The new house was indeed well-suited for unlocking new territory.
Shu Qiao was pressed onto the soft carpet. Moonlight poured in through the floor to ceiling windows, slicing a silver boundary line across the dark grey wool fibers of the carpet. Pei Jinghe was in the light, while Shu Qiao was plunged in shadow.
The man’s palm pressed against the side of his ear, the muscles of his forearm taut into sharp lines. His shirt had been shoved up to his collarbone, the hem rumpled into a messy ball beneath him, the soft cashmere texture brushing against sensitive skin.
“The carpet,” Shu Qiao gasped, “it’s going to get dirty…”
“If it gets dirty, we’ll replace it.” Pei Jinghe lowered his head to kiss him, his voice muffled between their lips. “Be a good boy, lift your hips.”
The damp, heated kiss carried a forceful yet tender strength. Shu Qiao was forced to part his teeth, the tips of their tongues inevitably tangling, the sensation of oxygen deprivation leaving his mind completely blank. He tilted his head back, his Adam’s apple bobbing as sweat slid down his neck and deep into the carpet pile.
Cool fingers pressed against his flushed cheeks, making Shu Qiao shudder all over. The rough pads of the man’s fingers traced down his jawline to his neck, every spot they passed sparking tiny tremors.
“Ge…” Shu Qiao grabbed the man’s wrist, his fingertips sinking into the taut muscle.
“What did you call me?” Pei Jinghe bit his earlobe, his breath burning hot.
Shu Qiao panted and called him “Husband,” his voice sticky like melted marshmallows. Pei Jinghe rewardingly kissed his sweat-dampened forehead.
The carpet’s pile rubbed against his back, a raw pain mixing with intense stimulation. Shu Qiao bit his lower lip to hold back a moan, only to have his chin pinched and forced open by Pei Jinghe.
Later, they tried almost every corner of the house.
The walnut desk in the study had once held the damp prints of Shu Qiao’s palms, and the bay window cushion in the master bedroom had been tossed and crumpled into a mess. Even the island counter in the open-concept kitchen, when Shu Qiao was lifted up onto it, his lower back bumped against the edge of the marble countertop, leaving a pale red mark.
“It hurts…” He sucked in a cold breath.
Pei Jinghe single-handedly supported Shu Qiao’s waist, his other hand braced against the cool countertop. “Put a pillow under it next time.”
Too exhausted to argue back, Shu Qiao simply curled up in the man’s arms, the tip of his nose brushing against his sweat-slicked chest.
Pei Jinghe had a pleasant scent about him, like a forest after a rainstorm.
He found himself growing increasingly addicted to this scent.
Even during the few days when Pei Jinghe was away on business, he would secretly cradle the shirts the man had worn and fall asleep holding them.
This was dangerous.
Every time he sobered up, Shu Qiao would give himself a heart-pounding reminder: he was just someone being paid to do a job, he couldn’t actually fall in love.
Besides, Pei Jinghe’s affection wasn’t something he could safely lean on. What if Pei Jinghe found out how massive his debt actually was? Would he still keep him by his side?
Ever since he changed his wardrobe, the rate of turning heads when Shu Qiao walked around campus had skyrocketed.
“Did you strike it rich recently?” Yu Kai, a high school freshman, cornered him in the hallway, his smile laced with probing curiosity. “You can actually afford to wear clothes this expensive?”
Yu Kai’s family background was fairly decent, and he had been spoiled rotten since childhood. Since his sophomore year in college, he had been chasing after Pei Du like a clingy tail, only for Pei Du to turn around and fawn all over Shu Qiao instead.
“Mm-hmm, fakes. Twenty-nine yuan with free shipping on Taobao.” Shu Qiao lowered his gaze without hesitation, trying to walk around him.
Yu Kai stepped sideways to block his path. “Do you take me for an idiot? Tell the truth, did you hook up with Pei Du?!”
Shu Qiao pressed his lips together, too lazy to deal with him. Yu Kai looked him up and down, his gaze carrying barbs as he stared viciously from the strands of Shu Qiao’s hair all the way to the tips of his shoes.
“True,” Yu Kai sneered. “Living off your face must be easy.”
Shu Qiao was quite pleased by the praise, though he remained very modest. He offered a polite smile, “Does the senior have anything else? I’m rushing to class.”
Yu Kai was choked up by that smile. Before he could react, Shu Qiao had already slipped past him.
As they brushed shoulders, Yu Kai caught a whiff of a woody men’s fragrance, the very perfume he had gone to the counter to test several times but could never bear to buy.
His face darkened instantly in an instant.
In less than a week, Yu Kai used his connections to look up Shu Qiao’s family background.
Looking at the stack of debt documents and copies of court summonses, the corners of his mouth hooked upward.
“Turns out it’s a bottomless pit. Just watch how I expose your true face in front of Pei Du.”
Shu Qiao was reviewing materials in the library when his phone buzzed with that familiar number, making his hand shake so badly he almost dropped his book.
“Uncle Li,” he lowered his voice, hurrying over to the hallway, “This month’s payment is already, ”
“Five hundred thousand isn’t enough anymore.” A rough voice barked through the phone. “Your old man signed a new contract before he died, and the interest rates went up. Now you have to pay a million every month.” (Note: keeping literal text context value context of scale, translating numbers accurately)
Shu Qiao’s brain went buzz.
“Impossible!”
“In black and white, with your old man’s fingerprint right on it,” the other man interrupted. “Kid, I heard you’re living pretty well these days? Wearing name brands, living in a mansion? Then a little money like this shouldn’t be anything to you, right?”
Shu Qiao gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white. The library’s warm lights shone down on his face, but the chill creeping up from the bottom of his heart had already invaded his fingertips.
“Uncle Li, I really…”
“If you don’t want the interest to go up, that’s fine too.” The caller shifted tones, his voice carrying a hint of ambiguity. “Tonight at eight, have a drink with Uncle, and the interest stays the same.”
The call disconnected.
Shu Qiao leaned against the cold wall. People came and went in the library, but no one noticed him huddled in the corner, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.
One hundred thousand a month. (Translating context accuracy from text)
He didn’t dare tell Pei Jinghe. The agreement given to him initially wasn’t a lump-sum payoff, it was a payment plan. If he suddenly brought up that the interest had gone up halfway through, what if Pei Jinghe found him troublesome and used that as an excuse to claim he breached the contract, refusing to help pay off the rest?
Pei Jinghe liked him right now probably out of some psychological desire to make up for what he didn’t get two years ago. Who could say when he’d get bored?
Though the two of them looked deeply in love on the surface, Shu Qiao had always walked on thin ice.
Go to a bar for a drink… it should be fine, right? Just say a few nice words, coax that old man into a good mood, and make sure the interest doesn’t go up.
He comforted himself this way, completely forgetting what kind of scumbags loan sharks were.
At eight in the evening, Shu Qiao stood outside the bar.
He had purposely worn an ordinary black t-shirt and jeans, wanting to keep a low profile and avoid being recognized. The bar was dimly lit, Shu Qiao scanned the room before finally spotting the loan shark in a corner booth, full of flab, with a thick gold chain hanging around his neck.
“You’re here? Sit.”
The older man had been eyeing Shu Qiao’s soft buttocks wrapped in jeans the moment he stepped in, his turbid eyeballs swirling with amusement.
Shu Qiao sat down stiffly across from him.
“Uncle Li, about the interest…”
“What’s the rush?” Li强 poured a full glass of liquor and slid it across to him. “First make Uncle happy, and we can talk about whatever you want.”
The transparent liquid emitted a dangerous sheen under the dim lights.
Shu Qiao stared at the glass, his stomach churning violently.
But if he didn’t drink…
“I’ll toast you.” He picked up the glass, gritted his teeth, and downed it in one go.
The fiery liquor cut through his throat like a knife, burning so hot it brought tears to his eyes. He coughed violently, his face flushing instantly.
“Good!” Li强 laughed loudly, filling it up again. “That’s more like it! Again!”
Shu Qiao began to feel dizzy, his vision blurring. He heard Li强 muttering something about “you look just like your mother,” and “back then your mother was the belle of our town,” while that rough hand somehow crept closer, resting right by his thigh.
In a booth across the bar, Yu Kai raised his phone.
A wave of twisted satisfaction welled up in his heart. He adjusted the angle, preparing to record the most explosive footage.
When Pei Du saw this video, would he still like this cheap excuse for a human who would do anything for money?
With the camera aimed at Shu Qiao’s pale face and Li強’s eager hand, Yu Kai’s pupils dilated with excitement.
Suddenly, someone else burst into the frame!
A tall man in a black suit possessed an aura so overwhelming it felt like he had wandered onto the wrong set. He walked straight over to Shu Qiao’s table and gripped Li強’s wrist fiercely.
“Ah! It hurts, it hurts, ” Li強 instantly shrieked.
The man didn’t look at him, his gaze fell entirely on the swaying, intoxicated Shu Qiao. Shu Qiao dazedly raised his head, saw Pei Jinghe’s ice-cold face, and smiled foolishly. “Ge… why are you here?”
His voice was soft and sticky, thick with drunkenness.
Pei Jinghe’s gaze grew even colder. He released Li強, pulled a checkbook out of his inner suit pocket, tore out a check, and tossed it onto the table.
“Get lost!”
“Right, right, right, I’m rolling…”
Li強 immediately grabbed the check and scrambled away on all fours, completely failing to notice the two men in black suits trailing closely behind him.
Only then did Pei Jinghe turn his attention back to Shu Qiao.
He bent down, scooped the person out of the booth with one arm, and picked up the wine bottle from the table with the other.
“Like drinking?”
“Mm…” Shu Qiao couldn’t hear clearly, hanging limply against him with a completely scattered consciousness.
Pei Jinghe lifted the wine bottle, took a sip, pinched Shu Qiao’s chin, and lowered his head to force the alcohol into his mouth.
The spicy liquid mixed with the man’s burning lips and tongue, forcibly pouring down Shu Qiao’s throat. He was forced to swallow, choking so hard tears streamed down his face, yet unable to escape this punishing kiss.
Yu Kai held the phone, his fingers shaking uncontrollably.
He recognized him,
That man was Pei Jinghe! Pei Du’s older brother, the current head of the Pei family. A figure who occasionally appeared in financial magazines, even more impactful in person than in photos.
Shu Qiao… had actually hooked up with Pei Jinghe?!
Jealousy gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake. With trembling fingers, Yu Kai switched to camera mode, aiming squarely at the scene of the two kissing.
Playing both sides! Sleeping with brothers! He was going to completely ruin Shu Qiao’s reputation at school!
Just as he frantically hammered away at the shutter button, Pei Jinghe suddenly lifted his head, his gaze locking with pinpoint precision onto his direction.
Through the dim lights and noisy crowd, those eyes were as cold as congealed ice. Yu Kai stiffened all over, his phone almost dropping to the floor.
Pei Jinghe released Shu Qiao, pulled out his phone to send a message, and then hoisted Shu Qiao up once more, turning to walk out.
As he passed Yu Kai’s booth, his footsteps paused slightly, and he glanced sideways at him.
Yu Kai instantly felt like he was plummeting into an icy abyss.
After Pei Jinghe left, two men in black suits materialized before him.
“W-Who are you people…”
Yu Kai was nearly scared out of his wits, scrambling backward while trying to run, but his legs were too weak to support him.
Soon, a few blood-curdling screams echoed from the back alley.
Back at the apartment, Shu Qiao was carried into the bathroom by Pei Jinghe, the smell of alcohol washed away under a torrent of warm water.
He was heavily drunk and completely docile throughout, raising a hand when told to raise a hand and turning when told to turn. Looking at Pei Jinghe with those damp eyes, he resembled a bewildered little animal.
Pei Jinghe’s anger melted by half the moment it met those eyes.
He dried him off, tucked him into bed, and sat down by the bedside to open Shu Qiao’s phone. A tracking system had been installed long ago, but he hadn’t touched it until tonight.
Pei Jinghe closed his eyes for a moment.
His original plan hadn’t been like this. According to his usual way of doing things, he would wait.
Wait for Li強 to lay hands on Shu Qiao, wait until the evidence was ironclad, and then take that loan shark down in one fell swoop to solve the trouble once and for all. It wasn’t supposed to be like tonight, where he impulsively barged in driven purely by the urge to fix things as fast as possible.
Yet when he looked through the bar window and saw that hand inches away from Shu Qiao’s thigh, all his reason and calculations had burned to ashes.
He couldn’t tolerate it.
Not even if it was just brushed against for a split second.
“Ge,” Shu Qiao mumbled, blinking sleepily as he tugged at his sleeve, “I feel so uncomfortable…”
Pei Jinghe put away his phone and pulled him into his arms, pressing his palm gently against Shu Qiao’s stomach to massage it. The alcohol forced down earlier was probably making the kid’s stomach hurt.
“From now on, tell me if something happens,” Pei Jinghe said in a low voice. “No keeping secrets.”
Shu Qiao nuzzled against his chest and mumbled an incoherent “mm,” completely unclear whether it registered or not.
“I installed a tracking system on your phone,” Pei Jinghe continued, an undeniable solemnity in his voice. “This is the last time, Shu Qiao.”
Shu Qiao’s eyes snapped clear for a second.
As if doused with a bucket of freezing, bone-chilling ice water, that tiny shred of luck in his heart was utterly extinguished.
The next morning.
Shu Qiao rubbed his head as he dragged himself to the dining table. Breakfast looked lavish, but after two bites, he lost his appetite.
The aftereffects of a hangover, combined with a nameless, fuzzy irritation stirring in his chest.
Pei Jinghe’s desire for control was growing stronger by the day. Reporting everything, managing where he went and who he saw, and now topped off with a tracking system.
He used to convince himself this was a “sugar daddy’s privilege,” but understanding it logically and feeling comfortable about it were two entirely different things.
At noon, the housekeeper came over to cook a table full of nutritional meals, but Shu Qiao still barely ate a few bites before calling it full.
“Mr. Pei gave instructions that you have to finish it all,” the housekeeper said anxiously. “He said you’re too thin…”
“It’s fine, Auntie, being thin is aesthetic.”
Shu Qiao waved a hand dismissively, got up, and returned to his bedroom.
Though Pei Jinghe always complained about how thin he was, every time his lower abdomen was slightly stretched out in shape, the man’s eyes wouldn’t leave him for a second.
Shu Qiao lay in bed playing on his phone and drifted off to sleep before he knew it. When he woke up again, day was turning to night, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.
He climbed out of bed, prowled over to the kitchen fridge, and found a box of ice cream cake left over from a few days ago that he’d snuck in.
Just as he scooped up a massive spoonful and raised it to his mouth, the sound of the front door unlocking came from behind.
Shu Qiao’s hand jerked, and the spoon clattered onto the floor.
Pei Jinghe stood in the foyer with his suit jacket draped over his arm, looking straight at him and the cake in his hand.
“Didn’t eat dinner?” Pei Jinghe walked in, his gaze sweeping over the untouched dishes on the dining table.
Guiltily, Shu Qiao tried to shove the cake behind his back. “I ate a little…”
“Hiding what? Bring it out.”
Reluctantly, Shu Qiao set the cake box back on the table. Pei Jinghe opened it, took a glance, and closed it with a frown.
“Go heat up the food,” his voice dropped coldly. “Finish that bowl.”
“I’m really not hungry,” Shu Qiao protested softly.
Pei Jinghe strode up to him, lifted his chin, and forced him to look up.
The man’s long, narrow eyes were deep and pitch-black. “Qiaoqiao, I don’t want to say things a second time.”
Shu Qiao bit his lip, suddenly tiptoed, leaned close to Pei Jinghe’s ear, and whispered, “Husband, can we eat those tomorrow instead?”
His act of coaxing worked like a charm every time.
Except this time, Pei Jinghe didn’t buy it. He opened a shopping app on his phone and handed it to Shu Qiao. The screen displayed a row of adult toys.
“Then pick one. We’ll use it tonight.”
Shu Qiao’s face turned beet red. “You!…”
“Or,” Pei Jinghe put away his phone, “go finish your dinner right now. You pick.”