Chapter 78 Side Story 10

Chapter 78 Extra Chapter 10

Today's street interview:

"How do married couples keep the spark alive after many years?"

"I think it's necessary to give each other personal space and not be too controlling."

"Make more money and buy your wife pretty clothes."

"Role-play, discovering different sides of each other. My husband used to do his duty reluctantly like clocking in at work, but later I started playing fun games with him, various costumes. He gets excited every time. Oh, it keeps me up all night."

Nan Liujing loves watching this interview show—one dares to ask, the other dares to answer. It always opens a new door to the world from the mouths of random passersby.

Speaking of which...

He discreetly glanced at Shen Gali from the corner of his eye. Shen Gali was lounging on the old-fashioned velvet sofa, his snow-white skin contrasting sharply with the deep red background, creating a visual impact that gave off a decadent, intoxicating languor.

Although Shen Gali wasn't particularly lively to begin with, he seemed even lazier after the start of spring. He spoke in single words, barely responding to him.

Was it getting boring that quickly?

It was only the second year of marriage, and there were still so many positions they hadn't tried. He couldn't let him lose interest this soon. What was that passerby talking about just now?

Role-play?

At Shen Gali's insistence, they had moved into the old villa deep in the mountains years ago. While it was peaceful and undisturbed, being far from the city came with its inconveniences.

For example, Nan Liujing could only ask Uncle Li, who still lived in the city, to buy a book about "workplace dynamics."

He phrased it vaguely: "I need a book about special workplace relationships. I need to study it thoroughly."

Uncle Li: Got it.

When the book arrived, Nan Liujing hadn't even had time to unwrap it. He gestured for Uncle Li to leave, then draped his arm over Shen Gali's shoulder, kneading it ambiguously. "Staying cooped up in the mountains all this time—aren't you bored?"

Shen Gali: "No."

"Want to try something new?" Nan Liujing held up the book Uncle Li had just bought. "Hmm, President Shen?"

Shen Gali: ?

Nan Liujing, being experienced, didn't need to learn from these erotic books. He had plenty of skills up his sleeve. This book was just for Shen Gali to study and learn from.

The icy boss hiding a fiery, uninhibited side in private, eyes glazed with desire, begging his subordinate to take him hard.

Nan Liujing looked up at Shen Gali. His demeanor was elegant and reserved, but his eyes burned with a blazing fire.

Shen Gali flipped through the book for a while, puzzled. So, did Nan Liujing have a special fetish? Or had he had enough of being the boss and wanted to experience the hardships of a newcomer in the workplace to reaffirm his career convictions?

Oh well, he had been a bit neglectful lately, but it wasn't because their marital feelings had faded. It was simply spring lethargy, autumn fatigue, winter hibernation, summer naps—just tiredness.

Might as well give him a chance to indulge his peculiar hobby and make him happy.

Shen Gali nodded in agreement. Nan Liujing quickly planted a kiss on his lips, then strode to the dressing room to find Shen Gali's smallest shirt and suit pants, pairing them with a tie. He really had the vibe of a leader.

Shen Gali couldn't be bothered to resist. He let him do as he pleased.

Nan Liujing stuffed the workplace book Uncle Li had bought into Shen Gali's hands, his eyes barely containing his excitement. "Later, read the boss's lines from the book."

Then, as if remembering something, he unbuckled his belt, pulled it out, and handed it to Shen Gali. "And this—you'll need it."

Shen Gali held the belt in one hand and the book in the other. He flipped a page, and in that moment, when he looked up again, Nan Liujing was already kneeling upright before him, a hint of a smile curling at the corners of his eyes.

Shen Gali glanced at the book, then at Nan Liujing, his internal question marks multiplying. "Then I'll really read it."

Nan Liujing nodded firmly, his gaze resolute.

He couldn't wait to hear words like these from Shen Gali:

"Why aren't you coming over? What are you afraid of?"

"I feel so uncomfortable down there. I'm your boss. I order you to check my body right now."

Thinking about it, his heart burned with intensity.

Shen Gali committed the text to memory briefly, then slowly set the book down. He looked down at Nan Liujing's lust-filled face and let out a long sigh:

"Little Nan, you've been with the company for a while now, but look at you—how can you not even do one thing right? I've given you the simplest tasks. Even if I led a pig here to learn for ten days, it would get it by then. If you can't even do this, I hope you'll voluntarily resign and leave the position for someone more capable."

Nan Liujing: ?

Even though it was just a script, Nan Liujing still felt a sense of defeat from the criticism.

In all his life, no one had ever questioned his work ability, but today, Shen Gali had made him feel worthless.

Shen Gali paused, then continued: "It's you looking for a job, not the job looking for you. That's why I hate inexperienced newcomers—they make mistakes just like you. You're not fit for this job, but I want to give you some dignity. I don't want you to end up being fired. Resign on your own."

Nan Liujing: ???

He finally couldn't take it anymore and snatched the book from Shen Gali's hands, taking a careful look at the title.

Nan Liujing: ...

"100 Workplace Q&As: How to Effectively Avoid Boss Gaslighting"

The innocent yet somewhat foolish face of Uncle Li flashed before his eyes.

Shen Gali watched as Nan Liujing's expression darkened visibly. He was confused: Hadn't he indulged his bizarre fantasy? Why was he still unhappy?

Dealing with people was such a hassle. Forget it—who cares anyway.

Shen Gali was about to get off the bed when his ankle was suddenly seized by a large hand. Before he could react, he was pulled back by an irresistible force.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Nan Liujing looming over him, his eyes bloodshot, as if his pride had been wounded by those words. He gritted his teeth, his voice low and icy:

"Boss... I hope you can give me another chance. I'll work hard to earn your recognition and show you my work... ability."

Nan Liujing emphasized the word "ability."

Shen Gali: "I hired you to get things done, not to accumulate experience here."

He vaguely remembered Nan Liujing once saying something like that to an employee.

Nan Liujing smiled without warmth, his eyes cold and dark. "Boss, your words are hard to hear. If you can't talk nicely, keep your mouth shut."

With that, he leaned down, sealing Shen Gali's lips with his own, biting hard, effectively enforcing the "no talking" rule.

In the moments between breaths, the subordinate, wounded in pride, launched a fierce counterattack. He tore open the boss's shirt, pulled off the tie, and tied the boss's hands to the headboard. His smile was still venomous:

"I've heard that those who can sit in the boss's seat must have some skills. Today, let me see what you've got, boss."

Today, the exploited underdogs finally win big. The nasty boss has finally been taken down by the subordinate he's been bullying all along.

*

OMG, Nan Liujing is so into role-playing.

Shen Gali would never have imagined that in Nan Liujing's role-play scripts, besides the common boss-subordinate, master-bodyguard scenarios, there are also subway play scenarios that are borderline illegal.

Of course, it's just the subway-themed room at a love hotel.

Add another layer: the subway play between a top-tier star and a third-tier newcomer. Since he's a huge star, even fully covered, his vibe gives him away; he attracts attention wherever he goes. Under these circumstances, he plays out the scene with the rookie newcomer on a packed subway.

In the themed room, subway noise, passenger chatter, and random phone rings play on a 360-degree loop. Close your eyes and it feels like you're actually on a rush-hour subway—super realistic.

Shen Gali is pressed against the "subway" window. Outside is dark, inside is bright, so his flushed, dazed face is perfectly clear on the glass. Behind him, Nan Liujing wears a baseball cap, showing only the lower half of his face. His dark lips curl into a sly smile, and his delicate jawline is beautiful and sharp, like he's smugly sure he's got the naive newbie completely under his thumb.

"Are you sure you won't spread your legs?" Nan Liujing's voice sounds in his ear, his hot breath grazing his earlobe, sending shivers through him.

"I've got plenty of sex videos of us. If they leak, guess what happens? Think you can still make it in this industry?"

Shen Gali is like a little boat in a storm, rocking with the waves.

Hearing this, he secretly cheers. What a deal! I'd love to be a worthless lazy bum who can't hack it in the industry and just mooches off the top star.

So he must anger the top star even more. He forces out a few words:

"You better kill me first, or else who knows who's gonna die first."

He clearly feels the person behind him stop moving. After a long pause, his anger becomes an excuse to go all out, and the assault is fierce and fast. Shen Gali can no longer speak a complete sentence.

After he turns off the sound system, the room goes dead quiet. Shen Gali, just in a bath towel, sits by the window hugging his knees. On the black glass, his pale, slender fingers are reflected, pressing against his round, pretty knees. His lowered eyes stare blankly at the alley that stretches far outside the window.

This kind of hotel is always tucked away in some out-of-the-way corner, with roads that wind forever.

Nan Liujing comes out after showering, finds him zoning out, reaches over and grabs his arm: "Let me take you to shower."

But the arm is like dough—the second he lets go, it flops back down.

"So tired, I don't want to shower." Shen Gali's voice is barely a whisper, like he doesn't even have the energy to open his eyes.

"I'll wash you, you don't have to lift a finger." Nan Liujing wraps him tightly in the bath towel, then wearily buries his face in the crook of Shen Gali's neck.

After a crazy stretch, even a man of steel would be totally drained.

Shen Gali feels the wet warmth on his shoulder, slowly closes his eyes, and asks the question that's been on his mind for days:

"You've been pushing me to do all this stuff lately… what are you really afraid of?"

At that, Nan Liujing's eyes darken.

What is he worried about? It's basically just Shen Gali's cold attitude toward him. He's always the one making the first move, and married couples shouldn't keep score, but sometimes when he sees Shen Gali's blank look, it still stings.

Since their marriage, he has only heard him say one sentence: "I really like you." Who knows how much of that was just nice words because they were about to be apart?

He never doubts Shen Gali's loyalty, and he knows that this is Shen Gali's personality—a perpetual puzzle.

Nan Liujing doesn't speak. He also knows he's been putting Shen Gali through the wringer and doesn't want to make things worse.

Since the last subway battle, Shen Gali has locked himself in his room for days. He doesn't answer the door to anyone, and has even double-locked it for some reason.

Nan Liujing can only tell he's still alive from his terse, dismissive replies. Recently, the company participated in a government bid, and everyone was swamped and stressed out. Still, Nan Liujing never breathed a word of complaint to Shen Gali.

He wishes he could see Shen Gali's face when he's tired, to at least lift his spirits. But Shen Gali is busy with something unknown, with his door tightly shut.

The bid plan ultimately ended in failure. Not because of lack of ability, but because of insufficient experience. Huanhai's main business is electronics, so they had zero experience in environmental protection and sewage treatment. They kind of expected to lose the bid.

Nan Liujing still feels disappointed, especially when he comes home and sees Shen Gali's closed door. Perhaps this is the root of his disappointment.

But... the door opened.

Shen Gali came out, and he was smiling at him.

A chill shot up his spine. A hint of fear even crept into Nan Liujing's eyes.

Shen Gali was indeed smiling, but his wide eyes and the corners of his mouth stretched almost to his ears—straight out of a horror movie.

Wait, what are those metal rods at the sides of his mouth?

Shen Gali pulls off the metal rods, rubs his sore mouth, and the creepy smile disappears in an instant.

"What is this?" Nan Liujing asks.

"A smile aid." Shen Gali puts them back on. The rods have hooks that catch the corners of his mouth, and by adjusting the tension, he can pull his lips outward into different smiles—a smirk, a big grin, whatever.

Shen Gali still has that listless expression: "I want to smile at you more, but smiling is exhausting—it uses way too many muscles. I really can't do it. So these days I followed an online tutorial and made this smile aid."

After saying this, he slowly crawls into Nan Liujing's arms, loosely wraps his legs around his waist, and with the eerie smile aid on, smiles at Nan Liujing.

Nan Liujing: ...

Creepy and funny at the same time.

But mostly, an indescribable guilt.

Nan Liujing carefully takes off the smile aid, his fingers gently rubbing the sore corners of his mouth: "I'm sorry I made you worry."

Shen Gali just gives his usual flat 'Nope.'

But Nan Liujing knows that for someone as lazy as him, hiding the lie that he's actually very tired is, from another perspective, a heartfelt love.

He is sure that Shen Gali loves him. Even though he doesn't express it well, and it's not vivid, this is his unique way of showing love.

Nan Liujing presses the person closer into his arms and asks with a smile: "Today, what role-play do you like?"

Shen Gali: I shouldn't have felt sorry for you.

That night, Uncle Li, who had climbed mountain roads for about an hour to deliver documents, heard Shen Gali's voice at the door:

"Uncle butler, mm... right there, touch me more, okay?"

Uncle Li was greatly alarmed. Before his feet were steady, he hurriedly climbed back down the mountain for another hour.

Mr. Shen, I never thought you had such thoughts about me. I am unworthy.

But I'm sorry, I have to reject you, for your sake and for the young master's. For us, this is a twisted love...