The room plunged into a momentary silence.
Frowning deeply, Wang Shuo demanded, “What are you even doing here?”
Xu Qiduo’s expression stiffened, and he replied evenly, “You were the one who called me and told me to come pick you up.”
Having already made up his mind to strictly follow the plot, Xu Qiduo was naturally eager to deliver a hundred percent performance.
Wang Shuo sat on the edge of the bed in silence for a solid minute. Heaven only knows how terrified Xu Qiduo was during those two minutes, dreading that Wang Shuo might interrogate him about why he had hung up the phone or why he had used such a hostile tone.
Fortunately, Lady Luck was still smiling on him.
Watching Wang Shuo pull out his phone and tap the screen a couple of times, he heard the other man say with extreme casualness, “Oh, right, I wasn’t fully awake yet. I dialed the wrong number; I thought I was calling Old Wang. Since you’re already here, you can just drive me back later.”
Xu Qiduo nodded, putting on a docile, honest expression.
In reality, he was internally celebrating. Thankfully, that earlier phone call had been made while the guy was still half-asleep. If Wang Shuo actually started questioning his attitude, he wouldn’t even know how to act his way out of it.
Wang Shuo got out of bed and headed straight toward the bathroom.
As he walked past, Xu Qiduo kept his eyes lowered, not daring to spare even a half-glance, terrified of getting styes in his eyes.
Just as he was staring intently at the pattern on the hotel carpet, a second male voice drifted from the bed. “Um… could you help me pick up my clothes from the floor?”
There were several pieces of clothing scattered about, so Xu Qiduo bent down and gathered them all up.
Yet as he scooped them into his hands, the garments felt strangely familiar.
A navy-blue vest, a white button-down shirt, a golden name tag…
Weren’t these the standard uniforms worn by the polo club’s staff?
Had Wang Shuo really become so dissolute that he wouldn’t even spare a passing NPC?
Seeing this, his inner righteous NPC felt that Wang Shuo was completely unworthy of He Jin.
Yet the mere thought of He Jin gave Xu Qiduo another massive headache.
He Jin’s behavior was already clearly deviating from the original script, and now Wang Shuo’s private life was a total mess. He was just a transmigrated extra, did they really have to hand him such an elite-difficulty challenge?
Xu Qiduo tossed the clothes he was holding back onto the bed.
“Um… could you please turn around? I… I need to get dressed,” Qiao Fan mumbled cautiously.
“You and I are both…” Both guys, who cares about seeing someone change clothes!
That was what Xu Qiduo originally wanted to say, but upon second thought, this was a fictional novel world where normal logic didn’t apply, so he kept his mouth shut and turned to sit on the couch instead.
From the moment the waiter named Qiao Fan dressed and quietly slipped out until the very end, Xu Qiduo never once raised his head.
Whether it was Wang Shuo or that waiter, looking at either of them would surely give him eye strain.
However, when Wang Shuo emerged from the bathroom and found only Xu Qiduo sitting in the room, his tone turned rather unpleasant. “Did you chase him away?”
Too lazy to argue or explain to Wang Shuo, Xu Qiduo simply owned up to it with a curt, “Yeah.”
“Xu Qiduo, don’t you think your possessiveness is getting out of hand? What right do you have to chase away someone who belongs to me?” Wang Shuo was clearly dissatisfied with his actions.
Ah, yes, yes, yes, whatever you say is right!
Inside, Xu Qiduo wanted to roll his eyes all the way back into his skull, but on the surface, he had to force every facial muscle to contort into a picture of bitter jealousy.
“What do you think he is? He’s just a common waiter at the polo club, completely throwing away his dignity just to climb into your bed!”
Sorry about that, little bro. Didn’t mean to drag you behind your back.
Still, recycling Xu Yemeng’s speech from lunch turned out to be remarkably convenient since he didn’t even have to invent his own dialogue.
“If someone like that can be with you, why can’t I!” Xu Qiduo demanded with a thoroughly convincing expression of a heartbroken, unloved partner.
Xu Qiduo mentally applauded young Xu Yemeng for being a teenager capable of spitting out such profound observations on romance, mentally awarding her a string of enthusiastic thumbs-ups.
Watching Wang Shuo fall silent and slip into a thoughtful, calculating posture, Xu Qiduo quickly pressed the advantage. “I simply cannot stand the sight of people like that lingering around you. So what if I chased him off? What on earth does he have that could ever compare to me?”
Sure enough, under the weight of Xu Qiduo’s self-praising performance, Wang Shuo’s brow slowly furrowed.
“I prefer you not meddle in my personal affairs or the people I see,” Wang Shuo warned coldly.
“And what if I insist on meddling!”
Come on! Fan the flames of jealousy higher! Come on, let’s play our parts, bro!
“Then I will have you packed off to a place where you never have to lay eyes on me again,” Wang Shuo replied chillingly. But the next second, he abruptly softened his tone and added, “If you still wish to stay by my side, I advise you to zip your lips and stop poking your nose into things that do not concern you.”
If he were allowed to freely voice his genuine thoughts the moment he opened his mouth, Xu Qiduo would have already cursed Wang Shuo out.
If he had his way, he would love to beat Wang Shuo up until he learned who was really in charge here.
Unfortunately, reality didn’t allow for such satisfying trash-can-fire drama. He was nothing more than a cannon-fodder NPC with grievances too deep to voice.
Embracing that bitterly aggrieved mindset, Xu Qiduo let his expression shift naturally into profound sorrow.
He wasn’t even acting; his sorrow was entirely authentic. He was grieving simply because his internal speechlessness had nowhere to vent.
He lifted his moist, wronged gaze to look at Wang Shuo, ultimately conceding in defeat by looking away.
He bit down hard on his lower lip, looking the very picture of pathetic misery.
Aggrieved? Not a chance! How could Xu Qiduo possibly feel sorry for himself over this jerk!
What he was actually plotting right now was how, the moment he completed his required plot beats and successfully unbound from the system, he was going to hire a dozen burly men to give Wang Shuo a thorough, unforgettable beatdown.
That was the only way to wash away the grievances he had suffered while babysitting this arrogant playboy.
Seeing Xu Qiduo’s display of quiet forbearance, Wang Shuo softened his tone even further, coaxing him gently, “We have known each other for so many years, you know what kind of person I am.”
Ah, yes. Was it starting now? Was Wang Shuo finally about to start gaslighting him?
“I cannot control myself, whether it is my body or my heart. You are the only one who brings me peace of mind when you are by my side. I have grown used to your care and accommodation, but… I simply hope we can grant each other a little personal space, alright?” Wang Shuo always loved handing out a harsh slap followed immediately by a sweet piece of candy.
Seeing Xu Qiduo’s emotional turbulence settle down, Wang Shuo knew the other person had smoothly reverted to his obedient, docile sheep persona.
“Alright, it was my fault. I will not act out like this again.” Xu Qiduo stepped right down the staircase Wang Shuo had provided.
“Good. Since we have an agreement, stop making a fuss. Let’s go grab some food, shall we? I’m starving.” In Wang Shuo’s mind, Xu Qiduo was remarkably easy to placate.
As long as he dropped a few sweet, honeyed words into the guy’s ear, this fool would faithfully trail behind him and keep paying the price.
A clingy hanger-on whom he couldn’t shake off or successfully yell away could indeed be annoying at times. Yet Wang Shuo had grown accustomed to it; it was rather like teasing a pet dog. You just crook your finger, and an obedient puppy comes trotting right over. Honestly, it was quite amusing.
Sure enough, the Xu Qiduo who had looked utterly soul-crushed a second ago was now flashing him a brilliant, sunny smile.