Chapter 25 Part 2:
Forced Kiss Again, Playing Hard to Get (Part 2/2)
Learning that Li Ge was busy with projects, Chen Shuo relaxed and focused on teaching Yuan Feng, watching palace dramas with him at noon, his days peaceful and comfortable. But he didn’t know what to do with the hot potato at home, throwing it away would be a waste of food.
Unexpectedly, the next morning when he left his apartment, another insulated box with a heart-shaped sticker appeared at his doorstep, and Li Ge’s text message came quickly.
“See how considerate I am, I got lost when you told me to, so can you tell me what you like to eat? I’ll deliver it to you tomorrow morning.”
Food was not to blame. Chen Shuo couldn’t bear to waste it and replied to Li Ge, “No need.” He then thought of a solution, he had been too affected by his emotions yesterday, his thoughts in a mess.
Not receiving the word “get lost,” Li Ge saw a glimmer of hope and asked Chen Shuo what he liked to eat. After waiting for almost two minutes, he excitedly opened the reply and his vision went black again.
“Get lost”
That afternoon, the receptionist at Gewu Media received two insulated boxes for the boss from a delivery person. Li Ge received the call from the internal line and rushed to the front desk, so angry that he wanted to kill Chen Shuo.
Yu Rui, with his eyes and ears everywhere, noticed something was wrong with his boss, followed him, and was shocked. Good heavens, why were two insulated boxes returned?
“Yu Rui.” Li Ge maintained his CEO image, “Move these two boxes to my office. Continue with the task I assigned you.”
Seeing his boss lose face for the first time, Yu Rui picked up the boxes and walked back, secretly laughing in his heart. Someone finally disliked the troublemaker, well done, comrade.
Before getting off work, Chen Shuo saw Yuan Feng looking absent-minded and seeming to have something to say, so he took the initiative, “Yuan Feng, if you have something to say, just say it.”
“Well,” Yuan Feng looked troubled and asked Chen Shuo, “Are you not using WeChat anymore? I sent you a message last night when I couldn’t sleep.”
Chen Shuo then remembered that he hadn’t logged into WeChat for two days. He immediately took out his phone and said, “Wait a moment, I forgot to log in.”
“Oh, it’s okay!” Yuan Feng quickly explained, “Actually, I have something to discuss with you, you must not tell He Yan, I’ve been thinking about it for a few days.”
Chen Shuo put away his phone again and listened to Yuan Feng seriously. It turned out that Yuan Feng wanted to secretly buy a pair of rings for He Yan, but he didn’t know where to buy them in Beicheng and hoped he could accompany him and help him choose a style.
“Yuanbao is almost five months old, it’s not convenient for me to go alone.” Yuan Feng said, rubbing his belly.
No wonder Yuan Feng had been absent-minded that day. Chen Shuo understood and agreed with Yuan Feng to go buy the rings tomorrow.
Another new day, another insulated box appeared at his doorstep unexpectedly, but Li Ge didn’t send a text message this time. Chen Shuo directly contacted the delivery person, gave him the same address as yesterday, and took the insulated box to the stairwell.
“Chen Shuo, has He Yan ever worn a ring before?” Yuan Feng asked curiously.
Chen Shuo: “No.”
“I knew it.” Yuan Feng said happily, “I’m thinking of buying him a gold ring, how many grams? It can’t be too thin, and too thick wouldn’t look good, right?”
Chen Shuo, who knew his boss’s taste quite well, asked Yuan Feng, “Not considering platinum?”
Yuan Feng: “Gold is good, in my hometown, gold is usually used for engagement.”
Chen Shuo: “Okay, let’s go with your hometown’s custom.”
They chatted as they reached the first floor. As the elevator doors opened, they were both stunned by the uninvited guest outside.
Chen Shuo knew why Li Ge hadn’t sent a text message, and Yuan Feng hadn’t dared to tell Li Ge about buying the rings, afraid that he would let it slip to He Yan.
“What are you two doing?” Li Ge was curious.
Chen Shuo ignored him and walked out of the elevator.
Yuan Feng quickly explained, “I’m going to meet up with my brother.”
Hearing this, Li Ge thought today was a good day to improve his relationship with Chen Shuo and immediately said, “Okay, take me with you.”
Chen Shuo & Yuan Feng: “…”
“Brother-in-law,” Li Ge ignored their expressions and said with a worried tone, “You’re pregnant now, I’m really not at ease with only Assistant Chen accompanying you.”
Yuan Feng: “What are you not at ease about? The car will be parked right in front of my brother’s shop.”
Li Ge said seriously, “I’m not at ease about my nephew.”
“…” Continuing to argue would be a waste of time. Yuan Feng thought that having another person to help choose would be good, so he had to tell the truth and seriously instructed Li Ge, “If you dare to tell your cousin, I’ll be angry with you!”
“So that’s what it is.” Li Ge, remembering yesterday’s grudge, glanced at Chen Shuo and deliberately put on a stern face, “Brother-in-law, why are you siding with an outsider? You should have asked me instead of him.”
Yuan Feng: “Oh, let’s go together.”
Li Ge: “That’s more like it.”
The three of them walked to the car. Li Ge pushed Chen Shuo aside and personally helped Yuan Feng into the back seat, then sat in the passenger seat without any politeness.
On the way, Chen Shuo remained silent.
Li Ge occasionally glanced at Chen Shuo, also not speaking. As they were about to reach their destination, he received a text message from his assistant. The insulated box Yu Rui had delivered this morning had been returned to the front desk again, asking if he could eat it.
The little assistant was so feisty and aloof, making his heart itch. It would be great if they could have a quickie in the car.
Arriving at the jewelry mall, Yuan Feng was almost blinded by the sparkle. He knew nothing about brands and asked Li Ge and Chen Shuo, “Which brand is good?”
Li Ge scanned the area and said, “Gold is all pretty much the same, the main thing is to choose a style, let’s look around first.”
A salesperson warmly greeted them. Yuan Feng stared at the rows of gold rings, then turned to ask the two men beside him, “My eyes are getting blurry, which style do you think He Yan would like?”
Chen Shuo looked carefully and kindly reminded Yuan Feng, “I’m not sure, but CEO He probably doesn’t like flashy things.”
“Hey, you don’t even know your boss’s preferences, what kind of personal assistant are you?” Li Ge pushed Chen Shuo aside again, pointing to a large gold ring with the character “福” (fortune) engraved on it, teasing Yuan Feng, “I think this one is good, he’ll definitely like it.”
Chen Shuo: “…”
Yuan Feng stared at the gold ring, suddenly remembering the yellow general manager from his former company, except that his ring was engraved with the character “發” (wealth), looking like a nouveau riche.
He imagined He Yan wearing the ring and asked suspiciously, “Really? Don’t fool me.”
Li Ge: “Who doesn’t want to be a fortunate person?”
“Stop it.” Chen Shuo finally couldn’t bear it anymore and interrupted Li Ge on Yuan Feng’s behalf, “Is this the time for jokes?”
Still with his funeral face, Li Ge stared directly at Chen Shuo and scoffed, “We’re family, joking around, why are you, an outsider, interfering?”
Not knowing why Li Ge was always so sarcastic, Yuan Feng stepped in to smooth things over, “It’s okay, this gold ring is actually quite nice, it just looks a bit heavy.”
Chen Shuo looked at Yuan Feng and said in a low voice, “Let’s go, let’s look at another store.”
The three of them went to another store. While Yuan Feng was concentrating on choosing a ring, Li Ge leaned closer to Chen Shuo and whispered, “Should we get a pair for ourselves too?”
“Stay away from me.” Chen Shuo avoided him with disgust.
Li Ge continued to get closer, teasing Chen Shuo, “Besides these few repetitive phrases, can you say anything else? If you’re with me, you won’t be an outsider anymore.”
Having been harassed by this pervert Li Ge for two days in a row, Chen Shuo didn’t want to endure it anymore and cursed in a low voice, “Get lost.”
“I’m tired of hearing that.” Li Ge chuckled, “Can you use a different word?”
People were coming and going. Chen Shuo ignored Li Ge and went to Yuan Feng’s side. Li Ge deliberately kept a distance, just enough to see Chen Shuo’s entire figure.
From head to butt, from butt to feet.
Finally, with the recommendation of Chen Shuo and the salesperson, Yuan Feng chose a simple and elegant pair of matte plain rings, returning home satisfied, his mind set on his lessons.
While Chen Shuo was in the restroom answering a call, Yuan Feng seized the opportunity and asked Li Ge, “What’s wrong with you today? Why aren’t you talking to Chen Shuo properly? Weren’t you trying to poach him?”
“Was I?” Li Ge denied, “I’ve been talking to him properly.”
Although Li Ge was He Yan’s cousin, Yuan Feng cared more about the lonely and solitary Chen Shuo. After some thought, he decided to say a few words for his brother.
“Can you please not have a problem with Chen Shuo? It’s not easy for him to be alone in Beicheng, his parents are gone, and he has no friends, he keeps everything to himself.”
“…” Li Ge felt something was wrong. Wasn’t Chen Shuo’s father running a factory in Jiangcheng? Why was he suddenly gone?
He suddenly remembered the inexpensive watch on Chen Shuo’s wrist. Logically, with some family background, he shouldn’t be wearing a cheap watch that only cost ten to twenty thousand yuan. Could it be that the greeting from Chen Shuo’s father four years ago was actually his last words?
Li Ge: “Brother-in-law, did he tell you that?”
“Yes.” Yuan Feng nodded, “Chen Shuo hasn’t been back to his hometown for six years, he spends New Year’s alone every year, it makes me sad to hear it. He says he likes quietness, but he must miss home, just like me, holding on.”
“…” Li Ge finally understood. No wonder his cousin didn’t want him to bother Chen Shuo, he was afraid that he would be entangled by Chen Shuo in the future, forced to come out, and both sides would be embarrassed.
Fuck, who was going to pay for the effort he had put in for the past six months?
In the guest bathroom, Chen Shuo saw his expressionless face in the mirror, remembering how Chen Meifang always said he didn’t smile, putting on a grown-up face at a young age.
“Um, Xiao Shuo, are you listening?”
“Don’t call me Xiao Shuo.” Chen Shuo said, “I’m listening.”
“I’m sorry.” The female voice on the phone was full of apology, pleading with Chen Shuo in a cautious tone, “The test results aren’t out yet, your father is afraid the results will be bad, afraid of leaving regrets, can I beg you? Come back and spend the New Year with him.”
Chen Shuo remained silent. As the woman started to cry, he remembered the summer he regretted. Chen Meifang would send him text messages every few days, asking if he was eating well, if his part-time job was tiring, if he had made any friends at university, and finally, like a last wish, urging him to go see Jing Hai. Because he hated Jing Hai and found Chen Meifang annoying, he barely replied to her messages.
After a long while, he said, “I know.”
Li Ge was unwilling, unhappy.
After much thought, he still missed him. As soon as Chen Shuo appeared in front of him, he felt like he had lost a lot. During this period of pursuing Chen Shuo, it wasn’t that he hadn’t found other people, but when he took off his pants, the only person he wanted to fuck was Chen Shuo.
Li Ge felt he was still somewhat conscientious, letting go of the orphan who had no parents during such a difficult time, considering it as accumulating good karma for his next life.
As a result, he had a wet dream that night, in which he was on top of the little assistant, fucking him hard, but the little assistant had a cold funeral face, not giving him any reaction.
Fuck.
Li Ge woke up still unwilling, still unhappy. He directly blamed He Yan, calling him early in the morning and questioning him on the phone, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that Chen Shuo is an orphan? I’ve put in so much effort, I miss him so much!”
“…” He Yan was coaxing his clingy little pregnant man and was bewildered by the questioning, coldly asking his cousin back, “Who told you he’s an orphan? His father is alive and well.”
Li Ge: “Your wife said so!”
He Yan: “…”
Yuan Feng was also bewildered, asking He Yan, “Uh, his father is still alive? I thought… I misunderstood! Wait, what does Li Ge mean about Chen Shuo???”
He Yan was about to scold him when the call was hung up.
In the apartment on this side, Chen Shuo was prepared to contact the delivery person before opening the door, but the insulated box he expected wasn’t there.
He sometimes didn’t understand the pervert’s way of thinking, acting on a whim, causing a lot of trouble for others, really annoying.
Closing the door, Chen Shuo was about to press the elevator button when a gust of wind flashed behind him, the same swift force, a dark figure appearing from nowhere, grabbing his shoulder and instantly pushing him against the wall. The next moment, a kiss he was completely unprepared for landed on his lips.
