Chapter 6: Wolf-Cut Cool Guy
Xi Leng had to work from morning till night at the archery range, with no time to play with his phone.
Including his past life, he hadn’t logged into his Weibo account for over three years and had no idea what kind of attention he had attracted. He hadn’t even opened the private message from the self-proclaimed manager of Min Zhi.
Zhu Minglang was anxious on his own, his assessment of Xi Leng gradually changing from “too strong anti-fraud awareness” to “quite aloof,” and then to “a transcendent being.”
Simply the perfect candidate to join the boss on the variety show!
In reality, Xi Leng was far from any noble or ethereal qualities; he was merely striving for basic sustenance.
He was even busier on weekends.
This evening, the archery range hosted a group of drunk white-collar workers, four men together.
Xi Leng had just finished his own work and was passing by the glass window next door when he saw his colleague being lectured.
The middle-aged man, his face oily and his body flabby, was ranting about things like “There must be something wrong with your bows, how could a grown man like me not be able to draw it/shoot accurately,” completely oblivious to his own physical condition.
The men were ganging up, acting recklessly after drinking. The young female coach, inexperienced with this kind of situation, had a smile more bitter than tears.
Xi Leng paused outside the glass door for a while longer, witnessing a disgusting scene.
The female coach had a customer stand behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and arms: “Yes, feel how my muscles exert force…”
But the man clearly had other intentions, finding ways to take advantage of her, his social etiquette thrown to the dogs.
Xi Leng, with nothing better to do, pushed the door open and entered.
Several pairs of eyes were drawn by the movement, glancing over, then all freezing, staring fixedly at the man approaching from the door.
A loose black half-sleeved shirt, wide-leg white trousers, the cuffs rolled up twice due to their length, revealing most of his fair and strong arms, a blue and white scarf loosely tied around his long neck.
He also wore a pair of clear protective goggles, accentuating his sharp and defined facial features. Even though the muscle lines on his arms were clearly visible and his bone structure distinct, paired with his tall and slender figure and fair skin, in the eyes of these beer-bellied men, there were only three words—
Pretty boy.
A strong sense of threat and hostility instantly arose from their hearts, especially after the female coach’s expression changed dramatically, from distressed and listless to genuinely joyful.
One of them, without any courtesy, threw down the recurve bow in his hand and disparaged: “Your shop charges so much, and you use such crappy bows, they can’t shoot accurately at all.”
Xi Leng walked through the crowd, took a compound bow from the wall, and like a responsible coach, offered gentle guidance: “Try this one then.”
Xi Leng looked straight ahead, drew the bow, and introduced it unhurriedly: “This is a compound bow.”
All eyes were on him. He had a small braid at the back of his head, a definite “pretty boy” marker, his medium-long hair messy and unruly, like natural curls.
The men’s fun was spoiled. Seeing his aloof and confident demeanor, they developed a bit of a spectator mentality, eagerly waiting for him to make a fool of himself.
However, his posture was steady and unwavering. He simply released a few long, beautiful fingers, and the arrow on the compound bow shot out, hitting the bullseye ten meters away.
The person who had just shot the perfect arrow remained calm and unruffled, explaining flatly: “The accuracy of this bow is only affected by aiming.”
The fat man who had been taking advantage of the female coach earlier was the most excited, eager to show off his prowess: “What do you mean? If you aim, you’ll hit the target?”
“Yes.” Xi Leng raised the bow with his left hand, his right hand loosely holding an arrow, and said to him slowly, “So, if I blow your head off, it’s definitely intentional.”
The man’s face instantly paled.
Xi Leng looked down at him unhurriedly. After a while, he simply handed the bow forward: “Here.”
The man made a fuss, almost brought to his knees by the weight, bowing to Xi Leng prematurely.
Xi Leng remained expressionless and turned to the female coach: “Tang-ge is looking for you, I’ll take care of this.”
With the experience of his past life, dealing with these amateurs was more than enough. Whether these men’s intentions were pure or not, Xi Leng would handle it.
Thus, the tables turned, and the complaining parties suddenly became the customers. They had paid for the private lesson and had to finish it, even if they were crying inside.
Xi Leng focused on teaching when he suddenly heard someone yelling: “Who are you? We booked this place.”
The newcomer wasn’t wearing a staff uniform or protective gear. The half-drunk men, their pent-up frustration exploding, directed it all at the unlucky person who had just arrived.
And this unlucky person, coincidentally, was a pretty boy just like the rude assistant coach, even more delicate than the cold Xi Leng, with soft hair, exactly the kind of creamy idol that young girls loved these days.
Xi Leng, still holding the bow and arrow, glanced over with his hazel eyes and froze. The arrow he shot went off target, thankfully no one noticed his mistake.
Everyone’s gaze focused on Luo Jiayan at the door.
He was one of the protagonists of this world, the beloved protagonist shou, naturally blessed with exceptional looks.
As the protagonist shou, he was particularly susceptible to being targeted by brainless cannon fodder villains, getting caught up in all sorts of messy plotlines, overcoming obstacles, ultimately advancing his relationship with the protagonist gong.
Someone keenly asked: “Who is this? A celebrity?”
Luo Jiayan had come looking for Xi Leng, his mind preoccupied. He had just signed with an entertainment company and didn’t have any works yet, completely unprepared for the possibility of being recognized by passersby.
Belatedly, he took out a mask from his pocket and put it on, trying to fix the situation after the damage was done.
“I heard this archery range often has celebrities visiting, didn’t expect to run into one today. Hey, big star, what’s your name? Give us an autograph?”
Although he said that, the speaker didn’t have any fan-like admiration or adoration, his words and actions filled with disdain and mockery.
Luo Jiayan was at a loss, only able to lower his head and take half a step back.
But he had finally found Xi Leng after coming all this way and really didn’t want to give up just like that. He raised his head, his bright and clear eyes looking directly at Xi Leng.
Seeking help and comfort from Xi Leng was almost a reflex for him when faced with difficulties.
Xi Leng lowered his eyes slightly behind the goggles, the lenses obscuring his already faint emotions. He didn’t look at Luo Jiayan, but simply stepped forward, tapping the leading fat man’s shoulder with his bow.
“Your time is up. If you want to continue, go to the front desk to renew.”
His expression and tone were exactly the same as when he had threatened to blow their heads off.
“…”
The men looked at each other for a few seconds, reaching a silent agreement.
They wouldn’t play with this assistant coach anymore, goodbye. 🙂
The large training room became quiet and empty. Luo Jiayan let out a breath of relief, took off his mask, and quickly walked towards Xi Leng.
Xi Leng had solved so many problems for him that he had long taken it for granted. It wasn’t until Xi Leng’s attitude changed recently that he suddenly realized how much Xi Leng had taken care of him, how much he had silently done for him.
Xi Leng had just helped him out of a difficult situation again, even when he was clearly in a bad mood.
Luo Jiayan suddenly didn’t know how to start speaking. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“You’re a celebrity now.” Xi Leng said abruptly, drawing his bow and nocking an unused arrow. “It’ll be troublesome if you’re recognized, go back soon.”
“I…” Luo Jiayan opened his mouth, then hesitated again.
Xi Leng continued his actions, quickly nocking a third arrow, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead from the intense training, trickling down his temples.
Luo Jiayan lowered his eyes, looking at the scarf around his neck, muttering as if to himself: “I feel like you’re different now.”
Not your simp anymore?
Xi Leng scoffed inwardly, a hint of coldness appearing on his lips.
Luo Jiayan mistook it for an improvement in his mood and excitedly took a step forward.
Xi Leng tried to dodge, the hand reaching behind him for an arrow wavered, accidentally grazing his palm against the sharp fletching.
“Hiss.”
Luo Jiayan stopped, asking with concern: “What’s wrong?”
Xi Leng clenched his right hand into a fist and put it in his pocket, clearly not wanting to say more: “It’s nothing.”
He removed his protective gear, only leaving his own goggles on, hoping it would at least block some of Luo Jiayan’s intense gaze.
Seeing Xi Leng about to leave, Luo Jiayan became anxious again: “Ah Zhao, where are you going?”
“Off work.” Xi Leng’s reply was concise. He still turned back and told him, “You should go back early too.”
At this time, in another booked practice room, it was unusually quiet, with no coach present.
“Hey, Min Zhi, why don’t you shoot a few arrows too?”
The man speaking wore gold-rimmed glasses on his high nose bridge, a thin gold chain hanging from the side of his face, shimmering as it swayed.
Behind the lenses, his narrow, fox-like eyes curved like crescents, always looking at people with a seemingly amused expression, the perfect image of a refined scoundrel.
But his childhood friend, Min Zhi, knew best that this man was indeed a scoundrel, his love life so promiscuous that he couldn’t compliment it.
Min Zhi leaned lazily against the table, as if boneless, completely uninterested in archery.
“Jackson.” Min Zhi suddenly lifted his eyes, waving his tattooed hand at him. “I’m going out for a smoke, you can play by yourself.”
“Hey, come on.” Qiao Yusen quickly put down his bow and arrows, hurrying over to dissuade him. “It’s boring by myself, if you’re not playing, just keep me company.”
Min Zhi put a cigarette in his mouth, his dark and indifferent eyes seemingly saying, start your performance, if it’s still boring, I’m leaving.
“I recently met a damn fine newcomer.” Qiao Yusen winked, feigning mystery. “And they’re your fan too.”
Min Zhi frowned in disgust, taking half a step forward: “Not interested.”
Just then, a commotion came from the hallway outside. Min Zhi paused, vaguely making out the voices of several men, cursing and swearing, talking about some assistant coach, pretty boy, damn arrogant, definitely a kept man, and the like.
This gossip was much more interesting than the lovesick Qiao Yusen, unfortunately, those people walked away too quickly, as if fleeing, their figures vanishing in a flash.
Qiao Yusen also heard the gossip, a playful glint flashing in his fox-like eyes: “Hey, I know who they’re talking about.”
Min Zhi raised an eyebrow, not responding.
Qiao Yusen continued on his own: “Let me tell you, there’s an assistant coach at this archery range, damn fine-looking, if it weren’t for your presence, I would’ve asked for him to come over.”
His tone carried a hint of regret.
Qiao Yusen was naturally gay, he liked men. These flamboyant adjectives of his could only be used to describe men. “Pretty” was enough, he didn’t expect there to be even more peculiar descriptions waiting.
Pretty is pretty, handsome is handsome, what the hell did “damn fine” even mean?
Min Zhi frowned, but his curiosity was fleeting.
“Jackson.” Min Zhi turned his head, his tone slightly displeased. “What misunderstanding do you have about my sexual orientation?”
Outside the glass window behind Qiao Yusen, a tall and slender figure stood straight, dressed in black and white, his wolf-cut tied into a small braid.
Wasn’t that his missing little artist male fan?
Min Zhi chewed on the cigarette filter.
Not long after, a boy in a white T-shirt and jeans came running from behind, chasing after the wolf-cut young man ahead, just like his gaze.
Qiao Yusen’s indifferent voice came from beside him: “Did you finally find a girl you like?”
The two were chasing each other and walked away quickly. The last strand of Xi Leng’s hair disappeared from view. Min Zhi retracted his gaze, suddenly throwing away his cigarette, and picking up the bow and arrows he had been uninterested in.
After a moment, he replied: “No.”
“Oh, really?” Seeing Min Zhi’s indifferent attitude, Qiao Yusen smiled meaningfully, like a flamboyant peacock that made one want to pluck all his feathers. “Then what were you thinking about just now?”
Min Zhi glanced sideways, the corner of his lips curling up coldly.
“Thinking about how to curse you out.”
