FSGOR Ch16

Compared to that chaotic night after evening self-study, tonight was no less lively—in fact, even more people were present. Even Zhao Yuanhao’s border collie puppy had come to join the chaos.

The two sisters were in the bedroom discussing countermeasures. On the surface, they remained calm while finishing up work. However, the boss still hadn’t responded, and according to his itinerary, he had already boarded a flight back to the country.

Given Jiang Jing’s understanding of her boss, if this absurd misunderstanding were to be exposed, she feared she wouldn’t live long enough to explain it.

In the living room—

The atmosphere among the group of young men had solidified. One by one, they hung their heads low, staring intently at the floor.

Especially Jiang Tian, the person at the center of it all—anyone with eyes could see he was utterly broken. After all the effort he’d put in these past few days, he never could have imagined such an absurd development.

Lu Qiao, trying not to cry, offered consolation: “There’s still hope. There has to be. Tian-ge, don’t be so pessimistic…”

Despite his words, his own face was full of gloom. As the usual mastermind behind all of Jiang Tian’s antics, even he felt like the sky was collapsing.

Zhao Yuanhao hugged his border collie, letting the little one extend a paw and gently pat his dazed and disheartened teammate.

“I think I’ve figured out what happened.”

Zhao Yuanhao sighed softly, “So that night, your sister got drunk and, while trying to recommend a contact, accidentally sent your boss’s info to you?”

Jiang Tian didn’t deny it. His expression was full of silent suffering—even the dog couldn’t bear it and nudged into his arms to comfort him.

Zhao Yuanhao glanced toward the bedroom. “So, what’s your sister planning now?”

“She wants to confess to the boss.”

It sounded like a joke from hell, but the handsome guy didn’t even crack a smile. In a hoarse voice, he added, “But I’m the one who’s been chatting with him. She’s already had enough dealing with that scumbag fiancé. I should be the one to handle this.”

Zhao Yuanhao continued, “And… do you have a plan?”

Jiang Tian looked at him. Zhao Yuanhao forced a strained smile, seemingly understanding his thoughts. “I’m guessing you’ll avoid meeting him at all costs, right?”

Jiang Tian nodded. From what he’d heard about President Chu from his sister, he didn’t believe the man had any actual romantic feelings. Most likely, after being entangled with Jiang Tian online, he’d just been toying around a bit. If they ever met, it would probably be to teach him a lesson.

But Zhao Yuanhao threw out another hypothesis: “Well… what if he really is gay, and actually is interested in you?”

Jiang Tian: “……”

That seemed… unlikely.

“Just hypothetically,” Zhao Yuanhao said. “What would you do if that were true?”

“I’d make him give up on meeting me voluntarily.”

That was Jiang Tian’s only option. If they met in person, it would be game over. He’d rather be cussed out online than risk that. “Should I just send him ugly selfies until he deletes me?”

Zhao Yuanhao laughed bitterly. “The way he’s obsessed with you right now? You think he’ll fall for that, after all the pics you’ve sent him before?”

Jiang Tian: “……”

Zhao Yuanhao continued strategizing. “Tian-ge, what if you try a different script? Say you got the wrong account, or better yet—pretend to be a scammer trying to extort him. That might actually scare him off.”

Jiang Tian fell silent. The whole thing had happened so suddenly, he’d basically stopped thinking, but that second idea had crossed his mind once.

His sister had already fabricated a story about losing her phone at a bar. He could follow that up and claim to be the guy who found it and started adding people to scam them.

That way, his sister wouldn’t be dragged into it, and everything could wrap up cleanly—as long as the boss blocked and deleted him, never wanting to see him again.

But his conscience nagged at him. He couldn’t continue lying so brazenly. From the perspective of the only real victim here—the boss, who had always treated his sister kindly—he had already toyed with the man long enough.

Jiang Tian wanted to end it, but at the very least, he needed to apologize. He came up with a plan, discussed it with the others, and by the time it was set, the sky had already started to brighten.

The boys were sprawled all over the living room, asleep. Jiang Tian dozed off for a bit, then woke with a jolt. He grabbed his phone to check if the scumbag—no, his sister’s boss—had messaged him.

He looked calm on the surface, but inside, he was falling apart. Replaying the conversations from the past few days—hangover soup, trips back to his hometown—every detail was a comedy of errors. Like fate itself had played a trick on him.

Still groggy, Jiang Tian dragged himself up to get water, running into Jiang Jing, who had just emerged from the bedroom.

Brother and sister, both with dark circles under their eyes, looked at each other like they’d seen a ghost.

“…Xiao Tian.”

Jiang Jing, full of guilt, said, “I’m sorry. It’s my fault for being so careless.”

Jiang Tian shook his head and softly reassured her, “Don’t say that, Jie. I didn’t double-check with you either. Don’t keep trying to take the blame for me.”

Jiang Jing’s eyes turned red. Her voice trembled. “Xiao Tian, I think I should just come clean with the boss. If I explain it properly—”

“Jie.”

Jiang Tian interrupted firmly, “I’m an adult now. This isn’t just your responsibility. Let me handle it.”

The sky outside was hazy and gray, the dim light casting a tall silhouette of Jiang Tian’s upright figure.

Jiang Jing froze for a moment. She finally realized—her little brother was no longer that quiet, reserved boy.

They both couldn’t help but recall the past. From a young age, their parents had worked far away. Then tragedy struck, and they had to live with relatives, constantly tiptoeing around others.

Whenever their uncle got upset about something, it was always Jiang Jing who stepped forward to take the blame, shielding her brother, who was eight years younger.

This current mess was pure accident. But Jiang Jing had already been overwhelmed by emotional and physical stress. Now, Jiang Tian just wanted to protect his sister—for once.

Meanwhile—

Chu Xuyu leaned back in his first-class seat. The cabin lights were dim, highlighting the sharp angles of his cold face and adding to his aloof air.

The young man sat with his brows slightly furrowed, arms crossed. Even while resting with his eyes closed, he exuded a chilling aura that warned people to keep their distance.

After over ten hours of flying, he arrived at Ning City Airport and got into a business car arranged by his driver. The driver’s surprised expression made it clear he didn’t understand why Chu had returned so suddenly.

Only then did Chu Xuyu finally turn on his phone to check his messages. He found that his secretary had responded to work emails and had already wrapped up her duties a few days ago. Human resources had also made arrangements, and Judy had smoothly completed her resignation as planned.

Chu Xuyu was always a man of few words. When he returned to his lakeside mansion in Jingtíng, he didn’t say a single word to the driver.

It wasn’t until the sharply dressed house steward informed him of a signed-for delivery that his expression eased slightly.

“It’s said to be a specialty from Rong County—dried longan. Good for making soup or as an herbal ingredient.”

The butler smiled warmly and said, “The delivery person said it was personally brought from the county by a relative of your employee. It was left on the front storage cabinet. Please take it home with you, Mr. Chu.”

Chu Xuyu nodded. “Thank you.”

He entered the elevator, loosening his tight collar, catching a glimpse of his intimidating appearance in the mirror—like a god of death.

However, once he returned to the top floor and his gaze landed on the large box of local specialties, his expression subconsciously softened, carrying a rare trace of warmth.

In the end, Chu Xuyu did bring the box of dried longan home and placed it in a corner of the kitchen, though he had no idea what to do with it.

As a young CEO who lived alone year-round, he almost never cooked and didn’t like hiring anyone to do it either. When outsiders did enter his home, it was only the house steward for cleaning.

Surrounded by empty silence, Chu Xuyu stood still, believing himself never harsh to others and even lenient toward his employees.

During this long business trip—and even in the past five years of work—he’d reflected countless times on his interactions with his secretary. Yet he couldn’t recall having done anything to offend her, certainly not enough to deserve being played with like this.

Perhaps it had nothing to do with the secretary herself. It might have been, just as she’d mentioned, that her phone was lost—and someone else picked it up, added him on social media, and tried to scam him for money or toy with his emotions.

Between two strangers, the chances of it being an emotional scam were clearly lower. The made-up backstory of being a rich kid from an international school was likely just fabrication. A money scam seemed much more plausible.

Money didn’t matter to him. That was the one thing Chu Xuyu had in abundance.

As long as the person was well-groomed, and truly looked like their photos—handsome and sturdy—then even if he wasn’t exactly Chu’s type, he might not mind keeping him around as a sugar baby.

Such a thought would’ve been inconceivable to his younger self, but now that he was approaching thirty, having lived alone for years, it didn’t seem like such a big deal to try something new with someone who caught his eye.

With that thought—

Chu Xuyu unbuttoned his shirt and entered the bathroom to prepare a bath. Just then, he received a message from his “sweetheart.”

KIRA: Ge.

KIRA: When are you coming back to Ning City?

Chu Xuyu paused and didn’t respond immediately. Instead, guided by instinct, he tapped on the border collie profile picture and saw that the sweetheart had posted a status update over two hours ago.

The background of the photo looked like a hospital. The boy’s ankle, beneath the cuff of a pair of sweatpants, was wrapped in a thick cast. His skin was pale, with faint blue veins visible.

The caption had no text—just a soybean emoji with a round face and two exaggerated blue tear trails, looking pitiful and cute.

Chu Xuyu gave a soft snort and sat on the edge of the bathtub, holding his phone in one hand as he replied.

Afternoon Tea: What happened?

KIRA: Ge.

KIRA: Did you see my Moments post?

Chu Xuyu deliberately left him hanging for a few minutes, pretending he’d just seen it. Then, following KIRA’s lead, he messaged back asking if he got hurt.

KIRA: Mm.

KIRA: It’s pretty serious.

KIRA: And it still hurts.

This kind of whining wasn’t typical from him. While Chu Xuyu did feel a twinge of sympathy, he was more curious about what kind of act the other was pulling this time, so he intentionally delayed replying.

Meanwhile, Jiang Tian had just stopped his bicycle outside Ning City Orthopedic Hospital. Like a tourist checking in at a landmark, he snapped a few photos for “evidence,” then leaned under a tree and carefully considered how to word his next messages.

Tonight wasn’t like before—this wasn’t some scumbag he was dealing with, but a CEO who had treated his sister very well. As her younger brother, Jiang Tian felt he should show proper respect.

His lips pressed tightly together, fingers pale from gripping his phone too hard as he typed—nervous, clearly putting in too much effort.

Afternoon Tea: How did you get hurt?

KIRA: Fell off my scooter.

Afternoon Tea: Hurts a lot?

KIRA: Mm.

KIRA: Maybe it’s karma for doing something bad recently.

In truth, none of what he said was real. The photo was of him, but from last summer—he’d injured himself playing soccer. It had nothing to do with the made-up scooter story.

He was just trying to bait the other into asking what bad thing he’d done, so that before they ever met in person, he could reveal the scam and get blocked—clean break.

It was a long shot from the start. But what he didn’t expect… was that this young CEO wouldn’t play by the rules.

Afternoon Tea: You’ve never been a good boy.

Afternoon Tea: Doing bad things is normal, isn’t it?

Afternoon Tea: Sweetheart.

“……”

The moment he saw that word, Jiang Tian’s breath hitched. His face grew hot, and even his neck flushed a visible red.

He was more embarrassed than ever before—though in his heart, he blamed it on the weather getting warmer.