Hello, Jie Fen – CH41

Chapter 41: Can’t Set a Trap for Him

On the weekend, Chi Wang woke up very early.

His routine had become increasingly regular, no longer much affected by the pregnancy.

He got up quietly while Xie Siheng was still asleep, careful not to wake him. Moving lightly, he left the bed, returned to his own room to wash up, and then picked up the scarf to continue knitting.

If he didn’t finish it soon, winter would be over!

The weather in January was still cold. Based on his experience, it would stay chilly until mid-March.

Chi Wang had already knitted more than half of it. If he were making it for himself, he wouldn’t knit it very long—just enough to keep his neck warm. But since Xie Siheng was tall, a longer scarf would look better on him.

Chi Wang’s slender and nimble fingers were knitting so fast they seemed to spark.

He was so proficient now that he didn’t even need to look; he could knit with his eyes closed. So he decided to watch a video on how to castrate pigs while knitting.

He knitted for about an hour when footsteps sounded outside. Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Xie Siheng’s voice came through, “Chi Wang, are you in there?”

Chi Wang quickly stuffed the scarf under the quilt and said, “Yes, come in.”

Xie Siheng opened the door just as a pig’s shrill scream came from the castration video. He paused. “What are you watching?”

Chi Wang replied, “Castrating pigs.”

Xie Siheng walked over, his gaze falling on the phone propped up on Chi Wang’s desk. On the screen, a person was squeezing out yellowish stuff from the pig—a rather brutal scene.

“…” Xie Siheng’s voice was hoarse. “Why are you watching this?”

Chi Wang laughed, “Just watching casually.”

Xie Siheng shifted the topic. “I have some free time these two days. Do you want to come to my company?”

Chi Wang’s eyes lit up. “How about today?”

Xie Siheng nodded. “Sure.”

Chi Wang turned off his phone, ran his fingers casually through his hair. His hair had grown quickly; the bangs on his forehead had reached his eyebrows, and the hair at the back could be tied into a small ponytail. He hadn’t found it bothersome before, but now that he was going to Xie Siheng’s company, his sense of formality kicked in.

Better to trim it a bit.

Thinking this, Chi Wang took scissors out of his toolkit, planning to cut it himself.

He skillfully pulled out a cloth with a hole cut in the middle and put it over his head, spread a transparent plastic sheet on the floor, moved a small stool to sit on the plastic, and began cutting his own hair.

Watching this series of actions, Xie Siheng’s pupils contracted slightly. “You’re cutting it yourself?”

Chi Wang said matter-of-factly, “Yes, it’s quite simple, right? I usually cut hair for Luo Lianyun and the others. Last year, I even opened a little barbershop in the dormitory, charging five yuan per haircut, and business was booming. But the dorm supervisor found out and wouldn’t let us set up shop in the dorm, so we stopped.”

As he spoke, his starry eyes sparkled, and he said proudly, “I’m an old craftsman; my reputation speaks for itself.”

Xie Siheng: “…”

Is there anything he can’t do?

Xie Siheng could only watch as Chi Wang cut his own hair. His fingers were long and nimble. He first carefully trimmed and thinned his bangs, then skillfully twisted his arms to cut the hair at the back of his head.

He really knew how to cut hair, and his technique seemed excellent. Even without seeing, his fingers expertly styled the back of his head. The short hairs stood up in layers, creating depth and making his head look fuller.

After the cut, it was a very stylish layered haircut.

Very handsome and neat.

Chi Wang put away the tools, looked in the mirror, and was quite satisfied.

Seeing that Xie Siheng had been watching him, his hospitable spirit surged. He asked Xie Siheng, “Do you want a trim? I can help you.”

Xie Siheng’s hair wasn’t long and was regularly maintained, leaving little room for Chi Wang to showcase his skills, so Chi Wang was just being polite.

Xie Siheng knew this, so he shook his head and declined.

Chi Wang touched his freshly cut hair and felt that his forehead and the back of his neck were a bit chilly. After putting on his clothes, he took out the scarf he had knitted for himself last year from the closet. Like a fluffy fox tail, it wrapped around his neck. With his small face, when he slightly lowered his head, it covered more than half of his face, revealing only his clear, rounded, and beautiful eyes, twinkling like stars.

Xie Siheng slightly lowered his head to look at him, feeling a tingling sensation in his heart.

Chi Wang looked up at him and smiled, “I’m ready; let’s go.”

Xie Siheng agreed. He went back to change his clothes and had breakfast with Chi Wang.

They went downstairs to make sure Xiaomi had enough water and food, then left the house together.

Today, the driver arrived in a Maybach.

Chi Wang noticed that Xie Siheng had quite a few cars, switching to a different one from time to time.

In contrast, Xiao Fu seemed to have only one car, always the same red sports car—a Ferrari—with half of the logo pried off. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t recognize it.

Quite lacking in style.

Chi Wang opened WeChat. Last night, Xiao Fu had sent him a bunch of messages, but he hadn’t replied yet. It wasn’t that he was deliberately ignoring him; it was just that Xiao Fu sent so many messages. With the time it would take to reply to each one and chat with him, Chi Wang could knit several more rows of the scarf.

They had done the paternity test on Wednesday; now it was Saturday. Two days had passed, and Xiao Fu’s excitement was still high.

Chi Wang didn’t start reading the messages from the beginning; he just looked at the last one. Xiao Fu was asking him if he would change his surname to Yang, saying that “Yang Wang” sounded better than “Chi Wang.”

Chi Wang thought: That’s insincere of you; clearly, “Chi Wang” sounds better.

To be honest, he really liked the surname “Chi.” He wasn’t afraid of the cold, only of the heat. The surname “Chi” has the water radical, making it sound refreshing.

His name wasn’t given by Chi Kangnian and his wife; they paid 20 yuan to a fortune-teller to name him.

That fortune-teller supposedly also told his fortune, saying he would be rich and prosperous, but no one believed it. He said the same to everyone; all the children in the village were destined to be rich and successful, apparently.

But the name was genuinely well-chosen. Chi Wang liked it very much. The character “Chi” contains water, symbolizing softness and resilience—like water wearing down stone. “Wang” can mean hope or ambition.

Combined, it had a sense of “Though tens of thousands oppose me, I go forward.”

He couldn’t control his family, but he tried to grasp every step of his future. Although he carried the surname of Chi Kangnian, Chi Wang made a clear distinction: his life was his own, and the meaning of his name was defined by him. He didn’t necessarily have to change his surname. He was a bit of a perfectionist, but not to that extent. So he typed out his refusal to Xiao Fu, telling him he didn’t plan to change his name.

Moreover, “Yang Wang” didn’t sound good at all! At first glance, it sounded like “impotence” (in Chinese, “yangwei” (impotence) sounds similar to “Yang Wang”).

Xiao Fu disagreed, “Then let’s change your given name too. How about ‘Yang Bao’? You’re my treasure; it has a great meaning!”

Chi Wang: “…”

Chi Wang was speechless and could only firmly say, “No, stop talking about it.”

Xiao Fu was very persistent. Seeing Chi Wang refuse, he wouldn’t give up. He went to a study he hadn’t entered in years, pulled out an old edition of the Xinhua Dictionary he used in elementary school, and insisted on coming up with a new name for Chi Wang that satisfied him before he would stop.

Because of this, he didn’t bother Chi Wang further, and Chi Wang temporarily enjoyed some peace.

When they arrived at the entrance of Xie Siheng’s company, Chi Wang saw that it was indeed the tall building he had seen on his way to work.

Was this entire building Haisheng’s? No wonder the medical equipment business was so profitable.

Xie Siheng swiped his card to enter. Chi Wang followed behind him, being held by the hand—wait, held by the hand.

Chi Wang looked down at Xie Siheng’s large hand enveloping his own. His palm was warm, and the skin-to-skin contact gave him a strange feeling of awkwardness.

Why didn’t he feel this way before when warming Xie Siheng’s hands?

Maybe he was overthinking it.

It was still early, just after 7:40 AM, so there weren’t many people in the company. Xie Siheng led Chi Wang directly to a special elevator. It was just the two of them. The elevator was made entirely of glass, allowing them to see the scenery outside. As it rose, there was a feeling of floating.

Chi Wang wasn’t afraid of heights, so he even leaned against the glass window to look down. The awkwardness of holding hands with Xie Siheng dissipated as he focused on the scenery outside.

Xie Siheng turned slightly to look at him and slowly released his hand at this point.

When they reached the floor, Xie Siheng called out to Chi Wang, and he came back to his senses, following Xie Siheng out of the elevator.

This entire floor was where Xie Siheng worked. Outside, there were offices for several assistants and secretaries, and as they passed by, they could see large areas through the windows.

“This is a waste of space,” Chi Wang thought inwardly.

Secretaries didn’t need such large spaces to work.

Upon seeing Xie Siheng’s office, Chi Wang’s urge to complain reached a peak. There was even a large lounge, a gym, and a wine-tasting room.

The area was too big, too wasteful.

The startup company where he worked rented just a small floor, with dozens of employees working inside, and their workstations were quite spacious.

Chi Wang complained in his heart but didn’t show any of it on his face.

He sat on the sofa, and Xie Siheng warmed some milk, poured it into a thermos cup, and handed it to him.

After he finished drinking, Xie Siheng prepared to have someone take Chi Wang around the company.

That person was, of course, Zuo Qianxing, who knew Chi Wang and was good at conversation.

When Xie Siheng called for Zuo Qianxing, he didn’t expect to see Chi Wang in Xie Siheng’s office.

He was momentarily stunned upon seeing him but quickly greeted Chi Wang with a smile. Chi Wang naturally and cheerfully responded, sweetly praising him a few times.

Zuo Qianxing couldn’t help but laugh, finding Chi Wang very lively. No wonder Xie Siheng treated him differently.

By now, Zuo Qianxing had guessed some of the situation and was more friendly toward Chi Wang. After saying a word to Xie Siheng, he took Chi Wang to tour the company.

Once they left, out of Xie Siheng’s sight and earshot, Zuo Qianxing used his usual conversational tactics, smiling as he said, “Isn’t Xie Siheng hard to deal with? He’s super picky, and it’s tough to get along with him unless you’re a superhero.”

Someone without much guile might defend Xie Siheng at this point, inadvertently revealing clues about their relationship. Zuo Qianxing’s tactics weren’t advanced, but he was friendly and cheerful, making it hard for people to guard against him.

Chi Wang responded cheerfully, “No, not at all.”

He didn’t say anything more.

Zuo Qianxing then changed the subject, “So early, did Xie Siheng pick you up from school?”

Chi Wang smoothly replied, “We came together.”

Zuo Qianxing: “…”

He’s young but quite tight-lipped.

Zuo Qianxing sighed inwardly; his trap couldn’t ensnare this person at all.

So he didn’t say more and took Chi Wang to tour the company.

He showed him each department, including the cafeteria. At this time, there was still breakfast available. Chi Wang bought a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe with fried dough), took a photo, and sent it to Xie Siheng, asking if he wanted one too; if so, he’d bring him a serving.

Xie Siheng quickly replied, “No, if you’re eating, don’t add spicy sauce.”

Chi Wang replied, “I didn’t add chili sauce; I added a few extra pieces of pork tenderloin and sausage.”

Xie Siheng: “Sausages aren’t clean.”

Chi Wang: “I trust the hygiene of your company’s cafeteria; it certainly won’t be unclean.”

Xie Siheng: “I just got here; don’t trust blindly.”

Zuo Qianxing peeked over from the side, seeing their overly mundane chat records, and fell silent.

There wasn’t a hint of ambiguity; perhaps he was reading too much into it.

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