CH 27

“What did you say……”

Xia Xingchi didn’t react, but felt that the heartbeat close to his ear seemed to be much faster.

It was so fast that he had to wonder whether Li Chengyuan’s heart could bear this speed, and whether it would make him uncomfortable.

But apart from his heartbeat, Li Chengyuan’s voice was still calm, with a low, hoarse tone: “Xia Xingchi, the person I am looking for is you.”

After a moment of silence, Xia Xingchi finally recovered and confirmed what Li Chengyuan was talking about.

He didn’t say a word for a long time, and finally let out a long “oh.” This utterance didn’t contain any special emotion.

In order to prevent someone’s fragile glass heart from malfunctioning, Xia Xingchi raised his hand and gently stroked Li Chengyuan’s chest, hoping that his fast-beating heart would slow down a little:

“Understood. Boss Li, go to sleep quickly. Staying up late can result in sudden death.”

Li Chengyuan frowned. He naturally hadn’t foreseen that Xia Xingchi would have such an ordinary and calm reaction.

It was like hearing someone say “The weather is fine today,” as if he didn’t care, and it didn’t deserve affirmation or negation.

Li Chengyuan then raised his hand and grabbed the groping hand on his chest without saying a word, staring at him quietly in the dark and obviously waiting for him to say something.

This was the matter that Xia Xingchi didn’t understand:

Although he heard that his benefactor may call the substitute by the White Moonlight’s name, the abusive text had also mentioned that this happened in bed – not this kind of bed, but the one that was not suitable for children.

Li Chengyuan was wide awake now, and he wasn’t joking. His tone was firm as he insisted on forcing the issue and saying that he was the White Moonlight……so in the end, should he play along or avoid the topic?

His wrist was clenched tightly, and clearly someone was intent on hearing an answer.

Xia Xingchi tried to struggle, but couldn’t break free. He couldn’t help being a little sour when faced with this problem, and also very irritable and angry.

He answered perfunctorily:

“Oh, I see. Then I am very honored to be the person Mr. Li is looking for! I really want to cry with joy!”

As he spoke, he reached out angrily and pushed Li Chengyuan with force, then pulled his wrist out with even more strength and simply turned over with his back facing him.

“Xia Xingchi, you —”

Li Chengyuan watched Xia Xingchi instantly erect the thorns all over his body, as if he would stab anyone who got close to him and then bite them twice. He couldn’t help being puzzled, never having expected him to have such a reaction.

He had imagined before that he might be surprised, happy, in disbelief……but why was he angry?

Was this the reflexive counterattack after a petty liar reunited with his defrauded victim?

“Hurry and go to sleep! Stop talking, okay? Otherwise, Mr. Li, you can sleep by yourself tomorrow night, ba. I’m sleepy!”

Xia Xingchi rolled over angrily and buried his face in the pillow.

If Li Chenyuan wasn’t his boss, he would have definitely kicked him away hard.

On account of his poor health, Xia Xingchi didn’t care to talk about the matter of “jealousy” anymore, yet he lost his mind at night and directly escalated to treating the double as the White Moonlight?

In other words, he had been misidentifying him all this time, and he was actually regarded as the “White Moonlight” in his eyes. No wonder he suddenly laughed during their quarrel that day. It was obviously because of this deep-rooted misconception.

“You can’t even recognize your White Moonlight. Li Chengyuan, you are so blind.” In the end, Xia Xingchi couldn’t hold back. He lay sullenly on the pillow and said, “Are you worthy of him like this?”

Li Chengyuan was observing whether or not he would smother himself if he continued to lay on his stomach like this, and whether he should be turned over. Now he was relieved that he could still talk, and tranquilly replied: 

“I recognized him as soon as we met.”

“That shows even more that you’re blind!” Xia Xingchi said angrily.

He had thought he was looking for a substitute, but he had actually recognized the wrong person as soon as they met.

It seemed that there were indeed more uncomfortable things than being a substitute. If everything was wrong in the beginning, then the cohabitation, the annual salary of tens of millions, and Li Chengyuan’s instances of protection and tolerance were obviously paid to the wrong person.

Even though the stand-in was still working and being paid in an upright manner, now it seemed that he was a mistake who was taken as the wrong person, and couldn’t even be counted as a substitute?

Li Chengyuan was not angry upon being scolded, and just said seriously: “I’m saying, it’s you.”

Seeing him so convinced and unrepentant, he finally couldn’t bear the rage on the heels of the sourness:

“Idiot! Laozi will suffocate you to death! Whatever, it’s all wrong. You fire me, ba! I quit!”

With that said, he popped up and took the pillow to cover Li Chengyuan’s face.

Li Chengyuan was smothered by him with a pillow, but he didn’t struggle. He just closed his eyes and reached out to grab his collar.

Xia Xingchi was straddling him to press the pillow down, and he fell directly into his arms after being yanked like this. He heard his heart beating more and more rapidly. Perhaps this was the legendary expression of a “heart being moved.”

Xia Xingchi lowered his eyes, suddenly feeling extremely sad for no reason. So much so that he didn’t want to do anything anymore, and just lay quietly atop the other’s body and listened to his heart, not knowing for whom it was beating.

Xia Xingchi was very sure that he was not the person Li Chengyuan was looking for. He was struck to death by lightning not long ago and came to this strange world. How could he be missed by Li Chengyuan since he was seven years old?

Not to mention not being in the same time or space at all, assuming that he was five years old eighteen years ago, being kicked around like a football by everyone with nobody to take him in, it was impossible for a rich and noble son to notice such a low-level brat.

The atmosphere was filled with a silence that stretched indefinitely.

Li Chengyuan lay still on his back and let Xia Xingchi lay on top of him. Neither of them said anything for a while.

In the end, Li Chengyuan was the first to break the silence, and said spoke a rare string of words:

“Xia Xingchi, I never said I was looking for a lover……I was just looking for a little liar. I want to ask him why he lied to me and make him fulfill his promise.”

Xia Xingchi sighed and asked: “How old was he if he was able to fool you?”

Children grew up very fast, both in size and mentality. It would be difficult for a five-year-old to fool a seven-year-old.

What’s more, he knew that the big villain in front of him had an outrageously high IQ since he was a child, far surpassing his peers, and had won various awards.

“Ten years old……or a bit older, just slightly short.”

Li Chengyuan narrowed his eyes, remembering the way someone patted his chest and asked him to call him brother, and how he always wanted to touch the other’s head because of his height.

Perhaps due to the way he was lying on his chest, the voice Xia Xingchi heard seemed particularly melancholy and low.

That chest vibrated slightly from the sound, and even Xia Xingchi’s heart seemed to shake faintly. It was an indescribable feeling, slightly astringent.

Obviously, apart from being shorter than his peers due to a lack of nutrition, he and this “White Moonlight” had nothing in common.

Xia Xingchi bit his lips, rolled away from Li Chengyuan’s body, and finally made a decision to pretend to be relaxed:

“Li Chengyuan, you know I’m two years younger than you. Are you blind or stupid?……It’s obvious that you’ve got the wrong person, so it’s up to you to fire me or break off the engagement.”

After speaking, Xia Xingchi turned over and ignored him. All of a sudden, he didn’t want an annual salary of tens of millions and a huge inheritance. He just wanted to get away from this person and stop feeling like his chest was stuffed with lemon-soaked cotton.

Thinking of being fired, the worker conscientiously scolded the boss: “You’re an idiot.”

Li Chengyuan: “…….”

He had no answer to the question of age, but he knew he wouldn’t recognize the wrong person.

It was just that if he insisted on saying “it’s you” in front of Xia Xingchi now, this irritable little hedgehog might not merely curse, but also jump up and hit people.

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips and had to remain silent for the time being.

In the dark, he stared at the lump of Xia Xingchi’s back for a long time. After confirming that he was asleep, he silently stretched out his hands to wrap him in his arms, lest he get so cold that he leaned into someone’s arms like a thief.

Xia Xingchi didn’t sleep well that night. He fell asleep in a sour mood, thinking about what the seven-year-old Li Chengyuan would be like.

He had half a night of bizarre dreams, and actually dreamt of him when he was a child.

In the dream, Li Chengyuan was rather thin and pale, like a fragile and beautiful porcelain doll. Xia Xingchi couldn’t help worrying that he would pass out if he stood for too long.

Perhaps his subconscious made what he was worried about happen, because the porcelain doll wobbled for a moment, then fell straight down in front of him.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchi rushed forward to catch him, but found that he had also become smaller in the dream.

What’s more, even in the dream, Li Chengyuan was very strong, indifferent, and unfriendly.

Even though his consciousness was muddled and he was about to pass out, he still ordered with a young, beautiful face: “Go away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, before the Xia Xingchi in the dream could react, he began to cough painfully without stopping.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes widened upon seeing that his pale lips were smeared with glaringly bright red blood, never having expected that he was so seriously ill.

But before he could do anything, the sudden shock traveled over from the dream.

The sky was getting brighter now, and Xia Xingchi found himself hugging his “idiot ex-employer” with his hands and feet, so he quickly and silently climbed off of him.

It was clearly extra embarrassing to be so intimate after a fight.

After thinking about it, he couldn’t help recalling how the dream had been so real. He stared at Li Chengyuan’s sleeping appearance for a while, making sure that he wouldn’t suddenly get sick and cough up blood like in the dream.

Just as he was lost in thought, he saw Li Chengyuan move. Then he subconsciously took Xia Xingchi, who had slipped away just now, back into his arms and hugged him again.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback and quickly reached out to push him, thinking, this person has the habit of hugging the pillow when he sleeps?

But maybe because this warm embrace was so comfortable, he raised his hand but didn’t touch him in the end, and just let himself bury his head in Li Chengyuan’s arms, falling asleep again in a daze.

Little did he know that Li Chengyuan had woken up some time ago and was watching him with his eyes open. After a while, he raised his hand and gently touched his disheveled head.

– – –

Xia Xingchi woke up after going back to sleep, and as he stared dazedly at the primitive ceiling that was worn down to slag, he reached out to find that there was no one next to him. Even the bed was cool.

Thinking of the dispute and showdown when they clarified things the night before, it was not unimaginable for Li Chengyuan to directly leave.

It was no wonder that the boss as precious as gold and jade could come here to accompany the little stand-in to endure hardships. Li Chengyuan must have regretted it to death that he had exposed his identity after misidentifying a cannon fodder passer-by. Now people all over the country knew what the male god who had always kept a low profile looked like.

Xia Xingchi sighed. Seeing that no one was urging him to get up for the time being, he took out his phone from under the pillow and checked Weibo casually, wanting to see how yesterday’s show had been received.

At the same time, he would see if he was really dragged into the water and included as a suspect for Li Chengyuan’s other half.

He opened the hot search list and #Li Chengyuan’s lover suspected to be exposed# suddenly came into view.

Xia Xingchi was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He rushed to tremblingly click it.

The internet in the remote backcountry mountain village was rather poor, and his heart beat wildly as the results loaded with difficulty.

Various thoughts flashed through Xia Xingchi’s mind, but the most common one was, “God! What a big loss!”

If he had a monthly salary of one million, and on the basis of having the money and ability to handle public relations well without affecting his income as an artist, he could still consider meeting his employer’s demand for an official announcement.

But now that he had no money and no job, the love affair still had to be exposed?

Xia Xingchi poked at the gray-white loading screen, and had to suspect that it was because he called Li Chengyuan an idiot last night, and he was deliberately taking revenge.

Otherwise, without human intervention, how could this entry suddenly rise to such a high position?

Just as he was thinking this, the picture finally loaded successfully, and Xia Xingchi quickly clicked on it  —

Only to find that the one in the picture was not him!

Although it was a blurry candid shot, it would still be easy for him to recognize himself.

In the photo was a person who was about the same size as him, arm in arm with the tall man beside him and leaning intimately into him.

The image quality was a bit blurry, and only half of the man’s side profile could be seen, but even Xia Xingchi really thought it looked like Li Chengyuan.

He was stunned. Didn’t this bastard only have the White Moonlight on his mind? How could he let other people stick to him like this?

[Damn! So President Li’s lover is really a boy? I didn’t believe that revelation at first]

[Which one? Which one? To be able to tell the gender so accurately, it seems this person knows something, ah. Why else did this guy get so much attention?]

[They also said that the other party was a young master from a rich family, and that he was not a lover, but a fiance, the kind that is about to get married]

[Ahhh! I found out yesterday that Mr. Li was wearing a ring on his middle finger. At that time, the hand of the male god was so beautiful, so this is an engagement ring?!]

[This divinator who broke the news hit a strike, ah. The gender is male, and they are fiances……If they deduced this much, then ‘young master of a rich family’ must be true]

[In this reality show, there is only one young master from a rich family, so the situation is quite clear. It must be Xia Yu]

[Yeah yeah yeah! I knew it was Xia Yu ! ! ! Those who said our family shipped too hard, you’ve been proven wrong ~ Dying of laughter ~ Mr. Li and Xiao Yu are real!]

Seeing this, Xia Yu couldn’t help but frown and go back to look at the photo……it seemed that the person really was Xia Yu.

If it was Li Chengyuan’s real White Moonlight, that would be fine, but if the other party was Xia Yu, Li Chengyuan would have to have lost his mind to let him stick to him like this.

Yesterday he had told him to go away in disgust. How could he suddenly fall in love with him today and take pictures with him on the spot?

Although Xia Xingchi suspected that the man might not be Li Chengyuan, the melon-eating people from all walks of life obviously didn’t know the inside story.

So he could only watch helplessly as he was directly dragged into the water for no reason. Yesterday’s live broadcast became very outrageous under the malicious guidance and editing of the water armies.

[So President Li and Xia Yu are really a couple? So what were Xia Xingchi’s fans doing yesterday? Is this a slap in the face?]

[God, why is Xia Xingchi so shameless? What did he do next when the young couple went out to gather goose eggs? He deliberately waited for Mr. Li to protect him, and scolded Xia Yu angrily. What a self-righteous boy mistress]

[Damn, how did he have the face to sleep with Li Chengyuan last night? The couple was trying to avoid suspicion, Xia Xingchi is a psycho, right?]

[You’re the psychos! You didn’t watch the original broadcast, you only watched the clips and comment blindly? It didn’t happen that way at all!]

[The task of gathering goose eggs was assigned by Xia Yu. Li Chengyuan took the initiative to help in the kitchen, and said “Xia Xingchi, you come sleep with me.” I hope everyone knows (soybean sweating.jpg)]

[Really, really? It’s none of Xia Xingchi’s business, and you want to say that Li Chengyuan took the initiative? Don’t even look at Mr. Li’s worth, and Xia Yu is rich, self-restrained, and popular. What is your idol?]

. . . . . .

Xia Xingchi frowned. This situation was even scarier than the position of “Mrs. Li” being exposed and being eaten alive by Li Chengyuan’s fans. Now it had directly become a mistress script.

With a mistress like himself around, the firepower of Mr. Li’s crazy girlfriend fans was not entirely directed at Xia Yu, the “first wife,” and a considerable part of it was directed at him.

Xia Xingchi took a deep breath. Sure enough, he had underestimated the disgusting character of the vicious protagonist who must retaliate.

Xia Yu was embarrassed and ashamed yesterday, so he came back with a vengeance.

The instigator of this business must be Xia Yu. Anyway, the heat was not in vain. Even if he was unmasked in the end, since he himself had never taken part, it was no big loss.

He would still be a pristine white lotus, innocent and misunderstood, and would perhaps be seen as a lovely and pitiful victim.

But when he thought about it carefully, Xia Xingchi still felt that something was off.

Although Xia Yu was an idiot, he had a powerful “Military Advisor” manager. The last black hot search was obviously because he jumped the gun in a hurry to avoid Feng Yingxu and overturned the car in the end.

So what happened this time? Feng Yingxu actually let him be so stupid and ridiculous just to retaliate? Or was there a bigger conspiracy?

Xia Xingchi took a few glances at the overwhelming insults in the comment area. Obviously, they were more horrible and damaging than last time.

“Mistress” was already pretty much violating the bottom line of morality. In addition, there were the new and old grudges with Xia Yu’s fans, and Li Chengyuan’s powerful fans also joined the battle.

Greetings to the 18 generations of ancestors abounded. They could criticize him from head to toe, make all sorts of bad cuts devoid of context, and photoshop pictures……

Xia Xingchi frowned, and closed Weibo without giving it a second glance.

Li Chengyuan had still regarded him as his White Moonlight the last time he was on a black hot search. At that time, he gave him clothes and peeled crabs for him, removed the hot searches, and helped him strike back.

Now even if he was cursed at by the entire internet, he could only endure it. After all, he didn’t have a public relations team, and he wouldn’t get help from the management company.

With this in mind, Xia Xingchi turned his head and once again glanced at the empty pillow. The sour feeling not only failed to disappear with Li Chengyuan’s departure, but instead, it intensified.

It was likely that he would never see that person again in the future. This might be the fate of the innate cannon fodder. He had thought that life would change after his death, instead of suffering from poverty and being bullied by others.

In fact, he still had no relatives or friends, and that hard-won protection and care was just due to the ridiculous and embarrassing mistake of being recognized as the wrong person. Li Chengyuan might also feel embarrassed, and not spare this stranger a glance in the future.

The sourness and grievance was getting stronger and stronger.

Under his optimistic appearance, the difficulties and hardships, resentment and grievances accumulated for more than twenty years were like a silent volcano, and it seemed to finally be set off by this last straw.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes became hot, and then tears blurred his vision.

— Damn, how shameful.

It was only being cursed at by various anti-fans and losing an inconsequential gold master boss. This was nothing but drizzle compared to his previous life, so what was there to cry about?

With this in mind, Xia Xingchi quickly got under the covers and wrapped himself up tightly.

But he didn’t expect that the bedding would be covered in the familiar light fragrance of Li Chengyuan’s body. So the unreasonable sourness in his heart became stronger, and he couldn’t stop crying even if he wanted to.

There were footsteps at the door at this moment, and then someone pushed the door open and entered.

Xia Xingchi was desperately fighting against the flood of unstoppable tears, trying to stem the flow to no avail, and didn’t hear these movements at all.

Therefore, he was unprepared when the covers were suddenly lifted off, and he happened to be gritting his teeth and silently wiping his tears.

Li Chengyuan was taken aback for a moment. He obviously didn’t foresee that when he went out to make a phone call to take care of the Weibo hot searches and take a shower to wash up, Xia Xingchi would hide alone in bed and silently cry.

Xia Xingchi hurried to wipe away the tears on his face. With blurred vision, he tried to see clearly who was so hateful to enter his room without permission and lift his blanket.

The two stared at each other, and Li Chengyuan’s normally calm face revealed a somewhat bewildered expression. It was obviously his first time seeing him cry, and he didn’t know what to do for a second.

Xia Xingchi had come to his senses, and it was really embarrassing to be caught crying in secret.

He instantly flushed and snarled: “Li Chengyuan, what the hell are you doing! You —”

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengyuan quickly and skillfully re-wrapped him into a small rice ball with the blanket, making a quick fix as if nothing had happened.

After a while, he patted him on the head again and relaxed his voice as much as possible to ask: “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying! There’s an eyelash in my eye!”

Xia Xingchi roared sullenly through the blanket as he struggled to expose his head: “You haven’t left already? Boss, you have already been fired by me!”

Li Chengyuan saw that his eyes were red from crying, looking like a rabbit’s against his fair skin. He couldn’t help but be distressed and feel that it was a bit laughable.

“You thought I left……so you felt sad and cried?”

“Bullshit, I ordered you to go last night,” Xia Xingchi replied forcefully, trying to save some face.

Besides, it wasn’t all for him in the first place. Maybe it was because of the group of brain-dead fans who personally attacked him? 

But this big villain may actually have magical powers. Seeing him sitting here now, even though he knew that he would no longer be protected as his White Moonlight, Xia Xingchi felt inexplicably at ease.

“En, you let me go. You fired me.”

There seemed to be a bit of a smile in Li Chengyuan’s tone as he looked down at him mildly and asked: “Then can I pay double the price to get back to work?”