Chapter 29 - As Long As You Want
The atmosphere was ripe with a burgeoning heat, and Young Master Jiang was just about to reward his boyfriend with a lingering French kiss when the shrill intrusion of a ringtone shattered the moment.
Xie Chengnan caught the flash of irritation crossing Jiang Yuan’s face and offered a small, coaxing smile. "Go ahead and answer it," he murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble. "It might be something important." As he spoke, he leaned over to meticulously click Jiang Yuan’s seatbelt into place before settling back into the driver’s seat.
As the car glided smoothly away from the university’s teaching building, the corners of Jiang Yuan’s mouth began to quirk upward again, his brief annoyance melting under Xie Chengnan’s attentive care. Seizing the remnants of his good mood, he fished his phone from his pocket. However, the moment he glanced at the caller ID, the light in his eyes dimmed, and his smile slowly vanished.
Xie Chengnan, ever sensitive to the younger man’s shifts in temperament, cast a concerned glance at the screen. The name 'Secretary Fang' stared back at them. Connecting this with Jiang Yuan’s sudden withdrawal, Xie Chengnan could easily guess whose interests the caller represented.
The ringing persisted, a relentless demand for attention. With a cold, stony expression, Jiang Yuan finally swiped to answer. He didn't speak; he simply listened with a detached, frigid air as the person on the other end droned on. From beginning to end, he offered no verbal acknowledgement, his silence a wall of silent protest.
Seeing the palpable exhaustion and disgust etched into his boyfriend’s features, Xie Chengnan waited until the call ended to ask softly, "What happened?"
Jiang Yuan tossed the phone onto the center console with a sharp clack. "Nothing much. Just Jiang Kunbo’s secretary. He was calling to notify me about the group’s annual gala next week and to tell me to prepare for a winter internship."
Xie Chengnan’s brows knit together. "A holiday internship?"
"Mhm." Jiang Yuan leaned back, staring out the window at the passing city scenery with a mocking sneer. "He’s probably going to hand me some struggling subsidiary to 'practice' on. Jiang Hao will get one too. My dear father likely wants to see which of us is more 'capable' of inheriting his precious empire."
Whenever anything related to Jiang Kunbo surfaced, Jiang Yuan’s mood plummeted into a dark, cynical place. He was acutely aware that his expression was likely sour and unpleasant, so he turned his head away, losing himself in the blur of the Nancheng streets.
Xie Chengnan reached over, his large hand resting gently on Jiang Yuan’s head, stroking his hair in a comforting rhythm. "We’ll be passing a Lady M soon," he said, deliberately changing the subject. "Do you want some cake?"
Jiang Yuan, who had a notorious weakness for sweets, felt his resolve soften. "I do," he muttered, his voice muffled but interested.
Xie Chengnan pulled the car over to the curb and began unbuckling his seatbelt. "What flavor do you want?"
Young Master Jiang slanted a look at him, his eyes narrowing playfully as he lifted his chin—a gesture that made him look remarkably like a pampered kitten baring its tiny claws at its owner. "I want them all."
To Xie Chengnan, every facet of his young boyfriend was nothing short of adorable. He indulged him without a second thought. "Alright."
A few minutes later, even Jiang Yuan was taken aback when a line of seven or eight shop assistants emerged from the store, carrying a mountain of elegant cake boxes toward the car. He leaned out of the window, staring at Xie Chengnan in disbelief. "What did you buy all of those for?"
Xie Chengnan arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "Didn't you say you wanted them all? I simply bought everything they had left in the shop."
Jiang Yuan’s sulkiness was completely forgotten, replaced by a sense of speechless exasperation. "I was just saying that! Do you really do everything I say?"
Xie Chengnan leaned into the car, pressing a firm, lingering kiss to Jiang Yuan’s lips. His voice was a blend of tenderness and solemnity. "As long as you want it, and as long as it is within my power."
Despite his usual bravado, Jiang Yuan felt a flush creep up his neck. He hadn't expected that Professor Xie—the man who used to get flustered by a bit of suggestive banter—would adopt such a devastatingly romantic style once they were actually dating. It left him completely defenseless.
The spectacle at the curb had already drawn a crowd. Xie Chengnan’s kiss had been bold and public, and he hadn't bothered to lower his voice. The shop assistants standing nearby not only witnessed the kiss at point-blank range but also heard every word of the exchange.
Unbeknownst to Xie Chengnan, the scene had been captured by a passerby—a minor influencer with a following of about a hundred thousand, who happened to be filming a vlog inside the shop. Xie Chengnan’s striking appearance had caught her eye the moment he walked in. She had originally intended to sneak a video of a handsome stranger to share with her friends, but she ended up capturing a cinematic moment of pure devotion.
The influencer quickly edited the footage and posted it to Weibo with a sensational title: *Outside Lady M in Nancheng: A wealthy "Gege" spends a fortune to coax his little boyfriend! I’m dying from the sweetness! #KSWL*
The video was only a few minutes long, starting from the line of assistants delivering cakes and ending with Xie Chengnan leaning down to kiss Jiang Yuan. Due to the distance and the angle, their faces weren't perfectly clear, but that didn't stop netizens from dissecting every detail.
*【Ahhh! That wealthy Gege’s physique is everything! I don't even need to see his face, I'm sold!!!】*
*【I always thought these "overbearing CEO" tropes only existed in dramas... forgive my ignorance...】*
*【Don't ask, just know that I'm drowning in jealousy... Smile.jpg】*
Some skeptics chimed in: *【You can't even see the faces from that far away. The person in the passenger seat could just be a girl with short hair.】*
*【Exactly. They probably just labeled him a "boyfriend" to bait the BL fans for clicks.】*
However, a comment from a verified source was quickly upvoted to the top: *【I’m one of the shop assistants who delivered the cakes! I can confirm the person in the passenger seat was definitely a young man! And he was incredibly beautiful! Even as a woman, I felt inferior looking at him! The wealthy Gege was super handsome too—a literal walking hormone! He dotes on the younger one so much! Just because the boy said "I want them all," he bought every single cake in our store! Every! Single! One! When the boy asked, "Do you really do everything I say?", do you know what he said? He said, "As long as you want it, and as long as it is within my power"! We were all about to explode from the sweetness right there on the sidewalk!】*
*【So sweet! Wealthy Gege really knows how to play the game!】*
*【What kind of fairy-tale romance is this?!】*
*【Look at this textbook response! I need to @ my boyfriend... oh wait, I don't have one... StrongSmile.jpg】*
*【These days, not only are the men dating each other... they’re doing it so well that we women are left here dying of envy... I can't take this grievance.jpg】*
Xie Chengnan had no idea he was going viral again. He only knew that his little boyfriend was finally smiling, which made every cent spent on those cakes worth it.
As Jiang Yuan fretted over what to do with a trunk full of cake, Xie Chengnan chuckled. "Pick the ones you like to keep. I have to head to the office this afternoon, so I’ll take the rest there and let the staff divide them up."
"You’re going to the office this afternoon?" Jiang Yuan’s face, which had just brightened, puffed up again in a pout.
Xie Chengnan nodded. "I checked on the lab this morning, but Qinian said there are some documents that need my final approval. I need to handle them today."
Jiang Yuan squeezed his hand, trying to sound casual. "I don't have any classes this afternoon."
Sensing the younger man’s reluctance to part, Xie Chengnan suggested warmly, "Why don't you come with me? You can watch a movie or play some games in my office while I work."
Knowing Xie Chengnan had serious business to attend to, Jiang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed to admit he actually wanted to go home and engage in some "adult activities." He cleared his throat and gave a reluctant nod. "Fine."
Then, a thought occurred to him. "If you had work to do, why did you bother coming all the way to pick me up? That’s a lot of wasted time going back and forth."
Xie Chengnan replied matter-of-factly, "I promised I’d pick you up and make you lunch. The documents can be read anytime; if it were truly an emergency, Qinian wouldn't have left them for me to handle later."
He said it so naturally, as if spending time with Jiang Yuan was inherently more important than any corporate oversight.
Jiang Yuan’s heart felt like it was floating, but he didn't miss the chance to tease him. "Xie Chengnan, if this were ancient times, you’d definitely be a besotted monarch—the kind who lights the signal fires just to amuse his consort and neglects his morning court."
Xie Chengnan actually nodded in agreement. "What can I do? My baby is just too cute." He leaned over and pecked Jiang Yuan’s lips again, laughing softly. "I suppose I just like you that much."
Jiang Yuan’s face flushed red once more. He felt as though he were soaking in a jar of honey; even the air around him seemed to taste sweet. Feeling a surge of affection, he decided to be a bit more considerate. "Let’s just find a place nearby to eat. I’ll go to the office with you afterward so we can finish early and go home." He was still secretly keeping his "step-by-step" plan in mind.
Seeing that Jiang Yuan wasn't forcing himself, Xie Chengnan didn't insist on cooking. "Then how about that Cantonese restaurant we went to last time?"
They had only ever visited one Cantonese place together. Jiang Yuan immediately made the connection. Remembering that Xie Chengnan had met Jiang Shiyi there, a wave of petty jealousy washed over him. He curled his lip. "No."
Xie Chengnan had no idea his boyfriend was currently "eating vinegar." He had only suggested it because Jiang Yuan had praised the food last time. Since Jiang Yuan didn't like it, they would simply find somewhere else.
After a lingering, affectionate lunch, Jiang Yuan followed Xie Chengnan to the company.
