CH 47

Jiang Song didn’t sleep well all night. When he closed his eyes, he could only see Xie Yao’s face in his dreams.

He couldn’t remember exactly what the young anchor had said to him in his dream, but he vaguely recalled that it was something like a scolding.

Even the next morning, Jiang Song still felt uneasy about the dream. After washing up, he glanced at his phone and saw that the last message from the young anchor was a simple “good night” in response to his own message.

Jiang Song replied with a “good morning” and then went on to handle his work. He was currently in charge of a live streaming platform, and although it hadn’t been officially launched yet, the company had already partnered with many popular anchors, including the well-known SUS group.

Jiang Song had originally planned to recruit Xie Yao as well, but he didn’t expect Xie Yao to be participating in a competition. He had no doubt about the young anchor’s abilities and knew that he could easily secure a top three position in the competition.

However, he couldn’t find the right opportunity to bring up the idea of Xie Yao joining his platform. He wasn’t sure about the terms of Xie Yao’s contract with Shark TV, nor did he want to suggest that Xie Yao break his contract and join him instead.

After all, the young anchor was someone who would discourage even a few thousand yuan in tips from his viewers, and any potential breach of contract fees would likely be much higher.

Jiang Song didn’t have much of a relationship with Xie Yao yet, so it would be odd to suddenly make such a proposal.

Despite this setback, Jiang Song’s outreach to other anchors went smoothly, as many were eager to work with him after seeing the success of the Sus group.

During a break in his work, he checked his phone again, but there were no new messages in the conversation with the young anchor.

No News.

After finishing his work, Jiang Song took a break and picked up his phone during halftime. The message box still displayed the same “good morning” message from him, but there were no new messages. Jiang Song frowned.

It was already 11 o’clock, nearing lunchtime. Normally, if the young anchor didn’t stay up too late the night before, he should have been awake by now. Either Xie Yao had stayed up late last night without telling him, or Xie Yao saw the message and didn’t want to reply.

Staring at his phone, Jiang Song felt a bit helpless. But he guessed correctly that Xie Yao had indeed stayed up late and didn’t want to reply to his message for the time being.

Last night, Xie Yao dropped a bomb on Zhou Tian, which scared him quite a bit. Xie Yao spent more than half an hour convincing him that he wasn’t joking or being irrational, but was really preparing to pursue that “boss”.

Zhou Tian reluctantly accepted the news, and once he digested it, he became inexplicably excited. The two of them discussed it for most of the night, covering topics from astrology to numerology. Zhou Tian analyzed Xie Yao from all angles and provided him with many suggestions.

Although Zhou Tian didn’t have much romantic experience, his theoretical knowledge was quite extensive, enough to deal with Xie Yao, who only read fan fiction.

Xie Yao spent the whole night digesting Zhou Tian’s “Love Bible” and barely managed to fall asleep at around three in the morning, after tossing and turning for half an hour.

However, he woke up around ten in the morning, feeling unusually refreshed. He sat up in bed and didn’t feel sleepy anymore. While brushing his teeth, he saw Jiang Song’s “good morning” message, but he didn’t reply because his face was red.

While brushing his teeth, Xie Yao saw the message “Good morning” sent by Jiang Song. At the time, he had foam in his mouth, the electric toothbrush buzzing loudly in his mouth, and his fingers had been on the keyboard for a long time without sending out the last word.

There was no other reason for his hesitation than embarrassment. Damn it, he was already embarrassed enough last night and had to pretend to talk with Zhou Tian. Now, seeing Jiang Song, his mind was full of “Love Guidebook”.

Holding hands like a high schooler, kissing three times and touching bases four times, it was all crystal clear in his mind. Damn it.

Xie Yao pulled back his wandering thoughts, blushing for a moment and expressionlessly brushing his teeth with his toothbrush in hand. He was just about to toss his phone aside when he remembered the “Good morning” message in the chat.

Finally, Xie Yao reluctantly opened WeChat and quickly changed the “Good night” remark to “Good morning”. It was close enough.

Xie Yao rinsed his mouth with water and spit out the foam, feeling quite justified.

Jiang Song didn’t receive a reply from the little anchor until 11:30 am, and he felt strange for a moment. He hadn’t talked to Xie Yao all morning, and suddenly felt empty inside, even his work became boring.

After being distracted for a few minutes with no progress, Jiang Song simply stopped typing and greeted his secretary before picking up his phone to stare at it.

He lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest, making a habitual thinking action. But before he could think for long, a new message suddenly appeared in the chat, popping up in front of him.

Gad: Sorry, just woke up, Good morning, Brother Jiang~

Jiang Song was initially a little suspicious that he had done something to anger the young broadcaster and make him so upset that he didn’t want to talk to him. However, when he saw the message from Xie Yao with a “~” at the end, it didn’t seem like he was angry at all.

So, he believed Xie Yao’s words.

Jiang Song: It’s okay.

Jiang Song: It’s already this late, you probably haven’t had breakfast yet. Are you hungry?

Just as he read the message, Xie Yao’s stomach growled twice in agreement, and his expression changed for a moment.

But the embarrassment only lasted for a moment. After all, Jiang Song couldn’t see him, so Xie Yao quickly returned to normal.

Just now, he carefully thought about his conversation with Zhou Tian last night. There was too much content and he couldn’t remember it all at once, but the most memorable thing was about astrology.

Praise’s birthday encyclopedia clearly stated that he was a Scorpio.

Cold but not completely so, and likes someone who is a little gentle and considerate.

Although Xie Yao felt a chill when he applied the words “gentle and considerate” to himself, he could still pretend.

After thinking it through, he immediately replied to the message.

Gad: I just finished cooking breakfast, so I’m not very hungry.

Gad: Has Brother Jiang been dealing with work all morning again today?

In the past, the two of them would also talk about Jiang Song’s work during their chats, but their jobs had little in common, so this topic was usually glossed over in a sentence or two, and Jiang Song didn’t want to talk to the small anchor about these boring things.

This time, when Xie Yao brought it up, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

Jiang Song: There’s not much work left, I’ll finish it soon.

Gad: But it’s still quite hard, you must not have time to eat.

Jiang Song laughed: It’s actually not too bad, it’s still early, it’s not even noon yet, I’m not in a hurry for lunch.

Xie Yao easily got the information that Jiang Song hadn’t eaten, and his eyes lit up.

Gad: Just when I went to b city a while ago, I ate at a very good restaurant near your place. I’ll order you some lunch.

Gad: Brother Jiang should be working at home, right?

Jiang Song and Xie Yao had been getting along for so long that they had exchanged phone numbers and addresses. Xie Yao also knew that Jiang Song spent half his time working from home, which was very free.

When Jiang Song heard him say this, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart, very surprised.

It was always him who took the initiative to chat with the small anchor, and the small anchor usually held himself back and didn’t interfere with him much, which had caused him a lot of headaches.

Why was he suddenly so proactive today?

But despite his surprise, Jiang Song suddenly felt happy inside.

Jiang Song: Sure.

Jiang Song: Since you said it’s good, then I’ll definitely like it too.

Although Jiang Song had said similar things to Xie Yao before, they were never this straightforward and usually had implicit meanings.

Before Xie Yao had feelings for Jiang Song, he didn’t think much of it, but now he felt like every word that Jiang Song said carried a different meaning.

Thinking of Jiang Song’s increasingly direct words and behavior recently, Xie Yao narrowed his eyes.

Is brother Jiang not expecting him to discover his intentions? Just wait and see, there will be a surprise.

Xie Yao laughed to himself as he quickly searched for a restaurant on the food delivery app based on his memory.

He opened the comments section and all he saw were glowing reviews with keywords like “couples” and “love”.

Xie Yao nodded in satisfaction. This was the one!

Unlike the previous misunderstanding with Jiang Song, this restaurant that Xie Yao found was a genuine couple’s restaurant, with discounts for couples who dined in together.

He remembered this restaurant because Zhou Tian and his ex-girlfriend used to recommend it to him often.

Xie Yao swiftly ordered a few items, estimating that they would be enough to fill Jiang Song up. He glanced at the menu with phrases like “couple”, “love”, and “lifetime” and was very pleased. He quickly placed the order.

This food delivery service was very user-friendly and even provided services like writing a note card, which Xie Yao noted in the order.

After some thought, Xie Yao wrote: “I’m someone who really values my freedom.”

This restaurant is very popular, but the service is very good. Although there are many orders, the delivery time is never delayed.

Jiang Song has not finished talking with Xie Yao yet when someone shares an interesting short story with him. Before he has a chance to read it, the delivery phone suddenly rings.

Jiang Song opens the door to take the food and intends to take a photo for the little anchor, but he sees a heart-shaped egg in the bag instead.

He is momentarily speechless and also finds it amusing.

He originally thought it was a coincidence, but he suddenly pauses when he sees the name of the restaurant on the bag.

He remembers this restaurant. In countless fantasies of meeting the little anchor, he imagined taking him to this restaurant when he brings him home.

… Is it still a coincidence?

Jiang Song hesitates a bit.

But he doesn’t think too much about it, takes a photo of the food as usual, and says goodbye to Xie Yao when he tells him he’s about to eat.

This restaurant is indeed a famous romantic restaurant. Even the potato and carrot dices are heart-shaped. Jiang Song feels conflicted as he eats.

When he finishes eating and is packing up the takeaway box, a small card that he hadn’t noticed before falls out.

Jiang Song picks it up and sees the words written by the restaurant: “I am a person who needs freedom.”

Jiang Song raises his eyebrows, puts the card aside, and throws the box into the trash.

He works for a while longer, but his mind is filled with heart-shaped eggs and heart-shaped carrots. In the end, he takes out his phone and opens the restaurant’s page.

The restaurant’s dishes all have very elegant names, mostly small phrases or poems related to love.

And the ones Jiang Song ate are called “Love at First Sight,” “Falling in Love,” and “Morning and Evening.”

Jiang Song’s heart skips a beat, and he is momentarily confused. But before he can grasp the idea, he sees a statement from the restaurant in the next second.

“This restaurant provides a handwritten card service. Please specify if you need one.”

Almost instantly, Jiang Song remembered the card and the contents written on it. He opened his browser and typed in the seemingly incomplete sentence from the card. He hit search and immediately relevant information appeared.

“I am someone who craves freedom, but after meeting you, I have decided to give all my freedom to you.”