KM: Chapter 45

Ji An initially didn't understand why You Chen answered his mom's call in English. But he remembered back in high school, when they were in the principal's office, the principal mentioned that You Chen's parents were abroad. Could it be that living overseas for so long made him accustomed to speaking English? Nevertheless, You Chen speaking English sounded inexplicably pleasant.

You Chen sat at the head of the bed, with Ji An nestled in his arms, playing with his fingers while secretly listening to his phone call. You Chen's pronunciation was very standard, and his enunciation was clear. His voice was relatively low, as it had been in high school, but not the hoarse kind that comes from smoking; rather, it was somewhat cold, low and cold, like a pine tree covered in snow.

Sometimes, when he teased Ji An playfully with a low voice, Ji An could never really get angry, mainly because he was good-looking and his voice was pleasant to hear. There was simply no way to stay mad. Ji An thought bitterly, every time You Chen joked with him, he'd look up in a huff, but upon seeing You Chen's eyes crinkle into a smile, he'd just want You Chen to hold him.

When You Chen smiled, he always tried to hold it back, with just the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Ji An guessed he didn't realize how captivating his smile was, like a sly fox, determined like a wolf.

You Chen looked at the head nestled tightly in his arms, moving closer and closer, yet pretending not to notice, playing with his fingers. He laughed, grabbed Ji An's hand, and bit down gently on Ji An's ear.

Ji An yelped in surprise, turning to meet his knowing gaze. His open mouth quickly closed, and he raised an eyebrow, asking, "What are you eavesdropping on?"

"No… I wasn't, I was listening…" Ji An wanted to deny it, but then recalled what You Chen had said in the office that day, so he retracted his words, explaining that he was just curious.

"Oh."

You Chen smiled and turned on the speakerphone, and a gentle female voice came through.

"Who's next to you?"

He looked into Ji An's eyes and replied, "My boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend? You didn't even tell me. How's the other guy? How long have you been together?"

"We have been together since high school. He is very good, the kind of good kid you like."

"What does he look like?"

"You can go to the Internet to search my work, in which to find the most beautiful and well-behaved boy, that's him, called Ji An."

You Chen held onto the person trying to escape, speaking into the phone for the last time, "I want to talk to my boyfriend, bye, next time."

"Ok, bye."

You Chen hung up the call, tossed the phone aside, flipped over to pin Ji An beneath him, kissed him a few times, and asked, "If you were just curious, why are your ears red, hmm?"

"I… I…" Ji An stammered, his face flushed, embarrassed to speak. You Chen chuckled, lowered his voice, and asked, "Are you being shy?"

Ji An's face turned even redder, unable to look at You Chen, he turned his face away and shut his eyes tightly, pretending to be dead. You Chen's hand slipped under his shirt, wrapping around his waist to pull him up a bit, kissing his ear as he said, "Why is your face so red? What are you shy about this time? Hmm? Is it because I spoke English?"

Ji An responded softly.

You Chen laughed helplessly, "Why does my speaking English make the puppy shy?"

Really! A disaster unaware of its own allure! Ji An thought angrily, then in a voice as small as a mosquito's, said, "Because… you sound really good speaking English…"

You Chen chuckled a few more times, his fingers pinching the soft, warm flesh of Ji An's cheek, red and hot, truly adorable. Such a cute little puppy, fortunately, he was a step ahead of others, turning an unwanted puppy into his own.

"Thank you for your compliment, my cutest puppy."

"Ah!" Ji An exclaimed, covering his face and calling his name, "You Chen!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Ji An's delicate fingers couldn't hide his flushed eyes, his voice soft as if pleading, "Stop teasing me."

You Chen's heart softened immensely, he agreed, lay down without saying a word. Ji An took a while to release his hands, turning to snuggle into You Chen's arms. You Chen wrapped his arms around him, and after a while, Ji An couldn't help but ask, "Why do you and your mom communicate in English?"

"Because my mom is British."

Ji An's eyes widened, "Huh?"

"Mixed Chinese and British, but settled in the UK since childhood. I was also born in the UK, and it was during one of my dad's business trips back to China that he brought me along. I wanted to stay in China back then, and my parents agreed."

Ji An half-opened his mouth, "Then you're… mixed too?"

"A quarter, my dad is Chinese."

No wonder he's so good-looking, Ji An thought. No wonder he always felt that You Chen was a bit different from others, his features were so well-defined, with prominent brow bones and an overly straight nose, it turns out there's a hint of Western genes.

"Then… if I… communicate with your mom, do I have to use English too?"

"Either is fine, my mom can speak Chinese."

You Chen lowered his head, smiling as he pinched his nose.

"What's up? Want to meet the parents? The puppy is in such a hurry."

"No… no!" Ji An hurriedly defended himself, "I didn't! I was just asking!"

You Chen habitually misinterpreted his meaning, "Oh, you don't want to meet the parents?"

Ji An shook his head, "Not… not that either!"

You Chen nodded, "Okay, so you want to meet, then I'll arrange a time with her."

Ji An wanted to refuse but didn't dare, so he could only softly plead, "A little later, okay? I'm… I'm not mentally prepared yet."

"Alright."

You Chen picked up the phone to call his mom again, and as soon as he opened it, he saw messages from his assistant, sent in quick succession, looking very urgent. He frowned and opened them; they were forwarded Weibo posts, followed by several messages from his assistant.

"It's that model!! The one you dismissed!!"

"He posted pictures of you and An An online! Both your and An An's Weibo accounts are blowing up!!"

"Some brands have already withdrawn Ji An's photos!"

"President Xu said to discuss this with you at the company tomorrow."

"What should we do? President Xu definitely won't remove you, but he might remove An An!"

You Chen frowned and clicked into the Weibo post; it was photos of him and Ji An going home and to the company together, even photos of him and Ji An kissing in the car.

He stared at the phone for too long without moving, his mood visibly off. Ji An felt something was wrong, just as he was about to look back, You Chen pressed his head back into his arms.

You Chen turned off the screen and said, "It's time to sleep."