Chapter 32 – 032

“Like…” Gu Xian murmured blankly, then suddenly frowned. “I don’t like anyone!”

Just earlier, he had mentioned that there was someone he liked, leaving Xie Yunjing feeling puzzled.

Gu Xian then muttered again in a low voice, with a hint of frustration: “…No one likes me, and I don’t like anyone either.”

Xie Yunjing felt even more confused.

How could no one like Gu Xian? Back in their school days, as a rebellious bad boy with a bold personality and decent grades, Gu Xian received far more love letters and confessions than he ever did.

Gu Xian’s hand suddenly landed on Xie Yunjing’s face again, pushing hard as if trying to make Xie Yunjing’s face disappear.

“Annoying jerk! You already have everything, and you still want to take things away from me!”

Although Gu Xian’s hand lacked strength at the moment, it also lacked precision. Xie Yunjing almost got poked in the eye, so he had no choice but to hold Gu Xian’s hand down and ask, “What do you mean by saying I have everything? What have I taken from you?”

The person who had just been saying whatever came to mind suddenly became stubborn: “Annoying jerk! Go away, I don’t want to see you!”

“Gu Xian!”

Xie Yunjing called Gu Xian’s name several times in a row, but Gu Xian remained highly resistant to him. It wasn’t until Xie Yunjing pressed Gu Xian’s head against his own shoulder, blocking his view entirely, that he finally quieted down.

“What did I take from you?” Xie Yunjing asked again. Gu Xian still didn’t give an answer, so Xie Yunjing had no choice but to let it go and called the driver over.

Gu Xian fell asleep on the way. Xie Yunjing carried him into the house and explained to the visibly surprised Uncle Kang, “We ran into each other by chance.”

The smell of alcohol on Gu Xian was so strong that Uncle Kang could catch a whiff of it from three meters away.

“I’ll go make some hangover soup,” Uncle Kang said as he hurried off to the kitchen.

Between feeding Gu Xian the hangover soup, changing his clothes, and dealing with him vomiting once, Xie Yunjing was kept busy until the middle of the night. Only then did he finally have the chance to take a shower and change out of the clothes that Gu Xian had soiled.

After lying on the bed, Xie Yunjing couldn’t help but glance at Gu Xian again. Whether it was the effect of the hangover soup or because he had thrown up earlier, Gu Xian’s breathing tonight was noticeably heavier than usual.

Supporting his head with one hand, Xie Yunjing watched for a while before reaching out to gently touch Gu Xian’s lips.

As for Gu Xian’s “annoyance” with him, Xie Yunjing didn’t mind much. After all, they had been arch-enemies for so many years, if Gu Xian didn’t show any resistance toward him at all, that would be truly strange. But what was the real reason behind Gu Xian’s dislike of him?

The first conflict between them stemmed from Xie Yunjing taking the top rank away from Gu Xian. However, “being first” was something that, if it belonged to Gu Xian, would mean Xie Yunjing wouldn’t have it—this clearly contradicted Gu Xian’s earlier complaints about how “you already have everything.”

Did “being first” hold some special significance for Gu Xian? And if it was so important, why did Gu Xian later give up on himself and completely stop trying to do well?

Lost in thought, Xie Yunjing’s hand unintentionally applied a bit more pressure.

Gu Xian let out a dissatisfied hum and opened his mouth, ready to bite.

Xie Yunjing mischievously brushed his finger against Gu Xian’s teeth before quickly pulling his hand away. Gu Xian ended up biting his own teeth together with a crisp “click,” frowning unhappily.

They were married, after all—there was no running away from that.

Xie Yunjing smiled silently, and instead of deliberately keeping his distance from Gu Xian as he usually did, he lay down right next to him.

*

It felt like thousands of bombers had just exploded in his head.

Gu Xian held his head in pain, barely able to open his eyes. It took a while before he noticed an unusual warm presence beside him.

He snapped awake and, upon realizing it was Xie Yunjing, a fleeting look of relief crossed his face. But almost immediately, he became hostile again: “Why are you so close to me?”

“Take a good look,” Xie Yunjing said, completely unbothered as he bullied the freshly-awakened drunk. “Who’s the one getting closer to whom?”

They were positioned closer to Xie Yunjing’s usual side of the bed. Gu Xian’s expression twisted for a moment before he retorted mockingly, “I was the one drunk last night, and you were sober the whole time. Couldn’t you have just pushed me away?”

“You kept scooting toward my side after I fell asleep. Was I supposed to stay awake all night just to push you back?”

“…” The shock sent Gu Xian’s headache surging back. He glanced at the drawn curtains, enduring the discomfort as he reached for his phone.

When he saw the time displayed on the screen, his expression immediately shifted to one of triumph, as if he’d caught Xie Yunjing in the act. Smirking, he asked, “It’s already this late, and you’re still lounging in bed instead of going to work?”

Xie Yunjing theatrically rubbed his temples and calmly reminded Gu Xian, “Why don’t you take a moment to recall just how much trouble you caused last night?”

The jumbled memories of being drunk made his head ache even worse when he tried to recall them. Gu Xian almost gave up on remembering when his expression suddenly changed. Grabbing Xie Yunjing by the collar, he exclaimed in disbelief, “Why the hell did you kiss me?”

Xie Yunjing remained calm. “Are you sure it was me who kissed you?”

“Of course! Why the hell would I kiss you?” Gu Xian, recalling how it felt like he’d been kissed in the worst possible way, looked even more upset.

Xie Yunjing leisurely played along with the word game. “I’d actually like to know why you kissed me.”

“Stop spouting nonsense! It was obviously you who kissed me!” Gu Xian forced a twisted smile through his headache. “Ha, Xie Yunjing, don’t tell me you’re secretly in love with me!”

Xie Yunjing smiled faintly. “Why don’t you think it through again, who kissed whom, really?”

“It was you! Don’t think you can fool me!” Gu Xian smugly snorted. “Who would’ve thought, Xie Yunjing? You look all proper and upright, but deep down, you’ve been scheming—”

Xie Yunjing suddenly interrupted him. “Do you have any evidence?”

“What evidence do I need? If I don’t trust my own brain, am I supposed to trust your nonsense?” Gu Xian teased, hooking Xie Yunjing’s chin with a playful gesture. “Young Master Xie, if you like me, you should just say so. If you don’t tell me, how will I know you’ve been secretly pining for me so hard?”

“So, now that you know, what are you going to do about it?” Xie Yunjing grabbed Gu Xian’s hand, forcing him to stay in a position that was almost like lying on top of him. “Are you going to toy with my feelings, or let me sleep with you?”

Xie Yunjing’s straightforward admission left Gu Xian momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, he responded indignantly, “Get it straight-you’re the one secretly in love with me. If anyone’s doing the sleeping, it’s me sleeping with you!”

Xie Yunjing chuckled, picked up his phone, and opened a group chat. “Before debating who sleeps with whom, I think you should take a look at this photo. Last night, you publicly grabbed my ass and then kissed me.”

The members of the group chat Xie Yunjing showed Gu Xian were no ordinary people. They were either business moguls or industry elites, all prominent figures with reputations to uphold. Somehow, someone both audacious and unscrupulous had taken a photo of Gu Xian grabbing Xie Yunjing’s ass last night and anonymously posted it in the group.

This usually serious and composed group of influential figures had been excitedly discussing the photo all night long. Even by this morning, people who were just seeing it for the first time continued to chime in with astonished comments.

Gu Xian stared at the photo and the vivid descriptions from several anonymous users, utterly dumbfounded.

That hand on Xie Yunjing’s butt, it couldn’t have been Xie Yunjing’s own, staging his own social death.

With a perfectly serious expression, Xie Yunjing slyly shifted the narrative. “Still think I was the one who kissed you?”

The fragmented and hazy memories from being drunk made Gu Xian, who was initially convinced that it was Xie Yunjing who kissed him, finally start doubting himself under Xie Yunjing’s “ironclad evidence.”

Xie Yunjing casually placed the phone in front of Gu Xian and, with a composed demeanor, asked, “First you grab my ass, then you kiss me. So, Gu Xian, was this drunken impulsiveness or your true feelings showing after drinking?”

Author’s Note: 

Bad man.