The Adopted Son of a Wealthy Family (16)
Zong Xian had watched Yan Guanbai go upstairs with his own eyes.
After receiving a call from Lu Yuteng, he learned that Yan Guanbai had not returned directly to the apartment after school and was instead spending time with Professor Yu, the professional course instructor. At that moment, he almost crushed his phone into pieces. “Your turn.”
“I.” Lu Yuteng was no stranger to contacting Zong Xian, but the person on the other end of the line still made him feel utterly terrified. “I didn’t speak to him. I stayed two meters away from him the entire time.”
“Good.” Zong Xian ended the call with Lu Yuteng and drove to the university alone.
Oddly enough, it was one thing that a naive and troublesome little pest like Yan Guanbai lacked any sense of alertness, but even the so-called professor had no awareness whatsoever when someone breached his territory. He couldn’t tell whether he was simply too skilled at concealment or if his opponent was just pathetically weak.
Zong Xian glanced toward the direction where he had just tossed the professor out, as if staring directly through a door at the unconscious man. A scornful chuckle escaped his lips.
Yan Guanbai’s breathing was steady, no different from the state of an ordinary person fast asleep. Zong Xian reached out to remove Yan Guanbai’s glasses, stroked the other person’s scattered hair, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss upon it, finishing the gesture that some redundant individual had left incomplete a moment earlier.
He suddenly began to ponder whether he should chop off the hands of that unconscious professor outside who had dared to touch Yan Guanbai.
Ever since when had so many people begun surrounding Yan Guanbai? Zong Xian lowered his gaze to study his nominal younger brother’s closed eyes. The person who had spent real money to bid for Lu Yuteng at the auction was him, and that person was his to manipulate at will, yet remove one Lu Yuteng, and there would still be Professor Yu, or perhaps even others.
The moment he barged into the room and caught Professor Yu attempting to kiss Gui Wen, Zong Xian suddenly felt as though a hollow space had opened up somewhere in his heart.
His possession was about to be tainted, his younger brother, the little pet whom he both loved and loathed.
Zong Xian’s body practically enveloped Yan Guanbai entirely. His lips traced across his younger brother’s eyes, cheeks, and the bridge of his nose, finally coming to a rest against his lips, nibbling and invading bit by bit.
It was as if by dominating this body, he could possess the entirety of Yan Guanbai.
If he didn’t want him to be snatched away, he would just keep him locked tightly within his own palm.
Coax him, or force him to speak the truth.
He unbuttoned Yan Guanbai’s shirt, pressing his bare palm directly against the slender waist while his lips hovered near the collarbone, leaving behind a clearly visible red mark.
Zong Xian had no interest in lingering too long in someone else’s territory. After leaving his mark, he helped Yan Guanbai dress properly, scooped him up horizontally in his arms, and carried him downstairs.
Before getting back into the car, he leaned over and kissed Yan Guanbai’s forehead once more.
When Gui Wen woke up, he found himself lying in a completely unfamiliar room.
Before losing consciousness, he had drunk the water Professor Yu gave him. Recalling it now, Professor Yu’s actions had indeed been rather unnatural. Gui Wen wanted nothing more than to slap himself twice. All his previous favorable impressions of Professor Yu were completely wiped out, and he cursed himself for failing to see through the man’s hypocritical facade sooner.
He checked his attire, which still looked reasonably tidy.
Gui Wen climbed down from the white double bed. The room was clean and sparse, lacking superfluous items or even daily necessities, making it look as though no one actually lived there. As he instinctively reached out to push the door open, another force on the other side turned the knob just a fraction of a second ahead of him.
“Brother Zong Xian?”
“You’re awake?” Zong Xian looked him up and down with feigned innocence. “How do you feel?”
Gui Wen instinctively moved his limbs. Nothing felt amiss, as it didn’t feel like he had suffered any injuries. Then, as if remembering something, he reached back to pat his rear, finding no issues there either.
He lacked experience, but he knew that a first time would hurt, yet Gui Wen felt no such discomfort whatsoever. “I’m fine. Where is this?”
“A villa I bought in the suburbs.”
Zong Xian recounted a heavily fabricated version of events. Having just woken from sleep, Gui Wen’s mind wasn’t entirely clear, so he believed whatever the other man told him without caring to overthink it. “Did Brother Zong Xian come and rescue me? I really can’t live without Brother Zong Xian.”
Having escaped a disaster, Gui Wen was in a decent mood and felt inclined to maintain his persona.
“Change your clothes.” Seeming unimpressed by this act, Zong Xian handed a clean set of garments directly to Gui Wen. Not quite understanding why he needed to change since his clothes were neither dirty nor wrinkled, Gui Wen obediently began unbuttoning them anyway.
For some inexplicable reason, Gui Wen felt a wave of embarrassment and turned his back to Zong Xian before finally slipping off his shirt. The moment he lowered his head slightly, he spotted a glaring red mark on his collarbone. No matter how slow-witted he was, he knew instantly that it was a hickey.
“Brother Zong Xian.” Gui Wen’s expression clouded over instantly, caught somewhere between panic and distress. He couldn’t help spinning around to let Zong Xian see the mark on his body. “When you found me in the faculty apartment, did you do this?”
“Your teacher had passed out.” Zong Xian looked at him with amusement. “Who else would be awake?”
Meeting Zong Xian’s gaze head-on, Gui Wen couldn’t help taking a few steps back, putting some distance between them. “You.”
“It’s hard to strip off your clothes in front of other people when you’re covered in marks, isn’t it?” Zong Xian stepped closer anyway, pressing his thumb directly against the hickey on Gui Wen’s chest.
Gui Wen had no idea whether Zong Xian had someone else do it or did it himself, but Zong Xian’s methods of humiliating rivals in love to isolate him from Lu Yuteng were frequently beyond his comprehension.
“I won’t undress in front of others. I only show it to Brother Zong Xian.” Feigning composure, Gui Wen reached out to grab the other man’s wrist.
“Is that so?” Zong Xian swept a nonchalant glance over him. “Take them off.”
Gui Wen couldn’t help hesitating for a moment before biting the bullet and shedding his trousers as well.
Zong Xian’s gaze remained fixed and motionless. After a brief second of hesitation, Gui Wen pulled the waistband of his underwear downward.
“Such a good listener.” Zong Xian’s gaze felt as though it were physically roaming across Gui Wen’s body, prompting the younger man to raise his hands multiple times to cover himself, though he managed to restrain the urge each time.
“I listen to big brother.” Gui Wen said, driven to the edge of endurance as he tried to placate him. “I was wrong. Can I at least put my underwear back on?”
“Aren’t you showing it to your big brother? I haven’t looked enough yet.” Zong Xian crooked a finger at Gui Wen, signaling him to come closer.
Overwhelmed by a wave of shame that left him no room to think, Gui Wen instinctively scurried over to Zong Xian’s side.
Zong Xian fished a phone out of his pocket, which Gui Wen immediately recognized as his own model.
Holding it out to Gui Wen, he had him unlock it before quickly tapping a few keys on the screen.
When Gui Wen took back his phone, he noticed the other man had set a custom, exclusive notification sound for incoming messages.
“My good little brother will tell me what he’s up to every day and reply to my messages promptly.” Zong Xian raised a hand to stroke the top of Gui Wen’s head.
Gui Wen didn’t dare voice any objections.
Without tormenting him any further, Zong Xian personally dressed Gui Wen from head to toe, letting his fingers linger for a final moment over the hickey on his collarbone.
Gui Wen caught wind through campus gossip that Professor Yu was no longer teaching at the school, as apparently someone had exerted pressure, forcing the administration to let him go.
The rumors were half true, half false, but Gui Wen didn’t dwell on them much. When he arrived at the professional classroom, he discovered that their instructor had indeed been replaced.
The female instructor introduced herself with the surname Xu, speaking in a very gentle tone and taking over as the administrator of the class chat group as well.
Checking the group directory, Gui Wen learned her full name, which happened to match the sister of the true young master protagonist Shou from the original book.
He instinctively glanced back at Lu Yuteng, who was painting away in a corner, as the latter’s gaze was fixed straight on the woman at the podium with a thoughtful expression.
Professor Xu was only a temporary replacement filling in for a few days, intending to step down once a suitable permanent hire was found. The students were all curious about the reason for her departure, but she kept her lips tightly sealed.
Gui Wen had originally assumed that Lu Yuteng’s family reunion would happen naturally, but system O0O chimed in unceremoniously within his mind. [New task triggered: Please head to the central airport, prevent the protagonist Shou’s sister from leaving the city, and ensure a smooth reunion between the protagonist Shou and his family.]
Gui Wen had no choice but to slip into a pair of sneakers and hail a cab to the airport. Instead of finding Professor Xu immediately, he ran into Lu Yuteng running frantically back and forth through the main lobby, looking as though he were searching for something.
Call it intuition, but Lu Yuteng appearing at the airport didn’t feel like a simple coincidence.
“Yuteng!” Separated by a short distance, Gui Wen couldn’t help calling out loudly.
Lu Yuteng instinctively whipped his head around, but instead of acknowledging Gui Wen, he bolted off in the opposite direction.
“Wait!” Gui Wen instinctively gave chase. “I need to take you to see someone. You’re looking for her too, aren’t you?”
Lu Yuteng’s movements faltered for a fraction of a second before he sped up again, widening the gap between them. “I will find her on my own. You don’t need to worry about me.”
With the system’s navigation active in his mind, the airport floor plan clearly marked the locations of both Lu Yuteng and Professor Xu, and the person ahead of him was steadily putting more distance between them and the target.
“But.” Before Gui Wen could finish his sentence, the phone in his pocket rang out at the most inopportune moment, chiming with a ringtone that wasn’t his usual default.
It was the exclusive alert sound Zong Xian had set up for him back at the villa.
Gui Wen had no choice but to divert his attention and check the message from Zong Xian, which read simply. [What are you doing?]
Lately, Zong Xian had taken to dropping random questions like this out of nowhere, as if determined to map out his entire daily routine.
Having nothing to hide, Gui Wen replied honestly about attending class, painting, or whatever else was on his agenda.
Since the current situation was still unresolved, Gui Wen didn’t want to complicate matters further. [I was taking a nap in the dorm, just woke up and heading to class.]
[Is that so?]
To his surprise, Zong Xian replied almost instantly. [Not at the airport?]
Reading those words, Gui Wen felt a chill run down his spine. He instinctively whipped his head around to scan his surroundings, but Zong Xian was nowhere in sight.
[Looking for me?]
Gui Wen didn’t reply.
Forcing himself to ignore Zong Xian, he resumed chasing in the direction Lu Yuteng had vanished. Just as he stepped onto the staircase, the system abruptly chimed to announce that the mission was complete.
At the exact same moment, he felt a firm grip close around his wrist from behind, and his phone was swiftly snatched from his grasp.
“My dear younger brother.”
Zong Xian slipped Gui Wen’s phone into his own pocket, the corners of his lips curving upward with malicious intent.
“Lying to me is hardly the behavior of an obedient boy.”