Lin Zhi Yi lightly flicked the ash from his cigarette twice with his thumb. As the ash drifted down, he raised his eyes. “Zhou Yi Ming complained to you about me?”
Yan Ye poured some amber-colored liquor into a glass and said slowly, “General Manager Lin, according to the contract, money will be deducted if an employer harasses an employee without cause.”
The faintly rising smoke wavered at the words “money will be deducted.” “He was the one who tempted me. I’m not allowed to tease him a little?”
“Zhou Yi Ming is very sensitive about these things now. General Manager Lin had better tease him less.”
The smile spreading across Lin Zhi Yi’s lips held a hint of mockery. “Do you think I’d be like you and turn a straight man gay? Straight men are a pain even after you bend them.” He lifted his chin toward the other side of the private room. “Look at your man. He practically has ‘baby’ permanently hanging from his lips.”
Yan Ye turned his head and saw his family’s “straight man” stuffing money into the hands of the hostesses livening up the room. These days, instead of a cigarette, he held a lollipop between his lips. With his handsome, cold eyes, he looked even more unruly.
Lin Zhi Yi commented beside Yan Ye’s ear, “Even businessmen with nothing but bad intentions dress themselves up to look respectable. Only your man is rich, stupid, and easy to fool, yet looks like a rotten bastard.”
Yan Ye’s face darkened, and he said in a low voice, “General Manager Lin, I don’t want to hear that a second time.”
Lin Zhi Yi extinguished his cigarette, looking at Xue Bao Tian with a trace of envy. “I was complimenting him. He’s reached this position and can still remain true to himself.”
Yan Ye drained the liquor in his glass in one mouthful. Before standing, he said to Lin Zhi Yi, “Zhou Yi Ming has already submitted his resignation. General Manager Lin should see whether you can persuade him to stay. If you can’t, I’ll have to replace him.”
After saying that, he walked toward Xue Bao Tian and caught the hand that was lazily reaching out to pat a woman’s cheek.
Gripping the lollipop stick, Yan Ye pulled it from Xue Bao Tian’s mouth and naturally placed it into his own. His teeth came down, crushing it.
“You need to eat less candy too.” He poured Xue Bao Tian a glass of weak liquor. “You didn’t eat much at dinner. Don’t drink anything too strong.”
Pressing two pale fingers together, Xue Bao Tian pushed aside the glass in front of him and said coldly and haughtily, “First you make me quit smoking, and now you want me to quit drinking. Yan Ye, please stop fucking pursuing me. I’m not interested in doing time.”
The half-drunk Tong Yan eagerly leaned over. “Pick me. I’ll spoil you.”
Xue Bao Tian asked with a not-quite-smile, “How would you spoil me?”
A hazy drunkenness veiled Tong Yan’s eyes, and his voice went hollow for a moment. “I’d stand in front of you and protect you. I wouldn’t let you become a sacrifice for the family again.”
Xue Bao Tian froze, then disdainfully pushed Tong Yan’s drunken face away. “Look carefully. I’m not Sheng Yu. Get the hell over there. I’m warning you, no one’s taking you home if you get drunk.”
He reached for the strong liquor on the table, but a warm breath brushed his ear, and Yan Ye’s glass appeared in front of him again. “Baobao, drink this one.”
Xue Bao Tian’s fingers stiffened and curled in midair before turning back irritably to grasp the glass Yan Ye offered him. He cursed under his breath, “Stop being so fucking sappy. If anyone hears you calling me Baobao, I’ll kill you!”
Yan Ye smiled and moved even closer, nearly kissing his ear. “Baobao is so good.”
The liquor in the glass trembled slightly. Xue Bao Tian cursed fuck in his heart. Who the hell could withstand this?
But the next moment, Yan Ye’s face was pushed away too. Tong Yan withdrew his hand and attempted to imitate Xue Bao Tian’s manner of speaking, but ultimately failed. “Get the hell… please move aside. Otherwise Baobao will kill… won’t be polite to you.”
The two of them were giving Xue Bao Tian a headache. He crooked a finger at Little Trash, who was sulking nearby. “Come here and take your father away.”
Little Trash curled his lip. “He isn’t my father.”
Tong Yan also shook his head. “I don’t want this son.”
Xue Bao Tian took a sip of the weak liquor and looked at Tong Yan. “I’m not asking you to raise him. Just let him be registered under your name for now. I’ll pay for the house and his schooling. You get a son for free. What’s not to like?”
Tong Yan continued shaking his head. “If you’re paying for the house and his schooling, why not register him under your name?”
“I don’t want to be registered under the name of that man surnamed Xue,” Little Trash cut in. “I want to be registered under my boss’s name.”
Gritting his teeth, Xue Bao Tian snapped, “You should be hung on a draining rack like a mop! How old is Yan Ye this year? He isn’t even old enough to marry yet, and you want to be put under his name? You’ve really got the nerve!”
Little Trash retorted, “My boss is so young that he isn’t even old enough to marry, yet you have the nerve to monopolize him?”
Instead of getting angry, Xue Bao Tian laughed. Pointing at the child, he said to Tong Yan, “Do you know why I want to hang this mop under your name? He’s sharp-tongued and shrewd as hell. You have terrible judgment and no common sense, so he can help you guard against other people. Besides, Sheng Yu probably won’t receive a heavy sentence. Once he gets out, he’ll definitely keep pestering you. Don’t believe his nonsense about being controlled by his family. With someone like him, who could possibly control him? If he comes to bother you again, tell him this child is your biological son. It’ll drive him mad.”
Tong Yan finally began to hesitate. “But I couldn’t possibly have a biological son this old.”
“Aye, who doesn’t make one impulsive mistake when they’re young and naive?” Xue Bao Tian was at his most animated when teaching someone how to be wicked. “If Sheng Yu comes to bother you again, have Little Trash call him Mom. Just thinking about it—doesn’t that feel satisfying?”
Tong Yan considered it seriously for a while before nodding. Afraid of hurting the child, he lowered his voice and said to Xue Bao Tian, “I don’t know how to raise children. I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill the responsibilities of an adoptive parent.”
“No problem. This kid can fend for himself anywhere, and no one can bully him. He’s used to being raised freely, so you won’t need to fuss over him.” Turning his head, Xue Bao Tian called out to Master Bai again. “I’ve solved your problem, so stop being picky about your father. You can’t depend on a father to survive anyway. You have to walk your own path.”
The child thought about it and accepted the logic, but still gave Xue Bao Tian an unpleasant look. “Aren’t you a big boss? Yet you gave me a broken phone and computer. You really are rich and heartless.”
“Broken?” Lin Zhi Yi leaned his head over. “The phone and computer your Papa Xue bought from me were the most advanced products available. How could they be broken?”
Xue Bao Tian sank back against the sofa, guiltily glancing at the chubby boy in the corner who kept stuffing sweet rice-wine cherries into his mouth. He muttered quietly, “Damn. They got hacked in only three days.”
He kicked Little Trash. “Aren’t you going to check on your ‘good friend’? If he keeps fucking eating those cherries, he’ll get himself dead drunk. His mother only allowed him to come out with you because you rank among the top three in your grade. You have to take responsibility.”
Little Trash sulked for a while before finally standing and walking over. Before he could speak, the chubby boy raised his head and asked with a drunkenly thick tongue, “Why haven’t you fixed your phone and computer yet? Hurry up and fix them.”
Xue Bao Tian, who had been listening intently, sighed and said darkly, “Let the jianghu settle its own grudges. I’m fucking done getting involved.”
Lowering his eyes to check his watch, he patted Yan Ye’s leg. “I’m tired. Let’s go home.”
Before he could stand, someone grabbed his wrist. Xue Bao Tian looked back and met Tong Yan’s resentful eyes. “We’re both pursuing you. Why does he get to go home with you?”
Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue, patted Tong Yan’s waist, and leaned closer to say, “Tong’er, write less and eat more. That’ll do you more good than anything.”
……
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Futile Devices Scans 
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