There were drinks on the table. Cen Chi picked up a glass of oat milk and handed it to Chi Zhan.
Chi Zhan suddenly remembered—back at the hospital, when he’d skipped breakfast, Cen Chi had made him a cup of oat milk too.
“I’m pursuing you. If you have feelings for me, even a little, would you consider giving me a chance?”
Chi Zhan had just taken a sip of the milk. He choked on it the moment he heard that, coughing violently, nearly dropping the glass.
Cen Chi steadied the cup with one hand and gently patted his back until he calmed down.
“I don’t like you because you’re ‘special’. If someone needed to be special just to earn my affection, wouldn’t that be shallow?”
“But if I weren’t special, you wouldn’t have noticed me, would you?” Chi Zhan countered. “If someone else had that same ability right now…”
“It’d still only be you,” Cen Chi interrupted. “Even if I were blind, I’d still fall for you. I thought… you already knew that.”
“……”
He abruptly pulled his hand out of Cen Chi’s grasp, and set the glass aside.
“I already told you—I have a boyfriend.”
“You mean the one you’re dating online?” Cen Chi’s expression cooled slightly. He looked directly at Chi Zhan and said, “I don’t mind.”
“…???”
That wasn’t the point at all!
He didn’t even know how to respond.
“It’s just an online relationship. That doesn’t count as a real couple,” Cen Chi said with a faint smile. “I’ve been waiting for you to realize it, but you’re so oblivious… I couldn’t wait anymore. Ah-Zhan, if you can be with Chu Xingxiao, why can’t you be with me?”
Cen Chi’s words left Chi Zhan completely blank, staring at him in stunned silence with just one thought in his head:
I’m screwed.
It took Chi Zhan a long moment to find his voice.
“How did you know…”
“You mean, how did I find out you have an extra ‘boyfriend’?” Cen Chi picked up smoothly. “My relationship with Zhou Yanxing isn’t great at the moment, but some things aren’t that hard to look into. You can’t exactly keep me completely in the dark. And tell me—does your online ‘boyfriend’ know about this?” Cen Chi asked.
Chi Zhan’s mind was a chaotic mess, and his first instinct was to blurt, “No!”
Even if it was a fake relationship, if Song Guang ever heard about this, he’d definitely be heartbroken.
And now, even that biggest lie—the “boyfriend”—was starting to fall apart. If Cen Chi told Zhou Yanxing that he had another “boyfriend,” Chi Zhan honestly had no idea how he’d ever explain himself.
“Or…your relationship with him isn’t what I thought it was, is it?”
These romance targets just kept getting smarter.
Suddenly, an idea struck Chi Zhan.
“How do you know the boyfriend I mentioned isn’t Chu Xingxiao?”
“That’s easy. I can just ask him if you two met online.”
Now Chi Zhan felt strangely composed.
Technically speaking, he had met “X” online.
But the real issue was: how the hell was he supposed to make Chu Xingxiao pretend to be Song Guang? There was no way it’d work—it’d get exposed instantly.
Dozens of contingency plans flew through Chi Zhan’s head, none of them useful.
“Why not give me a try? Your ‘boyfriend’ will never know. I promise.…Neither of them will.”
“……”
Whoever said romance targets have moral boundaries—what a load of crap!
***
“I’ve got something to do, I’m leaving.”
Before Cen Chi could respond, Chi Zhan fled the scene like his life depended on it.
As the saying goes, if you run fast enough, no one can catch you. Besides, Zhou Yanxing was still in the building—Cen Chi probably wouldn’t follow him in…
At that moment, Chi Zhan truly appreciated the one benefit of living with Zhou Yanxing.
Secretary Chi, who always kept up his perfect poise even if the sky fell, finally cracked today. Cen Chi had officially broken his composure record.
Back on the sofa, Cen Chi didn’t chase after him. He hadn’t expected Chi Zhan to run off like that and gave a helpless little laugh.
Still too much, too fast.
He really had tried to hold back… but maybe he’d pushed too hard.
Cen Chi stayed seated. Pressuring Chi Zhan would only backfire. Based on his guess, Chi Zhan would probably start avoiding him from now on.
He’d have to be more careful.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yanxing was on the phone when Chi Zhan swiped his keycard and charged into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him like some monster had been on his heels. Zhou raised an eyebrow at the sight, giving him a look that asked, What the hell happened to you?
Chi Zhan’s heart was still hammering in his chest—pure panic. But of course, he couldn’t tell Zhou Yanxing the truth. He just shook his head, poured himself a glass of cold water, downed it in one go, and only then began to calm down.
But Cen Chi’s words still echoed in his mind.
Cen Chi knew about the fake boyfriend.
What now?
There was only one plan Chi Zhan could come up with: hide.
Shameful? Yes. But honestly, he couldn’t think of a better one—especially after that fleeting moment when he’d accidentally met Cen Chi’s gaze.
In Cen Chi’s eyes, he’d seen something dark, deep, and terrifying. That same look… he’d seen it before in Zhou Yanxing’s eyes.
He knew exactly what it meant—
He wanted to kiss him.
Zhou Yanxing studied Chi Zhan’s expression, wrapped up his call with a few quick words, then hung up.
“Saw a ghost?”
“……”
Say what you will about President Zhou—man of few words, but damn if he didn’t get straight to the point.
Zhou hadn’t expected a real reaction, but seeing how visibly shaken Chi Zhan was, his brows furrowed.
“What happened?”
Chi Zhan muttered under his breath.
“Your good buddy just confessed to me.”
