Spilling all your dirt

Wu Jiangyuan was woken by an enormous clang, mixed with a string of cracks and bangs like firecrackers.

He went out to look and found a certain blond Alpha wearing an apron and nothing but boxer briefs. Even from behind, he looked outrageously flashy.

Hearing him, Dai Lan turned around with a frying pan in hand. Smoke was still rising from it.

Wu Jiangyuan's eyelid twitched as he forced down his irritation at being woken. "What the hell are you doing?"

Dai Lan looked perfectly serious. "Flipping food."

He tilted the frying pan toward Wu Jiangyuan, revealing the fried egg inside...

No, it could no longer be called a fried egg. It was more like a lump of shit.

It was completely stuck to the pan. If the pan hadn't been so well made, an ordinary one would have burned through by now.

Wu Jiangyuan said flatly, "If you've got a problem with me, let's just fight. Don't blow up my home."

"Oh, darling~" Dai Lan feigned hurt. "Don't say that. I only wanted to make you a loving breakfast."

Wu Jiangyuan gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Talk normally."

Dai Lan cleared his throat. "I'm hungry. I searched your place, and there's nothing to eat except a few eggs in the fridge."

He always got terribly hungry after a hangover. It was a problem of his.

Wu Jiangyuan asked, "Can't you order delivery?"

Dai Lan tilted his head. "I've never ordered delivery."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "Right. A rich young master always has his meals served up for him. Better yet, someone should feed you directly."

He checked the time. He was a light sleeper anyway, and after being woken by all that noise, he couldn't get back to sleep.

He might as well go out for breakfast.

He went back to his room and came out with a jacket on.

"Get dressed and come with me."

Dai Lan's eyes lit up. "Jiangtang'er, are you taking me out for breakfast?"

Wu Jiangyuan said, "I'm taking you to the market to be slaughtered like a pig."

Dai Lan got dressed in no time and walked up to him. "Then you'll have to give me anesthesia. I'm scared of pain."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "You can hurt to death for all I care."

Dai Lan grinned. "Jiangtang'er, watch out, or I'll spill all your dirt."

Wu Jiangyuan looked at him with disdain. "As if I need your contribution."

"This dirt is one of a kind. Nobody knows about it."

Dai Lan put on a mysterious expression. "Wu Jiangyuan is secretly married and being kept by a sugar daddy."

"Think that's juicy enough?"

Before he could get another couple of smug remarks out, Wu Jiangyuan lifted his leg and kicked him in the ass.

"Dai Lan, you're really taking a lantern into a toilet."

Dai Lan had spent years abroad, and there were plenty of things about Chinese culture he was still learning. Wu Jiangyuan's remark, for instance, left him completely baffled.

"Taking a lantern into a toilet? What does that mean?"

Wu Jiangyuan gave him a languid glance and uttered flatly, "Looking for shit. In other words, courting death."

Dai Lan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Is that a new two-part saying? Thank you, Jiangtang'er. I've learned something else."

Wu Jiangyuan's raised middle finger was his only response.

After breakfast, Wu Jiangyuan sent him packing.

His first commercial shoot for Tassilo was today. Since he couldn't sleep, Wu Jiangyuan simply went straight to the company.

It was still early, and He Qu hadn't arrived. The company was quiet.

He stepped out of the elevator and ran into someone.

With his conspicuous, flamboyant red hair and an acoustic guitar on his back, it was Yu Jiangmu.

Yu Jiangmu looked surprised to see Wu Jiangyuan. "Brother Jiangyuan, what brings you here so early today?"

Wu Jiangyuan teased, "If I didn't come this early, how would I know you were here this early too?"

Yu Jiangmu said, "Coming an hour early every day means I get another hour of practice."

Wu Jiangyuan asked, "Still worrying yourself sick over the evaluation?"

"No." Yu Jiangmu shook his head. "After you demonstrated it last time, I finished that song."

Wu Jiangyuan noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. "If you're confident about the evaluation, why are you still working so hard?"

Yu Jiangmu paused, his expression turning serious. "Because I want to go solo through my own efforts."

His bluntness made Wu Jiangyuan smile.

He wasn't mocking him. He just found the remark interesting.

"What happened? Are your groupmates bullying you?"

He was thinking about going solo before even officially debuting. Clearly, Yu Jiangmu wasn't fond of this group.

Yu Jiangmu only explained, "I don't think my style fits theirs. Mixing our music together makes me feel like I don't know how to sing anymore."

That was all he offered by way of explanation, but Wu Jiangyuan could tell there had to be another reason.

After a long silence, he patted Yu Jiangmu on the shoulder and said, "It's good that you want to stand on your own and get ahead. But the company has already started promoting your group, and your debut is just around the corner. This is your best chance to get exposure."

What he meant was that Yu Jiangmu shouldn't act rashly. The most important thing was to use the resources already available to establish himself first.

Yu Jiangmu understood, of course, and gave an embarrassed smile. "I know. You're the only person I'd dare say this to."

Wu Jiangyuan wasn't the caring type who liked to offer people guidance. He just saw something of himself in Yu Jiangmu.

"It's getting late, Brother Jiangyuan. I'll head downstairs."

Yu Jiangmu checked the time, said goodbye, and stepped into the elevator.

Wu Jiangyuan watched him leave, feeling that Yu Jiangmu seemed to be hiding some kind of secret.

An hour later-

When He Qu saw Wu Jiangyuan, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

He rubbed his eyes, then turned to Aji beside him.

"I must still be half asleep. I'm actually seeing Wu Jiangyuan."

Curled up on the sofa, Wu Jiangyuan idly flipped through a magazine on his lap and raised an eyebrow teasingly. "If you're still half asleep, have Aji lay out some bedding right here so you can go back to sleep."

Aji whispered in He Qu's ear, "Boss, you're not seeing things. That really is Brother Yuan."

He Qu checked his watch, then looked back at Wu Jiangyuan. "Well, I'll be damned. Wu Jiangyuan, it's only eight. The commercial shoot isn't for another five hours. I know you're career-minded these days, but this is taking hard work too far."

Wu Jiangyuan yawned, his expression weary and languid. "Couldn't sleep. It was too boring at home."

His gaze caught the watch on He Qu's wrist, and something suddenly occurred to him. "Right, do you still have that watch Tassilo gave us last time?"

"I do," He Qu said. "A limited edition that valuable? I wouldn't dare actually sell it."

Wu Jiangyuan lowered his eyes. "Can you give it to me?"

He Qu said, "Of course. The brand specifically gave it to you in the first place."

He sent Aji to fetch the watch, then sat down opposite Wu Jiangyuan. "Why the sudden interest?"

Wu Jiangyuan couldn't very well explain what had happened between him and Pei Jinghe, so he could only answer vaguely, "I just thought it was pretty."

After seeing Pei Jinghe wear it that day, he really had come to appreciate the watch's appeal.

Aji soon brought it over, gift box and all.

When Wu Jiangyuan opened it, the Stars Watch lay quietly in its red velvet box, its body shimmering with starlight.

"It's gorgeous."

Aji's admiration was heartfelt.

He Qu gave a small, amused snort. "I told you to accept it, didn't I? If this watch goes on sale, it'll definitely be a hit."

Wu Jiangyuan said nothing. As his fingertip stroked the smooth surface of the watch, he thought that Pei Jinghe really did have pretty good taste.