TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 15

Wen Chenxi was sure now—Zhuang Yanyu really didn’t like him romantically.

When they first met, Zhuang Yanyu had been proactive, inviting him to get to know him better and even sending him gifts, likely just wanting to be friends.

Wen Chenxi looked at Zhuang Yanyu with a complex expression but didn’t feel deceived.

If he hadn’t developed feelings first, he wouldn’t have misinterpreted Zhuang Yanyu’s actions.

Wen Chenxi suppressed his emotions, took Zhuang Yanyu’s empty cup, refilled it with another drink, and said softly, “I don’t know the young lady from the Xiao family, nor am I interested.”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked and, after confirming Wen Chenxi was speaking to him, asked seriously, “Then what kind of person do you like?”

Determined to properly “vet” for his good brother, Zhuang Yanyu barely paid attention to his food, instead staring at Wen Chenxi intently, waiting for him to describe his ideal type so he could help find someone suitable.

Ji Zhiyuan, with a mischievous grin, said, “Xiao Zhuang, don’t bother asking him. Like Li Xi said, he’s an old tree that’ll never bloom. He won’t even tell you his type because he doesn’t know himself! The man is a workaholic.”

Li Xi chuckled along from the side. “Yes, yes, exactly.”

But then, Wen Chenxi unexpectedly spoke up, “I do have standards.”

Hearing this, both Li Xi and Ji Zhiyuan froze in disbelief, staring at him. 

Did the sun just rise in the west?

Old Wen actually admitted to having standards for a partner!

Zhuang Yanyu, however, didn’t understand their astonishment. Having standards for a partner was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?

He had seen it before—those overachieving protagonists he’d mentored always claimed they had no interest in relationships, that they were focused solely on their careers. But when their significant others showed up, didn’t they end up marrying anyway?

What caught Zhuang Yanyu’s attention was, “What are the standards?”

He mentally opened up a little notebook, ready to meticulously jot down each and every criterion.

Wen Chenxi glanced at Zhuang Yanyu but didn’t elaborate. Instead, he said, “Let’s eat.”

“No way! You can’t leave it there!” Ji Zhiyuan protested. They’d finally managed to get him to reveal something, and Ji was determined to dig out the specifics.

Wen Chenxi ignored him, calmly pouring another glass of warm water for Zhuang Yanyu.

He had noticed that this Yanyu… really might be like a fish—he drank water like one.

Since Ji Zhiyuan wasn’t getting an answer, he turned to enlist Li Xi and Zhuang Yanyu’s help, proposing they gang up on Wen Chenxi to force the truth out of him.

Before Li Xi could even respond, Zhuang Yanyu outright refused.

Ji Zhiyuan: “??”

Ji Zhiyuan: “Xiao Zhuang, aren’t you curious about what his standards are?”

Zhuang Yanyu nodded. “I am.”

Ji Zhiyuan: “Then why not join me? We could get him drunk and make him talk!”

Zhuang Yanyu shook his head. “But if he doesn’t want to say anything, I won’t force him.”

After a pause, he added, “Besides, drinking too much isn’t good for one’s health.”

Wen Chenxi’s lips curved slightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He seemed quite pleased with this special treatment from Zhuang Yanyu, even if it wasn’t born out of affection.

Suddenly, Ji Zhiyuan felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.

He hadn’t forgotten that Zhuang Yanyu was still vying for his spot as Wen’s closest friend!

Just listen to the things he’s saying now—everything reveals concern and care for Old Wen.

And look at himself?

Sure enough, Ji Zhiyuan noticed Wen Chenxi picking up a piece of food for Zhuang Yanyu and softly saying, “Hmm, thanks.”

Ji Zhiyuan gave up on asking further questions. “Alright, alright, forget it. Let’s drink instead!”

No way was he letting someone steal the title of “best bro.”

By the time dinner ended, it was nearly 8 PM. Since Zhuang Yanyu hadn’t been drinking, he finished eating first. 

He didn’t leave the table, though, and stayed to listen to their conversation. But his internal “biological clock” was incredibly punctual—after a certain time, his mind began to wander.

When working overtime, at least his job kept him focused. Now, with no work to occupy him, Zhuang Yanyu initially paid close attention to the conversation, but as it dragged on, he pulled out his phone to jot down notes and start on his study tasks.

By the time he finished, Wen Chenxi and the others had also wrapped up their meal.

Li Xi and Ji Zhiyuan had drunk quite a bit but still weren’t satisfied and were eager to go sing karaoke.

Wen Chenxi said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll take Xiao Yu home.”

Ji Zhiyuan protested, “Let Xiao Zhuang come with us! What’s the point of going home so early? It’s only 8 PM; the night’s just starting!”

Wen Chenxi ignored him and handed Ji Zhiyuan over to Li Xi. “Take care of him.”

Li Xi smiled. “Xiao Zhuang, you’re really not coming?”

Wen Chenxi replied for him, “He sleeps early.”

Li Xi chuckled. “Not very youthful of him. Alright then, don’t forget to give him our gift.”

Wen Chenxi: “I won’t.”

As Li Xi supported Ji Zhiyuan and they walked away, he suddenly wondered—was Old Wen treating Xiao Zhuang a bit *too* well?

When Zhuang Yanyu emerged from the restroom, he didn’t see the two of them and asked curiously, “Did they leave?”

Wen Chenxi replied, “They went to karaoke.”

Zhuang Yanyu asked, “You’re not going?”

Wen Chenxi said, “I’m taking you home.”

Zhuang Yanyu weighed his options: karaoke or having a friend send him home?

He decisively chose the latter.

Outside, the city lights flashed brightly. The neon reflected against the night sky, washing out the faint starlight.

The driver Wen Chenxi hired was steady and unhurried, weaving through the traffic at a leisurely pace as they disappeared into the depths of the night.

Wen Chenxi, having had some alcohol, leaned back against the seat with his eyes slightly closed, his usual reticence deepened.

Thinking he was asleep, Zhuang Yanyu didn’t speak.

The car was silent until Zhuang Yanyu’s phone buzzed with a WeChat notification.

Glancing at Wen Chenxi to make sure he hadn’t stirred, Zhuang Yanyu muted his phone before checking the message.

[Qin Yiyuan: Xiao Yu, what are you doing?]

Surprised that Senior Qin had messaged him, Zhuang Yanyu thought he might need something and replied, [Heading home. Is something up?]

[Qin Yiyuan: You went out today?]

[Qin Yiyuan: Nah, nothing important. Just wanted to chat.] 

[Qin Yiyuan: I just got off work. So tired! Guess what city I’m in now?]

Seeing that Qin Yiyuan had no particular reason to message, Zhuang Yanyu hesitated. If there was no need, why reach out?

“Is it a friend?” Wen Chenxi suddenly asked, his voice carrying a faint hint of alcohol but still steady and warm.

Zhuang Yanyu answered honestly, “It’s Senior Qin.”

“The one from Engineering?”

“Yes.”

“What does he want?”

“He said he just wants to chat.”

Zhuang Yanyu answered every question honestly. In his view, there was nothing to hide from a brother.

After explaining, he noticed his brother seemed a little displeased, pursing his lips slightly. Zhuang Yanyu thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know what to talk about with him.”

Wen Chenxi responded with a soft “hmm” and said, “Then just say you’re busy.”

“Okay,” Zhuang Yanyu replied, then sent a quick message: ‘I’m busy right now.’

Qin Yiyuan replied with, ‘Alright, then I’ll let you be busy,’ and didn’t send any more messages.

Zhuang Yanyu’s home wasn’t far, and with no traffic during off-peak hours, they arrived at his residential area quickly.

After getting out of the car, Zhuang Yanyu bid Wen Chenxi goodbye.

Wen Chenxi quietly looked at him for a moment before saying, “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow. Take care on your way,” Zhuang Yanyu replied.

–

The next day was Friday, just before the weekend. The entire office was in high spirits, with everyone planning where to go for the weekend.

Originally, Zhuang Yanyu was supposed to go to the engineering department to continue gathering data. However, Supervisor Xu informed him that after he had clocked out the previous evening, two technicians assisting him stayed late, working until 10 PM to finish gathering all the data.

“I submitted all the materials first thing this morning,” Supervisor Xu said. “Now we’re just waiting for the project team’s review. Once it’s approved, we can get to work! Take it easy today—when the higher-ups call for you to present the system, you’ll need to be ready.”

Upon hearing that the two technicians had worked late into the night, Zhuang Yanyu quietly resolved to keep a greater distance from Supervisor Xu in the future.

–

The new automated container terminal intelligent management system Zhuang Yanyu had developed was quickly brought to the attention of the project team. They scheduled a meeting, which required Wen Chenxi to attend as well.

The decision-making meeting had yet to take place, as each managerial level had to convene separately. This included the service center manager, which meant there were fewer people around in the service center, leading to a relaxed atmosphere where many started slacking off.

Even Zhuang Yanyu ended up chatting with Wen Chenxi.

[Wen Chenxi: Not heading to the engineering department today?]
[Zhuang Yanyu: No, waiting for the next notice.]

Wen Chenxi called him directly. “Was it tiring working in the engineering department?”

“Not really,” Zhuang Yanyu replied after some thought.

Knowing that Zhuang Yanyu disliked overtime, Wen Chenxi wondered if he could offer the option of no overtime at the engineering department. If so, would this ‘little fish’ consider staying there instead?

It was true, as the engineering department manager had said—someone with Zhuang Yanyu’s talent would be wasted in the service department.

Thinking of the system proposal the project team had sent up earlier, Wen Chenxi said, “I saw the system you designed.”

Zhuang Yanyu was surprised. “So soon? I thought it would only be reviewed during the meeting.”

“There’s a pre-meeting review process before the official decision,” Wen Chenxi explained, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “When the time comes, you might need to present the system yourself. Are you nervous?”

“Why would I be?” Zhuang Yanyu asked, confused. “The system will generate a lot of money. They wouldn’t make things difficult for me.”

In fact, they should be eager to let him get to work on it as soon as possible.

Wen Chenxi chuckled softly. “It definitely will make the company a lot of money.”

After a pause, he added, “You’re really impressive, Xiao Yu.”

Hearing his brother’s praise, Zhuang Yanyu’s eyebrows curved with delight. He replied earnestly, “It’s mostly because of you.”

“Because of me?” Wen Chenxi asked, intrigued.

“Yes, I wanted to help you earn more money.”

Sitting in his office, Wen Chenxi smiled faintly at the response.

Sensing his brother’s good mood, Zhuang Yanyu’s heart stirred. Seizing the moment, he asked softly, “So, does this mean I’m officially your good brother now?”

Hearing this, the smile on Wen Chenxi’s face froze. Slowly, his lips pressed together, the smile fading entirely.

–

Author’s Note:
Zhuang Yanyu: ??? What’s wrong now?

Feel free to donate for earlier/bonus chapter releases! Thanks for supporting me and enjoy reading 😀