Don't Bait Me Anymore! - Chapter 11

“So… Brother Yi, you’re not going out again?”

Seeing Gu Zhiyi had already taken off his hoodie and shirt, changing back into the t-shirt he usually wore in the dorm, the two oblivious roommates exchanged nervous glances, too afraid to speak. Only Zhao Da couldn’t resist asking quietly again.

Gu Zhiyi folded his clothes neatly and put them back in the wardrobe. At Zhao Da’s question, his jawline tightened further. After a moment, he pulled out a chair and sat down at his desk, letting out a low, drawn-out “Hmm.”

Without a doubt, Gu Zhiyi was openly popular at school, yet equally unapproachable.

Whether male or female, Gu Zhiyi treated everyone with the same detached indifference.

But now, someone had appeared who could make Gu Zhiyi act differently, and Zhao Da had witnessed the whole thing. As the first in line for gossip, how could he suppress his curiosity?

Watching Gu Zhiyi’s back, Zhao Da tentatively asked, “Then… did he have something come up suddenly?”

Gu Zhiyi’s shoulders tensed slightly. After two seconds, he turned his head and replied curtly, “Yes, he’s out with friends.”

It must be a work gathering, because before the call was hung up, Gu Zhiyi faintly heard a male voice on the other end say to Sheng Yan, “President Sheng, I… I’d like to toast you again.”

It sounded like a work-related gathering, but why in a bar… no, a nightclub?

His mind involuntarily drifted back to the night he first met Sheng Yan—

The gentle, smiling peach blossom eyes, the dazzling white skin of his collarbone under the lights, the warm breath as he leaned in to tease…

Was Sheng Yan like that in front of his subordinates too?

Would Sheng Yan still try to seduce others like that?

The mere thought of such a possibility made Gu Zhiyi’s fingers clench unconsciously, a shadow darkening his eyes.

So… was Sheng Yan’s gathering at the same nightclub as last time?

“Brother Yi? Brother Yi?” Zhao Da’s voice suddenly jolted Gu Zhiyi back to the present. “Did you hear what I just said?”

“Sorry,” Gu Zhiyi pursed his lips and shook his head. “What did you say?”

Gu Zhiyi’s momentary distraction had looked strangely unsettling. Zhao Da’s tone grew even more cautious. “No… I just wanted to ask, Brother Yi, you’re not planning to go over there to see him, are you?”

The thought that had only just flickered through his mind was suddenly laid bare. Gu Zhiyi paused for a moment before stiffening his face and shaking his head. “No. I’m not going.”

Zhao Da visibly relaxed, as if relieved that “Brother Yi hadn’t been completely bewitched by that vixen yet.” Still uneasy, he pressed on, “But what if he calls again after his party ends? You still won’t go?”

This time, Gu Zhiyi answered with slightly more decisiveness, though his tone grew colder. “No. It’ll probably be past curfew by then.”

Zhao Da finally fell silent, ceasing his questions.

Gu Zhiyi turned back with a cold expression and casually opened his daily business case analysis.

However…

Five minutes later, Gu Zhiyi suddenly dropped his iPad and stylus, his long fingers raking through his hair violently, almost frantically.

He couldn’t focus. Not a single word registered.

The familiar music and the familiar booth. Sheng Yan, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, leaned back lazily on the soft sofa, listening to his four subordinates, who were clearly drunk, reminisce about the past and fantasize about the future.

He barely touched the cigarette, the flame flickering at his fingertips.

Nor did he drink much.

The five of them had played everything from poker to dice, and he was undoubtedly the best at every game. As a result, he lost the least and drank the least.

By the end of the night, his subordinates couldn’t help but marvel, “President Sheng, you’re truly a hidden talent… We always thought you only cared about work!”

Sheng Yan smiled without comment, not revealing that he had a wealthy second-generation friend named Yan Han.

Even before he started his own business, during the summer after he finished his college entrance exams, Yan Han had taken him to every major nightclub and bar in Hai City.

That was when he learned most of the tricks for drinking games. Though he hadn’t played much in recent years, his skills remained sharp enough to impress his subordinates.

Sheng Yan listened to his subordinates’ chatter with half an ear.

In truth, after hanging up with Gu Zhiyi, his enthusiasm had waned considerably.

Sheng Yan had only finalized his relationship with Gu Zhiyi on Friday, and his interest was still burning bright. Compared to the effortless victory of easily defeating his subordinates here, spending a wonderful night with Gu Zhiyi was far more appealing to him at the moment.

Yet, he couldn’t decide whether the Stubborn Little Dog was too sensible or too clueless. After Sheng Yan had said, “Let’s meet again next time,” Gu Zhiyi had simply replied, “Okay,” without even trying to persuade him to end the gathering early.

As he thought this, Sheng Yan couldn’t help but click his tongue. He picked up his brandy glass and downed more than half of the remaining liquid in one gulp.

“President Sheng, what you’re doing right now…” slurred one of the vice presidents beside him, his words thick with alcohol, “…is practically… practically asking for trouble!”

Sheng Yan raised an innocent eyebrow and casually retorted, “If you can’t even give me a chance to drink properly, how can that be my fault?”

The words were not particularly damaging, but they were deeply insulting, and the four vice presidents instantly wore expressions of resentment.

Vice President Zhou, clearly emboldened by alcohol, was far more daring than he usually was at the office. He pushed up his glasses and racked his brain for a way to regain the upper hand. “President Sheng has been distracted ever since that phone call earlier, and now he’s drinking alone. Who could have called to upset President Sheng so much?”

His question immediately sparked a flurry of gossip among the others.

Sheng Yan, too lazy to engage with the drunks, stood up and said with a casual smile, “I’m going to the restroom. You have five minutes. By the time I get back, I expect you to have come up with a drinking game that gives me an excuse to drink.”

With that, Sheng Yan left the booth and strolled toward the restroom.

As he passed the corner table by the bar, Sheng Yan instinctively glanced over—

It was the same spot where Gu Zhiyi had sat that night, looking out of place yet strikingly striking.

Of course, Gu Zhiyi wouldn’t be here tonight.

The table was occupied by a short-haired woman who noticed Sheng Yan’s gaze. A fleeting, undisguised look of admiration flashed in her eyes before she quickly offered him a confident smile.

Sheng Yan returned the smile, then withdrew his gaze and entered the restroom without lingering.

He walked to the farthest sink in the corner and bent down to splash cold water on his face to wake himself up.

Naturally, he remembered that night here, when he had deliberately asked Gu Zhiyi to help him wipe the wine stains off his shirt with a wet wipe.

It had been quite amusing.

When he looked up after washing his face, Sheng Yan noticed a man had appeared behind him at some point.

Sensing the obvious suggestive undertones in the man’s eyes, Sheng Yan shook his head without hesitation. “I already have plans tonight.”

Before the man could say anything to try and sway him, Sheng Yan left the restroom briskly, showing no mercy.

Since making plans with Gu Zhiyi, he had become much more direct and decisive when turning people down.

He had no interest in juggling multiple casual partners simultaneously.

Moreover, he hadn’t encountered anyone since who could rival Gu Zhiyi’s allure.

When he returned to the booth, his four subordinates looked like they had been waiting impatiently for a long time. A spinner now sat on the coffee table. If he wasn’t mistaken…

“President Sheng, you’re back! We’ve been waiting for you all this time!”

“Sit down, sit down! We found the perfect game!”

“Ta-da! Truth or Dare!”

The guess proved correct, leaving Sheng Yan speechless.

Of course, every gathering eventually ends with Truth or Dare.

No skill was involved—just pure luck.

But Sheng Yan was always easygoing when it came to such matters. He sat down and declared, “Alright, let’s start now.”

The four cheered and spun the bottle.

It seemed God had a sense of humor: while opening a door for Sheng Yan, He had slammed shut a window.

Sheng Yan was a master of the game, but his luck was abysmal.

He was the first to be chosen.

“Truth!” the youngest female vice president announced excitedly. “Tell us when your first love was.”

The other three groaned in unison. “So boring!” they cried. “With President Sheng’s looks, we all know he was dating in middle school!”

Someone joked, “Let’s be bold, maybe even earlier! Maybe he was in love in elementary school, hahaha!”

But to everyone’s surprise, Sheng Yan shook his head and replied earnestly, “I’ve never dated. In fact, I’m still single. Twenty-eight years of being a lifelong bachelor.”

When he finished speaking, all four of them froze.

But someone quickly reacted, “That makes sense. I’ve been at the company for almost five years, and I’ve witnessed President Sheng reject 999 suitors!”

“Exactly!” The other three immediately chimed in with jokes. “We’re single because we’re not good enough, but President Sheng is single because everyone else isn’t good enough!”

Someone even sighed with genuine emotion, “I really wonder who will be the lucky one to win the hand of the beautiful… wait, to win President Sheng’s hand!”

“Enough already?” Sheng Yan interrupted with amusement. “Shall we continue playing?”

This finally managed to pull their attention back, and they spun the wheel again.

But the second time, it landed on Sheng Yan again.

“Dare: Kiss the person to your right.”

Vice President Zhou read the text and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy shit! The person to President Sheng’s right. that’s me! I wouldn’t dare!”

The group burst into laughter.

Vice President Zhou raised his glass, his voice filled with apprehension. “If this doesn’t work, it really won’t work. I’ll drink first as a toast!”

Sheng Yan refilled his own glass, clinked it lightly against Vice President Zhou’s, and downed the contents in one go.

The spinning wheel turned again, its pointer gradually slowing.

For the third time, it landed on Sheng Yan!

Even Sheng Yan was speechless. “Are you guys sure you’re not rigging this.?”

Of course, he was just joking.

“It’s still ‘Truth or Dare’!” Vice President Zhou exclaimed, his voice ringing with excitement as he read the text on the wheel. “This round is going to be fun! Call the person you most recently contacted in your call log and say ‘I miss you’!”

The other three immediately started cheering in unison. “Go on, President Sheng, make the call!”

Hearing the instruction, a slow smile spread across Sheng Yan’s lips—

Indeed, this round was finally going to be interesting.

He showed no hesitation, even acting particularly “generous.” He immediately opened the WeChat chat with “Stubborn Little Dog” and initiated a video call.

Gu Zhiyi had just finished showering and lay down, ready to listen to twenty minutes of BBC news as usual.

He’d been incredibly unproductive all day and didn’t want to let this last twenty minutes be interrupted as well.

However, before he could even open the news app, his phone vibrated—

It was Sheng Yan calling, and it was a video call.

Gu Zhiyi’s breath hitched instinctively. After a fleeting moment of hesitation, he immediately answered and put on his earphones.

His three roommates were still playing an online game together, so Gu Zhiyi didn’t get out of bed to go to the balcony.

A second later, the video call connected, and Sheng Yan’s face—the one Gu Zhiyi had been thinking about all day—appeared on the screen.

Seemingly noticing Gu Zhiyi’s surroundings, Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow. “Are you already asleep?”

Gu Zhiyi had also noticed Sheng Yan’s surroundings—

Still in a dimly lit nightclub with thumping music.

The fingers holding his phone tightened slightly. After a pause, Gu Zhiyi replied in a low voice, “Not yet. I just lay down.”

“Haven’t seen you in two days,” Sheng Yan said, his eyes curving into a smile as the lights danced in them. “Did you miss me?”

The tone was teasing.

Gu Zhiyi pressed his lips together, remaining silent for a moment.

After a pause, his thin lips parted, ready to stubbornly retort with a “No.”

But before he could utter the word, Sheng Yan continued, “I think I miss you a little, Xiao Gu.”

The voice, still light and smiling, carried a faint crackle of static as it reached Gu Zhiyi’s ears.

Gu Zhiyi froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly as if under a spell.

As if that weren’t enough, Sheng Yan suddenly raised a finger, its pale tip hovering over the screen.

Two seconds later, Gu Zhiyi realized what Sheng Yan was doing…

He was…

…touching his nose through the screen…

Though nothing had actually made contact, a peculiar tingling sensation surged through him.

Gu Zhiyi instinctively raised a hand to rub his nose, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Gege…” he blurted out, then fell silent, unsure what he wanted to say.

His voice was hoarse, tinged with a desire he hadn’t realized he felt.

The person on the other side of the screen smiled even more broadly, their face in the flickering, hazy light taking on an almost succubus-like allure.

Their tone was equally seductive and bewitching: “The night’s not over yet. Want to come see me, Xiao Gu?”

Gu Zhiyi didn’t answer immediately.

The conversation he’d had with Zhao Da two hours earlier suddenly flooded his mind:

“What if he calls you again after his party ends? Would you still not go?”

“No. It should be past curfew by then.”

It was indeed past curfew. Going out now required registration and would likely lead to a private chat with the counselor the next day.

Such a hassle. Gu Zhiyi had always hated such complications.

Yet the next moment, his thin lips pressed together before parting to utter a single word: “Go.”

As the word left his mouth, Gu Zhiyi abruptly rose from bed, strode to the closet, flung open the door, and pulled out the gray hoodie and white shirt he’d chosen specifically because someone might like them.

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