A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 35

The web drama Cheng Xi was guest-starring in had just finished filming. He finally had a rare long break with no public appearances or magazine auditions, allowing him to stay home and rest.

However, ever since Ji Yuanlin granted him free access to the Fengyu office, he couldn’t stay away. Every day, the first thing he did after waking up was rush to the Chairman’s office.

Ji Yuanlin had someone install a PS5 for the office’s large 4K TV. Cheng Xi spent half his day curled up on the soft sofa playing games on mute, and the other half sleeping or posting on Weibo.

Most of the time, the security cameras in the office were on; they were only turned off when they were intimate. But lately, the company had more and more business to handle. Ji Yuanlin was busy from morning till night and no longer had as much time for secret moments in the office.

Once, while Ji Yuanlin was out for a meeting, Cheng Xi sat on the sofa playing his Switch. He asked the assistant who brought him a drink, “Brother Li, where can I see the security footage for the office? I rolled under the sofa while I was napping last night. Can we delete that part? It’s too embarrassing.”

Assistant Li set down the glass and said professionally, “Mr. Cheng, the footage for President Ji’s office can only be accessed in the security room. Only President Ji has the authority to view it. I can’t help you right now.”

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but after hearing the answer, he saw a fleeting look of disappointment in the boy’s eyes.

It was another evening at sunset. Ji Yuanlin had to go to a neighboring city for a meeting with a new distributor. He told Cheng Xi to go home after dinner and not to wait for him at the office.

Before Ji Yuanlin left, Cheng Xi walked behind him toward the floor-to-ceiling window. While Ji Yuanlin was busy working, Cheng Xi sat on his lap, took Ji Yuanlin’s tie in his mouth, and focused on buttoning the man’s suit jacket.

He knew this was what Ji Yuanlin loved most about him.

When they first met, a drunk Ji Yuanlin had mentioned that the person at home was a workaholic who worked late into the night every evening. Daytime schedules were so tight that they barely had time to sit down and have a proper meal together.

Only Cheng Xi made Ji Yuanlin feel the small details of life and the peace of a daily routine.

After finishing the buttons, he leaned on Ji Yuanlin’s shoulder and whispered a warm breath into his ear, “Lin, you look so handsome when you’re serious.”

“…”

The hands around his waist tightened. A look of dazed distraction appeared in Ji Yuanlin’s eyes, as if he were suddenly reminded of something.

After several days, Ji Yuanlin slept with him again.

Wrapped in a blanket on the soft sofa, Cheng Xi had a dream he hadn’t had in a long time.

He dreamed of the first night he met Ji Yuanlin.

After leaving a noisy KTV, they went to a hotel penthouse. Ji Yuanlin asked him to take off all his clothes, held him, told him to wrap his arms around his neck, and asked him to call him “Lin” with red eyes. He had obeyed.

“Lin, Lin…”

“Brother,” Ji Yuanlin whispered, kissing his forehead, nose, and moving toward his lips. His voice was a husky, suppressed plea, “Brother, say you love me. Say you’ll love me forever…”

To please his patron, he buried his head in the man’s chest and said with a trembling voice, “Lin, I will love you forever—”

…

A cold hand was placed gently on his forehead. The realistic touch pulled him out of the broken dream.

“…Mr. Cheng, are you awake?”

Noticing his eyelashes fluttering open, the person by the sofa leaned down and pulled the blanket up to his chest. “You seem to have a cold. Your temperature is a bit high. Drink some warm water first.”

Before Cheng Xi could react, the person handed him a glass of water. He took a small sip. His lips felt dry and his throat was sore; it seemed he really had a mild fever.

Helped into a sitting position, his vision cleared, and Cheng Xi finally saw the person busy taking care of him.

This person was about his age, wearing a gray suit similar to Assistant Li’s. He was looking down, cleaning up the leftover takeout boxes on the coffee table.

Frowning, Cheng Xi rubbed his temples. He was about to say thank you, but his gaze froze on the person’s face.

Seeing Cheng Xi’s pupils shrink and his body go stiff, the young man looked up from the table and asked curiously, “Mr. Cheng, what’s wrong?”

“…Who are you?”

Cheng Xi’s face turned slightly pale. “…How do you have access to this room?”

In the whole company, only Ji Yuanlin was supposed to be able to enter the Chairman’s office freely. Even the new assistant needed Ji Yuanlin’s permission. No one else was allowed.

Besides, after what happened with Ji Yuanlin today… normally, Ji Yuanlin would have turned off all access to this floor so no one would disturb his rest.

So how did this person get in?

The young man looked down at the ID card hanging on his chest and realized, “Mr. Cheng is asking about this?”

“Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet.” The young man smiled shyly. “My name is Bai Ran. I’m the new administrative assistant secretary.”

Narrowing his eyes, Cheng Xi repeated the name stiffly, “…Bai Ran?”

“Yes,” Bai Ran nodded politely and sincerely. “I’m still on my probation period. I look forward to working with you.”

“…”

Cheng Xi was silent for a long time, his expression becoming more and more uncomfortable.

He must have been seeing things just now.

Calming down to look closer at Bai Ran’s features, he noticed that while the man’s eyes and brows were somewhat similar to Shi Tian’s, his overall expression and vibe were completely different.

However, the moment he woke up and saw Bai Ran, he had almost mistaken him for Shi Tian.

Now that he thought about it, he felt he was being too sensitive.

Right, Ji Yuanlin was already divorcing that person. Their relationship was as bad as it could get; there was no way that person would appear in this office.

Moreover, this Bai Ran was much younger than Shi Tian. If anything, he looked more like the photos of Shi Tian right after university that he had seen in Ji Yuanlin’s phone.

Slowly calming himself, Cheng Xi looked up and managed a smile. “It’s so late. Why is Secretary Bai still at the company?”

Bai Ran hesitated for a moment before explaining, “I just got a notice from security that there’s a temporary glitch with the cameras on floors seven through eleven. I was worried about the important documents and the safe in President Ji’s office, so I came up to check.”

“President Ji didn’t tell me Mr. Cheng was here,” Bai Ran said apologetically. “I should have knocked first.”

Cheng Xi looked at the steam rising from his cup and said flatly, “The cameras are broken?”

“Yes,” Bai Ran replied. “They estimate it will take two to three hours to fix. President Ji is in a meeting and I can’t reach him, so I plan to wait here for a bit.”

Cheng Xi took a sip of water, coughed twice, and said coldly, “I don’t feel well and want to rest more. Why don’t you wait outside?”

Bai Ran moved his lips as if conflicted. “But…”

“I’m staying right here,” Cheng Xi said. “If anything happens, I’ll call you.”

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ran nodded in understanding. “Then I’ll go check the floor below first. Please rest well. Contact me if you need anything.”

As he spoke, he handed Cheng Xi a business card from his pocket.

“Sure,” Cheng Xi took the card and looked up, giving his first sincere smile since waking up. “Thank you, Secretary Bai.”

Back in the elevator, Bai Ran pressed the buttons for the floor below and the lobby.

The doors opened on the next floor, but he didn’t get out. He stood quietly in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close again.

When he reached the lobby, he said goodbye to the receptionist with a smile and walked straight toward the back gate of the business park.

Near the Fengyu Group building, there was a park open to the public. It was evening, and many couples were walking along the stone paths. The streetlights shone on their faces, and everyone looked happy.

Finding an empty bench by the lake, Bai Ran sat down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes against the backrest as if napping.

After a while, a dark figure appeared and stopped behind the bench.

The man took off his suit jacket, leaned down slowly, and kissed the back of Bai Ran’s neck.

Staring calmly at the shimmering lake water, Bai Ran did not look back.

Sensing the man starting to bite his earlobe and lick his neck—turning the kisses into painful nips—Bai Ran spoke coldly, “Qi Weichen, what are you doing?”

Leaning close to his ear, the man laughed deeply. “Can’t I kiss my own chess piece, the dog I raised?”

Seeing that Bai Ran didn’t intend to respond, Qi Weichen didn’t seem angry. He hung his jacket on the back of the bench and sat down next to him.

As soon as he sat down, Bai Ran picked up a small stone and threw it into the lake. “I’ve handled it. If that Cheng Xi has any brains, he’ll steal that file from the office tonight.”

Qi Weichen asked, “What if the file isn’t at the company?”

Bai Ran sneered. “Qi Weichen, are you testing me on purpose again?”

“I never turned off the cameras in the office,” he said. “If Cheng Xi succeeds and gives the files to Uncle Bai, I’m happy to be the ‘nice guy’ who cleans up after him. If the file isn’t there, or if he gets caught by Ji—”

He paused and smiled at the man beside him. “Then just replace him with me. Qi Weichen, didn’t you send me here just to put me in Ji Yuanlin’s bed so he’d lower his guard?”

Qi Weichen kept his hands in his pockets and smiled without saying anything.

After a long time, Bai Ran laughed mockingly at himself. “Years ago, you spent so much money having doctors change my face to look like the young master, but the young master didn’t care for you at all. How can you be sure Ji will?”

“Because I understand men. That is their nature.”

Qi Weichen said, “Little Bai, you should have heard the saying: ‘What you can’t have is always on your mind.’ It is precisely because that person doesn’t love them that they love him the most.”

Putting his fingers on the back of Bai Ran’s slender neck, Qi Weichen gently stroked his hair. “Just like you.”

Being touched so gently, Bai Ran’s body shivered slightly.

“If there ever comes a day where you truly fall for someone else, maybe I would cherish you a little more.”

“What a pity.”

Qi Weichen sighed. “You still love me so much.”

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