Chapter 15
After finishing two trotters, Renzi again remembered that he had to maintain his image. He slowly chewed as he stared at He Jun. Seeing how He Jun ate his food slowly and carefully, together with being a vegetarian, he seemed very graceful. Renzi bit at his chopsticks and continued staring at He Jun, his expression unwelcoming.
Gu Xiaoshan smacked Renzi’s shoulder. “Why are you staring at him? His face would make the food taste better?”
Renzi was unhappy. “Why do you care if I’m staring at him? Who are you to him?”
This question choked up Gu Xiaoshan. He Jun choked on it as well, then he sneaked a look at Gu Xiaoshan with the corner of his eyes. He seemed to be anticipating for an answer, only for Gu Xiaoshan to purposely ignore the question.
“Why do you care about this?”
Feeling upset with the amorous atmosphere between Gu Xiaoshan and He Jun, Renzi bluntly asked, “You guys are like that, right?”
Having been shot at so directly, Gu Xiaoshan could only reply, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
He Jun was the one who replied lightly, “How can I be worthy of President Gu? Isn’t this just a joke?”
Only then did Renzi feel a sense of relief.
Renzi’s appetite came back, and he continued eating comfortably. Whereas for He Jun, he was embroiled in his thoughts, and the food tasted bland to him.
He Jun looked calm, but he was actually unconfident. He himself was also unsure of what his relationship to Gu Xiaoshan was. At the start of the year, he had became a tea specialist at Jichan Estate through a friend’s introduction. It was also there where he met Gu Xiaoshan. Although he looked unruffled, but still, he had just graduated from school, and his family background was ordinary. Having not yet been exposed much to the real world, he was quickly attracted to Gu Xiaoshan. The manager, seeing that Gu Xiaoshan also seemed somewhat interested, then instigated He Jun to knock on Gu Xiaoshan’s door at night. When Gu Xiaoshan saw that it was him, he was slightly surprised, but quickly invited him in — this was the first time He Jun had stepped into a luxury suite of a private hotel, and it was just as they depicted it on television. Gu Xiaoshan invited him to take a seat on the gorgeous embroidered sofa. After some small talk, he seemed to casually ask He Jun why he would join the Gu empire as a tea specialist, was it because he needed money?
Hearing the words “needed money”, He Jun became more cautious. He replied, “It has nothing to do with money, only because I like it.”
Gu Xiaoshan smoked his cigarette, hearing He Jun’s reply, he smiled as he exhaled a thin stream of smoke. “How old are you this year?”
“I’ve just graduated, there’s many things I don’t know.”
Gu Xiaoshan laughed. “Please don’t say that.”
This “please don’t say that” encompassed a deep meaning within in. He Jun understood, and was very ashamed. However, he was already sitting here, and could not avoid being examined, so he answered shyly, “Things that I should know, I still do know a little.”
Gu Xiaoshan stubbed out his cigarette and smiled at hime, “Then let me see what exactly do you know.”
After that, Gu Xiaoshan’s assessment was that He Jun was too modest, the things he knew were more than “a little”.
However, he had no extraneous thoughts about He Jun’s romance history. He Jun had just done his medical checkup, and this was more reassuring than anything he could say. Gu Xiaoshan also did not ask He Jun anything about his past, only if he had a boyfriend now. He Jun replied that they had just broke up not long ago. Gu Xiaoshan also did not enquire about the reason for the breakup, and only said, “When you do find a new boyfriend, you can let me know.”
He Jun wanted to act coy, and asked, “If I like someone, I’ll let you know?”
“You can think of it that way.”
“So what happens if I let you know?”
Gu Xiaoshan smiled, “Of course I’ll wish you well.”
He Jun’s ardour cooled down, but he pushed through it and acted like he was joking, “So what happens if I like you?”
Gu Xiaoshan continued smiling, “Please never do that.”
At that time, He Jun only felt cold. For a period of time, he did not go to Jichan Estate for work, afraid of meeting Gu Xiaoshan. He knew that he had been belittled. However, as time went on, He Jun realised that he had no rights to be so proud. First, he did like Gu Xiaoshan, and could not forget about him, worse still was now, he felt that all the men around him were like junk. Second, he needed money now. After graduating, he had been working as a model, but without any accomplishments. His income was pathetic, and that well-paid part-time job from Jichan Estate was very important to him.
Looking at some of the more artful people around him, He Jun did want to learn from them, and get some achievements with outside help. Compared to the fat, wealthy bosses, Gu Xiaoshan seemed like a fairytale.
After owing two months of rent with insufficient food, He Jun went back to Jichan Estate. By the time Gu Xiaoshan appeared again, He Jun had been working there again for a few weeks. Gu Xiaoshan was there with his business partners, engrossed in his business dealings, he did not notice the presence of He Jun. He Jun also kept his composure, he waited for Gu Xiaoshan to go to the restroom, and then pretended to also need to use it, and so bumped into him “co-incidentally”. At least He Jun did not have to feel very ashamed of himself, as Gu Xiaoshan still remembered him, asking him in concern, “It seems like I haven’t seen you in awhile?”
He Jun gave a polite smile, “Thank you for remembering. I had a very bad flu, so I was taking a break.”
“You look thinner.”
Seeing that Gu Xiaoshan was about to leave, He Jun could not help but ask, “I wanted to tell you about it, but I didn’t know how to get in contact with you...”
He Jun’s voice was not strong, and with his thin face, he looked very pitiful. Gu Xiaoshan then smiled and gave him a name card, telling him that he could contact him anytime.
After that, when He Jun tried calling the number, he discovered that the person who answered was a female. He first felt very diffident, but only after a couple of sentences, he learnt that this lady was Xu Yunyun, Gu Xiaoshan’s chief secretary. Up til now, if He Jun wanted to contact Gu Xiaoshan, he still had to go through Xu Yunyun. Now it was better, he could go through Yu Yunren as well.
At first, He Jun did not hold too much unrealistic hope, but Gu Xiaoshan again made him dream a little. It was probably when Gu Xiaoshan told him, “I don’t have anyone currently, I hope you don’t have anyone else too. If you do, let’s not do this.” After that, Gu Xiaoshan brought him to meet his friends, and the attitude seemed very normal.
It was April when he first met Yu Yunren. By then, He Jun had already met most of Gu Xiaoshan’s friends. Except for Yu Yunren, Gu Xiaoshan had business dealings with all his friends, and so often met in Jichan Estate. Yu Yunren was different. He Jun would occasionally chat with Gu Xiaoshan’s friends, trying to find out more information about Gu Xiaoshan. Gu Xiaoshan’s friends were all worldly-wise, and they knew what he was trying to do. A old president with the last name Gu even joked with He Jun, “Seriously speaking, Gu Xiaoshan’s most beloved man should be Yu Yunren!”
Hearing that, all the other friends burst in laughter. They gave a thumbs-up, “Right! You’re right! Old President Gu is still the most insightful!”
He Jun could not help but wonder, who was Yu Yunren?
Of course, a simple search on the internet gave him an answer. Yu Yunren was the Yu empire’s previous president, and was now the vice president. As he himself was familiar with other models, after some inquiries, he also learnt that Yu Yunren was a straight man, always chasing after female models — and this reassured He Jun. The truth was, he had been frightened by that label “Gu Xiaoshan’s most beloved man”.