Inside the club’s private room, Xiao Ji looked at the delicate young man gazing at him with reddened, pleading eyes and felt a headache coming on.
“Who told you to come?”
“…Young Master Chu said you wanted to see me.”
The boy was only seventeen or eighteen, wearing a pale blue sweater and white trousers. He was slender, with fair skin and especially beautiful eyes, which now watched Xiao Ji timidly, full of nerves and anticipation.
Xiao Ji frowned slightly. This was a former boyfriend of his—pretty, obedient, considerate. Even his occasional sulks were carefully measured. But because Xiao Ji had been planning a marriage alliance with the Qiao family, he had given him some money and ended the relationship in advance.
The other party was the Qiao family’s daughter, after all. He owed her a degree of respect. Who would have thought Chu Xiyuan would use today’s gathering as an excuse to summon the boy again?
Xiao Ji had never liked messy entanglements, much less returning to an old lover.
“It’s nothing. You can go home.”
The boy’s eyes reddened further.
“Young Master Xiao, did I do something wrong?”
Before Xiao Ji could answer, Chu Xiyuan spoke from the adjacent sofa, where he was holding his new girlfriend.
“Come on, Xiao Ji. That’s a little heartless. He was with you, wasn’t he? Now that he’s here, if you send him away, how is he supposed to survive in the entertainment industry?”
With the opportunities Xiao Ji had provided, the boy had recently made a successful debut in entertainment. His career was on the rise when Xiao Ji abruptly ended their relationship. Although reluctant to accept it, he hadn’t pestered him.
But now that he was here, being sent away halfway through would be another matter. Once word got out, the industry’s opportunists would undoubtedly seize the chance to push him down.
Xiao Ji didn’t respond. He sat on the sofa with his eyes lowered, holding his wineglass loosely between his fingers. Its clear, polished surface reflected his handsome, cold face. His bearing carried traces of his uncle, the man who controlled the Xiao family, and discouraged anyone from taking liberties.
The atmosphere in the room stiffened. Nobody else dared speak.
Then an amused male voice came from the sofa opposite.
“Honestly, Chu Xiyuan, could you stop acting like a pimp? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were changing careers.”
“You’re the fucking pimp!” Chu Xiyuan picked up a lighter from the table and tossed it at the refined young man wearing glasses opposite him. “I’m looking out for my friend’s happiness. What nonsense are you talking about?”
Xu Bowen caught the lighter, glanced at the largely silent Xiao Ji, and smiled with pointed casualness.
“He already has a partner. Why does he need you looking after his happiness?”
The others’ expressions turned subtle. Although they weren’t as close to Xiao Ji as Chu Xiyuan and Xu Bowen were, they had known him for years and were naturally aware of recent events involving the Xiao family.
The failed marriage alliance with the Qiaos, for instance, and the sight of Xiao Ji attending the Xiao Group’s annual gala with a certain someone.
Outsiders might still think it was a rumor, but they knew better. At their previous gathering, Xiao Ji had personally confirmed it. He simply hadn’t explained the real reason before Young Master Liang’s sudden arrival interrupted him.
They weren’t fools, either. One look at Xiao Ji’s cold expression had told them he hadn’t entered this relationship willingly. Chu Xiyuan knew that too.
Xu Bowen hadn’t attended the previous gathering, but his family was close to the Xiaos, so he knew something about it. He even knew that the other man had already moved into Xiao Ji’s home.
In his view, whether the relationship was real or fake, willing or forced, it was between those two. Outsiders had no business interfering. That was why he had offered Chu Xiyuan a tactful reminder.
Chu Xiyuan, however, seemed determined to play matchmaker. After cursing at Xu Bowen, he reached for Xiao Ji’s arm and gestured toward the boy.
“He was with you, after all. If you send him away today, those people will devour him before the week is out. Could you bear that?”
After so many years of friendship, he knew Xiao Ji reasonably well. His friend might never invest his heart in a relationship, but thanks to his uncle’s upbringing, his character was impeccable. He would never stand by while someone who had been with him was bullied.
Sure enough, Xiao Ji finally looked up at the boy.
Looking into those beautiful eyes, full of obedience and admiration, he inexplicably recalled another pair that was their complete opposite.
Those eyes were bright too, but they shone with a sharp, brazen confidence—arrogance, even. He could barely remember the last time he had seen any timidity in them.
Without making things more difficult for the boy, he raised his wineglass.
The boy immediately brightened, stepped forward to pour his wine, then sat beside him, stealing shy, blushing glances at his face.
Xu Bowen sighed at the sight. No wonder Song Liang had followed this man around as a simp for so long. His friend really did have an extraordinary face. Men and women alike fell for it.
“That’s more like it!”
Finally satisfied, Chu Xiyuan kissed the girlfriend in his arms, then huffed at Xiao Ji.
“I could understand it before, when it was for a marriage alliance. She was the Qiao family’s daughter, after all. You had to do it for the family. But how did you end up choosing someone like that—”
“Ahem.”
Before he could finish, Xu Bowen gave a measured cough and shot him a warning glance.
Chu Xiyuan snorted in open contempt.
“I do look down on that sort of person. An illegitimate son trying to climb his way up! Don’t bring him to our gatherings in the future.”
Nobody spoke. They had long known that Chu Xiyuan despised Song Liang, largely because of his status as an illegitimate son.
Years ago, Chu Xiyuan’s mother had left home because of his illegitimate younger brother. She had eventually died after suffering from depression.
Not only was Song Liang an illegitimate son, he also clung obsessively to Chu Xiyuan’s close friend, making him all the more repulsive in Chu Xiyuan’s eyes.
For as long as Song Liang had been fawning over Xiao Ji, Chu Xiyuan had been humiliating him. Sometimes he deliberately embarrassed him in public, exposing things like Song Liang sneaking into Xiao Ji’s room to steal his underwear, or crawling through the dog entrance at the Xiao family home.
The Songs weren’t on the Xiaos’ level, but they still had a reputation in Linhai. When those stories spread, Song Zhicheng had beaten Song Liang and confined him at home for several days, refusing to let him attend school.
During that time, all of Jianglin University had been discussing Song Liang’s disgrace. For a while, he had been unable to attend classes normally.
Of course, nobody sympathized with him. Who told him to shamelessly pester Young Master Xiao?
But after news broke that Song Liang had attended the annual gala with Xiao Ji, they had started worrying. Would Xiao Ji settle scores on Song Liang’s behalf with everyone who had helped mistreat him?
That was why they had come today—to sound him out.
Fortunately, things weren’t as they had feared. Not only had Xiao Ji taken no action against them, he was now spending time with an old lover again. His attitude toward Song Liang might be less hostile, but it wasn’t much better.
Even now, when Chu Xiyuan told him not to bring Song Liang along, he answered without hesitation.
“I won’t.”
Only then was Chu Xiyuan satisfied. He pulled Xiao Ji into having another drink and said he had already booked a room for him. He should stay here tonight and let the boy help him unwind.
Xiao Ji had no intention of staying overnight. He had been incredibly busy lately and had only come out tonight for Xu Bowen’s sake. He waved the suggestion off and rose to leave.
Chu Xiyuan wasn’t about to let him go so easily. He glanced at the boy, who took the hint, hurriedly stood up, and wrapped both hands around Xiao Ji’s arm, pressing close.
“Young Master Xiao, let me help you outside.”
Xiao Ji had barely drunk anything. His assistant was waiting outside, and he would soon be returning to the office. He also knew exactly what the boy had in mind.
“No need.”
But the boy didn’t want to lose such a good opportunity. After today, seeing Xiao Ji again would be nearly impossible. With reddened eyes, he insisted, “Young Master Xiao, can’t I even walk you out?”
Xiao Ji paused.
The boy immediately clung to him. Chu Xiyuan and the others took the opportunity to cheer them on, urging him not to disappoint someone so devoted.
Amid all the noise, nobody noticed the door opening or the figure who walked in.
With one hand in his pocket and the other in a sling against his chest, Song Liang calmly watched his fiancé being held by another man while an entire group encouraged them.
He couldn’t help remarking, 【Feels like this is their wedding and I’m the other man.】
【Stop talking and catch him cheating already!】
Song Liang replied with an OK, then kicked the coffee table beside him flying.
Everything on it scattered across the floor. The tremendous crash stunned everyone in the room.
Silence fell at once.
Meeting their stares, Song Liang cleared his throat and announced casually, “Cheating inspection. Men on the left, women on the right. Anyone who’s neither, stand in the middle.”
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