Chapter 83: The After-Dinner Gift That Made Young Master Fu Crack
When Fu Yue opened the door, he came face-to-face with Ji Linye, whose expression was so cold it was practically shedding ice shards.
Chen Bai stood behind him, his brows furrowed deeply. He pointed at Ji Linye and then made a throat-slitting gesture at his own neck.
“Fu Yue, aren’t you going to invite me in?” Ji Linye’s tone was hostile.
Fu Yue thought to himself, Uh oh. With that tone, anyone who didn’t know better would think I owed him eight million.
[Host, you don’t owe him eight million, you owe him a physical examination package.]
“System, are you sure you want to be snarky at a time like this?”
[No choice, I also need to relieve the tension.]
“…”
Fu Yue felt that the longer he spent with this AI, the more humorous it became.
Ji Linye strode inside, his gaze sweeping over the living room. That murderous glare ultimately landed on the kitchen island.
Chen Bai trailed behind him, carefully carrying a paper bag.
Fu Yue threw him a glance and leaned in to whisper, “That thing in your hand… it’s not another ‘surprise’, is it?”
Chen Bai blinked, his face tense. “Fu Yue, this is actually…”
“Chen Bai!” Ji Linye snapped his head back, shooting him a glare that completely silenced him.
By now, Ji Linye had already walked up to the dining table.
Without waiting for an invitation, he pulled out a chair and sat down, his posture composed. “I came here today to settle a score with you.”
Seeing his demeanor, Fu Yue guessed that the mix-up at the hospital had likely been exposed.
It made sense; Ji Linye wasn’t an idiot. Now that the knot between him and Chen Bai had been untied, he would naturally realize something had been off.
Sure enough.
Ji Linye tapped his knuckles lightly against the tabletop. “Fu Yue, exactly how did I offend you?”
“To make me go in for a… cough, an Obstetrics and Gynecology exam?”
With three men in the room, hearing that term filled the air with sheer awkwardness.
“You inflicted considerable damage to our mental well-being.”
Fu Yue remained silent for a moment. Whatever will be, will be.
He sighed helplessly. “So, President Ji, how do you want to settle this score?”
“Compensation,” Ji Linye stated concisely.
His gaze shifted slowly from Fu Yue’s face to the untouched plate of tomato and egg stir-fry, and then swept over the steaming dumplings nearby.
“But I’m afraid this meager offering won’t be enough.”
Fu Yue: “…”
Why does this dialogue sound so familiar?
Wasn’t this the classic prelude to “if you can’t pay, compensate with your body” from those domineering CEO novels?
But looking at Ji Linye’s solemn expression, he didn’t seem to be joking.
Fu Yue tentatively pushed the plate of chicken thighs forward. “Then… I’ll share half the meat with you?”
Ji Linye shot him a glance and suddenly reached out his hand.
“I want all of it.”
“Pfft.” Off to the side, Chen Bai finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Ji Linye soon followed suit.
Only then did Fu Yue realize he had been fooled by their acting. He ended up laughing heartily as well.
His carefully planned, cozy “dinner for one” had ultimately met a premature end.
Resigning himself to his fate, Fu Yue turned and walked to the refrigerator.
“I don’t have many ingredients left. Are you guys up for Cola Chicken Wings?”
“Sure.” Ji Linye answered rather quickly.
Beside him, Chen Bai blinked playfully.
A tantalizing aroma soon wafted from the kitchen.
The Cola Chicken Wings bubbled merrily in the pan, the sauce gradually thickening to a mouthwatering glaze.
By the time the steaming wings and a massive plate of boiled dumplings were brought to the table, the tomato and egg stir-fry had already been completely polished off.
“You actually eat frozen dumplings?” Ji Linye seemed a bit surprised.
Fu Yue looked up at his words. “Why? Is it against the law?”
“I assumed you dined at Michelin-starred restaurants for every meal.” Ji Linye picked up a chicken wing with his chopsticks. “Shouldn’t a pampered young master like you burn his hands just trying to boil a cup of water?”
“Ha!” Fu Yue let out an exaggerated laugh. “You’re talking about yourself, right?”
“Of course not me.” Ji Linye arched an eyebrow, looking quite smug. “My older brother and I spent all our middle school vacations at training camps.”
“Training camps?” Fu Yue asked curiously. “What kind?”
“Wilderness survival, crisis management, combat skills,” Ji Linye said nonchalantly. “After all, the Ji family is a big target; the heirs need to be able to protect themselves.”
Hearing this, Fu Yue thought to himself, No wonder.
Later on in the novel, Ji Linye handled various crises with flawless execution, looking incredibly domineering and unimaginably cool in the eyes of the readers. So that’s where it all came from—hard training.
“So,” Fu Yue suddenly smiled, using his chopsticks to point at the nearly empty plate in front of him, “did those survival skills also include… how to rapidly demolish a plate of chicken wings?”
“That is a fundamental survival skill,” Ji Linye smiled calmly.
The luxurious villa, originally quite cold and empty, was now filled with a warm and joyful atmosphere.
The meal proceeded harmoniously.
Feeling emboldened, Fu Yue asked about the misunderstanding from that morning.
“Yeah, I managed to track down that scatterbrained little nurse,” Ji Linye said, putting down his chopsticks.
“When you made your request, she only processed the word ‘private.’ Given your notorious reputation, she automatically assumed you needed the VIP waiting room over in Obstetrics and Gynecology, which isn’t open to the public.”
“In the end, she just entered the name into the system without noticing our gender.”
The explanation was truly a mix of tears and laughter.
“Though the process was incredibly awkward,” Chen Bai, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up, “the outcome… was actually quite good.”
He looked at Ji Linye, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. “Because the whole situation was so absurd, Linye broke the silence to complain about it. We both ended up laughing out of sheer frustration, and the atmosphere completely shifted.”
Fu Yue watched them quietly.
At this moment, Ji Linye and Chen Bai shared a look brimming with affection.
“This incident also made me realize how important it is to take the initiative to speak up.” Chen Bai’s delicate face grew resolute. “If I had just been a bit braver and shared my thoughts sooner, we might not have had that cold war to begin with.”
Ji Linye reached out, covering the back of Chen Bai’s hand. “It also proves that the most ridiculous things can happen. My subjective assumptions regarding that bid leak were foolish.”
Watching this unfold, Fu Yue suddenly felt a stir of emotion.
He had originally thought that the relationship between two men would either be a direct collision of lust or a constant game of testing and maneuvering.
Yet the couple before him showed him a beautiful alternative.
Ji Linye was domineering and forceful, but hid a profound clumsiness when it came to handling emotions.
Chen Bai was introverted and timid, yet possessed the courage to reflect and grow for the sake of his partner.
They would have cold wars and misunderstandings.
But ultimately, they would find their way back to each other.
Is this… what being lovers is like?
By the time the meal ended, Fu Yue was thoroughly stuffed full of dog food.
After eating, Ji Linye and Chen Bai stood up to take their leave.
“Oh, right, that’s for you.” Just before walking out the door, Chen Bai turned around and pointed at the paper bag on the dining table—the same one he had brought in with him.
Chen Bai whispered, “Aren’t you having dinner with Chairman Ji on Christmas Eve? Linye brought you a little gift.”
Fu Yue was momentarily stunned. “A gift?”
He was having dinner with Ji Hanmo; why would Ji Linye give him a gift?
Was he supposed to pass it along to Ji Hanmo? A filial gesture from a younger brother to his older sibling?
But why did Chen Bai sound so secretive about it?
After the door closed, Fu Yue, brimming with suspicion, walked back to the dining room.
The paper bag on the table was a standard gift bag, printed with red and green patterns—a classic Christmas theme.
He lifted it first to gauge the weight.
It wasn’t heavy. There seemed to be two items inside.
With movements akin to defusing a bomb, Fu Yue opened the seal and dumped the contents onto the table.
A black external hard drive.
2TB. The capacity wasn’t particularly large either.
Is this for me? Why is there no outer packaging?
The other item was a Christmas-themed food tin, adorned with reindeer and sleighs.
Neither of these items looked like a typical “gift.”
What was on the hard drive?
Games? A virus?
Suppressing the bizarre feeling creeping up his spine, he picked up the beautiful food tin.
The tin was tied with a ribbon and featured two little jingle bells.
“Cake? Gingerbread men? Did Chen Bai bake cookies at Sunny Home?” Fu Yue muttered to himself.
He slipped the ribbon off and opened the lid.
The anticipated aroma of baked sweets never materialized.
Lying inside the tin were handfuls of vibrantly colored, individual packets.
Fu Yue’s expression froze completely.
He picked up one of the packets and clearly read the words printed across the colorful foil—
Popping. Candy.
Fu Yue’s face entirely cracked.
Translator’s Note:
- Sunny Home: Mentioned earlier as the place where Chen Bai possibly grew up or volunteers at.
- Popping Candy (跳跳糖): A classic trope in spicy webnovels! Let’s just say popping candy isn’t meant for eating when given in this specific context between couples. Ji Linye is really stepping up his game as a wingman for his brother!
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