Chapter 23 — Xi Xingling
It was not that Li Dong wanted to ignore Xi Xingling, it was that the man was terrifyingly relentless. A single chat with him could explode into more than a thousand messages without a halftime break.
Voice notes and long texts came one after another, as if seducing Li Dong had become his life’s work.
If this continued, anyone would get fired, which was why Li Dong turned cool and distant, treating Xi Xingling’s messages as if he never saw them.
Over the next few days, Xi Xingling did not receive a single reply from Li Dong. What he did receive, though, was the twenty thousand yuan Li Dong had promised to send him each month.
Getting “boyfriend allowance” put him in excellent spirits.
He had always hated how far his rented studio was from the office. Now that money would be coming in steadily every month, he could finally consider a place downtown.
Times were different now. In Xi Xingling’s mind, he was already someone with a rich boyfriend, so the new apartment could not be shabby. Every aspect had to feel upscale.
He spent his off-hours touring apartments on his own.
He also sounded out colleagues for tips on high-end studio buildings nearby.
“Striking it rich, are we, Xingling? Looking at places this nice?” said Xia Bailun, who had joined the company in the same cohort. He still squeezed into a place in the outer suburbs with his girlfriend and spent nearly three hours a day commuting.
Three full hours. Hearing that Xi Xingling was about to move into a prime spot downtown made him so jealous it showed on his face. “So I was right, huh? You and Second Young Master have a little something you can’t talk about?”
Xi Xingling stared him down. “Keep that nonsense to yourself. If Second Young Master hears it, both of us could be out on the street.”
“What nonsense? Lots of people know already,” Xia Bairun sniffed. “They say you latched onto Second Young Master. Always in designer gear these days…”
Xi Xingling rolled his eyes. I drive a luxury car too.
His beloved BMW had just received its plates that day.
The dealership even sent a clerk to deliver the keys straight to him.
After work there would be no more crowded buses or ride-hailing. He could just drive home.
“Clock’s almost out. We’ve got plans tonight, you in?” Party queen He Suizi click-clacked over in heels with a few minutes left in the day, clapping to get everyone’s attention. “Three hundred per head. Dinner and karaoke, all-in. Who’s coming?”
“I already promised my girlfriend dinner, so I’ll skip it. You senior folks have fun,” Xia Bailun said with a grin.
“I’m not going either,” Xi Xingling said. “I have a viewing with a landlord. Rain check on dinner.”
He Suizi leaned on his cubicle and lowered her voice. “Weren’t you going to treat us when you passed probation? When are you inviting Second Young Master out again?”
“You must be joking.” Xi Xingling laughed. “Do you think he’s at my beck and call? It would be a miracle if I could even get him to pick up.”
“Joking? Aren’t you two close?” Zhang Qian from the team next door edged over too. She had wanted Second Young Master’s contact last time, but this guy would not give it to her.
“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.” Xi Xingling held up his phone, showing the WeChat screen with Li Dong. “Look. Two days without a reply. Cold and heartless.”
“What is Second Young Master’s WeChat, anyway?” Zhang Qian reached to take his phone.
“Don’t start. If Second Young Master hasn’t agreed, I wouldn’t tell you even if you beat me.” Xi Xingling slapped her hand away. “Alright, pack up. I hope you all have fun.”
“Tsk…”
Before, he would clock out and head straight for the bus stop or hail a ride.
Today he rode the elevator with the car owners down to the parking garage.
“Huh?” He Suizi blinked when she saw him in the elevator. “What are you doing here?”
Zhang Qian did not have a car, but she was riding with He Suizi to the party, so she was there too.
“Why can’t I be here?” Xi Xingling blinked innocently. Then it clicked. “Oh. I’m going to the garage to get my car.”
“You bought one?” The colleagues beamed. “About time. Buses and the subway are brutal. Although driving is no picnic either. Capital traffic is what it is.”
“True,” Xi Xingling said. “But once I move, I won’t even need to drive. Which makes buying the car feel a bit wasteful?”
“Not at all. A car’s convenient. Like Sister Suizi, after work you can go wherever you want without bumming a ride.” Zhang Qian folded her arms and seized the chance. “So, what did you buy? I need ideas.”
“A BMW 7 Series,” Xi Xingling said. “I don’t recommend it. It’s stupid expensive.”
He Suizi and Zhang Qian: “…” A BMW 7? Seriously?
When they reached the garage, they decided to trail him and see for themselves.
“Where did I park again?” He wandered a few loops before pressing the fob and zeroing in on his car. “There. The white one. I like the color.”
He Suizi and Zhang Qian: “Big spender. Buying a BMW without a peep… heh.” And he claimed he was not close to Han Second Young Master. As if they would believe that.
“I didn’t buy it. A friend gifted it,” Xi Xingling said.
“What kind of friend throws money around like that?” It had to be Second Young Master, and here he was, still playing coy.
“A good friend. Not that you would know them.” He opened the door. “I’m off. My landlord’s waiting.”
When his car rolled away, Zhang Qian nudged He Suizi with an elbow. “Sister Suizi, doesn’t he seem, you know, kind of gay? He dresses better than we do.”
“This is the difference between people,” He Suizi sighed. “So young and already in a BMW. You would think he’s some young master…”
Seeing He Suizi sliding into envy, Zhang Qian shut up fast.
If his backer really was Han Second Young Master, he was out of their league. Best to cut the gossip.
“Dong-ge, I’ve got my eye on this unit. Does it look good to you?” Standing in the middle of a tidy studio, Xi Xingling filmed a short video of the interior and sent it to Li Dong with buoyant hope.
He had gotten no replies to flirty messages, but surely Li Dong would respond to something practical.
If Li Dong ignored even this, Xi Xingling would cry himself to death.
“You live alone. Why rent something this big?” Li Dong replied as soon as he saw the video. What he really feared was Xi Xingling asking him to move in. That would be a death wish.
“Heaven above, my Dong-ge finally answered me. I’m so happy!” Xi Xingling abandoned typing and called directly. “It’s on XX Road in XX District. Excellent location. Close to the company and your place. The rent is a bit steep though.”
“How much?”
“Seven thousand a month. Management and parking not included,” he said with a wince. “It is really expensive.”
“Send me the exact address. I will check it for you,” said Li Dong.
“Okay, I will text it to your phone.” He blasted over the address and the landlord’s number.
“Ge, help me look at a place on XX Road in XX District…” After hanging up with Xingling, Li Dong went straight to Han Tianlin.
His brother teased him. “What, keeping a little lover?”
“And if I am?” Li Dong probed for his attitude.
Han Tianlin, ever the doting brother, did not disappoint. “Ha, then I will buy it for you.”
Li Dong did not let him. He only wanted him to negotiate. On things like this, it was much easier for Han Tianlin to handle.
To thank Han Tianlian for his generosity, Li Dong made a special effort to accompany him at work for a day.
“So well-behaved today?” After wrapping a business chat with clients, Han Tianlin glanced at the youth lounging in his office, flipping through a magazine.
“When am I not?” Li Dong crossed one leg over the other and smiled lazily.
“Come sit over here.” Han Tianlin waved him over and pulled a chair to his side.
Li Dong eyed him and chuckled. “I will sit right here. I am not moving.”
“What, afraid your big brother will eat you?” Han Tianlin’s smile was warm, that same unreserved indulgence he showed whenever he faced his little brother, just like Wang Yun did.
“Fine.” Li Dong weighed it for a moment, then humored him, getting up to sit closer.
He thought Han Tianlin had something to say, but he did not.
This man’s affection for his younger brother was pure. He spoiled him like a son.
Li Dong shadowed him the whole day. At nine they hit the gym, and at ten they were in one of the city’s liveliest nightlife spots.
Han Tianlin favored well-bred beauties with great figures and always had a few of that type around. Sometimes he would play with the club girls too, if one caught his eye.
They had barely settled in before a girl slid down to his beltline and got to work.
The sight was so explicit that Li Dong looked away.
In the novel, the author had said Han Tianlin lived a debauched life but never painted it in detail.
Li Dong had assumed it meant something like sleeping with lots of partners.
In reality, Han Tianlin’s games were wilder than that.
You could tell from the way he had treated Xi Xingling that he was a ruthless player with no shame and no bottom line.
Tonight was no exception. There would be a show soon enough. Everyone on the sofas had a beauty in their arms and high spirits to match.
Only the space next to Li Dong was empty, which made him look oddly out of place.
Unable to fend off the club girls and young masters pressing in, he quickly sent his location to Xi Xingling: “Sly little Xingling, your Dong-ge is surrounded by a flock of little vixens. Aren’t you going to come save the day?”
“What? Which sl*t is touching my Winter-ge?” Xi Xingling had been about to crawl into bed when the message landed. He nearly fell to his knees. “This is terrible. I am on my way right now!”
How terrifying! Just thinking about how Li Dong might be kissed and hugged by someone else made Xi Xingling panic.
He did not even fix his appearance. He grabbed a thick down coat and bolted.
“Dong-ge, wait for me. Do not let those little vixens touch you. I will get so jealous I might die, I swear! sob, sob…” He pushed the car up to 180km on the highway and tore across town to the address Li Dong sent.
He parked in a rush and stomped out wearing house slippers. Under the parka he still had on fuzzy long-sleeve pajamas. Looking exactly like that, he marched straight into the bustling club.
“Dong-ge, I am here. Which room are you in?” he panted into the phone.
Following Li Dong’s directions, he jogged down the corridor. 802… 803… 808…
As he reached the door, someone happened to go in. He slipped in after. It was a huge private room, all soft lights and glamor, perfume and glossy hair. Everyone else was dressed to kill. Only he looked painfully plain, a shut-in who had stumbled into the wrong party.
“Who is this? Did you get lost?” someone snickered. Dressed like that, he did look ridiculous.
Xi Xingling ignored them. He scanned the room urgently for Li Dong.
“Ah!” Someone grabbed him from behind, making him yelp.
Li Dong kissed his ear. “It is me.”
Hearing that voice he’d been dreaming about day and night, Xi Xingling's soul immediately returned to his body. He spun around and pouted, “Dong-ge, you are awful.” He had been scared to death. For a second he thought some creep had grabbed him. “Why would you jump me like that? You know I get scared easily.”
“Shh. No calling me Dong-ge in here,” Li Dong murmured, brushing his lips against the small red mouth.
“Oh, I get it. Second Young Master,” Xi Xingling said brightly. He looped his arms around Li Dong’s neck and planted a kiss in return. “So where are those little vixens who had you surrounded? Did you send them packing?” His eyes swept the room like infrared, humming to himself. Hmph, far too many people were eyeing his boyfriend.
“Sent away,” Li Dong said. It had been days since he had seen Xi Xingling. He bent to kiss him until the other was breathless, then noticed something was off. “You came here in pajamas…” His gaze dropped lower. House slippers.
“Do not look.” Mortified, Xi Xingling clapped his hands over Li Dong’s eyes. His cheeks puffed as he huffed, “I know it is embarrassing, but I was so anxious. You have no idea how scared I was. Hmph.”
What if someone seduced Second Young Master, who had been so good to him? He would cry himself blind.
Seeing him this flustered, someone who loved looking good leaving the house without a thought for his image, left Li Dong with a prickle of unease. Maybe this guy had fallen in for real. He changed the subject. “Hungry? I will take you to get something to eat.”
“Okay. I will do whatever Second Young Master says.” Xi Xingling beamed and let him lead him by the hand, warm contentment blooming in his chest.
As they passed a bank of sofas on the way to the buffet, he caught sight of Han Tianlin enjoying a young woman’s devoted attention.
He shrank a little. “E-Eldest Young Master is here too?”
“Mm,” Li Dong said. “Do you want to go say hello?”
“No way.” Sheer fear crossed Xi Xingling’s face. “I never want to speak to Young Master again.” He paused, then added, “He keeps calling me a damn ‘sl*t chicken’ and acts like I will give you AIDS.” It was naked contempt. “But I have only ever slept with you.”
Thinking about how Second Young Master had taken his first time and his first kiss too, sent a blissed-out shiver down his spine.
“Is that so?” Li Dong asked. “Then why did you like him before?”
He was hopeless at choosing among the piles of food, so he handed Xi Xingling a plate and tongs.
“Thank you.” Xi Xingling took them, eyes hungry as he surveyed the trays. “I do not know why. I thought he was handsome and very manly, but…” He rose on his toes and kissed Li Dong under the chin. “Now Second Young Master is my him.”
“What if I left you?” Li Dong asked.
Clatter. A sharp, cracking sound at their feet.
Xi Xingling dropped into a frantic crouch, picking up the plate and tongs he had fumbled.
He did not stand for a long while, because the ceramic plate had smashed to pieces on the floor.
“What are you doing, growing mushrooms down there?” Li Dong hauled him up and found himself staring into a tear-streaked face. He was taken aback. “Come on, I was just making a hypothetical…”
“Your ‘hypothetical’ nearly killed me,” Xi Xingling hiccupped. In that instant his heart had split clean in two. One half plunged into frigid seawater, the other hung over a blazing furnace. It hurt.
“I.…uh…” Flustered by the sight of him crying so hard, Li Dong hurriedly gathered him in and kissed him twice. “I was being dumb and talking nonsense.”
“Of course, I know that, but I can't help feeling sad,” Xi Xingling choked, tears still falling. He looked up at Li Dong with a fragile, rain-washed face. “Second Young Master, please don’t leave me. I want to stay with you forever”
Li Dong looked back at him and said nothing.
To settle him, he picked up a tiny pastry and brought it to those trembling lips. “Taste this. What flavor is it?”
Xi Xingling bit his lip and refused to eat.
“Not listening?” Li Dong frowned.
“I am listening. I always listen,” Xi Xingling said, though the tears would not stop.
Li Dong was out of moves. He felt like he had set a trap for himself. He could not remember the last time he felt this stuck.
“Fine, fine. I will stay with you forever,” he said at last, and offered the little cake again. “Eat it. Or I will give it to those hostesses.”
That did it. “I will eat it.” Xi Xingling took it in one bite and chewed, swallowing obediently.
“Have some more. Once you are full, we will head out.” Li Dong handed him a tissue. “Wipe your face. No more crying at the drop of a hat. Do it too much and it stops being worth anything.”
That scared him into dabbing his cheeks quickly. His eyes were still pink, but a bright smile bloomed right after, cheerful as ever.
“Open up. This one is good,” Li Dong said, and he personally fed him until he was satisfied.
While they ate, a girl began a striptease in the middle of the room.
She had a killer figure and a sweet face, exactly Han Tianlin’s type.
Sure enough, Han Tianlian crooked his finger at the girl, and she crawled over to kneel at his feet.
“Dong-ge, she has no shame,” Xi Xingling whispered, burying his face against Li Dong’s chest when the scene went from suggestive to obscene.
From time to time he opened his mouth to accept whatever Li Dong fed him, cheeks puffed like a little rabbit.
He looked so endearing that Li Dong could not bear the thought of him getting hurt.
“Xingling,” he said, cradling his face. “I want you to remember this. No matter how much you like someone, do not throw your self-respect away in front of them. Do you understand? Unless he loves you too and is worth yielding to.”
“Just like Dong-ge treats me so well. I am willing to do anything you ask,” Xi Xingling said, blissful.
Li Dong swallowed the rest of the lecture with a sigh. There was no point talking sense to a lovestruck fool.
He let him play for half an hour, then went to say goodbye to Han Tianlin. “Ge, we are heading out.”
Han Tianlin turned and saw his brother holding hands with the very “sl*t chicken” he loathed. He said nothing. “Go on. Drive safe.”
The people around them watched Li Dong leave hand-in-hand with Xi Xingling with strange expressions.
Some of them still remembered him, wasn’t he the little shou Eldest Young Master had dosed with an aphrodisiac the other night?
In the elder brother’s circle, he was a toy to be passed around. In the younger brother’s hands, he was treated like a treasure. Tsk. Tsk.
“What, you are taking me home?” Xi Xingling cupped his face in disbelief. “My god, that is so sudden. I am not mentally prepared.”
So dramatic it was a waste he did not act.
“Do not worry. You will not meet any of my family. No one is home,” Li Dong said as he buckled him in.
“Oh.” His tone held regret, relief, and a lingering wistfulness all at once.
Still, the thought of spending the night in Li Dong’s room made him giddy.
“It is late. I do not want you driving back alone,” Li Dong added. With that pretty face and that flashy car, Xi Xingling could attract the wrong kind of attention.
“True. There are thieves around our complex,” Xi Xingling murmured, pinching his chest lightly. His whole night had been a rollercoaster of sweet and sour, crying one moment, touched to tears the next. “Hubby…”
Tires screeched as Li Dong stamped the brake. The sound was so sharp that Xi Xingling went white.
“What is wrong? Did we hit someone?” he gasped.
Li Dong had not gone pale, but his scalp prickled and a cold sweat broke out. “…” F*ck.
Author’s Note:
The “Most Flirtatious Shou” Honorary Award of All Jinjiang: Xi Xingling.
Acceptance speech from Xingling:
Thank you, everyone! I truly deserve this~ Mwah~~
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