Chapter 23#

The pleasant trip to Shangri-La came to an end.

After returning to Beijing, the blind review of Tan Xiao’s doctoral dissertation came back with feedback: “Can proceed to defense.”

His hanging heart finally settled down. The short-term gap year officially came to an end, and he had to prepare seriously for the defense.

As for Zhang Xingchuan’s daily life, it remained in a state where there was always work to do—endless work.

He was naturally a “chosen corporate slave” with extraordinary energy, and becoming a CEO only made him a “chosen high-level corporate slave” with extraordinary energy.

Tan Xiao’s European father owned a massive business empire worth hundreds of billions of dollars. He didn’t do anything “proper” every day; he was either riding horses, sailing yachts, or having the freshest romances around the world. He worked at most one or two days a week.

He was nothing like Zhang Xingchuan, this dignified Chinese entrepreneur, who was still working like an ox and striving hard.

But Tan Xiao believed this must be a good sign; from one perspective, it showed that “we” were different from “them” and that there was still hope for “us.”

In short, this couple who had just entered the honeymoon phase didn’t get to spend much time together due to their respective work and studies.

For the next half month, Tsinghua University, Wen Cheng, and Zhang Xingchuan’s home could be connected on a map to form an equilateral triangle with a side length of about 8 kilometers. Despite this distance, the two only stole time from their busy schedules to meet twice.

Once was the first weekend after returning from Yunnan, when Tan Xiao spent the night at Zhang Xingchuan’s house. This time, he definitely didn’t sleep in the guest room.

The housekeeper aunt at Zhang Xingchuan’s house finally waited for the other shoe to drop.

It was like a suspense drama where the culprit is finally confirmed: the thief who stole the CEO’s heart was indeed this polite and cheerful handsome university student.

The other time was two days ago, during a weekday lunch break. Zhang Xingchuan, unable to bear the longing, went to the school to see Tan Xiao.

The two sat on the steps outside the library, looking at the sky, trees, and passersby, having a very innocent date. In a sense, it made up for the CEO’s regret of never having had a campus romance.

Zhang Xingchuan had things to do that afternoon, so when the time came, he could only leave reluctantly.

Tan Xiao also felt a sense of loss. He returned to the library to continue preparing his defense PPT.

A new message came in on his phone. Thinking it was Zhang Xingchuan, he immediately picked it up to look.

As it turned out, it was the “Master of Ideas,” Chen Shu, looking for him.

Chen Shu: The sky has fallen. Someone just tipped me off that my CP was secretly meeting another man at noon.

Tan Xiao had already forgotten about the misunderstanding caused by that oolong post on Xiaohongshu and thought Chen Shu was talking about his girlfriend next door.

That wouldn’t do.

Tan Xiao: Stop listening to others’ nonsense. Go ask her yourself. If you don’t trust her that much, why are you even in a relationship?

Chen Shu: Of course I trust my wife, but isn’t my CP you?

Tan Xiao burst out laughing instantly.

Chen Shu: You’re personally breaking up the CP. Don’t you know that you and I even have fan art now?

Tan Xiao: What on earth?

Chen Shu sent a link to a post, which was fan art based on the photo at Lover’s Slope. The artist captured their essence very accurately, and the art style was quite cute. But the post had been up for several days and only had a handful of likes.

Tan Xiao: What do you look at every day that you can even come across this?

Chen Shu was quite proud: Because my wife drew it, hahahaha.

Tan Xiao was speechless.

Chen Shu: An insider told me that you and a very handsome guy were all lovey-dovey at the library entrance at noon, just like a married couple.

Tan Xiao: Don’t spread rumors, there was no “lovey-dovey.”

But Tan Xiao immediately added: He is indeed a very handsome guy.

Chen Shu’s so-called “insider” friend was just joking with him, saying they saw “your CP” Senior Tan Xiao hanging out with a very handsome guy. Of course, they didn’t suspect that Tan Xiao and the guy were actually in a relationship. Sitting outside the library chatting in broad daylight, two clean-looking men, it wasn’t right to baselessly question their straightness.

But Chen Shu was the true insider, plus he was very sharp and had already guessed that the handsome guy must be “him” that they had discussed before.

Chen Shu said to Tan Xiao: So you two are together after all? Don’t you have to thank me?

This made sense. Tan Xiao admitted he was muddled about romance, yet he had successfully found a partner. The one he should thank most was the abstract master Chen Shu.

Tan Xiao: Thank you, Master. Long live the Master.

His gratitude was very sincere. He sent Chen Shu several red envelopes in a row. Feeling that the red envelopes had limits and weren’t satisfying enough to send, he finally sent a large transfer of 8888 yuan as a “matchmaker’s fee” to thank the Master.

This startled the Master: Did you forget to enter a decimal point?

Tan Xiao rarely flaunted his wealth and said: Keep it, just a bit of pocket money.

Chen Shu had his own interpretation. When his friend told him about this, they also mentioned that the handsome guy looked familiar, suspected to be a famous alumnus of the school, a certain founder of a travel app, Mr. Zhang.

Then this “bit of pocket money” must indeed be very small for Senior Tan Xiao.

Chen Shu accepted the previous red envelopes but resisted the temptation and didn’t accept the last large transfer. He couldn’t help but feel in his heart: “Holy crap, Senior married well.”

Indeed, a Master of Computer Science is the best match in the world.

Another weekend approached. Tan Xiao’s defense was only a few days away, and he was extremely nervous. The more nervous he felt, the more he wanted to engage in “those kinds” of activities.

In the past, whenever there was a major event, he would entertain himself, which was quite effective in relieving emotional stress.

Now that he had a partner and had experienced the “real thing,” doing it by himself felt significantly lacking.

He was looking forward to the weekend. The experience of spending the night at Zhang Xingchuan’s house the weekend before last was quite wonderful.

However, Zhang Xingchuan sent a message saying he had temporary work this weekend and had to go to Shanghai for a business trip.

Receiving this message, Tan Xiao replied obediently on the surface: Okay, I understand.

After putting down his phone, he threw a few punches into the air. Work is so annoying, so frustrating.

Zhang Xingchuan went to Shanghai to see a client. The other party hosted a banquet for dinner and was a lover of fine wine, so he had no choice but to cooperate and drank a bit too much.

After returning to his hotel and taking a shower before bed, his longing for Tan Xiao hit him from all sides.

He made a video call to Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao was pondering over his defense. There was a mock defense session next week, and he had already practiced several times within his group. Although the feedback was good, he was the type of person who couldn’t relax until the results were out. Before the official defense ended, he would practice and adjust over and over again.

He was a “salted fish,” but a serious one.

When Zhang Xingchuan’s video call came, Tan Xiao saw it was already ten o’clock and thought it was a “goodnight call,” preparing to hear and say sweet words.

But Zhang Xingchuan had drunk too much; he wasn’t very “sweet,” but his tone and expression were very charming. He even flipped the camera to show himself to Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao: “…”

What kind of enchantress was this?

At 5:30 the next morning, the Magic City was still in a deep sleep.

The hungover CEO was also sleeping in his room. His phone had run out of battery and turned off automatically, and he didn’t know it.

The front desk called the room’s landline. The landline was very loud. In his dream, he thought there was a fire alarm. Still dazed from sleep, he picked up his phone to answer, but realizing it wasn’t the source of the sound, he picked up the landline. Thinking it was some strange service call, he didn’t speak first.

The front desk identified themselves and said, “Mr. Zhang, sorry to bother you. A Mr. Tan is here to visit. Can you confirm if he is your visitor?”

Zhang Xingchuan woke up instantly.

Mr. Tan’s visitor status was verified, and with the help of the front desk and concierge, he smoothly reached the executive floor.

The hallway lighting in this hotel was dim, and the room number plates were not very conspicuous. Tan Xiao was following the room number signs, looking for which room was the correct one.

Passing by one room, before he could clearly see the plate, Zhang Xingchuan opened the door from inside and pulled him in. Before he could say a word, he was pressed against the door and kissed passionately by Zhang Xingchuan.

Tan Xiao’s breathing became disorganized from the kissing. The two were completely entangled.

“Miss me that much?” Zhang Xingchuan asked.

At this moment, Tan Xiao only felt that his sudden appearance was a surprise, not yet realizing how much of a stimulus this surprise was for Zhang Xingchuan.

He said, “Don’t you miss me?”

Zhang Xingchuan smiled. He rarely showed this kind of smile, with his teeth pressing against his lower lip, like a carnivore baring its teeth.

He was exceptionally excited today and acted quite fiercely. Tan Xiao was a bit scared at first, but later he found he loved it.

From the bed to the floor-to-ceiling window, in front of the mirror, and even showering together. It wasn’t over even when day broke.

By the end, Zhang Xingchuan had become gentle again, retracting his “canines” and becoming reasonable. He said, “If you don’t want to anymore, just say it. I won’t make it difficult for you.”

But Tan Xiao said, “I still want more, Brother.”

In the morning, Zhang Xingchuan went out to work. Tan Xiao caught up on sleep in the room but couldn’t really fall asleep. Once the initial high passed, he suddenly felt that this whole thing was truly crazy.

Isn’t this the legendary “traveling a thousand miles to deliver…”? This is too crazy.

What was he thinking last night? He couldn’t remember, only that he hung up the video call and left immediately, heading straight to the Capital Airport, buying the nearest flight to Pudong Airport, and finding his way all the way here. The entire process was pure excitement.

Going through all this trouble just to do this with Zhang Xingchuan? Isn’t this too animalistic?

After Zhang Xingchuan finished his work during the day, he and Tan Xiao took an evening flight back to Beijing.

Jiaxin had also come on this business trip. She was surprised by Tan Xiao’s sudden appearance but didn’t say anything, only giving Tan Xiao a mischievous wink.

With her ability to read people, she had known everything for a long time; she just needed an opportunity to confirm. Now she knew 100% that it was indeed “that.”

Tan Xiao was a bit listless and didn’t speak much. He sat in the departure lounge, not playing with his phone, his eyes fixed blankly as if he was thinking about something.

Zhang Xingchuan thought he was just too exhausted, so he didn’t tease him much.

At 9:00 PM, they landed at the Capital Airport. Jiaxin, being very observant, told the driver waiting for the pick-up to go home and took a taxi herself.

Zhang Xingchuan led Tan Xiao to the parking lot and drove the car parked there. Only after getting in the car did he ask Tan Xiao, “Stay at my place tonight, okay?”

Tan Xiao said, “I want to go back to school. There’s a mock defense on Monday. I’ll feel more at ease sleeping in the dorm.”

Zhang Xingchuan thought that made sense; studies come first. So he said, “Okay.”

On the way, Tan Xiao still looked listless in the passenger seat.

Zhang Xingchuan assumed he was just tired. After pondering for a while, he suddenly asked, “What kind of car do you like?”

Tan Xiao looked blank and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Xingchuan now felt he was madly in love with him and couldn’t suppress the urge to spend money. He said, “I’ll buy you a car to make it more convenient for you to get around.”

But Tan Xiao said, “The subway is very convenient.”

He paused. At a time like this, it was better not to lie and tell the truth.

“I have a car for commuting,” he told Zhang Xingchuan, “it’s just that I don’t drive it often. Don’t buy me a car.”

There were quite a few students with cars at Tsinghua, especially since Tan Xiao was already a doctoral student; having a car wasn’t unusual.

Zhang Xingchuan asked, “Is there anything else you want?”

Tan Xiao said, “No.”

Zhang Xingchuan couldn’t think of any other opportunity to spend money on him and felt frustrated. He said, “Don’t be too frugal. Spend some of my money. Both of us are going to end up without descendants; who are we saving all this money for?”

Tan Xiao opened his mouth. Although that was true, but… Brother, you don’t actually have “that much money.”

Zhang Xingchuan noticed he seemed to be more than just tired. “What’s wrong? Are you just tired? Your spirits are so low.”

Tan Xiao said, “I feel strange today.”

Zhang Xingchuan asked worriedly, “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Tan Xiao was a bit embarrassed to be asked that.

He thought for a while and still wanted to talk to Zhang Xingchuan about it. This was a topic he had no one else to talk to besides Zhang Xingchuan.

“Brother,” he said, “should a person be controlled by desire to such an extent? I’m a bit scared by myself.”

Zhang Xingchuan didn’t expect him to be troubled by this and was stunned by the question.

Tan Xiao said, “I always thought my desires were quite weak.”

He didn’t care much about food, and his love for playing was also very casual; he had no persistent interests or hobbies, and he didn’t pursue fame or fortune. Fame is a very illusory thing, and of course, his reason for not pursuing money was quite special—he already had too much.

Overall, he had never felt a strong desire for anything. If he had it, fine; if not, then forget it.

Being dominated by desire was an out-of-control feeling he had never experienced before.

“I’m not a philosopher, and I’m quite lacking in theories on this,” Zhang Xingchuan said. “If you didn’t love me but still wanted to have a relationship with me, that would be very scary. So, do you love me?”

Tan Xiao said, “You’re asking something you already know.”

Zhang Xingchuan laughed and said, “I love you too. But I actually thought about not developing things with you, that it wasn’t a must to be with you.”

He had never told Tan Xiao this. Tan Xiao asked, “What?”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “When I found out I liked you, I had this thought: I like you, but I don’t want you.”

Tan Xiao asked, “Because I’m a boy?”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “It’s exactly as you said, and I agree: a person shouldn’t be controlled by desire.”

Tan Xiao didn’t want to think about that problem now; he wanted to know why Zhang Xingchuan changed his mind. He asked, “Then why did you want me again?”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “Because my desire for you is beautiful. I wanted to have you to make you happy and to make myself happy as well.”

Tan Xiao was quiet for a long while.

Zhang Xingchuan was very interesting. Like his handsome but unexceptional looks, he was a “good man” in a universal sense.

Tan Xiao knew that he didn’t really care about money either. Work wasn’t for the satisfaction of earning how much money; what satisfied him was the “sense of completion” of reaching each set goal. He liked doing things, enjoyed being busy, and always wanted to do something for the world and the people around him.

Being in a relationship was for the fulfillment of both people.

“Then,” he said, “I’m not like you.”

Zhang Xingchuan asked, “How so? Don’t you love me like this too?”

Tan Xiao said, “I went to Shanghai just because I wanted to feel good. I only had your beautiful chest muscles in my mind.”

Zhang Xingchuan burst out laughing.

Tan Xiao also found it a bit funny, smiled, and said, “I’ve really never tried something like this before.”

He suddenly discovered today that he actually lived very restrainedly. He liked hanging out with people but never forced anyone to stay for him. He had nothing particularly persistent and just wanted to spend every day happily. All his lack of restraint happened after meeting Zhang Xingchuan.

Was this love?

Zhang Xingchuan whispered like a devil, “Don’t restrain your desires anymore. Let me buy you a car.”

In his understanding, Tan Xiao’s car for commuting was just a pure commuting car. He wanted to buy Tan Xiao a flashy car that young people all like.

“How about a Mercedes?” Zhang Xingchuan asked. “Or a Porsche Cayenne?”

He was talking about million-yuan models that boys of Tan Xiao’s age should all like and aspire to.

Tan Xiao didn’t know what to say for a moment. His car for commuting, which he had bought and driven excitedly for a while, was now gathering dust in the garage because he didn’t go to the suburbs and the city was too congested. It was a Bentley Continental. He forgot the final price, but it could probably buy all the alternative models Zhang Xingchuan mentioned.