NHWSG chapter 38

Xing Yingzhu almost burst out laughing at him.

This street was crowded with people, where could he fly to? Could he just ascend into the sky in front of everyone?

Feeling irritated and out of sorts, Xing Yingzhu simply didn’t want to deal with Sheng Zhao now and just wanted to bypass him quickly.

Unfortunately, Sheng Zhao, not knowing any better, no longer feared him and disregarded the distinction between superior and subordinate. Brazenly blocking his way, he stubbornly retreated step by step, showing no sign of budging without receiving forgiveness.

After such a commotion, nearby pedestrians had been alerted, and two young girls not far away had already taken out their phones, quietly snapping pictures of the two of them while whispering excitedly to each other, as if they were a pair of little sparrows chirping away.

Xing Yingzhu, with keen ears, could clearly hear phrases like “Oh my god, publicly appeasing your husband is so sweet” and “But I guess the handsome one is the ‘top’,” which sounded like some gossipy nonsense.

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

Ridiculous. Xing Yingzhu thought with a foul mood: When did I become someone’s husband?

Xing Yingzhu couldn’t be bothered to waste time with this ungrateful brat in front of him, but he couldn’t just walk away either. The fire in his heart burned hotter and hotter.

Sheng Zhao apologized so much that his mouth felt dry, but Xing Yingzhu remained as unmoved as a rock.

“Alright, how about this, if you’re still angry, you can deduct it from my salary.” This sentence pained Sheng Zhao deeply, evidently making a huge concession, “Deduct… five hundred?”

Xing Yingzhu felt he was somewhat unreasonable.

He was the one who was afraid, the one who was looked down upon, and now he had come to grovel, bringing up these trivial gains as conditions, making it seem like he was bullying him.

Xing Yingzhu had no interest in playing along with Sheng Zhao’s attempts at reconciliation, so he simply stood firm, furrowing his brows.

“Are you stepping aside or not?” Xing Yingzhu asked coldly.

Sheng Zhao puffed his chest out and shook his head like a rattle drum.

Joking aside, if he left now, Xing Yingzhu probably wouldn’t even look at him properly in the future.

Having made up his mind, Sheng Zhao thought he was smart and calm, but unexpectedly, Xing Yingzhu narrowed his eyes suddenly, slowly lowered his head, and looked into his eyes.

Then, Xing Yingzhu’s dark pupils suddenly began to shrink, bloodshot veins crawling all over his eyeballs, and in almost an instant, his originally beautiful and delicate eyes turned into the cold-blooded characteristic vertical pupils of a predatory animal. His pupils narrowed into a line, staring fixedly at Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao was suddenly stunned.

A pair of snake-like pupils appearing on a human face was obviously a creepy sight, but in a split second, Sheng Zhao’s first thought wasn’t fear.

Xing Yingzhu’s intention was to scare him a bit, to make him retreat.

But who knew Sheng Zhao’s thought process was a bit off? Not only did he not feel scared, he suddenly remembered the scene when he first saw Xing Yingzhu’s true form underground in Shanghai.

Beautiful and agile serpent scales shimmering like jade, eyes cold as ice, sharp teeth mercilessly sinking into the tender flesh of a dragon’s throat, even more audacious than a ferocious beast.

That scene was just… stunning.

Sheng Zhao didn’t understand what had gone wrong with his aesthetic sense, but he just felt inexplicably that, that night on the surface of Poyang Lake, when Xing Yingzhu was covered in droplets of water and moonlight, fighting with the dragon, was incredibly beautiful.

During these past few days of following Xing Yingzhu around, he hadn’t felt anything special, but now, looking into his eyes, it was as if he had touched an electric switch, and his whole body suddenly shivered, suddenly becoming excited.

And it was precisely because of this that Sheng Zhao suddenly realized that his instinctive reaction from that memory wasn’t about avoiding danger, but about appreciation.

—Oh no, Sheng Zhao thought dumbly: I’ve been complaining about my boss being too ‘gay’, but now it seems like I’m even ‘gayer’ than him.

Seeing him stunned, Xing Yingzhu thought he had scared him silly, and with satisfaction, he snorted and turned to bypass Sheng Zhao, wanting to leave directly.

Seeing him about to leave, before his brain could reboot, Sheng Zhao subconsciously stepped back, retreating like a reversing car, intending to stop Xing Yingzhu again.

And just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a sharp and piercing horn behind him. Without waiting for his reaction, Xing Yingzhu quickly grabbed him and pulled him back, barely avoiding a disaster.

Sheng Zhao was confused, feeling a sudden tug at his collar, his feet stumbled, and he ended up burying his head into Xing Yingzhu’s chest.

After this sequence of events, Sheng Zhao belatedly realized that he hadn’t looked where he was going at all. He had followed Xing Yingzhu to the intersection without even realizing it. An SUV zoomed past him, narrowly avoiding a collision.

The curses of the SUV driver lingered in the air. Sheng Zhao had just narrowly escaped death, his heart pounding in his chest, feeling like it might burst out of his throat.

“What’s the matter?” Xing Yingzhu said impatiently. “Are you trying to set up a scam with him? Or with me?”

Sheng Zhao stared at him dumbly, too stunned to speak.

Xing Yingzhu’s eyes hadn’t fully recovered yet, with a faint pink tint lingering in the whites, giving them a misty appearance.

“Scared?” Xing Yingzhu sneered. “If you’re scared, just leave. Disappear from my sight before I change my mind.”

Finally catching onto the key word, Sheng Zhao shuddered involuntarily and shook his head.

“N-no-no-no, I’m not—” Sheng Zhao said, “I’m not scared.”

How fresh, Xing Yingzhu thought, do you even believe what you’re saying?

In his eyes, this human fledgling in front of him clearly lacked consistency in his words and actions, saying he wasn’t afraid while stuttering and unable to speak.

But Sheng Zhao’s persistence took Xing Yingzhu by surprise. So, Xing Yingzhuo temporarily abandoned the idea of just walking away, impatiently stepping back onto the sidewalk, pulling Sheng Zhao back to stability.

“Not scared?” Xing Yingzhu snorted, pointing at his shoulder with his finger. “Then why are you stuttering?”

“Boss, I think I might…” Sheng Zhao said dryly, “I might be experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect towards you.”

This term touched on Xing Yingzhu’s blind spot of knowledge. He furrowed his brows, looking at him suspiciously.

However, Sheng Zhao didn’t follow up with any explanation after tossing out that sentence, appearing to have no intention of elaborating.

Xing Yingzhuo, being someone who valued his dignity, naturally wouldn’t ask the foolish question of “what does that mean,” so he could only put on a poker face and pretend to be profound.

Sheng Zhao hadn’t thought much before saying that sentence, and now he regretted it a bit.

—This sentence is too ambiguous, Sheng Zhao thought. Anyone who doesn’t know might think I’m confessing my love to Xing Yingzhu.

Fortunately, Xing Yingzhuo didn’t seem offended by it. Sheng Zhao cautiously glanced at him, seeing no reaction, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Not bad, Sheng Zhao thought, fortunately this boss isn’t straightforward.

Otherwise, just because he flirted with the boss on his first day of work and now confessed in public, Xing Yingzhu might just turn him into the headline news.

However, Xing Yingzhuo remained silent, leaving Sheng Zhao feeling anxious, not knowing what he meant.

After much thought, he decided to go through with his apology process.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that just now,” Sheng Zhao said, forcing himself to speak up. “It’s just a reference… um… when I say ‘we,’ it means you and I are the same. Don’t overthink it. And, you see, you’re so good-looking, it’s normal for me to be dazzled. Boss, you’re mature, don’t think too much, okay?”

Xing Yingzhu silently scrutinized him.

He found something quite interesting — Sheng Zhao didn’t seem to be lying.

After living for so long and meeting so many people, Xing Yingzhu could easily discern whether someone was speaking sincerely or just flattering.

But what was interesting was that fear, unlike “sadness” or “happiness,” was an uncontrollable emotion that couldn’t be artificially hidden.

Yet Sheng Zhao’s fear just now was genuine, and his calmness now was genuine as well.

Xing Yingzhu wasn’t someone who would belittle himself. Since he found this point interesting, he decided to ask.

Sheng Zhao felt a bit baffled by his question, hesitating for a moment.

“One last chance,” Xing Yingzhu said. “Convince me, and I’ll forgive you.”

Neither of them realized how childish Xing Yingzhuo’s threat, using “forgiveness” as a reward, sounded.

“Well, you see, fear is just a physiological response, like muscle contraction, heightened attention, increased heart rate, adrenaline surge, elevated blood pressure, and so on…” Sheng Zhao’s voice grew softer as he spoke. “But actually, this reaction isn’t just fear.”

“What?” Xing Yingzhu didn’t quite understand.

—There’s also excitement, Sheng Zhao suddenly thought.

This thought, like an extremely fine needle, pierced Sheng Zhao’s heart. He shivered all over, feeling his heart itching and tingling.

No wonder he subconsciously didn’t want to part ways with Xing Yingzhu. Just as some people naturally enjoyed extreme sports, he had also gained a thrilling experience from Xing Yingzhu that he had never had before — he not only didn’t reject this kind of life, but even had an impulse to immerse himself in it.

Sheng Zhao was confused, not understanding if this was his true intention or a lingering effect of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Subconsciously, he didn’t want to explain this issue to Xing Yingzhu, so he could only beat around the bush.

He glanced around as if evading, finally setting his gaze on a newly opened milk tea shop not far away.

“It’s nothing,” Sheng Zhao said. “Um, boss, do you drink milk tea… with red bean and coconut? My treat.”

Xing Yingzhu scrutinized him up and down for a full five minutes, his gaze sweeping over every inch of him like a searchlight.

Although there was some concealment, Sheng Zhao’s plea was still sincere.

Xing Yingzhuo didn’t expect him to say anything brilliant, setting his expectations low. So, as long as Sheng Zhao said a couple of pleasing words, he would be satisfied.

He wiped his hands disdainfully on Sheng Zhao’s clothes, glanced at the milk tea shop as per his gaze, fell silent for a moment, and said, “I’ll still deduct five hundred bucks.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Who is this guy, Huang Shiren?