QT: Don't fall in love with the Male Lead

Nothing in Su Xueyi's eyes betrays any attraction towards Shen Yun. If anything, he sits up a little straighter and squares his shoulders, almost as if he's intimidated by him.

He's the one Su Xueyi wants to impress, the two middle-aged men are either distractions or smaller fish. Interesting.

"I'm glad you could join us Lao Shen," Su Xueyi says, pouring a glass of wine to Shen Yun. "Lao Wang, Lao Tong," he nods serving the two other man. First the one with the rheumy eyes, then the smoker with the yellowed teeth.

The older men hum and take a sip of their cups. Shen Yun downs his while staring at Han Yu.

His thin smirk rankles Xi Zirui.

"And who might you be?" he asks, smiling at Han Yu. To Xi Zirui he says, "Of course I know who Master Xi is, Master Su has talked about you extensively and shown us pictures of your wedding."

"He's my bodyguard, Han Yu, we're both flattered to meet Master Shen," Xi Zirui says, smiling at him, and tries not to flinch when Su Xueyi's broad palm lands on his thigh. 

Han Yu ignores Shen Yun, slouching in his chair as if he can't be bothered to listen to either of them. 

He's disinterest only makes Shen Yun grin more broadly.

Xi Zirui's fingers tighten on the side of his chair.

"Is Host jealous?" Ni Ni asks.

No, Xi Zirui loves it when the guy who fucked him over in the past world makes eyes at his...his something.

"Let's order," Su Xueyi says, the first wise words he has spoken all day.

---

Apparently this restaurant is famous for their Beijing hotpot, so that's what Su Xueyi orders for their table. Xi Zirui isn't looking forward to eating mutton instead of cow's stomach, or pretending like the mild-tasting travesty they're going to bring to the table, is "good". 

Unfortunately he's not allowed to complain about any of it, because the original isn't from Chongqing.

Not that anyone else seems much interested in the food.

"I was thinking we could go forward with 20 crates of headphones," Su Xueyi says, dipping meat in sesame seed sauce and gallantly dropping it in Xi Zirui's bowl.

Xi Zirui smiles tightly at him and brings the mutton to his lips, all the while wondering who the fuck talks about "crates" of headphones.

It's then that he notices Han Yu sitting very straight in his chair. He's still pretending to be bored by the business talk going on, but Xi Zirui notices the shift in his posture. He's much more alert.

It seems like everyone at the table knows more about what's really going on than Xi Zirui.

Shen Yun hums thoughtfully. Lao Wang, with the rheumy eyes whispers something in his ear. 

"We're prepared to buy 15 crates of product," Shen Yun says, steepling his fingers. "That's what Master Su and my father agreed on, is it not?"

This conversation is far too charged to be happening about headphones. There's something Xi Zirui is missing, and it probably ties back to that weird conversation between Bai Mi and Su Xueyi he and Han Yu overheard.

It was probably her who should have come with Su Xueyi to this "business lunch", but she likely told Su Xueyi to go fuck himself after their little spat.

Wait.

That's why he was meeting Cao Fei in the bathroom!

Xi Zirui wasn't even his second choice to bring along to the meeting.

Bai Mi was probably meant to be Su Xueyi's right hand woman, a shrewd business partner who would have his back in the negotiations. 

Absent her, the next best thing would be Cao Fei, meek, mild-mannered and appropriately intimidated by Su Xueyi.

Since Xi Zirui got in the middle of their bathroom rendezvous, Su Xueyi had no choice but to bring him along. 

Pretty arm candy to showcase just how successful and accomplished Su Xueyi is.

"Host, is it really worth it to get so worked up based on assumptions?" Ni Ni asks, her voice wavering.

Yes, because his assumptions are right!

If possible, Su Xueyi is even more of an asshole in this world than in the other two.

At least when he was the Emperor, he had the excuse of absolute power going to his head to explain the way he treated people like objects.

He would very much like to know what the excuse is this time around.

Xi Zirui clearly hasn't put him in his place enough for the message to sink in that he is not to be trifled with.

For his plan to work, not only does Su Xueyi need to be completely smitten with him, he also needs to trust him.

Right now, he clearly thinks Xi Zirui is on par with a hairless cat; expensive, exotic, and mean.

The good thing about cats is that unlike dogs, they have no qualms about biting the hand that feeds them.

Shen Yun and Su Xueyi are still going back and forth on the amount of crates Shen Yun's father will be buying, and no closer to reaching an agreement.

"We should go," Xi Zirui tells Su Xueyi with an exasperated sigh.

Su Xueyi chuckles, as if Xi Zirui is terrible entertaining. Shen Yun doesn't bother hiding his derisive smirk.

"Darling, I'm in the middle of negotiations. You can tell Liao Min to drive you home if you're bored."

"Right now it doesn't look like you're in the middle of anything," he says, sipping a glass of water. Gesturing with his glass towards Shen Yun, he adds. "He's stalling you. The truth is, he doesn't have the money to buy 20 crates, but he doesn't want you to take the product anywhere else."

Shen Yun's eyes narrow. "That's a bold assumption."

"It's also the right one," he says, returning the narrow-eyed glare. "How much are 20 crates worth?" he asks Su Xueyi.

Su Xueyi is giving him an apprehensive look. "10 million yuan."

They're definitely not talking about headphones here.

"And fifteen?"

"7 million yuan," Su Xueyi says.

Xi Zirui turns to Shen Yun with a smile. "What does Master Shen think of 23 crates for 10 million?"

Immediately Lao Wang and Lao Tong lean into Shen Yun and start whispering quietly behind their wine cups.

"Is that amount of product available?" Shen Yun asks Su Xueyi.

Su Xueyi nods slowly, darting a questioning look at Xi Zirui from the corner of his eye, wondering where he's trying to go with this.

"Of course there's still the matter of how Master Shen is going to get the money, great deal or not," Xi Zirui says, straightening his back, mirroring Shen Yun's position.

Shen Yun glares.

"What about this?" he leans forward and rests his elbows on the table. "Master Shen gives us 7 million right now for 10 crates, and once he gets the rest of the money, we'll hand over the remaining 13 crates."

Shen Yun's frown deepens. "I was prepared to pay 7 million for 15, not 10."

Xi Zirui's eyes widen. "But now Master Shen is going to get 7 whole extra crates for the low, low price of 3 million."

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow towards Lao Tong and Lao Wang, Xi Zirui adds, "Only an idiot would turn down that kind of deal."

When he's angry, Shen Yun looks as if he's about to pass out from heatstroke, it's not a good look on him, and Xi Zirui revels in the sight of his thin, sweaty hair plastered to his temples.

Abruptly, Shen Yun pushes back on his chair and gets up from the table. He straightens his suit jacket and nods towards Su Xueyi. "We'll be in touch."

He takes a business card out of his coat's pocket and hands it to Han Yu. "Feel free to contact me if you want a change of pace...or something else."

Han Yu gives him an odd look. "Uh, thanks." He pockets the card anyway.

Shen Yun and the two older men don't acknowledge Xi Zirui in any way before exiting the restaurant. 

"Congratulations Host! CEO's favor went up +10 points. Now at 50 of a possible 100 points."

Right now Xi Zirui is more concerned that half the food is still on the table.

Xi Zirui sighs. He hates wastefulness.

He flags down a waiter who rushes to his side immediately. 

"Can you please bag everything for us?"

Su Xueyi pales. "Darling, what are you doing? We have food at home." He smiles apologetically at the waiter, as if he's afraid he'll think they're poor or something.

"And now we'll have this delicious hotpot, too." He shoots him a dazzling smile and gets up from the table. "Why don't you go settle the bill while me and Han Yu wait in the car."

He doesn't wait for Su Xueyi's answer before turning on his heel and leaving him to foot the bill and bring in the boxes of leftovers.

---

Han Yu pulls him back by the wrist before he can get in the car. "Do you know what it was that you were just trading in Su Xueyi's behalf?"

"I don't." Xi Zirui fixes him with a probing look. "But something tells me you do."

He takes in a big lungful of air, and steps around Xi Zirui to get in the passenger seat.

Xi Zirui takes his seat on the backseat, and waits in silence for Su Xueyi, who arrives a few minutes later, looking disgruntled while carrying armloads of takeout boxes.

"You were great darling," Su Xueyi says, and tries to kiss Xi Zirui on the lips, who dodges at the last minute.

"Two things were obvious. You didn't have any other buyer, and he didn't have any other seller." He shrugs. "It was just a matter of making it harder for him to continue stalling until he could find someone to sell him the 'headphones' for cheaper." 

He puts stress on the word "headphones" but Su Xueyi doesn't even blink.

Instead he ruffles Xi Zirui's hair as if he is a particularly smart dog.

He isn't sure whether or not that's an upgrade from being an expensive cat. He's inclined to think not. People will starve to feed their cats salmon, but are perfectly happy feeding dogs scraps from their table.

"I didn't know you were so business savvy."

"An Art History degree is something that can be so multipurpose, sometimes."

Su Xueyi looks at him oddly, but in the front seat, Han Yu lets out an abortive chuckle.

"I hope Mr. Han isn't thinking about trading us for Lao Shen," Su Xueyi says, smiling jovially and squeezing Han Yu's shoulder over the car seat.

Han Yu turns around on his seat and grins. "Wouldn't dream of it Sir." Before turning around. His gaze meets Xi Zirui's stare, and holds.

---

They go back to the company, where Xi Zirui spends the rest of the day fussing around on the computer and trying to find out what exactly the electronics part of Greydot is a front for.

He doesn't have much success, his permissions are laughably limited, and other than the payroll and a few lists of completely innocuous client orders, he doesn't find anything suspicious.

Han Yu remains annoyingly tight-lipped. "Maybe it's better if you don't look any further into the matter."

By the time, Su Xueyi comes to tell him it's time to go home, he still hasn't found anything relevant.

---

That night, Su Xueyi leads Xi Zirui to their bedroom by the hand as soon as they finish dinner.

Xi Zirui follows after him with as much enthusiasm as a death row inmate.

Su Xueyi sits down on the bed and pulls Xi Zirui into his lap. "I miss you baby," he says, scenting the side of Xi Zirui's neck.

Xi Zirui smiles down at him and runs his hands over his hair, made dull and clumpy with pomade. "My husband is about to get 10 million yuan richer."

Smirking, Su Xueyi runs his hands up Xi Zirui's flanks. "That's right baby."

With a pout, Xi Zirui thumbs at Su Xueyi's bottom lip. "Not yet though, my husband doesn't yet have a 10 million yuan cock to fuck me with."

Su Xueyi's pupils spillover into his chocolate irises. 

Xi Zirui whispers into his ear, "Maybe when he does, I'll forgive him for going around sticking it where it doesn't belong."

He taps Su Xueyi's cheek twice and gets up from his lap.

He's making his way to the bathroom when Ni Ni chimes:

"Congratulations, Host! CEO's favor went up +5. Now at 55 of a possible 100 points."