23 – Chapter 23
Pei Hanqing understood Bo Jinye as someone rigorous and ascetic, aloof and indifferent.
Because the Bo family had strict upbringing, Madam Ning Xu had been particularly demanding of Bo Jinye during her lifetime.
Thus, Bo Jinye never indulged in the vices common among wealthy scions and privileged heirs. He maintained impeccable conduct, and the most intimate gestures he ever showed An Ruyue were merely draping a coat over her shoulders or patting her head.
At first glance, Pei Hanqing almost mistook the figure in Brocade Garden for a stranger indulging in frivolity.
Hearing Pei Hanqing’s voice, Bo Jinye shielded An Sheng’s face and sharply turned around, his dark eyes coldly piercing through Pei Hanqing.
In that instant, he truly resembled a vengeful spirit clawing its way out from the depths of hell.
Pei Hanqing’s heart sank, and he retreated two steps, heaving a sigh of relief only after recognizing Bo Jinye’s face. “Jinye, you scared me to death.”
“What, what are you doing?”
An Sheng tried to sit up but was firmly pressed down by Bo Jinye. Amused, she poked his waist. “A Ye…”
Hearing An Sheng’s voice, Pei Hanqing rubbed his ear and praised with a laugh, “Just from the voice, I can tell she’s undoubtedly a beauty.”
“No wonder our always cold and detached President Bo can’t restrain himself.”
An Sheng’s eyes widened slightly. Our President Bo?
The girl’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.
Bo Jinye knew just from her little look that An Sheng had misunderstood. “A Ye is not—A Ye loves Sheng Sheng!”
As he spoke, he lifted An Sheng and pressed her against his chest, refusing to let Pei Hanqing see her face. “Why are you here?”
“Look at you, of course I’d come see you after returning to the country,” Pei Hanqing chuckled, walking over and sitting nearby.
Bo Jinye directly carried An Sheng to a single-seater sofa and sat down. “You may leave.”
“From now on, Brocade Garden is no place for you to set foot in.”
An Sheng squirmed in Bo Jinye’s arms. “A Ye, A Ye.”
Bo Jinye would never allow Pei Hanqing to see An Sheng’s face.
Nor could he let An Sheng see the expression on his own face at that moment.
Sinister, tinged with cruelty and bloodlust, brimming with boundless malice.
If he weren’t holding An Sheng, Bo Jinye might even have picked up the fruit knife on the table and slowly flayed Pei Hanqing’s flesh piece by piece.
Pei Hanqing was frightened by Bo Jinye’s expression, his face paling as he stammered, “Jinye? Are, are you okay?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why such hostility toward me? What have you heard?”
An Sheng pricked up her ears in Bo Jinye’s arms, listening to their conversation.
Pei Hanqing’s question… Did he really do something to betray A Ye?
No, something feels off about that phrasing.
Bo Jinye gently nuzzled An Sheng’s hair, his cold, dark gaze slicing like a blade across Pei Hanqing’s throat. “Oh? What exactly should I have heard?”
Pei Hanqing’s breath hitched. He instinctively touched his neck, blinking nervously before forcing another laugh. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand any of it.”
Bo Jinye pressed his tongue against his palate and stood up with An Sheng in his arms.
“A Ye?” An Sheng, held in a child-carrying position, shifted uncomfortably.
Bo Jinye promptly smacked her bottom. “Naughty. Naughty girls get spanked.”
An Sheng’s face flushed instantly. “A Ye!”
How could he do such a thing in front of others!
An Sheng still wanted to glance at Pei Hanqing, but Bo Jinye held her firmly as he carried her upstairs.
Bo Xiyuan stepped forward. “Mr. Pei, this way.”Pei Hanqing’s arrival had been baffling, and his dismissal left him even more bewildered. He couldn’t help but ask Bo Xiyuan, “What’s wrong with Jinye?”
“President Bo asked me to relay a message to you, Mr. Pei,” Bo Xiyuan said with a detached expression.
Pei Hanqing raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing. “Why didn’t he tell me himself?”
“Probably because he never wants to see you again. President Bo said that since you’ve been involved with Miss An Ruyue, Brocade Garden will no longer permit either of you to enter.” Bo Xiyuan observed Pei Hanqing’s abruptly changing expression and added, “Furthermore, President Bo is aware that you secretly established a new company overseas, using his name to poach talent from Bo’s enterprise.”
Pei Hanqing’s face froze completely. Bo Xiyuan turned away, “Also, Shi Yan has begun withdrawing all collaborations and investments with the Pei family.”
“I assume you’ll receive the news shortly.”
As Bo Xiyuan prepared to leave, Pei Hanqing grabbed his arm. “Did Jinye say all this?”
Bo Xiyuan pulled his arm free and brushed off his shirt. “It seems your trip abroad has affected your hearing, Mr. Pei.”
“And don’t touch me. We’re not familiar.”
Just as Pei Hanqing was about to say more, his phone rang. He shot a dark glare at Bo Xiyuan and stepped aside to answer. “It’s me. A meeting? Right now? I’m not… What?!” His voice suddenly rose several pitches. He spun around to stare at Bo Xiyuan, clenched his jaw, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m on my way back.”
Watching him hurry off, Bo Xiyuan called security. “Add a few more words to the sign at the entrance. Make the font larger so no one misses it.”
Upstairs in the bedroom, An Sheng was pinned to the bed by Bo Jinye. “Stop touching me, A Ye!”
Bo Jinye buried his face in her neck, kissing An Sheng. “Sheng Sheng…”
The man didn’t want to let go. “I’m so scared…”
“Sheng Sheng, tell me, tell me you’re mine.”
“You’re still here with me, alive and here with me…”
An Sheng sensed his unsettled and faintly frantic energy, softening her voice as she held the trembling Bo Jinye in her arms. “I’m here, A Ye.”
“I’ve always been here.”
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”
Bo Jinye looked up with crimson-tinged eyes, pleading, “Sheng Sheng, kiss me.”
“Let me live, let me hold you forever.”
[I’m not afraid of death, I’m only afraid I can’t die in your arms.]
An Sheng didn’t understand why the man had suddenly become so obsessive, thinking her fainting spell must have frightened him badly. “Of course A Ye can live.”
“I’m right here. Aren’t you holding me right now? The living, breathing me.”
Bo Jinye smiled as if intoxicated, leaning in to kiss An Sheng.
He needed repeated reassurance to keep the visions of his past life’s ending from resurfacing.
The Bo Jinye that Pei Hanqing knew had completely vanished.
Beneath the man’s abstinent and composed exterior, his soul was churning.
The sea that was Bo Jinye was no longer calm, stirring with waves fierce enough to devour and tear apart his enemies.
An Sheng quietly held Bo Jinye until he calmed down, then couldn’t resist asking, “So that Mr. Pei really doesn’t have feelings for A Ye?”
Bo Jinye was both angry and hurt, tapping An Sheng’s forehead with his slender fingers. “Forget about him!”
“Sheng Sheng is teasing me!”