“I did not intend to deceive him. I can explain. I really can explain.”
From the very beginning, he had wanted to tell Pei Sichen the truth about being married and having a wife, but Pei Sichen had not allowed him to finish. Afterward, it was Pei Sichen who disregarded his wishes and forced him into this relationship. He had never hidden anything from Pei Sichen, nor did he have any intention of swindling him out of money.
Su Jiachen rested his arm on the car window, his chin propped on his wrist. He watched Jiang Ruobai, who was eagerly trying to explain, with an expression of cold indifference, as if the matter did not concern him at all.
“However, Mr. Jiang, you must understand that regardless of your reasons, you still hid the truth from Pei Sichen. Given his personality, do you really think he will listen to this kind of excuse?”
Jiang Ruobai’s eyes could not mask his unease and fear. Linking this to Pei Sichen’s volatile temperament over the past few days and his near-manic style of doing things, he said anxiously, “I can apologize to Mr. Pei. I will go see him tonight. I will tell him everything and explain it clearly, and I will return all the money to him.”
Su Jiachen turned his head and gave a dismissive, mocking laugh. “Mr. Jiang, you truly are naively cute. Haven’t your interactions these past few days and that night at ‘Darkness’ given you a sense of Pei Sichen’s personality? If apologies were useful, that manager who rubbed Pei Sichen the wrong way would not have lost half his life.”
“Then what should I do?”
Jiang Ruobai looked up at Su Jiachen. He knew Su Jiachen had been waiting here for him on purpose today. Since he was saying these things, he must have a solution.
Seeing the other party finally get to the point, Su Jiachen was satisfied, his fox-like eyes curving into crescents.
“Mr. Jiang, you should be very clear that Pei Sichen cannot accept anyone playing him for a fool. Therefore, you must keep your tail tucked and go along with him. Otherwise, I fear it will not just be you who ends up in trouble.”
Jiang Ruobai looked hesitant. He understood what Su Jiachen meant, but he did not understand his motive for doing this.
“Why are you helping me?”
Su Jiachen pressed his tongue against his teeth, his expression roguish and arrogant.
The reason he did this was naturally because of Pei Sichen. He and Pei Sichen had grown up together, and they were closer than kin.
Since Pei Sichen was interested in Jiang Ruobai, he naturally did not want his friend to be disappointed too early. Furthermore, for an unremarkable beta, Pei Sichen’s interest would likely fade in a few days; there was no need for him to get angry over a beta.
Of course, there was no need for him to explain these things to someone like Jiang Ruobai.
“Because…” Su Jiachen leaned out and snapped his fingers crisply. “I feel like it. Helping you is also helping Pei Sichen. Mr. Jiang, remember: tuck your tail well. Do not attempt to harbor any devious thoughts toward Pei Sichen. Otherwise, I can also play with you until you are finished!”
Facing Su Jiachen’s threat, Jiang Ruobai gave a bitter laugh. Perhaps because he had experienced too much over the last two days, his courage had grown quite a bit.
“You people talk either in circles or with blunt cruelty. Rest assured, I understand what you mean. In the coming days, I will be a peace-of-mind bed partner for Pei Sichen and will not harbor any inappropriate thoughts. But if you dare touch my wife, I will fight you with my life!”
When talking about his wife, there was a rare edge to Jiang Ruobai’s eyes, very different from his usual timid appearance.
His wife was his bottom line and his only motivation for keeping going. Therefore, if anyone dared to touch her, he would certainly not let them off.
Su Jiachen was naturally not intimidated by Jiang Ruobai’s simple words, but seeing that he had such a side to him, he was actually quite pleased.
The person standing beside the Wolf King could not be a rabbit that anyone could bully.
“Rest assured, Mr. Jiang. I will arrange for someone to take care of your wife. We shall meet again.” Su Jiachen smiled, put on his sunglasses, stepped on the gas, and drove away in style.
The excitement he had felt about seeing his wife turned to ice after meeting Su Jiachen. He sat dejectedly on the sofa in the living room while the TV played news he could not comprehend. When he accidentally heard the words “Xuming Construction,” his eyes lit up, and he immediately dialed Zhou Luo’s number.
The call was answered quickly, and Zhou Luo’s clear male voice came through.
“Hello, Brother Bai? I heard from the manager that you took some leave recently. Is your health okay?”
“I am fine. I have just been having frequent headaches lately, so I am resting at home for a few days.”
Zhou Luo said with concern, “Then Brother Bai, I will come to your house to visit you.”
Jiang Ruobai was not at home, and he did not want anyone to know about his current relationship with Pei Sichen, so he quickly declined Zhou Luo’s kindness.
“No need. I have some relatives visiting these few days, so it is not convenient to host you.”
“Hey, it is fine. I was just worried about your health. I am relieved if you are okay.”
Seeing that the pleasantries were sufficient, Jiang Ruobai stopped beating around the bush and said directly, “I want to invest a little more money.”
Zhou Luo agreed readily on the other end. “Sure, Brother Bai. The stock value of ‘Xuming Construction’ has already started to rise these last two days. Since there are not many people investing yet, there is definitely profit to be made if you invest now.”
“Mm, that is what I thought too.” Hearing that Xuming Construction’s value was rising, Jiang Ruobai’s heart settled down a bit.
He thought: As long as I can earn enough money for treatment, I will take Shuxin away from here. Whether it is to my hometown or another city, far away from here. No matter how great the Pei family’s influence is, it is limited to Hai City. As long as I leave Hai City, Pei Sichen cannot do anything to me.
What Su Jiachen told him today, Jiang Ruobai agreed with on one point: according to Pei Sichen’s personality, once he discovered he was married, he would definitely not let him and his wife go. Su Jiachen and Pei Sichen were the same kind of people and were absolutely not trustworthy. What he should do now was raise the medical fees as quickly as possible and take his wife away from here.
“So, Brother Bai, how much do you plan to invest this time?”
Jiang Ruobai thought for a moment and said, “Four hundred thousand.”
Pei Sichen had given him a card with five hundred thousand, but to be safe, he kept one hundred thousand in the card.
“Four hundred thousand? Brother Bai, you have struck it rich!” Zhou Luo exclaimed in shock on the other end.
Jiang Ruobai brushed it off with a few words, saying he borrowed it from a relative. Although Zhou Luo was shocked, since it was Jiang Ruobai’s private matter, he did not say anything more. Seeing that Jiang Ruobai’s attitude was firm, he did not stop him, as no one would want to miss such a lucrative opportunity.
With the investment matter settled, Jiang Ruobai remembered that Pei Sichen had told him to buy some new clothes. Thinking that the other person was now his benefactor, he thought about going to a nearby mall to see if there were any suitable items.
He originally thought the mall would not be far, so Jiang Ruobai declined the housekeeper’s offer to drive him. However, Jiang Ruobai did not realize that Pei Sichen’s home was a detached villa, and there were no buildings for several kilometers around. It took him nearly an hour of walking before he saw a mall.
It would have been fine if he had not gone inside, but once he asked about the prices, they were outrageously high. A simple white T-shirt started at fifteen thousand, and the cheapest thing in the store was a pair of socks for three thousand.
He browsed several stores, but the prices were far beyond his reach. Later, he did not even dare to continue asking. Realizing he could not afford the clothes there, Jiang Ruobai hurriedly left the mall.
On his trip out, the only things Jiang Ruobai bought were the ingredients to prepare dinner for Pei Sichen. In fact, he had not planned to buy them either, as he had never seen green onions for sixty yuan each. But the thought that these things were for Pei Sichen, and since he was spending the man’s money, it would not be right to give him low-quality food, so he gritted his teeth and bought ingredients at the supermarket near the mall.
When Pei Sichen returned home, Jiang Ruobai had already prepared dinner: sweet and sour pork ribs, clear-stewed crucian carp, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a bowl of porridge with various ingredients that were indistinguishable.
“Mr. Pei, good evening.”
Pei Sichen glanced at the food on the table, his gaze settling on Jiang Ruobai, who was wearing a pink apron.
“Did you make all of this?”
“Yes.” Jiang Ruobai nodded, placed the two bowls of rice he was carrying on the table, and stood there obediently.
A smile spread across the corners of Pei Sichen’s mouth, and his mood was visibly good. Jiang Ruobai now carried his pheromones, and the marks he had left on his neck were clearly visible. Seeing him finish dinner and wait for him to come home from work, having his own scent, gave rise to an indescribable sense of satisfaction within him.
Based on this inexplicable satisfaction, Pei Sichen ended up eating and taking Jiang Ruobai to bed.
If deciding to take Jiang Ruobai to the banquet was a whim at first, he now felt it was not bad. Jiang Ruobai was obedient and knew how to observe boundaries. He would offer weak apologies, and when bullied severely, he would only dare to beg with red eyes, like a gentle rabbit. He was not like those Omegas who were difficult to coax and would push their luck just because they were favored.
“There is a banquet in a few days. Accompany me. I will have the housekeeper prepare a formal suit for you in advance.”
Although two days was a bit tight and a custom-made suit would definitely not be finished in time, as the partner accompanying him to the banquet, he certainly would not slight Jiang Ruobai.
Jiang Ruobai was soaked in sweat. In a daze, he heard Pei Sichen say he would take him to a charity banquet in three days. Battered and confused, he agreed in a blur.
“Okay…”
The obedient and compliant Jiang Ruobai sent a slight ripple through Pei Sichen’s heart, and he could not help but plant a light kiss on the other’s forehead.
He thought that as long as Jiang Ruobai remained obedient, even if he grew tired of him one day, he would give him a generous reward, just as a bonus for his service.