The sky was blue, the grass was green, and Pei Zhiheng’s morning was hard to put into words.
As if the person posting to their Moments was afraid he wouldn’t see it, out of nowhere, like the sun rising in the west, his message popped up along with the 8 a.m. sunlight.
[Wang Huanxiu: Good morning.]
Pei Zhiheng: “…”
He was giving him anxiety just by existing.
He’d heard before that Wang Huanxiu’s true nature was different from his outward serious appearance. The elders always said he was very naughty and mischievous as a child, maybe now he just covered it up with a fake persona.
He was twenty-six already, and still using such childish methods?
Just get a new lip balm. Why post it on Moments?
Pei Zhiheng wanted to chew his back teeth like bubblegum.
[Pei Zhiheng: President Wang is really aging backwards, and becoming a child again.]
Wang Huanxiu turned a blind eye to the other person’s mockery of his age.
[Wang Huanxiu: I just wanted to say good morning.]
[Pei Zhiheng: Who’s having a good morning? Definitely not me.]
Seeing that post on Moments was the first bad news of his day.
[Wang Huanxiu: Mine is good.]
Pei Zhiheng: “…”
If there was no physical distance between them, Wang Huanxiu would’ve shoved that lip balm right into Pei Zhiheng’s eye.
Outside the door, the servant who came to wake Pei Zhiheng heard a scream from inside that sounded like it came from a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Putting down his phone, Wang Huanxiu went back to work. The sky outside was particularly blue today, like it had been washed clean, with fluffy, dense white clouds.
Messages kept coming in on the computer, and the man handled everything methodically. He was in a great mood today, and rarely had he ever felt this happy.
Before, he poured all his time into work. Even during his personal time, he would still go over documents.
His life was complicated, yet painfully monotonous. He came into contact with powerful people and celebrities every day, a circle that others only dreamed of, but he was used to it and just treated it as a job.
Since taking office, he’d never truly experienced personal time. His time was work, and work was all his time.
Wang Muguang and Wang Zhenzhu hadn’t moved in, and Bai Shuijin had not married him either.
He looked out the window and seemed to see the summer when he was fourteen, the sky was just as blue. Back then, he was carefree, an excellent student with a happy family, unaware of what he was about to face.
And now, he seemed to have returned to that time, carefree, with a happy family. Even knowing what lay ahead, he felt no fear.
After Wang Huanxiu left, Bai Shuijin slowly got up from bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. The moment the toothpaste touched his lips, he shivered.
Remembering last night.
Something extraordinary had now become a memory.
Bai Shuijin bit down on the head of his toothbrush and pretended not to remember. His phone on the sink lit up with a new message.
[Do you want the same brand of lip balm or a different one?]
Bai Shuijin: “…”
With the toothbrush in his mouth, he grabbed his head with both hands, pulling his hair.
Aaaaahhhh! How could this happen! Why the hell did he kiss laogong-ge last night?! Why?! Why!!!
And now he was so embarrassed he wished he could crawl into a pharaoh’s tomb and hide.
He didn’t even know if the other party still wanted him as a roommate.
Before, it was always him sending messages to Wang Huanxiu, one after another and endlessly. But now, Bai Shuijin, for once, didn’t want to reply.
He quickly finished brushing, scrubbed his face vigorously with a towel, got dressed, put his backpack on, and headed to the dance studio.
Afraid he would be too bored staying at home all the time, he had two places to practice dance. One was the previous studio where he practiced with Chen Yuan, the other was at home, where there was a dance room as well.
Today, he didn’t want to risk building a new castle out of embarrassment on the castle-like floors of his mansion. So he decisively took his dance teacher to the studio in the city center.
By the time he got into the car, it had already been half an hour since he last checked his phone.
The moment he opened it, he saw 20+ messages.
Bai Shuijin: !
Who sent all these?
They were all from laogong-ge?!
Seeing the little red dot from the message app, he didn’t even have the courage to tap it open.
Wasn’t Wang Huanxiu always the quiet, unresponsive type? Didn’t he used to complain that he talked too much and was clingy?
Looking at the messages Wang Huanxiu sent, most of them were asking if he was awake, if he’d eaten, what he was doing, and what kind of lip balm he wanted.
Most of them were mundane, everyday small talk, the kind people share when they’re happy.
Sitting in the car, Bai Shuijin held his phone with a hot face, and something was trying to climb out of his throat.
[Wang Huanxiu: What are you doing?]
[Bai Shuijin: Getting carsick.]
“…”
When he arrived at the studio, Bai Shuijin started warming up. Chen Yuan quickly noticed something off.
“Brother Shuijin, your lips…”
Bai Shuijin stiffened in an instant. “What? I didn’t kiss anyone, okay?! You misunderstood.”
Chen Yuan narrowed her eyes, a look of curiosity forming on her face. “Brother Shuijin, I didn’t say anything yet.”
She only wanted to say that his lips looked a little dry.
Bai Shuijin: “…”
It was over. His brain was now filled with images of kissing Wang Huanxiu last night.
He slumped on the floor. He was not in the mood to dance anymore and couldn’t concentrate at all.
He gave his phone a resentful look.
‘Wang Huanxiu, you have ruined me.’
Sitting on the floor, he kept pulling at his hair and rubbing his neck. So why did he kiss him?
Was it because he saw Pei Zhiheng kissing someone in the private room and got jealous, so he wanted to try it too?
Other than that, Bai Shuijin couldn’t think of a single reasonable explanation.
‘Laogong-ge, you are such a greedy bastard.’
Chen Yuan loved shipping CPs, so she sat down beside him on the floor. “Brother Shuijin, tell me everything.”
“Tell you what?”
“About the kiss! Tell me all about it!”
Bai Shuijin exploded, “I didn’t kiss anyone!”
Chen Yuan gave him a knowing look. “I don’t believe you.”
Bai Shuijin groaned, his long fingers traced the lines of the floor, and the tips turned white from the pressure.
“Xiao Yuan, have you ever kissed someone?”
Chen Yuan nodded. “Of course. I have a boyfriend.”
She and her boyfriend were childhood sweethearts, they promised to be together since they were kids, and they’d been dating for a long time.
“Then why do you kiss?”
Chen Yuan was stunned by the question. Why? What kind of question was that? “Isn’t it normal for couples to kiss?”
“But we’re not normal.”
“With who?”
Bai Shuijin pursed his lips together. “With laogong-ge.”
“What’s not normal about that?”
“We’re husbands.” Not a couple.
Chen Yuan: “…”
She was hit with the biggest shock of the year. “How many times have you kissed?”
“Onc…” Bai Shuijin shook his head. It was probably twice last night. “Twice.”
“Yes, okay, that’s not normal.”
Bai Shuijin clapped his hands. “Right?!”
Chen Yuan looked at how clueless he was and said “Is Brother Huanxiu a ninja? He held back this long? You two have been married for like nine months, right?”
And only kissed twice? From how Wang Huanxiu used to pick up Bai Shuijin, their relationship seemed quite good. She thought their mouths were probably glued together at home, who knew it had only been twice in nine months.
Like when she takes pictures and only ever holds up two fingers.
Bai Shuijin was dumbfounded. “You mean we should’ve kissed a long time ago?”
Chen Yuan nodded, but after sorting out Bai Shuijin’s train of thought, she realized that he was probably right to feel strange.
From what he’d described, the two of them had had no intimate contact in their nine months of marriage…then last night, they kissed.
Looking at his troubled expression, Chen Yuan pursed her lips. Bai Shuijin had always been an optimist. In the few times she’d partnered with him for practice, he’d always been a cheerful sunny boy, but today, he looked absolutely miserable.
Chen Yuan probed, “You don’t like kissing Brother Huanxiu?”
Could it be a marriage first and love later setup? That was fine, she loved that trope too.
“Huh?” Bai Shuijin’s ears turned red. Actually, his laogong-ge was quite gentle last night. It was just that both of them were a bit clumsy, so they choked a little on the kiss.
He rubbed his neck. “It’s not that.”
It felt quite nice, but there was still something weird about it. He just didn’t know exactly what felt off.
“I just want to know why he kissed me.”
Chen Yuan: “You should just ask him directly.”
Rather than overthinking, it would feel better to just ask directly.
Bai Shuijin: “I’m too embarrassed.”
“That’s not like you.”
“…”
Yes. He has always been thick skinned. During the lunch break, Bai Shuijin took advantage of the fact that everyone went to have lunch and went to the tea room. There was no one around, so he sent a message to Wang Huanxiu.
[Bai Shuijin: Laogong-ge, are you there?]
Soon, a message popped up.
[Wang Huanxiu: What’s up?]
Bai Shuijin originally wanted to ask via voice message, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to say it out loud, so he typed instead.
[Bai Shuijin: Laogong-ge, why did you kiss me last night?]
After sending the message, he immediately flipped his phone face down on the coffee table and didn’t dare to look.
‘Don’t reply, don’t reply, this is too embarrassing ahhhhh!’ Why did he ask that?! Bai Shuijin twisted on the sofa like a fish, looking like he was about to transform in the next second.
Every second was torture. He thought a whole minute had passed, but when he picked up the phone, the time hadn’t moved at all.
Why wasn’t he replying?
He asked, so just reply! Why wouldn’t he answer a simple question? Was he still thinking up an excuse?
In his twenty years of life, nothing had ever made him feel more embarrassed than this.
Please, just reply!
Just as Bai Shuijin stared at the phone with a scrunched-up face, a face suddenly popped up on the screen.
The ringtone and vibrations came at the same time. Help! He was video calling!
Bai Shuijin saw his own reflection and quickly changed his expression, nervously licked his lips, then tapped to answer.
The video connected, and the first thing he saw was Wang Huanxiu’s perfect face. With his face there, it was hard to pay attention to anything else.
Bai Shuijin didn’t dare to look at him now, and His gaze kept drifting to the bookshelf behind him.
Don’t mention it but the huge bookshelf had all kinds of books, it looked quite pretentious.
His eyes wandered and seemed to catch something extraordinary.
But his line of sight was a bit far, so Bai Shuijin squinted, “How To Make Your…”
Wang Huanxiu quickly adjusted the camera angle, bringing Bai Shuijin’s attention back to him.
“Have you eaten yet?”
Bai Shuijin replied stiffly, “Not yet.”
He couldn’t eat without getting a clear answer.
“You didn’t like the kiss last night?”
Wang Huanxiu looked at him through the screen. Bai Shuijin’s face flushed a little. “It’s not that. I just want to know why you kissed me.”
The voice from the other end didn’t hesitate at all. “Because I like you.”
Bai Shuijin’s hand shook, almost dropping the phone, and his heart skipped a beat. It felt just like that moment on a drop tower, falling at full speed.
Compared to Bai Shuijin’s shyness, Wang Huanxiu’s expression remained completely unchanged, calmly stating the fact, “I kissed you because I like you.”
Bai Shuijin almost flung his phone away. Oh no, the big villain really fell in love with him!
It was also at this time that he remembered Wang Huanxiu was the villain.
“G-Got it, I’m going to eat now. I’m hanging up first.” He fumbled to end the call. If he didn’t hang up, his face might really catch fire.
After hanging up, Wang Huanxiu also let out a sigh of relief. He finally said it.
The documents next to him had already been crumpled from his grip.
.
After hanging up, Bai Shuijin collapsed on the sofa.
“Ahhhhhhhh~~ mmmmmm~”
He flopped like a boneless creature on the sofa. Why did he like him? Why?
Then again, he was so sweet and lovely, of course someone would fall in love with him! It was only natural for his laogong-ge to like him.
But even with that realization, Bai Shuijin still didn’t get up from the sofa.
Laogong-ge liked him, but he had never thought about it that way before.
How was he supposed to go home now? How was he supposed to talk to him? Just thinking about it made him dizzy.
He had zero experience in love.
Bai Shuijin headbutted a cushion.
“What are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?”
The break room door slammed open with a “bang”, and Wang Heng rushed in from outside. Bai Shuijin instantly sat up on the sofa, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Help! Why did someone have to walk in at such an embarrassing moment?
Bai Shuijin even thought his luck was in retrograde the past couple of days.
Seeing it was Wang Huanxiu’s cousin, Bai Shuijin closed his eyes. Right now, he didn’t want to see anyone from the Wang family. He still had things to figure out.
Seeing Bai Shuijin close his eyes in despair, Wang Henf frowned. “Why are you closing your eyes?”
Like he didn’t want to see him.
Bai Shuijin: “It’s nothing. I just want to be quiet right now.”
Thinking of the recent turbulence in the family, Wang Heng asked, “Did you get divorced?”
Why were they talking about this again?
“Of course not.” How could he ever divorce his laogong-ge!
Realizing that this was his immediate response, Bai Shuijin was startled. It seemed he hadn’t thought about escaping from Wang Huanxiu in a long time.
At first, Wang Huanxiu was the villain, and he was the cannon fodder who’d get cut into pieces and fed to sharks. He didn’t dare stay near him, planning to lay low until when they divorced and went their separate ways.
But now the protagonist had changed paths and gone off to pursue a career in magic instead of business. The downfall of the Wang family had also been avoided. Some things had subtly shifted, and he no longer faced the danger of becoming fish food.
Logically, he could leave now, but this thought had never once crossed his mind.
He didn’t want to leave. Any place with Wang Huanxiu in it, he instinctively regarded it as home.
Wang Heng was puzzled. “Why haven’t you divorced yet?”
He’d been coming to the dance studio often lately, and every time he passed Bai Shuijin’s dance studio, he’d take a look. Today, he saw fresh signs of the other party’s presence.
The Wang family was deeply embroiled in internal strife, and all the blame was falling on Wang Huanxiu. Someone as arrogant and conceited as him would definitely be targeted, so Bai Shuijin getting a divorce now would be the smartest move.
That way he wouldn’t get dragged down when Wang Huanxiu eventually fell.
His parents had always said since he was young that everything Wang Huanxiu had now was thanks to the old man’s cultivation. Otherwise, with his cynical and unruly nature as a child, he’d amount to nothing.
Everyone in the old house said the same thing, that it was the outside forces that lifted Wang Huanxiu up. Over time, Wang Heng started to believe it too.
He thought Wang Huanxiu’s success was all thanks to Old Master Wang. Now that the old man had joined forces with others in the family to bring him down, it was only a matter of time before he was pulled down.
Hearing Wang Heng’s confused questioning, Bai Shuijin muttered, “Why should I get divorced?”
Although the kiss was a bit sudden, their daily life was actually quite good. They peacefully ate two bowls of rice together every day.
Wang Heng studied Bai Shuijin and felt that he must have been deceived by Wang Huanxiu. For a sly businessman like that, tricking Bai Shuijin was a piece of cake.
He probably didn’t even realize he’d been sold, and was still counting money.
Wang Heng gave Bai Shuijin one last deep look, then turned and left without saying more.
If he couldn’t talk sense into Bai Shuijin, then he’d just go find Wang Huanxiu himself.
He had wanted to meet him anyway. He’d only ever seen him at family banquets but never exchanged words.
He strode out of the dance studio and got into his car.
The driver, who had been playing Snake on his phone, was startled. “Young Master, why are you done with class so early?”
“I’m not done.” Wang Heng crossed his arms over his chest. “I skipped class.”
The driver started sweating. “That’s not good… If Madam finds out…”
“So what? It’s not like I don’t usually pay attention in class. What’s the big deal if I skip once or twice?”
“Are you going to complain?”
The driver quickly shook his head. “No, no, I wouldn’t dare.”
With this young master, the only way to deal with him was to agree with whatever he said. If you went against him, you’d be fired the next day. He was very difficult to deal with. Only his family could deal with him.
Wang Heng searched for Wang Huanxiu on his phone. He’d asked his family for Bai Shuijin, wanting him to keep dancing for him, but it had been the first time in his life he was rejected.
The more he couldn’t get it, the more he wanted it. He wanted what was his.
“Hey! Let me ask you something.”
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror. “Young Master, are you talking to me?”
“If not you, then who? Is there a second person in the car?”
The driver wished there was someone else in the car. Being with Wang Heng was suffocating.
He could only respond respectfully, “Yes, Young Master. What is the matter?”
Wang Heng: “If a husband is about to get ruined and won’t be rich anymore, but his wife still refuses to divorce him, what does that mean?”
“That must mean their love is stronger than gold. The power of love is great.”
As soon as he said it, he felt a thousand cold arrows shoot into his back.
Clearly, Wang Heng wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
The driver quickly tried another approach. “It could also be that the partner really likes his looks or something. After all, humans are visual animals.”
That made sense.
Wang Heng looked at the photos of Wang Huanxiu that came up in his search. Ever since he was a child, people had said he and Wang Huanxiu had similar features.
But Wang Heng hated him. In his parents’ eyes, Wang Huanxiu was not a good person. Everyone at the old house hated him. In that kind of environment, it was impossible for Wang Heng to have any positive feelings toward him. All he had was the desire to pull him down and take his place.
Bai Shuijin not divorcing Wang Huanxiu was most likely because of his looks.
He had, in fact, heard that Bai Shuijin liked handsome men.
“Hey! Do you think I look like Wang Huanxiu?”
This was basically a death trap. Wang Heng hated Wang Huanxiu, so how could the driver say they looked alike? “No, Young Master, not at all.”
Wang Heng frowned. “Hmm?”
“Alike alike alike,” the driver changed tune quickly. “Especially your eyes and eyebrows, they are about sixty percent similar.”
‘Hmph.’
Wang Heng snorted as he stared at Wang Huanxiu’s photo. No wonder Bai Shuijin liked him so much.
“Anyone who looks like me is popular.”
Driver: “…”
An hour later, the car arrived in front of a towering company building. The majestic skyscraper was imposing. Despite working hard all these years, Wang Heng had only been here twice, once when he came of age, and now.
Wang Huanxiu was like the demon king living in a haunted castle, his office on the top floors.
Wang Heng lifted a leg to enter, but was blocked by the receptionist. He didn’t have a staff badge on his chest.
The girl at the front desk was very alert and her eyes scanned to see if he had a thermos.
One of the company’s money trees had already died from being overwatered. They couldn’t afford a second time.
After confirming Wang Heng wasn’t holding a thermos or any other dangerous item, the receptionist relaxed slightly, but not entirely.
Dirty business warfare was everywhere. If he wasn’t here to pour hot water, he might be here to pull the plug on something.
Being stopped made Wang Heng annoyed. “I’m here to see Wang Huanxiu.”
“Alright, let me register you first. Do you have an appointment?”
Wang Heng stated his identity. “I’m from the Wang family. I’m Wang Huanxiu’s cousin.”
“Okay,” the receptionist smiled politely. “Do you have an appointment?”
“…No.”
Wang Heng got kicked out.
The security guards dragged him out by the arms, and Wang Heng stumbled a few steps in disbelief.
What just happened? Someone actually grabbed him and tossed him out? Outrageous. He had never been treated like this in his life.
But trying to go back in clearly wouldn’t work either.
He was from the Wang family, so why couldn’t he enter the company? Wang Huanxiu was too overbearing. Even family needed an appointment? How busy was he?
Fuming, Wang Heng refused to leave. He sat down on the flower bed nearby, determined to wait and catch him.
Wang Huanxiu had to get off work eventually. He didn’t believe he wouldn’t see him.
Around four in the afternoon, some employees started getting off work, while some departments stayed overnight to work until the next day.
The company’s overtime policies offered generous compensation and bonuses, proportional to the workload, so there were few complaints.
Today, Wang Huanxiu happened to get off work early too, which was rare. He was going to buy lip balm for Bai Shuijin.
Compared to Wang Heng, who had been sitting outside all afternoon, his appearance was much more dazzling. His driver pulled the car up to the curb.
“Wang Huanxiu!”
A voice called out from behind, but the man didn’t look back, nor did he stop walking.
‘Damn it, is he ignoring me?’
Wang Heng ran up and blocked his path. “I’m calling you, why are you ignoring me?”
Wang Huanxiu glanced down at him. “Just because you called me, I have to answer?”
The arrogant attitude was just as he imagined, Wang Huanxiu really wasn’t a good person.
“I came to talk to you about something important.”
Wang Huanxiu walked around him.
Wang Heng’s face turned red with anger, and he chased after him again. “You…hurry up and divorce Bai Shuijin!”
The mention of Bai Shuijin finally drew Wang Huanxiu’s attention.
But what he said was, “Why should I?”
‘Why? You don’t know your own situation?’
“Because Bai Shuijin doesn’t truly like you, he only likes your face and body.”
Wang Heng thought this line would stab straight into Wang Huanxiu’s heart and make him lash out in shame, but who knew the other party would smile instead.
Wang Heng gritted his teeth and said, “You’re using your looks to keep someone, what are you smiling about?”
“Using looks to keep someone?” A venomous glint flashed in Wang Huanxiu’s eyes. “That’s called hardware advantage, understand? If you don’t have it, don’t be so jealous.”
