Chapter 37 Courtship

Chapter 37: Courtship

Chang Hu embellished the story of how he'd recently seen Fu Yuncen sending Xiang Wei back at the entrance of the Shen family's old residence, and how Fu Yuncen had jumped at every chance to fawn over Xiang Wei. His purpose was to tell Shen Jiyue: if you keep playing dead at the company, you'll really end up like one of those useless husbands in those videos!

But whether Shen Jiyue was confident or overly magnanimous, after hearing all this, his outward appearance showed no fluctuation at all. He was so infuriatingly calm, making Chang Hu beside him look like the anxious eunuch while Shen Jiyue played the unbothered emperor.

Chang Hu's eyes widened, thinking he'd gone crazy. He waved his hand in front of Shen Jiyue's face and stressed: "Someone's fawning over your fiancé! And you can tolerate this?!"

Since when did Shen Jiyue have this much self-control? He turned his head to look at the sun through the glass window, wondering if hell had frozen over. What happened to your grudge-holding nature, man?!

Thoroughly confused, Chang Hu stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that while Shen Jiyue's face showed no urgency, the veins on the back of his hands were popping out.

Chang Hu was speechless.

"What's your plan?"

Quit the act! They knew each other too well for that. Instead of acting all cool, you should be planning how to mess with that Fu guy.

"Haoyuan's switching partners for this project." Shen Jiyue nonchalantly dropped that bombshell.

"Huh?" Chang Hu didn't catch on at first. He'd been stuck on set filming these past few days and hadn't been paying much attention to business matters. He frowned, thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed: "The Fu family is planning to bid for this cooperation project? Really? Is Fu Qing finally stepping back and letting Fu Yuncen take the lead on something big for once?"

It suddenly clicked for Chang Hu. Haoyuan was planning to change partners, and while the Shen Corporation wasn't participating, other companies in the loop would be falling over themselves to impress. Fu Yuncen would be swamped with work and wouldn't have time to bother Xiang Wei anymore.

Clever. Damn clever. No wonder Shen Jiyue could maintain his outward calm. So that was it.

"Want me to make things even harder for him?" A sly glint in his eye, Chang Hu chuckled slyly, immediately coming up with a wicked idea.

A playboy like that—just keeping him busy isn't enough! If he dared to reach for Shen Jiyue's fiancé, not chopping off his grabby hands would be a crime in itself!

"Yeah. Already on it." After fully taking the reins, Shen Jiyue had become more mild-mannered, but he wasn't some pushover who'd turn the other cheek.

When Fu Yuncen had made his move back when he wrongly thought Xiang Wei was his lover, Shen Jiyue hadn't reacted because he didn't yet know his own feelings, nor was he aware of that ridiculous rumor floating around.

Now that he'd brought Xiang Wei to family banquets and everyone knew they were engaged, Fu Yuncen still had the nerve to openly hit on his fiancé...

Shen Jiyue sneered. Did Fu Yuncen think he was six feet under?

His busy schedule since coming back wasn't just about avoiding Xiang Wei either. Teaching Fu Yuncen a lesson—just enough to make sure he never dared to think about Xiang Wei that way again—was the other big reason Shen Jiyue had been busy these past two days.

Of course, him being at the office reading today had nothing to do with Fu Yuncen. It was just that Xiang Wei's cold shoulder over the past few days had him all wound up. He was scared that if he stayed home, he'd cave and go see Xiang Wei, so he came here instead.

Hearing that, Chang Hu relaxed immediately. Heh heh, never underestimate Shen Jiyue's tricks! Quake in your boots, Fu Yuncen!

After playing nice for a few years, people actually thought he'd gone soft. Chang Hu remembered how Shen Jiyue had gotten back at those teenagers when they studied abroad, and how, back home, he'd handled those old geezers who tried to screw him over. Chang Hu silently said a prayer for Fu Yuncen—good luck, buddy!

You had an easy way out, but you just had to walk straight into trouble.

Having filed his report and feeling he'd done his part to protect his buddy's future happiness, Chang Hu wiggled his eyebrows and grilled him: when did you fall for him, and when did you two start dating? You kept it so under wraps! It's like your whole relationship was a covert op.

And you two are total newbies—do you even know how to date? Need Master Chang to show you a thing or two? With his longest relationship hitting three years, Chang Hu figured nobody knew more about dating than him!

Shen Jiyue's breath hitched for a second before he recovered. He waved him off, telling him to stop being so nosy, and mocked that every one of Chang Hu's relationships had fizzled out—who was he to give advice?

It wasn't until Chang Hu's older brother called to drag his flaky little brother away that Shen Jiyue finally got some quiet.

Once he was gone, Shen Jiyue couldn't focus on reading anymore. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, his mind wandering back to that night they'd shared a bed.

—After a cold shower, he'd come back to find Xiang Wei sleeping peacefully in his bed. His hands, which usually clung to a body pillow, were now clutching Shen Jiyue's blanket, his whole body smelling like Shen Jiyue.

Shen Jiyue had almost turned right back around for another cold shower.

He'd been scared the sound of the shower would wake him, so he'd carefully lain down on the far side of the bed, leaving a huge gap between them.

In the silent room, he and the man he loved lay in the same bed, the soft sound of breathing right next to his ear. He could reach out and touch him if he wanted.

The other man lay there so clueless, trusting him completely, totally defenseless—like it never even crossed his mind that Shen Jiyue might do something.

Faced with that kind of pure trust, Shen Jiyue couldn't say he was totally innocent. He could only smile wryly and keep himself in check. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering, but at least he wouldn't act on it.

He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep. But his body was too wired—sleep wouldn't come. It wasn't until the early hours, when he was about to pass out from exhaustion, that a hand suddenly reached over and wrapped around his waist.

Shen Jiyue was wide awake in an instant. Before his groggy brain could react, a warm body pressed up against his back. He couldn't tell if the breath on his neck was warm or cool, but it made the tiny hairs on his neck stand up.

He froze. He didn't dare move a muscle. He lay there wide-eyed for what felt like forever, until his arm went stiff and numb, before Xiang Wei finally shifted positions.

Phew.

Shen Jiyue exhaled, shifting a little to ease his sore muscles, and turned to look at him. In the dim light from the curtains, he saw Xiang Wei clutching the corner of the blanket again. He thought to himself that this habit of needing to hold something while sleeping was a real pain.

The night dragged on until dawn, and Shen Jiyue still hadn't slept a wink. He just got up, in case Xiang Wei turned over and went looking for his "body pillow" again.

So when Xiang Wei woke up and found him in the garden, saw the dark circles under his eyes, and asked if he'd pulled an all-nighter, Shen Jiyue dodged the question and changed the subject—but he didn't deny it.

He really hadn't slept all night.

In the days after, he'd been burying the memory of that night, afraid it would mess up his "isolation" plan. And it had. Even though they'd been seeing each other less thanks to Xiang Wei playing along, his longing only grew stronger.

When he was working, he could handle it. But the second he stopped, Xiang Wei was everywhere. So Shen Jiyue just buried himself in more and more work—until Chang Hu mentioned Fu Yuncen getting close to Xiang Wei, and all that longing turned into jealousy.

Why? Why did he have to work so hard to hide his feelings, keep his distance from the man he loved, and painfully cut off this one-sided crush—while Fu Yuncen could openly chase after Xiang Wei?

He was the one everyone knew as Xiang Wei's fiancé!

If Fu Yuncen knew Xiang Wei was taken and still went for it, why should Shen Jiyue, the actual "partner," hold back his own feelings?

Hold back just so someone else could swoop in and steal the prize?

Shen Jiyue admitted he wasn't that generous. Just the thought of Xiang Wei being with someone else someday, lying in the same bed with them, holding them while they slept—he couldn't stand it.

His eyes snapped open. Shen Jiyue realized that even a vague, baseless thought had him seething with jealousy at someone who didn't even exist.

Why could Fu Yuncen chase after someone who was already taken, while Shen Jiyue had to force himself to end things because of some self-imposed rule nobody else even knew about?

Comparing himself to Fu Yuncen, Shen Jiyue realized he was way too moral. He was so noble he might as well be a saint—even the National Moral Model committee would have to give him an award.

Dropping his moral standards down to Fu Yuncen's level, Shen Jiyue suddenly felt a wave of clarity. He'd been torturing himself for nothing these past few days! There was no need for it!

If Fu Yuncen had the guts to go for it, what was Shen Jiyue so afraid of?

The second his mindset shifted, everything opened up. Shen Jiyue finally tossed aside his overblown morality and decided to go for it. The moment he had that thought, it felt like a sweet rain washed over his heart.

He opened his notebook, grabbed a pen, and took it as seriously as he would a major project. If he was going to pursue someone, he needed to be fully prepared.

Shen Jiyue thought about how Xiang Wei still had no clue. He held back his urgent, eager urge and told himself: no rush, take it slow, don't scare him off.

...

While Shen Jiyue was jotting down dating strategies on his end, Xiang Wei made a beeline for the incubator the second he got home. Seeing that the snakelet still hadn't hatched while he was gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd spent the last couple of days hanging out with the other kids from the Praise Group. They'd all brainstormed and put together a shopping list. Today, he'd gone out shopping with Fu Yunyan.

Because they’d bought so much, the mall promised to deliver everything, so Xiang Wei came back empty-handed.

He first texted Fu Yunyan to say he was home, thanking his brother Fu Yunyan for the ride, then sent a thank-you to Fu Yuncen, and finally messaged Shen Jiyue to let him know Chang Hu had come by to see him today.

All the shopping was done, everything was all set—just waiting for the egg to hatch. Xiang Wei flopped onto the sofa, bored out of his mind, feeling like he’d been running on fumes these past few days, but at least it had all worked out.

After a moment, he frowned, realizing that now that he had free time, it hit him that he hadn’t seen Shen Jiyue in ages. He picked up his phone again and asked when Shen Jiyue would be back, and whether he was gonna skip dinner at home again tonight.

As he put down his phone, Xiang Wei was still thinking that if Shen Jiyue didn’t come home for dinner tonight, he’d swing by with food—no matter how busy he was, he still needed to eat properly!

Ding-dong! A text came in. Shen Jiyue replied that he’d be home in a bit, and asked if Xiang Wei needed anything picked up on the way.

Great, Xiang Wei said contentedly that he didn’t need anything—he’d just gotten back from outside, and as long as Shen Jiyue came home in time for dinner, that was enough.

Hehe, wouldn’t Shen Jiyue be totally blown away when he saw that the snake had already prepared everything needed for the Snakelet to hatch!

The snake was truly a wonderful and responsible parent!

==========Author’s Note:==========

Shen Jiyue: Compared to Fu Yuncen, I’m basically a national saint.

Snake: Doesn’t understand but claps anyway.

Fu Yuncen, the moral low point being dragged down for comparison: ...

(It’s not a hug, it’s a pinch.)

—

Turns out these past few days were the college entrance exam period—I just saw it on Xiaohongshu. Wishing all exam takers: may you answer everything you know, guess everything you don’t, and get into your dream university!