Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 53

Matchmaker

The day after the charity auction ended, Jiang Zhou received a call from Liu Ye.

“Mr. Jiang! Look what you’ve done! It turns out the person who bid that astronomical price for the cufflinks was you!”

“You truly are a hero who keeps his good deeds secret! If the staff hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known it was you!”

“No matter what you say this time, I must treat you to a meal.”

“You set the time, and I will arrange everything properly and personally deliver the cufflinks to you.”

Jiang Zhou actually knew the moment he logged into the account that this matter couldn’t be kept secret.

However, it didn’t matter if Liu Ye knew. He was sharp and tight-lipped. Seeing that Jiang Zhou hadn’t bid on-site but had participated in the online auction, he should be able to guess his intentions and wouldn’t say much.

Jiang Zhou had stood him up several times, and now that Liu Ye had spoken so earnestly, refusing again would be inappropriate.

Jiang Zhou gave him a time, “The day after tomorrow, seven in the evening.”

Liu Ye happily agreed, “Alright, Mr. Jiang! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything is perfectly arranged for you tomorrow night.”

After hanging up, Jiang Zhou felt a strange sense of unease, a premonition that Liu Ye might be planning some kind of trick.

This unease was strongest on the day of the dinner.

The address Liu Ye sent was a mountain retreat in the suburbs of Haishi.

The retreat was designed in a Chinese garden style, with an elegant environment and extreme privacy.

Led by a waiter, Jiang Zhou walked through winding paths and arrived at a private room. Hearing the sound, Liu Ye immediately stood up to greet him. “Mr. Jiang, you’re here.”

Jiang Zhou quickly scanned the room. There was no one else inside, which slightly eased his mind. The two sat down at the tea table. Liu Ye had already brewed a pot of tea and poured a cup for Jiang Zhou.

The tea aroma was deep and spread along the rim of the cup.

“This is Yan Gu tea I asked someone to bring from Fushi. Mr. Jiang, please try it.”

Jiang Zhou picked up the cup and took a sip. The cool fragrance of the rock tea was immediately striking. After a moment of subtle bitterness, the warm, sweet finish, meticulously baked by charcoal fire, slowly seeped through.

“The tea is excellent,” Jiang Zhou praised.

Liu Ye poured another cup for Jiang Zhou, and the two chatted casually while drinking tea.

“Mr. Jiang, I never expected you to be a fan of Teacher Shen.”

“Today, I’m taking the liberty of playing matchmaker and setting you two up.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhou finally understood the source of his uneasy premonition.

Jiang Zhou moved his fingers, his eyes slightly lowered, “Mr. Liu, you must be joking. How could I be a fan of Teacher Shen?”

“That account belongs to my sister. She’s still young and specifically asked me to help her with the real-name verification. This auction was also to make her happy.”

“Ah!” Liu Ye suddenly realized.

He knew something felt strange.

Jiang Zhou was already at the auction venue, so why did he specifically leave and go online to bid?

It turned out that Mr. Jiang’s sister was the fan, and he used her fan account to bid in support.

Liu Ye looked embarrassed, “Look at me, messing things up. I thought you were Teacher Shen’s fan, Mr. Jiang, so I specially invited Teacher Shen over.”

As soon as he finished speaking, another waiter knocked on the door. The waiter led a tall figure inside.

Jiang Zhou’s hand, holding the teacup, paused, and he looked towards the newcomer.

Shen Zhiyu was dressed entirely in white today, his complexion clean, exuding a gentle and approachable aura. There was a patch of dark shadow under his eyes, indicating heavy fatigue.

Why was he in such a state?

After that absurd night, Jiang Zhou hadn’t contacted Shen Zhiyu or inquired about his schedule, so he didn’t know what he had been busy with these past two days.

Judging by his face, he definitely hadn’t rested well.

“Teacher Shen, you’re here, come and sit down quickly.” Liu Ye stepped forward to greet Shen Zhiyu, then turned and instructed the waiter, “You can start serving the dishes.”

The tea water slightly rippled, reflecting the shadow cast by Jiang Zhou’s lowered eyelashes.

Jiang Zhou stared at the ripples of light in the cup, put down the teacup, and stood up.

“Teacher Shen.” His tone was flat and unemotional. Shen Zhiyu also politely called out, “Mr. Jiang.”

The atmosphere was somehow awkward.

Liu Ye spoke up, “It’s like this. Mr. Jiang, you bid on Teacher Shen’s cufflinks, right? Teacher Shen was very grateful and specifically requested to personally present the cufflinks to the fan.”

“I was careless, though, and didn’t realize the fan was someone else.”

Liu Ye explained to Shen Zhiyu, “Teacher Shen, that fan account originally belonged to Mr. Jiang’s sister. Mr. Jiang bid on it to make his sister happy. What a misunderstanding.”

Among the three people present, only Liu Ye believed this excuse.

Shen Zhiyu knew Jiang Yue and naturally knew she wasn’t his fan.

Jiang Zhou deliberately using his sister as a shield instead gave the impression of trying to cover up something.

Jiang Zhou’s fingers curled slightly, waiting for the urge to self-harm to surge up. Unexpectedly, the urge was slow to arrive.

Shen Zhiyu watched Jiang Zhou’s every move, and seeing that Jiang Zhou made no action, he subtly breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Zhiyu didn’t expose him and also put on a look of sudden realization.

“So that’s how it is. That doesn’t matter, since Mr. Jiang paid for it, it’s only right that I thank Mr. Jiang personally.”

“Exactly, exactly.” Liu Ye stood up to retrieve the gift box from the coffee table and handed it to Shen Zhiyu.

“Teacher Shen, these are your cufflinks.”

Shen Zhiyu opened the gift box, displayed it in front of Jiang Zhou, and then handed it to him.

Jiang Zhou received it with both hands and politely said thank you.

Liu Ye had originally imagined a scene where a fan, receiving a gift box personally handed over by their idol, would be moved to tears and embrace them.

He hadn’t expected the scene to be so dull.

But thinking about it, Mr. Jiang wasn’t Shen Zhiyu’s fan. Moreover, he was Shen Zhiyu’s boss. If he wanted to fangirl, he could have done it directly offline to his heart’s content, however he pleased. There was no need for an outsider like him to play matchmaker.

He must have been muddle-headed not to have considered this layer.

The waiter quickly set the tableware, and Liu Ye invited the two to sit down immediately.

Liu Ye wasn’t great at business strategy, but he was skilled at business socializing. Even with just the three of them present, he managed to elevate the atmosphere to the extreme all by himself.

Jiang Zhou gradually relaxed and drank quite a bit of alcohol.

Jiang Zhou held his liquor well and didn’t show it much. After more than ten cups, his complexion hadn’t changed at all.

Shen Zhiyu was the complete opposite. His face was slightly flushed after the first cup. After the second cup, his face was already crimson. By the third cup, dense patches of scarlet had spread to his neck and arms.

Jiang Zhou glanced at him, his brows slightly furrowed.

He wasn’t sure of Shen Zhiyu’s tolerance for alcohol. Shen Zhiyu had never drunk in public. During the final dinner while filming “Dream Weaving in Peach Blossom Spring,” he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

It wasn’t until the absurd night before last that Jiang Zhou tasted alcohol on his lips.

Looking at this, Shen Zhiyu’s alcohol tolerance was poor.

The drunken indiscretion that night might not have been an excuse Jiang Zhou made up for him, but a genuine reality.

Jiang Zhou deliberately shielded him from drinks, going back and forth with Liu Ye over ten times, eventually drinking Liu Ye under the table.

Jiang Zhou went to the tea table, brewed a pot of tea, and brought two cups over for them.

Liu Ye took the tea, held it to the side, sipping slowly and giggling foolishly.

Shen Zhiyu didn’t take the cup. His elbow rested on the table, and he propped his face up, watching Jiang Zhou.

The light cast alternating shadows on his face. His cold, beautiful eyes were now covered in a thick layer of mist, blinking in a lost and unfocused manner. The corners of his eyes were stained with an unnatural crimson, spreading all the way to his earlobes, like a burning sunset.

Too tempting.

Jiang Zhou hurriedly averted his gaze, his earlobes uncontrollably turning red and hot, his heart pounding like a drum.

“Drink some tea, you’ll feel better.” Jiang Zhou said.

“Okay.” A hoarse, slurred voice replied, but he made no move with his hands, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Zhou.

Jiang Zhou’s arm was getting tired from holding the cup, but the other party clearly had no intention of taking the tea.

“The tea is getting cold,” Jiang Zhou urged.

Only then did Shen Zhiyu reach out, his movements somewhat clumsy and slow.

His hand was very hot, the heat spreading from his fingertips upwards.

Shen Zhiyu took the teacup, seemingly unable to hold it steady. Half the tea spilled out, wetting Jiang Zhou’s hand, which he hadn’t had time to pull away.

Seeing his hand tremble again, the remaining half cup of tea was about to tip over.

Jiang Zhou quickly grabbed Shen Zhiyu’s hand, managing to save the remaining half cup of tea.

Shen Zhiyu looked up at him, his voice muffled, “Sorry—”

He looked heavily intoxicated.

Jiang Zhou sighed softly, “Open your mouth, I’ll feed you.”

Shen Zhiyu obediently let go of the cup and opened his mouth towards Jiang Zhou.

In his alcohol-affected mouth, his tongue was red and soft, and his eyes were hazy and wandering.

Jiang Zhou felt his blood surge, his eyes turning red, the restlessness in his body screaming uncontrollably.

Jiang Zhou forcefully suppressed the heat within him, slightly raised the teacup, and served Shen Zhiyu, who drank it sip by sip.

A few drops of tea spilled from Shen Zhiyu’s mouth. Jiang Zhou turned to grab a tissue, and when he looked back, he saw Shen Zhiyu sticking out his tongue and licking it clean.

After licking, he grinned at Jiang Zhou.

Jiang Zhou’s eyes flashed red. Every cell in his body involuntarily opened up, and a powerful impulse seized him.

He wanted to kiss him, he wanted to be intimate with him.

This thought burned Jiang Zhou, leaving his mouth dry and his heart pounding so fast he could barely breathe.

A sudden phone ring saved him.

Liu Ye’s phone, placed on the table, rang. He shakily answered the call, “Hello! Oh! I’m done drinking, I’m done! I’m coming home now, wife, don’t be angry.”

It turned out to be his wife calling to check up on him and urge him home.

Jiang Zhou hurriedly fled the center of the ignited flame.

“Mr. Liu, can you still walk?”

In the moment he turned away, no one noticed the flicker of regret in Shen Zhiyu’s hazy, dizzy eyes.

That damn phone ring. He was just a moment away from seducing Jiang Zhou.

Liu Ye was heavily drunk and couldn’t walk by himself, so he called his driver in to help.

Soon, only Jiang Zhou and Shen Zhiyu remained in the private room.

“Can you still walk? Or should I call your driver?”

“Driver… is off today.”

“Then Wang Lei?”

“He went traveling.”

“What about your assistant?”

“Off today.” Shen Zhiyu swayed as he stood up. “I came alone.”

“Mr. Jiang, can you give me a ride back since it’s on your way?”

The tall figure had somehow moved next to Jiang Zhou, swaying as if he might fall at any moment.

Jiang Zhou looked at him, his brows furrowed.

Shen Zhiyu seemed to try to stand straight but suddenly stumbled.

Jiang Zhou instinctively reached out to steady him, and his wrist was immediately gripped tightly by a large, scorching hand, the force painfully strong.