Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 79

Cake

Jiang Zhou was pulled through the crowd in the darkness, running.

His hat had fallen off somewhere in the dense throng, and a clear, crisp scent floated in the thick air of the bar, entering Jiang Zhou’s nostrils.

Jiang Zhou’s heart pounded wildly, threatening to burst from his chest.

The lights in the bar gradually brightened. He was dragged into a corner at the bend of a corridor. The light here was dim, and Jiang Zhou could only make out his blurred silhouette and a pair of unusually bright eyes.

Perhaps due to the heat on the stage or the exertion of running, both their hands and foreheads were slick with sweat. Their heavy breathing interwove, sounding particularly prominent in the dim environment.

“Jiang Zhou—” Shen Zhiyu called him softly.

Jiang Zhou looked up.

A passionate kiss descended upon him like a sudden storm, overwhelming him and stealing his remaining breath. Hot currents of air intertwined without barrier.

Jiang Zhou could barely breathe, his fingers clutching Shen Zhiyu’s coat hem turning white.

Just as he was about to feel dizzy, the storm slowed, softening into a gentle, lingering caress, applied with the lightest touch, as if savoring the sweetest wine in the world.

After a long while, Shen Zhiyu finally pulled back slightly, but his forehead remained pressed tightly against Jiang Zhou’s. Their hot breaths mingled in the darkness.

Shen Zhiyu’s deep, hoarse voice, laced with heavy gasps, brushed against Jiang Zhou’s swollen, moist lips.

“Jiang Zhou, I was being petty.”

“I suddenly don’t want them to see you looking so dazzling anymore.”

Jiang Zhou’s heart seemed to skip a beat, then began hammering with an extreme, frantic rhythm.

Complex emotions surged in his eyes. The hand that had been tightly gripping Shen Zhiyu’s clothes loosened slightly, searching in the dark until it found the other man’s palm, gripping it tightly and securely.

All of Shen Zhiyu’s support and cooperation earlier had been to make him shine on stage. Shen Zhiyu had deliberately built a dazzling stage for him, allowing him to become the most prominent focus of the entire venue.

Jiang Zhou had perfectly taken the lead, even becoming the main force driving the atmosphere and controlling the rhythm afterward.

This was the first time Jiang Zhou had truly felt that even standing beside Shen Zhiyu, he could still radiate his own light.

Yet, the other man had brought him to the center of the spotlight, only to say afterward, following the grand attention, that he was being petty, that he didn’t want others to see his dazzling self.

This sudden possessiveness and pettiness made Jiang Zhou’s eyes warm, and tears uncontrollably began to fall.

Shen Zhiyu gently kissed away his tears, sounding somewhat helpless yet indulgent. “Why are you crying again? I never realized President Jiang was such a crybaby.”

“I am not,” Jiang Zhou whimpered softly.

A tear still clung to his eyelashes. His wet, bright, deer-like eyes held no deterrent power, instead adding an innocent charm that stirred a stronger desire for destruction in the other man.

Shen Zhiyu’s throat bobbed. The fire surging in his eyes threatened to burn Jiang Zhou.

The atmosphere was ambiguous and dangerous.

Just then, an abrupt ringtone broke the mood.

It was the birthday boy, Cai Zhiyang. “Brother Yu, where did you run off to? Come back quickly, I’m about to cut the cake!”

“Coming.” Shen Zhiyu hung up the phone, but didn’t move.

Jiang Zhou waited for a moment, then couldn’t help but push him. “Didn’t you say you were going over?”

“Need a moment to recover,” Shen Zhiyu said matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, Jiang Zhou’s stiff body dared not move, afraid of adding more fuel to the fire.

Shen Zhiyu chuckled softly and released him. “It’s not as impulsive as you think. I’m not an animal.”

Jiang Zhou felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed, shaking him off and walking away first.

Shen Zhiyu quickly caught up.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Cai Zhiyang is older than you, why does he call you Brother Yu?”

“He lost a game of basketball, and the name stuck,” Shen Zhiyu seized the opportunity to lecture Jiang Zhou. “Unlike you, so disrespectful. How long did you even call me Brother Yu before you stopped?”

Jiang Zhou retorted, “Teacher Shen is also a respectful address.”

“You’re right.”

The other man unusually didn’t continue to argue, which surprised Jiang Zhou. He turned to look at him.

There was a hint of slyness in Shen Zhiyu’s eyes. Jiang Zhou immediately sensed something was wrong.

Sure enough, the next second he heard the other man say, “Tonight, Teacher Shen will properly teach you what a respectful address means.”

The tone and inflection of that voice did not sound like proper instruction at all.

Jiang Zhou wanted to refute him a few more times, but realizing they had already entered the main area of the bar, he said nothing more.

Cai Zhiyang had many friends, and the cake he ordered was a five-tiered, ornate cake, perfectly matching his flamboyant and passionate personality.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but think that Shen Zhiyu would also be celebrating his thirtieth birthday next January.

His previous birthdays had been spent abroad, and judging from public photos, they were almost always celebrated with his teammates.

Since they started dating, Jiang Zhou had noticed that Shen Zhiyu didn’t keep in touch with many friends after returning to China. He wondered if he should invite his former teammates to the birthday party three months from now.

Jiang Zhou stared at the cake, lost in thought.

Then, a spoonful of cake was fed to his mouth.

Jiang Zhou instinctively opened his mouth, and a piece of sweet, rich cake was placed inside. “Did you want some?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head. “No.”

Jiang Zhou’s birthday was very close to Shen Zhiyu’s, separated by only one day. His birthday started right after midnight on Shen Zhiyu’s birthday.

The Jiang family lacked a sense of ritual, and Jiang Zhou hadn’t celebrated a proper birthday when he was little. It wasn’t until college that he celebrated his first birthday, arranged by Yuan Chong.

His first birthday wish wasn’t about himself; it was entirely about Shen Zhiyu. He wished for Shen Zhiyu to be happy and content.

Every year since then, his birthday wish had remained unchanged.

Shen Zhiyu fed him two more bites, and Jiang Zhou couldn’t eat anymore.

Shen Zhiyu took the remaining cake and finished it in a few bites.

Jiang Zhou nervously glanced around. Fortunately, the bar lighting was dim and ambiguous, making it hard for anyone to see clearly, and his and Shen Zhiyu’s position was cleverly hidden, so probably no one saw them.

Cai Zhiyang’s birthday party was lively at the bar until midnight, then moved to a barbecue restaurant.

Jiang Zhou took a detour back to the car to retrieve the birthday gift he had left behind.

The gift was a platinum watch that Jiang Zhou had the brand store deliver that afternoon—a hexagonal gemstone diamond watch face, a gold-plated dial, a flashy and individualistic style.

Jiang Zhou had originally brought it to the bar. Later, Shen Zhiyu said he would carry it, but then turned around and tossed it back into the car.

Jiang Zhou felt embarrassed to arrive empty-handed, so he took this opportunity to carefully retrieve it and present it to Cai Zhiyang.

Cai Zhiyang’s eyes lit up when he saw the watch. He picked it up and kissed it several times, repeatedly shouting, “President Jiang! I love you forever!”

If Shen Zhiyu hadn’t held him back, he would have tried to hug and kiss Jiang Zhou.

The birthday boy drank a bit too much. Later, he was rambling nonsense and weeping profusely. His other friends were eventually driven away by his wailing, leaving only Shen Zhiyu and Jiang Zhou to accompany him.

Shen Zhiyu drove them to a hotel. Jiang Zhou looked after Cai Zhiyang in the back seat.

Cai Zhiyang’s behavior when drunk was truly awful. On the way back, he alternated between singing loudly, crying bitterly, cursing vehemently, and expressing deep, moving sentiments…

Not only the driver, but Jiang Zhou was also thoroughly tormented.

Shen Zhiyu, however, remained calm, driving steadily without even a wobble of the steering wheel. Upon reaching the hotel, Jiang Zhou got out first, preparing to drag Cai Zhiyang out.

Shen Zhiyu simply hauled him out, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and strode quickly toward the entrance.

Jiang Zhou immediately followed.

The hotel seemed to have been booked in advance. Shen Zhiyu expertly carried Cai Zhiyang back to his room, haphazardly covered him with a blanket, and turned to leave without even taking off his shoes.

Jiang Zhou glanced at the scene, finding it excessively sloppy, and wanted to step forward to help him remove his shoes.

He had only taken two steps forward when he was lifted by a brute force.

The man’s tone was dangerous. “Do you want to help him take off his clothes too?”

Jiang Zhou felt wronged. “I just wanted to help him take off his shoes.”

Shen Zhiyu sneered, picking him up and walking out. “Someone is coming to take care of him. You don’t need to worry.”

Jiang Zhou gossiped, “Who is it?”

Shen Zhiyu pinched his thigh, not lightly, making Jiang Zhou wince in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“Worrying about another man right in front of me, shouldn’t you be punished?” Saying this, he forcefully smacked Jiang Zhou’s butt a few times, clearly holding considerable anger.

Their rooms were not far apart. Jiang Zhou was tossed onto the bed, momentarily dizzy.

Immediately, a dark shadow pressed down, biting Jiang Zhou’s chin as if venting frustration. Jiang Zhou felt a little pain, frowning and reaching out to push him.

Shen Zhiyu was still not satisfied and bit his cheek. “You haven’t even given me a gift, but you gave him such an expensive watch!”

Only then did Jiang Zhou realize why Shen Zhiyu had deliberately left the watch in the car—he was jealous.

This man’s jealousy was overbearing, blaming everything on him, and based on such inexplicable, misplaced envy.

Jiang Zhou found it somewhat amusing. “It’s his birthday today.”

“I don’t care, I want one too,” Shen Zhiyu insisted relentlessly.

Jiang Zhou truly had no gift to give him on his person. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He bravely pulled Shen Zhiyu down, his voice trembling slightly. “Then… then I’ll give my body to you?”

Shen Zhiyu laughed softly, his voice muffled against Jiang Zhou’s cheek, making his face burn hot.

“Jiang Zhou, you’ve become naughty. You’re a bad student now.”

Jiang Zhou usually only dared to act, never to speak. Whether in bed or out of it, Shen Zhiyu always led the way with suggestive talk. This time, he finally mustered the courage to say something like that, only for the other man not to take the bait and call him a bad student instead.

Jiang Zhou felt a rush of shame and annoyance, and tried to push him away.

Shen Zhiyu remained immovable, leaning down to whisper against his ear. “What’s the rush? Have you ever seen a teacher easily give up on a bad student?”

“Tonight, Teacher Shen will properly teach you, guiding this bad student back to the right path—” With that, he opened his mouth and gently bit Jiang Zhou’s earlobe.

The already flushed earlobe instantly turned bright red, a color so vivid it looked like it might bleed.

A dense trail of kisses wound down from his earlobe. Everywhere they passed, they left patches of red marks.

Jiang Zhou made a new request. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Shen Zhiyu lowered his head and lightly pecked the corner of his lips, his laugh deep and heavy. “I wasn’t planning on leaving you alone.”

After going without meat for so long, under special circumstances, it was necessary to indulge to regulate things. Otherwise, things would go bad.