“Lord Wright is already dead, and now you have Imperial General Gu Chengyan. You went through all this immense trouble to butter him up surely not just to get him to patronize this place a few more times?”
Faced with those ambiguous marks, Pix could no longer use a playful gaze to offend the other party. He said with a chilling tone, “Are you threatening me?”
The tables have turned, Geng Nuo thought.
Of course Pix could remain indifferent to whether he lived or died, but if Gu Chengyan showed interest, Pix had to carefully weigh how to keep Geng Nuo stable.
If Geng Nuo cooperated, it might not help much, but if he deliberately caused trouble, it would genuinely impact Pix’s efforts to cozy up to General Gu.
This fact deeply displeased Pix. Had General Gu taken a fancy to any other server, everything would have proceeded smoothly according to his plan.
Geng Nuo shrugged in imitation of him, a mocking curve touching the corner of his lips. “Rest easy. Perhaps I am merely seeking a partnership? Of course, you are free to decline. After all, you and Young Master Ruan had an agreement first.”
Without showing it outwardly, Pix sized up Geng Nuo, weighing the situation in his mind. Ruan Rutang’s uncle, Su Mang, was the primary heir to a count’s estate, someone Pix certainly couldn’t afford to offend. Yet compared to General Gu Chengyan, Young Master Ruan’s petty little antics weren’t even worth mentioning.
With the old Marquess dead, a massive mess had been left behind with an urgent need for someone to take over. And right at this moment, General Gu, who rarely ever set foot in entertainment establishments, had taken the initiative to visit. What was his purpose? Perhaps there was some tacit understanding between them.
How could he possibly let go of such a golden opportunity?
“What are your conditions?” Pix asked.
Geng Nuo held up two fingers.
“First, all the money General Gu gives me belongs entirely to me, and in addition, I am to be paid my salary of twenty thousand galactic credits this month.”
“Second, in accordance with our previous arrangement, once the one-month term is up, I leave immediately. No one is to obstruct me or make a move against me.”
Hearing this, Pix instantly heaved a sigh of relief, though he still put on a troubled expression on the surface.
A bumpkin from a backwater little planet, completely lacking in worldly experience, he actually thought he could come up with some serious demands.
Geng Nuo said earnestly, “I can serve General Gu wholeheartedly just as you wish and help you achieve your goal as early as possible. But by the same token, you must not play games behind my back. Otherwise, even if it costs me my life, I will provoke General Gu and drag the entire Shark Club down with me as a cushion.”
Pix completely let go of his guard, yet put on an air of extreme anxiety and panic, hurriedly moving to placate him. “Look at that, what are you saying? Those things before were all misunderstandings, they are in the past now. Rest assured, since we share a common goal now, we are an alliance even more solid than diamonds. I am no fool. Just stay here for this period; if you need anything, feel free to speak up. I have absolute zero objections.”
He delivered the words with such heartfelt sincerity that he grabbed both of Geng Nuo’s hands, looking as though he genuinely worried for him. “You know yourself that General Gu has a brutal temper and is not an easy person to get along with. Providing service to him is bound to wrong you a bit. But rest assured, I won’t short you a single penny of your money! As long as you keep General Gu happy, the moment the one-month period is up, I will let you leave even if I have to bear the pressure of the heavens!”
Hearing this guarantee, Geng Nuo’s stiff expression finally relaxed. Half-doubting, he asked, “Do you mean what you say?”
Pix raised three fingers. “If old Pi ever lies, let me be struck by lightning!”
Geng Nuo pressed his lips together, thinking to himself: Does your last name really have to be Pi?
Having achieved his objective, Pix lingered no longer. He told Geng Nuo to eat and drink well, then took his leave.
Once Pix was gone, Geng Nuo felt so hungry he was seeing stars. He ravenously shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice, pulled a terminal from inside his shirt, popped it open with a fork, and rapidly dismantled it piece by piece to retrieve its most crucial chip.
This was something he had fished off of Pix. Putting on that grand, foolish display earlier was entirely meant to make the other man view him as ignorant and easily controllable, thereby lowering his guard.
After the patrol drone incident, Pix was bound to step up security patrols, and Geng Nuo had no desire to be under the special care of those guards at all times.
Geng Nuo smashed all the remaining components to pieces, flushed them down the toilet, and scattered his cash bills across various hiding spots: inside a vase, behind the bedside seam, on the backboard of a drawer, and inside the ventilation duct.
The most vital chip would allow him to pass unhindered through many areas. It was tiny and much easier to conceal, so Geng Nuo shoved it into a well-hidden nook.
Only after finishing all of this did he sit down and leisurely polish off the remaining food, even though it had gone completely cold.
After finishing his meal, Geng Nuo pressed the service bell. To his surprise, the person who entered to clear away the plates wasn’t a servant, but Pix.
Pix stormed in aggressively at the head of a large group of people. Geng Nuo stood up nervously, asking, “Is there anything else, Boss Pix?”
Noticing his nervous demeanor, Pix sneered and gave a grand wave of his hand. “Search!”
“What are you doing!” Geng Nuo demanded in a panicked voice.
No one answered him.
After the crowd swept through the room turning everything upside down, they naturally found nothing. However, from various nooks and crannies, they dug out quite a stack of cash bills, twelve or twenty sheets per spot, amounting to over a hundred bills in total once gathered together.
These bills were piled right in front of Geng Nuo. Trembling with anger as if heavily humiliated, his face turning pale and ashen, he glared at Pix. “Boss Pix, you gave me your word…”
Without showing it on his face, Pix felt a pang of internal surprise. The moment he had walked in and seen Geng Nuo’s nervous look, he had been certain the boy had taken the opportunity earlier to lift his terminal. He hadn’t expected to only stumble upon this low-class method of stashing money.
Could he have accidentally dropped it somewhere else?
Instantly shifting his attitude with a face like a spinning coin, Pix smiled amiably. “Apologies, it was a misunderstanding. Don’t be nervous; someone just told me there were dangerous items hidden in this suite. Your safety and General Gu’s are my absolute top priorities, so I can’t afford to be sloppy.”
With a wave of his hand, the others immediately tidied up the room. The cash was neatly stacked, and Pix took it, squared it off, and handed it back to Geng Nuo.
“Since I gave my word, I won’t touch your tips. Count it and see if anything is missing.”
Geng Nuo snatched it back, enduring and enduring before ultimately choosing to count it right in front of him. Seeing this, the contempt and mockery in the corners of Pix’s eyes grew even less concealed.
The group arrived in a grand, imposing wave and left in the same manner. By the time Geng Nuo was left alone in the room once again, the sun was already dipping toward the west.
Does this count as escaping by the skin of my teeth? Exhausted, Geng Nuo lay down on the bed, only to feel as though he had been thrust right back into last night.
The soft mattress offered zero comfort to him. Not only did it fail to relieve his fatigue and soreness, but it also made him constantly hallucinate that he was still rocking back and forth on a spaceship.
Indignant, Geng Nuo climbed out of bed. Fortunately, a thick carpet covered the floor. Sitting down on it and adjusting himself through several trials, he finally managed to find a comfortable posture and fell asleep right there, slumped against the edge of the bed.
He had no idea how long he slept, but Geng Nuo kept feeling like something was disturbing his slumber, brushing against his cheek. A distinct, blazing heat instantly jolted him awake.
Opening his eyes abruptly, Geng Nuo discovered himself enveloped by a massive frame. The man was sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, trapping Geng Nuo right between his knees. Something was pressing intimately and directly against his face.
Geng Nuo lifted his head in a panic, his face still marked with an unidentifiable sticky dampness.
A giant shadow fell over his face. Through that terrifying entity casting the shadow, Gu Chengyan asked with an amused smirk:
“Why aren’t you sleeping in the bed?”
Startled, Geng Nuo tried to shove him away by reflex, but he couldn’t budge the man an inch and ended up sprawling flat on his back instead.
He was wearing nothing under his bathrobe. Disregarding the pain, Geng Nuo clutched his rear and scrambled up in a fluster to kneel on the floor, accidentally catching the edge of his bathrobe and pulling the neckline open to expose his shoulder. He hurriedly hauled the robe back up and licked his lips unconsciously. The rich, male Alpha scent hit him and made him freeze.
Only when he met Gu Chengyan’s intrigued gaze did he realize what that scent was.
Pervert!
Unfortunately, Geng Nuo dared to be angry without daring to speak. He could only scrub fiercely at his mouth with the back of his hand, turning his head to spit repeatedly toward the side.
A low chuckle drifted down from above.
Geng Nuo didn’t dare look up at him at all.
Gu Chengyan suddenly stood up. Terrified, Geng Nuo scrambled backward until he was cowering against the base of the wall.
Despite having spoken with such brazen defiance to Pix earlier, the moment he faced Gu Chengyan, he still shivered all over out of sheer reflex.
Mixed into that fear was a lingering, unspeakable ache in his lower back and legs.
Gu Chengyan was dressed in a black suit today, looking a bit more formal than yesterday and exuding an elite aura. It accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs to absolute perfection. Impeccable from head to toe, he was the picture of a sanctimonious beast in human clothing.
Cowering at the base of the wall, Geng Nuo watched as the man stood up without sparing him a single glance, heading straight into the bathroom to take a shower.
It made him feel like a toyed-with clown.
Pressing against the wall, Geng Nuo gritted his teeth in curse, grabbing a tissue to wipe frantically at his cheeks and lips.
He wanted to act tough, too, but before he could even muster up a third of his courage, his mind would immediately flash to the image of Gu Chengyan grabbing Yuan Bingqing’s head and smashing it into the coffee table.
While Gu Chengyan was in the shower, a server pushed in a food cart, meticulously arranged the dinner, and then hurriedly backed out.
Silence filled the room, making the sound of running water from the bathroom exceptionally distinct.
After a long while, the water stopped.
Geng Nuo’s heartbeat threatened to stop right along with it.
Gu Chengyan emerged wrapped in a bathrobe. Geng Nuo was still wearing his own bathrobe, standing stiffly against the wall like a culprit doing penalty stand-ups. He didn’t dare look at the man, yet stole glances at his every move.
When their eyes accidentally met, he would instantly and casually look away the next second, pretending to be invisible.
Yet Gu Chengyan seemed to go out of his way to torment him, passing back and forth right in front of him several times. Geng Nuo racked his brain to avoid the man’s line of sight, only letting out a breath of relief once Gu Chengyan finally sat down at the table.
The meals provided by Shark Club for VIP guests were always lavish, boasting every mountain delicacy and seafood treasure from abalones to king crabs. Fine Quinine steaks were airlifted every morning from the distant planet of Itale; fruits and vegetables came from the Imperial Capital’s most prized A-Crete Vegetable Plot estate, rumored to supply the royal family’s produce; and vintage Romanie wines, mellowed by time, cost hundreds of thousands of galactic credits a single bottle, yet here, they were treated as mere casual beverages for the nobles to squander.
Geng Nuo had eaten just that afternoon, so he wasn’t hungry now, but seeing all this fine food still made his mouth water.
There were many things there he had never even laid eyes on before.
Forcing himself to look away, he suddenly sensed Gu Chengyan casting a faint glance his way.
No deep interpretation was required to understand that look was an instruction for him to come over.
Like calling a dog.
Dogs aren’t even this obedient.
Geng Nuo practically trotted over and stood rigidly beside the table.
Looking somewhat restrained.
Gu Chengyan seemed rather amiable at the moment, even asking if he wanted to sit down and eat together.
Of course Geng Nuo shook his head.
Without pushing the matter, Gu Chengyan simply raised a hand and pulled the boy down onto his lap. By the time Geng Nuo recovered his wits, he could practically feel his own breath spraying against General Gu’s face, frightening him into holding his breath instantly.
The next second, a tall wine glass was pressed against his lips. Gu Chengyan said, “Then keep me company for a drink.”
The tone was an uncompromisable, forceful demand. Geng Nuo kept his lips pressed tightly shut, wanting to twist away by reflex, though the movement looked more like he was trying to burrow straight into Gu Chengyan’s arms.
Perhaps for this reason, General Gu did not grow angry. Instead, he pressed his palm against the back of Geng Nuo’s neck and said in a deep voice, “Be a good boy.”
Clutching the lapel of the man’s bathrobe, Geng Nuo whispered, “Can I not drink? I’ll accompany you while you dine.”
His timid, pitiful gaze was exceptionally endearing. Having enjoyed the sight to his heart’s content, a faint smile still lingering on his lips, Gu Chengyan uttered a thoroughly merciless reply:
“Too late.”
The rim of the tall glass pried open his lips, forcefully pouring the wine down his throat.
“Mph…” Geng Nuo braced his hands against the man’s chest, entirely unable to push him away. Forced to swallow the bitter, choking alcohol, he had expected expensive red wine to at least taste somewhat like grapes, but it tasted so wretched that his face scrunched up into a ball.
A bit of the liquor spilled over the corner of his lips. Gu Chengyan leaned in, extending his tongue to lick it away before aggressively invading Geng Nuo’s mouth, tasting the lingering liquor from top to bottom.
After a long while, their lips parted. Gu Chengyan offered a rather satisfied evaluation: “Good wine.”
Geng Nuo clutched the man’s lapel and panted lightly.
Stroking his face, Gu Chengyan asked, “Want to eat now?”
Geng Nuo glanced at the delicacies on the table, not daring to utter another word of dissent, and nodded with reddened eyes.
Just as he thought that was the end of it, the man behind him suddenly let out a low laugh, his chest vibrating with a muffled rumble. Turning his head, he met a pair of malicious, ill-intentioned eyes.
Gu Chengyan rubbed Geng Nuo’s damp lips with his thumb, smilingly vetoing: “No, you don’t.”