Chapter 7: Coming Back
Listening to the pitiful voice coming through the receiver, Chi Wu knew the guy was mostly faking it, but he still couldn’t suppress the irritation rising in his chest.
Just what exactly did those people from the Company want?
Chi Wu went to Zhang Chulan’s wardrobe and grabbed a set of clothes. After a second thought, he grabbed a pair of boxers, too.
“Holy crap, Wu-ge, are you bringing clothes to Lan-ge? Did he finally get a girlfriend…”
“No.”
“Then why is he making you deliver clothes?” Wang Yuechu clicked his tongue, wanting to gossip more, but Chi Wu had already tossed the items into a plastic bag and walked out.
At the vending machine by the dorm entrance, Chi Wu scanned for a bottle of Green Plum Green Tea, then bought a bottle of orange soda for himself.
After crossing the pedestrian bridge and skirting around the lavender field, Chi Wu scanned the bright, reflective pond before finally spotting a naked Zhang Chulan hiding in the gardenia bushes.
“Wubao! Wubao, you finally came!” Zhang Chulan leaped onto Chi Wu like a kangaroo.
“Put your clothes on first.” Chi Wu frowned, staring at the bumps rising on Zhang Chulan’s skin from mosquito bites.
Seeing that Chi Wu wasn’t happy, Zhang Chulan immediately felt unhappy too. Whenever Chi Wu was upset, he tended to withdraw.
In this situation, getting a hug or a cuddle was harder than usual, so Zhang Chulan subconsciously started trying to coax him.
“Wubao, I’m fine,” Zhang Chulan said as he pulled on his clothes.
“Stop looking so bitter. I didn’t get hurt or anything.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. I might lie to others, but I’d never lie to you.” Zhang Chulan finished dressing and noticed the two bottles of water at the bottom of the bag.
He grabbed the Green Plum Green Tea without hesitation.
Chi Wu didn’t say anything, though he thought to himself, Haven’t you lied to me plenty of times?
However, catching a glimpse of the red scratch marks on Zhang Chulan’s mosquito bites, he swallowed his retort.
“Wubao, you always buy room-temperature water. Can you buy me a cold one next time?”
“Cold drinks irritate…”
“Irritate the stomach, right? I know, I know, but drinking it makes me happy.” Zhang Chulan took a sip, speaking as if casually.
“Is there anything more important than being happy?”
Chi Wu grabbed the hand that wouldn’t stop scratching at his body.
“Stop scratching. We’ll put medicine on it when we get back.”
“Why put medicine on a few little mosquito bites…” As Zhang Chulan spoke, he suddenly realized this sounded exactly like the excuse he used to use just to get close to Chi Wu.
“Apply it. Yes. Definitely applying it.”
The streetlights were dim and hazy, casting an ambiguous glow. Pedestrians were sparse, and the wind bit with a chill. The only sounds around them were the chirping of crickets and the pat-pat-pat of their footsteps. When they reached the pedestrian bridge, Zhang Chulan’s phone let out a ding-dong.
He opened his phone in confusion and found a friend request.
If this were a legitimate app, Zhang Chulan wouldn’t have accepted it—after all, nine out of ten people adding him just wanted Chi Wu’s contact info.
But this was an app he had downloaded specifically for “fishing.”
Just as he was preparing to tell Chi Wu, “I need to go out for a bit, if I’m not back tonight…”, Chi Wu’s phone rang.
“I have something to take care of. I might not be back tonight. Don’t wait for me.”
Zhang Chulan stared blankly at the retreating back of the person who had not only stolen his line but was also leaving in a burning rush.
“In such a hurry?” Zhang Chulan had his own little schemes, so naturally, he was suspicious of Chi Wu’s reason for going out.
Carrying the two bottles of water, he trailed behind Chi Wu like a little tail.
Even more bizarre was that Chi Wu didn’t go through the main gate; he headed for the side gate.
The side gate didn’t have surveillance cameras, but it required climbing a wall. The iron fence there was about 1.8 meters high, and standing on top of it looking down was visually quite daunting.
Did this blockhead have a death wish?
He hurriedly followed, only to find that Chi Wu jumped down with a sense of practiced ease, almost like a veteran. Moreover, there was a car waiting right below.
“Damn.” Zhang Chulan crouched on the iron fence, watching the car turn and drive away. Staring at the distant, desolate moonlight, his mood plummeted.
Chi Wu had secrets kept from him.
This realization killed whatever mood Zhang Chulan had.
He unscrewed the cap of the orange juice belonging to Chi Wu and glug-glug downed half the bottle, then turned around, carrying his own water back to the dorm.
Wang Yuechu, seeing Zhang Chulan return alone, clicked his tongue. “Where’s Wu-ge?”
“Went out.”
“No way, really?” Wang Yuechu checked his watch.
“Going out at this time? Is he coming back tonight?”
Zhang Chulan didn’t answer, looking utterly wilted. He grabbed a change of clothes from his wardrobe and headed for the bathroom.
“Aiyou, Lan-ge, what’s with the heartbroken look? I know we always tease you two, but if Wu-ge has some good news, we should be happy for him! He’s your brother, not your wife. A brother can’t keep you company for your whole life, right?”
Zhang Chulan’s footsteps paused. His tone carried a panic and sternness he wasn’t even aware of.
“Stop talking nonsense. He has serious business.”
Wang Yuechu put down his phone, getting more excited the more he spoke.
“I’m not talking nonsense. Wu-ge disappearing from time to time… maybe he’s going to meet a girlfriend.”
He started winking and making faces, his honest features looking shrewd with the exaggerated expressions. “Lan-ge, you know what I mean. Secret romance and all that.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Zhang Chulan couldn’t be bothered to respond further and turned into the bathroom. But his heart was nowhere near as calm as his surface.
Chi Wu… a girlfriend?
Chi Wu will have a girlfriend, and there will be a day when we separate?
All this time, he was the one who wanted a girlfriend, the one who wanted to fall in love. He had never heard Chi Wu express any interest in matters of men and women.
That wasn’t quite accurate either; he had never seen Chi Wu express interest in anything.
It seemed like even studying was just something Chi Wu did to kill time.
Splash. Zhang Chulan turned on the faucet, letting the cold water smash against his body. His hackles rose immediately, and he shivered from the cold as he wiped his face and started to shower.
Liu Yanyan gnawed on a skewer of barbecue, glancing at the messages on her phone every now and then.
“Tsk tsk, he was online just now but didn’t accept. So proper?”
She grinned, amused at herself. “Have I lost my mind? What decent person plays on this app?”
“Still, it’s kinda interesting.” Liu Yanyan took a bite of grilled green pepper. “If there was no challenge at all, it would be boring.”
After his shower, Zhang Chulan sent a message to Chi Wu but didn’t receive a reply.
“What is he so busy with that he can’t even reply to a message?”
Chi Wu stood at the door, his eyes fixed on Xu Si. “What do you mean by this?”
“Hey, don’t be so fierce.” Xu Si plonked himself down on the sofa and pushed a cup of tea across the table.
“I’ve already pulled a ‘Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage’ here. Even old man Zhuge Liang came down the mountain after three times.”
“I refuse.”
“Still so decisive?” Xu Si suddenly laughed. “Did you not see the message I sent you?”
“You’re using him to threaten me?” Chi Wu pressed his lips together, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
“You know I don’t follow the code of honor like Xu San does,” Xu Si said with a smile, seemingly blind to the killing intent in Chi Wu’s eyes.
“I’ve given you plenty of patience. Besides, if word of your ability gets out, you won’t have a peaceful life anymore, will you?”
Chi Wu let out a light scoff. “And joining the Company guarantees a peaceful life?”
“Of course not,” Xu Si never made 100% guarantees. “But I will get Zhang Chulan to join us. I assume you don’t want to end up facing off against him one day, right?”
Chi Wu forcibly suppressed the manic rage rising inside him. Before he could speak, Xu Si smirked again.
“On the surface, it looks like Zhang Chulan can’t leave you. But actually… you are the one who can’t leave him, aren’t you?”
Chi Wu’s heart gave a heavy thump. He looked at Xu Si with eyes like glacial ice.
Xu Si, a veteran soaked in the battlefield of the workplace for years, wasn’t about to be scared by a look. He smiled, as if proposing a bet.
“If I can get Zhang Chulan to join the Company, you agree to join too. Deal?”
“Get him to join first, then we’ll talk.” Chi Wu dropped these words and turned to leave.
He took out his phone and replied to Zhang Chulan’s message.
“Coming back.”
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