Han Sicheng didn’t say anything, it wasn’t like he had a choice. Gu Chenxi’s offer was too good and after finding out the job concerned Nuocheng, he couldn’t resist.
He felt he had to repay him in some way.
"Thank you for offering.."
Chenxi tossed the keys at him, patting Nuocheng’s shoulders, his expression blank.
"This is my surprise, do you like it?"
-_-
"Are you crazy? Why the fuck is your surprise a grown ass man?!" Nuocheng’s lips twitched, so this was the reason they were whispering to each other yesterday.
He had hired Han Sicheng to be their driver??
But Sicheng seemed like a prideful person, even if he was at rock-bottom he doubted he’d take a job like this and even if he did.
It wouldn’t be for him.
"But you like this grown ass man. Anyways Han Sicheng is your bodyguard for today. If that old bastard sees a young alpha next to you, he’ll back off. That’s if Han Sicheng is intimidating enough."
Chenxi walked to the other side of the car and got inside, he didn’t need Han Sicheng to open the door for him.
"C’mon let’s not waste any time. Get in, let’s go."
Nuocheng nodded and got inside, his eyes following Han Sicheng as he got inside the driver seat.
Then he turned to Chenxi, he wondered how much he offered Sicheng that made him accept a job like this.
"Hey.." he leaned closer to Chenxi, whispering into his ear "How much did you offer him?"
Chenxi raised a brow, now he was interested? He didn’t have any reason to hide the amount from Nuocheng so he leaned and whispered into his ear. "Your breath stinks."
-_-
Nuocheng’s lips twitched, as he let out an exasperated huff.
"Fuck you! Asshole. My breath smells amazing."
Pfft!
Chenxi brought out a pack of gum, casually popping one into his mouth.
He leaned back into the chair, crossing his legs.
Then, he began tapping his knee.
One.
Two.
Thre—
"Hey, give me one of that gum.." Nuocheng muttered, keeping his voice slow so Sicheng wouldn’t catch it.
"Why? Cause your breath stinks? Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be ashamed of."
Nuocheng bit his lips, shaking his fists "Why the fuck are you teasing? Are you trying to get a raise out of me?! You’re so fucking annoying."
Pfft!
Nuocheng froze, his eyes immediately landing on Sicheng.
Did he just laugh?
"Wow, so you can laugh? I thought you didn’t have that function."
-_-
"Why? I’m not a robot." Sicheng stared at Nuocheng through the rear view mirror.
"I didn’t know you had enough other features apart from your resting ’asshole’ face. You’re actually even more handsome when you lighten up."
Nuocheng proceeded to blow him a kiss, followed by a heart sign.
"Can you not be—cringe when I’m in the car?!"
"Oh fucking suck it up, drive your own car then—oh wait you can’t afford it."
Chenxi nodded, raising his hands "Touchè, touchè. Can’t argue with that." his voice cracking at the end.
Sicheng sighed at the driver’s seat, they were both grown men yet they were the most childish pair he had ever seen.
"We’re almost at the farm. So you might want to arrange your faces."
~Ten minutes later.~
The sunlight came to view without hurry, spilling pale light over fields that seemed to have no end.
Terraced paddies and wide stretches of rice and wheat lay in neat blocks across the land, divided by narrow dikes of earth and shallow irrigation channels that caught the sky and held it. Beyond them, rows of corn and vegetables stretched toward distant hills that were soft with mist, their outlines blurred as if painted with ink on wet paper.
The air was cool and damp, carrying the smell of wet soil, straw, and the faint smoke from cooking fires.
At the center of the farm stood the buildings that had been there for generations. The main house was built of gray brick with a tiled roof that curved up slightly at the corners, and a thin line of smoke rose from its chimney into the clear morning.
Beside it, a larger shed held farm tools and a few tractors, their metal still dark with dew.
A barn with wooden doors stood open, and inside, the sounds of chickens and a pig shifting in the pen could be heard.
Near the yard, two tall grain silos and several stacks of hay were covered with blue tarps to keep out the night rain.
The fields were already alive with work.
A small walking tractor moved slowly along one of the dikes, leaving deep tracks in the mud. Water from the irrigation pumps moved in steady streams into the paddies, where young rice shoots stood in perfect green lines.
Clotheslines behind the house held shirts and trousers that moved gently in the breeze, and a dog slept in a patch of sun by the gate, not yet bothered to stand.
The sky was wide and bright, and the hills in the distance were turning from gray to green as the sun climbed higher.
There was no rush in the sounds of the morning — only the slow creak of a wooden cart, the distant call of a rooster, and the quiet splash of water moving through the channels.
It was a place that had been shaped by hands and seasons for a long time, and in the early light it felt both vast and steady, as if the land itself knew exactly what it was supposed to do.
"Ah, this place is truly peaceful. I just wish it had a better owner. The workers here are honest people who care for these crops as though they were their children.." Nuocheng sighed.
He arranged his shirt, they would be getting off soon.
At the farm gate, they were welcomed by an obese man in his sixties, his breathing louder than his words.
Nuocheng’s lips twitched, taking a step back and he didn’t stop until he was beside Han Sicheng and Chenxi at his front.
"Welcome! I kept the best product for you.."
Chenxi eyed him, like they would believe the man who once sent rotten produce to him.
His excuse being ’they were fresh’ when they left.
"We’ll see about that, Fat—Mr. Bai."