Chapter 8
Ye Xiyao certainly couldn’t answer Xing Xu’s question about what he was dissatisfied with. He simply explained honestly, “The imaging of the product was too realistic, I couldn’t tell the difference between a real person and the game character. Sorry.”
As he spoke, his beautiful amber eyes looked at Xing Xu with a hint of composure, though not much.
The blush on his cheeks betrayed the fact that he was nervous.
Of course, Xing Xu wouldn’t believe that the sly demon couldn’t distinguish between him and a game character.
He was convinced that Ye Xiyao had been acting ever since he entered the room—pretending to be innocent and cute, using this lowly trick to get closer and lower his guard, and then use some special means to gain power.
This was why Xing Xu had remained silent and let Ye Xiyao touch him from the moment he entered the room. His intention was to play along and observe how demons specifically extract magic from humans.
Ye Xiyao traced Xing Xu’s facial features with his fingers, then caressed his body for a full two minutes.
With such a detailed touch, even the most distracted person should know by then that he was a real person. If not deliberate, what other excuse could there be?
Now that he had been exposed, Ye Xiyao still put on an innocent face, refusing to admit his guilt. Instead, he said, “You should have reminded me when you came in.”
His face turned an exaggerated shade of red, probably because his skin was so fair. When he blushed, it covered a large area, with the pink spreading from his cheeks to his delicate neck.
It almost looked like Xing Xu had been the one harassing him.
Hah.
Quite the actor.
Fine, I’ll play along.
Suddenly, Xing Xu felt a mischievous urge, squeezing Ye Xiyao’s slender wrist that he held in his hand. He asked, “So, you’re saying this is my fault?”
Before Ye Xiyao could respond, Qiao Linchuan quickly interrupted, “It’s my fault! My fault!”
“I didn’t communicate with HR in time and didn’t know you were coming today. I arranged for Xiao Ye to use your office for product testing. He hasn’t seen your face before, so it’s understandable that he made a mistake.”
He spent quite some time explaining on Ye Xiyao’s behalf, but still found that Xing Xu hadn’t let go of Ye Xiyao’s hand.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to let things go and said, “Xing Xu, let it go. He’s just a clueless newbie. He didn’t mean to touch you. What, you’re still bothered by something like this between men? If it really bothers you, why not touch him back?”
Ye Xiyao, who had been trying to keep a low profile, quickly said, “No, no!”
Qiao Linchuan gave him a look: “I was just joking, he’s not actually going to touch you back, right?”
Xing Xu’s expression remained calm: “I will.”
Ye Xiyao: “…”
“???” Qiao Linchuan blurted out, “Damn, why do you insist on bullying the kid?”
Xing Xu glanced at him, “I recall that the rule here is to deduct wages for swearing.”
Qiao Linchuan’s throat tightened as he awkwardly laughed, “Haha, I think there is such a rule.”
Xing Xu: “I’ll deduct 200 from you first.”
Qiao Linchuan: “I…wait, you can’t abuse your power for personal vendettas! I didn’t even swear just now, why deduct 200?”
Xing Xu: “Your look was swearing.”
Qiao Linchuan immediately covered his eyes, adjusting his lips that were itching to curse. After suppressing all his foul language, he finally spoke again:
“Xing Xu, even though we did have a fight back in college, we’re both working for President Xue now. She even called me the other day asking me to help organize your office. Can’t you at least give me some face for that?”
Xing Xu interrupted him: “Your face?”
Qiao Linchuan: “Yeah.”
Xing Xu: “What filthy thing is that?”
Qiao Linchuan: “…”
Xing Xu: “Also, we didn’t fight in college. You just ran into my fist.”
Qiao Linchuan: “?”
Is this even human speech?
Is he even speaking like a human being?!
Who in their right mind would rush into someone’s fist?
At that time, the situation was very clear. Eighteen-year-old Qiao Linchuan, heartbroken after breaking up with his first love, snuck out of the dorm at night to the back hill of the school, planning to drink a little in solitude to nurse his heartbreak. But unexpectedly, he stumbled upon Xing Xu beating up a girl.
Yes, that’s right.
Xing Xu, a man over 1.9 meters tall, was beating a defenseless girl!
He was even choking her, slamming her head into the ground! When the girl resisted, her thin body contorted into a strange position, almost as if her bones had been broken.
Qiao Linchuan had always despised men hitting women, so without thinking, he rushed over to stop him.
However, there was no way he could withstand a punch from Xing Xu. He was knocked straight into the dirt, the pain unbearable.
Seeing out of the corner of his eye that the girl had managed to escape, Qiao Linchuan breathed a sigh of relief. But when he looked up again, Xing Xu’s dark, menacing face loomed over him like a grim reaper. Qiao Linchuan suddenly felt like he was going to die.
“Idiot.”
Xing Xu’s voice was still laced with the remnants of killing intent and fury.
Qiao Linchuan thought Xing Xu was about to take revenge on him, and in his terror, he passed out.
When he woke up, he found himself in a VIP hospital room.
Sitting next to him was Xing Xu’s aunt, Xue Qiao.
Whether it was financial compensation or emotional comfort, Xue Qiao went out of her way to make amends to Qiao Linchuan, explaining thoroughly, “Xing Xu had no intention of harming you.”
Though still frightened, Qiao Linchuan straightened his back and argued, “But he hurt that girl!”
Xue Qiao only smiled and said that the girl was far from innocent.
At first, Qiao Linchuan couldn’t accept that explanation.
No matter what the girl had done, there was no justification for physical violence.
Xing Xu was way too violent.
However, Xue Qiao was extremely persuasive and visited Qiao Linchuan several times over the next few days, making him feel guilty. In the end, he agreed not to pursue the matter further.
Later, Xue Qiao invited Qiao Linchuan to work at Qiaoshou Tech. At the time, he worried about how awkward it might be if he ran into Xing Xu again.
But Xue Qiao reassured him, saying that Xing Xu would never work a day in his life and didn’t need to.
Back then, Qiao Linchuan thought she meant that with such a wealthy aunt, Xing Xu could live forever as a carefree trust-fund kid.
What he never expected was that, a few years later, the same Xing Xu, who was supposedly never going to work, would parachute into his company and become his boss. And on his very first day at the office, Xing Xu clashed with the new hire, Ye Xiyao.
Now it seemed like Xing Xu had no intention of letting Ye Xiyao off the hook.
Qiao Linchuan grew nervous—
After all these years, Xing Xu was still just as fierce!
He was worried Xing Xu might beat up Ye Xiyao.
Just like he beat up that girl back then.
At that moment, however, Ye Xiyao spoke up again: “Strictly speaking, this matter is more my fault.”
Both Qiao Linchuan and Xing Xu turned to look at him.
Afraid that Ye Xiyao was too green to handle Xing Xu’s sharp interrogation, Qiao Linchuan quickly tried to intervene, “Don’t push yourself too hard…”
But Ye Xiyao beat him to it, saying, “It’s just that you looked a lot like the character I was creating in the game, so I made a mistake. I’m really sorry.”
Qiao Linchuan whispered what he thought was a quiet question: “Weren’t you playing a horror game? So you’re saying Xing Xu looks like a zombie from a horror game?”
Xing Xu: “…”
Ye Xiyao, seemingly in pain, furrowed his brows. But knowing he didn’t have the moral high ground, he held back from crying out and explained seriously, “No, not a zombie. It was that dating game, where the first step is to create your ideal partner.”
The surrounding air instantly chilled.
Xing Xu suddenly felt like his face was all wrong, and stared at Ye Xiyao without blinking. After a long pause, he rasped, “…What?”
Qiao Linchuan, taken aback, gagged slightly in shock and asked, “What?!”
Qiao Linchuan had no idea what was going on with this newcomer Ye Xiyao.
Even though he seemed quiet and introverted, every word out of his mouth was more shocking than the last!
Ideal partner?
That’s even worse than being a zombie!
Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds?!
With Xing Xu’s intimidating, deathly aura, everyone — men, women, young, and old — avoids him like the plague. Forget about dating, normal people can barely breathe if they stand next to him for more than two minutes.
Who in their right mind would create a love game character that looks like Xing Xu?
Could anyone even handle that? They’d be scared to death!
Qiao Linchuan had a bad feeling.
Even he didn’t believe what Ye Xiyao just said, so there’s no way Xing Xu would buy it either. He might even think Ye Xiyao was mocking him.
Qiao Linchuan feared this new hire would get fired on his very first day.
But after a moment, Xing Xu didn’t get angry, nor did he mock him.
He simply asked, his tone calm, “You’re saying I look like your… ideal partner?”
The last four words were pronounced so clearly, as if to make sure no one missed them.
“In the game,” Ye Xiyao clarified.
But he still felt this wasn’t quite right.
When creating the character, he had just used a memorable figure as a reference, and Xing Xu’s body happened to resemble the silhouette of a police officer from behind. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t an ideal partner.
But explaining that in detail would involve starting from an encounter at a convenience store — too convoluted.
In the end, Ye Xiyao chose brevity and nodded, “Something like that.”
Xing Xu suddenly fell silent.
“I was just customizing a character’s face, and at that moment, the screen froze. Then you walked in, and you looked so similar to the figure I was creating that I thought the screen had automatically fixed itself…”
Ye Xiyao explained sincerely, “It was such a coincidence that it caused this misunderstanding.”
This cunning demon, so skilled at manipulating people, was lying through his teeth, yet he still had the nerve to claim it was all a misunderstanding.
Xing Xu’s breath felt dry, his adam’s apple bobbing.
Perhaps out of anger.
Ye Xiyao softly asked, “Could you please let go of me?”
“Please?”
He had the audacity to say ‘please’?
Xing Xu: “Fine.”
He released Ye Xiyao’s wrist.
Not because he actually believed Ye Xiyao’s story, but…
Xing Xu thought, why bother arguing with such a cunning demon?
Since Ye Xiyao was putting on such a serious performance with such strong conviction, he might as well pretend to believe him.
After all, this was an unnecessary conflict from the start.
“Gather your things and leave,” Xing Xu said, stepping aside to give him space.
“Alright.” Ye Xiyao’s hand was finally free, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiao Linchuan, who had thought a fight was inevitable, was taken aback: “…That’s it?”
Xing Xu narrowed his eyes: “What, did you think I should beat you both up?”
“Haha, you’re so funny.”
Relieved that the crisis had been averted, Qiao Linchuan quickly urged Ye Xiyao, “Xiao Ye, hurry up and grab your things, let’s not bother Mr. Xing anymore.”
“Got it.” Ye Xiyao hurried to pack his belongings.
But as he lifted his arm, he belatedly felt a sharp pain in his wrist, suddenly losing strength. The things in his arms began to slip.
Qiao Linchuan saw it happening but couldn’t react in time, managing only to shout, “Don’t drop it! That little thing costs a million—”
Xing Xu, who had already caught the not-so-heavy AR glasses the moment Qiao Linchuan shouted, looked down at Ye Xiyao. All Ye Xiyao could hear was “costs a million,” and he anxiously asked, “Sorry, is the product damaged?”
Xing Xu didn’t answer. He glanced down, noticing how their hands had unintentionally touched. He couldn’t help but think how weak this person was—thin, with small hands.
A demon capable of easily crushing his kind, yet he deliberately disguised himself in such a frail form. The level of deception was impressive.
But as he watched Ye Xiyao lightly rub his wrist, for some reason, his mouth moved faster than his brain, and he asked, “What’s wrong with your hand?”
Ye Xiyao answered honestly, “It hurts a little.”
Xing Xu thought he was pretending, “I didn’t use any force.”
Ye Xiyao, surprised, replied, “You were clearly using a lot of force.”
Xing Xu raised an eyebrow, stating, “If I had really used force, your bones would be broken.”
Ye Xiyao wasn’t backing down, “If my bones were broken, you’d go to jail.”
“I could crush your hand, and I still wouldn’t go to jail,” Xing Xu responded, attempting to intimidate him again. “Want to test that?”
“No,” Ye Xiyao thought seriously for a moment before saying, “I’m afraid of pain.”
“….”
Xing Xu found himself at a loss with him.
The feeling of punching cotton was already frustrating.
And now, it felt like every punch was landing on cotton.
“Mr. Xing…” Qiao Linchuan called him that for the first time and still wasn’t used to it. He didn’t dare let Ye Xiyao keep bantering with Xing Xu, so he gently reminded, “You should hand the glasses to Xiao Ye.”
Realizing he might have said too much, Ye Xiyao quickly quieted down, extending his hand for the glasses as hinted by Qiao Linchuan.
But Xing Xu didn’t return them.
His gaze was still on Ye Xiyao’s hand as he asked, “Does it really hurt?”
“Yeah,” Ye Xiyao’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.
In the next moment, Qiao Linchuan found his arms full of AR glasses, along with all the product documents, manuals, and notebooks that Ye Xiyao was responsible for.
Qiao Linchuan: “?”
“What? You can’t handle it either?” Xing Xu pressed his tongue against his cheek and smiled wickedly, “Where does it hurt for you?”
“I’m fine, just peachy,” Qiao Linchuan didn’t dare say anything more. “I’ll go put these back.”
And with that, he quickly left the office, clutching the items, looking like he was fleeing for his life.
Ye Xiyao felt bad for letting Qiao Linchuan carry his things and hurried to follow him.
But Xing Xu stopped him.
“Ye Xiyao.”
The first thought that crossed Ye Xiyao’s mind when he heard Xing Xu call his name was: He didn’t get my name wrong!
“Huh?” He looked up at Xing Xu, tilting his head.
Xing Xu stared at him, his gaze slowly shifting from Ye Xiyao’s overly bright, clear eyes down to his lips—soft, warm, rounded, and full. Xing Xu knew very well what they felt like.
He momentarily forgot what he was going to say: “You…”
Ye Xiyao, feeling nervous under his gaze, asked, “Me?”
Xing Xu forcibly dragged his gaze back up and suddenly blurted out, “Did a dog chew on your hair?”
Ye Xiyao: “?”
Ye Xiyao: “!!!”
Ahhhhh!!!
How did someone even notice his haircut?!
Ye Xiyao’s face turned beet red in an instant.
He admitted that his haircut was indeed a bit of a disaster, but he thought as long as his hair was “black” and “short,” no one would pay attention to it.
Mortified, Ye Xiyao covered his head and, in a panic, tried to run.
Only he picked the wrong direction and ran straight toward the office break room.
“What are you running for?”
Xing Xu grabbed the back of Ye Xiyao’s collar and pulled him back.
Ye Xiyao, feeling a bit defeated, covered his head. “I’ll find time to get it trimmed.”
He was being very tactful. After all, Xing Xu was so fierce—what if he suddenly claimed that Ye Xiyao was damaging the company’s image and decided to fire him on the spot?
Xing Xu stared at him again, and this time, he finally remembered what he originally wanted to say. He needed to find a way to get closer to the demon.
However…
—Don’t alert him, don’t make him suspicious, don’t provoke the demon.
It had been less than ten minutes since Xing Xu and Ye Xiyao met, and Xing Xu was already on the verge of triggering all three red flags.
He needed to say something to smooth things over.
After a moment, Xing Xu spoke. “After lunch…”
Ye Xiyao instinctively hugged his head tighter.
So, he was really that eager for him to get his hair fixed? It must be really ugly, then.
At that moment, the second half of Xing Xu’s sentence came to Ye Xiyao’s ears: “I’ll take you.”
Then, Xing Xu grabbed Ye Xiyao by the back of the neck, ushered him toward the office door, and closed it behind him.
Left outside, Ye Xiyao blinked in confusion.
