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The plane had just landed and Qi Xing was drinking water while rubbing his extremely tired face and casually checking his phone. His assistant was beside him, reporting the schedule for the next two days but he didn’t absorb a single word.
This trip to America was for a subsidiary of the company to go public here, with the bell-ringing ceremony scheduled for early next month. Qi Xing was representing his father and as long as he could complete the task smoothly and satisfy his father, that was all that mattered.
A WeChat message from Ye Xingzhou came in: “Rest well after you arrive.”
“I can’t rest. The investment bankers will be here this afternoon and starting tomorrow, I’ll be running around meeting institutions. It’s going to be hectic,” Qi Xing replied casually with a hint of resentment in his tone.
Ye Xingzhou: “First, go to the hotel and eat something. Don’t just keep staring at your phone.”
‘Then don’t send me messages then.’ Qi Xing thought, feeling displeased with this person’s lack of understanding. He put away his phone because if he didn’t look then he wouldn’t have to respond.
By the time they reached the hotel, it was almost noon. After eating and resting for over an hour, Qi Xing still hadn’t adjusted to the time difference and had to muster his energy to get into work mode.
The heads of several underwriting investment banks had already arrived. To Qi Xing’s surprise, he recognized one of them—his parents had introduced him to this matchmaker before. Although they had only exchanged WeChat IDs and never chatted, he had seen the other person’s photo on his mother’s phone and recognized him almost instantly.
Right, his mother had mentioned that this person worked in investment banking here.
When they introduced themselves, the other person’s name confirmed Qi Xing’s guess: Li Zechen, it was indeed the neighbor boy from back in the day.
Qi Xing raised an eyebrow but said nothing and took a seat.
Meeting with these underwriters was merely to prepare for the investment roadshow starting tomorrow. The prospectus had already been updated several times and the final stock issuance price would be decided based on the roadshow’s situation.
Qi Xing was no longer a complete novice, so he wouldn’t be easily fooled by these Americans. Moreover, there were more than ten people from their listing team present. Although he held the highest position, there were plenty of people around to guide him if any issues arose.
After over an hour of the meeting, the competition among the underwriters for investment shares was intense. Qi Xing watched their performance while paying a particular attention to his supposed blind date.
This person appeared to be the youngest among them and serving as a senior assistant to their head. He seemed sharp with his Asian features and didn’t appear weak among the group of high-status white individuals. He exchanged barbs with other underwriters without resorting to any foul language, yet he held his ground completely.
Qi Xing whistled in his mind—what a talent.
After the Americans gradually left, Qi Xing stood up to leave. Li Zechen, who had seen his boss off, returned and greeted him in Chinese with a smile: “Young Master Qi, long time no see.”
This person clearly knew who he was.
Qi Xing’s assistant was somewhat confused but Qi Xing smiled and pointed to the others beside him, speaking directly: “If you’re trying to get close to me in hopes I’ll allocate more subscription shares to your clients, you’ve got the wrong idea. I don’t handle that; they do.”
Li Zechen didn’t mind at all with his smile unchanged: “You misunderstood. I’m not interested in discussing work after working hours end. I’d like to ask you for a favor—since it’s still early, would you like to grab a coffee together?”
Qi Xing didn’t really care. Although his father hadn’t explicitly said so, he surely knew he would run into this person during this trip. If he didn’t give him some face then he’d probably have a hard time explaining it when he got back.
Twenty minutes later, they sat in the hotel café on the first floor. Qi Xing ordered an iced cappuccino to perk himself up and after the coffee arrived, he added some sugar.
“You’re still the same as when you were a kid, always liking sweet things.”
Hearing the other person’s teasing, Qi Xing lazily lifted his eyes: “You don’t like it? But don’t Americans love sweet stuff?”
“I’m not used to it even though I’ve been here for so many years but I still have a Chinese palate.” Li Zechen shook his head slightly and asked him, “Are you tired? You just arrived this morning, right? Is the time difference still bothering you?”
“Not too bad,” Qi Xing replied casually.
Li Zechen explained, “I added you on WeChat before but considering the time difference and how busy I’ve been lately, I haven’t contacted you. Sorry about that.”
Qi Xing smiled a little and continued sipping his coffee.
The time difference and being busy were just excuses; he clearly hadn’t been interested before but now that they met in person, his attitude had changed.
This didn’t need to be stated outright; he wasn’t that foolish.
To be fair, this person was indeed good-looking and he looked even better in person than in photos. If it had been in the past, he wouldn’t have minded flirting a bit but now, he was all about Ye Xingzhou. No one else could catch his eye.
But meeting an old neighbor and catching up as friends wasn’t a bad thing. After all, he liked making friends with good-looking people.
Li Zechen chatted with him and moving from childhood memories to their experiences over the years. He was witty, humorous, and very tactful. At first, Qi Xing wasn’t very interested but as Li Zechen made him laugh, he opened up more and even complain about his father, finding common ground.
“My dad was the same. When he first found out about my orientation, he couldn’t accept it at all. He said he wanted to sever our father-son relationship that we've become at odds for years. Now that I’m almost thirty but still single, he’s starting to panic. He kept calling his old friends back home to help introduce someone to me. But he doesn’t mention that I like boys to avoid embarrassment, but you’re still young, right? Just in your early twenties? Does your family worry about that too?”
Li Zechen laughed as he spoke and Qi Xing felt a bit embarrassed by his laughter: “My parents are just worried that if I find someone randomly outside, they won’t be satisfied and are afraid I’ll get deceived.”
Hearing this, Li Zechen laughed even harder: “I see, then Uncle Qi and Auntie Qi are quite foresighted.”
Qi Xing: “...Is it really that serious?”
Li Zechen finished laughing and said seriously: “I was joking but your parents’ concerns aren’t unfounded. If you’re willing to listen, then listen; if not, just brush them off. No need to get too tangled up in it.”
Qi Xing: “What about you? I heard your family plans to return to China next year?”
“My parents are getting older. And they still think it’s better back home in China. After all, all their old friends are there, so they want to go back. As for me, I don’t mind. If I go back, I’ll just apply to transfer back to work in China, I wouldn’t even need to change jobs,” Li Zechen said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “I’m not really against my parents introducing me to someone. If there’s a suitable match, I’m willing to give it a try. It all depends on fate.”
Qi Xing was looking down at his phone when a new message from Ye Xingzhou came in, asking if he was done with work. Hearing this, he casually said, “Then I wish you success soon.”
It was a throwaway line and Qi Xing gaze never left the phone screen.
Li Zechen raised an eyebrow at this.
Qi Xing replied nonchalantly, “Just having a coffee.” and snapped a photo of the coffee cup and cake in front of him. After taking the photo, he noticed that Li Zechen’s hand had entered the frame. He initially intended to delete it but in a moment of impulse, decided against it and sent it directly to Ye Xingzhou.
Half a minute later, Ye Xingzhou replied: “Who are you having coffee with?”
Qi Xing chuckled but refused to tell him.
He put away his phone and continued chatting with Li Zechen, who was perceptive enough not to pry further.
As evening approached and they had refilled their coffee twice. Li Zechen took the initiative to say, “Let’s call it a day. I won’t suggest dinner, so you can head back to your room and rest early. Because you will be busy starting tomorrow but I hope we can have a meal together next time.”
Qi Xing nodded, feeling mentally drained: “See you tomorrow.”
Li Zechen looked at him and smiled slightly. After more than ten years, Qi Xing was still as interesting as he remembered from childhood. If he had known this then he would have been more proactive before.
Back in his room, Qi Xing asked his assistant to call room service for food but he had no appetite. He absentmindedly ate while scrolling through his phone. After Ye Xingzhou sent that message, he didn’t reply and that bastard didn’t send anything else. It was four in the morning back home; could he be asleep?
...Could he actually be sleeping?
Just as he was feeling resentful, a new message from Ye Xingzhou came in: “Are you happy drinking coffee with someone else?”
Qi Xing replied: “Very happy. The coffee here is particularly fragrant.”
Ye Xingzhou sent a video request. He casually accepted it and Ye Xingzhou’s expressionless face appeared on the screen: “Where are you now?”
“Are you checking up on me?”
Qi Xing assessed him. Ye Xingzhou’s hair was still wet and he was bare-chested. This bastard had a habit of working out early. He probably just finished showering.
Seeing the hotel room background behind Qi Xing, Ye Xingzhou’s tone softened a bit: “Who were you having coffee with earlier?”
Qi Xing tossed his fork aside then lay back on the sofa. He held the phone up to his face and smiled at him: “Guess.”
Ye Xingzhou stared at him intently: “Qi Xing, don’t challenge my limits.”
‘Who are you threatening?’
Qi Xing deliberately said, “You want to know? I’ll tell you. It’s the blind date my family arranged for me. A guy, my childhood neighbor, who's working in investment banking here and he happens to be one of the underwriters for our listing this time. He’s quite good-looking and my parents are very satisfied with him. If I were to find someone like that, then they definitely wouldn’t object.”
On the other end, Ye Xingzhou fell silent and just watching him. After about half a minute, Qi Xing’s smile gradually faded. He felt inexplicably guilty and even want to hang up.
“Stay away from him,” Ye Xingzhou finally spoke.
Qi Xing: “That’s not possible. I’ll have to see him during this time because the underwriters will be following us around to meet investors.”
Ye Xingzhou: “Stay away from him.”
Those same four words but his tone was firmer than before.
Qi Xing felt uncomfortable: “What’s it to you? Who are you to be so nosy?”
If you don’t say you love me, then get lost. You think saying “next time” will keep me hanging? Who knows when your next time will be.
You're jealous? Then enjoy it.
After a moment of stalemate, Ye Xingzhou softened his voice: “Stop messing around.”
Qi Xing: “…”
Who’s messing around with you?
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with this bastard anymore and just directly hang up the phone. He totally lost his appetite and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When qnother video request came in, Qi Xing was already standing under the shower. He place his phone on a nearby shelf while it was facing him as he answered with eyes closed and mumbling: “I’m taking a shower, so don’t mess around.”
Ye Xingzhou saw his half-naked body shrouded in steam. His throat tighten: “How much longer are you going to wash?”
“I just started.” Qi Xing opened one eye to peek at him through the mist, “You can keep watching if you want.”
“Qi Xing.” Ye Xingzhou called his name again but this time, his voice was bit hoarse.
“What?” Qi Xing continued to wash indifferently.
The other person fell silent but didn’t end the call and just watching him in silence.
Qi Xing glanced at the screen again. Ye Xingzhou’s gaze was fixed on him and even through the phone screen and the fog, he understood the meaning behind it: “Do you want it?”
His tone and expression were almost innocent and for a moment, Ye Xingzhou couldn’t tell if he was pretending. He opened a video call while he was showering, was it intentional?
Before Ye Xingzhou could respond, Qi Xing spoke first: “It doesn’t matter what you want because it’s already dawn. You should go to work now.”
“Qi Xing.” Ye Xingzhou suppressed his emotions and reminded him. “Wash quickly and after you’re done, go to sleep.”
Qi Xing didn’t want to deal with him anymore. He took his time finishing his shower. He dry his hair haphazardly then wrapped himself in a bathrobe and took his phone back to the room. He lay on the bed abd bring his face close to the screen while staring sleepily at the person on the other side: “Ye Xingzhou, I can’t sleep. I want you and I miss you.”
His eyes were clearly too tired to open and his voice was sticky and incoherent, yet he had no awareness that he was seducing someone.
Ye Xingzhou stared at his face but not speaking immediately.
Qi Xing felt a bit dissatisfied: “If you don’t want it, fine. I’ll find someone else…”
“What do you want?”
Ye Xingzhou’s voice was even hoarser than before.
Qi Xing unconsciously licked his lips with his fingers lightly tapping and slowly drifting down, mumbling his name: “Ye Xingzhou, let me hear you breathe a little, please.”
Leaning against the wall, Ye Xingzhou kept his gaze fixed on him but finally give in to his request and let out a low breath.
Listening to Ye Xingzhou’s deep and sexy voice with each sound stimulating and teasing his nerves.
The memory of his body ingrained in his bones. It was as if Ye Xingzhou’s breath and warmth enveloped him, causing is palms to began to sweat and trembling with excitement.
Ye Xingzhou watched him intently. The face on the screen were flushed with a deep red.
Completely immersed in desire, yet somehow carrying a certain innocent purity and utterly unmasked.
With just one look, it made his blood rush.
But it wasn’t enough.
This level was far from sufficient.
He wanted this person to belong to him.
Only to him and marked by him from body to heart.
Qi Xing grabbed a tissue to clean himself up.
He was reluctant to move from the bed, so he just close his eyes while the video call remained connected.
Ye Xingzhou stopped his actions because he was unwilling to continue.
Qi Xing wasn’t beside him and he would rather endure this discomfort.
“Qi Xing, focus on your work over there and don’t get involved in those unnecessary things.”
In a haze of sleepiness, Qi Xing heard Ye Xingzhou’s warning tone but didn’t take it seriously. He waved his hand impatiently then turned his head away and fell asleep completely.
Ye Xingzhou frowned but after a while, softly saying, “Good night.”