossed in their meals, sneaking glances every now and then.
Lin Fengqi sat at the short side of the desk, stared at his bowl of rice for a moment, then tried to return some of it to Wen Xia, concerned he wouldn’t have enough. “It’s too much.”
As soon as he lifted his hand, Wen Xia pulled the container away, his tone firm. “It’s not too much, I’ll eat it.”
Lin Fengqi: “…”
Was he feeling upset now?
Sitting together, Wen Xia looked at the four employees who were pretending to focus on their food, then glanced at Lin Fengqi, who was eating slowly and methodically. Suddenly, he was reminded of their time in high school, when he and Lin Fengqi would eat together in the cafeteria.
Except back then, the cafeteria was much more crowded. Every time Wen Xia asked Lin Fengqi to have lunch together, Lin Fengqi would glance at him coldly and say, “I’m used to eating alone.”
But Wen Xia would always follow him, ignoring his words. He’d trail behind Lin Fengqi after class, following him to whichever food stall he chose, and then swiftly take the empty seat across from him.
He’d always tease, “What a coincidence, tablemate.”
Lin Fengqi would raise his eyes slightly, give him a calm look, and respond with a simple “Hmm.”
Back then, Wen Xia was happy for the entire afternoon as long as Lin Fengqi didn’t tell him to leave.
But looking back, Wen Xia realized that Lin Fengqi had never once asked him to leave.
And now, thinking back, Wen Xia also realized that every time Lin Fengqi found a seat, the one across from him was always empty.
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