Chapter 31: I am twenty-two years old, a mature man.
Wu Zehao has clearly tidied up the room.
Usually, Wen Jiaxuan’s computer and charger were always casually thrown on the sofa, but now they are neatly stored under the coffee table.
The pajamas he took off before going out today were originally haphazardly placed on the armrest of the sofa, but now they are nowhere to be seen, presumably stored in the storage cabinet.
The living room looked much neater overall, but there were still traces of another person’s presence, like Wen Jiaxuan’s water cup and study materials on the coffee table, hinting at someone else living there.
“Boss, this is my brother, Wen Yiran.”
“Brother, this is my boss, Wu Zehao.”
Wen Jiaxuan dryly introduced the two of them.
Wu Zehao and Wen Yiran nodded in acknowledgment and greeted with a “hello,” then fell silent, seemingly waiting for the next exchange. For some reason, Wen Jiaxuan felt sparks flying in the exchanged glances between the two.
Wu Zehao was half a head taller than Wen Yiran, giving him a height advantage, but Wen Yiran’s long years in the workforce made him equally imposing.
“Brother, why don’t you have a seat on the sofa?” Wen Jiaxuan tugged at Wen Yiran’s suit sleeve, interrupting the silent standoff.
He felt that once Wen Yiran sat down, he would realize that the sofa was indeed comfortable to sleep on without causing any back pain.
Wen Yiran examined the room while taking a seat in the living room, but he only occupied a fraction of the sofa, ready to get up at any moment.
“You sleep here?” Wen Yiran glanced at the neatly folded small blanket on the sofa armrest.
“Yes,” Wen Jiaxuan sat down beside Wen Yiran and patted the sofa. “You see, this sofa is suitable for sleeping.”
Wen Yiran remained silent and looked at Wu Zehao, who had brought tea. “Are you really comfortable with letting my brother sleep on the sofa?”
Wu Zehao placed the teacup in front of Wen Yiran and calmly sat on the single-seat sofa opposite. “He doesn’t mind.”
Wen Jiaxuan nodded in agreement and sincerely said to Wen Yiran, “Yes, Brother, I think it’s fine.”
Wen Yiran frowned. “Nonsense.”
“I’m not messing around with him, and I don’t have the time for that,” Wu Zehao took the initiative to respond. “He’s my employee, and I’ve never mistreated him.”
“Then let me ask you, how much did he receive as his salary this month?” Wen Yiran inquired, “He didn’t answer when I asked earlier. Can you tell me?”
“How much he gets in hand doesn’t represent all the benefits he receives here,” Wu Zehao calmly responded. “I don’t need to mention the housing prices in this area. Besides, I take care of his meals, and he’s gained some weight…”
“Hmm?” Wen Jiaxuan sat up straight, looking puzzled at Wu Zehao. “When did I gain weight?”
“Let me put it this way,” Wen Yiran interrupted Wu Zehao, “Before he came, you were responsible for the rent of this apartment on your own. Now, you use a portion of his salary as accommodation fees, which means both of you are sharing the rent. Can you honestly say you’re not benefiting from this?”
“This is my apartment; there’s no rent,” Wu Zehao calmly responded. “In other words, I’ve shared half of my apartment with him without charging him a dime.”
Wen Yiran was momentarily taken aback but then continued, “If your so-called ‘benefits’ mean providing food and accommodation, it’s hardly considered good treatment.”
“I took him to Japan just last week, covering everything from plane tickets to accommodations,” Wu Zehao added.
Wen Jiaxuan nodded in agreement as if he were testifying, while Wen Yiran shot a disapproving look at his younger brother.
“Never mind; I don’t have time to argue with you,” Wen Yiran told Wu Zehao and then addressed Wen Jiaxuan, “Go pack your things; you’re coming back with me tomorrow.”
“Why?” Wen Jiaxuan, who thought the conversation was progressing positively, was surprised by his brother’s decision. He pleaded, “Brother, I’m really doing well here.”
“What’s so good about sleeping on the sofa?” Wen Yiran said sternly. He grabbed Wen Jiaxuan’s arm and stood up, while Wu Zehao simultaneously held his forearm.
“He says he doesn’t want to go back,” Wu Zehao furrowed his brow, addressing Wen Yiran.
“It’s not your place to decide,” Wen Yiran replied without hesitation, meeting Wu Zehao’s gaze.
“Brother, I really don’t want to go back. What am I going to do there?” Wen Jiaxuan felt aggrieved. “I have an easy job here and plenty of time to study. Please let me stay.”
“Studying, studying, what’s the use of more studying?” Wen Yiran was getting frustrated, speaking in a harsh tone. “No matter how much you study, you won’t pass!”
“Why do you have the right to say I won’t pass?” Wen Jiaxuan pulled away from Wen Yiran’s grip. “Do you know why I don’t want to go back? It’s because you and Mom always say I won’t pass!”
“Wen Jiaxuan!” Wen Yiran scolded him, using his eyes to warn him not to discuss family matters in front of outsiders.
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.
Wen Jiaxuan’s face turned bright red, and his chest heaved heavily. Wu Zehao put his hand on his shoulder and said softly, “Go to the balcony on the second floor to calm down.”
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Wen Yiran was thoroughly exasperated. He took a step forward and shouted at Wen Jiaxuan’s back, “Wen Jiaxuan, who is your real brother here?”
Wu Zehao held onto Wen Yiran’s arm, preventing him from moving forward. “Talk to me.”
Soon after, the sound of the balcony sliding door opening and closing echoed from upstairs. After waiting for a while without any further sounds from above, Wu Zehao spoke, “He won’t go back now; you don’t need to force him.”
“What right do you have to meddle in our affairs as an outsider?” Wen Yiran instinctively retorted but immediately realized that his outburst was undignified. So, feeling both irritated and resigned, he let out a sigh and sat back down on the sofa.
“I’m just stating facts; he clearly won’t go back tonight,” Wu Zehao also sat down. “You may think we’re being unreasonable, but the fact remains.”
“Then tell me, how did he manage to pass the interview?” Wen Yiran adopted a matter-of-fact tone. “I, as his brother, am well aware of his abilities. Apart from his language skills, he doesn’t have any remarkable qualities. As for his temperament, our family has indulged him since childhood, and even at this age, he acts like a child. He’s unreliable. What’s the point of keeping him?”
Wu Zehao smiled at an inappropriate moment and said, “Actually, I didn’t plan to keep him initially.”
“And then?” Wen Yiran couldn’t help but be curious. “How did you change your mind later?”
“I work for a travel magazine, and my employees need to be sensitive to international affairs,” Wu Zehao explained. “While he may not have outstanding abilities, he excels in this aspect.”
Wen Yiran opened his mouth as if to respond but ultimately remained silent. He knew that Wen Jiaxuan had a keen interest in international news and kept himself updated on global affairs.
“As for his reliability in work… it’s true that he’s not very dependable, but he’s dedicated, and he’s improving. You can take a look at the articles he’s written recently.”
Wen Yiran furrowed his brow slightly, and he suddenly understood why Wen Jiaxuan was so insistent on staying here.
A work environment where one can harness their strengths and improve their abilities was indeed a dream come true for many.
“If you say he’s been pampered, I actually think it’s not that bad. If he really couldn’t handle hardship, he wouldn’t endure sleeping on the sofa,” Wu Zehao continued.
Wu Zehao referred to sleeping on the sofa as enduring hardship, which gave Wen Yiran a new perspective because Wen Jiaxuan did lack some resilience.
Wen Yiran fell into a prolonged silence. After a while, he sighed and said, “That’s true, but you won’t be able to keep him for long. He’ll still return to P City in early October.”
“Yeah, I know,” Wu Zehao replied.
“If he still doesn’t pass the exam this time, our family won’t compromise anymore. Neither I nor his father will agree to consider a job that involves sleeping on the sofa as a permanent position.”
“I understand.”
“Let’s leave it at that,” Wen Yiran sighed again. “This is the last time I’ll let him have his way. Take care of him for me.”
Wen Yiran stood up after speaking and called out upstairs, “Wen Jiaxuan, come down!”
There was no response from upstairs.
Wu Zehao followed with another call, “Jiajia, come down. Your brother is leaving.”
With a swish, the sliding glass door on the balcony opened.
Wen Yiran stumbled in frustration. “What kind of spell did you put on him?”
Wu Zehao didn’t answer; he just shrugged.
Wen Jiaxuan escorted Wen Yiran to the entrance of the residential complex. Although Wen Yiran had agreed to let him stay, he still felt a bit down.
“If you don’t pass the exam again, just obediently go work at Dad’s publishing company, understood?” Wen Yiran gave his final instructions before getting into the taxi.
“How many times do you need to tell me that I won’t pass?” Wen Jiaxuan grumbled discontentedly.
“If you don’t agree, we can go back home right now,” Wen Yiran insisted.
“…I got it.”
Wen Jiaxuan returned to the house, wearing a displeased expression on his face because he suddenly realized that whether he passed the exam or not, he would be far from Wu Zehao.
Previously, he had simply thought that if he didn’t get into the Foreign Ministry, he could continue working alongside Wu Zehao. However, Wen Yiran had reminded him that he couldn’t indefinitely remain in his current half-hearted job.
Wu Zehao sat down next to Wen Jiaxuan and said, “What’s on your mind, little brat?”
Wen Jiaxuan shook his head and didn’t say anything. He didn’t even know what was going through his mind. All he knew was that his thoughts were a mess.
He wanted to pass the Foreign Ministry exam and continue staying with Wu Zehao, but in the end, he couldn’t decide between the two, leaving him in a state of confusion.
“Do you want to go for a ride?” Wu Zehao asked.
“A ride?” Wen Jiaxuan lifted his head.
“I’ll take you out to relax.”
Wu Zehao usually rode his motorcycle very steadily, never speeding. However, tonight, as he rode the beast into the mountain road, the motorcycle roared like a wild beast finally breaking free from its constraints, speeding rapidly along the mountain path.
After taking a sharp bend at an almost ground-level angle, Wen Jiaxuan couldn’t help but shout, “Boss, slow down, ahhhh!”
But once he started shouting, he couldn’t stop. Wen Jiaxuan shouted all the way to the mountaintop, and by the time Wu Zehao brought the motorcycle to a stop, he had let out all of his frustration through his screams.
“Feel better now?” Wu Zehao asked, turning around.
“Yeah,” Wen Jiaxuan replied, lying on Wu Zehao’s back. He didn’t want to move at all.
Wu Zehao parked the motorcycle and brought Wen Jiaxuan to the railing at the mountaintop. He pointed down below and said, “This is the night view of H City.”
“It’s so beautiful…” Wen Jiaxuan placed both hands on the railing and squinted his eyes, feeling the gentle breeze of the night.
In a big city like H City, it was difficult to see stars, but the dazzling city lights at the foot of the mountain created a more beautiful scene than the starry sky.
Wu Zehao lit a cigarette, and Wen Jiaxuan blinked, then turned to him and said, “Boss, teach me how to smoke.”
Wu Zehao pushed Wen Jiaxuan’s head away. “What’s a little brat like you want to learn smoking for?”
Wen Jiaxuan complained, “I’m already 22 years old, I’m a mature man.”
Wu Zehao chuckled. “You haven’t even grown facial hair, and you call yourself mature.”
Wen Jiaxuan had light body hair, especially in certain areas, where the hair was soft and light in color. Only those who had seen that area knew about it.
In the days since returning from Japan, the two of them had avoided discussing what had happened that night at the hot springs. Now, when Wu Zehao brought it up casually, it seemed like an unintentional mention.
Wen Jiaxuan fell silent, his face flushing as he didn’t know how to respond. Wu Zehao quickly changed the topic, asking, “Do you really want to learn? Didn’t you hate the smell of cigarettes?”
“Fine,” Wu Zehao sighed in resignation and handed the cigarette to Wen Jiaxuan. “Hold it, and inhale.”
Wu Zehao had touched the cigarette’s filter, and if Wen Jiaxuan touched it now, it would be like indirect kissing.
Wen Jiaxuan’s mind was filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts, but Wu Zehao didn’t seem to mind.
Wen Jiaxuan carefully placed the cigarette in his mouth, took a puff, and then exhaled.
“It doesn’t feel like much,” he said, except for the fact that the cigarette tasted a bit foul.
“You didn’t inhale it properly; when it reaches your lungs, you’ll feel it,” Wu Zehao said, looking amused.
This time, Wen Jiaxuan took another puff of the cigarette in his mouth and then inhaled deeply. He immediately started coughing and tears welled up in his eyes.
“Cough, cough, why does it feel spicy?”
“I told you not to learn,” Wu Zehao took the cigarette back from Wen Jiaxuan and continued to smoke.
“Is this cigarette poisonous or something?” Wen Jiaxuan said dizzily. “I’m starting to feel a bit lightheaded.”
“It’s not poisonous,” Wu Zehao chuckled. “It’s your first time smoking, and nicotine can make you feel a bit light-headed due to oxygen deprivation.”
“I feel so dizzy…”
Wu Zehao went to a nearby trash can to extinguish the cigarette, then returned to the railing. He wrapped his arm around Wen Jiaxuan’s shoulder and rested his head on his own shoulder. “Lean on me for a while.”
Wen Jiaxuan felt even dizzier, and his cheeks were getting warm.
“Boss…” Wen Jiaxuan called out softly.
“Yeah?” Wu Zehao responded softly.
“If I don’t pass the exam, can I still come back to you?”
Wu Zehao remained silent, making Wen Jiaxuan nervous. His heart was beating faster.
“Do you actually want to fail?” Wu Zehao asked.
“Of course not,” Wen Jiaxuan replied, lifting his head to look at Wu Zehao. However, due to the backlighting, he couldn’t see Wu Zehao’s expression clearly.
“If you don’t want that, then give it your all.”
“But…”
“There are no ‘buts,'” Wu Zehao interrupted Wen Jiaxuan. “Don’t leave yourself an escape route. It’s only when you have no way out that you’ll realize your full potential.”
“Is that so…”
“Have you forgotten how you managed to stay?” Wu Zehao suddenly said.
“What do you mean?” Wen Jiaxuan didn’t understand.
“Back then, didn’t you also have no way out, so you did everything to stick with me?” Wu Zehao smiled. “And you succeeded.”
Wen Jiaxuan pursed his lips but didn’t feel like laughing at all.
“By the way, why do you want to become a diplomat?” Wu Zehao asked.
Because—
Wen Jiaxuan recounted his experiences in Japan, and incidentally, he also explained why he didn’t want to work at his dad’s company.
“…In the past, my dad was very family-oriented, and whenever he had free time, he would often take our family out to take pictures… But as he climbed the ranks in his career, he got busier and busier. My mom felt it was too difficult to take care of the family alone, and she couldn’t adapt to the Japanese environment, so eventually, she left us… That’s why I really don’t like his job.”
Wu Zehao had been quietly listening, and after Wen Jiaxuan finished, he slowly said, “Everyone has something they want to persevere in, and perseverance often comes with sacrifices.”
“But how can he sacrifice his family?” Wen Jiaxuan didn’t quite accept this idea.
“Jiajia, I’m not just talking about your dad,” Wu Zehao said, “I’m talking about you too.”
Wen Jiaxuan was suddenly stunned. So, Wu Zehao meant that if he chose to pursue his dream, there would definitely be sacrifices?
He seemed to have a sudden realization, but at the same time, he appeared to be plunged into even deeper confusion.
Is such a choice really worth it?
“Having a dream is a good thing,” Wu Zehao ruffled Wen Jiaxuan’s hair. “Keep pursuing it and don’t leave yourself an escape route.”
Wen Jiaxuan stiffly nodded.
“Let’s go, kid, it’s time to head back.” Wu Zehao turned and walked in the direction of the motorcycle.
After this outing, his frustration had been vented, but his mood had inexplicably become heavy.
Wen Jiaxuan still didn’t want to go back just yet. He hurriedly caught up with Wu Zehao and asked, “Boss, can we stroll a bit more before going back?”
Wu Zehao tossed the helmet into Wen Jiaxuan’s lap and said, “Where else do you want to go?”
Wen Jiaxuan wasn’t familiar with H City either, and after thinking for a while, he couldn’t come up with a place he wanted to visit. So, he said, “Heartbeat Bar?”
Wu Zehao raised an eyebrow. “You’ve learned to drink after smoking last time?”
“It’s not…,” Wen Jiaxuan said embarrassedly, “I heard someone singing there last time, and it sounded really good.”
“There are a lot of unruly people inside. Get in the car.”
“Oh…”
Wen Jiaxuan guessed that Wu Zehao probably wouldn’t let him go. However, at this moment, he heard Wu Zehao saying, “You can go, but there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“After you go in, if someone tries to strike up a conversation with you, say you have a boyfriend.”
“But I don’t actually have a boyfriend,” Wen Jiaxuan instinctively didn’t want to tell this lie. “What if I get caught?”
“You won’t get caught,” Wu Zehao said casually. “Isn’t there me?”
I love them so much 😭🩷💖🩷
You can definitely stay with boss even if you pass the exams if you two evolve yout relationship status ☺