After Crossing Over to the Republic of China, I've Become a Heartthrob Chapter 16

Jealous of Me for the First Time

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When he found out that Shi Yao no longer had a place to live, he offered to let him stay at his house for a while.

Shi Yao declined and said, "That's not really a good idea."

He said gently, "I have many properties."

"Then..." Shi Yao agreed immediately, "thank you, Boss!"

The car pulled up to a villa in the suburbs and Ling Junde led him up to the second floor: "You can have the room on the east side."

"What about you?"

"Next to it."

"Don't you have a lot of properties, Boss Ling?"

"This is my favourite." Pulling off his blood-stained shirt, Ling Junde tossed his clothes aside.

In the dim light, Shi Yao could see that his forehead was covered with wounds and he had a bruise on his shoulder and abdomen: "You, are you badly hurt?"

"It's nothing." Ling Junde ruffled the hair covering his forehead, "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No! I didn't break a single hair, but I lost a lot of brain cells and I was scared to death ha ha." As Ling Junde leaned closer and closer to him, Shi Yao couldn't help but swallow, his figure was too extreme, wasn't it? "Boss, do you have a personal trainer?"

"Personal trainer? What is that?"

"Well, it's just, someone to guide you through your workout."

"I don't need one," Ling Junde asked, "want to go to the hot spring?"

"Wh... what?"

"There's a hot spring in the back of the villa, want to go together?"

"Ah, okay." Shi Yao was a bit reluctant, as he felt that it would be too overwhelming to go to the hot spring with such a beefcake.

After changing into his swimsuit, taking off his bathrobe, and facing his boss candidly, Ling Junde commented, "You're a bit too thin, you need to eat more."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"What are you shy about?"

"Nothing!"

"Shi Yao, I find you quite amusing."

"Oh."

"You were wise to choose to leave the Song family."

"How so?"

"Song Liao is too pampered, his life has gone too smoothly, having never suffered any hardship, and he will never become a great man. Song Yuan is too scheming, too ambitious, and too ruthless, he’s not someone who’s easy to deal with."

"Hey, hey, hey, why do you keep bad-mouthing my family?" Shi Yao was unhappy, "Song Liao was once my wife, he is indeed a metallic flower and likes to pretend, but he is properly taking over the affairs of the Song family. Song Yuan is not what you make him out to be, he is gentle and considerate, and super competent!"

Ling Junde snorted, "Shi Yao, how old are you?"

"What?"

"The jackal and the cheetah won't reveal their teeth to you simply because the time is not right."

"Oh!" Shi Yao said, "What about you? Why are you so eager to reveal your teeth to me?"

"Because I don't bother with disguises." Ling Junde smiled, "I enjoy a dangerous chase."

Early the next morning, when Ling Junde and Shi Yao appeared at the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, the large council chamber could barely contain Song Liao's sour jealousy: "Shi Yao, come to my office."

He followed Song Liao to his office, and as soon as he entered, Song Liao heavily slammed a file onto the desk: "Shi Yao, where have you been for the past two days?"

"Mr. Song Duheng, our engagement has been annulled," Shi Yao asked in return, "this has nothing to do with you, does it?"

"Who told you that our engagement was annulled?"

"Is it not? I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears." Shi Yao deliberately pretended to be heartbroken and said, "The new person laughs, but the old person does not cry."

Song Liao suddenly looked pleased: "Are you upset?"

"To be honest, a little."

"You don't want to leave me."

"......"

"You still like me."

"Song Liao..."

"If you beg me, I'll promise you."

"What?"

"Just like before," Song Liao lifted his chin, "look at me with those expectant eyes, pleading with me, begging for my mercy and love, and I will promise you, reject the Jiang family's marriage alliance and take you home."

For some reason, a fierce throbbing pain radiated from the bottom of his heart, and a few blurred images came to mind, as though old memories had been awakened.

———

"I am Song Liao, Song Duheng. I've come to take you home."

"Duheng, Song Duheng."

"No matter what, you have to call me Young Master."

"Young Master Duheng."

"Mhmm."

"I like you."

"I know."

"I like you."

"Annoying."

"I really like you."

Please, look at me, gaze at me fondly, just like I gaze at you, even for a moment.

Please, touch me, touch me affectionately, as I long for you, even for a moment.

———

The memory of the original owner was like a surging ocean wave sweeping through the centre of his heart, Shi Yao's face was pale and his breathing unsteady: "Song Liao, Song Liao."

"What's wrong with you?" Song Liao held his wrist, "Not feeling well?"

"No, I'm just..." Forcefully calming himself, he suppressed the emotions that swept through him, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologising?"

"I'm sorry," Shi Yao said, "I'm not him."

"What are you talking about?"

Determined to make a clean break with the past, Shi Yao looked him in the eye and said, "Believe it or not, I am not the same Shi Yao I once was. From that day, the night you said I got you drunk, I wasn't him anymore."

"Are you blaming me?"

"What?"

"Are you blaming me for not complying with your request to play bondage games with you that night?"

Shi Yao's face flushed red with anger: "Shut up! I can't reason with you!"

"I regret it." Song Liao said, "Just give in once and beg me once more, okay?"

Shi Yao sighed in his heart, it's a pity I'm not him.

I can't promise you.

I have already taken over the original owner's body, how can I possibly covet the feelings that should have belonged to him?

I can't promise you.

Because I am not him.

Shi Yao said, "I'm sorry." Then he opened the office door and went out.

Unexpectedly, Song Yuan was waiting for him there: "Yao'er, you stood me up last night."

He suddenly remembered that Song Yuan had taken him to the reception and asked him to wait there for a while, but he then ran off with Ling Junde, which was really not very nice: "I'm sorry! That's because Mr. Ling called me to act as an interpreter on short notice."

"What interpretation, it took all night, huh?"

"It's a..." He swallowed his words, "It was a rather urgent job, and when I finished it, it was late, so I..."

"So you?"

"I stayed overnight at his place."

"I'm very happy that you left the Song residence, Yao'er, and I'm happy that you've regained your freedom. But I do not wish to see you, having only just left the nest, go into the wolf's den."

What and what? Shi Yao complained in his heart, why are these people so fond of slandering each other?

Three men playing the same game?

Shi Yao coughed: "Thank you for your kindness, President Yuan, I just stayed at his place for last night, after work today, I'll go and find a house."

"Well, that's good." Song Yuan smiled gently, "I can help you."

"Are you going to introduce me to properties?"

"No, I just remembered that I happen to have a vacant property that you can move into."

"Do you charge a lot for rent?"

"No rent required."

"No, I have to," Shi Yao didn't like owing favours: "just deduct it from my salary, otherwise I won't live there."

"Okay," Song Yuan handed him an envelope, "there's an address and a key inside, you can move in tonight."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: June 15, 2023