“Hello, President Pei.”
The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered. Before Pei Che could even speak, he heard the voice of a strange man on the other end. The name “Zhuozhou” caught in his throat, unable to be spoken. His brow furrowed, a strange emotion flashing in his eyes. “Who is this?” he asked.
Xiao Qi chuckled softly, trying to figure out how to open with a greeting that would maximize the other man’s disgust. Just then, he saw Min Zhuozhou, who had been sleeping restlessly, stir. It was the sign of someone about to wake up. Before Xiao Qi could say a word, Min Zhuozhou’s eyes fluttered open, dazed.
“Did I fall asleep?”
Min Zhuozhou’s voice was slightly hoarse. Though he didn’t sound drunk, his naturally gentle tone was even hazier than usual. As it traveled through the phone to Pei Che’s ear, it sounded almost like an intimate murmur.
On the other end of the line, Pei Che’s brow furrowed deeply. He said coolly to the unidentified man, “Let him take the phone.”
Xiao Qi calmly handed the phone back, his voice as gentle as could be. “Baby Zhuozhou, your phone.”
Baby Zhuozhou…
Pei Che’s hand tightened around the phone in an instant, his knuckles turning white from the force. A dark, cold shadow swept across his eyes.
“Hello?” Min Zhuozhou answered the phone before he could think, his greeting polite. “Hello, who is this?”
Pei Che kept his voice as flat and calm as possible. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”
“Mr. Pei?” Min Zhuozhou pulled the phone away from his ear, glanced at the caller ID, then shot a look at Xiao Qi, who wore a completely innocent expression.
“Where are you?” Pei Che’s voice was low, even colder than usual.
Min Zhuozhou checked the time and frowned. “I’ll be home soon. You don’t need to pick me up.”
Pei Che simply uttered two words: “Address.”
Min Zhuozhou hesitated for a moment before giving him the location.
The line immediately went dead with a series of beeps; Pei Che had hung up without another word.
“Tsk, how rude,” Xiao Qi said, resting his chin on the steering wheel. A faint, gloating smile played on his handsome face, though he tried to suppress it, pretending to be serious. “How could he just hang up on Baby Zhuozhou like that?”
Min Zhuozhou’s gaze shifted from his phone to Xiao Qi’s face. Ignoring the man’s attempt to stoke the fire, he simply asked, “You did that on purpose?”
Though it was a question, his voice remained flat.
Xiao Qi didn’t try to argue. His pupils, shimmering in the shadows, held a childish quality, as if they were a constant invitation for a kiss.
Pei Che gazed at Min Zhuozhou’s beautiful face, a hard-to-suppress desire stirring deep in his eyes, yet it remained contained within his steady, profound gaze.
He didn’t want to be the first to make a move. It felt as if doing so would confirm the charge of “succumbing to temptation.” So he waited in silence, waiting for Min Zhuozhou to make a bold first move.
Perhaps it was because tonight had been so wretched, but Pei Che’s figure, descending like a guardian, had left an indelible mark on Min Zhuozhou’s heart… It was hard not to be moved by his decisive intervention and his unspoken protection.
Min Zhuozhou’s gaze softened, revealing a hint of a playboy’s unbridled charm.
He climbed onto Pei Che’s neck as the other man wished, skillfully extending his soft tongue to leave a trail of wet kisses along Pei Che’s ear. His voice was laced with a dreamlike affection: “My waist is better.”
These four words were like the opening note that broke a dam. Pei Che’s breathing suddenly deepened. Min Zhuozhou had suffered through his injury these past few days, habitually maintaining the aloof demeanor of a gentleman, unwilling to admit the secret, unfulfilled longing in his heart.
Still seated on the sofa, Pei Che gripped Min Zhuozhou’s slender waist, kissing him repeatedly. Min Zhuozhou leaned back slightly, trying to reach for something, but Pei Che only held him tighter. A wild, untamed fire flickered in his eyes as he pinned Min Zhuozhou down, refusing to let him escape.
Min Zhuozhou raised a hand, his fingers gently and meticulously tracing the contours of Pei Che’s eye socket as he coaxed him in a low voice, “Pei Che… let me go, let me get the things… Hiss, you’re biting me too hard!”
Pei Che’s hold didn’t loosen in the slightest. Only after sinking his teeth into Min Zhuozhou’s collarbone and leaving a mark did he finally lift his head. His gaze was fixed, unblinking, on the man whose face was now flushed crimson. His voice was huskier than usual. “Zhuozhou, we don’t have any here.”
Min Zhuozhou froze, suddenly remembering they were in Pei Che’s office suite, not at home. The space was so clean and minimalist that it lacked any trace of lived-in warmth; it truly wouldn’t have those kinds of things.
“Then no… let’s go home and, ”
Before Min Zhuozhou could finish his sentence, Pei Che’s lips clamped over his, silencing him. The usual coldness in his deep eyes had vanished, replaced by a glimpse of something wildly bestial and violent.
Like a tyrant who brooked no refusal, Pei Che leaned in and whispered an irrevocable decree against Min Zhuozhou’s ear: “You can. It’s not like we haven’t done it like this before.”
In an instant, the loose shirt Min Zhuozhou wore was stripped halfway off. He gripped Pei Che tightly, his brows furrowing slightly. His heart hammered like a frantic drum, blood surging through his veins, leaving him with a dizzying, intoxicating rush.
After a moment of stalemate, he yielded and let go of Pei Che’s hand, a silent acquiescence.
Pei Che, his patience completely exhausted, began to claim Min Zhuozhou’s body with the ferocity of a young beast marking its territory. In the chaos, Min Zhuozhou thought he heard his phone ringing, but he had no desire to answer it. His gaze remained locked on Pei Che, who looked as if he were about to devour him whole,
“Ugh…”
A sharp, twisting pain shot through Min Zhuozhou’s waist as if something had been touched the wrong way. His expression shifted, and he bit his lip hard.
At the sound of his stifled groan, Pei Che finally stopped. A shallow frown creased the space between his handsome brows as he pressed his warm palm against Min Zhuozhou’s waist. His voice was unnervingly hoarse. “Where did I hit you?”
The tension was like a bowstring drawn taut, ready to snap. Min Zhuozhou knew that calling a halt now would be no different from dangling meat before a starving beast only to snatch it away. Gritting his teeth, he decided to endure it, his voice soft and pleading. “Mr. Pei… please, be gentle.”
Pei Che hesitated for a moment between being a gentleman and being humane. After a single heartbeat, he decided to push through in one go, though he significantly lightened the pressure of his touch.
But even in that brief pause, the phone’s ringtone, which they had both been deliberately ignoring, seized the gap and forced its way back into their attention.
The marimba melody played on with relentless persistence, finally severing the intimate tension that had been on the verge of deepening.
Even someone as emotionally stable as Pei Che looked ready to curse. He snatched the phone from the side table next to the sofa, feeling a sudden urge to send the caller to drill for oil in the Tarim Basin.
Yet, when he saw who was calling, his expression calmed with surprising rapidity. He stared at the screen, his brow furrowing slowly. After a long moment, he glanced at Min Zhuozhou and said hoarsely, “I need to take this call.”
Min Zhuozhou, steadying his own breathing, gave him a gentle look that signaled he could do as he pleased.
Min Zhuozhou didn’t know who was calling, but he caught the sudden stillness in Pei Che’s eyes, a change like the cool moonlight receding as a surging tide returned to calm.
After about five minutes, Pei Che emerged from the next room. He hesitated, his gaze lingering on Min Zhuozhou, who sat on the sofa with his clothes disheveled. He walked over and silently helped him straighten his attire.
“Are you leaving?” Min Zhuozhou reached out, pressing down on Pei Che’s hand as he straightened Min’s collar. His gaze held a trace of amusement, beneath which lay a hidden, suppressed chill.
“Something urgent came up,” Pei Che said, unwilling to explain further. “You’ll sleep here tonight. I’ll have someone bring you clothes tomorrow.”
Min Zhuozhou silently ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, then chuckled softly. “Am I supposed to answer the door dressed like this?”
“I’ll try to come back,” Pei Che said, his voice deepening as Min’s description made him uncomfortable. “Or I’ll have them leave the clothes outside the door. You can open it after they’re gone.”
“Mr. Pei, it’s late.”
Min Zhuozhou’s change of address was silent. He narrowed his eyes slightly, the smile on his face as impenetrable as mist, his gaze meaningful yet utterly cold upon closer inspection.
Those few words were perhaps merely a suggestion, or perhaps a subtle plea for him to stay.
“Yes, I know.”
The lingering warmth of their intimacy had not yet faded, and Pei Che’s expression was less stern than usual. Yet, a rare restlessness flickered in his features, his mind drifting.
His gaze no longer lingered on Min Zhuozhou. Withdrawing his hand from Min’s grasp, he said coolly, “Be good, Zhuozhou.”
Smugly satisfied, Xiao Qi winked at Min Zhuozhou, his voice dropping to a deliberately sultry murmur. “And here I thought he treated you so well.”
Min Zhuozhou stared at Xiao Qi in silence. Suddenly, he turned, pulled the car door open, and tried to get out.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Xiao Qi hit the lock button. Min Zhuozhou yanked the door handle a few times to no avail, finally losing his patience. “Xiao Qi?”
“I’m right here,” Xiao Qi replied, his voice overly gentle, almost enveloping him within the small, warm cabin. He stepped over the line without a hint of fear, gloating openly, yet timed his soothing words perfectly. “Don’t be mad. I just wanted to see him.”
“Where can’t you see him?” Min Zhuozhou nearly laughed in fury. “Are you… a total masochist?”
Xiao Qi listened to Min Zhuozhou speak with a beaming smile. When he caught the silent curse word Min Zhuozhou mouthed during a pause, a flicker of genuine amusement crossed his eyes.
“Don’t you want to know how much he cares about you?” Xiao Qi’s tone was laced with temptation, yet strangely sincere. “Besides, I wanted to see where a man as dashing and flawless as I am falls short of Young Master Pei.”
“I don’t need to laud myself in my head over how important a place I hold in his heart.” Min Zhuozhou’s voice remained low, but his tone was far sterner than usual. “And you have no need to compare yourself to him in any way.”
With a critical and harsh gaze, Min Zhuozhou stripped away the “playboy” smile floating on Xiao Qi’s face, inch by inch.
“You are exceptionally good, at least; that’s how I’ve always felt. But Xiao Qi, if you truly insist on making these bizarre gestures knowing full well that I am married, I will find you morally lacking.”
Tsk, I pushed it too far.
A flicker of regret crossed Xiao Qi’s eyes. Yet, he showed no anger at Min Zhuozhou’s nearly scathing rebuke. Instead, he smoothly unlocked the passenger-side door.
“Alright… I’ll wait another four months then.”
Xiao Qi leaned back against the car seat with a languid, refined grace. He looked like an innocent little beast wounded by sharp words, yet also like a predator who had laid a trap and hidden his fangs. He raised his eyes, his tone flat yet wry. “However, I still reserve my opinion on the matter of you not needing to laud yourself in your head over your place in his heart…”
Thud.
Min Zhuozhou had already stepped out of the car with a clean break, slamming the door shut without holding back.
Xiao Qi’s words were cut off mid-sentence. He shook his head in resignation, staring at Min Zhuozhou’s slender, straight back with a look of profound grievance. Then, he suddenly leaned forward, opened the glove compartment on the passenger side, picked out a piece of the milk candy he had prepared for Min Zhuozhou, tore off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.
It was sweet. Excessive sweetness would cause the inner lining of the mouth to constrict, sending a bitter signal to the nerves.
He crunched the candy, which could have melted smoothly in his mouth, with a loud crack. He couldn’t stand the thought of Min Zhuozhou’s eyes, hidden with unspoken emotion, falling upon someone else, especially Pei Che. That man was cold and impulsive, a man who had crushed his little rose in his hand from the very beginning, treating him as a mere substitute for someone else… for that profit-seeking, scheming little bastard.
This was an absolute insult.
Should he tell him the truth?
Xiao Qi hesitated, a rare occurrence. Watching Min Zhuozhou’s solitary figure, cold and stubborn in the autumn night, a pang of tenderness and sorrow stirred in his heart.
Never mind. For someone who won’t turn back until they hit a brick wall, it’s too early to pull him away.
Xiao Qi waited in the car with remarkable patience. After an eternity, a Bentley tore through the night like an arrow shot from a bow, finally pulling to a smooth stop nearby. A man with a tall, lean build stepped out of the car.
“Mr. Pei.”
Min Zhuozhou’s gaze followed Pei Che. The drowsiness he had finally managed to gather was swept away by the wind. He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow as he regarded Pei Che with an ambiguous look.
Pei Che glanced at him coldly. “Get in.”
Min Zhuozhou complied without a word. Just as he reached for the door handle, the modified Mercedes G-Wagon parked ahead honked its horn with deliberate force.
Pei Che followed the sound and saw an exceptionally flashy, ostentatiously dressed man stepping out of the G-Wagon. The man whistled flirtatiously, his voice dripping with affection. “Baby Zhuozhou, let’s do this again sometime!”
Pei Che looked up, his eyes meeting Xiao Qi’s. The air between them crackled with invisible tension, a silent confrontation ready to explode.
Min Zhuozhou silently ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek, thinking, This bastard is definitely doing this on purpose. He shot Xiao Qi a stern warning with his eyes, but Xiao Qi seemed completely oblivious. He strolled over, pressed close to Min Zhuozhou, and slipped something into his hand before flashing Pei Che an intensely ambiguous smile.
No one could mistake this for anything other than a blatant, arrogant provocation.
An uncontrollable surge of intense emotion seized Pei Che’s mind, his expression twisting with barely contained fury. His fingertips trembled as he growled in a low, cold voice, “Min Zhuozhou, get in the car!”
Min Zhuozhou shot Xiao Qi a deep, scowling glare before silently slipping into the vehicle.
Pei Che slammed the passenger door shut, his cold gaze fixed on the stranger who radiated blatant provocation.
“Greetings, President Pei. I’ve heard much about you,” Xiao Qi said, bowing with elegant precision in a perfect gentleman’s salute. “Thank you for your ‘dedicated care’ of our Zhuozhou over the past five years.”
“Sir, I don’t know your name,” Pei Che’s brow furrowed, his voice as cold as an icy blade pressed against bone, “but watch your tone. What do you mean, ‘our Zhuozhou’?”
“That’s a private matter between us. You’re welcome to ask, aren’t you?”
Xiao Qi smiled faintly, pressing a finger to his lips as he blew a playful kiss into the car before turning and walking away with effortless grace… only to simply drive off.
The nerve…
The veins on Min Zhuozhou’s forehead bulged with fury. Without even looking at the object Xiao Qi had pressed into his hand, he rolled down the window and threw it out, a heart folded from a White Rabbit Creamy Candy wrapper.
The paper heart fluttered down, landing right at Pei Che’s feet. He bent down and picked it up.
Pei Che placed the object in his palm and clenched his fist, squeezing it so hard it seemed he might crush it to dust. His gaze sliced across Min Zhuozhou’s face like a blade. Suddenly, he yanked the car door open, dragged Min Zhuozhou out of the seat, and held out the crumpled paper heart.
“Min Zhuozhou, give me an explanation.”
Pei Che’s body was drenched in the biting wind, the cold seeping into his very bones.