CH 18

It wasn’t until the sun was high that Xia Xingchi opened his eyes in a daze.

He turned over to the side a bit, and his face was buried in soft, fragrant fur —

Oh my god, Li Chengyuan turned into a cat?!

Never mind, it was Summer who snuck in while its owner was away, having fun on his bed. Seeing that Xia Xingchi had woken up, the big white dumpling who was lying beside him with wide eyes and silently watching him immediately got up and left.

Tsundere and nonchalant, as if it wasn’t the one who had just been peeking — just like someone else.

Xia Xingchi had slept soundly. He hadn’t the slightest clue that he had burrowed into Li Chengyuan’s arms and slept like that all night.

Contemplating how he had not been picked up in the middle of the night by the vicious villain and beaten violently, he thought it must be the effect of the pillow he had hugged for that purpose. With it, he wouldn’t hug people randomly. Maybe he hadn’t disturbed Li Chengyuan’s rest?

Little did he know that the pillow that was “in the way” had been tossed aside mercilessly long ago, and when Li Chengyuan got up in the morning, it was silently returned to him.

– – –

After that, nothing happened for several days. As a laborer who had worked hard until death, it was rare for Xia Xingchi to live a leisurely salted fish life.

The only job left was to “warm the bed.” In the meantime, Li Chengyuan drank medicine to nourish his body while trembling and pressing his head.

Although Xia Xingchi wished to fill his daily itinerary and make money, the company deliberately didn’t allocate resources, and naturally, the low-tier actor could not expect anyone to come to his door.

The reason why that bastard Xia Yu allowed the original owner to enter his management company was not only to create a point of comparison, but also to deprive the original owner of various resources as the company’s celebrity and top-ranked male artist.

Xia Xingchi reclined on the sofa, carefully searching for profitable jobs that he could take the initiative to apply for. But it seemed that there was nothing reliable, only daydreams and fraud.

The screen flashed as Lin Meng called.

Ever since she saw Li Chengyuan that night, she became more and more worried about Xia Xingchi’s situation —

An expensive limited edition supercar, a young man with the astonishing appearance of an immortal, and her good brother’s unspeakable expression at that time……

According to the various plots in dog-blood dramas, Lin Meng deduced a rather credible answer: That young, handsome guy was the driver responsible for picking up Xia Xingchi!

The benefactor was someone else.

Other financial backers gave resources and connections to their young artists, but her didi was stuck at home every day and could only ask longingly: “Sister Mengmeng, don’t I have a work schedule yet?”

— That unreliable old bastard actually allowed Xia Xingchi to be half-concealed by the company and did nothing! This was simply receiving services without paying![1]

The sadomasochistic love triangle between the sweet, innocent boy, the wealthy old scumbag, and the handsome driver immediately played out in Lin Meng’s mind.

“Hello? Good morning, Sister Mengmeng.” While talking, Xia Xingchi lured Summer with a cat treat, trying hard to pet it.

Lin Meng often called to see if he was being bullied.

However, today she was uncharacteristically excited and said: “There’s good news, Xingchi! You’re invited to next week’s fashion soiree!”

Those who could receive invitations to the dinner party were all popular celebrities and leaders from all walks of life, along with many rich and famous people with status.

There were only three people in the entire management company who received this invitation letter. Who would have thought that Xia Xingchi would suddenly become the fourth one after the time for invitations had already passed?

“Soiree? So we have a job!” Xia Xingchi immediately pricked up his ears upon hearing that.

This was something he knew about. After all, Xia Yu had been “low-key” showing off for a long time. Yesterday he pretended to be modest and announced that he had borrowed a top luxury brand’s high-end suit, and his smug look could almost pass through the screen.

Just as he was thinking, he heard Lin Meng change the subject: “But……there is still the matter of a high-end outfit.”

After all, the most competitive aspect of the red carpet was brand name quality, and the media from all walks of life were eager to go over it with a magnifying glass, and then write lengthy and overly critical articles.

Xia Xingchi didn’t have any endorsements, and was currently not well-known, so of course no brand would provide him with a suit for free. The top luxury brand wouldn’t even let him rent one.

And even if it was a slightly inferior brand, it would cost tens of thousands for a single rental. What was more troublesome was that the company would not reimburse him, so if he wanted to rent, he would have to pay for it himself.

Xia Xingchi sucked in his breath after hearing the price —

It was so expensive that it would be better for him to take off his clothes altogether and run around naked.

– – –

Thus, for the rest of the morning, he sat in the cloakroom, thinking hard about the cabinet full of everyday clothes that Li Chengyuan had bought for him.

After much deliberation and no ideas, Xia Xingchi sighed and asked Lin Meng like a sad frog: “Sister Mengmeng, how about we buy a suit online? I checked and found a set that is only 88 yuan, and it also includes postage.”

Lin Meng naturally knew that he was joking, but was also aware that he was truly helpless when it came to clothes.

She hesitated for a long time before saying: “Actually, you……can you ask your benefactor?”

After speaking, she couldn’t help but visualize that dog-blood drama again. The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became, imagining all kinds of painful “prices” that Xia XIngchi would have to pay for this.

Little did she know that Xia Xingchi was not poor now, and had an annual salary of tens of millions. The only thing holding him back was the word “stingy.”

“Those big brand names are something ordinary people like us can’t even afford, but your benefactor definitely can – he certainly won’t make you pay.”

If he could drive a luxury car worth tens of millions, he couldn’t ask his lover for tens of thousands.

Xia Xingchi blinked, thinking that this made sense. With Li Chengyuan’s status, he could easily obtain any brand, and Xia Xingchi probably wouldn’t be asked to pay.

But how could he tell him, “Although you give me a monthly salary of one million, I am reluctant to spend it, and want to continue to squeeze your wool[2] because I’m stingy.”

Noticing Xia Xingchi’s silence, Lin Meng thought that he was really reluctant to pay that kind of “price,” so she had to persuade him with distress: “It’s okay if you don’t want to do ‘that.’ Try to coax him in another way, and as soon as he’s happy, he may rent the most expensive clothes for you.”

The two were actually not on the same channel at all, but they could communicate without barriers. Xia Xingchi only heard the second half of what she said, and his eyes lit up as if he had glimpsed a way to save money: “How do I coax him? Sister Mengmeng, please teach me!”

Lin Meng: ?

Why didn’t he fight to the death for his beloved driver? How terrible was his cruel benefactor that the child was so scared that he dared not resist?

“First of all, you have to be sweet. No one hates being praised. After you speak sweetly, you can tactfully say what you want.”

“Secondly, give him delicious food to show that you value him. Whoever eats delicious food will be in a good mood. When he is happy, he will definitely grant any request.”

“Finally, physical contact can also shorten the distance between hearts. Think about it, even between good friends, the closer they are to each other, the stronger their relationship will be.”

Although Xia Xingchi was a jack of all trades, making people happy was really difficult for him. He had no parents, and had been basically alone since he was a child. There was no one at home to coax.

When working outside, he hated using his looks for profit, and would never flatter customers – but for some reason, coaxing Li Chengyuan gave him a sense of willingness, and he didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Seeing that what Lin Meng said was sound and well-founded, Xia Xingchi immediately believed in these “cheat codes” and took them as his guiding principles.

Little did he know that Lin Meng was actually single and had never been in a romantic relationship. She had no love experience or benefactor, and only possessed the accumulation of knowledge derived from reading countless dog-blood novels.

While on the phone, she quickly picked up <<The Overbearing Tycoon’s Little Contract Wife>> and flipped through it.

She tried hard to find a “reliable” answer.

– – –

After receiving Agent Lin’s teachings, Xia Xingchi did as she said and worked hard in the kitchen for a while.

Immediately afterward, various desserts were placed on the table, reflecting the current afternoon tea time – According to Secretary Ye’s tip-off, Li Chengyuan had left work for some reason today and would be home soon.

Time was running out. Xia Xingchi ran to the garden after preparing some refreshments and quickly plucked a few of the freshest and prettiest roses, arranging them with skill.

He was trying to create an atmosphere that would make him seem sincere enough.

Just as the last flower was inserted into the vase, a car engine sounded, followed by the beep of the electronic door lock.

Li Chengyuan had come back.

Xia Xingchi took a deep breath and muttered: “Sweet talk, physical contact……”

Li Chengyuan opened the door and saw at a glance that the villa was uncharacteristically quiet, not at all like he was raising a noisy little hedgehog who was never idle.

He immediately frowned, and the sense of panic and viciousness of “Xia Xingchi disappeared again” arose at once. It seemed that if he wasn’t watched for a while, that person would vanish in place.

As soon as he took a step off the porch to go find that person, he suddenly saw a milky white figure rushing toward him with the speed of a 100-meter sprint!

Before Li Chengyuan could react, Xia Xingchi had already appeared before him in an instant, crashing into his arms like a small bowling ball.

It was so sudden. One second he was restraining the irritable mood of “that person disappeared,” and the next he was thrown into his arms. He even staggered back two steps in his defenselessness before standing still.

Xia Xingchi raised his head, trying to put his arms around Li Chengyuan’s shoulders. But he was too tall, and this posture was very awkward, so he had to put his arms around his neck instead.

Looking up at him with his eyebrows curved, he asked softly: “Chengyuan, are you tired from work today? I made you dessert, come on, open your mouth —”

Li Chengyuan: “……?”

Even though he was usually apathetic, he couldn’t help but frown, revealing a confused and baffled expression.

Xia Xingchi was holding a freshly baked cookie, firstly to make someone happy using “sweetness,” and more importantly, to take the opportunity to test whether Li Chengyuan’s “white moonlight” was the gentle type.

It was self-evident that as a stand-in, the more he behaved like the white moonlight, the more satisfied the other would be with his service – and for the little money-grubber, there would be more wool to squeeze.

But although his tone was gentle, his behavior was difficult to change. While Li Chengyuan was hesitating, he had already savagely stuffed the cookie directly into his benefactor’s mouth.

The extreme contrast was apparent as he went on to ask gently: “Chengyuan, do you like it?”

Li Chengyuan: “……..”

At this moment, Xia Xingchi’s eyes shifted slightly to the side, and he abruptly realized that there were five other people standing outside the open door behind Li Chengyuan.

These people were dressed very formally, all of them staring at the scene before them in shock and bewilderment.

They had never seen such a lovey-dovey couple, nor had they met such a “sweet and gentle” young master with such an inconsistent style.

Several pairs of eyes exchanged glances, and the scene fell into a sudden and deathly silence.

Now it was Xia Xingchi’s turn to be speechless. He deflated like a punctured balloon, his soul draining out to take off into the sky.

He had pretended to be “gentle” until he was nauseous from disgust, but unexpectedly, someone had watched the whole process?

The mental preparation he had worked so hard on and the thick skin that he had desperately built up collapsed in an instant. Xia Xingchi justed wanted to shout “Fuck my life!” and “Save me!”

So much so that the arms that were around Li Chengyuan’s neck forgot to loosen, and instead hugged it even tighter. At the same time, he ducked his head and tried his best to hide in Li Chengyuan’s arms, as if this was a hole in the ground and he could hide by drilling in hard.

Li Chengyuan was already uncomfortable because of this sudden initiative to throw himself into his arms, and this ambiguous movement made him freeze.

The tips of his ears were stained a suspicious red, spreading all the way down his neck.

After a while, Xia Xingchi finally realized that the important point wasn’t his social death in front of strangers. Rather, he had hugged the big villain so fiercely, and even tried his best to cuddle into his arms?!

How could there be such a lack of distance between them on a normal day? Except for the “after falling asleep” that Xia Xingchi didn’t know about, the closest distance he could think of was at the dinner table, and it was impossible to have physical contact with each other.

Even if Li Chengyuan hadn’t shown his crazy side in the past few days, it couldn’t be forgotten that he was still a cruel and insane boss.

Xia Xingchi suddenly had the hair-raising sensation of forcibly hugging a big white tiger. Fearing that his head would be bitten off in the next second, he quickly let go and moved away from Li Chengyuan.

When he looked up, he saw that the cruel villain still had half a cookie shaped like a cute bear’s head hanging from his mouth.

Xia Xingchi: “……”

I am dead, burn paper for me.

If there was anything that made Xia Xingchi a sad little frog, it was noticing that those strangers were carrying a very shiny and beautiful white suit.

– – –

After working half the day, Xia Xingchi didn’t expect that Li Chengyuan had gone above and beyond to have someone customize a suit for him.

Perhaps he had heard the news of the fashion soiree very quickly, or he had instructed the organizer of the event to send out an invitation.

Surrounded by everyone as he tried on clothes, Xia Xingchi felt that the logo looked vaguely familiar.

After careful consideration, he suddenly realized that this was the super luxury brand that Xia Yu had proudly flaunted!

Judging by Xia Yu’s cocky look and the praise in the comment section, this should be the out-of-reach brand that was quite difficult to obtain.

As a result, the service at this moment was very enthusiastic and well-planned, with a designer, three assistants, and a particularly sweet-talking account manager. It was said that this was special treatment for a few supreme VIPs.

The manager was indeed eloquent, and when he opened his mouth, he praised with hype:

“Young Master Xia is so good-looking, he really looks good in anything, ah!”

“Your body proportions are really great, with long legs and a thin waist. This suit is meant for you!”

“If you stand on the red carpet in this, you will definitely look the best, ah!”

These sounded like compliments to Xia Xingchi, but in fact, they were meant for Li Chengyuan, who was sitting beside him. While speaking, the man carefully watched the changes in Li Chengyuan’s expression.

Xia Xingchi shook his head, thinking, it’s useless for you to praise him.

He is so difficult to coax. Whether it is physical contact or sweet talk, I have tried so hard and made such an embarrassment of myself, but he still shows no expression.

Who knew that just as he was thinking this, a faint smile flashed across someone’s face after tasting the tea in front of him —

This so-called “difficult to coax” person, after discovering that Xia Xingchi took care to make the refreshments the salty kind he liked, was quite satisfied.

It was a pity that a few people didn’t know the truth:

The account manager thought that praising Young Master Xia really made Mr. Li happy, while Xia Xingchi thought that Lin Meng’s “secret knowledge” really worked. Or maybe his white moonlight was actually gentle and virtuous?

“Mr. Xia, come and test the size so that I can crop and modify it.” Unlike the manager’s hospitality, the designer’s attitude was neither humble nor overbearing.

Xia Xingchi knew that he had quite the status and reputation in the industry. Even if he didn’t know much about the fashion world, he had heard of him.

So how much did it cost to rent such a suit?

Xia Xingchi tilted his head, recalling the rental fee in the hundreds of thousands quoted by this big brand, but suddenly realized that the designer was talking about “cropping and modifying.”

This meant that Li Chengyuan hadn’t rented clothes for him, but bought them directly?!

Xia Xingchi was shocked for a moment, and realized that he might be wearing a suit that cost several million yuan. He dared not move, and turned his head stiffly to stare at Li Chengyuan.

Li Chengyuan remained expressionless, sitting silently as he drank tea and ate snacks.

After an afternoon of hasty preparations, it seemed that a lot of wool was easily picked up. Xia Xingchi was flattered, and even a little embarrassed.

He thought hard for a while, and finally decided to compensate Li Chengyuan with something……for example, quietly playing a more dedicated “sweet” stand-in?

– – –

The account manager had been flattering and nonchalantly chatting for two hours, and Xia Xingchi finally understood why “Supreme VIPs” received this service.

It was said that because top designers were very arrogant, it was difficult for them to please clients courteously. When meeting a bigwig like Li Chengyuan, someone had to act as support.

But in Xia Xingchi’s opinion, this person was here to promote.

After the other party talked for a long time, he finally got around to the point: “Mr. Li, this suit is not only our latest style, but also a couples style with one black and one white!”

“Will you be accompanying Mr. Xia to the fashion soiree this year?”

“Perhaps you would like to consider us for your suit? This couples style —”

Li Chengyuan’s perpetually expressionless face suddenly darkened.

The account manager was taken aback at this sight, so he shut up with haste and dared not speak again, confused as to which sentence he had said wrong.

While Xia Xingchi was considering how this suit was worth millions, he guessed the problem for him: 

Hehe, didn’t expect that the two of us actually agreed to get married without affection, right?

You said that the big boss wanted to accompany me to the soiree, are you flattering me too much or looking down on him?

Besides, he had a cold and low-key personality. How could he participate in such a thing?

The account manager dithered for a while, and finally had to attribute it to Li Chengyuan’s disdain for the quality of his brand.

This was already the most luxurious brand, and was highly respected among entertainers and the rich, but this was because what stars needed were the big names that the general public were familiar with in order to gain face.

However, with Li Chengyuan’s identity, he usually chose a legendary brand that was not market-oriented. The public had not even heard of it, and this legendary brand only created tailor-made clothes for a few top people in the world.

So if he could wear their clothes publicly once, that would not only mean millions in sales, but would also be quite an honor and an upgrade in status.

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips. Suddenly being exposed by this undiscerning person about going to the soiree, he was embarrassed and angered, but also felt a little complex.

So he calmly looked to the side, from the fitting mirror to Xia Xingchi, whose back was facing him.

In the end, Xia Xingchi acted as if he hadn’t heard it. He didn’t care about the whereabouts of his “fiance,” let alone about whether they wore couples clothes or not, and only concentrated on the button texture of the expensive suit.

Thus, embarrassment turned into displeasure and annoyance.

Li Chengyuan’s expression was gloomy, and in the end, the account manager didn’t dare to speak again.

[1] 白嫖 (báishí) can also mean “visiting a prostitute without paying money.” ⮐

[2] To “squeeze wool” is to hunt for the best price/deals. ⮐