Awkward Chapter 52

Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!

“You—if you’re a man, then come out and face me! Hiding in there, what’s the point?”

Even with his usually calm and tough demeanor, the thought of using a toothbrush that had been in the toilet all week made Ye Mu’s blood boil.

Chen Mo, inside, continued to hum, nearly rolling his eyes to the ceiling, “Why should I come out? To get beaten up by you? Do you think I’m stupid?”

Ye Mu, frustrated to the point of trembling, shouted, “Are you coming out or not? I’ll break down this door if I have to!”

Chen Mo casually tossed the toothbrush into the trash and, with an arrogant face, replied, “Go ahead, but if the hotel management gets involved, you’ll have to pay for the damages yourself. The company won’t cover it.”

Ye Mu, seething with anger, grabbed a chair and sat down by the bathroom door, “Fine, I’ll wait here all night. Let’s see if you can stay in there forever.”

Chen Mo, just as stubborn, sat down on the toilet with the lid closed, stretched out his long legs, and shot back, “Do as you please. Let’s see who gives up first.”

Their flight was scheduled for the next morning, and since Ye Mu usually slept by ten, Chen Mo wasn’t too worried about eventually getting out.

Ye Mu, with no other options, massaged his temples in frustration, feeling the veins in his forehead throb. He couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t a boss, but a troublesome brat who wouldn’t rest until he drove him mad.

“I don’t understand why you keep fixating on this issue. It has nothing to do with you.”

His relationship with Yan Chen was a personal matter and had nothing to do with the company. He didn’t understand why Chen Mo always latched onto this topic and made such a fuss about it.

Chen Mo, scrolling through his phone, frowned at the question. After a moment of silence, he smirked and said, “How can I not be cautious when you’re dealing with an enemy? Who knows if you’ll stab me in the back? I have to be careful.”

Ye Mu tried to calm his increasingly irritable mood, “Do you really think I’d help someone who treated me like that?”

Chen Mo snorted, “Who knows? After everything, you still want to be friends with him. If he treats you better, who knows what you’d do for him.”

Ye Mu frowned deeply, “So what should I do? Hate him and seek revenge? If we’re not friends, then what?”

Chen Mo, half-closing his eyes, replied curtly, “Strangers. No further contact.”

Ye Mu’s eyes darkened, “What we have now is no different from being strangers.”

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, his tone displeased, “Don’t give me that. If that were true, you would’ve told him that night to never contact you again. ‘Friends’—don’t you know that’s the most ambiguous term?”

Ye Mu rubbed his temples, exhaustion in his eyes. Following up on Chen Mo’s words, he said, “He’s holding something over me. Saying we’re ‘friends’ was just a temporary measure to hope he’d go easy on me.”

Chen Mo’s screen-scrolling slowed, “What leverage does he have?”

Ye Mu tilted his head slightly, his expression distant, “I don’t want to talk about it. Besides, you don’t have the right to know.”

Having just secured several key projects, Ye Mu didn’t want to stir up trouble at such a critical moment.

Chen Mo was clearly dissatisfied with this answer, “Whatever. You’re just making excuses for yourself.”

Ye Mu, suddenly impatient, said, “Why do you have to dig so deep? You’re not anyone to me, so why should I tell you everything?”

Chen Mo tightened his grip on his phone, unable to find a comeback. He sat in silence for a long time.

Right, at the end of the day, they were just boss and subordinate. What right did he have to make so many demands?

As it neared nine o’clock, Ye Mu, who hadn’t eaten because of the argument, felt both hungry and tired. Frustrated and drained, he stopped arguing and laid down on the bed.

Chen Mo, hearing nothing from outside, mocked, “What’s the matter? Giving up already? Weren’t you going to wait all night?”

Ye Mu, with a dark expression, leaned back on the mattress, “Just changing positions. Don’t worry, I’ll stick with you till the end tonight.”

As he spoke, he reached into the side of Chen Mo’s half-packed suitcase and pulled out some snacks to eat.

There were small sausages, canned fish, beef jerky, and a few small packets of chocolate. To be honest, he wasn’t fond of these highly processed foods, but today he was too hungry to care.

At this point, Chen Mo was also getting hungry. His nose, unusually sensitive, caught the scent of meat even through the door, and he couldn’t help but curse, “D*mn you, are you eating my snacks?”

Ye Mu quietly ate, his voice flat, “They taste pretty good. Want some?”

He was chewing on a piece of fresh fish jerky, the rich, smoky flavor filling the room and oddly whetting the appetite.

Chen Mo pursed his lips, his expression slightly unnatural, “Who would want any? I’m not stupid enough to come out and get beaten up by you.”

Ye Mu finished his snack and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth, his expression stern, “Good. Just the toothbrush incident alone is reason enough for me to break your legs.”

Chen Mo clicked his tongue, “You gays are so petty and dramatic. It’s just a toothbrush.”

Ye Mu, mimicking Chen Mo’s earlier tone, let out a cold laugh, “Then go drink a few sips of toilet water. If you can swallow it, I’ll drop the whole thing.”

Chen Mo gritted his teeth, snapping back without hesitation, “Like h*ll I will! I have my dignity!”

Ye Mu responded indifferently, “Yeah, so just stay in there and wait to starve.”

Chen Mo stubbornly replied, “It’s just one meal. If I starve to death, I’ll take your last name.”

Gurgle~

Right after he finished speaking, a muffled growl came from his stomach inside the room.

Ye Mu smirked, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his lips. He casually grabbed a piece of dried fish and walked over to the door, squatting down as he slid it through the crack but didn’t let go. “Want some?”

Chen Mo glanced at it nonchalantly, his lips curling with disdain. “I said I’m not hungry. Don’t pretend to be nice; take it away! Just looking at it annoys me.”

Despite his harsh words, his pale, slender fingers slowly crawled over and gripped the corner of the dried fish, beginning to pull it inside.

Ye Mu held onto it, his expression flat. “How about we make a deal?”

Chen Mo, his nose flaring slightly in irritation as he tugged at the dried fish, responded coldly, “What kind of deal?”

Ye Mu’s long eyelashes lowered slightly, his usually unchanging face looking a bit cunning under the light. “You call me ‘older brother,’ and I’ll give you this dried fish.”

He was, after all, five or six years older than Chen Mo, so being called “older brother” wasn’t unreasonable. Having been constantly addressing him as “President Chen”, Ye Mu had accumulated a lot of pent-up frustration and saw this as a chance to deflate the younger man’s arrogance.

Chen Mo gritted his teeth, “Get lost. Who do you think you are? I’ve never called anyone ‘older brother’ in my life. It’s just a piece of dried fish; I can do without it!”

Ye Mu’s lips twitched slightly, “Alright, if you don’t want it, then let go. Stop tugging at it.”

Chen Mo frowned, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat. “I already let go. Who said I haven’t?”

Ye Mu raised an eyebrow, his expression still calm, “Then why can’t I pull it out?”

Chen Mo’s teeth clenched, his eyes flashing with a sharp light as he mustered all his strength to drag the dried fish towards him. “Who knows? Maybe you’re possessed.”

Ye Mu’s pale, cold face showed a hint of indifference. “Is that so.”

Chen Mo didn’t give up, beads of sweat beginning to dampen his forehead as he stubbornly held his ground.

Ye Mu remained expressionless, “I really don’t know what you’re being so stubborn about. It’s just one word. How hard can it be?”

Chen Mo bit down hard on his molars, glaring at the door crack with defiance as he spat out, “Don’t even think about it. I’d rather call anyone else ‘older brother’ than you, you d*mned gay.”

Ye Mu matched his strength, “Suit yourself. No one’s forcing you.”

Chen Mo’s lips pressed together firmly, watching as the dried fish slowly edged its way back out. Sweat was starting to form on his forehead, and he was feeling a bit lightheaded. After a long standoff, he finally began to lose strength, and suddenly, he gritted his teeth and spat out a single word.

“Older Brother.”

The word was spoken so quickly and unexpectedly that the person outside the door didn’t even register it at first.

The voice wasn’t deep or magnetic but carried a soft, slightly pleading tone that made one’s ears tingle.

Ye Mu froze for a moment, even loosening his grip slightly in his surprise.

The dried fish swiftly slipped inside.

Chen Mo narrowed his eyes, gnawing at the dried fish angrily, his young, handsome face radiating a cold fury. As Chekhov once said, “Flexibility is also a form of wisdom.” Calling someone “older brother” in exchange for a packet of dried fish—worth it.

Ye Mu stayed put, though he wasn’t sure why, but that soft “older brother” had somehow made his ears tingle.

It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling that he hadn’t experienced in years.

Chen Mo, noticing his silence, assumed he was being condescending, and his face darkened. “Just you wait. I’ll make sure to settle this score with you later. There’ll come a day when you’ll be the one begging me.”

Ye Mu, still caught up in that moment, barely registered what he said. It took him a few minutes to recover, after which he coughed, smoothed his expression, and replied, “Sure, I’ll be waiting.”

With that, he tried to stand up but suddenly noticed that his breathing had become rapid, and his body felt feverish. It was like a fire was spreading through him, uncontrollably coursing through his blood and cells.

Chen Mo didn’t notice, continuing to gnaw on the dried fish with a cold expression. He added, “Oh, by the way, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You can eat whatever you want, but don’t touch the chocolates in the side pocket of my suitcase.”

Ye Mu felt an intense heat rising within him, his skin flushed unnaturally red, and he frowned. “Why?”

Chen Mo shoved his hands into his pockets, looking away with an awkward expression. “They’re not just chocolates.”

Ye Mu, struggling to maintain control, swallowed hard and asked, “What are they then?”

Chen Mo hesitated, his eyes showing a trace of irritation. “Just don’t eat them!”

Ye Mu bit his lip, the pressure causing it to bleed slightly, “What are they?”

Chen Mo, now visibly irritated, replied through gritted teeth, “They’re specifically for enhancing a man’s… performance.”

Ye Mu struggled to sit up, his eyes narrowing with a hint of anger. “Why would you even have something like that in your suitcase?”

Chen Mo’s expression turned sour. “None of your business! Since when do I need your permission to carry something?”

Ye Mu closed his eyes, his face clouded with frustration, “You should have said something sooner.”

“You’re so annoying. Didn’t I just tell you?”

Ye Mu, fighting to suppress the beast-like hormones surging through his body, gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. “Chen Mo, I must have owed you in a past life!”

Chen Mo looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Ye Mu, drenched in sweat, struggled to answer, “What do you think?”

Chen Mo froze, a sense of dread suddenly washing over him. After a few moments of hesitation, he quickly unlocked the door.

Under the light, Ye Mu was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, his usually pale skin flushed with a suggestive red, like he was burning up.

He was sweating profusely, his clothes clinging to his defined muscles, and his tousled hair added a touch of sensuality. His usually calm, indifferent eyes were now filled with something akin to desire.

Chen Mo stood there, momentarily frozen as their eyes met, suddenly feeling rooted to the spot.

At that moment, he felt his heart race—straightforwardly put, he got… aroused.