Chapter 13

The person who came to visit Chen Heng was called Dong Zhan. He was childhood friends with Chen Heng and Xie Xian. In the novel he was a supporting character that got called out every time Chen Heng or Xie Xian wanted to talk to someone about the other person.

Right now he is also fulfilling that function.

As he sat on the sofa in Xie Xian’s spacious living room, Chen Heng made coffee and brought it over. Seeing it, Dong Zhan grinned. “Ah-Heng, you actually know how to use the coffee machine?”

Chen Heng flushed pink in embarrassment. “I just learnt it recently. Xie-ge usually makes it for me but… I thought I should try to do a few simple things like this around the house.”

Dong Zhan sipped the coffee while grinning at Chen Heng. “So after going round and round and stirring up all that trouble, you guys still ended up back together huh?”

Chen Heng’s blush deepened. A lock of hair fell over his face and he brushed it back. “Yeah.”

Dong Zhan gazed at him intently. Ever since they were young, he’d never met another person more good-looking than Chen Heng. So, Dong Zhan could easily understand Xie Xian’s obsession with him. However, after the two people had gotten together, it seemed that they’d never really been happy? Deep down Dong Zhan always thought that their breaking up was inevitable. Of course when Chen Heng called him telling him that he had found someone else he liked he had been surprised and jealous - it was hard to imagine the Princess liking anybody in that way - but it had been nothing compared to his surprise when Chen Heng had told him, just two weeks later no less, that he had made a big mistake and the one he loved was Xie Xian after all!

But since they had now finally opened their hearts to one another, it should be smooth sailing from now on right?

Dong Zhan looked around the house. “How come you wanted to meet at home today instead of out at a cafe like usual?” Previously it always seemed that Chen Heng would take any excuse to get out of the house. Suddenly Dong Zhan frowned. “Wait, did Ah-Xian forbid you from going out? He can’t do something like that, let me talk to him-”

“No, no!” Chen Heng lifted up his hand. “He never said anything of the kind. He even hired a driver for me and gave me my own car so that I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want.”

“Oh,” Dong Zhan deflated. “How come then?”

Chen Heng bit his lip. “I’m a bit scared that I might run into Xiao-Zhu… he keeps calling me and leaving messages…”

Dong Zhan frowned. “Have you told Xie-ge? If you did I’m sure he would solve the problem for you. I hear the Sun family is making a foray into business these days, right now if Xie-ge exerted some pressure…”

“No!” Chen Heng said quickly. “I don’t want to tell Xie-ge. I don’t want him to come into contact with Xiao-Zhu. I’m afraid…”

He trailed off.

Dong Zhan frowned. “What is it?”

Chen Heng bit his lip. Dong Zhan sighed. He said patiently, “Isn’t it the reason you called me over today? Come on, spit it out. Haven’t we been friends for decades? What can’t you tell me about?”

Slowly the beautiful man’s mouth unsealed. Reluctantly and slowly, he asked, “Ah-Zhan, do you think that Xie-ge minds that I’ve slept with Sun YuZhu?”

Dong Zhan was so shocked he almost choked on his own saliva. “You have?!” When he saw Chen Heng’s stricken expression, he quickly coughed and fixed up his expression. “I’m sure he’s not that kind of guy. His love for you isn’t as fragile as all that.” 

Although Dong Zhan really wasn’t sure himself. If he carefully and faithfully raised up a piece of pure white cabbage for six years, only for some wild man to dig it up and take a bite the moment you turned your back, how would that make him feel? 

Would it make him lose his appetite?

Dong Zhan thought about it some more. Judging by Xie Xian’s level of devotion to Chen Heng, he really didn’t seem to be that kind of person. He enquired further, “Um, Ah-Heng, that is, before you broke up with Xie-ge, you’ve never done it with him right?”

Chen Heng chewed his lip and shook his head.

“And since you got back together, you haven’t either?”

Chen Heng lowered his head further and shook it again. 

“Well it’s only been two weeks right? Also, have you even ever expressed to Xie-ge that you’re interested? He might think that you still have no interest in doing that kind of thing with him. Pardon me for saying this since I know it’s not your style but right now you’re really the one that should really be proactive if you want something to happen between you two.”

“I…” Chen Heng’s face flushed. “I’ve tried…”

Although Dong Zhan had just given him this exact advice a few seconds ago, hearing Chen Heng’s confession still made him so shocked he was rendered silent for a few seconds. Then he widened his eyes with barely concealed interest and asked. “And then?”

“And then… nothing. Xie-ge said he was tired and told me to go to sleep. After that I was too embarrassed to try again and he hasn’t made any moves either. So I thought… maybe it’s because he thinks I’m unclean now…” Chen Heng tightened his long, beautiful fingers around the coffee cup. 

Dong Zhan shook his head in disbelief. Chen Heng also wasn’t quite finished yet. His mouth twisted as he continued in a hushed, but hate-filled, whisper, “Even though his secretary was definitely much, much more dirty than me!”

Dong Zhan’s eyebrow leapt. He’d heard about this secretary before from Chen Heng. It seemed that he’d only worked briefly for Xie Xian so Dong Zhan had never gotten a chance to meet him. But he wondered what kind of God he was, that he actually managed to seduce that man with the one-track mind and derail him, even for a brief period of time. 

At the time he thought Chen Heng and Xie Xian were for sure breaking up. So he’d even been happy for his friend. Having a beauty comfort you through heartbreak was not a bad idea. 

“Since that’s the case, then it’s definitely not what you think.” Dong Zhan comforted Chen Heng. “Don’t think too much. I’ll talk to Xie-ge. But Ah-Heng, I want to just make sure about something with you… right now, you really like Xie-ge right? You’re not just with him because you’re grateful anymore?”

Chen Heng nodded. These last two weeks he felt like he’d been splashed with cold water and had woken up from a dream. 

Where in the world would he find another man who would treat him as well as Xie Xian? Love him as much as Xie Xian?

In this world, what other man was worthy of him except for Xie Xian?

Chen Heng clutched the coffee cup so hard his fingers went white.

That’s why, no matter what, he would never let go of Xie Xian again. And he would never give him to another person!

***

“He said that?”

Xie Xian sat in his darkened office, smoking while talking on the phone. Although their office had a no smoking policy, it was after hours right now and anyway, as the boss, there was no one to monitor him.

“Yes, you should have seen my face at the time.” Dong Zhan’s voice was transmitted across the mobile phone. “That he really managed to sleep with that little punk shocked me as well. But Xie-ge, he’s definitely wrong right? The two of you getting back together was so hard to come by. You definitely wouldn’t let something superficial like that get in the way now, would you?”

Xie Xian laughed dryly. “I’m not bothered by something like that. I don’t have a virginity kink.”

“I didn’t think so… so what is bothering you then? Don’t tell me it’s that you really think he’s so precious that you can’t bear to defile him? Not after he’s already been with that little punk?”

“It’s not that either.”

“Then what is it? Come on bro, you can tell me anything.”

Xie Xian drummed his fingers along the desk and started out at the night vista of the harbor. “Mmm… I guess the simplest answer is…. I couldn’t get hard?”

From the other end of the phone came the sound of choking and spluttering. It lasted for quite some time before Dong Zhan’s voice returned, this time several octaves higher in pitch. “What the fuck?! Are you serious, Xie-ge?! Do you have a libido problem?”

“I don’t think that’s it.” 

“How do you know…” Dong Zhan trailed off. “The secretary?”

Xie Xian glanced at his computer where a file was pulled up. On the top was Zhou Yi’s name and photo. “Mmm…”

“Fuck… he was that good?”

Xie Xian half closed his eyes and didn’t reply. The silence stretched for a long time before Dong Zhan asked, “What do you plan to do now? You and Ah-Heng… are you going to keep going just like this?”

Xie Xian said, “Why not? It’s how we’ve lived for six years already.”

“But right now you could clearly have a proper relationship. Ah-Heng is ready! Isn’t that what you’ve wanted all these years? For him to truly accept you? How come right now, you’re the one that’s…”

Xie Xian touched the photo on the screen with his fingertips. “Dong Zhan, have you ever felt like your life hasn’t been real?”

“Huh?!”

“Like there’s something that’s been controlling you… fooling you… pulling the wool over your eyes?”

“...what are you talking about?”

“And then one day you suddenly wake up. Well, not suddenly but slowly, bit by bit, the fog starts to peel away. And suddenly you don’t feel quite yourself anymore. Or maybe it’s the opposite. For the first time in your life you truly feel like your true self.”

“Xie-ge, I have to tell you that I completely don’t get what the hell you’re going on about.”

Xie Xian sighed. “The situation with Ah-Heng, it won’t last forever.”

“As in…?”

Xie Xian clicked on the screen and another file popped up. This one had a photo of Sun YuZhu. “I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“To see what he plans to do next.”

***

Lin JunYi bought himself a plane ticket. On the taxi to the airport, 729 couldn’t hold itself back and started crying.

“Host, hooost, hoooooost! Why are you ignoring me?!”

“Isn’t it because you’re annoying? Don’t you get tired of repeating the same line over and over again?”

“But the mission isn’t finished yet! If you leave now, how do you know something bad won’t happen to the second male lead?”

“Didn’t he look great in the piano magazine yesterday? Chen Heng dedicated a piano recital to him and everything. They were calling them the 'most perfect couple in China'.”

“Well, yes, but… what if something happens in the future?”

“I’m just going on a holiday! I’m coming back!”

729 wailed: “Don’t try to trick me, host! You didn’t even buy a return ticket! Even though it was only 1000 yuan more…”

Lin JunYi massaged his temples. Were all the systems as silly as his? It was no wonder none of the other transmigrators had managed to complete their missions. “Right now, thanks to Sun YuZhu, it’s very hard for me to live in S City. Even if I go to another city in China, it’s not impossible that he might find me or have connections to make my life difficult. Overseas is the best option. Of course I haven’t forgotten the mission. I just want to take a short trip just to change my environment a bit…”

“Why don’t you contact the second male lead? If you ask him, he’ll definitely help you with Sun YuZhu!”

“Aren’t you stupid? You think telling him about my connection to his love rival will stimulate his sympathy?”

729 went quiet. Of course he’d forgotten about that. “I told you not to plant that material, host!! If you listened to me then you wouldn’t be in this mess!”

Lin JunYi frowned deeply as 729 began wailing and crying in his head again. “Please..  Can you just be quiet for a few minutes? Anyway, as for whether or not I’ll really be able to leave… that’s still up in the air.”

729 hiccuped, his cries suddenly seizing. “Huh? Why?”

Lin JunYi narrowed his eyes, “I can’t help but think Xie Xian isn’t as simple as the story makes him out to be. Before, he was restricted by the world’s setting and all his intelligence regarding matters that concerned Chen Heng was pretty much reduced to zero. But now…”

“Now?”

“Let’s just say, I really hope that I can get on that plane.”

Sometimes Lin JunYi really hated how right he was...

He’d already completed his check-in procedures and was sitting in the airport lounge enjoying a sweet pastry and a coffee when three officers from the National Supervisory Commission approached him.

“Are you Mr Zhou? Please come with us.”

***

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this long chapter! Looking over it I don't think the chapters are equally or evenly spaced. Some are short and some are long. Just where I thought there was a natural break in the flow.