Chapter 128

Chapter 128

"No."

"Oh. Then why did you give me this? To make me happy and get me to keep you around for a couple more years?"

"..."

That wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for.

Ji Mian stared at the watch in the box, deep in thought, as if actually considering keeping Yu Chuang on for a few more years.

Yu Chuang stiffened, cutting Ji Mian off before he could say 'Alright' with a hurried 'No need!'

"Yeah, a year’s plenty. I’ll probably be sick of it by then anyway."

"..."

Ji Mian gestured for him to come closer, and Yu Chuang obliged, only to be met with a kiss.

At least for now, he hadn’t grown bored of it. For some reason, that thought crossed his mind as his arm wrapped around Ji Mian’s waist through the soft fabric of the bathrobe.

The fabric slid under his fingers, and Yu Chuang instinctively tightened his hold.

Before he knew it, Ji Mian’s bathrobe had slipped halfway off, baring one shoulder and part of his chest. The robe pooled at his waist, right under Yu Chuang’s hand.

Fresh from the shower, Ji Mian’s pale skin was still warm, flushed with a faint pink.

Yu Chuang’s gaze dropped unintentionally, catching sight of the loosely draped robe and what lay beneath. His mind froze for a second, unsure how to process what he was seeing. He had never been to the Ji Family at night, nor had he ever seen such a sight. Even though it was a man’s body like his own, it somehow struck him with unexpected intensity.

Ji Mian was the one to break the kiss, glancing down and tugging his bathrobe back into place.

He slipped on the watch Yu Chuang had brought, and to his surprise, the strap fit just right.

The deep blue dial stood out against his pale wrist, a striking match.

Yu Chuang observed, convinced that Ji Mian’s favorite olive-green watch was still the more attractive one. Ji Mian had said it was worth eight figures. Eight figures… enough to shake up any industry.

Yu Chuang couldn’t fathom what made a watch worth tens of millions, but that olive-green hue was undeniably stunning, so perfect for him.

"‘Not bad,’ Ji Mian remarked casually."

Ji Mian removed the watch, returned it to the box, gave it one last look, then tossed it to Yu Chuang. "‘Toss it in the cabinet,’ he said."

Yu Chuang wasn’t surprised. If Ji Mian had actually worn it for a while, Yu Chuang would’ve been surprised. The spoiled young master had seen everything there was to see. A watch worth a mere few hundred thousand was lucky to get a second glance from him.

He opened Ji Mian’s watch cabinet. The once-empty middle shelf was now crammed with watch boxes of all sizes.

For Ji Mian’s birthday, even distant acquaintances sent watches to curry favor. Ji Mian kept the ones he liked, while the ones he didn’t care for gathered dust in the corner.

The fact that Ji Mian had thrown Yu Chuang’s gift into the cabinet instead of a corner meant it had at least caught his eye.

Yu Chuang calmly placed the box inside, and among the sea of luxury watch packaging, it quickly became indistinguishable. The watch, placed alongside boxes of different colors, suddenly seemed so insignificant.

An inexplicable emptiness settled in his chest.

Yu Chuang didn’t see the watch as a gift but as returning something to its rightful owner. Yet, seeing this still stirred something in him.

After locking the cabinet, Yu Chuang grabbed the bag with the watch box, making sure no trash was left in Ji Mian’s room.

Two seconds after the door closed, Ji Mian sprang up from the bed and locked it.

He dug through the row of watch boxes in the cabinet before finally finding the one from Yu Chuang.

The system: "..." So, all that earlier indifference was just an act?

Ji Mian stared at the ocean-blue watch for a while before asking, "...System, what do you think my brother was thinking?"

This one watch had eaten up two months of Yu Chuang’s salary from him.

The system said, "Probably didn’t want to owe you. Guys like Yu Chuang have a lot of pride..."

It had nailed part of the reason.

Ji Mian figured it made sense. Back then, Yu Chuang had no choice but to ask him for help. Aside from Yu Xing’s medical bills, Yu Chuang hadn’t bought anything in two months—probably because he didn’t want to use Ji Mian’s money.

But Ji Mian couldn’t help thinking of it as a gift.

He wore the watch under the light, admiring it until he’d had his fill, then took it off, put it back in the box, and stashed it in the back of the cabinet.

Ji Mian always kept his most important things tucked away.

*

For the month-long holiday, Yu Chuang rented a short-term apartment off-campus for two months. Yu Xing lived with him.

Since Yu Xing started boarding in middle school, they’d lived like this—staying at school during the semester and renting a place in Ningcheng for breaks.

The relatives they’d stayed with hadn’t seen them in years and didn’t care. They hadn’t wanted two extra mouths to feed anyway, so it was just as well.

When he wasn’t with Ji Mian, Yu Chuang stayed in the apartment and kept working. During the break, he used the team’s free time to meet up or hold online meetings. They finally wrapped up the software’s final test at Ningcheng’s biggest library just before February ended. Three guys and one woman, including a senior from Ning University with two years of experience, couldn’t help yelling in excitement—only to get kicked out with their bags.

Though they were all worried about whether their product would sell, they were mostly proud. Yu Chuang had conducted market research, and to avoid changing requirements during the later development stages, they had done thorough preparatory work.

His teammates had all done freelance work for small and medium-sized businesses in college, so they had plenty of sales channels.

"Senior Zhou and I can handle the follow-up promotion," said the only woman on the team.

The man she called Senior Zhou was the team’s oldest member. He’d been a star in college and became a project group’s second-in-command within two years. He’d left the company last year to start his own business.

Senior Zhou said, "I’ll gather information on medium-sized enterprises in Ningcheng that have needs. But the main targets are still Pei Sheng Group and Taixing Technology..."

"Taixing would be better. I’ve had contact with Pei Sheng’s upper management before. It’s all the descendants of the Pei family in charge, and it’s said that cooperation is hard to negotiate. They look down on small teams like ours."

Yu Chuang frowned at the mention of the "Pei family." The Pei Mingxuan he had met before was indeed difficult to describe, but he wasn’t sure about the rest of the Pei family.

That person who had been so fixated on "Young Master Pei Qing" was also from the Pei family. Was he really that good? To be remembered for so long...

Another person spoke up, "Yunchi Group is also worth considering. I have a senior there."

"Yunchi has only been developing in Ningcheng for a few years, right? Its scale isn’t that big..."

Yu Chuang: "Yunchi’s scale isn’t large, but its project team isn’t inferior to Ningcheng’s leading companies."

Senior Zhou nodded, "Yunchi’s boss is truly impressive. I had a collaboration with Yunchi in my previous job, and their management model is quite mature..."

A vague figure flashed through Yu Chuang’s mind—Yu Yunkui, the founder of Yunchi, who had been sitting next to him during the banquet he attended with Ji Mian.

For a man not yet thirty, his presence is indeed hard to ignore.

"We should also look at other companies," Senior Zhou continued, "We’re the sellers, not in a partnership. We’re only looking at the bid prices."

The group went their separate ways, each with their own tasks and expectations.

Senior Zhou walked with Yu Chuang for a bit, chatting along the way: "If we can close this deal, it’ll be a big number."

"Yeah."

"What’s your plan after graduation? By June, I’ll have my own team set up. If you’re thinking about starting a business, would you consider joining me?" Senior Zhou extended an invitation, "I’d really like to work with you."

He used the word "collaborate," treating Yu Chuang like a partner. This was a very sincere attitude toward a student several years younger than him.

"After graduation... I haven’t really thought about it yet."

Senior Zhou was surprised, "I thought you had a clear plan for your future."

Yu Chuang smiled, "It was clear." It’s just that now it’s been thrown off by that one-year contract.

He left it at that, not explaining further. Senior Zhou didn’t ask more, pondering thoughtfully.

"If you have any ideas in the future, feel free to reach out anytime."

"Definitely."

They parted ways there.

Yu Chuang carried his backpack, which held a computer and a thick stack of documents. It wasn’t light, but he didn’t feel it at all.

His steps felt light, as if he were walking on cotton.

When he got back to the rented house, he saw Yu Xing sprawled on the coffee table in the living room, homework book in hand, with the TV on in front of him.

Yu Chuang put down his bag and laughed, "Watching TV while doing homework, huh?"

"Brother," Yu Xing turned his head, "I was doing my homework before you got back."

Besides, he’d already finished his winter break homework and was now doing extra exercises.

Yu Chuang patted his brother’s head, "Don’t watch for too long; it’s bad for your eyes."

"Okay." Hearing that his brother wasn’t pushing him to study, Yu Xing put away his homework book and relaxed.

Yu Chuang looked at Yu Xing’s youthful, focused face—his cheeks noticeably fuller than a few months ago—and for a moment, he felt a bit dazed.

Thinking about it, it seemed that after Yu Xing was discharged from the hospital, nothing was holding him back anymore.

Just a few months ago, he was still stuck in a desperate situation. At that time, he was trapped by the present, his eyes only seeing the immediate confinement. On the day he signed the contract with Ji Mian, he thought his life would be like this, abandoning dignity and being trampled underfoot.

But things turned out okay. He didn’t lose too much, and the various situations he had anticipated before signing the contract did not occur, at most, he was kissed and bitten a few times.

He could even completely ignore the ten million compensation, apply for the contract to be invalid, and leave the other party directly, while Ji Mian hadn’t developed any other ideas yet.

But Yu Chuang didn’t plan to do so. The contract was just a constraint. Before signing the contract, he had a verbal agreement with Ji Mian. Exploiting loopholes in the contract would be too lacking in the spirit of the contract.

That contract, which even a fool could see had problems...

Yu Chuang’s heart was a bit chaotic.

He hoped it was all in his head, that it was just a straightforward playboy. Otherwise, he really didn’t know how to end it.