He Only Shows His True Colors in Front of Me : Chapter 22

Perhaps because of the intense exercise lasting too long, Gu Yuanqiao woke up the next day feeling lazy, and decided to work from home until next week’s workdays began.

There wasn’t much going on lately anyway, and besides, the company had cultivated so many talents precisely so that he wouldn’t have to handle everything personally.

But Sheng Yannian couldn’t do that, he was as busy as a spinning top.

After several days of living together, Sheng Yannian still occasionally felt strange about having an extra person in the house. At the same time, he had also figured out some of Gu Yuanqiao’s living habits.

He didn’t know whether the other person was too unguarded or simply had thick skin, but he had clearly already treated his home as his own.

He woke up and went downstairs around eight o’clock every day. If he was lucky, Sheng Yannian would already be preparing to leave, and if he wasn’t, they would have to eat breakfast together. He didn’t know exactly what Gu Yuanqiao did at noon, but when he got home from work in the evening, the man was always sitting in the living room watching those boring TV dramas. He would drink some wine before bed, and the two bottles of red wine placed in his room had already mostly disappeared. He called it, helping with sleep. He preferred heavily flavored food. Once when Sheng Yannian accidentally put in too much seasoning, the man would rather drink a large pot of water to finish the food.

He wore pajamas at home, didn’t bother with his hair, and a few times even walked out of the room barefoot.

In short, he was completely different from the elite demeanor he displayed outside.

The two of them also got along surprisingly well? To be precise, apart from the usual petty bickering, the imagined chaotic scenes of chickens flying and eggs breaking didn’t appear. But there wasn’t much overly intimate communication either, after all, the two of them weren’t close enough to share daily trivialities with each other.

In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again. This day was no different from usual, but in the afternoon they received a guest.

“Why are you kicking me?” On the sofa, Sheng Yannian was watching a movie when his calf was suddenly kicked. Without even turning his head, he was certain it was intentional.

The sofa had already been replaced with a new one, identical to the last one. At first, Gu Yuanqiao was somewhat reluctant to sit on it, directly calling Sheng Yannian a pervert, but the other person only replied that he didn’t want to disrupt the design of his house. He had no choice but to slowly get used to it over time.

Just as Sheng Yannian had observed Gu Yuanqiao, Gu Yuanqiao had also discovered some of Sheng Yannian’s preferences. For example, watching movies, and not just any movies but romantic ones about literary romance. Who knew how shocked Gu Yuanqiao was when he was bored and opened the TV cabinet to look for discs, only to see a pile of romantic love movies. It was no less shocking than learning that Sheng Yannian was still in university that time.

‘Could it be that this kid is actually a pure love type?’ Gu Yuanqiao stared at those discs with a face full of black lines.

Just now, the two of them had an “intense” argument over the right to use the TV, and in the end, with the mentality of an adult not stooping to a child’s level, Gu Yuanqiao made a concession. The two of them sat on the left side of the sofa and the far right side of the sofa respectively, watching the romantic love movie “Love in the Time of Cholera.”

However, not long after the movie started, Gu Yuanqiao found it boring and drowsy. He turned his head to look at the person on the other end of the sofa and found Sheng Yannian staring unblinkingly at the screen with a serious expression. Just looking at this posture, one would think he was tackling some difficult problem.

“….” Gu Yuanqiao found it even more boring, so he raised his foot and kicked him.

“I’m out of water.”

“?” This inexplicable sentence caught Sheng Yannian’s attention, and he turned to look at the person, “So?”

“Pour me some.” Gu Yuanqiao said expressionlessly, ordering him around.

“….” The movie was still playing, the dialogue between the male and female protagonists entering Sheng Yannian’s ears. He stared at Gu Yuanqiao, not caring whether those English words were being translated into Chinese in his mind.

“Are you sick?” After a while, Sheng Yannian came to a conclusion.

“Hurry up.” Gu Yuanqiao twisted his body, putting both legs on the sofa, squeezing his body between the sofa back and the armrest. One leg was slightly bent, while the other kicked Sheng Yannian’s thigh again, “Hurry up and show some hospitality as the host.”

“Hmph.” Sheng Yannian raised his hand and grabbed the fair ankle. Perhaps because the weather had turned cold, Gu Yuanqiao was wearing a thin sweater and cotton pants today, looking fluffy all over, very huggable.

His feet weren’t wearing socks, and the ankle felt a bit cool in his hand. Sheng Yannian pulled down on what he was holding, and Gu Yuanqiao’s body went down a bit, “Have I been too indulgent with you?”

“Tsk, hurry up.” Gu Yuanqiao took out the remote control he had “stolen” when the other wasn’t looking and threatened, “Or I’ll turn off the movie.”

“…Are you childish or what?”

“Mind your own business.” Gu Yuanqiao kicked his foot again. Actually, he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but he just didn’t want Sheng Yannian to have it too easy.

“You’re impossible.” Sheng Yannian let go of Gu Yuanqiao’s ankle, not planning to continue arguing with the other person, and got up to walk toward the kitchen.

“…Tsk.” But seeing Sheng Yannian really being so obedient, Gu Yuanqiao felt somewhat dissatisfied in his heart. He held the remote control, tossing it up and down out of boredom. So uninteresting.

Just as Gu Yuanqiao was thinking about whether to really turn off the movie, the doorbell rang.

“Go open the door.” Sheng Yannian shouted from the kitchen.

Gu Yuanqiao put the remote control on the sofa, got up, and walked to the entrance. He was also a bit curious about who would come to visit Sheng Yannian. First, he ruled out Sheng Yanqing, who had the password.

Young Master Sheng’s reputation wasn’t that “good.” Those who were unambitious didn’t dare to play with him, those who were somewhat decent and self righteous didn’t want to associate with him, and those who were more capable and powerful wouldn’t bother with him as a junior.

Gu Yuanqiao went through it in his mind and found that those suitable for Sheng Yannian’s social circle were either childhood acquaintances or pure and naive simpletons. Neither of these types would be afraid of Sheng Yannian’s displayed “bad temper.”

Because he was thinking about things in his mind, the moment he opened the door he didn’t have time to clearly see the person’s face before being pounced on by a dark mass, along with the slightly cool autumn wind.

“Little Nianzi!” The visitor shouted enthusiastically. Gu Yuanqiao also took a few steps back without being prepared before steadying himself.

“Did you miss me!” The man hugged Gu Yuanqiao tightly, both his words and actions filled with excitement at seeing a friend. And he clearly didn’t intend to give the other person a chance to respond, his mouth constantly outputting.

“Your brother contacted me a few days ago saying you were sick, are you better now? You really are something, getting better without telling me, making me worry to death. I’ve been alone and miserable in another city these past few days, and you didn’t even send me a message to comfort me. Am I not your best friend anymore?~~~”

After speaking, he hugged the person and squirmed around.

“….” Perhaps because the person in his arms was too excited, for a moment Gu Yuanqiao didn’t know how to react. His hands hovered in the air above the visitor’s back, neither hugging nor letting go.

“Eh, Nianzi? Did you lose weight? Why do I feel like your waist is smaller?” As he hugged, the man sensed something was wrong, “Did you not… hmm?”

Shi Lechi had just been about to start lecturing earnestly when a pair of slippers suddenly came into view. He followed the feet upward, those long legs, the loungewear, the hand holding the water glass looked so familiar. Finally seeing the face, it was clearly Sheng Yannian’s face, staring at him expressionlessly.

“Sheng Yannian?” Shi Lechi called out the full name in confusion.

“So you’re not blind yet.” It was still his good friend’s voice.

“Huh? Then who am I hugging?” Shi Lechi was still hanging on Gu Yuanqiao, asking sincerely.

“Still not letting go?” Sheng Yannian stared deadly at Shi Lechi’s hands hugging Gu Yuanqiao’s waist, and looking at that foolish expression, he felt the urge to hit someone.

“Ah, sorry sorry.” Shi Lechi reacted, immediately letting go and leaving Gu Yuanqiao’s embrace, also realizing how offensive his behavior just now had been. Only after retreating to a safe distance did he look up again at the person he had just mistaken.

The man was a bit taller than him, and the loose clothes didn’t show the exact body proportions, but judging from where he had just hugged the waist, it probably wasn’t bad.

The eyes, the most attractive feature on his face were those eyes. Even hidden behind glasses, they couldn’t block the charm and smile radiating from within. Being stared at by these eyes, his mind seemed to go blank for an instant, all words stuck in his throat. And all he could do was look into the other person’s eyes.

“It’s okay.” Words with a smile slowly flowed into his ears, casual and soft, as if whispering by his ear. In that instant, he felt his ears burn.

“Ah…” After a while, he could only make a single sound from his mouth. The man was still staring at him, and he felt his breathing quicken somewhat.

“….” Sheng Yannian on the side watched the two people looking at each other “affectionately” and felt speechless. Especially when he saw his childhood friend’s face getting redder and redder, mouth agape and about to drool, he felt even more speechless.

He walked to Shi Lechi’s side, using his free hand to slap the other person’s head, “What are you foolishly looking at?”, then glared at Gu Yuanqiao.

After receiving someone’s dagger like gaze, Gu Yuanqiao just shrugged, looking like it had nothing to do with him.

“Ouch!” Sheng Yannian’s slap on the head made a light sound, and the pain instantly pulled Shi Lechi out of that mindless state. He hugged his head and wailed, “Little Nianzi, why did you hit me?!”

“Hmph, I’m saving you, idiot.” Sheng Yannian rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“What are you talking about?!” Shi Lechi bumped his shoulder against his friend, wasn’t he just a bit slow to react?

Over there, Gu Yuanqiao was still smiling as he watched the two people fooling around. Shi Lechi didn’t know, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t heard it. That brat was secretly calling him a vixen again.

“Why did you come?” He hadn’t received a text from Shi Lechi saying he was coming.

“You still have the nerve to ask!” Sheng Yannian didn’t mention it and it was fine, but the moment he did, Shi Lechi jumped up, “I’ve been away for so long and you didn’t even send me one text! Are we still good friends or not! And I was worried you were sick…” Then he put on an extremely aggrieved expression.

“…Hmph.” Sheng Yannian rolled his eyes. With this childhood friend of his, he knew what he was going to do the moment he lifted his butt, “Cut it out, if you hadn’t caused trouble for your dad again, you wouldn’t have come to me.”

“….” Having his thoughts exposed, Shi Lechi choked for a moment, “Sheng Yannian, how can you think of me like that?!”

“Isn’t it?”

“…Yes…” Shi Lechi deflated, but quickly changed the subject, “But this time it really wasn’t my fault! Who told the artists under the old man to have dirt on them every time I dug. If they were clean, they wouldn’t be afraid of me digging at all.”

“Hmph.” Sheng Yannian snorted. He had more than once felt exhausted for Uncle Shi having such a son.

Shi Weimao had his son late in life and doted on this youngest son very much. And as the youngest child in the family, Shi Lechi was endlessly optimistic. And perhaps because the family ran a talent agency, Shi Lechi had been a gossip king since childhood. After graduating from a prestigious university’s journalism department, he resolutely threw himself into the paparazzi industry, saying he wanted to contribute to the entertainment of the people. The first to be “persecuted” were the artists under his father’s company.

And by the time Shi Weimao wanted to do something about it, it was too late. Every time these two living treasures fought, Shi Lechi would release some major dirt on one of his father’s artists, making his dad suffer unspeakably.

Of course, as a dedicated paparazzi, he definitely had dirt on more than just one company. Ever since his Weibo account “Chizi Watching the Fun” successfully predicted several seemingly absurd scandals, he had been put on the key observation list by many fans and entertainment companies. A million followers was not a dream.

“So can I please trouble you to let me stay for a little while.” Shi Lechi put his palms together and crossed them, deliberately widening his eyes and blinking at Sheng Yannian. His dad didn’t know he had secretly slipped back.

“Can’t you just go book a room outside yourself? Every time you fight with your dad you come to me.” Sheng Yannian frowned. It had been fine before, but right now there wasn’t only him in the house. There was only one guest room, the one Gu Yuanqiao was staying in.

Shi Lechi didn’t expect to be rejected, sniffed his nose, very mournful, “Little Nianzi! You, how cruel of you, wuwuwu. You really don’t love me anymore! Only seeing the new person’s smile, not hearing the old person’s cry, wuwuwu….”

“…Shut up!” Sheng Yannian’s head hurt from the noise, “There’s no room in the house.”

“Huh? Don’t you have a guest room?”

“Moved.” Sheng Yannian pointed at Gu Yuanqiao who had been watching the show from the side, “Occupied by the ‘new person’ you mentioned.”

“…Huh?” Shi Lechi was stunned, his expression for an instant like he had seen a ghost. He had originally thought that elegant man was Sheng Yannian’s guest, but he never imagined he would be living in Sheng Yannian’s house. And probably for quite some time too. When did Sheng Yannian make this friend? How come he didn’t know?

“It’s fine, little classmate, you can stay in that room.” Gu Yuanqiao said understandingly.

“Ah, okay…”

“Then where will you sleep? The sofa?” Before Shi Lechi could voice his opinion, Sheng Yannian asked first, his tone somewhat disapproving of Gu Yuanqiao’s suggestion.

“Ah, how can that be?! No no no.” Hearing Sheng Yannian’s words, the somewhat delighted Shi Lechi immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

“No.” Gu Yuanqiao smiled reassuringly at Shi Lechi, then looked at Sheng Yannian, quite pleasantly saying, “I’ll sleep with him.”

For a moment, no one made a sound. Even Shi Lechi, who had been noisy since entering the house, was suddenly choked. Sheng Yannian also looked at Gu Yuanqiao inexplicably, not knowing what the other person was thinking.

And Gu Yuanqiao, as the one who caused the silence, seemed to notice nothing, and was the first to break the paused air.

“What? Two grown men sleeping together is nothing, right?”

“Huh? Ah… yeah, right?” Shi Lechi habitually chimed in, thinking it was indeed so, but looking at the two people who had been staring at each other, he felt something was a bit off.

“Nothing.” In the end, Sheng Yannian gave an answer that satisfied Gu Yuanqiao very much.

“Alright.” Gu Yuanqiao turned his gaze back to Shi Lechi, and the previously tense air was immediately dispelled, “Little classmate, you can stay with peace of mind.”

“Um… okay?” Shi Lechi always felt something was a bit strange. He remembered this was supposed to be Sheng Yannian’s house, right? Why did it feel like…

“I’m Gu Yuanqiao, I’m Brother Yannian’s senior.”

“….” Sheng Yannian was caught off guard hearing Gu Yuanqiao call him that, his heart itching a bit. He pretended to naturally raise his hand and take a sip of water.

“Ah! You’re Brother Yanqing’s senior! A university senior?” Shi Lechi was very outgoing, immediately throwing the strange feeling from just now to the back of his mind.

“It was high school, I studied abroad for university. Just came back recently.”

“No problem, Brother Yanqing and I also went to the same high school. So counting it up, you’re also my senior, can I call you that?”

“Of course.” Gu Yuanqiao didn’t mind.

“…Tsk.” Sheng Yannian curled his lip, someone really did like being a senior.

The sound he made was very small, and the two people still chatting enthusiastically didn’t hear it at all.

Shi Lechi was an outgoing person, and Gu Yuanqiao was also a social expert. In no time, the two of them had exchanged contact information and made plans to go out and play together when they had time.

Shi Lechi really liked this new friend. Not only was the person outstanding, but he also didn’t like putting on airs. His every move was casual yet elegant, showing his charm and upbringing without making people feel awkward. Gu Yuanqiao was the only person besides Sheng Yanqing who made him feel like he could say anything.

After a few exchanges, Shi Lechi had basically talked about everything from childhood to adulthood.

Sheng Yannian, sitting nearby watching the movie while listening to the conversation, couldn’t help but sneer in his heart. If he could, he really wanted to record this conversation and let the employees in the company learn from Gu Yuanqiao’s conversational skills. In just a few sentences, he had figured out the other person’s background almost completely, while his own side remained watertight.