The next morning, Wang Cheng woke to find his head resting on Chu Yifeng’s shoulder. He had only managed to lift himself halfway when the other man wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back down.
Wang Cheng had just opened his mouth when Chu Yifeng kissed him, filling his mouth with another man’s saliva and breath. Beneath the blanket, Chu Yifeng forcibly wedged a leg between Wang Cheng’s and rubbed against him until his whole body heated up. Quite the intense start to the morning.
Morning erections were a natural male response. With Chu Yifeng teasing him like this on top of that, Wang Cheng could only feel how painfully swollen his erection had become.
“Quit messing around.” Wang Cheng finally caught the hand roaming all over him. A moment later and it would have reached below his waist. He had no intention of spending the whole morning rolling around in bed with Chu Yifeng, especially when they had already had sex the night before.
Chu Yifeng did not insist, but while Wang Cheng was momentarily distracted, he flipped him over and pinned him beneath him, cradled his head, and gave him another deep kiss. His tongue seemed to reach all the way into Wang Cheng’s throat, instantly throwing Wang Cheng’s breathing into disorder. Wang Cheng hurriedly pushed him away, his mouth wet, then braced one foot against Chu Yifeng’s chest.
“That’s enough. Getting worked up in broad daylight? What are you, a sow?”
“Really?” Chu Yifeng glanced at Wang Cheng’s crotch. The bulge there stated an impossible-to-hide fact very clearly: he was not the only one in heat.
Wang Cheng was not embarrassed in the slightest. “That’s instinct.”
The moment he finished, Chu Yifeng simply ignored him, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up. Ever since Wang Cheng started staying at Chu Yifeng’s apartment, the two had naturally ended up sleeping in the same bed. They had already crossed much more intimate lines, and more than once, so there was no point acting coy now.
After breakfast, they went straight to the company.
Wang Cheng was not going there to work. The agreement he and Chu Yifeng had made in the beginning had expired long ago, and he had effectively spent the following month on leave. Neither of them cared about that piece of paper anymore.
This time, Wang Cheng was going to handle his resignation. The company had grown steadily and now had more than fifty employees. The once-empty office was already filled with people and activity. One more Wang Cheng would not make much difference, and neither would one less. Chu Yifeng knew he wanted to focus on his small business, so he raised no objection.
Because Wang Cheng had gone on leave before the newer employees joined, many of them did not know him. Seeing him walk in beside the boss immediately sparked whispered conversation after the two entered the office. Li Yu came in soon afterward. When she saw everyone gossiping instead of working, her brows drew together.
“What are you all doing? Get back to work.”
The group immediately scattered in every direction.
Li Yu returned to her own office and looked through the open blinds. The desk where Wang Cheng should once have been sitting was now occupied by a new employee. Everyone had originally wanted to keep his place for him, but the boss said there was no need. Why no need? Nobody said it aloud, but plenty of people had speculated. Some thought the boss intended to fire Wang Cheng, while others believed he planned to promote him. Most of the older employees favored the second explanation, though Wang Cheng’s continued absence had begun to shake their confidence.
“Sister Li, the boss wants to see you in his office.” A young woman knocked and poked her head through the door. She was another new hire and now worked as Li Yu’s assistant.
Li Yu pulled herself out of her thoughts. As the company added more people, the workplace also became more complicated. She found herself missing the days when Wang Cheng had been around. His straightforward personality required none of the excessive second-guessing that came with some people.
Knock, knock. Li Yu tapped on the door. After receiving permission from inside, she pushed it open and walked in. “Boss, you wanted to see me… Wang Cheng?”
Before she could finish the sentence, she saw Wang Cheng turn toward her with a smile. That handsome face was extremely recognizable. The man who had disappeared for more than a month was suddenly standing right in front of her, when only moments ago she had been thinking about him.
“Sister Li, long time no see.” Wang Cheng smiled and waved. Li Yu had not been around the last time he stopped by, so he had not gotten to see her.
“Perfect timing. Fan Qi isn’t here. There’s something I need you to handle in his place.” Chu Yifeng handed her a file.
Li Yu opened it and was surprised to find Wang Cheng’s information inside. “Boss, what do you need me to do?”
“Process Wang Cheng’s resignation.”
“Resignation?” Li Yu could not understand it. A man who had disappeared for more than a month had suddenly returned only to resign. She looked at Wang Cheng. “You’re really planning to quit?”
She had later heard Zhang Yiheng mention that Wang Cheng had an agreement with the company, but she had not expected the end to come so suddenly.
“Mm. I’m quitting and going back home to retire,” Wang Cheng said with a smile.
Li Yu closed the file and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, expressionless. “Should I order myself a coffin first, then?”
“I was joking.” Wang Cheng rubbed his nose. They had not seen each other for a while, yet Li Yu was still as merciless with her words and actions as ever. Why take it so seriously?
“So was I.”
Wang Cheng gave a dry laugh and stopped arguing. “I’ll trouble Sister Li to handle the paperwork for me.”
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Li Yu quickly processed the resignation. Thinking about it, it made sense. Wang Cheng had never received a salary from the company in the first place. They had only learned that later from Assistant Gao. If he had joined because of an agreement, the chances of him staying permanently had never been high.
“Now I’m finally a free man.” Wang Cheng sounded pleased.
“When were you ever not free?” Chu Yifeng countered. Even while bound by the agreement, Wang Cheng could take more than a month of leave and come and go as he pleased. He was freer than the boss himself.
Wang Cheng was about to reply when the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out, saw the caller ID, and lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
“Who is it?” Chu Yifeng noticed his expression.
“Renchang Supermarket. This is much faster than I expected. I thought it would take at least another month before they called.”
Wang Cheng answered. The supermarket’s female manager spoke from the other end. Only about a week had passed, but all four sets of jam he had sold them were already gone. She was calling to place another order. This time, she wanted fifteen sets in one go, and surprisingly, demand for persimmon jam was even higher than for plum jam. When he asked why, she explained that quite a few returning customers thought the persimmon jam was especially good, but because the supermarket had ordered so little the first time, it sold out almost immediately.
The manager asked whether Wang Cheng could deliver the stock that day. Aside from the class reunion, he had nothing else planned, so he agreed.
“The owner of Renchang Supermarket really knows good products when she sees them,” Wang Cheng said happily after hanging up. The jam had sold so quickly that he suspected Lin Yue deserved some of the credit. She had probably told the staff to recommend it to customers.
“Tempted?” Chu Yifeng teased.
Wang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Please. She’s already over forty. No matter how well she takes care of herself, she’s still an old cow. You think I’d volunteer this tender little blade of grass for an old cow to chew on? It’s not like I need a rich woman to keep me. Maybe if I ever run out of money, I’ll consider it.”
“Is that really something you should say in front of your lover?” Chu Yifeng stopped working altogether, set down his pen, and joined the argument.
Wang Cheng walked around the desk and perched on the armrest of Chu Yifeng’s chair, one hand resting on his shoulder. He grinned. “Boss Chu, confess honestly. When you first took a fancy to this tender blade of grass, did you ever think about keeping me?”
“After spending a few days with you, how could I not know your personality? If I dared tell you I wanted to keep you, you probably would’ve punched me on the spot. But really, don’t you feel embarrassed constantly calling yourself tender grass?” Chu Yifeng laughed and wrapped an arm around Wang Cheng’s waist from behind, drawing half his body against him.
Since Chu Yifeng’s hands were behaving themselves, Wang Cheng did not immediately pull away. He argued, “I may already be twenty-five, but I’m still a kid at heart. Understand?”
“Couldn’t tell.”
“That’s fine. I’m telling you now. Behave yourself from now on. By my logic, what you were doing before counts as molesting a child, understand? If you dare ignore my wishes again, I’ll report you.” Wang Cheng delivered this with a perfectly serious face, even though he was obviously talking nonsense.
Chu Yifeng finally had enough. He pulled Wang Cheng’s head down and bit onto his lips. Saliva quickly overflowed, and Wang Cheng could hear the wet sounds of their lips and tongues tangling together.
Wang Cheng could fight Chu Yifeng nearly to a draw, but when it came to kissing, he was hopelessly outmatched. He was always the one left unable to defend himself. His half-leaning body was pulled fully into Chu Yifeng’s arms and pressed against the desk. The scene was on the verge of turning into a restricted-content scene when a faint gasp sounded outside. Wang Cheng’s sharp hearing snapped his mind back into place. Somehow finding the strength, he shoved Chu Yifeng away and looked toward the door, catching sight of a familiar figure hurrying off in panic.
Li Yu must not have closed the door properly when she left. The loosely shut door had been pushed open by the wind, leaving it half ajar so anyone walking past would have been able to see inside.
Wang Cheng glared at Chu Yifeng and helplessly covered his forehead. Two huge, glittering words appeared in his mind.
Holy shit!