Chapter 27 - Public Service and Private Love
In the past, Jiang Yuan would have finished his breakfast and headed out to class on his own. He was never in a hurry to return home after school, usually spending his time bar-hopping with Zhang Siyi or finding other ways to kill time. It was his norm to play until the early hours of the morning.
But today, the young master of the Jiang family seemed possessed by a clingy spirit. As he stood at the entrance with his car keys, he lingered for an eternity. He demanded kisses, hugs, and to be lifted high, dawdling until he was nearly late. He refused to leave the older man’s embrace, transforming instantly from the formidable "Demon King Jiang" into "Jiang Three-Year-Old."
Pushed toward the door once again by Professor Xie, Jiang Three-Year-Old puffed out his cheeks and let out a few performative coughs. "I have a cold," he declared with righteous conviction. "I’m taking a leave of absence."
Xie Chengnan looked at his young boyfriend’s rosy, healthy complexion and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a slight headache coming on. While he also wanted to enjoy their world of two, he couldn't let the boy abandon his studies just because they were in a relationship.
Feeling a sense of duty to supervise the "Academic God" in the making, Professor Xie took a firm stance. "I’ll drive you to school."
Knowing that skipping class was no longer an option, Jiang Three-Year-Old pouted but knew when to quit while he was ahead. He stuffed the car keys into his boyfriend’s hand but remained glued to the man’s side, refusing to let go. Xie Chengnan had no choice but to scoop him up with one long arm and carry him all the way to the car.
A young master in the throes of passionate love couldn't stay still for a second. Taking advantage of the fact that Jason was handling the driving, he tried to climb onto his boyfriend’s lap.
Xie Chengnan pressed him back into the passenger seat with a firm kiss and buckled his seatbelt. "Baby," he said helplessly, "the traffic police don't know what autonomous driving is. If you keep this up, they’ll revoke my license."
Jiang Yuan puffed his cheeks again, knowing Xie wasn't just trying to scare him, and finally settled down. However, throughout the drive, he kept playing with Xie Chengnan’s long, clean fingers. Whenever they were out of range of traffic cameras, he would lean over for a brief, stolen kiss, teasing the older man until he was at his wit's end.
In truth, Xie Chengnan enjoyed this dynamic immensely. Far from finding it annoying, he found it quite charming. As long as the antics weren't blatant traffic violations, he did his best to indulge his boyfriend’s whims. They spent the entire journey in a sugary haze of affection, both thoroughly satisfied.
Jiang Yuan’s car had a registered entry permit, so Xie Chengnan drove him directly to the base of the teaching building. Students passing by couldn't help but stare at the luxury vehicle.
Jiang Yuan unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed over to the driver's seat, giving Xie Chengnan a start. "Aren't you afraid your classmates will see?"
"My windows are tinted; they can't see a thing from the outside," the young master said proudly. He then leaned down to capture his boyfriend’s lips in another kiss. Between kisses, he acted spoiled. "Come pick me up at noon."
"Alright," Xie Chengnan replied.
"I want chicken wings. And scallion oil noodles."
"Alright."
Jiang Yuan was dissatisfied. "Is 'alright' the only word you know?"
Xie Chengnan kissed him back, a low, muffled chuckle vibrating in his throat. "Baby, how can you be this sweet?"
Jiang Yuan’s joy lasted only a few seconds before Professor Xie offered a friendly reminder: "But if you don't go up now, you're going to be late."
*What a buzzkill of an old man!*
Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes, let out a sharp "tsk," and grabbed his backpack to get out of the car in a huff.
Xie Chengnan sighed helplessly. Using the car door as a shield, he pulled the boy back for one last kiss and coaxed him, "Be good. I’ll miss you."
With that one sentence and one kiss, the young master was instantly mollified.
On his way to the classroom, Jiang Yuan snapped out of it. Thinking back on his clinginess throughout the morning, he felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of shame. He used to mock Zhang Siyi for looking like a total lovestruck fool whenever he was in a relationship. Now, it seemed, the heavens had spared no one.
The self-loathing young master wiped his face, but the corners of his mouth refused to stay down, curling upward uncontrollably.
Zhang Siyi was still preoccupied with the "straight as an arrow" WeChat message from the night before. The moment he saw Jiang Yuan, he pulled him aside to ask what had happened.
The question brought back memories of a rather unpleasant "viewing experience." Jiang Yuan’s expression soured as if he had swallowed a fly. "The first time you watched... that... didn't you find it terrifying?"
Zhang Siyi shook his head, looking confused. He was a "natural bent," having felt an attraction to the male body from the start. Compared to Jiang Yuan, who had been "bent" halfway through his life, Zhang Siyi had a much higher tolerance and felt no psychological discomfort.
Jiang Yuan knew that, for the time being, he probably couldn't accept taking that final step with a man—not even if that man was Xie Chengnan. Thinking about how he had finally escaped the "single dog" life only to live on a diet of kisses, the young master let out a depressed sigh.
After some thought, Zhang Siyi suggested, "Why don't you two try going from easy to difficult? A step-by-step progression?"
Jiang Yuan looked at him blankly.
Zhang Siyi leaned in and whispered into his ear for a while. His words nearly made the young master explode on the spot. "You really are..."
Zhang Siyi gave a few "hehehe" laughs and patted his chest proudly. "Listen to me, it’ll definitely work."
Once Jiang Yuan mulled it over, he realized the plan was actually quite feasible. Though he felt a bit embarrassed, he pulled out his phone and made a note in his memos.
After finishing his boasting, Zhang Siyi remembered he had actual business to discuss. He slapped his forehead and told Jiang Yuan, "The company's annual meeting is this weekend. Grandpa told me to tell you to bring Brother Xie along."
Jiang Yuan froze. It took a long moment for the weight of those words to sink in. "I’ll ask Xie Chengnan if he’s free later," he said hesitantly.
Zhang Siyi considered his mission accomplished and didn't notice his cousin’s unusual attitude, returning to his mobile game.
Jiang Yuan rested his chin on his hand, his mind a tangled mess. He knew that by having him bring Xie Chengnan to the Zhang Group’s annual meeting, his grandfather was essentially publicly acknowledging Xie Chengnan as his "grandson-in-law."
However, Xie Chengnan was about to start a company in Nancheng, and Jiang Yuan himself would eventually have to fight for control of the Jiang Corporation. If they truly went public with their relationship, it would undoubtedly have a significant impact on their respective careers.
In the circle of the wealthy, liking men in private was one thing, but bringing it into the light was another entirely. That was why Qiao Song could pursue him while being engaged to Lin Fei. To put it bluntly, being gay was seen as something that couldn't be brought to the table. Even if many didn't say it out loud, they looked down on it in their hearts.
Naturally, Jiang Yuan hoped to be with Xie Chengnan openly. He had even thought about emigrating after graduation to a country where same-sex marriage was legal.
But he didn't know Xie Chengnan’s stance on the matter. Would he want to keep it hidden? Would he, like many others, eventually "return to the right path" after a few years to marry a woman and have children? After all, Xie wasn't a "natural bent"; it wasn't as if he couldn't accept a female partner.
The more Jiang Yuan thought, the more distressed he became. Tortured by the scenarios he was inventing in his head, his mood plummeted. He wished he could rush over right now and demand an explanation from the older man.
Xie Chengnan had no idea his young boyfriend’s head was currently full of messy worries. Just after dropping Jiang Yuan off, he received a call from Shen Qinian, saying there was something important that required him to come to the company immediately.
As soon as his car entered the garage, Xie Chengnan saw Shen Qinian and his secretary waiting by the elevator. He was slightly surprised.
"What is it?" Xie Chengnan frowned. "Did something happen?"
Shen Qinian grinned. "Good news. I want to show you something great."
Feeling puzzled, Xie Chengnan followed him to the first basement level. As they exited the elevator, he saw a metallic, explosion-proof door at the end of a sealed corridor.
Shen Qinian pointed at the door as if seeking credit. "Built to the specifications of a Swiss bank vault. Isn't it cool?"
Xie Chengnan looked at him, speechless. "You called me here just to look at a door?"
"Tsk," Shen Qinian said dismissively. "This is just the appetizer." He directed Xie Chengnan to stand within the yellow line. As soon as they stepped in, a hidden identification system appeared on the wall.
Xie Chengnan naturally recognized the program; it was the access control system he had specifically designed for the laboratory. It simultaneously scanned and identified the visitor’s physique, face, iris, fingerprints, and voice. It practically eliminated any possibility of an outsider infiltrating the lab in disguise.
Shen Qinian explained, "This corridor is lined with your sensor panels on all four sides. If the number of people or the height and weight data don't match, an alarm sounds immediately. The security team I hired can be here within a minute."
The secretary was left outside the yellow line, and only Shen Qinian and Xie Chengnan entered the laboratory.
Young Master Shen had clearly watched too many sci-fi movies. The entire lab was designed with a heavy futuristic feel. In a space woven from white and metallic tones, various conceptual machines and workstations had already been installed.
Xie Chengnan was astonished. "The equipment I ordered is back? Weren't the entry permits still being processed last week?"
Shen Qinian shook his head and sighed. "You know, our company is no longer a city-level key supported high-tech enterprise."
Xie Chengnan frowned and offered some comfort. "It’s fine. Even without the city’s support, the impact on the company won't be that large."
Having milked the suspense for all it was worth, Shen Qinian boasted, "We are now a *national-level* key supported high-tech enterprise!"
Xie Chengnan was stunned. Shen Qinian laughed. "Didn't expect that, did you? We really have to thank Professor Duan next time. You left all these affairs to me, right? Well, Professor Duan contacted me a while ago and asked for some of the company’s planning materials. Then, he took those materials and the video of Jason from the Nanda lecture to the Chinese Academy of Sciences to see his mentor. An Academician's mentor isn't just anyone. Now, our company has been registered with the higher-ups before we've even started production. All the procedures were given a green light. Not just these small workstations, but your supercomputing cluster and the custom large-scale production equipment all arrived early."
Xie Chengnan was also taken aback. He hadn't expected that a small, unintentional act would yield such results.
After a moment of thought, Xie Chengnan said solemnly, "Qinian, I have an idea that might lead to a significant loss of capital in the early stages. I want to hear your opinion."
Seeing his serious expression, Shen Qinian stopped smiling. "Let's hear it."
Xie Chengnan licked his dry lips. "I want to donate the entire first batch of robots to the Nancheng municipal government, free of charge."
"How many in the first batch?" Shen Qinian asked.
Xie Chengnan held up one finger. "One hundred units."
Shen Qinian sucked in a breath of cold air and clutched his heart. "Let me catch my breath first." After a long pause, he said with a pained expression, "Tell me your specific reasoning."
Xie Chengnan leaned against the wall and loosened his tie. "I want to provide a group of robot volunteers to be deployed in various public spaces through the city government. On one hand, it’s public service; on the other, it’s an advertisement for the company. You know that all emerging products require a market acceptance process. Nothing is more persuasive than letting consumers experience it for themselves."
Shen Qinian paced back and forth. He was actually somewhat convinced by Xie Chengnan’s logic. After weighing it in his mind for a long time, he finally made a decision. "Fine! Leave the market operations to me. With that much money going out, I’ll make sure this advertisement is a beautiful one!"
Xie Chengnan patted his shoulder. "Then I’ll leave the hard work to you."
Shen Qinian rubbed his hands together. "Should we start hiring workers? Though it’s almost New Year, we probably won't find many people."
Xie Chengnan looked at him with an amused expression. "Have you seen my production equipment?"
"I caught a glimpse when it was delivered to the factory, but I didn't understand it."
Xie Chengnan smiled. "I designed fully automated production equipment. We only need a few technicians on-site to maintain the stability of the operating system. As long as the equipment doesn't malfunction, that’s enough."
Shen Qinian stared at him for a few seconds before he couldn't help but grin. "Impressive, Professor Xie. Is it like in the movies, where a single assembly line just goes *clank-clank-clank* and builds a robot all by itself?"
Xie Chengnan nodded. "More or less."
The Vice President pulled out his phone and joyfully deleted several notes. "Great, that saves us a massive amount in labor costs."
Xie Chengnan waited for him to finish before speaking. "Jason, send the bill of materials for the first batch to Vice President Shen."
Shen Qinian, who had only been happy for two minutes, looked at the table Jason sent over with an expression of utter despair. This was money coming out of his pocket—no, not just coming out, it was being poured out in a torrential flood.
Ignoring his pained expression, Xie Chengnan continued his orders. "Jason, have HR notify all researchers to officially start work tomorrow."
Shen Qinian recovered from his financial heartache, feeling healed by Professor Xie’s upright work ethic. He led Xie Chengnan to see his precious supercomputing cluster, asking as they walked, "By the way, when are you migrating Jason’s data back?"
Looking at the massive supercomputing cluster, Xie Chengnan finally felt a sense of things settling into place. "I’ll handle it as soon as possible."
Before leaving, Xie Chengnan finally remembered to share his good news with his friend. He cleared his throat and said calmly, "A-Yuan and I are together."
Shen Qinian gave a distracted "oh." It took a long moment before he reacted. "What did you say???"
Xie Chengnan repeated, "I said, A-Yuan and I are together."
The Vice President was dumbfounded. "The 'dating' kind of together?"
Xie Chengnan nodded. "Yes, the dating kind."
Shen Qinian stood in a daze. "So, you two just... bent each other?"
The corners of Xie Chengnan’s mouth turned up, his happiness impossible to hide. "I’ll treat you to dinner tonight."
Shen Qinian looked at him with disdain. "Are you dragging me out just to force-feed me dog food?"
Xie Chengnan straightened his tie and looked at him with a smile. "You’re my only friend in the country. Won't you celebrate my success in escaping the single life?"
"Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate," Shen Qinian muttered. What else could he say? "So, President Xie, can you sign the backlog of documents this afternoon? There are things waiting for your approval."
Xie Chengnan checked the time on his wrist. "I’m going to pick up A-Yuan from school first. I’ll come back after I’ve had lunch with him."
Shen Qinian let out a "tsk" and waved him away impatiently. "Go, go, go."
***
