TMDP CH 41

Chapter 41: Living Together

Xia Ye successfully passed Yunbang’s interview and happily joined the sales department as a foreign trade specialist. To his surprise, Johnny also got the job, and the two ended up in the same department, with desks right next to each other.

The pair, overjoyed, decided to look for housing together and were fortunate to find a place where two suites—one large and one small—were available for rent, located diagonally across from each other.

Xia Ye let Johnny take the larger suite since Johnny’s boyfriend was in the process of applying for a transfer to T City to be with him.

Watching Johnny excitedly plan his future life with his senior, Xia Ye couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. His own “senior,” up to this point, still behaved like a blockhead.

Han Mingxiu had been busy lately. With Xia Li starting elementary school, Han Mingxiu presented Xia Ye with a long list of schools to choose from. However, Xia Ye refrained from interfering, and in the end, Xia Li followed the Han family tradition and enrolled in the elite elementary school that Han Mingxiu himself had attended.

Han Mingxiu, meanwhile, had been preoccupied with the upcoming transition to the role of general manager. He began accompanying his third uncle to meetings previously reserved for the general manager and even took trips to South Korea and Japan to inspect local operations and establish relationships with Yunbang’s collaborators abroad. He was busy and exhausted, but on weekends, he seemed to come alive.

That’s because weekends were his designated “family days” with Xia Ye and Xia Li—an entire day where he could be with them openly and without restraint.

At Xia Ye’s request, Han Mingxiu didn’t openly seek him out at work. However, three months into Xia Ye’s employment, Han Mingxiu found a legitimate reason to “inspect” the sales department, only to discover the presence of another newcomer—Ni Qiang, also known as John.

Han Mingxiu was livid.

During his lunch break, he cornered Xia Ye in a secluded spot in the stairwell.

“Why is he here? Why didn’t you tell me?” Han Mingxiu asked, his tone laced with dissatisfaction.

“He submitted his resume, your HR department notified him for an interview, and then he got hired,” Xia Ye replied seriously, though he found Han Mingxiu’s reaction quite amusing. “So, that’s why he’s here.”

“No, what I mean is…” Han Mingxiu ruffled his hair in frustration. “You two, you’re working together every day. This—this is unfair.”

“?” Xia Ye looked at the general manager in confusion. Johnny got in on his own merit—how was that unfair?

“You two are together every day, and I only get Saturdays or Sundays! And even then, I have to share you with Xia Li,” Han Mingxiu lamented pitifully. “We agreed to fair competition, but I don’t even get the chance to have a date with you alone. It’s unfair.”

Xia Ye: “…Then why don’t you just ask me out? Did you ask? Did you?” He fixed Han Mingxiu with a glare.

Meeting Xia Ye’s gaze, Han Mingxiu shamelessly made his request, “I—I demand we increase our date time in the future. Every week, we must have one day—no, two days—to have dinner together. Just the two of us. You can’t refuse.”

“Sure, as long as neither of us is working overtime, we can have dinner together,” Xia Ye replied with a smile.

Hearing the word “overtime,” Han Mingxiu visibly deflated. Yunbang was currently working on a three-way multinational collaboration project with the U.S. and the U.K., and nearly every department was working overtime every day. Han Mingxiu himself had been pulling long hours for several weeks straight. He glanced at the dark circles under Xia Ye’s eyes and knew he wasn’t having it easy either.

Seeing Han Mingxiu’s helpless expression, Xia Ye added, “Otherwise, we can only grab a late-night snack.”

Han Mingxiu’s eyes lit up. “Okay, let’s go for late-night snacks.”

From then on, no matter how late he finished work, Han Mingxiu would message Xia Ye every day, asking if he wanted to grab a late-night bite. He conveniently forgot that he had only requested two dinner dates per week, and Xia Ye, seemingly too tired to remember, agreed whenever their schedules aligned. Sometimes they had simple congee and side dishes, other times soy milk and fried dough sticks. On days Xia Ye was utterly exhausted, he only let Han Mingxiu drive him home.

Even when relegated to being a chauffeur, Han Mingxiu was more than happy. Over the next two months, Han Mingxiu managed to occupy nearly every evening of Xia Ye’s weekdays. At the very least, he had half an hour of driving Xia Ye home. Even when Xia Ye was so tired he fell asleep the moment he got in the car, Han Mingxiu felt a profound sense of happiness.

A few times, when he parked outside Xia Ye’s apartment and saw that he was still asleep, Han Mingxiu couldn’t bear to wake him. Instead, he adjusted his driver’s seat to match Xia Ye’s recline, lying sideways to watch him. Xia Ye’s soft breathing was calm and peaceful, like a moment frozen in time. To Han Mingxiu, this was akin to sleeping beside him.

With their nightly moments alone and weekend family days, Han Mingxiu felt triumphant. He believed he was making great strides in defeating his love rival.

That was until one day, after dropping Xia Ye off and turning his car to leave, he noticed something. That damn Johnny was here too.

Johnny, dragging his backpack, trudged wearily toward his home. It had been another grueling day of overtime. He cursed Xia Ye under his breath for always leaving early to mess around with their esteemed general manager. If it weren’t for his friend’s happiness, Johnny would’ve strangled him long ago.

Honk! Honk! The sudden blare of a car horn startled Johnny, making him nearly jump. He turned to see none other than the general manager himself—Xia Ye’s scummy senior, Xia Li’s irresponsible daddy.

Johnny greeted him grumpily, “Good evening, Mr. Han. Goodbye, Mr. Han.”

“Wait a second. It’s so late—are you here to see Xia Ye?” Han Mingxiu asked.

“No, I’m not looking for Xia Ye. I’m going home.” Johnny was exhausted. His senior was still waiting for him at home, and he had no energy to spare for chatting with Han Mingxiu. Without another word, he walked past the car and into the building.

“…” Han Mingxiu stared at the door Johnny had just entered, the same door Xia Ye had walked through earlier. He was utterly shocked.

They… they were living together.

Sitting in his car, he felt panic welling up, cursing himself for not realizing sooner.

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Xia Ye, having finished his shower, was ready for bed. Before sleeping, he grabbed a small watering can to tend to the pots of roses on his windowsill. Glancing outside, he noticed Han Mingxiu’s car still parked downstairs—it had been there for over an hour.

“?” Xia Ye, puzzled, called him. “You’re still here? Did your car break down?”

“No,” came Han Mingxiu’s muffled reply.

“What’s wrong with you?” Xia Ye asked. He sounded as if he were at death’s door.

“…” Han Mingxiu was torn, unsure if he should bring it up. After a long minute of silence, he finally said, “I just saw Johnny. He said he was going home.”

Xia Ye didn’t respond, waiting for Han Mingxiu to continue.

In the silence, Han Mingxiu finally asked, “Are you two living together?”

“No.” Xia Ye answered quickly this time. “He lives in a studio apartment across the hall. We just happen to live in the same building, not the same unit.” He even added an extra explanation out of kindness.

Hearing Xia Ye’s words, Han Mingxiu let out a few shaky breaths, his ragged exhalations gradually calming down. From those trembling breaths, Xia Ye could almost feel the deep fear that had gripped Han Mingxiu’s heart.

“It’s not fair,” Han Mingxiu blurted out, trying to cover his embarrassment by whining. “You two work together all day and then go home to the same apartment building. It’s unfair. He’s taking advantage of being so close.” Once again, he resorted to playing the victim.

Standing by the windowsill, Xia Ye looked down at the car and chuckled helplessly. “Stop talking nonsense. It’s late—go home and rest.” With that, he hung up.

Han Mingxiu set his phone down, his eyes still a little red. The fear from earlier had shaken him to his core, and while Xia Ye’s explanation had calmed him, a lingering sense of grievance made his chest ache.

Who could he blame? This wonderful Xia Ye—he was the one who had let him slip away. Now, every little hint of trouble left him as skittish as a frightened rabbit, his heart pounding as if it might stop.

Serves me right.




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– End of chapter –

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