Today, Chen Zemian originally wanted to find an opportunity to return the 20,000 yuan that Xiao Kesong had given him last time.
In the end, not only did he not repay the 20,000 yuan — he ended up receiving 150,000 yuan instead.
He wanted to transfer the money back, but Xiao Kesong refused to take it. Sometimes he said, “If you don’t accept it, it means you don’t forgive me.” Other times he said, “It’s useless for you to send it back — I’ve already uninstalled Alipay.”
Ye Chen said, “Just take it. With his IQ, even if he doesn’t give you the money, someone else will cheat him out of it.”
Chen Zemian looked at Ye Chen and repeated, confused, “Cheated?”
Lu Zhuonian nodded. “He’s easy to trick.”
Ye Chen agreed and added, “When he’s old, you could sell him health supplements.”
Lu Zhuonian added succinctly, “Sell them now.”
Ye Chen laughed. “Exactly. Just last month he was scammed out of 88,000 yuan by someone selling tea. I told him it was a scam, but he insisted the little girl was pitiful.”
Xiao Kesong let out a dissatisfied “Ah,” and said, “The little girl works really hard. She sends me WeChat messages every day showing me the tea garden.”
Chen Zemian looked at Xiao Kesong and said sincerely, “I work really hard too.”
Xiao Kesong looked at Chen Zemian seriously and said, “It’s a pity you’re not a girl. If you were…”
Chen Zemian raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
Ye Chen answered coldly and accurately, “You could scam him so badly he’d look like a Tom Cat.”
Lu Zhuonian stayed silent, offering no comment.
In his eyes, Xiao Kesong had already been scammed into Tom Cat territory.
Chen Zhe hid his talents behind a pretty, harmless face and tricked Xiao into personally introducing a highly skilled and dangerous man into their core social circle.
There had been many times when Lu Zhuonian, Ye Chen, and Xiao Kesong dined together, but their social boundaries were always clear. It was either just the three of them, or a large group gathering.
Until today, they had never dined one-on-one with an outsider.
Chen Zhe was tactful and obviously aware of this unspoken rule. That’s why, when invited by the bodyguard, he politely declined with a valid excuse.
Xiao Kesong’s earlier behavior — treating Chen Zhe like a chauffeur — was already a bit disrespectful. Lu Zhuonian’s invitation had been a form of social courtesy, showing basic respect. Chen Zhe understood the etiquette, appreciated the gesture, and declined politely.
It was all part of the unspoken code between people who understood such things.
What no one expected was that Xiao Kesong would go downstairs in person to bring Chen Zhe back up.
If that’s not a Tom Cat behavior, what is?
At the dinner table, the Tom Cat topic faded.
Now, Xiao Kesong was trying to get Chen Zemian to try the taro duck.
Chen Zemian refused. “I don’t eat sweet and salty things.”
Xiao Kesong insisted. “You’ll know it’s good once you try it — it’s absolutely delicious.”
Chen Zemian shook his head. “No thanks. You eat it.”
Still convinced that his favorite dish could win anyone over, Xiao Kesong picked up a piece with serving chopsticks and dropped it into Chen Zemian’s bowl.
“Eat properly,” Chen Zemian said, covering his bowl. “Eat your own food.”
Xiao Kesong pushed the chopsticks toward his mouth. “Just one bite — I promise it tastes good. If it doesn’t, you can spit it in my face.”
Ye Chen frowned. “Gross.”
“I really don’t want to eat it,” Chen Zemian said, helpless. “Mr. Xiao, eat it yourself… Xiao Kesong! Don’t put that in my mouth!”
He had seen people force others to drink, but never force-feed duck.
Chen Zemian leaned back in his chair, lips glistening with oil as he frowned and avoided the food. The glint on his lips made it look like he was wearing rouge, adding an oddly suggestive undertone.
It was hard not to think of something inappropriate.
Lu Zhuonian’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. He quietly looked away, opened a wet wipe, and pressed it against the corners of his mouth to wipe off nonexistent oil.
Ye Chen, hearing the rustle of the wipe, turned to glance at him.
Lu Zhuonian’s face was calm, as if nothing had happened.
For some reason, Ye Chen suddenly recalled Lu Zhuonian’s rare moment of emotion at the racing club last time.
Chen Zemian was easygoing most of the time, but when it came to food and sleep, he stuck to his own ideas. Normally, if someone suggested he try something new, he wouldn’t be so stubborn.
But he couldn’t accept taro paste outside of dessert.
“If you don’t stop, I’ll beat you up,” Chen Zemian warned, holding onto Xiao Kesong’s arm with a raised brow. “I said I’m not eating it, and I mean it.”
Xiao Kesong and Ye Chen took that as a joke. Only Lu Zhuonian knew that Chen Zemian really could fight — and he could beat two Xiao Kesongs with one hand.
He just didn’t fight.
He had a good temper.
Despite being poked with chopsticks, he only frowned and leaned back.
Xiao Kesong was naturally thoughtless — he’d been this way since they were kids. But Lu and Ye had learned how to train him over time, managing to maintain their rare friendship.
Still, there’s a difference between old friends and strangers. While Lu Zhuonian had known Xiao Kesong for years, Chen Zemian had no such bond, so naturally, he remained silent — he wasn’t about to tell him that the only effective training method for Xiao Kesong was negative reinforcement.
The taro duck tug-of-war continued.
Ye Chen found it strange.
“You look like someone easygoing,” he said to Chen Zhe. “But you’re really stubborn.”
Chen Zemian looked like a cat refusing medicine. One hand pinned Xiao Kesong’s arm while the rest of him leaned as far back as possible. “I am easy to get along with. I just have principles when it comes to food. I’m a pure northerner — something this sweet and salty might kill me.”
Ye Chen couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, Kesong, enough.”
Xiao Kesong tried one last tactic. “Just one bite. I beg you.”
Chen Zemian: “No.”
Ye Chen: “Give it up. He’s got a spine of steel — he won’t eat it.”
Lu Zhuonian added, “He’s more stubborn than you.”
Xiao Kesong sighed and was about to give up. Then he had an idea and switched from pressure to persuasion. “Try it for one hundred thousand.”
Chen Zemian’s eyes widened. He stared at Xiao Kesong in disbelief.
Still holding the chopsticks in one hand, Xiao Kesong grabbed his phone with the other. “I’ll transfer it on the spot.”
The stalemate began to shift.
Lu Zhuonian and Ye Chen both turned to look, witnessing a historic moment.
Chen Zemian lowered his head and, with visible restraint, took a small bite of the taro duck.
The electronic female voice chimed in the private room:
[50,000 yuan has been transferred to your Alipay account.]
Chen Zemian swallowed the bite with a frown. It was clear he hated the taste — his eyes even reddened slightly.
Lu Zhuonian’s gaze rested on the teapot. His expression was unreadable.
Ye Chen, unable to resist, collected the rest of the “debt.” “Where’s the other 50,000?”
Xiao Kesong replied, “Alipay hit the limit. Chen Zhe, I’ll add you on WeChat.”
Chen Zemian downed a large cup of tea to wash out the lingering sweetness, wiped his mouth with a wet wipe, and waved dismissively. “No need.”
Two hundred thousand was enough.
He could start looking for people to build his game. The startup funds were now miraculously in place — courtesy of Xiao Kesong. Consider it his first round of shares.
Xiao Kesong was still holding his phone. “Come on, add me. I don’t even have your WeChat — it’s such a hassle finding you every time… You don’t want to add me?”
Chen Zemian finally brought up his QR code. “How could I not? I’ve been wanting to add you for a long time, Mr. Xiao. I just didn’t dare to ask.”
Simple flattery worked wonders on Xiao Kesong. He scanned the code and transferred the remaining 50,000. “Don’t be shy. Let me know if you need money.”
“I’m not short of money, Mr. Xiao.”
Xiao Kesong frowned. “Then why eat something you hate for 100,000? You’ll get taken advantage of like this.”
Ye Chen glanced at the taro duck with the tiny bite missing. “You’re the only one bullying him.”
“But I gave him money.”
Ye Chen rolled his eyes. “Is that something to be proud of?”
Then he looked at Chen Zemian. “This guy’s hopeless. You shouldn’t hang around with him.”
“I heard that!” Xiao Kesong jumped in. “Don’t try to steal my younger brother.”
Ye Chen ignored him. “Is Chen Zhe even your younger brother? I remember someone saying he wanted to work with Zhuonian.”
Xiao Kesong glared. “That was me!”
Ye Chen turned to Chen Zemian. “Is that true, Chen Zhe?”
Lu Zhuonian slowly put down his chopsticks, feigning ignorance. “Hmm? What did you say?”
Xiao Kesong, ever the supportive big brother, offered helpfully, “You said Chen Zhe wanted to be your younger brother.”
“Really?” Lu Zhuonian’s eyes turned toward Chen Zhe. “Funny, I don’t remember you ever telling me that.”
Chen Zemian, having mastered the art of dealing with young masters, replied smoothly: “I never had the honor of speaking to you one-on-one before, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Zhuonian said quietly, “Now you do.”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal
