3 more chapters are coming up everyone!
Chapter 13 Even more tactless than Dr. Ji
[Secretary Sun: Assistant Chi, you’re famous.]
[Secretary Sun: Amazing! You just outshined the most handsome campus heartthrob in the university’s history!]
Chi Ke was drowsily watching the rehearsal when he caught a glimpse of the message. Instantly, he was wide awake.
[K: What’s going on?]
[Secretary Sun: /Link: Forum’s hottest trending post – “Three minutes! I need to know everything about this man!”/]
[Secretary Sun: Over 500 comments. The forum is all about you now!]
Chi Ke: “?”
What year is it? Universities still have forums? And people actually care? Is this world really that desperate to justify all the drama?
He didn’t even have the courage to click on it.
But Secretary Sun wasn’t done. He sent another link.
[Secretary Sun: /Link: Forum’s hottest trending post – “Mysterious Man VS The Most Handsome Campus Heartthrob – Who’s Your Pick?”/]
Kill me now. His toes curled up in second-hand embarrassment. For the first time, Chi Ke truly understood the meaning of shame.
The forum was already bad enough, but why does this thing called ‘campus heartthrob’ still exists?!
The one chasing was Leng Yunting.
But the one getting humiliated was him.
Chi Ke shot a sharp glare at Sima Yichen, who had said he didn’t want to put the junior in a tough spot but still showed up to watch the rehearsal anyway.
Leng Yunting’s good buddy, Sima Yichen, was the same age as him and a senior in classical dance at Xu Lemian’s school.
When Xu Lemian entered university three years ago, Sima Yichen was in his third year. It was rumored that he fell for Xu Lemian at first sight during the opening ceremony and had been looking out for him ever since.
In the original novel, there were two supporting characters who followed the ‘gentle guardian’ trope.
If Ji Qian was the melancholic little prince with a hint of depression, then Sima Yichen was the noble gentleman with an air of confidence. Both took the passive, protective approach—so naturally, the latecomer Leng Yunting was able to rise above them.
So far, aside from Ji Qian, Sima Yichen deviated the most from his novel counterpart. But Ji Qian’s oddness was one of a kind.
Sima Yichen wasn’t harmlessly gentle, nor was he the type to step aside for others. On the contrary, his hostility towards Leng Yunting was intense.
And that idiot Leng Yunting couldn’t so much as tell that this so-called good buddy of his was a walking example of a ‘Green Tea Bitch’ [mfn]who pretends to be pure, sweet, and innocent on the surface but is actually manipulative, scheming, and calculating underneath.[/mfn]?
Just as he was thinking this, the ‘green tea’ in question sensed the hostility and turned his head towards him with another polite, cultured smile.
Chi Ke: “……”
Even Secretary Sun had seen the forum. There was no way this guy hadn’t.
Yet, despite knowing everything, he was still grinning so smugly. What was he doing… showing off?
Unbelievable.
Was he the only one in this world with a sense of embarrassment?
The rehearsal ended quickly, but Chi Ke had seen none of it.
The moment Xu Lemian stepped off the stage, Chi Ke walked up, cutting ahead of Sima Yichen by a few steps, and shoved a bouquet of roses into his arms.
Xu Lemian took the flowers, but instead of looking happy, he looked incredibly wronged. “Assitant Chi, did I do something wrong?”
Chi Ke wasn’t one to take his anger out on innocent people. He swallowed his irritation and patiently shook his head. “Your performance was great. Why do you ask?”
Xu Lemian hesitated, fidgeting with his fingers. “Why didn’t Brother Ting come?”
“Mr. Leng instructed that if you have any questions, you can message him directly.” Chi Ke kept his tone strictly professional. “He’ll be coming to pick you up for dinner tonight.”
“Oh… I won’t bother him then. We’ll talk later.” Xu Lemian’s pout eased up by 50%, but he still asked, “Was my performance really good? Do you think Mr. Leng will like it?”
Chi Ke was full of praises. “It was very good.”
In reality, the performance had so many people that he couldn’t even spot Xu Lemian.
It wasn’t until the final spinning jump, when Xu Lemian’s necklace slipped out of his collar, that he finally locked onto his target.
Xu Lemian couldn’t tell if he was being sincere. He just let out a relieved sigh. “So, it really was good… You didn’t smile at all just now. You looked so serious, I got nervous and thought…”
The way he said it, it was like he’d been bullied.
If this got back to Leng Yunting’s ears, what kind of mess would it turn into?
Less trouble is always better than more. Thinking till here, Chi Ke forced a half-hearted smile.
Xu Lemian’s eyes widened in surprise and delight. “Assitant Chi! You haven’t smiled in so long!”
Chi Ke: “?”
What kind of line was this?
Why was he stealing the butler’s script? [mfn]Referring to the butler’s lines a few chapters back[/mfn]
“Junior Xu,” Sima Yichen finally arrived, presenting a carefully arranged bouquet of jasmine.
“Your performance was excellent. I made this bouquet myself—I hope you don’t mind.”
Xu Lemian was stunned, “You made this yourself?”
Sima Yichen smiled, “Yes. I picked the flowers from my garden at six this morning.”
Xu Lemian looked a little embarrassed. “You woke up that early just to make a bouquet?”
Sima Yichen chuckled again. “For you, I’d wake up even earlier.”
Xu Lemian lowered his head, his ears turning bright red. “Senior, don’t say things like that.”
Sima Yichen simply smiled, “Every word I say to you comes from the heart.”
Chi Ke watched the entire scene unfold and found himself completely unable to laugh.
As expected of the Sima family, backed by their overseas oil empire.
But strangely, the chemistry between these two felt even stronger than the actual official pair.
“Xu Lemian!” The event organizer ran over, looking between the two of them with a mischievous grin. “The person the forum is talking about is you, right?”
Xu Lemian clutched his two bouquets, looking confused. “What forum?”
“Check the forum,” the organizer urged. “The campus heartthrob personally giving someone flowers…”
Chi Ke immediately lowered his head, covered his face, and backed into the shadows. Smooth as butter.
I don’t know these two.
He prayed silently. Please don’t drag me into this.
“And this handsome guy that was holding the roses too!”
Chi Ke slowly closed his eyes.
Prayer failed.
“We’re not like that! I’ll explain everything on the forum later!” Xu Lemin said quickly. “Assistant Chi, Senior, let me treat you both to a meal. We can clear things up while we eat.”
Chi Ke was only responsible for keeping an eye on things, not for eating and drinking with them. He just wanted to watch from a safe distance.
So, he rejected outright. “Sorry, I have things to do.”
“But I need to explain,” Xu Lemian pleaded, tugging at his sleeve. “Assistant Chi, please don’t leave.”
Chi Ke fell silent for two seconds.
Explain what? Those ridiculous posts didn’t even mention you.
The one being humiliated was obviously me.
“Secretary Sun is already handling it. The forum has too many people watching—deleting the posts outright would only draw more attention. I’ve temporarily let the post remain, but all replies speculating on names have been removed, including yours. So, there’s no need to explain. As of now, this matter has nothing to do with you.”
Xu Lemian froze, staring blankly at Chi Ke while still holding onto his sleeve.
Going from a pitiful victim to a debt-free bystander [mfn]since Chi Ke clarified that the post has nothing to do with him, no longer making him a victim[/mfn], his first reaction wasn’t relief, nor happiness, not even being concerned about Sima Yichen.
Instead, he felt utterly lost—like he had suddenly lost something important.
Just like those people who build their resilience around suffering.
It’s as if they need the whole world to be against them to prove their extraordinary ability to rise from adversity.
Chi Ke silently pulled his sleeve away.
He had met plenty of people this self-centered before.
No need to judge, just keep his distance.
“You guys talk. I’ll take my leave.”
Love isn’t something that needs constant monitoring. He wasn’t Cupid. And since Leng Yunting hadn’t given any orders to cut off romantic entanglements, he wasn’t going to meddle.
Just as Chi Ke turned around, his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
On reflex, he shook the hand off and shot a cold glance over. “Apologies, President Si. That wasn’t intentional.”
How was Sima Yichen even worse than Dr. Ji at respecting boundaries?
This lack of restraint was downright irritating.
“My bad.” Sima Yichen’s expression and actions showed zero remorse as he leaned in close to Chi Ke’s ear. “Assistant Chi.”
Chi Ke instinctively leaned back to avoid him, but his shoulder was immediately seized.
Out of respect for the man’s status, he clenched his teeth, forcing himself to suppress the urge to punch him.
“How much does Leng Yunting pay you?” Si Ma Yichen whispered. “I’ll pay you double. Come work for me.”
In response, Chi Ke didn’t even hesitate. “Sorry, even if you offered me twenty times the amount, I wouldn’t betray President Leng.”
Sima Yichen smirked playfully. “Oh? And why is that? Someone in your position—following Leng Yunting for so long—you don’t have… certain feelings for him, do you?”
“You’re overthinking it.” Chi Ke let out a short chuckle. “President Leng has qualities I deeply admire.”
“As far as I know, Leng Yunting doesn’t treat you particularly well.” Being a fellow heir himself, Sima Yichen understood men like Leng Yunting all too well. “So, what exactly do you admire about him?”
The man kept subtly exhaling while he spoke. Chi Ke had enough. He rudely swatted Sima Yichen’s hand away and stepped back three steps. “I admire President Leng’s mysophobia—no one is allowed within three meters of him.”
Sima Yichen: “…”
Sima Yichen: “Are you mocking me?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Chi Ke didn’t press further, smoothly offering him a way out. “Didn’t sleep well last night. I’m still a bit out of it. Let’s just pretend we didn’t meet today.”
“You better mean that.” Sima Yichen narrowed his eyes, tone laced with warning. “Assistant Chi, I hope you can hold onto the job you love so much.”
At that moment, Chi Ke knew—trouble was coming.
So, when Leng Yunting was pointing at his nose and cursing him out that night, he wasn’t even surprised.
“This is what you did?!” Leng Yunting was furious. “You went to the campus and managed to get caught in a scandal with Mianmian?! Chi Ke, what the hell did you do?!”
“My apologies, I’ve done my best to mitigate the damage. Almost no one can connect this to Mr. Xu, at least not openly.” Chi Ke rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.
He wasn’t used to dealing with people’s love lives. Handling contracts and meetings? Perfectly fine. Managing a kid’s relationship drama? Not exactly his specialty.
He had underestimated how closely people still followed university confession forums. That was his mistake. This time, he’d take the scolding without talking back.
Leng Yunting paced back and forth, slamming his desk and kicking chairs before finally calming down. “Why was Yichen at the school this afternoon?”
Chi Ke had been waiting for this question. He forced another stiff smile. “He said… he was delivering flowers to Junior Xu.”
According to his morning promise of ‘let’s pretend we never met,’ he should have said, ‘I don’t know, I didn’t see him.’
The flower delivery could have been easily dismissed as a favor for someone else. Given Leng Yunting’s current level of interest in his ‘stand-in,’ he wouldn’t have investigated too deeply.
But since Leng Yunting was yelling at him while letting the real troublemaker off the hook, Chi Ke knew exactly who had whispered in his ear.
Well, too bad for Sima Yichen—Chi Ke was the exact same kind of grudge-holder as him.
So, he merely relayed the facts. No lies.
And if Sima Yichen got mad?
What will he do, kill him?
Hilarious.
Letting small things go was one thing, but getting screwed over without retaliating? That was just too humiliating.
Chi Ke had never been one to swallow his pride. If it came down to it, fine—he’d go all in. Even if he died, he’d drag the other bastard down with him. No one was getting out unscathed.
“He also said,” Chi Ke continued, tone disturbingly calm, “the jasmine flowers he brought were freshly picked from his backyard this morning. He woke up early just to arrange them for Junior Xu and personally delivered them. The junior was also very happy.”
Leng Yunting was so stunned that he collapsed into his office chair.
“What the hell?” he muttered. “Yichen wouldn’t actually—”
Chi Ke: “He would.”
Leng Yunting: “…”
Leng Yunting: “Think before you answer. No need to be so quick.”
Chi Ke: “Understood.”
He went back to organizing documents and summarizing the meeting notes for Leng Yunting.
The minute hand on the clock made a silent full circle.
Out of nowhere, Chi Ke spoke again: “He would.”
Leng Yunting: “……”
Leng Yunting: “Are you a damn robot?”
Chi Ke shrugged. “That’s just how it is, President Leng. Do you need me to do anything?”
Like take care of Sima Yichen.
“No need.” Leng Yunting pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “It’s not worth breaking ties with a brother over some stand-in.”
Chi Ke’s lips curled downwards, dragging his words lazily. “President Leng, how generous of you.”
“Don’t you know us?” Leng Yunting scoffed. “Yichen just likes to play around. Back then, he used to tease plenty of the lovers I kept. He just doesn’t realize I’m serious about Mianmian this time.”
“Serious? Boss, he hasn’t even agreed to date you yet.” Chi Ke wasn’t happy, so no one else deserved to be.
Sure enough, Leng Yunting’s face darkened. “What do you know? I’m pacing myself.”
Chi Ke: “Ha.”
Leng Yunting chugged the green tea in front of him to cool down.
This assistant was getting harder and harder to manage!
He slammed his hand on the table in frustration. “If Sima Yichen was just fooling around, fine. But if he seriously crosses the line with me, I won’t let him off. Do I need your advice on that?!”
Hearing that, Chi Ke felt reassured. “Understood, President Leng. You’re always right. It’s almost the end of the day. I’ll contact the driver to take you to pick up Mr. Xu Lemian. If there’s nothing else—”
“Wait.” Leng Yunting tossed a document onto the desk. “Since that little flower delivery caused such a mess, I’ll let you off without docking your bonus. But for the charity project in Wanping Town at the end of the year—Assistant Chi, that’s on you.”
“After all, that’s your hometown, isn’t it? I’m sure you’ll be dedicated to doing your best.”
T/N:- Once again, I am extremely sorry for this week delay in posting a chapter. Won’t give any excuses, so I am going to post 4 chapters today, including this one. 2 chapters that were due for the past week and 2 of this week’s.
Don’t worry, we will still follow our usual schedule of Tuesday and Saturday for this week too, just that I am posting 2 chapters ahead.
Thank you for your understanding!
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