IG: Chapter 5 - The Hook
Jiang Xinbai fell silent for a moment. Pretending: "Impossible."
Yang: "Oh? >.< You really did black out."
Jiang Xinbai: "Xiao Yang, I can't drink, I told you. I don't, I don't remember anything."
Yang Guangsheng giggled at this, laughing for quite a while. When he'd had his fill of laughter, he said: "What a shame."
Jiang Xinbai: "Please don't joke with me like that in the future."
Yang Guangsheng's laughter drifted softly through the receiver again, as if carrying his breath with it. Jiang Xinbai held the phone a little farther away.
Yang: "Alright, sleep first. Good night."
After hanging up, Jiang Xinbai put his phone back in his pocket, exhaled, and stood up too. He unfastened the belt from Peter's body and slowly threaded it back through his own waistband. Peter cowered in the corner, red-eyed and staring at him, sobbing in terror.
"See you again if fate allows, bro," Jiang Xinbai said. Peter burst into wailing sobs.
By the time Jiang Xinbai got home, it was nearly three in the morning. The room he shared with his younger brother Li Zihan had originally been a single room with a partition in the middle; later they'd installed a sliding door at the partition, making it into two separate rooms. Li Zihan lived in the inner half, he in the outer half. His brother was already asleep. He went in as quietly as possible, washed up in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and got into bed.
"Ge, why are you only getting back now?" He sniffed. "Huh, you smell like alcohol today. Ge, did you drink? Until now?"
"Go to sleep already," Jiang Xinbai said.
Li Zihan watched him in the darkness, unmoving.
"Are you okay?" his brother asked again.
"I'm fine," Jiang Xinbai said.
Li Zihan pulled the sliding door shut and went back to sleep. He lay down too, covered himself thoroughly with the blanket, and buried his face in it as well.
〝You kissed your boss first. Xiao Bai.〞
Jiang Xinbai threw off the blanket and glared fiercely at the ceiling. His fingers gripped the blanket tight.
In the morning, Li Zihan brushed his teeth hastily, swish-swish-swish, finished quickly. Then he came in and squatted by Jiang Xinbai's bedside.
"Ge, is the new job very hard?"
Although Jiang Xinbai hadn't actually blacked out like he'd pretended, he really didn't like drinking much, and he hadn't slept well. He had a headache and didn't feel like dealing with anyone, so he didn't speak.
Li Zihan poked him again. A muffled voice came from the pillow: "Stop bothering me."
"Ge." Li Zihan squatted closer, his voice nearer, "My studies have been intense these past two years. In two more years I'll be in university, and then I can work to support you."
Jiang Xinbai finally showed his face, narrowing his eyes and studying him suspiciously.
"But, ge, you should also think about the good side." Li Zihan stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Your new job is a bit harder than before, but your salary went up too, so isn't this hardship meaningful? You'll have quite a bit more money every month from now on, right? Couldn't you even get a new computer?"
He looked up at the secondhand computer on the desk that he'd collected from someone discarding it at an internet café.
Li Zihan: "I'm not greedy for comfort or pursuing material things, ge. I just feel a bit bad for it. Look at our computer, it goes whir-whir as soon as you turn it on, all dark and gloomy, looking pitiful. Like a miner with tuberculosis being forced down the mine shaft."
Jiang Xinbai replied: "I was demoted. I'll be going back to work at my original unit."
"....." Li Zihan gave him a sympathetic look, said nothing more, patted his shoulder, and left for school. Jiang Xinbai got up, ran a hand through his hair, and stepped into his slippers.
He splashed cold water on his face twice, then squeezed toothpaste onto his fraying toothbrush. Then he opened the front door and went out, leaning against the railing in the open-air, cluttered corridor and looking down. Li Zihan had already reached the first floor, fetched his bicycle from the shed, and looked up at him. Jiang Xinbai stuck his toothbrush in his mouth and waved his brother off.
While brushing his teeth and looking at the dilapidated buildings in the morning light, Jiang Xinbai thought about the hundred yuan he'd given the bartender last night. He began to wonder if spending money to vent his anger was a form of illness.
Then there was the taxi fare for returning to Rainbow Tree late at night. And the time. The answer was yes.
"Stupid Jiang Xinbai." He cursed through the foam, then brushed his teeth like he was scrubbing shoes.
When Jiang Xinbai finished brushing his teeth and went back inside, his phone rang right on cue – an unfamiliar number. He answered. The caller said they were from Shengsheng Yigou's delivery point, asking where Mr. Jiang's ordered air conditioner should be installed, and what time would be convenient today.
After a while, he realized this must have been ordered for him by Yang Guangsheng.
He thought for a moment, then said: "After evening."
Customer service: "Ah, sorry sir, the installation technicians get off work in the evening. Or, tomorrow is Saturday – would daytime be convenient for you?"
Jiang Xinbai: "No need for installation."
Once Yang Guangsheng left, he was completely unleashed. May passed, June passed, the weather grew hotter and hotter, university students were all on summer break – and he never once returned to Haicheng.
Of course, he didn't contact his former assistant Jiang Xinbai either.
Lately their newly launched online game was about to enter beta testing, incredibly busy. Forget contacting him – whether he even remembered this person was unknown.
One day after work, Yang Guangsheng dragged himself back from the game company to his duplex apartment in the city center of Jiangcheng. He pushed open the door, stepped inside and into slippers first, then twisted open a bottle of water and drank. Someone upstairs heard the noise and came down: "Ge, you're back."
Yang Guangsheng froze, turning to look. The person calling to him was his current young boyfriend, a beautiful-voiced, sweet little streamer. He wore only tight briefs below, visible through the hem of his shirt.
"Huh? Baby, why are you here?"
The little boyfriend also froze: "Guangsheng ge... you said you had something last night, so you asked me to come over today. You forgot?"
Yang Guangsheng looked at him, slowly screwing the water bottle shut as if his reactions were delayed.
The little boyfriend's face showed displeasure: "Then I'll leave. You rest well."
Yang Guangsheng set down the water bottle, walked over, and spread a smile as he hugged him: "Ha, how could I forget? I was teasing you. Where are you going?"
Yang caught the scent of his shower gel, kissed his ear: "So fragrant. Baby washed himself all clean waiting for me, how could I sleep well without holding you."
The little boyfriend's face showed a spoiled expression, pouting: "I'm this fragrant every day, I didn't wash specially for you. I'm leaving. Since you don't remember anyway, just pretend I never came."
"You're really angry?" Yang Guangsheng let him go, unbuttoning his shirt collar as he went toward the inner room: "I had meetings all day today, I feel so tired."
The little boyfriend stood behind him for a while, his aura weakening. He walked over and nuzzled into Yang Guangsheng's embrace, rubbing against his body: "I know... but I missed you."
Yang Guangsheng hugged him: "Then don't leave. I missed you too."
He sat on the sofa, relaxing his body. Then he drew out a cigarette, lit it, and held it to his lips to inhale and exhale smoke.
The little boyfriend knelt beside the sofa, eyes full of spring, and reached out to rub between his legs. Yang Guangsheng encouragingly stroked his hair, and he opened Yang's belt buckle, pulled down the zipper, and obediently took the still-soft bundle between his legs into his mouth.
The little boyfriend's oral skills were excellent. Yang Guangsheng quickly hardened. He lowered his eyes to look at the little boyfriend, caressing the other's slender throat and small Adam's apple with his fingertips very affectionately, gripping once, then letting go.
The little boyfriend obediently took it in deeper, thrusting at the depth of his own throat. But Yang Guangsheng felt it still wasn't enough. He grabbed his hair and slowly thrust his hips in himself. The little boyfriend's body immediately twitched and spasmed reflexively, both hands gripping his legs tight. Yang Guangsheng pressed down hard on the top of his head, not letting him spit it out, until he had completely swallowed his penis, thrust to the deepest part of his throat.
Unlike the violent force of his hands, Yang Guangsheng spoke in a gentle, soft voice.
After several rounds of this, the little boyfriend's saliva flowed down his chin, tears also brimming in his eyes, but he didn't show any unwillingness. He just looked up at Yang Guangsheng with glistening eyes, obedient.
Yang Guangsheng said: "You look so beautiful like this, like a little baby bunny... alright, come up. Bunny babe."
The little boyfriend with red-rimmed eyes climbed up, straddled him, grasped his upward-curving meat rod, put on a condom, then thrust his hips to slowly sink down. When he reached the bottom, he worked hard rotating his hips, and the sofa made rhythmic slight sounds.
Yang Guangsheng leaned back, cigarette between his fingers, brows furrowed, breathing lightly – and yet his mind drifted back to the internal beta plan they'd been arguing about in the meeting earlier.
After moving for a while, the little boyfriend suddenly asked: "Ge, do you still like me?"
Yang Guangsheng raised his half-lidded eyes, as if this question surprised him.
"Huh?" Then suddenly Yang Guangsheng seemed to remember something, and said: "Right, about that game endorsement we mentioned last time – don't take it for now."
The little boyfriend clearly froze, his movements nearly stopping completely, staring at Yang Guangsheng with wide eyes.
Yang: "I work in a game company too, I know some inside information. Their team has some problems right now, hasn't been exposed yet, but it's only a matter of time. Don't get involved."
Seeing that his emotions were clearly battered, Yang Guangsheng promised again: "Don't worry, there's always better work."
He hugged the little boyfriend's back and turned them over, laying him down on the spacious sofa, kissing his mouth. Only then did he answer the previous question.
"Of course I like you. My little bunny baby."
"I don't know." The little boyfriend hugged Yang Guangsheng's shoulders, looking at him worriedly. "I really don't know. I'll be 26 next month... I can't compete with those young girls even more. Ge. Do you actually like guys or girls more?"
Actually, Yang Guangsheng also very much enjoyed and was attached to the feeling of being liked, not just pursuing sexual pleasure. But – these little boyfriends and girlfriends clearly knew he played at life, flirted with everyone, every relationship was a fragment. If they accepted this by default, fine. But if they still showed this kind of state, Yang Guangsheng would feel an inexplicable pressure.
Yang Guangsheng pulled down the tie hanging loosely around his neck and covered the little boyfriend's aggrieved, almost tearful eyes with it. He whispered in his ear: "Focus on making love."
Yang Guangsheng suddenly thought, after this game launched, he should probably return to Haicheng for a while.
In mid-July, the new game officially launched on schedule after its open beta, and he returned to Haicheng one hot afternoon. His fair-weather friends decided to throw a welcome-back party that night. When one of his hangers-on vulgarly said "drink till we drop" in the group chat, Yang Guangsheng's mind suddenly flashed to a tall fool with no alcohol tolerance.
After so long apart, he nearly couldn't even recall his former assistant's name at first. But after only a moment's pause, he fully reconstructed this person's voice and appearance.
"Jiang Xinbai." He murmured to himself. "A big kid, tall in height and big in bird."
He suddenly felt a bit excited, picked up his phone and found this person to send a message: ⦍Cat emoji]
About half a minute later, Jiang Xinbai's message came back: ⦍Hello Xiao Yang⦎
💬Yang Guangsheng (username: Being surnamed Yang is amazing): ⦍I'm back⦎
As he typed, his memories grew clearer too. Yang Guangsheng thought of how this young assistant had shot off in seconds in his car, all virgin-like, and then that humiliated look after sobering up at his place, terrified of being sexually harassed by his superior. His interest greatly improved.
Yang Guangsheng really was a scumbag boss, and he still messed around with his subordinate. Haha.
He sent again: ⦍Free tonight? Come to my gathering, let's meet up⦎
💬Jiang Xinbai: ⦍Working overtime⦎
💬Yang Guangsheng: ⦍Who are you working for now, I'll get them to give you time off⦎
💬Jiang Xinbai: ⦍I understand. Xiao Yang. I'll come after work. Where will you be?⦎
That evening, Yang Guangsheng met his friends in a private room at a high-end entertainment club. They were called friends, but hardly equal. It had always been stars surrounding the moon, especially tonight with this welcome-back party for him. He was surrounded, toasting and chatting idly for quite a while, before his gaze swept to a corner near the door in the dim light. There sat an office worker in white shirt and tie with black-framed glasses, sitting upright in a way completely at odds with the atmosphere.
Jiang Xinbai was staring at him with those black-and-white eyes behind his lenses. After meeting Yang's gaze, he tugged at the corner of his mouth in a smile. That seemingly dull expression instantly became vivid.
After not seeing him for so long, he seemed to suddenly understand the appeal that had made this fool, this tall dummy, get hit on by girls and gay guys at bars.
So it was true – once people had a physical relationship, their feelings toward each other became different.
The scumbag boss's interest was piqued. He mouthed at Jiang Xinbai: Wife.
The smile at the other's mouth instantly froze. Yang Guangsheng smiled very happily.