This was bad. He really shouldn’t have said those things just now. Was there any way to fix it?
Countless scenes from films and novels flashed through Ying Qiuman’s mind. In the end, he leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against Xu Shuyuan’s. “Sorry.”
“Useless.”
Xu Shuyuan’s eyes were fixed straight on him. His chest rose and fell heavily, as if he really were quite angry.
Ying Qiuman wrapped his arms around Xu Shuyuan’s neck and hugged him tightly, pressing his body against him as much as he could. This was what he considered coaxing, and also the most initiative he was capable of.
But it didn’t work. Xu Shuyuan pulled him off, pinned his hands to the bed, and went on staring at him coldly.
“I can’t cook, and I… I can’t say those sweet words either. How do you want me to apologize?” He couldn’t stand the sudden silence. Xu Shuyuan’s pressure in this state was too overwhelming, it would have been easier if he had simply passed sentence outright.
This man really knew how to make him squirm.
“You don’t need to,” Xu Shuyuan finally spoke again. “You just need to rebuild your understanding of this marriage.”
“Huh?” Ying Qiuman looked up in confusion.
What, had he updated the information and now expected him to accept it without warning?
“First, a large group like the Xu Corporation requires this kind of declaration for every shareholder’s marriage. That prenuptial agreement was only adjusted to add a time limit and compensation for you.
“Second, I pay you after each time because you always run off too quickly. I was worried you might feel unwell and need the money.
“And I give you money because you’re still studying and have no income of your own. As your husband, covering your expenses is perfectly normal, isn’t it?”
Ying Qiuman’s head hurt from Xu Shuyuan’s rapid-fire explanation. That last line gave him a particular headache.
“You can call it ‘keeping me’ if you want, but I’m not without an income. I make money coding, and I also get paid for the projects I do with Teacher Wei,” Ying Qiuman retorted.
He didn’t spend much each month, his regular income was more than enough. Xu Shuyuan, on the other hand, gave him anywhere from one to two hundred thousand a month at the low end and four to five hundred thousand at the high endtruly extravagant beyond all reason.
But he had saved all of it, planning to put it toward his own projects later on.
Xu Shuyuan, however, suddenly looked deflated when he heard this. No one could tell what he was thinking. He leaned down and hugged Ying Qiuman, burying his head against the side of his neck, forcefully breathing in his own pheromones from Ying Qiuman’s gland.
“It’s not keeping you, Manman,” Xu Shuyuan said softly, his voice carrying a hint of grievance. He patiently corrected Ying Qiuman’s misunderstanding. “It’s something I give of my own free will. You can refuse it, or you can even ask me for more.”
Ying Qiuman frowned even harder. That’s not how it goes in the TV dramas.
“Can I refuse?”
“Mm.”
“Then let go of me.”
“Hm?”
Xu Shuyuan didn’t expect that after such an earnest confession, Ying Qiuman would fixate only on the word “refuse.”
But since he’d said it, he couldn’t take it back, so he had no choice but to release him.
The moment he regained his freedom, Ying Qiuman immediately flipped up and out of bed, standing at the bedside and watching Xu Shuyuan warily.
Seeing that Xu Shuyuan truly wasn’t going back on his word or grabbing him again, and confirming that he really could refuse, he crawled back over in front of Xu Shuyuan and reached out to hug him once more.
“You’re different from the others,” Ying Qiuman stated, matter-of-fact. But since he had no authoritative reference for what an “overbearing CEO” was supposed to be like, he awkwardly trailed off and didn’t go on.
Xu Shuyuan didn’t understand what he meant, though. He pinched his cheek and narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning dangerous.
“Who are you comparing me to?”
Ying Qiuman blinked and thought for a moment. Under the pressure of Xu Shuyuan’s extremely stern stare, he finally confessed honestly and reeled off a few domineering-CEO names from the novels he had been reading lately.
When Xu Shuyuan heard that long list of names, his face nearly turned green. He grabbed Ying Qiuman by the waist to keep him in place, then picked up his phone and called Tian Ji: “Look a few people up for me.”
“No need!” Ying Qiuman thought Xu Shuyuan was going to go read those novels. Although he felt embarrassed, he still pulled out his own phone. “If you want to read them, I can send them to you. No need to ask Assistant Tian.”
Xu Shuyuan reading them was fine, but if Tian Ji found out, Ying Qiuman would truly want to find a crack in the ground and never come out again. After all, what he was reading was not only improper but also full of melodramatic plots.
After sending over a few book titles, under Xu Shuyuan’s surprised and confused gaze, he added one more reminder: “You can’t tell Father Ling either.”
After all, in Ling Yi’s eyes he was a cultured young man who liked suspense and detective films. How could a cultured young man read melodramatic novels?
Xu Shuyuan looked over the novel titles he’d received. While he didn’t understand them, a trace of worry also surfaced.
Ying Qiuman watched Xu Shuyuan’s expression carefully, a faint sense of anticipation rising in his heart. He even personally helped Xu Shuyuan download a reading app and added those novels to his favorites.
“Could you… also not tell anyone else?” This hobby of his was known only to Qiu Yuan. Now that Xu Shuyuan knewand judging by his complicated expression, it seemed he hadn’t even started reading yet but already felt resistantYing Qiuman grew a little uneasy.
“Okay,” Xu Shuyuan agreed. He turned off his phone screen and tossed it aside. “Get up and eat first.”
The apartment was well stocked with ingredients, and Xu Shuyuan quickly made breakfast and brought it over. While Ying Qiuman sat outside waiting, he opened the video Ling Yi had shown him the day before, sitting at the dining table with pen and paper to start solving the mystery.
Meanwhile Xu Shuyuan, who had just finished reading a few chapters of melodramatic fiction in the kitchen and was left feeling somewhat conflicted, came out to find that Ying Qiuman had swung to the complete opposite extreme.
Either pure, brainless melodrama, or pure, brain-burning detective films?
Ying Qiuman’s paper was covered in strange symbols, while eerie, disturbing footage kept replaying on the tablet.
After replaying it who knew how many times, Ying Qiuman suddenly brightened. He paused and zoomed in on the video, carefully examining the wall behind the doll.
Xu Shuyuan stood in the doorway holding a bowl, watching for a moment before walking over, switching off the tablet, and setting the bowl down in front of him. His tone sounded somewhat displeased. “Eat. Stop watching.”
Ying Qiuman instinctively put away what he was doing and obediently picked up his spoon to drink the porridge, but his gaze stayed fixed on his draft paper, his mind replaying the blurry English letters on the wall.
The two lines of letters didn’t form any real words, and the symbols on the previous page seemed completely random too.
Just as he was at a loss, Xu Shuyuan handed him a peeled egg. Ying Qiuman followed the hand upward and saw that the shells of two eggs had been set in a dish. Suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.
“I… can I look at that first?”
Grandma had taught him not to be distracted while eating, but Ying Qiuman had a strong hunch that Xu Shuyuan would say yes.
“Mm.”
Sure enough, Xu Shuyuan placed the egg on his plate and nodded in agreement.
Delighted, Ying Qiuman pushed aside his bowl and chopsticks, rearranged the two lines of English letters, and decoded them by shifting each letter two positions backward in sequence. In the end, the result formed a new phrase: “Left is right.”
“Why is it mapped like that?” Xu Shuyuan looked at the paper in confusion. Seeing his interest, Ying Qiuman pushed the draft paper between them and explained, “You just shift all the letters forward by two positions, then read them in order.”
Xu Shuyuan noticed the excited light flickering in his eyes, the worried furrow between his brows gone. He didn’t hesitate to praise him. “Amazing.”
Ying Qiuman froze for a moment at that. He had received countless compliments from teachers and classmates before, and in those cases he could simply say “thank you” or respond politely but did he need to do the same with Xu Shuyuan?
He recalled how Li Tian behaved when praised in front of Ying Yelin, proudly and dramatically declaring, “Of course!” He wasn’t sure he could say something like that in front of Xu Shuyuan, so after thinking it over, he settled on a middle-ground answer: “It’s… okay.”
“I really do think it’s impressive but why shift two positions backward?” Xu Shuyuan didn’t dwell on Ying Qiuman’s evasive reply, instead he had become interested in the puzzle itself.
Suddenly it felt as if a window had opened in Ying Qiuman’s mind. A cool breeze blew in, instantly untangling the awkward knot in his chest.
He turned the tablet on again, replayed the video, and paused when the letters on the wall appeared. In the frame, the doll raised its hand and made a “V” sign. He had originally ignored the strange doll, but its two fingers happened to point exactly at the two lines of letters.
“I thought it was just a coincidence too. I tried it and solved it, but I still don’t know what the sentence means,” Ying Qiuman muttered, his gaze still fixed on the crumpled sketch on the floor.
“‘Left is right’… left is correct?” Xu Shuyuan translated it. Since he wasn’t deeply familiar with the film, he couldn’t offer any breakthrough insight.
Reluctantly, Ying Qiuman set the tablet aside and went back to eating, hoping for some inspiration.
“Could those shapes correspond to letters too?” he said. After all, the only thing in the whole video that seemed worth decoding was that childlike drawing. Otherwise, what clue could that eerie doll possibly be offering?
Ying Qiuman nodded. Number conversions and shape conversions this kind of decoding puzzle was very common. But without a clear direction, he could only circle around it aimlessly, unable to pin down the exact method of cracking it. So he could only replay the video over and over, searching for any missing information.
He sat on the sofa thinking for a long time, until Xu Shuyuan finished getting ready and came out of the bedroom.
Xu Shuyuan had changed into a suit, he looked like he was about to go out. He sat down on the sofa beside Ying Qiuman and immediately spotted the bite mark on the back of his neck.
Ying Qiuman shifted his attention away from the video, but before he could even ask what Xu Shuyuan was doing, a warm palm covered the back of his neck.
“Does it hurt?”
He flinched slightly. Only now was he asking whether it hurt?
“It hurts.”
The gland wasn’t far off to the side. Even though being bitten there looked frightening, the tissue healed quite quickly. But Xu Shuyuan didn’t just bite the glandhe also bit the harder-to-heal area on the back of his neck.
And Ying Qiuman didn’t like that position. He couldn’t be held or comforted there, only forced to hug a pillow, which left him feeling very insecure.
“Next time, if it hurts, you can tell me to stop.”
Ying Qiuman suddenly turned around. That was something that could be refused too?
Xu Shuyuan gave him an affirmative answer. But later, when Ying Qiuman actually said “stop” from the pain, Xu Shuyuan didn’t really keep his promise. He only let go and stopped biting.
Ying Qiuman suddenly understood it meant stopping the biting…
But for now, unaware of the fine print, he looked at Xu Shuyuan with gratitude and even took the initiative to kiss him.
The room was warmly heated, Ying Qiuman didn’t feel cold even with his legs bare. Marks of varying intensity covered his skin, and as he knelt by Xu Shuyuan’s leg, he looked utterly distracting.
“Do you want to come to the evening banquet with me?” Xu Shuyuan asked, his fingertips brushing Ying Qiuman’s lips.
Ying Qiuman shook his head and explained truthfully, “I can’t drink.”
“You don’t have to drink,” Xu Shuyuan said, thinking of how Ying Qiuman had looked drunk last time and letting out a small laugh in spite of himself.
Ying Qiuman’s alcohol tolerance had always been praised before. Hearing Xu Shuyuan laugh at him now left him feeling a little put out.
“I can’t even stand up properly right now,” he added. “And I’d walk a bit strangely. I really don’t want to go out.”
Xu Shuyuan’s smile deepened, his voice even carrying a trace of laughter.
“Sorry.”