We Are Not Dating! - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Hickeys

After leaving the hotel, Jiang Zhiyu went back to his apartment first.

Both of them had been completely muddled from drinking. Although he had cleaned up after waking up, it had been a rushed and sloppy effort, and he still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Jiang Zhiyu soaked in the bathtub, unwrapping a chocolate while diligently reviewing Qi Shu’s speech draft.

Hiss.

Feeling a stinging sensation at the base of his thigh, he looked down for a serious look.

The “wild man” had disappeared, but the bite marks—distinctly shaped like canine teeth—remained on his body, a testament to the night’s absurdity.

Not only that, there were messy, ambiguous marks scattered about. Jiang Zhiyu had fair, delicate skin; a little force was all it took to leave such things behind.

He hadn’t bought any ointment for bruises for the apartment—heaven knew he’d actually need it. Fortunately, these marks could be hidden by clothes, so they shouldn’t cause any trouble.

Jiang Zhiyu tilted his neck back to stare at the ceiling. Recalling the man’s looks, he still felt the guy was perfectly his type.

But the places that man frequented… first an entertainment club, then a luxury hotel; it was obvious he knew how to play, right?

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhiyu stopped researching Qi Shu’s grand theories and instead made an appointment for a hospital check-up.

Even though they had exchanged physical exam records in the room, he still couldn’t feel entirely at ease.

The nearby top-tier hospitals usually required a scramble for appointments, but since today was a workday, he managed to snag the very last slot for the afternoon.

Then, he stepped out of the bathroom, read through the entire manuscript, and officially began writing the translation.

Around 12 o’clock, Zhou Ke called.

“Good brother, want to go out for lunch? I have a meeting at Songcheng this afternoon. Before I have to watch the client’s face, I plan to reward myself with a better meal.”

Jiang Zhiyu was going out regardless. He said, “Nothing heavy in oil or salt, nothing with too many spices, nothing that swims in the sea or flies in the sky. Which place were you thinking of?”

Zhou Ke had originally wanted Hunan cuisine, but felt like he had just been hit by a barrage of gunfire.

He cursed at the “Young Master’s illness”: “You might as well just eat hard-boiled eggs at home!”

Eventually, the two met at a Chaoshan hot pot restaurant.

Jiang Zhiyu went to get his dipping sauce; it was rare to see him without a hint of spice. Zhou Ke suspected he was on a restricted diet lately.

“You’re already so thin, there’s no way you’re trying to lose weight?” Zhou Ke said. “And didn’t you go to your friend’s shop to drink?”

Jiang Zhiyu had posted a public update on his “Moments” celebrating the grand opening of Tao Yibai’s bar. Zhou Ke had been busy socializing yesterday and only liked it this morning.

Zhou Ke was envious: “While I’m enduring humiliation to coax clients, your nightlife is actually this exciting.”

Jiang Zhiyu twitched the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself: The nightlife was indeed rich, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile.

During the second half, he was literally shedding tears while his “behind” was blooming like a flower.

“By the way, what are you going to Songcheng for today?” He changed the subject.

Zhou Ke replied, “To talk about project details. A meeting this big can’t have impromptu translation; we need to coordinate on the preliminary materials.”

Jiang Zhiyu bit into a beef ball and hummed, “Your communication with them is going smoothly?”

Zhou Ke said, “They’re easier to talk to than I imagined. I was afraid their boss would be too aggressive, but when we met yesterday, he was actually quite smooth.”

The project was led by Qi Shu from the M&A group. The first priority for the dinner party was to invite him.

But word was that Qi Shu was too busy, so the partner, Yang Muchuan, went in his stead to toast with Zhou Ke.

Yang Muchuan was a high-level leader in investment banking. In terms of both status and attitude, he gave Puyin plenty of face.

Zhou Ke shrugged: “Whether what they say is an excuse or not doesn’t matter. It’s better that Qi Shu didn’t come; I’m worst at dealing with people like that.”

Jiang Zhiyu was somewhat surprised: “The one who called me yesterday wasn’t him?”

Zhou Ke explained the sequence of events. Jiang Zhiyu frowned: “That guy named Qi is not easy to handle; he doesn’t want to get close to us.”

“As long as the team gives its all and we don’t offend him professionally, he shouldn’t go looking for trouble for no reason,” Zhou Ke analyzed.

Jiang Zhiyu nodded, then asked curiously, “How is your alcohol tolerance?”

Zhou Ke didn’t expect him to ask this. Surprised, he said, “Why? I’m the one who has to pull in business; naturally, I’m invincible at dinner parties.”

Jiang Zhiyu didn’t believe him: “Have you really never been ‘gone’?”

“At most, I’ve puked until the world turned upside down, but my brain stays clear,” Zhou Ke said.

“I know my limits when I drink too much. I wouldn’t dare get drunk to that extent, for fear that I’d wake up having signed a ‘slave contract,’ or find a naked older man lying next to me.”

Jiang Zhiyu poked the beef with his chopsticks: “.”

Speaking of which, Zhou Ke guessed shrewdly: “Why are you asking this? Did you get into trouble last night?”

Jiang Zhiyu was speechless, not having made up an excuse yet: “.”

“But a one-night stand isn’t a problem for you,” Zhou Ke said gloomily. “If it were me, people would definitely feel they got a bad deal; I’d probably be extorted for at least several hundred thousand.”

Jiang Zhiyu: “…”

Fine, does that mean because I wasn’t asked for money, I actually met an honest person?

The incident happened so suddenly that Jiang Zhiyu hadn’t realized how dangerous it was until now. He thought to himself that he should check at the hospital later to see if his organs were still intact.

Afterward, he and Zhou Ke discussed the progress of the translation. Because he had changed careers after graduation and lacked experience, Jiang Zhiyu’s professional career had started with this kind of basic business.

He had lived overseas since middle school and had an advantage in linguistic intuition. He could write with personal style while meeting the industry standard of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.”

After looking at Jiang Zhiyu’s current results, Zhou Ke said, “It’s quite good, but is it a bit too sharp?”

Jiang Zhiyu said, “The original author is just that aggressive. I preserved his sense of presence.”

Zhou Ke sweated for the afternoon meeting: “I’m afraid I’ll be shredded by the ‘King of Posturing’.”

Jiang Zhiyu had seen many diverse clients, but Zhou Ke was even more experienced. Moreover, the relationship between the two sides was an equal partnership; Puyin wasn’t some small shop that could be easily manipulated. Jiang Zhiyu told Zhou Ke to have a safe trip.

Zhou Ke asked, “What do you have going on later? Your voice is so raspy today, do you have a cold?”

Jiang Zhiyu said, “Maybe the wind has been a bit strong lately; I feel a bit uncomfortable from it.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt secretly bizarre. Did I even use my throat?

Unfortunately, there was no answer to that question; he couldn’t exactly go and confirm it with someone.

“There’s a sandstorm today. I’ll give you a lift.” Zhou Ke had bought a new G-Wagon last month and loved being a driver while the excitement lasted.

Jiang Zhiyu wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t sway the “old fox,” so he just gave the name of a nearby landmark.

He said he was going to a coffee shop to find inspiration. Zhou Ke didn’t think much of it and watched him walk in.

He had booked a 4 PM slot with the chief physician. Since it was still early, Jiang Zhiyu thought: Maybe I’ll just linger here for a while?

Unfortunately, the coffee shop was full of solid wood chairs. He sat down without any defense, then stood back up, having learned his lesson.

Jiang Zhiyu sniffed his nose, afraid someone would notice his clumsiness, and put one hand in his pocket to act like a “cool guy.”

Then, he felt a crumpled piece of paper in his pocket.

The clothes fit perfectly. Jiang Zhiyu had put them on at the hotel and left, not thinking about it at all.

Now, he opened the crumpled paper and found it was a hotel notepad with a string of phone numbers written on it.

The handwriting was upright and beautiful, and the sign-off was an English name, given in return.

Alfred, Jiang Zhiyu thought the name in his mind, and a cool, detached face couldn’t help but surface.

So this person guessed I would run as soon as I left the bedroom?

Jiang Zhiyu stared at the paper in confusion, not understanding what the other party was doing. Letting him know he could be contacted if something happened?

Was he that pure-hearted?

He found it hard to believe and wondered if it meant something else.

Then, a flash of inspiration hit Jiang Zhiyu: Could it be a ‘welcome to sleep over again next time’ invitation?

“Director Li says you can go straight over whenever you’re free; he’ll be waiting for you in the outpatient department.”

After the lifestyle assistant said this, Qi Shu nodded slightly.

He hadn’t come to the office this morning. He had just arrived a short while ago, and the assistant proceeded to report the upcoming schedule.

“There’s a coordination meeting this afternoon. President Zhou and several VPs from Puyin are coming. Will you attend?” the assistant confirmed.

Qi Shu had nothing going on during that time and agreed to sit in.

The assistant accidentally caught a glimpse of his computer screen; it happened to be Puyin’s personnel information. The ID photo on the resume was very pleasing to the eye.

Next to it was the name column, which read “Jiang Zhiyu-Fannar.”

He’s really good-looking, the assistant’s eyes lit up, but he consciously avoided looking further.

Afterward, he left quietly and was immediately surrounded by gossiping employees.

Everyone was asking how President Qi’s mood was or how his state was, inquiring about what had happened to the boss.

“He’s someone who doesn’t even take annual leave. Why didn’t he come to the company this morning?”

“Yeah, exactly! When he’s on business trips, he even updates his status on his work account. He usually replies to messages in seconds even on a plane, but today there was no sound at all!”

“Actually, the Chief isn’t required to have a fixed office schedule. Let’s just be happy that the workaholic is finally stopped ‘grinding’.”

The assistant didn’t dare reveal his superior’s privacy behind his back and told them to hurry up and do their proper work.

He said helplessly, “The man has his own life. Are you guys planning to change careers to become paparazzi?”

Someone else chimed in: “It’s just novel! Today Yang Muchuan found out he wasn’t here and said there must be something fishy going on!”

In the spacious pantry, a group of people was putting on airs to catch the key points.

“Something fishy?” everyone said in unison.

Just as the words fell, a cool voice cut in.

“The black tea is brewed too strong; it really does taste ‘fishy’ (cloying). Please make way; I can’t pour it when you’re all crowded at the door.”

They were instantly struck as if by lightning, instinctively crowding into the corner. Their posture was just short of rolling out a red carpet for their boss.

Qi Shu ignored them, walked to the sink, poured out the warm black tea himself, and replaced it with a cup of iced Americano.

The others kept their heads down. They had been discussing so passionately before, but now that the protagonist was standing right in front of them, they were more terrified than the last.

The employees didn’t have time to shiver; they hurriedly exited the space.

But he called out a certain name—the one who had been acting particularly lively just now: “Lend me your foundation.”

The person panicked: “Eh? I’m a man, how could I use cosmetics? I might not be able to help you!”

“Last time you didn’t have time to leave the office, you hid here at midnight to do a cross-dressing livestream. I saw it.” Qi Shu decided to stop being a “good person” starting today.

The onlookers were petrified. The person’s heart went cold: “I’m sorry, okay, I understand.”

Qi Shu had a hickey bitten into his neck. It wasn’t very obvious; at first glance, it looked like a red mosquito bite.

He had specifically changed his shirt to barely cover it a bit. The weather was no longer suitable for wearing turtlenecks, so there was no way to block it completely.

He had to attend a meeting later; having a tidy image was, in his view, the most basic form of upbringing.

That person’s foundation was close to his skin tone. As Qi Shu applied it over the hickey, Jiang Zhiyu’s face flashed through his mind.

He wondered what Jiang Zhiyu was doing.

He then sneered, feeling that Jiang Zhiyu’s “quality” wasn’t high. Even if he himself was also drunk, he knew better than to bite in a place like this.

At 2:15 PM, Zhou Ke and the senior executives of Puyin arrived on time.

“I wasn’t able to see President Qi yesterday. I was just expressing regret to President Yang, and now I finally have the chance.” Zhou Ke enthusiastically reached out his hand.

Qi Shu shook it and let go almost immediately.

He said unhurriedly, “Sorry, I really had something I couldn’t get away from last night.”

Zhou Ke smiled and walked upstairs with him: “It’s no big deal. The dinner party is just for chatting; important things still need to be handled in the building.”

Qi Shu seemed to have a very cold and aloof aura, and his personality wasn’t very outgoing. Zhou Ke observed his surroundings; the subordinates mostly held him in high respect.

Because of this initial impression, Zhou Ke almost thought Qi Shu would be the silent type.

In reality, it was completely the opposite. Qi Shu seemingly couldn’t be bothered with social pleasantries, but on the negotiating table, he was a different person entirely. Not only could he clarify the rules and regulations in a few words, but he also easily grasped the rhythm of the entire scene.

Sitting squarely across from him, Zhou Ke had to stay focused at all times to avoid having the direction completely controlled by Qi Shu.

After surviving the entire meeting, Zhou Ke felt exhausted. At the end, his shoulders slumped abruptly.

The colleague from the Major Accounts department chatted with Qi Shu. At this time, Qi Shu had retracted his aggressiveness; his manner of speech was graceful yet maintained a distance.

When a colleague mentioned organizing a dinner later, Zhou Ke chimed in a few times, but Qi Shu said it was inconvenient; he had private matters to attend to later.

“I’ll treat you all next time,” Qi Shu said. “Once the interpretation team is selected, everyone will have to work hard for quite a while.”

Zhou Ke took the opportunity: “Hahaha, indeed. I had lunch with Teacher Jiang today, and he was still worrying about the draft.”

Qi Shu raised an eyebrow slightly: “Teacher Jiang?”

“Jiang Zhiyu, our Director here,” someone answered thoroughly. “A super popular choice.”

“Why do you say that about him?” Songcheng’s secretary asked.

The person said, “Let me put it this way: for clients who have worked with him, the return rate is over 90 percent. They’re all willing to have a long-term development with him.”

The secretary had a realization: “Then besides being good-looking, he must have extraordinary qualities.”

Seeing that the two sides were about to start chatting, Qi Shu interrupted: “What did you eat for lunch?”

Zhou Ke was caught off guard, practically stunned by the question. He didn’t understand why Qi Shu cared about this.

“Chaoshan hot pot,” he said truthfully. “The taste was quite good. Teacher Jiang is a very picky eater; it’s rare for him to eat a bit more.”

Qi Shu said with ambiguous meaning, “I heard from President Yang that this Teacher Jiang had work yesterday and couldn’t come to the dinner. He must be too tired from working continuously, right?”

He said it solemnly, but in his heart, he knew exactly what was going on.

Was Jiang Zhiyu working? He had clearly gone to a bar to have fun. Fortunately, his “drinking etiquette” wasn’t too bad, and he hadn’t violently staged a scene of a “drunk beating the client.”

Zhou Ke didn’t know about the entanglement between these two and smoothed things over: “He’s only been back from his business trip for a few days; he is a bit tired. But he’s already working on the speech draft.”

“Oh, there’s no rush for that,” the secretary chimed in gracefully. “We value the matching of styles more.”

In the crowd, Zhou Ke aimed at Qi Shu and sent a message to Jiang Zhiyu as soon as he stepped out the door.

Zhou Ke teased: “Holy crap!”

Jiang Zhiyu was waiting in the hospital corridor, which was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

He wasn’t in a good mood: “If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

Zhou Ke was very excited: “I finally saw Qi Shu! This guy said he was busy with work the day before, but today he came to work with a hickey!”

Jiang Zhiyu’s eyes widened. He lamented: The financial circle is indeed as expected. In broad daylight, they really have no shame!

He was no longer feeling depressed and typed: “So intense. I thought Qi Shu’s persona was a Class-A, non-flammable ‘old house’ (stable/boring).”

Zhou Ke was enjoying it, typing so fast it almost produced sparks.

“This fellow’s skin is actually quite thin. He used foundation instead of concealer; anyway, he wiped out that mark.”

Jiang Zhiyu was impressed: “You could even see that? Are your eyes emitting color ultrasound waves?”

Zhou Ke was very proud: “At first I didn’t notice. I couldn’t be distracted while sitting. Later, when we were about to break up, I saw that his collar seemed to have a bit of foundation cream on it.”

Jiang Zhiyu’s mind was active, branching out into devious paths.

“If I hire a private detective now and ruthlessly capture his lover, would that be equal to securing the team lead for this project?”

Hearing this, Zhou Ke was speechless: “Do you think Qi Shu has ‘love-brain’?”

“Even if he really did, wouldn’t he execute you on the spot?”

Jiang Zhiyu thought about it and realized it was true. Discouraged, he rubbed his waist and stopped daydreaming.

It was now close to closing time, and the hospital peak had passed. Only he was left in the waiting hall. He had booked the chief physician’s slot; everyone before him had complex and difficult cases. Jiang Zhiyu was waiting until he felt drowsy.

These past two days his body had been exhausted and his emotions had fluctuated wildly; he had been in a state of over-exhaustion. After relaxing like this, he actually fell asleep.

When Jiang Zhiyu was woken up by the nurse, the wall clock already pointed to 5:30. The “fire clouds” outside the window were so intense they had turned a vivid color.

“I’m sorry, the Director was called to the ICU suddenly and just got back,” the nurse explained. “You can go in now.”

Jiang Zhiyu politely indicated it was fine and then walked into the consultation room.

Since childhood, he had both respected and feared doctors. This time, worried he would be incoherent on the spot, he had specifically made a draft to describe his condition.

At this moment, he opened his memos. The beginning was actually the sentence: “Even my tailbone is feeling sore.”

…He had been so sleepy outside that he forgot to be elegant. Had he completely lost his filter?!

However, he did feel like his limbs were rusted. Jiang Zhiyu confessed exactly how uncomfortable he was.

Nowadays, medical records were all electronic. After he finished speaking, he watched with his own eyes as the doctor typed the four words: “Excessive Sexual Indulgence.”

Jiang Zhiyu really wanted to argue, but he was choked by the facts.

He then heard the doctor ask: “Did you find any tears? Or anywhere there might be muscle strain?”

“It’s… it’s okay?” Jiang Zhiyu habitually acted tough, his tone a bit hesitant.

The doctor didn’t question the truthfulness of the answer but noticed someone behind him.

“Hello, I still have one patient here. Could you wait for me for a moment?” he said.

When Jiang Zhiyu came in, the corridor was empty. Combined with his nervous mood, he had forgotten to close the door after it opened.

At this very moment, Jiang Zhiyu turned his head and saw a face that was unexpectedly familiar…

How is it his one-night stand partner!

Why would he also come to see a doctor? Jiang Zhiyu bit his lip.

Could it be that the two of them thought the same thing, afraid that the other had something to hide? He clearly had a face that looked trustworthy…

“If you feel okay yourself, then there’s no need to prescribe medicine. Young people just need to rest for a few more days,” the doctor said to Jiang Zhiyu, preparing to finish work.

Jiang Zhiyu couldn’t care about anything else and hurriedly confessed sincerely.

“There is still some. Could you please help prescribe some?” he said.

The doctor asked patiently: “Where are your injuries? Do you need to go to the inner room to take them off for an examination?”

Jiang Zhiyu opened his mouth but failed to answer. Instinctively, he wanted to look at that “Alfred” again.

“No need to be so restrained.” The doctor caught this small movement.

“What’s the use of looking at him so longingly? He can’t feel the pain for you, and he doesn’t know where you need the ointment applied.”

At this point, Jiang Zhiyu confessed in despair: “Chest, waist, and legs, knees…”

As he said this, he thought with a “broken jar” attitude: Forget it, what’s there to be guilty about?

The one who should be guilty was clearly the other person. Looking so well-dressed, yet he had left marks all over him. Coming here was also out of a sense of self-protection; he lacked a sense of security in this relationship. It was only natural to seek help.

The doctor typed on the keyboard to open the order: “Knees?”

Jiang Zhiyu buried his head, finding it hard to speak: “Knelt for too long… and maybe I bumped them. There are two bruises…”

Amidst the words, the doctor glanced at Qi Shu to confirm the next patient had the patience to wait, and then spoke to Jiang Zhiyu with heartfelt earnestness.

“Young man, you said this was your first time. What kind of person did you run into? Bullying you for your lack of experience… even so, they shouldn’t have been this ruthless, right?”

“You should break it off early. Don’t play with this kind of ‘dog’ (scumbag) anymore.” After finishing his suggestion, he even sought validation for his view.

The doctor said to Qi Shu: “I’m right, aren’t I?”