Chapter 21: Sense of novelty ①
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
Yan Yu and Chen Yifei took two days of leave and accompanied Mama Yan. The two brought Mama Yan to all the major scenic spots in the city and Mama Yan was especially satisfied.
Mama Yan had enjoyed the trip thoroughly and even said that it felt as if she had just gotten another son. Moreover, a son that was much more obedient than her previous one.
On the day they sent off Mama Yan, Chen Yifei returned to the company, still finding it unbelievable. To have the thing he was the most worried about solved so easily, just like that--
To be honest, it was not exactly easy. If not for Chen Yifei’s luck, he would not have been able to chance upon Mama Yan in the bus, nor would he have the chance to help her out of trouble. Without that opportunity, it would probably not have gone that smoothly.
At the end of the month, the company got much busier. Both Yan Yu and Chen Yifei had to work overtime almost every night. On top of that, the former had to deal with various kinds of dinner parties, too.
Other than that, Chen Yifei also welcomed Xu Yunfei, who was here to meet up with Jiang Ge for the first time.
Chen Yifei sent him straight to the bar that Jiang Ge was working at the night he arrived. Jiang Ge had just been preparing to start his work shift. When he saw Chen Yifei and Xu Yunfei walking in, a smile spread across his face.
Chen Yifei left soon after he made a simple greeting.
Xu Yunfei felt a little reserved. He sat at the counter and smiled, slightly embarrassed. Jiang Ge was cleaning his shaker as he smiled generously, “Hi.”
Jiang Ge looked even better in real life than in his photo when he smiled. That smile alone was enough to lure Xu Yunfei’s soul, “... Hello*…”
(T/N: Xu Yunfei was greeting Jiang Ge rather stiffly and politely.)
Jiang Ge chuckled, “Hello? What was that? I’m not your customer.”
Xu Yunfei could not help laughing either. And with that laugh, he was able to relax quite a bit, “Well, I’m nervous, since it’s my first time meeting you in real life, after all.”
Jiang Ge observed him sneakily. Xu Yunfei had a pretty bright and cheerful personality. He seemed carefree and casual, but he was actually an intelligent and calm person, or he would not have become Chen Yifei’s friend in the first place.
Jiang Ge had never come in contact with such a type of person before and that sense of novelty was his current biggest motivation.
Jiang Ge made a cocktail and pushed it towards Xu Yunfei, “My treat.”
Xu Yunfei smiled gratefully, “Thanks.”
Xu Yunfei took a sip and found that the alcohol concentration seemed to be quite high. Any normal person would most likely get drunk in no time. He lifted his head to look at Jiang Ge while the latter had a smile hung on his face from the beginning, making it difficult for others to guess his thoughts.
Since Xu Yunfei could hold his liqueur quite well,, he briefly considered the possibility of him acting drunk and getting into Jiang Ge’s bed with the excuse that he was under the influence of alcohol.
Xu Yunfei cleared his throat, “Is your work tough?”
“It’s not too bad.” Jiang Ge replied, “It’s a little more relaxing than you office workers.”
“When are you leaving work?”
Without missing a beat, Jiang Ge replied, “Nine.”
“Does your work end that late every day?”
“My house isn’t that far away.” Jiang Ge paused and smiled slightly as he replied, “There are a lot of hotels around here, as well.”
Xu Yunfei nearly choked. He quickly took a sip of his cocktail. The two did not seem to be in the mood for the remaining conversation and only participated as if it was a routine greeting as both minds were already thinking about what would happen a few hours later.
Xu Yunfei stayed until it was time for Jiang Ge to leave work. Despite being so impatient internally, the two acted as if it was any other day on the surface. No one said much when they were in the taxi, Jiang Ge looked out the window absent-mindedly while Xu Yunfei browsed through the news on his phone.
The car finally stopped at the hotel entrance. Jiang Ge went to get a room with ease as if he had done it routinely. No one had uttered a single word up even until they entered the elevator.
Jiang Ge opened the room’s door, put down his bag and said, “Give me a moment, I’m going to take a shower.”
Xu Yunfei opened his mouth and told an obvious lie, “I’m not rushed.”
The corners of Jiang Ge’s lips lifted as he entered the bathroom. Xu Yunfei let out a long breath and fell onto the bed. He looked sideways at the bedside table where the unopened packages of condoms sat. He took it and gave it a shake before putting it back on the table.
Xu Yunfei felt that he needed some fresh air. He drew the curtains of the french windows and leaned forward onto the railing as he took a deep breath. After a while, Xu Yunfei returned to the room. He opened his bag and there was a men’s watch in a delicately packaged gift box.
At that moment, Xu Yunfei’s phone rang. It was a work-related call so he had no choice but to pick it up.
It was not uncommon for work-related discussions to last a while. As it happened, the other party was being stubborn and unreasonable, dragging the call even longer. Xu Yunfei sat in front of the desk as he tried his hardest to explain to the other person civilly and patiently.
When Jiang Ge came out of the bathroom, Xu Yunfei was still on the phone. He could only turn his head and smile apologetically, indicating for Jiang Ge to give him a moment.
Xu Yunfei wanted the call to end quickly, too. He leaned onto the table and replied half-heartedly. When he lifted his head, Xu Yunfei suddenly saw Jiang Ge taking off his trousers from the reflection of the glass window.
Xu Yunfei straightened immediately, not knowing whether or not to turn around. All his attention was on Jiang Ge’s bared legs in the reflection.
Jiang Ge walked directly towards him, paying no mind to the fact that he was still on the phone. Jiang Ge spun his office chair around, stretched out his lean and long legs, straddling him. Jiang Ge lowered his head and left a light kiss on his neck.
There was no way Xu Yunfei could continue that call. He hung up hastily, tossed the phone away and hugged Jiang Ge tightly as he returned his kiss. Jiang Ge took off Xu Yunfei’s top efficiently before he was pushed down onto the bed by Xu Yunfei.
Their bodies were pretty compatible, Jiang Ge was very open and Xu Yunfei was not awkward either. Jiang Ge thought that it felt pretty good to make love to Xu Yunfei— but it was merely pretty good, there was nothing special about it.
Jiang Ge had always been like this. Everything was good to him as long as the sense of novelty was still there, but that would gradually die down and he would lose interest.
In the morning the next day, Xu Yunfei awoke groggily, his body satisfied. Jiang Ge was lying beside him with his back towards Xu Yunfei, his breathing steady. Xu Yunfei could not help but sit up and place a kiss on Jiang Ge’s shoulder. Jiang Ge hmphed lightly before he turned around and looked at Xu Yunfei with sleepy and hazy eyes.
Xu Yunfei kissed him on the lips this time before he smiled, “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”
Jiang Ge sat up and stretched, “Not too bad.”
Jiang Ge turned over to leave the bed and started changing into his clothes. Xu Yunfei was not in a rush to get changed but instead, stayed on the bed as he watched Jiang Ge. Jiang Ge asked suddenly, “Are you and Chen Yifei university classmates?”
“Yeah.”
“How was he like then?” Jiang Ge buttoned up his shirt as he continued, “Personality-wise.”
“His personality has never changed.”
“Was he already a workaholic then?” Jiang Ge asked.
Xu Yunfei remained silent for a while before he sat up and looked at him, half smiling and half not, “Can’t you ask about me? Why must you ask about him?”
Jiang Ge turned around to face him and chuckled, “Then what exactly are you here for? Just to do it once with me?”
Indeed, Xu Yunfei did not tell Jiang Ge of his trip here beforehand and only told him after he had arrived at the airport. Jiang Ge was not too happy about that. At most, they were a pair of online acquaintances who could chat pretty comfortably with each other. Jiang Ge would feel apologetic if any party travelled all the way to the other just to meet up--
Besides, the sense of novelty would have lasted longer if they had not met each other.
Xu Yunfei replied, “To meet you, of course.”
Jiang Ge prodded, “Did you really just fall in love with me by only looking at my photo and chatting with me?”
Xu Yunfei frowned, “Can’t I?”
Jiang Ge sighed, “Your wish is fulfilled now, it’s best for you to return quickly so as to not hold up your work.”
“My wish is not to merely do it once with you.”
“Then, you wanted to do it many times?” Jiang Ge continued, “I’m not against being friends with benefits, but you live too far away. Isn’t that inconvenient?”
Xu Yunfei stared at Jiang Ge as if he was trying to decipher whether or not what Jiang Ge said was truly what he meant. Xu Yunfei replied, unhurriedly, “I want to be your boyfriend.”
Jiang Ge replied swiftly, “I don’t have any intention of getting a long-term boyfriend.”
Xu Yunfei asked, “Why? Are you the type to shy away and not believe in love once you’ve faced a bit of an obstacle?”
“It’s not because of Chen Yifei.”
“I didn’t say it was Chen Yifei.” Every word spoken, Xu Yunfei seemed to have the intention of dissecting and analysing Jiang Ge’s innermost thoughts, “In fact, you still have lingering feelings for him.”
Unfortunately, such dissections were unable to move Jiang Ge emotionally. He merely replied, “Weren’t you the one who asked me not to talk about him?”
“I’m only curious.”
Xu Yunfei was much sharper than Jiang Ge had initially thought. He let out a sigh and answered, “I won’t call it lingering feelings. I had merely thought that it was a pity. For someone with a personality like mine, having Chen Yifei as my partner was probably God showing pity for me.”
“What kind of personality?”
Jiang Ge leaned on the edge of the table and looked at him, “I can’t stay together with a person for long.”
“Why?”
“Because I find it annoying.” Jiang Ge’s tone was slightly cold, “Don’t you find it revolting to see the same face every single day?”
Xu Yunfei’s tone sunk, “Is the sense of novelty really that important?”
Jiang Ge did not answer him directly. Instead, he said, “So, I suggest you do not waste your time dating me.”
Jiang Ge initially thought Xu Yunfei would be more or less angry but unexpectedly, he merely remained silent for a short while before a smile spread across his face, “I guess, it isn’t that bad of an idea to treat this period of time as a pastime.”
Pastime? Jiang Ge creased his brows. Don’t tell him that Xu Yunfei, too, was not sincere in the first place?
Jiang Ge asked, emotionlessly, “Pastime? Are all your past partners merely pastimes?”
“Not entirely.”
“Chen Yifei never mentioned how you’re a bit of a player.”
“There are many things Chen Yifei knows nothing about.” Xu Yunfei replied without much thought, “Why? Does this give you a sense of novelty?”
Jiang Ge was stunned and was momentarily at a loss for words. All of a sudden, Xu Yunfei laughed. It was an especially candid laugh, as if that discussion on their relationship being a “pastime” never existed.
Jiang Ge creased his brows and asked, slightly angered, “Were you taking me as a joke?”
Xu Yunfei laughed, “Don’t underestimate me. I’m pretty smart… I have no intention of belittling you.”
Jiang Ge glared at him angrily. Xu Yunfei knew that he might have taken his joke too far, so he embraced Jiang Ge’s waist as if he was consoling him. The latter realised how he was teased completely and tried to struggle out of his embrace.
Xu Yunfei stated, “It’s true that I like you. I’m also sincere when I said I wanted to be together with you.”
“How do you expect me to trust you?”
“You don’t have to trust me, but that does not change the fact that it’s true.” Xu Yunfei turned around and took out the gift box with the watch and passed it to Jiang Ge, “This is for you.”
Jiang Ge asked suspiciously, “Why are you giving me things?”
“It isn’t polite to visit empty-handed.”
Jiang Ge became much more cautious after that little episode from just a moment ago, “I don’t want it. Keep it for yourself.”
Xu Yunfei grinned, “The one on my wrist now is much more expensive. Why? Are you looking down on cheap products?”
Jiang Ge was at a loss for words. If he did not accept it now, it would only make him look like a gold digger. He reached out, took the gift box and said, “I’m going.”
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“You have something?”
“It’s precisely because I have nothing, that’s why I’m going to you.”
Jiang Ge rolled his eyes, packed his things, and left.
That night, Chen Yifei received a call from Jiang Ge, grumbling and asking why he brought Xu Yunfei back. It was the first time Chen Yifei heard Jiang Ge having so many opinions on a person, causing him to become slightly dazed as he listened.
Finally, Chen Yifei interrupted him, “Aren’t you guys not getting along well?”
“Not exactly.” Jiang Ge answered hesitantly, “But I don’t think I can always get along well with him. In short, can you just make him go back, quickly?”
“He’s only staying for three to four days.”
“That’s fine, then.”
After hanging up the call, Chen Yifei chuckled resignedly. Is he Jiang Ge’s gay BFF now?
It was already Friday. Usually, at this time, he would be preparing to leave the office to go home with Yan Yu. Chen Yifei stopped outside Yan Yu’s office and listened in, and it seemed like Yan Yu was still on a call with a certain boss and it did not seem to be ending anytime soon.
Chen Yifei treated his work very seriously and he would rest when it was time to rest. It goes without saying that Yan Yu only wanted to stay with him all the time whenever possible.
Unexpectedly, Yan Yu actually finished the call. He walked towards Chen Yifei’s office and knocked on his door. Chen Yifei lifted his head and asked, “Going back?”
There was a hint of guilt on his face as he replied, “Not yet, CEO Zhou is coming so I need to meet him in a bit. It may take another hour. Why don’t you go back first?”
Chen Yifei asked, “Shall I go together with you?”
“No need.”
Chen Yifei did not really want to break their weekly routine of doing grocery shopping with Yan Yu and cooking for him on Friday, “I’ll wait for you, then.”
Yan Yu nodded and left his office.
Chen Yifei stayed back to organise the details for his remaining work. The hour was nearly up but Yan Yu had yet to return.
Chen Yifei did not want to disturb Yan Yu’s work, so he could not call him. He flipped through the documents absentmindedly when his phone screen lit up. Chen Yifei grabbed his phone and had a look. It was a message from Yan Yu, “CEO Zhou invited me for BBQ, so you can go back directly. I’ll probably reach home at about nine. Sorry about that.”
There was even a flying kiss emoji at the end of the message. Chen Yifei was not that pleased after reading the message.
This was the first time Yan Yu put off their Friday routine of having a little homemade feast at home. The branch company had been doing better little by little recently, so Yan Yu’s enthusiasm for work was very high.
Of course, Chen Yifei was glad. He had, also, advocated for Yan Yu to put work before him--
But now that Yan Yu had suddenly done so, Chen Yifei could not help but feel that difference in his heart.
Thanks for translating! It's kind of nice to see CYF getting clingy back, since YY has been the one who's been outwardly eager up until now.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is! 🤣
Delete