Chapter 66: Magazine Model

It took Cheng Ye a few seconds to understand what he was saying. He leaned against the bed, his fingertips brushing over Jiang Shi’s eyelids, which were pink from being stuffy.

“Why would you ask that?”

Jiang Shi closed his eyes, and the wrinkles deepened. “Because you’re always going into heat regardless of the occasion.”

It wasn’t his fault for using the term “in heat.” He felt that Cheng Ye at those times was really like an animal in heat, seemingly without any rationality, his mind full of that kind of thing.

Cheng Ye didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he didn’t think he had an addiction. Even if he did, it was only an addiction to Jiang Shi. He knew he was probably not normal, so he asked Jiang Shi, “Did I scare you?”

Jiang Shi huddled in the blanket. “It’s fine… it’s just…”

Cheng Ye said, “Should I go to the hospital to get checked?”

When he said that, Jiang Shi felt sorry for him again. “It’s not a big deal. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s sleep.”

After saying that, he rolled inwards, leaving half of the blanket out.

Cheng Ye pressed against the bed and slowly smiled.

Zhang Chi always said Jiang Shi had a bad temper, but in Cheng Ye’s eyes, there was no one with a softer heart.

The next day was another sunny day.

Having promised Zhang Chi to go out and play, Jiang Shi got up early. When he woke up, he was alone in the room. By the time he finished washing up, Cheng Ye was back with breakfast.

He maintained the demeanor a proper partner should have and helped Jiang Shi pack his things.

“The weather forecast says it will rain today. Even though it looks sunny now, you should still bring an umbrella. I put money in the inner pocket of your backpack. Buy whatever you want. The sun is strong, so you should still wear a hat…”

Jiang Shi picked a bun from the pile of breakfast and sat there chewing, the words going in one ear and out the other.

Cheng Ye added, “I had originally planned to hang out with you, but since you’re going out with Zhang Chi, I’ll go find a house today.”

Only then did Jiang Shi look at him. “A house? What house?”

“We can’t stay in a hotel every day. I plan to rent a place near the university town and move out to live there when I go to university.”

“Huh?” Jiang Shi was stunned. “Not living in the dorms?”

Cheng Ye looked down at him from above.

“…”

Jiang Shi took a bite of the bun.

If you don’t want to live there, then don’t. Why are you looking so fierce?

After sitting for a while, he couldn’t help but say, “Should we wait a bit? What if I don’t get in?”

Cheng Ye zipped up the backpack with a whoosh. “There’s no ‘what if,’ Jiang Shi.”

Seeing him like this, Jiang Shi got angry. He pulled his foot out of his slipper and kicked Cheng Ye’s calf. “Yesterday you were shamelessly groveling at my feet, admitting your mistake. After just one night, you’re starting to give me attitude?”

“Ha!” he sneered. “What’s easily gotten is not cherished.”

He should have let him kneel for two or three days.

Cheng Ye: “…”

Jiang Shi finished the bun in a few bites and picked up a cup of soy milk. “See you never!”

Cheng Ye put the backpack on for him. “I’ll come pick you up tonight.”

Jiang Shi said, “I’m going home with Zhang Chi. I’m going to sleep at his house, in the same bed as him.”

Sure enough, after he said that, Cheng Ye’s face darkened another shade.

“Jiang Shi…”

Jiang Shi pulled open the door without looking back.

Cheng Ye followed behind him, put the hat on for him, and repeated, “I’ll come pick you up tonight.”

The other left him with a tuft of hair sticking out from the back of the hat.

…

Zhang Chi’s car had just arrived downstairs at the hotel when he saw two people coming out of the lobby one after the other. He was very familiar with the one in front.

He rolled down the car window and leaned out, waving at Jiang Shi. “Jiang Shi, over here!”

Jiang Shi pulled open the door with a long face and only realized after getting in that Song Jian’an was also sitting inside.

It had been a long time. He still hadn’t gotten any tanner. He had a short haircut, his hair spiky, making him look even more dorky.

The bookworm Song Jian’an pushed up his glasses and greeted Jiang Shi, “Long time no see.”

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment, then bent down and sat. “Long time no see.”

Song Jian’an also saw Cheng Ye behind Jiang Shi. As time went on, and with Cheng Ye having given him a set of secret exam papers, Song Jian’an felt that he had matured a lot and there was no need to be petty about past grudges.

He also greeted Cheng Ye. “Classmate Cheng Ye, long time no see. I wonder how you did on the college entrance exam?”

Cheng Ye’s mind was entirely on Jiang Shi and he didn’t hear him at all. He stood by the car window, half-bent over, apologizing to Jiang Shi. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be fierce with you just now.”

Song Jian’an: “Cheng Ye?”

Cheng Ye turned his head and met a dark face. He was stunned for a moment. “You are?”

Song Jian’an: “…”

He got up, leaned over, pressed the button to close the window next to Jiang Shi, shutting out Cheng Ye’s annoying face. He patted his sleeves and said to Zhang Chi’s driver, “Let’s go.”

The car slowly drove away. Cheng Ye, standing outside: “?”

In the car, Jiang Shi burst out laughing and gave Song Jian’an a thumbs up.

Song Jian’an said expressionlessly, “As expected, I can never forgive Cheng Ye in this lifetime.”

Zhang Chi, in the front, was wearing his seatbelt and struggling to turn his head to join the conversation. “Little An, you know that Cheng Ye?”

Song Jian’an: “We were from the same village before.”

“Oh… I remember now,” Zhang Chi said. “Did you guys have a grudge before?”

This was not something to be told to outsiders. Song Jian’an chose to remain silent.

Jiang Shi changed the subject. “I thought it was just Zhang Chi. Why are you here too?”

Zhang Chi twisted his head. “You have no idea how much of a freak he is. As soon as the exam was over, he followed his dad to the company and started work at six every morning. If I hadn’t dragged him out, he’d probably still be at the company now.”

Jiang Shi was silent for a moment. “Did Song Bo ask you to go?”

Even sitting in the car, Song Jian’an’s posture was that of a good student, knees together, hands on his knees.

“He was the one who asked me to go, but only after I went did I realize there was so much I didn’t understand. Doing business is also a field of study. The first proposal I made was terrible. Although Song Bo didn’t say anything, I saw disappointment in his eyes.”

Jiang Shi tentatively asked, “You couldn’t bear to let him down?”

“Not really. I just felt that my abilities were being questioned.”

“So?”

“So these past two days, I’ve been studying late into the night. I’ve finally figured out the meaning and operating mechanism of a company, and then I’ve familiarized myself with the employee handbook and regulations.”

A fire lit up in Song Jian’an’s eyes. “This time, I will definitely be able to write a satisfactory proposal.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Learning is learning. What’s the difference what you learn?

Zhang Chi continued to twist his neck. “A relative of mine just opened a new mountain villa. I heard it’s pretty good. There’s an open-air swimming pool on the top floor. It’s so hot today, let’s go swimming, shall we?”

Song Jian’an said, “I don’t have a swimsuit…”

Zhang Chi waved his hand grandly. “No problem, we can just buy one. Uncle Zhang, turn around and go to the mall.”

The three of them changed course and went to the mall.

Ever since he lost weight, Zhang Chi had become particularly vain. He was picky about his clothes and even had to think about whether green or orange patterns were more slimming when buying a pair of swim trunks.

Jiang Shi couldn’t stand him and sat on the sofa playing on his phone with a cold drink.

It was a randomly chosen mall, not very high-end. There were many people who came to enjoy the air conditioning at this time, and the corridor outside was bustling with people.

Jiang Shi played a game. He kept feeling that someone was watching him. He put away his phone, looked up and outside, and found a man in his thirties standing in the corridor, staring at him intently. He didn’t know how long he had been watching.

Seeing him look over, the man not only didn’t look away but even gave him a smile.

Jiang Shi frowned. Before he could show any emotion, the man strode towards him.

He was wearing a suit and looked quite friendly. Although he had been sizing Jiang Shi up for a long time, there was no uncomfortable feeling in his eyes.

The man extended his hand to him. “Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Sun Tianyu, the editor-in-chief of ‘New Trend’ magazine. Have you heard of ‘New Trend’?”

Jiang Shi was not interested in fashion and was a little impatient at being disturbed, but he suppressed his temper and replied, “Never heard of it, don’t know, what’s up?”

Sun Tianyu said, “You are very good-looking and have a very unique temperament. Have you considered being a model?”

“No.”

Being rejected so coldly and directly, Sun Tianyu wasn’t angry. “I’m really not a scammer.” He took out a business card and handed it to Jiang Shi. “This is my business card, or you can search online and see my information. We have an issue of menswear that we haven’t found a suitable model for. Seeing you today, those clothes have finally found their owner.”

At this point, he got a little excited. “You are really suitable. As long as you are willing to agree, I will give you this much…” He held up his hand and made a gesture in front of Jiang Shi. “If you’re not satisfied, we can negotiate.”

Jiang Shi was stunned when he saw the price, and then he read two big words on Sun Tianyu’s forehead—

Scammer.

He stood up. “You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not a model.”

“A newcomer, it’s fine…” Sun Tianyu followed behind him. “I can teach you.”

Jiang Shi said, “If you don’t leave, I’ll call for someone.”

Sun Tianyu was helpless. “I’m really not a scammer…”

“Three…”

“Our magazine is very famous. Go look on the streets, many people buy it.”

“Two…”

Sun Tianyu stuffed the business card into Jiang Shi’s hand. “No matter what, please consider it. I’ll be waiting for your call anytime.”

Jiang Shi subconsciously closed his palm. By the time he wanted to return it, Sun Tianyu had already walked far away.

Zhang Chi came over with a pair of swim trunks, tilting his head to look in the direction he was looking. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Jiang Shi retracted his gaze. “Just a scammer.”

Zhang Chi held up the pants and asked him, “Do you think blue suits me?”

Not finding a trash can, Jiang Shi casually stuffed the business card into his bag. As for Zhang Chi’s question, he commented, “You’re handsome, so you look good in anything.”

One sentence cured Zhang Chi’s fear of making choices.

After playing like this for a few days, the college entrance exam scores were released, and Jiang Shi went back to fill out his university choices.

Gao Xinhe sat across from him, holding a book and scratching his head. “Little cousin, where are you applying?”

“B University,” Jiang Shi said. “But I haven’t decided on a major yet.”

“I don’t know either. How about what my mom said, you go study medicine?”

Jiang Shi shook his head. “No, it’s too bloody.”

“Then a teacher?”

“Too tiring.”

“Accounting?”

“You’ll go to jail.”

“…”

Cheng Ye came out of the house with a watermelon. “Choose a popular one.”

Jiang Shi bit his pen and looked up at him. “So it’ll be easy to find a job in the future?”

Cheng Ye pulled the pen out of his mouth. Although it was cruel, he still said, “I’ve looked at the admission scores for B University over the years and made a prediction based on this year’s numbers. You’ll most likely just barely make it in. There’s no point in struggling over what to choose. You’ll just be assigned to one.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Cheng Ye looked at his puffed-up cheeks and his eyes curved. “You don’t have a favorite, do you? Then it doesn’t matter what you study.”

Anyway, Jiang Shi didn’t need to worry about his future.

Gao Xinhe inexplicably felt a pang of jealousy. “Have you guys considered my feelings?”

He was only thirty-something points above the second-tier cutoff. It was hard to choose a good school, and he didn’t want to go to a bad one. It was very awkward.

Cheng Ye took Jiang Shi’s pen and circled a few schools for him. “These ones.”

Gao Xinhe leaned closer to look. “The basin? Brother, are you sending me to a no-man’s land?”

Cheng Ye said, “You can also choose to repeat a year.”

Gao Xinhe: “…”

Then never mind.

No one in the family could help. The three of them sat in the courtyard of Cheng Ye’s house and researched their university choices themselves.

Jiang Xue had torn down the original house to build a new one. After these days, only the foundation had been laid. Jiang Shi had nowhere to sleep and was packed off to Gao Xinhe’s house.

He had been sleeping with Cheng Ye for the past two days while filling out his choices, but his room was small and dark. Jiang Shi wasn’t used to it and planned to move to Gao Xinhe’s house to sleep.

Cheng Ye was packing his clothes for him. “I’ve already found a house, and you’ve finished filling out your choices. Why don’t you come to Jiangcheng with me?”

Jiang Shi sat on his bed playing on his phone. “We’ll see. It’s so troublesome to run around.”

Actually, he wanted to stay home and play games with Gao Xinhe. Cheng Ye was always nagging him when he was around, which was annoying.

Cheng Ye saw through his intentions and said faintly, “Uncle Gao found a summer job for Gao Xinhe. He’ll be starting work in a couple of days.”

Jiang Shi was stunned for two seconds, then looked up. “He’s going to work?”

Cheng Ye stuffed his underwear into the bottom of the bag. “Yeah, there’s so much time during the holidays. It’s better to go earn some money.”

After saying that, his hand paused. He pulled out a business card from under Jiang Shi’s backpack.

“What’s this?”