Chapter 12: The Small-Time Star and His Short-Tempered Sugar Daddy (Part XII)
Xiao Ji obediently turned around and handed Fang Yinnian the phone that was on the bedside table.
Fang Yinnian didn’t take it: “I want yours.”
In this era, mobile phones are very private items. Many married couples don’t even necessarily look at each other’s phones, let alone a relationship like Fang Yinnian and Xiao Ji’s.
Fang Yinnian was used to being domineering; he didn’t think Xiao Ji would dare refuse him.
Besides, he was mentally prepared. If Xiao Ji made excuses or refused, he would beat him up.
But when Xiao Ji handed over his phone without hesitation, Fang Yinnian couldn’t help but be stunned. He raised an eyebrow and said:
“You’re certainly straightforward. Aren’t you afraid I’ll see something I shouldn’t and hack you to death right here?”
Xiao Ji sat on the floor, glanced at him, unlocked the phone, opened the settings first, grabbed Fang Yinnian’s hand to register his fingerprint into the phone, and then tossed the phone to him:
“If you see something you shouldn’t, then I deserve to die.”
Fang Yinnian squinted at Xiao Ji for a moment, then sat up and began to furiously and intently look through Xiao Ji’s phone.
Like the vast majority of young couples checking each other’s phones, the first app Fang Yinnian opened was Xiao Ji’s social media app.
There was one pinned chat, a landscape photo of winter waves—it was Fang Yinnian’s account.
Below that, the second contact was from three days ago. The account name was “Blossoming Wealth,” with a profile picture of a purple lotus signifying a heart as calm as still water. It was a woman sending greetings, asking if Xiao Ji had been well recently and suggesting he call home if he had free time.
Xiao Ji had replied with a smiling emoji and then made a call lasting two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
Further down, there was a gap in time, followed by only work-related people and matters.
Fang Yinnian looked at Xiao Ji: “Is this your alt account?”
Xiao Ji: “I only have this one account.”
Fang Yinnian didn’t believe a person could go that long without socializing with anyone: “Then you just deleted everything cleanly.”
Xiao Ji was indifferent: “I’ll give you the password. You can log into the backend on your computer simultaneously.”
Fang Yinnian fell into a suspicious silence for a few seconds, then refused: “Am I a pervert?”
Xiao Ji stopped talking.
Fang Yinnian continued to scroll. Transfer records, spending records, takeout orders—he went through them all but found nothing: “Deleted these too?”
Xiao Ji said calmly: “You can pull the bank statements.”
Fang Yinnian stopped talking.
Just as he was about to return the phone to Xiao Ji, he seemed to suddenly remember something and opened the photo album and browser.
Upon looking, he discovered that Xiao Ji had been following a growing sports brand.
He had an impression of it; Cheng Nuo had mentioned it before.
But he had been too busy recently and hadn’t had time to follow up on the matter.
Now seeing that Xiao Ji’s phone was full of content about this brand, he frowned: “Why are you following this?”
Xiao Ji acted very naturally: “Nothing, just looking around.”
“You have ideas about this brand’s endorsement?” Fang Yinnian asked bluntly.
Xiao Ji didn’t deny it: “It would be a lie to say I don’t. This brand’s style is something I can handle, but as I said, I know my place. My current situation isn’t good; the brand won’t want me.”
Fang Yinnian was silent.
In just a few minutes, he wondered if Xiao Ji was playing mind games with him.
But from beginning to end, Xiao Ji hadn’t mentioned this matter at all. Even looking at the phone was something Fang Yinnian had done on a whim because of his own dream.
The question was also asked by Fang Yinnian himself.
Fang Yinnian was clear-headed; he didn’t think Xiao Ji had the ability to control his dreams and his thoughts.
That would be too ridiculous.
If Xiao Ji really had that ability, he might as well just visit the dreams of major directors and investors. Why bother being his little lover?
The way Xiao Ji spoke now seemed like he didn’t care much about it.
But he could also see that, just as Xiao Ji said, he wanted this endorsement but felt powerless, so he didn’t dare to think about it.
Fang Yinnian wiped his face, returned the phone to Xiao Ji, and asked:
“Last night, was this what you wanted to talk about?”
Xiao Ji didn’t answer directly, only saying: “Sister Cao came to find me yesterday and said the dating show wants me to join the group next week.”
Hearing this, Fang Yinnian understood. He didn’t mention the endorsement or the dating show again. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject and kicked Xiao Ji:
“Why are you sleeping on the floor? Is sleeping in the same bed with me that difficult for you?”
Xiao Ji stood up: “Just a habit. The bed is too soft, and I’m afraid of the heat.”
The two chatted casually for a bit, then went to wash up separately.
Fang Yinnian was off today and didn’t chase Xiao Ji away. Since Xiao Ji didn’t receive instructions to get lost, he stayed comfortably at Fang Yinnian’s house.
Both of them holed up in the bedroom. Fang Yinnian sat on the small sofa by the window with his laptop, reviewing documents, while Xiao Ji sat quietly on the floor, hidden in a small corner out of the sun, silently reading a book borrowed from Fang Yinnian’s study.
Fang Yinnian would occasionally give the housekeeper a day off when he was on leave to enjoy some solitude.
He would sleep until he woke up naturally and eat takeout twice a day.
Approaching noon, just as Fang Yinnian habitually prepared to call a certain hotel manager to deliver food, Xiao Ji suddenly put down his book and stood up: “Hungry? I’ll go cook.”
Fang Yinnian wasn’t surprised by this. During the past half-month of robotic reporting, he had long learned that Xiao Ji could cook.
Hearing this, he waved his hand: “Go ahead.”
Xiao Ji asked him: “Any dietary restrictions?”
Fang Yinnian didn’t say much, only stating: “Whatever is in the fridge is stuff I eat.”
Judging from the photos of the food Xiao Ji had made before, his cooking skills seemed pretty good—looking healthy and appetizing. So Fang Yinnian didn’t worry about it and secretly began to look forward to his lunch.
But when Xiao Ji brought the beautifully colored and exquisitely plated dishes to the table, Fang Yinnian experienced firsthand what it meant to “gild a turd.”
Aside from looking good, Xiao Ji’s cooking was utterly useless.
Fang Yinnian put down his chopsticks after just one bite. Watching Xiao Ji eat silently with a blank expression, he couldn’t help but suspect:
“Xiao Ji, are you…”
While picking up food, Xiao Ji gave Fang Yinnian a look, signaling him to speak.
Fang Yinnian opened his mouth: “Do you not have a f*cking sense of taste?!”
Xiao Ji paused.
In the past, in the Heavenly Realm, he had never eaten.
After coming here, he started pretending to be human.
He only knew how to make the food look good and added seasoning according to his mood, but he didn’t actually know what these things were supposed to taste like.
It seemed now that it didn’t suit Fang Yinnian’s taste.
He apologized and was about to get up to dump the food and let Fang Yinnian order takeout, but Fang Yinnian picked up his chopsticks again and said:
“It’s not that terrible. It’s edible.”
With that, he began to shovel the food that was good-looking but useless into his mouth, swallowing it whole.
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I have the opposite problem, my food looks terrible and sometimes is edible lolol kindred spirits