He's Really So Hard to Pursue - Chapter 7

The next day, Jiang Yanci really did get up very early; at seven in the morning, he was already up and on the first floor.

“Jiang-ge, why are you up so early?”

Xiao Zhao used to arrive at the shop around nine, but today her grandmother made the brown sugar red bean buns she likes, and to get the first bite, she also got up very early.

After eating, she even packed some to bring to the shop.

As soon as she entered the door, she saw Jiang Yanci sitting on the sofa, which gave her quite a fright.

Then, her eyes drifted ambiguously between the first and second floors: “Jiang-ge, you… slept here last night?”

Jiang Yanci smelled the sweet scent of the red beans: “That’s right!”

Xiao Zhao was excited and agitated, taking out the brown sugar red bean buns: “Quick, breakfast. Are you in a hurry to go out? If not, can I gossip a little?”

Jiang Yanci let out a yawn, nestling listlessly into the sofa; hearing this, he gave a light laugh and said generously: “What do you want to know.”

“Why did you stay at the shop to sleep last night?”

“Did the boss agree to it?”

“Then… where did you sleep last night? Was it the boss’s room?”

“The same bed?!”

Xiao Zhao asked four questions in a row.

Jiang Yanci silently gave a thumbs up: “Right to the point.”

Xiao Zhao clapped for herself: “I’m a little cutie who indulges in Danmei novels all day; I could tell at a glance you have designs on our boss. Did you catch him?”

“Quick, tell me, what stage have you reached?”

She was clawing at her heart with curiosity and had wanted to ask for a long time, but every time Jiang-ge wasn’t alone, and she didn’t quite dare to ask in front of the boss.

Jiang Yanci smiled without saying much, taking a brown sugar red bean bun and pulling it apart.

The faint sweet scent of red beans in the air instantly became rich, mixing with the smell of brown sugar and the aroma of flour.

“I haven’t caught him.”

Xiao Zhao clearly didn’t believe it: “But you already stayed the night…”

“Your boss…” Jiang Yanci finished one bun: “Is really hard to chase!”

With that, he stood up: “I’m leaving first, I have things to do this morning.”

Not getting the answer she wanted, Xiao Zhao felt a tiny bit disappointed: “Okay.”

Jiang Yanci looked at her, his gaze falling on those few security cameras overhead; he narrowed his eyes slightly: “Xiao Zhao, I see quite a few cameras installed in the living room.”

Xiao Zhao: “Yeah, the boss had them installed during the renovation. The boss drew the design plans for the first and second floors himself, and he did many things personally. The boss said it saves money this way.”

Jiang Yanci hadn’t paid for the tattoo he got yesterday yet.

Hearing this, he asked: “What’s your boss’s market price?”

Xiao Zhao held up four fingers: “It starts at this many digits. The boss produces his own design plans, unique in the industry. Don’t look at how low-key he usually is; his status in the industry isn’t low. If the design is large, some can go up to six figures.”

Jiang Yanci: “Then how much would mine be?”

Xiao Zhao was curious: “That depends on where you got it tattooed and the size of the tattoo area. Jiang-ge, show me your tattoo, and I’ll give you an estimate.”

Jiang Yanci: “…”

He rubbed his nose and said vaguely: “No need, I’ll ask your boss when the time comes.”

Xiao Zhao didn’t notice his unnaturalness; hearing this, she said happily: “Exactly! That way there’s another reason to talk and meet.”

A young girl’s excitement always came so simply.

He took another look at the cameras and asked seemingly casually before leaving: “Then do you check the camera footage every day?”

Xiao Zhao was just about to get up to go to Room 1 to prepare; hearing this, she immediately shook her head: “How could I!”

Jiang Yanci’s hand that was about to push the door open immediately retracted, naturally sliding back into his pocket: “What do you mean?”

“To protect my innocence, the boss usually checks the surveillance videos himself.”

Jiang Yanci: “…? What?”

Xiao Zhao said, “If he’s not free, he lets Jiang Xi take a look; anyway, I don’t have to watch it.”

Then, she saw the handsome Jiang’s face become brighter and brighter, the corners of his lips slowly curving up, until finally he couldn’t control the smile at all, and laughter flowed out in bursts.

Xiao Zhao laughed along with him: “Jiang-ge, what are you so happy about?”

Jiang Yanci laughed: “Your boss is just trying to cover things up, saying one thing but feeling another. I’m leaving, I’ll bring you something delicious next time.”

Xiao Zhao waved her hand: “Alright. Jiang-ge, be careful on the road.”

After leaving the tattoo shop, Jiang Yanci stood at the door for quite a while.

He laughed and cursed quietly, “Closeted freak!”

He was happy today; he stepped right into a small puddle by the door, splashing a circle of muddy water that stained his white shoes.

But he didn’t care, completely didn’t see it, and didn’t want to bother.

Back at the bar, although he didn’t drive yesterday, he always had a car parked here as a backup.

After getting in the car, he dialed a phone number for Qu Yehui.

Qu Yehui had probably just crawled out of some “gentle trap”; upon picking up, he cursed first: “Are you sick? Seven-thirty. Don’t you need to sleep? Or are you too excited because Jiang Yi worked you until morning and you haven’t slept all night?”

Jiang Yanci started the car: “Oh! What’s that sound in the background?”

Qu Yehui paused for a moment, appearing to walk to the window: “What is it.”

“I’m in a good mood, looking for you to come out for a drink.”

Qu Yehui was shocked: “Brother, it’s seven-thirty in the morning, which bar is open?”

“Other bars naturally wouldn’t be, but I have my own bar.” Jiang Yanci talked nonsense; while inviting Qu Yehui, the car had already driven out of the old street, clearly not sincerely inviting someone for a drink.

Qu Yehui lit a cigarette, his long fingers idly tapping the window: “Didn’t you sleep at Jiang Yi’s place last night? Did nothing happen?”

Jiang Yanci sneered: “If I didn’t take advantage, would it still be me?”

Finally reaching the main point, Qu Yehui became interested: “Tell me, who was proactive?”

“If I waited for that closeted freak to be proactive, I’d be better off looking for a gigolo.” Jiang Yanci licked his lips: “Nothing much happened, just a simple… kiss.”

Qu Yehui’s hand shook: “A tongue kiss?!”

Jiang Yanci: “I stuck mine in.”

Qu Yehui was silent, then after a while, he exploded: “Holy shit, that’s badass. Drinks tonight, my treat.”

A red light was ahead; he had encountered the morning rush hour with heavy traffic. Jiang Yanci hadn’t crossed this intersection after two red lights and met another one. He looked at the messages on his phone: “Not tonight.”

Qu Yehui’s excitement was doused with a bucket of cold water; he complained: “Scumbag, you just said you’d drink with me this morning.”

Jiang Yanci’s eyes turned slightly cold: “I have to go home today.”

Qu Yehui’s smile suddenly vanished: “They looked for you again? Are you sure you want to go back? Arci, since you’ve already moved out, don’t go back.”

The smile Jiang Yanci wore was cold, and the words he spoke seemed soaked in an ice cellar: “She’s using suicide to force me back; I also want to see what new trick it is this time.”

But at the mention of Jiang Yanci’s home, Qu Yehui was terrified.

He couldn’t help but worry: “I’ll go over too…”

“No need.” Jiang Yanci: “I don’t plan to have a conflict with them.”

“You don’t plan to, but will they not plan to?! If they don’t strip a layer of skin off you, will they let it rest?” Qu Yehui jumped in anger: “Back then your wrist was injured from overwork, but if it weren’t for your dad, could you have retired so early…”

“Qu Yehui!” Jiang Yanci knit his brows in warning.

Just then the red light turned green; he stepped on the gas, and the car slid smoothly into the flow of traffic.

On the other side of the call, Qu Yehui also knew this matter couldn’t be mentioned: “Fine, then you stay safe. Tell me if anything feels wrong; I’ll come over immediately.”

After hanging up, he still felt uneasy. He opened a certain map app, searched for an address, and looking at the store contact info there, he directly made a call.

When Jiang Yanci first entered the e-sports circle, he bought his parents a small 89-square-meter apartment in the east of the city; he bought it with two years of signing fees.

At that time housing prices weren’t high, but he felt that area would surely develop well later.

As expected, looking across the river, it really did develop very well in the last two years, even better than the west of the city.

The unit price of that house also rose instantly, seven or eight times higher.

With complete facilities nearby, it was, by all accounts, a house in an excellent location.

The drive from the south of the city wasn’t far, crossing the river via an underwater tunnel; half an hour later, he parked his car in a space downstairs.

Although the facilities beneath the building were a bit old, they didn’t affect the livability at all.

Jiang Yanci pressed the elevator button and went up to the sixteenth floor.

He had a key to the house but rarely used it, choosing to ring the doorbell every time he visited.

The doorbell rang for two minutes before the sound of unhurried footsteps was heard; the person inside opened the door and, seeing the man standing outside, seemed not to recognize him at first. After a moment, she said flatly: “You’re back. Come in.”

Jiang Yanci gave a self-mocking smile and changed his shoes as he entered: “I thought you said you’d slit your wrists to commit suicide? You look quite fine; I don’t see any wounds.”

Jiang’s mother retorted coldly: “If I didn’t do that, would you have come back?”

The living room was piled with many children’s toys, some of which were very new, likely bought recently.

He found a spot where he could actually step and sat down: “What’s the matter.”

“Your brother is about to start school, and the school district for this house is average. We want to change to a larger one.”

Jiang’s mother didn’t even bother to pretend there was maternal affection, directly stating her demands.

Jiang Yanci gave a mocking laugh.

Jiang’s mother frowned at his laugh, displeased: “What do you mean?”

Jiang Yanci sneered: “Which one do you have your eye on?”

Jiang’s mother thought he was relenting: “There’s one in the city center…”

Jiang Yanci suddenly raised an eyebrow, interrupting her: “You want to buy another house?”

Jiang’s mother: “Buy? Why spend that money? Don’t you have one in the city center?”

That was his current residence.

For all these years, the family only knew he had a place in the city center, but they didn’t know the specific location.

Jiang Yanci wasn’t stupid; if he gave them the address today, they would be packed and at his doorstep tomorrow.

He smiled slightly: “Then where would I live?”

Jiang’s mother clearly had no intention of living with her eldest son: “You have so many houses, can’t you just live in any one of them?”

Jiang Yanci kicked a toy by his foot, lowered his eyes, and his self-mocking laughter grew louder: “Where’s my dad?”

Jiang’s mother was disgusted: “I don’t know, he went out.”

Jiang Yanci: “How many days has it been since he came back?”

Jiang’s mother: “…I’m not sure.”

Jiang Yanci stood up abruptly: “Mom, is it that you’re not sure or that you’re unwilling to say?”

He paused, and the words he spoke were incredibly cruel: “Maybe he’s at some other man’s house.”

“Jiang Yanci!” Jiang’s mother stepped on her sore spot, “You Jiang family men have owed me your entire lives.”

“The person who owes you is him; what does it have to do with me?” Jiang Yanci turned up his nose; he hated this kind of moral kidnapping the most. “If you had divorced him when you found out he married you under false pretenses, I would have covered your entire lifestyle for the rest of your life. But you didn’t. Not only did you not, you even did IVF at your age to give him a second child.”

“So, the second child is the one you wanted to have. If you can afford to raise him, raise him; if you can’t, you brought that on yourself. As for me…” His smile grew colder and colder, “From the moment I started playing professionally, didn’t you say you didn’t have a son like me anymore? Now that you want a house, you think of me?”

He rose, “If I could choose, I would rather you never gave birth to me.”

Rather than having him and then venting all her hatred for her husband onto him.

Rather than using suicide to trick him home, only to conspire with Jiang’s father to break his hand!

Recalling the scene at that time, Jiang Yanci suddenly felt an uncontrollable pain in his wrist—the open wound, the continuous flow of blood, and the clear sound of the bone snapping.

He had just won the World Championship, standing on the podium in the U.S. draped in the national flag.

In the blink of an eye, everything was gone.

His professional career was forced to a halt.

Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed toward him.

Jiang Yanci snapped his head up; Jiang’s mother had picked up a stool and was swinging it toward his stomach.

Fuck!

It was too close; there was no time to dodge.

His stomach… The tattoo he just got last night, if it got hit like this, it would definitely…

Without a second thought, Jiang Yanci raised his hand to block. Because it happened so fast, and his reflex arc was extremely quick, he subconsciously used his right hand.

The moment his wrist collided with the stool, he felt almost the exact same pain as back then, along with a tidal wave of despair. It wasn’t despair over family ties, but the feeling that he had suffered yet another blow; the blow of never being able to stand on the competitive stage again had come for him once more.

His eyes went bloodshot as he stared icily at Jiang’s mother.

Jiang’s mother felt a slight prick of conscience, especially seeing his hand hanging unnaturally. “I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just angry because you mentioned your father; I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Jiang Yanci pulled out his phone to call a ride; he had to go to the hospital.

But Jiang’s mother grabbed him and wouldn’t let him leave. “You can’t go. Your brother’s schooling depends entirely on you. I’ve already lost one son, I can’t lose your brother too. Arci, I’m your mother, I’m the one who gave bir—”

“What are you doing here?” Before Jiang’s mother could finish, she heard Jiang Yanci’s shocked voice. She turned to look and saw a man she had never seen before.

Jiang’s mother didn’t recognize him, but Jiang Yanci was stunned.

If anyone was going to come here, it could only have been Qu Yehui; he never imagined Jiang Yi would show up here.

Jiang Yi ignored the mess on the floor, his gaze falling on the unnaturally hanging hand, “To the hospital.”

Jiang Yanci put down his phone and stopped trying to call a car. He shook off his mother’s hand and followed Jiang Yi out.

Jiang’s mother was acting frantic, screaming loudly behind him: “Jiang Yanci! You all owe me! You’re the one who owes me! Sure enough, you’re his seed, just like him…”

The moment the elevator doors closed, they shut out Jiang’s mother’s heart-wrenching screams.

Jiang Yanci’s right hand was trembling, but he didn’t forget to tease Jiang Yi: “Did you investigate my ancestors back eight generations, or did your psychic intuition tell you I needed help?”

Jiang Yi’s eyes were cold, his brow furrowed: “Qu Yehui.”

Jiang Yanci: “…Traitor!”

Jiang Yi: “He was worried about you.”

“Then why didn’t he come himself?” Jiang Yanci sneered, “I bet CEO Qu is in some little lover’s bed, too lazy to bother with a confidant like me.”

Jiang Yi’s car was parked downstairs; he hadn’t even looked for a parking spot. It seemed Qu Yehui had said something—this man must have been in a great hurry when he arrived, parking directly in front of the unit entrance.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people around, so no one reported him.

Jiang Yanci walked to the passenger side; just as he was about to open the door, an arm reached over from his right, bypassing him to open the door: “Get in.”

Jiang Yanci shrugged and, ignoring the pain in his wrist, got into the car, his long legs cramped in the small space.

Then, a shadow fell over him.

Jiang Yi’s hand passed between his two legs and dropped down.

His other hand braced against the back of the passenger seat.

Jiang Yanci: “Manager Jiang, this posture… is quite unseemly.”

Click—

The seat lock was released, and Jiang Yi dragged the passenger seat backward, “This is more comfortable.”

Jiang Yanci accepted the kindness and moved slightly; at the same time, Jiang Yi’s hand retracted, perfectly synchronized with Jiang Yanci’s adjustment.

And so…

Manager Jiang’s broad, thick palm defenselessly brushed against the area between Jiang Yanci’s thighs.

Jiang Yanci’s breathing suddenly grew heavy as he looked at Jiang Yi, who remained hovered over him: “…”

He was truly innocent this time; it really wasn’t intentional.

But sometimes, lack of intent is more powerful than intent.

His mouth was faster than his brain as he blurted out: “Does it feel good?”

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