Chapter Thirty-Two: “Call me YuTang.” At 6pm, Cheng YuTang didn"t work overtime as usual, but packed up his things as soon as the time arrived and hooked a finger towards Ji XiaoYu, saying, “Let"s go, drive me home.”
Ji XiaoYu was about to agree, but then he suddenly remembered the agreement with Yang YiPeng from two days ago and said, “Cheng Zong, I"m sorry, I"m going to take leave today, because I asked my colleagues from the security department out to eat, so I can"t drive you back.”
Cheng YuTang almost thought that he had misheard. “You want to treat? Why are you so generous all of a sudden? There are dozens of people in the security department, can you afford it?”
In the past, this little thing had valued money more than anything else. Did the sun rise in the west today?
Also, when he got his paycheck after his first month, he said that he would invite Cheng YuTang to dinner, but it had already been two months and that invitation wasn"t honored. That was really unfair!
Ji XiaoYu replied very honestly, “I got not only a promotion but also a raise. Captain Yang said that it"s best to ask my colleagues to eat dinner to express our working relationship a bit. He also suggested that I ask them to have a barbecue at the delicious barbecue bar on Screw Street. He said that would be cheaper. Cheng Zong, what do you think?”
Cheng Zong"s heart was in what"s called an imbalance. On the one hand, he didn"t want him to go at all, but rational thought told him that Yang YiPeng"s suggestion wasn"t unreasonable. Ji XiaoYu shouldn"t be too standoffish in the workplace, drawing a clear line between the people around him. Interpersonal relationships were a very important concept to learn. If the little thing could handle working well with a colleague, he would be a little better at work.
So he could only forcefully suppress the vinegar in his heart as he said, “Alright, I"ll accept your absence, but I have one requirement. You"re not allowed to drink.”
This little thing"s drunken appearance can only be seen by me, absolutely no one else.
Ji XiaoYu said happily, “No problem, I promise I won"t drink!”
Cheng YuTang thought it over a little reluctantly, then said, “Didn"t you say two months ago that you were going to invite me to dinner? It"s been so long with no movement, are you really going to fulfill that?”
“Aiya, I would have forgotten if you didn"t say it, I"m sorry, eh?” Ji XiaoYu slapped his head, “A man of character said, four horses are hard to chase1. When you have time, I"ll invite you to eat, whatever you want to eat!”
Anyway, Cheng Zong had just promoted him and gave him a high salary of 25000 yuan a month. He couldn"t be too stingy. If Cheng Zong enjoyed the meal, maybe he would give him a raise again, heh heh.
Cheng YuTang was finally a little more comfortable. “Then I"m going to have to think about it.”
“Yeah, you think it over slowly!”
After he finished coaxing Cheng Zong, Ji XiaoYu saw him to the underground parking lot like a lackey. After Cheng YuTang got in the car, he didn"t forget to emphasize again, “No drinking, I could call you at any time.”
Ji XiaoYu nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "Got it, you can rest a.s.sured!"
After waiting for Cheng YuTang to drive off, he breathed a sigh of relief and then went to the barbecue bar.
Because of the delay, he was a few minutes late, so when he arrived at the place, he found that more than ten people had already arrived, almost filling the tables at the entrance of the big area. Yang YiPeng, Liu WeiRen, and Liang ShaoGang were among them.
When Yang YiPeng saw him, he couldn"t help but quip, “You finally came. I thought that our president"s new bodyguard was too busy and was going to stand everyone up.”
All the security guards knocked on the table together and cheered. They greeted each other with joy and jokes. Even though they had had no friendship with Ji XiaoYu in the past, they followed along with the laughter. Only Liu WeiRen had his head down, discomfort showing on his face.
Ji XiaoYu went to Liang ShaoGang"s table, smiling with a "heehee." “Sorry to be late, did you order food?”
“No, we were waiting for you!”
“The protagonists wasn"t here, how could we supporting actors dare to move!”
“Yeah! All the guys came out today without money. So if we finished eating, what if no one paid the bill?!”
A bunch of the security guards howled like wolves who"d been hungry for three days.
Ji XiaoYu"s heart raced when he saw this. He touched the stack of banknotes in his pocket, feeling the urge to turn around and run. But he was already here. If he really wanted to run, he wouldn"t be a man. He had to harden himself and say, “Then hurry up, everyone, eat and drink well!”
So the security guards abandoned to their manners. They yelled out loudly how they were the close friends of the one who had earned the fastest raise of all time, the one who was the youngest skilled personal bodyguard of the president to vent their anger. And they shouted about how tonight they wouldn"t go home until they were drunk.
In the past, Yang YiPeng might have fooled around along with these people under him, but now he realized that Cheng Zong seemed to have a different mindset towards the new little bodyguard. How could he dare to stand by idly? If anything happened, he was afraid he would pay for it. So he laughed and scolded, “You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have almost finished it, were you starving to death? Not afraid of other people mocking you. If anyone gets drunk and acts disorderly, smearing HongSheng"s name, Laozi will give him a big reprimand, deducting his half-year bonus!”
The security guards settled down a bit. They didn"t have too much of anything, only ordering three cases of beer. On average, that was less than two per person. When the dishes came up, they ate on the side too, very lively.
Ji XiaoYu breathed a small sigh of relief. He watched everyone toast each other and exchange cups and wanted to drink too. However, he didn"t dare to because of Cheng YuTang"s order. He could only order a bottle of soda and watch the others drink.
Halfway through the meal, Liu WeiRen came over with a beer, with two flushed spots on his cheeks. It looked like he had drunk a lot, since he had a generally okay alcohol tolerance, his breath was laced with the scent of beer as he said, “Ji LaoDi, I used to be a sn.o.b, but don"t worry. If you have good intentions, let"s have a toast. The past will be forgotten. After this, we"ll be good brothers. How about it?”
Ji XiaoYu didn"t like this kind of att.i.tude. He also didn"t feel like the man who took the little white egg without permission the other night and nearly broke it could be seen as a brother, so he refused, “Excuse me, Cheng Zong doesn"t allow me to drink. "
Liu WeiRen looked both embarra.s.sed and annoyed. He scolded vaguely in a low voice, then staggered away, as if he couldn"t keep his mouth clean, saying, “f.u.c.k, waving a chicken feather as a token of authority2, what a little toy. Don"t drink if you can"t drink, Laozi obviously doesn"t care!”
Ji XiaoYu was speechless, what doesn"t care, this little master is too lazy to deal with him.
Liang ShaoGang sat down next to him and persuaded him when he saw this situation, “Xiao Yu, that"s just who he is, just ignore him. You just got promoted, so don"t make a mistake on impulse.”
Ji XiaoYu knows that he had good intentions, so he laughed, “Liang Ge, you can rest a.s.sured, I"m not going to fight with him.”
There wasn"t really any glory in fighting with someone who was so vulnerable to attack.
“That"s good.” Liang ShaoGang let go of his worries. “Come, Liang Ge will toast to you.”
Ji XiaoYu quickly blocked his cup with his hand as he was about to pour him some alcohol. Firmly, he said, “Liang Ge, I"m really sorry, but Cheng Zong doesn"t let me drink. If he found out that I was acting behind his back, he would lose his temper again. He"s hard to coax back to happiness!"
“……alright then, forget it.” This was the first time Liang ShaoGang heard someone describing the president like this and he couldn"t help but feel amazed.
Because of Yang YiPeng"s constraints, the security guards didn"t stay too late and make a scene. They were ready to scatter before 10pm. Ji XiaoYu also let the boss pack up 10 meal boxes to take back to HongSheng to be given to the few security guards who couldn"t come. After it was all rung up, the total was more than 700 yuan.
He couldn"t help but pat his chest. Good, good, I thought it would cost at least 1000 yuan before I came. After all, there are so many people.
While he was waiting for the packed meals, someone pa.s.sing by suddenly said, “Ay, isn"t that Xiao Yu?”
“Eh? Yeah, it"s Ji LaoDi!”
Ji XiaoYu caught these words. And when he turned around to take a look, it was Zhang QiaoYan and Wu YaoQiang. The two were actually holding hands.
When she realized Ji XiaoYu was looking over at them, Zhang QiaoYan"s face went red and she tried to break away from Wu YaoQiang"s hand, but the other clenched her hand tightly.
It had been more than two months since Ji XiaoYu had left the little restaurant. Although the HongSheng Building was very close to the little restaurant, because of his irregular commuting hours and the nature of his work, he hadn"t met them for so long. He was very happy to suddenly meet these former acquaintances right now, but it was strange to see the two in an unusually intimate position, so he said in surprise, “QiaoYan-jie, Qiang Zi Ge, long time no see. You look good. Are you two……?”
Zhang QiaoYan was too self-conscious and embarra.s.sed to answer, but Wu YaoQiang was quite open and frank. With a bright expression on his face, he said, “We were both talking about lovers. Over the National Day holidays, QiaoYan found out that her former boyfriend was a two-timing sc.u.m. When he tried to use fancy lies on her, she broke up with him. I was so angry that I beat up the sc.u.m and comforted QiaoYan for a few days. She was conquered by my charm and now she"s with me. We intend to go home to get married over the New Year and then our three year plan is to have two babies!”
Zhang QiaoYan punched Wu YaoQiang in shame and annoyance. She said angrily, “You have a face thicker than the bottom of Old Li"s pot. How dare you say these things!”
Wu YaoQiang said cheerfully, “It"s the truth and Ji LaoDi isn"t an outsider, right?”
“That"s right!” Ji XiaoYu looked between the two of them. He was really sincerely happy for them, “QiaoYan-jie, Qiang Zi Ge, that"s great, congratulations to you both! I"d like to wish you two a birth soon and that you"ll grow old together.”
The two thanked him together. Then, Zhang QiaoYan looked at a group of big men sitting around Ji XiaoYu and curiously asked, “Xiao Yu, are these your current colleagues?”
Ji XiaoYu replied, “Yup.”
A security guard at the same table said in delight, “Our comrade Xiao Yu has just been promoted by the company to be the president"s personal bodyguard! Amazing, huh?”
Zhang QiaoYan was both shocked and thrilled, “Wow, really? That"s great! Xiao Yu, you"re so amazing, congratulations!”
Wu YaoQiang also said, “I gotta say, Ji LaoDi isn"t an average guy, you definitely have good prospects!”
“Thanks, you"re flattering me.” Ji XiaoYu scratched his head in embarra.s.sment. The three people chatted for a while and then they saw it was late so they said goodbye to each other.
Watching the two walk away side by side holding hands sweetly, Ji XiaoYu would be lying if he said he didn"t feel envious.
But what was the use of envy? Every man had his own blessings and good luck, spiritual beasts were the same, and those couldn"t be forced to manifest.
After the security guards had enough to eat and drink, they scattered and Ji XiaoYu took the packaged barbecue back to HongSheng. Then, he drove back to HongLe Garden.
Once he got in the dorm, he took a shower. Although he hadn"t drank, he was still covered in the scent of barbecue and booze and the weird smell made him uncomfortable.
After bathing, he listened and heard that there was no movement in the living room. He was too lazy to get dressed and he was about to go to sleep anyway. Also, because of his physique, he wasn"t afraid of the cold, so he ran back to his room bare-naked like a gust of wind.
As soon as he closed the door, his phone on the bedside table played the “Chicken Run” ringtone. He immediately got on the bed and stuffed the little white egg under his belly, and then answered the call, “Cheng Zong, can I help you?”
“Are you done eating?”
“I"ve already finished eating. I"m back in the dorm!”
“Did you drink?”
Ji XiaoYu replied proudly, “I didn"t. There are a couple colleagues who wanted to toast me, but I didn"t drink a drop!”
If he said he wouldn"t drink, he wouldn"t drink, his willpower was so strong!
“Is that so? I don"t believe it, give me video proof.”
“But I don"t know how to turn it on.”
“I"ll teach you.”
What a ha.s.sle. Do I really have to prove it? This man gets paranoid too easily, Ji XiaoYu screamed internally, but he couldn"t disobey the president"s orders, so he had to open the video according to Cheng YuTang"s instructions. He pointed the phone at himself from a distance, “You see, I"m sober, I really didn"t drink.”
On the other side, Cheng YuTang laying in his bed with his phone: “……”
In the frame, Ji XiaoYu"s hair was wet, still dripping as if he had just showered. Moreover, he didn"t seem to be wearing anything to bed, revealing a small section of his flushed fair, thin shoulders and a delicate collarbone with drops of water.
He had really just wanted to look at the little thing"s face, to check that he didn"t drink. He hadn"t expected there would be an unexpected gain like this.
The little thing seemed to be adjusting into a supine position. The picture in the video swayed a bit with the movements. The two cherries on his pale chest suddenly appeared in the shot and after a few moments, the scene jumped again. The image resettled on his face. “Don"t you believe it? You see, this is two, right?”
Ji XiaoYu stretched out two fingers and wobbled them at the camera. He showed his little white teeth in an innocent smile, lively and invigorated.
Cheng YuTang kneaded his forehead, took a deep breath, and forced himself to endure. But he couldn"t help it, taking himself in hand and quickly stroking.
Ji XiaoYu saw that he had been quiet for a long time and couldn"t help but ask, “Cheng Zong, why aren"t you talking?”
Cheng YuTang looked at him without blinking and muttered, “You talk, I"ll listen.”
Ji XiaoYu thought that Cheng Zong was still testing him, so he had to talk and continued to babble, “I just asked my colleagues in the security department to go to the barbecue bar and have a barbecue. The taste was pretty good. The pork belly and oysters were especially delicious. I ate a whole plate on my own! They also drank three boxes of beer. Although I wanted to drink too and there were a few colleagues who wanted to give me a toast, when I thought of you, I firmly refused. Isn"t that great……”
As he spoke, he felt something was little bit wrong. Cheng YuTang"s eyes were fixed on him through the video. His expression was eye-catching and he looked like he was feeling good. His thin, beautiful lips were slightly open, releasing some quick gasps, and his forehead had even broken out in a thin layer of sweat. The expression was very s.e.xy and there was also an indescribable sense of danger, as if he were a beast staring at its prey.
Ji XiaoYu got a little scared and was also inexplicably thrilled. His face burned with a blush all the way to the roots of his ears and his body felt a little hot too.
Such a weird feeling! Ji XiaoYu couldn"t help but rub against the sheets a few times, and as he rubbed, there was suddenly a tingling sensation in his scalp.
“Go on, why aren"t you talking?” Cheng YuTang asked in a low gasp.
“Wh-what should I say?” Ji XiaoYu couldn"t keep from losing his breath. His heart was racing as fast as a clock. “Cheng Zong……”
“Call me YuTang.”
“Yu, YuTang……” Ji XiaoYu"s face was as red as a celebratory egg3. As if he were possessed, a gentle cry was drawn out against his will.
Cheng YuTang gave a m.u.f.fled hum, his chest heaved, and hot liquid gushed out.
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Footnotes:
1. Four horses are hard to chase (驷马难追): idiom from Confucius, extended idiom is, once a word is spoken, it"s difficult to catch up to a four-horse cart; meaning once you say something, you can"t take it back ↩
2. waving a chicken feather as a token of authority (拿着鸡毛当令箭): idiom, to treat a superior"s casual remarks as an order and make trouble with it ↩
3. Celebratory egg (喜蛋), an egg painted red traditionally given as a gift on the third day after a baby is born ↩
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s.e.x pest Cheng YuTang