TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 18

“I couldn’t sleep either.”  

Wen Chenxi’s voice was low. The dim light from the bedside lamp barely illuminated the room, leaving it cloaked in shadows. “Is there something you need?”  

The young man standing by the bed looked as radiant as starlight in the darkness, brimming with energy and utterly devoid of sleepiness.  

Wen Chenxi had never seen Zhuang Yanyu so lively at this hour.  

Zhuang Yanyu, unaware of Wen Chenxi’s thoughts, brightened further when he heard Wen couldn’t sleep either.  

Zhuang Yanyu: “You’re meeting the higher-ups tomorrow afternoon, right?”  

Wen Chenxi: “Yes.”  

Zhuang Yanyu calculated quickly. Since his brother couldn’t sleep and didn’t need to wake up early, it meant Wen could nap in the morning. Staying up late tonight wouldn’t affect him.  

What a perfect opportunity. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.  

Zhuang Yanyu’s gaze burned. “Ah Xi, since you’re also not sleepy, how about we do something else? Is that okay?”  

Hearing this, Wen Chenxi’s gaze deepened as he looked at Zhuang Yanyu’s face in the dim light. There was a hint of something unfathomable.  

Wen Chenxi silently reminded himself not to overthink it. After all, this fish’s thought process was always bizarre. What he meant might not be what Wen Chenxi was imagining.  

The boy’s unguarded, fervent gaze unwittingly made Wen Chenxi feel a bit parched.

His breathing slowed, as though afraid of disturbing a small kitten sleeping in the dark. Every movement became cautious and deliberate.

“What is it?” Wen Chenxi’s voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke.

Zhuang Yanyu’s gaze slowly drifted downward to Wen Chenxi’s bed, filled with a hint of expectation. “Can I come up?”

Wen Chenxi stared at him for a moment, his adam’s apple moving slightly. “Sure.”

Almost as soon as the word left his mouth, Zhuang Yanyu climbed onto the bed, as if afraid he might take back his consent.

Once on the bed, Zhuang Yanyu’s face, flushed with happiness, now showed a slight hint of bashfulness.

Wen Chenxi stayed where he was, maintaining his original position, waiting to see what Zhuang Yanyu would do next.

Zhuang Yanyu patted the spot beside him, gesturing for Wen Chenxi to move closer.

He was sitting in the middle of the bed, with no support on either side. Wen Chenxi, seated closer to the headboard, saw there was still plenty of space between them despite the bed not being very large.

After a brief pause, Wen Chenxi, under Zhuang Yanyu’s expectant gaze, moved closer. Now, only half an arm’s length separated them.

Wen Chenxi’s heart involuntarily began to beat faster.

At such a close distance, he could distinctly catch the faint woody fragrance emanating from the young man. Despite both of them having used the hotel’s generic body wash, Zhuang Yanyu’s scent carried a unique quality, subtle yet impossible to ignore.

Wen Chenxi subconsciously took a deep breath.

Then, he heard Zhuang Yanyu suggest, “Let’s chat.”

Hearing this, Wen Chenxi almost choked, his heart, which had been racing, slowly calming down.

“…Chat?”

“Yeah, I have so many questions for you.”

Wen Chenxi fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Just chatting?”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked in confusion. “What else? Is there something you’d like to do?”

Zhuang Yanyu’s mind filled with data collected from the internet: good friends often solidified their bond by skipping classes together or pulling all-nighters playing cards or video games.

Could it be that Wen Chenxi wanted to do that?

That wasn’t impossible.

Wen Chenxi, feeling conflicted, said, “No.”

He knew better than to speculate on this fish’s peculiar train of thought.

After a brief pause, he exhaled, pulling the light hotel duvet over Zhuang Yanyu. “The air conditioning’s a bit chilly.”

Having adjusted the blanket, he asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

Zhuang Yanyu thought for a moment. “You still haven’t told me what your current wish is.”

Wen Chenxi gazed at him.

Zhuang Yanyu pondered and then asked, “Is it to become the world’s richest man?”

Beyond that, he couldn’t think of much else.

Considering Wen Chenxi’s current wealth, he was already in a position to have anything he wanted.

One of his previous hosts, a stereotypical overpowered protagonist, had once said: “There’s nothing in this world money can’t solve. If there is, it just means you don’t have enough of it.”

Thus, Zhuang Yanyu speculated that his friend’s wish might be to become the world’s number one.

Zhuang Yanyu began calculating. “That’s not impossible. The tech industry already has a high starting point. With the right innovation, becoming a legend who advances an entire era is within reach. Wealth builds from such opportunities…”

The young man’s voice was soft, carrying an unexplainable warmth.

His expression was so earnest and resolute, as if Wen Chenxi’s wish were that, he would spare no effort to stand by his side and help him achieve it.

To bolster his confidence, Zhuang Yanyu analyzed the success stories of various tycoons. At last, he firmly concluded:

“Success isn’t impossible to replicate; it’s about how you go about it. You’re already two-thirds of the way there. The remaining third is just a matter of time. And if you want to speed it up, all you need is an opportunity.”

An opportunity he would do everything in his power to help his friend secure.

Wen Chenxi found himself both helpless and touched. As a successful entrepreneur, he knew the stories better than anyone. But seeing Zhuang Yanyu’s sincerity, he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt and simply listened.

When Zhuang Yanyu finished, Wen Chenxi finally spoke, “That’s not my wish.”

“What is it then?”

Wen Chenxi quietly looked at him for a moment, then cryptically replied, “Maybe… a steel beam.”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked, confused. Did he hear that wrong? He couldn’t help but repeat, “Your wish is… a steel beam?”

What kind of bizarre wish was that?

Just as he was about to ask why, Wen Chenxi got up to find the air conditioner remote, turning up the temperature slightly. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Nope,” Zhuang Yanyu answered energetically.

“All you want to do is chat?”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked again, considering mentioning gaming or cards.

But they hadn’t brought anything like that, and the hotel didn’t seem to offer those options either. Should he ask the front desk?

As he pondered this, Wen Chenxi asked again, “What time is your meeting with Haigang Group tomorrow?”

“10 a.m.”

“Then you should sleep.”

Zhuang Yanyu pursed his lips, looking at him with puppy-dog eyes.

It was like a well-behaved little kitten pleading for its owner’s company.

Who could bear to refuse that?

Wen Chenxi rubbed his temples. “Are you sure you can wake up in the morning?”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “I can just skip sleeping tonight.”

Wen Chenxi: “…Fine, I’ll keep you company.”

He moved the nightstand between their beds aside and pushed the two beds together. Then, he adjusted the pillows to rest against the headboard, motioning for Zhuang Yanyu to lean back. “Come here.”

Zhuang Yanyu obediently moved closer.

Both lay on the edges of their respective sides, technically still in separate beds, but the distance between them was closer than if they had shared a single bed.

Leaning back on the pillows in this way, Wen Chenxi could faintly smell the boy’s subtle grass-like scent. The calming fragrance eased his tension and lulled him back into drowsiness.

The soft murmur of Zhuang Yanyu’s voice in the dim room acted as a perfect lullaby. As Wen Chenxi’s body relaxed, sleepiness began to overtake him.

Just as he was drifting off, a question from his side startled him awake: “Do you want to?”

“Hmm?” Wen Chenxi responded lazily, not quite registering the question, merely replying out of reflex.

Hearing the response, Zhuang Yanyu suddenly sat upright on the bed, brimming with excitement. “Then I’ll go ask the front desk for cards!”

“Hmm,” Wen Chenxi murmured again.

And then, “…What?” He snapped his eyes open, instantly alert. “What cards?”

“Poker! Didn’t you say you wanted to play?”

The checklist for pulling an all-nighter with a buddy—soon to be completed: Playing cards together all night—In Progress.

Wen Chenxi: “…”

Watching the boy climb out of bed, put on his shoes, and reach for the phone, Wen Chenxi reached out and grabbed him in one swift motion, pulling him back and pinning him to the bed. “Go to sleep.”

Zhuang Yanyu had never been manhandled like this before. His legs instinctively kicked at the air, but all they found was empty space.

He froze, then curled his legs back in, looking up at Wen Chenxi with wide eyes. “But I can’t fall asleep.”

At this angle, he looked innocent and soft, with an almost pitiful expression. His eyes, slightly misty from the struggle, resembled those of a small animal—impossible to say no to.

Wen Chenxi felt himself softening again. Without a word, he covered Zhuang Yanyu’s eyes with his hand and said in a low voice, “Close your eyes and try to fall asleep.”

Zhuang Yanyu, unable to see, mumbled an “okay.”

Wen Chenxi lay back down, keeping his hand over the boy’s eyes.

About a minute later, Wen Chenxi noticed that the “restless fish” had gone completely still, his breathing even and deep.

“?”

Carefully removing his hand, Wen Chenxi saw that the boy, who had claimed he couldn’t fall asleep and was determined to stay up all night, had dozed off in just over a minute.

Wen Chenxi smiled faintly. Where did this fish get the confidence to think he could stay up all night?

With Zhuang Yanyu fast asleep, Wen Chenxi found his own drowsiness fading.

He quietly studied the boy’s relaxed features. His serene expression suggested he felt completely safe in this environment.

Wen Chenxi tucked the blanket more securely around him, gently poking the dimple in his cheek. “Little Steel Bar.”

–

Author’s Notes:

Zhuang Yanyu (worried): My bro’s wish is so weird. He actually wants a steel bar. Fine, I’ll just order him a truckload when we get back.

Wen Chenxi (smiling): Sorry, I misunderstood. The steel bar isn’t as straight as you are.

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