Chapter 81: Send it to me, then delete it.

Jiang Shi: “…”

He cursed, “How is that possible? Am I that kind of person?”

Cheng Ye first got him into the car, then went around to the other side and got in. He closed the car windows, sealing off the cold air from outside, and leaned over to fasten Jiang Shi’s seatbelt.

“What happened? Why were you kicked out?”

Jiang Shi grabbed the seatbelt, his whole body buried in the seat. “Nothing, just a small argument.”

Cheng Ye glanced at him and started the car. “A small argument got you kicked out?”

Jiang Shi fell silent.

Cheng Ye didn’t press him. The car merged smoothly into the traffic.

After a few minutes, Jiang Shi couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke up. “I ran into someone I used to know in there. He’s a friend of Huo Ji’s, but he’s never really liked me.”

Hearing the name Huo Ji, Cheng Ye subtly furrowed his brow, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. “Why doesn’t he like you?”

Jiang Shi gave a self-deprecating laugh. “What else could it be? Just the usual reasons. A lot of people didn’t like me back then. One more or one less didn’t make a difference.”

Cheng Ye said, “If that’s the case, then why are you still angry?”

“I was just thinking about some…” Jiang Shi stopped himself and, as if in a fit of pique, turned his face to the other side. “I’m just petty, okay! I can’t stand it when people say a single bad thing about me!”

He couldn’t be questioned, couldn’t be reasoned with, and had quite a temper. Cheng Ye coaxed him, “There’s no need to get angry over people who aren’t worth it. If you don’t like it, then don’t do it. If you really like it, then wait for me a little longer.”

Jiang Shi turned to look at him. “Wait for you for what? Are you going to open a company for me or something?”

Cheng Ye chuckled. “That’s not impossible.”

Jiang Shi didn’t take his words seriously, but after the interruption, his mood had lightened.

He tilted his head against the window and blew a bubble. The neon lights of the street reflected in his eyes, and he smiled nonchalantly. “Alright, another promise from Boss Cheng that I’ve noted down. We’ll see how you’ll explain yourself to me if you can’t deliver?”

His temper came and went quickly. He knew he would definitely run into people from his past when he decided to apply to a university in Jiangcheng. It wasn’t like he depended on this for a living anyway. If the part-time job fell through, it fell through. His anger dissipated. When he got home, he wrapped himself in a blanket, curled up on the sofa, and played games.

Lighting up his phone screen, Jiang Shi suddenly remembered something and looked up at Cheng Ye. “Weren’t you in a meeting? Did I interrupt you?”

“No.” Cheng Ye stood at the door, dangling the car keys. “It’s over, but I have to go back for something.”

Jiang Shi said thoughtlessly, “Okay, bye.”

Cheng Ye didn’t say anything, just glanced at him, turned, and left the house.

He drove back to the company. The meeting was halfway through, and everyone was waiting for him, but no one dared to say anything. After all, although Cheng Ye might delay things, he always paid overtime wages.

By the time it ended, it was already four in the afternoon. The crowd dispersed, and Wang Zhuo followed behind him. “We don’t have enough technical staff. If the new product is to be released on schedule, we might not have enough time.”

“Have you started recruiting?”

“We are, but you know, R&D talent is hard to come by. Plus, we’re just a small company. No matter how generous our offer is, there’s no guarantee anyone will come.”

“What did Huang Xuyao say?”

Wang Zhuo’s face soured. “Mr. Huang said that since he provided the funding, the technical side is not his responsibility. Of course, he could manage it, but then the contract would probably have to be redrafted.”

Cheng Ye paused his steps, then pulled open the door.

“Raise the recruitment offer.”

Putting that matter aside for the moment, he sat down in his chair and asked Wang Zhuo, “Did you find the person I asked you to look for?”

Speaking of which, Wang Zhuo pulled a piece of paper from a folder and handed it to Cheng Ye. “Found it. Although it was anonymous, I traced the author’s general location based on the IP address. The post was from two years ago, from Lincheng. The last time they were online was a month ago, and the location was a province in the north. I can’t go any deeper. It’s not that I can’t find out more, but it would be illegal.”

He still wanted to be a law-abiding citizen.

Cheng Ye took the paper and glanced at it. “This is enough.”

He pretty much knew who it was.

Wang Zhuo pretended to speak very casually, “Ahem… first, let me clarify, I’m not being gossipy, but I accidentally glanced at this author’s masterpiece while investigating…” He watched Cheng Ye’s expression. “Don’t you think the names of the two main characters are a tad familiar…”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak.

But apparently, what he just said had exhausted the straight man’s courage for a lifetime.

Wang Zhuo laughed dryly. “Ahaha… a coincidence, it’s all a coincidence.”

Cheng Ye tossed the paper in his hand onto the desk and glanced up at Wang Zhuo. “You’re very free?”

“Not at all, not at all…” Wang Zhuo shook his head. “Boss, I’m leaving.”

He walked to the door, stood there, and glanced back at Cheng Ye. The young man sat on the sofa, frowning in thought at the paper, as if contemplating the novel, or perhaps something else.

In just a few short years, Cheng Ye had transformed incredibly fast. He could never have imagined that the person he had picked up at the station wearing a ten-yuan-for-three T-shirt could now run such a company, and this might just be the beginning for him.

But some things had changed, and some had not.

The content of the novel suddenly surfaced in Wang Zhuo’s mind.

He thought of the way Cheng Ye looked at Jiang Shi, and then combined it with the novel…

“…”

He thought that he might not be able to look Cheng Ye and Jiang Shi in the eye for some time.

The door closed completely.

Cheng Ye fed the paper into the shredder.

He took out his phone, opened the class group chat that he almost never clicked on, and found a name inside. The profile picture was a pink, cute cartoon cat.

He had never paid attention to anyone other than Jiang Shi, but his memory was good. With a little recollection, he could still remember the girl’s appearance.

Long hair, straight bangs, big eyes, didn’t talk much. Her favorite thing to do was sit at her desk with her head down, writing something.

Although her personality seemed shy, she was very popular with the other girls. During breaks, several girls would always gather around her desk to borrow her notes.

The locked notebook would be passed out very carefully, and then returned just as carefully.

Cheng Ye: “…”

He raised his hand, hesitating before pressing the friend request button.

The other person was either scared by him or didn’t see it. The request wasn’t accepted even by the time Cheng Ye got off work.

Cheng Ye didn’t own a car. On weekends, he would run home. The pressure from work was immense, and coupled with his high energy levels, the unreleased stress would accumulate and turn into an unspeakable desire.

But Jiang Shi was delicate. He would cry out in pain before any real force was applied, and complain of being tired after a short while, acting like a little ancestor.

Cheng Ye had no choice but to increase his exercise routine when Jiang Shi went home for the weekend, releasing some of his energy through sweat.

Just as he ran to the wet market, his phone vibrated. He stopped and took it out.

The friend request had been accepted. The other person asked politely.

[Classmate Cheng Ye, is there something you need?]

Cheng Ye leaned against a tree by the road. Sweat trickled from his forehead to his eyelid. He blinked.

[Li Caiying, did you write that novel?]

The other side fell into a deathly silence.

Cheng Ye had no idea what kind of damage his few short words had inflicted on a quiet little girl.

He stated the facts.

[This novel has already affected me and Jiang Shi. Please delete it.]

Li Caiying replied almost instantly.

[I’m s-s-s-s-sorry, I didn’t mean it, I’ll delete it right away.]

Cheng Ye shifted his position.

[You really wrote it?]

[QAQ]

He recalled the vocabulary used in it and found it impossible to connect with Li Caiying’s quiet appearance.

Li Caiying wanted to cry but had no tears.

What could be more embarrassing than being caught writing smut? It was being caught by the subject of the smut, and that person was Cheng Ye.

Recalling Cheng Ye’s cold face, she was now immensely grateful that she had tested into a university in the north. Otherwise, if they were closer, Cheng Ye might have come over and torn her to shreds on the spot.

She explained haltingly.

[I’m sorry, I’m guilty. I just wrote it and posted it casually and then forgot about it. I was busy with studies back then, so I never checked it after posting.]

By the time she checked it again, it had already become a legendary post.

There were so many versions online, it was impossible to delete them all, but Li Caiying still made a difficult effort.

[I’ll delete it when I get back.]

She explained, trying to cover her tracks.

[I was just shipping a CP, I absolutely didn’t think there was anything going on between you and classmate Jiang Shi. I’m very sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you and him.]

Although she didn’t know how Cheng Ye found out about the novel’s existence, the mere thought of him having seen the contents inside made Li Caiying’s face flush red.

It was hard to tell if it was from shyness or something else.

Cheng Ye tapped his finger on the phone, stared at the chat history for a few seconds, and then typed.

[Besides the ones online, are there any others?]

A CP shipper’s nose is as sharp as a dog’s. Li Caiying immediately sensed something. She felt a little apprehensive but didn’t dare to confirm, so she could only test the waters.

[There are also some handwritten versions. Do you want me to send them to you or destroy them?]

Cheng Ye replied to her.

[Send them to me, then destroy them.]

Li Caiying: “…”

Even though it was the CP she shipped, at this moment, she couldn’t help but want to curse:

Dog man!

Jiang Shi thought the matter with Jiang Kaile had ended that day.

At that time, besides the photoshoot for the clothing store, Jiang Shi had also discussed another part-time job with Sun Tianyu, scheduled for two weeks later.

When the time came, Sun Tianyu gave him a call.

He sounded a little helpless and a little guilty. “I’m sorry, Xiao Shi, the higher-ups said you’re not a good fit and they want to replace you.”

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment, then had a feeling of ‘I knew it.’

Sun Tianyu spoke slowly, “They also said… since you were capable of just walking out on the spot like that, you don’t need to work with us in the future.”

A foul air was weighing down on Jiang Shi’s chest. He took a moment to breathe it out. “I’m sorry, I caused you trouble that day.”

He had been introduced by Sun Tianyu. Leaving just like that was really unfair to him.

Sister Wang had already told Sun Tianyu what happened. Combined with the current situation, he paused, then asked Jiang Shi, “Did you offend someone?”