Chapter 77: CH 74

Chapter 74: Suddenly want to kiss you

Shi Rou hesitated and asked, “President Xie?”

Meng Yuan realized something and looked at Yu Nian. Yu Nian tilted his head and smiled, “I thought you would tell  Sister Rou Rou yourself, Brother Meng.”

Meng Yuan slapped his forehead, “Hahaha, I totally forgot about this!”

Confused, Shi Rou looked at Yu Nian and then at Meng Yuan, “What kind of riddle are you two playing? What do you want to tell me?”

Making sure the door was closed, Meng Yuan approached and cleared his throat, “Well, President Xie is Yu Nian’s—”

He hesitated with the word, and Yu Nian continued, “He’s my boyfriend.”

Seeing Shi Rou standing there in a daze without any reaction, Meng Yuan waved his hand in front of her eyes, “You’re not in shock, are you, Rou Rou? Come back to your senses!”

Shi Rou’s eyes went blank, and she repeated like a parrot, “Boy…friend?”

Yu Nian nodded, “Yes, my boyfriend.”

“Wait! So, during the earthquake, President Xie didn’t come with President Qu but was worried about you?”

Yu Nian nodded again, “That’s right.”

Meng Yuan, following the principle of “sharing the shock is better than going through it alone,” added, “The one who spends millions of gifts every time on the Qinghai live stream, ‘Nian Nian You Yu,’ that’s Xie You!”

Shi Rou felt like either her ears were malfunctioning or she was in a dream! It took her a while before she could express her thoughts with just two words, “Holy crap!” Then she quickly waved her hand, “I don’t mean to curse, but there’s no other word to describe how I feel!”

Meng Yuan had a “I understand” expression, “I get it, I get it!”

Little did they know that when he suspected that the “186” might be Xie You, he couldn’t sleep, and when he closed his eyes, he had random dreams, like seeing Yu Nian being tossed into the sea by Xie You.

Shi Rou’s mind was spinning, “So, the one Nian Nian likes, the person who can press him against the wall and kiss him, that’s President Xie?”

Pressed against the wall for a kiss? Yu Nian chuckled, “Yes, that’s him.”

Shi Rou blinked, “And the one Nian Nian said was like rock candy, that’s also him?”

“Yes, from the beginning to the end, it’s only him.”

Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “So, when President Xie bought the trending topic with a heart, it was for—”

“Yes, he did it for me.”

“And the high-end, luxurious support with the LED screen to cheer Nian Nian up—”

“Yes, that was to cheer me up.”

Shi Rou mumbled, “Wait, don’t talk to me for a moment; I need to process this! President Xie was always supposed to be against you, right? Though it didn’t seem like he was doing much, looking back now, his opposition was kind of odd…”

Meng Yuan joked, “You need to process this? Who’s Process? Should I find him for you?”

Shi Rou widened her eyes, “Brother Meng, why are you like this? My brain is a mess right now!” After a while, she exclaimed, “But really, President Xie’s boyfriend skills are out of this world! No, out of this galaxy!”

Meng Yuan agreed, “Indeed, he’s like a domineering CEO, and the show is making a fortune from it.”

“Yeah, not just making a fortune, but President Xie probably wants to give Tang Xiaoke a taste of his own medicine. Think about it, if we withdrew from the recording or joined another show with a big budget, even if that show became popular, it would still look like we backed down and gave in.”

Excited by this thought, Shi Rou said, “Exactly! What should we do? I want to see Tang Xiaoke’s expression again! Hahaha, getting slapped by his own palm on the face, that must be extraordinary! It’s so funny; Tang Xiaoke tried to use the money to suppress others but ended up being crushed by President Xie directly. Instantly turned into ashes!”

As he heard Shi Rou and Meng Yuan talking, Yu Nian messaged Xie You, “Just got off the plane?”

Xie You replied instantly, “Yes, Nian Nian, don’t be unhappy, I’m here.”

Unexplainably, upon seeing this message, Yu Nian felt a sense of peace. But along with it came a tinge of bitterness.

He knew very well that he had always subconsciously and almost harshly demanded himself not to rely on others—including Yu Qing, teachers, senior brothers, or anyone close to him—out of fear and unease.

So, no matter what happened, he was used to facing it and solving it on his own.

But if the person was Xie You, maybe he could try to… rely on him?

As he continued typing, Yu Nian asked, “Are you tired?”

Xie You replied, “Not tired.”

Soon after, Xie You sent two more messages, “No one can bully you.”

“I know you’ve been wronged, and it hurts me more than being wronged myself.”

These lines shattered the hard shell deep in Yu Nian’s heart, revealing his tender inner self. He stopped typing for a moment, suddenly unsure of how to reply.

In the end, following his heart, Yu Nian typed a few words, “I suddenly really want to kiss you.”

After a while, he received Xie You’s reply, “Okay.”

On the other side, Tang Xiaoke ran four or five red lights before screeching to a stop outside Tang Jianzhong’s office. With a gloomy face, he pushed open the office door.

The secretary at the entrance dared not stop him. Tang Xiaoke slammed the door open and confronted Tang Jianzhong, “What’s going on? That expression on your face, did someone offend you and not apologize properly?”

Tang Xiaoke kicked a floor ornament at the entrance hard, and through gritted teeth, he recounted what had happened, “Have the leaders all gone mad? In front of everyone, they ignored me and said they wanted to replace the judges, redo the promotional video plan, and revise the public statement properly. I thought that brat, Yu Nian, didn’t know what was good for him and really wanted to quit the show, but it turned out they wanted me to leave!?”

Tang Jianzhong put down his gold pen, his brow furrowing, “Who did you say it was?”

“Yu Nian!”

“No, the previous sentence!”

Tang Xiaoke didn’t understand why Tang Jianzhong’s expression suddenly turned serious, but he repeated with patience, “A guy named Xie You said he would invest twice the amount and asked me to leave!”

“Xie You?”

“Yes, that name. Some guy I’ve never heard of dares to ask me to leave! Doesn’t he know—”

“Shut up!” Tang Jianzhong’s face turned pale, “Are you sure that’s the name?”

Being yelled at, Tang Xiaoke held back his temper, “That name! Can I hear it wrong?”

Tang Jianzhong pondered for a few seconds and made a decision, “Don’t go to that show; withdraw directly.”

“Why should I?” Tang Xiaoke exploded, his eyes turning red with determination, “Even if you’re my father, you won’t support me, and you want me to quit the show? Where will I put my face? Huh? Just because of twice the funding? I’ll invest three times! I don’t believe—”

“Tell you to get lost, so get lost!” Tang Jianzhong raised his voice, his face turning red. “Can’t you understand human language? Do you know who you’ve offended? Throwing money around, do you really think everything can be solved with money?”

Tang Xiaoke clenched his fists and stared at Tang Jianzhong.

Tang Jianzhong let out a sigh and softened his tone, “If I’m not mistaken, this Xie You is the head of the Xie family. This person… is not someone our Tang family can afford to provoke! Just play your part well and stay out of trouble!”

“They were the ones who started it!”

Hearing this, Tang Jianzhong slammed the table, his temper flaring up again. “I already know you! You’re not listening? Let me tell you about Xie You. He’s young, not even twenty-five, but he has the entire Xie family firmly under his control! That guy, Song Ke, and Ding Zhaoxian, one lost his life, the other disappeared without a trace, both were taken care of by him! If you don’t listen, you won’t even know how you end up dead!”

Tang Xiaoke pretended to be weak, “Dad, I can only rely on you. I really can’t swallow this humiliation! Who is that guy surnamed Yu? How dare he challenge me? Can’t you talk to that Xie You guy?”

Tang Jianzhong sighed, “My son, you’re overestimating your dad. Xie You? I don’t even have the qualifications to meet him and talk to him! Our Tang family, to put it plainly, I started with coal mining and made a place in real estate during the good times. The Xie family, on the other hand, has been established for several generations, and real estate is just a tiny puzzle piece in their commercial territory! What do you want me to talk to them about?”

Tang Xiaoke’s brows were furrowed with anger, “So, there’s nothing we can do?”

Tang Jianzhong remained silent.

Cursing in his heart at his uselessness, Tang Jianzhong didn’t try to persuade her any further. Tang Xiaoke turned around and slammed the door as she left.

Soon, the official account of “Let Me Sing” announced that Tang Xiaoke would be withdrawing from the show due to scheduling conflicts.

Holding her phone, Shi Rou exclaimed, “The show’s team works really fast, don’t they?”

Meng Yuan chuckled, “Everyone here is shrewd. They can distinguish who they can offend and who they can’t. The show’s team released the announcement without informing Tang Xiaoke’s studio in advance. But by saying this unilaterally, everyone’s face is saved. Just for the sake of face, Tang Xiaoke’s side won’t reveal the truth either.”

“That makes sense, or else they’ll be mocked.” Shi Rou thought for a moment and then said, “But isn’t Tang Xiaoke’s family quite powerful? Won’t his dad get angry and act impulsively?”

Meng Yuan shook his head, “Powerful as they may be, are they as powerful as Xie You?”

Shi Rou quickly shook her head.

“Exactly, Tang Xiaoke is a brainless person, but his father, Tang Jianzhong, can’t be brainless! He should be worried now that his annoying son has provoked Xie You, which might affect his own career. He’d better keep him under control and stay far away from trouble!”

Shi Rou nodded, then smiled, “I overheard two assistant girls talking earlier, and they said that Nian Nian also has a deep background. There’s a mysterious figure behind him who directly crushed Tang Xiaoke!”

Meng Yuan joked, “Makes sense, Xie You has always been low-key with his power and influence!”

At that moment, Yu Nian finished shooting and walked over. Meng Yuan stood up and asked, “How was the shoot?”

Taking the tissue Shi Rou handed him, Yu Nian wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled, “It went smoothly; we can leave now.”

Meng Yuan lowered his voice and teased, “Ah, now that your boyfriend is back, it’s different. You’re eager to leave and go home again.”

Yu Nian denied it, “It’s not that this time. I want to go back early and send the songs I wrote for my sister’s new album. Xie You has back-to-back meetings and will be busy until tomorrow, so we won’t be able to meet until then.”

“Well, it’s not easy being a wealthy person,” Meng Yuan said as he asked Shi Rou to pack up. “Okay, let’s go, get home early.”

Back home, Yu Nian took a shower and put on white cotton pajamas and slippers. He entered his study, sent the files he had packed earlier to Yu Qing, and since Yu Qing didn’t reply, he left a message and closed his computer.

With his hair still slightly damp, Yu Nian didn’t feel like moving much. He leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought—what was Xie You doing right now? Probably still in a meeting, right? Has he had dinner?

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Yu Nian instantly sat up straight, hesitated for a few seconds, then quickly got up and opened the door.

Xie You stood there with a dark suit jacket draped over his left arm, his tie and cufflinks neatly arranged as if he had just come from a meeting.

After inviting him in, before Yu Nian could say anything, a smile filled his eyes, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye became even more eye-catching. “Weren’t you in a meeting? Why did you suddenly come?”

Xie You leaned closer, trapping Yu Nian between him and the wall, then gently kissed the tip of Yu Nian’s nose and whispered in a hoarse voice, “Because you said you really wanted to kiss me.”