Edited by me
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door. Xie Chen lowered his hand, his expression returning to its usual cold detachment. “Come in.”
“The Changlin files.”
The young man who entered was impeccably dressed, his words brief and to the point. At the mention of Changlin, Jiang Ye immediately rushed over.
Changlin? Changlin Media?
That’s my company!
Xie Chen gave a slight nod, and the young man left.
The man stared at the files without moving for a long time, his stillness driving Jiang Ye wild with curiosity. “It really is Changlin Media! Boss, you have business ties to the entertainment industry?”
He hopped onto the table, his eyes fixed on the familiar leather-bound folder. “Come on, open it already! Did you invest in a movie? Let me take a look for you. Hurry up! What’s so interesting about the outside of the folder?”
Xie Chen closed his eyes.
Ever since he’d woken from his coma, he could faintly hear the little guy’s voice. It came and went in fragments—sometimes a word or two, sometimes long gaps of silence.
He had told no one.
He also had no desire to see a doctor.
If this was the sickness of longing, he hoped it would last a long time.
A photograph in the upper left corner of the first page stung his eyes again.
The young man’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes were clear and bright, yet a hint of crimson at the outer corners added a touch of allure. Beneath a straight, elegant nose, his pale pink lips were curved into a slight smile.
“My photo?”
Jiang Ye leaned in curiously, his gaze sweeping over the page with confidence. “It really is my file. Big Boss, why do you have this?”
“Oh, are you keeping it as a souvenir? I don’t get it. If you like me so much, why didn’t you come find me before?”
“Do you big-shot fans have to be so secretive about your stanning?”
“But then again, looking for me wouldn’t have done you any good. There are too many creeps in the business world. I’m afraid I thought you were one of them.”
Xie Chen stared at the photo for a long time, his messy hair obscuring his eyes and hiding his thoughts.
His long, slender fingers, with their well-defined joints, looked like a work of art as they traced the naturally smiling eyes of the young man in the photograph. “Wait for me.”
Xie Chen put the file away, placing it in the drawer with utmost care.
The Big Boss kept working until the moon rose and the stars appeared.
The city gradually quieted down from its bustle, and the entire building seemed to have only this one office with the lights still on.
Jiang Ye stretched, utterly bored.
Although he had left that circle by following the Big Boss, he was still a lonely ghost with no physical form or senses. The biggest advantage, however, was that he could wander the mortal realm longer without having to reincarnate so soon.
The opposite building’s lights were gradually extinguishing. Jiang Ye watched the Big Boss, who was still busy working, and his brow furrowed unconsciously. “What time is it? Working like this is suicidal. People are made of iron, but rice is made of steel—go eat something, so I can at least catch a whiff of it.”
“If you can’t manage that, just let me see it.”
Xie Chen’s hand on the keyboard paused. He thought he heard the word “eat.”
Is the little guy hungry?
Is there no one there to feed him?
Jiang Ye felt like he and the Big Boss might really be destined for each other.
He’d thought the Big Boss was driving home to sleep, but instead, they headed straight for the cemetery. The back seat and trunk were packed with several large boxes.
Only upon arriving at the cemetery did he realize what was inside.
Signature dishes from restaurants with waitlists so long you could never get a table were laid out one by one before the grave. Even if he couldn’t see or smell them, their colors alone were enough to imagine how delicious they would be.
Jiang Ye, a total foodie, practically drooled over the non-existent food.
The midnight moon hung in the branches of the trees. The cemetery was as desolate and chilling as ever. Even if the tombstone bore his own name, it could never become his home.
To be honest, Jiang Ye was still a little scared.
He sat beside the Big Boss, shivering, his eyes glued to the delicious food as he smacked his lips in craving.
“I never expected anyone to actually bring me offerings after I died. A Big Boss-level fan… did I just strike gold with this luck?”
“Hurry up and eat, Big Boss! It’s going to get cold soon. Wasting food is a crime.”
“Damn, I’m starving just looking at this.”
“I’d give anything to take a few bites.”
A sudden clap of thunder tore through the clear sky, startling Jiang Ye so badly he practically lunged at the man.
Damn this cemetery.
Da Ge, it’s about to storm! We need to get the hell out of here!
The man gazed at the solitary tombstone, ignoring the shifting weather. His throat tightened, and he spoke in a hoarse whisper, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Trembling, Jiang Ye looked up.
It wasn’t that he was a coward; he just had a genuine trauma when it came to thunderstorms.
But why is Big Boss so good to me?
And wait—how did the fans find out I’m scared of thunder?!
It has to be that big-mouthed Li Xiao Ou!
Jiang Ye felt his dignity being dragged through the dirt.
It’s so strange, he thought. The sky was perfectly fine, and now it’s raining out of nowhere.Too anxious to even think about the food, he started muttering frantically, “Da Ge, Gege, it’s about to pour! Let’s just go back. There’s nothing in this damn tombstone anyway. My soul is already with you, so let’s just get out of here.”
“Da Ge, are you trying to get yourself killed? You’re still recovering from your illness, and now you want to get caught in the rain? I don’t want to be your ghost-brother in the afterlife!”
“Da Ge… Ge…”
Jiang Ye’s rambling was drowned out by the rain. As he watched the man’s face grow increasingly pale, Jiang Ye fell silent for a moment. “Actually, I’m kind of curious… That last line you wrote on the tombstone… Were you confessing your secret love for me?”
Perhaps the rain was playing tricks on his mind, but Xie Chen closed his eyes, finding the hallucinated words clearer than anything he’d heard in the waking world.
Secret love?
Yes.
Well, not exactly secret. I already confessed ages ago. What an ungrateful little thing.
But that’s okay. Just wait for me.
Just a fujoshi who got into editing and translation
