IMGH Chapter 22

The First Confession Crash-Landed

Jiang Mingxuan was still chattering away about her idol’s glorious achievements, but Jiang Yi hadn’t absorbed a single word. He never would have imagined that Qiu Rui was actually the current chairman of a well-known international trading company in Z City — the youngest entrepreneur that financial magazines had been competing to cover.

Qiu Rui had clearly overheard the comments from his own company’s female employee. His expression remained composed, but his sharp brows furrowed slightly, evidently displeased by other people’s gossip.

“Sigh!” Jiang Mingxuan let out a long, mournful breath, full of grievance and resignation. “Even though our chairman doesn’t have a girlfriend yet, there’s no telling whether he might actually like men.”

Jiang Mingxuan’s words landed like a devastating bomb, frying Jiang Yi crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. He stared at Qiu Rui in shock, and under the withering force of the other man’s sharp gaze, sheepishly turned his head away.

An employee gossiping about her boss’s private affairs, loudly broadcasting secrets her boss didn’t want known, and even dropping such a bombshell of an exposé — if Qiu Rui could have come back to life at that moment, Jiang Mingxuan would absolutely have been the first person silenced.

Jiang Yi quietly broke into a cold sweat on his little sister’s behalf. He tugged at Jiang Mingxuan, who was still lamenting away, and asked, “Xuan Xuan, where did you hear all this unreliable gossip?”

“Big bro, the whole company knows about this. You don’t understand — our BOSS’s personal assistant is a man, and on top of that, he’s devastatingly handsome. The BOSS goes everywhere with him, the two of them inseparable day and night…”

Qiu Rui, whose face had gone completely dark, couldn’t hold back any longer as Jiang Mingxuan’s story grew more and more outrageous. “Idiot, tell your sister to watch her mouth!”

Jiang Yi tried to cut Jiang Mingxuan off, but the still-excitable girl waved him aside. “Big bro, I’m not done yet! And that’s not even the half of it — they eat together, live together, and two men with no girlfriends spending all that time together… it’s only natural that sparks of a certain kind would fly. Even if nothing’s happened yet, something will eventually.”

Jiang Mingxuan felt a little thirsty from all her talking and went to the fridge to grab a drink. Jiang Yi quickly lowered his voice to soothe Qiu Rui, whose veins were practically bulging. “Rui’er, please don’t get angry. My sister is young and doesn’t know any better — a big person like you shouldn’t stoop to her level.”

“Big bro, what are you muttering about?” Jiang Mingxuan came back holding a can of cola, staring at Jiang Yi in puzzlement.

Jiang Yi’s heart was in agony. He put on a nonchalant expression and replied, “Nothing, nothing. You must have misheard — I didn’t say anything!”

Jiang Mingxuan pursed her lips and settled back onto the sofa, picking up where she left off. “Big bro, BOSS is cold and stern with everyone, never cracking a smile — but he treats his personal assistant differently. Do you know what he calls him? Cheng Cheng! Such an intimate nickname! That counts as a pet name, right? Anyone who says there’s nothing going on between those two is lying through their teeth!”

Whether ghosts believed it or not, Jiang Yi had no idea — but whether the ghost would hold a grudge and make your life difficult, that he couldn’t guarantee.

Jiang Yi had no idea that this BOSS ghost was right at that moment, fixing Jiang Mingxuan with a murderous stare.

…..

Jiang Yi was speechless. Before he could respond, he saw Jiang Mingxuan suddenly spring up from the sofa and fix him with an intense stare. “Big bro, don’t tell me you’re gay too!”

Jiang Yi shrank into himself. This girl is way too perceptive, he thought inwardly. I don’t even know if I’ve been bent myself, and she’s already making a diagnosis!

Seeing Jiang Yi stay silent, Jiang Mingxuan completely misread the situation. She pressed her lips together and said, “That explains it! I was wondering how you’ve reached thirty without finding a girlfriend — turns out you like men!”

“Big bro, society is open-minded these days. Liking men isn’t something shameful. You absolutely cannot do anything drastic, okay?!”

Jiang Yi saw that Jiang Mingxuan was spiraling further and further off-course. He opened his mouth to cut her off, but she grabbed both his hands. “Big bro, actually, I’ve felt for a long time that something was off about you! You never react to beautiful women when we’re out walking. Mom set you up with so many girls and you didn’t take a liking to a single one. Do you already have a boyfriend? Is he handsome? How far along are you two? Is he on top or are you?”

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re the bottom! Apparently it really hurts, and you can even get an anal fissure! Oh no, oh no — big bro, you’re not actually the bottom, are you?!”

“Who’s the bottom?! If I were doing anything, I’d be the one on top!”

Jiang Yi, his dignity wounded, blurted out those words in exasperation — and to Jiang Mingxuan’s ears, it sounded like an unprompted confession.

Jiang Mingxuan pursed her lips. “Why are you shouting? Only someone who’s the bottom would keep insisting they’re the one on top!”

…..

Jiang Yi saw the conversation veering into completely absurd territory and quickly pulled Jiang Mingxuan up. “Weren’t we supposed to go home for dinner? Let’s get going!”

“And another thing — I am not gay. Don’t go spouting nonsense in front of my mom!” Jiang Yi added one last warning, uneasy.

“I know, I know. You’re worried Auntie would find out and not be able to handle it, right? Don’t worry, my lips are sealed!” Jiang Mingxuan promised, patting her chest.

Jiang Yi saw that she had genuinely misunderstood and explained anxiously, “Xuan Xuan, you’ve really got the wrong idea! Your big bro is genuinely not gay.”

Jiang Mingxuan waved him off as she went to the entryway to change her shoes. “Alright, alright! So what if you’re gay? What’s there to hide?!”

Jiang Yi felt utterly powerless. Qiu Rui arched an eyebrow and flashed a mischievous smile. “Jiang Yi, you’d better stop explaining — you’re only making it worse.”

Jiang Yi’s chest was full of indignant fire with nowhere to vent it. Looking at the brightly smiling Qiu Rui beside him, he couldn’t resist the urge to tease him a little.

“Rui’er, even if I were gay, I would definitely bend you.”

“How boring.”

Qiu Rui gave a cold snort and drifted out through the front door.

His first confession had crash-landed. Jiang Yi hung his head and followed after him.