Chapter 26 | Table of Content | END
Chapter 27: Stability
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
In the blink of an eye, Chen Yifei had already been Yan Yu’s assistant for almost a year now. Perhaps it was because he had never felt relaxed throughout the year while working, and even got into a new relationship, so Chen Yifei felt that time had passed especially quickly. It was as if he did not have enough time to spend.
Although he was very busy, there was no lack of short breaks now and then. Specifically, the break time for the two of them to spend together.
One day, since it happened to be lunchtime when Chen Yifei returned from his business trip, Yan Yu waited for Chen Yifei to have lunch with him at a restaurant.
Yan Yu initially wanted to fetch Chen Yifei when he came back but something came up suddenly, so he asked someone else to do it instead. Chen Yifei had been on a business trip for three days now, so Yan Yu felt an urgent need to see him. However, he just received a message from him saying that there was a traffic jam so it would take Chen Yifei a bit longer before he arrived.
Yan Yu ate appetisers at the restaurant, being bored to death when a person suddenly sat on the empty seat right in front of him. Yan Yu lifted his head, flabbergasted. Zhou Xuancheng, seated right opposite of him, grinned at him.
Yan Yu had not seen him for a while now, especially when there was such an awkward incident that had happened between them before, “Mr. Zhou, long time no see.”
On the contrary, his voice sounded relaxed, “Long time no see, Chairman Yan.”
Yan Yu asked, “How come you’re here?”
“I happened to be around the area for work.” He answered, “I heard that this restaurant is pretty famous, so I’m here for lunch.”
Yan Yu nodded. He wanted him gone, but he felt bad for saying it out loud.
Zhou Xuancheng joked, “Have you broken up yet?”
Yan Yu rolled his eyes, “We won’t break up. I’m waiting for him right now.”
Zhou Xuancheng sighed intentionally as he said, “That is such a pity, but I’ll persevere.”
Yan Yu creased his brows, “Mr. Zhou, please stop wasting time on me. You’re an outstanding person. There is no need for you to limit yourself to only one path*.”
(T/N*: The original phrase is “在一棵树上吊死”, which is directly translated to “hanging oneself on a single tree”. Just like in this context, it is an idiom used to describe a person who insisted on doing something via one way only. I believe the closest English equivalent would be “all roads lead to Rome”.)
(PR/N: Like ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’ type of deal.)
Zhou Xuancheng chuckled, “Then, I shall not disturb you further. See you next time.”
He stood up, waved his hand and started towards the restaurant main entrance. Just as Zhou Xuancheng left, another person just happened to be walking up the steps outside. Speak of the devil*; it was Chen Yifei.
(T/N*: “说曹操曹操到” is the original text, which is directly translated to “when you talk about Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo arrives”, which means the same as “speak of the devil”. Just FYI, Cáo Cāo was a famous statesman and general at the end of Han. He was the founder and first king of Cao Wei and the father of Emperor Cao Pi.)
Chen Yifei paused for a second before he greeted Zhou Xuancheng, “Long time no see, Mr Zhou.”
Zhou Xuancheng smiled, “Good day to you, Assistant Chen. No need for conventional greetings. I’ve already greeted Chairman Yan inside just now.”
Chen Yifei creased his brows slightly as he watched him leave before he turned and entered the restaurant quickly. Yan Yu saw him the moment he lifted his head. He waved his hand towards him eagerly.
Chen Yifei asked without preamble, “What did Zhou Xuancheng talk to you about?”
Yan Yu frowned, “You saw him? Nothing much, he merely greeted me.”
Chen Yifei sat down and felt that the sofa seat was slightly caved in. Someone had probably sat here just now. Chen Yifel glanced at Yan Yu and decided not to question any further. He was of no threat anyway.
Chen Yifei reported, “The industry will be holding a charity event in the near future. I’ve already accepted it for you.”
Yan Yu was unhappy, “You’re going to talk about work the moment you return?”
Chen Yifei answered, “Not work; it’s charity.”
Yan Yu understood Chen Yifei’s personality better than anyone else, so he had already gotten used to it. At most, he would merely grumble a few words.
Yan Yu asked, “What kind of event?”
“The organiser hopes you can make a speech.” For some unknown reason, there was a hint of a smile on Chen Yifei’s face as he was saying that, “Because there’ll be students present, so they’re hoping you can boost their morale and encourage them to be proactive and progressive.”
Yan Yu stared at Chen Yifei for a long while, “A speech? Me?”
Chen Yifei nodded.
Yan Yu groaned, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Chen Yifei must have taken advantage of the fact that he was once a problem student. Much unlike him, Chen Yifei always had the opportunity to make his speech every year as the representative of being a good student, a student who was known to have a good moral character, good results and being good at sports. Yan Yu, on the other hand, never had a connection to such things before.
Chen Yifei smiled as he remained silent.
Yan Yu snorted, “I’ll just do it then. Class President Chen, have you forgotten about how it usually ends whenever I put my heart into doing something?”
Yan Yu could properly boast for a lifetime about the fact that he had made Yan Yu work under him. Chen Yifei smiled, “I’ll look forward to your good performance, Boss.”
The charity event was scheduled to be in the morning on the next Saturday, at a local high school’s hall. As proven by the end result, Yan Yu made ample preparations. Chen Yifei even saw him rehearsing at home and in the office, occasionally.
Many successful figures in the industry were invited to the event, even the television station had sent reporters to the event. There was not a single empty seat in the hall. Yan Yu was tidying up his appearance backstage, taking in deep breaths. His expression showed that he was slightly nervous.
Chen Yifei was conversing with the host on the side. He, then, turned back to Yan Yu, pulled the chair out next to him, and sat down. He said in a quiet voice, “I’ll be sitting at the right side on the first row.”
Yan Yu pretended to be calm, “I’m not nervous.”
Chen Yifei followed along and nodded as he reached out to help him straighten his tie. Soon, the staff appeared backstage to tell the host that it was time to start the event.
Chen Yifei stepped down from the stage and took his seat.
The event began soon after. Yan Yu stepped onto the stage right after the host warmed up the audience. Yan Yu was pretty photogenic. There were many students sitting in the first row who whipped out their phones to take pictures of him the moment Yan Yu came out.
Yan Yu was, indeed, calm throughout his speech. He was even able to show his humour every now and then. Chen Yifei put his full focus on watching him, his gaze meeting Yan Yu’s a few times. Every time that happened, the latter would subconsciously move his gaze away as his smile broadened.
Yan Yu continued, “... I’m sure almost everyone here has never experienced being a bad student before, am I right? I can tell you right now, I have lived through my childhood life as a bad student. My experience in elementary school was actually especially influential to my life. Although, I was still a brat that didn’t know anything…”
The corner of Chen Yifei’s lips lifted. As expected, Yan Yu was going to boast about that, again.
“... At that time, I once had a Class President who was good at everything he did. He would always top all the subjects and all the little girls considered him the dream lover.”
A roar of laughter could be heard from below the stage. Chen Yifei sat at the corner silently as he let out a cough.
Yan Yu continued, “... I was very easily angered that time. I was unresigned, and I felt that I could definitely be better than him in some aspects.” Yan Yu added, “I’m a person who would never back down, so I went straight to him and pointed in his face as I said, ‘I will make you work for me in the future’!”
The audience applauded enthusiastically as they laughed. Yan Yu continued, “I believe you guys must be curious how my Class President is right now. If you really are interested, you can ask my assistant, ask him how much salary am I paying him right now.”
There was a collective cry of surprise coming from the audience, followed by a series of applause.
Chen Yifei was looking at Yan Yu, his smile resigned yet, it was filled with his feelings of love.
Yan Yu’s speech had a really good effect on the crowd. Even after the speech had ended, it felt like the audience had not heard enough of Yan Yu’s stories. That evening, many television stations had broadcasted the live scene of that charity event. Yan Yu had taken up quite a lot of scenes throughout the whole event being shown.
After dinner, the television was turned on in the living room as it was broadcasting the news featuring that event. The two suddenly crashed into the sofa on the side, their naked skin tightly against each other’s.
Yan Yu was panting intensely as he embraced Chen Yifei’s neck tightly, his legs tightly wrapped around his waist. His feet curled and jerked unceasingly according to Chen Yifei’s movements, his voice sexy and unrestrained.
Chen Yifei lifted his eyes and glanced at Yan Yu on the television screen. Then, he lowered his face and kissed Yan Yu’s forehead lightly, “You performed amazingly well today.”
Yan Yu looked at Chen Yifei and suddenly flipped him over and pressed him against the sofa. He reached out his hand to sweep his hair, which was filled with sweat, up as he took the initiative and started moving his hips up and down, his voice sounded as if he was intoxicated, “Give me more rewards then, Class President.”
“Of course.” Chen Yifei said, “Speaking of which, I thought you would point at me directly, and tell everyone that I’m your assistant.”
Yan Yu shook his head, “I don’t wanna.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want those young students to know that you’re handsome.”
Chen Yifei laughed. He pulled his face down to him and kissed him deeply.
A few months later, when it was winter again, the festive mood gradually drew near. The streets were crowded, the restaurants giving off the heat and aroma from their food, the bar street was, also, exceptionally lively.
Jiang Ge had a bit of a headache today so he decided to leave work early. He took a taxi home and lay on the sofa.
He thought this year had gone by too quickly. He could still remember, clearly, what he did exactly one year ago. It could be said that Jiang Ge’s life had been unchanging in the past few years. Except for this year, there was someone who brought him something different.
Jiang Ge found it surprising that he had yet to break up with Xu Yunfei. He had already broken his record of how long he was in the same relationship.
The main point was that Jiang Ge did not feel fed up with it yet. He was not sure if it was his personality that was changing, or was it because Xu Yunfei always had a way of making him flustered.
They had not met with each other for two or so months by now. Jiang Ge had a call with Xu Yunfei yesterday and it seemed like he was extremely busy. Jiang Ge was too prideful to ask him to come to visit him.
Jiang Ge ate some medicine and, with nothing else better to do, he watched movies. Just as he was about to fall asleep on the sofa, a notification sounded from his handphone.
Jiang Ge picked it up and had a look. Realising that it was a message from Xu Yunfei, he was wide awake.
Xu Yunfei asked, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Ge replied quickly, “Watching a movie at home.”
“You’re already off work?”
Honestly, Jiang Ge replied, “Hn, I was not feeling well so I left work early.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much, just a bit of a headache.”
“Have you taken medicine?”
“Yeah.”
With just a simple conversation, Jiang Ge already felt much better in his heart.
Xu Yunfei sent him a smiley face, “Video call?”
“Hn.”
Jiang Ge accepted the video call. He could see that it was pretty dark where Xu Yunfei was. It did not seem like he was in the office. Rather, it looked like he was in a car. Jiang Ge creased his brows as he asked, “Where are you?”
“In the car.” Xu Yunfei laughed, “I left work early, too.”
“You’re driving?”
“No, I’m in a taxi. My car was sent in for maintenance.”
Jiang Ge responded with an “oh” and continued to chat idly with Xu Yunfei. Xu Yunfei seemed to be sitting in the backseat, the light from the street lamps flickering on his face. Jiang Ge happened to see a tall building from the window beside Xu Yunfei, “Where are you right now?”
“I just passed the City Hall.”
“Your City Hall looks similar to ours, here.”
“It is your City Hall.” Xu Yunfei said, “I’ll be at your house in about fifteen minutes.”
Jiang Ge was stunned. He stared at Xu Yunfei on the screen blankly. He could not respond for a long while, a warm feeling rushing into his heart. He was at a complete loss for words at the moment. When he could speak, he could only say, “I’ll come downstairs.”
He hung up the video call straight away after that.
Jiang Ge could no longer remain calm. Xu Yunfei was giving him surprises again. He pulled on his clothes and shoes with great anticipation and ran directly out of his house. He did not stop until he arrived at the ground floor and only then did he realise that Xu Yunfei said that he would arrive in about fifteen minutes. He was too early.
Jiang Ge wanted to meet him too much. In the face of such an unprecedented impulse, there was no way he could resist it.
After standing outdoors and waiting anxiously for about ten or so minutes, a taxi finally stopped in front of him. Xu Yunfei stepped out of the car and saw Jiang Ge. He forced a smile, “Are you not cold?”
Jiang Ge stepped forward hurriedly and hugged Xu Yunfei with all the force he could muster as if he could not believe what was happening. His voice was hoarse, “ Of course I’m cold, let’s go up quickly.”
After entering his apartment, Jiang Ge had finally recovered from his shock of Xu Yunfei’s sudden appearance, “How come you’re here?”
“I have a business trip around here, so I wanted to come and see you.”
Hearing that he was not here specifically to see him, Jiang Ge snorted at him but could not bring himself to be angry. As long as Xu Yunfei was here, the rest did not matter.
“Also, I have something to tell you.” Xu Yunfei took out his jacket, “Chairman Yan had a discussion with me last time, saying that if I’m willing, I can apply to be transferred in advance. At the latest, I can be transferred to the headquarters by May of next year.”
Jiang Ge opened his mouth, but not a single word left his mouth.
Xu Yunfei added, “You gotta change to a double bed before May next year, darling.”
Jiang Ge had no words.
“Or do you want to move to a new place?” Xu Yunfei offered.
Jiang Ge was unable to express his feelings verbally right now. His mood had been going up and down like a roller coaster since he started his relationship with Xu Yunfei. He did not dare to feel happy or depressed rashly in fear of Xu Yunfei saying something completely opposite.
Jiang Ge answered, “I want to move.”
“Sure, why don’t you go ahead and look around?”
No matter, Jiang Ge could only give in to such an emotional roller coaster ride. He used to think that he’d never be able to settle down with someone given his personality, which tended to get bored with the old quicklyーbut judging from what was happening to him, perhaps it was merely because he had yet to meet the right person.
That night, Chen Yifei received a call from Jiang Ge, who he had not contacted for a long time. He did not say much, just that he wanted Chen Yifei to help him express his gratitude towards Chairman Yan for giving Xu Yunfei a chance.
The fact that Jiang Ge could say such a thing could only mean that they have gone steady. Chen Yifei accepted it gladly.
That night, Yan Yu suddenly wanted to have a mini barbeque party at his balcony so he bought many different sticks of beef, mutton, and chicken wings. He was trying to make the rack for the barbeque in the kitchen.
Chen Yifei could not help but smile when he saw Yan Yu creasing his brows as he stared at the English manual, looking a bit vexed.
The scene of Yan Yu trying to rack his brain made Chen Yifei recall his memories from his elementary school days. At that time, Yan Yu would become frustrated from not being able to solve those questions which he had found extremely easy.
Chen Yifei could clearly remember the day when Yan Yu provoked him during the time when he was the Class President. He was so determined and truculent.
“Chen Yifei! Having good results doesn’t mean you will be set in the future!! I will make you work for me!! Just you wait!!”
After Little Yan Yu said that, he glared at Class President Chen before he turned and walked away. Chen Yifei’s hand, which had been doing homework at that time, had paused. He reached out to tidy up the stack of workbooks which were a mess because of Yan Yu’s smack on the desk.
There were children whispering around them while some were giggling. Logically, such provocation meant absolutely nothing to Chen Yifei.
But at that time, for some reason, when he watched Yan Yu’s retreating back, he unexpectedly could not help but smile slightly. Chen Yifei, who had still been a child back then, would not think deeply into the reason for wanting to laugh, but it was definitely not a mocking laugh. Perhaps, he merely thought Yan Yu was an interesting person.
Recalling that memory, Chen Yifei laughed again. Now that he thought about it, he might know the reason now.
He walked towards Yan Yu, “Shall I do it?”
“I can do it.”
Chen Yifei insisted, “Let me.”
“... Fine, fine, you do it. You’re the smart one, so you’ll understand this alien language.”
Chen Yifei squatted down and fiddled with those components, a hint of smile evident at the corners of his lips. Perhaps, the smile he had on his face right now, was not that different from that smile from twenty or so years ago.
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Translator’s note:
THE ENDDDDDD. Thank you all for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed the series! Hope you can show some support for the other series I am working on too!
P.S. I will be releasing Good Samaritan Mr Yu starting next week, so please look forward to that! xoxo Also, GRATS TO ME TOO BECAUSE I JUST RECEIVED A MESSAGE SAYING THAT I’M HIRED WHOOP WHOOP. I CAN FINALLY FEED MYSELF GUYS.
