Chi Zhan hadn’t quite grasped his meaning when Zhou Yanxing suddenly leaned in. The faint scent of tea from yesterday was gone, replaced by a fresh shower gel fragrance mingled with the slightly bitter, astringent aroma of coffee—warmed by his body heat and clinging faintly to the air between them.
The next moment, an arm slipped beneath Chi Zhan’s knees while another wrapped firmly around his shoulders. Before he could react, his body was lifted off the ground—Zhou Yanxing had picked him up.
Zhou Yanxing’s body ran hotter than Chi Zhan’s. So when he laid Chi Zhan down on the lounge’s bed, Chi Zhan’s shoulders still retained a lingering trace of warmth, despite his body tensing up like a board.
“Secretary Chi, you’re way too light. Don’t you eat properly?”
Chi Zhan blinked, trying to ignore the strange flutter that momentarily stirred in him. Seeing that Zhou Yanxing’s expression remained perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened just now, he forced down his unease and answered just as blandly.
“I don’t eat that much normally—”
As expected, before he even finished speaking, Zhou Yanxing clicked his tongue, dragged over a chair, and sat down in front of him.Â
“Not much, huh? Does that include snacks too? Secretary Chi, you’re really good at lying without batting an eye.”
…So the man at the supermarket that day really was Zhou Yanxing.
Chi Zhan suppressed the urge to retort. After all, Zhou Yanxing was still his boss. He hesitated for a moment but couldn’t hold back entirely.
“I did blink.”
“……”
Touché.
Chi Zhan lay facedown on the cold gray bedsheets, unsure where to look. At Zhou Yanxing? That felt awkward. Staring at the bedsheets was safer.
The lounge was filled with the sharp scent of mint. A place someone frequently occupied always carried their personal scent. The last time Chi Zhan had stepped in here, he hadn’t dared look around. Now he realized… Zhou Yanxing’s bed was kind of hard.
Zhou Yanxing noticed his fixed gaze and misunderstood.Â
“I know you’re a bit of a neat freak, but I couldn’t let you stay out there. The sheets haven’t been changed, so bear with it for now.”
Chi Zhan didn’t recall ever having a “clean freak” label, but he hummed vaguely in response. Then he slowly became aware of a serious problem.
The shirt he was wearing had already been torn by the red-and-blue fluffball earlier. It hadn’t seemed too bad at first, but when Zhou Yanxing picked him up just now, whatever threads were barely holding it together had completely given up. Now, his shoulder felt unnervingly exposed…
He shifted slightly, trying to tug the fabric back into place, but the moment he moved, it slid off even faster.
Zhou Yanxing didn’t seem to notice. His phone rang again, and after glancing at the caller ID—perhaps not wanting to disturb Chi Zhan’s rest—he stepped out to take the call.
Zhou Yanxing had emotional intelligence and tact in spades. It just depended on whether he chose to use them.
The heater was running, blowing warm air across the room, so it wasn’t too cold. Still, Chi wwwZhan felt out of sorts, fumbling around on the cabinet for his phone.
There were spare dress shirts in the locker room… Just as he was about to text someone for help, Zhou Yanxing returned.
Panic prickled across Chi Zhan’s back as he broke out in a cold sweat. Zhou Yanxing, noticing his discomfort, frowned and asked, “It hurts a lot? My friend’s on the way. He’ll take a look at you.”
Glancing down, Zhou Yanxing caught sight of the half-typed SOS on Chi Zhan’s phone screen. He immediately put two and two together, raising a brow in amusement.Â
“Calling for backup? Who were you trying to summon?”
His tone was nothing short of teasing.
“……”
Chi Zhan had never been this embarrassed in his life.
Maybe Zhou the Demon King was momentarily moved by Chi Zhan’s selfless heroism, because at least now his attitude had improved—though he was still snarky enough to leave one speechless. Without saying a word, Chi Zhan reached into Zhou Yanxing’s fashion show–worthy wardrobe and randomly pointed at what looked like a fairly normal shirt.
Actually, he’d just picked one at random.
“It’s brand new,” Zhou Yanxing noted, raising an eyebrow and mimicking Chi Zhan’s tone. “Secretary Chi, should I help you put it on?”
The words were all too familiar.
…He’s definitely teasing me on purpose!
Before he could put on the new shirt, he had to take the torn one off.
“Can you sit up?”
“…I’m fine,” Chi Zhan muttered. After lying there a bit longer, he slowly propped himself up and began unbuttoning his shirt.
The fabric was already thin to begin with, and the buttons had fared even worse. After that earlier scuffle, three out of five were missing. The shirt was a lost cause.
Chi Zhan had just unfastened the buttons and was about to slip it off when he realized—Zhou Yanxing was still in the room. Not only that, he wasn’t looking away—he was casually checking his phone.
Zhou Yanxing clearly wasn’t shy about things like this. He’d taken off his clothes in front of Chi Zhan before, as if it were no big deal.
But Chi Zhan wasn’t used to exposing himself in front of another person. He hesitated for a second—fortunately, Zhou Yanxing turned around just then, giving him some privacy.
Whether it was intentional or not, Chi Zhan didn’t know. Either way, it was a relief. He quickly changed shirts.
Zhou Yanxing’s black dress shirt was several sizes too big. The hem nearly covered his thighs.
The fabric smelled crisp and expensive, the new-tag scent still clinging to it. The label hadn’t even been removed yet. Zhou Yanxing turned around, flipped over the mirror on the desk, and just as Chi Zhan reached up to adjust something tugging at his collar, Zhou Yanxing leaned down and bit the tag off.
A wave of warm breath brushed across the nape of his neck—brief, but scorching.
It was as if someone had touched a vulnerable spot. Chi Zhan’s entire body tensed.
“Next time something like this happens, get out of the way. Don’t rush to the front.”
Before Chi Zhan could even feel moved, Zhou Yanxing added, “With those skinny arms and legs, how many punches do you think you can take? You trying to steal a security guard’s job? You’re not even getting paid their salary.”
“…Got it. Understood.”
Same old Demon King Zhou.
“Good.” Zhou Yanxing finally looked a bit satisfied. He glanced at his watch. “Wait a bit longer—my friend will be here soon.”
“Your… your friend…” Chi Zhan almost tripped over the honorific.
“No need for formal speech in private. He’s a doctor. Last name Cen. He’s good at what he does—don’t worry.”
Chi Zhan froze.
He watched Zhou Yanxing walk out of the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
A CEO’s doctor friend… That name sounded all too familiar.
