Chapter 20: Clothes Off, Let’s Do It
“Whoa, Assistant Chen!” Fei Fan greeted enthusiastically, “What a coincidence.”
Chen Shuo wasn’t too surprised by the familiar scene. This high-end tailor shop that He Yan frequented served the upper class, so encountering rich people wasn’t unusual. It was just bad luck that he ran into Li Ge again.
“Mr. Fei.” Chen Shuo nodded politely, then looked at the man beside Fei Fan, “Hello, Mr. Li.”
The monotonous, mechanical greeting instantly rekindled the feelings Li Ge had just suppressed for two days, a surge of boldness and impulsiveness. He didn’t care whose son the little assistant was, or who was looking after him, clothes off, let’s do it.
Looking at Chen Shuo’s handsome face, Li Ge’s heart itched unbearably. Making small talk, he asked, “Picking up suits for your CEO He?”
“Yes.” Chen Shuo didn’t want to engage and was considering coming back another time when Fei Fan suddenly approached.
“We’re all friends, why so formal?” Fei Fan put his arm around Chen Shuo familiarly, “Come on, let’s go in together. I’m just about to pick out two suits, Assistant Chen, you have good taste, help me take a look.”
Chen Shuo couldn’t avoid it. As the staff opened the door, he subtly dodged Fei Fan and proactively gestured, “Mr. Fei, after you.”
“I said we’re friends, no need to be so polite.” Fei Fan entered the store first.
Li Ge’s gaze remained undisguised. Seeing that the robot was quite resistant to physical contact, he stepped forward and put his arm around Chen Shuo familiarly, chuckling, “I’m not your boss, no need to be so stiff.”
“…”
The force on his shoulder was a bit heavy. The staff at the door smiled warmly. Chen Shuo was forcibly pulled into the store by Li Ge. Just as he was about to lose his patience, the hand was removed.
Fei Fan: “Come on, you two.”
“Mr. Li, CEO He has other tasks for me, excuse me.” Chen Shuo didn’t give Li Ge a chance to speak. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and went to the back room to pick up the suits.
Li Ge stared at Chen Shuo’s back, silent.
This little assistant seemed humble and polite, but he didn’t think so. His behavior today seemed a bit more human, deliberately seducing him.
Chen Shuo had to finish quickly. Since he didn’t bring Yuan Feng for a fitting, he carefully checked every detail, making sure there were no problems before asking the staff to pack them up.
“Why are these suits so small?” Fei Fan walked to Chen Shuo’s side and inquired, “Don’t tell me they’re for that kid named Yuan Feng?”
Chen Shuo didn’t speak, nodding slightly.
“Really?” Fei Fan couldn’t believe it, “Since when did CEO He become so attentive to his little lovers?”
Dealing with the upper class was tiring, and Fei Fan was a gossipy person. Chen Shuo made an excuse and went to the restroom. As soon as he entered, someone followed him in.
Turning around and seeing that it was Li Ge, he politely called out, “Mr. Li,” and went to the sink to wash his hands before leaving. His gaze inadvertently met the overly direct stare in the mirror.
Something wasn’t right, it seemed he was the target.
Li Ge took a step forward and asked knowingly, “Who was that Yuan person you were talking about just now?”
Chen Shuo’s apprehension subsided. He replied, “Sorry, Mr. Li. That’s CEO He’s private matter, it’s not convenient for me to say more.”
What Yuan, what private matter, Li Ge didn’t care at all. He was here to confirm how strong his desire was.
Indeed, looking at the delicate little assistant in the mirror, he found himself truly uncomfortable. Not just an itch, but a feeling that if he didn’t have a taste, his life would be incomplete. Life was too short to settle, it had to be this face with this body.
Li Ge: “What’s not convenient? Don’t you know my relationship with CEO He?”
Chen Shuo: “Sorry.”
Turning off the faucet, Chen Shuo quickly shook the water off his hands and was about to leave. Unexpectedly, Li Ge suddenly approached him, saying close to his ear, “You splashed water on me.”
The warm breath on his ear startled Chen Shuo. He instinctively dodged backward, failing to maintain his usual calmness, his eyes revealing his emotions, his breathing disrupted by the slightly panicked movement. As a chuckle sounded, he realized his gaffe.
“You seem to be very afraid of me?” Li Ge took a paper towel from the dispenser and handed it to Chen Shuo, staring at him with a smile, “Don’t be afraid, wipe your hands.”
Chen Shuo neither explained nor accepted the offer, only saying “thank you.” As he turned to leave, Li Ge suddenly blocked his way with his arm.
He restrained himself and said, “Mr. Li, please move.”
“I’m asking you a question.” Li Ge closed the door and leaned against it, continuing to stare at the little assistant who made his heart itch, “Are you afraid of me?”
Chen Shuo couldn’t help but remember a time in elementary school when he accidentally stepped on a pile of somewhat runny dog shit on his way home from school. He never took that less-traveled path again.
He was a loner in his class, and some boys disliked him, deliberately telling ghost stories to scare him. Seeing him follow the crowd and take the main road the next day, they mocked him for being cowardly.
He wasn’t cowardly, he was disgusted.
At this moment, Li Ge was like that dog shit he had accidentally stepped on, staining the soles of his shoes, unable to be wiped clean, extremely disgusting.
“Frozen?” Li Ge chuckled, his meaning unclear.
Weighing the pros and cons, Chen Shuo forced himself to learn from the servile characters in palace dramas, enduring the humiliation and explaining, “Mr. Li, you misunderstood, I’m in a hurry to take care of something CEO He assigned me, please understand.”
“What’s the rush, tell me about it.” Knowing that the little assistant was tight-lipped, Li Ge emphasized, “He Yan’s matters are my matters.”
The atmosphere was tense, the two of them standing in a standoff.
How to permanently escape a difficult situation? Having watched so many palace dramas, Chen Shuo felt there was only one effective method: kill and silence.
“Knock, knock, knock—” A knock came from the door.
“Why are you two hiding in the restroom? Open the door quickly, I need to pee.” Fei Fan continued to knock. As the door opened, he was met with Li Ge’s gloomy face.
Chen Shuo dodged them, grabbed the suits packed by the staff, and hurriedly left, disappearing in the blink of an eye, the entire process taking less than ten seconds.
“What were you two doing?” Fei Fan wondered.
Li Ge gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice, “You and your fucking piss and shit, would you die if you held it in for a while?”
Fei Fan: “I couldn’t hold it in, why are you yelling at me?”
Li Ge: “You’re annoying.”
Fei Fan: “…”
As soon as he got into the car, Chen Shuo sped away from the parking lot without even taking a breath, calming down only after he was far away. If it weren’t for Fei Fan, he was afraid Li Ge would have pounced on him. He wondered if he was overthinking it.
The more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt.
Chen Shuo went to the mall to pick out clothes for Yuan Feng, which was his job today. He hadn’t seen Yuan Feng for several days and didn’t know how Yuan Feng had persuaded He Yan. He was now commuting on his electric scooter every day, not needing to be picked up.
Yuan Feng had helped him get this vacation, and Chen Shuo felt quite bad about it. It was getting colder in the mornings and evenings in autumn, and it wasn’t convenient to ride a scooter in windy or rainy weather. Yuan Feng was sometimes very much like Chen Meifang, equally stubborn and unwilling to listen to advice.
Returning to Jinxi Bay after work, Yuan Feng was surprised to see the bags in the trunk, hurriedly asking Chen Shuo, “Assistant Chen, what are these?”
“Clothes CEO He bought for you, and two tailored suits.” Chen Shuo carried five or six bags in each hand, each outfit carefully chosen by him.
Yuan Feng: “…”
After entering the apartment, Chen Shuo asked Yuan Feng what shoe size he wore, then thought it would be better to try them on, so he changed his words, “Or I can take you out to buy shoes on your day off, it’s best to try them on.”
“There are shoes too?” Yuan Feng was surprised again.
Chen Shuo: “CEO He’s instruction.”
Yuan Feng: “…”
When he helped Yuan Feng move for the first time, Chen Shuo had noticed Yuan Feng’s two worn-out leather shoes, which he kept switching between, unwilling to buy a new pair.
Now He Yan had also noticed, and he hoped Yuan Feng would treat himself better, not be trapped by the mindset of a poor person like Chen Meifang, making people feel sorry for him.
Chen Shuo waited to take Yuan Feng shoe shopping, but another week passed, and Yuan Feng didn’t contact him. He received a call from He Yan first, instructing him to take Yuan Feng to the hospital.
“Assistant Chen.” Yuan Feng stopped Chen Shuo, “I can go by myself, you can wait for me in the car, thank you.”
Yuan Feng was too polite and distant, and Chen Shuo felt bad again, wanting to tell Yuan Feng that He Yan hadn’t scolded him that day, nor had he deducted his salary.
Seeing a doctor took time, and Yuan Feng didn’t let him accompany him, so he waited in the car. He ended up waiting for three hours. Even queuing for tests shouldn’t take that long.
Some images suddenly flashed through his mind, making Chen Shuo’s right hand, which had just taken out his phone, freeze. Thinking the worst, Yuan Feng might have been diagnosed with something bad.
He hurriedly got out of the car and quickly saw the distraught Yuan Feng in front of the outpatient building, almost confirming his guess. He carefully chose his words and walked over.
“Let’s get a second opinion at another hospital.” Chen Shuo tried to comfort Yuan Feng, “CEO He has connections, I’ll take you there now.”
“No, no need for more tests.” Yuan Feng frantically hid the plastic bag containing his medical records and test reports behind his back, “I’m fine! Let’s go.”
How could he be fine? Seeing Yuan Feng refusing to listen, Chen Shuo seized the opportunity and quickly snatched the plastic bag, taking out the test reports.
“Fuck! You…” Yuan Feng was horrified.
Seeing the words “threatened miscarriage” on the diagnosis, Chen Shuo was stunned. Yuan Feng snatched the diagnosis back and couldn’t help but curse Chen Shuo for the first time, calling him “crazy.” After cursing, he deflated, not knowing how to explain his abnormal condition to Chen Shuo.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have looked at your private information.” Chen Shuo sincerely apologized, “As long as it’s not a serious illness, it’s fine. Let’s go, I’ll take you back.”
The hospital was the starting point of life, and also the end point.
Chen Shuo thought of Chen Meifang again, feeling the urge to confide in someone for the first time, wanting to talk about the things he had suppressed for many years. Keeping it all bottled up was really uncomfortable.
“You asked me before if I missed home.” He said.
Feeling that something was wrong with Chen Shuo, Yuan Feng couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
“My mother passed away seven years ago, she had a serious illness and didn’t tell me.”
“…”
“I should have gone back that summer.” Chen Shuo calmly talked about the past as he walked, “But I found a part-time job and was reluctant to give up the small salary, so I didn’t go back to see her. She passed away very suddenly, leaving nothing behind.”
Yuan Feng felt guilty, he seemed to have scared Chen Shuo just now.
“Perhaps she didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.” Chen Shuo continued slowly, “Maybe she was still waiting for me to graduate from university, find a stable job, and start a family.”
“Don’t, don’t be too sad, birth, old age, sickness, and death…” Yuan Feng didn’t know how to comfort Chen Shuo.
“It’s okay, no need for comfort, it’s been a long time.” Chen Shuo stopped and said to Yuan Feng seriously, “I just want to say, don’t hide your illness, seek treatment as soon as possible.”
Yuan Feng: “Can you please not tell CEO He?”
Chen Shuo: “No.”
“You saw it, right?” Yuan Feng became anxious, “I, I’m, well, pregnant. It’s so fucked up, how can I, a man… it’s hard to explain.”
Chen Shuo didn’t ask for the specific reason, only advising Yuan Feng to tell He Yan, making Yuan Feng extremely anxious, refusing to cooperate. He said he was worried that He Yan couldn’t handle the shock, then said he wanted to give He Yan a surprise, in short, he had to keep it a secret.
In the end, Chen Shuo reluctantly agreed.
“Thank you, Assistant Chen.”
“You’re welcome.”
On the way back to Jinxi Bay, Chen Shuo was still worried and asked about the checkup. Yuan Feng was career-minded and couldn’t give up his job as a business manager. He tried to persuade him, suggesting that it was best to tell He Yan, after all, he had the right to know, and he should decide whether to stay or leave as soon as possible, and stop riding the electric scooter for now.
“Thank you…” Yuan Feng leaned back and remained silent.
While waiting at a red light, Chen Shuo called the housekeeper and told her not to make the food too heavy.
“I don’t know if you can still eat heavy food, so I asked the housekeeper to make it lighter.”
Yuan Feng was numb, staring ahead and saying “thank you” again.
Seeing Yuan Feng listless, Chen Shuo tried to lighten the mood, but he couldn’t, finally managing to say, “I heard sour cravings mean a boy, spicy cravings mean a girl…”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere was extremely depressing, and Chen Shuo felt awkward, keeping his mouth shut and focusing on driving. But his mood was much better. When he confided in Yuan Feng, he didn’t tell him that he actually longed to go home, to return to that small town, to that grocery store, to the world with Chen Meifang.
The reality was that he hadn’t been back for seven years.
Because he was afraid of being overwhelmed by emotions, he chose to escape like a coward.
After dropping off Yuan Feng and returning home, Chen Shuo immersed himself in TV dramas. A very popular palace drama had recently been released, surprisingly addictive. Almost everyone was watching it, and it was trending online.
It was completely dark outside. He watched until he felt hungry and realized he hadn’t had lunch. Feeling lazy and not wanting to cook, he was about to order takeout when he saw several unread text messages on his phone, all from the same disgusting unknown number.
“Assistant Chen, what are you busy with?”
“I didn’t scare you too much last time, did I? I was just kidding.”
“Actually, I’m quite gentle, really, no need to be afraid, I won’t eat you.”
Almost losing his appetite, Chen Shuo ignored the harassing text messages. Just as he finished ordering takeout, He Yan called. He had a bad feeling and quickly answered. Before he could speak, the other end spoke first.
“What were the test results?”
“Fuck.” Li Ge guessed that the little assistant was afraid of him, too cowardly to reply to his text messages. He directly called him, but the line was busy again. It was strange, did he dare to block him?
Chen Shuo couldn’t lie. He Yan asking directly meant that Yuan Feng might be beside him. He had promised Yuan Feng not to tell for now, but He Yan was his benefactor…
“CEO He, I didn’t accompany Mr. Yuan for the checkup, I waited in the car. He said the checkup wasn’t—”
He Yan: “You really don’t know? Think carefully before you speak.”
Yuan Feng’s anxious voice came from the other end, “Why are you threatening him? He didn’t come in with me, he doesn’t know anything! You’re—”
He Yan: “Shut up!”
Chen Shuo was about to tell him, but Yuan Feng vehemently defended him. He thought he should still consider Yuan Feng, so he said, “CEO He, Mr. Yuan, he—”
Yuan Feng yelled at his sponsor, “I’m fucking pregnant! Pregnant! Are you satisfied now?!”
The call suddenly disconnected. Chen Shuo couldn’t help but feel guilty. Yuan Feng was such a good person, yet he was thinking of selling him out. He put down his phone, and another call came in, still the familiar, disgusting unknown number.
What was the little assistant busy with at night? Li Ge thought that he would ask Chen Shuo if he had a partner when the call connected. He was certain he didn’t, judging by his robotic stiffness, ordinary people wouldn’t be interested, and those who were interested wouldn’t be ordinary.
Like him, a discerning judge of character.
