Chapter 235: Show Off

Chapter 235: Flashing Their Love

The design of their wedding rings in their past life also featured the Ouroboros and the Möbius strip.

However, the rings from their past life were minimalist—a simple platinum band with a smooth, looping design, without any gemstones.

At the time, Wen Xian resented the arranged marriage, so he wanted the rings to be as low-key as possible. The plain design fit his taste perfectly. Back then, he thought it was just the wedding company’s good sense. Now he realized—it had been Jiang Zhiyi’s choice.

In their past life, when he wasn’t there, Jiang Zhiyi had also sat across from the designer, paging through every catalog design.

Wen Xian tilted his head slightly, glancing at Jiang Zhiyi beside him. His fingers twitched slightly.

He wanted to pull his beloved genius into his arms.

Unaware of the tension between them, the designer nodded. "The Ouroboros and the Möbius strip aren’t commonly used in wedding ring designs. Your taste is quite unique, sir. I’ll focus on including these two symbols in the design."

He spread another catalog in front of Wen Xian and Jiang Zhiyi. "These are our gemstone options. Please choose your main stones."

Precious gemstones are one-of-a-kind—even within the same category, their hues, brilliance, and cuts vary. For example, the "royal blue" classification alone can be subdivided into grayish, purplish, deep navy, and other tones. Custom jewelry requires clients to personally select the centerpiece stone that resonates with them.

Jiang Zhiyi immediately picked out a square-cut orange diamond—vividly saturated, bright and dazzling, glowing like a sunrise. Wen Xian took his time looking before settling on a small blue diamond—calm, serene, profound, yet seeming to hide stormy depths within its shine.

The designer glanced at both of them, a faint smile in his eyes. "A perfect pair of stones—very fitting for both of your personalities."

He gathered the design catalogs. "We’ll provide several initial drafts within a month. You may revise them as many times as you like until both of you are satisfied."

Wen Xian: "Mm."

They had just confessed, and still had months to prepare for the wedding—plenty of time.

The selection went unusually smoothly, leaving much of the afternoon free. Wen Xian led Jiang Zhiyi back to the sports car and asked, tilting his head, "Jiang, any plans for the afternoon?"

For some reason, Jiang Zhiyi couldn’t look Wen Xian in the eye. They had just gotten together, but Wen Xian now felt too dazzling—brighter than that orange gemstone. He pulled on his seatbelt. "No."

Wen Xian clicked his fingers. "Then let’s pick up where we left off yesterday?"

Because of the drinking, many of yesterday’s plans never happened.

They boarded a boat, sailing from the upper reaches of the canal to the downstream dock, passing through the city’s oldest districts. A folk singer strummed a ukulele at the bow, while a flower seller walked by with her basket.

Wen Xian held Jiang Zhiyi’s hand the whole way, like any smitten couple. They arrived at the central square, bought a loaf of bread, and used the crumbs to feed the pigeons.

The pigeons in the central square were like little thieves—if they grabbed a piece, they wouldn’t let go. They sat on lounge chairs by the square, gazing at the sky. The evening clouds were gorgeously colored, just like the gemstone Jiang Zhiyi had chosen.

Wen Xian asked, "Still want to try the revolving restaurant? Interested in that place?"

In some ways, Wen Xian was clueless about romance—he didn’t really know what to do on dates and was a bit awkward with overly romantic things, so he relied on review apps.

The revolving restaurant topped the local dating rankings. Dining by the floor-to-ceiling windows while overlooking the city under candlelight was undeniably atmospheric. Yesterday, they had left in such a hurry that they hadn’t even tasted the food properly.

Jiang Zhiyi shook his head.

Wen Xian handed him his phone. "Pick a restaurant then? See if there’s anything you’d like to try. But don’t expect too much from the food here."

Jiang Zhiyi didn’t care much about what they ate, but since Wen Xian suggested it, he took the phone and began browsing carefully. Midway through, however, a call came in.

The caller’s name was in Chinese—Jiang Zhiyi didn’t recognize it.

Wen Xian took the phone and glanced at it. "Oh, a friend of mine. Probably asking me out for dinner."

They were a close group and often gathered for drinks.

Wen Xian thought to himself, *Now that I'm taken, I’m busy with dates and won’t be joining you for drinks.* He was about to refuse when Jiang Zhiyi looked at him steadily, his expression unreadable.

Wen Xian paused, wondering, *Does he want to go?*

Does he want to meet… my friends?

Wen Xian started reading between the lines. The idea actually made sense now.

Just like how new couples love to post on social media to show off their relationship, introducing your partner to your social circle is a key part of bonding.

In their past life, Wen Xian had imagined they’d each live separately, hardly ever home. He often went out for dinner with friends while Jiang Zhiyi spent most of his time at the office going over reports, only occasionally having dinner at home.

At first, Jiang Zhiyi would sometimes ask where Wen Xian was going, his face blank, never showing any desire to join in.

Wen Xian assumed it was just a business marriage anyway. His friends weren’t high-powered types who could connect with Jiang Zhiyi, so he didn’t see the point in introductions. He figured it would only make Jiang uncomfortable, so he brushed it off with vague replies.

After a while, Jiang Zhiyi stopped asking.

A crazy thought hit Wen Xian: *Could it be that back then, Jiang Zhiyi actually wanted to come with me?*

He muted the phone and asked Jiang Zhiyi, “Do you want to come with me?”

Jiang Zhiyi gave a slight nod.

So Wen Xian agreed to his friend’s invitation, mentioning he’d bring someone along. There was a brief pause on the other end before laughter broke out, followed by teasing remarks: “Bro Wen, weren’t you just talking about confessing the other day? Did you already win them over?”

“Bring them over so we can see!”

“I’m dying to know—who finally snagged our perpetual single guy?”

Felt his eye twitch. “You’ll find out when we get there.”

He hung up, took Jiang Zhiyi’s hand, left the pigeons behind, and pulled him back the way they came.

Jiang Zhiyi blinked. “In such a hurry?”

It was still early for dinner.

Wen Xian shook his head. “No, I need to take you to change clothes.”

That afternoon, they had dressed casually on purpose, but meeting friends was different. Wen Xian felt a childish urge to show off—he wanted to dress Jiang Zhiyi up like the formidable CEO he was in the boardroom, complete with a suit, vest, shirt, and tie, as spotless and refined as possible, radiating ice-cold elegance.

Jiang Zhiyi was confused, but since Wen Xian insisted, he nodded. “Alright.”

They raced back to the hotel, where Jiang Zhiyi opened his suitcase and took out his most formal outfit. Hesitating briefly, he was about to go into the bathroom to change when Wen Xian eyed his suitcase, glancing around nervously. “Uh… could you also wear the shirt stays and garters?”

They might not show much, but well… tonight, hmm…

Since they were a couple now, they could explore certain things, right?

Wen Xian’s eyes darted away, and Jiang Zhiyi’s gaze drifted even more. Though these were just ordinary suit accessories, nothing particularly special, Wen Xian’s deliberate emphasis made Jiang Zhiyi’s fingers tingle as he held them.

Softly, he replied, “Alright,” and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Wen Xian waited on the sofa.

He mindlessly scrolled through his phone, but his eyes kept darting to the bathroom. The frosted glass door offered a faint silhouette of the figure inside.

The group chat was already blowing up, mostly with suggestions flying fast—steak, hotpot, BBQ—messages scrolling by faster than he could read. Wen Xian was staring at the screen as messages flew past, but he wasn't really reading any of it.

Until someone @'ed him in the group: "Yo Wen, you're being real quiet today. Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Too busy making out to remember us?"

Only then did Wen Xian type a reply: "Waiting on my better half. We’re fine with anything."

"???"

"You just confessed, and now they're your partner?"

Wen Xian replied with restraint: "After the confession went well, we ordered engagement rings. So yes, they're my partner now."

The group went wild with teasing.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Zhiyi emerged from the bathroom. He already had a killer physique, and the tailored formalwear made him look sharp as hell, instantly elevating his presence. The only hitch was the hesitant way he examined himself in front of Wen Xian, making him seem a little adorably awkward.

Wen Xian was dying to mess up Jiang Zhiyi’s hair, but it was styled with mousse, so he held back to avoid ruining it. Jiang Zhiyi gave him a questioning look, and when their eyes locked, Wen Xian’s heart skipped a beat. On impulse, he tugged Jiang Zhiyi closer, pulling him in before leaning down to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

His breath brushed Jiang Zhiyi’s ear, instantly turning the earlobe a delicious shade of red. Unable to resist, Wen Xian kissed it too.

Just as they were about to pull apart, Jiang Zhiyi grabbed Wen Xian’s tie and locked lips with him.

This was their second kiss while wide awake, and the feeling was even more intense than the first. They instinctively avoided clashing teeth, focusing instead on the soft, lingering touch of lips and tongues.

The kiss left them lightheaded and gasping for air. In the tangle of movement, Wen Xian’s back hit the wall, accidentally pressing the master light switch and plunging the room into darkness—the curtains were still drawn, and the hotel’s blackout curtains worked perfectly.

In the sudden dark, Wen Xian’s hands slid down Jiang Zhiyi’s suit, settling at his waist. They were pressed so close that, even through two layers of trousers, Wen Xian could feel the garter straps.

The air between them grew thick.

In the hushed darkness, only their ragged breaths and pounding hearts could be heard.

When they finally calmed down, Jiang Zhiyi belatedly felt a little embarrassed. He tried to step back, but Wen Xian’s hand remained on his back, stroking lightly.

In the dark, Wen Xian leaned close to his ear, whispering, “Baby, you look so good today.”

Before Jiang Zhiyi could react, Wen Xian’s hand found the light switch, flooding the room with brightness. He straightened up, cleared his throat, and strode out as if nothing had happened.

Behind him, Jiang Zhiyi stood frozen, his ears turning redder by the second until they were burning.

*

They'd planned dinner at a restaurant near the university.

The hotel was a bit far from campus, so by the time Wen Xian arrived, most of the crew had already arrived.

His phone kept buzzing with messages asking where he was.

After parking outside, Wen Xian typed back while leading Jiang Zhiyi inside: “Be there in a sec.”

As they approached the private room, they could hear laughter and chatter inside. Wen Xian lowered his voice. “Zhiyi, just keep your cool. Don’t worry about toasts, drinks, or small talk. Just focus on eating.”

Jiang Zhiyi: “…?”

Wen Xian: “Bring that boardroom energy. Treat them like business rivals.”

Jiang Zhiyi: “???”

Before he could voice his confusion, Wen Xian pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Seeing Wen Xian, who had been quiet for a while, the room instantly got louder. His friends started teasing him: "Wen, man, finally decided to show up?"

"Wen, where's your boyfriend?"

"Did you bring him? Huh?"

"Come on, introduce us..."

Wen Xian chuckled. "Right behind me."

With that, he pushed the door open.

There stood Jiang Zhiyi.

Dressed to the nines, his posture elegant and reserved, his expression cool, his tall and slender frame wrapped in a tailored suit.

Truth be told, Jiang Zhiyi was slightly shy around strangers—something not noticeable in business settings but that stood out in private ones. Combined with his dazed state, it made him come off as cold for no apparent reason.

Jiang looked around with a blank face. "Hello."

The room went dead silent.