Chapter 22#
Tan Xiao was actually fine. After a good sleep, he had basically recovered his vigor. He just couldn’t walk too fast, which was the only reason he didn’t go hiking.
Zhang Xingchuan’s good habit of being fond of and skilled at making plans came in handy at the critical moment.
The reason some beginners have a high failure rate the first time is that they have no foundation and don’t preview properly. In that case, failing to achieve ideal results is entirely their own fault.
Therefore, to succeed in anything, one must maintain a spirit of learning.
After sending the message, Tan Xiao already started missing the wonderful night they had just spent. He had practically broken his “scoring machine”; Zhang Xingchuan’s score was skyrocketing and would soon exceed the amount of money in Tan Xiao’s family.
Thinking of this, Tan Xiao felt it was time to find a moment to be open and honest with Zhang Xingchuan about his family background.
Zhang Xingchuan had to go out after breakfast, so he didn’t come back from the restaurant. He had someone deliver breakfast to Tan Xiao. After eating, seeing the sun was out, Tan Xiao came out and reclined on a lounger on the terrace, playing with his phone and looking for interesting things nearby, thinking of going out to play by himself.
“Tan Xiao?” Someone passing by outside the courtyard gate saw him.
He tilted his head to see who it was and greeted them with a smile: “Hello, CEO Sun. It’s been a while.”
It was Deputy CEO Sun of the Financial Business Department. He had arrived yesterday, but since Tan Xiao had been out playing until late evening, they hadn’t met yet.
Deputy CEO Sun asked in surprise, “Is it really you? Why are you here?”
He was only used as “gossip material” in various company social groups and had no channels to obtain gossip information.
No one had told him the major secret that the intern Tan Xiao had remained in close contact with the CEO after resigning.
He even less expected that Tan Xiao would come to Shangri-La as an accompanying family member.
Seeing he was unaware, Tan Xiao felt it awkward to reveal it himself, so he joked, “I’m here traveling. Colorful Yunnan welcomes me.”
“Is this place already open to the public?” Deputy CEO Sun believed him, looked at the courtyard from the outside, and wondered, “Huh, why is the courtyard you’re staying in so big?”
The room type the CEO stayed in had an independent small courtyard. There were only two such room types in the entire resort; the other one was slightly smaller and had been assigned to CEO Fu. Other room types shared a courtyard among multiple rooms.
The business of the Financial Business Department was not directly related to the new resort brand, and Deputy CEO Sun didn’t know much about this project. He himself wasn’t fond of playing; he was a grumpy workaholic, and team-building socialization could cost him half his life. He came here under duress; since all the middle and senior management were coming, he had to come as well.
At this moment, seeing Tan Xiao’s courtyard was large and beautiful, he quite liked it. He pushed the gate and entered, touring the courtyard. Thinking someone else might be living upstairs, he looked up to see if there were any Wen Cheng colleagues he recognized.
Tan Xiao sat there, watching him walk around someone else’s courtyard uninvited, finding the man quite interesting. He asked proactively, “CEO Sun, is your leg injury better?”
“It’s better.” Deputy CEO Sun was still unaware that the “Sun the Noble” anecdotes were almost enough to be collected into a book. He asked in surprise, “How did you know I was injured?”
“I heard about it.” Tan Xiao didn’t continue lying down impolitely but sat on the edge of the lounger. “Hasn’t your team-building activity for today started yet? How do you have time to play here?”
Deputy CEO Sun said, “We’ll depart in a moment; I’m on my way to the entrance to gather. Your courtyard is really big. Are the rooms the same? Is it convenient for me to go in and have a look?”
Tan Xiao looked hesitant.
Deputy CEO Sun was somewhat sensible, but not entirely. He said, “You came with a girlfriend, didn’t you? Instead of preparing for your defense properly, you only know how to play. Coming out to be romantic at a time like this? Careful you don’t fail to graduate.”
“…” Tan Xiao heard the most malicious curse in the world and took a sharp breath.
Deputy CEO Sun saw the pretty snacks on his small table and said, “What are you eating? Give me a piece.”
Tan Xiao gave him the small plate of snacks.
“CEO Sun,” Tan Xiao said, “have you still not found a partner?”
Deputy CEO Sun was currently divorced and hadn’t met his destiny yet.
Tan Xiao said, “Romance won’t just descend upon you; you have to be proactive about it.”
“A kid like you teaching me how to do things.” Deputy CEO Sun grumbled with disdain, then added, “I’m not in a hurry. Even someone with the CEO’s conditions hasn’t found anyone, so what should I be worried about?”
Tan Xiao thought, “CEO Sun, you’re doomed.”
Deputy CEO Sun asked, “Is someone from Wen Cheng staying on your second floor?”
Tan Xiao said, “No one is on the second floor right now. I’m staying on both floors.”
Deputy CEO Sun had always had a deep impression that this former intern’s family background was quite good.
A kid who isn’t the head of the house doesn’t know the cost of living; taking a girlfriend out to play with such extravagance.
“Let me ask you,” Deputy CEO Sun meant no harm, but he spoke very harshly, sounding annoying and condescending. “How much is it per day here? It’s best not to overspend; you haven’t even started working yet and you’re already spending your pension.”
“I don’t know how much it is,” Tan Xiao said innocently. “I didn’t spend any money; I’m freeloading in someone else’s room.”
Deputy CEO Sun became confused again and asked, “Whose room are you freeloading in?”
Tan Xiao smiled and said, “Zhang Xingchuan’s.”
Deputy CEO Sun: “…”
Deputy CEO Sun walked away in a zigzag pattern, slithering and crawling. Before he had gone far, he quickly returned, handed the snack plate back to Tan Xiao, and then crawled away in a twisted, gloomy manner.
Tan Xiao laughed so hard he fell back onto the lounger.
At dusk, the team-building empowerment activity for the Wen Cheng people at Pudacuo National Park ended successfully, and the group returned to the resort.
Zhang Xingchuan went back to the room to change his clothes and found Tan Xiao wasn’t there; he had gone out to play again.
There was a big dinner party in the evening, so Zhang Xingchuan had to go there first. He was surrounded by subordinates he didn’t usually see. The CEO wouldn’t participate in the small activities later, so those who wanted to talk to him privately had to hurry.
Jiaxin was meticulous and thoughtful. Noticing Tan Xiao hadn’t come to dinner, she went out to call him. After returning, she went to Zhang Xingchuan’s side and whispered, “Tan Xiao asked me to tell you that he won’t be back for dinner.”
Zhang Xingchuan still had to take a group photo as requested by a subordinate, keeping a smile on his face.
But in his heart, the CEO complained loudly: We just did “that”! Where did you run off to? Are you a wild horse? Tan Xiao?
Tan Xiao was wandering around for fun and made some local friends. He was taken home by a hospitable new friend and was already eating dinner at their house.
This time, his new friend was a young man from an ethnic minority who had gone to university outside. After graduation, he came back to be a village official and was working for his hometown. He was a very interesting person, as outgoing as Tan Xiao, and even more talkative. Tan Xiao would be interrupted after only half a sentence, with the friend rushing to speak. The two of them were literally arguing until their faces were red, and after a difficult conversation, they got to know each other well and established a shallow but good brotherhood.
The new friend took Tan Xiao around several nearby villages to experience local customs. When it was dinner time, he invited Tan Xiao to his home for dinner. They had a car at home, so they could take Tan Xiao back even if it was late.
The plateau climate was different from the plains; a heavy rain started at night without any warning. Zhang Xingchuan had finished all the activities of this team-building and called Tan Xiao.
Tan Xiao was still at his new friend’s house. The rain was heavier in that village, which was more than ten kilometers away from the resort.
Zhang Xingchuan was truly exasperated and wanted to pick him up. But driving on a rainy night on the plateau was inherently unsafe. Even the locals thought the roads were unsafe then, so outsiders shouldn’t take such a risk.
Tan Xiao said, “I’ll go back tomorrow. It’s fine.”
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Are you going to sleep at their house tonight?”
Tan Xiao heard that he was starting to get unhappy and spoke tentatively, “Their house is quite big; there’s a place for me to sleep.”
Zhang Xingchuan went completely silent.
Tan Xiao asked, “Are you angry?”
Zhang Xingchuan said, “No. Which village does that family live in, and what’s their name?”
Tan Xiao gave the address and name.
Zhang Xingchuan asked the locals working at the resort. Upon hearing the location and name, they knew it was the family that had produced the university student village official, safe and reliable. The student himself was a very good “Tashi.”
“Tashi” means handsome guy.
Zhang Xingchuan even less wanted to talk.
Tan Xiao sat at the door of his friend Tashi’s house watching the rain. Tashi’s mother boiled milk tea for him to drink and keep warm. He thanked her, holding the bowl of milk tea, feeling a bit uneasy in his heart. Zhang Xingchuan seemed to be truly angry with him.
Zhang Xingchuan looked at the rain through the window in his room. The gentle snow mountains and romantic meadows were completely hidden by the curtain of rain.
Tan Xiao sent him a message.
Tan Xiao: I’m sorry. When I go out to play, I should also pay attention to the time. I’ve made you worry.
Tan Xiao knew what Zhang Xingchuan was unhappy about. After finishing his team-building work, Zhang Xingchuan must have wanted to see him immediately. They had just had their most intimate encounter last night, and him staying out and having so much fun that he didn’t want to return would make it seem like he didn’t value the relationship enough.
Zhang Xingchuan replied to him: Not angry. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Get some good rest first.
Just as the sun rose in the morning, Zhang Xingchuan got up. Seeing the rain had stopped, he planned to go pick him up. Just as he was about to call for a car from the resort, someone swiped a card from outside.
Tan Xiao, wearing a large old cotton coat whose color was no longer recognizable, pushed the door and entered.
Zhang Xingchuan was still standing by the landline, about to make a call.
Both were stunned.
Tan Xiao asked, “Why are you up so early?”
It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet. He had taken a ride early in the morning from a guesthouse in the village that was going to get supplies. The guesthouse owner kindly dropped him off at the resort entrance.
As he spoke, he hurried to take off the cotton coat and hung it aside. It was too cold last night, so the village official friend lent him the coat to keep warm, and it had to be returned.
Zhang Xingchuan was truly speechless.
Tan Xiao couldn’t stand his own current disheveled smell and said, “I’ll go up and take a hot shower first.”
As he went to shower, Zhang Xingchuan followed him up.
The CEO sat on the edge of the bathtub as a stool, watching Tan Xiao through the glass of the shower room.
Tan Xiao didn’t feel uncomfortable being watched by Zhang Xingchuan. He thought he was good-looking, and if Zhang Xingchuan loved looking, he would generously let him look.
Zhang Xingchuan’s gaze wandered over him here and there, but when their eyes met, Zhang Xingchuan was still a bit embarrassed and turned his eyes away.
There was water vapor on the glass, so Tan Xiao couldn’t accurately judge the CEO’s thoughts and thought he was still angry.
Tan Xiao thought, “I rushed back at the first opportunity and he still has a long face. This husband is really hard to please.”
Zhang Xingchuan was no longer angry.
The more he thought about it now, the more he felt he was the one in the wrong. If Tan Xiao weren’t worried about him being angry, why would he rush back so early in the morning when it was so cold and the roads might even be icy? Although the clothes the local lent him were old, they were clean, but the car wasn’t clean, leaving Tan Xiao smelling like second-hand smoke.
Zhang Xingchuan had never seen Tan Xiao look like such a “prince in distress.” When he entered just now, he looked like he had returned from a famine.
After Tan Xiao finished his shower, he came out and put on the bathrobe hanging nearby.
Zhang Xingchuan didn’t move, still sitting on the edge of the bathtub.
Tan Xiao blew his hair, and Zhang Xingchuan watched him from behind. Only after Tan Xiao turned off the hair dryer did he speak.
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Tan Xiao made eye contact with him in the mirror and asked, “No. Are you still angry?”
“Not angry,” Zhang Xingchuan said. “I was worried if anything was wrong with your body.”
Tan Xiao said, “I’m fine.”
Zhang Xingchuan looked down.
Tan Xiao then realized what he was talking about, his face instantly turning red, and he said, “Neither is that.”
Zhang Xingchuan said, “I wasn’t angry; I was just worried about you and got a bit anxious.”
Tan Xiao said, “I didn’t expect it to rain so hard suddenly. I originally planned to return after dinner.”
He made a pitiful expression in the mirror. The soft lighting from the mirror lamp made him look dreamily beautiful.
Zhang Xingchuan hadn’t changed his clothes after getting up either, only wearing a set of black silk pajamas. Tan Xiao aimed at his chest muscles while feigning being wronged.
Zhang Xingchuan noticed, opened his arms, and asked, “Do you want to bury your face?”
Tan Xiao smiled and was about to bury his face when Zhang Xingchuan tricked him. As soon as he walked over, the CEO stood up, held his face with both hands, and began to kiss him intensely.
Tan Xiao didn’t protest. Both kissing and burying his face were fine. He should have returned on time last night; after not seeing each other for a night, he also missed Zhang Xingchuan very much.
The two of them kissed as they came out of the bathroom and rolled onto the bed.
Tan Xiao was completely disheveled from the kissing.
The feel of Zhang Xingchuan’s silk pajamas was also very good.
After giving him the “sweet date,” Zhang Xingchuan intended to “whip” Tan Xiao a bit.
He asked, “Did you have a good time at their house?”
Tan Xiao was still happily smiling and said, “Yes, they’re all very nice.”
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Is that the type you like?”
Tan Xiao’s happiness ended, and he said blankly, “What?”
Zhang Xingchuan didn’t really want an answer after asking; he kissed Tan Xiao again.
He was just venting some jealousy. Essentially, he didn’t care what type Tan Xiao liked, as Tan Xiao was already his anyway.
But Tan Xiao felt very wronged, kissed him briefly, and said, “Who do you think I’ve taken a liking to? What nonsense? I don’t even like boys.”
Zhang Xingchuan said strangely, “What?”
Tan Xiao said, “I only said I like you; I didn’t say I like all men. How do you see me?”
“You…” Zhang Xingchuan was confused and said, “Aren’t you gay?”
Tan Xiao was also stunned and said, “When was I ever gay? Oh, right, I am now, no, I’m not. I still don’t like other men. Does that count as being gay?”
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Then you and…”
He understood in an instant. There was no need to ask about the past; he had figured it out. It was a small misunderstanding from the beginning, which snowballed along with his own psychological hints to become what he thought was the truth.
Tan Xiao also understood: it turned out Zhang Xingchuan had always thought he was gay.
What an absurd thing.
Zhang Xingchuan was still holding Tan Xiao, and Tan Xiao’s bathrobe was as good as not being worn. As it turned out, they were two straight men from beginning to end? Huh?
“Then,” Zhang Xingchuan found it hard to describe, only feeling like laughing, “you… I…”
Tan Xiao was the first to react and said, “We’ve already come to this point. If you regret it now, I’m going to make a scene.”
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “How are you going to make a scene?”
Tan Xiao said, “I’ll hang a banner downstairs at Wen Cheng, and I’ll appeal to the central authorities.”
Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Do you regret it then?”
Tan Xiao said, “What are you talking about? I truly liked you from the start.”
“I was truly serious too.” Zhang Xingchuan burst out laughing and said, “How are we two so funny?”
How did such a flawed process lead to such a wonderful result?
Tan Xiao said, “Don’t ever tell anyone about this. It would disgrace our school’s reputation to have taught two such idiots like us.”
A thin line of sunlight spilled in from the window by the stairs.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Zhang Xingchuan noticed and said, “There are more important things to do now.”
He pressed a button on the bedside, and the blackout curtains on both sides of the room opened. Under the clear blue sky after the rain, the snow mountains and meadows were shining brilliantly in the morning light.
Out of a thousand words, Tan Xiao only uttered one: “Wow.”
Zhang Xingchuan said, “This was my original plan.”
Under the bright sky, across the vast landscape, the snow mountains, meadows, and plateau wind would together witness how passionately they united.
Tan Xiao felt deep regret and said, “Then why didn’t you say so earlier? Wouldn’t this have been ten thousand times better than the night before last?”
Zhang Xingchuan said, “Wasn’t it you who insisted on having a ‘mock exam’ first?”
“Don’t say it,” Tan Xiao was already naked underneath, and his bathrobe had long since slipped halfway off. He immediately took it off and threw it aside. “Hurry up, hurry up.”
After a while, our Teacher Tan regretted it again.
For a problem he had already solved once, it was too familiar. Zhang Xingchuan, the “involution king,” wouldn’t do it the same way a second time. He had a brand new solution, plus knowledge points that Teacher Tan had never mastered, which left Teacher Tan completely dazed and infatuated, losing all sense of direction.
From solving problems at eight o’clock to past nine, Zhang Xingchuan ordered breakfast, and after eating, they continued with the “major exam.”
The exam lasted until noon. Tan Xiao felt he was about to be “examined to death.” This examiner was both gentle and domineering—how could he be so good at examining?