TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 26

In his past life, when raising a destined protagonist, Zhuang Yanyu spent most of his time in the cultivation world, where “luck-stealing” was a genuine phenomenon.

One of the early arcs of his protagonist involved losing his fortune to someone else, leading to years of hardship before rising again to become a legend.

Even though Zhuang Yanyu now lived in a modern, science-driven era where supernatural occurrences like luck-stealing were merely folklore, he remained cautious out of habit.

He couldn’t risk letting anyone drain his good fortune.

This time, like the last fishing trip, Wen Chenxi hadn’t caught a single fish. The day’s haul consisted entirely of what Zhuang Yanyu and Li Xi had reeled in.

Deep down, Zhuang Yanyu knew this wasn’t superstition—it was just data. Yet, he couldn’t help but protect his advantage.

Their luck with fishing was just as poor as Ji Zhiyuan’s, and Zhuang Yanyu couldn’t let his good brother keep suffering.

After stuffing his hand into Wen Chenxi’s palm, Zhuang Yanyu urged him to rub his hands together.

One hand wasn’t enough—he insisted that Wen Chenxi lift his other hand too, making sure to cover his hands completely to prevent any good luck from spilling out and being snatched by Ji Zhiyuan.

Ji Zhiyuan: “…”

Wen Chenxi glanced down at the hand placed into his palm. It was slightly smaller than his, with pale, slender fingers and distinct joints.

Perhaps because Zhuang Yanyu’s body temperature was lower than most people’s, his fingers felt cool to the touch.

Yet, as soon as Zhuang Yanyu placed his hand into his palm, Wen Chenxi felt his own hand heat up, so much so that sweat began to gather due to the rapid circulation of his blood.

Wen Chenxi’s arm stiffened slightly, unsure whether to hold tighter or let go.

It wasn’t until Zhuang Yanyu urged him again that Wen Chenxi slowly curled his fingers, gripping Zhuang Yanyu’s hand tighter, little by little, and then not wanting to let go.

Ji Zhiyuan froze in disbelief, his hand still outstretched awkwardly in midair. “Zhuang Yanyu! This is seriously hurtful! How can you be so biased toward Wen Chenxi?!”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked in confusion and asked, “If I’m not biased toward A-Xi, then who else would I be biased toward?”

His gaze swept over Li Xi and back to Ji Zhiyuan, as if to say, Should I favor you instead?

Li Xi burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Ji Zhiyuan, can you not humiliate yourself? What’s the relationship between Zhuang Yanyu and Wen Chenxi versus you and him?”

Ji Zhiyuan was practically fuming. “He’s just sucking up to the boss!”

“Oh.” Zhuang Yanyu remained unmoved, his hand still nestled in Wen Chenxi’s without caring about Ji Zhiyuan’s accusations.

“Sure, if you say so,” Zhuang Yanyu replied indifferently, “as long as A-Xi doesn’t think I am.”

Li Xi grinned mischievously. “Ah, but maybe it’s not just sucking up.”

Hearing this, Wen Chenxi glanced at Li Xi, slightly startled.

Li Xi looked knowingly smug, as though nothing escaped his sharp eyes.

Ji Zhiyuan, meanwhile, considered Zhuang Yanyu’s status as an employee and Wen Chenxi’s position as the big boss. What else could it be besides sucking up?

After all, he had seen plenty of blatant brown-nosing over the years—some so shameless they practically threw themselves at people, their intentions obvious to all.

But Zhuang Yanyu’s approach was maddeningly open and infuriatingly effective!

“Wen Chenxi, you’d better open your eyes wide. This employee of yours is incredibly scheming,” Ji Zhiyuan said, trying to stir trouble.

Wen Chenxi simply replied, “I like employees like this.”

Realizing Wen Chenxi was on his side, Zhuang Yanyu smiled faintly, his dimples just visible, his gaze at Wen Chenxi filled with stars.

Was this proof he had finally replaced Ji Zhiyuan in A-Xi’s heart as his best brother?

Ji Zhiyuan felt even more frustrated.

Without the blessing of good luck, Ji Zhiyuan continued fishing as the sky darkened, catching nothing. He eventually gave up, sulking, feeling that his ten-thousand-yuan fishing gear was utterly useless.

At dinner, Ji Zhiyuan felt a bit of warmth when Uncle Liu kindly served him soup and urged him to eat more.

“Thank you, Uncle Liu. You really care about me,” Ji Zhiyuan said.

But Uncle Liu didn’t just care for him—he cared for Wen Chenxi and Li Xi too.

“You all need to eat more,” Uncle Liu said earnestly. “Don’t be shy. These are top-grade medicinal ingredients I specifically asked Lao Zhuang to deliver. They’re great for replenishment.”

Ji Zhiyuan froze, his hand stopping mid-soup. “Re-replenish? Replenish what?”

Uncle Liu gave him a caring look and smiled. “Kidneys. Don’t worry, it’s all good stuff. Oh, Xiao Yu, even though you’re still young, eating a bit more won’t hurt. Sitting in an office all day makes it easy to feel weak.”

He even muttered about how today’s youth were all subhealthy.

Ji Zhiyuan: “…”

Wen Chenxi and Li Xi also looked slightly awkward.

Only Zhuang Yanyu obediently replied, “Oh, thank you, Uncle Liu,” and began drinking his soup.

The stark contrast with the other three, who didn’t want to admit any weakness, was glaring.

After serving the soup, Uncle Liu left without joining them for dinner, as did Lao Zhuang.

The two of them believed that young people needed their own space. Sharing lunch was polite, but they didn’t want to intrude at dinner.

Before leaving, Uncle Liu noticed that, apart from Zhuang Yanyu quietly eating, the other three men looked rather awkward.

He shook his head and said to Lao Zhuang, “See? Once men pass thirty, they just can’t accept the idea of being weak. Look at Xiao Yu—he doesn’t mind at all.”

Lao Zhuang chuckled. “Xiao Shi is still young.”

Uncle Liu patted him on the shoulder and laughed. “When they’re our age, they’ll probably feel the same, haha.”

Uncle Liu, nearly fifty and much older than Lao Zhuang, had long since stopped worrying about such things.

Perhaps the tonic worked too well—after dinner, the men all felt uncomfortably warm.

In the middle of summer, they were sweating buckets after eating.

While Zhuang Yanyu helped Uncle Liu clean up, Wen Chenxi and Li Xi sat in the courtyard chatting.

But Wen Chenxi’s gaze remained fixed on the living room, his glasses reflecting the light as his eyes followed Zhuang Yanyu’s every movement.

The only image in his lenses was Zhuang Yanyu.

Noticing this, Li Xi glanced at Zhuang Yanyu and smirked.

“By the way,” Li Xi suddenly asked, “why haven’t I seen Xiao Yu wearing the watch I gave him? Lao Ji gave him cufflinks, and Xiao Yu doesn’t wear suits, so that’s understandable. But a watch? He doesn’t like it?”

Wen Chenxi withdrew his gaze and said, “He doesn’t know that you’ve given him a return gift yet. It’s not that he doesn’t like it; I just haven’t given it to him yet.”

Li Xi smiled faintly, “You were the one urging us to return the gift, but now that we’ve prepared the present, you haven’t given it to him. What does that mean?”

Wen Chenxi replied calmly, “I’ll give it to him.”

Li Xi nodded, “Fine.”

Having gotten an answer, Li Xi didn’t ask further, but his thoughts wandered, and he felt there was an unspoken understanding.

Ji Zhiyuan came out of the bathroom after washing his face and, seeing them chatting, plopped down on a seat. “Li Xi, why are you smiling like that? You’re giving me goosebumps. What are you guys talking about?”

Li Xi smiled without replying.

Wen Chenxi, of course, didn’t elaborate.

Ji Zhiyuan’s sense of crisis grew stronger. He felt as though he was being excluded!

First, Xiao Yu was eyeing his ‘best brother’ position.

Now, Li Xi was here, and it seemed like there were little secrets between him and his best friends!

He had often heard people say, “In a group of three… one might get isolated.”

He didn’t believe it back then, but now, why did it feel like he was the one being isolated even in a group of four?

Ji Zhiyuan’s heart sank, and he decided to start figuring out how to secure his position.

Knowing they were about to head back to the city after dinner, Lao Zhuang brought out the pre-packed fruit for them.

It must be said, in certain ways, Lao Zhuang and Zhuang Yanyu were quite similar, especially when it came to distributing fruit to Wen Chenxi and the others.

Wen Chenxi looked at his bag of fruit, which was the largest, the best, and the most plentiful, and with a slight smile, he said, “Thank you, Uncle Zhuang. Next time, when I have time, I’ll bring Xiao Yu back to visit you.”

Lao Zhuang patted his head and laughed, “Okay, okay, good.”

After a moment, he suddenly felt something wasn’t quite right.

Why was it that Wen Chenxi was bringing Xiao Yanyu back, when this was their home? Shouldn’t it be Xiao Yanyu bringing him back?

But Lao Zhuang didn’t think much of it. Maybe big bosses just liked to be in control.

After loading the fruit into the car, Zhuang Yanyu suddenly asked, “Who’s driving back?”

Zhuang Yanyu remembered they’d had drinks at lunch. Though it had been an afternoon, it was still safest not to drive.

The only one who hadn’t drunk was Zhuang Yanyu, but he didn’t have a license.

Wen Chenxi said, “It’s fine, someone will drive.”

Zhuang Yanyu asked, “Who?”

Wen Chenxi made a phone call, and just a minute later, a black car arrived with two tall men in suits.

One of them, Zhuang Yanyu recognized—he was Wen Chenxi’s bodyguard.

Zhuang Yanyu immediately understood.

Of course, these three were all wealthy bosses. How could they go anywhere without bodyguards?

Perhaps besides these two, there were others stationed elsewhere that Zhuang Yanyu didn’t see.

On the way back, they split into two cars. The bodyguards drove. If they hadn’t split into two cars and had all five of them in one, with the driver included, it might have been a bit cramped.

Zhuang Yanyu was still in the same car as Wen Chenxi, while Li Xi was with Ji Zhiyuan in the other.

They didn’t live in the same area in the city, so once they reached the city, they went their separate ways.

Wen Chenxi still asked the driver to drop Zhuang Yanyu off at the entrance of his residential area.

He got out of the car with Zhuang Yanyu, escorted him to the building, and then said, “Rest early tonight. Goodnight.”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “Goodnight.”

After taking a few steps, Zhuang Yanyu noticed Wen Chenxi was still standing there, unmoving. He asked, “Is there something else?”

Wen Chenxi paused for two seconds before suddenly asking, “Tomorrow is Sunday, and you don’t have to work. Do you have other plans?”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “No.”

Wen Chenxi then continued, “Last time when you gave fruit to Zhiyuan and Li Xi, they sent you a return gift. I’ve been meaning to give it to you, but I kept forgetting. Should I send it over tomorrow?”

Zhuang Yanyu nodded. “Sure.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “I can come to your place to get it.”

Wen Chenxi was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected him to suggest coming to his place.

Wen Chenxi had been planning to find a time to bring the gift to him, so they could also have a meal together.

Wen Chenxi’s heart warmed, and he smiled faintly, “Alright. What time will you come tomorrow?”

Zhuang Yanyu thought for a while, “I wake up at 7, finish breakfast by 7:40, and it takes about 43 minutes to get there by bus, but it’s not exact because some bus stops are skipped. But I’ll take a taxi, which is faster. From there…”

Before he could finish calculating, Wen Chenxi interrupted, “No need to calculate. I’ll have my driver pick you up.”

Zhuang Yanyu blinked. “But the driver would need more time for a round trip.”

Zhuang Yanyu had a particular attachment to being punctual—everything had to be done at the exact right time.

Although many of his habits had changed, like not going to bed at 10:15 but at 11:30 now, he still cared deeply about these details.

Wen Chenxi wanted to say that this was the driver’s job, but he remained silent, not wanting Xiao Yu to mind.

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly said, “Oh, we can do it that way.”

Wen Chenxi asked, “Hmm?”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “You wait here for me, I’ll pack some clothes, and then I’ll just stay over at your place tonight. That way, the driver won’t need to make a second trip, and I won’t have to take a taxi tomorrow.”

Upon hearing that, Wen Chenxi froze.

Stay at his house…?

Wen Chenxi could clearly hear his own heartbeat quicken and the sound of his Adam’s apple moving.

Zhuang Yanyu saw that he didn’t say anything and asked, “Is that okay?”

He felt a bit nervous inside.

This was indeed the most time-and effort-saving solution.

However, there was also a bit of selfishness mixed in.

Zhuang Yanyu secretly calculated in his mind that Ji Zhiyuan and Li Xi had both stayed at Wen Chenxi’s place before.

He had never stayed.

As the best brother, how could he be left behind on this front?

Wen Chenxi’s voice was slightly hoarse: “…Alright.”

Zhuang Yanyu’s eyes immediately lit up. “Then you wait here, I’ll go up and get my clothes.”

Wen Chenxi quickly followed him. “I’ll go up with you.”

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t refuse. “Okay.”

Whether it was just Wen Chenxi’s illusion or not, the young man’s steps seemed to become lighter all of a sudden, no longer the same stiff, military-like stride. Instead, it was almost as if he was floating.

It made Wen Chenxi feel that this “fish” seemed to want to just fly up there.

Once they entered the elevator and reached the apartment, Wen Chenxi’s mood changed, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

This was his first time at Zhuang Yanyu’s place, but it wasn’t much different from what he had imagined.

It was a 60-square-meter apartment, with one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, one bathroom, and a relatively large south-facing balcony.

There wasn’t much furniture inside, which seemed to reflect Zhuang Yanyu’s peculiar obsession. Every piece of furniture and every item was arranged neatly, with some even oriented in the same direction.

This “fish” had apparently eliminated all unnecessary items, making the space feel empty but clean and minimalistic, with each item showing signs of use.

Wen Chenxi also noticed that the color scheme in the apartment seemed to be carefully calculated.

Zhuang Yanyu chose the colors that were the most perfect, the most comfortable, according to some ideal combination.

Therefore, despite the apartment being small at only 60 square meters, Wen Chenxi felt as though he was looking at a designer’s showroom.

Zhuang Yanyu poured Wen Chenxi a glass of water and said, “I’m going to the bedroom to pack some clothes. You sit down.”

Wen Chenxi replied, “Alright.”

He watched Zhuang Yanyu walk into the master bedroom and stopped himself from following, but then suddenly said, “Pack a couple more sets.”

Zhuang Yanyu turned around, puzzled.

Wen Chenxi pushed his glasses up and spoke in a voice he thought was calm: “Tomorrow’s Sunday, so you can stay another day and we can go to work together on Monday. By the way, you don’t need to pack toiletries. I have them at my place.”

This was an unexpected bonus for Zhuang Yanyu.

His goal of going to work with his best friend was suddenly within reach!

Wasn’t the whole point of his retirement to enjoy a life like this—living a relaxed, easy-going life, going to work and coming home with his brother?

Zhuang Yanyu’s voice seemed to sparkle a little more: “Okay, I’ll go now.”

Zhuang Yanyu quickly packed four sets of clothes.

Yes, he secretly added two more sets.

He thought to himself that he’d leave a couple of clothes behind, pretending to forget them at Wen Chenxi’s place, so that he would have an excuse to visit whenever he wanted.

Zhuang Yanyu came out of the master bedroom, his expression slightly guilty, his gaze a bit shifty. “I’ve packed it all. Took a bit extra.”

He didn’t mention how many sets; that would’ve made his intentions too obvious.

Wen Chenxi didn’t ask, simply stood up and took the bag from his hand.

Summer clothes were light and thin. Simple T-shirts and casual pants took up little space and weighed almost nothing.

Wen Chenxi carried the light bag and suddenly thought in his mind, What if, someday, this “fish” brings all his things over instead of just a small bag?

Of course, that would be in a different context.

After leaving Zhuang Yanyu’s apartment, Wen Chenxi went straight home with him.

They didn’t stop anywhere along the way, afraid that Zhuang Yanyu might remember something important he needed to take care of and then decide not to stay at his place.

Only when Zhuang Yanyu finally entered his own home did Wen Chenxi’s tense heart slowly begin to relax.

Wen Chenxi took Zhuang Yanyu to the only spare bedroom in his house, put the clothes in, and asked, “Is it okay to stay in this room tonight?”

He had never been fond of having people over, and only Ji Zhiyuan and Li Xi had stayed before, so he had kept just one guest room.

The rest of the space had been converted into a gym and a large study.

For a brief moment, a flicker of disappointment passed through Zhuang Yanyu’s eyes.

He had expected that staying at his best friend’s place would be like staying in a hotel, where the two of them could sleep in the same room, chat before bed, and talk about life.

Instead, they had separate rooms.

Disappointment aside, Zhuang Yanyu understood well: coding was done line by line, and programs started from the beginning.

Nothing could jump in the middle or skip to the end.

If something like that happened, it was probably a bug.

So, friendship had to be built step by step.

Zhuang Yanyu mentally reassured himself, “It’s fine, I can sleep anywhere.”

Wen Chenxi, who had been observing Zhuang Yanyu, didn’t miss the brief flicker of disappointment in his eyes. He looked around the room. Was it too simple? Was the bed too small?

Wen Chenxi stayed silent for two seconds and then said, “How about you sleep in the master bedroom?”

Zhuang Yanyu suddenly brightened. “Then where will you sleep?”

Wen Chenxi replied, “I’ll sleep in the spare bedroom.”

Zhuang Yanyu’s excitement faltered slightly, “…Oh.”

Then he added, “Never mind, I’ll just sleep here.”

It seemed he couldn’t be too eager.

There’s an old saying: Haste makes waste.

The wisdom of humans is truly limitless; after all, as a former chip, he couldn’t compare.

After hanging up his clothes in the closet, Zhuang Yanyu looked at the wrinkles on his clothes, feeling a little uncomfortable. But this wasn’t his home, and he wasn’t sure if there was an iron.

Zhuang Yanyu stared at the wrinkles for a while, thought for a second, then shut the closet door and let out a long breath—Better. Can’t see them now. Much more comfortable.

It was still early, just around 9 PM. After Zhuang Yanyu finished putting his clothes away, he went out.

In the kitchen, Wen Chenxi was cutting fruit.

Hearing the sound, Wen Chenxi turned around and asked, “Want some watermelon?”

Zhuang Yanyu looked at the massive watermelon and immediately recognized it. “My dad grew it.”

Wen Chenxi smiled lightly. “Yes, I just tried a piece. It’s really sweet.”

Zhuang Yanyu walked over, put on a disposable plastic glove, and began putting the watermelon Wen Chenxi had cut into a plate, picking up a piece and popping it into his mouth. He secretly thought to himself, The cut isn’t very pretty.

But it was indeed very sweet.

Zhuang Yanyu squinted his eyes. When it came to the fruits grown by his father, he never worried, because no one knew more about planting than his dad.

Seeing him enjoy the watermelon so much, Wen Chenxi also smiled.

The two of them ate half of the watermelon together. Afterward, Wen Chenxi handed Zhuang Yanyu the return gifts that Li Xi and Ji Zhiyuan had given them last time: a watch and cufflinks.

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t really use either of them, but he politely messaged both of them to thank them, saying he liked them.

Wen Chenxi said, “If you don’t want to wear them, you can leave them at home.”

Zhuang Yanyu nodded. “Okay.”

The two of them sat for a while, cleaned up the leftover watermelon, and seeing that it was already past 10 PM, Wen Chenxi urged Zhuang Yanyu to take a shower.

When Zhuang Yanyu finished his shower, dried his hair, and took care of his dirty clothes, it was exactly 11 PM.

Wen Chenxi walked him to the spare bedroom, stopped at the door, and politely said, “If you need anything, just let me know. I’m in the room next door, or you can call me.”

Zhuang Yanyu stood inside the room, blinking his eyes. “Alright.”

Wen Chenxi thoughtfully closed the door for him.

Zhuang Yanyu, feeling excited, changed into his pajamas and lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes, trying to sleep, but felt that his eyelids were filled with little happy symbols.

He opened his eyes again, took out his phone, and walked to the door to take a photo of the entire room as a memento before lying back down.

It was his first time staying at his best friend’s house, and Zhuang Yanyu felt a little excited.

He stretched out his hand and touched his chest, feeling his heart beating faster than usual, almost like it was skipping a beat.

Zhuang Yanyu thought for a moment but still couldn’t fall asleep.

He couldn’t wait to take out his phone and share the latest progress with his dad.

But when he saw the time, he realized it was already so late. His dad, Old Zhuang, must have been asleep by now.

Old Zhuang had a biological clock even more punctual than his own—he always went to bed at 9 PM, no matter what, and woke up at 6 AM.

Zhuang Yanyu scrolled through his WeChat contacts.

He didn’t have many contacts, fewer than 30 in total, most of them colleagues.

Among his colleagues, he was closest to Zhou Quan and Supervisor Xu.

But as for Zhou Quan, forget it. He didn’t even know who Zhuang Yanyu’s best friend was, so it wouldn’t be any fun to share with him.

As Zhuang Yanyu hesitated whether or not to message Supervisor Xu, his hand suddenly froze. His gaze locked onto one contact.

Ji Zhiyuan.

Zhuang Yanyu pursed his lips. Just you, past tense.

Zhuang Yanyu sent a message to Ji Zhiyuan: “Did you and Li Xi get home?”

It took a few minutes for Ji Zhiyuan to reply: “Just went out drinking again. Just got home. Why? Am I not allowed to?”

After coming back, Ji Zhiyuan had immediately dragged Li Xi out for drinks, trying to get him to spill the secrets between him and Wen Chenxi.

But Li Xi had an incredible tolerance. Even though Ji Zhiyuan was tipsy, Li Xi was still perfectly sober.

Ji Zhiyuan had to give up.

Ji Zhiyuan: What’s up, regret the terrible thing you did to me today?

Ji Zhiyuan: Are you coming to apologize now?

Ji Zhiyuan: Let me tell you! Too late! I won’t accept it!

Zhuang Yanyu replied: “I haven’t gone home yet.”

Ji Zhiyuan was still grumbling, thinking that Zhuang Yanyu should send “sorry” 100 times before he’d forgive him.

But when Ji Zhiyuan saw Zhuang Yanyu’s message, he paused: “How come you’re not home? Aren’t you in the car with Old Wen?”

Zhuang Yanyu: Yes.

Ji Zhiyuan: Then where are you now?”

Zhuang Yanyu sent a location.

Zhuang Yanyu: I’m here.

Ji Zhiyuan: This address seems familiar.

Ji Zhiyuan: Damn it! You’re at Old Wen’s place?!

Zhuang Yanyu couldn’t help but smile, a dimple flashing on his cheek.

He was clearly thrilled on the outside, but his actions were light and carefree.

Zhuang Yanyu: Yep, I’m staying here tonight.

Ji Zhiyuan: !!!

Ji Zhiyuan: How come you’re staying at Old Wen’s place?!

Zhuang Yanyu: We’re best friends. It’s perfectly normal to stay at a best friend’s house for a night.”

Ji Zhiyuan completely lost it!

Earlier that day, he had been annoyed when he discovered that Li Xi and Wen Chenxi had some secrets he didn’t know about!

Now, a guy he had only known for a few months was stealing his best friend away!

Who could understand this feeling?

They had known each other since they were wearing diapers!

Li Xi, fine—he had known him since elementary school, so after twenty years of friendship, secrets were just secrets.

But Zhuang Yanyu wasn’t like that!

They had only known each other for a few months!

When Zhuang Yanyu saw that Ji Zhiyuan had stopped replying, he didn’t mind. He happily put his phone down.

Sure enough, things were different once you had someone to share your good mood with.

After sharing his happiness with his friend, his mood improved even more, and he felt deeply satisfied.

Zhuang Yanyu felt this sense of fulfillment, which reminded him of how the original host felt when he was passing on his powers, a feeling of fullness and warmth.

Zhuang Yanyu contentedly went to sleep.

He had always been a deep sleeper, and after feeling satisfied, he closed his eyes and fell asleep soon after.

At 12:12 AM, the sharp ring of the doorbell suddenly rang.

Wen Chenxi, upon noticing through the control system that the person at the door was Ji Zhiyuan, unlocked the door to let him in before standing up to meet him.

In the other room.

Suddenly, some loud noises broke the silence of the night. The sounds were jarring in the quiet room, and because they were quite loud, they disturbed Zhuang Yanyu, who had been sleeping soundly. He frowned slightly, then woke up.

Zhuang Yanyu sat up and looked toward the door, confused.

The sounds were coming from outside, like Wen Chenxi and Ji Zhiyuan talking.

Hmm? Ji Zhiyuan?

What was he doing here?

Zhuang Yanyu immediately became alert, put on his shoes, and went to open the door.

As he opened it, he heard Ji Zhiyuan say, “It’s not like I’ve never stayed at your place before. Xiao Yu said it’s normal to stay at a good friend’s house for the night!”

Zhuang Yanyu: “?”

Hearing the noise, both of them turned to look at him at the same time.

Ji Zhiyuan said, “Xiao Yu’s here. If you don’t believe me, ask him.”

Zhuang Yanyu remained expressionless: “…”

If he’d known Ji Zhiyuan was going to show up in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t have sent him that message!

Someone was clearly angry but wouldn’t admit it. Of course, he was regretting it now.

Wen Chenxi rubbed his brow, looking at Zhuang Yanyu with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, did we wake you? This guy had too much to drink and insisted on coming to stay at my place.”

Zhuang Yanyu, who was the instigator of the situation, pursed his lips slightly and turned his gaze away, feeling a little guilty.

Wen Chenxi patiently said to Ji Zhiyuan, “There’s only one guest room in my house, and it’s already occupied by Xiao Yu.”

Ji Zhiyuan shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s fine, I can share a bed with Xiao Yu. We’re both grown men, what’s there to be afraid of?”

With that, he confidently made his way toward the guest bedroom where Zhuang Yanyu had been staying.

Drunk, he was determined to join in the fun—after all, he was a good friend too. If the other friends were hanging out, he had to be part of it.

Not being part of it wasn’t what friends did!

They’d even played games together back in their dorms!

Wen Chenxi: “…”

Wen Chenxi glanced at the time. It was late, and Ji Zhiyuan was drunk, so he wasn’t comfortable with him going back.

But he certainly couldn’t let Ji Zhiyuan sleep with Zhuang Yanyu.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Wen Chenxi finally said, “Xiao Yu, you can sleep with me.”

Zhuang Yanyu, who had been feeling annoyed moments earlier, suddenly widened his eyes at those words.

Wen Chenxi, noticing his potential discomfort, softly asked, “Is that okay?”

Without hesitation, Zhuang Yanyu replied, “Of course!”

He was even a bit incredulous—this was too good to be true! It felt like he was dreaming.

Could this really be happening?

Zhuang Yanyu glanced at Ji Zhiyuan with a hint of amusement. If he’d known Ji Zhiyuan could be useful like this, he would’ve messaged him earlier!

Not waiting for Wen Chenxi to say anything else, Zhuang Yanyu quickly turned and headed back to the room.

A minute later, he came out holding his clothes, his eyes shining as he looked at Wen Chenxi and then at the master bedroom behind him. “Ah Xi, should I sleep on the left side or the right?”

Wen Chenxi: “…”

Was it just his imagination, or did Zhuang Yanyu seem to be practically bursting with impatience?

Upon further thought, it made sense. Why wouldn’t he be excited? Wen Chenxi had experienced that himself on business trips.

So, there was no need to ask.

Sometimes, keeping quiet was a kindness to oneself.

Wen Chenxi took a deep breath. “You can sleep on whichever side you want.”

Zhuang Yanyu entered the room and immediately noticed which side of the bed had been slept on before.

Wen Chenxi’s bed was large—he couldn’t possibly occupy that much space on his own, so he usually slept on the right side.

Zhuang Yanyu, understanding without needing to be told, made his way to the left side, even neatly hanging his clothes by the side before getting into bed.

When Wen Chenxi had settled Ji Zhiyuan down, he entered the bedroom and saw Zhuang Yanyu sitting quietly on the bed, waiting for him.

The moment their eyes met, Zhuang Yanyu’s gaze brightened, as if filled with stars.

Wen Chenxi paused, suddenly feeling like he was digging his own grave.

He wasn’t sure if it was the food Uncle Liu made tonight that was too nourishing, but Wen Chenxi felt even hotter, and the heat was only intensifying.

Zhuang Yanyu asked, “Has he fallen asleep?”

Wen Chenxi’s voice was slightly hoarse as he replied, “He’s asleep.”

Zhuang Yanyu patted the spot beside him. “Then let’s go to sleep too.”

Wen Chenxi stood still, not moving.

Zhuang Yanyu called out, “Ah Xi?”

Wen Chenxi said, “Or maybe I should sleep on the couch.”

Zhuang Yanyu looked at him, his usually charming eyes suddenly dimmed, the light in them vanishing.

The boy pursed his lips, and under the soft light from the bedside lamp, his delicate face appeared somewhat pitiful and wronged.

Wen Chenxi immediately realized his mistake. He hurriedly said, “Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t want to sleep with you. I was just worried it might feel cramped.”

Zhuang Yanyu said, “The bed in the hotel was even smaller.”

He didn’t feel cramped at all.

Wen Chenxi didn’t know what else to say, so he walked heavily to the bed and lay down.

As soon as he settled in, he turned his head and saw Zhuang Yanyu giving him a faint, shallow smile.

When Zhuang Yanyu noticed him looking over, he quickly suppressed his smile and asked seriously, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Chenxi felt helpless. He reached out and gently rubbed Zhuang Yanyu’s head, asking, “Xiao Yu, I have a question for you.”

Zhuang Yanyu replied, “Go ahead.”

“What do you think the relationship between good friends should be like?”

Zhuang Yanyu didn’t hesitate to answer, “I’d go through fire and water for you without hesitation! I’d take a knife for you without a second thought!”

Wen Chenxi: “…”

Wen Chenxi sat up. “Wait, where did you get all these ideas from?”

Zhuang Yanyu remained silent.

Well, in his past life, the hosts’ good brothers were all like this.

They’d send rare treasures, spiritual stones, magic weapons, spiritual pets, mounts… some even sent the most beautiful woman in the cultivation world.

Wen Chenxi said, “Be more realistic.”

Zhuang Yanyu had only ever encountered two modern hosts; most of the others were from the cultivation world.

The two modern ones quickly completed their tasks, and Zhuang Yanyu couldn’t escape the Protagonist’s body. Most of the people he met were those the Protagonist had interacted with.

And, could there be ordinary people around the Protagonist?

There were, but they were mostly those who were awestruck by the Protagonist, constantly praising, “He’s so handsome and powerful!” “This person is truly terrifying!”

If he really wanted something realistic…

Well, putting it plainly—
“Send money, cars, houses… oh, some even send companies.”

Wen Chenxi: “…”

He caught onto the key point. “Some? You’ve seen this?”

Zhuang Yanyu pursed his lips and answered vaguely, “I’ve seen it before.”

Wen Chenxi guessed that Zhuang Yanyu had probably seen some rich second-generation kids who were big spenders while he was studying, or perhaps he had encountered some people involved in underground society.

In any case, this wasn’t a good thing, and it gave him the wrong impression of how to behave.

No wonder this “fish” always sends him things… and worries about him not having money, wanting to make money for him.

Wen Chenxi sighed and decided to change the subject.

Understanding wasn’t something that could be forced—it needed time to correct.

Wen Chenxi paused for a couple of seconds, then said, “Actually, it’s rare for two adult men to sleep in the same bed, especially in the same bed. It’s very uncommon, even among brothers, unless it’s a special situation.”

The implication was clear—they were not in a special situation right now.

Zhuang Yanyu looked confused. “Why?”

Zhuang Yanyu opened his mouth and began quoting, “In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 45: ‘Yu said: “I haven’t shared a bed with Ziyi for a long time, but tonight we will sleep together, feet to feet.”’ The term ‘feet to feet’ means that two people with a close relationship—”

Wen Chenxi quickly covered his mouth and pulled him into his arms. “Alright, stop talking. Go to sleep.”

He surrendered.

Zhuang Yanyu: ?

So, this is how we’re sleeping?

He had so many more intimate anecdotes about lords and subordinates that he wanted to share.

Wen Chenxi: “Close your eyes.”

Zhuang Yanyu: “Oh.”

–

Author’s Note:

PS— Other CEOs: scheming to get their crush to sleep with them.

Wen Chenxi: “My crush is scheming to get me to sleep with him, and I can’t hug or kiss him.”

Really! My past brotherly bonds always made me think the wrong way!

(Fishy agrees: “I really studied hard on how to get along with good brothers!”)

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