I’m Face-Blind, But I Devoted Myself To Three Guys - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: “He Likes Me”

“Ah, finally, I can rest after today’s event is over,” Xu Changshu couldn’t help but sigh with relief.

The person sitting in the back seat had his eyes closed, his expression weary.

Xu Changshu glanced at Chi Hui through the rearview mirror. “By the way, do you have any plans for the New Year? If not, why not come to my house to ring in the year? My wife was telling me this morning to invite you.”

He knew Chi Hui had no family and spent every New Year alone.

Hearing this, Chi Hui opened his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose while staring at the buildings outside the window.

The Spring Festival was only two days away. Many red lanterns had been hung along the roadside, and cheerful music was playing in every street and alley. It was very festive.

“No need,” Chi Hui said with a flat expression and a cool tone.

Xu Changshu wasn’t particularly surprised by the rejection, just a bit disappointed.

The car was quiet for a while before Xu Changshu remembered something else. “Regarding that warehouse incident from a few days ago, the police follow-up is out. The person who led Qi Xu to the warehouse has been found. It was indeed related to Lin Yaozhi—it was his assistant. However, that guy is dead-set on claiming it was a misunderstanding.”

Apparently, after the joint shoot ended, Lin Yaozhi added a temporary session. The assistant insisted he misheard and thought his artist and Chi Hui were shooting together, which is why he called for Qi Xu. He also claimed he left in a hurry after receiving an urgent call and didn’t know Qi Xu had been locked in.

“He also denied planting the signal jammer. There were no cameras near the warehouse, so there’s no way to determine who locked the door or who placed the jammer.”

Even knowing the story was full of holes, without concrete evidence, they couldn’t do much to the other party.

Hearing about Qi Xu, Chi Hui finally showed some emotion on his face. He frowned, his complexion darkening. “Tsk.”

“Lin Yaozhi is a petty, calculating person. Unless you catch him red-handed, there’s really nothing you can do about someone like that. At least Little Xu wasn’t hurt,” Xu Changshu said gloomily.

However, mentioning Qi Xu brought up another question. He tapped the steering wheel. “By the way, should I look for another assistant for you after the New Year?”

Qi Xu had officially finished his work a few days ago, and Xu Changshu had even settled his wages on the spot.

When applying, Qi Xu hadn’t listed his education on his resume, and Xu Changshu had forgotten to ask at the time. It was only a couple of days ago that they learned the kid was actually a university student.

Both he and Chi Hui had coincidentally assumed Qi Xu was one of those kids who dropped out of school to work.

They could only blame that first glimpse outside the coffee shop—the image of Qi Xu picking through trash had left too deep an impression on them.

Chi Hui didn’t speak. He lowered his head and instinctively checked his phone.

His chat history with Qi Xu was stuck on a message Qi Xu sent the day before yesterday: [Be careful with your wrist, okay?]

He had worked late that day and only saw it in the early hours of the morning. His finger hovered over the screen for a long time, but eventually, he deleted the few words he had typed. Qi Xu hadn’t sent any messages since then.

Seeing that the person behind him remained silent, Xu Changshu scratched his head and wracked his brain for another topic. “Oh, Little Xu messaged me yesterday asking if you were still mad at him. He said he sent you a text but didn’t get a reply.”

As he spoke, he peeked at the man behind him and saw Chi Hui look up.

Sure enough, Chi Hui reacted as long as Qi Xu was mentioned.

“…” Xu Changshu suddenly had a very bad premonition.

He let out two dry laughs. “Haha, this kid is really thoughtful. Even though his job is over, he hasn’t forgotten to check on you.”

He didn’t know which word hit the mark, but Chi Hui lowered his eyes, and his expression softened visibly.

“…” Xu Changshu’s smile hung halfway on his face, unsure if the corners of his mouth should go up or down.

Thinking about Chi Hui’s inexplicable gloom over the past few days since Qi Xu left, and recalling Chi Hui’s exceptionally tolerant—even indulgent—attitude toward Qi Xu, Xu Changshu, as an experienced person, sensitively sniffed out something wrong.

“Chi Hui,” Xu Changshu wiped sweat from his forehead that seemed to come from nowhere. He couldn’t resist calling out to him.

The person called raised his eyes, meeting Xu Changshu’s gaze through the mirror.

“My ancestor, you know you can’t be in a relationship right now, right?” Xu Changshu grinned, but the smile looked more painful than crying.

Chi Hui looked at his manager’s “the sky is falling” expression and lightly raised an eyebrow. After a long pause, he leaned back against the seat and said with a hint of self-mockery, “Do you think it’s even possible?”

He hadn’t even figured out the situation yet, and that little brat had slipped out of his life just as unreasonably as he had first barged into his sight.

Seeing his wistful look, Xu Changshu felt a lump in his throat.

He thought, based on his knowledge of Chi Hui, that this man whose mouth was harder than iron would definitely deny it.

But Chi Hui didn’t…

Xu Changshu got even more scared. “You better hold it in. You’ve just entered the rising stage of your career. Don’t go messing around for me.”

Unfortunately, one look at Chi Hui’s face told him his warning was falling on deaf ears.

Helpless, Xu Changshu pulled out his trump card: “Think it through clearly. This kid is only twenty. He’s so young, an age where he doesn’t understand anything. And what if he doesn’t even like men?”

Chi Hui indeed frowned upon hearing this, but after a few seconds, he suddenly stated with certainty: “He likes me.”

“…” Xu Changshu tried to wake him up. “That’s the kind of ‘like’ a fan has for an idol.”

Chi Hui lowered his eyes, his gaze deep. “Liking is enough.” As long as it wasn’t hate, there was a chance.

Xu Changshu: “…” How had he never noticed before that Chi Hui was actually the “lovestruck” type?

“Then at least don’t cause any trouble before you leave Jiahui,” Xu Changshu was almost driven to laughter by anger.

Chi Hui rubbed the edge of his phone, silent for a few seconds, before suddenly dropping a line: “Six months.”

“What?” Xu Changshu was confused by this non-sequitur.

But soon, he realized belatedly that Chi Hui was referring to the time remaining until his contract with Jiahui expired.

Six months left.

“…” So out of all his instructions, he only heard the very last sentence?

Xu Changshu sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine. Once you successfully terminate the contract, I won’t be able to control you. You can date whoever you want—as long as the other person hasn’t moved on to some other handsome guy or beautiful girl by then.”

Xu Changshu said it casually, but he didn’t expect it to make Chi Hui suddenly alert.

Given how Qi Xu was always smiling at everyone, even if he didn’t fall for someone else, it was very likely someone else would pester him.

“…” His hand resting on his leg tapped twice. Chi Hui picked up his phone and opened the chat with Qi Xu.

After hesitating for a moment, he forced himself to find a topic: [Didn’t you say before that your grandfather sells orchids? The one at home is dying; help me keep an eye out for a new one.]

…

When he received the text, Qi Xu was lying on his sofa at home chatting with Jiang Yingshen. A fruit platter cut by the housekeeper sat by his hand; he was very comfortable.

Jiang Yingshen’s family had long been discharged from the hospital and were recovering well. They had contacted Qi Xu a few times, but Qi Xu had been too busy being Chi Hui’s assistant to spare much time for the other two protagonists.

At most, he occasionally sent them cold jokes he found online to maintain the relationship, but both of them were men of few words—it often took a lot of pestering to get a brief reply.

Since leaving his job with Chi Hui, Qi Xu had been lying around at home for two days and was starting to try contacting the other two again.

Xie Chengyan had been very quiet lately. Even though they lived right across from each other, Qi Xu hadn’t seen him in a long time. Upon inquiring, he found out Xie had been sent abroad for business.

Currently, the only ones he could “simp” for were Jiang Yingshen and Chi Hui.

And since learning he was a student and couldn’t be a full-time assistant, Chi Hui seemed a bit angry; Qi Xu hadn’t received a reply to his messages.

So, seeing a text initiated by Chi Hui was a surprise.

But after reading the content, he felt a bit worried.

Chi Hui stared at the sent message. After waiting patiently for five minutes, he finally saw the “The other party is typing…” prompt.

However, the prompt stayed there for a long time without a message appearing. Chi Hui glanced at the focused Xu Changshu, couldn’t help but put on his headphones, and dialed the number directly.

Qi Xu was just about to send his message when he was startled by the video call popping up on his screen.

His finger instinctively hit “Accept,” and then a superior figure appeared on the screen.

Chi Hui was sitting in the car, propping himself against the window with his phone resting casually on his lap. The camera framed him from a low angle. Even from such a “deathly” angle, his looks were still incredibly resilient.

Qi Xu stared at the screen and blinked.

Chi Hui kept his eyes lowered, his gaze seemingly sweeping over the face on the screen by chance.

But he quickly noticed something was wrong. “Where are you?”

The background behind Qi Xu was a giant, ornate decorative wall carving. As the camera shook and swept past, there was also a complex chandelier. It looked like a very expensive environment.

Qi Xu sensed his gaze and instinctively turned to look behind him. He suddenly snapped to his senses and reflexively covered the camera with his hand.

The screen went black. Chi Hui frowned. “What are you doing?”

Afraid of being suspected, Qi Xu had to let go. He deliberately leaned close to the phone, using his face to block the camera view.

Chi Hui wanted to press further, but looking at the magnified face in the video, he suddenly lost his momentum.

Qi Xu blinked, his long eyelashes clearly visible through the lens.

“Why are you suddenly calling me?” And a video call, at that.

Chi Hui turned his head slightly to hide his expression. “Did you see the text I just sent you?”

Qi Xu nodded. “I saw it. What species do you want?”

“Whatever,” Chi Hui held a loose fist to his lips and coughed lightly.

“When do you want it?” Qi Xu asked.

Chi Hui’s gaze involuntarily returned to the screen, focusing on the small mole on Qi Xu’s cheekbone. “Anytime. I’m free for the next few days.”

But after saying that, he realized the next few days were the Spring Festival, and Qi Xu likely wouldn’t have time.

“No rush. We’ll talk when you have time.”

“Okay,” Qi Xu replied.

The conversation seemed to end there, but for a while, neither of them suggested hanging up.

After a long pause, Chi Hui spoke again. “Are you going back to your hometown for the New Year?”

Qi Xu pursed his lips. “Yes.” Every year his family either went to his paternal grandfather’s or maternal grandfather’s house, which counted as going back to their hometown.

Chi Hui lowered his eyes and nodded.

“What about you? Is your work finished?” Qi Xu changed his position, lying on the sofa and staring at the Chi Hui sitting in the car with concern.

“I can rest starting tomorrow.”

Qi Xu couldn’t help but sigh, “So much hard work.”

Chi Hui gave a low “Mhm.”

As they chatted about meaningless things, Chi Hui suddenly became very patient, which Qi Xu wasn’t quite used to.

Just as Qi Xu was considering whether to continue forcing the awkward chat, his father, Father Qi, walked over.

“Hao Hao, have you seen a red-covered book from my study?”

Qi Xu was startled by his father’s sudden voice and instinctively reached out to cover the microphone.

However, Chi Hui still heard that opening “Hao Hao.”

Qi Xu looked at the camera, worried that continuing the call would expose his secret. “Um… if there’s nothing else, let’s hang up. My dad seems to need me for something.”

Chi Hui was still a bit dazed.

Seeing him stay silent, Qi Xu prepared to hang up.

“Wait.”

Qi Xu’s hand paused on the hang-up button. He stared at the person on the other end and tilted his head. “Hmm?”

“…I didn’t ignore your previous message on purpose. It was too late when I saw it.”

Chi Hui’s lips thinned unconsciously. “I wasn’t angry either… you can keep texting me.”

Qi Xu froze for several seconds before realizing the other man was specifically explaining himself. His beautiful eyes blinked twice and crinkled into a smile.

His eyes, full of mirth, were sparkling. “Okay!”