LA ⋆ Chapter 13: President Cheng Has Taste

A farce that came to nothing—no need for mediation anyway.

At the police station entrance, President Cheng was lecturing that mother and son, and from the sound of it, this kind of insanity wasn’t a first occurrence.

Sheng Yao pulled Sheng Yi into a corner and spoke softly to comfort him: “Being a tutoring companion to heaven’s children is like this—you can’t win an argument even when you’re right. I get it, big brother believes you. It’s okay, don’t take on any more part-time work. School’s starting soon anyway, just focus on your studies.”

When he said “I get it,” he glanced inadvertently toward Cheng Ai.

But his gaze got caught on Cheng Ji’s eyes.

The young man tilted his head slightly, hooked up one corner of his lips, and his cunning expression brought to mind the crafty youth from the Book of Poetry[[1]].

Sheng Yao’s face went cold, and he withdrew his gaze.

Sheng Yi, however, followed Sheng Yao’s line of sight and looked back with piercing directness. “You work for his older brother.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes.”

Sheng Yi said nothing more.

Cheng Ai watched Cheng Ji and his mother get into the car. Sheng Yi headed to the subway station on his own. Finally, Cheng Ai and Sheng Yao drove back to the office. Cheng Ai went straight to open the driver’s side door. Sheng Yao was taken aback: “President Cheng, are you driving yourself?”

Cheng Ai pulled back his suit jacket and gave the hem a little shake outward. “Mm.”

Sheng Yao didn’t dare go sit in the back seat and let Cheng Ai be his driver. He tactfully took the passenger seat.

After driving for a while, Sheng Yao realized this wasn’t the route back to the office. Sheng Yao: “President Cheng, aren’t we going back to the office?”

“Mood’s good, appetite’s good,” Cheng Ai put on sunglasses, and you could only see a hint of pleasure from the upturned corner of his mouth, “let’s go eat lunch first, then head back.”

Sheng Yao didn’t ask any more questions.

It was late August, the sun bleaching the ground white, the air above rippling and flowing. The air conditioning in the car was turned very low, as if cutting them off from the outside world.

“That woman is my stepmother, and Cheng Ji is my half-brother from the same father, different mother,” Cheng Ai suddenly broke the silence. “He’s been willful since childhood, always doing strange things. I think he just wants to get adults’ attention. Don’t take it to heart that he called your brother—your salary will be paid normally.”

“Oh…” Sheng Yao was at a loss for words, remembered he should say thanks. “Okay, thank you, President Cheng.”

“It’s nothing. It shouldn’t have gotten to the police station in the first place.”

Actually, it seemed like there was no real need to explain all this to him. A boss’s family matters—wasn’t that too private for an employee? He didn’t like to gossip, but if it were someone else, the whole company would know about it by the next day.

Cheng Ai spoke again: “I hadn’t heard you mention having a younger brother before.”

Sheng Yao lowered his eyes: “He was studying back home. Now he’s come to attend university here.” Stop asking, big brother. There are so many people in the company—are you really going to inquire about everyone’s family size?

“His grades must be very good. What’s he studying?” He turned the steering wheel and pulled into a parking lot.

Sheng Yao rolled his eyes internally: “He’s studying embedded systems.”

“Oh? That’s great.”

Thank goodness they’d arrived at their destination, and Cheng Ai didn’t keep up the idle chat.

The restaurant was tucked away in an old alleyway—a hidden roast duck place. From the outside it looked shabby and run-down, but inside it was nicely decorated, a hidden gem. Cheng Ai made a sweeping gesture and ordered dishes, then asked Sheng Yao if he wanted anything else added.

Sheng Yao shook his head: “As long as there’s a starch, that’s fine.”

Cheng Ai made another sweeping gesture and added an order of meat rolls.

The dishes came quickly—freshly roasted duck, sliced to order. Cheng Ai spun the lazy Susan and turned a plate of small sides toward Sheng Yao.

“Try this. It’s very appetizing. When I can’t eat anything else, I love eating this.”

Brown little squares. Sheng Yao picked one up and took a bite, discovering it was roast duck skin layered with caviar, smoked salmon, and hawthorn paste—fragrant but not greasy, sweet and sour, tender, crispy on the outside and soft inside.

“How is it? Good?”

Sheng Yao turned toward the voice. Cheng Ai was looking at him expectantly, bright eyes gleaming, the kind that made it impossible to say it wasn’t good.

“It’s delicious. President Cheng, you have excellent taste.”

“Of course.”

Sheng Yao still preferred rice and noodles. As he buried himself in eating vigorously, his peripheral vision suddenly caught Cheng Ai—the boss was resting his chin on his hand, watching him, eyes unblinking.

His chewing slowed involuntarily. Sheng Yao licked a tiny piece of meat off his upper lip with his tongue, then swallowed hard a few times.

“There’s one more,” Cheng Ai turned the last meat roll toward Sheng Yao.

“Thank you.” The atmosphere was uncanny. Sheng Yao looked into Cheng Ai’s eyes and inexplicably felt like he was being devoured.

When they returned to the office, it was lunch break. Sheng Yao found an excuse to slip away and went to the plaza to find people to smoke with. At the plaza, Sheng Yao discovered only Tony was there. He asked Tony where Shuitan had gone. Tony said, “Didn’t you check the group chat?”

He really hadn’t thought to check messages all morning.

Sheng Yao pulled out his phone and looked. Shuitan said her boyfriend came to take her to lunch, so she’d be absent today.

Sheng Yao said uncertainly: “Shuitan has a boyfriend? I never heard her mention it.”

Tony: “I was shocked too. But honestly, we’re just smoking buddies—it’s normal not to know.”

Sheng Yao lit a cigarette and drew on it slowly: “I kept my job.”

Tony was shocked, nearly burning his hand with the cigarette. “You actually confessed to your boss? Holy shit, you’re brave.”

Sheng Yao said nothing, just kept smoking. Tony kept staring at him.

“Stop staring,” Sheng Yao frowned, “he was firing me because he found out I was applying elsewhere.”

Tony: “So did you confess or not?”

Sheng Yao: “…” He’d wanted to forget about it, but the fact objectively existed. He just hoped Cheng Ai wouldn’t ask him about it again.

Tony: “You definitely confessed.” This time it was a statement.

Just then, a new message popped up on his phone. Shuitan said her boyfriend brought cake, and since the weather was hot it wouldn’t keep, so they should find a place and eat it together. Tony glanced at the McDonald’s next to them. It was past the lunch rush, much fewer people, plenty of seats.

Sheng Yao and Tony went to McDonald’s first and found a spot by the window.

When the door was pushed open, the first thing Sheng Yao saw was a pair of hands with interlocked fingers. One belonged to Shuitan—Sheng Yao recognized it because she wore a cross-shaped ring on her index finger.

His gaze moved upward, and when he saw the man, Sheng Yao’s lips began to tremble.

That… that… that man!

The man who’d kissed Cheng Ai!

Shuitan had been deceived. A wave of dizziness washed over the back of Sheng Yao’s head. They were all just passing acquaintances, but still—all cheating gays should drop dead!

The man saw that the person sitting was Sheng Yao and was clearly caught off guard. He stopped in his tracks.

Shuitan: “What’s wrong?”

Chen Siyu: “That pale young man sitting there—is he your friend?”

Shuitan looked at Sheng Yao: “Yeah.”

Sheng Yao had already stood up and walked toward Chen Siyu. Chen Siyu also let go of Shuitan’s hand and moved closer to Sheng Yao.

“You’ve been deceived.”

“Just let me explain!”