After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Was Targeted by the Villain and the Male Lead at the Same Time

Chapter 65

Jing Yicheng closed his eyes again and suddenly felt a bit restless. He couldn’t quite pinpoint why, but that unnamed anger and sense of annoyance in his heart persisted, suppressed deep within like an inflated balloon ready to burst at any moment!

He was annoyed! Annoyed at Ruan Chenxuan, annoyed at Li Nian, and even more annoyed at the person making phone reservations to be a female companion!

He now wished he could snatch Xu Chenghao’s phone away and throw it out, preferably have it run over by a car a few times to render it completely useless so no one would get through, making them unable to contact Xu Chenghao!

But all he could do was think about it. Because he knew that if he did that, Xu Chenghao would definitely be furious. Just like the original sin of three chili peppers, the sin wouldn’t be absolved and he would lose Xu Chenghao’s friendship. He had worked so hard to clear his reputation up until now, so he couldn’t act foolishly and provoke Xu Chenghao again.

Moreover, if he got into a fight with Xu Chenghao, Ruan Chenxuan, Li Nian, and that woman would probably be lining up to snatch him away! Hehe, he wouldn’t give them the chance!

Jing Yicheng gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and waited for Xu Chenghao to hang up the phone before calmly asking, “Are you going to a banquet?”

“You’re not sleeping?” After Xu Chenghao successfully parked in reverse, he took off his Bluetooth earpiece, tidying up as he replied, “Some old friend
invited me to a banquet. I still have to give them face.”

Jing Yicheng: “When is it?”

Xu Chenghao: “The day after tomorrow. It’s the weekend and I won’t be working, so it won’t interfere with my job.”

Jing Yicheng’s excuse got stuck in his throat, and he could only respond with a muffled sound before opening the car door and getting out.

Xu Chenghao got out of the car, locked it, and walked towards the building with him. Puzzled, he asked, “Why do you seem to be in a bad mood? Did you have a nightmare?”

Jing Yicheng sighed softly, “Yeah, I dreamt that I found a treasure first, but then I realized there were countless people behind me trying to snatch it away. It scared me awake.”

Xu Chenghao found it amusing and smiled while comforting him: “Dreams are always the opposite, you’re so capable in real life that even if someone tried to snatch it, they wouldn’t be able to beat you. Relax.”

Jing Yicheng: “You think I’m capable?”

Xu Chenghao: “Of course, very capable.” The first time we met, you even pointed a gun at me!

Jing Yicheng restrained his rising emotions, cleared his throat, and said, “Well then, I’ll do my best to hold onto it and try not to disappoint you.”

Xu Chenghao: “?”

It’s just a dream, what’s there to be disappointed about?

Xu Chenghao found it difficult to understand the other person’s thought process. After they arrived at his floor, he changed the topic, “Hungry?”

Jing Yicheng replied, “Yes!”

Eating together was always livelier than eating alone. After Jing Yicheng finished his meal and left, a faint smile finally appeared on his face. However, when he returned to his own floor and saw someone squatting by his door, his expression quickly turned serious again, back to his usual aloofness.

He didn’t say hello to the person squatting there. He quietly unlocked his door, went inside his home without speaking, and the person squatting followed quietly. Once they were both inside, he turned around and closed the door.

The click of the lock echoed sharply in the darkness. Jing Yicheng turned on the light, sat down on the sofa, and gazed at the other person with indifference. “What does this mean?”

The person sitting across from him, who had been waiting in ambush, placed his briefcase solemnly by his side and said, “I apologize, Mr. Jing. After reporting your response from last night, the higher-ups still want me to try a bit more. They hope that this time, you will personally lead the research team for this project. In this field, we believe in your talent and abilities more than anyone else. No one is more suitable for taking on this project.”

“Rest assured, your compensation will definitely be fair, and if you have any requirements, we can also consider them. Everything can be negotiated. We hope Mr. Jing won’t directly decline us.”

Jing Yicheng responded coldly, “I’ve already said I’m not interested. I won’t take it.”

The person across from him opened their briefcase. “You will surely be interested in this project. This time, I brought some materials… I didn’t bring everything last night due to my oversight. You must take a look.”

Jing Yicheng took the materials just to give him a bit of face and flipped through them. Indeed, it was a research direction he had been interested in before. If it had been last night when he was heading over, he might have been inclined to agree. However, that’s not the case now.

These types of collaborations with the country were all closed-door research projects. They could last from a few months to one or two years, completely cutting off all external contact.

He was currently by Xu Chenghao’s side, surrounded by people who were as persistent as flies, impossible to shoo away. He couldn’t imagine how things would be after a year of absence, especially a year of complete disconnection.

He had a feeling that when he came back later, a situation like the one with An Rouyu in the past might occur again, but this time it would happen behind the scenes.

He had already missed one opportunity. Did he want to make the same mistake and miss it a second time?

With this thought, Jing Yicheng became even more resistant to the project. He dropped the materials on the table and said firmly, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t want to take it.”

The person across from him frowned: “Could you please explain the reason?”

Jing Yicheng had an expressionless face as he said, “Too busy.”

Squatting guard: “But as far as I know, your research institute hasn’t received any orders for a long time. Recently, you’ve even been researching agricultural machinery.”

Jing Yicheng: “I’ll research anything that interests me. But I’m sorry, your orders haven’t piqued my interest.”

Squatting guard: “I’m sorry, although this might be a bit impolite, if you don’t agree, I’ll stay here just like I did last night.”

Jing Yicheng asked with a hint of irritation, “Are you looking for trouble?”

The squatting guard spoke firmly, “Even if you hit me, I won’t leave. I have a mission to complete!”

Jing Yicheng: “Is this about completing a mission or about enduring like a hawk?”

The squatting guard stood his ground: “If you don’t agree, I won’t leave!”

Jing Yicheng: “…”

Damn it!

Jing Yicheng became angry, got up, and slammed the bedroom door as he said, “Leave if you want or stay!”

The squatting guard calmly looked at the closed bedroom door, his heart as tranquil as water. Because he knew that although Jing Yicheng appeared to have entered the bedroom, he couldn’t sleep at all!

Everyone in the entire military district knew that Jing Yicheng had exceptional talent, high intelligence, good looks, and impressive skills. But apart from his terrible personality, he had another flaw: an excessively strong sense of vigilance. Whenever someone was around him, he would remain tense and alert due to his lack of a sense of security, refusing to relax.

His highest record was that he once stayed awake for fourteen days during collective training while living together, almost becoming a legend.

Yesterday wasn’t it the same… slamming the door and returning to the bedroom, then everyone together stayed awake until dawn.

The squatting guard took a deep breath, feeling that tonight would surely be no exception.

However, as a matter of fact, the mountain-dweller had his own clever plan. After Jing Yicheng returned to the bedroom, he leaned against the window and looked down, then took out his phone and messaged Xu Chenghao: “Open your bedroom window.”

Xu Chenghao: “??? What are you doing?”

Jing Yicheng: “I’m hanging outside.”

After sending the message, Jing Yicheng immediately propped himself up on the window sill with one hand and flipped out from the window. He landed on the air conditioning unit and then climbed up the windowsill by bracing against it.

So, when Xu Chenghao came over with a puzzled look on his face, he actually saw Jing Yicheng hanging outside his own window, and he was using only one hand! He even had a phone in his hand!

Xu Chenghao was infuriated. He opened the window, grabbed his ear, and yanked him inside: “What the heck are you doing? Did you just ignore what I said last time? Don’t you want your little yellow duck anymore?”

“Hush.” Jing Yicheng raised his index finger, looked upstairs after entering the window, made sure nothing was wrong, and carefully closed the window.

Xu Chenghao became nervous too: “Is something wrong?”

“Kind of. Can I stay at your place tonight?” Jing Yicheng thought for a moment. “If he doesn’t leave, I might need to stay for a long time.”

Xu Chenghao looked bewildered: “Who?”

Jing Yicheng pointed upstairs: “Anyway, it’s someone annoying.”

Xu Chenghao could tell he didn’t want to say anything and immediately gave up on asking, nodding: “Fine, you can stay in the guest room, the second one. The toiletries are disposable, you can use them as you like.”

Jing Yicheng: “Alright, whose room is the first one?”

Xu Chenghao casually said: “Li Nian’s, he’s stationed here long-term.”

Jing Yicheng: “… Is that room cleaned?”

Xu Chenghao: “It’s cleaned.”

Jing Yicheng opened the door to the first guest room with an expressionless face: “Now it’s mine!”

Xu Chenghao: “…”

As long as you’re happy.

Although he didn’t know what had happened, Xu Chenghao still settled Jing Yicheng in and returned to his bedroom after closing the windows.

Jing Yicheng lay in an environment completely different from the afternoon, looking at the obviously warmer decoration. Despite not feeling sleepy at all, he quickly fell into a deep sleep and slept through until dawn.

Xu Chenghao stretched lazily on the balcony, turned around upon hearing a noise, and said, “Good morning!”

Jing Yicheng felt a moment of surprise, his eyes locked onto the person before him. The word “morning” caught in his throat, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it. After all, it had been quite a while since he had uttered such words.

It had been a while since he had encountered such a morning scene, and he was unsure how to respond.

In his moment of hesitation, Xu Chenghao had already walked over, gesturing, “Aunt has made breakfast. I prefer Chinese-style, so even if you don’t like it, it’s of no use.”

Jing Yicheng smiled: “Coincidentally, I like Chinese-style too.”

For breakfast today, there were scrambled eggs, potato cakes, minced meat with eggplant, and green vegetable noodles. Probably fearing they wouldn’t be satisfied, Auntie had also prepared two additional dishes.

After they had eaten their fill, Xu Chenghao asked him, “How are you going back?”

Jing Yicheng looked outside: “I’ll go the same way I came.”

Xu Chenghao: “…Okay”

Jing Yicheng glanced at the busy Auntie in the kitchen, stood up, and walked toward the window. Xu Chenghao also got up and stood a few steps away from the window, gesturing, “Go ahead.”

Jing Yicheng opened the window, and with agile movements, he leaped out as if the sixth-floor height was level ground, moving with ease.

Xu Chenghao felt a slight envy at his agility, closed the window, and prepared to head to work.

Today was the second day. The seedlings in the little yellow duck had successfully sprouted. Xu Chenghao looked at them and saw no significant changes from before. After watering them, he held them and waited for Jing Yicheng to arrive.

Upstairs, the person who had been standing guard overnight looked at Jing Yicheng, who seemed to be in even better condition than yesterday, with a bewildered expression, unable to believe his eyes – was there something off about this situation???

Jing Yicheng waved and said, “You take care of the hawks yourself, I’m leaving!”

The squatting guard: “Mr. Jing—”

Bang!

The door was slammed shut without giving him a chance to speak.

Jing Yicheng sat in the elevator, suppressing his slightly lifted spirits. When the elevator doors opened again, he looked at Xu Chenghao outside, hooked his lips, and slowly said the words he had held back all morning, “Good morning!”

T/N: Jing Yicheng: Making friends with Haohao ️

Cohabitation ️