Without He Xingzhou’s permission, he subconsciously opened the chat window.
Then, to his surprise, he found that He Xingzhou had actively initiated conversations with Luo Yinan more than once.
On the day He Xingzhou left the crew, Luo Yinan exchanged a few polite words with him, to which he didn’t reply, and Luo Yinan was also tactful.
But after a period of silence, He Xingzhou suddenly sent a message to Luo Yinan very abruptly.
—Are you busy today?
Luo Yinan was obviously very speechless and replied several times in a row, first saying he was filming, then asking if He Xingzhou had come to the crew again, and if so, he could make time to meet.
But He Xingzhou didn’t reply.
Two days later, he did the same thing again, sending the exact same message.
—Are you busy today?
Luo Yinan was undoubtedly very speechless and asked him, “Not quite, do you have something on your mind?”
This time, He Xingzhou was a little more polite and replied.
—Nothing, just asking casually. What time will you finish filming tonight?
After Luo Yinan replied, he disappeared again.
A day later, He Xingzhou texted again.
—Are you busy today?
Luo Yinan replied.
—I don’t quite understand what you mean, it’s a bit confusing for me.
He Xingzhou showed (by his standards) remarkable politeness.
—Sorry to bother you.
Luo Yinan immediately changed his attitude, saying he didn’t mean to be upset, he was very happy that He Xingzhou was willing to chat with him, and then told him about his shooting schedule in the past few days. He also emphasized that he had been a fan of He Xingzhou since he was a child, and it was an honor for him to talk to his idol. If possible, he would be satisfied if he could invite his idol to dinner.
He Xingzhou didn’t reply.
Judging from the little red dot still showing on the window, it seemed that he hadn’t even bothered to read through the long string of messages.
Xiao Can audaciously browsed through He Xingzhou’s chat records, and He Xingzhou simply thought he was focused on buying groceries, completely unaware.
But Xiao Can had no intention of hiding it either.
“Why do you keep asking Luo Yinan if he’s busy today?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Huh?” He Xingzhou glanced at him, “How did you casually sneak a peek?”
Xiao Can wasn’t very reasonable in front of him, even if he was in the wrong, he still maintained his arrogance, “If you don’t like it, then don’t give me your phone.”
“I don’t know if you’re busy or just don’t want to talk to me when you don’t reply to my messages,” He Xingzhou said, “so I just test the waters by asking him.”
“…”
The implication was that if Luo Yinan didn’t reply, then they must be filming.
This truth seemed absurd, and Luo Yinan probably couldn’t even guess this layer of meaning even if he racked his brains.
“If I don’t want to talk to you, it’s because you’re annoying, what’s the point of bothering him!” Xiao Can complained, but in reality, he was struggling not to laugh.
After a moment of thought, he asked again, “You know other people on the crew, why not ask Director Liu? Isn’t that more convenient?”
“Because I’m afraid he’ll read too much into it. Aren’t you concerned about other people’s opinions?” He Xingzhou said, “This person won’t spread it around.”
Xiao Can couldn’t tell, this Alpha actually had such a shrewd side to him, Xiao Can marveled.
Suddenly, a somewhat malicious thought popped into his mind.
Luo Yinan dared to spread rumors behind his back, just confronting him once wouldn’t satisfy him. It would be best if there was some other way to deal with him and teach him a lesson.
He Xingzhou would undoubtedly be a great help.
“Can I use your account to message him?” Xiao Can asked.
“Why?” He Xingzhou was very reluctant, “Don’t you have his contact information?” After saying that, he quickly changed his tune, “No, what do you want to say to him?”
Xiao Can leaned closer to He Xingzhou, mysteriously saying, “I have a grudge against him.”
After being surprised, He Xingzhou seemed a bit nervous, “What did he do to you?”
“He spread rumors behind my back on the set, telling others that I was pursuing him,” Xiao Can said.
He Xingzhou’s brows instantly furrowed.
“How could I possibly be interested in him,” Xiao Can complained, deliberately turning his head to look at He Xingzhou, “I have better Alphas around me.”
The effect was excellent.
He Xingzhou immediately nodded, “Okay, use it.” After saying that, he quickly added, “Do you want me to curse him out for you?”
“No need,” Xiao Can eagerly edited the text, “Do you need to review the content?”
After hesitating for a moment, He Xingzhou nodded, “Let me see.”
Coincidentally, they hit a red light, and Xiao Can handed him the phone, showing him the text he had just typed.
—Are the flowers I sent you last time still there?
“Why are you asking him instead of cursing him out?” He Xingzhou was very puzzled, “What’s the point of this? It’s been so long, they must have withered by now.”
“What’s the point of cursing him,” Xiao Can said, “I want to play with him, make him embarrassed, let him hope and then crush his hopes, make him angry.”
The traffic light turned green, and He Xingzhou stepped on the gas again, saying, “You really have some evil intentions.”
Xiao Can glanced at him and muttered, “I’m just petty and vengeful, is that not okay?”
“Go ahead,” He Xingzhou said, “And about the groceries, finish ordering first, it’ll be too late to cook if you delay.”
Xiao Can pressed send and then switched back to the fresh food platform app.
After browsing for a while, he switched back to the chat interface. Luo Yinan didn’t reply, probably busy with filming and unable to check his phone.
Finally done selecting the groceries, he didn’t return the phone to He Xingzhou but opened the chat app again, hoping that Luo Yinan would reply soon.
He Xingzhou’s car turned into the residential area, and the thought of seeing Charlie soon made Xiao Can even happier.
As the car entered the garage, He Xingzhou suddenly asked, “…Didn’t you want to get back at me before?”
“Huh?” Xiao Can was confused.
“The first time, when I marked you in the hotel,” He Xingzhou said, “You should’ve hated me and wanted to get back at me.”
Xiao Can thought, didn’t I not want to? It’s just that I didn’t have the ability!
“How would I get back at you?” he said, “You’re completely different from Luo Yinan. He has desires, so there are weaknesses to exploit. But you don’t, you’re like a solid iron plate, no matter how I attack you, you won’t feel a thing. What could I do?”
“How could that be,” He Xingzhou disagreed, “If you scold me, I’ll be sad too.”
“Really?” Xiao Can was curious, “Which of my words made you sad?”
“For example… when you said you hated me,” He Xingzhou said.
During their conversation, the car had already stopped, and he turned to look at Xiao Can, his eyes seeming to contain a hint of grievance.
“And, I’m not a saint, how could I have no desires,” he said, smiling somewhat self-deprecatingly, “I’m quite greedy.”
Xiao Can inexplicably became nervous.
“Such as?” he asked He Xingzhou, “What do you want?”
“You,” He Xingzhou said matter-of-factly, his tone light.
“…”
“I’ve been agonizing every day lately about how to score some points for myself,” He Xingzhou sighed lightly, “It’s harder than anything I’ve ever done in my life.”
Xiao Can was dumbfounded for a moment, wanting to say that it’s different now from back then, but he quickly realized that it was almost the same for He Xingzhou.
If he hadn’t chosen to avoid it at the beginning and instead directly confronted He Xingzhou and told him everything that had happened before, then He Xingzhou would have had no choice but to comply with his wishes.
He Xingzhou was just that stubborn.
But how could he have known back then that this seemingly bold and cold man was so pure and adorable at heart?
“…So, can I easily get back at you now?” Xiao Can asked.
He Xingzhou widened his eyes slightly, “Are you really that ruthless?”
Of course, Xiao Can couldn’t bear to.
“Yeah, yeah, now you basically have a big handle in my hands,” he said to He Xingzhou, “You’d better behave, you know?”
He Xingzhou shook his head as he opened the car door, muttering, “Am I not well-behaved enough?”
Xiao Can was about to get out of the car when He Xingzhou’s phone that he still held in his hand rang.
He quickly looked down to check.
It wasn’t Luo Yinan, but Teacher Xia, who He Xingzhou had stood up.
Right, Luo Yinan had been set to “Do Not Disturb” by He Xingzhou, so he wouldn’t receive notifications.
Teacher Xia sent a voice message. After getting out of the car, Xiao Can handed the phone back to He Xingzhou. He Xingzhou opened it, and Xiao Can, who was standing beside him, could hear clearly.
“I’m at your place now, and Lao Tong is here too. We’ve put the things at your doorstep. Also, your screaming chicken you’re raising inside is making a lot of noise, you better come back and take a look.”
Xiao Can and He Xingzhou exchanged glances.
If they went up now, they might bump into each other. It didn’t matter to He Xingzhou, but Xiao Can didn’t want to face Teacher Xia again after the last encounter with him.
“They should be here to deliver the speaker to me,” He Xingzhou said, “Or… maybe we should…”
Xiao Can grabbed his sleeve, “Let’s hide!”
He Xingzhou hesitated.
Xiao Can looked at him pitifully, shaking the hand holding his sleeve a few times, “Please, pretty please?”
He Xingzhou licked his lips, “I really can’t deal with you.”
Xiao Can breathed a sigh of relief, “Then let’s sit in the car for a while first?”
He Xingzhou nodded, and the two turned around together. Suddenly, there was a call from behind, “Hey, He Xingzhou, you’re back!”
The underground garage was spacious, and speaking loudly naturally echoed, which made the already nervous Xiao Can shrink his neck even more.
He Xingzhou turned around, “So soon… I just got your message.”
Xiao Can knew he couldn’t avoid it and awkwardly turned around to look at Teacher Xia, smiling and nodding, “Long time no see, Teacher Xia, hello.”
“Oh, I thought it was something important, turns out…” Teacher Xia shook his head as he spoke, “It’s just a pure friendship.”
There was another man behind him, who looked somewhat familiar. Xiao Can guessed he must have seen him somewhere, but couldn’t remember.
“Um, we… uh…” Xiao Can didn’t know whether to explain or not, and discreetly nudged He Xingzhou with his elbow.
“Alright, He Xingzhou already told me last time,” Teacher Xia smiled, “I already knew you two were talking.”
What?
Xiao Can was stunned and turned to look at He Xingzhou.
He Xingzhou cleared his throat unnaturally, avoiding eye contact, “Let’s not stand here and talk, shall we go upstairs?”
