Chapter 33: Patience

“——Dying of laughter, I feel like I’m watching some grand battle of the paupers! The boss: I’m not willing to give it away for free! Shen Xici: I have no money to pay for cash on delivery!”

“——Alright, alright, so I’m not the only poor person in the world! Poor people of the world, unite!”

“——Hahaha, this friend surnamed Shen, even your ice-cold reply can’t hide your aura of poverty!”

Beneath the original post and Shen Xici’s repost, there was a crowd of laughing netizens who had come for the show. The top comment had thousands of replies stacked below it, mostly sharing life hacks like where to get coupons and take advantage of deals, how to survive for two more days at the end of the month by using comment-for-cash-back offers, and the importance of remembering to cancel automatic renewals after signing up for a 9.99 yuan continuous monthly subscription.

Shen Xici took screenshots as he read, even pulling Sheng Shaoyan over. “A’Shao, come and see, there are so many useful knowledge points in here!” Then it occurred to him that Sheng Shaoyan was close to regaining his memory, and he manually retracted his statement. “But it might not be that practical for you. It’s enough for me to just look.”

Sheng Shaoyan had just finished hanging up the laundry. Unlike riding a motorcycle or archery, which were so familiar they were muscle memory, he was very clumsy with household chores like sweeping, mopping, and hanging clothes.

It was clear that before his amnesia, he was proficient in riding and archery but didn’t touch housework at all.

To prove that he had changed significantly from his pre-amnesia self—for example, he now knew how to hang clothes, and he no longer spent money extravagantly and without restraint—Sheng Shaoyan proactively mentioned, “Yesterday when I went to get our lunch to-go, the total was one hundred forty-three yuan and fifty cents. I asked the owner to round it off.”

Shen Xici lifted his gaze from his phone screen. “Rounded off three yuan fifty?”

“…”

Sheng Shaoyan’s voice dropped a little. “Fifty cents.”

Shen Xici’s gaze was filled with pity. “In that situation, the owner should have only charged you one hundred and forty and thrown in two bottles of juice or a drink.” He patted Sheng Shaoyan’s shoulder encouragingly. “A’Shao, you’ve already made great progress. You actually knew to ask the owner to round it off!”

For a capitalist like Sheng Shaoyan, who had thousands upon thousands of yuan flowing into his accounts from all over the world every minute, being able to haggle for a fifty-cent discount was like mastering a knowledge point that his ancestors for ten generations back had never used.

Didn’t this count as stepping out of his comfort zone?

It sounded like a compliment, right? Sheng Shaoyan hesitated for a moment, then immediately decided it must be praise, and promptly noted down the new knowledge point. “Next time, I’ll remember to ask the owner to give us drinks.”

“Good,” Shen Xici thought. If there is a next time.

In the early morning, the hashtag #ZhulongGuangqiSellsEverythingToBuyAHT# was still firmly in the top five trending topics. Meanwhile, the topic #XuLingjiaCallsDomesticProductsScrapMetal# had been quietly removed while internet traffic was low.

In a room at the crew’s hotel, Ye Mei, unable to be there in person, was lecturing them over a video call.

“You three were with Jiajia, did you not bring your ears and mouths? He was on a live stream, and you didn’t know to keep an eye on him and give him a reminder?”

The three assistants glanced at each other, silently complaining. Keep an eye on him? How would they dare to keep an eye on the young master Xu? But they only dared to think these things, remaining quiet on the surface.

After scolding the assistants, Ye Mei looked at Xu Lingjia, her tone softening considerably. “The one who bought the negative hot search against you was Zhou Tingran from Hè Míng Culture. I got word that they were also competing for that domestic tech brand’s endorsement. Your popularity has been rising almost vertically recently, giving you a much bigger advantage. They tried pulling a lot of strings to no avail and were about to give up. And what happened? You, on the other hand, nearly handed them the opportunity on a silver platter!”

Xu Lingjia pressed his lips together, a shadow in his eyes.

He had met this Zhou Tingran before. A former child star, he was said to have started acting in film crews since kindergarten. He had little exposure for a few years while he was in school, but now that he was admitted to a film academy, he began seizing every opportunity to act and get endorsements to gain exposure.

The cake in the industry was only so big; fighting over it was normal. But this person shouldn’t have tried to steal from him.

On the phone screen, Ye Mei spoke earnestly, “Jiajia, you’re young. Because of the CP-shipping with Zhong Yue, your popularity has risen too quickly and steeply. Godmother thinks you’ve been getting a little carried away lately.”

Knowing that Ye Mei was still upset with him for calling domestic products “scrap metal” and small domestic workshops “thieves” during the live stream, Xu Lingjia clenched his jaw. But who could understand his difficulties?

Ever since he found out his blood type was different from the rest of the Xu family, he had lived in fear every day that this secret would be exposed. When that happened, everything he had would be taken away by the biological son.

Tormented daily by fear and anxiety, he was constantly acting obedient to please everyone, wary of the “real young master” who had yet to appear.

It wasn’t until he had a precognitive dream recently and learned about the general direction of the next year or two that he was finally freed from his fear and anxiety.

But not a single word of this could be said out loud. When Xu Lingjia spoke, his voice was weaker than usual, somewhat pitiful. “Godmother, I just didn’t want to see Shen Xici looking so smug, acting like he knows everything, stealing all the limelight.”

Ye Mei found it strange. “Why do you care so much about that newcomer? Jiajia, he’s no threat to you at all. Did something happen? Do you want to tell Godmother?”

A chill went down his spine. He absolutely could not let his godmother pay attention to Shen Xici. Xu Lingjia immediately acted cute. “Godmother, it’s nothing. I know I was wrong. I was just a bit rash, my mouth moved faster than my brain. I’ll be careful next time and won’t cause you any more trouble.”

Seeing Ye Mei’s expression soften, Xu Lingjia continued, “Even if I don’t get this domestic tech brand’s endorsement, it doesn’t matter, right? Aren’t there many other brands that want me as their spokesperson?”

There was another piece of news he had planned to share later, but he decided to say it now. “Besides, Godmother, doesn’t Zhong Yue’s next movie, Divine Capital Ambush, have a role for the second male lead? Zhong Yue’s side has expressed interest in me for the part.”

“Really?” Seeing Xu Lingjia nod, Ye Mei forgot the faint doubt in her heart and broke into a full smile. “It’s just a bit of negative press. It will soon be forgotten and won’t have a major impact. Being able to land the second male lead in such a major production is what’s most important. Our Jiajia is truly amazing!”

Thinking about how he had used Zhong Yue’s allergy to connect with him and the Beijing circle, Xu Lingjia felt a surge of confidence and said with certainty, “Godmother, don’t worry. I will definitely become more and more famous!”

Zhulong Guangqi shattered the stereotype of tech geeks, proving to be master comedians. Riding the wave of popularity, they contributed many hot memes. Shen Xici scrolled through Weibo from morning to night, having a wonderful time, taking lots of notes, and learning a billion more little money-saving tips.

On the small balcony, the waterfall of light purple bougainvillea was still splendid. Sheng Shaoyan finished watering the plants and continued replying to his WeChat messages.

Zhulong Guangqi’s official Weibo account hadn’t been lying. Because they had invested almost all their money into their product, and the product hadn’t sold to recoup the costs, they were unabashedly poor. The marketing and public relations departments only existed in the company’s organizational chart document; there wasn’t a single person in them. As a result, the one who came to coordinate with Sheng Shaoyan, the “manager,” was actually Zhulong Guangqi’s boss, Jiang Lieyuan.

The reason was that, apart from the boss, almost everyone in the company had some degree of social anxiety. They would rather tire themselves out cleaning the company warehouse than do a job that involved interacting with strangers.

The current public opinion online was very favorable to Shen Xici. Sheng Shaoyan told Zhulong Guangqi’s boss that in the follow-up process, they could mention Shen Xici, but not too much, and it shouldn’t seem deliberate. He also analyzed the potential impact of someone buying a negative hot search against Xu Lingjia and the subsequent removal of that topic. He advised on what tone and focus the company’s official Weibo post should have the next day, and how to leverage the current popularity to build brand awareness.

Jiang Lieyuan typed quickly: [You must be a seasoned manager. Guiding public opinion, converting popularity into brand value, and increasing awareness—it’s all so smooth and masterful. You’re amazing!]

Sheng Shaoyan didn’t react to the compliment, simply forwarding the contact information of the PR company he had worked with during the door-knocking incident to Jiang Lieyuan.

Jiang Lieyuan sent a fist-clasping emoji and asked humbly: [May I ask if there’s any particular genius to this company that made you recommend them? So I can learn with a specific focus.]

Sheng Shaoyan typed: [This PR company charges one mao less than other PR companies for each normal comment without a picture, and two mao less for comments with pictures.]

Jiang Lieyuan almost cracked his phone screen by hitting the exclamation mark key: [I am eternally grateful!!!!!!!!!!]

After a shower, Sheng Shaoyan changed into his pajamas and entered the bedroom.

Shen Xici was already asleep, buried in the covers. The bedside reading lamp was still on, left for him.

Moving quietly, Sheng Shaoyan lay down in the empty space next to him, but he still ended up startling the other man.

Shen Xici’s eyes remained closed, but his entire body tensed up reflexively. Even his voice held a trace of alertness. “A’Shao?”

“It’s me.”

As if recognizing his voice, Shen Xici instantly relaxed. He even rubbed his face against the pillow like a small animal and fell back asleep in an instant.

Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze was dark and obscure.

Does he trust me this much?

From his experience the other afternoon, Sheng Shaoyan knew he was dreaming.

Because only in a dream would Shen Xici be like this.

Like a ripe cherry, a gentle squeeze would release sweet and fragrant juice, making his whole body drenched, easily wetting his entire hand.

Since it was a dream, Sheng Shaoyan allowed himself to lick and kiss the soft white earlobe, his tongue teasing the cool glint of the silver earring. His lips trailed delicately across the firm jawline, the pale neck, the prominent Adam’s apple, and the collarbone that had been half-hidden, half-revealed by the V-neck shirt he wore during the day, dazzling his eyes.

The dream blurred time and reality. It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it also felt like the blink of an eye.

Sheng Shaoyan woke up. The sound of his own ragged breathing was clear in the bedroom.

The bedside reading lamp had been turned on, and its dim, warm light spread like a thin veil across the floor and the bed, making everything seem hazy and ambiguous.

At this moment, Shen Xici was lying on his back, his sleeping posture very proper, his head unconsciously tilted slightly toward him.

Sheng Shaoyan propped himself up on his arm, looking down at Shen Xici.

His back blocked the dim light of the reading lamp, and the shadow that fell was like an airtight net, completely enveloping the person lying there, as if imprisoning Shen Xici in his arms, or even inside his body.

Shen Xici was completely unaware, still sleeping soundly.

His gaze roamed wantonly over the eyebrows and eyes, the tip of the nose, and finally stopped on the thin, pink lips.

After a long while, Sheng Shaoyan leaned down until their breaths mingled, just a few centimeters from Shen Xici’s lips.

Just as their lips were about to touch, his right hand gently covered Shen Xici’s lips and chin.

Through his palm, he kissed Shen Xici’s lips.

Desire is like a summer wildfire; all it needs is a gust of wind to burn so brightly it illuminates the night sky.

He was about to lose control.