Wen Jiaxuan carried the heavy delivery box into the house, then instinctively took out his phone to send a WeChat message to Wu Zehao.
However, after typing a few words, he deleted the message and sent a video to Wu Zehao instead.
On Wu Zehao’s end, it was around 8 o’clock in the morning, and the video call quickly connected. Wen Jiaxuan rarely saw Wu Zehao still lying in bed.
Wen Jiaxuan blinked and said, “Boss, are you still sleeping in?”
Wu Zehao, in his morning hoarse voice, replied, “Are you checking up on me?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Wen Jiaxuan immediately responded. He turned the camera towards the delivery box on the floor and asked, “My classmate sent me some clothes. Where should I put them?”
Wu Zehao stared at the screen for a moment and lazily replied, “There’s a storage locker on the first floor for travel souvenirs. Pack up the souvenirs and put your stuff in there.”
“Alright.”
After discussing work matters, Wen Jiaxuan didn’t immediately end the video call. Instead, he tilted his head and faced the horizontally lying Wu Zehao: “Boss, if you don’t get up soon, the sun will be shining on your butt.”
Wu Zehao lazily half-opened his eyes and replied expressionlessly, “You should also consider who kept me up so late last night.”
Wen Jiaxuan, still tilting his head, asked, “Who?”
Wu Zehao simply hung up the video call.
Wen Jiaxuan diligently wrote articles at home, and when he lacked inspiration, he would practice civil service exam questions. When he felt tired, he’d lie down on the couch. He realized, somewhat belatedly, that his current lifestyle closely resembled the exam preparation life he had originally envisioned.
Back then, Wen Jiaxuan had planned to rent a small apartment, work as a translator to support himself, and prepare for the November civil service exam.
And now, he was living in a villa—though he slept on the couch—and had a not-so-busy job, even though the boss was strict. If you really had to say it, his current situation was actually better than he had anticipated. Finding part-time translation work was not easy, and it often came with uncertain income. At least now, he didn’t have to worry about starving.
Wu Zehao occasionally shares some photos on Weibo, and many people in the comments express their admiration for the visual treats. However, only Wen Jiaxuan knows that the person truly enjoying a visual feast was him because Wu Zehao sends him many undisclosed landscape photos separately, almost like an employee benefit.
On the seventh day of Wu Zehao’s absence, Wen Jiaxuan encountered an issue at home and quickly sent a video message to Wu Zehao.
“Boss, the power suddenly went out at home.”
“You can go to the electricity meter with your prepaid card and recharge it.”
On the eighth day of Wu Zehao’s absence, Wen Jiaxuan decided to cook at home on a whim, broke a bowl, and without thinking, sent a video message to Wu Zehao.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Boss, I broke a bowl. You won’t deduct it from my salary, will you?”
“P klii.”
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Qe Iftjb’r obgftfjv yeiufr klat nflcr: “Qtja’r ublcu bc jujlc?”
Qfc Aljzejc qjerfv obg j wbwfca, gfjilhlcu tf vlvc’a jmaejiis tjnf jcs lrrefr. Ynfg atlr qfglbv, tf tjv yfmbwf jmmerabwfv ab vjlis nlvfb mjiir klat Qe Iftjb.
“Boss, when are you coming back?” Wen Jiaxuan lay on the couch, swinging his legs and said, “I’ve already finished writing my articles.”
“Tomorrow morning,” Wu Zehao tossed his phone aside and continued packing his bags. “Have you reached the word count?”
“Of course, I even wrote an extra two thousand words.”
“…,” Wu Zehao picked up his phone in exasperation. “Who told you to write extra? I don’t have extra space for you.”
Wen Jiaxuan was taken aback by the scolding, and his swinging legs stopped. “Then I’ll delete it right away…”
The screen on the phone returned to the ceiling. Wen Jiaxuan, not giving up, asked, “Boss, can’t I do more work?”
“No,” Wu Zehao paused, “I have my own plans.”
Wen Jiaxuan slightly frowned, thinking that Wu Zehao wasn’t a good boss, he wouldn’t be motivated to do extra work in the future anymore.
Although he thought this, Wen Jiaxuan, who never seemed to learn his lesson, asked, “What time are you arriving tomorrow? I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
In Wen Jiaxuan’s impression, every time when Wen Hua returned from a business trip, Wen Yiran would go to the airport to welcome him. Since Wu Zehao didn’t have family living with him, it was only natural for him to go to the airport to receive him.
However, Wu Zehao picked up his phone again and asked strangely, “What are you there for?”
Wen Jiaxuan replied, “To welcome you.”
“No need, Zhang Zhitao will pick me up.”
“Oh…” Wen Jiaxuan forgot that there was such a person in the company and instantly felt a bit disappointed.
“He’s picking me up because I’ll be arriving a little after 5 AM, and it’s not easy to get a cab at that hour,” Wu Zehao could clearly sense Wen Jiaxuan’s thoughts and added, “You don’t have a car, and you can’t wake up early. Why bother coming over?
Upon hearing that Wu Zehao would be arriving a little after 5 AM, Wen Jiaxuan immediately abandoned the idea of welcoming him. He nodded in agreement and said, “Then I’ll just wait for you to come back home.”
It took about an hour to drive from the airport, plus time for customs and collecting luggage, so Wu Zehao arrived home right at seven o’clock.
During this time, Wen Jiaxuan had mostly overcome his habit of sleeping in. Today, he got up at six-thirty, waiting patiently at home.
When he heard the sound of luggage wheels rolling on the road outside the yard, Wen Jiaxuan excitedly slipped on his slippers and went into the yard. He quickly spotted the familiar figure.
However, what Wen Jiaxuan didn’t expect was that there was another tall and handsome man following behind Wu Zehao. If he remembered correctly, that person was Wu Zehao’s good friend, Zhang Zhitao.
As Wu Zehao walked into the yard, Wen Jiaxuan approached him with a little jog and instinctively said, “You’re back.”
The reason it was a habit was purely because Wen Jiaxuan had lived in Japan for a long time, and he would say “okaeri” to people when they returned home.
However, before Wu Zehao could respond, Zhang Zhitao on the side shouted first, “Lao Wu, why did you bring this little duckling home?”
Recalling the misunderstanding during their first meeting, Wen Jiaxuan shouted back at Zhang Zhitao with displeasure, “Who’s the little duckling? You’re the little duckling!”
Wu Zehao grabbed Wen Jiaxuan’s arm and led him inside, saying, “Don’t blame him, that day it was the security guard at the gate who told him you came here for business.”
Wen Jiaxuan recalled that Wu Zehao had mentioned Zhang Zhitao being a bar owner, and that’s when he realized how the misunderstanding had occurred. However, Wen Jiaxuan still felt unfairly judged; he hadn’t said or done anything to warrant such assumptions from the two men at the gate.
“What’s the story behind all this?” Zhang Zhitao followed them into the house. “You said you hired a new employee, and it’s him?”
“Yeah,” Wu Zehao placed his backpack on the couch and headed straight to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and catch up on some sleep. You two get acquainted.”
The sound of the shower quickly filled the bathroom, leaving Wen Jiaxuan and Zhang Zhitao in the living room, exchanging puzzled glances.
“Hey, little duckling…”
“I told you I’m not a little duckling!”
“Ahem, you’re Wen Jiaxuan, right?” Zhang Zhitao sat down on the couch and glanced around the now unfamiliar living room. “What exactly do you do?”
“Didn’t he say it? I’m a new employee,” Wen Jiaxuan replied, aware that the person before him was also considered one of the bosses, but he couldn’t muster any positive feelings.
“That’s impossible,” Zhang Zhitao shook his head, looking rather conflicted. “Come on, tell me the truth. What’s your relationship with him?”
“What relationship? He’s the boss, and I’m an employee,” Wen Jiaxuan found it frustrating to communicate. “I joined Zeyou Tourism through a legitimate interview process. Don’t look at me with a biased perspective.”
Zhang Zhitao didn’t say anything more, but his expression remained somewhat complex.
At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Wu Zehao emerged, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Wen Jiaxuan instinctively wanted to call out to him, but Wu Zehao turned and headed upstairs without acknowledging the two of them, leaving Wen Jiaxuan no choice but to stay silent.
Once Wu Zehao reached the second floor, he effortlessly removed the towel and collapsed onto the bed. Wen Jiaxuan was taken aback by this behavior, wondering why he was casually disrobing in broad daylight.
However, considering the dim lighting on the second floor, Wen Jiaxuan hadn’t seen anything apart from Wu Zehao’s actions.
“Hey, I mean,” Zhang Zhitao spoke up again, “when you said ‘interview,’ was it the type where you ask and I answer, or the kind where you ‘roll around’?”
“‘Roll around’? I don’t get it,” Wen Jiaxuan furrowed his brow, utterly perplexed. “It was just submitting my resume, and he asked me questions.”
“That’s impossible,” Zhang Zhitao crossed his arms and spoke with a complex expression. “Do you know what kind of person Lao Wu is?”
“Of course,” Wen Jiaxuan replied, “He’s organized and very strict with work.”
So strict that he’d receive scolding for writing an extra two thousand words.
“No, you don’t know,” Zhang Zhitao clicked his tongue. “He’s a maniac.”
“…Maniac?” Wen Jiaxuan was taken aback.
“Before every trip, he creates detailed itineraries, specifying the exact times he’ll arrive in each city and when he’ll dine at which restaurant,” Zhang Zhitao explained.
Wen Jiaxuan immediately understood what Zhang Zhitao meant by “maniac.” Planning to such a meticulous extent was indeed somewhat terrifying.
“One time, we planned a road trip to the northwest together. Just before the trip, I had an unexpected matter and couldn’t go, which messed up his plans. I bailed on him once, and he never took me on a trip again.”
“I wouldn’t want to take you either,” Wen Jiaxuan couldn’t help but defend Wu Zehao. He suddenly remembered Wu Zehao saying he enjoyed traveling alone, probably due to Zhang Zhitao’s interference.
Wen Jiaxuan recalled the date from ten days ago and uncertainly said, “…July 4th?”
“That was originally scheduled for July 2nd,” Zhang Zhitao said, “but his entire plan got messed up.”
Wen Jiaxuan found it strange. “Why?”
“And you have the nerve to ask why?” Zhang Zhitao wore an expression of disbelief. “When did you show up in his life?”
It was only after Zhang Zhitao mentioned it that Wen Jiaxuan realized he arrived in H City on July 1st, the day before Wu Zehao’s originally planned departure.
Wen Jiaxuan shivered and asked with a hint of regret, “…Because of me?”
“Exactly,” Zhang Zhitao straightened up, as if to say, “You finally get it.” He paused and added, “Do you have any idea how much he hates it when people disrupt his plans? He went so far as to keep you at home. Is it him going crazy, or is it me?”
He’s keeping the guy for his own selfish benefits lolol
It’s him going crazy!! ><
LOL duckling is because duck means male prostitute. if anyone was wondering hahahah