KC | Chapter 107

Chapter 118 Transaction

Lin Yiran heard the door close, the bunny elevator clip was on the coffee table.

He opened the window, threw away the bunny elevator clip, shoes, towel… he wanted to throw out the little folding table too, but he was afraid it would hit someone.

Lin Yiran was rational, he had always been rational.

He tossed the Mercedes key from his pants pocket onto the coffee table, then suddenly remembered the bunny elevator clip that had just been there, and then thought that if someone picked up the elevator clip, it was very possible they would break into a house and rob it.

Lin Yiran went downstairs to look for the bunny.

He found all of the bunny elevator clip and the bunny, brutally took the elevator clip apart, and threw the bunny keychain and the rest into the trash can. Only when he got on the elevator did he realize he had just gone out and forgotten to bring the elevator clip.

Luckily, he had an elevator clip in his hand.

Lin Yiran went home. At dinner time, the delivery rider brought the preordered Western meal and two cups of vanilla latte.

He took the takeout to the dining table, then saw the bunny cushion and bunny water cup on the chair.

Why were there so many bunnies?

Lin Yiran tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose.

He ate two French fries, only belatedly realizing that sugar and oil combined would make him fat, and very restrainedly finished the vegetable salad and steak, but then felt that he could not waste it, so he finished the whole bag of fries.

Mm, yes, he did it because he did not want to waste it, not because he suddenly had an emotional breakdown and overeated.

Lin Yiran poured out the two cups of vanilla latte, so he could sleep well at night, but he still had insomnia.

Having insomnia because of his father was one thing, having insomnia because of someone who did not like him, how cheap was that?

All the hypnotic methods failed, Lin Yiran got out of bed to handle work, and after going through all next week’s cases, he went back to bed and still could not sleep.

He did not want to dwell on meaningless emotions, so he opened short videos to pass the time.

Tomorrow was the first day after the double-festival return to work, and there would be mountains of work waiting to be handled. He needed enough sleep to make sure none of his decisions would go wrong.

But he could not sleep.

Watch videos, lock the screen, sleep, cannot sleep, watch videos, lock the screen… it went on like that over and over.

Unintentionally, he swiped to an iPhone auto-pushed photo, which was a group photo of KA in Glacial Gorge.

In the photo were him and Chen Xi.

Lin Yiran opened the album, and by such a coincidence, the album pushed by the iPhone also had the photo of him sending Chen Xi 1000 yuan, as well as the group photo of them holding coffee in front of the office door.

They only had three big group photos.

Nothing else.

Lin Yiran enlarged the photo, looking at that bright smile, and his mouth filled with bitterness as he laughed.

“Not even a single group photo.” After Lin Yiran finished speaking, he deleted the photo, then clicked restore in the Recently Deleted folder.

Maybe it was because Chen Xi’s things were too few, and the few remaining ones only made them seem even more precious.

At three in the morning, Lin Yiran put on clothes and went downstairs, walked to the trash can, and did not find the bunny.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Lin Yiran went home, irritably took a shower, blow-dried his hair, and continued lying dead on the bed.

When he divorced, Lin Yiran was very sad, but his too-strong pride required him to stay carefree, so he erased their past and left not a single trace.

Being able to take things up and let them go was what a mature man with a successful career should do.

To blend a person completely different from him into his flesh and blood, letting the other side recklessly seize all of his everything, and now forcibly strip it away.

Peeling skin and wrists was very painful, and Lin Yiran did not want pain.

He just did not want pain, absolutely not because he could not let go.

What good gathering and parting was there, Lin Yiran did not want to sever the connection with Chen Xi, he wanted to狠狠教训 him, tie the person up at home, and never let him out again.

Why did he need to tell him to “fuck off”?

Because he did not want to hear him say anything harsher, I broke down.

If that damned bunny obediently admitted his mistake, maybe I could consider letting him kneel on a washboard when he got home.

I would never forgive him.

After leaving Lin Yiran’s place, Chen Xi could not remember the details of returning to the rental room, because it was Number 1 who came back for him.

The little people in his brain entered his body, and it felt very strange.

The things he did not dare say, the things he could not do, someone came to do them for him. The emotional or career pressure he could not bear, someone came to share the burden for him.

As long as he handed over control of his body and hid behind the three little people, he could avoid everything.

This deal was not a loss.

“Brother Lin, Lin…” Late at night, Chen Xi curled up under the blanket and called out unconsciously.

He had not slept a full night for five straight days.

During the day, Rational Number 2 turned into a business elite to negotiate with the client. At night, Temper Number 1 frantically vented his dissatisfaction with the client. In his dreams, Coward Number 3 cried and sobbed: “The words that day were indeed too harsh from me, but even if I said something too much, you still could not let me fuck off.”

“I do not want to fuck off, I like you, how could you bear to let me fuck off…”

“Why are you angry at me, if I do not fuck off, are you going to beat me, hehe, go ahead, beat me to death and I still will not fuck off.”

Chen Xi often could not tell whether it was a dream or reality. Yesterday, when he signed the contract with Yige, he suddenly regained control of his body, and the huge feeling of exhaustion nearly crushed him. His hand had been shaking the whole time, and he signed his name in crooked, twisted strokes. In the afternoon he found a nearby hotel and booked an hourly room, but when he lay on the bed, he discovered he simply could not sleep.

His head was very dizzy and painful, but he just could not sleep.

Chen Xi bought sleeping pills, but they were useless, and taking them would only make his head hurt more.

Brain pulp washed over the shattered nervous system, the central system completely collapsed and flowed along with the scorching brain juice, with only the five big characters standing unfallen: Lin Yiran cheated.

One second Chen Xi said, “I will not fuck off,” and the next second he shouted, “Where the fuck did I do wrong, why did you go find someone!”

At three in the morning, Chen Xi got up to go to the bathroom. The dizziness caused by continuous insomnia became even more obvious, and his lack of energy made him slip and fall in the bathroom.

He did not know which number replaced him and got him back onto the bed. The alarm rang, Chen Xi got up, and felt very tired.

So tired, could he not go to work?

No, there were still cases not finished.

Chen Xi rubbed his eyes and hid away, and Elite Number 2 went to work for him.

On the workstation sat the KA Talent Award trophy, which Wang Shuang had given him on the first day back to work, along with a 30,000 yuan bonus. Chen Xi gained a lot of applause that day, but he felt empty inside, because the presenter was not Lin Yiran.

He did sales because of Lin Yiran, and the faith that supported him climbing from the bottom of the mountain all the way to the top was Lin Yiran. Chen Xi had never thought that after he climbed to the mountaintop, his faith would crash down with a bang.

Then what was the meaning of him reaching the top?

What was the meaning of doing sales?

Chen Xi did not know, and did not want to think. As long as he could hide away and live muddle-headedly, that was enough.

He used the bonus to pay the increased rent, paid off his credit card, and then ordered two suits according to Lin Yiran’s measurements. Because the suit he was wearing now was bought by Lin Yiran, and since they broke up, he had to return the things.

Yu City KA was still first among the three provinces last quarter. Considering the travel factor of the double festival, the Lanhai Q3 incentive consumption time was postponed by one week, so it was pushed to this Friday.

Chen Xi saw Lin Yiran at the KTV after getting off work on Friday.

This was his first time seeing Lin Yiran this week.

Lin Yiran wore a black-and-white suit, elegantly pouring wine into a glass, politely greeting everyone. His gaze brushed past him, and in an instant, it moved away.

Chen Xi seemed to have electric current sweep through his body, his heart hurt in tiny, dense bursts. He wanted to hide, but could not bear to, because this might very well be the last time he saw Lin Yiran.

After Lin Yiran took his seat, Chen Xi held his glass and sat beside him. Lin Yiran stood up and went to the bar to pick a song, choosing an English song that no one would know how to sing.

KA know-it-all: The leader definitely has something going on today!

Lin Yiran put back on that polite and proper outer skin, sitting on the song-selection stool at the bar, and said with a smile, “What songs can you all sing? Tell me, I’ll pick them.”

Clearly, he wanted to sit there and not come back.

Chen Xi belatedly realized that before, at the fish restaurant, Lin Yiran was like this too, if he did not want to talk, he would just run away.

Last month, being stuck together made me have the illusion that he was easy to talk to. When Lin Yiran did not want to talk, he would not even give me a chance to speak.

I forced myself to finish this relationship with reason. Why did he not even give me a chance to speak?

At the end of last quarter, KA rushed performance and regained its sales passion. Zhang Yuanji’s song “Friend” ignited the team’s mood, turning solo singing into a group chorus. There were two microphones in the KTV, and by chance they passed into Chen Xi and Lin Yiran’s hands. Lin Yiran sang with ease and composure, while Chen Xi never made a sound. Zhang Yuanji quickly snatched Chen Xi’s microphone and picked “Confidant Lover.”

This time it was Lin Yiran’s turn to be silent.

After “Confidant Lover” was changed, Li Hua muttered a long string of words like reciting Buddhist scriptures, and the only two lines people could understand were: “For you I play Chopin’s Nocturne, in memory of my dead love…”

The whole room fell silent.

At critical moments, it still had to be the leaky spoon brothers, the mic hog Zhang Yuanji passionately sang “I Will Love You Even If I Die,” bringing the off-track atmosphere back again.

Lin Yiran went out for a smoke, and Chen Xi immediately followed him out.

KA know-it-all: (⊙o⊙)…XQL is having a conflict.

Chen Xi had not eaten much these past few days. Even if he forced food down, he would feel nauseous and throw it up. To prevent vomiting, before coming he had ordered colloidal bismuth pectin on Meituan, and the orange-yellow medicine bag was exactly the same as when Lin Yiran had bought him medicine three months ago.

The two of them met by the sink in the public restroom of the KTV, and this scene was also exactly the same as three months ago.

Everything seemed to be foreshadowing: where it began, there it ended.

When negotiating, usually the side with the need had to speak first.

Chen Xi said, “Brother Lin, don’t hide from me. It’s only a few words, let me finish speaking.”

Lin Yiran took a puff of smoke, did not leave, and waited for him to continue.

“That day I was indeed too emotional, and I said a lot of guesses without evidence. I apologize for my recklessness.” Chen Xi started by lowering his posture, then his tone shifted slightly, “But you also slandered me before, so let’s call it even.”

Lin Yiran nodded, crushed out his cigarette, and left.

Chen Xi chased after him back to the private room. Zhang Yuanji was quick with his eyes and feet, and sat down on the bar stool with one butt, so Lin Yiran had no choice but to sit in the public area. Wang Dan put on a mobile phone ringtone and pretended to answer a call, leaving the seat beside Lin Yiran, and Chen Xi immediately sat down.

It would look deliberate to switch seats immediately after sitting down, and even if Lin Yiran was unhappy in his heart, he could not let others watch the joke.

Chen Xi had just chased after him too fast, so his breathing was a little unsteady. Number 1 was shouting to come out, and Chen Xi clenched his fist tightly, using breathing exercises to calm his emotions.

Just a few words, let me finish speaking, please let us finish speaking.

Moral model people had always done things by the rules, washing their hands before eating, putting in coins before getting on the bus, signing the contract before paying, saying “like you” before being together, and saying “break up” before it could count as the end.

Chen Xi wanted to bring closure to this relationship, as a way of being responsible to himself.

Lin Yiran had hidden for a week, just wanting to scare him and let the bad bunny learn a lesson so he would not dare to throw a tantrum again.

Licking his face and clinging over was obviously to bow his head and admit fault. Since that was the case, then I would reluctantly give you a way down the steps.

Maybe because he had been afraid of being scolded, Lin Yiran lit a cigarette, his face stiff as he made the ugly words clear first: “If you still want to scold me, then don’t say it. I’m the kind of person who repays grudges immediately, I did not scold you last time, and I held back a whole stomach full of fire.”

Chen Xi shook his head and said, “I won’t scold you. If you have fire in your heart, you can scold me back. I’m listening.”

Lin Yiran gave a light snort, showing he did not want to bother with him.

“The suit I’m wearing should have been returned to you, but it’s not your size, and even if you took it, it would be useless. I ordered two suits according to your size, and someone will deliver them to your home in a few days.” Chen Xi said, “The belt and the rest, after I earn the money, I’ll slowly return it all to you.”

The cigarette in Lin Yiran’s hand fell to the ground.

You just told me to scold you back, not because you wanted to comfort me, only because you did not want to owe me.

Chen Xi continued reciting the draft in his belly: “I like you, to the point that I once thought about being your third party, but morality does not allow me to do that. What lies between us is an uncrossable moral understanding, you should understand what I mean.”

“Brother Lin, let’s break up.”

Break up?

You lick your face and cling to me, I even gave you the step down, and I never expected you to say this.

I did not expect that you were not here to admit fault.

You chased after me wanting to talk, just to solemnly dump me. You really had a sense of ceremony.

Really fucking had a sense of ceremony.

The funniest thing was, you had just said “I like you.”

You liked me, because of fucking morality, you could not like me, what kind of bullshit logic was that, fuck morality!

What uncrossable thing, it was just an excuse you used to break up. I do not understand what you mean, I did not go find someone, it was you who did not believe me; what is moral understanding, I fucking never had morality!

Why was it that you could like me when you wanted, and break up with me when you wanted?

Why did I have to pay for your suspiciousness, while you could hurt me without restraint?

I held you in the palm of my heart and wanted to give you a promise, but you guessed wildly and completely denied my efforts, belittling me to the point of not even being as good as a beggar on the street.

You made me lose sleep and feel heartache, then I also want to hurt you back, only when the revenge is returned can it count as even.

I won’t break up.

Lin Yiran lit another cigarette, did not answer Chen Xi’s words, and said a question that was easy to answer: “Is it nice signing key clients?”

Chen Xi did not know why Lin Yiran suddenly talked work with him, so he perfunctorily nodded.

“Then do you want to sign more key clients?”

Chen Xi gave a “mm,” hoping Lin Yiran would answer quickly and not keep talking about work.

Those deep eyes looked at him, the gaze burning hot: “Zhongcai Education, Tengda Aluminum Industry, Xiling Pharmaceuticals, Zhonghai Medical… these key clients you wrote in your backpack, I can help you sign all of them.”

Lin Yiran was talking about Chen Xi’s key client list.

Key clients always managed to stir up all of Chen Xi’s emotions first thing.

He knew what he wanted.

Lin Yiran said, “I can help you sign key clients, but I want you.”

He did not break up, he turned their feelings into a transaction.