PTS Chapter 3

TL: Hua

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Chapter 3

In the end, the two of them signed their names on the designated Party A and Party B lines. The agreement would officially take effect the next day, Tuesday.

Qin Guanyu watched as Shen Qianci took his fountain pen and, with a few swift strokes, hooked out a gorgeous calligraphic flourish. Finally, the fact that this “substitute” was actually a teacher felt real to him.

After all, back when he was a kid, he always assumed that once he grew up, his handwriting would automatically become this beautiful. Now, this dream has finally been fulfilled for him, but by someone else…

Qin Guanyu had originally wanted to take Shen Qianci out for hot pot, but who knew Teacher Shen would say that because it was raining, his lumbar spine was acting up, and he wanted to go home and rest.

Qin Guanyu glanced at the other man’s lean, trim waist, and his Adam’s apple started working overtime again…

“I’ll drive you,” Qin Guanyu said, his throat tightening.

Shen Qianci still refused. “My faculty apartment is right nearby. Just lend me an umbrella, and I’ll return it tomorrow.”

Since it had been put that way, Qin Guanyu had no excuse to push it further. Besides, the agreement didn’t take effect until tomorrow; if he forced him to stay today, he wasn’t sure if it would count as overtime.

He had no choice but to lend the umbrella to Shen Qianci. Sitting in his car, he watched the lean silhouette walk into the residential compound not far away.

Just as Qin Guanyu was about to start the engine, his WeChat suddenly buzzed with two messages:

[sqc: President Qin, I suggest you find a few web novels or short dramas about the ‘substitute lover’ trope and give them a read. I hope that when I see you tomorrow, you will already be a qualified substitute-trope overbearing CEO.]

[sqc: Right now, I keep getting the feeling that you’re a student in my class who forgot to write the reading notes I assigned, blinking your innocent eyes to beg me not to dock your participation points…]

Qin Guanyu: “…”

Wait a minute… This vibe was way too intense. Wasn’t he supposed to be the sugar daddy here? Why did he have to do extracurricular reading???

Don’t tell him Shen Qianci was going to hit him with a pop quiz and ask for a book report???

Qin Guanyu flared up in annoyance. He absolutely had to make Shen Qianci properly evaluate his position as a “substitute” and stop bossing his benefactor around!

And yet, his fingers were faster than his brain. By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already replied to Shen Qianci:

[Fish: 1]

—

That evening, Shen Qianci was feeding his little white cat a treat puree while thinking about the substitute agreement.

This sort of thing was way too melodramatic, but after weighing it over and over, he decided to tell his best friend about it.

He pulled up Li Dapeng’s WeChat:

[sqc: I resigned with the store manager. I’m not going to shake milk tea anymore.]

Li Dapeng replied with an OK:

[Big Bird[1]: I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Lucheng and Hengcheng are close, sure, but you specifically traveled all the way over here every single week just to shake milk tea… You don’t fucking have a secret crush on me, do you? [Tom holding his chest in shock.jpg]]

Shen Qianci almost rolled his eyes. He had originally been hesitating over whether to mention the substitute thing, but now he truly had no reservations.

[sqc: I need to tell you something huge.]

[Big Bird: Did you win the lottery and achieve financial freedom?]

[sqc: …No.]

[Big Bird: [Sighs with relief.jpg] Bro, you know that even if you really won, your buddy here would still be happy for you.]

[sqc: I landed a sugar daddy.]

The chat box suddenly went dead. There was no reply from Li Dapeng for a long time.

Five minutes later, a video call popped up from the other side.

The moment Shen Qianci picked up, Li Dapeng’s booming voice made his entire head ring.

“Shen Qianci, have you fucking lost your mind?!”

“Which bastard is making a move on you? I’m going to fucking murder him!!”

Seeing Li Dapeng so worked up that spit was practically flying out of the screen, Shen Qianci said calmly, “It’s Qin Guanyu.”

Li Dapeng froze instantly. Within 30 seconds, his face vividly illustrated the entire spectrum of human emotion: confusion, shock, incomprehension, and realization…

Shen Qianci knew the reason behind his sudden calm.

This world is just that cruel; a person’s face can determine everyone’s attitude.

“If it’s him, at least you won’t be getting the short end of the stick,” Li Dapeng said thoughtfully. “He approached you first?”

Shen Qianci nodded.

“How come I remember him always going to see Shu Yi before? I thought he wanted to get into Shu Yi’s pants.”

Shen Qianci: “How many tenths of a resemblance do you think Shu Yi bears to me?”

Li Dapeng was stunned. The two of them stared at each other through their phones across different cities for a long while before Li Dapeng had an epiphany:

“He approached you to be a substitute???”

Shen Qianci felt deeply gratified. People in their line of work sure caught on fast.

“I provide him with an emotional experience, and he pays me a handsome sum. It’s a win-win situation for both of us.”

“Wait a second!” Li Dapeng suddenly narrowed his eyes to scrutinize him. “Your sudden abnormal behavior lately, coming all the way out here to shake milk tea… it wouldn’t happen to be for Qin Guanyu, would it?”

Shen Qianci raised an eyebrow, not denying it.

“Wow, how tragic. It’s really got that substitute angst flavor,” Li Dapeng said. “But what if the contract expires and he hasn’t fallen in love with you?”

“We’re adults. If there’s no love, there’s no love,” Shen Qianci said earnestly. “When the time comes, I can use this money to resurrect that mystery thriller script of Lin Cen’s that got axed. You can be the director, and I’ll be the lead actor.”

Li Dapeng took a deep breath, his eyes lighting up. Trembling, he gave a thumbs-up. “Now that is what you call sacrificing yourself for art. How can someone be as in love with working as you are? Becoming a sugar baby just so you can have a better job at the office.”

As he spoke, he even hummed a background track: We are all living with everything we’ve got~

“But what exactly did Qin Guanyu see in Shu Yi anyway? People say he looks like you, but he’s not even as good-looking as you.” Li Dapeng scratched his cheek. “And I don’t know if it’s just psychological, but every time I look at that Shu Yi, I always feel like something is weird about him.”

“Studying the sugar daddy’s white moonlight is my research project. You should first focus on studying which milk-tea-shaking posture looks the most seductive.” Shen Qianci adopted a profound expression. “Once this venture succeeds, I’ll carry you to the top.”

Li Dapeng thumped his chest, nodding in gratitude.

Just as Shen Qianci hung up the call, Qin Guanyu’s messages hopped onto his screen.

—

Qin Guanyu had spent the whole evening reading melodramatic substitute web novels and had even asked Sun Guanqing for a few short dramas on the subject, intending to seriously study the overbearing CEO demeanor in the realm of “substitute literature.”

And then, he couldn’t bring himself to study it anymore.

They say every trade has its masters, but the “masters” of this trade were way too outrageous, weren’t they?

It’s written as “substitute literature,” but it reads like “anti-organized crime educational materials.” His hand was literally shaking as he took notes.

If this were organized into exam topics, the overbearing CEOs of substitute literature could carry an entire market of educational supplementary materials. The classic textbooks would be titled the following:

“Five Years of Benefactors, Three Years of Substitutes,” “Eighteen Lectures on Being a Sugar Daddy,” “Core Scumbag Cases,” “Scumbag Ex-Boyfriend Recitation Manual,” “Scumbag 8,” and “Scumbag 4.”

From entry-level to imprisonment, everything is included.

Unable to take it any longer, he sent a WeChat message to Shen Qianci.

[Fish: Teacher Shen, isn’t this way too melodramatic? You’re a teacher; can you really stomach this?]

Shen Qianci replied instantly.

[sqc: Once you become a substitute, you can’t hold prejudices against the melodramatic mass market. As humans, we must be resilient. My college roommate was already prepared to go down to the coast and become a male escort if he couldn’t cut it in the real world.]

[Fish: How tragic. Rest assured, Teacher Shen, if I ever get my hands on a time machine, I will definitely suggest that your past selves study postpartum care for breeding sows instead. That way, with today’s soaring pork prices, you could all enjoy glory and wealth.]

[sqc: I’ve graciously received your malice.]

—

The next day, Shen Qianci woke up at 6:00 AM. He had a long-standing habit of starting his morning reading at 7:00 AM sharp without fail.

After washing up, he made his first move as a professional substitute, sending Qin Guanyu a morning greeting.

Qin Guanyu took quite a while to reply, drowsiness bleeding through every character.

[Fish: ???]

[Fish: You don’t have class today, right? Why are you up so early? To feed chickens?]

Shen Qianci held down the voice message button: “I watched an interview with your white moonlight. He said he starts reading scripts every morning at 6:30 AM. Since he does that, I, as the substitute, naturally have to conscientiously copy him.”

Actually, Shen Qianci had been quite shocked when he saw that interview. Not only did Shu Yi’s eyes and brows closely resemble his, but even some of his micro-expressions were very similar. However, he hadn’t expected the guy to have a reading habit so identical to his own.

It was… pretty coincidental.

Since that was the case, Shen Qianci didn’t mind starting his reading half an hour early.

Being a substitute was as simple as breathing.

[Fish: [Validation from the Sugar Daddy.jpg]]

Shen Qianci waited quietly for a bit. Nothing else came from the other side; the man had probably fallen back asleep.

Being highly sensible, he let his benefactor keep sleeping while he spent his wonderful morning in solitude.

Thinking about how incredibly considerate he was, he felt that Qin Guanyu’s 2 million a month was worth every penny.

—

Qin Guanyu got up at 7:00 AM. After working out, showering, and eating breakfast, he arrived at the company right at 9:00 AM.

Having wrapped up his morning tasks, he couldn’t wait to hit up Shen Qianci.

[Fish: Today is Day 1. What are we supposed to do?]

[sqc: We can draw reference from the ‘textbooks’ you read yesterday.]

Qin Guanyu recalled those melodramatic novels and short dramas. Harvesting kidneys, blood transfusions, donating corneas, declaring bankruptcy on rivals because the weather got cold, running away while pregnant…

[Fish: Can you get pregnant?]

[sqc: Can you harvest a kidney?]

“…” Qin Guanyu suddenly felt that going to work was actually quite entertaining.

Speaking of work, Qin Guanyu suddenly had a jolt of awareness.

Something was wrong. Nine out of ten parts were wrong, no, everything was completely wrong.

[Fish: I’m at work. How are you supposed to act as my substitute?]

[sqc: Do you want me to come to the Qing Nong headquarters to accompany you? Should your assistant come down to pick me up? Or will you directly grant me access permissions to the CEO’s office?]

Qin Guanyu narrowed his eyes. He had scrolled past this exact knowledge point last night.

He flipped through his compiled “Eighteen Lectures on Being a Sugar Daddy” and coldly sent Shen Qianci the textbook standard answer.

[Fish: No. You must remember that you are merely a substitute. Do not delude yourself into wishing for a status you do not deserve.]

Shen Qianci suddenly popped up with a video call. For some reason, Qin Guanyu felt a little nervous.

It was the exact kind of nervousness you feel when you get caught by the teacher reading a novel in class…

He picked up the video. The first thing that came into view was Shen Qianci wearing dark green silk pajamas, cradling a white British Shorthair cat in his arms.

Shen Qianci had a face that perfectly matched what people envisioned as a modest, refined gentleman from ancient times, handsome, scholarly, and elegant. The moment the video connected, Qin Guanyu felt like the camera resolution itself had suddenly become high-definition.

“Then, after you get off work, how about I go over to your place to hang out?”

Qin Guanyu snapped out of it, peeling his gaze away from Shen Qianci’s face with great difficulty, only to have it glue itself right back after less than two seconds.

“Is that your cat? What’s its name?”

“Steam Bun,” Shen Qianci lifted the cat to let him see it more clearly. “Should I bring him along over there?”

Qin Guanyu nodded. “I’ll pick you guys up.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized, “So you inexplicably got a half-day off? I’m actually a bit jealous of you…”

Maybe he should just be the substitute himself.

In the video, Steam Bun suddenly climbed onto Shen Qianci’s shoulder and then leaped out of the frame.

Shen Qianci’s dark green pajamas were nudged slightly askew by the cat, sliding down to fully expose his pale neck and a faint glimpse of his collarbone.

Qin Guanyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. It took every ounce of willpower he had accumulated over eight lifetimes to restrain himself from staring at the man’s collarbone.

“Then you shouldn’t go either. What kind of job requires the CEO himself to show up at the office anyway?” Shen Qianci joked. “It doesn’t fit my stereotype of an overbearing CEO.”

Qin Guanyu watched as he unhurriedly adjusted his collar, hiding that patch of collarbone from the light of day once more. President Qin felt a bit disappointed but also quietly let out a breath of relief.

Who would have thought that in the next second, Shen Qianci’s slender fingers would start rolling up his sleeves.

Qin Guanyu didn’t know what kind of spell had been cast on this video call, but his eyes were about to go glazed.

“Then what should an overbearing CEO be doing?” Little President Qin asked stiffly.

To keep himself from looking around randomly and seeming like a total creep, he forced his eyes to lock dead onto a single point—Shen Qianci’s lips.

Who knew Shen Qianci’s lips would suddenly curl into a smirk.

“…” Qin Guanyu’s heart instantly skipped a beat.

“Eyes flashing red, demanding life, grabbing people by the throat, and ordering the airplane to turn around.”

Maybe it was an illusion, or maybe his eyes were just dry, but looking at his own reflection in the corner of the video call, Qin Guanyu actually felt like his eyes were turning red…

—

Qin Guanyu didn’t even know how he ended up hanging up the phone. It wasn’t until lunch break that he pulled up his group chat with his close friends.

There were three people in the group, including himself. The other two bros were Sun Guanqing and the creative director, Lu Tiangong.

The group name was incredibly tacky: [Is Xiao Qin’s Chastity Mark Still There Today?].

He asked a sincere question in the group:

[The Fish Famous Throughout the Ocean Floor 187: What do you guys usually do on the first day after you start dating someone?]

No response.

15 minutes later, the heartbroken Young President Qin messaged again:

[The Fish Famous Throughout the Ocean Floor 187: So quiet. I thought we would always have things to say to each other.]

At this point, the other two finally popped up.

[Sun Guanqing: What’s up? Did you dream that you and Shu Yi got together?]

[Sun Guanqing: Even though you, an overbearing CEO, have been a fan for three years and he doesn’t even know you exist, a dream is a dream. You can dream as wildly as you want.]

[Lu Tiangong: I had sex on the first day after I confirmed my relationship with my first boyfriend.]

[Sun Guanqing: Did you hear that? Do it!]

[Lu Tiangong: Don’t listen to him! Old Qin, I suggest you don’t fall too deep. After all, there isn’t even a place for you in his fanfiction.]

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[1] TL note: 大鹏 [dà péng] from LDP name is the largest bird in Chinese mythology and one of the most colossal divine birds in many world legends. That’s why SQC gave him the nickname Big Bird.

 

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