Ch 13: How To Be A Good Lackey (QT)

Shao Ye walked over to stand in front of Xi Guanming, who was still seated where he was. After lowering his head to meet his gaze, he thoughtfully asked, “Is it inconvenient to touch like this? President, do you want me to squat down?”

Xi Guanming lifted his eyes to meet Shao Ye’s dark ones, clearly seeing his own reflection in them. The smile on his face grew gentler as he asked, “Shao Ye, would you mind taking off your shirt?”

“My shirt?” Shao Ye glanced down at what he was wearing.

Xi Guanming nodded, then added, “It might be a bit forward of me. If you’re not comfortable, that’s fine.”

“It’s fine, no problem.” Touching through the shirt probably wouldn’t feel as good anyway, and his shirt had been soaked with red wine, which wasn’t great.

Shao Ye first took off his tailcoat, then raised his hands to start unbuttoning his shirt. The buttons on this shirt were oddly shaped. He had already found them troublesome when putting it on, but at the time he couldn’t find anything else suitable in the dorm and had just made do. Now he realized it was even more of a hassle to take off.

If Xi Guanming hadn’t been standing right in front of him, he might have just yanked it open with both hands and torn it apart. The image flashed through his mind, and he immediately felt it was a bit too wild, probably enough to scare the president.

Seeing him struggle for a while and only manage to undo two buttons, Xi Guanming said with a hint of amusement, “Bend down.”

Shao Ye paused and looked over. Xi Guanming, still seated, gestured to him. He assumed the president wanted to say something quietly, so he cooperated and bent forward.

He forgot they were in Xi Guanming’s dorm. There was no need to get that close just to speak.

Xi Guanming reached out and placed his hand on the silver button Shao Ye had been struggling with. His fingers were far more nimble; under his touch, the buttons seemed to obediently come undone. Warm breath brushed against Shao Ye’s cheek, and he instinctively leaned back slightly. Then Xi Guanming’s low voice sounded beside his ear: “Don’t move.”

Shao Ye murmured an “oh” and froze, not daring to move. His eyes wandered instead, taking in the dorm. There were two beds. The other one looked like it had never been used. On the bedside table sat a foreign-language book he couldn’t understand at all, along with a water cup.

Xi Guanming had already undone the last of the five buttons, the final one close to Shao Ye’s lower abdomen. Shao Ye pressed his lips together, feeling as though the air in the room had grown warmer.

“All done,” Xi Guanming said, withdrawing his hand.

Shao Ye took off his shirt. The red wine on his chest hadn’t fully dried yet, leaving it slightly sticky to the touch. Being a considerate subordinate, he said, “President, wait a second. I’ll go find some tissues to wipe it off.”

Xi Guanming patted the spot beside him on the bed and said, “Sit here. I’ll wipe it for you.”

Shao Ye hesitated but sat down at the edge of the bed. Xi Guanming took out a cool silk handkerchief and gently brushed it across his chest. It tickled. Looking down, Shao Ye couldn’t help wondering whether that level of force could really clean the stain.

The hallway outside was silent. Inside the room, the only sound was their breathing. Shao Ye felt like something about the atmosphere was a bit off. After thinking for a moment, he said cleverly, “President, you probably could never work in a bathhouse scrubbing people.”

Xi Guanming: “……”

“That’s a shame,” he said, finally applying a bit more pressure.

A faint scent of red wine drifted from Shao Ye, as if just smelling it could make someone intoxicated.

Xi Guanming folded the used handkerchief neatly and placed it on the bedside table. His skin, under the bright overhead light, looked almost unnaturally pale. Against Shao Ye’s honey-colored chest, his fingers appeared even whiter. With just a slight press, the firm muscle dipped inward.

“It really is soft,” Xi Guanming said with a smile.

“Right? Right?” Shao Ye nodded enthusiastically, pleased that his statement had been confirmed.

But after touching, Xi Guanming didn’t immediately withdraw his hand. His fingers closed slightly, giving it a squeeze, then loosened, then squeezed again.

Shao Ye didn’t feel much about it. Someone appreciating his chest muscles, and that someone being the boss he admired, made him happy. Still, he vaguely felt that Xi Guanming’s expression was a bit strange. If asked exactly what was strange about it, he couldn’t quite say.

If Shao Ye had ever looked at himself in a mirror in the cafeteria, he might have realized that Xi Guanming’s expression right now bore a faint resemblance to his own whenever he saw mango pudding.

After finishing with the left side, Xi Guanming tested the right as well. Watching this, a bizarre thought popped into Shao Ye’s mind: did the president need to keep things balanced too?

“How long have you been training like this?” Xi Guanming asked.

“Three or four years, I guess,” Shao Ye said, not entirely sure. His earlier memories were a bit fuzzy.

Xi Guanming’s gaze subtly drifted downward. Shao Ye’s strong, long legs were neatly outlined by his trousers. Translated on Hololo novels. For a moment, Xi Guanming recalled the scene from the swimming pool that day, then said with a smile, “Your thighs and hips look well-trained too.”

Shao Ye chuckled, a hint of pride in his expression. “I’ve been focusing on lower-body training lately.”

Xi Guanming asked curiously, “Are the muscles there soft too?”

“…Kind of,” Shao Ye said.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but couldn’t quite find the words. He couldn’t very well suggest the president touch there too. That would be… too much.

“I was just asking casually,” Xi Guanming said with a smile, looking perfectly upright.

Shao Ye had no doubt about it, just like he still firmly believed that the president liked Jiang Yan.

However…

At some point, Xi Guanming picked up his phone and typed one-handed, replying to something. Shao Ye grew a bit bored but didn’t want to interrupt him, so he sat there obediently, waiting for him to finish.

More than ten minutes passed. Xi Guanming had already put his phone down, yet his left hand was still on Shao Ye’s chest, continuing to knead it. Shao Ye didn’t dare ask why he hadn’t finished yet, worried the president might think he was being impatient. But not saying anything…

The way the president’s hand moved was getting stranger and stranger, as if his chest were a canvas, fingers tracing circles of varying pressure, gradually drifting toward the center.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, but whether it was comfortable… he wasn’t sure he even wanted to think about it. Sometimes, the body reacted in ways the mind couldn’t fully control, and might even start influencing the mind instead.

This couldn’t go on. If anything besides his hair started reacting inappropriately, the president might kick him out on the spot, and he’d never get to be his most loyal subordinate again.

Shao Ye firmly believed his orientation was completely normal. If a man could be touched like this for so long without any reaction, then something was wrong with that man’s body.

He decided to excuse himself to the bathroom. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard Xi Guanming let out a heavy sigh first.

His sigh was heavy and weary. Shao Ye had never seen him like this before, and immediately abandoned the idea of slipping away to the bathroom, asking with concern, “President, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Xi Guanming shook his head, seemingly unwilling to say more.

Shao Ye instantly set his clever little brain in motion. In the academy, the president could have anything he wanted, and the only possible shortcoming might be that he lacked a girlfriend. A lightbulb symbolizing wisdom lit up in his head. He blinked at Xi Guanming and said, “President, are you missing Jiang Yan? I have her on WeChat. How about I video call her so you two can talk?”

Xi Guanming lightly pinched his chest. “Don’t disturb her.”

“Then why are you sighing?” Shao Ye asked, puzzled, while subtly pushing his chest muscles a bit more into Xi Guanming’s hand.

Xi Guanming said, “The student council has been busy organizing the arts festival and sports meet lately. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

In October, the academy would hold its autumn sports meet, and before that there would be an arts festival. The a academy required each class to put on a performance, with more than half the class participating.

“What performance is your class doing?” Xi Guanming asked.

Usually, people chose things like choir, ensemble music, or poetry recitation. But their class monitor wanted something more original and had even held a class meeting to brainstorm.

Even as he asked, Xi Guanming’s hand never stopped moving. Shao Ye’s adaptability was impressive. He had basically gotten used to Xi Guanming kneading his chest over and over. It was just a bit of squeezing, nothing serious.

He answered, “We haven’t decided yet. The class monitor asked me before, and I suggested we organize everyone to perform military boxing together. Everyone’s learned it, so it wouldn’t take much time to rehearse. It strengthens the body and would definitely impress the whole school.”

Indeed, in all these years, Xi Guanming had never seen military boxing performed at an arts festival. He smiled and nodded, seeming to approve.

Seeing him nod, Shao Ye immediately grew excited. “President, you think it’s a good idea too, right?”

“It is,” Xi Guanming said. After a pause, he asked, “Did your class monitor agree?”

Shao Ye’s face scrunched up instantly, disappointed. “No. The class monitor said it was a great suggestion, but I shouldn’t suggest it again.”

Xi Guanming laughed again. Seeing him laugh, Shao Ye felt happy as well and advised him, “President, don’t overwork yourself. Just hand things off to the students below you. If that’s not enough, you can give them to me. I’ll definitely handle them perfectly.”

Xi Guanming hummed in acknowledgment, then added, “There’s something else. My room is a bit empty. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel like there’s someone else in it. But maybe I’ve just been under too much pressure lately, a bit overly sensitive.”

The moment Shao Ye heard that there might be someone in the room, his eyes widened instantly. He scanned the surroundings vigilantly. If Xi Guanming hadn’t still been holding his chest, he might have crawled under the bed to check on the spot.

Although he couldn’t find anyone, Shao Ye still felt uneasy. He sensed this was his moment to shine. Straightening up, he said seriously, “President, I’ll stay here tonight and keep you company.”

Xi Guanming’s hand paused briefly on his chest. He frowned slightly, not quite agreeing. “That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

“It’s fine, President. Your safety is more important. And you have an extra bed here anyway.”

“But…” Xi Guanming looked at him as if he wanted to say something but held back.

Shao Ye patted his chest. “President, we’re both men, and it’s not like we haven’t slept before—oh, oh! Now I know why you stayed in the office building that day!”

“I stayed in the office building… yes, that was part of the reason,” Xi Guanming said with a soft sigh.

“President, no matter what, I’m staying tonight. If you don’t let me, I’ll just stay here anyway.” As he spoke, he even wriggled himself further onto the bed.

Xi Guanming rubbed his temple with his free hand, looking troubled, clearly unable to refuse him. In the end, he could only concede, “Alright then. Sorry to trouble you, Shao Ye.”

---

Author’s note:

【What is going on in No. 6’s livestream? Why is the camera always pointed at the door? Point it at the people! What’s the point of just hearing audio?】

: It’s showing the president giving No. 6 a massage

: Huh?

: It’s showing the president distributing sh—

: Has No. 6 finally been eliminated?!!!

: I’m speechless. It’s just touching his chest. Is the production really this sensitive? If they won’t even show this, when the president and No. 6 get into bed later, will the camera point under the bed?

: I’d be grateful if it pointed under the bed. I’m worried it’ll cut to those two swans in the artificial lake

: Wait, can someone tell me what actually happened? Why would the president get into bed with No. 6?

: It’s just the official site hyping things up. There was no chest touching, and definitely no getting into bed. Stop spreading rumors about the president, I’m exhausted

: The dance next door has already turned into a brawl, and No. 6 is still living in peace here

: He can live in peace because those staff who can tweak NPC data in Yongwu Township are carrying the burden for him

: Can someone analyze whether the president actually touched his chest?

: Of course he did. Otherwise why would the camera be pointed at the door? Looks like the president is secretly bold, touching for so long. The technique must’ve been pretty suggestive, otherwise it wouldn’t be censored like this

: Nonsense! The official didn’t release a single shot and you still believe it? Are your brains waterlogged?

: It’s precisely because it happened that they can’t show it

: Then why couldn’t they show it? They showed the chest stepping scene before. This show is getting worse and worse. Instead of maintaining NPC characterization or firing troublemaking staff, they keep faking things. I’ve already reported them jointly with people in my group. Just wait, No. 6 will be eliminated tomorrow!

: I looked at Neverland’s ratings, then looked at that “getting worse and worse” comment above… I feel like one of us isn’t normal

: Probably not you

: Does reporting even work?

: I’ve got connections. You’ll see soon whether it works

: Uh…

: Scary

: Report—

: The official just released a screenshot. The president really is touching No. 6’s chest!!! It’s real!!!

: So reporting actually works!

: Ohhh I get it. That was a provocation tactic. Respect, respect

: Damn it! Who sent that screenshot of me joking about touching my roommate’s chest to my girlfriend?! I was joking!!!

≽^•⩊•^≼

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