ASFSODS 89

The moon hung low in the sky. Wen Chi stretched out his arm from under the covers and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Without caring whether it was his or Jiang Siheng’s, he glanced at the time.

It was 1:30 a.m.

He and Jiang Siheng had been tangled up on the bed for over three hours.

“Do you want me to carry you to wash up?” Jiang Siheng hugged Wen Chi from behind, lightly rubbing his chin against the boy’s shoulder.

“I want to shower,” Wen Chi turned in Jiang Siheng’s arms to face him.

Neither of them was wearing any clothes, and they could clearly feel each other’s body warmth.

“Okay.” Jiang Siheng picked Wen Chi up, and together they walked into the bathroom.

When they came out, they were both dressed in almost identical outfits, white t-shirts and athletic shorts.

Even though it was late, Wen Chi couldn’t fall asleep. He lay in bed, idly scrolling through WeChat, checking his friends’ posts. Jiang Siheng, having picked up the clothes thrown on the floor, put them in the washing machine and came back. Seeing Wen Chi still full of energy while playing with his phone, he walked over and squatted beside him, watching.

Wen Chi lifted his eyelids, glancing at him with a confused look.

“Not sleepy?” Jiang Siheng asked.

Wen Chi shook his head. “Not sleepy.”

Jiang Siheng stroked his face, noticing the boy’s slightly swollen lips. “It’s getting late, you should sleep.” He wasn’t stating it as a fact but rather coaxing.

Wen Chi grunted softly. “You knew it was late, yet you kept me up for so long.”

Jiang Siheng: “…”

Wen Chi’s voice was lazy. He put his phone down and opened his arms toward Jiang Siheng. “Let’s sleep, quickly, hug me to sleep.”

Jiang Siheng chuckled. “Alright.”

As soon as Jiang Siheng lay down, Wen Chi eagerly rolled into his arms. Suddenly, he giggled, not knowing what made him laugh.

Jiang Siheng chuckled inwardly and patted the boy’s head. “Sleep.”

Wen Chi closed his eyes. “Goodnight.”

…

The manor looked even more breathtaking in the daylight than it did at night. Perhaps it was because today was the last recording day for the show. Wen Chi had stayed up late, and because he kept thinking about it being the last day, his sleep was light. Jiang Siheng noticed this as he got up, and he gently let go of him, sensing it.

Jiang Siheng saw Wen Chi’s eyelashes tremble as he slowly opened his eyes. He froze for a moment as he got up, then softly asked, “Did I wake you?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep,” Wen Chi sat up, still holding the blanket, looking at Jiang Siheng with sleepy eyes. “Are you getting up?”

“Mm.” Jiang Siheng glanced at the time. It was only a little past seven. He looked at Wen Chi. “Do you want to sleep a bit more? It’s still early.”

“No, I’m getting up,” Wen Chi threw off the covers and got up with Jiang Siheng.

After they finished washing up, they both put on their microphones and went downstairs to the first floor of the manor. The dining room was in the large room to the right. The man in a black tailcoat stood by the door, his posture straight. When he saw Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng walking side by side, he smiled slightly and greeted them, “Good morning.”

Wen Chi really didn’t like when others treated him so respectfully. Feeling a bit awkward, he smiled back. “Good morning.”

As they entered the dining room, Wen Chi glanced back at the man in the black tailcoat, then turned to Jiang Siheng and asked, “Teacher Jiang, how much do you think he gets paid for working here? With that attitude, the boss must pay him well.” 

“He’s the manor’s butler,” Jiang Siheng answered.

“The butler?” Wen Chi’s eyes widened in shock. “He looks so young, is he really the butler?”

“Mm, his name is Yan Sheng,” Jiang Siheng picked up a plate and looked at the variety of breakfast options. “What do you want to eat?”

After a moment, Jiang Siheng didn’t hear Wen Chi’s answer. He turned to see the boy’s attention fully focused on Yan Sheng, frowning slightly.

“Xiao Chi.”

Wen Chi subconsciously responded, then looked away. “What’s up?”

Jiang Siheng pinched his face, half-smiling. “What are you looking at?”

Wen Chi didn’t notice the hint of jealousy in Jiang Siheng’s tone and answered honestly. “I was looking at the butler. He really is young.”

Jiang Siheng: “…”

Wen Chi continued to stare for a while before reluctantly looking back at Jiang Siheng’s plate. He pointed at the sweet corn in the warming tray. “Teacher Jiang, I want this.”

Seeing that Wen Chi didn’t even notice his jealousy, Jiang Siheng was too helpless to get angry. He sighed inwardly and went to serve Wen Chi his breakfast.

“What else?”

“Also this, this, this, and that one.”

Wen Chi grabbed his plate and found a seat at the table. He lowered his head, focused on peeling an egg and didn’t notice Yan Sheng walking in and standing opposite Jiang Siheng.

“This is the little boyfriend that A-Ning mentioned?” Yan Sheng peered over Jiang Siheng’s shoulder and looked at Wen Chi. His tone wasn’t respectful but full of teasing.

Jiang Siheng didn’t even glance at Yan Sheng. He saw some soy milk and went over to pour a cup for Wen Chi, then said, “Why are you here?”

“I heard you wanted to rent this place for one night, so I contacted my assistant. I just wanted to meet you, so I came over to join the fun,” Yan Sheng shrugged and explained casually.

Jiang Siheng snorted. “You’re really free, coming here to dress up employees.”

“Not bad, not bad. But it’s because you’re cooperating with me. I just overheard you introducing me as the butler to your little boyfriend,” Yan Sheng teased.

“Yes,” Jiang Siheng replied nonchalantly.

Yan Sheng was momentarily stumped by Jiang Siheng’s straightforward response. Not wanting to argue, he came over simply to chat with Jiang Siheng. Before leaving, he glanced at the boy being doted on by Jiang Siheng. He saw Wen Chi still struggling with the egg and couldn’t help but smile.

He really was cute. No wonder Jiang Siheng liked him so much.

The shell of this egg was especially difficult to peel and came off in tiny, fragmented pieces. By the time Wen Chi had finished peeling it, the egg white was all pitted and uneven.

Wen Chi stared at the ugly egg for several seconds in silence before taking a bite. Oh well, it didn’t matter what it looked like as long as it tasted fine when it went into his mouth.

Eating just the egg was a bit dry, so when Jiang Siheng placed a cup of soy milk in front of him, Wen Chi quickly grabbed it and took a big gulp.

Before long, the others started coming in one after another for breakfast, and by then, Wen Chi had already eaten half of his meal. Zhou Yunbai walked over with her tray and, seeing that they were almost done, exclaimed, “What time did you two wake up?”

Wen Chi, biting into a steamed bun, held up his fingers to show a number.

“…That’s too early,” Zhou Yunbai said, admiring them.

Wen Chi smiled, and his eyes caught sight of the fruit on Tian Yang’s plate. “Where did you get the fruit?”

“Ah? It was in the breakfast area,” Tian Yang replied.

Jiang Siheng stopped Wen Chi from reaching for the fruit. “You’ve eaten enough for breakfast. Save the fruit for later.”

Wen Chi blinked and sat back down. “Okay.”

Tian Yang had noticed everything and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly at how obedient Wen Chi was when it came to Jiang Siheng.

The production team hadn’t given them any tasks, and if they hadn’t gone out to explore the area with the cameramen following them, they wouldn’t have even realized they were filming a show right now.

“I searched online last night. Do you know who owns this manor?” Zhou Yunbai asked, pretending to be mysterious.

Tian Yang asked, “Who?”

“The owner is very young, only 27 years old. But the internet only says his last name is Yan, and his full name isn’t listed. There’s not even a photo of him,” Zhou Yunbai said with some frustration. “He’s so mysterious.”

“How do you know his age then?” Zhou Ruoyao asked.

“They mentioned his age, but not the exact date.”

“Yan? Very young, 27…,” Wen Chi thought for a moment, then immediately connected the dots and thought of the man in the black tailcoat.

Wen Chi turned to Jiang Siheng.

Jiang Siheng ruffled his hair. “You’re right.”

Wen Chi blinked. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I don’t know, but whatever you guessed is correct,” Jiang Siheng said calmly.

Wen Chi: “…”

Wen Chi didn’t believe for a second that Jiang Siheng didn’t know why he had just turned to look at him.

“You definitely know him,” he said with certainty.

Jiang Siheng just smiled and didn’t reply.

Qin Xiyu, watching them, raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Even though they had explored the manor last night, they realized that they had only seen the tip of the iceberg. The manor was even larger than they had imagined.

“There’s a huge terrace here. How about we have a barbecue tonight?” Zhou Yunbai suggested.

“Sure,” Tian Yang nodded.

Wen Chi agreed as well. “Yeah, I haven’t had a barbecue in a long time.”

“Then I’ll go ask that man from last night if we can use the terrace for the barbecue,” Zhou Ruoyao said, turning to leave.

“Thanks,” Zhou Yunbai waved.

Soon, Zhou Ruoyao came back with an odd expression. Wen Chi noticed and asked, “What happened?”

Zhou Ruoyao replied, “He agreed to let us use the terrace for the barbecue, but we’ll have to buy the food ourselves because they don’t have any here…”

“Isn’t that fine? What’s with the weird expression?” Tian Yang asked.

Zhou Ruoyao finished the sentence he had left hanging, “He not only agreed to the barbecue but also said he would set up the terrace for us this afternoon.”

Zhou Yunbai was surprised. “Really?”

Tong Xian’en said casually, “Since he agreed, let’s go buy the barbecue ingredients after lunch.”

“Alright.”

After lunch, the seven of them split into two cars and went to a nearby supermarket to buy ingredients.

Zhou Yunbai watched the boys pushing shopping carts and suddenly felt that the scene was familiar. She blinked and quickly remembered where she had seen it before.

Back when Heart’s Confession 2 started filming, Zhou Ruoyao and Xu Yuqing hadn’t joined yet, and the six of them had gone to the supermarket together just like this to buy food.

Zhou Yunbai pulled her gaze away and smiled lightly. It really was…

The beginning and the end.

Although she hadn’t found love on the show, she had made friends from various fields of work.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Xiyu noticed Zhou Yunbai’s sudden smile and asked.

Zhou Yunbai shook her head and looked at Qin Xiyu. “Nothing.”

Qin Xiyu nodded and turned his gaze elsewhere.

It was a pity that Qin Xiyu didn’t have any interest in finding a girlfriend right now. Otherwise, Zhou Yunbai would have seriously considered pursuing this humble, yet charming, CEO.

As they walked along, the sun began to set and nightfall approached quickly. When Wen Chi and the others returned to the manor, the scent of roses and climbing roses mixed with the evening breeze.

The group, chatting and laughing, walked toward the large terrace. When they saw the terrace, which looked completely different from the morning, they were all momentarily stunned.

Star-shaped string lights hung overhead, some wrapped around the branches of ornamental plants. There were barbecue grills, tables and chairs, plates, and even an LCD TV.

The terrace was brightly lit, and behind the low chairs were various decorative balloons and pots of roses and climbing roses.

“My god,” Zhou Yunbai was blown away by the beauty of the terrace and immediately took out her phone to take pictures.

Tian Yang opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. No words could express his amazement except for, “Damn, this is amazing!”

“…” Tong Xian’en glanced at him helplessly.

Yan Sheng appeared on the terrace. He still had that same smile on his face and said, “If you need anything, feel free to ask me. I won’t disturb you all, enjoy your evening.”

When Wen Chi saw Yan Sheng, his eyes were fixed on him without blinking. When he heard Yan Sheng’s words, his expression immediately became as odd as Zhou Ruoyao’s earlier that morning.

Is Yan Sheng really the owner of the manor? Was he really not a qualified butler?

Jiang Siheng, who had been distracted for a moment, saw Wen Chi still staring at Yan Sheng and gritted his teeth. “Wen Chi.”

Wen Chi, hearing his name, snapped out of it and looked at Jiang Siheng with a confused expression. “What’s up?”

Seeing Wen Chi’s dazed and innocent look, Jiang Siheng couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. “Have you seen enough?”

“Huh? Seen enough of what…” Wen Chi stopped mid-sentence, realizing what Jiang Siheng was referring to, and immediately felt guilty.

Jiang Siheng could tell from Wen Chi’s expression that he had understood. He raised his hand and lightly tapped the top of Wen Chi’s head, not exerting too much force. “Stop making me angry all the time.”

Wen Chi felt a slight sting from the tap and pouted. “I didn’t.”

“Come on, come on, let’s start the barbecue!”

Tian Yang’s excited voice instantly lifted the mood, and the noise and laughter filled the terrace. There were occasional playful bickers between people, and some even “ordered” others to grill the starchy sausages for them.

When Yan Sheng arrived in the courtyard and heard the noisy sounds, he paused for a moment, clearly surprised, as he had never heard such noise on the manor grounds.

The noise was so loud that he could clearly make out some of the conversations:

“Tian Yang, are you crazy?! Do you want me to bite you?”

“Damn, this really isn’t my fault!”

“Oh my god, Mr. Qin, how did your corn turn into black corn?”

“Teacher Jiang, I want to eat an orange!”

Yan Sheng shook his head, helplessly chuckling to himself, and walked toward the production team’s workspace.

He was about to do the thing that businessmen loved most.

“The remaining rent, are you planning to pay in cash or through bank transfer?”