Chapter 16
However, after learning about Wei Yuhuan’s conditions for letting him go, Xie Xiaojiang was no longer as anxious as before.
“I heard you did pretty well in the college entrance examination?” Wei Yuhuan asked.
“It was alright,” Xie Xiaojiang replied honestly to Wei Yuhuan’s question, no longer intentionally hiding anything. Although there were some questions he didn’t understand why Wei Yuhuan asked, as they seemed unrelated to drinking.
“How much did you score?”
“I got into a top-tier university.” Xie Xiaojiang had scored the highest in their school at the time, but he was the only student in the area who had met the requirements for admission to a university but couldn’t go. However, this was another sad thing for him, and Xie Xiaojiang lowered his eyes, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
Wei Yuhuan thought for a moment and asked a bunch of questions. He had thought Xie Xiaojiang might be a bit slippery, given that his impression of the other person was not so good, except for his face. However, as they talked, he found that this wasn’t the case.
Most of the questions Xie Xiaojiang answered were consistent with the information Wei Yuhuan had gathered from his investigation, except for things he didn’t want to say or were very personal, such as “family scandals” related to his father, which he would briefly gloss over – indicating that he was very honest. Moreover, unlike some young people nowadays who are uneducated and boastful, Xie Xiaojiang knew that he was sitting across from a successful person who could give him unlimited opportunities, but he didn’t try to flatter or please himself, which Wei Yuhuan appreciated.
These contrasts made Wei Yuhuan particularly curious about why this seemingly innocent child had trespassed into his home in the first place.
When he asked Xie Xiaojiang this question, the other person once again lowered his eyes, looking sad rather than guilty.
“I was tricked out of money at the time and had nowhere else to go, so I secretly stayed at your house,” Xie Xiaojiang said after a long silence.
Wei Yuhuan asked, “The residential area is strictly managed, so how did you sneak in without being caught by the cameras?”
“The gaps in the fence along the river are relatively large, so I just went in there,” Xie Xiaojiang rubbed his nose and said, “A friend of mine had told me that ordinary cameras usually have a red light on them, so I just looked for places without red lights and went there. I also observed the security patrol times for two days and looked for houses where the lights never came on, then narrowed it down to a few targets and found the easiest one to climb, which was your house.”
Wei Yuhuan raised his eyebrows and said, “My house was the easiest to climb?”
Xie Xiaojiang held up a finger and explained seriously to Wei Yuhuan, “Yes! The houses along the river have the fewest cameras, and the side near the balcony has many flower beds, making it very easy to climb.”
Wei Yuhuan listened with a twitching temple…
“Never mind, never mind,” he didn’t want to pursue the matter any further. He would let the property management handle the safety issues that Xie Xiaojiang had pointed out and consider the matter resolved.
One “hermit crab” was enough for him to deal with, he couldn’t handle any more.
Finally, after the interrogation was over, Wei Yuhuan stood up and took Xie Xiaojiang to a men’s clothing store on the lower level of the Star Port.
Xie Xiaojiang followed him cautiously and asked, “Mr. Wei, are you buying clothes for yourself?”
Wei Yuhuan replied, “No, I’m buying them for you.”
Xie Xiaojiang was surprised and asked, “Why are you buying clothes for me?”
Wei Yuhuan glanced at him and said, “When I take you out for drinks, won’t you embarrass me if you’re dressed in that dirty old coat? I tolerated the T-shirt with the iced tea logo, but I can’t stand this worn-out cotton coat you’re wearing now.”
Xie Xiaojiang suddenly understood and cooperated more readily. He casually flipped over the price tag on a plain hoodie and his expression changed immediately. He thought to himself, “What the f*ck? Is this hoodie made of diamonds? It’s so damn expensive!”
He didn’t dare touch it, afraid that he would accidentally damage a button and not have enough money to pay for it.
When Wei Yuhuan made him try on several items, Xie Xiaojiang became nervous and asked, “Mr. Wei, what if I damage the clothes when I wear them?”
Wei Yuhuan replied, “Clothes are meant to be tried on. If they get damaged during the process, it means the quality is not good enough and we won’t buy them.”
Xie Xiaojiang asked anxiously, “I mean, what if I damage them after I buy them?”
Wei Yuhuan said, “Then we’ll just buy more.”
Xie Xiaojiang was surprised and asked, “You don’t want me to pay for it?”
Wei Yuhuan finally realized what Xie Xiaojiang meant. It turned out that this guy thought he was borrowing the clothes. He laughed and said, “I bought the clothes for you, why would I ask you to pay for them?”
Xie Xiaojiang was stunned for a moment, then foolishly blurted out, “Mr. Wei, you’re losing money on this deal.” After speaking, Xie Xiaojiang covered his mouth as if he was afraid that Wei Yuhuan would realize his mistake.
Wei Yuhuan sneered inwardly. Yes, he had been cheated out of his house, had his manhood injured, and now he was even spending his own money to buy clothes for someone else. He felt like a fool.
But who made him always dote on his lover? Although he hadn’t won the guy over yet, he had to start with sweet words and gifts. Besides, if Xie Xiaojiang could really deal with Wang Daqi, the benefits would be worth more than a few million. This kid really didn’t know his own worth, he thought with a smirk.
“It’s up to me to decide if you’re worth it,” Wei Yuhuan said as he handed two pieces of clothing to Xie Xiaojiang. “Not only am I buying you clothes, but if you do well, I’ll even pay you a salary.”
Xie Xiaojiang was speechless.
Wei Yuhuan picked out three winter outfits for Xie Xiaojiang, one formal and two casual, along with four pairs of shoes, a BVLGARI watch, and a whole stack of underwear and socks. He spent nearly 100,000 yuan in one go.
Xie Xiaojiang watched in amazement as Wei Yuhuan swiped his card as if it was nothing, buying and buying until he was left completely confused.
He was starting to feel uneasy. Wei Yuhuan said that helping him drink was enough to settle their debt, but if he had to drink once, he might as well drink a hundred times. He had to clarify things. “Boss, how many times do you want me to drink with you?”
“If you can hold your liquor, probably just twice. One time to test you, and the other for real,” Wei Yuhuan replied.
Xie Xiaojiang pointed to the piles of bags on the ground and the driver summoned by Wei Yuhuan, and asked, “Then why did you buy so much?”
Wei Yuhuan scrutinized him up and down, and said pickily, “If you’re going to help me drink, you have to play the part of my subordinate. You naturally have to dress well in your daily life.”
Xie Xiaojiang was at a loss for words.
Okay, everything the boss said was right. He understood that he needed to dress better, but why did Wei Yuhuan have to buy him underwear? And they were all a few hundred yuan per pair. Were underwear part of his image as well? The world of the rich was really hard to understand!
The three of them returned to the car with their bags. Wei Yuhuan asked, “Where are you living now?”
“In the company dormitory,” Xie Xiaojiang complained with a bitter face. “But since you asked me to quit my job, I can’t go back there now.”
“That’s perfect. Just go straight to Chunjiang Huajing Garden,” Wei Yuhuan said with a smirk. “I’ll let you live there openly. How about that?”
Xie Xiaojiang was speechless again.
The driver was driving towards Chunjiang Huajing Garden when Xie Xiaojiang suddenly bent over and clutched his stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Yuhuan asked.
“My stomach hurts, can we stop at a pharmacy?” Xie Xiaojiang said.
Xie Xiaojiang looked at him pitifully and said, “You hit me…oh, I feel like I ate too much.”
Wei Yuhuan frowned and realized he had forgotten that he had punched this little guy before. He had trained in boxing for two years, so that punch had been pretty strong.
“Let’s go to the hospital,” Wei Yuhuan instructed the driver to turn around.
“No need,” Xie Xiaojiang said. “Just buy a bottle of red flower oil from the drugstore and apply it.”
Wei Yuhuan ignored him and took him to the nearest hospital emergency room. After confirming that it was only a bruise on the stomach, he was finally reassured.
Xie Xiaojiang was carefully taken care of and watched as Wei Yuhuan busily helped him get X-rays, consulted with doctors, and filled his prescription. He suddenly felt a bit touched.
This was the first time in the two years he had been in this city that someone had cared for him like this, even if it was someone whose relationship he didn’t know how to describe – not a friend, not a relative, not a girlfriend, and definitely not a boss.
Even so, Xie Xiaojiang was still wary of Wei Yuhuan. After all, he had threatened him with the safety of “Xie Xiaoxi” before. He wasn’t stupid. If this guy with the surname Wei had caught him just to go drinking, then why had he been drugged at “Han Bao”? Was it just a prank? It didn’t seem that simple.
But leaving all of that aside, starting from tonight’s dinner, Wei Yuhuan had indeed made Xie Xiaojiang feel the long-lost “warmth.”
Walking out of the hospital with his medicine, Xie Xiaojiang thought to himself, “Am I getting Stockholm Syndrome? My stomach hurts because Wei Yuhuan hit me…”
He shook his head and shook off his inexplicable emotional stirrings. He said to Wei Yuhuan, “We didn’t have to go to the hospital. When I was little, my dad used to beat me all the time, worse than this. Resting for a couple of days will be enough.”
Wei Yuhuan rubbed his head and felt a little heartbroken. He said, “Although the old saying goes, ‘alcohol separates the stomach,’ the function of the stomach and drinking cannot be separated. If I hurt you too badly, then I’ll lose more than I’ll gain.”
Xie Xiaojiang was speechless. So that was the reason? (=_=)
Chunjiang Hua Jing Yuan wasn’t far from the hospital, and the driver quickly took them to Qiaoxi Loft.
Wei Yuhuan took Xie Xiaojiang upstairs and even gave him a spare key, saying, “You don’t have to climb over the wall anymore, right?”
Xie Xiaojiang took the key and felt a little embarrassed. He took a few steps forward and saw something familiar on the kitchen counter – hey, wasn’t that his induction cooker?
Xie Xiaojiang happily approached it and examined it closely, confirming that it was indeed his. After Wei Yuhuan took it away, Xie Xiaojiang had given up hope of ever seeing it again. He didn’t expect to see it now!
“It belongs to its rightful owner,” Wei Yuhuan’s voice, filled with a smile, came from behind him.
Xie Xiaojiang was once again touched and said, “Thank you…”
Looking around, Xie Xiaojiang timidly asked, “Has the surveillance equipment been removed?”
Wei Yuhuan lied with open eyes, “It’s been turned off, but not removed. I’ll have someone come to remove it another day.”
Xie Xiaojiang then asked, “Will you return the pictures to me after drinking with you?”
Wei Yuhuan hesitated for a moment and thought to himself, “It seems like this guy still cares!” But he continued to lie and deceive, saying, “Of course.” With real people accompanying him, why would he need those pictures?
Xie Xiaojiang didn’t know what to say. He thought he was finished after falling into Wei Yuhuan’s hands, but his life had taken a 180-degree turn! He not only got new clothes and a new job, but also a legitimate new place to live… Oh my god, why did he feel like all of this was unreal?
He looked at Wei Yuhuan and asked, “Uh, where do you live? It’s so late, aren’t you going back?”
Wei Yuhuan smiled and said, “I live here too.”
