Chapter 44 – The Name of the Rival

Bian Ji had a heavy flight schedule the next day, first at Daxing Airport, then onto Seoul, South Korea, which meant he would have a long layover on the ground.

Being separated for a short time right after confirming their relationship was indeed a torment for the young couple in the throes of passion. As soon as Bian Ji landed, he couldn’t wait to contact his boyfriend.

The wind in Beijing was strong, almost too much for the eyes to bear. Bian Ji quickly crossed the outdoor stretch, standing behind the door of a coffee shop on the airport’s first floor to send a message to Yan Ankuo.

Bian Ji: [Attorney Yan, last time you said the car air freshener wasn’t t your taste so I bought you one, it just arrived at the courier station.] He then attached a screenshot of the pick-up code.

Yan Ankuo didn’t immediately concern himself with the air freshener, instead asking: [What did you call me?] Bian Ji realized that out of habit, he had addressed Yan Ankuo as he used to. He typed with a smile: [I don’t know what to call you now.] Yan Ankuo: [We should choose a nickname, otherwise, I feel like I’m always on overtime.] Bian Ji: [What nickname do you want to hear?] Yan Ankuo: [Is that for me to decide?] Bian Ji: [Yes, why not? I’ll call you whatever you want!] Yan Ankuo: [Screenshot] Bian Ji opened the image and saw it was a web page screenshot, the search term was “What are some cute couple nicknames?”, the answers were naturally varied and sometimes inappropriate.

Bian Ji: [This… I wouldn’t dare call you these things!] Yan Ankuo wouldn’t listen to such provocation: [What am I afraid of?] Bian Ji put the microphone to his mouth and deliberately lowered his voice: [Then how about ‘darling’? It’s so cute.] Soon after, Yan Ankuo’s call came through.

“What’s up?” Bian Ji asked, barely suppressing his laughter.

Yan Ankuo sounded as though he was breathing heavily, “How can you ask what’s up?”

“Hmm,” the culprit showed no remorse, “Don’t you have work today?”

“I’m working, took a break to go to the restroom.” Yan Ankuo said.

Bian Ji exaggerated an “Oh”, tacitly not saying more.

Yan Ankuo asked: “There were so many nicknames on the picture, why did you choose that one?”

Bian Ji coughed: “Any others? How about… Brother?” Yan Ankuo’s breathing clearly became heavier, asking deeply: “Any more?”

“Sweetheart?” Bian Ji was reading from the picture, but he read it with emotion, to the point where he didn’t dare walk among people, only hiding at the back door to make the call, “Husband?”

“There are more below.”

“Sir, Master,” when Bian Ji reached the last repeated word, he nearly stumbled over his tongue, mumbling past it, “Daddy?”

Yan Ankuo took a deep breath: “Bian Ji.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Are you alone?”

“…Why?”

Yan Ankuo let out a muffled groan from his throat, “Call again, anything.”

Bian Ji heard something was off in his tone, lowering his voice and deliberately asking: “What are you doing?”

Yan Ankuo warned: “Bian Ji.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll call for you to hear.”

On the phone, the sound of breathing became noticeably heavier.

Due to having to accompany a rather difficult person in a game, Bian Ji hung up the phone and didn’t have time to do anything else. In a hurry, he finished dinner at the coffee shop and prepared for the next flight.

On the way back to the plane, the notification sound of the work app suddenly rang. His software was always scattered everywhere, and he wouldn’t use folders to organize apps, so he had to set special reminders to easily find them. Bian Ji checked it and found that the result of the complaint from the previous platinum member had come out, the headquarters rejected Bian Ji’s appeal and maintained the original handling.

Not exactly good news, but Bian Ji was mentally prepared for this result, firstly because he indeed hadn’t handled the situation smoothly initially, and secondly, similar precedents in the industry were simply too numerous.

Bian Ji thought about it and decided not to tell Yan Ankuo about this matter, so as not to make him sulk along with him.

Putting away his phone, Bian Ji returned to the cabin for routine checks. This time, the crew members were all familiar faces, Chang Qing and Yang Tianru were there, seeing his poor expression, they all came over to show concern: “Brother, are you alright?”

“It’s nothing, dealing with the complaint from last time.” Bian Ji smiled to reassure them.

The others had heard bits and pieces about this matter, Yang Tianru didn’t know how to comfort him, she could only say: “Ah, you’re so attentive and still get complained about, it’s so annoying! Last time, someone said my hair wasn’t neat enough, and I ended up getting judged for non-compliance with appearance standards.”

Chang Qing also agreed: “Yeah, Brother Bian, it’s not your fault.”

“It’s not right to say that, as long as I don’t make the same mistake next time.” Bian Ji waved his hand, “Really, nothing. Don’t crowd around me, you guys go back to work.”

Yang Tianru nodded, “Then when we arrive in Seoul later, we’ll treat you to barbecue.”

Bian Ji raised his eyebrows, “Really?”

“That’s right, we can’t always have you treat us.” Chang Qing said.

Bian Ji agreed, before takeoff, he sent a message to Yan Ankuo: [Having a meal with colleagues after landing.] Yan Ankuo: [Reporting in?] Bian Ji: [Of course.]

It was already late when they arrived in Seoul, so the group chose to dine at Itaewon.

Bian Ji returned to the hotel and changed clothes, before leaving, he saw the corporate message.

X Airlines had an unwritten custom, whenever it was someone’s birthday, the corporate software would remind everyone, but as the number of employees increased, these messages became more frequent, most people would directly block them.

Bian Ji privately messaged “Happy Birthday” first, then remembered that Chang Qing had mentioned wanting to treat him to dinner today, feeling a bit guilty, he bought a cake and a hat as a gift nearby.

When Chang Qing received the gift, he was particularly surprised: “Thank you, Brother! I didn’t even tell anyone about my solar birthday, I thought no one knew!”

Bian Ji said: “I just happened to see the administrative notice, I remembered. Happy Birthday, Chang Qing!”

As he spoke, Chang Qing had already opened the gift, “Ah, I love this color! You have great taste!”

Bian Ji smiled, “Glad you like it!”

After sitting down, everyone began ordering meals. Because they ordered mostly cooked dishes, the waiting time for food was longer, Yang Tianru suggested playing a game.

As a gaming black hole, Bian Ji unsurprisingly lost in the first round.

“If you want to punish me, just say it, there’s no need to play a whole game.” Bian Ji joked, “Come on, what’s the punishment this time?”

“Let’s make it light, Brother Bian brought me a gift today.” Chang Qing pleaded for mercy.

Yang Tianru laughed, “Alright, then you suggest the punishment.”

Chang Qing thought for a while, saying: “Should I check online? I don’t know how to play these games.”

Yang Tianru opened a webpage to search, the first result was: Call the first person in your contacts.

She showed it to Bian Ji: “I didn’t cheat.”

“Okay,” Bian Ji was open, “There’s nothing I can’t call.”

He took out his phone, placed it on the table, in front of everyone, he called the top contact in his list.

South Korea and China had only a one-hour time difference, Bian Ji was sure that at this hour, Yan Ankuo must not have slept yet, but he might not have finished work. After waiting for two seconds, the other party picked up the video call, wearing a smooth silk robe, the collar was unbuttoned, revealing superior clavicles and pectoral muscles.

Yan Ankuo asked: “Dinner over?”

Bian Ji coughed, “No, we’re playing a game.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Ankuo immediately pulled the collar of the robe up tightly, awkwardly asking: “Is this some kind of loser’s punishment?”

“Yes, the punishment is to call you.” Bian Ji chuckled, glancing at the people beside him, “You answered, that means my punishment is complete.”

Yan Ankuo said: “Then please convey my greetings to your colleagues.”

Bian Ji nodded, “They’re listening, got it.”

Yan Ankuo also instructed: “Drink less.”

Bian Ji denied it, “I won’t drink, I still have to fly tomorrow, I definitely need to rest early tonight.”

While Bian Ji was speaking, he accidentally tapped the rear camera, hurriedly switching it back, apologizing and saying he pressed the wrong button.

Yan Ankuo’s eyes were sharp, noticing a piece of cake on the table: “Someone has a birthday today?”

Bian Ji pointed at Chang Qing for the lens to see: “Right, colleague’s birthday.”

Chang Qing took the opportunity to greet the lens, “Hello, I’m Brother Bian’s colleague. The cake is also from Brother Bian, it’s very delicious.”

Yan Ankuo didn’t show any unusual expressions, “Mm,” politely wishing him a happy birthday, then exchanged pleasantries with Bian Ji, preparing to hang up.

Bian Ji turned off the speakerphone, whispering: “Then I’ll leave it at that, chat later tonight.”

Yang Tianru was trying hard not to laugh until her stomach hurt, once Bian Ji hung up, she imitated his tone, whispering: “Chat later~”

Bian Ji pretended to be angry: “Am I really like that?”

“Yes, even more exaggerated than me.” Yang Tianru elbowed Chang Qing, “Isn’t that right?”

Chang Qing didn’t respond, only awkwardly tugging at the corner of his mouth, lowering his head to say: “Food’s here.”

Yang Tianru clapped her hands, “Then let’s stop playing for now, eat, everyone’s hungry.”

Bian Ji laughed and scolded “Seems like I’m the only one being punished,” while looking down to check his new messages.

It was from Yan Ankuo.

Yan Ankuo: [Who was that male colleague just now?]

Bian Ji: [Which one?]

Yan Ankuo: [The one celebrating his birthday.]

Bian Ji looked up, [Chang Qing, what’s up?]

Yan Ankuo: [Nothing, gotta know the name of the rival.]

Bian Ji: [?]

Yan Ankuo: [Didn’t you notice that he was almost dressed to match you?]

To say he hadn’t noticed would be a lie, Bian Ji, being such a meticulous person, couldn’t possibly have missed these clues. But Bian Ji merely thought it was coincidental, or perhaps others liked his style, after all, they were colleagues, there was nothing wrong with dressing similarly.

Bian Ji weakly explained: [Not at all? The pants are from the company, the T-shirt is a regular style, the hat is the birthday gift I gave him.]

Yan Ankuo: [Oh, you gave it to him, and he couldn’t wait to put it on.] Bian Ji was silent for a moment, hastily making an excuse that it was hot, taking off his own hat, hanging it at the door, then telling Yan Ankuo: [I’m not wearing a hat now.]

Yan Ankuo chuckled, saying: [Good boy.]