As the sun dipped, casting a heavy orange hue across the sky, Bo Jin leaned against the wall, head down, half his face in shadow, with only the sharp line of his jaw visible, concealing his expression.
Did they really need him specifically for this?
Bo Jin raised an eyebrow as he held his phone, an ambiguous expression on his face. This was something he could just ignore.
He’d never involved himself in company management or operations, leaving that for Wen Yong to handle. He only took care of the technical side, and he was sure that there couldn’t possibly be any technical issues before the official project wrapped up.
So, what was Wen Yong up to this time?
If Bo Jin hadn’t noticed Wen Yong’s hostility in the past, he was fully aware of it now. Whether it was finding ways to send him back to the orphanage or saying things that seemed friendly but were loaded with ulterior motives, Wen Yong had been intentionally trying to make things difficult for him.
Bo Jin found it amusing.
He was actually pretty sensitive about people’s intentions—he could usually tell who had his best interests at heart and who didn’t. It didn’t matter much to him; he had plenty of friends, and losing one meant there would always be another.
But Wen Yong was the exception. Even though the signs were clear, he had never wanted to think that way about him.
After all, they had grown up together, sharing everything as if they were blood brothers. They even had plans to tie their future careers together.
Bo Jin couldn’t understand what kind of grudge Wen Yong had against him to go through all this trouble.
With a sarcastic smile, Bo Jin waited for a passing student to walk by before speaking. “Is that really necessary? I didn’t even participate in the project bidding. What am I supposed to fix?”
“No,” Wen Yong said calmly, not pressed by Bo Jin’s refusal, “it’s a technical issue. That bug you fixed last time—it’s acting up again these past few days. Zhao Qin and the team couldn’t solve it.”
Zhao Qin was the company’s VP of Technology, whom Wen Yong had poached at a high price.
That seemed impossible.
Bo Jin’s first reaction was disbelief. He’d patched that bug a long time ago; how could it suddenly resurface? Was Wen Yong trying to lure him away just to make him miss more classes?
But after reconsidering, he thought that unlikely.
He’d already secured his guaranteed university admission, and the school had openly promoted it for days. The dean had called him several times, practically ready to organize a farewell banquet for him. There was no way Wen Yong wouldn’t know this.
So, what was he trying to pull?
Could there really be a problem?
Bo Jin exhaled, feeling drained. Fortunately, he hadn’t planned to stay in this field forever; otherwise, he’d be in for endless days of guesswork like this. Once he was in college, he’d sell off his company shares and turn the proceeds into pocket money to spoil Xie Ruan.
“I’ll…” He thought about it, deciding to go the day after tomorrow.
At this point, he couldn’t completely turn a blind eye. It wasn’t just about Wen Yong; there were many employees depending on this project, and they couldn’t afford to jeopardize the government contract.
Just in case it was a real issue.
But remembering Xie Ruan’s recent behavior, he changed his mind: “Tomorrow’s not good. I need to prepare. I’ll go the day after.”
“Alright, call me when you arrive, and I’ll drive to the train station to pick you up.”
Bo Jin was about to decline—why would he want to see that fake smile? But on second thought, free labor was free labor, so he agreed. “Alright.”
After they finished discussing the main issue, Wen Yong, as usual, began to show concern for Bo Jin’s personal life—asking about his studies, reminding him to dress warmly in the colder weather. At first, it sounded caring, but on closer examination, it felt like an internet-sourced script. Bo Jin, not interested in small talk, brushed off his questions and hung up quickly.
At this point, Wen Yong was sharp enough to notice the distance Bo Jin was keeping, but it seemed he still wanted to maintain a superficial peace.
“Boring,” Bo Jin muttered, putting his phone away. He turned to leave, only to bump into someone.
The familiar scent of shampoo gave away the person’s identity before he even looked. Bo Jin stretched out his arm, pulling him into a hug. “Sneaking up behind me—looking for attention?”
Before Xie Ruan could react, Bo Jin lifted his chin and pretended to study him. “Forget it, with a face this nice, I don’t mind.”
“Oh.” Xie Ruan narrowed his eyes dangerously. “So it’s just about the looks?”
“What are you talking about?” Bo Jin wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake. He wrapped his pinky around Xie Ruan’s, putting on a righteous face. “This is a matter of trust. If you’re doubting me, that’s questioning my loyalty to marriage!”
Xie Ruan: “???”
Xie Ruan: “Marriage? Who said anything about that?”
Bo Jin tutted, looking slyly contemplative. “Playing innocent, huh? Last Sunday, at nine in the evening, right after your shower…”
Before he could finish, Xie Ruan clapped a hand over his mouth.
He gritted his teeth, “Try saying one more word?”
It wasn’t that his memory was that sharp; it was just that, given they were both holding back from going all the way, the few intimate moments they did share left a deep impression.
Bo Jin chuckled, pulling Xie Ruan’s hand down and making a zipping motion over his lips. Once he saw the redness fading from Xie Ruan’s ears, he finally asked, “What brings you here?”
Xie Ruan moved to stand next to him, leaning against the window ledge just as Bo Jin was. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Hm?”
“Are you planning to go to Shuicheng?” Xie Ruan hadn’t heard the entire conversation, but he’d heard enough to guess the gist.
“Yeah.” Thinking of Wen Yong, Bo Jin frowned slightly. “He asked me to come over for something.”
After a moment of silence, Xie Ruan hesitated before asking, “Can’t you avoid it?”
Given the tense timing and the fact he’d be meeting someone who harbored ill-will toward Bo Jin, Xie Ruan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“What’s wrong?” Bo Jin asked, curious. “Is there something going on these days?”
It’s no wonder he was surprised—Xie Ruan wasn’t the clingy type. Bo Jin had no doubt that if it were up to him, Xie Ruan would even pretend they had nothing to do with each other at school.
Yet here he was, openly expressing that he didn’t want him to leave. It was truly unexpected.
Bo Jin chuckled to himself, realizing that sometimes life really does hand out unexpected surprises.
“It’s not that…” Xie Ruan racked his brain for a suitable reason, but couldn’t come up with anything. Finally, he gave up and pushed Bo Jin’s face aside, avoiding that inscrutable look. “I just don’t want you to go, okay?”
They’d been together for so long now—there was no reason to be shy about saying something affectionate. And besides, compared to Bo Jin’s confidence, his own hesitance seemed trivial. Stay calm, he told himself.
Still, even as he reassured himself, Xie Ruan’s cheeks blushed uncontrollably.
With his fair skin and thin cheeks, the blush was unmistakable. In the warm glow of the sunset, he looked both beautiful and soft.
Bo Jin couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection. He didn’t know why, but every part of Xie Ruan seemed perfect to him—even the light fuzz on his cheeks looked more adorable than anyone else’s.
Even though they were already dating, and even sharing the same bed, he just couldn’t get enough of him. He wanted to keep his gaze on Xie Ruan, 24/7.
Bo Jin took a deep breath to calm himself down and instead tightened his grip on Xie Ruan’s fingers. “I still have to go. If there’s a real problem, I can’t just ignore it.”
D*mn it.
Xie Ruan cursed Wen Yong in his heart—couldn’t he just lay low for a few days? Why did he have to make his presence known right now?
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Bo Jin laughed at that.
Xie Ruan glared at him. “What? Not happy about it?”
“Who would dare?” Bo Jin chuckled and patted his fluffy hair. “But Old Sun wouldn’t let you leave.”
With Sun Fuan’s constant watch over Xie Ruan, it was already lucky he wasn’t living at his place under strict supervision, let alone being able to leave school.
Right, he’d forgotten about their homeroom teacher.
“So, what do I do?” Xie Ruan slumped against the wall, completely deflated.
Bo Jin wasn’t sure what he was worried about, but he didn’t mind offering some reassurance. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay for a day at most. Other than the hotel, I won’t go anywhere.”
He added more details, hoping it would calm him down. “I’ll take the high-speed train, and Wen Yong will pick me up right when I arrive. Nothing to worry about.”
Xie Ruan thought to himself that it was precisely because Wen Yong was there that he wasn’t at ease, but he quickly dismissed the worry. No matter how off-the-wall Wen Yong could be, he wouldn’t actually harm Bo Jin.
Besides, ever since he “awakened,” the original plot had already veered far off course. Maybe the whole Bo Jin-jumping-from-a-building incident wouldn’t even happen.
“Just be careful and come back as soon as it’s over.”
He hesitated, then turned his head and added shyly, “And don’t forget to call me to let me know you’re safe.”
“Got it.” Bo Jin was in a great mood, thanks to him. But unfortunately, they were at school with countless pairs of eyes around, so he couldn’t do anything too bold. Instead, he just pulled him in for a firm hug. “I’ll call you day and night.”
Bo Jin didn’t need to attend classes right now, so it was easy for him to take a leave of absence.
Sun Fuan didn’t even ask for details, immediately approving his request.
To Bo Jin’s surprise, Wen Yong hadn’t been lying—the program really did have issues, and not minor ones. It would take more than a day to fix it.
After a whole afternoon of debugging, Bo Jin massaged his sore neck and was about to book a hotel when Wen Yong suggested, “Why don’t you just stay at my place? It’ll be easier for discussing things.”
“No need,” Bo Jin replied, declining. Things between them were awkward now. Although they hadn’t openly fallen out, it was clear they couldn’t go back to how things were before.
Why force them to spend time together and just make each other uncomfortable?
“What’s with the formality?”
Wen Yong acted as though he didn’t notice Bo Jin’s reluctance. He called out to Zhao Qin, “Old Zhao, you’re coming too. It’ll be more efficient if you two work together.”
Zhao Qin was still trying to catch up with the situation.
He wore a plain black hoodie, his hair a bit messy, and standard-issue black-framed glasses. He looked like an average office worker, maybe even more unassuming, but his technical skills were top-notch.
His eyes lit up at the suggestion and he immediately agreed. “Alright, then I won’t go home after work. I’ll head straight over.”
Turning to Wen Yong, he asked, “You got enough room? If so, I’ll stay the night.”
“Plenty.” Wen Yong nodded, waving his phone. “It’s settled then. I’ll order food so it’ll be ready when we get there.”
Zhao Qin almost agreed out loud, but he caught himself at the last minute and looked expectantly at Bo Jin. “Little Bo, is that okay with you?”
Though Bo Jin and Zhao Qin had very different personalities, they got along well. Seeing his eagerness, Bo Jin could only nod. “Alright.”
With Zhao Qin there, things shouldn’t be too awkward.
Having his confirmation, Zhao Qin happily shut down his computer and started packing. Meanwhile, Bo Jin stood by, sending a message to Xie Ruan.
The lights in the office flicked off with a soft click, and in the dark, Wen Yong’s phone screen glowed faintly, highlighting the slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
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Nooo! Stay away from Bo Jin 😟
Thank you for the chapters