Jing Yicheng was shocked to the point of speechlessness, staring at the headless little yellow duck pudding. His mind was filled with the destruction of his gift… ruined… the gift he wanted to cherish was ruined.
As Jing Yicheng took in the scene, an undercurrent of darkness seemed to color the moment. Troubling memories surged through his mind, stubbornly confronting his emotions. The weight of negative feelings resurfaced, and he found himself unable to rein in the descent into a dark mood, hovering dangerously on the brink of anger.
Suddenly, a spoonful of the little yellow duck-shaped pudding was brought to his mouth, and Xu Chenghao gestured, “Open your mouth!”
Jing Yicheng stared at him blankly.
After waiting for two seconds without any reaction from him, Xu Chenghao demonstrated, “Ah—”
Jing Yicheng: “…Ah.”
Xu Chenghao placed the pudding in his mouth and asked, “Is it delicious?”
Jing Yicheng: “…It’s delicious.”
Xu Chenghao: “You can have all of these, are you happy?”
Jing Yicheng: “…happy.”
Xu Chenghao: “So obedient.”
Jing Yicheng: “…”
He had to declare that he was really angry just now! Angry for a whole four seconds!
With resentment, Jing Yicheng finished eating all the little yellow duck puddings. Still wanting a reason to continue being angry, he heard Xu Chenghao say, “There are a lot of deformed chili peppers, want me to stir-fry them for you?”
“Okay!” Jing Yicheng instantly forgot what he wanted to be angry about. Not only did he answer crisply, but he also walked over to help separate the deformed chili peppers.
That night, the dinner table had an additional dish of chili pepper stir-fried pork. The two of them happily finished their dinner and went to sleep. As for the tragic fate of the Zheng sisters and the little yellow duck puddings… were they important? Isn’t chili pepper stir-fried meat delicious?
Don’t talk about these two things anymore. Jing Yicheng, after dreaming again, found that the memories of his childhood shadows were not as frightening as before. After all, no one was as ruthless as Xu Chenghao, who cut off the heads of five little yellow duck puddings in one go!
A good night’s dream.
The next day, Xu Chenghao set the alarm clock and got up early for work. When he didn’t see Jing Yicheng sitting in his usual spot during breakfast, he felt strange. Later, he thought that Jing Yicheng had already completed the project and didn’t need to go to work anymore. So, he casually packed up and left for work.
As soon as Xu Chenghao left, Jing Yicheng came out of his room. Seeing the aunt cleaning up the finished breakfast, he couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart: “Where’s Xu Chenghao?”
The aunt replied, “Mr. Xu has gone to work.”
Jing Yicheng: “…”
He really left on his own! Without calling or hesitating!
Jing Yicheng walked back to his room with a stern face, didn’t eat his meal, and sat on the bed, feeling upset and inexplicably as if he had been abandoned.
No, he has to come up with a reason to re-enter the Xu Group. He is not at ease leaving Xu Chenghao alone; what if some little temptress takes advantage of the situation when he’s not around? He’s worried!
To some extent, Jing Yicheng, having stood by Xu Chenghao for a long time, knew better than Xu Chenghao himself about the people around him. So, his guess was quite accurate. As soon as he was not around, Xu Chenghao’s surroundings suddenly became lively.
During Xu Chenghao’s working hours at the company, the appointments for meetings were queued up until lunchtime in the afternoon, and they were all familiar faces—Ruan Chenxuan, Han Haofeng, Zheng Xiaoxiao, and An Ruotong!
When Li Nian told Xu Chenghao, he didn’t know what expression to put on: “Mr. Xu, are you causing trouble outside? Did you stir up a hornet’s nest?”
Xu Chenghao looked very innocent: “I didn’t, I didn’t cause any trouble. They came to find me. What can I do?”
Li Nian obviously didn’t believe him: “Why would trouble only find you? Could it be that you want to tell me it’s because of your charm?”
Xu Chenghao: “As expected of Nian ge, how did you know what I was going to say.”
Li Nian: “Just shut up, I’m about to vomit my breakfast.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Seeing that he wasn’t talking, Li Nian redirected the conversation, “So, what are you planning to do now? Are you going to reject it, or are you going to handle it yourself?”
Xu Chenghao asked hopefully: “Can I reject it?”
Li Nian shook his head without hesitation: “No.”
Xu Chenghao: “…Why are you asking? Just get out!”
Li Nian burst into laughter instantly: “Don’t be like this. If you ask, I’m still willing to make an effort for you.”
Xu Chenghao: “Get lost!”
Xu Chenghao realized that Li Nian not only didn’t care about him but also wanted to gossip behind his back! What kind of friend is this, absolutely outrageous!
Li Nian laughed heartily, and as he approached the office door, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and said, “By the way, the seventh floor has been restored to its original state. When cleaning up, I found that Jing Yicheng still had some things left. Should I inform him, or should I notify his assistant?”
Xu Chenghao: “What’?”
Li Nian recalled: “Just some random small items, like cups.”
Without hesitation, Xu Chenghao said, “Put them in my car, and I’ll take them back for him.”
After a quiet pause, Li Nian suddenly walked in backward, leaning on the office desk and looking at Xu Chenghao in surprise: “Have you two become so close?”
Xu Chenghao stiffly replied: “He lives upstairs in my building; it’s just convenient.”
Li Nian raised his voice: “He still lives upstairs?!”
Xu Chenghao: “…Don’t react like that. After all, we’re all just friends.”
“Friends?” Li Nian dragged a nearby chair over, sat down, and seemed ready for a long conversation: “I’ve missed out on so much these days not hanging out with you. First, tell me why he’s living upstairs, and then explain why you guys are so close!”
Xu Chenghao hesitated: “Our relationship is not that good, really.”
Li Nian exclaimed excitedly: “How is it not good? Do you still remember your attitude towards Jing Yicheng before? A cold face, few words, unwilling to engage! In the middle of the night, you drenched him and almost knocked him out by hitting his head! This comparison is simply heavenly, isn’t it?”
Li Nian became more and more shocked as he spoke, sighing: “The last time I talked to you, I felt that you had softened, but I didn’t expect that when I couldn’t see you, things would develop so rapidly! What’s the situation now? Have you become neighbors? Has he been to your house? Have you had meals together?”
Xu Chenghao hesitated whether to tell Li Nian that Jing Yicheng not only visited his house for meals but also stayed for a long time…..
Suddenly, Li Nian slammed the table: “You’re hesitating! You’re actually hesitating with me! Is there a rift between us because of Jing Yicheng? You two haven’t… crossed that line1Crossed that line in this case means slept together., right?”
“What are you talking about!” Xu Chenghao stammered, “I’ve already said we’re just friends. Why are you imagining things? Can’t you clean up the rubbish in your mind?”
Li Nian looked like a concerned father: “Damn, look at your reaction. Based on what I know about you, if nothing is going on between you two, that would be more surprising!”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
Leaving aside everything else, they really haven’t slept together!
Li Nian reiterated again: “I swear to you, Xu Chenghao, I can be sure and absolutely certain that Jing Yicheng approaching you definitely has a purpose. With the way he gets close and treats you differently, it’s either he wants to deceive you or he wants to sleep with you. Choose one for yourself!”
Xu Chenghao frowned: “But there’s no benefit for him to deceive me, right?”
Li Nian: “Then he must want to sleep with you, right? Wow, you voluntarily chose the second option and still say my brain is useless!”
Xu Chenghao defended himself, “I’m just explaining one by one. You mentioned he wants to deceive me first, don’t I have to go in order?”
To prevent the conversation from continuing in that direction, Xu Chenghao quickly changed the topic, “I remember I mentioned before that we are rivals in love. Your assumption doesn’t hold water2Doesn’t hold water means it’s not valid, accurate or reliable. at all.”
Li Nian slammed the table, “He’s even living upstairs from you! How does that not hold water?”
Xu Chenghao opened his eyes and talked nonsense: “Maybe he thinks An Rouyu’s disappearance is related to me? After all, Ruan Chenxuan also lives downstairs because of this reason.”
Li Nian was shocked: “Ruan Chenxuan still lives downstairs???”
Xu Chenghao confidently said: “Yeah, so it makes sense for Jing Yicheng to live upstairs as well!”
Li Nian: “It doesn’t make sense! Ruan Chenxuan living downstairs can make sense because he doesn’t know where An Rouyu went, suspecting you is normal. But Jing Yicheng is different, right? I remember you knew where An Rouyu went because he told you!”
Xu Chenghao: “…That’s because, that’s because he’s always suspicious, afraid that Ruan Chenxuan and I living too close would be disadvantageous to him!”
Li Nian looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly said: “To be honest, even without all these twists and turns, just based on your elaborate attempts to find reasons, it’s already quite revealing.”
Xu Chenghao was dissatisfied: “Where is the problem? I think it’s very normal.”
Li Nian: “What’s normal? Look at you, you’re all panicky!”
Xu Chenghao asked, “Where am I panicking?”
Li Nian said, “You are acting all cowardly! Your heart is in a panic!”
Xu Chenghao was at a loss for words.
“If you’re in a panic, it means your heart has changed. You big fool,” Li Nian couldn’t help but mock. “Be content to have a friend like me. Not only do I, as a relationship expert, point out your issues, but I also have to teach you how to date like an old father. If I’m wrong, you must treat me this afternoon!”
Xu Chenghao: “Why do I feel like you’re not clarifying things for me, but rather brainwashing me?!”
Li Nian stood up and said, “It’s an illusion. Don’t let your brain spin independently. Just follow my line of thought, and you won’t go wrong. Otherwise, with your stubborn mindset, when will you ever see the light?”
Without warning, a blue folder was thrown. Li Nian let out a miserable scream as it struck him. Swiftly covering his head, he rushed out of the office, shouting, “You’re just a fool!”
Xu Chenghao threw another folder and shouted: “You’re the fool!”
Li Nian had just quickly closed the door when he heard the folder hit the door. After a moment, he opened it again and said, “Xu, you big fool!”
Xu Chenghao raised the folder abruptly, scaring Li Nian into quickly closing the door. This time, there was complete silence.
After the office became completely quiet, Xu Chenghao sat back in his seat and felt annoyed again. Oh no, it seems like he was really brainwashed by Li Nian. Now, thinking it over, he felt that what he said made sense.
Could it be that he was getting a bit too close to Jing Yicheng?
Xu Chenghao buried his head on the desk and stared blankly at the little yellow duck flowerpot.
In fact, after completing the Little Chili Pepper mission, the reason he chose to never leave the little yellow duck flowerpot behind and took it wherever he went was because he was afraid of losing himself in a world that felt so intense and real. He wanted to use it as a reminder to himself, to remember to go back, to remember that he wasn’t from here.
If he were to leave one day, dating with someone else’s identity would also cause trouble.
The author has something to say: Emotion Master · Old Father · Li Nian suddenly went online.
Emotion Master · Old Father · Li Nian got disconnected.
Li Nian: …
T/N: Happy weekend to y’all! Thanks for commenting 😘😘. My lazy ass has been reading but failing to reply…not good at all 🙇🏼♀️🙇🏼♀️
The translator has something to say: Today I woke up and wanted to be pampered, who will buy me coffee 🥺🥺QAQ?
Bahahaha!
See you next week!
