FSGOR Ch26part1

That night.

Jiang Tian stayed in the hospital room as a companion. Though he called it “taking care,” it was more like Luo Qiao had opened a private, one-on-one tutoring class.

As the victim, Luo Qiao would have to stay in the hospital for at least half a month. Worried that his already-not-so-bright brain might’ve been made worse after being hit so hard by a football, Jiang Tian feared the poor guy might have to repeat senior year.

Luo Qiao’s parents knew Jiang Tian had a good heart and didn’t want to trouble him too much, but Jiang Tian insisted on staying. He said it wasn’t a big deal, but deep down, he remembered all too clearly the care Uncle and Auntie had given to him and his sister since middle school.

The night grew deeper. After tutoring for a while, Luo Qiao finally couldn’t hold on and fell asleep, his snores gently echoing.

Jiang Tian walked to the window, holding his phone. As the screen lit up, Zhao Yuanhao’s messages came through in quick succession.

Yuanhao: I asked a friend to help check.

Yuanhao: The bar’s back-end registration info is very clear. He really is a student from No. 5 High. Just like us, he used his student ID to get a discount card.

Yuanhao: A-Tian, are you overthinking this?

After reading the messages, Jiang Tian’s thoughts were dragged back to a few hours ago. That cold chill down his spine surged again.

He couldn’t help but wonder—was he just being paranoid, or was everything not as baseless as he tried to convince himself?

If it was the former, then perhaps on the field earlier, his behavior had already exposed him.

In that case, if the other party had realized KIRA’s real identity was Jiang Tian, then those ambiguous nicknames he casually dropped might not have been a coincidence at all.

After all, that same-age “classmate” was also gay and claimed to have had a long-time crush on him. Tricks like that—his sister’s former boss wasn’t the only one who could play them.

But if it was the latter… what then?

Even though Jiang Tian tried hard to convince himself that even if President Chu had found him out, he wouldn’t go through so much trouble to get him—he could’ve just come directly—why take such a roundabout way?

Still, he didn’t dare think too deeply. If the other party really was that president, and really wanted to catch him and teach him a lesson… then he could only imagine how miserable his end would be.

This was the only shady thing he’d ever done in his life. And of all people, he’d managed to offend someone like that. No matter what Zhao Yuanhao said, Jiang Tian couldn’t shake off the gut feeling in his heart.

“…”

After some thought, Jiang Tian sent a screenshot to the bar’s customer service to prove he had already sent the red envelope, using it as an excuse to suspend the event task for the next day.

Even if he suspected the event partner’s identity, he still didn’t want to give up the limited edition figurine reward from the bar owner. If he had to die, he’d rather die as an otaku.

As for the expensive gift “L” gave him, Jiang Tian truly didn’t dare accept it. After hesitating for a long time, he finally sent the other party a message.

KIRA: Classmate.

KIRA: I’ll return the gift to you tomorrow.

KIRA: If I leave it with the guard at No. 5 High’s entrance, will it be convenient for you to pick up?

The reply came in seconds.

***

East District.

The towering skyscrapers were still brightly lit.

In the meeting room, Chu Xuyu was still wearing that same casual outfit. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his tall nose bridge, and there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes.

He braced his hands on the meeting table, a fountain pen tapping steadily against the wood edge. None of the executives dared to make a sound; their eyes were all locked on the president, and the atmosphere was colder than an ice cellar.

“Let’s leave it at that.”

Chu Xuyu’s voice was low as he ended the meeting, but no one dared to relax. Everyone knew this crisis wasn’t a minor issue.

One of the overseas branches had suffered a data breach involving cutting-edge core technology. While domestic competitors hadn’t publicly released a similar product yet, they had already leaked word through the grapevine, claiming they had been independently developing it for a long time.

It made their once tightly-secured R&D team look like a joke.

As soon as Chu Xuyu got the news, he rushed back to the company and convened an emergency meeting. Contingency plans were in place, but the cause of the breach was still unknown and urgently needed investigation.

After everyone left, the once polished and sharp CEO remained alone in the empty conference room, but all he could think of was what one executive had said during the meeting:

“It was Judy who accompanied President Chu to New York. Besides her, who else could’ve accessed the new tech’s full documentation first?”

At the time, all the executives had turned to Chu Xuyu, trying to read whether the suspicion was true.

But his expression didn’t change. He neither nodded nor denied it. After a two-second pause, he continued the discussion, as if he hadn’t heard that veiled probe at all.

Now, even recalling all those scrutinizing gazes, Chu Xuyu couldn’t help but frown.

Once that core technology was released, it would mark a major global breakthrough. Even if the rival company couldn’t fully develop it, getting early attention was a strategic move—and a disgusting one at that.

At that moment, on his phone screen, a new message popped up from the brother of the person at the center of the suspicion.

“…”

Chu Xuyu stared at the phone, watching the screen light up, then go dark, and light up again before finally dimming completely.

He did have doubts about Jiang Tian. Though he hadn’t concluded that Judy was the mole, the fact that she had resigned during such a critical moment—and that her little brother was involved in this chaos—was enough to make him cautious.

And yet, his instinct made him want to trust the siblings. Both Judy, his long-time secretary, and the boy he had only seen a few times. He just couldn’t believe either of them had malicious intent toward him.

KIRA: Classmate.

KIRA: I’ll return the gift to you tomorrow.

KIRA: If I leave it at No. 5 High’s guard post, is it convenient for you to pick it up?

Chu Xuyu narrowed his eyes. That gift was just a small toy worth a few thousand yuan. If someone were selling company secrets, the payoff would be hundreds of times that amount.

So why was this little troublemaker so insistent on returning it?

That thought amused him. Leaning against the table, he casually replied.

L: I already gave it to you.

L: I don’t have a habit of taking back gifts.

He had no intention of faking any tone now—his message was as cold as when he had typed under his alt account, “Afternoon Black Tea.”

Ding—

The boy’s reply came instantly.

KIRA: Thank you.

KIRA: But it really is too expensive.

KIRA: Or… would you rather exchange it in person?

Seeing that last line, Chu Xuyu let out a soft snort. The boy was suggesting a face-to-face meeting, but he knew full well it wouldn’t be Jiang Tian who showed up.

Last time they talked, he had playfully used endearments like “babe” and “sweetheart” just because he was in a foul mood between meetings and remembered being removed from the boy’s friend list. He needed an outlet—and chose to mess with him.

He’d been sulking over being deleted for days. Did that little punk think he could just ghost him and walk away?

No. He deserved to be anxious and paranoid.

Chu Xuyu had gone this far deliberately, but he hadn’t fully exposed himself yet. He could already guess Jiang Tian was scrambling behind the scenes trying to figure out what to do. Even if the boy hadn’t openly shown doubt in their chats, he was definitely testing the waters.

For example—if Chu Xuyu agreed to meet now, Jiang Tian would likely assume he was planning to ambush him… and then probably launch into his second great escape.

“……”

Chu Xuyu rubbed his temples. Truthfully, even if he wanted to grab that sneaky little sweetheart and pin him down right now—he simply didn’t have the time or energy for it these past two days.

L: No need.

L: I know you’re busy… taking care of that little curly-haired guy.

L: Even if I’ve liked you for a long time, it doesn’t mean I have to see you in the next few days.

Jiang Tian, upon receiving the message: “……”

His expression was hidden in the night, unreadable, but his internal reaction was exactly as Chu Xuyu expected.

Judging by the conversation, the other party wasn’t in a hurry to meet and still maintained the previous boundaries. That made Jiang Tian’s suspicions start to waver a little.

However, the unusual behavior of Zeng Jiaxiang from No. 2 High and his bank president father couldn’t simply be dismissed as a guilty conscience. It was very likely that someone powerful had exerted pressure behind the scenes.

So…

Could that handsome man who appeared downstairs really have been his sister’s former boss?

Jiang Tian’s ears reddened unconsciously. He exhaled deeply and forced himself not to think further, once again feeling the urge to avoid confronting his own sexual orientation.

KIRA: Alright.

KIRA: Then I’ll reach out after I’m done in the next couple of days.

KIRA: I’ll return the gift then.

After replying, Jiang Tian quickly exited the app, turned off the internet, locked the screen—trying to stop himself from overthinking.

***

Inside the hospital room.

A soft folding bed had been placed in the corner. After showering, Jiang Tian turned on the small nightlight and spent the night sleeping on it.

***

The next morning.

The morning sunlight was blinding. It woke Luo Qiao first, and soon after, Jiang Tian got up to get breakfast. The two of them munched on flavorless, supposedly healthy food while waiting for Uncle Luo to arrive at the hospital.

It didn’t take long. Uncle Luo, who had taken a day off, came rushing into the room to take his son for further examination. He also brought some preserved meat for Jiang Tian and his sister and reminded him to rest properly once home.

That was how hospital shift duty worked. Before leaving, Jiang Tian thanked Uncle Luo and told Luo Qiao to contact him anytime if he had questions about homework. Then he gathered a huge pile of things and headed home.

Those figurines and plush toys had to be returned—and couldn’t be damaged. Normally, Jiang Tian would take the bus or ride his bike, but this time he hailed a car, carefully placing the items in the trunk before getting in.

***

About 20 minutes later.

He returned home, but his sister was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t replied to his messages either.

Jiang Tian grew a little worried. Standing at the entrance, he didn’t even bother changing shoes and quickly pulled out his phone to call her.

The call rang twice and was hung up, but soon a message popped up from his sister saying she had gone to a colleague’s place to handle something.

Since it wasn’t related to her scummy ex, Jiang Tian finally relaxed a bit.

He changed into slippers and carefully placed the gifts in the study. Completely worn out, he collapsed onto the beanbag chair and fell into a deep sleep.

Still in a phase of rapid physical development, Jiang Tian hadn’t slept well in the hospital. Running around early that morning wore him out. He ended up sleeping all the way until midday.

“Bzz Bzz—”

His phone vibrated several times, waking him up.

Jiang Tian opened his eyes to find himself still sprawled on the beanbag. His limbs had gone numb from the awkward position, and it took effort to even move.