“Then you are really good to me.” Zhao Muqing seemed barely able to keep himself upright, unable to help closing his eyes as every word he spoke sounded as though it had been drained of all strength. “You are practically my, uh, second parents.”
Zhao Muqing fell fast asleep right after finishing his sentence, and Shen Guanzhi simply stopped paying attention to him.
The designated driver parked the car right at the villa entrance, and Shen Guanzhi supported Zhao Muqing inside, pressing the button for the third floor in the elevator. Zhao Muqing had been reasonably well-behaved in the car, but the moment Shen Guanzhi moved him, he began tossing and turning endlessly like a fish suddenly pulled out of the water.
“Don’t move.” Shen Guanzhi caught the hand that was trying to cause trouble.
Instantly, Zhao Muqing quieted down significantly, adopting an expression that looked as though he had suffered the greatest grievance in the world. Shen Guanzhi clearly wasn’t buying this act and firmly controlled Zhao Muqing’s movements until he got him safely to the bedroom.
Shen Guanzhi fished out a hangover remedy from the drawer, feeding the pills to Zhao Muqing one by one. Having been subdued by Shen Guanzhi just moments prior, the intoxicated Zhao Muqing behaved exceptionally well, opening his mouth whenever told to take medicine and drinking water whenever instructed.
“Does it hurt?” Shen Guanzhi supported him as he leaned against the headboard.
“It is all right,” Zhao Muqing said, looking straight into Shen Guanzhi’s eyes. “Can I go to sleep now?”
“Take off your clothes.” Shen Guanzhi got up from the bed and rummaged through the wardrobe for a set of pajamas. Turning back around, he saw Zhao Muqing struggling to undo the buttons of his own shirt, failing miserably even after fumbling with them for ages.
He stepped right up to Zhao Muqing and began unbuttoning the shirt one button at a time. The previously docile Zhao Muqing suddenly staged a fierce rebellion, swatting Shen Guanzhi’s hand away with a slap. “I can undo them myself.”
“Can you? You haven’t even managed to undo the first button in ten minutes.” Shen Guanzhi stared unblinkingly at Zhao Muqing’s face, making no effort to conceal his skepticism.
“Leave me alone.” Zhao Muqing retreated, putting some distance between himself and Shen Guanzhi as he stubbornly insisted on opening his buttons on his own, though he remained as inept as before and couldn’t get the shirt off.
When Shen Guanzhi made a move to intervene again, Zhao Muqing backed away further, looking dangerously close to just collapsing and falling asleep fully clothed. Having had enough, Shen Guanzhi simply pinned him down onto the bed by force, kneeling with both legs on either side of Zhao Muqing’s body. Unable to break free, the person underneath could only shoot him a furious glare while Shen Guanzhi successfully undid every single one of his buttons.
His gaze caught on the scars across Zhao Muqing’s body. They had faded considerably compared to when he first saw them at the hospital, though ointment alone couldn’t make them disappear completely.
Involuntary, Shen Guanzhi reached out to touch the skin. Zhao Muqing twisted his body to dodge the other man’s fingertips. “That tickles.”
“Weren’t you just talking about sleeping? Go to sleep once you change your clothes.” Shen Guanzhi hurriedly changed the subject, withdrawing his hand, getting up from atop Zhao Muqing, and picking up the pajamas lying nearby.
Before Shen Guanzhi could even turn back around after reaching the edge of the bed, Zhao Muqing abruptly shoved him backward onto the mattress.
Zhao Muqing’s shirt was still on, and through the gaping fabric, Shen Guanzhi could see the other man’s fair, well-proportioned physique. The hands pinning him down didn’t possess much strength, but Shen Guanzhi didn’t move, letting Zhao Muqing indulge in his brief illusion of having the upper hand.
Zhao Muqing pinned down one of Shen Guanzhi’s arms with one hand while pressing his palm flat against the chest of the man beneath him. Locking gazes, he declared, “You crushed my arm into numbness earlier. Let me have a turn, is that okay?”
“You managed it, and then?” Shen Guanzhi watched him with amusement.
“And then, uh, I am sleepy.” Zhao Muqing pondered with a straight face for a moment, only to collapse directly onto Shen Guanzhi the next second, resting his forehead against the other man’s chest and falling asleep the moment he closed his eyes.
Carefully, Shen Guanzhi moved Zhao Muqing over to the other side of the bed, slipped the shirt off his shoulders, and changed him into pajamas. His fingertips brushed inadvertently against Zhao Muqing’s skin, lingering for a fraction of a second longer than intended near his collarbone.
He was burning up.
Silently, Shen Guanzhi pulled his hand back, slipped the pajama pants onto Zhao Muqing, and tucked the quilt around him.
When Zhao Muqing woke up, Shen Guanzhi was browsing information on his laptop. He scrambled up from bed, checked the schedule on his phone, and upon confirming that he had absolutely nothing to do for the entire day, he contentedly settled back down to sleep.
Looking down at himself, he remembered not changing clothes the night before, which meant Shen Guanzhi must have done it for him. Who would have thought a single glass of hard liquor could wipe his memory completely? It seemed he really shouldn’t touch alcohol when nothing else was going on.
“Shen Guanzhi,” Zhao Muqing said while lying in bed, facing Shen Guanzhi’s back. “Was I a huge pain in the neck yesterday?”
“No.” Shen Guanzhi paused for a second, his eyes remaining fixed on the computer screen.
“Anyway, thanks.” Feeling much more clear-headed, Zhao Muqing pushed open the door and left the room, heading back to the fourth floor to shower and change.
“Oh, right,” Shen Guanzhi called out just as he was about to step out the door. “I sent the restaurant address to your phone. Eight o’clock tonight, do not be late.”
Zhao Muqing checked his phone and sure enough found a location message. This must have been the dinner invitation Shen Guanzhi extended after work wrapped up yesterday.
Watching Zhao Muqing’s figure disappear completely from view, Shen Guanzhi stopped clicking his mouse, pulled out his phone, and dialed Xu Cheng’s number.
“How is it?” Shen Guanzhi spoke first.
“Just like the intelligence you gathered earlier. Their internal faction is already in complete chaos, and now their last trump card wants to break the contract with them as well.” The sound of rustling documents came through the other end. “Do you want to win him over? I looked at his resume, and he is even more exceptional than I expected.”
“The studio doesn’t lack good models. I originally didn’t care, but he was way too arrogant at the bar yesterday.”
“I will contact Ms. Li in a bit.” Xu Cheng let out a soft laugh at that. “It is rare to see you wanting to vent your anger. Back in the old days, you would have called yourself childish for this, wouldn’t you?”
Shen Guanzhi frowned. “Am I not allowed to have a temper of my own?”
“Of course, you are,” Xu Cheng laughed even harder. “I won’t disturb you and Xiao Qing’s dinner date any longer, hanging up now.”
Shen Guanzhi shoved his phone back into his pocket. In reality, aside from Zhao Muqing, he had invited one other person to this dinner.
Shen Guanzhi had booked a high-end Western restaurant. Not wanting to dress too casually, Zhao Muqing put real effort into his appearance before heading out.
When he arrived at the table, Shen Guanzhi was sitting opposite him and signaled with his eyes. “Come here.”
Before Zhao Muqing could even walk around to the seat beside Shen Guanzhi and sit down, he was suddenly pulled right into the other man’s arms.
He ended up sitting on Shen Guanzhi’s lap, his waist encircled by one arm while his upper body leaned entirely against the other person.
Feeling awkward, Zhao Muqing protested, “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to do this out in public?”
“It is precisely because we are in public that we need to put on a show, isn’t it?” Shen Guanzhi made a silencing gesture. “Someone is here.”
Looking back toward the restaurant entrance, Zhao Muqing was nearly driven to roll his eyes internally upon seeing that it was none other than the person in charge of the exhibition project.
“Mr. Shen, I am late. My apologies.” The project director sat down across from them.
“Then you will have to punish yourself with a drink first.” Without a shred of politeness, Shen Guanzhi uncorked the bottle of wine on the table, then turned his head to ask the man sitting in his lap, “How much should I pour? You decide.”
“Fill it to the brim. Pouring too little would look like looking down on him, wouldn’t it?”
Forcing out a smile, the director accepted the full glass of wine from Shen Guanzhi’s hand and downed it in one go. “I drank the wine, so can we consider this matter of being late water under the bridge?”
Shen Guanzhi reached out to stroke Zhao Muqing’s earlobe. “Is it?”
“I don’t really want to.” Zhao Muqing nuzzled against Shen Guanzhi’s chest, putting on a pretense of acting spoiled.
Feigning ignorance, Shen Guanzhi asked, “What is wrong?”
“My head was killing me yesterday, you know that.” Zhao Muqing grabbed at the fabric of Shen Guanzhi’s shirt.
“Right.” Shen Guanzhi smiled meaningfully, one hand resting on Zhao Muqing’s cheek. “He gave you a pounding headache all night because of a glass of wine, and making him pay it back double now sounds more than fair.”
“Shen Guanzhi, don’t think you can act so arrogant just because you made some money designing things.” The director seemed to find it funny.
“Your company’s cash flow is in trouble, isn’t it?” Shen Guanzhi pushed an entire bottle of liquor right in front of the director. “You wanted to use a small investment to leverage a massive return by holding that exhibition to attract other investors, am I right?”
The director’s fists instantly clenched tight, and he remained silent.
“I have enough documentation in my hands. Once it leaks out, the exhibition loses all its meaning.”
The director’s expression turned grim as he dragged the bottle of foreign spirits toward himself. “How much?”
Shen Guanzhi looked down at Zhao Muqing. “You tell him.”
“Haven’t decided yet,” Zhao Muqing deeply felt that riding on someone else’s coattails felt exceptionally satisfying. “Drink until I am happy.”
Daring not to vent his anger, the director had no choice but to pick up the bottle and pour the alcohol straight down his throat.
Only after more than half the bottle of liquor was gone did Zhao Muqing signal his satisfaction. After all, the alcohol percentage wasn’t low, and he didn’t actually want to land someone in the hospital.
The director was eventually picked up by a driver waiting outside the restaurant, and Zhao Muqing finally moved back to sit in the adjacent seat.
“This man has a long history of misconduct and has even harassed artists working under his own agency,” Shen Guanzhi cast an indifferent glance at Zhao Muqing. “You do not need to be too lenient.”
“Ah? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Zhao Muqing furrowed his brows instantly. “If I had known, I would have ordered another bottle for him to drink.”
“His good days are over, and I never promised him I wouldn’t leak the information.” Shen Guanzhi ordered a lower-proof red wine from the waiter, opening a fresh bottle.
“As expected, there is no such thing as an honest businessman.” Zhao Muqing broke into a soft smile.
“Putting that aside for a moment, I have something for you.” Changing the subject abruptly, Shen Guanzhi signaled the waiter to bring over an item.
A moment later, an exquisite gift box appeared in Shen Guanzhi’s hands, which he slid across the table to Zhao Muqing. “Open it and take a look.”
Impatiently, Zhao Muqing tore it open to find a wine-red suit inside, which felt high-end the moment he touched it.
He vaguely remembered Shen Guanzhi mentioning at the photo studio that this style of makeup and styling suited him well, so it seemed the man had bought it specifically because of that.
“I love it, the boss is generous.” Zhao Muqing rested his chin in his hand, then suddenly looked Shen Guanzhi up and down with a serious expression. “Now that I’ve vented that frustration, I owe you a token of appreciation in return.”
Shen Guanzhi’s interest was clearly piqued. He lacked nothing of monetary value, so he found himself genuinely curious about what Zhao Muqing had in mind.
“Right now? I am looking forward to it.”