PTBC chapter 58

Zong Yi stared at Xia Yan, his mind echoing with one thought—Oh my god, is the CP I ship actually real?

Thank you, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Jade Emperor, Mazu, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary!

I need to set off firecrackers right now!

For a brief moment, he even failed to control his facial expressions, his lips curling into a bright smile of anticipation.

But Xia Yan quickly noticed and shot him a death glare so cold it could kill.

Zong Yi’s smile instantly vanished.

“Ahem.”

He coughed a few times in a poor attempt to play it cool.

But he still couldn’t help himself. Sneakily, he asked, “Can I ask… what do you mean by that? Does your team have someone as bold as Zhao Ye? Who is it? Xu Cong?”

His question was dripping with feigned innocence, but his face screamed pure eagerness—he was one step away from outright begging for official confirmation.

Xia Yan had a strong urge to punch him.

But instead, he took a deep sip of his iced cola before finally, helplessly, admitting, “Who else but that little bastard?”

Thinking about it, Xia Yan let out a heavy sigh from his chest.

Fate was truly playing a cruel joke on him.

This whole thing felt like his personal Waterloo—worse than even discovering his secondary gender differentiation to Omega.

Zong Yi swallowed hard, looking like he might faint.

But under Xia Yan’s oppressive gaze, he could only hold back his overwhelming emotions and gaze at him with teary-eyed enthusiasm, filled with joy, relief, and heartfelt blessings.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll gouge your eyes out,” Xia Yan said coldly. “I’m here to discuss solutions, not to hand you shipping material.”

Zong Yi sighed dramatically. “But I really can’t help it.”

Still, their long-standing friendship—plus their mutual suffering as captains constantly tormented by their members—ultimately overpowered his CP-fan instincts.

He asked seriously, “Okay, fine. I won’t talk about how much I’m enjoying this. But you haven’t actually told me what’s going on. Did Xu Cong really confess? Or are you just suspecting it?”

Xia Yan went silent.

He downed his iced cola.

God, this was humiliating. Just exposing his personal mess like this made him feel like all his dignity was crumbling away.

But if he didn’t talk, he’d explode from holding it in.

“It’s not suspicion. It’s a fact. Xu Cong confessed to me,” Xia Yan said in a deadpan voice. “It happened at the wrap party. He was in heat, and while he was at it, he decided to confess.”

Zong Yi sucked in a sharp breath.

That was the first time he’d ever heard of such a casual approach to confessing.

“And then?”

He leaned in eagerly.

Xia Yan wanted to slap him.

But without someone to vent to, he was going to go insane.

“And then what? It’s just like you and Zhao Ye,” Xia Yan snapped, his eyes burning with frustration. “That bastard took things further. He took advantage of the fact that I wouldn’t be too cruel to him, and then he—he…”

Xia Yan’s words stuck in his throat. He furiously chugged another sip of ice water before spitting out, “He started acting out. He threatened me, you know? Even when I was in the hospital, injured, he told me he’d quit the team. He said he’d go abroad for a break because he didn’t want to see me. And if I wanted him to stay, I had to put up with his harassment. He’s completely lost his mind!”

The more Xia Yan spoke, the angrier he got. His bottled-up frustration was finally overflowing.

Did he have it easy? No!

When had he ever been in such a powerless position before? He couldn’t fight back, he couldn’t scold Xu Cong into stopping, and he couldn’t even escape—because if he tried, he’d just get kissed!

Even at night, he had to be on edge, afraid Xu Cong would sneak into his room again.

If he had alcohol right now, he’d chug the whole bottle just to drown his sorrows.

“I’m telling you, he’s been kissing me whenever he gets the chance. You think I have it any better than you? The other night, he sneaked into my room, too. I was this close to jumping out the window. You have no idea how much I wanted to throw him out instead!”

Zong Yi was almost delirious from shipping fever. Holy shit. This level of detail—please, tell me more! How exactly is he harassing you?

Xu Cong, you legend. I always knew you were the top-tier seme material in D.A.

But when he saw Xia Yan looking completely broken, he reluctantly put the brakes on his CP fantasies and turned his attention to the psychological well-being of his friend.

“But did you really just give in because of his threats?” Zong Yi asked, incredulous. “Xia Yan, that’s not like you. You’re supposed to fight him to the bitter end! Sure, I caved to Zhao Ye, but you’re the one who told me—his confession is his business. Even if he’s emotionally fragile, that’s his own problem. We’re supposed to stand firm! I mean, yeah, quitting the group is serious, but you can’t just surrender your personal boundaries over it, right?”

“Then what else can I do?” Xia Yan said wearily. “If he leaves the group, D.A will basically be falling apart. Besides, I’ve been with him since our trainee days. Why should he be able to just leave me behind? And why should I have to lose sleep over this? I’m doing this for the sake of our group’s future—there’s no choice but to sacrifice myself.”

As he spoke, he finished his iced cola, shook the leftover ice cubes in the glass, and slowly reached for another one.

But when he turned back, he saw Zong Yi looking at him with an odd expression and asking, “You’d really go this far for your career?”

If he remembered correctly—

Sure, D.A was thriving right now, releasing new albums and carrying out group activities.

But each member also had a successful solo career, each with a distinct path, clearly mapped out by their agency. Even if one person did leave, it would shake things up a bit, but it definitely wouldn’t ruin anyone’s career.

“Of course!” Xia Yan declared shamelessly. “I’m the Captain of D.A. I have to take this group to the top of the industry. There’s no way I’m letting that dream fall apart because of Xu Cong!”

“Tsk.”

As the eternal second place, Captain Zong was a little annoyed.

Last year, they lost the Star Sword Award to D.A by just a few votes.

But fine.

For the sake of his CP, he was willing to put aside his competitive spirit for now.

He asked Xia Yan, “…If you’re so willing to sacrifice yourself, then back when that rich second-gen took a fancy to you and offered to invest in your career—said they’d make you a movie lead and even produce a solo album just for you—why didn’t you accept?”

Zong Yi continued coldly, “I remember that Omega was gorgeous, from an insanely wealthy family, and rarely showed interest in anyone. Yet you rejected them outright. And she was exactly your type—tall and elegant.”

Xia Yan frowned. “That was different, okay? If I were to pick a rich second-gen, why wouldn’t I just choose Xu Cong instead?”

Good question.

Zong Yi’s gaze filled with pity.

He nodded slowly and asked, “Yeah, exactly—why did you choose Xu Cong?”

He continued, “Back then, you had top-tier resources handed to you on a silver platter, and it was from a gorgeous omega. But you refused, no hesitation. You didn’t want a shortcut, didn’t want to use it for the team’s benefit. But now, just because Xu Cong threatens to take a leave abroad, you immediately cave? Let him kiss you? Let him hug you? If your standards were always this flexible, you should’ve been taken advantage of eighty times over by now.”

“What the hell do you mean…” Xia Yan looked pissed. “What do you mean, taken advantage of eighty times? Do I seem like that kind of person?”

Completely missing the point.

Zong Yi sighed, already starting to feel sorry for Xu Cong. He patiently guided Xia Yan, “Tell me first—when Xu Cong kisses you, hugs you, do you feel disgusted? Do you feel sick to your stomach?”

Xia Yan hesitated for a moment before answering honestly, “No.”

“When you smell his pheromones, does it make you uncomfortable?”

“…No.”

“If Xu Cong really insists on leaving, will you feel especially sad, lost, and want to stop him?”

“Obviously.”

“If he keeps forcing you into things, will you let him?”

“…”

Xia Yan was silent for three full seconds before squeezing out a reluctant, “Probably.”

Zong Yi took a deep breath.

There was nothing more to say!

If Xia Yan didn’t have feelings for Xu Cong, he’d write his name backward!

He pressed a hand to his chest.

Thank the heavens—not only did he get to ship such a perfect CP, but he also got to personally witness their biggest relationship milestones.

That was probably the result of ten lifetimes of good karma.

He asked Xia Yan, “You’re letting Xu Cong kiss you, hug you, and mess with you however he wants. Even after all this, you still can’t let go of him. You’re willing to sacrifice your body just to stay with him. Isn’t there a possibility…”

Zong Yi deliberately paused before delivering the critical blow.

“That you like him.”

“Impossible!”

Xia Yan rejected it instantly. “What kind of nonsense—I’ve told you, this is just because of our years of friendship—”

Before he could finish, Zong Yi clapped a hand over his mouth. For the first time in his life, the ever-gentle, ever-patient “team mom” moved with uncharacteristic decisiveness.

“Stop bullshitting,” Zong Yi said. “Even if you refuse to admit it, you two are practically a couple already. And quit lying to yourself—this was exactly how it started with me and Zhao Ye. He kept saying he was miserable, that his heart hurt, that he was suffering. I had no choice but to let him kiss me, let him hug me. And in the end, we ended up in bed together. I’m telling you—this is your future!”

That last sentence practically echoed in the room.

For a full minute, the private room was silent.

Xia Yan processed the sheer amount of information in that statement, pupils dilating in disbelief as he stared at Zong Yi.

Zong Yi slowly let go of his hand on his mouth.

Looked at the ceiling. Looked at the floor.

An awkward silence filled the air.

After a while, Zong Yi weakly asked, “Can you pretend you didn’t hear that?”

“That’s gonna be tough,” Xia Yan admitted honestly.

Zong Yi could only take a sip of his soda, trying to brush past the moment. “Anyway, that’s the situation. I’ve said all I needed to say. If you still want to deny it, that’s your problem. But think about it—why is Xu Cong the only one who’s ever been this special to you?”

He looked at Xia Yan, and, fueled by his own humiliation, decided to drag him down too. He went straight for the kill.

“I’m telling you, don’t try to run from this. Figure it out sooner rather than later. Do you really think a young, dominant alpha like Xu Cong will be satisfied with just kissing and hugging? What if he insists on going further? Are you just going to let him?”

That sentence hit Xia Yan like a bolt of lightning.

He looked completely dazed.

For the rest of the afternoon, both Xia Yan and Zong Yi fell into an unusual silence.

For some reason, they both felt… kind of exhausted.

Zong Yi was originally feeling proud and confident, but now he seemed deflated as well.

However, before they parted ways, he still stubbornly handed Xia Yan a bunch of new links. “Check this out, our new CP fanbase for ‘CongYan’—good stuff, go study it well.”

Xia Yan sneered. “I’ve seen all that editing. I don’t need you to analyze how much Xu Cong loves me…”

“Nonono,” Zong Yi waved his hand dismissively at Xia Yan with a loving smile and a mysterious grin. “Just shipping one-sided love isn’t what CP is about. This time’s different. What I sent you is not like the last time. Watch it carefully.”