Chu Shichen didn't understand: "What do you mean by up and down?"
Xiang Mingzhang turned his head to the side, and Chu Shichen's eyes were clear and inquiring, which were surprisingly similar to the way he looked during the meeting, as if he was not asking about the sexual position, but the break-even point of the project.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "On the bed."
Chu Shichen pondered for five full seconds, then understood, and his expression changed immediately. Just now at the music festival, he had already thrown away his manners by having fun with the crowd, but talking about sex was really beyond his comprehension.
Another key point is that he had never heard of this kind of problem, let alone thought about it.
There was no such thing in the old days, but are there such rules in the new era
Chu Shichen even began to think back to the "Must-Read for Gay Men" article, but since he only had a vague idea of it, he answered truthfully, "I don't know."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Don't play dumb."
Chu Shichen was half resistant and half doubtful: "Is this important?"
"I'm very curious." Xiang Mingzhang had some guesses based on Xingyu's tone, and combined with Qian Hua's words, "So you were up there all the time?"
Chu Shichen couldn't help but look up at the sky and said, "That should be it."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "That night in the office, was it your first time doing that?"
Chu Shichen was slightly startled and said, "I don't remember."
Xiang Mingzhang's tone was calm, but he pressed on with each sentence: "Aren't you well-informed and have a good memory? You don't remember who was above you or who was below you, or you don't remember what happened?"
Chu Shichen asked, "Do you have to talk about this in broad daylight?"
Xiang Mingzhang asked back: "Why, you think the atmosphere is not good enough to chat in the daytime, do you prefer the night?"
"I don't like it." Chu Shichen denied, "I have forgotten about that night in the office."
Xiang Mingzhang's voice sank: "I don't believe you forgot."
Chu Shichen was pressed step by step, and felt that the carriage became a little cramped. He replied: "Why can't I forget it? It was just an impulse after drinking. Do I have to keep it in my heart and cherish it?"
Xiang Mingzhang changed the subject directly: "Isn't it worth reminiscing? You felt very comfortable that night, didn't you?"
Chu Shichen's whole body was stiff. They had agreed to treat what happened that night as if it had never happened. Even if they couldn't forget it, they both knew it tacitly. He never thought that it would be brought up so blatantly during a confrontation.
"No." Chu Shichen's voice was so low that his throat was hoarse, "I don't feel comfortable at all."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "You are lying."
Chu Shichen admitted defeat, threw the bag on his lap aside, and went to open the car door: "I can't argue with you, I'm getting out of the car."
As soon as the car door was pushed open a crack, Xiang Mingzhang leaned over and grabbed Chu Shichen's wrist, and bang! The passenger door was slammed shut.
Chu Shichen was caught off guard: "What are you doing?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Mingzhang loosened his hands and instantly clamped Chu Shichen's arms in his palms, so tightly that the taut muscles under his T-shirt were faintly visible. Chu Shichen's upper body was pressed on the seat and he could not move.
The two were very close to each other. Xiang Mingzhang said, "Forgot? Then let me remind you. You scratched the table and dropped your pen. I asked you to put your knees against my waist. You were disobedient and moved around and knocked over the wine bottle. The clanging and banging scared you. Do you remember?"
Chu Shichen crushed the osmanthus cake: "No—"
"Uncomfortable?" Xiang Mingzhang said, "You are so comfortable that you are sweating all over, your palms are so slippery that you can't even hold your pocket watch. Covering your eyes is like trying to cover your ears and steal a bell. Do you want me to count how many documents you have wet?"
With each sentence of accusation, Chu Shichen's face turned paler and paler.
Xiang Mingzhang did not show any mercy this time. Instead, he felt a little relieved by the torture. He said, "I am not used to the new pen. The new carpet has a strange smell. I personally contacted various departments to get new ones for the scrapped documents. I will remember to sign them. I will remember to smell the window after it has been closed for a long time. I will remember to remember when the documents are dirty and wrinkled. Why do you just walk away and forget about it?"
Chu Shichen's chest rose and fell violently, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I haven't forgotten."
Xiang Mingzhang suddenly laughed: "You stubborn guy, are you finally willing to admit it?"
"Am I being stubborn, or are you going back on your word?" Chu Shichen said, "You agreed the next morning and pretended nothing had happened."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "I have always been a person who does not keep my word. Are you not used to it yet?"
Chu Shichen was defeated step by step and gave up the resistance.
"What are you aggrieved about?" Xiang Mingzhang said, "I quit drinking because I was drunk and impulsive. I want to write off my actions after the impulse. If I can't argue, I'll leave."
Chu Shichen's arms were so painful from being tied up: "I can't even get out of the car, where can I go?"
Xiang Mingzhang finally let go, pulled off the seat belt, tied Chu Shichen tightly to the back of the chair, and said, "Then sit down, I'll take you away."
After buckling it up, Xiang Mingzhang pulled Chu Shichen's forearm out from under the seat belt. Like playing with a puppet, he held Chu Shichen's wrist and pushed the fallen sweater sleeve up inch by inch.
Xiang Mingzhang sat back in the driver's seat, started the engine, and the tire noise bombarded the entire parking lot.
When they were on the road, he turned on the music and found a soothing piano piece to soothe Chu Shichen's nerves after the stimulation.
Xiang Mingzhang sent Chu Shichen home and parked the car a few dozen meters away from the villa. The car was too noisy and he wanted to avoid waking up the family's nap.
After the car was turned off, Xiang Mingzhang said, "I will continue to have people investigate Alan. He has taken so many detours, and it has piqued my interest."
Chu Shichen unbuckled his seat belt and kept his mouth shut.
Xiang Mingzhang slid his slender fingers along the steering wheel and said, "Don't worry about these things for now. The company will be very busy next time. Work is more important."
"Business" is Chu Shichen's Achilles' heel, the easiest to grasp. He had anticipated this and asked, "Any new projects?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "It will be officially announced next week when we go to work."
Chu Shichen left a bag of food behind and got out of the car. The distance of nearly a hundred meters was neither long nor short. There was silence behind him, so he knew that the jeep was parked there and had not left.
Chu Shichen walked all the way to the villa without looking back.
Just as he was about to open the door and go in, his cell phone rang. Chu Shichen picked it up and answered: "What's the matter?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "You didn't say goodbye to me."
Chu Shichen said: "Then you won't leave?"
"I have a stomachache."
It’s probably fake, but Chu Shichen turned his head back hesitantly.
The jeep was parked in the middle of the road. The sunlight was so strong that it was hard to see the expressions of the people in the car. Chu Shichen heard a satisfied laugh and Xiang Mingzhang said, "It's much better now."
Chu Shichen admitted that his rank was too low, and he raised the white flag of surrender: "Xiang Mingzhang, can you please not be like this?"
Xiang Mingzhang didn't seem to hear clearly: "What did you say?"
Chu Shichen repeated: "Don't do that."
“The first half.”
Chu Shichen didn’t realize: “Xiang Mingzhang.”
"Yeah." Xiang Mingzhang said, "It sounds nice to call my name when you are sober."
Chu Shichen was stunned for a moment, hung up the phone and walked into the villa.
The sound of a car engine started triumphantly and gradually faded away. The scorching sun made people seem a little dizzy. Chu Shichen walked into the villa and went upstairs slowly.
Chu Shihui just woke up from her nap, and went to the study room with her laptop, saying, "Brother, you're back."
Chu Shichen said soullessly: "Well, I'm back."
Chu Shihui asked curiously, "How was the date?"
Meeting Xingyu, at the music festival, in the car… Chu Shichen commented numbly but pertinently: “Every link was quite unexpected.”
"That's a lot of surprises." Miss Chu didn't have much tact. "Brother, how far have you and that colleague developed?"
Chu Shichen rubbed his hair in embarrassment and said, "We'll take it one step at a time."
Back in the room, Chu Shichen went into the bathroom to wash his hands. While washing, he looked up at the mirror. He was wearing new clothes and mixing with the crowd, having so much fun that he forgot himself.
He was distracted and splashed water.
Wet marks spread on the milky white marble countertop. Chu Shichen stared at it, and some images that were buried deep in his heart and that he dared not think about came to his mind.
Xiang Mingzhang was deceiving him.
How could he have wet so many documents
Chu Shichen bent down, scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face, trying to deceive himself and stop the blush that was coming.
(End of this chapter)