Jiang Chiyan finished speaking.
Before Xiao Cheng could answer, he added with a smile, "We've taken photos... if you dare to love me and leave me, Mr. Xiao, I'll use them to blackmail you."
Jiang Chiyan stroked Xiao Cheng's leg and said with considerable tenderness, "You've lost weight."
Xiao Cheng had spent over two months in Hengdian, enduring thirty-five-degree heat and sleeping less than three hours a day. It had been grueling.
Jiang Chiyan wanted to feed his young boyfriend until he was fair and plump.
Otherwise, lying on top of him at night would be uncomfortably bony.
With that thought, Jiang Chiyan brought the dessert to Xiao Cheng's lips. "Try it."
Xiao Cheng obediently opened his mouth around the spoon, and the sweetness melted on his tongue.
When he said nothing, Jiang Chiyan asked, "Don't like it?"
Xiao Cheng shook his head honestly. "I do. It's very sweet."
It was just that he normally had to watch his figure and weight, so he rarely dared to eat it.
Watching Xiao Cheng's Adam's apple move as he swallowed, Jiang Chiyan's gaze deepened. "This dessert... tastes much better than my coffee."
Xiao Cheng blushed instantly.
He had added quite a bit of soy sauce, vinegar, and mustard to the coffee he'd brought Jiang Chiyan. There seemed to have been chili oil in it too.
After a moment's thought, Xiao Cheng picked up the spoon he'd just used and scooped up some dessert. "Have something sweet to balance out the bitterness in your mouth?"
Jiang Chiyan shook his head. "That isn't sweet enough."
Xiao Cheng said, "Then I'll order you something sweeter... mmph!"
Before he could finish, Jiang Chiyan put that spoonful of dessert into Xiao Cheng's mouth.
Then he cupped Xiao Cheng's face in one hand and kissed him.
Sweetness spread between their lips and teeth...
After getting a taste of that sweetness, Jiang Chiyan quickly pulled back, rubbed Xiao Cheng's lips with his thumb, and casually teased him. "My little sweet melon has grown up."
Xiao Cheng shot him a sidelong glare, slapped his hand away, and pulled his mask back up.
A little breathless from the kiss, Xiao Cheng's eyes glistened. He was somewhat annoyed. "There are people everywhere. Don't..."
Jiang Chiyan tickled his palm. "So once we're home, I can kiss you as much as I like?"
Xiao Cheng hesitated, then nodded very seriously and added, "Don't make my lips swell."
He still had filming and variety shows to do.
Jiang Chiyan's lips curved. "All right."
Afraid of annoying Xiao Cheng with his teasing, he didn't dare make any more suggestive remarks.
Xiao Cheng went to change and returned the waiter uniform he'd worn when bringing over the coffee to the young waiter.
The young waiter asked curiously, "Didn't you say you were going to catch him cheating?"
Xiao Cheng coughed. "I was just scaring him. I'm not doing that anymore."
The young man looked baffled. "Huh?"
Xiao Cheng said, "Jealousy spices things up. You single guys wouldn't understand."
The young man: "..." Is that any way to treat someone?
By the time Xiao Cheng returned, Jiang Chiyan's two childhood friends, Fu Man and Xi Hanchu, had arrived.
Fu Man was a host for the national television network, had high emotional intelligence, and was also Xiao Cheng's fan, so they quickly hit it off.
Fu Man told Xiao Cheng conspiratorially, "I know plenty of embarrassing dirt on your man. A hundred yuan per story. Want to hear some?"
Xiao Cheng considered it, took out a hundred yuan, and handed it to Fu Man.
Jiang Chiyan sat beside Xiao Cheng, swirling a cocktail, with one hand resting on the back of Xiao Cheng's chair. His gaze was gentle and doting.
Fu Man looked at Jiang Chiyan, then at Xiao Cheng, and began-
"Cheng, once Jiang Yuan got drunk, and when I tried to pull him into the car, he hugged a billboard of you out on the street and wouldn't let go. He kept kissing it and shouting, 'I have a wife now! All you little temptresses, stay away from me!'"
Xiao Cheng turned to Jiang Chiyan, looking somewhat incredulous. "Really?"
Jiang Chiyan nodded, his gaze fixed intently on Xiao Cheng. "Yes, I really do have a wife."
Xiao Cheng avoided his searing gaze and reached for his wallet.
He wanted to keep hearing Fu Man's embarrassing stories about Jiang Chiyan.
But Xiao Cheng rarely used cash, and that hundred yuan was all he'd had.
So...
Xiao Cheng looked at Jiang Chiyan. "Give me a hundred yuan."
Give me, not lend me.
That pleased Jiang Chiyan. He took out his wallet and tucked it into Xiao Cheng's hand. "It's all yours."
Just then-
Xi Hanchu, who hadn't spoken yet, glanced at Xiao Cheng and said to Jiang Chiyan, "Come with me for a moment."
Jiang Chiyan smiled. "No need. There are no outsiders here. Just say it."
Xi Hanchu paused, then nodded. "All right. Help me look into someone."
"Who?"
Xi Hanchu said, "Kill. A hacker."
Xiao Cheng's hand shook, nearly spilling his lemonade.
Kill...
How did Xi Hanchu know about this identity of his??
Xiao Cheng turned to glance at Jiang Chiyan again. Tapping his fingertips against his knee, Jiang Chiyan asked Xi Hanchu, "And once I find him?"
Xi Hanchu shook his head. "I don't know... these are His Excellency the President's orders."
Jiang Chiyan didn't ask anything more.
Xi Hanchu gave Fu Man a look. Taking the hint, Fu Man changed the subject and asked Xiao Cheng, "Cheng, I heard you're recording a variety show with Jiang Yuan next week?"
Xiao Cheng nodded.
The Warmth of the Law, a workplace-observation reality show about the legal profession.
As a legal professional, Jiang Chiyan would be taking part in a variety show recording for the first time.
Fu Man smiled. "The production team really struck gold."
That morning.
The official account for The Warmth of the Law had released the guest list for its second season.
Within ten minutes of its release, it had reached number one on the trending chart.
It now had 120,000 reposts and over a million comments.
The top-ranked comments.
_: "Jiang Chiyan's name is on top of Xiao Cheng's. Something's wrong with me... I can picture it now. I could write three thousand words of smut."
_: "Here's your pen. Hurry up and write it, commenter above! How could three thousand words be enough? Make it three million [smirk]."
_: "Gunpowder Smoke, fly fearlessly! Ginger and Oranges will always follow!"
_: "What's Ginger and Oranges?"
_: "To the commenter above, Jiang Chiyan's fans are called Ginger Slices, and Xiao Cheng's fans are called Oranges."
_: "Ginger and Oranges are one family!"
Fu Man scrolled through the comments and said with a smile, "The fans have gone shipping-mad. In just a few hours, the official account for The Warmth of the Law gained over five million followers. That's more than I have as a host."
Only then did Xiao Cheng realize why Fu Man looked so familiar.
Fu Man, the national television network's star host.
Fu Man chatted some more with Xiao Cheng and Jiang Chiyan about recording the show before the four of them parted ways.
Jiang Chiyan got into Xiao Cheng's car and winked at him from the passenger seat. "Boyfriend, I've been drinking. I can't drive."
Xiao Cheng's fingertips paused. "So..."
Jiang Chiyan tilted his head innocently, a sly gleam rising in his eyes. "You'll have to take me home."
After two months without touching his young boyfriend, only getting to feast his eyes on him through a screen during video calls, Jiang Chiyan couldn't hold back anymore.
Xiao Cheng didn't think much of it. He nodded, then bent down and got into the driver's seat.
But only when they drove near Jiang Chiyan's private villa did Xiao Cheng realize...
He had no way out at all.
The moment Jiang Chiyan got out of the car, he slumped against Xiao Cheng as though he had no bones. "My little boyfriend, my head hurts so much."
Jiang Chiyan wrapped both arms possessively around Xiao Cheng's waist, buried his face in the crook of his neck, and whined.
Xiao Cheng struggled to pry him off for ages but couldn't escape his hold. "Let's get inside first. I'll make you some hangover soup, okay?"
Jiang Chiyan nodded.
After Xiao Cheng helped Jiang Chiyan into the bedroom, made the hangover soup, and was ready to leave...
He came out of the villa, only to see-
Three of his car's wheels had been stolen.
Someone had removed the fuel tank too.
There was no driving it away now.
Moreover, it was impossible to get a taxi within ten kilometers of Jiang Chiyan's villa.
Night fell, and the sky gradually darkened.
At the same time.
In the villa's bedroom, Jiang Chiyan slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were perfectly clear, without the slightest trace of drunkenness.
Jiang Chiyan's phone chimed, and a message popped up.
-[Fifth Young Master, it's done. We stole three wheels and removed the car's fuel tank too.]
A captivating smile curved Jiang Chiyan's lips, his eyes filled with an intense desire to possess and conquer.
Tonight would be a very pleasant night.
Xiao Cheng, I'll be waiting for you to come back.
-Author's note-
(In response to the question of who tops and who bottoms: I consulted a gay friend of mine who has a doctorate and studies gender diversity. He said that topping and bottoming only concern whether the position that produces pleasure during intimacy is on top or underneath, and have nothing to do with how strong or meek someone's everyday personality is. Many boys' love novels distinguish too much between strong and meek characters, essentially writing boys' love as heterosexual romance. In the romantic arc here, I can only say that Jiang Chiyan is somewhat more dominant; I don't explicitly distinguish between top and bottom.)