Chapter 116 Frog

Chapter 116 The Frog

But how exactly to make his move? Someone as inexperienced as Jiang Luo truly had no idea.

He sat back down, leaning his head close to Wang Chuang’s, and mused, “If I confess directly, wouldn’t it be too sudden?”

“What if he’s not prepared?”

“Or what if his feelings for me aren’t at all what we thought?”

“Hmm…”

Wang Chuang, slumped over the table with his head close to Jiang Luo’s, wore a thoughtful expression and nodded, saying, “Indeed.”

He tsked and added, “Guys liking guys isn’t exactly common.”

“You like him, but he might not necessarily like you.”

Jiang Luo was speechless and reached out to pat his head. “You just said he likes me.”

Wang Chuang explained, “Normally, no matter how close two guys are, the most they’d do is grab food, drinks, or shoot pool. Guys don’t typically exchange gifts. Who would’ve thought he’d give you a factory?”

“Could you give me a factory?”

“Or could my mom or dad give me a factory?”

Jiang Luo also looked thoughtful and said, “Huo Zongzhuo is indeed good to the people around him.”

“Even though we’re close, I never expected him to give me a factory.”

“What mindset do you think he had to give me such a big factory?”

Wang Chuang asked, “Didn’t you ask him?”

Jiang Luo replied, “I did.”

Wang Chuang asked, “What did he say?”

Jiang Luo said, “He said the business environment in Shenzhen is good, and it’s a special economic zone. He thought I’d need a factory like that in the south.”

“He also said that as an investor, he’d take 20% of the profits in the future.”

Wang Chuang immediately responded, “Sounds like an excuse to me, right? That way, he can rationalize giving you the factory.”

“But no one would just give someone a factory for no reason.”

“No matter how close they are.”

“I think it’s abnormal, really weird.”

“But then again…”

Wang Chuang changed his tune, “Whether he likes you the same way you like him is really hard to say.”

“After all, there aren’t many men who like men, right?”

“What are the odds that you like men, he likes men, you like him, and he likes you too?”

“I think…”

Wang Chuang scratched his face and suggested, “You should hold off on confessing for now. Feel him out first and see how he really feels about you.”

“If he really likes you, it won’t matter when you confess.”

“But if he doesn’t feel that way about you, and you go up to him saying you like him, wouldn’t that freak him out?”

Jiang Luo thought it made sense and said, “Right, let’s feel things out first.”

He immediately looked at Wang Chuang and asked, “What if he really doesn’t feel that way about me?”

Wang Chuang looked a bit troubled and said, “That would be kind of awkward, huh.”

But Jiang Luo replied, “What’s so tricky about it? If I like him and he doesn’t like me, I’ll just go after him.”

Wang Chuang asked, “How would you chase him?”

Jiang Luo said, “The same way a man chases a woman, I’ll chase him.”

Wang Chuang said, “It’s not the same, is it?”

“What’s the difference?”

Jiang Luo was full of confidence, thinking it was all the same, and even asked Wang Chuang, “How do you usually chase girls?”

Wang Chuang blinked and said, “I don’t know. I’ve never chased anyone. I’ve never liked any girl.”

Jiang Luo was exasperated. “Talking to you is pointless.”

Wang Chuang thought for a moment and said, “Take them to dinner? Go shopping? Watch a movie? Go dancing?”

Wang Chuang pictured Huo Zongzhuo in his mind and felt it wouldn’t work. He said, “If you’re going to chase Huo Zongzhuo, you can’t do it the same way you’d chase a girl, right?”

“With a girl, you could buy her a gold necklace or bracelet, but how can you give those to Huo Zongzhuo?”

Jiang Luo said, “I’d give him a watch.”

Wang Chuang replied, “The problem is, Huo Zongzhuo already has all that.”

“He can give you a factory.”

“Would he really need a watch from you?”

“When you're trying to win someone over, you have to give them something special.”

Jiang Luo naturally started thinking about what kind of special thing he could give Huo Zongzhuo.

Wang Chuang was also thinking and said, “For example, you could give him a plot of land from an auction…”

Jiang Luo: “…”

Wang Chuang: “Or a construction team that could help him build houses in Pudong?”

Jiang Luo: “…”

Wang Chuang: “Or maybe give him a big company?”

Jiang Luo: “…”

Jiang Luo pointed to the door and said, “Just get out of here.”

“Don’t say that.”

Wang Chuang: “I’m trying to help you figure this out, okay?”

He thought again and tsked, saying, “It’s tough—really tough.”

“If you liked Xiao Lu, you could give him clothes, watches, or something like that—all fine.”

“But you like Huo Zongzhuo—that’s way harder.”

“This is like asking me to pursue the daughter of the Haicheng Chamber of Commerce president.”

“Think about it—isn’t it hard?”

Jiang Luo: “Wait, do you live with the Chamber president’s daughter?”

“Would she just hand you a factory?”

Wang Chuang suddenly thought of something and clapped his hands. “Anyway, since you’re so close, just test the waters. Just—”

He scratched his head. “What’s that called again?”

“The one where you put a frog in a pot and boil it slowly.”

Jiang Luo’s level of illiteracy matched his: “Boil a frog?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Wang Chuang: “So just boil him, then.”

“Since you’re already living together, you’re so close.”

“Just boil him slowly.”

“Get close today, hug him tomorrow, hold him the day after.”

“Eventually, you’ll sleep together, and then he’ll have to own up to it. Then it’s settled, right?”

“That makes sense.”

Jiang Luo nodded.

The next moment, Jiang Luo stood up, walked around the table, and made a beeline for the door.

Wang Chuang, confused, turned around: “Where’re you going?”

Jiang Luo took off without looking back, opening the door as he went: “To find a frog.”

“Hey?!”

“Wait!”

Wang Chuang thought Jiang Luo was being way too rash and impatient.

Jiang Luo wasn’t just impatient—he was itching to go. Okay, maybe he was a little impatient.

Mainly, it was Jiang Luo’s first time liking someone, and it was Huo Zongzhuo. He couldn’t contain his excitement and really wanted to know if Huo Zongzhuo liked him back. After all, he’d given him a factory—didn’t that mean something special?

So Jiang Luo rushed off. What did he do?

He went to Huo Zongzhuo’s company.

He wanted to “boil the frog,” but he had no experience. When it came to emotions, he was a total newbie, prone to impulsiveness.

He arrived at Huo Zongzhuo’s company, went in, knocked on the office door, closed it behind him, pulled up a chair, sat down across the desk from Huo Zongzhuo, and blurted out, “So, Huo Zongzhuo, I need to ask you something.”

Huo Zongzhuo: “...?”

“What’s wrong?”

Huo Zongzhuo put down the qualification paperwork of several construction companies he was reviewing and looked at Jiang Luo.

They had just returned from Shenzhen and, busy with work, had gone back to their own companies.

Just over an hour ago, they were together at the airport.

Jiang Luo coming by the office like this made Huo Zongzhuo think it must be something important.

Jiang Luo leaned in over the desk, his expression serious, and said, “I’m going to ask you a question. Answer me honestly, okay?”

He emphasized, “I want the honest truth—no hiding, no lies. Can you do that?”

“Okay.”

Huo Zongzhuo nodded, waiting for Jiang Luo to speak.

But then Jiang Luo suddenly asked, “Huo Zongzhuo, do you like men?”

Huo Zongzhuo: “...”

Huo Zongzhuo’s heart almost leaped into his throat.

Back in Shenzhen, Jiang Luo had asked him the same thing out of surprise and confusion after being given the factory.

But at that time, Jiang Luo’s tone was casual and joking, so Huo Zongzhuo brushed it off.

Now, with Jiang Luo showing up here to ask so seriously, Huo Zongzhuo couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong—had someone said something to him, or had Jiang Luo noticed something?

Huo Zongzhuo speculated inwardly, feeling on edge and guarded, but he kept a straight face and asked Jiang Luo, “What’s wrong? Why ask that all of a sudden?”

Jiang Luo looked at him: “No reason. Just curious.”

Huo Zongzhuo was sure now—Jiang Luo must have picked up on something.

This was the situation he least wanted.

Huo Zongzhuo stayed calm as usual and denied it: “No, I don’t.”

He even added, “Why would you think I like men?”

Jiang Luo, having gotten his answer, just stared at him.

At the Shengfei Factory, in the director’s office, Wang Chuang was brewing some tea for himself while waiting for Jiang Luo. Suddenly, Jiang Luo came barging back in just as rushed as he’d left, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Wang Chuang, holding the teapot: ?

Jiang Luo plopped down in the chair opposite Wang Chuang, sank into the chair and closed his eyes.

“What happened?”

Wang Chuang asked, continuing to brew tea.

Jiang Luo closed his eyes, then opened them again, expressionless: "I went through a breakup."

Wang Chuang: "...?"

Wang Chuang put down the teapot, puzzled: "What do you mean, heartbroken? Weren’t you going to 'boil the frog'?"

"What did the frog say to you?"

Jiang Luo took a deep breath, sat up straight, reached for a cup of hot tea from the tea table, and chugged it in one gulp, almost burning his tongue off.

He quickly put the teacup down, gasped, and fanned his mouth with his hand: "Are you trying to burn my tongue off?"

Wang Chuang blinked: "This is my first time using your tea table, you know. I’m a beginner."

Wang Chuang reached out and tidied the teacup Jiang Luo had just tossed back: "So, what did the frog say?"

Ignoring his scalded tongue, Jiang Luo sat back, took another deep breath, and finally looked up: "I asked him, straight up, if he likes men."

"He said no, he doesn’t."

Wang Chuang: "..."

Wait, that direct?

You can just ask like that?

Damn, that’s bold, like running naked—who does that?

Wang Chuang thought for a moment, then also took a steadying breath: "Well, my condolences."

"That frog is probably 90% unboilable."

"A straight guy definitely wouldn’t accept a confession from another guy, no matter how close they are."

"Huo Zongzhuo giving you the factory might just be because he’s really good friends with you, plus he’s loaded and generous."

But Jiang Luo suddenly stood up and stormed out again just as quickly as he’d come in.

Wang Chuang turned his head: "Hey? Where are you going now?"

Jiang Luo didn’t look back: "To find the frog."

Jiang Luo plopped down right in front of Huo Zongzhuo, who was in the middle of discussing something with a mid-level manager at the company. Both looked up at the expressionless Jiang Luo, the manager confused, Huo Zongzhuo equally puzzled.

"What’s wrong?"

Huo Zongzhuo signaled for his colleague to step out.

Once the colleague left and the door closed, Huo Zongzhuo started to stand: "Did you hear something from someon—"

Jiang Luo looked dead serious: "Sit down. I have another question for you."

Huo Zongzhuo paused and sat back down.

As soon as he was seated, Jiang Luo looked at him and said: "Then do you like me?"

Huo Zongzhuo: "..."

Huo Zongzhuo was already on edge. If it weren’t for the pile of work that had built up during his trip to Shenzhen, he would’ve looked into why Jiang Luo had suddenly shown up earlier to ask if he liked men.

Now, with Jiang Luo asking him face-to-face if he liked him, Huo Zongzhuo’s heart leaped into his throat.

If he found out who had said something that led Jiang Luo to ask these questions, he’d smash that person’s mouth to pieces.

All along, what Huo Zongzhuo feared most was Jiang Luo finding out about his dirty little secret.

It’d be best if Jiang Luo never found out.

"Like you?"

"Of course I like you."

Huo Zongzhuo said it casually, as if discussing what he’d eaten that day.

"You know that—I’ve always liked you."

"I don’t mean that kind of like."

Jiang Luo already had his answer, but he couldn’t let it go.

"I mean the kind of like a man has for a woman."

"The kind of like that’s love."

Huo Zongzhuo was using every ounce of his strength to keep his composure.

"Why are you asking this? Did someone say something to you?"

Huo Zongzhuo still looked perfectly normal. "Of course not. You know—you just asked—I don’t like men."

At Shengfei Factory, in the director’s office, Jiang Luo leaned back in the boss’s chair, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling, his eyes slightly red.

Wang Chuang leaned over the desk on the other side, trying to comfort him: "Don’t be sad. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

"He’s just one guy. There are tons of men out ther—"

Jiang Luo, expressionless and lifeless as a dead fish: "I only like him."

Wang Chuang advised: "You can’t force feelings. You like him, but he just doesn’t like you. Besides, he’s a straight guy—"

Jiang Luo spoke, still expressionless, dead-fish-like, his tone dejected: "He’s a straight guy. He doesn’t like men; he likes women."

"He’ll eventually meet a girl he likes, get married, have kids."

"I’ll have to attend their wedding, give them a red envelope, call his wife 'sister-in-law.' Maybe I’ll even be the best man at their wedding..."

Wang Chuang looked over—well, a single crystal-clear tear traced down Jiang Luo’s cheek, like some male lead in a Qiong Yao drama.

Jiang Luo, still looking up at a 45-degree angle, shedding transparent tears: "He doesn’t love me, and my heart is dead."

"From now on, I’ll just be an empty shell, living without a soul."

Wang Chuang: "…………"