He Only Shows His True Colors in Front of Me : Chapter 13

After Gu Yuanqiao left the study, the two of them had no further interaction. It was not due to awkwardness, but simply because Wen Han had a pile of matters to report to him.
Wen Han was an adopted son of the Gu family and was three years older than him. Having accompanied him since childhood, Wen Han and his fiancée, Ruan Yi, had always been his trusted confidants. However, the three of them were more like friends than superiors and subordinates.
Having just returned to the country not long ago, a formal cooperation with Sheng An had not yet been reached, but the little old men of the Gu family kept pressing and prying continuously, which was annoying to death. If you asked him, at their advanced age they should honestly enjoy their retirement rather than insisting on wading into the muddy waters of the Gu family. They could not even best his father when they were young, so did they really think a bit of useless experience and maturity would do the trick now? They were simply too idle.

“Jiewei Technology?” Wen Han’s hesitant voice came from the computer screen. “Is that the small company the young master of the Sheng family established just to play around with?”
Gu Yuanqiao propped his head with his hand out of boredom. Upon hearing Wen Han’s words, his lowered eyes finally looked up toward the computer.
“Wen Han, that is no way to put it. Director Sheng actually runs this company with a lot of care.”
Wen Han, who was still flipping through documents, paused his movements and looked at Gu Yuanqiao with some novelty. It was quite rare for Gu Yuanqiao to defend someone in private, and judging by his tone, it did not sound like sarcasm. However, he still did not approve: “If he really cared, it wouldn’t still be an obscure little company up until now.”
“Maybe he is just missing an opportunity?” Gu Yuanqiao recalled a certain someone’s determined gaze.
“But this is a bit too…” Wen Han frowned. Using Calista as an opportunity was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Gu Yuanqiao raised his hand to interrupt the other person, putting a definitive end to this topic. “Alright, in any case, what we want is that piece of land. The goal has already been achieved. Once the formal contract is signed, we can report back to those old fogies.”
“…Yes.”

Wen Han then gave a brief report on the business situation in Country Y. Even so, by the time the report ended, it was already afternoon and getting close to dinner time.
Gu Yuanqiao had only eaten breakfast since waking up, and he had not eaten much of that, so his stomach had long been empty.
That brat Sheng Yannian did not even come to call him for lunch at noon, tsk.
“Is there anything else?”
“Official business is finished…”
Gu Yuanqiao paused his body just as he was about to get up and sat back down in his chair. Official business was finished, which meant there were still personal matters to chat about, right?
“Speak.” Gu Yuanqiao pinched the bridge of his nose weakly. That pile of mess at home was more of a headache than work.

“There is news that the main branch might send someone to the country.”
“Who?” Gu Yuanqiao was not too surprised by this. After all, his second uncle’s lineage would definitely not be content to let him swallow the domestic market all by himself.
“….” At this question, Wen Han hesitated for a rare moment. “There is a high probability it is… Gu Yuanmu.”
“….”
As soon as the words came out, both sides fell silent. This name was not a pleasant matter for either Gu Yuanqiao or his companion. If Ruan Yi were here, she would probably be shouting abuses by now, but unfortunately, neither of the individuals present was the loud type.

“Heh.” After a while, Gu Yuanqiao broke the silence with a cold laugh. “It seems Second Uncle has a lot of confidence in his precious son~”
“Do we need our side to…”
“No need, it’s not the time yet. As for Gu Yuanmu… if he knows what’s good for him, I won’t do anything to him.” It was just that forever innocent and pure act of his that made him sick. He seemed to understand a bit of Sheng Yannian’s usual mood when seeing his own fake smile now.
“Roughly when is he coming?”
“If nothing goes wrong, it should be in three or four months, but the formal documents should be issued in the near future.”
“Alright. Then announce the news of our cooperation with Jiewei some time before they notify us. Lest they take the opportunity to make demands again. Give up the cooperation or send someone, they can only choose one.”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
Seeing that the other side was preparing to end the video call, Gu Yuanqiao smiled as if remembering something. “Contact Ruan Yi more when you have time, so she doesn’t harass me all day saying I exploit you.”
At the mention of his fiancée, Wen Han’s perennially unchanged face flushed slightly, and his tone was no longer as cold and professional as before. “I got it.”
“Show her more care whether you’re busy or not. Even though her public image is that of a strong woman, she is ultimately a girl. Don’t become unreachable whenever you get busy. Do you know what her nickname for you is? Old-fashioned blockhead. How old are you even to be… hey!”

The more Gu Yuanqiao spoke, the more enthusiastic he became. His knack for teasing his friend dispelled a lot of the previous unpleasantness. Unfortunately, before he had his fill of talking, Wen Han hung up the video call.
Gu Yuanqiao chuckled. He often found the pairing of these two friends, an iceberg and a volcano, quite refreshing. Perhaps this was what many people meant when they said you are often attracted to whatever you lack most.
Then what kind of person would attract him? Even without any intention of dating, Gu Yuanqiao was curious about this question sometimes. It was hard to imagine a mercenary person like himself being attracted to another person. Could the other person be an even bigger profiteer than him?
Thinking up to this point, Gu Yuanqiao was amused by his own childish and foolish thoughts. However, he did not continue to let his mind wander, because the door was knocked.

“Is something wrong?” Sheng Yannian stood at the door. As he walked closer, Gu Yuanqiao could still smell the scent of cooking smoke clinging to the other’s clothes. Strangely, he did not dislike it.
As soon as Gu Yuanqiao opened the door, Sheng Yannian saw his own bite mark on the other’s neck. It was no longer as red as it was at the beginning, but it was still very obvious. Not long after Gu Yuanqiao left the study earlier, he had regretted his impulsive and stupid action. The other party had emphasized repeatedly that his neck could not be bitten, yet he had gone ahead and done it, so god only knew how he would be retaliated against. The cooperation with Calista had not been formally signed yet, so what if Gu Yuanqiao went back on his word at the last minute? But the man had not come out of his room for the entire afternoon, not even eating lunch. The more time passed, the more guilty he felt. Having just finished cooking dinner, after hesitating repeatedly, he finally knocked on Gu Yuanqiao’s door.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“I am, let’s go.”
The two of them did not speak all the way from the second floor to the dining room, and Sheng Yannian even very uncharacteristically followed quietly behind Gu Yuanqiao. Whether it was his own overthinking or not, Gu Yuanqiao kept feeling that Sheng Yannian had something to say.

Finally, when Sheng Yannian glanced over for what seemed like the nth time at the dinner table, Gu Yuanqiao spoke, “What do you want to say?”
“What?” Sheng Yannian said guiltily.
“I said, what do you want to say?”
“Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”
“Ha…” Gu Yuanqiao let out a speechless laugh. “Then can you stop looking at me constantly? I want to enjoy my meal.”
“It’s not stopping your mouth from eating.”
“….” Not denying it? Quite honest, huh? “Then tell me, Director Sheng, why do you keep looking at me? It can’t be that my face makes a good side dish, right?”
“Heh, it’s good enough if it doesn’t ruin my appetite.” This time, Sheng Yannian shot back sarcastically.
“Then eat your food properly and stop glancing over to my side constantly.”
“Hmph… who cares…” Sheng Yannian muttered softly, but his gaze became much tamer.
Gu Yuanqiao finished the rest of his dinner as desired. Yet Sheng Yannian ultimately could not hold back, asking the opposite Gu Yuanqiao after finishing his last bite.

“Um…”
“?” Gu Yuanqiao gave Sheng Yannian a look; this sort of demeanor was quite rare for him.
“You know, is… is your neck okay?” After asking, Sheng Yannian pretentiously picked up the glass beside him and took a sip of water.
Gu Yuanqiao fell silent, instantly understanding what Sheng Yannian’s unusual behavior this evening was all about. As it turned out, the boy was feeling guilty.
“Ah…” Gu Yuanqiao also pretentiously raised his hand to touch the bite mark on his neck, saying with difficulty, “Someone bit so hard, I don’t know if it will fade by tomorrow morning… If the people at the company see it, won’t they think my private life is a mess? Director Sheng, you have to compensate me for my ruined reputation~”
Hearing the resentful, lingering, and coquettish tone from the opposite side, Sheng Yannian almost spat out his mouthful of water. He resisted the urge to cough it out and desperately swallowed the water down his throat, his face turning thoroughly red in the process.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Gu Yuanqiao was startled by Sheng Yannian’s reaction. It could be said that this was his first time seeing Sheng Yannian’s face so red, from his ears all the way down. After watching for a moment, he very thoughtfully pushed the napkin box in front of Sheng Yannian.

Just as he was calming down, Sheng Yannian pulled out a tissue, wiping his mouth while sizing up the person opposite him. The man looked like he was viewing some novel curiosity, with all sorts of emotions in his eyes except for any trace of anger. His anxious heart settled down. Then, recalling Gu Yuanqiao’s exaggerated words just now, he glared back in annoyance.
“Compensate your reputation? For that wound on your neck, just slap something over it when you get up tomorrow morning and it’ll be fine. You bit my lip open and I haven’t even said anything!”
As the words led to this, Gu Yuanqiao finally glanced at Sheng Yannian’s lips. The spot he had bitten this morning was already swollen. He thought to himself that when he saw Sheng Yannian this evening, something had felt off.
“Hmph, if you hadn’t suddenly kissed me, would I have bitten you?”
“That was only because you…” Mid-sentence, Sheng Yannian was forced to stop, almost biting the tip of his own tongue.
“Hmm? Only because I what?” Gu Yuanqiao raised his eyebrows, asking as if he did not understand.
“…Damn it!” Looking at the petty, triumphant look on the opposite face made him angry, but unfortunately, he could not say anything. He could hardly tell Gu Yuanqiao that it was ‘because you treated me like a kid’, right? What would that even mean? It would sound like throwing a tantrum or acting spoiled. He would rather die than bow his head to that foul fox!

Sheng Yannian was still immersed in his own thoughts, trying to figure out how to counterattack, but Gu Yuanqiao merely watched for a moment before standing up to put his bowl and chopsticks in the sink. He then went upstairs to prepare to wash up and sleep, as it would be time for work tomorrow.
By the time a certain someone snapped out of it, he was already left all alone in the dining room like an idiot.
“Shit…” Unable to help himself, Sheng Yannian cursed softly again, silently wishing in his heart that Gu Yuanqiao would dream of his most hated thing tonight!

—

Early the next morning, after Gu Yuanqiao dressed and went downstairs, he undoubtedly saw Sheng Yannian again, except the other person had just brought out breakfast.
He could not help but wonder exactly what time Sheng Yannian woke up? How was it that every time he saw him in the morning, breakfast was already prepared.
The two exchanged glances, and their minimal politeness made them bid each other good morning.
Perhaps because they had to go to work first thing in the morning, today’s breakfast was simpler than the previous two days. Coffee with egg and bacon sandwiches.
Without excessive pleasantries, they finished their breakfast silently and quickly.

Sheng Yannian scooped up his trench coat from the sofa and put it on; calculating the time, the driver would arrive to pick him up soon. He sorted out his clothes while sizing up Gu Yuanqiao, who was also arranging his clothes. The clothes the other party wore were the ones he arrived in, and he did not have many items to carry.
“You…” Sheng Yannian spoke after a long silence, but his mouth opened several times without knowing what to say. He certainly disliked Gu Yuanqiao, but during the few days the man stayed here, the two of them bickering had been… quite lively? Sheng Yannian was startled by the thought that popped up.
“What? Can’t bear to see me leave?” Seeing the way Sheng Yannian’s face kept shifting after starting to speak, Gu Yuanqiao could not help but make a joke.
“As if!” Sheng Yannian retorted instinctively, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Without thinking things through, the words just tumbled out in a rush, “Once you step out of my door, roll as far away as you can. I don’t want to see you in my house again after I get off work today!”
With that, he walked toward the door in a huff.
Gu Yuanqiao was stunned for a moment by Sheng Yannian’s shouting. Looking at his exasperated retreating figure, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, and then suddenly realized something, feeling quite surprised, “He really can’t bear to see me leave…”
He spoke softly, so Sheng Yannian did not hear him. Gu Yuanqiao looked as though he had found some amusement, his mood becoming exceedingly bright, and even his tone became upbeat when he spoke, “Director Sheng, how about giving me a lift since it’s on the way?”
“No!” Sheng Yannian rejected the proposal without even turning his head. He was deliberately out to give Gu Yuanqiao a hard time once more, and besides, since when were they going the same way?!

Sheng Yannian quickly got into the car and turned the air conditioning up to blast directly at himself, trying to achieve a physical cooling effect. However, Gu Yuanqiao’s cheerful tone kept ringing in his ears. It was not like the falsehood he had seen in the past; it was the kind of voice that, just by hearing it, could make one’s heart skip a beat, as bright as beautiful spring scenery.
He felt as though he had been put under a spell by the other party, otherwise how could he explain the series of bizarre thoughts in his mind this morning? Yes! It was absolutely Gu Yuanqiao’s fault! He truly was a seductive fox spirit!
The air conditioning blew the entire way, and only when they were close to the company did the temperature of Sheng Yannian’s face finally cool down, along with that oddly racing heart of his.