BIAC CH 16

Chapter 16: All He Could Do Right Now Was Nothing

Another week had passed.

Time flew by, yet sometimes it dragged on unbearably.

At least for Tang He, these two weeks without any word from Du Jianyou had been agonizing. The cold was long gone, but he still looked half-dead. Most people assumed the boss’s illness had been unusually persistent, but only Su An could tell—this wasn’t a physical illness, but something rooted deeper in the heart. Although she didn’t know what had happened, if he hadn’t sorted it out himself yet, then as a friend, she chose not to pry for the time being.

Still, as his assistant, there were things she had to report.

“President Tang, do you have a moment? Dream Advertising just sent over their third commercial. Would you like to come and take a look?” Su An asked calmly.

Du Jianyou is here? Tang He’s heart stirred. He really wanted to go see him, but—should they be seeing each other right now?

His mind was at war. Go? Or not go?
That was the question.

Seeing Tang He remain silent, Su An deliberately added, “Since you’re not available right now, I’ll ask them to leave the footage here. You can view it when you’re free. I’ll have them head back first.” She turned to leave.

Sure enough, Tang He’s voice rang out behind her: “I’ll go take a look.”

He still wanted to see him with his own eyes.

Entering the presentation room, he only saw Du Jianyou’s teammate—Zhao Tiancheng—along with an unfamiliar assistant. He looked around… but no one else was there. The heart that had been hanging so tightly just a moment ago suddenly dropped, not with relief—but with deep disappointment.

He shot a sideways glance at Su An, feeling a storm churning in his chest. This woman had done it on purpose. She’d worded it so vaguely, making him think Du Jianyou was here. But in truth… she hadn’t mentioned his name even once. Now he was furious—but had no excuse to lash out.

Su An kept her gaze straight ahead, playing innocent with a look that said: I don’t know anything, I’m just asking you to review a commercial.

Inside the briefing room, the two men immediately stood up to greet President Tang upon his arrival. Zhao Tiancheng, being a sharp one, noticed Tang He’s quick scan around the room and the obvious flash of disappointment on his face. He could easily guess what was going on. Though he didn’t know exactly what kind of tiff the two bosses were having, it was clear that President Tang still cared a lot about Director Du.

“Hello, President Tang. Director Du is currently tied up with work and couldn’t step away, so he sent us over to deliver the video for your review,” Zhao Tiancheng explained politely.

“Oh? So busy? Sounds like business is booming over there. That’s great news—congratulations,” Su An responded on Tang He’s behalf.

“Ah, you might not know this, but while yes, the workload’s been intense, our director also came down with something nasty—some kind of stomach flu. He had a raging fever, nearly hit forty degrees, was totally out of it, vomiting, and had diarrhea. He originally wanted to push through and keep filming, but I forced him to the ER to get an IV drip. He finally went home to rest for more than a week, and just started recovering a bit. And even though he’s not fully better yet, he’s already stressing over your commercial these past two days. Barely slept at all. He’s got dark circles like a panda now. This ad? He edited it himself. Finished it just this morning at six. As soon as I got to work, he asked me to deliver it right away. He’s probably poring over the next script as we speak,” Zhao Tiancheng reported Du Jianyou’s condition casually but deliberately.

“Why rush like that? If he’s sick, he should just rest and forget about the ad for now,” Tang He replied, his tone slightly stiff—but clearly worried.

“But the contract…” Zhao Tiancheng reminded him, feigning concern.

“Postpone the deadline. Don’t pressure him,” Tang He said sharply, then quickly turned to Su An. Before she could say anything, he signaled for the screening to begin.

The room darkened as the commercial began to play.

Tang He stared at the screen, but his mind was on the man behind the camera—Du Jianyou, intently focused, directing with laser precision. He had seen that side of Du Jianyou before—serious, sharp, determined, relentlessly pursuing perfection. Compared to his own business prowess, Du Jianyou’s brilliance in his field was no less impressive.

The short ad ended quickly. With Du Jianyou’s personal oversight, of course there were no issues. Tang He nodded in satisfaction, and before leaving, reminded Zhao Tiancheng to make sure Du Jianyou got proper rest.

Back in his office, Tang He pulled out his phone. After much hesitation, he finally sent his first message in over half a month:

“I’ve seen the video. It’s okay.”

He stared nervously at the message he sent, not daring to show any emotion—just stating a neutral fact.

Du Jianyou replied almost immediately:

“I stayed up two nights editing and it’s just ‘okay’? I’m heartbroken.” He even added a dramatic “fainting and crying” sticker. That familiar tone of playful whining—it was as if the past two weeks of silence had never happened.

Tang He smiled down at his phone. After a moment’s thought, he didn’t reply.

Right now, all he could do… was nothing.

Ever since returning from Chengguang Club, Tang He had been seriously thinking:  What exactly were his feelings toward Du Jianyou?

Du Jianyou had said that his feelings were that kind of affection.But what about him—Tang He?

Over the past few days, he couldn’t deny it anymore—he missed him. He missed that moment when he nearly lost control and kissed him, and even more… he missed their first kiss—The one Du Jianyou didn’t even know had happened.

To Tang He, that kiss felt like a key— A key that locked away a secret buried deep within his heart.

He often clung to that memory in silence, comforting himself with the belief that as long as he kept it hidden, no one would know. And if no one knew, then no one would be hurt.

When it came to this relationship, the very first word that came to Tang He’s mind was “hurt.” His parents, his family, his company— Even the entire conglomerate connected to him would all be affected.

The Tang family’s reputation had been built over generations, and he had brought it to its peak. Now that his name held such weight and influence, one slip—one “scandal”—and the media, his competitors, they would never let it go.

But that wasn’t even what worried him the most.

What he feared most… was Du Jianyou becoming the center of that storm.

He couldn’t bear to see him hurt.

That had been the silent cry buried deep in his heart these past days— or rather, these past few months.

All he had wanted was to protect him. Yet in the end, Du Jianyou had shattered that fragile glass with one straightforward confession.

When a new feeling begins to sprout, anyone would be excited and hopeful. But Tang He wasn’t someone who could simply bask in that warmth.

He carried too many responsibilities, too many expectations from others.

Forget the pressure from his parents and family to carry on the bloodline—even a dip in his company’s stock would impact the livelihood of tens of thousands. He couldn’t afford to be selfish.

And even more than that, he didn’t want to drag Du Jianyou into it all.

As long as they didn’t start anything, no one would get hurt.

He could already predict—if Du Jianyou appeared by his side as his lover, the only thing waiting for him would be endless compromise and suppression.

So, wouldn’t it be better if they stepped back, returned to being just friends? At least then, they could still share a meal, drink a little together… just be there for each other, purely as friends. Better that, than to suffer like this.

After much reflection, Tang He had come to a decision. He couldn’t completely let go of Du Jianyou, but he also knew— he couldn’t offer him anything real.

They had no future.

He was being selfish. He just wanted to go back to how things were. And while he knew this might be cruel to Du Jianyou, how was it any less cruel to himself?

So he made up his mind. He would pluck that tiny sprout from his heart— and give no chance for it to grow wild.

At that moment, his phone vibrated twice. It was a message from Du Jianyou.

He had gone back to being the cheerful and warm person from over a month ago. The message was an invitation:

“Ge, the weather’s getting cold. Wanna come over for hotpot tomorrow night?”

Cold weather? In May?

Tang He stared at the message, almost laughing.

What was going through Du Jianyou’s mind to invite him over like that again? Had he suffered as much during the past month?

But it didn’t matter. It would all end soon.

Once everything was said and made clear, the suffering would be over.

“Okay.”

Du Jianyou stared at the single-word reply in disbelief.

Ever since Tang He sent that one message weeks ago, he hadn’t responded to anything— not even with a random sticker.

Today, he was only texting out of boredom, thinking maybe he could casually invite him for a meal. He didn’t expect him to actually agree.

Du Jianyou was so shocked, his scalp tingled.

But then another message arrived from Tang He, before the tingling even faded:

“I’ll be bringing a friend along.”

Du Jianyou’s heart immediately sank. Of course Tang He had something in mind— and it wasn’t good.

Well, if it’s coming, then let it come. He would face it head on.

So he replied:

“You’re more than welcome! Ge’s friends are my friends.”

Tang He looked at the message and thought bitterly to himself:

“What about a girlfriend?”

He pressed the intercom and asked Su An to come to his office.

(To be continued…)

T/L: Uh… what are you planning to do, Tang He??? (¬_¬)?