Jiang Tongyan had a dream of being the male lead in an idol drama.Jiang Tongyan was the kind of man who harboured a dream of being the male lead in an idol drama. Of course, this was something he absolutely could not let anyone else know. After all, it would be pretty embarrassing if it got out. He couldn’t say it, but he could act it out. For this Christmas, he had spent over a week planning everything from start to finish, even going so far as to personally selecting each dish at the restaurant with great care. So far, it looked like nothing more than the two of them going out to eat after work, but Jiang Tongyan had a plan. Qian Xiaoke had no sense of romance and no flair for atmosphere. Aside from having a sweet mouth and calling him ‘gege, gege’ all day long, he didn’t really know how to do anything else. Naturally, the responsibility of creating romance fell squarely on Jiang Tongyan’s shoulders. Being a domineering CEO was exhausting. A domineering CEO had to manage his career and manufacture romance. But the domineering CEO did it willingly. Because the domineering CEO really, really liked this sweet-talking, fluffy little bunny. The taxi came to a stop, and Qian Xiaoke leaned forward to look outside. He knew this restaurant. When he used to take the bus home, he often passed by it. The clean, minimalist exterior design had once made him think nothing of the place. Later, a coworker told him that the average meal cost here exceeded their monthly salary. And hidden within that statement was another important detail: the coworker who said it earned two thousand more than Qian Xiaoke. Qian Xiaoke’s eyes went wide. “We’re… eating here?” Wasn’t this a bit too extravagant? Qian Xiaoke knew he was just a small, bottom-tier city dweller who had never experienced the life of the wealthy. Every month’s salary had to be stretched and split carefully. Spending that much money on a single meal honestly made his head feel like it was about to explode. “Get out of the car.” Jiang Tongyan got out first and held the door open for him. “Weren’t you hungry?” Qian Xiaoke wasn’t hungry. Qian Xiaoke was feeling guilty. Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Tongyan smiled and physically pulled him out of the car. “Come on—don’t delay the driver from picking up his next passenger.” Qian Xiaoke snapped back to his senses, quickly thanked the driver, and got out. The two of them stood by the roadside, and Qian Xiaoke stared at the three-story white building in front of him. “I’m really broadening my horizons by sticking with you,” Qian Xiaoke said. “Old Jiang, aren’t we being a bit too luxurious?” “It’s only Christmas once a year. A little extravagance is fine.” And besides, this wasn’t just any ordinary Christmas—Jiang Tongyan had a surprise waiting for him. Jiang Tongyan tugged at the sleeve of Qian Xiaoke’s down jacket and led him inside like he was guiding a child. “Remember, stay calm later.” “Huh?” Qian Xiaoke said. “Oh.” Qian Xiaoke assumed Jiang Tongyan was worried that he—a poor, inexperienced nobody—might let out ghost-like exclamations upon entering such a high-end restaurant. But he wouldn’t. Even though he was dying to know what it looked like inside, and whether the food was made of gold or diamonds, now that he was here, he knew he had to put on a calm, indifferent front. Qian Xiaoke understood that much. Hearing his ‘oh’, Jiang Tongyan laughed inwardly. Oh my ass—just wait, you won’t even be able to say ‘oh’ later. As soon as they reached the entrance, two handsome men in uniform stepped forward to open the doors for them. Qian Xiaoke immediately grasped something important—this place was expensive for a reason. Hiring such handsome guys just to stand guard at the door couldn’t have been cheap. Qian Xiaoke stole a couple more glances at the handsome men, and just as he turned back, Jiang Tongyan caught him in the act. “You’re the most handsome,” Qian Xiaoke said. “They’re nowhere near your level.” Jiang Tongyan smiled with satisfaction. “Very good.” The exceedingly well-behaved fluffy bunny followed Jiang Tongyan inside. Before they even sat down, a waiter took their coats, and another pulled out the chairs. Everything, absolutely everything, was arranged neatly by the staff. Having never enjoyed this kind of service before, Qian Xiaoke felt extremely embarrassed. His little face flushed red, like a pink, ripe peach. Jiang Tongyan was tempted. He wanted to eat. After sitting down, Qian Xiaoke cautiously glanced around and whispered to Jiang Tongyan in an extremely soft voice, “Wouldn’t this restaurant go bankrupt?” “Hm? What’s wrong?” Jiang Tongyan asked him. Qian Xiaoke said, “It’s peak dinner time right now, but the entire restaurant only has the two of us.” Jiang Tongyan smiled faintly. “Probably because…everyone else had other plans today.” Qian Xiaoke pursed his lips, feeling a bit sorry for the restaurant. In winter, night fell early, and by the time they got off work, it was already completely dark. The restaurant was lit with warm orange lights, and just by turning his head, Qian Xiaoke could see the night outside through the nearby windows. Jiang Tongyan handed the menu to Qian Xiaoke and said he needed to go to the restroom first. The moment he stood up, Qian Xiaoke’s eyes stayed fixed on him. With Jiang Tongyan gone, Qian Xiaoke felt even more unsettled. He glanced down at the menu and immediately felt dizzy. The text on the menu was neither Chinese nor English. He had no idea what language it was. It was something foreign, with thin, worm-like letters that he couldn’t read at all. Not being able to read it was one thing. Qian Xiaoke thought he might just pick something that seemed reasonably priced, but then he realised that none of the dishes had prices listed. Did rich people order food without looking at prices? It was truly headache-inducing. Qian Xiaoke decided not to put on airs. He would just wait for Jiang Tongyan to come back and let that experienced rich man do the ordering. As he was thinking this, the lights in the restaurant suddenly went out. Was there a sudden power outage? Qian Xiaoke muttered, “Even a place this fancy can lose power?” With the interior lights gone, the night view outside looked even more captivating. Qian Xiaoke propped his chin on his hand and looked out the window, planning to ask Jiang Tongyan when he came back whether they should just go home instead. Back home, he still had a gift prepared for his fierce boyfriend. However, Qian Xiaoke’s plan to go home was interrupted because in the pitch-dark restaurant, piano music suddenly began to play. He turned toward the sound in surprise. Before he could react, candlelight flickered to life throughout the room. A candlelight dinner? Qian Xiaoke’s mouth fell open in astonishment. With not a single electric light on, the entire restaurant was bathed in gentle candlelight, glowing with warm tones. At the very centre of the restaurant stood a white grand piano. When they had entered earlier, Qian Xiaoke had thought it was merely a decoration, but now, someone was seated there, playing. The piece was one Qian Xiaoke knew extremely well. Years ago, countless people had used this very song, ‘Wedding in a Dream’, as their phone ringtone. But that wasn’t the important part. What mattered was that the person playing looked oddly familiar. It seemed like… “Old Jiang?” Qian Xiaoke’s voice reached Jiang Tongyan’s ears. The domineering CEO, elegantly playing the piano, merely curved his lips upward and smiled discreetly. Qian Xiaoke, who had been sitting there, unconsciously stood up and began walking toward Jiang Tongyan step by step. He hadn’t known that Jiang Tongyan could play the piano. Of course, a domineering CEO like Jiang Tongyan had many skills; he just hadn’t had the chance to show them before. As Qian Xiaoke slowly approached, he looked at the sensual curve of Jiang Tongyan’s profile, then at his fingers dancing nimbly across the piano keys. His heart pounded wildly; he was practically being enchanted to death by his boyfriend. The piece wasn’t long, and Jiang Tongyan soon brought it to an end. He turned to look at Qian Xiaoke and smiled slightly. Qian Xiaoke exclaimed, “That sounded so good! You’re amazing!” He had never been stingy with his praise for Jiang Tongyan—men were meant to be praised! The hearts in Qian Xiaoke’s eyes were practically shooting straight at Jiang Tongyan’s forehead. Jiang Tongyan was so happy he could barely contain himself. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. At the same time, music filled the restaurant again. This time, it was violin music, but not Jiang Tongyan playing. Instead, a small ensemble suddenly appeared not far away: two men and two women, dressed in formal attire, playing violins. Qian Xiaoke thought to himself that this was kind of amazing. Wasn’t this the sort of scene that only showed up in idol dramas? High-end restaurants really were different!!! Service this attentive was on another level! Little did he know that none of this had been arranged by the restaurant at all. It was entirely designed by his Old Jiang himself, and it had cost quite a lot of money. Along with the violin music came one of the restaurant’s handsome waiters. Qian Xiaoke watched as the handsome waiter pushed over a small cart. On it stood a Christmas tree covered with decorations, and beneath it were several beautifully wrapped gift boxes. The handsome waiter wheeled the cart right up to Qian Xiaoke. Jiang Tongyan said, “Your Christmas present.” “A tree?” And a handsome guy? The tree he could accept. The handsome guy, no. Qian Xiaoke thought to himself that handsome guys were great, but one Jiang Tongyan was more than enough for him. He really wasn’t greedy at all. Jiang Tongyan couldn’t hold it in and laughed. “Yes, a tree.” Idiot. Jiang Tongyan pointed at the tree. “Look for it. There’s a special gift.” Qian Xiaoke glanced at it, walked over to the Christmas tree, bent down, and picked up the gift box on the far right. There were six gift boxes in total under the tree, each labelled with a number. The one Qian Xiaoke picked up was marked “No. 1.” He opened it. Inside was a slip of paper, on which Jiang Tongyan had written, in handwriting barely better than an elementary schooler’s: Wife, muah muah muah! Qian Xiaoke laughed so hard he nearly blacked out. “What is this?” he said, laughing as he lightly punched Jiang Tongyan’s shoulder, the note still in his hand. But as he laughed, his nose started to sting. It was clearly just a piece of paper. It wasn’t as if no one had ever kissed him before. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, he was so moved he wanted to cry. Qian Xiaoke complained to himself that he really was a delicate little flower, moved so easily. “There’s more,” Jiang Tongyan said. “Open them one by one, in the order they’re placed.” This was obviously planned out. Even though Qian Xiaoke wanted to rebel a little, he knew this wasn’t the right time to do so. He obediently opened the gifts in order. Wife, muah muah muah! My precious sweetheart, today is the who-knows-how-manyth day since we met! You little pig probably don’t even know how long we’ve known each other! But that’s okay—your husband loves you, muah muah muah! Comrade Qian Xiaoke, Merry Christmas. When you open the last gift later, don’t cry. Stay calm! Clutching all five notes in his hand, Qian Xiaoke looked at Jiang Tongyan. “Go on,” Jiang Tongyan said. “Open the last one.” For no apparent reason, Jiang Tongyan felt nervous. His back was already slick with sweat. Qian Xiaoke turned to look at the final box and asked, “What is it?” As he spoke, he picked it up and carefully opened it. The moment Qian Xiaoke opened the box, a ring flashed before his eyes. At the same time, as if by magic, a bouquet of roses appeared in Jiang Tongyan’s hand. It set off his domineering CEO face so much that it even seemed to be tinged with red. He dropped to one knee and asked, “Qian Xiaoke, would you be willing to marry me, this unsophisticated rich man?”
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