Ch 19: How To Be A Good Lackey

When Shao Ye heard Xi Guanming say that he also liked mango pudding, he didn’t notice the ambiguity in his words at all. It was like an old, broken speaker suddenly getting power again—he perked right back up.

This could be the perfect chance to make up for his mistake.

He immediately pulled his head out of the pillow and said to Xi Guanming, “I’ll go to the cafeteria and buy one for you right now.”

Xi Guanming’s right hand rested a little below his lower back, his fingertips tracing slow circles over his skin, light and heavy by turns.

Shao Ye couldn’t help reacting a little in ways he shouldn’t. He tried to avoid Xi Guanming’s touch, but the other hand was wrapped firmly around his waist, leaving him no room to move.

Xi Guanming said leisurely, “But the cafeteria is already closed.”

“Oh, right,” Shao Ye turned his head to glance out the window. It was already dark, probably around ten o’clock. He added, “Then I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning when it opens. I’ll make sure you get the very first mango pudding.”

Xi Guanming said, “I want it now.”

Shao Ye frowned, troubled. He stretched his arm toward the phone on the bedside table but couldn’t quite reach it.

He turned back and said, “President, let go for a second. I’ll grab my phone and ask in the group if anyone in the dorm has mango pudding and can send one over. It might not taste as good as the cafeteria’s, though.”

Not only did Xi Guanming not let go, his fingers slid a little lower. Leaning forward, he blew softly against Shao Ye’s reddened ear and said, “I don’t think the cafeteria’s is that good either.”

Since his fingers had reached the spot on Shao Ye’s backside that had just been smacked earlier, all of Shao Ye’s muscles tensed uncontrollably. Was he going to get hit again?

“Then which one do you like? I’ll order it for you,” Shao Ye asked, while subtly scooting his body toward the other side of the bed.

As expected, his backside got smacked again. This time it was much lighter than before, carrying more of a teasing tone, though Shao Ye didn’t think of it that way at all. Inside, he was practically wailing—why did helping order mango pudding get him hit again?!

“Lie still,” Xi Guanming said, giving two light taps. The feel really was good. One day, he thought, he would eat this whole “mango pudding.”

“You’re still hitting me?” Shao Ye asked miserably. This kind of punishment was honestly too embarrassing. He tried to negotiate, “President, how about we switch to somewhere else?”

Xi Guanming seemed in a much better mood than when he first came back. With a hint of idle amusement, he asked, “Does it hurt? Where do you want to switch to?”

Definitely not the head. The face wasn’t good either. After thinking, Shao Ye suggested hopefully, “How about hitting my palm instead?”

Xi Guanming replied, “If I ruin your hand, how are you going to write your self-reflection later?”

Shao Ye: “……”

Wait, he had to write a self-reflection too? That didn’t seem right.

He opened his mouth but couldn’t find anything to say. Translated on Hololo novels. In the end, he fulfilled his duty as a subordinate and flattered him with a fawning smile, “The president really thinks things through.”

Xi Guanming let out a faint, unreadable laugh. He withdrew his hand, straightened up, and looked down at the large figure on the bed. “Turn over.”

“President, you finally decided to switch where you hit me?” Shao Ye’s eyes lit up with anticipation.

“I’m applying medicine,” Xi Guanming said, reaching for the bottle and cotton swabs on the cabinet.

“So… no more hitting?” Shao Ye asked cautiously. He tried not to show how happy he was, though his eyebrows were practically flying upward.

Xi Guanming asked, “What, you want a couple more hits?”

Shao Ye shook his head frantically. Seeing Xi Guanming sit down by the bed, he said, “President, I can apply the medicine myself.”

Xi Guanming didn’t respond. Shao Ye didn’t dare say more. He turned over, then felt it wasn’t quite proper to face him like this, so he pulled the blanket over to cover the important parts.

Xi Guanming glanced at it, then lowered his head and applied the medicated cotton to his chest.

“President, you’re really good to me,” Shao Ye said, lying there with a silly grin.

Xi Guanming gave a noncommittal “mm.”

Shao Ye stared at his sharp profile, lost in thought. Thinking of the earlier smack, he felt like his backside was still warm. After hesitating for a while, he asked, “President, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” Xi Guanming replied casually.

He soon regretted answering so quickly, because Shao Ye asked, “If the vice president made a mistake, would you hit him like this too?”

Xi Guanming: “……”

He almost jabbed the cotton swab into Shao Ye’s navel. Expressionless, he tossed the swab into the trash can, then looked up with a smile. “Shao Ye, I think the punishment you just got wasn’t enough.”

Shao Ye looked at him blankly, completely unable to understand what he meant.

He tried to imagine Xi Guanming making the vice president take off his clothes and lie on the bed. No—he couldn’t even picture it. Goosebumps broke out all over him.

Risking another smack, Shao Ye asked, “President, you wouldn’t hit him, right?”

Xi Guanming didn’t really want to continue this topic, but he worried that someday Shao Ye might go ask the vice president directly whether he’d ever been spanked.

Given how he was, it wasn’t impossible.

In the end, Xi Guanming reluctantly nodded.

Seeing that, Shao Ye felt like his life was suddenly full of light—but something still seemed off. Was he really happy just because the president only hit him and no one else?

Well… that was worth being happy about. If he didn’t hit anyone else but only hit him, what did that mean? It meant the president already saw him as one of his own!

Shao Ye quickly convinced himself. Tugging at Xi Guanming’s sleeve, he asked, “President, can I ask one more question?”

Xi Guanming looked at him with mild helplessness. This time he put the cotton swabs aside first, took out ointment instead, and said, “Think carefully before you ask.”

“I… between me and the vice president, who do you think is more useful?” Shao Ye asked, a little embarrassed.

Xi Guanming squeezed out a bit of milky ointment and slowly spread it over his chest, asking, “Why are you asking that?”

Shao Ye clenched his fist. “I’ve always taken the vice president as my role model. I want to become someone just as useful to you. I want to know how big the gap between us still is.”

As if! One day he would definitely surpass the vice president and become the most outstanding subordinate by the president’s side. Translated on Hololo novels. Before, most student union matters weren’t things he could really get involved in, so he’d switched strategies and taken a different path—starting with Jiang Yan, hoping she could give him a boost.

But as for the result… it was hard to say. Although he hadn’t managed to match the president with Jiang Yan, the president seemed quite satisfied with him.

Xi Guanming’s hand, which had been rubbing his chest, paused. He looked up at Shao Ye’s face, which carried three parts seriousness and two parts jealousy, patted his chest muscles, and said, “Don’t worry. You don’t need to compare yourself to him. You have a lot of potential.”

Shao Ye’s eyes reflected the overhead light, shining brightly. He hurriedly asked, “President, can you tell me specifically what kind of potential I have? I can try to develop it more myself.”

Xi Guanming smiled, casually kicked the bed leg, then stood up and looked down at the person on the bed. He wiped the excess ointment off his hands with a tissue, gave a meaningful smile, and said, “I’ll tell you in the future.”

“I’m going to take a shower. Put your clothes on yourself,” he added, then turned and walked into the bathroom.

Shao Ye responded obediently. After Xi Guanming left, he suddenly sprang upright from the bed like a carp flipping up. Before he could even steady himself, there was a loud crash. The entire upper half of the bed collapsed.

Shao Ye: ?!!

Sitting on the slanted mattress, he instinctively looked toward the bathroom. With such a loud noise, Xi Guanming inside should have noticed, yet there was no reaction.

Shao Ye climbed off the mattress, crouched on the ground, squinting as he carefully inspected the underside of the bed. Since coming to the academy, this was the first time he had seen something like this.

After hesitating for a moment, he took out his phone, snapped a picture, and posted it to his social feed.

[What’s going on with the school’s procurement department? This quality is terrible. pointing fingers.jpg]

Rather than reflect on himself, it was better to blame others.

The comments below immediately exploded, all asking what exactly he had done to collapse even a Golden Laburnum bed.

In the bathroom, the sound of running water covered low, heavy breathing. More than half an hour later, Xi Guanming came out. He was wearing only a black bathrobe, his half-damp hair clinging to his temples. He looked less strict than usual, more relaxed and at ease. Seeing Shao Ye still crouching on the ground, he walked over and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shao Ye turned and pointed at the bed. “President… the bed, it collapsed.”

“Oh?” Xi Guanming looked surprised. “How could it collapse? It’s been perfectly fine for years.”

Shao Ye pressed his lips together, finding it hard to explain. He said urgently, “I don’t know either! I just tried to sit up, and it suddenly went boom and collapsed. It really has nothing to do with me, President!”

Xi Guanming lowered his head to look at the bed, then at him.

Shao Ye widened his innocent eyes. After meeting Xi Guanming’s gaze for a moment, he cautiously raised his hand and gestured, saying weakly, “Maybe… there’s a tiny bit of relation? Just this little…”

Absolutely no more than that!

Looking at the almost invisible gap between Shao Ye’s thumb and index finger, Xi Guanming smiled. “It’s fine. As long as you didn’t get hurt.”

Hearing this, the weight in Shao Ye’s chest finally lifted. He immediately stood up and said, “Then tonight—”

He was about to say he could just sleep on the floor, but Xi Guanming spoke first: “Tonight, you sleep in my bed.”

---

Author’s note:

[During Qingming season, the rain keeps falling… the president and No. 6 have no door!]

: Great poem! (applause.jpg)

: The official side has really gone too far. As soon as the camera cuts back, even the bed has collapsed

: Wait, even a Golden Laburnum bed can collapse?

: How did the bed even collapse?

: Must be from fighting, what else could it be? I don’t know what those CP fans are yelling about

: All the major forums are a mess, only our place is still pure

: Can’t they see the president is just using No. 6?

: They’re just being stubborn, otherwise how could they keep shipping

: By the way, why does our thread suddenly have so many followers? Who bought fake fans?

: Who would buy followers? It’s definitely passersby who watched the stream and came to their senses, realizing these two have no chance

: As expected, rational viewers are still the majority

: Objectively speaking, the president’s attitude toward No. 6 has improved a bit. Before, he clearly treated him as disposable, using him and tossing him aside. But for some reason he suddenly changed his mind, like he plans to keep using him long-term

: I agree. I’ve always felt the president had ulterior motives toward No. 6. After recent streams, that feeling is even stronger

: The president actually has pretty serious cleanliness issues. The first time he touched No. 6’s hand, he went back and washed for a long time. Now he’s letting No. 6 sleep in his bed. Do you think he’s that kind? I suspect he broke the bed on purpose so No. 6 will have to compensate until he’s left with nothing

: Although people keep saying the president in No. 6’s stream has altered data, I don’t think so. The reason he treats No. 6 this way must be that something about No. 6 attracts him more than Jiang Yan does, like how perverted killers are often drawn to innocent little rabbits

: Little rabbit? More like a brown rabbit!

: More like a big brown bear

: No. 6’s chest muscles are indeed pretty good. I understand the president touching them, I’d want to as well

: Honestly, after touching, he didn’t even share his thoughts

: Um, can I ask… this is the Neverland Sect thread, right? The Sect is supposed to defend the president and fight antis, right?

: Defend my ass! I think you’re shipping them harder than the CP fans above

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