ASFSODS 79

After sticking closely with Jiang Siheng in the room for a while, Wen Chi felt like he couldn’t stay any longer and got up, getting off Jiang Siheng’s lap.

Seeing Wen Chi about to leave, Jiang Siheng grabbed his wrist and asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going downstairs to find Er Qiao and A-Shi,” Wen Chi said. He hadn’t had a proper conversation with his two friends yet.

Jiang Siheng, hearing this, let go of his hand. “Go ahead.”

Wen Chi didn’t leave right away. He stood still and looked at Jiang Siheng, asking, “Do you want to come with me?”

Jiang Siheng shook his head. “You go ahead.”

“Alright then.” Wen Chi saw that Jiang Siheng really wasn’t planning to come downstairs with him, so he kissed the side of Jiang Siheng’s face and left the room.

Not long after Wen Chi left, Jiang Siheng grabbed his phone and went out, only to unexpectedly run into Wen Chi’s parents, who had just come out of Wen Chi’s room.

Clearly, Wen Chi’s parents hadn’t expected to see Jiang Siheng either.

Jiang Siheng stopped and greeted Wen Zhengde and Lin Huixiu. He didn’t immediately go downstairs but stood by his room door, evidently waiting for Wen Chi’s parents to go first.

The two rooms weren’t far apart, and Jiang Siheng heard Lin Huixiu’s voice calling out to him with a smile. “Mr. Jiang, may we have a word?”

Jiang Siheng glanced downstairs, then nodded toward Wen Chi’s parents, smiling. “Sure.”

…

Wen Chi had no idea that his boyfriend was being called for a talk by his parents. In the courtyard, he found Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi lounging comfortably on the rocking chairs.

“You two look really comfortable,” Wen Chi casually pulled up a bamboo chair with a backrest and sat across from them. “You guys said you were concerned about me, but it feels like you’re just taking this opportunity to relax.”

Qiao Congnan shook his finger and grinned. “Not at all, not at all. We are really concerned about you.”

Wen Chi huffed lightly.

Since they had known each other for many years, Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi knew Wen Chi wasn’t the type to be weak or timid. However, when they saw all the defamatory comments about Wen Chi on the trending topics, they were both furious and wanted nothing more than to crawl through the internet and beat up the person behind those accounts.

Qiao Congnan sighed, “To be honest, it’s really convenient and much more powerful when you have connections.”

Whether Qiao Congnan was talking about the good or bad sides of it, it was undeniable that, as he said, the people who had bullied Wen Chi at the hotel, no matter how well-connected they were, couldn’t compare to the power of the Jiang Group.

“Here you are.” The neighbor Tao Ge, yawning, walked over slowly. He looked at Wen Chi. “All good?”

Wen Chi looked at Xue Xitao. “All good. But Tao Ge, why are you here too?”

Xue Xitao said, “Isn’t it because of you?”

Wen Chi was confused. “What does it have to do with me?”

Xue Xitao grinned, “Didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on your parents?”

Wen Chi thought about it and realized that was true, but he hadn’t expected Xue Xitao to be watching so closely.

Xue Xitao was also familiar with Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi. The age gap wasn’t too large, and when they were all in school, they would often visit Xue Xitao’s house on weekends since it was just across from Wen Chi’s. It was really convenient.

Xue Xitao dragged a bamboo chair over and sat next to Wen Chi, asking, “When are we leaving?”

“Probably in the afternoon. Jin Ge already booked our tickets,” Wen Chi said.

It was rare for the four of them to gather like this. Since everyone had different jobs, there were plenty of topics to talk about. Naturally, as qualified workers, the eternal topic was always complaining about their bosses.

“Xiao Chi, when are you going to quit that crappy company?” Qiao Congnan asked. He and Huo Yinshi both knew how badly Wen Chi had been treated by the company, but since Wen Chi had already signed the contract, leaving would mean violating the terms and having to pay a fine.

The company’s boss, Zeng Xianhong, managed to come out of this incident unscathed because he told the police that he had no idea the so-called “audition” was actually a front for an illegal sex party. At first, the police didn’t believe him, but after investigating his communications, they couldn’t find anything suspicious. Moreover, Zeng Xianhong claimed that the artist he originally wanted to find wasn’t Wen Chi, but another one. However, that artist had a last-minute scheduling conflict, so he sent Wen Chi instead.

The police later confirmed with the other artist mentioned by Zeng Xianhong, Zeng Yan, who said that the boss had indeed asked him to attend the audition, but he had to refuse because of a conflicting, more important engagement.

There was no evidence pointing to Zeng Xianhong deliberately sending Wen Chi to the wine party, and some witnesses confirmed that it was just an accident. In the end, the police dropped the case.

Huo Yinshi, who had heard about the company’s CEO’s mismanagement from Wen Chi several times, still felt that this wasn’t just a coincidence. However, he had no proof to back up his suspicions, so he asked, “Xiao Chi, how many years do you have left on your contract?”

Wen Chi looked expressionless and raised three fingers.

“Three years?”

Wen Chi nodded.

Huo Yinshi asked, “…How much is the penalty fee if you breach the contract?”

Wen Chi replied, “I don’t remember, I think it’s a few million.”

After saying that, he, along with Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi, let out a heavy sigh.

Xue Xitao looked at Wen Chi, then glanced at Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi, but didn’t say anything.

…

When Jiang Siheng came to find Wen Chi, he saw five people sitting in the courtyard, all in the same posture, hunched over with phones in hand, constantly shouting.

“Up, up, up…”

“Can you see? The enemy jungle is on the left grass.”

“Let’s take the dragon, push the enemy’s mid-tower.”

“Sell me, sell me, just sell me.”

“Damn, this bastard Liu Bei is really sneaky.”

“He’s good at ambushing. Next time, let Zhang Fei go check the grass first.”

“Who’s Zhang Fei?”

“Me.”

Having just turned the game around, all five of them simultaneously let out a relieved sigh, straightened their backs, and got ready to start the next round.

Wen Chi stretched lazily and, when he looked up, saw Jiang Siheng standing not far away. He waved happily, “Teacher Jiang!”

This made the other four turn their heads. Facing the gazes of several people, Jiang Siheng’s expression remained unchanged. He walked over, and Wen Chi nudged Xue Xitao beside him, “Tao Ge, move over a bit and make room.”

Xue Xitao glanced at him helplessly, lifted his chair, and shifted it to the side.

There were plenty of bamboo chairs, and Wen Chi grabbed one for Jiang Siheng to sit on. The chairs were comfortable for everyone, but since everyone was tall and long-limbed, it looked fine for them to hunch over to play games. Yet when Jiang Siheng, who didn’t play games, sat there, he stood out like a sore thumb.

With his boyfriend by his side, and since almost everyone here knew about their relationship, Wen Chi didn’t pretend to be reserved. He tilted his body and comfortably leaned against Jiang Siheng while playing the game.

Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi exchanged glances.

Though they had suspected that Wen Chi liked Jiang Siheng, it was clear that Wen Chi was the kind of person who didn’t realize his own feelings. How had it only been a short while, and now… they were together?

Qiao Congnan didn’t dare to ask Wen Chi directly. Luckily, they had already started the game, and were on the draft page, so they could send text messages.

First floor: [I’m not playing jungle: Xiao Chi, I need to ask you something]

Wen Chi looked up and glanced at Qiao Congnan across from him. What’s going on?

Third floor: [I can’t play jungle either: Tell me, what are you up to?]

Fourth floor: [Don’t mind me, I have money: ? Why are you guys talking like this?]

Zhou Ruoyao looked at the two of them in confusion.

First floor: [I’m not playing jungle: Are you with that bastard man sitting next to you?]

Fourth floor: [Don’t mind me, I have money: Who is with whom???]

Third floor: [The quiet internet girl: Ban the hero]

The way Wen Chi was sitting meant that Jiang Siheng could easily see what they were saying in the group chat. Coincidentally, Jiang Siheng had been looking at his phone, but casually glanced at Wen Chi’s phone to see how he was playing the game, and unexpectedly, he saw the message Qiao Congnan had sent.

Seemingly aware of the gaze above him, Wen Chi looked up and saw that Jiang Siheng was looking at him, or more precisely, looking at his phone.

Qiao Congnan, having waited for a while without getting a reply from Wen Chi, raised his head to see what Wen Chi was doing, and almost got a shock.

Wen Chi held his phone out in front of Jiang Siheng. Jiang Siheng first gave him a puzzled look, then the boy leaned in and whispered something in his ear. After that, Jiang Siheng took Wen Chi’s phone and pressed something on the screen.

A few seconds later…

Third floor: [I can’t play jungle either: Mm, we’re together now.]

Qiao Congnan: “…”

Huo Yinshi: “…”

Zhou Ruoyao: “…”

Xue Xitao: “Help me steal.”

The other three glared at him: “…”

Play, play, play—what games are you still playing! Our home’s been robbed!

It was obvious to all three of them that this message had been sent by Jiang Siheng.

Since Jiang Siheng had already seen it anyway, Qiao Congnan didn’t bother to sneak around. While the game was loading, he crossed one leg over the other, lounging carelessly as he asked, “So, when did you two get together?”

Wen Chi replied, “Not long ago, maybe last week.”

Qiao Congnan responded with an “Oh” and then stared intensely at Jiang Siheng. “Who confessed?”

He would never allow his precious Chi Bao to be the one to confess. If Wen Chi had confessed, he would have made Jiang Siheng confess right away.

Wen Chi answered, “He did.”

Qiao Congnan returned to his original position, looking down and continuing to play the game. “Alright, then. Wishing you both happiness.”

Jiang Siheng: “…”

Huo Yinshi rolled his eyes at Qiao Congnan, annoyed. “Can you have some dignity? You’re just going to leave it like that?”

Qiao Congnan looked at him, “What else?”

Zhou Ruoyao looked at Wen Chi in disbelief, confirming, “Xiao Chi, you and Jiang Siheng really are together?”

Wen Chi nodded. “Yes, we are.”

Zhou Ruoyao: … QAQ

Zhou Ruoyao asked, “So, did you like him because of this show?” Then he huffed to himself, “Should’ve come sooner.”

Jiang Siheng looked at Zhou Ruoyao, the potential “rival,” and nonchalantly responded, “If you had come earlier, he still wouldn’t have liked you.”

Zhou Ruoyao choked, “You son of a…”

Wen Chi quickly covered Jiang Siheng’s mouth with his hand and smiled at Zhou Ruoyao. “Let’s focus on the game. Don’t mind him.”

Luckily, there was no filming today, and the crew had already left. Otherwise, rumors about this would have definitely spread.

Jiang Siheng lowered his gaze to Wen Chi’s hand on his mouth, then heard Wen Chi telling Zhou Ruoyao to ignore him. He raised an eyebrow.

Just as Wen Chi was about to remove his hand, he suddenly felt a slight dampness in his palm. His whole body tensed, and he instinctively withdrew his hand in shock, looking at Jiang Siheng in disbelief.

This bastard—no, this man—how dare he lick his palm in public?