Chapter 101 Peach Blossoms

Chapter 101: Peach Blossoms

Yan Zhoubai was so close to hitting the mark—why did he suddenly retreat at the last moment?

He was like a rabbit that finally worked up the courage to leave its safe, comfortable burrow, only to shrink back the moment it took a step outside.

What was it that held him back?

After awkwardly saying "it's nothing," Yan Zhoubai tried to step back and get out of Zhan Jiayu’s way. But before he could move, Zhan Jiayu’s large hand gripped his shoulder.

"What do you mean, 'nothing'? Explain clearly."

Zhan Jiayu was fed up with this feeling. He wasn’t going to give Yan Zhoubai another chance to run away.

Clearly, he was irritated by Yan Zhoubai’s earlier boldness and sudden withdrawal. He might not have been in such a hurry to push things forward originally, but after that, all the frustration he’d been holding back needed an outlet.

"Really, it’s nothing. I just misunderstood something."

Yan Zhoubai twisted his shoulder, trying to shake off Zhan Jiayu’s hand.

He probably shouldn't say what he’d misunderstood earlier. The system hadn’t been wrong. If he voiced his suspicion that Zhan Jiayu was gay, he didn’t think Zhan Jiayu would get angry, given his personality, but he’d probably be laughed at.

"Are you still my subordinate?" Zhan Jiayu ignored Yan Zhoubai’s attempts to break free and instead pulled him closer into an embrace.

"Y-yes, I am."

Yan Zhoubai was a little nervous, unsure what was behind Zhan Jiayu’s reaction.

"And my secretary?"

"Yes."

"Then, as your leader and boss, I order you to say everything you wanted to say earlier but held back. No lying."

Zhan Jiayu had intended to take a more aggressive approach, but seeing the teary-eyed look in Yan Zhoubai’s eyes, he opted for a gentler method.

Asking Yan Zhoubai to speak up willingly was much gentler than his usual style.

If he’d followed his usual instincts, he would’ve confessed his feelings outright in a fit of anger, without caring whether Yan Zhoubai agreed or not.

"Are you sure you want to hear it? You won’t get mad or laugh at me?"

Yan Zhoubai didn’t understand why Zhan Jiayu was so insistent on knowing his earlier thoughts, but seeing how angry Zhan Jiayu looked, he decided not to stubbornly resist.

Zhan Jiayu had called on his authority as both boss and leader—Yan Zhoubai couldn’t let Zhan Jiayu’s usual kindness make him forget that point.

"Go on."

Zhan Jiayu felt that if he laughed, it would only be out of sheer frustration.

"Earlier, when you called me 'kitten' in front of Boss Li, the look on his face made it seem like he thought we had an improper relationship—like I was your kept lover or something. That’s why I thought he misunderstood."

Yan Zhoubai slowly spilled everything out. Once he finished, his expression seemed to say, "Whatever happens, happens."

Hearing this, Zhan Jiayu finally felt somewhat relieved. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Kept lover? You know quite a bit. They don’t teach that at Cangru Temple, do they? And your father has a clean record, right? Where did you learn about such things?"

"Of course Cangru Temple doesn’t teach that, and my dad is a good man—he never kept any mistresses. I’ve seen TV dramas, and besides, even if my dad is clean, not everyone else is. Like that guy who bullied me, Dai Jian—everyone knows his father fooled around outside."

Yan Zhoubai couldn’t hold back when Zhan Jiayu cast doubt on Cangru Temple and his father’s integrity. He immediately denied the implication, completely forgetting his earlier anxiety.

"Is that so?" Zhan Jiayu drew out the words, leaving it unclear whether he believed it or not.

"Yes, that’s how it is."

It was only then that Yan Zhoubai realized Zhan Jiayu hadn’t actually responded to what he’d said earlier. His courage quickly faded.

"Yan Zhoubai, in a way, Boss Li wasn’t entirely mistaken. Although I haven’t 'kept' you, the fact is, I like you."

Zhan Jiayu spoke seriously, calling Yan Zhoubai by his full name.

"You... really like me?" Yan Zhoubai was stunned. So the system was wrong?

"What do you mean, 'really'? Did you already know?"

Zhan Jiayu keenly picked up on a minor word in Yan Zhoubai's speech.

"Wait," Yan Zhoubai completely ignored Zhan Jiayu’s pacing and didn’t answer his question. "So you really are gay?"

Zhan Jiayu took a deep breath. Why wasn’t there something nearby he could crush right now? Yan Zhoubai’s fragile frame worried him—a little too much force and he might end up in the hospital.

Why was he still hung up on this "gay" thing? That kiss in the restaurant bathroom had been the perfect opportunity to clear the air, but it was ruined by the whole "gay" issue. He thought he could wait a little longer, but hearing it again now was too much.

"I’m not gay. I just like you. If you think that makes me gay, then fine."

Zhan Jiayu suppressed his anger, trying to move past the topic.

Not gay, but he likes me? But I’m a guy. Liking me would make him gay, wouldn’t it?

But wait—what’s wrong with being gay? No one said it’s bad or unacceptable. Where did he even get that idea?

"How can he be gay? It doesn’t make sense." The system muttered to itself in Yan Zhoubai’s mind.

Yan Zhoubai understood—this idea came from the system.

The system had always insisted that Zhan Jiayu was an incredibly cool, domineering villain, and such an imposing villain boss absolutely couldn’t be gay. Over time, Yan Zhoubai had unconsciously picked up the idea that being gay was somehow undesirable.

"You... like me?" Yan Zhoubai pointed at himself, asking again uncertainly.

"Yes." Zhan Jiayu’s reply was firm.

"That kind of liking? The kind Boss Li misunderstood?" Yan Zhoubai pressed.

"Yes."

This time, Zhan Jiayu left no room for evasion, making everything explicit.

Yan Zhoubai fell silent. Just as Zhan Jiayu thought he wasn’t going to respond directly to the confession, Yan Zhoubai spoke again:

"But why do you like me? I’m really... ordinary."

Yan Zhoubai was seriously pondering this question.

Upon hearing Zhan Jiayu's confession, his first reaction, besides the shock, was to wonder why. As for how to respond to Zhan Jiayu's confession, he hadn't even gotten to that point yet.

"Love at first sight."

Zhan Jiayu had thought about this question himself and ultimately settled on these four words as the answer—love at first sight.

Amid pressure, chaos, and darkness, he found it perfectly natural to be drawn to someone like Yan Zhoubai, who was pure, sincere, and true to himself.

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

Yan Zhoubai had really come a long way—he'd even dared to openly question his superior's words now. In truth, he just found the idea of love at first sight too far-fetched.

He didn’t believe he could have experienced love at first sight in that kind of situation, so considering it logically, it didn’t seem very scientific.

"Are you doubting my feelings for you?"

Zhan Jiayu’s face instantly darkened.

"If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have specifically attended the coming-of-age ceremony hosted by the Yan family, nor would I have had someone rush to make that gold bracelet with the kitten pattern."

"If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have taken you to Jiang City for fun, nor would I have gone to such great lengths to help your family handle the fallout after the second Yan son got involved with that overseas drug trafficking case."

"If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have urgently contacted labs in Country A to find an antidote after you were poisoned."

"If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have used calling in favors to pressure the Yan family into allowing you to come to my side."

"If I didn’t love you, then tell me—what was that kiss in the bathroom stall that day supposed to mean?"

Zhan Jiayu recounted all the little moments between him and Yan Zhoubai in one breath, including things unknown to Yan Zhoubai—things even the Yan family didn’t know, like his efforts to find an antidote in Country A after Yan Zhoubai was poisoned.

He hadn’t mentioned it before because it hadn't ended up being needed in the end. Yan Zhoubai was ultimately saved by emergency surgery at Central Hospital, and the antidote—which Zhan Jiayu had gone to great lengths to secure, calling in numerous favors to have it airlifted from a lab in Country A, not even knowing if it would work—went unused.

Since it hadn’t actually helped, given his personality, he didn't see the point in mentioning it. There was no need.

But faced with this situation, he couldn’t maintain his usual composure and ended up pouring everything out.

Yan Zhoubai was bombarded with information—it was a lot to process.

He remembered every incident Zhan Jiayu mentioned, though he hadn’t paid them much mind at the time. But looking back now, each one was clearly an instance of Zhan Jiayu’s unmistakable affection toward him.

"What’s this about an antidote? Why have I never heard about it? Why did you keep it from me?"

Yan Zhoubai finally managed to sort through everything Zhan Jiayu had said and focus on this.

"It didn’t actually help—the doctors were the ones who saved you—so I didn't really think it was worth mentioning. No one knew about it."

Zhan Jiayu had never intended to use this to win Yan Zhoubai’s gratitude. He disdained such methods, which is why he hadn’t planned to tell Yan Zhoubai from the start.

But now, with everything out in the open, he wished he could lay out everything he’d ever done.

"Starting from when you attended the coming-of-age ceremony—it really was that early after all, huh."

"Yes, it really was that early. I still remember that young Taoist priest under the peach blossom tree."

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Author's Note: Finally, the confession happened. My pacing is so slow even I'm getting impatient. [anxious]