BDBE 60

Chapter 60 Let’s Compare

Zhou Hui looked at everyone present as he said this. His gaze finally landed on Shen Wanchao, who guiltily turned his head away.

It was indeed his oversight; he had assumed Zhou Hui had to go to work and hadn’t informed him. 

He often went out alone with Qi Xiao and Tao Yan without Zhou Hui, and Zhou Hui hadn’t objected. He used to say that the three of them inevitably teased their partners when they were together, so he didn’t want to spoil their fun. No one could have predicted that Lu Yingtang would suddenly appear today, so Shen Wanchao felt he hadn’t done anything really wrong. 

Zhou Hui was already satisfied with seeing Shen Wanchao’s guilty expression. 

Then, as if he had just noticed Lu Yingtang’s presence, he drawled out an exaggerated “Hey!” He then walked over and slung his arm around Lu Yingtang’s shoulder. 

“Isn’t this Dr. Lu? I heard you were back in the country, but we haven’t had a chance to meet up. What a coincidence! Hahaha.” 

“Not a coincidence,” Lu Yingtang pushed up his glasses. “We were just planning to play ball together.” 

“Hahaha.” Zhou Hui let out a hearty laugh. “Playing ball is good, it’s good for your health. We’re not young anymore. My child will be taking the college entrance exam next year. Time really flies.” 

As he spoke, he kept ‘patting’ Lu Yingtang’s back, as if they [visit our site]were truly long-lost brothers. 

Lu Yingtang nearly spit out the sports drink he had just drunk. He quickly suggested with a forced smile, “Since we haven’t seen each other for so long, would President Zhou be willing to have a match with me?” 

“A one-on-one match?” Zhou Hui pointed to himself while smiling. “Wouldn’t that be a bit unfair?” 

Lu Yingtang’s face instantly darkened. 

Zhou Hui acted oblivious, “After all, Dr. Lu is always in the lab, so I imagine he doesn’t have many opportunities to exercise, right?” 

Lu Yingtang discreetly clenched his fist at his side, and silently chanted, “Don’t get angry.” 

Lu Yingtang had lived most of his life, and the person he hated most was this arrogant Alpha in front of him. 

Zhou Hui ostensibly said he was always in the lab and didn’t exercise often, but Lu Yingtang understood the underlying meaning. There was a proven difference in physical ability between Alphas and Betas; what Zhou Hui meant by unfairness was actually their gender difference, only he didn’t say it aloud due to societal norms of equality. 

Lu Yingtang ground his molars and said coldly, “President Zhou, don’t be so stereotypical. Doing experiments requires physical strength, and I’ve always had a habit of exercising. President Zhou, on the other hand, sits on the top floor of an office building, living a life of luxury, so he probably doesn’t have many opportunities to break a sweat.” 

“Besides, it’s just one game; the difference in physical fitness won’t have a big impact,” Lu Yingtang said. “It’s more of a contest of skills.” 

Zhou Hui still had a smile on his lips, but his eyes gradually became serious: “Alright, let’s visit our sitehave a game then.” 

… 

Forty minutes later, in the second set, Lu Yingtang had 12 points, and Zhou Hui had 20. 

Zhou Hui possessed an absolute physical advantage; his height of nearly 1.9 meters allowed him to easily control his entire half of the court. He quickly arrived at his position whether to defend or launch an attack. 

He was as relaxed as a satiated lion surveying its territory. 

On the final point, Zhou Hui jumped and slammed the ball down. 

Just like Shen Wanchao’s 23rd point in the final set, Zhou Hui delivered an irresistible smash right off the line. 

Lu Yingtang watched as the ball hit the ground with such force that he didn’t even have time to move, and lost the match. 

He closed his eyes, exhaled, and looked at Zhou Hui, “I lost. In the end, I still can’t beat you.” 

Zhou Hui’s breathing was barely disturbed. He chuckled, “Thank you for the compliment.” 

Lu Yingtang nearly ground his teeth to powder. 

The match ended, and the allotted court time was almost up. The group packed up their things to shower. 

Shen Wanchao followed Zhou Hui, and whispered, “Don’t make things too tense, after all, he’s an old classmate.” 

Zhou Hui hummed a tune, then stopped and said, “There’s no tension, we just had a friendly sparring match, and he was the one who suggested it first.” 

Shen Wanchao was too lazy to explain to someone who was deliberately playing dumb, and said directly, “You know what’s going on, I just want to get home safely and don’t want to be taken to the police station for questioning.” 

“Okay, okay,” Zhou Hui conceded, “Do you think I’m really that petty? I’m not the hot-blooded young man I used to be.”

Shen Wanchao sighed inwardly, his left eyelid twitched multiple times. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Zhou Hui, but this guy had a history. 

In his sophomore year, Zhou Hui took an overnight connecting flight back to China. After arriving at school, he didn’t even have time to unpack his luggage before going straight to the dormitory to find Lu Yingtang. 

Then, for some reason, the two of them actually arranged to meet at the gym. 

Zhou Hui had clearly stated in his message to Shen Wanchao that it was just a conversation and he wouldn’t act impulsively. 

However, when Shen Wanchao arrived, he witnessed Zhou Hui punching Lu Yingtang.

He couldn’t tell if the two were prescient or had planned it all along, but because the incident occurred at the gym, it didn’t attract the school’s attention. The incident ended with Shen Wanchao dragging Zhou Hui away and Tao Yan treating Lu Yingtang’s wound. 

After that, Lu Yingtang became much more restrained and gradually stopped appearing in front of Shen Wanchao. 

Speaking of which, they say the left eyelid twitching means money is coming… right?

… 

After leaving the gym, the group went to a small bar by the Qiongjiang River, which they had planned to visit beforehand. 

Tao Yan rarely hosted, but this day, first Shen Wanchao, then Zhou Hui, unexpectedly arrived. He was really exhausted. 

Worried that Zhou Hui might not be comfortable in the dimly lit and noisy environment of the bar, he asked apologetically, “If you find it too noisy here, we can go somewhere quieter. I just chose this place because I thought the grilled fish here was authentic.” 

During his university years, Zhou Hui spent two years abroad on exchange, so Tao Yan wasn’t particularly familiar with him and didn’t know his background. In recent years, Tao Yan had also become closer to Shen Wanchao and had never met or spoken to Zhou Hui alone. Therefore, he only knew that Zhou Hui was the president of Linshan Group, and logically assumed that he might be more particular than others. 

Zhou Hui immediately replied, “It’s not noisy at all. The environment here is quite nice, and we can enjoy the river breeze, have some drinks, and chat. There’s nothing more pleasant than this.” 

Tao Yan felt a little relieved, but still had some concerns. 

It wasn’t until Shen Wanchao pulled him aside and whispered, “Don’t mind him, he’s not that fussy. When he was young, he was more enthusiastic about eating at street stalls than anyone else,” that Tao Yan pictured Zhou Hui in a suit sitting on a red plastic chair and eating skewers at a night market stall. Before he could even react, Shen Wanchao dragged him to the small bar. 

They chose an outdoor table facing the Qiong River, where a flock of red-billed gulls would sometimes take flight and sometimes land, and the setting sun would turn the water into a shimmering pool of molten gold.

On the makeshift wooden stage nearby, a young man was playing folk songs on a guitar. Shen Wanchao hadn’t drunk alcohol in a long time. He pursed his lips, determined to have a drink tonight, but the menu was filled with an array of cocktail names, leaving him speechless. 

There were names like “The Last Drink My First Love Had,” “Bitter tonight,” “The White Rose She Kissed,” and even “Tasting Forbidden Fruit with You”… 

These names were so embarrassing he was almost ashamed to say them aloud. 

How did Tao Yan end up in a place like this? 

Shen Wanchao finally spotted a beer with a simple name. Although beer wasn’t his favorite, he figured he could have one. 

Just as Shen Wanchao was about to name the beer, Zhou Hui snatched the menu from his hand, handed it to the waiter, and said without consulting him, “Give him a mint sparkling water, no ice.”

Shen Wanchao: “…” 

Tao Yan chimed in, “Your arm injury just healed recently; you should avoid [stolen content]certain foods.” 

Shen Wanchao was very displeased. 

Tao Yan, who had always been helpless against him, said without any restraint, “Then you can have a sip of mine later.” 

“Two,” Shen Wanchao immediately pressed his advantage, “How about it?” 

Just as Tao Yan was about to agree, Zhou Hui interrupted, “Not even one sip.” 

Shen Wanchao slumped back in his chair. One side of his face screamed “No!” while the other side screamed “Fuck!” 

Zhou Hui, who was sitting to his right, could only see the “fuck” part, and playfully poked his cheek. 

Qi Xiao overheard their conversation, and couldn’t help but tease, “If Tao Yan saw you like this, he’d want to pluck the stars from the sky for you.” 

Back in school, Tao Yan had always taken good care of Shen Wanchao, always thinking of him first when it came to good things. He even wrote a small program to provide Shen Wanchao with clothing and food suggestions, class reminders, classroom route planning, and even a recommended schedule based on daily temperature, humidity, class schedules, and other data. Qi Xiao was amazed by this. 

When Tao Yan won first prize in the college student innovation competition that year with this mini-program, he had treated Shen Wanchao and Qi Xiao to a nice meal. 

Later, everyone graduated and started their own lives, and Tao Yan’s doting on Shen Wanchao became less obvious. ​unauthorized copy​But now, Shen Wanchao had suddenly reverted to his 18-year-old self, with a bit of baby fat, and Tao Yan’s caregiver complex had inevitably resurfaced. 

Shen Wanchao put his arm around Tao Yan’s shoulder, and said with a touch of pride, “Of course, he’s my little darling.” 

Qi Xiao rolled his eyes in disdain, “Who’s whose little darling? You’ve got it backwards!” 

Tao Yan chuckled softly, “If I could have a child as outstanding as Xiao Chao, it would be like our family’s ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke.” 

Zhou Hui didn’t interrupt their conversation until they unknowingly reached this point, at which he put down his glass and reminded them, “Hey, hey, this won’t do, it’s all messed up.” 

Tao Yan and Qi Xiao, who knew Shen Wanchao’s true identity, realized what was going on and found it amusing. 

Ji Yang, an outsider who had only joined today, didn’t understand what they were talking about and just watched quietly. 

Shen Wanchao noticed that their conversation was subtly excluding the other, so he nudged Tao Yan, “Why don’t you formally introduce your friend to us?” 

Tao Yan was startled, not expecting Shen Wanchao to suddenly ask about Ji Yang, and was momentarily embarrassed. 

Tao Yan stared at Ji Yang for a long while before lowering his eyes and saying, “He…he’s my badminton coach.” 

It felt like Ji Yang was hearing about his identity for the first time; he replied awkwardly, “Yes, unauthorized copyI’m a badminton coach.” 

Everyone sensed something was amiss and remained silent, except for Qi Xiao, who was oblivious to everything. He bluntly questioned, “Badminton coach? I don’t think he’s good enough to be a coach.” 

“Uh…” Tao Yan both loved and hated Qi Xiao’s mouth, he helplessly sighed, “He’s a friend I met by chance. I asked him to teach me badminton.” 

Despite his identity changing from badminton coach to a casual friend, Ji Yang still had no objection and accepted whatever Tao Yan said. 

A thought crossed Shen Wanchao’s mind, and he suddenly had a guess about Ji Yang’s identity. 

When he first became younger, he had lived at Tao Yan’s house for a while. Before moving out, he had overheard Tao Yan arguing with someone else. 

At the time, Shen Wanchao hadn’t seen that person, didn’t know their appearance, age, or identity, and had no evidence to prove that person was Ji Yang. 

But Shen Wanchao felt his guess was correct. 

The two had a fierce argument that day, and Shen Wanchao had even called the police. He didn’t know what happened afterward, but they seemed to have made up, albeit somewhat reluctantly. 

Seeing Qi Xiao about to speak, Shen Wanchao signaled him to keep quiet. 

Qi Xiao glanced at Ji Yang sitting opposite him, then suddenly scoffed and excused himself to use the restroom.

Qi Xiao didn’t enter the stall; he simply washed his face at the sink, and saw someone standing behind him in the mirror when he looked up. 

Ji Yang leaned against the wall with one hand in his pocket. He patiently waited for Qi Xiao to pull out a tissue to dry his hands before speaking, “Brother, Did I offend you? It’s our first meeting, and you seem to dislike me?” 

Qi Xiao crumpled the wet tissue into a ball and said slowly, “You said it yourself, it’s our first meeting, just my impression.” 

Ji Yang took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and smiled, “That’s good.” 

“You were probably trying to ask how Brother Yan and I met, right?” Ji Yang said as he pressed the lighter, “We met while picking up people at a bar, slept together the first time we met, that’s how we got to know each other.” 

Qi Xiao suddenly turned around, snatched the cigarette he was about to light, and threw it into the trash can along with the crumpled tissue. 

“Sorry, I’m allergic to cigarettes.” 

Ji Yang smiled; he readily put away his cigarette pack, and said, “Brother, I don’t mean you any harm. I just came to ask what the relationship is between that high school student and Brother Yan, and why Brother Yan is so nice to him?” 

Qi Xiao turned to leave. Only as he passed Ji Yang did he leave him with a comment: “If you’re interested in Tao Yan, focus on him and don’t worry about the people around him.” 

With that, Qi Xiao walked away. 

Ji Yang stood there. His already insincere smile was completely gone. 

He clicked his tongue and muttered, “Damn it, it’s only because I’m interested in him that I care about the people around him.”