The Cool CEO’s Ultra-Sweet Boyfriend - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: You Like Men?

“What does President Ji want to talk about?” Xu Nanxin’s voice carried an involuntary hint of nervousness.

To his surprise, the other man simply asked in a casual, nonchalant tone, “You like men?”

Xu Nanxin raised his head in blatant bewilderment. He stared at Ji Li, his face a mask of shock. How could Ji Li possibly know?

The flash of panic in Xu Nanxin’s eyes was accurately caught by Ji Li. He knew he had guessed right.

Fortunately, Xu Nanxin was no longer the boy from years ago who would lose his composure over his own sexual orientation. Within a few seconds, he composed himself and asked Ji Li in return, “How did President Ji find out?”

“The way you look at me is very obvious,” Ji Li said indifferently, his eyes showing no disgust, as if merely stating a simple fact. “However, I’m not interested in you. Don’t look at me that way again next time. I know this job isn’t easy for you, either.”

A friend of Ji Li’s had once told him that in the same-sex community, a face like his was top-tier material, whether for a ‘1’ or a ‘0’ (top or bottom). He hadn’t paid much attention to his friend’s joke back then. But he had indeed seen eyes like Xu Nanxin’s many times before. Choosing to talk to him privately this time was simply his way of saving Xu Nanxin from embarrassment over a personal matter.

Little did he know, his words were already enough to make Xu Nanxin feel deeply humiliated.

So, he didn’t bring it up earlier just because it was inconvenient with the driver around? Is Ji Li supposed to be saving my dignity?

Xu Nanxin felt a burning, stinging pain across his face. He clenched his fists tightly, unable to tell for a moment whether he felt more humiliated or heartbroken.

He heard his own strained, dry voice offering a cold explanation.

“President Ji, you’re overthinking it. It’s nothing like that.”

“Good. Let’s leave it at that then. Get some rest early, and don’t let this affect your work tomorrow.” Ji Li nodded slightly. Having made his point, he turned around, opened the passenger door, and got into the car.

As the car door shut and the vehicle started, it drove off, leaving nothing but a cloud of exhaust fumes behind for Xu Nanxin.

Xu Nanxin felt cold to his bones. It shouldn’t be this freezing in October. Amidst the burning humiliation on his face, Ji Li’s indifferent words echoed repeatedly in his mind: I’m not interested in you.

He was so cold that he wouldn’t even spare an extra glance. Ji Li truly knew exactly how to crush a person’s self-esteem.

Then again, how could someone like Ji Li ever like him? They simply don’t belong to the same world. As expected, online dating really is unreliable.

Yet, the ache in Xu Nanxin’s heart was still unbearable. He crouched down right at the entrance of the downstairs stairwell, leaning against the railing. Burying his head in his knees, his eyes grew red and stung with tears, though he fought hard to hold them back.

Didn’t I always know what kind of person Ji Li is? Why am I still this heartbroken?

Back then during the meeting, when he criticized me like that, I only felt a little embarrassed.

Suddenly, the phone in his bag began to vibrate. Xu Nanxin’s eyes were still wet, a clear sign that he had just been crying.

He lowered his head and pulled out his phone. It was an unfamiliar number, so he didn’t answer. However, the phone kept ringing until the call automatically timed out.

Just as Xu Nanxin was about to put the phone away, it started ringing again. He frowned. The location displayed for the number wasn’t local. He waited for a long time, but the person on the other end seemed relentless and refused to hang up.

Finally, thoroughly annoyed by the noise, he answered the call but remained completely silent.

“Little Bunny?”

A familiar voice came through, but the tone carried a rare touch of gentleness. Xu Nanxin froze for a moment before suddenly remembering—he had given his phone number to Mr. Z before!

Without the voice-changer software from the app, the man’s voice was crystal clear.

Thinking about the cold, warning voice from just a moment ago, Xu Nanxin was utterly terrified. The fright instantly chased away his tears, leaving only pure panic. He hurriedly looked up, wiped the tears from his face, and sniffed.

Not daring to say another word, he only ventured a soft, nasal “Mm,” before quickly opening his phone to download the voice-changing software.

Ji Li sat in the passenger seat, the window rolled halfway down as a cool, refreshing night breeze blew in.

Having settled the matter with Xu Nanxin, he suddenly found himself missing Little Bunny. The other person hadn’t contacted him for the past two days, which had never happened before.

Little Bunny rarely went more than a day without messaging him. On the contrary, back when they weren’t dating yet, Ji Li was often the one who would take a day or two to reply because he was too busy with work, only to find a mountain of messages waiting for him.

Ji Li had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder in this regard, so he would scroll up through the chat history and reply to every single message.

In fact, when they first met, he could sense that the other person was only chatting online to seek a sense of security.

The kid was anxious and lost because of his sexual orientation, and shockingly thought he could find a sense of belonging in an app like this. Little did he know that he and the people on that app belonged to completely different worlds.

It was like a little rabbit accidentally wandering into a wolf’s den.

Seeing how innocent and naive the other person was, Ji Li had offered a couple of well-meaning warnings out of kindness. He never expected that this once-in-a-century act of meddling would cause Little Bunny to cling to him, viewing him as a good person.

The other person loved sharing happy moments with him, and whenever he encountered any troubles, he would ask for Ji Li’s advice and thoughts. Perhaps because they were strangers who didn’t know each other in real life, chatting felt exceptionally relaxing.

Little Bunny had a strong desire to share, which was something Ji Li lacked. After spending time together, Ji Li realized he quite liked having such a person around—someone who didn’t mind his coldness and enthusiastically sent him a bunch of little anecdotes from daily life every day.

Little Bunny was one of those rare people who talked a lot but never annoyed him. It felt as though the kid was simply sharing things with him, and upon receiving a reply, would radiate a sense of pure, satisfied joy.

Amid his chaotic work, whenever Ji Li chanced upon a free moment and saw those messages, it always put him in a good mood, effectively washing away the exhaustion of the day.

That was why, when Little Bunny asked him if they could date back then, Ji Li had cast aside his usual rationality for the very first time and agreed.

Ji Li looked at his phone and dialed the number. Though it was his first time calling it, he already knew it by heart.

He called twice, but nobody answered. It wasn’t until the third attempt that the call was finally picked up. However, there was no sound from the other side, so he asked tentatively, “Little Bunny?”

To his surprise, he heard a thick, nasal voice that clearly sounded like the aftermath of crying. The muffled “Mm” caused Ji Li to knit his brows.

He gripped his phone tightly. That muted voice tugged painfully at his heartstrings.

“What happened?” Ji Li asked. His tone was full of concern, his deep and gentle voice making him sound like an entirely different person from his usual self.

It was very quiet on the other end. He waited patiently for Little Bunny to gather his emotions and speak to him. When it came to his lover, he had always possessed a great deal of patience.

“It’s nothing… I just got too invested in a drama I was watching, and it made me cry.”

For some reason, hearing Ji Li’s incredibly gentle voice only made Xu Nanxin feel worse.

It’s all fake. It’s all an illusion!