You Shulang stayed in the guest room of Fan Xiao Apartment.
They will make love, but they won't sleep in each other's arms.
At first, Fan Xiao also strongly opposed it. Afterwards, he held You Shulang and wouldn't let him leave, or he stayed in the guest room and refused to leave.
But You Shulang would either leave after Fan Xiao could no longer hold on and fell asleep, or he would walk out of the guest room and sit on the sofa all night.
After several rounds of quarreling, Fan Xiao finally gave in. After each time, he would just lie on You Shulang's neck for a short while before letting him go, leaving him alone to suffer from insomnia.
The empty and cold bed is You Shulang's cage, and also Fan Xiao's.
Sometimes in the early morning, Fan Xiao would see You Shulang standing on the terrace smoking. That corner seemed to be the end of the world. You Shulang stood there, as if he was pushed to the edge of loneliness, his back wrapped in the light smoke, blurry as if he was about to drift away from this world.
Fan Xiao never disturbed him. You Shulang was on the terrace, and he was in the living room. It was as if there was an invisible wall separating them, and no one could enter the other's world.
You Shulang might not have been unaware that he was behind him, but he had never turned around. The person who once knew that he was afraid of the cold and didn't want him to suffer from a little cold, on a cool spring night, didn't even bother to look at him.
When the faint morning light first appeared, it was the most relaxing moment for that person. You Shulang would lie on the fence of the terrace, watching the light gradually emerge from the horizon, driving away the darkness, and perhaps, his loneliness.
Sometimes, You Shulang would cook for Fan Xiao, maybe fulfilling his obligations under the sponsorship contract. The food was very homely and delicious, and Fan Xiao would praise it in different ways every time.
He kept talking at the dinner table, from the dishes to his work, from the people he met in the elevator to the children handing out flyers on the street. He never tired of gossiping, because Fan Xiao knew that as long as he stopped, the people sitting on both sides of the table would fall into a terrifying silence again...
The master of playing with people's hearts was helpless for the first time.
All the frustration under the bed turned into all kinds of flattery on the bed. Only when their skins were touching and their body temperatures were warming each other, could Fan Xiao deceive himself from You Shulang's irresistible pleasure that he still liked him, but he just didn't say it out loud.
You Shulang found a new job, still in administration, but the position was not as high as before, but the tasks he had to undertake were just as many.
Commercial enterprises are busy with welcoming and seeing off guests, and this is already the fourth drinking party this week.
The young master hosted a banquet for guests, and the guest was a small one. In addition, he was a difficult guest. You Shulang drank his own share and had to help the young master drink, so it was a bit too much.
He asked the waiter for an ice towel and covered his face with it to sober up. He heard someone whisper in his ear while he was dazed, "I asked someone to replace your wine with water. Don't let it show when you drink it later."
You Shulang pulled down the ice scarf and saw the young master sitting on the chair next to him, acting as if nothing had happened.
Even though You Shulang had just joined the company, he had heard rumors that the young master was a terrible person. He was a perfectionist, competitive, extremely demanding, and not the kind of person who cared about his subordinates.
His actions now surprised You Shulang.
After the wine was replaced with water, the situation became much easier to deal with. You Shulang got the other party drunk and staggered, and he also earned the reputation of being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.
Standing side by side with the young master, they sent off the guests one by one. You Shulang expressed his gratitude in a proper manner like a subordinate: "Thanks to Mr. Qin for taking care of me tonight, otherwise I don't know how drunk I would be."
Mr. Qin was in his twenties, with a cold face. He had drunk a little, and was now a little tipsy.
Reaching out and patting You Shulang on the shoulder, he said mature words with a young face: "You are better than them. Just follow me from now on."
You Shulang didn't take the drunken talk seriously, and expressed his gratitude in a measured way, then sent the young master, who had already walked, to the car. When he saw the car drive away, the tension in his body finally relaxed.
"Shulang."
A deep male voice echoed in the night. Fan Xiao walked from the darkness to the light. He withdrew his gaze from the rear of the departing car and carefully supported You Shulang's elbow: "I'm here to take you home."
The drunken man dodged sideways with a rather exaggerated movement: "I told you not to."
Without being able to shake him off, Fan Xiao's hand slid down You Shulang's arm and held his hand. His cold fingertips tried to insert into the warm fingers, but failed, so he had to clench his palm instead.
"I'm also eating nearby, I'm not waiting for you. Let's go home together, okay?"
Fan Xiao has figured out a pattern recently. The more sincere he is, the more annoyed You Shulang becomes. It would be better to keep a little distance, which would actually allow him to get closer to You Shulang.
"Let go of my hand first." You Shulang was drunk and didn't want to get entangled with Fan Xiao. "Where is the car parked? Come over here."
Fan Xiao responded but did not let go, pulling You Shulang towards the parking lot.
One was pulling and the other was struggling, and there was a feeling of confrontation.
At this moment, the car that had just left drove back the same way.
The rear window slowly rolled down, revealing Mr. Qin's face, which looked like a stranger should not be approached, inch by inch.
He looked at the clasped hands of You Shulang and Fan Xiao, and glanced at the hidden anger on You Shulang's face.
Cold, hard words were thrown out of the car: "Minister You, I need a summary of the company's first quarter office supplies usage and funding expenditures. No matter what emotional disputes need to be dealt with, I hope you won't affect your work. I want to see the relevant materials on my desk tomorrow morning."
It was really fucked up, and You Shulang finally learned his lesson. He nodded and responded with the simplest words: "Okay, Mr. Qin."
"Mr. Qin?" Fan Xiao suddenly asked, "Qin in Qin Xianglian, or Qin in Qin Hui? Sorry, I grew up abroad and don't know much about China's history."
He threw a cigarette into his mouth and bit it, his eyes sharp: "But I do know that the evening is the employees' private time, there is no reason for me to work so hard for you. Do you understand the labor law, Xianglian?"
Mr. Qin's face was as tense as a sculpture. He sank his back into the leather seat, the car window went up, and from the last gap, a faint voice floated out: "Drive."
Fan Xiao took off his cigarette, but he was still angry. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Little bastard."
Turning his head, he saw You Shulang's exhausted expression. He nervously pinched the man's palm and said, "I don't mean to interfere with your work, but that Qin guy is bossy and I can't stand him ordering you around."
He lowered his body and advised, "Why don't you come to work in my company? Xu Zhong controls many things in the company, and he always has bad intentions towards me. There are too many things that need me to worry about, and there will always be times when I am not energetic enough. Can you come and help me?"
You Shulang was drunk, his eyes were red, and he said sarcastically, "Why are you so confident that I will help you? Aren't you afraid that Xu Zhong and I will team up to empty your company?"
Fan Xiao felt itchy in his heart because of the red mark. He suddenly leaned over and kissed the corner of You Shulang's eye: "You don't have to spend time and effort. If you want, the whole company will be given to you."
You Shulang exerted force on his wrist and pushed down, finally breaking free from Fan Xiao's hand. He chuckled and said sarcastically, "As if you have the final say. I heard that Fan Er is still checking your accounts."
He walked past Fan Xiao and headed towards the car: "Stop talking nonsense and go back."
Fan Xiao lowered his eyes, suppressed his unfathomable look, and walked slowly behind.
The next morning, in Qin Zhiyang's office.
The young man was flipping through the newly delivered documents; his green fingers were so white in the sunlight that they seemed to be melting.
"Am I taking up Minister You's rest time?" he asked without raising his head.
"These are all materials that have been sorted out before. There is no need to work overtime at night to sort them out." You Shulang replied.
"Well, I just said you are better than them." Qin Zhiyang raised his head, "My vision is not wrong."
He crossed his fingers. "In my office, we only talk about work. But today, I'll make an exception for you."
He asked as if giving alms: "Was that man yesterday your boyfriend?"
You Shulang felt a headache, and his respectful attitude turned into indifference: "Although Mr. Qin made an exception for me, I don't want to break my own rules. I don't talk about personal matters at work."
Qin Zhiyang raised his eyebrows: "As a subordinate, you shouldn't talk back to me, but I do appreciate you more."
He pulled out a document from the drawer and placed it in front of You Shulang: "This is the information I looked up last night. The man who was entangled with you yesterday is called Fan Xiao. He is Chinese and grew up in Thailand. Here is all the information about his family and the company he currently controls."
After saying this, Qin Zhiyang turned on the player on his mobile phone again, and the scene of Zhang Chen jumping off the building popped up.
"This is a suicide scene that was live-broadcasted on an online platform a few days ago. Because I checked all your information, I know that this person is your adoptive mother's child. From his conversation with you that day, I roughly analyzed the emotional entanglement between you and Fan Xiao. In addition, you seemed reluctant to him last night. I boldly guessed that you should want to leave him now, but you can't."
While You Shulang was surprised, there was a knock on the office door, interrupting their conversation.
The young man frowned slightly and raised his voice: Come in.
The secretary brought the coffee, and the fragrant aroma immediately floated in the air.
After putting down the coffee, the female secretary turned to leave, but was stopped by Qin Zhiyang.
He glanced at the coffee cup in front of him: "I have a guest in my office, and you only brought a cup of coffee?"
The female secretary glanced at You Shulang and the teacup in front of him in panic, and explained hesitantly: "This time every day is your coffee time, and I saw that Minister You drinks tea."
"Then you should also pour a cup of hot tea for Minister You." Qin Zhiyang looked at the coffee cup again, "Also, I just told you yesterday that I put very important information on my right hand side. Since I accidentally knocked over the coffee cup before, please put the coffee on my left hand side, but you didn't do that today."
The woman's face suddenly changed: "I'm sorry, Mr. Qin, I forgot."
"Memory is one of the most basic abilities a secretary should have." Qin Zhiyang's voice became colder and colder. "I hope you won't forget again next time, otherwise I will ask your superiors to punish you accordingly. Get out."
The woman staggered away in her high heels, and Qin Zhiyang looked at You Shulang again.
"Where were we talking about?" He picked up the coffee cup with his left hand, took a sip and placed it on his left side. "Oh, yes, we were talking about Fan Xiao."
The young man's face was as tense as it was last night: "He mocked me, scolded me, and questioned my ability. This is totally unacceptable to me, so I want to correct his thinking."
You Shulang frowned slowly: "He was just talking nonsense, Mr. Qin, don't worry about it."
Qin Zhiyang's eyes suddenly showed some eagerness: "Aren't you going to ask me how to correct him?"
You Shulang was silent for a moment before asking, "How do I correct it?"
"He and I have no intersection in life or work. The only person who can link us is you, Minister You."
"What do you mean?"
"If I snatch you away from him, do you think I will have defeated him?"
You Shulang was shocked, but then he felt helpless: "Boss Qin is really used to having a smooth journey. He can't stand any grievances or losses. In order to save face, he can even think of such a ridiculous thing." He stood up, "If there is nothing to do at work, I will leave first."
You Shulang walked towards the door. As soon as he put his hand on the door, he heard the person behind him say, "I really like you."
The anger that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly surged up, and You Shulang felt that everyone in this world seemed to be playing tricks on him!
Turning his head, he looked at Qin Zhiyang and said bluntly: "Kid, no one is playing house with you."
Qin Zhiyang was not annoyed: "I hope you can analyze it seriously with reason. First, I am gay, which is suitable for you; second, you are very rigorous, and I admire your work; third, I am a spiritual Plato, I will never kiss or have sex in my life, so I will not cause any harassment to you. You just need to cooperate with me and make the person who calls me Qin Xianglian regret what he did and said yesterday for the rest of his life."
Qin Zhiyang stood up and extended his hand to You Shulang: "Be my boyfriend, and I will help you leave him."