Chapter 32 How Can I Run Right Under Your Nose?

Chapter 32: How to Get Away Right Under Your Nose

Cheng Ye couldn't very well say he was laughing at him, so he quickly wiped the smile off his face, waved his hand, and deliberately changed the subject: "Babe, let's eat first. Auntie cooked all these delicious dishes, and Jiang Shang'en is still waiting."

Jiang Shang'en had been crying in the hotel for so long, and after all the emotional roller coaster, he was already starving to death. Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, his stomach let out an embarrassing growl. He felt a bit embarrassed. He'd planned to dig in, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Shen Xu sitting stiff and straight next to him.

The two of them weren't familiar with each other in the first place, and there had been a misunderstanding on top of that. He unconsciously held back, picked up his chopsticks, and ate carefully.

The meal went quite harmoniously.

To lighten the mood, Cheng Ye kept piling food onto Jiang Shang'en's plate and making small talk. Shen Xu would occasionally throw in a word or two—not much, but just enough to fill the silences. Jiang Shang'en was a little stiff at first, but later, after some back-and-forth with Cheng Ye, he gradually relaxed, talked a bit more, and finally cracked a small smile.

"I told you we should've brought the electric pig stick, but you insisted on stopping me!"

Jiang Shang'en was still obsessing over the expensive electric pig stick he had bought that never got used.

"I didn't know he was that shameless either!"

To be honest, Cheng Ye did regret it. He should've just brought a charger and helped Jiang Shang'en shock that guy with the electric pig stick.

In this day and age where everyone scans codes to pay, this guy still had the nerve to say with a straight face that he was going to the bank to withdraw cash, like we're all idiots.

The two of them grumbled at each other, but neither dared complain about the third person there. After all, Shen Xu had been a temporary waiter and driver, opening doors and everything. Jiang Shang'en felt kinda bad about that.

Shen Xu, on the other hand, felt awkward for getting too involved in their drama.

After dinner, Shen Xu had the driver drive Jiang Shang'en home. As he left, Jiang Shang'en hugged the expensive designer bag and rode off looking cool.

After seeing Jiang Shang'en off, the large villa living room was left with just Cheng Ye and Shen Xu. Auntie had already cleaned the kitchen and gone home. Only a single floor lamp was on in the living room, giving off warm, soft light.

Cheng Ye had just stretched, about to head upstairs to shower and rest, when Shen Xu caught him by the wrist.

Stumbling, Cheng Ye flopped down onto the soft leather sofa. Shen Xu sat down next to him, turned sideways, and rested one hand on the back of the sofa, half boxing him in with his arms, looking down at him.

"What were you laughing about earlier?" Shen Xu's voice rang out in the quiet living room, a bit lower than usual, tinged with curiosity. "You were having so much fun. Come on, now it's just us—spill it."

No one else was around, just the two of them. Cheng Ye looked at his face, so close to his, those eyes now reflecting the warm lamplight, making his eyes look really deep.

"It's nothing, really," Cheng Ye laughed, relaxing his body into the sofa, and said honestly, "I just think... you're actually pretty funny."

"Funny?" Shen Xu raised an eyebrow, seeming surprised by the assessment. "Funny how?"

"One personality at home, another outside," Cheng Ye counted on his fingers. "Outside, you're a man of few words, keep a straight face, all high and mighty like no one's allowed to get close. But at home, instead..." He paused, glanced up at Shen Xu, a mischievous smile in his eyes, "you're pretty cute."

It was the first time Shen Xu had ever heard anyone call him cute.

Cheng Ye continued, "Speaking of which, when I first met you offline, I thought you were kind of a phony."

Shen Xu watched him talk about him being a phony with a straight face, but he wasn't angry. Instead, he followed Cheng Ye's lead and asked, "Why did you think I was a phony?"

"Back when you were doing those magazine interviews," Cheng Ye said, "When the financial magazine ran your photo—young, good-looking like a celebrity—I thought you were some newly debuted idol. But then I saw the introduction: Chairman of the Shen Group. I immediately thought, this guy must be a total phony. If he's not a celebrity, why does he love doing magazine interviews so much, just like those old men with slicked-back hair who never shut up."

Shen Xu listened quietly. When he finished, he spoke calmly, explaining, "At that time, the company's capital chain was almost broken. We urgently needed new investment. I needed to get my name out there. I needed potential investors to see me, to see that Shen Group still had potential and value. Doing magazine interviews was the most efficient way for me back then."

Cheng Ye was stunned. He hadn't expected that reason. He blinked and said incredulously, "That actually worked? You really got funding like that?"

Shen Xu nodded.

"I guess so..."

Cheng Ye thought about it, nodded, and found it plausible. Those business magazines were full of older, successful big bosses with slicked-back hair and wrinkled faces. Suddenly, a young, handsome, well-dressed young CEO popped up—it was indeed eye-catching.

Shen Xu watched him look serious and thoughtful, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth. He reached out with his slender fingers, lightly traced them across Cheng Ye's cheek, and finally used his index finger to deliberately rub Cheng Ye's chin. The motion was casual and intimate, like teasing a cat.

"And what?" Shen Xu pressed, his voice dropping even lower, with a coaxing tone, "Why do you keep leaving your sentences half-finished today?"

Cheng Ye felt a tickle on his chin from the rubbing. He wanted to dodge, but Shen Xu's direct gaze made him uncomfortable. His mind inexplicably flashed back to earlier at the hotel, when that frantic omega had cursed Shen Xu—"vixen."

That omega seemed to have called Shen Xu that.

At the time, Cheng Ye had been a bit angry hearing it. But now that he thought about it, the guy could curse pretty well—it was fitting. At least "vixen" sounded better than "fox spirit," which had been aimed at him.

Little did he know that a similar thought was crossing Shen Xu's mind. He recalled that omega calling Cheng Ye a "fox spirit." Both of them felt the other was luring them in.

The atmosphere warmed silently between them as they locked eyes.

Cheng Ye's hand moved, covering Shen Xu's hand, which was still on his chin. He was a bit younger than Shen Xu, with slightly smaller and warmer hands. Shen Xu's hands were more bony and colder, always freezing in winter. On snowy winter days, he insisted on wearing a coat for style over warmth, looking handsome but with hands and feet frozen like ice.

Cheng Ye was the complete opposite—he always seemed to radiate endless heat. His hands were warm all year round, like a little fireball.

Looking at Shen Xu's face so close, the soft light casting faint shadows on his straight nose, Cheng Ye inexplicably thought of the phrase "plain living is the truth." It startled even himself.

"What, you've stopped talking again?" Shen Xu noticed his distraction. The fingers on his face increased their pressure, shifting from rubbing to stroking, gently massaging Cheng Ye's lower lip. "You're so talkative. You chatted so much with Jiang Shang'en just now. Why aren't you talking now?"

The pressure grew heavier, the position shifted, and his finger blatantly wedged between Cheng Ye's teeth.

The increasingly ambiguous actions made Cheng Ye think that if he didn't stop this, he'd definitely end up in another "dedicated service" in a "monarch-minister battle" tonight.

"Let's skip it tonight. We did it yesterday too." Cheng Ye tilted his head, dodging Shen Xu's fingers, his voice a bit muffled, carrying tiredness and dismissiveness. "Plus, beating someone up was tiring. I was planning to rest early, but you threw me on the sofa instead."

"I know." Shen Xu replied casually, with the same dismissive tone, clearly not taking his words seriously.

The next second, Shen Xu's finger, which had been stroking his lips, suddenly lifted and wedged between his teeth.

Cheng Ye: "!"

He instinctively tried to close his mouth, but Shen Xu's thumb was firmly lodged there, leaving him helpless.

He could only keep his mouth slightly open, like a little dog having its teeth checked by a vet, looking a bit pitiful.

Cheng Ye mumbled indistinctly, trying to curse. Before he could get out a proper "What are you doing," Shen Xu had already grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.

The kiss was fierce, and with Shen Xu's thumb wedging his teeth apart, Cheng Ye couldn't dodge or bite. He could only take it passively.

It was like they were exchanging their temperatures.

Cheng Ye's mind went a bit numb. The lack of oxygen made his cheeks burn. His eyes were open, and he could see Shen Xu's eyelashes trembling slightly so close. He thought again that the omega hadn't been wrong—Shen Xu was indeed a clingy vixen.

Shen Xu slightly lifted his eyes and met Cheng Ye's gaze, which had been wide open and staring straight at him the whole time. The man wasn't struggling or dodging, just staying still in place, letting him take whatever he wanted. He was so docile, like a completely different person.

This realization stirred something in Shen Xu's heart. The kiss softened a few degrees.

After a long while, Shen Xu slowly pulled back. Cheng Ye took deep breaths, feeling his lungs fill with air again. He subconsciously licked his slightly numb lower lip, as if savoring it. This unconscious action looked rather seductive to Shen Xu.

"You don't know how to breathe," Shen Xu's voice was also a bit hoarse. "You looked like you were suffocating."

Cheng Ye felt mocked and retorted unhappily, "So what if I don't know how to breathe? I never learned. It's not like I can master it out of nowhere." He paused, looking at Shen Xu's equally flushed cheeks and ears, and suddenly felt mischievous, taunting, "You don't know either? Your face is even redder than mine."

Both of them had just kissed, a moment that should have been steamy and romantic, yet a faint awkwardness lingered in the air. They already knew each other inside out, but a slightly deeper kiss still made them feel shy.

It was indeed a bit ridiculous.

After a while, Cheng Ye couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. He rolled out of Shen Xu's half-embrace to lie flat on the sofa, then raised a hand and patted Shen Xu.

"Hey," Cheng Ye said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the ceiling, then turned his head to Shen Xu with a mischievous grin. "I just thought of a joke. Want to hear it?"

Shen Xu raised an eyebrow. "What joke?"

"Once upon a time, a crown prince went hunting and stumbled upon a nine-tailed fox. They fell for each other at first sight," Cheng Ye cleared his throat and began. "Guess who's the top?"

Shen Xu went silent.

He hadn't been expecting that kind of "joke." He paused for a few seconds, trying to analyze logically: "The crown prince? After all, he's human, so he should know more."

"Nope," Cheng Ye drawled, shaking his head, his mischievous grin barely contained. "It's the nine-tailed fox."

Shen Xu frowned slightly, looking puzzled. "Huh? Why?"

"Because," Cheng Ye held back his laughter, explaining slowly and deliberately, "the prince may know a lot, but the nine-tailed fox has nine tails!"

What about nine tails? Shen Xu still didn't catch on, remaining confused.

Cheng Ye paused, seeing Shen Xu's uncomprehending expression, and finally couldn't hold it in—he burst out laughing, shoulders shaking. "Because the nine-tailed fox has too many tails, the prince can't figure out which tail to... mmph!"

Just as Cheng Ye was getting excited, laughing so hard he was rocking back and forth, Shen Xu expressionlessly raised his hand and clamped it over his mouth.

"Stop," Shen Xu said, his voice sounded helpless and a bit disgusted, his ears turning even redder. "That's so crude."

Cheng Ye couldn't laugh properly with his mouth covered, only managing muffled "mmph" sounds. Once he had laughed enough, he pushed Shen Xu's hand away. "Why aren't you laughing? Isn't it funny? Jiang Shang'en even praised me for coming up with this—said I'm a genius."

Shen Xu looked at him expressionlessly, a hint of indescribable complexity in his eyes—as if he thought Cheng Ye was childish, but also as if he didn't know what to do with him.

He replied flatly with three words: "Too lowbrow."

"Lowbrow? How is it lowbrow?" Cheng Ye was offended. He sat up from the sofa, crossed his legs, and faced Shen Xu, raising an eyebrow. "Don't act all prim and proper now. Last time, that story about the emperor and the treacherous minister—you were the one who told me. I don't believe there's no porn stash on your computer."

This wasn't the first time Shen Xu had called him "lowbrow." The last time he saw that "snip your dick" emoji that Jiang Shang'en sent, Shen Xu said the same thing. So according to him, his own jokes are refined, but when it comes to Cheng Ye, it's lowbrow. What a double standard.

Shen Xu raised his eyes to meet Cheng Ye's, his gaze calm and unruffled, his tone still flat. "No."

"Really?" Cheng Ye leaned in until he was almost nose-to-nose with Shen Xu, staring into his eyes, trying to find signs of a lie. He thought Shen Xu was lying—who didn't have a little "personal collection" these days? And with all Shen Xu's tricks, he couldn't be that innocent.

Shen Xu let him stare without even fluttering an eyelash, repeating, "No."

Seeing Shen Xu so unyielding, Cheng Ye's competitive streak kicked in. He squinted, leaning in until he was almost touching Shen Xu, lowering his voice with a hint of provocation and curiosity. "Then how do you know so much? It can't all be from thin air, can it?"

Shen Xu looked Cheng Ye in the eyes and answered matter-of-factly: "Self-taught."

Cheng Ye was at a loss for words, but Shen Xu wasn't finished.

"Since taking Jiang Shang'en out for dinner is taken care of, about you coming to work at the company—when do you want to start?"

"What company?" Cheng Ye was momentarily caught off guard, looking up blankly. "Last time... didn't you say I couldn't come?" You even said the company didn't need people and told me to just stay at home.

He remembered clearly: two days earlier, Shen Xu wanted to lock him up at home for lying. And now, two days later, he'd changed his mind?

Shen Xu's expression didn't change, as if he hadn't said that before, explaining calmly, "I thought it over. I still don't feel comfortable leaving you at home."

Not at ease?

Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat. Shen Xu was planning to keep him under his nose again. But now he didn't want to go to work. First, he didn't need the money urgently anymore. Second, he was preparing to leave—how could he leave if he was under Shen Xu's watch every day?

No way.

"Forget it, hubby," Cheng Ye quickly waved his hands. "I don't understand anything about your company. I'd just be dead weight. And if I take such a high salary, your employees wouldn't be happy either."

He tried to hide behind excuses about not being qualified and not wanting to cause trouble.

Shen Xu listened quietly, not immediately responding, but kept his eyes calmly on Cheng Ye, as if he were sizing him up.

"Do you have something else to do?" Shen Xu suddenly asked.

Cheng Ye's heart tightened. This Shen Xu was like a mind reader—his intuition was terrifyingly accurate.

But then he thought: when he first heard about the high-paying job, he was over the moon. Now, just a few days later, he was doing a complete 180 and repeatedly refusing. Shen Xu was sharp; it would be normal for him to get suspicious...

He secretly regretted refusing too hastily, which instead aroused Shen Xu's suspicion. He should have pretended to agree first, then after going to the company, find an excuse—like "too tired," "not fitting in," "colleagues ostracizing me"—and quit after a couple of days. That would be more natural and wouldn't arouse Shen Xu's suspicion.

But the words were already out, and there was no taking them back.

"No, it's nothing," Cheng Ye quickly denied. "I just think I've gotten too lazy at home. I might not be able to get up in the morning, and your company uses a time clock system, right?"

After all, Shen Xu had seen him sleep in until noon every day. Sometimes he'd even sleep until two or three in the afternoon, and Shen Xu would come home for lunch and head back to the office.

Cheng Ye himself knew he was indeed a bit lazy, but he made up for it in other ways, and Shen Xu had already cut his allowance to five bucks, so he felt entitled to be lazy.

But Shen Xu clearly wasn't buying it.