Chapter 25#

Zhang Xingchuan sat motionless on that sofa for more than ten minutes.

Tan Xiao turned over. In a half-asleep, half-awake state, he noticed the light in the hallway. Was the door open? Was Zhang Xingchuan back?

He sat up, eyes fixed on the door, got out of bed, and was about to head out.

“Hey,” Zhang Xingchuan called out to him.

Only then did Tan Xiao see Zhang Xingchuan sitting nearby.

Zhang Xingchuan wanted to call him by his name or his usual nickname “little one,” but he couldn’t bring himself to do it all of a sudden. He only managed a simple “Hey,” and immediately felt a pang of sadness in his heart after saying it.

But Tan Xiao had just woken up and wasn’t that sharp; he didn’t notice this detail.

“Why didn’t you turn on the light?” Tan Xiao went to turn on the light. Thinking Zhang Xingchuan was playing with him, he asked with a smile, “Were you planning to play a trick on me?”

As the light came on, Zhang Xingchuan squinted his eyes and said, “No. I didn’t want to wake you up. Haven’t you been sleeping well lately? You were sleeping like a little pig here.”

Tan Xiao felt very embarrassed that he had fallen asleep while waiting for him. He said, “I was a bit sleepy. Were you very busy today? You seem to have been busy lately.”

He came over, sat on the edge of the bed opposite Zhang Xingchuan, and stretched out his long legs, crossing them with Zhang Xingchuan’s.

He shook his knees and tapped Zhang Xingchuan’s leg with his own calf—a very natural, intimate gesture.

Usually, Zhang Xingchuan would definitely respond. He might tap back like him, and the two would play like that in a boring yet sweet way for a while.

Or, Zhang Xingchuan would directly get up, come over, and pin him down, and then something would naturally follow.

Tan Xiao waited expectantly; either way was fine.

Neither happened.

Zhang Xingchuan didn’t move, looking at Tan Xiao with a somewhat unfamiliar gaze.

At this point, Tan Xiao still didn’t understand and looked back at him in confusion.

“I wasn’t busy today. I went to the school,” Zhang Xingchuan said. “I heard your defense results were very good and wanted to congratulate you in person.”

Tan Xiao said, “Did you go to my dorm? Did you come back because you missed me? Why didn’t you call me?”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “I didn’t.”

After dark, he parked his car outside the school and entered the campus. He sat here for a while, looked there for a while, passed by the Economics and Management Library where he and Tan Xiao had their last date, and also looked up at that window from under Tan Xiao’s dorm building.

During that time, he took out his phone countless times and put it back. He also visited the campus like a tourist for more than two hours and finally returned home by himself.

If Tan Xiao hadn’t come home to wait for him, he probably would have called Tan Xiao tomorrow to see when he was free and then meet up to talk.

With the defense just passed, such a good day should be for Tan Xiao to relax after being tense for so long. He shouldn’t force Tan Xiao today to face him, who had discovered the truth, and confess everything.

Tan Xiao also understood something by now. He withdrew his legs and sat upright, his eyes fixed on Zhang Xingchuan.

They both watched each other quietly.

Tan Xiao said, “You know.”

It wasn’t a question.

Zhang Xingchuan didn’t answer either, his expression having already explained everything.

Tan Xiao asked, “How did you find out?”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “The bicycle.”

Tan Xiao said, “What?”

To buy the best bicycle for him, Zhang Xingchuan had done his homework seriously and selected an Italian brand with an image that best suited Tan Xiao.

Then he contacted the store to ask if they had the model he wanted and if they had a full range of sizes.

He chose the top-of-the-line model. When he arrived at the store, the store manager greeted him warmly and invited him to join the brand’s cycling club, a special membership system universal worldwide for this brand.

While filling out the information, Zhang Xingchuan thought that the after-sales or maintenance information should be sent to Tan Xiao.

So he filled in Tan Xiao’s email address.

The manager went to enter it and returned with surprise after a moment, his attitude becoming even warmer. He saw in the records that this email address had already joined the cycling club a few years ago and had ordered a handcrafted product of the brand in Milan. The manager asked what happened to that bike afterwards, as there were no maintenance or repair records in the system, and emphasized the unspoken rule for handcrafted custom bikes: old club members could jump the queue and didn’t have to wait for three to five months like new members.

The manager mistook “Julian” for Zhang Xingchuan, as the height data in the records was similar to Zhang Xingchuan’s, and Zhang Xingchuan’s “swiping the card as soon as he entered” style and his own aura made him look too much like a “sucker” who could afford a handcrafted custom bicycle.

That’s how Zhang Xingchuan found out that nineteen-and-a-half-year-old Tan Xiao had casually ordered a thirty-thousand-euro bicycle in Italy, like buying a sugar-coated hawthorn stick on the street.

Of course, if it were only that, it would at most be a luxury purchase. But Zhang Xingchuan also saw Tan Xiao’s full name registered in the membership club—Julian’s surname was Doria, one of the ancient noble surnames of Europe.

A very special surname, and exceptionally wealthy.

Combined with the fragments of information Tan Xiao had revealed before: his great-great-grandfather had once been married to a princess in exile in Europe, and his father had done “cross-border logistics” in China more than twenty years ago.

Born in Italy, living in Switzerland.

Zhang Xingchuan had heard of such a family that fit the conditions.

The capital behind the international container shipping giant, the Doria family. Public records showed that the current head of the Doria family happened to have experience working and living in China just after the turn of the millennium.

Zhang Xingchuan was dazed by this unexpected discovery, completely stunned.

Some small things he had overlooked before were also connected by this discovery.

Special assistant Jiaxin’s younger brother practiced epee, and Tan Xiao gave him his idle equipment.

Jiaxin once mentioned that the coach didn’t quite dare to touch her brother during teaching, thinking her brother was a hidden second-generation rich kid. That set of youth protective gear was ridiculously expensive and had been very finely modified to fit a certain child’s body and sword habits.

Several leaves had fallen off that Phalaenopsis orchid Zhang Xingchuan treasured because of the sudden change in temperature during the season change. He found a floral expert to take a look.

The master was very surprised and stated frankly that this kind of flower usually resides in collectors’ homes and needs to be in a greenhouse. After all, it’s a priceless treasure.

The implication was: Zhang Xingchuan, you nouveau riche, you’re “chewing peonies like an ox,” wasting a precious thing. A perfectly good and rare variety of Phalaenopsis was just placed on your copper-smelling office desk?

And there was Tan Xiao’s attitude of indifference toward everything. Before, he thought it was just his personality—naturally open-minded, free and easy.

It was very likely because he had seen everything.

The “poor student” lover Zhang Xingchuan thought he had might be a young master from a super old-money family.

Afterwards, Tan Xiao received the bicycle he gave him and soon filmed a youthful and lively cycling video to send to him.

During those days, Zhang Xingchuan would open it to watch whenever he was free. This was clearly still his Tan Xiao, it really was.

How could he have become Julian of the Doria family?

The most critical thing was that it was hard for him to be sure why Tan Xiao hadn’t told him the truth.

Thinking from a rational level, living for a long time in an environment outside the family’s protection, hiding his identity was a necessary method of self-protection for Tan Xiao. He could understand, he really could.

But humans are emotional creatures. Even for the rational and gentle “capybara” CEO Zhang Xingchuan, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking:

Does my lover Tan Xiao not love me that much, or not trust me that much?

Could he just be playing with me, only intending to have some fun and leave whenever he’s had enough?

Was he watching me like a joke? Especially at moments when I thought spending money could make him happy, what kind of image did I have in his eyes? Would I look like a clown?

No, no, no, it’s not like that.

Zhang Xingchuan timely suppressed the increasingly extreme speculations. That was too malicious. It was impossible for Tan Xiao to interact with him with such malice.

The process of his getting to know and falling in love with Tan Xiao was so clear. He knew the background of Tan Xiao’s personality all too well.

Tan Xiao wouldn’t have any malice in his interactions with anyone.

Tan Xiao was really feeling terrible now.

His feelings at this moment were very similar to when he lost that bicycle—he was just careless for a moment and didn’t lock it properly, and he lost his beloved bike forever.

It was the same now. He procrastinated, wanting to wait until the defense was over to speak. Just because of such a time difference, the truth was discovered by Zhang Xingchuan first.

“I came today,” Tan Xiao said, “just to talk about this.”

Zhang Xingchuan was silent for a moment and then said, “Then speak now, I’m listening.”

“I…” Tan Xiao took a deep breath and said, “I am Julian Doria. My father is Lorenzo Doria, the… the Doria you know.”

“I know.” Zhang Xingchuan nodded, subconsciously sighed, and added, “Why is your surname Tan? Your mother doesn’t have this surname either.”

“My great-great-grandmother gave my great-great-grandfather a Chinese name, using the surname Tan. I heard it was her uncle’s Han surname.” Tan Xiao explained, “All of my great-great-grandmother’s descendants have Chinese names. My dad’s name is Tan Minhong, and he has a younger brother named Tan Minheng. My elder sister’s name is Tan Yun. I’m not very close to several other younger siblings, so I’m not sure what their names are.”

Zhang Xingchuan nodded randomly again. He didn’t actually hear clearly who was who among the people with the surname Tan in the latter half.

Whoever they were, he didn’t care about those people anyway.

“I actually have some doubts,” Zhang Xingchuan only cared about one thing, “Did you really think about telling me these things?”

Tan Xiao: “…”

He looked at Zhang Xingchuan in disbelief. What kind of words were those? Did Zhang Xingchuan think he was playing and had no sincerity at all?

Tan Xiao wanted to lose his temper and criticize Zhang Xingchuan for thinking that way of him. But he soon understood that Zhang Xingchuan wasn’t wrong to think that way either. It was because he hadn’t explained in time that Zhang Xingchuan had such a misunderstanding. It was because he hadn’t given enough that Zhang Xingchuan had no confidence.

“It’s not like that,” Tan Xiao said. “I was going to say it. I was just worried that telling you would be a burden for you. I was just…”

But Zhang Xingchuan said, “Alright, alright.”

Tan Xiao got anxious and said, “It’s not alright! How can it be alright? I haven’t finished speaking. I’ve been hesitating to tell you because I was afraid you wouldn’t treat me as myself anymore. I don’t want to be Julian Doria. I hope I’m just Tan Xiao. At least in front of you, I’ll never be Julian. I really… I…”

“Alright,” Zhang Xingchuan couldn’t sit still anymore. He got up, came over, and held the sitting Tan Xiao in front of him, saying, “Don’t cry, Tan Xiao. Don’t cry.”

Tan Xiao: “…”

He hadn’t even noticed he was crying. After being held, he buried his face in Zhang Xingchuan’s chest.

That was good.

He clearly felt that Zhang Xingchuan still liked him very much—liked him because he was Tan Xiao, not for anything else.

As soon as Tan Xiao shed tears, Zhang Xingchuan was out of ideas. It was Tan Xiao, not Julian.

Just now, the CEO was still keeping a stiff face, intending to “interrogate” him, but now he was so worried that he didn’t know what to do.

Zhang Xingchuan was indeed at a loss; Tan Xiao had never cried in front of him before.

“I asked the wrong question,” Zhang Xingchuan said. “I didn’t really doubt you that much. I was just upset. How could you hide it from me? You can hide it from anyone, but it’s wrong for you to hide it from me. Do you know? It’s just wrong.”

He had never seen Tan Xiao cry. Tan Xiao also rarely heard him being so clumsy with words. He was really clumsy.

Tan Xiao still buried his face in him, wiping his tears on his clothes, and said, “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I really came to confess today. Now that you know everything, why didn’t you come to me to confirm it earlier?”

Zhang Xingchuan was in a state of confusion from his crying. He stroked Tan Xiao’s hair back and forth on the back of his head and said, “I was afraid you would be embarrassed, afraid you would have an emotional breakdown, and didn’t want to affect your defense.”

Tan Xiao’s tears were brought on by anxiety; he didn’t actually intend to cry. He stopped as soon as he could, and his mind was turning fast, already starting tactical act-cute—this angle for burying his face in the chest was just right.

“Brother,” Tan Xiao said, “you’re so good to me.”

“…” Zhang Xingchuan then realized that he had probably fallen for it. His heartache was purely in vain, and he wanted to push away this cunning university student.

Tan Xiao quickly hugged his waist.

“Don’t leave,” Tan Xiao said. “As soon as you let go, I’m going to cry again.”

Zhang Xingchuan said, “Don’t give me that.”

Tan Xiao thought to himself, “I will. Who told you to fall for it?”

“Julian,” Zhang Xingchuan said, “you haven’t finished confessing your problems. Sit up straight.”

Tan Xiao said, “I can confess like this. My mouth can still speak.”

Zhang Xingchuan was really out of ideas. He couldn’t actually get rough with him.

And being hugged by Tan Xiao like this, Zhang Xingchuan felt that he was still so pure and cute, not some unreachable noble young master, but still his most familiar “little one” Tan Xiao.