Bai Yang pretended not to understand. “What is wrong with it?”
Yan Xun gave a dry laugh. “They all have female companions by their sides, and you have a brother. Isn’t that a bit out of place?”
Bai Yang maintained a calm expression, then sighed. “Out of place is just the start. It is also a bit pathetic. They all have girlfriends, but I do not. When they are networking, they have girlfriends to feed them, whereas I…”
So, was this the reason he could not eat his meal?
After discovering the truth, Yan Xun immediately felt a sense of injustice on Bai Yang’s behalf.
He had heard that for successful men, the women by their sides were also a form of capital to show off.
These older men all had delicate women in their arms, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves.
Compared to them, Bai Yang seemed to be getting the short end of the stick.
Given President Bai’s status, what kind of woman could he not have?
It was simply because he was a good person who refused to settle for less, nor did he toy with women, which was why he did not stoop to the level of these people.
Good people, it seemed, always got the raw deal.
In just a few seconds, Yan Xun had imagined an entire dramatic scenario in his head.
After finishing his mental drama, he raised a hand to pat Bai Yang’s shoulder and said in a deep voice:
“Brother, do not worry! What is a female companion? I can definitely do better than them! Whatever they can do, I can do too!”
Was it not just serving the person beside you at the dining table?
If they fed them, he would feed him too!
If they blocked the alcohol, he would block it too!
He was a college student. What was there to be afraid of?
The fighting spirit ignited.
The fair-skinned beauty sitting opposite Yan Xun looked over with a bewildered expression.
What was going on? Where did this hostility come from?
Yan Xun raised his chin and glared back arrogantly, scaring the beauty so much that the food on her chopsticks dropped onto the table.
For the next half hour, Yan Xun began his performance.
Whenever the beauties around them fed their financial backers, he followed suit. Without caring whether Bai Yang liked to eat it or not, he picked up food and shoved it straight into Bai Yang’s mouth.
Several times, because he was feeding him too quickly, Bai Yang did not have time to chew, his cheeks puffed out, looking three parts comical.
The surrounding big shots whispered among themselves.
Was President Bai not a bit too indulgent with the little trinket by his side?
Before the banquet was over, Bai Yang was a bit too full to eat anymore. He loosened his tie, grabbed Yan Xun’s wrist, and stood up.
“Please continue enjoying your meal, everyone. I will take my leave first.”
The group of big shots nodded repeatedly. “President Bai, please go ahead. We understand, we understand.”
Only Yan Xun’s eyes were filled with confusion.
What did the big shots understand? He did not understand at all!
He had not even managed to suppress these women who were showing off their affection yet, and the battle had not achieved total victory. Why were they leaving already?
Bai Yang led Yan Xun smoothly all the way out of the banquet hall and straight into the elevator to the top floor.
Back in the room, Bai Yang went to the bar to pour a glass of water. Just as he took a sip, he saw Yan Xun sitting on the sofa, pulling a kiwifruit out of his pocket to peel it.
Bai Yang watched in silence.
Yan Xun turned his head and smiled at him. “Do you want to eat one too? I hid another one.”
With that, he pulled yet another one out from his other pocket.
The corner of Bai Yang’s mouth twitched upward. “Uh, you really know how to hide food.”
Yan Xun laughed cheerfully. “Secretary Zhou came to look for me earlier, and since I had not eaten my fill yet and was anxious to find you, I just casually hid some food.”
“Casually?” Bai Yang raised an eyebrow, his intuition telling him that things were not that simple.
Sure enough, after finishing the kiwifruit, Yan Xun pulled a banana, some biscuits, and yogurt out of his pockets.
Bai Yang walked over and sat down beside him, letting out a laugh and shaking his head. “You really are capable, being able to pocket this much just like that. Is it enough to eat?”
Yan Xun estimated the amount. “It should be about eighty percent full. That is already pretty good. Usually, I can only manage to feel seventy percent full.”
That sounded rather pitiful.
Bai Yang stared blankly as he ate, a flash of shrewd light crossing his eyes as if he had thought of something.
“Yan Xun,” Bai Yang said seriously, “if you ever cannot get enough to eat in the future, come find me.”
Yan Xun was startled, then smiled. “That would be too embarrassing.”
Without waiting for him to finish, Bai Yang used a single sentence to dispel his worries.
“Commercial banquets like this are something I attend almost every day. They are all free, so it would be a waste not to eat. For me, it does not cause any trouble at all. We are just taking advantage of the organizers.”
You had to hand it to him. Bai Yang truly was a qualified businessman.
He could always casually manipulate the other person’s mindset. Upon hearing this, hesitation began to sprout in the space between Yan Xun’s brows.
Bai Yang continued, “If you feel embarrassed, you can just say you are my assistant. That makes it completely legitimate.”
“Assistant?” Yan Xun blinked. “Is there a salary?”
Bai Yang raised a hand and flicked him on the forehead. “What are you thinking? We are buddies. It is already great of me to let you tag along with me for free meals, and you still want me to pay you a salary?”
Once he put it that way, Yan Xun’s last shred of guardedness vanished.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If Bai Yang had really offered him both food and money, he would have felt uneasy in his heart.
With things as they were now, just letting him tag along for free meals, he felt completely at ease.
Yan Xun grinned from ear to ear. “Brother, you are really great!”
That night, Yan Xun ate his fill and took away several large boxes of seafood back to the dorm.
Li He was not in. Only Zhang Yi and Lin Xing were playing video games.
The moment the two of them saw the feast, they could not even care about the game anymore, pouncing forward to tear open the food containers.
As he ate, Zhang Yi muttered, “Xun, so much seafood must cost a pretty penny! Did you win the lottery?”
Lin Xing also looked over with a curious expression.
Yan Xun pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs. “No lottery, but I did acquire a long-term meal ticket.”
A long-term meal ticket.
Upon hearing those four words, Zhang Yi and Lin Xing’s movements suddenly paused.
The two of them exchanged glances, communicating the mutual understanding in their minds through their eyes.
Zhang Yi curled his lip, tossed aside the large prawn in his hand, and gave Yan Xun a bear hug.
“Xun! You finally walked down this path of no return!”
Lin Xing sighed as well. “Sigh, back in our freshman year, the three of us placed bets that given your looks, there would definitely be a day like this sooner or later. But the fact that you managed to hold out until senior year already commands our respect.”
Yan Xun was being squeezed so tightly he could not breathe, and it took a lot of effort to pry Zhang Yi off his body.
“Hold on, what on earth are the two of you talking about? I do not understand a single word! Have you lost your minds?”
Zhang Yi shook his head with emotion. “Xun, do not worry. Our dorm does not have that kind of backstabbing drama. No matter what choice you make, us brothers will all stand by your side.”
Lin Xing nodded as well. “Yeah, is it not just being kept by a wealthy sugar mommy? In this day and age, people laugh at poverty rather than prostitution. If we wanted to hang out with wealthy older sisters, they would not even pay us any mind.”
Yan Xun finally caught the drift of what they were implying.
A wealthy sugar mommy?
He pondered it carefully, instantly had an epiphany, and grew so angry he wanted to laugh.
“You two dog-faced bastards, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? The long-term meal ticket I am talking about is not some sugar mommy. It is a guy!”
When Zhang Yi and Lin Xing heard that, their expressions became even more shocked.
“A guy?”
“You are being kept by a man?”
“Xun! Your sacrifice is way too big.”
“Is your chrysanthemum holding up okay?”
Seeing that the two of them were getting more and more out of hand, Yan Xun used both his left and right hands simultaneously to directly block both of their mouths.
“Shut up! That is not what I meant at all!”