Six: A guy so utterly sticky that he couldn’t be warded off.

Chapter Six: A guy so utterly sticky that he couldn’t be warded off.

HongSheng Building, 46th floor, office of the president:

Cheng YuTang sat in a leather chair, with his hands crossed on his desk and his brow slightly furrowed.

“Cheng Zong, when can the meeting begin?” carefully asked the senior executive assistant, Zhao BaiXin, as he put the brewed coffee on the desk.

From the moment he had entered the elevator lobby until now, he had felt that there was something wrong with Cheng Zong. He called the special elevator and didn’t ride, actually squeezing in the staff elevator with the little delivery guy. When he entered the office, he didn’t go to work as vigorously as he usually did, but just sat in place without saying a word as if his head was in the sky for more than three minutes. It was a little strange to be holding up the numerous department managers in the conference room who had been called to work overtime.

Cheng YuTang came back to himself, but didn’t answer, “Xiao Zhao, do you remember what I did in Xing Cheng at the end of December last year?”

“I remember.”

For Zhao BaiXin to be a senior executive assistant, he had to be exceptional in several ways, one of which was his good memory. Not to mention remembering the past year’s mileage and Cheng YuTang’s daily schedule, the event of leaving Ning City for a Xing Cheng business trip had left a deep impression, so he immediately recalling and answered clearly, “You went to Xing Cheng on December 20th, to meet with some local real estate developers and the officials of the relevant government departments to discuss the development and construction of Xing Cheng’s High-tech Park and you reached a preliminary cooperation agreement. On Christmas Eve, the 24th, you took some time to meet an old classmate. The next morning, you received a call from your household and flew directly to the capital……”

Cheng YuTang interrupted his account, “Where do I stay on Christmas Eve?”

“Uh, wait a moment, I’ll take a look.”

Zhao BaiXin couldn’t remember because that hotel wasn’t a well-known international hotel, just a small locally owned place in Xing Cheng, barely considered a four-star grade, so he quickly took out his phone and looked up the electronic travel record from last year. Cheng YuTang’s old classmate, Han QingShi, was the nephew of the hotel’s small owner, so he was hosted at the hotel as a guest. He had more than a few drinks in the evening and he stayed there overnight.

Afterwards, Cheng YuTang didn’t mention anything about his discussion with his old classmate. The two also didn’t contact each other later, indicating that the day was insignificant to Cheng YuTang and so Zhao BaiXin had forgotten the day’s affairs. He didn’t know why Cheng Zong suddenly brought up this past event.

“Found it, you stayed at the XinHao Hotel, in a grand suite that Mr. Han arranged for you. Is there a problem?”

There was a huge problem. Cheng YuTang’s brow couldn’t be furrowed more tightly.

What happened during the day of Christmas Eve last year, he remembered very clearly. All the official business had been finished at noon, so he had planned to return to Ning City in the afternoon. But he had received a phone call from his junior high classmate, Han QingShi, and changed his itinerary for the rest of the day.

Han QingShi and Cheng YuTang had sat at a table and gone back and forth for some time. Han QingShi was very clever and had had good grades too. Once upon a time, Cheng YuTang’s relationship with this brainiac had been relatively close. After the college entrance examination, Cheng YuTang went out to study abroad and had little contact with all of his classmates, including Han QingShi. Five years later, he had come back and gradually taken over his family company. First, he was busy with work and, second, he kept a low profile, so he had even less to do with his old classmates.

Han Qingshi had said on the phone that he wanted to treat him at his uncle’s hotel that had just opened, to catch up with him. Cheng YuTang was a bit surprised, suddenly feeling a little nostalgic. Because he had nothing to do with the time on his hands, he went to the XinHao Hotel.

He hadn’t seen him in more than 10 years. Known once as a recognized talented student at school, Han QingShi’s appearance and figure hadn’t changed, but he had become more slippery. In the clear eyes of the past, there was a bit more shrewdness and market-savvy. During the dinner, he first complimented Cheng YuTang for a long time, then talked about domestic and international situations. Then he pulled out a planning book and told him that he had a project in Xing Cheng and about how the development prospects were good and how the future profit would be considerable. But his qualifications in Xing Cheng were still too shallow, with not enough contacts, so he hoped that Cheng YuTang could lend a hand and help him.

To say Cheng YuTang wasn’t disappointed would be a lie, but he didn’t reject Han Qing’s request. As Han QingShi said, this favor for him would take little effort. Keeping the friendship of his former classmate in mind, he made a call on behalf of Han QingShi to a developer who had a good cooperative relationship with HongSheng and who had a good personal relationship with him. At the same time, he made it clear that this was the first and last time.

Han QingShi was instantly so overjoyed that he almost knocked over his glass.

Cheng YuTang had had a good amount to drink, but under Han QingShi’s persuasion, he drank two more glasses. And after three or four more, he ended up drunk, so after dinner, he stayed the XinHao Hotel, following to Han QingShi’s enthusiastic invitation.

His memory after that was a bit fuzzy, like a stimulating and beautiful dream.

After Cheng YuTang had entered the tasteless grand suite, he had found a young man lying on the large bed in the bedroom. His appearance and body were quite outstanding. He was much more pleasing to the eyes than the little fresh meat who were so popular these days. He knew who arranged this without asking. There were plenty of people who are willing to sell themselves for some purpose these days and they would both keep it tacit and both parties would get what they needed.

Cheng YuTang had come out of the closet to his family 10 years ago. Although he didn’t publicize it, he also didn’t intentionally cover up his own sexual orientation, so if someone wanted to find out about it, they could always get some of the details of the situation. Han QingShi was so clever and interested in getting that favor for himself, so he must have done his preparatory work in advance.

Probably because of taking some drugs, the young man was out of his mind. This demonstration of a fusion of unrestrained boldness and youthful inexperience inexplicably caught Cheng YuTang’s interest. Coupled with the drunkenness, Cheng YuTang, who had never been interested in this kind of trick, couldn’t control himself for a moment, pouncing on the young man.

The young man had extraordinary strength. He was quite resistant at first; on one hand, complaining bitterly and, on the other, baring his fangs and brandishing his claws. The two almost fought on the bed. Cheng YuTang’s wolfish nature was aroused by a masculine desire to conquer. He had kept in shape year-round and he also could utilize the advantages of his body shape and skills. So after two or three failures, the young man soon lost all his hard edges. By his own initiative, he soon swayed over Cheng YuTang like a big, white, slippery fish, actively tangling with him, a guy so utterly sticky that he couldn’t be warded off.

What followed was a night enjoyed to their hearts’ content.

After the event, the contented Cheng YuTang took a shower and hesitated over getting another room to sleep in or staying the night with the young man who had already fallen asleep. Suddenly, his father suddenly called and informed him that his mother had just been admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain. It had turned out to be appendicitis and her surgery had just now finished.

Having no better knowledge of his father than as his son, Cheng YuTang understood the meaning of his old man’s words very well. He was hoping that Cheng YuTang would come home as soon as possible, so that the first time his loving wife woke up, she would receive greetings and comfort from her son. He didn’t care what time it was, he was a son regardless if it was convenient or inconvenient.

The old man had always been so unreasonable, so Cheng YuTang mostly ignored him, but this time, things were different. He hadn’t returned home for a while and he was really concerned about his mother, so he immediately left the Xing Cheng to return overnight to the capital for the first time in a long time in spite of the young man who was there.

And then……there was nothing more.

Although the experience of that night was a bit special and Cheng YuTang would occasionally relive it when he was idle, that was the end of it. He hadn’t mentioned to anyone, including Zhao BaiXin, that he didn’t know exactly what had happened. It had been a long time and the details had been forgotten in the back of his mind.

After all, it was just an arrangement and the arrangement was over. He even blacklisted Han QingShi, so it was even more impossible for him to have anything to do with a young man with an unknown family name.

However, nine months later, just now in his elevator lobby, Cheng YuTang saw the young man again.

Actually, he saw him once more than two months ago, but that time, he had glanced quickly and didn’t see him clearly. This time, he saw him at close range. Although he was dressed in that shoddy, ridiculous delivery uniform, Cheng YuTang was still certain it was the same person.

However, when the young man saw him, he didn’t appear to feel any anticipation, shyness, fear, or flattery. Instead, he glared at him, then threw him aside to complete his delivery. It seemed like he didn’t recognize him.

It seemed like that.

Cheng YuTang wasn’t sure this was just a coincidence, that the other party had really forgotten about himself, or maybe it was that someone deliberately set up these circumstances because they wanted to play a nasty trick.

No matter which it was, it didn’t make him very happy and so something had to be done to change his mood.

“Cheng Zong, do you want to cancel the meeting tonight and just hold it tomorrow?”

Zhao BaiXin saw that he hadn’t spoken for a long time and that he looked absent-minded, so he had to ask again.

Cheng YuTang said, “No, you should go to the conference room to prepare. I’ll be there in three minutes.”

“Yes.”

After waiting for Zhao BaiXin to leave the office, Cheng YuTang took out his phone and, from the contact list’s blacklist, pulled out a certain person’s number and then dialed it.

The call soon connected. And before he could speak, there was a sound of surprise and a voice that was both familiar and strange came from the other side, “YuTang, is that you?”

“It’s me.”

“It’s been quite some time. I thought you’d forgotten your old classmate! How is everything, are you as busy as ever? I saw one of your interviews in a financial magazine a few days ago, it said that you are always moving so fast your feet don’t even touch the ground, always flying high.”

“Pretty much.”

“Ay, you’re the president. You don’t have to work so hard. It’s good to throw the messy work to the people below. Not like me who started from scratch, who has to do everything in my own hands. That’s right, last time…….”

“Han QingShi, I called to ask, do you know Ji XiaoYu’s current situation?”

“What chicken drizzle? Is this someone’s name, how can it sound so funny…….?”

(t/n: Ji XiaoYu can sound like Chicken Drizzle, but is read as Ji XiaoYu = Beauty + Little Feather)

“Ah, I see. Sorry, I’m busy right now, goodbye.”

It seemed like he couldn’t get any information like this, so Cheng YuTang hang up the phone and smoothly blacklisted Han QingShi’s number again. Then he got up and straightened his cuffs, heading to the conference room for the meeting.

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Footnotes:

1. little fresh meat (小鲜肉): slang for young handsome boy – young men who are a bit immature but look beautiful and strong, usually between 14 and 25, and typically used as a term for Korean male idols (little tender meat is the equivalent for children)

2. to bare fangs and brandish claws (张牙舞爪的): idiom meaning to make threatening gestures

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:> awkward