CHAPTER 5

Yibo was in his room, spread out like a tragic gay prince on his plush bed, staring at the ceiling like it owned him answers. He still couldn't get the image of him out of his head.

Xiao Zhan.

God-tier cheekbones.

Broad chest.

Fuck.

Forearms that could choke a man with grace.

That voice.

The presence.

"He deserves to be the damn main character." Yibo sighed dreamily, biting his lower lip like it'd help him recover.

He thought, "Old Yibo had taste, I'll give him taste.... But why the fuck did you make it so obvious, you dumb simp? I can't believe I've read the chapter where this man came for dinner....and sobbed because he barely said two words to you."

He groaned, flipping over on the bed dramatically, pillow smacking over his face. And right then—like the universe was trolling him—

Carman Lee knocked. A soft voice came, "Baby? Dinner time."

Yibo replied, "Not hungry."

Already opening the door with Mom Authority, she said, "To bad. You're coming down."

Yibo snorted lightly, "You really torturing me, huh?"

"Call it tough love."

_______________________________________

Downstairs, Xiao Zhan sat exactly where Yibo remembered from the novel—end of the table, wine glass in hand, black button-up hugging those biceps way too well.

Yibo knew this was the dinner scene from the book.

In the book, this was the chapter where Yibo stammered, flirted, dropped his fork twice just to get Zhan to pick it up, and ended dinner by asking if he could intern under him....again.

But tonight?

Yibo sat quietly. Calm. Composed. Collected.

He didn't look at Zhan once. Didn't even blush when their eyes met for 0.2 seconds. He answered Huang Ziteng's questions about school. Took one sip of water. Ate three bites. Then excused himself politely.

Watching him leave, Huang Ziteng whispered to his wife, "What just happened? Where was the meltdown? The dreamy sighs? The obsessive flirting?"

Carman Lee whispered back lightly, staring at Yibo's retreating figure, "He's supposed to flirt with the wine bottle just because Zhan touched it. He didn’t even ask to sit next to him."

Huang Ziteng asked confusingly, "....he's....over him?"

She smiled and said softly, "Our baby boy....is healing."

They shared a stunned glance. Then quietly clicked their wine glasses.

Carman Lee whispered, her smile widening, "Finally."

Huang Ziteng said in reply, "He's growing."

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhan was finding everything strange. Wang Yibo, his personal unwanted shadow....was behaving normal? Didn't even call him "uncle" in that sweetest voice of his....every passing second.

_______________________________________

The dinner was over. Wang Carman Lee and Wang Huang Ziteng cleans the table. Yibo was in his room and Zhan went home with a weird satisfaction in his heart.

________________________________________

[Next morning, at 7:45 a.m.]

Yibo's room was a battlefield of cologne, half-buttoned shirts, and dangerous confidence. He slicked back his hair, threw on his favorite jacket, and checked himself in the mirror twice.

He looked in the mirror and smirked, "You're a whole snack. No—full course meal. Let's go ruin the education system." After a few more seconds of admiring himself, he turned around and went out of the bedroom.

Downstairs, Huang Ziteng handed him toast. Carman Lee kissed his cheek and said with a smile, "Have fun at the college, baby."

Yibo smirked, "If I don’t come back, I've either been kidnapped or married a rich professor."

"You wish." Said Huang Ziteng from behind.

________________________________________

At the college gate, Yibo pulled up like a main character, dramatic wind catching his jacket like he had theme music. Next to him? Wang Haoxuan, his chaotic bestie, pacing like his GPA was on fire.

"I'm dead. I'm actually dead. Buried. Gone. Do you think my future company will accept ghost interests?"

Yibo replied in a dead voice, "You say that every semester."

"No, but like, we need an internship within this week. We're out of time. We partied for two months. We're done."

Yibo smirked, "I thrive under pressure."

Haoxuan rolled his eyed and said, "You flirted with a guy in the library instead of submitting a basic marketing report. Don't gaslight me."

"Okay, rude. But true." He pouted.

They entered campus, chaos buzzing everywhere. Posters, announcements, stressed-out business students in full suits like they were about to attend the Met Gala instead of a class.

Haoxuan grabbed Yibo's shoulder. "We need internships. ASAP. You pick left hall, I pick right. Whoever finds something first wins."

"Loser buys lunch?" Yibo asked accepting the challenge.

"Loser cries in the library." Haoxuan smirked back.

Yibo laughed, "Let's go, dumbass."

Yibo headed toward the admin wing, casually scrolling job portals on his phone when he paused, brows lifting.

One name on a digital internship board stood out:

XIAO INDUSTRIES — "Accepting Business Interns"

"No. Freaking. Way." Yibo said with a triumphing smile.

His phone buzzed. Haoxuan texted:

《 Did you find anything hot? I mean helpful? 》

Yibo texted back:

《 Oh babe....I found both. 》