Morning. Inside the office.
“Regarding the planning for this project, this is the current status. The risk assessment has also been completed, so we believe”
The manager, dressed in a sharp suit, spoke eloquently about the proposal in his hand. He was clearly fully immersed in the explanation of his research results.
However, the person sitting behind the desk did not seem quite as focused.
He stared at the reporting manager, nodding from time to time. He appeared to be listening intently, but the rhythm of his nodding was somewhat mechanical, and his gaze wandered.
“That concludes my report, President Shi.”
The manager snapped the proposal shut with a loud click. He tilted his chin up slightly, eagerly awaiting a word of affirmation from his superior for his diligent work.
Ten seconds passed after he finished speaking, yet the person behind the desk remained unresponsive. His gaze was fixed on a corner of the room, lost in thought.
“President Shi?”
The manager scratched his head and called out again.
Only then did the person with the drifting expression manage to snap back to reality.
Shi Jingyan abruptly shifted his gaze back to the man standing before him. Seeing the manager’s clearly puzzled expression, he cleared his throat with a slight, awkward cough.
“Yes, I heard you. Well done. Proceed with the execution exactly as you described.”
“Right away, President Shi!”
The manager responded quickly, gave a slight nod of farewell, and turned to leave the office, closing the door behind him.
President Shi is acting a bit unusual today. This has never happened during a briefing before. Could he be troubled by something?
Thinking this, the manager shook his head.
Someone as obsessed with work and career as President Shi would only be troubled by the future planning of the company. Working for a boss with such clear plans and decisive actions is definitely the most promising path!
The manager thought to himself.
Shi Jingyan was indeed thinking about something. It was not exactly a trouble, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the company’s future.
He stared at the door the manager had just closed, his gaze lingering on the intricate patterns of the wood, mirroring his own cluttered thoughts.
Yu Yanzhuo had kissed him.
Just last night.
Granted, it was only a kiss on the cheek, not anywhere more intimate. Granted, the two of them had already engaged in acts far more intimate than a kiss on the cheek.
But why?
Shi Jingyan held a ballpoint pen in one hand, his fingertip repeatedly clicking the top. The pen made a rhythmic click-clack sound.
At the time, that incubus had simply kissed him casually. With his usual enchanting smile, he had waved and left without offering a single word of explanation for such an abrupt act.
After he left, Shi Jingyan had stood frozen in place for a full five minutes.
By the time he regained his senses and mechanically dragged himself to the bathroom to take a shower, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
His face was flushed crimson.
Starting from the patch of skin Yu Yanzhuo had touched, the color had spread all the way down his neck and shoulders, with a faint tendency to continue downward.
Shi Jingyan froze for two seconds, raising a hand to cover that side of his face. Simultaneously, an emotion mixed with confusion and shame-filled annoyance surged in his heart.
He was not annoyed with Yu Yanzhuo, but with himself.
It was just a kiss. Was this really necessary?
When Shi Jingyan was a child, his foster parents would take him to friends’ houses. Because he was as beautiful as a doll, he had been kissed on the cheek by the other families’ little girls and boys, sometimes even ending up with a face full of drool.
He had never felt anything about it.
Even in middle school, when peers would corner him in the hallway to read love letters or confess their feelings loudly, he would remain calm and expressionless. After the other person finished, he would reject them politely and coolly.
So what was happening now?
Sitting in his office, Shi Jingyan recalled the scene from last night. His fingers unconsciously brushed the side of his face before pulling away as if he had received an electric shock.
He had almost let his subordinate see that something was wrong.
Shi Jingyan pursed his lips and picked up a glass of tea that had long since gone cold. As the chilly liquid slid down his throat, he seemed to regain a bit of his rationality.
In any case, as an incubus, that man must be extremely practiced at doing such things.
Who knows how many people he has kissed in private.
Thinking this, Shi Jingyan forced his gaze toward the computer screen. He stared at the messy spreadsheets and took several deep breaths before he managed to calm his mind.
An upscale club in the city center.
The private room was filled with the mellow aroma of wine. Expensive jade tabletops were littered with bottles, some opened and some not, featuring elegant, flowing italicized Italian logos.
People sat in small groups, raising glasses and chatting about newly purchased sports cars or real estate, or laughing and talking with the young boys and girls accompanying them.
Yu Yanzhuo sat in the center of the curved sofa, surrounded by several delicate and beautiful boys.
Huan Lian sat opposite him. He took a glass respectfully handed over by a young man and chatted casually with Yu Yanzhuo.
“Brother Yan, that matter your father gave you, is it settled?”
Yu Yanzhuo nonchalantly swirled the liquid in his wine glass and gave a quiet “mm.”
“I handed the list to my dad this morning. In the end, three brands were selected to move in. It should be completely finished by next month.”
“Including that brand from the Shi family?” Huan Lian asked.
Since their accidental encounter at Young Master Li’s house, Shi Yuyang’s frequency of appearance during their outings had gradually increased. Of course, every time he appeared, he undoubtedly hovered around Yu Yanzhuo, always maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, making it impossible to find fault with him.
Yu Yanzhuo chuckled. “Their family was quite desperate to cooperate with Huanya. During the negotiations, the requirements I proposed were extremely harsh, yet they agreed to all of them.”
Huan Lian had heard Yu Yanzhuo mention this before. The representative who went to negotiate with Huanya was indeed Shi Yuyang.
Huan Lian took a sip of wine. “It might not be purely for the sake of cooperating with Huanya.”
Yu Yanzhuo naturally understood what he meant, but he only smiled and did not respond.
Shi Yuyang’s scent was just like the humans he had encountered over the past years, bland and boring. It failed to pique his interest in the slightest.
Seeing that his glass was empty, and before Yu Yanzhuo could even speak, a boy beside him perceptively took the glass. He refilled it and handed it back to Yu Yanzhuo. Then, the boy picked up his own glass, took a small sip, and looked up at Yu Yanzhuo with a smile.
He was a head shorter than Yu Yanzhuo. When leaning against him, he had to look up to meet his eyes. The upward angle made his eyes appear even more affectionate, and the smile on his lips was maintained at a perfect curve.
Yu Yanzhuo glanced at the boy, who clearly had a mouthful of wine.
Huan Lian introduced the scene with practiced ease. “By the way, wine-feeding is one of the services here.”
He looked at Yu Yanzhuo and grinned. “The manager heard you were coming and specifically chose the one best at service to wait on you.”
Indeed.
Yu Yanzhuo watched every movement and expression of the boy in front of him. Even the curve of his smile seemed meticulously rehearsed.
When Yu Yanzhuo did not say anything, the boy took the initiative to place a hand on his shoulder and slowly leaned in toward him.
Yu Yanzhuo caught the scent of his perfume.
It was not a cheap fragrance. As a high-end club with both service and reputation, the wages for those working here were not low. The scent on this boy was a new release from a luxury brand this season.
The carefully blended fruit scent mixed with the heavy aroma of wine was intoxicating and rich.
The smile remained on Yu Yanzhuo’s lips as his golden eyes glanced at him coolly. A moment before the boy’s lips could reach his own, he tilted his head slightly to the side, avoiding the move.
“No need, baby.”
He laughed, using the affectionate and flirtatious address as usual.
The boy’s movements froze for a moment. Along with the surprise, a hint of regret welled up in his heart.
He had long heard of this Young Master Yu. Seeing him in person today, his heart could not settle its restless frequency for a moment. He had been waiting for this wine-feeding opportunity to get close to Yu Yanzhuo openly.
Though he was rejected, the languid smile and curved eyes on Yu Yanzhuo’s face were too dazzling, leaving no room in his heart for any negative emotions other than regret.
Huan Lian, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, finally spoke to the boy with a smile. “Young Master Yu is still single. Save that routine for someone else.”
“Really?”
The surrounding boys widened their eyes in surprise.
Yu Yanzhuo glanced at Huan Lian.
His family and Huan Lian’s were old family friends. They had played together since they were children and had known each other for so many years that they understood each other perfectly. Occasionally, Huan Lian would step in to explain the situation for him.
An incubus does not easily kiss others, let alone engage in a real kiss on the mouth.
To them, the act of kissing was not just a common human display of affection, but carried a deeper meaning. If they were merely facing a favorite prey, they would absolutely never kiss them.
Kissing the cheek, however, had a different meaning.
While this act was still uncommon, it was more an expression of being pleased. It was like a human teasing a cute kitten or puppy and gently stroking its head.
As for last night,
Yu Yanzhuo recalled Shi Jingyan’s clearly stunned expression.
He was indeed pleased by Shi Jingyan’s expression, someone who was clearly so serious, yet so easily fooled by him.
Just like every time he was pinned to the bed. At first, there was the struggle of resistance, yet he would always unconsciously soften his body and allow himself to be teased, making those beautiful, desperately suppressed sounds.
And even though it was just for fun, even though Yu Yanzhuo had not even considered being serious so far, Shi Jingyan would always tremble and flush crimson. Even his chest, which felt great to the touch, would be dyed with the same color.
So, Yu Yanzhuo had kissed his cheek on a whim.
Even he himself had been briefly surprised afterward, not quite understanding his own abrupt behavior.
In that instant, the originally sweet aura had begun to undergo a faint change, becoming rich and fragrant, like overripe fruit, exuding a thick, syrupy stickiness.
Yu Yanzhuo felt a stir in his heart.
It was very tempting.
Just like Shi Jingyan himself.
I should find another opportunity to kiss him again, he thought.