Chapter 21: How About You Two Chat Here, and I’ll Leave?

Chapter 21: How About You Two Chat Here and I'll Leave?

Song Jiang had been in the kitchen for a while now.

The sounds of kitchenware clattering came from inside.

Fu Zhichen, sitting in the living room, furrowed his brow and called out without thinking.

"Steward Song, if you can't do it, don't force yourself."

"If you break Aunt Wang's precious pots and pans, she won't let you off the hook when she comes back from visiting family."

Aunt Wang won't let me off?

Hah, as long as the boss lets me off, that's fine. Aunt Wang is such a gentle person, I'm not afraid of her at all.

I refuse to believe I can't handle this fish!

Song Jiang slammed the kitchen knife onto the cutting board, wiped the sweat off his forehead haphazardly, poked his head out the door, and said, "Mr. Fu, I really can cook. I won't blow up the kitchen, have a hundred percent faith."

Fu Zhichen was about to say something else when the doorbell rang—it was Chu Yan.

"Bro, you're not doing so well, I heard you're sick." Chu Yan, dressed in a flashy, unruly floral outfit, came in and plopped down on the sofa like a lord, teasing him, "Such a fragile body, huh?"

Fu Zhichen wasn't surprised by Chu Yan's behavior and asked expressionlessly, "How's the investigation going?"

Chu Yan, completely off-topic, leaned in with curiosity, "Hey, bro, let me ask you something."

"How did you feel after taking that aphrodisiac?"

"How did you even manage to hold back?"

"Does soaking in cold water really work?"

"Won't it cause problems holding it in?"

"Bro, tell me how you're feeling down there now..."

Song Jiang hadn't heard their earlier conversation.

When he came out with the dishes, he only heard Fu Zhichen's furious shout.

"Chu Yan, say one more word and get the hell out!"

Only Chu Yan dared to mess around in front of the boss.

Chu Yan, didn't give a damn about whatever the boss said, probably had a face thicker than a city wall. The boss couldn't do anything about him.

Song Jiang was totally starting to ship them.

He wished he could write a BL novel about this.

The title could be, "The Ninety-Ninth Time I Cursed My Brother After Falling in Love with Him."

Not too short, not too long—exactly fifteen Chinese characters.

He wasn't sure if this kind of theme would be popular on Tomato.

Chu Yan acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, shouting when he saw Song Jiang, "Little steward!"

"A day apart feels like three years. Little steward, how I've missed you!"

"..."

That silver tongue of his, no wonder he charmed everyone, regardless of gender.

No wonder he could sweet-talk those clueless people so easily.

"Young Master Chu, I've missed you too."

Song Jiang forced a fake smile as he said the most insincere words of the day.

A barely perceptible, death-ray glare scanned him.

Tch, so what if he said something? It's his mouth, the boss can't control it.

Fu Zhichen closed his laptop and glanced at them casually, "How about you two chat here and I'll leave?"

"Huh? Really?" Chu Yan played dumb, "Bro, you're the best. I've always said you should fire the steward and let him work for me."

Song Jiang nearly tripped when he heard Chu Yan's words.

Hell no!

The boss had finally become generous, and leaving now without raking in some cash would be such a waste!

Fortunately, Chu Yan didn't continue the topic.

Song Jiang set the finished dishes on the dining table. Chu Yan was the first to come over and plopped down on a chair.

"Little steward, did you make these dishes yourself?"

"They look, smell, and taste perfect."

"Let me be the first to try them out."

Without any courtesy, Chu Yan was about to dig in when suddenly, a yellow object flew through the air.

An orange.

It hit Chu Yan's hand squarely, and his chopsticks clattered to the floor, just as expected.

Song Jiang gasped in surprise. Nice aim!

The boss was so accurate—if he went to a night market to play ring toss, the vendors would probably lose their shorts!

"Come on!" Chu Yan said angrily, "Bro, you've gone too far."

"They say guests come first. I'm a guest in your house, and this is how you treat me!"

Fu Zhichen, wiping his hands with a wet towel, said casually, "So you do know you're a guest."

"You come to my house, try to poach my staff, and now you want to eat the food my steward made for me before I even get a bite. Chu Yan, have some shame."

"Do you understand why I let you in today? Did you get any results on the matter I asked you to investigate?"

Song Jiang had never heard the boss say so much before; he was usually a man of few words with him.

It was definitely different with his childhood friend.

Even better to ship.

“Fine, so I’m just a tool you use,” Chu Yan said, clutching his chest in mock hurt.

What a

soap opera moment.

Song Jiang was about to sit down and watch the show when he was suddenly called out.

Fu Zhichen asked, “Steward Song, did you cook this meal for him?”

“What do you mean, it’s not for me? Can’t I, the little steward, have some?”

“...”

Song Jiang looked from Fu Zhichen to Chu Yan.

What the heck are these two up to?

They’re arguing like elementary school kids.

Is his cooking really that sought after?

He figured the dish had no looks and no flavor.

Ah... it actually made him feel awkward.

“Steward Song.”

Song Jiang instinctively answered, “Right here!”

Chu Yan, perhaps feeling outnumbered, switched gears.

“Forget it, bickering with you is boring. Let’s get back to the main topic.”

“Go on.”

Oh, the CEO was back to being a man of few words.

“About you being drugged yesterday — not surprisingly, it was your cousin.”

“Give me a name. I don’t have a cousin.”

He won’t even admit he has relatives. What a heartless CEO.

“Fan Jian.”

“Him.”

Only after Fu Zhichen took a satisfied first bite did Chu Yan pick up his chopsticks, shoving a few pieces of meat into his mouth while saying, “You and Ye Qingqing both drank the red wine he brought last night, right?”

“The bottle he said was ’82 Lafite.”

“I had it tested. He did put drugs in it.”

“Tian Tian and I had a spat, and by luck, I dodged that bullet.”

“Old Madam Fu has been pushing you to get married lately. I guess Fan Jian wanted to do a good deed.”

“Anyway, Ye Qingqing likes you. And wasn’t Ye Group trying to partner with you but you turned them down?”

“I think they planned to take the chance to push Ye Qingqing into your bed.”

“Once it’s a done deal, you’d have no choice but to accept it.”

“It would both seal the deal and marry their daughter into the Fu family as your wife, the lady of the house. No matter how you slice it, it’s a win-win.”

After hearing Chu Yan’s words, Song Jiang finally understood the complexity of wealthy families.

Full of scheming and backstabbing, it’s often a life-or-death struggle. Someone like him, a little white mouse, probably wouldn’t last a single day in such a household before being crushed.

Suddenly being not-so-rich didn't seem so bad. What's up with that?

Chu Yan couldn't keep a straight face for more than a few minutes before changing the subject again.

“Little steward, your cooking is really good. You sure you don’t want to come work for me?”

“...”

Song Jiang was really glad Chu Yan complimented his cooking, but he noticed the CEO's expression darkening.

Song Jiang knew that if he didn't pledge his loyalty soon, the CEO would definitely take it personally.

“Master Chu Yan, please don't say things like that. Mr. Fu treats me well, and I've never thought about leaving.”

Fu Zhichen's eyes crinkled at the corners, almost imperceptibly. He leisurely picked up his glass, took a sip, and set it down, maybe on purpose.

The glass clinked loudly as he set it down.

As if to say, “You hear that? My little steward isn't going anywhere with you.”

Song Jiang was stunned by Fu Zhichen's smug expression. What the heck?!

Is the CEO delusional from a fever?

Clearly, the dosage was too low.

Yep, he can't stop taking his meds.

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