Chapter 35
Jiang Chaochao really liked Xiang Ye’s casual yet flirtatious words.
Jiang Chaochao, how could you do this to me?
It sounded like Xiang Ye had been greatly wronged by Jiang Chaochao and was here to complain.
Wronged about what? Complaining about what?
Xiang Ye, what did I do to you?
Jiang Chaochao’s face flushed slightly. He looked up, as if trying to absorb more oxygen from the air above.
A voice echoed in his mind, someone’s soft, low, almost whispering voice, like a murmur.
Jiang Chaochao was going crazy.
He decided to fight back.
He lowered his head, tapped the almost-dim phone screen, and typed quickly on the keyboard.
Jiang Chaochao: “What did I do, gege?”
Yes!
Such a slightly suggestive remark!
So what!
Xiang Ye, however, didn’t say what he did, he replied: “You poked me.”
Jiang Chaochao followed suit.
After tapping Xiang Ye’s profile picture twice, the phone vibrated slightly, and a small message appeared on the screen.
You poked ‘XY.’ He told you he has [little ducks] at his place.
Jiang Chaochao burst out laughing.
The sound startled Zhang Xinping beside him. Jiang Chaochao immediately held his breath. Zhang Xinping’s eyelids fluttered, he scratched his neck, turned his head to the other side, and went back to sleep.
It seemed like he was really tired from these past two days, taking care of children was indeed exhausting.
Picking up his phone again, Jiang Chaochao replied: “Someone’s copying me.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Who?”
XY: “Me, I love copying people.”
XY: “Message me next time if you want to talk to me.”
XY: “Poke messages don’t send notifications.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”
Jiang Chaochao: “But what if I want to talk to you but don’t want you to know?”
Jiang Chaochao didn’t think there was anything wrong with this sentence.
But Xiang Ye’s reply a few seconds later…
XY: “You’re teasing me again.”
A bunch of question marks instantly filled Jiang Chaochao’s mind.
Jiang Chaochao: “I’m asking sincerely.”
XY: “Want to talk to me, but don’t want me to know.”
XY: “What does that mean, Jiang laoshi?”
XY: “I don’t understand.”
Jiang Chaochao wanted to say it was just like the situation just now, but looking at Xiang Ye’s blatant three lines of text, he finally understood what was wrong.
Want to talk, but don’t want to be known.
You open someone’s chat window, but don’t want to disturb them, so you poke them, just to make your presence known.
What did that mean? Didn’t he know? Why ask?
At this moment, another voice echoed in his mind, repeating, You miss him, you miss him, you miss him…
The train entered a tunnel again. Jiang Chaochao, who had been holding his breath, slowly exhaled.
The first step to not being awkward, he would naturally admit that he missed Xiang Ye.
But that didn’t mean he would openly tell Xiang Ye, *Gege, I miss you, sniffle, sniffle.
That was too embarrassing.
So, on his phone…
Jiang Chaochao, taking a step back, said noncommittally, “What do you want?!”
XY replied quickly: “Want.”
Jiang Chaochao immediately locked his phone.
Xiang Ye was really shameless.
A bit too straightforward, gege.
But…
He liked it.
The screen lit up again because of a new message. Jiang Chaochao was holding his phone, so the facial recognition unlocked it directly.
And the hidden message content was revealed.
Two simple and clear words from XY: “Pursue you.”
Jiang Chaochao almost locked his phone again.
This wave was really a bit too much.
What do you want?
Want.
Pursue you.
Jiang Chaochao didn’t click on the message or the screen, so the phone soon went dark due to inactivity.
There was at least a minute between “want” and “pursue you.”
Jiang Chaochao wanted to ask what Xiang Ye meant.
Was the “want” a standalone I miss you, Jiang Chaochao, or should it be read together with the new message, Want to pursue you?
Or perhaps, he meant both.
However, in Jiang Chaochao’s opinion, this was much easier to reply to than the previous question.
He lowered his head and typed quickly, sending two words.
Jiang Chaochao: “Approved.”
So straightforward!
If he wasn’t blushing at this moment, it would have been perfect.
The train soon arrived in A City. Since it was the final stop, Jiang Chaochao waited until the train stopped before waking up Zhang Xinping, who was sound asleep.
They felt relieved after leaving the station. The parents of the three children without guardians were already waiting. After a brief greeting, Jiang Chaochao and Zhang Xinping even got a ride to their studio from one of the parents.
They hadn’t planned to go to the studio this afternoon, but these two had a strange dynamic. Whenever they were together, they liked to find something to do. It was like this back in school, and it was still like this now that they were working.
Perhaps it was because every time they met, it was always for work. Once a habit was formed, it was hard to break, not to mention they didn’t want to change.
Fortunately, they had the hobby of admiring handsome men, otherwise they might mistake each other for workaholics.
The studio had just been renovated not long ago, and they were currently airing it out to get rid of the formaldehyde. Jiang Chaochao had come to see the renovations when he first returned to A City. It was basically as he had imagined, and he and Zhang Xinping were both quite satisfied.
Now, at the studio, they went up and down the stairs, discussing their upcoming work through casual conversation.
They were mostly projects they already had a general direction for.
“Since you’re free this weekend,” Zhang Xinping clapped his hands together, “Come with me to T City. There’s an arrangement I’ve been putting off, come with me and finish it so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. If we do it well, we can release the song under the studio’s name. Wow, perfect!”
Jiang Chaochao didn’t agree immediately, he made a sound of hesitation.
Zhang Xinping: “What’s wrong? Something on?”
Jiang Chaochao: “How many days?”
Zhang Xinping: “At least three or four days.”
Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment, “Xiang Ye’s birthday seems to be next week.”
“Really?” Zhang Xinping sensed something was amiss, “‘Seems’? You don’t even know his birthday?”
Jiang Chaochao: “I heard his friend mention it last time, I’m not entirely sure.”
It was Fu Jing who mentioned it at the barbecue, he said he had a photoshoot the week after next and might miss Xiang Ye’s birthday.
It was a chaotic scene at the time, and Fu Jing spoke quickly. Jiang Chaochao was still maintaining his quiet persona, and had planned to ask again later, but it dragged on until now.
“How about this,” Zhang Xinping said, “You come with me first, for two or three days, whenever is convenient for you.”
Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment: “Let’s go back on Tuesday. He hasn’t told me yet either.”
“What’s going on!” Zhang Xinping gestured at Jiang Chaochao’s phone with his mouth, “Ask him?”
Jiang Chaochao thought again, “I’ll find a way to find out.”
Zhang Xinping’s tone changed dramatically, “Ah~ Planning a surprise?”
Jiang Chaochao wasn’t sure himself: “Haven’t decided yet, we’ll see.”
Zhang Xinping narrowed his eyes, tsked, and asked, “Not only is he handsome, but he’s also so good at this, who can resist?”
Jiang Chaochao agreed wholeheartedly, it was hard to resist.
He was talking about Xiang Ye.
It was already dark when they left the studio.
Zhang Xinping was alone tonight, so Jiang Chaochao took him along to have dinner with Xu Hengzhi.
It was the first time these two met, but since the studio was in A City, they would inevitably see each other often in the future.
With two naturally sociable people on either side of him, there was no need to worry about awkwardness. They even figured out each other’s “secret code” and formed a united front, teasing Jiang Chaochao about his recent developments.
What kind of content?
Did Jiang Chaochao even pay attention to them?
No, it should be said…
Did Jiang Chaochao outwardly pay attention to them?
Zhang Xinping said Xiang Ye was incredibly jealous today, Xu Hengzhi said Xiang Ye went through all that trouble to add Jiang Chaochao on WeChat, Zhang Xinping said the two were whispering like an old married couple, Xu Hengzhi said Xiang Ye made up all sorts of excuses to ask Jiang Chaochao out.
Someone was eating crabs with his head lowered, as if he hadn’t heard anything, but his heart was blossoming with joy.
He liked it when they talked more.
It was pleasant to hear.
Jiang Chaochao had a task for himself tonight as well. He had almost finished that drawing, he could complete it tonight.
So he started drawing. Jiang Chaochao immersed himself in his work for several hours. When he returned to the world, there were many messages on his phone.
He checked Xiang Ye’s first. Half an hour ago, he had said he was done with his client dinner, hadn’t had any alcohol, and was about to head back to the hotel.
He also asked Jiang Chaochao what he was doing.
Jiang Chaochao replied, “I was just drawing.”
Then his mother’s.
His mother sent a picture of a penguin plushy, saying, Didn’t you used to like penguins a lot, Jiang Chaochao? I bought all the different poses, send me your address.
Such rare motherly love, it was just that Jiang Chaochao’s fondness for penguins was from a long, long time ago.
But he still gave his home address to his mother.
Then Zhang Xinping’s, he had sent the arrangement materials needed for the weekend.
Jiang Chaochao replied with an “ok.”
Finally, a message from Xiuxiu on another app.
Xiuxiu said: “Teacher Bianbian, the merchandise we talked about is ready, is your address still the same?”
Bianbian: “The address has changed.”
He immediately gave Xiuxiu the address of his complex’s Cainiao post station.
Xiuxiu: “Okay, I’ll send it out and give you the tracking number.”
Bianbian: “Okay.”
Bianbian: “Also, I finished the drawing.”
Xiuxiu: “Ahhhhhhh”
In the group chat…
Xiuxiu: “Ahhhhhhh”
Xiuxiu: “Everyone! Are you ready?!”
Jiang Chaochao, just as he entered the group chat, was amused by Xiuxiu.
He uploaded the picture.
As soon as he sent it, the chat exploded with “ah”s.
“So hot, so hot.”
“I love white shirts, I love white shirts!”
“I love pecs, I love pecs!”
“I’m eating this up, I’m eating this up!”
“Ahhh Teacher Bianbian, you are my god, I love this one so much!”
…
Jiang Chaochao’s sharp eyes spotted Shici among the excited messages.
Jiang Chaochao suddenly had an idea.
He opened a private chat with Xiuxiu.
Bianbian: “Xiuxiu, I have a small task for you.”
Xiuxiu: “Okay! Okay! Tell me!”
Just then, a message from Xiang Ye popped up.
He asked Jiang Chaochao, “Are you free next Wednesday?”
Jiang Chaochao mentally exclaimed, So it’s Wednesday.
But he first talked about his work plans: “Going to T City this weekend with Zhang Xinping to work on an arrangement.”
Jiang Chaochao: “What’s up?”
XY: “Can you be back by Wednesday?”
Since it was supposed to be a surprise, he had to say this, “I’ll try my best.”
Then he asked: “Is there something going on?”
XY: “Nothing much, just want to take you to eat something delicious.”
XY: “Focus on your work first, we’ll talk when you’re back.”
Jiang Chaochao thought Xiang Ye was really considerate.
Even though this person was clearly more mature and composed than Jiang Chaochao, Jiang Chaochao still wanted to praise this gege.
So considerate!
Xiuxiu sent another message.
Probably because Teacher Bianbian hadn’t replied for a long time, she sent an emoji.
But now, Jiang Chaochao already knew what he wanted to know.
Then he’d try something else.
Bianbian: “Ask Shici for me, how are things going between her uncle and xuechang?”
Xiuxiu: “Hmm? Ah? Eh?”
Xiuxiu: “Teacher Bianbian, you…?”
Bianbian concealed half the truth, “Shhh, I’m lurking.”
Xiuxiu: “Lurking and eating melon (gossip)! I get it!”
Xiuxiu: “Leave it to me.”
Xiuxiu was always very efficient.
Jiang Chaochao thought she would wait until everyone finished their excitement before asking, but she couldn’t wait and directly tagged Shici.
Xiuxiu: “@Not Shi Not Ci, is there any progress between your uncle and xuechang?”
She even copied the message ten times in a row, afraid it would get buried.
Jiang Chaochao felt a bit uneasy seeing this.
Naturally, someone became curious.
Group member 1: “Xiuxiu, you…?”
Group member 2: “Since when are you so into gossip?”
Group member 3: “You weren’t even here before, lurking and eating melon?”
Group member 4: “Didn’t expect you to be like this, Xiuxiu.”
…
Jiang Chaochao: “…”
They were talking about Xiuxiu, but scolding Bianbian.
Xiuxiu: “So what! Don’t tell me you guys aren’t shipping them.”
Xiuxiu: “Surely not, surely not, surely not.”
This sentence turned the tide and gained everyone’s approval. The tagging Shici army grew, filling the screen.
After a minute of anticipation, Shici finally appeared.
Shici: “I’m here, I’m here, I was just brushing my teeth.”
Shici: “Since you’ve asked so sincerely…”
Shici: “Then, are you ready?”
Like kindergarteners, the group members replied in unison, very obediently…
“We’re ready!”
Seeing Shici’s words, Jiang Chaochao sat up straight.
Something really happened?
Actually, when he asked Xiuxiu to ask, he didn’t expect anything to have developed, after all, it had only been a few days.
So next, Jiang Chaochao, together with the group members, stared at the chat window.
A few seconds later, Shici’s first message arrived.
Not Shi Not Ci: “Just yesterday, my uncle, he took the initiative, very much so, extremely much so.”
Second sentence.
Not Shi Not Ci: “Asked me if I had any pictures of xuechang from school on my phone.”
Third sentence.
Not Shi Not Ci: “I said I didn’t, but my classmates might have some.”
The screen was very quiet before the third sentence, everyone was waiting for Shici.
So it was inevitable…
“Type faster!”
“Get to the point, aaaaa!”
“So anxious, so anxious, so anxious.”
So anxious, so anxious, so anxious.
Teacher Bianbian was the most anxious.
Not Shi Not Ci: “Don’t rush!”
Not Shi Not Ci: “Typing!”
Perhaps spurred on by the urging, Shici’s typing speed noticeably increased.
Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh sentences.
Not Shi Not Ci: “He asked me to ask my classmates.”
Not Shi Not Ci: “He actually asked me to ask my classmates!”
Not Shi Not Ci: “How could he be like this!”
Not Shi Not Ci: “So of course I asked my uncle.”
Not Shi Not Ci: “I asked him…”
Not Shi Not Ci: “Uncle, do you like my xuechang?”
Seeing this, Jiang Chaochao held his breath.
Not Shi Not Ci: “He didn’t change the topic like last time, didn’t kick me out, didn’t ignore me.”
Jiang Chaochao’s fingers tingled with nervousness.
Not Shi Not Ci: “He said…”
Not Shi Not Ci: “Shhh, don’t let your grandma know.”
