Chapter 100 Like Me

Chapter 100: Do You Like Me?

"What's wrong? Why such a strong reaction to hearing about my sister?"

Zhan Jiayu poured himself a cup of coffee from the nearby machine.

"No, I'm just a bit curious. Curious about what kind of person your sister is."

Yan Zhoubai was utterly intrigued, eager to know more about all of Zhan Jiayu's siblings.

"Why the curiosity?"

"Because, well, there are widespread rumors in Jing City about your family. They say Old Master Zhan raised all his children together, sharing meals and living quarters, and even subjected them to regular assessments to select the best heir. Everyone is very curious about what kind of people would be raised under such a training model."

Yan Zhoubai wasn't fabricating stories. Although the Zhan family had left Jing City early with Old Master Zhan, the city's elite circles still discussed the Zhan family from time to time.

"Hmph."

Zhan Jiayu snorted coldly, his true thoughts on the matter unclear.

"Is your sister Chinese? Or is she mixed-race? What about your other brothers and sisters? Why did she suddenly decide to visit China?"

Yan Zhoubai was like an eager child, desperately wanting to know about Zhan Jiayu's sister, which made Zhan Jiayu a little jealous.

He had never shown such curiosity about Zhan Jiayu's own affairs.

"She's mixed-race; her mother is from Country A. My other brothers and sisters each have their own lives; there's no need to worry about them. Jasmine suddenly wanted to visit China simply because she has a playful nature. When she arrives, I'll introduce you."

Despite his slight jealousy, Zhan Jiayu answered Yan Zhoubai's questions one by one.

"Great, great!" Yan Zhoubai was delighted.

"System, we'll soon have a chance to uncover the true nature of Zhan Jiayu's siblings, aren't you excited?" Yan Zhoubai asked the system in his mind.

"So excited! In the original plot, his brothers and sisters never appeared at all. I'm so curious."

The system's gossipy soul was burning. If it weren't for the system egging him on, Yan Zhoubai wouldn't have been that curious about Zhan Jiayu's siblings either.

...

Yan Zhoubai's main task that afternoon was to join Zhan Jiayu in meeting one of his business clients. This was Yan Zhoubai's first time at such an event. He mostly listened from the side, barely getting a word in.

The client's surname was Li, so let's call him Boss Li. After listening for a while, Yan Zhoubai realized that Boss Li was a self-made newcomer. He had no resources of his own in Jing City and wasn't backed by any powerful family. The investment from Zhan Jiayu's company was the largest sum his company had secured so far and was crucial to its revival.

Yan Zhoubai had assumed Zhan Jiayu's investment company was established to foster better cooperation with Jing City's prominent families, as they possessed more connections and influence, making investments in their projects likely to be profitable. He hadn't expected Zhan Jiayu to also pay attention to small, unbacked companies like this one.

Yan Zhoubai didn't grasp the specific project details. He only knew it was related to artificial intelligence and that Zhan Jiayu and Boss Li had a productive discussion. When leaving, Boss Li was all smiles.

As they walked out the door, Yan Zhoubai heard him ask, "I wonder if President Zhan still needs the T-Ji Desserts membership card I gave him last time?"

"T-Ji Desserts?" Zhan Jiayu seemed to just remember. He gestured with his chin towards Yan Zhoubai, "Ask my assistant here. But he hasn't been eating much from T-Ji Desserts lately. Too much sugar isn't good for the kitten's teeth."

As he said this, Zhan Jiayu chuckled lightly, the obvious pleasure emanating from him impossible to conceal.

This left Boss Li dumbfounded. So the 'kitten' Zhan Jiayu mentioned earlier referred to this secretary? Such an ambiguous term for a secretary... was this even a proper secretary?

He had initially mistaken it for Zhan Jiayu having a child, but later, seeing his expression, he realized it was probably a lover. Yet, he never expected that the lover would be right in front of him today, and, importantly, was actually a man?

Boss Li hadn't paid much attention to the secretary standing to the side since entering Zhan Jiayu's office to discuss business. He just had the impression that he was very young, like he'd just started. But now, looking carefully, he had rosy lips and white teeth, a truly beautiful youth, and his actual age seemed even younger than he had thought?

Originally, due to the Zhan family's history and their business in Country A, Boss Li had some prejudice against Zhan Jiayu, thinking he might carry a certain ruffian air. But after actual contact, he found that Zhan Jiayu could indeed be considered a young achiever, a talented young man.

But what was this situation now? Not even bothering to pretend? Directly placing his young lover as his secretary by his side, and it's a boy who looks like he might not even be an adult? Sure enough, they're more liberal in Country A.

Zhan Jiayu's statement also confused Yan Zhoubai. What kitten? What T-Ji Desserts? What did this have to do with Boss Li? Was the kitten referring to him? Yan Zhoubai couldn't help but think of the gold bracelet with the little cat pattern on his left wrist.

But, but, but how could Zhan Jiayu say that about him in front of an outsider? This is so embarrassing!

"Xiao Chuaner, I have a membership card for T-Ji Desserts, given by Boss Li. Members get priority access to seasonal new items. It was specifically for you. But you haven't mentioned wanting T-Ji Desserts much recently, so the card hasn't been used."

Zhan Jiayu looked at Yan Zhoubai's surprised and puzzled expression and explained with a smile.

"This gentleman is..." Boss Li was genuinely somewhat embarrassed.

"I believe Boss Li has probably heard of him. This is the young master of the Yan family, Yan Zhoubai. He's currently interning at my company, working as my secretary. I'm personally mentoring him."

Zhan Jiayu very naturally introduced Yan Zhoubai to Boss Li and revealed his identity.

The reason for stating Yan Zhoubai's identity was simple: his earlier words had caused Boss Li to misunderstand. To prevent Boss Li from truly thinking Yan Zhoubai was a kept lover and potentially offending Yan Zhoubai in future interactions, he needed to clarify Yan Zhoubai's status first, so Boss Li would know the appropriate level of respect.

"Oh, I see. The young master of the Yan family. This is my first time meeting you. I didn't expect you to be so talented and handsome."

Seeing that Zhan Jiayu had provided a way to save face with the introduction, Boss Li quickly took the opportunity to step down, though he was still thinking to himself that the Zhan family was indeed formidable. They could just take the young master of the Yan family away like that. As expected of a family that rose through underworld dealings, they were even more unscrupulous than the established wealthy families in Jing City.

After seeing Boss Li off, as soon as they returned to the office, Yan Zhoubai began questioning Zhan Jiayu: "Why did you have to say that in front of Boss Li just now? He definitely misunderstood. The nickname 'kitten' is so ambiguous."

Yan Zhoubai felt his face had been burning earlier. Luckily, his blushing had its limits and wouldn't become too obvious for others to notice.

Yan Zhoubai turned around to question Zhan Jiayu as soon as he entered the office door, so now Zhan Jiayu was standing by the door, blocked by Yan Zhoubai. He looked down and gently tapped Yan Zhoubai's nose bridge.

"So it's okay to call you that in private, isn't it?"

"Ah, no," Yan Zhoubai swatted Zhan Jiayu's hand away, "It's just, I mean, 'kitten' or whatever is too ambiguous. I'm clearly your subordinate. You saying that makes it seem like our relationship is special. That Boss Li, he misunderstood."

Yan Zhoubai was getting a bit anxious, wanting to explain this issue very seriously to Zhan Jiayu.

"Special? What kind of special? What did Boss Li misunderstand?"

Even though Zhan Jiayu was the one backed against the door panel, unable to move forward because of Yan Zhoubai, Yan Zhoubai felt like he was the one being targeted as prey.

Why did Zhan Jiayu's gaze feel so predatory now?

Yan Zhoubai had a vague inkling about Zhan Jiayu's current feelings towards him, but he couldn't quite grasp the thread of thought.

Yan Zhoubai became somewhat apprehensive. He had been full of confidence just moments ago questioning Zhan Jiayu, but upon seeing Zhan Jiayu's gaze, his assertiveness immediately weakened. He didn't know how to answer Zhan Jiayu's counter-questions, so he could only turn to the system.

"Gay? How is that possible? Zhan Jiayu? He's the most awesome villain in the original plot! The Zhan family is famous in Country A. How could he be gay?"

The system indicated that this exceeded the calculation range of its database. It hadn't encountered a gay scenario before, and a formidable villain character like Zhan Jiayu definitely couldn't be gay.

"But, but he called me kitten, and he said it in front of Boss Li. Boss Li's look just now was like he thought we had an affair."

Yan Zhoubai was uncertain. He knew the word 'gay', but he had never encountered it in real life. He didn't know when this term should be applied.

"He can't be. Zhan Jiayu wouldn't be gay. Even though in the original plot he was sent to prison by the protagonist before he could even get married, he's an underworld boss. He can't be gay."

The system stated that it did not believe Zhan Jiayu was gay.

"Regarding Boss Li's reaction you mentioned, he misunderstood on his own. Besides, you do have something going on with Zhan Jiayu! You've got that boss and underling dynamic, and now you're also in a boss-secretary relationship—how's that not having something going on?"

"Ah, is that so?"

For the first time, Yan Zhoubai began to doubt the system's words. He had always believed the system was right before.

"Yes, absolutely!" the system declared confidently.

Okay.

Yan Zhoubai looked at Zhan Jiayu, who was waiting for his response, and finally replied, "It's nothing, no misunderstanding."

Zhan Jiayu had initially held high expectations for Yan Zhoubai's answer. He thought it might be the right time to address an unspoken tension between them. But upon hearing Yan Zhoubai's reply, the light in his eyes instantly faded.

-----------------------

Author's note: System: Bwahahaha, how could Zhan Jiayu possibly be gay? No way, relax!

Zhan Jiayu: If you, this useless AI, have a death wish or something, just say so! [dog head]