Chapter 52: Do I Have to Lock You by My Side for You to Behave?

Chapter 52: Do I Have to Lock You to My Side to Make You Behave?

The dinner was finally finished with a few hiccups, but the sound of rain outside grew louder.

Old Madam Fu just told everyone to stay the night before leaving, saying the roads were too slick to drive.

But Song Jiang wasn't buying it—Old Madam Fu’s matchmaking intentions were written all over her face.

The clearest proof was how she assigned the rooms.

After Song Jiang walked the boss to his room, the white-bearded butler led him to the room arranged for him.

As soon as Song Jiang opened the door, he flopped onto the bed, arms and legs spread out like a starfish.

Ah, that's nice.

He tested it out—not as comfy as the boss's, but okay.

At least he shouldn't have to be the boss’s body pillow tonight, right?

This was the old family home! If anyone caught them sharing a bed, it'd be game over!

Song Jiang hesitated for a moment, then checked his phone. Apart from group messages, his chat history with the boss was still from a long time ago.

He figured the boss didn't want to out them either.

Feeling relieved, Song Jiang headed for a shower, planning to enjoy a break from the boss’s sarcastic remarks, maybe catch a quick movie before bed.

Song Jiang opened the bathroom door and found pajamas already laid out on the shelf. That butler was really thoughtful.

"Good luck's here, good luck to you"

"Good luck brings joy and love"

"..."

Don't get it twisted—that wasn't a phone call this time. Song Jiang was in such a good mood he couldn't help belting out a tune.

Come on, we all know the shower makes you sing—it's like a built-in sound system. The bathroom has natural echo and reverb, even a tone-deaf person sounds like an angel.

Song Jiang was totally absorbed, oblivious that someone had opened his door.

"Little butler?"

"Little butler, where are you?"

The voice grew closer.

"Little butler, come save me! I'm starving to death."

Chu Yan was in the room next door. The bathroom door knock made Song Jiang realize he wasn't alone.

He turned off the shower and called out tentatively, "Who's out there?"

"It's me, Chu Yan. Little butler, are you done with your shower?" Chu Yan's voice sounded weak.

Song Jiang asked, confused, "Not yet, what's up?"

"No big deal," Chu Yan said, hand on the door, starting to push. "Just wanted to ask if you're hungry."

Song Jiang jolted and shoved the door shut. "Chu Yan, what are you doing?"

"Taking a shower. Since you're already in there, I'll join you to scrub your back." Chu Yan's matter-of-fact tone was ridiculous.

Scrub my back, my ass!

He'd be totally out in the open!

No way, no matter what!

Song Jiang didn't waste a second and refused firmly, "I don't like back scrubbing. I'll be out soon after I finish."

Only then did Chu Yan stop his action. Song Jiang could vaguely see Chu Yan's back turned to him.

"Little butler, my back-scrubbing skills are top-notch. Are you sure you don't want to try?"

Song Jiang muttered under his breath, 'You, a spoiled rich kid, are supposed to be a pro at scrubbing backs? Not even a dog would buy that!'

"Really, no need!"

Whether it was disappointment or hunger, Chu Yan let out a heavy sigh.

Song Jiang quickly switched topics, "Weren't you just hungry? Why not grab a snack?"

Chu Yan gave a bitter laugh, his back sliding down the door, looking defeated.

"Easy for you to say, little butler, but I can't cook."

"Do you understand what I mean, little butler?"

"..."

Song Jiang thought for three seconds and understood.

He wanted Song Jiang to fix him a midnight snack.

Worried Chu Yan might try the door again, Song Jiang rushed through his shower, didn't even dry his hair, and followed Chu Yan downstairs.

Hardly any lights were on in the stairwell, and no staff were around.

"Why are we..." Song Jiang watched Chu Yan sneakily looking around, and found the right words. "...creeping around?"

"Shh," Chu Yan brought his finger to his lips. "If Granny Fu catches us heading to the kitchen now, we're in trouble."

Song Jiang looked baffled, "?"

Chu Yan shot him a 'seriously?' look and whispered, "Wouldn't that be the same as telling Granny Fu we deliberately didn't eat enough at dinner!"

"Think about it—an old lady cooked for us herself, and we disrespected her. How heartbroken would she be!"

Song Jiang cut himself off and said casually, "That's on you. Don't drag me into it."

"If we get caught, you're taking the blame, or I'm not cooking for you."

Chu Yan pointed at Song Jiang with a 'so you're that kind of person, huh' look.

Song Jiang blinked innocently, as if to say 'yep, that's me.'

After a few seconds of standoff, Chu Yan caved.

The two of them snuck into the kitchen. Song Jiang glanced at the available ingredients, then at the starving Chu Yan.

"Noodles, okay?"

Chu Yan looked at him eagerly, giving him the impression he’d eat anything to fill his stomach.

"..."

Fifteen minutes later, Song Jiang patted Chu Yan on the shoulder and nodded toward the pot of noodles. "Here, all yours."

"Steward Song, I freaking love you!!!"

Chu Yan was so excited he almost grabbed Song Jiang and kissed him on the face.

Song Jiang stepped back a few steps and held up a hand to stop him.

"Hurry up and eat. I'm going to bed."

Everything was going smoothly—until disaster struck.

When the ringtone "Haoyun Lai" started playing, Song Jiang was just about to leave the kitchen.

"Hello, President Fu, what's the matter?"

Is the boss gonna cause trouble again this late?

"Steward Song, can’t I call you without a reason?"

That familiar line again! He was sick of hearing it. Why can’t the boss just say what he wants?

Song Jiang had no choice but to use his formulaic tone again: "Of course you can, President Fu, but it's getting late. Don't you have work tomorrow?"

"Steward Song, I’m going to bed now, but did you forget something?"

?

His gut told him the boss wanted him to come to his room.

Before Song Jiang could come up with an excuse to refuse, Fu Zhichen spoke again: "Steward Song, who's that beside you?"

Does the boss have super hearing? How could he hear that? Song Jiang had deliberately gone to a corner to answer the call.

Then he shot Chu Yan a resentful look. Couldn’t he just eat his noodles without smacking his lips? Now they were both caught.

Chu Yan, catching Song Jiang's look, just finished slurping the last mouthful. He hadn't even put down the bowl, a satisfied expression on his face as he walked over.

"Dude, still up?"

Chu Yan tapped the empty bowl with his chopsticks.

"Steward Song and I had a midnight snack. It was really good, delicious—even better than the food at my five-star hotel!"

Chu Yan really knew how to exaggerate.

"My desire to poach Steward Song is at an all-time high. Bro, let him go, just give me a chance."

Song Jiang was speechless.

There was silence on the other end of the phone too. Given Chu Yan's previous attempts in front of the boss to poach him, and the boss being the type who 'nobody touches what’s mine'—a man with extremely strong possessiveness—he could already picture how sour the boss’s face must look.

Fu Zhichen’s voice was completely flat.

"Steward Song, bring a bowl to my room."

After saying that, he hung up directly, giving Song Jiang no chance to refuse.

Song Jiang shook his head regretfully and said to Chu Yan, "All this was supposed to be yours, but you got us caught. Now you have to share with President Fu."

Under Chu Yan's remorseful gaze, Song Jiang scooped all the noodles into a large bowl.

The door to Fu Zhichen's room was unlocked, so after knocking, Song Jiang went straight in. Fu Zhichen was sitting on the bed reading a magazine.

Song Jiang asked, "President Fu, are you hungry too?"

Fu Zhichen didn’t answer, just stared at Song Jiang, his eyes following him.

"Steward Song, did I say you could make a midnight snack for Chu Yan?"

What if he didn’t agree? Chu Yan had already finished a big bowl.

Song Jiang kept his smile on, placed the bowl on the nightstand closest to Fu Zhichen, stood up straight and said,

"President Fu, Chu Yan and I are friends. There's nothing wrong with making a friend a midnight snack."

Fu Zhichen tossed the magazine to the side, giving off a chilling vibe that made anyone afraid.

"Steward Song, in the short time I wasn’t here, you’ve already gotten chummy with Chu Yan."

Fu Zhichen sneered, using his long arms to his advantage, and quickly grabbed Song Jiang by the collar of his pajamas.

Song Jiang’s eyes went wide. Before he could react, he was pulled down until they were face to face with Fu Zhichen.

They were practically cheek to cheek.

Fu Zhichen said in a dangerously low voice meant only for Song Jiang.

"Steward Song, do I have to chain you to my side before you learn to behave?"

*

Here it comes, here it comes! Those of you who are still awake are in for a treat ⁽⁽ (๑˃̶͈̀ ᗨ ˂̶͈́) ⁾⁾

I posted almost 4.7k words today, hahaha. I'm awesome. I'll reward myself tonight with a dream of 99+ readers begging for updates in my inbox!

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