Chapter 115 Discussion

Chapter 115: The Discussion

Jiang Luo couldn't recall how he made it back to the car, how he faced Huo Zongzhuo, what he said, or even how he got inside.

He sat in the passenger seat, sipping coffee, gazing out the window, his mind consumed by a single thought: *I like Huo Zongzhuo?*

*I actually like him?*

*Is this… liking?*

Jiang Luo found it utterly astonishing.

In his previous life, he had only ever engaged in casual flings when it came to men and women. Love, emotions, sincerity? He’d never believed in any of it. Apart from trusting Wang Chuang and his parents, he hadn’t even had friends.

In this life, though he regretted his past and had a change of heart, yearning for genuine connection, at the end of the day, a "poor student" was still a "poor student." What did he truly understand about emotions, or what it meant to like someone?

And now he discovered he actually liked Huo Zongzhuo?

*Him?*

*Liking?*

*Huo Zongzhuo?*

Jiang Luo was more taken aback than when Huo Zongzhuo had offered him an entire new factory.

Sip after sip of coffee, he struggled to process it.

Yet, with a little reflection, Jiang Luo realized it all made perfect sense, a natural progression.

Because Huo Zongzhuo had been incredibly, exceptionally kind to him.

Even from their very first encounter, Huo Zongzhuo had treated him with genuine goodwill—whether it was covering him with a coat when he found him sleeping by the Huangpu River, or lending him 100,000 yuan for stock market speculation during their chance meeting at the Jing'an Branch.

Not to mention their subsequent interactions and growing intimacy, culminating in Huo Zongzhuo giving him a new factory today.

A person like him, who had never known much love since childhood, reborn and now yearning for affection—how could he *not* fall for someone like Huo Zongzhuo, who treated him with such sincerity?

Jiang Luo felt it was both perfectly logical and utterly unbelievable, almost impossible to accept.

He had actually fallen in love with Huo Zongzhuo.

Fallen for the man he had always admired.

No wonder he sought his closeness every day, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder whenever they were together.

No wonder when Huo Zongzhuo set up a home on Wukang Road, he moved in without a moment's hesitation.

No wonder…

No wonder those intimate details, which would never easily occur with any other man, felt so completely natural with Huo Zongzhuo.

Jiang Luo drank coffee, cup after cup, his heart swelling with an inexpressible mix of bittersweet emotion and irrepressible joy—he had someone he liked, he liked Huo Zongzhuo.

In this life, his feelings finally had a direction to pursue.

Huo Zongzhuo was saying something while driving, but Jiang Luo, lost in his own thoughts and emotions, paid no attention.

He turned to look at Huo Zongzhuo, at the man’s profile—his eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips—every familiar feature. The more he looked, the more he felt affection and delight, wishing he could reach out, cup the man’s chin, and give him a firm kiss. *Huo Zongzhuo, do you know? I like you! I like you!*

Jiang Luo was no longer sleepy. Soon, his heart felt full, brimming with joy and happiness.

He had someone he liked!

He liked Huo Zongzhuo!

This directly led to him, for the rest of the journey, no matter what they were doing, having his attention completely focused not on the tasks at hand but on Huo Zongzhuo’s face and presence:

While driving, Huo Zongzhuo would talk, and Jiang Luo would respond, but he had no idea what he was saying, too busy staring intently at the man driving beside him.

At the factory, walking through the workshops and buildings, Huo Zongzhuo walked and talked, but Jiang Luo kept his eyes fixed on Huo Zongzhuo.

And the more he looked, the more he wanted to look, and the more he looked, the more he felt fondness, happiness, and joy.

Huo Zongzhuo!

The person he liked!

He liked Huo Zongzhuo!

“Jiang Luo? Jiang Luo?”

Jiang Luo finally snapped back to reality. “Huh?”

Huo Zongzhuo noticed something was off with Jiang Luo and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong? You’ve been staring at me.”

“Nothing.”

Jiang Luo changed the subject. “Have we checked the finished goods warehouse? Let’s go take a look there.”

Oh my God!

He liked Huo Zongzhuo!

Jiang Luo was ecstatic inside.

And what made Jiang Luo even happier?

It was that he and Huo Zongzhuo already had an unusually close relationship, far beyond that of ordinary friends.

They celebrated the New Year together, lived together, shared everything, and were "partners in crime."

Huo Zongzhuo had even arranged to give him a factory early on, which showed how deep the man’s feelings for him were.

What could be more exhilarating than that!?

Jiang Luo felt confident and buoyant, thinking that at this rate, he and Huo Zongzhuo were only a few steps away from being truly together.

No, it should be said that he and Huo Zongzhuo were already together—they just hadn’t yet said “I like you” or “I love you” like a normal couple.

In Jiang Luo’s eyes, his relationship with Huo Zongzhuo was even better than some couples’.

Ask any man: who would be willing to give his girlfriend a factory?

Huo Zongzhuo had done it.

Jiang Luo felt exhilarated. In his view now, Huo Zongzhuo giving him a factory, introducing him to the bosses of the Zhou clan—all that effort and care—wasn’t it just like saying “I like you” to his face?

The words “I like you” are simple to say.

What Huo Zongzhuo did was far more difficult.

Isn't this equivalent to Huo Zongzhuo's actions being greater than "I like you," thus expressing "I like you"?

Jiang Luo chuckled to himself, absolutely over the moon.

So when they left the factory and got into the car, Jiang Luo sat in the passenger seat, grinning goofily at Huo Zongzhuo;

Back at the hotel, sitting next to Huo Zongzhuo on the sofa, Jiang Luo continued grinning goofily at him;

Leaving Shenzhen, on the plane, sitting together, Jiang Luo was still smiling at Huo Zongzhuo.

Cut to the office at Shengfei Factory. Jiang Luo was alone, leaning back in his chair behind the desk with his feet resting on it, still grinning.

Just as he was grinning happily to himself, Wang Chuang came in with a few papers, closing the door behind him. He looked up and saw Jiang Luo sitting behind the desk, grinning to himself for no reason. Puzzled, he walked over and asked, "What's up?"

"Did your wife have the baby?"

Wang Chuang handed over the papers in his hand. "Take a look at the shipment numbers for the best-selling clothes recently."

"We're making summer clothes now."

"Check if the production department needs to adjust the inventory levels."

"And this, Vilanido…"

Jiang Luo put his feet down from the desk, shifted closer to the edge, and waved Wang Chuang over, gesturing he had something to say.

"Huh?"

Wang Chuang leaned in, thinking something was up, and tilted his ear toward Jiang Luo, waiting for him to speak.

Jiang Luo whispered mysteriously into his ear, "I like someone."

Huh?

Wang Chuang was surprised.

He looked at Jiang Luo and also lowered his voice, "Who? That woman we saw last time, the one with the surname Yu, the one who looked really pretty in a dress?"

Jiang Luo was a bit annoyed upon hearing this. He rolled up the papers Wang Chuang had just handed him and rapped Wang Chuang on the head, annoyed, "What woman? Your buddy's telling you something, and you don’t even listen, do you?"

"Haven’t I told you I like men?"

Huh!?

Wang Chuang was shocked.

He stared at Jiang Luo, stuttering, "You, you... I..."

He lowered his voice even further, "I thought you were joking, okay?"

Wang Chuang’s eyes went wide, "You really like men? Who is it?"

"Someone at the factory?"

Wang Chuang’s voice shook a little, "It’s not your secretary, Xiao Lu, is it?"

"Or, or those drivers and bodyguards of yours who look like ex-cons?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the really dark face? Wang Junqing?"

"Or the one who’s always chewing on a toothpick?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

Jiang Luo tapped Wang Chuang again with the rolled-up papers, completely disgusted, and said, "None of them!"

Wang Chuang frowned, "Does it have to be a man?"

Jiang Luo: "I’ll give you a chance. Ask something else."

Wang Chuang changed his question, still frowning, "So which guy is it? Do I know him?"

"You do."

"Who is it?"

Jiang Luo waved Wang Chuang closer. Wang Chuang leaned in closer, leaning his head and ear toward Jiang Luo.

Then he heard Jiang Luo say very seriously, "Huo Zongzhuo."

"Cough!"

Wang Chuang choked on air.

How could it be him!?

Wang Chuang was shocked.

Wang Chuang’s next sentence made Jiang Luo stare.

Wang Chuang asked, puzzled, "Weren't you just in Shenzhen together? What happened in Shenzhen? You come back and say you like him?"

"Did you sleep together at the hotel?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

Wang Chuang: "Did he sleep with you or you with him?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

Jiang Luo pursed his lips, gritting his teeth, and made to hit Wang Chuang with the rolled-up papers again. Wang Chuang shielded his head with one hand and pointed at Jiang Luo with the other, saying, "If you keep this up, I’m not listening anymore. I’m leaving."

Jiang Luo glared at him, unfurled the papers, smoothed them out, and tossed them onto the desk.

Wang Chuang leaned across the desk and whispered to Jiang Luo, "You really like men? You like Huo Zongzhuo?"

"What do you like about him? Why?"

Jiang Luo: "Why does there have to be a reason for liking someone? I just do."

Wang Chuang thought about this for a moment: "So just like how men like beautiful women, you like men, and you like handsome men, right?"

Jiang Luo: "Duh."

Wang Chuang started working it out: "Men like women’s faces, chests, waists, butts, legs."

"What do you like about men?"

Wang Chuang thought for a moment: "Dick?"

"Is he big?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

Jiang Luo wanted to strangle Wang Chuang and made a move to come out from behind the desk and hit him. Wang Chuang quickly said, "There's gotta be a reason, right?!"

"How did you realize you liked him?"

Holding back the urge to smack Wang Chuang, Jiang Luo explained, "This time when we went to Shenzhen together, he gave me a factory there. The building was already constructed, the equipment was all installed and ready to go—all it needs is hiring workers to start operations."

Wang Chuang: "??????"

Huh?

What the—!????

Wang Chuang was shocked, then his mouth moved faster than his brain, saying, "Holy shit, if he gave me that, I'd be into him too!!"

"Why the hell would he just give you a factory out of nowhere?"

"Did you guys actually sleep together?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

Wang Chuang's next line made Jiang Luo cheer up again.

Wang Chuang said, "So he's into guys too? And he's into you?"

Hearing that, Jiang Luo almost smiled.

He leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and nodded confidently. "I think so. Probably."

Wang Chuang: "Did you confess? Or did he give you the factory as a confession?"

Stunned again: "Wait, a factory!? A factory!! He gave you a factory???"

Jiang Luo shrugged, almost glowing with smugness: "Not yet."

"We just toured the factory, mainly talked about factory operations."

As for confessing...

Jiang Luo was overjoyed inside but played it cool and casual. "It's still too soon. I'm swamped, and he is too."

"We'll figure it out later."

Wang Chuang, always considerate, immediately said, "No, don't wait! Strike while the iron's hot—go for it!"

Jiang Luo nodded, still acting casual. "I will."

Wang Chuang pressed, "Have you ever confessed to someone before? Do you even know how to?"

Jiang Luo retorted, "Do you?"

Wang Chuang spread his hands. "I'm not into anyone right now. We're talking about you, okay?"

Jiang Luo continued his act, leaning back, clearing his throat, and thinking. "I'm not totally sure he's into me yet."

Then he asked Wang Chuang, "Do you think he likes me?"

Wang Chuang blinked. "I don't know, that's on you two."

Jiang Luo emphasized, "He gave me a factory."

Wang Chuang pondered. "Who just hands over a factory, especially one that's ready to run? That's crazy."

"Yeah, he likes you."

Jiang Luo: "When we sit together, we're always right next to each other, and he'll put his arm around me."

Wang Chuang "Hmm"ed and nodded. "Two guys sitting that close is pretty weird. Even if we were best friends, I wouldn't throw an arm around you."

Decisively: "He likes you!"

Jiang Luo: "He bought a place on Wukang Road just for us to live in together."

Wang Chuang clapped, utterly certain. "He likes you! Definitely likes you!"

Jiang Luo: "He even had Wang Junqing and Lao Si assigned to protect me."

Wang Chuang: "Likes you!"

Jiang Luo: "[gibberish]"

Wang Chuang: "Likes you!"

Jiang Luo: "[mumbled words]"

Wang Chuang: "Likes you!"

Jiang Luo: "[more mumbled words]"

Wang Chuang: "Likes you!"

Jiang Luo suddenly stood up, heart pounding, and started straightening his clothes and collar like he was going into battle.

Wang Chuang, being a solid bro, immediately cheered him on: "Go for it! Lock him down!"

"Confess tonight, seal the deal!"

"Get pregnant and have a baby by tomorrow!"

"Charge—! Full send—!"