Su Ran wasn’t watching the livestream out of professionalism.
He only tuned in because he wanted to study his target. Qi Song was undeniably skilled, but his personality just wasn’t Su Ran’s type—too quiet, too dull. Back then, someone had paid him to watch, so Su Ran only glanced briefly. Who would’ve thought it would come in handy now?
At this point, denying it would be pointless for Chi Zhan. All it would take was opening the streaming app to see the truth. After all, you had to link your ID and bank card to send gifts.
The air around Zhou Yanxing grew heavier by the second.
“How about this?” Xiao Wang, seeing the back-and-forth and worried the food would go cold, anxiously chimed in, “Why don’t you go pick up Qi Song first, then head to the concert together? After all, Chu Xingxiao is one of our artists—getting a few tickets shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Let’s go with Xiao Wang’s plan,” Zhou Yanxing said as he sliced into his meat, though his eyes never left Chi Zhan. A cold smile tugged at his lips. “I’m quite curious to see what kind of skill a male streamer must have to get Secretary Chi to throw money at him.”
Chi Zhan thought bitterly that he really should’ve checked the horoscope today.
…Nothing was going right.
***
By the end of the French meal, everyone was lost in their own thoughts—except for Xiao Wang, who was clearly having a great time.
Clearly, traveling with President Zhou was the right move. Luxury cruise, French fine dining, five-star hotel—this was the life of a deity.
Su Ran, meanwhile, wore a complicated expression that screamed, This man is seriously hard to handle. He headed to the restroom to call for backup. Jiang Yi didn’t even finish eating before he made up an excuse to leave—who needed food when anger had already filled him up?
Though Zhou Yanxing was typically domineering, today he radiated a volatile aura, like a fuse just waiting to be lit—boom.
His sharp, handsome features were clouded with menace.
After a moment, Zhou Yanxing answered a call. Chi Zhan, seated beside him, caught fragments like “still missing” and “doesn’t match the criteria.”
A thought flickered in Chi Zhan’s mind—he had a guess now.
“President Zhou,” he said softly, “are you still worried I might run into that man from last night?”
Zhou Yanxing had barely slept the night before. Thanks to his solid constitution, a quick wash and change of clothes had him looking fresh again, but the fatigue was still there—manifesting in headaches, a short fuse, and a hair-trigger temper.
Chi Zhan could relate.
Normally he only used a fraction of his verbal sharpness. Today, he’d been operating at seventy or eighty percent.
Zhou Yanxing wore a frosty expression as he sipped his coffee.Â
“You seem pretty carefree, sleeping it off like nothing happened.”
Chi Zhan gave a faint smile.Â
“I was terrified at first. But after watching the fireworks you arranged for me last night, I wasn’t scared anymore.”
Zhou Yanxing visibly froze, then replied with practiced indifference, “When did I ever set off fireworks for you?”
“The fireworks company sent the bill to Finance.” Chi Zhan shook his phone, a rare moment of triumph lighting his eyes. He teased, “Finance asked me if they should charge it to your personal account.”
“……”
The fireworks display last night had indeed been something he arranged on the fly—calling in a team to rush out to sea and set them off.
There wasn’t much one could do on the open ocean at midnight, and fireworks were one of the few options. He’d even consulted a few other domineering CEO-types before settling on the idea.
Though in the end, he hadn’t been fully satisfied. The selection had been too limited, the colors too plain, the explosions not grand enough. Still, the overall effect had been decent.
Now, Zhou Yanxing looked slightly awkward.Â
“I just didn’t want it messing up today’s schedule. Don’t read too much into it.”
It sounded weak, even to his own ears. But he quickly grew serious again.Â
“How do you know you weren’t the real target? What if he’s still following you? You’re unfamiliar with this city—if something happens, you might not even have time to call the police. Who knows how many other perverts are watching you.”
Chi Zhan chuckled.
“That was a fluke. It won’t happen again,” he said, tapping his wristwatch. “Besides, you can track my location anytime you want, can’t you?”
Zhou Yanxing’s gaze landed on Chi Zhan’s wrist. He didn’t speak right away. After a pause, he said slowly, “You’re really not scared anymore?”
Chi Zhan smiled.Â
“Really.”
A flicker of emotion passed through Zhou Yanxing’s eyes. Then he lifted a hand, his finger tapping twice on the side of Chi Zhan’s watch.Â
“This is the emergency button. If anything happens, double-press it. The alert will go straight to my phone. Understand?”
Chi Zhan nodded obediently.
The stormy aura around Zhou Yanxing gradually faded. His usual self began to return. Chi Zhan realized he might’ve just figured out how to handle Zhou Yanxing—or rather, how to get along with him.
If you pushed back too hard, Zhou Yanxing would explode and take everyone down with him. But if you smoothed his feathers and gave him a way out, he wouldn’t blow up.
“Be honest,” Zhou Yanxing looked up again, the softness in his eyes gone. “Did Su Ran bribe you with something? Is that why you’re trying so hard to push me toward him?”
Just like that, Zhou Yanxing had snapped back to the cold, overbearing CEO Chi Zhan knew so well.
…Alright then. So much for smoothing his feathers—the effect lasted all of two seconds.
“If you don’t want to go, you could head back to the hotel and get some sleep,” Chi Zhan offered. Sometimes pushing too hard had the opposite effect. It was better to respect Zhou Yanxing’s wishes. “I won’t be long.”
Zhou Yanxing frowned.Â
“I’m not tired.”
Chi Zhan smiled.Â
“Then I guess you’ll have to go to the concert with Su Ran.”
“……”
In the end, Zhou Yanxing returned to the hotel with Xiao Wang, while Chi Zhan headed for the WT base. Su Ran, left to his own devices, went to the concert alone.
“Well, if President Zhou’s busy, we’ll reschedule,” Su Ran said lightly. He wasn’t upset—Zhou Yanxing was just one option. If this one didn’t work out, he’d just try someone else.
Chi Zhan boarded the car headed for the WT base.
