Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ji Yunzhuo felt uneasy under Xia Yinxi’s stare, so he reached out, grabbed the back of his collar, and pulled him away.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Xia Yinxi slapped his hand away. “Don’t stretch out my collar!”

It’s a brand-new shirt!!

The first-class cabin was spacious enough for Xia Yinxi to curl up entirely in his seat, but considering it wasn’t really appropriate to use a public seat as a bed, he just leaned his head back against the window.

In the rainy season, the weather changed faster than you can flip a page. The plane bounced up and down in the turbulence, and Xia Yinxi frowned, gripping his seatbelt tightly as he drifted into a messy dream.

He dreamed about ditching class with Song Baichuan in high school, getting caught by the homeroom teacher, who called their parents. That idiot actually paid the internet café owner two hundred yuan to pose as his dad, leading Xia Yucheng—who’d planned to grab a meal with an old friend and close a deal—to think his eyes were playing tricks on him.

It ended with Song Baichuan getting a whipping when he got home.

The dream changed, and Xia Yinxi found himself in an elementary school classroom. A boy at the blackboard, standing on a stool, still couldn’t reach the top of it, and all the classmates around him were tiny.

The Chinese teacher walked in with a pop quiz and asked Song Baichuan what the line before “If you don’t work hard when you’re young, you’ll regret it when you’re old” was.

Song Baichuan, with his chubby face, recited calmly: “A hundred rivers flow east to the sea, when will they ever flow back west?”

The classroom fell silent for a moment, and Xia Yinxi heard a very close voice, seemingly from his own throat: “It’s ‘flow east to the sea,’ right, Song Donghai?”

Everyone cracked up, and from then on, Song Baichuan gained the nickname Donghai.

And Xia Yinxi’s been calling him that ever since.

“Song Donghai…”

Ji Yunzhuo’s ear perked up. “What?”

Xia Yinxi was still in his dream, passed out against the window. Ji Yunzhuo watched him for a long moment, then suddenly reached out, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, which was small enough to hold with one hand, and pulled him into his arms.

The person in his arms seemed to be mumbling something. Ji Yunzhuo leaned in slightly, and a warm breath brushed against his ear, like a fuzzy little animal brushing against him, ticklish.

“Donghai…”

Ji Yunzhuo: “?”

Who?

After a moment, he remembered—this was Xia Yinxi’s “pet name” for Song Baichuan.

Just like Li Yili’s “Lili.”

He seemed to enjoy giving people intimate nicknames.

But for himself, it was always “President Ji.”

Ji Yunzhuo let out a sarcastic laugh, pulled his arm back from around Xia Yinxi, and let him slump against his shoulder.

The plane jolted again, and Xia Yinxi slid right onto Ji Yunzhuo’s lap, the back of his head smacking into a firm, muscular thigh. He finally snapped out of the dream, staring blankly for a while without moving.

Waking up, he realized he’d been seeing things from the original body’s perspective in the dream. How weird—why would he dream about the original’s childhood memories?

So that’s how Donghai got his name…

The thing under his head was soft and bouncy. Xia Yinxi nuzzled into it comfortably, turned on his side, closed his eyes, and tried to get some more sleep.

An arm wrapped around his waist, like he was protecting him. Xia Yinxi mumbled a confused “Huh?” and groggily opened his eyes and was startled to see a belt buckle right in front of him.

A really familiar brand, expensive enough to buy three or five of his little e-scooters.

Rich people, man.

Xia Yinxi grumpily closed his eyes and cursed rich people a couple more times.

Half a minute passed, just as Ji Yunzhuo thought he had fallen asleep, the guy on his lap suddenly scrambled up, one hand grabbing the seat back and the other bracing on his leg: “Sorry, sorry! I was totally out of it!”

Oh crap!! How’d he end up on Ji Yunzhuo’s lap?!

No wonder the first thing he saw was that belt buckle!!

Ji Yunzhuo brushed off his shirt a couple of times, smoothing out the wrinkles Xia Yinxi had made: “No big deal. Just buy me a new one when we get back.”

Xia Yinxi slowly pulled his hand back from Ji Yunzhuo’s leg, then, after a couple of seconds, gently reached out again to smooth out the creases on his pants: “Then I take back the apology.”

What a cheapskate.

Ji Yunzhuo: “…”

By the time the plane landed, it was already evening. A golden-red glow poured through the window, and Xia Yinxi pressed his face against it, letting out a soft “Wow.”

He’d never had time to travel before, and he couldn’t really afford plane tickets.

Being transmigrated into a book wasn’t so bad, actually.

“Assistant Xia, here’s the itinerary for the next few days.” As soon as they got into the car heading to the hotel, Gao Qian sent a file. “Just take care of President Ji.”

Xia Yinxi looked down at the schedule, curious: “President Ji personally comes to negotiate deals?”

In TV dramas, didn’t the bosses just send out managers or secretaries, while the CEO sat in the office signing papers and maybe having an office romance?

Ji Yunzhuo glanced at him: “The other party is the actual director and specifically asked to negotiate with me. It wouldn’t be polite to refuse.”

“Shouldn’t they be the ones flying to Ducheng to pay homage?”

Ji Yunzhuo couldn’t be bothered to correct his wording and admitted: “That was the plan, but the old man has been contacting me too often lately.”

Xia Yinxi understood—using work to dodge marriage pressure. He nodded sympathetically: “What a coincidence, I’m dodging my dad too.”

His dad was way too curious about his and Ji Yunzhuo’s relationship, always asking questions. He couldn’t keep writing scripts for that!

Ji Yunzhuo found it amusing. He had always thought Xia Yinxi’s earlier excuse was flimsy, but the guy not only delivered food but was also willing to be a personal assistant—a job that offered no career experience—and seemed very keen on keeping his identity from colleagues.

Could it really be, as he said, just to surprise his parents?

It couldn’t be because he was short on cash.

Xia Yinxi pressed his face against the car window, watching the rapidly passing scenery. Nancheng was completely different from the towering skyscrapers of Ducheng. From the airport, the road was lined with high mountains and green trees, like stumbling into an undeveloped wilderness.

That’s why the air here was exceptionally fresh. Even on the asphalt roads surrounded by car exhaust, he could feel the moist, gentle quality in every breath.

At a red light at an intersection, the window of the car next to them was open. A Border Collie poked its head out, paws resting on the window edge, and let out an “Arf” at Xia Yinxi.

Xia Yinxi laughed, mimicking it by resting his arm on the window: “Hello~”

The Border Collie, clearly delighted by the response, stuck half its body out the window: “Arf arf woof—”

Xia Yinxi leaned out too: "Hello hello—"

"Xia Yinxi!" The traffic light had already turned green. Ji Yunzhuo was startled, grabbing Xia Yinxi by the scruff of his neck and pulling him back into the car. "How old are you? You know how dangerous that is?"

He actually leaned out of a car that could take off any second?!

As his words fell, a yell came from outside the window: "Chen Wangcai! You wanna die?!!!"

"Sorry." Xia Yinxi curled into a ball and mumbled, "I thought it was fine here."

I mean, he'd transmigrated into a book, and he'd literally seen a dog driving a scooter the other day, so he figured it was fine.

Ji Yunzhuo reached across him and shut that window: "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Gao Qian kept sneaking glances at the rearview mirror, sitting all straight and proper, sneakily texting without looking: They're a thing, they're a thing, they're a thing

Messages were flying in the group chat, but Gao Qian didn't dare look down, sitting there on pins and needles the whole time.

Ming Ji's hotels were spread across the country, mostly located in commercial centers, so the boss could easily crash there on business trips.

The hotel always had a private suite reserved for Ji Yunzhuo, and the front desk had already prepared a standard business room.

Gao Qian picked up the suitcase, grabbed the room keys, and tactfully went upstairs by himself, not daring to ask if Xia Yinxi was bunking with him, or even glance in his direction.

Xia Yinxi: "..."

Assistant Gao definitely knows something he shouldn't.

No wonder it was a five-figure-a-night suite. As soon as Xia Yinxi got off the elevator, he was drawn to the ocean view from the hallway window. He trotted over, leaned against the window, breathed in the sea breeze, and squinted happily.

He didn't even think twice about making his boss carry the luggage.

Ji Yunzhuo wasn't about to argue with him over that. He hauled both suitcases by himself, opened the door, and called out to Xia Yinxi: "You said you were hungry earlier. Have some dessert first; the main course'll be here soon."

"Seafood?" Xia Yinxi asked excitedly. He was allergic to seafood and couldn't touch any of it, but surely the original body didn't have this issue, right?

Seafood feast! Seafood feast!

Ji Yunzhuo turned back to look at him: "Aren't you allergic?"

Xia Yinxi's face dropped instantly: "?"

The original body was allergic too?!

...And how did Ji Yunzhuo even know that?

Meng Shuxue must've given him a manual on how to handle Xia Yinxi (original version), right?

"I'm only allergic to seafood; freshwater stuff is fine." Xia Yinxi pouted. "I heard they've got famous crawfish around here."

Ji Yunzhuo asked, confused: "I remember your mom saying you're especially allergic to shrimp and crab—shellfish. River shrimp and crab are still crustaceans. Can you eat them?"

This was way over Xia Yinxi's head. He only remembered that when he was allergic to sea crab before, the doctor said crustaceans were absolutely off-limits. Later, his foster parents' kid deliberately put tiny river shrimp in his fried rice, but he didn't show any symptoms.

So he'd always figured seafood and freshwater stuff were different, since he could eat hairy crab too.

"I don't know. I just can eat them."

He was so sure that Ji Yunzhuo, though confused, gave in: "There is one nearby, but it's made to order, so you gotta line up in advance."

Xia Yinxi looked bummed. No way he was lining up: "Alright... Where do I sleep?"

"You'll sleep in the master bedroom."

"Huh?" Xia Yinxi looked over with his cake in hand. "But I'm just a servant. That doesn't seem right."

Still stuck in the head eunuch role.

Ji Yunzhuo seemed to hesitate for a second before speaking: "Don't talk about yourself like that. The guest bedroom gets drafty at night, and you're still recovering."

Xia Yinxi: "?"

He knew that too?

And that he liked to sleep with the window open regardless of the weather?

Was that also from Meng Shuxue?

But that was his habit—did the original body share it?

Xia Yinxi stood there, spoon in his mouth, totally frozen.

"System? System?"

"I'm here..."

"Why do I feel like you've been so quiet since you got back from the meeting?" Xia Yinxi asked, puzzled. "Is it because my mission is done?"

System: "T_T.."

If only it could say what it had been through. Before coming, it had goofed off during that meeting and didn't catch the special nature of this host. Only after returning did it piece together the specifics from the boss's scolding.

To be honest, it was their fault toward the host, but the boss didn't dare let the host know the truth. So they sent it to subtly, quietly, and imperceptibly steer everything back on track, including calming the host so he wouldn't get angry and file a complaint after learning the truth.

But it was just a system that was useless at everything except following the plot—weak, pitiful, helpless, and too scared to speak.

"What's wrong with you?" Xia Yinxi only got an emoji in response. "Why does the original body match me so much in both body and habits? Is it a coincidence?"

"Maybe... being similar makes it easier to transmigrate, so you're less likely to be discovered."

"Isn't that a bit of a stretch, buddy?"

"TvT.."

The unreliable system was getting more unreliable by the day. Xia Yinxi couldn't be bothered with it and chalked it up to coincidence, focusing on his dessert.

It wasn't too sweet, with crispy edges, and it suited his taste.

Ji Yunzhuo had already changed into his pajamas. When he came out and saw Xia Yinxi still eating, he ordered a bit more.

They had little to talk about—one sat at the dining table, the other on the sofa, the room filled only with the crisp sound of Xia Yinxi biting into the pastry.

After a long silence, Ji Yunzhuo couldn't help but say: "If you don't like this position, you can switch."

"Huh?" Xia Yinxi turned around mid-chew, then realized after a moment. "No, it's fine."

He picked up a plate of croissants and placed it in front of Ji Yunzhuo: "It's just that the life assistant's employee handbook reads like a personal maid... or lady-in-waiting to the emperor. I was just joking."

He picked the safer option from the two roles: "Don’t make me explain the joke!"

Ji Yunzhuo lowered his eyes. "Mm."

Xia Yinxi couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

In the tales relayed by Song Baichuan, Ji Yunzhuo was practically a ruthless, sexually cold, emotionless robot—never making a misjudgment or mistake at work—while simultaneously having contradictory low morals, a chaotic private life, and a habit of swapping partners like changing clothes.

But after getting to know him, Xia Yinxi found the rumors were completely off base, and in fact, the gossip surrounding Ji Yunzhuo was even more exaggerated than what Song Baichuan had passed along, which was already laced with personal grudges.

From his observations, Ji Yunzhuo as a person… was actually pretty decent.

Their marriage had its own ulterior motives from the start—they could have simply coexisted without interference—yet Ji Yunzhuo remembered every detail Meng Shuxue had entrusted to him, taking meticulous care of him, even worrying over a casual joke he made, as if he had done something wrong.

He was actually pretty thoughtful.

Just sometimes a bit annoying when he talked.

Xia Yinxi nibbled on his dessert, lost in thought.

He probably remembered his first love even more clearly, right?

No wonder he was the brains behind the business world legend—sharp as ever.