Bonus Kofi chapter
There had never been a moment when Ye Zhou felt so embarrassed.
Although he hadn’t done anything, under Boss Jiang’s gaze, Ye Zhou suddenly felt as though he was caught in an affair, transforming from an investor to a scumbag caught red-handed.
But while others had affairs with handsome men and beautiful women, Ye Zhou’s “affair” was with a burly, 170-pound, 1.9-meter-tall man built like a bear.
Ye Zhou felt wronged and wanted to cry.
He swore he wanted to explain at that moment, even prepared to have He Feiyang and Liu Zhao testify and clarify the circumstances, proving that what had just happened was an accident and that he was completely innocent.
But Boss Jiang didn’t give him that chance.
After asking that question, Jiang Tingyuan took large strides forward, pulled Ye Zhou out of He Feiyang’s embrace, and left the room.
The speed was so fast that He Feiyang and Liu Zhao were unable to react at all. It wasn’t until the two figures had completely disappeared that Liu Zhao belatedly realized something was wrong.
After a moment’s thought, he said to his dumbfounded old friend, “From now on, just talk business with Mr. Ye, don’t have any physical contact with him beyond shaking hands.”
He Feiyang looked utterly bewildered, clueless about what had happened in just a few minutes, and asked dumbly, “Wh-what’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Liu Zhao sighed at his silly old partner and advised, “It’s nothing, just listen to me, or we might not even be able to make this film, let alone invite the Movie Emperor Zhong.”
Although he still didn’t understand what happened, hearing Liu Zhao’s serious tone and the grave potential consequences, He Feiyang opened his mouth, then reluctantly agreed, “Mm-hmm.”
…
Ye Zhou, who was stuffed into the car, was a bit flustered, feeling as though he were sitting on needles.
This mood lasted all the way until the car stopped at the entrance to the villa area when he suddenly heard the previously silent Boss Jiang tell the driver, “Stop here.”
The driver naturally followed his instructions, pressing the brakes and bringing the car to a smooth stop at the entrance.
With the car stopped, Jiang Tingyuan glanced at Ye Zhou, and just as Ye Zhou anxiously anticipated him saying something, Jiang wordlessly opened the door and got out.
After Jiang Tingyuan exited, the car fell into a deathly silence.
Ye Zhou wasn’t stupid; after weighing the pros and cons, he decisively chose to follow Boss Jiang out of the car while mentally preparing his words to better prove his innocence.
However, Ye Zhou soon realized the situation wasn’t so simple.
When he got out, Boss Jiang was about ten meters away. To catch up, Ye Zhou quickened his pace, but after two minutes, he was surprised to find…
Although Jiang Tingyuan maintained a steady, unhurried stride, no matter how quickly Ye Zhou walked, the distance between them remained at ten meters.
Thinking it was an illusion, Ye Zhou increased his speed even more.
After five minutes, Ye Zhou was slightly out of breath, but not only had the distance not decreased, it had actually widened further, from ten meters initially to fifteen meters, and was steadily approaching twenty meters.
Watching Boss Jiang’s calm and composed back, Ye Zhou was truly convinced it wasn’t an illusion. He immediately jumped in place a couple of times, then broke into a jog toward Boss Jiang’s position, determined to catch up.
Another five minutes passed.
Although it was deep autumn, Ye Zhou had actually worked up a thin sheen of sweat from his light jog. Glancing at the impeccably poised Boss Jiang ten meters away, without a single hair out of place, Ye Zhou felt utterly dejected.
Indeed, after Xiao Zhou’s continuous efforts, he had finally narrowed the distance to ten meters, back to the original starting point.
The successive blows and sense of defeat made Ye Zhou want to cry. He gritted his teeth and glanced at Boss Jiang, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes as a plan formed. He stopped walking and called out to Jiang Tingyuan’s back, “Jiang-ge!”
As expected, Jiang Tingyuan stopped walking too. Just as he was about to turn around to check the situation, unexpectedly…
This was the moment Ye Zhou had been waiting for. The moment Jiang Tingyuan stopped, he summoned the form he’d used years ago in the 100-meter sprint at the school sports meet, dashing forward in a flash to stand right in front of Boss Jiang.
Afraid he might run away again, Ye Zhou didn’t know what came over him, his mind going blank as he reached out and embraced Jiang Tingyuan’s waist, clinging to him like a koala bear.
Although Ye Zhou had tried to slow down before launching himself forward, the impact still caused Jiang Tingyuan to stagger a bit.
Fortunately, Jiang Tingyuan quickly regained his balance, hugging Ye Zhou back to prevent them from both falling.
Maintaining this extremely intimate pose for nearly a minute, an odd silence settled between them.
In the villa area at dusk, the fiery sunset enveloped them both. If Ye Zhou turned his head, he would see the last rays of sunlight bathing Jiang Tingyuan’s face, softening his usually somewhat sharp features.
Compared to usual, he looked less fierce, with an uncommon gentleness.
Unfortunately, the triumphant Ye Zhou was too immersed in the joy of finally catching up to Boss Jiang to notice his change, even feeling a little self-satisfied.
When Ye Zhou realized their pose was a bit suggestive and the atmosphere was a bit awkward, he immediately chickened out, trying to release his hand. He wished he could get off Boss Jiang’s arms immediately and prove that he had absolutely no intention of offending.
But… Boss Jiang’s embrace wasn’t so easily escaped.
Feeling the strength of the arms around his waist, Ye Zhou immediately understood he was done for. Unless Boss Jiang was willing, there was basically no way for him to break free on his own strength.
Realizing this, Ye Zhou immediately surrendered obsequiously, speaking in a placating tone as he tried to negotiate with Boss Jiang, “Ahem, I’m sorry, Jiang-ge. I didn’t mean to… I just saw you walking so quickly and couldn’t keep up, so I got a bit worked up. It really wasn’t intentional!”
Jiang Tingyuan remained silent, not responding to Ye Zhou’s pleading.
“Um, and earlier at the Jingzhe Incubation Building, with Director He and me, it was really just… a purely platonic hug, extremely pure, you understand what I mean?”
Ye Zhou racked his brain, trying to explain.
“No.”
Boss Jiang finally reacted, but his reply was just that blunt word.
Ye Zhou was stumped by Boss Jiang’s response. After pondering for a while, he spoke again, “Actually, what happened was when I went to Director He and Writer Liu’s studio to check on their progress…”
He tried his best to recreate the scene, practically swearing on his life that he was telling the truth and was innocent. He would remain single for life if he lied!
“…Then when Director He got excited, that happened. I was just about to resist, really, but then you showed up!”
“Liu Zhao was right there, less than a meter away from us. If you don’t believe me, you can verify with him. We’re really innocent!”
To be fair, Ye Zhou’s nervousness wasn’t entirely unfounded.
The original person’s track record was so tarnished that Ye Zhou felt anxious, afraid the slightest misstep would make Boss Jiang misunderstand and get him stuffed in a sack and dumped in the Yangtze for inhumane destruction.
Ye Zhou was actually a very principled person. He knew what should be done and what should not be done. His conscience was clear; he had principles and boundaries.
But when life was at stake, naturally…
His life came first! Save himself first!
Just as he finished saying this, a light chuckle came from beside him, making Ye Zhou’s heart race and hair stand on end. He was worried Boss Jiang would order his bodyguards to take him out next.
Fortunately, Boss Jiang seemed quite calm for now, with no intention of threatening Ye Zhou’s life.
“Ye Zhou,” Jiang Tingyuan said his name, his low, even voice revealing no emotion.
Being addressed, Ye Zhou immediately responded, “Yes, yes, I’m here, Jiang-ge!”
Maybe his tone was so funny, but Jiang Tingyuan was actually mildly amused, changing what he had intended to say at the last second before opening his mouth.
“You belong to me.”
The usually calm voice held a hint of stubbornness in uttering those words.
Ye Zhou froze briefly before quickly sorting through his thoughts.
Jiang Tingyuan had kept the original person, who then died, with Ye Zhou subsequently possessing that body and accepting Boss Jiang’s money – meaning… Jiang Tingyuan was now keeping him.
So strictly speaking, though Boss Jiang’s words didn’t sound very good, when examined…there wasn’t really anything wrong with them.
Before their kept relationship ended, Jiang Tingyuan considering Ye Zhou as his made sense.
“Mm!” After figuring out the key, Ye Zhou readily agreed.
A kept person had to constantly make their benefactor feel affirmed, recognized, and unquestioned. Ye Zhou had accepted so much of Boss Jiang’s money, and considered himself an ethical kept person with professional conduct.
He agreed decisively without hesitation. After all, this could well impact his future financial support, so he couldn’t waver.
But to Jiang Tingyuan, those words carried a different meaning, as if his feelings had been reciprocated.
Boss Jiang was dull and indifferent. In the first half of his life, he had a successful career and was invincible in the business world, but his love life was blank. He thought he was born emotionally indifferent.
Jiang Tingyuan had made peace with spending this boring life alone until he unexpectedly found himself changing for this little guy he was raising.
Rather than love at first sight, Jiang Tingyuan felt a more accurate term was slowly falling in love over time.
However, this “growing fond over time” should be counted from that evening in the warehouse when the unconscious Ye Zhou was doused with cold water to wake up.
Initially, Jiang Tingyuan just wanted to see what mischief his lover was up to this time, but he never expected that one look would render him unable to avert his gaze.
Watching Ye Zhou swindle Jiang Yu at the auction, bluff his way out of the production crew, confidently prepare his own crew, and calmly tell him, despite the scandals and actor betrayals, that he was fine.
Ye Zhou’s mischievous demeanor, serious demeanor, sick demeanor, smiling or diffident demeanor, even his crafty look when being sly…
Jiang Tingyuan thought he wouldn’t care, but when he closed his eyes, and Ye Zhou’s vivid image came to mind, he suddenly realized he was wrong.
Unknowingly, he had come to care so much about this person.
It was a strange feeling, something he had never experienced before but not unpleasant, as if Ye Zhou’s every move could stir his heart.
So, this was what it felt like to be stirred.
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