My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Getting Closer

Fang Ci felt a bit anxious as he got into the car with He Chi. He took off his hat and thought back to what Shen Liu had just shouted. It was a little loud. He wondered if He Chi had heard it. If he had, it would be incredibly awkward.

“Was that the important friend you mentioned?”

He Chi’s question was so sudden that Fang Ci didn’t react, just blinking his eyes.

He Chi reminded him, “You said yesterday that you needed to buy a birthday present.”

Fang Ci: “He is an important friend, but his birthday was a long time ago. It wasn’t for him.”

“He’s your classmate?”

Fang Ci said, “He’s my childhood friend. We grew up in the same neighborhood. We were only in different middle schools; otherwise, we were in the same class all the way through.”

He Chi “Mm-hm’d” and asked, “Should we have a meal together sometime?”

Fang Ci was taken aback. “Whatever you’d like. I’ll ask him if he’s free.”

Right now, only Shen Liu and his roommates in their group chat knew he was married. He hadn’t posted on social media, he hadn’t dared to tell his parents, and none of his colleagues at the company knew. He couldn’t force a sense of ritual, but if it were possible, having a meal together would be nice.

The whole ride home, Fang Ci was guessing if He Chi had heard. It didn’t seem so, because He Chi didn’t bring it up. As usual, he sat in the driver’s seat with his powerful, reserved presence, focused on the road ahead.

Fang Ci glanced at him a few times in the rearview mirror, then looked away.

…

Back at Home

When they got home, Fang Ci’s stomach suddenly started to feel uncomfortable. He knew it was a bad sign and ran to the room to find some medicine. When he came back to the living room with an empty glass, he saw a bowl of oatmeal on the table.

It had just been made, still steaming and bubbling.

Fang Ci nodded, realizing it was for him. “Thank you.”

“You can’t drink cold milk, but you can eat ice cream,” He Chi said flatly.

His voice was calm, but Fang Ci felt his palms sweating. It was as if he was being called out for his double standards. “I was just craving it. I couldn’t resist.”

“What’s the temperature today?”

A question mark popped up in Fang Ci’s mind. He Chi gestured with his chin towards his phone. Fang Ci picked it up and found the weather app: “Minus five degrees.”

Alright, I was really asking for it. He had overestimated his stomach’s tolerance. He quickly expressed his repentance to his “superior.” “Just this once. Next time, I’ll save it for summer.”

In the light, Fang Ci’s hair looked fluffy. He Chi’s fingers moved slightly, as if to reach out, his arm lifting just a little before he ultimately stopped.

“Mm.”

Fortunately, Fang Ci’s quick action worked, and the pain was suppressed before it could escalate. The oatmeal soothed his stomach, and he crawled into bed, sighing with comfort.

Before going to sleep, he opened his phone to reply to Shen Liu. His friend hadn’t responded, probably still getting ready for bed. Fang Ci then clicked on the pinned chat with He Chi.

He Chi’s profile picture was a sleeping Qiumiu, curled up in a ball in the afternoon sun. His WeChat name was simple, just his initials, HC. Fang Ci had saved his contact as “Boss” before they were married and hadn’t changed it.

He aimlessly browsed He Chi’s Moments again. The wedding post was still hanging there all by itself, with everything else blank. He went back to their chat and saw the six messages He Chi had sent.

[Ice cream shop?]

Followed by two screenshots of the store and the menu, copied from a review site.

[What are you eating tonight?]

[?]

[Are you still at that shop?]

He looked at these incredibly simple messages, and a sudden thought popped into his head: He Chi came to pick him up. He didn’t just happen to be passing by.

Just like the day they signed the marriage agreement, He Chi had said he was going to visit a client, but he stayed with Fang Ci the whole time, took him to dinner, and drove him home, all the way until 10 p.m.

His heart trembled, and a familiar warmth spread through him.

…

The Text Conversation

At that moment, Shen Liu’s WeChat message popped up: [Asleep yet?]

Fang Ci came back to his senses and replied: [No.]

Shen Liu typed: [We didn’t get a chance to finish talking today. Want to start a new game? Let’s go, let’s go!]

Fang Ci: [No, I’m going to sleep.]

Shen Liu: […Do you remember what time you used to go to bed before you got married?]

Fang Ci: [2 a.m., thank you. I remember.]

Shen Liu typed frantically: [You’ve got an old man’s internal clock now!?]

Fang Ci knew this wasn’t normal for someone his age. [It’s not an old man’s clock…]

Shen Liu immediately replied: [Does he even tell you what time to sleep?]

[You two are completely platonic, do you even need to sleep in the same bed?]

Fang Ci looked at the word “platonic” and rubbed his nose.

Shen Liu sent an emoji of a heartbroken face, saying: [He controls you when you play games, and he chases after you when you go out to eat!]

[He’s not your boss. Doesn’t it bother you that he’s so controlling?]

Fang Ci looked at Shen Liu’s furious messages and realized that He Chi did act like a parent towards him. But he didn’t care. Not only was He Chi actually his boss, but as for the fact that he “controlled” him:

[No, it doesn’t. He’s doing it for my own good.]

Shen Liu was quiet for a few seconds, deleting and retyping, and finally sent a “smiling face” emoji: [You’re a goner.]

Fang Ci: [?]

On the other end of the screen, Shen Liu didn’t say anything more.

Just as Fang Ci was about to type, several short videos popped up on his screen. [What are these?]

Shen Liu: [You’re welcome. For external use, to cure lonely, solitary, long nights.]

Fang Ci had a bad feeling about these videos. He hesitated for half a second before opening the first one. The images were too much to handle. As soon as the first sound came from the screen, he closed it. [You pervert! You like men!?]

Shen Liu: [No. This is what your brother found for you on the way home! Aren’t I a great friend!?]

Fang Ci: […Heh, you can keep them for yourself.]

Shen Liu sent an “annoyed” emoji and went offline.

Fang Ci’s mind was reeling from the images. He pulled the blanket tight and silently recited product parameters to keep his mind pure and uncluttered.

He Chi was incredibly sexy, but he also had the aura of an unapproachable “high-mountain flower.” Fang Ci would occasionally recall that night in his dreams, but he would never dare to say anything to his face. After all, when it came to things like this, he was a coward.

He was just like Shen Liu, a coward when it came to relationships. In school, when Shen Liu fell for a girl from the class next door, his roommates would cheer him on and push him to pursue her. But Shen Liu put it off until the day they graduated, secretly wrote a love letter, and put it in her locker without even signing his name.

Fang Ci was just the pot calling the kettle black.

It was a normal thing for a grown man to have physical needs, and it was his own husband. What was so hard about just saying it? It would be fine even if he just did it. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t imagine how awkward it would be without an emotional foundation.

They had agreed to follow the contract. For him to unilaterally break that rule was just not right.

Just thinking about it was so embarrassing he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his fingernails.

Fang Ci closed his eyes, trying his best to forget the images in his mind.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. He heard familiar footsteps enter the room from outside. He buried half his face in the pillow and breathed more quietly.

It was going to be a night just like any other.

…

Late-Night Confessions

“Are you asleep?” he suddenly heard He Chi ask.

Fang Ci was about to pretend to be asleep, but in a moment of internal conflict, he turned over to face He Chi. “I’m not asleep.”

He Chi said, “Want to talk?”

Fang Ci: “…Huh?”

He Chi: “Don’t you like to talk to people?”

Fang Ci’s eyes were wide open. Where did He Chi get that idea from? But he didn’t want to ruin He Chi’s mood, and they rarely had a chance to just chat. So he said, “What should we talk about?”

He Chi fell silent.

Fang Ci looked at him and suddenly felt like laughing. He Chi was not a humorous person; he was a bit overbearing, yet he had a strange innocence and sincerity about him. He was a complete contradiction.

“How about your childhood?” He Chi offered a topic.

Fang Ci thought that would work. He started talking about his elementary school days. He was a mischievous kid, with even more stories than he had now as an adult. He talked about all the times he and his friends got into trouble, even how many games of soccer he won on the elementary school field.

At first, he was hesitant, picking and choosing his words, but then he got more and more into it, his face lighting up with rare animation. He Chi listened quietly.

“You must have been different from me as a kid. You look like a good student, the kind neighbors would hold up as an example,” Fang Ci said.

He Chi: “A little bit of both.”

Fang Ci: “Really?”

“Yeah,” He Chi said. “In middle school, I used to ride motorcycles with my friends and skip monthly exams.”

Fang Ci was dumbfounded. It was too hard to imagine. Wasn’t He Chi supposed to be a quiet academic sitting in the classroom, the first student chosen for speeches under the national flag?

He Chi said, “That was a long time ago.”

Fang Ci was a little curious. “Why don’t you ride motorcycles now? It’s really cool.”

He Chi: “I’ve passed that age.”

Fang Ci’s eyes were sparkling. “It must have been really cool.”

He Chi rarely saw this expression on Fang Ci’s face, so much more lively than usual. He continued to share more stories, and Fang Ci was an excellent audience, nodding and praising him, giving him a lot of face.

“You’re amazing, Boss.”

This was the first time He Chi had talked about his past. In these scattered memories, Fang Ci pieced together a leader he didn’t know well. He wasn’t as reserved in school as he was now. He, too, had a rebellious youth.

On a whim, he asked He Chi if, given the chance, he could teach him to ride a motorcycle.

He Chi rested on one arm. After a moment, he said, “There are quite a few things I have to teach you.”

Fang Ci: “There are?”

He Chi ticked them off one by one. “Working out, German, and now a motorcycle.”

Fang Ci thought for a moment. “In that case, if I cook a few more meals, can that count as tuition?”

He Chi didn’t answer.

So Fang Ci said, “Or you could just make me work overtime.”

He Chi said, “You can just change the way you address me.”

Only then did Fang Ci realize he had unconsciously used an honorific again. He said, “I’m sorry. I’ll pay attention next time.”

He turned his head, glancing at He Chi from the corner of his eye. There was a moment of silence.

“Should I turn off the light?” he cleared his throat and asked softly.

“Have you thought of a name?” He Chi asked at almost the exact same moment.

Fang Ci: “…What?” He thought the topic was over, but it wasn’t.

“You decide,” he said, his mind a little muddled.

He Chi thought about it seriously. Fang Ci let out a dry laugh, deciding to take the initiative himself. “How about I call you Teacher He?”

He Chi seemed to freeze, not reacting.

Fang Ci also felt it was a bit out of line, like he had crossed a boundary. He pulled his chin back into the blanket and only dared to speak after a long moment. “If you don’t like it…”

“It’s fine,” He Chi suddenly said.

Fang Ci hesitated, then symbolically called out, “Teacher He.”

The light behind He Chi seemed to flicker. Fang Ci saw him turn his head and say again, “Say it one more time.”

Fang Ci obediently repeated, “Teacher He.”

Their gazes met in the warm glow, like a shooting star and the moon briefly meeting in the night sky. Fang Ci’s heart was lightly plucked by his eyes, and a ripple-like star trail spread out.

He Chi suddenly moved closer, his breath brushing against Fang Ci’s lips.

And right after that came his sexy lips.

Both their lips were moist. Fang Ci held his breath, his eyes wide open, and let He Chi do as he pleased.

Something had just woken up in the middle of the night.