Pupu was the first to react. He stepped forward, his baby-faced smile tinged with confusion. “You are…?”
The man didn’t answer. He took a step forward and looked toward Xue Jian. As he turned his head slightly, Coach Ketya—who had been selecting songs—froze for a moment.
With his high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and beard thicker than his hair, Ketya had a typical European look. After seven or eight years in China, he had even mastered the Asian squat.
He rubbed his eyes, hesitating as if about to speak—but the man had already stepped past a few cigarette butts on the floor and strode straight toward the corner.
Seeing that Xue Jian didn’t stop him, Pupu didn’t intervene either, only asking, “Boss Xue, is this the guy you called to take res home?”
…And this handsome, too? Where did he find him?
In the corner, Xue Jian was still dazed, unable to voice his inner complaints. Like I’ve got that kind of pull…
He gritted his teeth. “No—”
“Mm.” Almost at the same time, Ji Wenze nodded and responded softly.
He stopped in front of the sofa, lowered his gaze to Yu Sibai—already asleep and completely out of it—then looked at Liang Lu, who was supporting him. His expression was hidden behind a mask, but his voice carried a gentle smile.
“Let me take him.”
Liang Lu instinctively complied, but the moment he let go, something felt off.
He straightened immediately and grabbed Yu Sibai’s shoulder again. “I’ll go with you.”
“Wait—wait a second!” Xue Jian finally snapped out of it. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed Ji Wenze’s arm and dragged him a couple of steps to the wall.
As soon as they stopped, Ji Wenze raised an eyebrow slightly. The look alone sent a chill down Xue Jian’s neck, sobering him instantly.
“Hold on,” Xue Jian said, pressing his hands down as if calming himself. He pointed at the peacefully sleeping Yu Sibai, then at Ji Wenze, lowering his voice. “What’s going on?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Ji Wenze leaned casually against the wall, one hand in his pocket. He lowered his head slightly and looked up at him. “Pressuring someone to drink like that—aren’t you afraid something might happen?”
“Come on!” Xue Jian protested. “I know you’re… particular about drinking, but he really didn’t have that much!”
He held up three fingers, looking like he was trying to argue his case.
Ji Wenze glanced at them. “Three bottle caps?”
“The hell—!” Xue Jian’s temple twitched. “Three glasses! Just three beers!”
Ji Wenze simply looked at him, saying nothing—and yet saying everything.
You think that’s not a lot?
Xue Jian fell silent, realizing he was in the wrong. He pursed his lips. “…Alright, fine. My fault.”
Ji Wenze nodded.
“Anyway, I’ll take him. Next time…” He paused. “You guys don’t get together that often, right?”
Xue Jian nodded. “Everyone’s busy, schedules don’t match. Even playing a game together is hard… Wait, how’d you know?”
“Just a guess. Otherwise he wouldn’t have drunk that much,” Ji Wenze said calmly.
The boss he sees every day won’t even let him drink a bottle cap’s worth—but with long-lost online friends, he downs three full glasses.
Classic Director Yu. Completely logical.
A faint smile tugged at Ji Wenze’s lips beneath the mask as he rolled up his sleeve slightly—only to hear Xue Jian say:
“But that’s not the point. I can’t just let you take him.” Xue Jian frowned. “On what grounds? Where are you taking him? Even if you’re his idol, even if you’re Execut2, that’s not enough. Ji Wenze, I’m telling you—I’m not playing matchmaker here, and don’t mess around with me…”
Ji Wenze clicked his tongue lightly and tilted his head toward the sofa.
“His name is Yu Sibai, team leader of Design Group One at Tingji. I’m his boss. By coincidence, I came across your livestream.”
He paused for two seconds, as if enjoying Xue Jian’s expression, then added leisurely:
“He didn’t clock out after work, so technically he’s still on the clock. I’m taking him back so he can clock out and claim overtime pay… Does that reason work for you, Boss Xue?”
Xue Jian stood there completely stunned, taking a long moment before he could speak again.
“Th-then what he just said about quitting… you heard that too?”
A casual “Mm” from Ji Wenze nearly made him break into a cold sweat.
“Let me make this clear!” Xue Jian said quickly. “When I said I’d poach him, I just meant I’d quietly pick him up after you—no funny business!”
For once, that flirtatious-looking face of his looked utterly serious.
“Whenever he quits, I’ll take him. Absolutely no intention of competing with you!”
“It’s just drunken talk. I’m not going to take it seriously,” Ji Wenze said with a smile.
With everything clarified and no longer fearing trouble, Xue Jian finally relaxed. His eyes rolled slightly as he grinned. “So res is that designer you really liked just from his résumé? Haha, our res is loved wherever he goes.”
Ji Wenze didn’t respond. Thinking about what Lu Jinren and Qian Chong had said earlier that night, he thought: Not necessarily.
“It’s late. Let’s talk another time—I still have things to do.”
With that, he turned back. His gaze swept the area as he bent down to pick up the inconspicuous glasses Liang Lu had placed on the table. He hooked the neatly folded coat over his arm, didn’t reach out to support Yu Sibai, and straightened up, looking at Liang Lu.
“Weren’t you going to take him downstairs?”
Their conversation had been quiet and off to the side, so no one had dared eavesdrop. But now, as he moved, all eyes turned toward him again.
“Let him go with you—I trust him,” Xue Jian said.
Pupu relaxed and said warmly, “Thanks for the trouble, handsome.”
Liang Lu froze for a second, then hurried to follow—only to realize a few steps later:
Wait… why am I listening to him?
“Wh-where… are we going…” Yu Sibai mumbled, half-awake, his words slurred.
Liang Lu tightened his grip to steady him. “Xiao Bai-ge, Boss Xue arranged for someone to take you home.”
Yu Sibai tried to open his eyes, but they felt as heavy as during a boring math class. He struggled weakly. “I… don’t want to go.”
The man who hadn’t even lowered his head to look at him before suddenly bent slightly, tilting his head with a hint of teasing.
“You didn’t clock out after work. You need to go back and clock out before you can get overtime pay.”
“…Ah…” Bathed in the orange-pink glow of the hallway lights, Yu Sibai processed it slowly with his eyes closed—then finally relaxed and nodded heavily. “Okay… okay.”
Ji Wenze smiled.
The two of them escorted the “three-glasses drunk” into the elevator.
Using the mirrored walls of the elevator, Liang Lu discreetly studied the man for a while before suddenly asking:
“Are you his colleague?”
The man glanced down at him again, voice still gentle. “I’m his boss.”
“…Huh?” Liang Lu’s brain froze for a moment. “Y-you’re that—” He abruptly stopped himself.
That was close… I almost exposed Xiao Bai-ge for trash-talking his boss right in front of him…
With the man’s identity revealed, Liang Lu’s earlier wariness vanished, replaced by a strange sense of inferiority. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and asked, “Are you this kind to all your employees?”
Ji Wenze chuckled softly. “Of course not.”
Liang Lu’s heart skipped. Instinctively, he pulled Yu Sibai slightly closer to himself—but the man’s calm demeanor made it hard to suspect anything further.
“Xue Jian is my friend,” Ji Wenze added.
He didn’t elaborate, but Liang Lu understood.
So it’s because of Boss Xue.
Even though he’d expected it, Liang Lu still couldn’t help but marvel at the expensive car in the underground garage.
He had only just won the domestic league championship. Even if he became a world champion, a full year of sponsorship earnings might barely be enough to afford a car like this…
“Do you know his address?”
Pulled back to reality, Liang Lu shook his head. “No…”
“Then you can head back,” Ji Wenze said with a smile. “I’ll take him from here. After all, this is his privacy.”
Liang Lu hesitated, unable to argue. After helping settle Yu Sibai into the passenger seat, he left reluctantly, looking back every few steps.
Ji Wenze got into the driver’s seat—but didn’t start the car.
He removed his mask and set it aside, then glanced at Yu Sibai, who had already tilted his head and fallen back into a deep, peaceful sleep—clearly exhausted.
A quiet laugh escaped him. “Letting you leave work early doesn’t help, huh…”
Looking away, he set up a tablet in front of him, adjusted his collar and sleeves, put on his headset, and connected to a meeting.
Right on time—10:50 sharp.
“Apologies, I received the meeting notice at the last minute, so I can only join you from here,” Ji Wenze said with a smile.
His English was fluent, but not textbook British—it carried subtle hints of having lived in various parts of Europe.
The person in the passenger seat suddenly shifted. His shoulder slipped, losing support, and he was about to slump over.
Ji Wenze kept his eyes on the screen, continuing the meeting. He lifted his hand casually.
Half a second later, the young man’s head came to rest against the back of his right hand—the sensation oddly split between the brim of a cap and soft hair.
After holding it there for a moment, Ji Wenze skillfully guided Yu Sibai’s head back onto the headrest.
Throughout the entire process, he never once looked at him.
And so, he didn’t see—
That under the shadow of the cap, the young man quietly opened his eyes.
Those usually lazy, half-lidded eyes still carried traces of alcohol and drowsy confusion—gradually turning blank.
Inside the car, aside from the man’s voice in the meeting, there was only the soft hum of the air conditioning.
Half-awake and barely thinking straight, Yu Sibai didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
…Can someone please explain why, after falling asleep, he woke up in his boss’s car?