Chapter 31: I Miss You So Much, The Sick Cat Strikes
Rebuked by Li Ge, Chen Shuo seemed to have been caught off guard, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes, and he almost let go of Li Ge in a fluster.
And just that moment of panic broke his usual composure, causing him to lose the upper hand. Trying to feign calmness now would only make Li Ge laugh at him.
“Why the sudden temper?” Li Ge asked with a smile.
Chen Shuo also wanted to know the answer, why he was being controlled by negative emotions again, why after more than twenty days, he was still affected by Li Ge.
He only had one voice in his head, leave this place, stay away from the annoying pervert.
Receiving a surprise as soon as they met, Li Ge was both pleased and proud.
Having long since figured out that the little ice cube would hide in the bathroom whenever he had a chance, he didn’t give Chen Shuo a chance to escape, directly blocking his way with his body, then asking Chen Shuo, “I didn’t provoke you, did I?”
Chen Shuo didn’t want to mention Li Ge’s blatant, unavoidable gaze. He turned sideways to avoid him, and suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed his left hand, very hot, even slightly burning his skin.
“Don’t mess around.” Li Ge held Chen Shuo’s hand tightly, asking him repeatedly, “Why are you angry with me? You’ll make me misunderstand, you know? Are you secretly looking at me?”
The atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.
“Let go.” Chen Shuo stared at Li Ge, warning him.
Li Ge turned a deaf ear, also staring at Chen Shuo, and chuckled, “Why so thin-skinned? Just say it if you care about me. This Spring Festival was so hard for me, I missed you every day.”
This was his boss’s house, and He Yan and Yuan Feng were both here. Chen Shuo couldn’t shake off Li Ge, and was about to resort to some dirty tricks like poking his eyes or kicking his groin when Li Ge suddenly let go of him.
Li Ge: “I’ve been dealing with a lot of crap since I got back to Beicheng, I only had time to see you today, I couldn’t help but want to get closer to you.”
Seeing Chen Shuo run away as soon as he opened the door, Li Ge couldn’t stop smiling. Although he really wanted to pounce on him, he was very satisfied with Chen Shuo’s performance today, so he restrained himself.
The timing wasn’t right yet, this piece of meat still needed to be stewed for a while.
Yuan Feng had just opened the door to He Yan’s study when he ran into Chen Shuo, who was about to knock.
“Yuan Feng, I have something urgent to deal with at home, I’m leaving now, I’ll come back tomorrow to teach you.”
“Ah? Don’t go.” Yuan Feng couldn’t keep him. He didn’t even have a chance to properly thank Chen Shuo for naming his child, and watched as Chen Shuo left with his briefcase.
He immediately rushed into his own study and questioned Li Ge, “Did you make Chen Shuo angry?”
“Was that him leaving?” Li Ge chuckled, “Brother-in-law, let me teach you an idiom, ‘fleeing in disarray,’ it means losing a battle and losing face, so you run away.”
“…” Yuan Feng felt extremely guilty.
Li Ge had asked him about Chen Shuo’s situation on the day of the Little New Year, and he had hesitated and not replied. This time, Li Ge asked him to watch a movie together, and he thought that with him there, there shouldn’t be any problems, but there were.
“I was just going to tell your cousin about Yuanbao’s name, and you made him angry, what do you mean?” Yuan Feng said angrily, “Chen Shuo is my brother, you’re not allowed to bully him.”
Li Ge: “Brother-in-law, am I not your brother? You’re siding with an outsider again.”
Yuan Feng: “No. Even if He Yan doesn’t let me interfere, I have to talk to Chen Shuo, tell him what kind of person you are, you’re so promiscuous, I’m the first to disagree!”
“No, brother-in-law, don’t be like this, we’ve already kissed several times.” Li Ge lied without blinking, “It’s just that I’ve been too busy during the New Year, he’s angry with me for not spending time with him.”
“…” Yuan Feng didn’t believe it, “Don’t try to fool me.”
“Sigh,” Li Ge said helplessly, “Alright, I’ll be honest with you, he just minds that I was a bit promiscuous in the past, he’s been hot and cold with me, he doesn’t feel secure, so I’m trying to coax him, brother-in-law, don’t cause me any trouble.”
“…” Yuan Feng was suspicious, “Really?”
Li Ge: “More real than the gold ring on your hand.”
Yuan Feng: “…”
Speeding back to his apartment, back to his only private space where he could relax, Chen Shuo’s mind was still in turmoil, very annoyed, very noisy, and with a headache.
It was the crazily intertwined negative emotions that were repeatedly torturing him. Although Li Ge was no longer in front of him, although he was back, the peace he wanted hadn’t returned.
He had to make a change, he couldn’t go on like this.
But Chen Shuo hated change. From his freshman year to now, he had lived in Beicheng for eleven years, had long since adapted to this city, and after buying this apartment, he had slowly gained a sense of belonging.
Giving up, leaving, changing, it was easier said than done.
At nine in the morning, Li Ge walked into Gewu Media, refreshed. He nodded and greeted his subordinates one by one, scaring the planning director and the marketing deputy director, who thought they were going to be scolded again.
Yu Rui greeted him obsequiously, “Good morning, Mr. Li!”
“Yes, good morning.” Li Ge smiled, “Make a cup of coffee and bring it to my office.”
“…” Yu Rui was shocked, did Assistant Chen lose his virginity? That would be great. He secretly hoped that Chen Shuo would satisfy the fire-breathing dragon every day, bringing peace to the company.
To deal with the aloof, Li Ge had gained some experience, you can’t rush things. While Chen Shuo was starting to care about him, he would first give him the cold shoulder for two days, let Chen Shuo also taste the feeling of missing someone, it was painful.
So from that day on, Li Ge would send a text message to Chen Shuo every day with the phone number that hadn’t been blocked, once in the morning, once at noon, and once in the evening. The content was only three words: “Good morning,” “Good afternoon,” “Good evening.”
The dawn was just ahead.
Yu Rui knocked on the office door and announced, “Mr. Li, Director Liu is here.”
“Hello, Mr. Li!” Liu Dasen walked into the CEO’s office with a bag, smiling. As soon as the door closed, he immediately bowed and apologized, his upper body almost bent at a right angle.
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Li, I let you down, please give me another chance.”
Li Ge’s face immediately turned sour, “I lost ten million, and you still have the face to come and see me? Get out!”
“Mr. Li, please listen to me.” Liu Dasen quickly took out a document from his bag and presented it like a treasure, “Take a look at this script, I’m confident it will be a hit, it’s a xianxia theme, with thousands of years of love, hate, and human exploration, it’s really touching and profound…”
Li Ge casually flipped through it and scoffed, “You can’t make a movie, so you’re going to make a TV series? Do I look like a fool?”
Liu Dasen bowed and apologized again, vowing that this xianxia drama would be a huge hit. Li Ge wasn’t interested in TV series, but suddenly thought of a certain ice cube who loved palace dramas, and had an idea.
Li Ge: “Can you make a palace drama?”
“Uh…” Regardless of the consequences, Liu Dasen nodded repeatedly, “Of course we can, as long as you say the word, Mr. Li, I’ll start right away.”
Li Ge: “Can it surpass ‘Empresses in the Palace’?”
“…” Liu Dasen broke out in a cold sweat. Of course not, Mr. Li was really a joker.
But getting the investment was the most important thing. He forced himself to say, “I’ll, I’ll do my best, okay? It’s hard to surpass a classic.”
Li Ge: “Alright, I’ll invest, make me a wonderful palace drama.”
Liu Dasen: “Mr. Li, I won’t let you down!”
Li Ge: “Get out, you’re done here.”
After dismissing Liu Dasen, Li Ge called his assistant and instructed him to occasionally reveal to Chen Shuo that he was investing in a palace drama, and especially to quickly increase his favorability.
Yu Rui agreed, thinking to himself, when did the fire-breathing dragon become so accommodating to his little lover? He wasn’t like this even when he was in a relationship, as expected of Assistant Chen, he had some skills.
Li Ge didn’t go to teach Yuan Feng, giving the little assistant the cold shoulder for three days, preparing to capture him, hoping to succeed this time. But how could he have known that with this small release, little Comrade Chen ran away again, taken by his cousin He Yan to Yuan Feng’s hometown.
Fucking hell, it was enough to make someone anxious.
Li Ge was so anxious that he became irritable, his body hot and restless. He vowed that when Chen Shuo returned, he wouldn’t let him go, he would directly capture him and settle the score for the past few months at once.
“Brother-in-law, it’s just a variation of the chicken and rabbit problem, how can you still get it wrong?” Li Ge drew a cross on the answer to the word problem with a red pen and scolded Chen Shuo, “Does this Chen guy even know how to teach, he’s misleading the students.”
“It’s not his fault, it’s my own problem.” Yuan Feng was absent-minded and said embarrassedly, “Forget it, I can’t study.”
“Lovesick again?” Li Ge asked.
Yuan Feng was indeed lovesick, lowering his head and not speaking. His baby’s father and Chen Shuo had left four days ago to visit his family in his hometown.
Actually, Li Ge was also lovesick. He had been sending greeting messages for a week. Last night, he felt terribly empty and directly called Chen Shuo, only to find that he had been blocked again.
When Dong Mo invited him to a bar to have fun that evening, he didn’t refuse, simply drinking to relieve his boredom and distract himself, better than thinking about that heartless ice cube who only knew how to block him.
Seeing his old classmate listless, Dong Mo asked with concern, “You look like you’re lovesick, is there someone?”
“I’m pursuing someone.” Li Ge cursed, “I’ve been pursuing him for half a year, and he’s ignoring me.”
“Who dares to ignore you?” Dong Mo joked, “If it doesn’t work out, find someone else, no need to hang yourself on one tree.”
“It seems to be more than that, let me count.” Li Ge counted on his fingers, and it was a lot. It was already spring in March, and he had started having feelings last summer, when Beicheng was at its hottest.
“Fuck, at least eight months.”
Dong Mo, still having ulterior motives, had invited Li Ge out for He Yan, so he gave him some advice, “Is it that difficult? Find an opportunity to get him drunk, and then it’s a done deal.”
Li Ge: “That’s no fun, he has to be willing.”
Dong Mo: “I’ve only realized today that some melons have to be forcefully twisted, even if they’re not sweet, it’s still satisfying. I went to see your cousin a few days ago, he ignored me.”
Hearing this, Li Ge sobered up a bit, sat up, and warned his old classmate, “Behave yourself, don’t go after my cousin again, if you dare to forcefully twist this melon, we’re no longer brothers.”
“…” Dong Mo took a swig of his drink.
Li Ge suddenly felt bored. Continuing to interact with Dong Mo wasn’t good for Yuan Feng, and being bad for Yuan Feng was equivalent to being bad for Chen Shuo. He had been pursuing him for half a year, he didn’t want it to be all for nothing, and also ruin his relationship with his brother-in-law.
Thinking about how he had been chasing after Chen Shuo for eight months, he felt unhappy, his whole body hot and restless. It was like the cat and mouse cartoon he watched as a child, he was so frustrated. On the surface, he was the triumphant Tom, but in reality, he was always losing to Jerry.
Fuck.
Cats were born to be the natural enemies of mice, a relationship between predator and prey. Wasn’t he being a bit cowardly by being so clingy? Whether Chen Shuo cared about him or not, he wouldn’t be intimate with him.
What era was this? Li Ge cursed inwardly, did that Chen guy really think he wanted to hold hands and play house? Did he think he was a sick cat just because he wasn’t showing his claws?
“Dong Mo, I’m leaving.”
Seeing Li Ge drunk, Dong Mo was worried, “Let me give you a ride.”
“No need, I still have something to do.” Li Ge stumbled out of the bar and called his assistant.
Poor Yu Rui rushed to the parking lot near the bar in the middle of the night, only to find his boss asleep in the car. He gently tapped his boss, “Mr. Li, wake up, Mr. Li.”
Li Ge woke up groggily, saw that it was Yu Rui, and told him to drive to Chen Shuo’s apartment.
Yu Rui knew from WeChat that Chen Shuo was out of town on a business trip and kindly reminded him, “Mr. Li, Assistant Chen is on a business trip.”
“Fuck.” Li Ge cursed, “He’s on a business trip my ass, he’s hiding from me.”
Yu Rui: “He’s really on a business trip, I’ve contacted him.”
Li Ge: “Give me your phone, I’ll call him!”
Yu Rui: “That won’t do, Mr. Li, what if I get exposed? Assistant Chen won’t even talk to me anymore, who will deliver your messages?”
“What fucking messages are you delivering!” Li Ge continued to curse, “You’re useless, he still hasn’t given me a good face, it’s all your fault.”
“…” The boss was drunk and talkative again. Yu Rui felt wronged, thinking that if he got exposed, so be it, he didn’t want to be a sandwich in the middle. But just as he took out his phone, his boss had already made the call.
Li Ge directly called his cousin. As soon as the call connected, he started demanding that He Yan let him go, “I’m lovesick because of you, when are you coming back?”
“…” On the other end, He Yan and Yuan Feng were having a sweet reunion after a short separation, and the couple was about to get busy. Annoyed by the call, he scolded his cousin, “Are you drunk?”
Li Ge: “Brother, you’re so mean, my body is about to break down, hurry up and let Chen Shuo go.”
He Yan: “I came back this afternoon, didn’t I tell you?”
Li Ge: “???”
He Yan: “Goodbye, I’m busy.”
Li Ge instantly sat up, “Yu Rui, drive! To Assistant Chen’s house.”
After a trip to the countryside with He Yan, Chen Shuo couldn’t help but recall his childhood.
Life was hard when he was young. His grandmother raised him alone, and Chen Meifang worked odd jobs in town, supporting him and his grandmother with her meager salary.
He had heard from Chen Meifang that Jing Hai had an accident while working in the north, not only incurring debt but also not being able to send any money back. She hoped he would understand his father.
Chen Shuo was quiet since he was young. After his grandmother passed away, he was taken to town to live with his mother. He was once suspected of being autistic by the neighbors, who advised Chen Meifang to take him to the hospital. Chen Meifang, angry at the gossip and wanting to do something for her child, took him to the county town to make a living. She rented a storefront with the money she had, the front being a grocery store, and the back being their home.
Recalling the past was painful, it would bring sad and negative emotions to Chen Shuo, especially seeing that Jing Hai was living a good life now, with a wife and daughter, while Chen Meifang had suffered from illness and passed away. He couldn’t help but hate.
Thinking of these painful memories, Chen Shuo felt a little less pain, at least there was one good thing, he could temporarily stop thinking about the pervert who was affecting his life.
Maybe he could have a good sleep tonight.
“Bang, bang, bang—” The knocking on the door was urgent and forceful, like thunder before a storm, suddenly breaking the quiet night.
Chen Shuo’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately went into a state of alert. He got out of bed without wearing slippers, took a few steps forward, and soon heard Li Ge’s voice, muffled and heavily drunk, through the security door.
“Open the door!”
“Chen, I know you’re home!”
“Don’t play dead with me, believe it or not, I’ll call all your neighbors out to see what a bad person you are!”
“…” Chen Shuo pretended not to hear. Based on his previous experience, he let the drunkard outside shout. After he was done, Li Ge would leave on his own.
However, the next moment, the drunkard started yelling nonsense.
“Darling! Open the door! You heartless thing, locking your husband out in the cold, don’t force me to die at your doorstep.”
“…” Chen Shuo wanted to rip Li Ge’s tongue out. He quickly opened the door, and a dark shadow rushed towards him like a gust of wind, knocking him to the ground.
Li Ge’s entire body pressed down heavily on Chen Shuo, muttering something unclear, as if complaining.
The door wasn’t completely closed. Through the dim light from the motion-sensor light outside, Chen Shuo could clearly see that Li Ge’s face was flushed, his eyes hazy and fervent, full of aggression, as if he was going to eat him, a dangerous signal.
Then he heard Li Ge’s muttering clearly.
“The tiger doesn’t show its claws, you think I’m a sick cat? I fucking miss you so much.”
“…” The smell of alcohol mixed with hot breath hit Chen Shuo’s face. He didn’t know how much Li Ge had drunk.
He was sobered up by the childish words, turning his head to avoid Li Ge’s breath. As he was about to push him away, his head was suddenly grabbed by two hands.
By the time he realized what Li Ge was trying to do, it was too late for Chen Shuo to stop him.
