Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Brother Zhi.” Jiang Wei’er shifted in her seat. The playful look on her face mere seconds ago had now faded away. “Change this dare to something else. Anything but this. You know that I am already in a relationship,” she said as her hands smoothed out her skirt.
Despite the look on her face, the tone in which she spoke was soft.
“Not doing that.”
Jiang Zhi was bad to the bone.
“Can’t afford to play this game, huh?” He jabbed.
Jiang Wei’er wasn’t someone you’d want to mess with. The consequences can and had been proven to be fatal. She was like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode at the slightest provocation.
She poured herself a glass of alcohol and downed it in one go, placing the empty glass back on the table.
“Hey you guys, stop pushing Wei’er around.”
Xue Bingxue had a hand over his mouth. With the eyes of an innocent fawn, he stole a few glances at Jiang Wei’er before retreating into the shadows. His ears were glowing bright red as he continued, “Her boyfriend’s gonna be mad at her if she does this.”
If her boyfriend was angry at her, then Wei’er would be unhappy, and if she was unhappy, he would feel bad about it as well.
And so, Xue Bingxue sealed his mouth shut with his palm.
“…”
Xue Baoyi was speechless at the sight of his uncle’s reaction.
So what if the “ultimate wingman” existed? If there was a pig like his uncle in the team, even the strongest warrior wouldn’t be able to carry the team toward salvation.
Clink!
Jiang Zhi spun the empty bottle once more. It rotated for half a circle before grinding to a halt.
Xue Bingxue was still peeking at Jiang Wei’er, trying to check if she was angry. If Jiang Zhi wanted to sulk about it…then let him be. Jiang Wei’er shouldn’t be angry about it.
What a silly little marshmallow!
Xue Baoyi could no longer contain his frustration. His rage was entirely funneled into his leg as he kicked at his uncle, cursing at him under his breath. “Brother Zhi here is trying to help you get laid, you godd*mned simp!”
Xue Bingxue, fearing that Jiang Wei’er would overhear their conversation, gave his nephew a death glare.
“…”
Pig!
“I’m tapping out. This is tiring.” Jiang Zhi picked up his phone and left.
Ah Wan grabbed the young master’s coat and hastened his footsteps to catch up with Jiang Zhi. Trailing from behind, he could see the young master looking down at his phone, exposing the back of his pale-white neck. As he caught up with Jiang Zhi, Ah Wan saw the side of his face lit up by the light that was emitting from the phone screen, his eyes remaining glued to his phone.
Ah Wan couldn’t bear seeing Jiang Zhi like that. “Has your message not gotten through to MIss Zhou yet?”
“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”
Jiang Zhi’s face was bright red from all the coughing. He couldn’t even stand up straight and had to support himself by leaning against the wall of the corridor. Even so, he was able to muster up the strength to shoot a retort back at Ah Wan.
“Why do you care?”
“…”
Jiang Zhi placed his hand over his neck and applied pressure as he coughed.
“Calm down boss, I can’t have you fainting here.”
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”
It sounded as though he was about to cough his lungs out. The area around his eyes was now dark red and his eyes were slowly losing focus. Seeing his deteriorating condition, Xue Baoyi felt a pain in his heart.
Xue Bingxue rushed over and applied pressure to specific meridian points to help ease his coughing fit.
Ah Wan froze on the spot. Panic filled his mind as the thought of his young master dying at such a young age surfaced in his mind. If that were to happen, Ah Wan would have to commit harakiri on the spot. He’d have to pay for the loss of Jiang Zhi’s life with his own!
“What’s up with Jiang Zhi tonight?”
He was even more vicious than usual. Even if he had a fiery temper, this was no doubt, an unusual sight. Qiao Nanchu had never seen Jiang Zhi acting up like this before. “Something ain’t right.”
Ah Wan, having messed up, was sent back home immediately, and so, the task of sending the young master home rested upon Jiang Wei’er’s shoulders.
‘I must’ve gone overboard with my teasing. Stupid! Stupid, I am! I should’ve known better to keep my mouth shut. I’ve gotta make up for my idiocy, somehow!’
Ah Wan recalled today’s lunch. Jiang Zhi seemed to have enjoyed that mantis shrimp congee that he had ordered. Secretly, he ordered another bowl of takeout congee for the young master.
8:30 pm.
Jiang Zhi had just come out of the shower when a phone call came from the security officer’s room.
“Master Jiang.”
His hand pressed against his belly, Jiang Zhi’s face was drained of color, resembling the white bathrobe he was currently wearing. The lack of contrast between his exposed skin and the bathrobe further emphasized just how pale the man was. “What’s the matter?”
“Did you order takeout? Someone delivered congee here, saying that you ordered it.”
He was slightly out of breath when he spoke, his voice sounding low and coarse as he replied, “I didn’t order anything.”
He hung up the phone immediately after.
As if by sheer coincidence, Ah Wan sent a message over through WeChat the moment he hung up.
[Boss, I’ve wronged you. I have ordered some supper for you. It’s the congee that you ate earlier this afternoon during lunch. I told them to prepare extra shrimp meat for you. I hope you get well soon, sir. May you live a life longer than a mountain’s.]
After reading Ah Wan’s message, Jiang Zhi tossed his phone aside. He then walked back into the bathroom and picked up a towel. Just as he started drying his hair, his hands paused mid-air before reaching down to retrieve his phone.
‘God d*mnit, this man is sick in the mind…’
Jiang Zhi grabbed his coat and wore it directly over his bathrobe. Despite coughing like hell, he ran out of the bathroom with his hand pressed against his abdomen. With a frustrated look on his face, he dialed for the security officer’s room.
“That thing just now, it’s my order.”
“No need for that. I’ll go pick it up myself.”
Three minutes later…
Outside the villa area, the delivery boy handed over Jiang Zhi’s supper with a friendly smile on his face. “Block 7, room 203, is it? Good evening, here’s your delivery.”
An iron fence separated the two of them. Upon seeing the delivery boy, Jiang Zhi’s gaze turned cold in an instant.
The delivery boy was dumbfounded. He eyed Jiang Zhi’s neck, which was still dripping wet. Moving his gaze upward, a beautiful face entered his view. The face was so perfect it almost seemed like an intricate jade carving.
“Fo-for the delivery, co-could you leave a good review for me, please,” he said in a trembling voice.
A pale but well-toned arm reached out and accepted the bag. “Depends on my mood.”
“…”
A cold breeze blew over, enough to send chills up one’s spine.
The delivery boy’s gaze was fixated on the man who was now slightly bent over while coughing. Those were a lot of layers he was wearing, but seeing the outline of the bones where his skin was exposed was enough to unlock a new fetish within him.
Could one’s bones alone really be enough to arouse another person?
Thud!
Slamming the door shut, Jiang Zhi threw the bag into a trash can.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”
Jiang Zhi’s entire body ached. He had swallowed an extra pill during the day, but despite that, he could still taste the metallic taste of blood rising from his throat. The arrival of winter had sent his already weak body into a downward spiral of pain and misery.
Slowly, he shuffled over to the dinner table, where he poured himself a warm glass of water.
Ding!
His phone’s notification bell broke the silence.
The glass fell from his hands onto the table, startling him. After being snapped out of his mental haze, Jiang Zhi picked up his phone.
Zhou Xufang. Those 3 words entered his field of view. Her profile photo was a blob of darkness on the screen—maybe it was some obscure night scenery or something. There was just one line in the chat log.
System Message : [I have accepted your friend request. Let’s chat!]
And then…
Nothing.
Jiang Zhi stared at his phone with a blank look on his face. It was only after downing one tall glass of warm water did his stomach feel a little better. It was just a short trip of going out to receive the order, but that was enough to make him break out in cold sweat all over. He tossed aside his phone once more and went off to take yet another shower. After coming out of the shower, he was met with the same old message in the chat log.
Water trickled down his body, onto the carpet as he stood there, staring at his phone on the floor.
Zhou Xufang.
He mumbled her name under his breath. With knitted brows, he admitted defeat and picked up his phone.
[Are you not delivering food today?]
The silence went on for over ten seconds.
Zhou Xufang’s reply finally came through: [My shift is over.]
Her typing speed was lackluster, requiring at least a few seconds to type out a short line.
[Is there anything you want?]
Was there anything he wanted?
How the hell was he supposed to know? He had thought hard about this the entire day—just what had happened to him, a fully-fledged homosexual, to suddenly show this much interest in another woman!? Was it because of his abstinence?
That may be the case as it had been a long time since he last had “that kind” of dreams.
He replied: [No.]
[.] Zhou Xufang replied with a period.
Jiang Zhi: [What does that even mean?]
The bubble indicating that Zhou Xufang was typing floated there for quite a while before a line of words, not too long and not too short came through. [I have a slight OCD. I must be the one ending the chat, otherwise, I’d send a full stop just to make sure.]
“…”
This fella. Why was she always the one blocking him off?
His fingertips were pink from all the typing and deleting. [You have nothing to talk about with me?]
A considerable amount of time had elapsed before Zhou Xufang replied: [No.]
Jiang Zhi: [Don’t give me excuses.]
Xufang: [.]
Without even defending herself, she sent another period and prematurely ended their chat then and there. She had to be the one to fire the last shot, after all.
Jiang Zhi placed his phone down. No longer able to hold back his coughs, he took out the box of coughing pills and gulped down two of them, followed by half a tall glass of warm water. Locking his lips, he could feel the pill slowly traveling down his throat.
‘How bitter.’
A box of marshmallows was waiting for him loyally on the tabletop. Popping a squishy one into his mouth, he picked up his phone.
Jiang Zhi: [Zhou Xufang.]
Xufang: [Yeah?]
Jiang Zhi: [Zhou Xufang.]
Xufang: [.]
Jiang Zhi: [If you have nothing to say, then don’t.]
Xufang: [.]
Jiang Zhi: [That’s enough. Go to bed.]
Xufang: [.]
Jiang Zhi: [Do you really have OCD?]
Xufang: [Yeah.]
Jiang Zhi: [What a stupid disease.]
Xufang: [.]
This gosh-darned OCD was ticking him off!
Still, it was a bit interesting. If he continued their chat through the night, she would have to stay up and send a night’s worth of periods.
Jiang Zhi threw his phone aside and pulled up the bathrobe over his neck. His hair was still wet and water continued dripping down from his ears to his neck. He wiped off the annoying trickle of water with his hands before sinking into his bed with a thick quilt over him. Just then, his coughing fit started again.
That night, he experienced the worst sleep he had ever had in his life.