Chapter 88: Ye Zeqian
No matter how many storms he had weathered, what Li Dong liked best was still a quiet, comfortable space.
Like that one National Day back when he was thirty, a single man who flatly refused a blind date, choosing instead to curl up alone in his apartment with a novel.
Looking back, what else could he say but “what a mess.” If only he’d obediently gone to that blind date; if only he hadn’t curiously clicked into that girl’s book list; if only that year… Did he truly regret it?
Li Dong shook his head inwardly. There was no need to think about it. He didn’t regret it one bit.
“Please sit. Would you like tea or coffee?” The tall man set the paper bag with the coat aside and opened the sterilizer with his other hand.
“Tea, thank you.” A little stiff, Ye Zeqian remained standing, eyes skimming the room, as if hoping the decor might tell him more about Xu Chaoyan.
“Alright.” Li Dong said, “Sit, why are you standing?”
“Oh…” Ye Zeqian picked a spot and sat very properly. Then he caught his reflection in a shiny surface opposite—he looked painfully awkward. He despised that version of himself who couldn’t muster confidence in front of Xu Chaoyan. He had wanted to play the big bad wolf, yet somehow he’d turned into a timid, herbivorous critter.
“Tea,” Li Dong said, handing it over.
“Thank you, Mr. Xu.” Ye Zeqian stood and accepted the cup with both hands.
“You’re a bit tense.” Li Dong took a sip and sat beside him. “Just call me Chaoyan. ‘Mr. Xu’ feels distant.”
Ye Zeqian nodded. “Mm, I think so too.” He pressed his lips together, a small spark of joy lighting up inside.
He realized his slip a beat later and quickly covered his mouth, returning to a calm, slightly aloof look.
“We’re not that young anymore,” Li Dong said with a soft sigh, and left it there.
“Right.” Ye Zeqian felt as if he’d caught an unspoken hint. His heart jumped and, clutching the warm teacup, he mustered the courage to shuffle one seat closer.
Before meeting him, he’d felt a pinch of inferiority, surely the other man couldn’t possibly like him.
Yet every time after they met, he thought, maybe… this coveted diamond bachelor wasn’t as unreachable as he’d imagined.
True, Xu Chaoyan didn’t call or text all day like Gao Zhen, didn’t send gifts, and even his smile was polite rather than showy. But somehow Ye Zeqian felt the other man had a bit of a soft spot for him.
Why else drape a coat around his shoulders and step in to help?
That was what feelings looked like when they leaked out.
When the proud, fussy, kiss-averse “high-mountain flower” scooted closer, Li Dong actually froze for half a second.
He certainly didn’t think the person sitting beside him was some counterfeit Ye Zeqian.
“Mr. Xu, why are you looking at me like that?” Ye Zeqian asked stiffly, glancing up every two seconds to see if those eyes were still on him.
Li Dong didn’t answer. He kept looking.
Under that gaze, Ye Zeqian’s heartbeat tumbled. His eyelids drifted shut by degrees; after all, the signal he’d received was that Xu Chaoyan wanted to kiss him.
“I still can’t quite figure it out,” Li Dong said quietly. “Did you ever actually like your ex?”
“Huh?” Eyes suddenly dewy, Ye Zeqian stared, completely unprepared for the question.
“I mean the rumor about why you broke up, that you reject intimacy.” Li Dong hesitated. “Is it true?”
What Ye Zeqian heard was that the other man wasn’t sure whether he could accept a kiss. “No. It’s more that I… don’t really like Gao Zhen.”
Saying it out loud made him feel strangely better.
After seeing the uglier side of Gao Zhen later, he’d deeply regretted dating him at all.
“I see.” Li Dong rested his hand on the sofa back behind him. “Did you think I was about to kiss you?”
“W-what?” Flushed all over, Ye Zeqian met his eyes.
“I asked if you wanted me to kiss you,” Li Dong said.
“Who asks a question like that? Heh…” Restless, Ye Zeqian folded his arms. “Do whatever you think is appropriate. You don’t have to ask me.”
“So I shouldn’t seek your consent and can do anything I want?” Li Dong regarded him evenly.
“…” Ye Zeqian’s face turned to stone. “Mr. Xu?”
“My apologies. That was out of line.” Li Dong immediately put space between them and offered a sincere apology. “Given our relationship, I shouldn’t have asked you like that.”
When Ye Zeqian turned his head, he found exactly what he expected: a frank, upright expression.
All the earlier ambiguity died on the spot, leaving him dangling in midair. Embarrassed, neither here nor there, unable to get comfortable anywhere.
“I shouldn’t keep bothering you,” he said abruptly, getting to his feet. If he stayed, he might actually lose it.
“Alright, I’ll see you out,” Li Dong said.
“No need.” He stood too fast, swayed, and toppled forward into Li Dong.
“Careful.” Li Dong reached out to support his arm.
At this time, Ye Zeqian was already close to going crazy. He fell in a very inappropriate place. In panic, he even lingered for quite a while!
That instant’s impression, just a few short seconds deeply imprinted in his mind, impossible to shake off.
“Sorry…” He stood, face ashen, feeling like he would crack apart.
“It’s fine.” Li Dong said, expression slightly awkward. “But with that stumble, I might not be able to walk you down.”
Following his gaze, Ye Zeqian’s elegant face went scarlet. He whipped his eyes away. “I-I’m going.” He practically fled through the door.
He sprinted down the stairs back to the 28th floor, slammed his office door, and locked it. “Ah—” A germaphobe had just touched another man’s…
Yet his first reaction wasn’t to wash his hands. It was to figure out how not to.
Other people were other people. Xu Chaoyan was Xu Chaoyan. How could they be the same?
Ye Zeqian: Zhang Buzhuo, I have to tell you something.
Zhang Buzhuo: What?
Ye Zeqian: I just touched Xu Chaoyan’s 【river crab】.
Zhang Buzhuo had one leg crossed and a glass of water in hand. He spat his drink everywhere and nearly fell out of his chair. “Where’s your dignity, Ye Zeqian?!”
There was no way a germaphobe wouldn’t wash up. Before getting off work, the restroom saw his shadow.
He meticulously washed his left hand once.
Back in the office, hugging his phone that he’d wiped with disinfectant wipes a dozen times, he typed:
Ye Zeqian: Chaoyan.
He added a gray little bunny emoji in parentheses.
Xu Chaoyan: Acting cute is a crime.
Ye Zeqian: Hit the wrong one, sorry. He stared at the emoji. Before sending, it seemed fine; after sending, he wanted to disown whoever had sent it. I just wanted to ask, what do you usually do for lunch?
Working as he texted, Li Dong replied: Eat Takeout.
Ye Zeqian: How is that acceptable?
Those two words eat takeout stabbed him in the eye.
Before Li Dong could answer, another message arrived:
Ye Zeqian: I mean, takeout chefs vary wildly in standards. You should be selective about what you eat.
He, for one, never ate from small shops.
His three daily meals were designated in advance, custom by a particular hotel’s chef.
In this respect, he was the most extravagant: he spent the most money on food all year.
Ye Zeqian: ??
Three minutes passed without a reply. Back when he’d dated Gao Zhen, this would’ve been intolerable.
With Li Dong, another three minutes ticked by.
Stone-faced, he told himself to wait. A person shouldn’t be so thin-skinned.
After five sets of three minutes, Li Dong finally picked up his phone: [smile]
Just the emoji. Nothing more.
Ye Zeqian: Looks like you’re busy.
So he couldn’t text back instantly. Understandable.
Xu Chaoyan: Why don’t we talk later?
Though he wasn’t actually that busy.
Ye Zeqian: Alright.
Twenty minutes later, he couldn’t help himself:
Ye Zeqian: I ordered a food box. I’ll have it delivered to your office at noon, okay?
Li Dong thought a moment, sighed, and replied: [OK]
Still only an emoji.
But it was the cutest OK he’d ever seen. He pulled out another disinfectant wipe and cleaned his screen for the Nth time.
“Hello, Manager Zheng? Yes, it’s me.” He made the call. “Please have the chef prepare two lunches. Ask him to be extra attentive, the meal matters today.”
After he hung up, that touch came back to him again. Stripping away the parts that were already fuzzing over, one impression remained…
Thud. The twenty-seven-year-old “ascetic mage” bonked his forehead on his desk.
As a man of pure Platonic ideals, a germaphobe, a nitpicker, he looked down most on men’s 【river crabs】. After all, that thing only existed for reproduction, with nothing to do with love.
Yet here he was, replaying the feel of a man’s 【river crab】over and over. The shock of that was about as intense as the moment he’d actually touched it.
An hour later, noon sharp, two elegant food boxes arrived at his office.
He stared at them for five minutes, torn. Bring one up, or both?
Xu Chaoyan: [hungry] Director Ye, where’s my lunch?
His heart lurched. He grabbed both and bolted.
He hustled up the stairs, two steps at a time. Two minutes and thirty seconds later, he arrived in front of Li Dong, composed, but a little flushed, a little breathless, and hair slightly tousled.
“President Xu.” He inclined his head. “Sorry, work got a bit busy. I’m only just now bringing it up.”
Li Dong nodded. “It’s fine.” He came over and took a box from him. “I just wrapped up too.” Youthful appetites being what they were, noon always hit like a drum.
“Come sit,” he said.
Watching his deft hands lay out boxes and tableware, Ye Zeqian realized this was no pampered young master whose fingers never touched kitchen work.
“Do you cook?” he asked casually, not expecting much.
“Yes.” Li Dong said, “I can make dishes from eight countries.”
It wasn’t impressive to him; he’d simply had time on his side. If a person has the luck to live several lifetimes, even if he starts off uninterested in learning, he’ll end up versatile. When the person you live with says, I’m craving such-and-such today, how could Li Dong not learn to make it?
Without noticing, he had become the man he was now.
“Since I’ve been considering marriage lately,” Ye Zeqian pinched his palm, “Then I’ll presumptuously ask. Will your requirements for your other half be very high?”
If they were, how high?
He badly wanted to know whether he was inside Xu Chaoyan’s criteria. If not, he’d give up early.
“I’m only thinking of marriage because I’ve reached the age,” Li Dong said. “So if two people don’t have feelings yet, then a blind date is naturally about personal qualities and family background, and feelings come second.”
This was the kind of marriage model Ye Zeqian used to despise. Wasn’t a loveless marriage a cold tomb?
But now: “You’re right, President Xu. With our positions, we should be rational and put feelings behind other considerations.”
Author’s Note:
【Director Ye, where are your principles? Did the dog eat them?】
【Director Ye: What are principles? Are they more important than a 【river crab】?】
【There’s really nothing going on!!】
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