Ch 20: How To Be A Good Lackey

“This… isn’t very appropriate, President,” Shao Ye said, sounding a bit hesitant. Sleeping in the president’s bed—wasn’t that a bit overstepping?

Xi Guanming simply replied, “What’s inappropriate about it? We’re both men.”

“That’s true,” Shao Ye said.

He sounded reluctant when he agreed, but his actions—carrying his quilt and pillow over to Xi Guanming’s bed—showed no reluctance at all.

Although Shao Ye’s history grades barely passed, he knew one thing: from ancient times to now, any subordinate who got to share a bed with the boss was no ordinary subordinate.

The dorm bed was bigger than the one in the lounge, about 1.2 meters wide, but it was still a bit cramped for two grown men.

That night, when Shao Ye showered, he deliberately used extra body wash, scrubbing himself until he smelled fresh and clean. After getting into bed, he hugged his blanket and curled up at the edge, trying to take up as little space as possible so the president could sleep more comfortably. But with his build, no matter how much he curled up, he still took up at least half the bed—unless he lost a limb.

Shao Ye realized this too and said to Xi Guanming, “President, if I accidentally crowd you while we’re sleeping, just wake me up.”

Xi Guanming had been leaning against the headboard reading, but ever since Shao Ye came out of the bathroom, the page hadn’t turned. Hearing his thoughtful suggestion, he closed the book and turned his head toward the person already lying beside him, recalling how Shao Ye looked when asleep the past few nights. He softly repeated, “Wake you up?”

“Mm,” Shao Ye nodded seriously, then added, “Or you can just kick me off the bed.”

“Got it,” Xi Guanming said, placing the book on the bedside table and turning off the light.

The room was instantly plunged into darkness. Shao Ye wasn’t sleepy at all. He stared up at the pitch-black ceiling, and after a while, his vision filled with faint patches of red and green light. He called softly, “President?”

Xi Guanming responded quickly, “Another question?”

“Can I ask?” Shao Ye said.

“Go ahead.”

Shao Ye rolled over to face him and asked quietly, “President, why exactly did you punish me today?”

Xi Guanming asked in return, “You don’t know?”

“Is it because I got involved in a fight?”

Xi Guanming said, “From now on, don’t involve yourself in anything related to Jiang Yan.”

“Why?” Shao Ye asked. Earlier, the president had said he would find someone else to help Jiang Yan, but Shao Ye hadn’t seen anything like that.

Xi Guanming didn’t explain. He just said two words: “Be obedient.”

Shao Ye said with some frustration, “President, love is something you have to fight for yourself. How can you not take any initiative? You’ll lose out like this!”

Xi Guanming turned onto his side as well, facing him. Cool moonlight spilled across the crowded bed, and his eyes seemed filled with scattered starlight.

Warm breath brushed against Shao Ye’s face as he heard Xi Guanming ask with a faint sigh, “Am I really not proactive enough?”

Shao Ye carefully thought about what Xi Guanming had done for Jiang Yan. Translated on Hololo novels. Aside from giving her a handkerchief, there didn’t seem to be much else. Compared to what Si Xu and the others had done, wasn’t the president’s “initiative” a bit… invisible?

He asked uncertainly, “You… were proactive?”

Xi Guanming fell silent for a moment. Then he raised his hand and flicked Shao Ye on the forehead, not holding back at all. Shao Ye clutched his forehead and asked in confusion, “President?”

“Why must I be with Jiang Yan?” Xi Guanming asked.

“Because you like her,” Shao Ye said as if it were obvious. If you like someone, you should be together—otherwise, was she supposed to end up with Si Xu? Absolutely not!

Xi Guanming admitted that he was partly at fault here. In the beginning, he had deliberately let Shao Ye provoke Si Xu and the others, so when Shao Ye asked, he had tacitly gone along with it. Back then, he never imagined things would develop this far.

All he could say was, “My feelings for her aren’t what you think.”

“Hm? That sounds familiar,” Shao Ye muttered, thinking hard.

Then he remembered—this was exactly what unfaithful men said when they were caught.

“What are you thinking about?” Xi Guanming asked.

Shao Ye coughed awkwardly. He couldn’t exactly say the president sounded like a scumbag, so he just grinned foolishly and asked, “Then what is it like?”

Xi Guanming said, “What I feel for Jiang Yan is more appreciation—for a diligent, hardworking, resilient student.”

“Really?” Shao Ye was only half convinced.

It wasn’t true. There wasn’t even that much appreciation. He was simply bored and wanted something interesting to pass the time.

But that wasn’t something to tell him yet.

“That’s not important,” Xi Guanming said.

Shao Ye opened his mouth. He thought it was very important—otherwise, what had all his efforts been for?

Xi Guanming continued, “Shao Ye, have you ever thought about this? If I had a girlfriend, besides attending classes and handling student union matters, I’d have to spend time with her—eating together, talking, going on dates. I wouldn’t have time to deal with your problems anymore. If you got into trouble with Si Xu and the others, I might not be able to help you in time.”

He paused, giving Shao Ye enough time to process this frightening idea, then added, “And… if you had a conflict with my girlfriend, or with one of her friends or classmates, who do you think I should help?”

Shao Ye froze. He had never considered this before.

“Then…”

He stammered, unable to finish. Translated on Hololo novels. What Xi Guanming said made perfect sense—there was no way to argue against it. A girlfriend should be more important than a subordinate, right? If Xi Guanming stopped looking after him, what was the point of having him as a boss?

“Do you still want me to be with Jiang Yan?” Xi Guanming asked.

“But…” Shao Ye’s already not-so-bright mind went through another storm. He struggled to say, “But even if you don’t get with Jiang Yan, you’ll have another girlfriend in the future, right? Then… you still wouldn’t have time to deal with me?”

In the faint moonlight, Xi Guanming saw the worried, confused expression on his face and felt an itch in his chest. How could someone be this adorable? he thought. The first time he met him, he should have dragged him onto the bed and taught him properly.

“Maybe,” he said.

Shao Ye’s entire face scrunched together. This didn’t make sense. Why would a girlfriend conflict with a subordinate? Was that even logical?

“It might not necessarily be a girlfriend,” Xi Guanming suddenly said.

“Huh?”

“If she’s not his girlfriend, then what else could she be?”

Xi Guanming didn’t continue that topic. He said, “Alright, it’s late. Go to sleep.”

Shao Ye had thought that question would keep him awake all night. But less than five minutes after Xi Guanming said that, he had already thrown all thoughts of Jiang Yan and girlfriends out of his mind and fallen fast asleep.

He wasn’t a very still sleeper, something Xi Guanming had observed over several nights. Xi Guanming simply waited patiently for a bit, and Shao Ye soon kicked off the blanket on his own, stretched his arms, then his legs. Xi Guanming lowered the air conditioning temperature slightly, and Shao Ye drifted over by himself. Xi Guanming wrapped an arm around his waist, like holding a warm, fluffy bear.

A good night’s sleep.

Sunlight streamed into the quiet dorm. Shao Ye yawned and slowly woke up.

It was rare that when he woke, Xi Guanming was still in bed. Xi Guanming also seemed to have just woken up. The collar of his sleepwear was slightly open, faintly revealing the firm muscles beneath. A thought flashed through Shao Ye’s mind, but he didn’t catch it. Instead, he spoke first: “Good morning, President.”

“Morning,” Xi Guanming replied.

Shao Ye glanced down at the blanket covering them and casually asked, “President, why are you in my blanket?”

Xi Guanming looked back at him calmly. “Is it possible that this is my blanket?”

“Ah…” Shao Ye froze, all the words he had prepared to show loyalty dying before they could be spoken.

“And—”

Shao Ye widened his eyes, waiting seriously for what came next.

“Down there,” Xi Guanming said.

Down there? Down where?

Oh… something seemed to be poking him.

Ah?

Ah!!!

Shao Ye’s mind went completely blank, his scalp tingling. Yesterday’s spanking had already felt embarrassing enough. He hadn’t expected something even more embarrassing.

At that moment, it felt like his entire life was flashing before his eyes.

Though admittedly, the “flashback” seemed a bit short.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Shao Ye apologized repeatedly. It was a natural physiological reaction, not something his brain controlled. He hurriedly tried to get out of bed, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the president.

But Xi Guanming stopped him, his other hand quickly slipping under the blanket.

“No need to apologize. I understand,” Xi Guanming said with a tolerant smile, as if a faint halo surrounded him. “It just proves that you’re healthy and functioning normally.”

His fingers were slightly cool, long, and nimble.

Shao Ye felt dazed, as if sitting on a soft cloud, so soft it made him uneasy, like he might fall off at any moment. By the time everything ended, he couldn’t even remember how it had happened.

He sat on the bed in a daze, eyes unfocused, completely blank.

Was he dreaming? Even in his dreams, he wouldn’t dare imagine something like this.

Had the president already become this close with him? If he kept working harder, wouldn’t that mean—

Shao Ye quickly stopped his dangerous thoughts.

Seeing that he wouldn’t snap out of it anytime soon, Xi Guanming lifted the blanket and got out of bed first, went to the bathroom to wash up, and when he returned, Shao Ye was still in the same position. A faint ambiguous scent lingered in the air.

Xi Guanming opened the window, then walked to the bedside. Bending down, he patted Shao Ye’s cheek with a hand still cool from water droplets. “Alright, Shao Ye. That’s enough reminiscing. Time to get up, or you’ll be late.”

Author’s note:

[Good news, No. 4 has also been eliminated.]

Couldn’t handle the bullying, so they withdrew from school voluntarily.

: How is that good news? It’s not like No. 6 got eliminated

: No. 6 has the president backing him now, it won’t be easy to eliminate him

: But No. 6 has made a lot of enemies too, he’s offended three out of the campus F4

: Would the president really go against the F3 just to protect him?

: Damn F3! I was thinking Ctrl+…

: Does the president stand a chance 1v3? Does this count as “a beauty causing a hero’s rage”?

: Be precise, it’s a handsome causing it

: I’m so done. Watching swans at night, waking up to watch swans again. What’s so great about these two lousy swans? Why does No. 6’s stream have such high stats?

: I like watching swans, what’s it to you?

: The official side should at least give those two swans at the artificial lake some enrichment. They work every day, it’s exhausting

: Stop going off-topic, let’s talk about No. 4

: No. 4 was too soft, couldn’t handle the pressure. Lasting this long was already impressive

: Feels like the situation at the Academy is getting more and more intense (except for No. 6)

: At the beginning, betting points on her and No. 6 had the lowest odds. Who would’ve thought No. 6 got the comeback script

: “The Rise of the President’s Personal Right-Hand Man”

: No. 4 looked unlucky from the start. Anyone who bet on her must be crazy

: Then who did you bet on?

: I bet on No. 4

: …Ah…

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