“What, afraid your boyfriend might catch us?” Zhou Yanxing found a chair and sat down, casually flipping open a travel brochure left on the cabinet. Without even looking up, he said, “Relax. I haven’t even done anything to you.”
He was practically dripping with jealousy—Chi Zhan could practically drown in the sourness. Zhou Yanxing must’ve been a walking jar of vinegar in his past life and a full-blown vinegar spirit in this one.
Still, Zhou did give off a certain sense of danger.
Not the kind of danger where he’d actually do something to him, though… Despite all the rumors about Zhou Yanxing being emotionally frigid, he’d never crossed any lines. Sure, he was domineering, but he’d never truly done anything to Chi Zhan. If anything, Zhou was the one always letting Chi Zhan take liberties—like he was secretly waiting for Chi Zhan to make a move…
Chi Zhan eyed him a few times, a wild thought creeping in.
Could Zhou Yanxing… actually be a bottom?
The idea was disturbingly plausible.
Peeking through the peephole, Chi Zhan saw who was outside—it was Jiang Yi.
“……”
Jiang Yi was a good kid, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. If he found out Chi Zhan was staying in the same room as Zhou Yanxing, their scandal would be all over the office by tomorrow morning.
“It’s not him. Why don’t you hide in the small bedroom for now?”
He had been surprised by the upscale setup of the room—there was a sitting area and a separate bedroom. Thinking back, it probably had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Zhou Yanxing. He was just riding coattails.
Zhou gave him a side glance but didn’t lose his temper. With a cold snort, he turned and walked into the bathroom—apparently off to take a shower.
Fine by him.
Chi Zhan opened the door. Jiang Yi was holding a bag of grilled skewers, looking excited.
“Chi-ge! I brought some snacks—want to eat together?”
“I don’t think I—”
Chi Zhan didn’t even finish rejecting the offer when several other coworkers popped up behind Jiang Yi, cheerfully greeting him.
“Good evening, Secretary Chi! Want to play cards with us?”
“C’mon, we don’t have to wake up early tomorrow anyway!”
“But I…”
“Let’s go, just for a little while! Come on, come on!”
He looked at them, utterly speechless, pressing a hand to his forehead. Once inside, the group immediately burst out with delighted exclamations.
“Wow—Secretary Chi’s room is huge! You can see the ocean from here!”
Everyone eagerly explored the space—until the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.
“Uh… that’s my roommate. He’s showering.”
“Then let’s invite him to play too!” they said without a hint of concern.
Chi Zhan could only pray that Zhou Yanxing would take his sweet time—preferably a full two-hour soak.
They opened the bag of skewers and laid everything out on the table. The rich, spicy aroma of grilled food instantly filled the room, making mouths water.
“We were gonna eat out on the balcony,” Jiang Yi said, “but it was too cold, so we came inside instead.”
Someone shoved a skewer of grilled potato slices into Chi Zhan’s hand. He chewed slowly while getting dealt into a round of Dou Dizhu.
“The Entertainment Department’s bus just got here,” someone mentioned. “Rough day for them—they were stuck on the road half the day.”
“Yeah, seriously. What are the odds of your bus breaking down in the middle of nowhere?”
“Oh, and I think I saw President Zhou walking through the garden with someone earlier. Probably his blind date, right?”
“Whoever lands President Zhou is hitting the jackpot. Marrying into money, barely seeing your husband all year, and owning Zhou Rui shares? That’s basically a goddess life. Just stay home and count cash.”
While listening to the gossip, Chi Zhan quietly opened one of the system’s gifted gacha boxes.
Maybe it would give him something useful. God knows he needed it right now.
The box shimmered with golden light—a sign that something high-tier was coming. Sure enough, three options materialized in front of him:
- Monthly Pass for a Top-Tier Restaurant
B. “Luck King” Buff
C. Monthly Subscription to a Private Fashion Stylist
Both A and C were white-tier, but B gleamed gold—clearly the superior choice. Chi Zhan selected B and tapped “use.”
“Luck King” Buff Description:
Upon activation, gain a one-hour buff with 99.9% chance of good luck, 0.1% chance of bad luck.
Worth a try, he figured. He hit “use.”
Golden confetti burst across the screen, followed by a small line of text: Currently Active.
“Chi-ge, it’s your turn,” someone reminded him as he spaced out.
He casually played a 3 of Hearts. Just then, a knock came at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Chi Zhan said, standing up. “You guys keep playing.”
He assumed it was another colleague joining the card game and didn’t bother checking the peephole. He opened the door without a second thought—
“Gege, good evening!”
The visitor lunged forward like an overexcited puppy finally reunited with its owner, throwing his arms around Chi Zhan. The sudden weight nearly toppled him.
“Why are you—” Chi Zhan stammered.
“I was stuck in the car all day, freezing and starving,” Chu Xingxiao muttered as he wrapped an arm around Chi Zhan’s waist. It was as if he had a big invisible tail wagging furiously behind him—until someone walked by and caught sight of them.
“Oh! I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to stare!” the passerby blurted, flustered.
“It’s not…” Chi Zhan cut himself off, afraid that saying too much would only make it worse. “He’s a friend.”
Chu Xingxiao caught a whiff of the grilled food and his eyes lit up. Chi Zhan had planned to send him home, but the restaurants were closed by now and the guy clearly hadn’t eaten. Resigned, he said, “There’s barbecue inside. Eat, then head back.”
Chu’s eyes dimmed slightly—but he quickly covered it with a smile and nodded obediently.
“Okay.”
He followed Chi Zhan back to the table. After a quick round of introductions, Chi Zhan handed him some food.
Chu was a little standoffish toward everyone else, barely replying with more than a few words. But the moment Chi Zhan spoke to him, his demeanor completely changed.
“Eat. Then go get some rest.”
“Okay… mmph.”
He had just taken a bite of grilled meat and was about to compliment it when Chi Zhan shoved a skewer of grilled green beans in his face, feeding him like a baby bird.
“Wait—I haven’t finished—”
Chu’s head was now covered in metaphorical exasperation lines, looking like a tiny stick figure frantically trying to keep up with the feeding frenzy.
