“Isn’t that incredibly easy to check? You were just unwilling to do it yourself, so of course I investigated everything thoroughly before I came over. But I respect your thoughts, which is exactly why I didn’t tell you initially,” He Feng spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“He Feng, you had best get your ass back to City A right this instant,” Ji Li said, genuinely showing a trace of anger for once.
“What? Now that you know he’s Little Rabbit, you’re starting to feel bad for him? You might feel bad for the guy, but he doesn’t necessarily take you seriously. He agreed to meet up, stood you up, kept you dangling on a hook, all while throwing flirtatious glances at his newly arrived boss. If you two weren’t actually the exact same person, your head would be sporting a massive patch of green right now.”
“He looks completely harmless to humans and animals alike, but in reality, he’s incredibly clever and shrewd.”
He Feng’s tone went down several degrees in temperature. Stripping away the casual veneer of joking, it was actually enough to make one’s skin crawl.
If Xu Nanxin ever fell into his hands, he could play the guy to death.
Ji Li: “…”
He understood full well that He Feng had clearly misunderstood as well. But it wasn’t something that could be cleared up in a few sentences, nor did he intend to explain. He merely stated flatly, “Stay out of this matter; I will handle it myself. Don’t go looking for trouble with Xu Nanxin either—there is absolutely nothing wrong with him.”
“Fine, fine. You love him so much, who would dare touch a hair on his head!” He Feng muttered icily.
Ji Li: “…”
“I’m hanging up.” Ji Li severed the call, pulled up Little Rabbit’s phone number once more, and stared blankly at his screen for a brief moment before finally dialing the number.
On the other side of town, Xu Nanxin had just sat down at the designated barbecue restaurant with Sheng Lu. Before they could even glance at the menu, his phone began to ring.
Xu Nanxin retrieved his phone from his pocket. The exact second his eyes fell upon the caller ID, he lifted his gaze to look at Sheng Lu.
Sheng Lu, who had just accepted the menu from the waiter, caught the look and asked, “He’s calling?”
“Yes,” Xu Nanxin nodded.
“Answer it! What are you terrified of? You’re going to break up with him anyway, so grow a spine! It’s not like he knows who you actually are!” Sheng Lu encouraged.
Xu Nanxin: “…”
He pressed the answer button. “Hello, Mr. Z.”
The barbecue joint was packed with patrons, making the environment incredibly noisy. Ji Li asked on his end, “Are you outside?”
“Yes, I’m out having barbecue with a friend,” Xu Nanxin replied. His compliant manner of offering a direct answer to every single question made him look incredibly submissive and sweet.
Standing by his side, Sheng Lu—who was supposed to be ordering food—witnessed Xu Nanxin’s spineless behavior in front of his online dating partner. He felt an intense wave of frustration, wishing his friend would show some backbone; the guy completely folded under pressure!
“We are supposed to meet up next week, Little Rabbit. Are you looking forward to it?” Ji Li inquired.
The man’s voice was steady and profoundly gentle—the precise kind of register that, no matter how many times Xu Nanxin heard it, would still cause his heart to skip a beat and accelerate violently. Listening to that voice, Xu Nanxin found himself entirely at a loss for words, finally uttering a vague, noncommittal murmur: “Mm…”
But in reality, he wasn’t looking forward to it at all…
“I hope that this time around, there won’t be any more unexpected accidents,” Ji Li emphasized the word ‘accidents’.
Xu Nanxin felt incredibly awkward. After a long pause, he whispered in a tiny voice, “There won’t be.”
“I want to hear your real voice before we meet face-to-face. Could you turn off your voice-changer software?” Ji Li proposed an entirely reasonable request.
Xu Nanxin froze, caught completely off guard. The man had never once advanced such a demand in the past.
“Aren’t we about to meet up face-to-face anyway? I…”
“Do you think it’s inappropriate?” Ji Li countered before he could finish, effectively sealing Xu Nanxin’s lips shut.
Xu Nanxin: “…”
Left with no alternative, he lifted his eyes, casting a thoroughly desperate, pleading gaze toward Sheng Lu. Sheng Lu extended his hand, using exaggerated mouth movements to signal silently: ‘Turn it off. I’ll handle him for you.’
Only then did Xu Nanxin nod in relief. “Okay.”
He deactivated the voice-changing software on his phone, before swiftly passing the device over to Sheng Lu. In an instant, he looked as though he had shed a massive burden, as if he had successfully discarded a catastrophic piece of trouble.
“Alright, it’s off,” Sheng Lu spoke into the receiver, his tone significantly colder and more detached.
Hearing a completely unfamiliar voice manifest on the other end, Ji Li seemed somewhat caught off guard, asking tentatively, “Little Rabbit?”
“Yes, it’s me. But my friend and I are just about to dig into our barbecue, so it’s not very convenient for me to chat for long,” Sheng Lu declared, instantly launching into a rapid-fire, efficient wrap-up mode.
On the opposite end of the line, Ji Li recognized immediately that the person on the other side had been swapped out. Setting aside the fact that the voice was entirely wrong, Little Rabbit would absolutely never utilize such a clipped, dismissive tone when speaking to him.
Ji Li chose not to expose the charade, fully prepared to see exactly how long Xu Nanxin intended to maintain this deception. His voice remained low and slightly cool, yet exceptionally striking: “Alright. Then I won’t disrupt you any longer. Have a wonderful time with your friend.”
With that, Ji Li severed the call first. Only then did Sheng Lu return the device to Xu Nanxin, stating, “See? It’s actually that simple. All you have to do is inform him that you’re occupied, and that’s that.”
“But the second I remember that the person I’m confronting is Mr. Z, I find myself completely incapable of doing it,” Xu Nanxin confessed honestly.
“Then how on earth do you intend to bring up the breakup face-to-face?” Sheng Lu countered.
Xu Nanxin pondered for a moment before answering, “The second I look at Ji Li’s actual face, I feel like I’ll possess the absolute strength to demand a breakup.”
Sheng Lu: “…”
“Let’s order some food first. We can eat and chat at the same time.” Sheng Lu passed the menu back over to Xu Nanxin.
Xu Nanxin didn’t stand on ceremony either, accepting the menu to check off their items before handing it back to the waiter. The most vital agenda right now was that he desperately needed to map out the strategy for the upcoming meetup with Sheng Lu.
No matter what happened, this entanglement had to be permanently severed this time. Otherwise, even Xu Nanxin himself wouldn’t be able to tolerate his own dragging, indecisive behavior anymore.
Sheng Lu’s mindset aligned perfectly with his own. However, considering the fact that both of them were employed within the exact same corporation, if this matter genuinely cost them their employment, the price would simply be far too steep to bear.
“Actually… I have a concept.” Xu Nanxin rested both his hands flat against the table, his eyes shining with immense brilliance as he gazed at Sheng Lu. This spark of inspiration had been triggered precisely when Sheng Lu had intercepted the call for him moments ago.
Sheng Lu locked eyes with Xu Nanxin. Witnessing the intense, fervent anticipation swirling in his friend’s gaze, an ominous premonition suddenly seized his heart. It appeared as though he had already deduced exactly what Xu Nanxin was plotting. “You don’t seriously want me to act as your substitute and go meet this Mr. Z in your place, do you?”
Jing Nanxin blinked his innocent eyes, nodding his head enthusiastically. “I genuinely think it’s a stellar idea! He has never witnessed your face anyway, nor does he recognize who you are. When the meeting occurs, you can simply claim that you are Little Rabbit, and then execute the breakup on my behalf.”
Sheng Lu: “…”
At first glance, it did indeed sound like a magnificent concept that would permanently eradicate the problem from its absolute root, but…
Sheng Lu contemplated the matter. In reality, there truly didn’t appear to be any safer or more flawless strategy than this. Following a period of serious deliberation, he finally conceded, “I don’t personally mind stepping up, but I don’t possess a deep understanding of the history between you two. If I end up blowing my cover, I’m terrified it will leave you in an incredibly awkward position.”
“That won’t happen! We can maintain constant communication throughout the entire event. If any problematic questions arise, just message me directly on WeChat,” Xu Nanxin reassured him.
Sheng Lu stared at Xu Nanxin. “Fine. For the sake of our friendship, I’ll put myself out there on the line. It’s not like I have anything to fear anyway.”
“Thank you so much! How about I cover the bill for this barbecue session? You are doing me an absolute monumental favor!” Xu Nanxin offered with immense servility.
“Save it. You can treat me to a massive feast once the mission is successfully accomplished!” Sheng Lu dismissed with a wave of his hand.
While the duo waited for their barbecue to be served, Xu Nanxin prepared to scroll through his phone, only to catch sight of a message delivered by Yang Xuan twenty minutes prior: CEO Ji went looking for you right around clock-out time. I informed him that you had already departed. I have absolutely no idea what he wanted with you.
The absolute second Xu Nanxin absorbed the text, the radiant smile on his face dissolved into nothingness…
Why did he suddenly possess an incredibly terrible premonition? What on earth did Ji Li want with him?