He Qian: “?”
He blearily opened his eyes. As his senses returned, He Qian stiffened. His hand felt a searing heat, and he immediately pulled it back.
He Qian’s hand had been resting directly on Zhou Xuying’s abdominal muscles!
The tips of He Qian’s ears felt as if they were on fire, burning intensely.
Zhou Xuying pulled back the covers and sat up, taking a cigarette from the drawer. “Come here and light it.”
He Qian took the lighter from the nightstand and sat astride Zhou Xuying’s lap to light the cigarette. The scene looked exactly like a business transaction.
Zhou Xuying took a drag, turned his head to exhale the smoke, and asked with lowered eyes, “How much longer are you going to sit there?”
He Qian scrambled off quickly. He accidentally inhaled the drifting cloud of smoke into his lungs, his eyes turning red as he let out a couple of coughs.
Zhou Xuying stepped out of bed, his long legs standing before He Qian. They were straight and lean.
Zhou Xuying buttoned his shirt with one hand, tilting his head back slightly to exhale white smoke. He looked distinguished, his sharp features carrying a sense of aggression as his masculine charisma pressed down on the room.
Zhou Xuying slid one hand into his pocket. “Go downstairs.”
By the time He Qian regained his composure, Zhou Xuying had already left. He Qian dressed and showered before heading down. Zhou Xuying was sitting at the dining table with a steaming bowl of wonton soup in front of him.
He Qian sat down and began to eat.
The meat in the wontons was very fresh, and the wrappers were not tough. There was a smear of white flour on the back of Zhou Xuying’s hand. He had likely woken up early to wrap them himself.
After finishing the meal, He Qian finally spoke: “Your hand is dirty.”
Zhou Xuying froze for a second, looked down at his hand, and stood up to wash it. Once he had cleaned up, He Qian sat on the sofa watching television. Zhou Xuying sat down and turned his palms over.
“They are clean now.”
He Qian glanced at them but said nothing.
Around ten o’clock, Zhou Xuying took a phone call. After hanging up, he brought two coats down from upstairs, hanging them over his arm. “Let us go out to eat.”
He Qian turned off the television and obediently followed Zhou Xuying to the car.
Zhou Xuying drove to a traditional alleyway in Beijing, home to a very famous local hotpot restaurant. Parking was difficult nearby. The parking lot was quite far from their destination, requiring a walk of five or six hundred meters to reach it.
The restaurant was packed. They were led to a private room. When ordering, He Qian asked for a purely spicy broth. Zhou Xuying did not eat spicy food.
Zhou Xuying’s face turned cold. He said he was going out to take a call and told He Qian to eat first. Throughout the half hour from when the food arrived until He Qian finished, Zhou Xuying did not return.
It was only when He Qian was nearly done that Zhou Xuying reappeared. He returned holding a skewer of candied strawberries. He handed it to He Qian and then went to settle the bill.
He Qian looked at the candied fruit in his hand, momentarily dazed.
As they left the hotpot restaurant and walked through the narrow alley, an electric scooter came toward them. Zhou Xuying gripped He Qian’s hand and pulled him aside to make way.
He Qian’s palm felt hot from the grip. Zhou Xuying looked down at him.
The candied strawberries were caught between them, the transparent sugar coating looking exceptionally beautiful. After the scooter passed, He Qian lifted the skewer slightly. “Do you want some?”
“No.”
“Oh. It is November, so the strawberries are not sweet yet.”
He Qian lowered his head to take a bite, but before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Xuying suddenly bit off a strawberry. After chewing it carefully for a moment, he took the skewer from He Qian’s hand and threw it away.
He Qian was stunned.
Zhou Xuying said nothing and released his hand.
He took He Qian to a cinema in a nearby mall. A new legal drama had recently been released.
He Qian watched the movie while Zhou Xuying watched him. His deep gaze pierced through the darkness.
When the movie ended, many people were moved to tears, and so was Zhou Xuying.
After leaving the cinema, Zhou Xuying took He Qian to a supermarket, intending to cook dinner himself that night. While Zhou Xuying was picking items in the vegetable section, he chose some okra.
He Qian, walking behind the cart, quietly put them back.
In the meat section, everything Zhou Xuying selected was something He Qian loved. He Qian did not know how Zhou Xuying knew his preferences. He simply followed behind.
Moving along, they passed the refrigerated section. He Qian stood by a freezer, staring at the ice cream.
Zhou Xuying was extremely strict about his diet. The Zhou residence only provided fresh milk and fruit daily, with no junk food allowed. Ice cream definitely counted as junk food.
Zhou Xuying reached out with one arm and pulled He Qian away.
He Qian frowned in displeasure, keeping a distance of two meters from Zhou Xuying. When they reached the checkout area, he saw another freezer. This time, He Qian did not look.
Zhou Xuying walked over, took a carton, and put it in the cart, along with a box of lemon flavored candies.
After the bill was settled, He Qian took a look at the receipt and transferred the money to Zhou Xuying, including a note with the payment.
Zhou Xuying only saw it once they were in the car. He knew exactly what He Qian meant.
In the future, they were destined to meet in court. The cleaner the break, the better.
He Qian did not know that once he turned twenty four, he could take Zhou Xuying’s life at any time. Zhou Xuying would not spend a long remainder of his life in prison. At least, it would not be long.
That evening, Zhou Xuying cooked for He Qian in the kitchen. Soon, several dishes perfect in color, aroma, and taste were placed on the table. He Qian ate just a few bites and then went upstairs.
He was so stingy that he did not even give Zhou Xuying a single glance.
He Qian was not blind to everything Zhou Xuying did. However, he did not believe a victim should sympathize with their oppressor.
From the moment Zhou Xuying forced himself upon him, they had been on opposite sides.
Zhou Xuying looked at the food on the table, his brow twitching slightly. He painstakingly picked out the green onions piece by piece, looking up at the empty staircase.
After a long while, he finished picking out the onions, but he no longer wanted to eat.
He dropped his chopsticks, went to the study, took his medicine, and sat down to read. Books could calm his mind and suppress the violent urge to pin He Qian down after being rejected.
Zhou Xuying had not been sitting for even three minutes when he suddenly stood up and swept the expensive tea set off the desk.
The porcelain crashed to the floor, shattered completely.
The shards reflected Zhou Xuying’s gloomy, cold face. He let out a mocking laugh.
Zhou Xuying leaned his hands on the desk, his veins bulging and his facial muscles tensed. Rage surged through him, burning away the last of his reason.
Zhou Xuying stormed out of the study and kicked open the bedroom door.