Sissy (娘娘腔)

Sissy (娘娘腔)

by Shui Qian Cheng (水千丞) in 2010

Originally published on jjwxc, now available on Iqiyi

Disclaimer: This is an unprofessional translation of pretty bad quality. It is

completely free from the fans and to the fans of the 188 club. Support Shui
Qian Cheng on her weibo:

https://weibo.com/shuiqiancheng

More info on Sissy and summary can be found

here: https://188group.carrd.co/#nnq

18+ due to heavy themes (take the age warning seriously, please) Trigger
Warnings: RAPE, NONCON, DUBCON, ATTEMPTED RAPE OF A
MINOR BY AN ADULT, VIOLENCE AGAINST A MINOR, SCHOOL
BULLYING, WORKPLACE BULLYING, HOMOPHOBIA,
EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION, RAPE VICTIM BECOMES LOVER

General Warning: This is not a romance - rather a bleak psychological

drama which depicts an abusive relationship and how it is perpetuated and
tolerated in our society due to economic and social inequality. This novel
however provides no solutions or answers to those problems but lets the
reader make their own conclusions. If you prefer stories where the good
prevails over evil with clear moral lessons presented by the author, you
should find something else to read.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 1
“Hey, Xiao[1] Li, turn around!”

Li Chengxiu was busy putting salt into the pot when he heard Manager
Zhang’s voice behind him. He quickly put the salt away before turning his
head.

The hotel he was working at has only been operating for three months. The
appliances in the kitchen were all still new and shiny. One could see the
lush fire reflecting in the silver-white cabinet door, which illuminated Li
Chengxiu's fair and delicate face. The fine sweat beads on the tip of his
nose were also shining like little crystals in this bright light.

He wiped the sweat from his face: "What’s the matter, Manager Zhang?"

Manager Zhang pointed at the person next to him and ordered, "Xiao Qian,
you take over."

Then he said to Li Chengxiu, "Come with me."

In a hurry, Li Chengxiu handed his spatula to Xiao Qian, quickly turned on

the faucet and nervously came up to Manager Zhang.

"Xiao Li, you're quite lucky," the manager said as he led him out.

Li Chengxiu followed behind him slowly and was confused: "What do you
mean, Manager Zhang?"

"Mr. Liu came here today to entertain a distinguished guest. And even our
boss showed up to accompany him! This guest was full of praise for the
dishes you made. Next month, he is planning to hold a sea party in Victoria
Harbor[2]. He stil hasn’t decided on the chef for the Chinese food, and he
wants to see if you might be a good fit.”
Li Chengxiu was startled. The chefs he had worked with before had been
invited by wealthy people to cook for private banquets - New Year's Eve
dinners, etc. They only had to work for a few days, but the customers were
so generous that one such engagement was worth several months of usual
pay. These kinds of wages are really a pie in the sky! Because Li Chengxiu
was not a very experienced cook, he had never had such an opportunity
before.

Today, suddenly such a good thing happened to him, so he couldn’t conceal

the joy on his face. His heart was also pounding with excitement and
anxiety.

Manager Zhang looked at him with a smile: "Be glad, you're very lucky! It's
been less than a month since you’ve been transferred from the headquarters.
Hurry up, change into a clean set of clothes and wash your face!"

Li Chengxiu nodded and headed towards the cloakroom. Just as he was

about to push the door, he remembered his manners and turned around,
"Manager Zhang, thank you!"

Manager Zhang waved his hand: "Go and change your clothes first."

Li Chengxiu quickly walked in, took out his freshly washed white chef's
clothes that still smelled of washing detergent and put them on. Then he
splashed some water on his face. With that, the strong smell of oil smoke
from the kitchen was much less prominent.

After he came out, Manager Zhang led him to the box, carefully coaching
him on the way: "Xiao Li, I know you can't speak so wel . You don’t need
to talk a lot - just shortly answer the questions they ask you.”

Li Chengxiu nodded quietly: "Ok."

"Just remember that after you go in, first you have to greet our boss and
then Mr. Liu. You’ve never met him but you might have heard of him
before - he is bald and he is wearing a blue shirt. You just say to him
'Hello, Mr[3]. Liu'. Finally, on his left, you will see our distinguished guest.
His last name is Shao, he is quite young and he looks like a superstar, so
he’s easy to spot. You should greet him with 'Hello, Mr[4]. Shao'. Do you
understand?"

"Um."

"Don’t forget the proper order - first our boss, then Mr. Liu, then Mr. Shao.
The rest of the people are not that important, so you can just nod at them.
You usual y don’t even say a few words a day, so I’m afraid you wil be too
awkward. So, don’t say anything after you have done your greetings, unless
asked directly.

Just leave everything else to me. Is it clear?"

"Yes, thank you Manager Zhang." Li Chengxiu nodded gratefully. Manager

Zhang didn’t usually talk to him very much. He didn't expect him to
suddenly be so caring at this time, so Li Chengxiu felt a little flattered.

The two approached the box, and Manager Zhang knocked lightly on the
door.

The boss's voice came from the inside: "Come in."

Manager Zhang opened the door and led Li Chengxiu in.

Li Chengxiu saw that there were nearly ten people sitting around the table,
who all looked at him at the same time. He saw light flashing in front of his
eyes, and his brain was buzzing. He was momentarily blinded. Even though
the central air conditioner made the room chilly, he was so nervous that he
sweated.

Li Chengxiu’s character was a bit autistic[5], and he usually had a hard time
speaking to people. As the crowd stared at him, he felt so scared that his
legs became weak and his tongue was knotted.

Manager Zhang pushed him.

Only then did Li Chengxiu wake up from his daze, and his eyes regained
some focus. He first found his boss, and whispered, "Hello boss." Then his
gaze located Mr. Liu in his blue shirt and he said, "Hello Mr.

Liu." Then he looked around for the young one, who looked like a
superstar...

Li Chengxiu's heart skipped a beat, as if someone had punched him right in

the chest.

This person was profoundly handsome, had a dashing face, a smooth

forehead, broad shoulders, and quite an interesting smile...

Li Chengxiu lowered his head in panic, as this half-smiling face with an

inquiring expression appeared in front of him.

This man... he looked too familiar. Could it be him? More than ten years
have passed, and he might be mistaken. But his last name was also Shao...

Manager Zhang was nervous, thinking that Li Chengxiu had forgotten what
he had told him just now. He also blamed himself for having too high
expectations for this guy! How could he have expected a person who can’t
fart at all to suddenly fart loudly in front of everyone's eyes? So he quickly
slapped Li Chengxiu’s waist from behind.

Li Chengxiu came back to his senses and blurted out, "Hello, Mr. Shao."

Everyone at the table looked at him with interest.

Mr. Liu was the host today, and everybody agreed not to talk about business
- just eat and drink to their heart’s content. So they only told anecdotes
about politicians, gossiped, and discussed food and alcohol.

From the moment Mr. Shao raised his head and praised the dishes for their
authenticity, the conversation at the table shifted towards food. When the
chef came in, for many people here it was an interesting sideshow.

The owner of the hotel was very happy and felt that the young chef did a
really good job and won favor for him. Yet he saw that Chef Li was more
thin-skinned than a girl, so he joked: "Li, is the air conditioner not working
well enough for you? Look at how red your face is!"

Everyone at the table laughed.

Manager Zhang followed with a smile: "Our Xiao Li is good at everything.

He is a talented person and a great cook. He is just shy and doesn't dare to
speak when he meets strangers. I hope you all don’t mind him.”

Boss Liu was obviously drunk, and laughed loudly: "Why does Chef Li
look different from what I imagined?

He cooks so much food every day, and he is still so slender. Can he share
his secret?"

Someone at the table interjected with a smile: "Yeah, at our age, who
doesn’t suffer from the three common problems[6]? You said that he spins
around in oil and salt all day, and yet he is still so thin!"

Li Chengxiu blushed almost to the point of bleeding through his skin, and
he didn't dare to lift his head up.

Seeing his abashed appearance, Manager Zhang couldn't help but laugh. He
quickly smoothed things out:

"That's right, the girls in our hotel are talking about losing weight all day
long. They are very jealous of him, since he doesn't get fat no matter what
he eats."

The guests began to reminisce about how thin they were when they were
young, how they gained weight later, and what was wrong with their bodies
now. Their attention was temporarily away from Li Chengxiu.

He was finally free from the prying eyes and was about to breathe a sigh of
relief when the young and handsome Mr. Shao spoke up. His voice full of
pure male magnetism was pleasant and not too loud but as soon as he
opened his mouth, everyone fell silent.
"Chef Li looks so young. I wouldn’t have expected his craftsmanship to be
so good."

Manager Zhang was afraid that others would think that Li Chengxiu was
inexperienced, so he hurriedly retorted: "He looks young, but he is actually
thirty years old."

Mr. Liu snorted: "He looks like a college student, very young."

Li Chengxiu silently corrected Manager Zhang. He was twenty-eight.

Manager Zhang poked his waist from behind: "Xiao Li, it is Mr. Shao, who
asked you to be the chef responsible for Chinese food at the sea party."

Li Chengxiu raised his head and accidentally stared into Mr.Shao’s eyes.
Seeing that Mr. Shao looked at him with an inexplicable smile, he panicked.

"Th… Thank you, Mr. Shao."

The man gave him a calm smile and asked casually, "What is Chef Li's full
name?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned, and couldn't help but wonder if Shao had
recognized him as well. When he thought of this possibility, his heart
tightened and he felt extremely uneasy.

Seeing that he acted like a clockwork doll that needs to be wound up every
time after it gets frozen, Manager Zhang was so angry that he wanted to
slap Li Chengxiu with the sole of his shoe. He desperately scolded him
from behind: "Xiao Li, Mr. Shao has asked you a question."

"I……"

Mr. Shao blinked and smiled: "Why is Chef Li so tense? Are you so
nervous that you forgot your name?"

Li Chengxiu tried to calm himself down, looked directly in the eyes staring
at him, and said in a low voice,
"My name is Li Chengxiu."

Mr. Shao let out a long "Ooooooooh", which made Li Chengxiu tremble.

Li Chengxiu tried desperately to comfort himself. It has been 13 or 14

years. It all happened when they were children. This man might not be the
same Shao Qun. And even if he was, he might not remember him. And even
if he remembers him, what is there to be so nervous about? It wasn't Li
Chengxiu who did bad things, after all.

Thinking like this, he calmed down. The only thing that worried him now
was the work at the sea party.

He didn't want to give up such a good opportunity to earn money, but if this
person was really the same Shao Qun, he really didn't want to go.

The feeling this person gave him now was similar to what he felt about him
as a child. He exuded arrogance of complete superiority. When he was
young he was aggressively arrogant, but now the arrogance was coated with
sophistication and manners. It wasn’t offensive per se but it was very much
visible at all times.This Shao Qun was equally difficult to approach as the
one from his childhood, and he just wanted to stay away.

Mr. Shao smiled: "I'm surprised that Chef Li is so young, but it's fine. This
party is supposed to have a pre-order menu, so it’s better if you take part in
purchasing the ingredients. The day is going to be very busy.

An older person might get overwhelmed. But don’t worry, your boss
promised to lend me a few more people, and they will all be available to
you when the time comes."

Li Chengxiu twisted his hands in embarrassment. Mr. Shao's tone was

particularly determined, and there was no room for rejection. He really
wanted to push this matter away, but with so many eyes on him, he knew
that he would definitely make a fool of himself if he talked too much.

The owner of the hotel, Mr. Chen, echoed right next to him: "Alright, Xiao
Li, no need to be in such a hurry to thank Mr.Shao."
Li Chengxiu carefully looked at him and whispered, "Th…, ank… you, Mr.
Shao."

Boss Chen frowned slightly, and then said with an amused smile: "Young
Master Shao, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be lending a chef from our
hotel so easily. Our Chef Xiao Li might have had a difficult childhood, so
he is a bit autistic and he doesn’t speak so well. But this condition of his
doesn’t affect anything else, definitely not his cooking skil s. He wil not
give you any trouble!”

Mr. Shao nodded with a smile, while his eyes never left Li Chengxiu: "I
don’t mind, as long as the chef’s tongue can taste the flavor."

The tone in which he said those three words "taste the flavor" sounded a
little weird to Li Chengxiu and for some reason made him uncomfortable.

Boss Chen waved his hand and raised his chin in a gesture to Manager
Zhang: "That's it, you can go back to work."

Manager Zhang and Li Chengxiu both turned around to leave, feeling as if

they had been granted amnesty.

Mr. Shao suddenly called behind them, "Chef Li."

Li Chengxiu paused and turned around stiffly.

Mr. Shao looked at him with a smile: "Chef Xiao Li, I will pick you up in a
few days, and we will discuss this matter thoroughly."

Li Chengxiu felt that his heart was jumping out of his throat..

He looked at Manager Zhang's tall and broad back all the way from the box
to the kitchen, as he hesitated and couldn’t find the courage to speak up.
Final y, he whispered, "Manager Zhang."

Manager Zhang frowned and turned around.

He didn’t usually have much contact with Li Chengxiu, even though one
couldn’t say that he particularly detested him. Yet, to be honest, he didn’t
like him much either.

Li Chengxiu was a man in his late twenties yet stil as scrawny as a teenager.
The word “emaciated” could best describe him—he was so frail that he
could be knocked down by a puff of wind. Wasn’t this man beyond any
help? Even worse, others wished to get him an amplifier whenever he was
talking. He was such a sissy that even if he walked in a skirt for miles,
nobody would notice.

Manager Zhang knew that there were some young workers in their hotel,
who liked to mock Li Chengxiu’s speech and walking posture behind his
back, and they always exaggerated by sticking out their little fingers and
batting their eyelashes. He understood that Li Chengxiu was just a little
girly, so he never engaged in any gossip with these indecent people but this
complete uselessness made even Manager Zhang feel awkward around Li
Chengxiu.

His performance today was worse than he had imagined. Li Chengxiu

couldn’t even say a complete sentence there, and always just looked down
at his feet. These were their boss’s special guests inside that room today,
and if they had made them unhappy, Manager Zhang would be the one to
clean up the mess.

These thoughts made Manager Zhang even more hostile and impatient, so
his tone was not very good:

"What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at him timidly, and said with hesitation, "Manager

Zhang, can… can…. I not go?"

Manager Zhang squinted his eyes and put his ear closer: "I can’t hear what
you’re saying. Speak up."

"That… sea… party… can… can I not go?"

Manager Zhang heard it clearly this time, and clicked his tongue: "Why
wouldn’t you go?"
Li Chengxiu lowered his head, unable to think of anything to say, so he just
repeated: "Can I not go?"

Manager Zhang's face became a little ugly: "No, what do you mean “not
go”? What are you even thinking?

Don't presume things just because Mr.Shao is young - have you got any
idea how powerful his background is? His family is directly connected to
that." Manager Zhang did not say clearly what he meant, he just pointed to
the advertisement for Nanhai Wine on the light box in the corner.

"Can you get this much money just for one event somewhere else?"
Manager Zhang put his hand in front of Li Chengxiu again, but this time he
spread out five fingers. "Normally you could save this much only after
working hard for two months. What's wrong with you? Why don't you want
to go?"

Li Chengxiu blushed, and suddenly asked Manager Zhang an unexpected

question: "He… his… full name…?"

"What?"

"Ful name… Shao… Shao what?"

Manager Zhang frowned, his eyes stern: "You are just a cook. Why do you
need to know something like that?"

"I……"

"You just need to cook! Don't think about things that don’t concern you. I’m
telling you, Xiao Li, you can’t seek connections with this kind of person
just because you want to."

"I'm not……"

"I really don't understand what you want. Our boss has personally agreed to
this, and it is impossible to change anything about it. You should just
perform well and gain some advantages from Mr.Shao. But you are not
allowed to embarrass our boss! He has to keep his face[7]. And if he gets
angry, heads will fly. You have already worked in our hotel for several
years, if you also count the time at the headquarters - after a few more
years, you might even become the head chef . Don't tell me afterwards that I
didn’t warn you. You have to be down-to-earth, work hard, and not let the
opportunities pass you by. Otherwise, you can't blame others for your
problems."

These words sounded very reasonable, so Li Chengxiu couldn’t refute

anything.

After Manager Zhang finished his speech, he promptly walked away.

Li Chengxiu silently looked at the empty hall. It was illuminated by bright

yellow lights that extended from one end of the hall to the other. At the
opposite side, a dressing mirror covered almost the entire wall and reflected
the hall making it seem like an infinite space. It felt terribly empty. The
color scheme was warm, but the cold and hard marble floor made it look
cold and lonely. Li Chengxiu's thin figure seemed like a tiny dot in this
empty scene.
Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun

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OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 2
He returned to the dressing room first to change from his clean clothes and
put the dirty ones back on again. Then he headed to the kitchen.

After he entered, the spoons, dishes, and knives in the hands of the staff
abruptly stopped moving. He encountered gloating and questing looks.

Li Chengxiu knew that he was not popular here.

Actually, even in the past, he had never been popular amongst his peers. He
mostly isolated himself and tried not to speak or even communicate with
anybody, if it wasn’t necessary.

People like him can easily offend others, so it was better to minimize his
own existence to keep himself safe.

He was accustomed to being quiet around people, and the others naturally
also responded with silence.

It's just that this place was different from what he had experienced before.
Here, he didn’t only feel the familiar contempt but also certain hostility.

He has spent ten years in Shenzhen[8]. He started as an apprentice of a

handyman, and later entered this hotel to follow a mentor who treated him
better.

Three months ago, the boss opened this new location. Because it is a hotel
with a sea view, the environment here is good and the salary is high. The
first batch of employees that were transferred will definitely have good
chances for promotion in the future.

Deciding which personnel will come aboard was a complicated decision. Li

Chengxiu had been working under their President Chen for five years, and
his performance had been good, so he was transferred here to be a sous chef
together with another colleague.
Where he worked previously, everyone was used to his introverted
personality. But in this new environment, with many new colleagues, his
restrained attitude was a problem during the initial time when everybody
was getting to know each other.

What's more, he didn’t have enough qualifications to be a sous chef, so it

was inevitable that some people would be critical of him. If it wasn't for the
urgent shortage of manpower at the new location, he would never have
gotten this position.

Everyone just now had witnessed that he was called by the manager while in
the middle of cooking.

Considering the circumstances, most likely he was in trouble.

A young chef, Xiao Qian, who took over from him, came up and asked, "Li
Ge[9], what did Manager Zhang want from you?"

Li Chengxiu answered truthfully: "There is a guest who wants to hold a

party, so they asked me to cook there."

Xiao Qian’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Yet, after some time, he smiled:
"Alright, Li Ge! Good for you!"

Xiao Zhao, who was preparing a cold dish, deliberately let out a heavy sigh:
"Li Ge is so lucky. If he hadn't been on duty today, such a good thing
wouldn’t have happened to him."

The implication was that if the head chef or another sous chef had been here
today, Li Chengxiu wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity.

Others also said a few words, and he received some insincere

congratulations.

Li Chengxiu nodded without saying anything, looked down at the electronic

display with the dishes ordered by the guests, washed his hands, rolled up
his sleeves and got to work.
Seeing that he wasn’t responding, the crowd just continued to entertain
themselves. A little colleague of his walked right behind Li Chengxiu while
exaggeratedly twisting his waist. Everybody laughed.

Li Chengxiu couldn’t hear so well with his right ear, and it was difficult for
him to distinguish separate sounds in a noisy environment. However, the
mocking laughter could still penetrate his eardrum and enter his brain.

He looked down at the crab roe and tofu he was cooking, and his heart
gradually calmed down.

After dragging his tired body home at night, Li Chengxiu first threw himself
on the faded carpet.

He had always been very neat and tidy, so he would never even touch his
bed before washing his body thoroughly to get rid of the kitchen smells.

He rolled over and lay on his back on the carpet, resting his eyes and gasping
for breath.

Shenzhen in July feels like a big hot steamer. When Li Chengxiu got off
work at night, the bus was crowded with sweaty people, so his trip home felt
like taking a bath in sticky sweat, which made him sick inside and out.

The company original y arranged accommodation for him, but his dormitory
at the new hotel location wasn’t ready yet. So they gave him a 1,000
RMB[10] lodging subsidy every month to let him rent his own place.

Li Chengxiu was happy with the arrangement. He didn’t want to live in a

dormitory in the future when it was ready. He would rather ride the bus back
and forth for more than half an hour every day and receive the subsidy rather
than room together with strangers.

He took his phone out of his pocket to check what time it was.

He kept the phone turned off during working hours, and after he switched it
on, a few messages popped up directly on the screen. All of these were
missed calls.
Some were from familiar numbers, others not.

Li Chengxiu looked at the familiar number, frowned slightly, pursed his lips,
hesitated for a while, and finally called back.

"Hello……"

"Oh, why are you only calling back now?" A high-pitched female voice
came from the other side.

"Fourth aunt, I was at work."

"So long? You’re working too hard, Xiao Xiu! By the way, have you
transferred the money for this month already?"

"Not yet, I will do it tomorrow."

"Then hurry up. Other people have already paid their dues! This time, you
should give me an extra 1,000

RMB. Because next month your brother is bringing back his girlfriend. And
I want to buy an air conditioner."

"……Okay."

"Xiao Xiu, I understand that it’s not easy for you, and that you’re tired. But
while you’re young, you should work harder. Otherwise, when wil you be
able to pay off the money you owe? You don’t want to be in debt your entire
life, do you?"

"No."

"That's all I have to say. Long-distance calls are expensive after all… In the
future, if you transfer the money in time, I wil not call you anymore. Let’s
have no more delays, okay? Otherwise, since you are so far away, one can
never know if you decided to run… Do you understand? I know that you are
not that kind of person, but considering that you owe more than me... It’s
hard for everyone, so try to think about us too, okay?"
"Okay."

Li Chengxiu hung up the phone, feeling exhausted.

He struggled to get up, took a quick shower and sat down on the cot. He took
out an old savings book from under his pillow, and stared at the numbers on
it.

Suddenly his cell phone rang again, startling him. He moved, and the bed
creaked.

He quickly took the phone, saw an unfamiliar number on the screen, and
gently pressed the “accept”

button.

"Hello?"

He heard soft breathing on the other side, and then a voice asked him
tentatively, "Li Chengxiu?"

Li Chengxiu trembled, and the phone almost fell out of his hand.

He remembered this voice well - he had just heard it today. It was Mr. Shao.

The other party was silent for a while and then asked again: "Is it Li
Chengxiu?"

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a long time, and finally whispered, "Yes."

There was a sigh of relief and a chuckle, "I thought I made a mistake."

Li Chengxiu silently put the phone next to his right ear. He would usually
use his left ear when he was talking on the phone, since it was undamaged.
But in the case of this particular voice, he felt that his anxiety would be less,
if he could hear a bit worse.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?"

"...Mr. Shao."

"Well, you still remember my voice. Not bad."

Li Chengxiu didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet.

"I asked your manager for your phone number. So, what time do you get off
work tomorrow? I'll pick you up and we'll discuss the party."

Li Chengxiu felt repulsed by his indisputable tone: "I’m not working

tomorrow."

"Oh, that’s even better! Then you’l have more time to serve me. Where is
your house? I'l pick you up tomorrow morning."

Li Chengxiu said slowly: "Tomorrow, holiday." He deliberately punctuated

the word “holiday”. He only has one day off a week, and tomorrow he has to
go transfer the money. Besides, he didn’t want to meet Mr.

Shao.

For a while there was silence: "Chef Xiao Li is probably tired. In that case,
please rest well tomorrow. I'll pick you up the day after that. Goodbye then."

The other party abruptly hung up the phone. Li Chengxiu could hear
displeasure in his voice..

He lay down on the bed and wrapped himself in the quilt.

No matter how much he didn't like it or how much he didn't want anything to
do with Mr.Shao, he couldn’t turn his back on the money.

He tightly hugged his pillow after stuffing his savings book under it again.
After a long exhausting day, he quickly fell asleep.

After his holiday, he went to work again. On that day, another sous chef with
last name Liu also showed up, and the look he gave him was not very
friendly. He was fishing for information from Li Chengxiu - what exactly
happened that day, what dishes did he cook, what did the boss say, how
much he will get paid for cooking at the Victoria Harbor party, when this
party was taking place and whether Mr.Shao was coming in again.

Li Chengxiu could only honestly tell him about the dishes he cooked - how
would he know about any of this other stuff?

Chef Liu's face became more and more unsightly, which made Li Chengxiu
feel uncomfortable at work for the whole day.

Even though it was just a small hotel, the infighting was brutal. Considering
this was a newly opened location, the pioneer troops sent to "reclaim the
wasteland" will have the most opportunities for promotion in the future.
Everyone was giving their best, hoping to climb up the ladder. Li Chengxiu,
who was originally the least optimistic about his prospects, was now
officially the first one to show his face in front of the boss and the boss's
friends. This, of course, caused a lot of jealousy.

After finally getting off work at ten o'clock in the evening, Li Chengxiu
quickly packed up and hurried out.

He left through the main entrance, and was just walking out of the hotel
door, when a champagne-colored sports car appeared in front of him under
the bright yellow light.

The car looked very beautiful and very expensive - the body of the car was
long and shiny.

Li Chengxiu looked at it indifferently and continued walking, carefully

holding his bag of leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.

As he passed by the car, the car horn blared abruptly. Startled him, he looked
out the window in amazement.

The car window rolled down, and Li Chengxiu, being not far away from it,
suddenly felt a rush of cold conditioned air coming out of the car.

The young Mr. Shao stuck his face out of the window, waved his hand to
greet him, and said with a smile,
"I'm here to pick you up."

Li Chengxiu took a few deep breaths and looked at him blankly.

When the man saw that he was not moving, he frowned, opened the car door,
got out, walked over to him, and stretched out his hand: "Chef Li?"

With embarassment, Li Chengxiu came back to his senses, looked at the

hand stretched out in front of him, and subconsciously wanted to reach out
too. However, when he raised his arm, he realized that there was a plastic
bag in his right hand, so he hurriedly placed the bag in the other hand, and
only then properly greeted Mr.Shao.

The man's handshake was dry and firm. For some reason, Li Chengxiu felt
that he deliberately used a bit too much strength.

"Mr. Shao."

"Isn’t it too weird to call me Mr. Shao, Li Chengxiu? Do you real y not
remember me?"

Li Chengxiu's heart skipped a beat. Although he had already guessed that

this was indeed the Shao Qun he knew, he still felt unnerved when he heard
the confirmation.

Li Chengxiu raised his head slightly, glanced at him and whispered, "I
remember."

Shao Qun's eyes lit up and he smiled: "Really? We haven't seen each other
for more than ten years.

Seeing your reaction that day, I thought you had no memory of me at all, and
I was quite sad. We were classmates after all. You don’t have to act like
this…or do you still hold the grudge for the stupid things I did when I was a
kid?"

Li Chengxiu's cheeks felt hot, and beads of sweat slowly oozed from his
forehead.
Shao Qun deliberately emphasized the words "when I was a kid", making it
seem that if he still had any hard feelings about the harm he caused him
when he was young and ignorant, it would make Li Chengxiu petty and
small-minded.

Indeed, what can an eleven- or twelve-year-old child understand? Looking

back now, it wasn't a big deal, and Li Chengxiu had almost forgotten about
all of it.

Back then, it seemed like a terrifying disaster on par with the sky collapsing
over him, but now that he thinks about it, it only appeared so horrible
because it was infinitely magnified by his youth at the time. In fact, it’s just a
thing that happened. He was now still alive and well, after all. He lived in
another city where no one even knew who he was. So why would he hold
grudges?

He really didn't have any animosity against Shao Qun, but his fear and
inferiority complex when facing this person remained unchanged even after
so many years. He just wanted to stay as far away as possible.

Colleagues who were leaving work at the time kept throwing glances at them
when they passed by. Both of them looked very uncomfortable. Seeing that
he didn't answer, Shao Qun said, "Get in the car."

Li Chengxiu looked at the car behind him with hesitation: "Why?"

"To talk about work."

Li Chengxiu wanted to tell him that they had nothing to discuss at this late
hour, and that he should come back another day. But then he thought it
wouldn’t do him any good to offend Shao Qun by procrastinating their
meeting. Since he came all this way, Li Chengxiu didn't dare to turn around
and leave.

So he nodded and got into the car.

When Shao Qun also got back into the car and closed the door, the smell of
burnt oil filled the narrow space.
When standing in the parking lot, Li Chengxiu didn't feel that he emitted
such a strong odor, but once he was locked in a closed car, the smell was
really noticeable. He felt really embarrassed.

Shao Qun wrinkled his nose and rolled down all the windows. This move
made Li Chengxiu feel even more uneasy. He blushed.

He couldn't help thinking that more than ten years ago, he also went to
school smelling of burnt oil every day. Everybody avoided him because of
that. At first, the disgusted expressions of his classmates really hurt, but then
he gradually got used to them.

Since he started working and had a steady income, he washed himself very
often. It's just that he had only gotten off work and didn’t have time to take a
shower. He didn't expect to be sitting next to somebody at this time.

It seemed that nothing had changed - Shao Qun was still the noble
gentleman who was always clean and arrogant, while Li Chengxiu was still
the smelly sissy outcast. Even he hated himself at this moment.

Now that he has grown up, why does Shao Qun still make him feel so
embarrassed? In front of the bright shiny Shao Qun, he was still so inferior.

The champagne-colored sports car started silently, and Shao Qun drove
quickly along the coast. The sea breeze blew into Li Chengxiu's eyes. He
could only tightly hold onto the seat belt on his chest, trying to endure bouts
of nausea.

After taking them into the city, Shao Qun slowed down, and rolled the car
windows up again. He seemed to have been holding his breath all the way,
and final y could breathe a sigh of relief. His face wasn’t sullen anymore and
he smiled at Li Chengxiu with ease: "No problem, I can just drive a little
faster."

Li Chengxiu shook his head, his face pale.

"Have you eaten already?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll take you out for a late-night snack. I haven't been to Shenzhen a
lot before, but I may be developing some businesses here for a while in the
future. I really didn't expect to meet you here."

"We… talk about work?"

Shao Qun chuckled: "They make a good Tong Sui[11] in that shop! I don't
know if you as a chef will appreciate it but let’s try it first!"

Li Chengxiu no longer asked about anything. Shao Qun was the same as
before - no one could talk over him, and everything always had to go
according to his wishes.

Shao Qun led him into the teahouse. The waiters obviously already knew
him, and they immediately led them into a private room.

Shao Qun ordered ten kinds of Tong Sui at random, and noted to Li
Chengxiu, "I got so hungry while waiting for you."

Li Chengxiu didn't know what to answer, so he could only nod stiffly.

Shao Qun looked at him silently, then suddenly moved his chair and leaned
towards Li Chengxiu.

"Cheng Xiu - I can call you that, right? You're always so nervous around me.
Do you hate me?" he asked softly.

Li Chengxiu raised his head in surprise and met his beautiful bright eyes. His
heart skipped a few beats, and he awkwardly shook his head.

Shao Qun said sincerely: "I'm actually very happy to meet a former
classmate in a completely different place. I have never forgotten about you,
even after so many years. I was young and ignorant at the time, which
brought you a lot of trouble. I always thought I would find an opportunity to
apologize to you someday, but I didn't expect to see you again.Would you
accept my apology now?"

Shenzhen. Part of another 188 novel “Additional Inheritance” also takes

place in Shenzhen btw.
What Shao Qun’s tacky champagne-colored sports car might have looked
like lol
Some versions of Tong Sui.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 3
Shao Qun's eyes and tone were so sincere that Li Chengxiu felt even more
embarrassed when he heard it.

He really hated Shao Qun back then. If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't be
working as a cook in a hotel today.

He should have been able to get into a good high school, a good university,
and have a completely different life. But after fourteen/fifteen years, he had
a more thorough understanding of many things, and he began to believe in
fate. To him, Shao Qun was already a distant vague impression. Just like he
wouldn't hate the kid who stole his candy when he was a child, same way he
couldn’t hate Shao Qun anymore. He had long since forgotten anything
related to this person.

Under such earnest eyes, Li Chengxiu showed a shallow smile. He felt that
the scars on his heart gradually started to melt away since he saw Shao Qun
that day again. There was a sense of relief that came with it.

So for the first time, when facing Shao Qun, he said clearly and without
hesitation: "It's alright."

Shao Qun looked into his eyes, which were unusually bright, and Li
Chengxiu felt a little uncomfortable, so he turned away.

Exquisitely styled desserts were served promptly, and Shao Qun warmly
urged him to eat.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t hungry, as he had just eaten dinner, so he just picked at

the food.

While eating, Shao Qun asked him how he was doing over the years.

Without any hard feelings, Li Chengxiu explained that after dropping out of
school, he went to work part-time. Later, he said, there were many job
opportunities in Shenzhen, so he decided to come here.

Shao Qun nodded. He was silent for a moment, then he finally said, "After
that incident, my family sent me to England. When I came back, I looked for
you, but I couldn't find you."

Thinking of the difficulties and embarrassment he had to face at that time, Li

Chengxiu felt stuffy in his chest. He didn't know what to say, so he just said
"oh".

Shao Qun put down his chopsticks and reiterated: "I'm really happy to see
you again."

For many years, no one had expressed enthusiasm or affection for Li

Chengxiu. He was used to being either hated or ignored, and it was
somewhat flattering to him that someone could be happy to see him.

Even if these were just polite words. Shao Qun's superiority complex and
arrogance suddenly became less repulsive to him, and Li Chengxiu’s mood
improved. Slowly, pronouncing every word, he said, "Thank.

You."

"It’s me who should be thankful to you for helping me with this party!"

Li Chengxiu remembered the "business" they were going to talk about, and
asked, "Party. How to do it?

I…have…no experience."

"It doesn't matter, you don't have to worry too much about it. Specific things
will be handled by other people. You only need to be responsible for
preparing the menu, purchasing the ingredients, and then making certain
preparations in advance. It is enough, if you make the dishes on the day of
the party which is not so different from what you do at the hotel.”

Li Chengxiu was relieved to hear this. He has never done such work before.
A couple of times in the past, the hotel had received conference groups, and
he could use some of that experience but he was still afraid of messing up. If
something went wrong, it might make his days in the hotel more difficult in
the future.

Shao Qun told him roughly how many people were invited to the party,
explained what flavor profile he expected from the dishes, mentioned which
special dishes have to be included etc. Li Chengxiu listened very carefully to
all the details.

In the end, Shao Qun said that he would take him to meet the party planner
in two days, and they could focus on discussing specifics with each other.

During the meal, Li Chengxiu got less and less nervous in front of Shao
Qun, and his speech became smoother and more fluent.

Shao Qun kept his curiosity at bay at first but finally asked: "You didn't
speak like this before. Why..."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment - his tongue that had just been
liberated seemed to tie itself into a knot yet again.

Before he even met Shao Qun, Li Chengxiu was already very quiet. After
dropping out of school, he became even more autistic[12], and it was normal
for him not to speak with anyone for days at a time.

When he was a child, he always played with girls. As he got older and was
able to see the difference in societal expectations for men and women, his
mannerisms, his tone of voice, and even his whole personality had already
been affected in such a way that he seemed weird amongst other boys. This
made him a target of ridicule. In order to avoid calling more attention to
himself, he could only hide behind the silence.

He spoke less and less, till he almost lost his ability to speak at all.

The two of them right now have been chatting so smoothly, that Li Chengxiu
forgot about his awkwardness for a while. Shao Qun's reminder seemed to
knock him right back to his original form.

Shao Qun also felt embarrassed by his own question, "I just asked casually."
Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes and nodded.

Shao Qun bul ied him lightly: "You haven't changed much since school.
You're stil the same.”

Li Chengxiu sat up straight and subconsciously moved his body away from
Shao Qun.

"You also haven't changed much."

Shao Qun curled his lips into a smile: "You know, after I met you that day, I
immediately told Big Li and the others! Do you still remember them?"

Li Chengxiu shivered, and his face turned pale.

Shao Qun continued: "They were all very happy to hear about you.They
want to see you again. Big Li and A-wen[13] are in Beijing, and Xiao Sheng
is in Shanghai. At first, when I invited them to the party, they all said they
were too busy. But as soon as they heard that you were coming, they
immediately RSVPed. See, they respect you more than me..."

"No." Li Chengxiu whispered.

"What?"

"No." Li Chengxiu repeated with a trembling voice.

He didn't even want to see Shao Qun again, let alone his friends. He didn't
even understand why they would be happy to meet him.

They treated him like beasts back then, and now they want to casually
apologize and suddenly become good old classmates that haven't seen each
other for ages? Do they think it’s possible to just laugh the whole thing
away?

What happened back then can always be attributed to being young and
ignorant, so Li Chengxiu had let it go a long time ago. If it wasn't for Shao
Qun's appearance, he wouldn’t even think about it anymore.
But now this group of people was going to appear in front of him again. It
was like being chased by the dogs who had bitten him many years ago. Even
if this group of dogs had grown up and stopped biting people, he still had
lingering fears and was wary of them.

Shao Qun looked at him silently, suddenly raised his hand and touched his
hair, "If you don't want to see them, I won't let them come."

Li Chengxiu's body jolted violently, and he jumped out of his chair.

He hadn't had physical contact with anyone for a long time, so at this
moment he had the urge to dash for the door in panic.

Shao Qun awkwardly retracted his hand, as a strange look flashed in his
eyes. But it quickly faded. He also stood up and said, "Are you full? Then I'll
take you home."

Li Chengxiu nodded, picked up his plastic bag on the chair next to him, and
quietly followed Shao Qun.

When Shao Qun turned around, he saw him walking slowly behind him with
his head down, holding a bag on his arm like a woman. Shao Qun frowned
and sped up when he was passing through the lobby of the tea house, in
order to keep his distance from Li Chengxiu.

In the car, the two of them chatted for a bit.

Shao Qun took him right to the address Li Chengxiu gave him. As he looked
at the dilapidated old house through the car window, he asked: "Do you live
in this kind of place?"

There was a hint of surprise in his tone.

Li Chengxiu felt his face burn. He wanted to tell him that many people live
in these kinds of places, but he suspected that it was useless to explain these
things to a person like Shao Qun, so he only said, "Thank you. For sending
me back. I'm going now."

Shao Qun nodded and unlocked the door for him.

Li Chengxiu was about to open the door and get out of the car when Shao
Qun suddenly stopped him.

"Cheng Xiu, when is your next holiday?"

"Next Wednesday."

Shao Qun shook his head: "Next Wednesday is too late. You should take a
day off this Saturday."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt a little

uncomfortable: "I can't just ask for a leave."

"Why can’t you have a day off? The hotel can go on without you."

Li Chengxiu still shook his head: "I can't ask for a leave." If he asks for a
day's leave, he will not get his bonus. So why should he ask for a leave for
Shao Qun’s sake?

Shao Qun finally showed a bit of impatience on his face, tousled his hair,
and said: "If you are worried about your boss, I will send him my regards.
Just do it. If I wait until next Wednesday, the time will be too tight. I hope
that my party will be flawless, and I sincerely hope that you will cooperate
with me on that. Isn't that what your boss asked you to do?"

Li Chengxiu was left speechless. Shao Qun waved goodbye to him, rolled up
the window, and his car sped out as soon as he stepped on the accelerator, as
if it was too uncomfortable for him to stay even for a second longer.

Li Chengxiu was still holding on to tomorrow's breakfast. He groaned, as he

walked up the stairs in the dark corridor.

Every time he took these stairs, he was scared. The light bulb in the corridor
was broken, and no one got around to repairing it for the whole year. The
stairs were steep and narrow. At night, he had to touch the wall to be able to
move forward. But the wall was bumpy and uneven. During the day, he
noticed how dirty it was. It was a terrifying experience for him.
The moment he returned to his room and turned on the lights, he was
covered in sweat. Without even noticing he collapsed on the bed.

In the stairwell with no light, he was surrounded by darkness with no exit.

There was deadly silence on the campus - the only sound was of him crying
and begging to let him out. His voice echoed in the empty building, making
it seem even more eerie.

This distant nightmare became clearer with the reappearance of Shao Qun in
his life.

***Flashback***

Li Chengxiu’s last name was Li.

But very few people at school knew this.

"Cheng" was his mother’s last name. And since the teacher called him Cheng
Xiu at the very beginning, everyone thought his full name was Cheng
Xiu[14].

No one in this school really cared what Li Chengxiu's last name was or how
his name was spelled, even though everyone in the junior high and high
school knew him.

Whenever the students mentioned him, they used his universal nickname:
Sissy.

Everyone must have encountered such a person in school or university.

Although he looks male, some of his actions, his tone of voice, and the ways
he deals with the world make him seem feminine in the eyes of outsiders.

Li Chengxiu was such a person. Whether it was in his actions, or his

manners or the way he behaved, he wasn’t masculine at all.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t actual y ugly. He had fair skin, straight eyebrows, and a
nice silhouette. His grades were also good. If he wasn’t that sort of a person,
he would definitely be popular amongst girls.
Even if one is a sissy, theoretically as long as people are open-minded
enough and get over the uncomfortable first impression, they finally learn to
accept such a person after getting to know him better.

But Li Chengxiu wasn’t acceptable to anyone. Because he always exuded an

unbearable smell. Sometimes he reeked of alcohol, sometimes he was
stinking of greasy food. Often it was a combination of those two.

He only changed his clothes a couple of times during the semester, and even
old teachers with a lot of experience couldn’t help but frown and avoid him
when he was nearby.

He always seemed gloomy when he talked to people. At the age of thirteen

or fourteen, he still looked thinner than girls. He walked softly and kept his
head down, which made him look weak and dejected.

When he was a child, the situation wasn’t as bad. Although his family was
not well-off and he was scrawny, his clothes were at least clean and he didn't
look completely malnourished. Later, they said, his father ran

away with another woman, taking away all the money and leaving only a
broken house behind. His mother started drinking every day and didn't care
much about him.

Li Chengxiu managed to get into the best middle school in the city because
of his hard work. He was one of the few people in his county who got
admitted into this school, so the county financed his education.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to study in a school full of children of high-

ranking officials and wealthy businessmen.

His issues were not a secret. Everyone in class gossiped about him.
Occasionally, there were a couple voices that felt bad for him. When they
saw what he looked like, all they could do was shake their heads.

He was a person who kept his eyes on the ground and never argued with
anybody. Even if his face turned red when he was being mocked, he
wouldn’t say a word. Even if he was pushed and shoved, he would just walk
away with his head down. Such weakness made bullies even more
aggressive, so all these spoiled children got to vent their aggression and
superiority on Li Chengxiu.

Whenever the class was over, Li Chengxiu was always the first one to rush
out of the classroom.

Usually, no one would prevent him from leaving. As soon as they saw him,
everyone would exaggeratedly pinch their noses and back away a couple of
steps.

He was used to this kind of contempt. His self-esteem was beaten out of him
before it could even take shape, so he gradually became numb to such
treatment.

Since his father left, the trajectory of his daily life in the past three years
could be depicted as a triangle -

home, restaurant, school.

He needed to commute for an hour on a bus between these places.

Taking the bus was the most relaxing part of his day. He could just sit there,
and he didn’t have to work. He used this time to think.

The 45-square-meter house was the only property he and his mother owned.
He earned money for their daily necessities by working in a restaurant run
by a distant relative's family. With that, he could barely maintain the
minimum standard of living.

After a while it got even more difficult.

When his mother was sober, she would at least go sell vegetables and bring
in some money. But after drinking too much all year round, her body was
destroyed, and her mental health was deteriorating rapidly.

Not to mention, that when she was drunk, it was common for her to throw
things around and hit people.
There were no more electrical appliances left in the house except for the
lights. She had smashed everything, and they didn’t have the money to buy
those things again. This at least resulted in saving electricity. When Li
Chengxiu grew up, at least he didn’t have to wash the dishes and sweep the
floors by hand anymore. After doing his apprenticeship for a few years, he
had learned how to cook a couple of dishes and was able to get a higher
salary and afford all those appliances.

That’s right, life goes on.

But at that time, the only way he could comfort himself was to fantasize
about his future.

He wanted to study hard - the county had promised him that if he could also
be admitted to the key highschool of the province, they would take over the
costs. If he went to that high school and worked hard, he could get into a
good university and find a good job after graduation. Preferably in a
different city, where no one knew him. He could start a new life, and
everything would change forever.

When he got home at night, it was past 10 pm.

Many of the neighbors had already turned off their lights. He walked along
the wall of his house, and when he touched the doorknob, he realized that the
door wasn’t closed.

It has already happened several times before. But there was nothing in his
house worth stealing anyway.

As soon as he stepped inside, he stepped into something and slipped.

Fortunately, he was holding onto the door frame, otherwise, he would have
fallen down. He looked down, and the light of the moon let him distinguish a
translucent plastic bag on the ground. There was liquid dripping out of it.

It was his mother’s drink.

He remembered that during chemistry class, their teacher explained that

these kinds of cheap “wine” bags contained industrial alcohol[15]. He went
home and told about the dangers to his mother but was slapped in the face
for no reason in response. So he never dared to mention it again.

He touched the wall and finally found the electric cord. As soon as the room
lit up, he heard a vague curse.

With a sigh, he walked over to help the drunk middle-aged woman get off
the ground. He got her into bed with some difficulties and covered her with
the quilt.

He liked it when his mother was sober because then she would just treat him
like he didn’t exist and wouldn’t beat him and scold him. She would even
cook for him sometimes.

It was a pity that lately she was almost never sober. She just kept spitting out
her dissatisfaction and resentment at Li Chengxiu who was already used to
hearing it.

After helping his mother, he started cleaning up the mess in the room.
In the past, his house was always clean. His mother was actually a capable
and respectable woman. She kept her home in order - she would kneel on the
ground and clean the floors daily, so Li Chengxiu grew up with good
hygiene habits.

He didn’t want to go to school smelling badly. But he couldn’t afford to

wash every day, due to high water bills. He only owned two or three pieces
of clothing, and all of those were given to him by the people in the
restaurant. That was his reality.

The way his classmates and his teachers looked at him was painful at first
but soon he got used to it. He thought that if he could make money in the
future, he could clean himself up and finally make friends. As for now... it
was good enough to have food and warm clothes.

Li Chengxiu's only hope was the future. Thinking about it, imagining it was
what kept him going through the hard days with less than five hours of sleep.
He was sure that if he did his best now, he would build a different and truly
beautiful life for himself.

My party should be flawless!

aka Shao Qun giving off Anna Delvey vibes

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 4
Just as everyone in his school knew Li Chengxiu, Li Chengxiu was also
familiar with another school

“celebrity” - Shao Qun.

The two of them were different, though.

Because of being ridiculed and ignored for a long time, Li Chengxiu rarely
looked up at the people around him. He could only recognize a handful of
people in his school.

But Shao Qun was very different.

He was dazzling.

He looked noble, arrogant, and handsome. He exuded an aura that made it

impossible to ignore him.

Li Chengxiu was not interested in anything other than studying and making
money, but even he had noticed the young master who got out of the black
car on the first day of school. He was wearing a straight school uniform, his
facial features were impeccable, his whole face was flawless, his skin was
tender and white as milk. He was obviously younger than Li Chengxiu, but
he was already domineering and overbearing. For some reason, Li Chengxiu
couldn't forget this image.

At that time, being a teenager, he had just realized that he was different from
the boys his age. Although he had already known that he was weird in some
ways, there was a secret that made him very, very different from everybody
else.

Even though nobody would talk to him, while he was sitting quietly in the
classroom, he would sometimes listen to the other boys in class discussing
girls - which one was more beautiful, which one had bigger breasts and so
on. Strangely, it didn’t interest him at all. Rather than looking at delicate and
beautiful little girls, he preferred watching boys play basketball on the court,
as they pushed and shoved each other. Their sweat glistening in the sun, their
youthful faces, their messy hair, their rich facial expressions, their agile
movements and their cool-looking gestures drew Li Chengxiu in. But he
didn't dare to look for too long, so he would just occasionally steal some
quick glances.

As he got older, things got a bit more complicated.

But at that time, he was stil very simple and naive, and he didn’t quite
understand what was so different about him.

Shao Qun gave him the answer.

The noon sun was so vicious that it seemed to fry people alive. If one stood
still even for a bit, they would immediately start sweating.

The school was empty and quiet during lunchtime. Families of many
students sent cars to pick them up.

Those who didn’t go home, rented houses next to the school for their lunch
break. Li Chengxiu lived too far away from school, and renting a house was
too expensive. So he had no choice but to stay in school during lunch.

Actual y, the school rules didn’t permit that, but everyone knew about his
situation. Also, because he was a top student, the school administration
turned a blind eye to this. But he stil couldn’t stay inside the classroom.

He usually hid himself on the roof of the school building.The campus police
was not likely to find him there.

Although the campus police were aware of his circumstances, if they saw
him loitering around, they still had to symbolically reprimand him. The roof
was a safe place - the light was good there, so he could rest, and it was also
convenient for him to read and study there.

In his otherwise bleak life, he thought that having a space that only belonged
to him was already a reason for joy.
That day, as usual, he dozed off in the shadow of the huge water tank.

Enjoying the rare tranquility of the campus, being able to sit in the shade,
feeling the cool wind breeze, and closing his eyes for a bit of rest was a
pleasant part of Li Chengxiu's day. He could temporarily forget a lot of
things that were on his mind and concentrate on enjoying this quiet and
comfortable time.

"What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a clear voice sounded above him, startling Li Chengxiu. The

moment he opened his eyes, he was blinded by the bright sunshine, and a
golden afterimage appeared in front of him as he squinted. He saw a white
face, black shiny hair and bright eyes.

When he got used to the light, the boy was still looking down at him.

Li Chengxiu felt that his face was suddenly on fire - the heat instantly rushed
to the top of his head. He knew that he was visibly blushing.

The calm young boy was taken aback by his suddenly reddened face and
bewildered look. He raised one eyebrow and looked at him with suspicion.

"I..." Li Chengxiu got up from the ground in panic, straightened out his
clothes, and swallowed, while looking nervously at the boy, "Hel... hello."

One couldn’t blame him for being so nervous. It's been a long time since
somebody took the initiative to talk to him, especially such a good-looking
and popular person from his school.

He remembered the first time he saw Shao Qun - his image of a noble and
elegant young prince. Only later did he find out that beneath his deceitfully
magnificent exterior Shao Qun was hiding a face of a shameless rascal who
was involved in fights, hung out with gangs, bullied his teachers and
classmates, and made all kinds of other trouble.

Shao Qun took a step back the moment Li Chengxiu got up, frowning at his
wrinkled and oil-stained clothes. There was undisguised disgust in his eyes.
After seeing the familiar expression, Li Chengxiu was lost for a moment, but
immediately regained his composure. After all, he was used to it, and he
already knew how to deal with it. In the face of other people's disgust it was
best to keep quiet. The quieter he was, the less they cared about him..

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, slowly turned around, and focused his eyes at
a square brick in front of him.

"Hey, I just asked you what you’re doing here?" Young Master Shao Qun
was very dissatisfied by this blatant disregard.

"Lunch break."

Shao Qun couldn’t hear his mosquito-like voice at all, so he leaned down a
little: "What?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head and looked at him: "Lunch break." He was a
little stunned, as he pronounced those words. Little voice in his heart was
wondering how someone could be so good-looking and have such long
flickering eyelashes that just looking at them made him tingle on the inside.

"Isn’t it forbidden to stay on campus during lunch? Who allowed you to be

here? "

Li Chengxiu couldn't answer for a while, then he final y said, "You...

you're… also here..."

"Are you the same as me?" Shao Qun's tone was full of disdain. He came up
with the idea of playing hide-and-seek in this building because he was bored.
He thought he could find a place to take a nap, but it was suddenly already
occupied by this disgusting sissy.

Li Chengxiu bit his lip and lowered his head.

"Take your things and get out of here immediately. Even the air around you
is stinky."

Li Chengxiu stuffed his book into his school bag, pushed himself off the
ground using one hand, and ran towards the exit without raising his head.
"Wait! Come back!"

Li Chengxiu obediently stopped and turned around, keeping his eyes on the
ground.

Shao Qun remembered that his friends were probably searching for him
downstairs. If this sissy leaves suddenly like this, that would give them the
idea where he might be. Although he didn't care about the game at all, he
still hated losing.

"Stay here, you can go only after I leave."

Li Chengxiu didn't want to stay with him, but he immediately remembered

that Shao Qun was the leader of a scary group of rascals. They would beat
up anybody that got in their way. Since Li Chengxiu wanted to graduate
safely, he didn’t dare to offend this boy.

So he put on his bag and carefully tried to move back into the shadow.

"Stay where you are and don't move! Who the hell told you to come here
again? Do you want to kill me with your stench?" The slender white boy sat
down on the ground, squinting at Li Chengxiu and spitting out vulgar
profanities that didn't match his beautiful appearance..

Shao Qun suddenly thought it was a good idea to keep this boy around to
pass the boring time until the afternoon. Whenever he saw this sissy before,
he would always try to avoid him. He was so dirty that he didn’t even have
any desire to bul y him.

Li Chengxiu could only stand there helplessly, looking blankly at Shao Qun.

"Yes, just keep standing there and let the sun kill all your germs and disinfect
you. You look pretty moldy."

Li Chengxiu stood there in a daze,as his hand was holding onto the strap of
his bag so tightly that it hurt.

After a few minutes, the sweat was literally pouring down his body in
streams. Standing under the bright midday sun when it is hotter than 30
degrees[16] is too much even for an adult, let alone for a malnourished child.

Shao Qun wanted to take a nap for a while, but he was used to air-
conditioning and felt that it was too hot here. He closed his eyes, but the hot
air made him unable to relax at all, so he opened his eyes again and gave the
boy standing under the sun an evil look.

"Hey, come here. Stand here." Shao Qun pointed to the spot in front of him.

After standing for nearly half an hour, Li Chengxiu was already dizzy from
the sun. His throat was so dry that it hurt to swallow. When he heard Shao
Qun’s words, it felt like a pardon. He quickly moved to the shade of the
water tank and wiped away his sweat off his face.

Shao Qun stood up from the ground, circled around him twice, and finally
stopped in front of him.

Li Chengxiu looked up at him nervously. Shao Qun was obviously

developing much faster than him.

Although he was two years younger, he was already much taller.

Shao Qun pointed at him rudely: "Why do you look like such a sissy bitch?
Do you even have full grown hair down there?" Shao Qun himself wasn't
sure what “full grown” hair real y meant. It’s just that it was a thing in their
gang to let their dicks hang out and laugh at each other’s lack of pubic hair,
even though none of them had any growth.

Li Chengxiu blushed.

He didn't need yet another reminder that he wasn’t manly enough. Everyone
told him that on the daily. He himself didn't know why he was like this.
Maybe it was because he only played with girls when he was a kid? Playing
with boys always resulted in dirty and torn clothes. His mother hated it when
he came home all dirty, and he knew that it would get him in trouble.
Besides, the games boys played were often too rough for him, so he
preferred to play more low-key games with the girls. Over time he just ended
up mostly hanging out with girls.
As he grew up, the boundaries between men and women became more clear
to him. When he realized that he was not acting as a man, he deliberately
tried to adjust his words and his actions in order not to stick out. But it was
already in his bones, no matter how he was trying to hide it, some things
would just emerge unconsciously. Now he had realized that it was safer not
to do nothing. As long as he didn’t speak and didn’t make any extra
movements, he felt that he could seem normal.

"Why do you walk around looking like a garbage collector all day long? Are
you deliberately disgusting people?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and did not speak.

Shao Qun kicked him: "Cat got your tongue, huh?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't maintain his balance and ended up being kicked down
to the ground by Shao Qun.

Although he tried his best to endure it, he was still a child after all. After
being treated like this, he couldn't help but give him a resentful look.

"You're real y a fucking sissy… falling down just like that " Shao Qun
squatted in front of him, "Hey, what’s with the look? Have something to say?
Do you know who’s the boss in this school? Huh?"

There was some smugness in Shao Qun’s voice when asked who the boss
was. He entered the school during the third year of junior high. From the
very beginning, there were some tensions amongst him and some seniors. As
a result, they had a fight, and Shao Qun made the other party unable to show
his face for several weeks. When that person came back to school,
everybody was in a state of turmoil. The power of his family could not be
underestimated, and even the teachers didn’t dare to offend him. In just a
few months, he was ruling over the school, and no one dared to provoke
him. Even the high school students avoided Shao Qun. For any self-
respecting adolescent boy achieving such reputation and “status” was worthy
to boast about.

Shao Qun’s family was used to him being unruly from a very young age. He
liked everyone's submissive attitude towards him, and was very happy to
attack those who didn’t bend to his wil . But that didn’t mean that he
couldn’t have some leisurely fun at the expense of the extremely obedient
dirty little sissy in front of him.

Li Chengxiu remembered all the bad deeds of this trouble maker, quickly
lowered his eyes and said, "You are."

"Good that you know it." Shao Qun raised his chin proudly.

He looked at Li Chengxiu, who was kneeling on the ground with his lips
pursed and his legs together. He was unpleasant to the eye. How could this
so-called “man” even sit like a sissy? Utterly disgusting.

Li Chengxiu’s face in Shao Qun’s eyes was almost begging to be slapped.

Final y, he actually raised up his hand and gave him a slap.

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly, and even though the rims of his eyes
were a little red, he didn't dare to make a sound.

Shao Qun stared at the vague red mark that appeared on Li Chengxiu’s fair
cheek and at his red eye rims -

it looked like he was tossing around a little rabbit. This seemed particularly
amusing for Shao Qun.

He couldn't help pinching Li Chengxiu’s face - it was smooth and tender,

and felt very good to the touch.

Not only did this guy act and speak like a girl, he also looked like one, and
even his name was girly[17].

Li Chengxiu was pinched till his cheeks hurt. He felt like he had just become
a target for a predator, and he started worrying whether his remaining three
months in junior high would run smoothly.

Shao Qun saw that Li Chengxiu didn't dare to put up any fight and he felt
bored again. There was still more than an hour left till the classes resumed.
How long did he have to stay in this damn place?
The only one who could relieve his boredom was this little sissy with his
useless and disgusting girly appearance. He felt angry just looking at him.
And when he is angry, he usually wants to beat someone up.

Shao Qun sat down comfortably and asked: "Hey, I heard that your father
dumped you and your mother and ran away with some vixen. Is it true?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head in surprise. He didn't expect somebody to be

able to poke at other people’s scars in such a direct way. Shao Qun’s tone
was light - as if he had just discovered a curious novelty.

He continued to ask excitedly: "Your dad really ran away with someone? I
heard that your mother is an alcoholic. You walk around so dirty all day long
because she doesn’t give a shit about you, right? How are you not
embarrassed to even show your face?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were full of anger and sadness that he didn’t dare to
express. He stared at Shao Qun, and the more he stared, the more blurred his
vision got. His heart ached in a way beyond description. The wound he
carried inside him was treated like a joke, and he couldn't help being angry
and sad. But he didn't have the courage to say anything, which made him
even more aggrieved.

"Cry, cry, cry! Can you do anything other than cry? Are you even a man?"
Shao Qun rudely pushed his head around several times. Li Chengxiu’s
useless appearance drove him insane.

Li Chengxiu burst into tears, but he didn’t dare to make a sound. He kept his
head down, stared blankly at the ground and wiped his tears away.

Shao Qun opened his mouth and wanted to say something. But then the iron
door was suddenly slammed into the wall with great force, making a loud
noise. Both of the boys were startled and looked back.

Several teenagers appeared at the door, and they immediately saw Shao Qun:
"Haha, we finally found you!

You really know how to hide."

Shao Qun pouted in disdain: "It took you so long to find me. Was I the last
one left?"

"Yeah, he found all of us first, and we helped him look for you... Who is
this?" Surprised, the kid looked at a crying boy curled up on the ground in
front of Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the guys who just came in. He recognized
them - they were the ones hanging out with Shao Qun all day long. But he
didn't know their names.

"Hey, isn't that Sissy? Shao Qun, why are you standing next to him? Aren't
you afraid he’s contagious?"

The boys burst into laughter.

"I ran into him when I was hiding, but I couldn’t go downstairs anymore."

"Yo, just look at you, you made the little girl cry, hahahaha." The tall thin
boy with auburn hair walked over to Li Chengxiu and leaned slightly to look
at him.
Li Chengxiu buried his head in his knees like an ostrich. He was in such a
panic that he didn't dare to breathe. These boys were all well-known
delinquents. He was now completely alone with a group of them.

This made his heart beat wildly from fear.

"Hey, why are you hiding? Show your face to us, haha! He’s stil crying!
Shao Qun, why are you bullying him? Don’t you know that his father doesn't
care about his mother and doesn't want to have a son who looks like a little
hobo? How can you bully someone like that?" After these words, the boys
were all in the mood to watch a good show.

"I was bored. I had to hide here and had nothing else to do. I let him spend
some time with me. Who knew he would suddenly start crying like a little
bitch? Disgusting."

"The rumors were right." The auburn-haired boy grabbed Li Chengxiu's hair
and tried to raise his head up.

Li Chengxiu's scalp hurt so much that he was forced to raise his head.

His face was covered in tears, and the teens around him laughed out loud.

Another boy exclaimed, imitating a female voice: "Oh, don’t you think he’s
too dirty to touch? Don't you know that he never changes his clothes or takes
a bath? Are you not afraid of getting sick?"

The auburn-haired boy exaggeratedly retracted his hand as if he had been

scalded. Then he kicked Li Chengxiu away from himself with disgust:
"Damn, if you really infect me with lice or other parasites you might have on
your body, I will throw you into the river to feed the fish."

Shao Qun looked impatiently at the group surrounding Li Chengxiu, as if

they had just discovered a brand new world: "Have you had enough,guys? I
want to go drink something, it’s too hot here. Let’s leave this disgusting
sissy! Why are you gathering around him?"

The gang left at once, and the roof, which was noisy just a second ago,
immediately became deserted. Just like it was during the countless other
times Li Chengxiu had spent here.

Li Chengxiu's fingers trembled, as he patted his scalp that still hurt. Finally,
he buried his head in his knees again, and his shoulders went up and down
uncontrollably. This time he let out a quiet whimper.

Students, sitting in a house they rented specifically to have a lunch break

Shao Qun and his gang are a crossover of these. Change my mind.

When for some reason Shao Qun and his posse know all the T about Li
Chengxiu’s family issues

Chapter 5

The auburn-haired boy poured the water into his hand, "I have washed it
several times already, but I’m not sure if it is clean."
"Okay, Big Li, what kind of OCD act are you putting up here?"

"It's better to be on a safe side. I'm afraid that his whole energy could also be
contagious."

Li Wenxun adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose."What do you

mean? Is being a sissy contagious?"

Big Li smiled mysteriously: "You can’t even imagine.. I heard that these
kinds of people are all..." He made a dramatic pause and looked around with
a smirk.

Shao Qun frowned and impatiently took a gulp of his coke: "I know what
you mean. Don't make people lose their appetite."

"I heard they're all gay."

"Gay?" The boys repeated in unison.

Li Wenxun winked and cursed at them: "Fuck, keep your voice down! Are
you afraid that others won’t hear you?"

In the 1990s, homosexuality was a fairly new and unfamiliar term. For the
slightly precocious junior high school students, it was not like they haven't
heard about it before, but it was something very distant for them. In their
minds, homosexuality had something to do with demons and monsters, and
it was simply a sin against humanity.

Some guys were instantly very interested: "Who did you hear it from? How
do you know?"

"My eldest brother told me that there are always people like that sissy
hanging out in the nightclub he frequents. These people wear tights, put on
makeup, and have girly voices. It is known that they are selling their asses to
men."

Several boys gasped at the same time, as if they had just discovered a new
sin - it was exciting and titillating.
"That… him…, that guy….him just now, could he also be..."

"I’m 80% sure he is. Have you ever seen a man so cowardly? If you ignore
the dirt on his face and look closely, you’l see that his eyebrows are arched,
his voice is high, and his body is also slim. They are all like this." Big Li
was mysterious and smug about his broad knowledge of the subject.

Several guys showed exaggerated expressions of disgust, calling these kinds

of people disgusting and perverted.

Shao Qun slapped his thigh, as he remembered a certain detail: "Hey, when
he first saw me just now, he blushed!."

Guys laughed at him: "It's over, you’re done for! He likes you now! He has
fallen for you!!"

"Bah, it's disgusting." Shao Qun remembered Li Chengxiu blushing and

staring into his eyes. When he thought about what the guys just said, he
instinctively felt awkward. Then there was an immediate surge of anger, as if
he was horribly offended.

"Oh, it’s nice to be handsome! Not only girls like Shao Qun, but even boys
now... hahahahahahaha."

All the teasing was just adding fuel to the fire. This made Shao Qun feel
ashamed, as if he himself had now contracted the virus called
"homosexuality" - and it was obviously that nasty sissy who was the culprit
in all of this.

Young Master Shao, who had a nasty temper since childhood, suddenly
stood up: "Damn, let's see if I can knock all his teeth out!"

"Oh, oh…" Several people quickly grabbed him and forcibly dragged him
back into the chair.

"We're just talking, but we're not sure about him. Do you have any
evidence?"
Shao Qun stared at them: "He looks like shit. What other fucking evidence
do you need?"

Big Li rolled his eyes: "No need to hurry. What’s the point in beating him
up? How about we make him kneel down in front of you without even lifting
a finger? Won’t that be fun?"

Several guys agreed.

"Then what do you say we do? I am unhappy now, and he is the one who
made me unhappy."

"I have a great idea. It just happens that we’ve been bored recently. How
about we have some entertainment?"

"What kind of entertainment do you mean?"

Big Li licked his lips with a mysterious facial expression.

Li Chengxiu really didn't know what he did to provoke these delinquents.

A few days later, he was the first one to rush out of the classroom after
school to catch the bus.

As soon as he left, a group of people blocked his path.

Shao Qun was standing in front of him, his arms folded: "Damn, you’re
harder to catch than a celebrity. I've come here several times already, but
every time you manage to escape without a trace. Are you in a hurry to
reincarnate? Why are you running around all day long?"

Li Chengxiu didn't know what was happening, so he just tightly held his
schoolbag in front of his chest, looking at the guys in horror.

He was a student from the top class, so he mostly was around other top
students. Thus, he had little contact with Shao Qun and his gang. Now,
suddenly there were a bunch of overbearing young masters attacking Li
Chengxiu right in front of his classroom. Other students were watching
through the windows with curiosity.
Shao Qun glanced at the group of onlookers and loudly cursed them out:
"What the fuck are you all looking at? Get your heads back inside,
shitstains!"

As soon as they heard master Shao's voice, the students instantly hid inside
the classroom, closing all the doors and windows.

Li Chengxiu stood outside the door completely alone, looking anxiously at

Shao Qun’s gang.

Shao Quni pointed at him: "You, come with me."

Trembling, Li Chengxiu asked: "For…for what?"

Shao Qun bared his teeth and smiled: "I’m taking you out to play."

Only fools would believe that. Li Chengxiu took a step back in fear: "I, I
have something to do."

Young Master Shao was immediately unhappy. He pointed at Li Chengxiu’s

nose and said, "Fuck, are you not going to treat me with respect? If I want to
play with you, I will play with you. You coming?"

Li Chengxiu was so frightened that tears rolled down his cheeks, while the
finger was still pointed at his nose.

If he missed a day of work, he would lose 15 RMB[18], so he was reluctant

to go with Shao Qun no matter what. And who knows what these
delinquents were going to do to him. No matter how scared he was, he still
shook his head, and then quickly glanced at Shao Qun to see his reaction.

Young Master Shao was burning with anger. In the high summer weather, he
had deliberately skipped class and climbed from the first floor to the fifth
floor in order to catch this guy. And now, this little sissy was wasting his
time. He really wanted to slap him.

Shao Qun fiercely poked Li Chengxiu’s shoulder with his finger and
threatened him: "I'l ask one last time, are you going or not?"
Li Chengxiu didn't dare to shake his head again, but he didn't want to nod
either. With his eyes full of tears, he kept helplessly looking around.

Except for Shao Qun's few friends, there was almost no one in the long hall.
Other classmates had either left or didn't dare to come out. Even if there
were people around, they would not be willing to help him anyway. It was
the first time that he felt so scared and helpless.

"Go… go where?"

"A fun place." Shao Qun pulled at his arm, "Come on."

Shao Qun dragged him outside the campus. Li Chengxiu noticed the strange
looks and snickers, and the anxiety made him tear up again. He begged in a
low voice: "Where are we going? I have something to do, I don't want to go,
I...what do you want?"

Shao Qun said impatiently, "I told you I’m taking you out to play."

Li Chengxiu cried, "I don't want to play."

Shao Qun shook his arm, pointed at him and shouted, "So fucking annoying,
damn! Are you crying again?!

If you dare cry, believe it or not, I'll fucking slap you to death!"

Big Li quickly put his arm on Shao Qun’s back to smooth things out: "Oh,
Shao Qun, don't scare him. You should treat your schoolmates well,
otherwise we won’t be able to play." Big Li winked at Shao Qun,
deliberately emphasizing the word “play”.

Shao Qun curled his lips and cursed: "You ungrateful animal, I'm taking you
to play with me. And you just keep weeping - it’s disgusting. Were you such
a sissy from birth?" After scolding Li Chengxiu, he angrily rubbed the hand
that he used to grab Li Chengxiu's arm on his clothes.

Li Chengxiu was frightened and angry, and his tears fell down
uncontrollably. The more he wanted to stop crying, the more he cried.
Shao Qun became even more annoyed when he saw that. He had a very bad
temper, and he got irritated by such men who were neither men nor women.
At this time, he really wanted to just beat him up.

Li Wenxun looked at him, sighed, and adjusted his glasses. Then he said to
Li Chengxiu, "Hey, buddy, we real y just want to take you to play. What are
you afraid of? Do you think we’re going to eat you?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him hesitantly, but still didn't believe a single word:
"Why do you want to play with me?"

Li Wenxun coughed twice and said, "I was on the roof that day. We think
that we said all the wrong things.

We just want to apologize to you. I think we can be friends."

"Friends?" Li Chengxiu didn't believe anyone would want to be friends with

him at all. It's not that he never had such a dream, but since his father ran
away and his mother became like that, no one was willing to say a word to
him. He couldn't think of any reason why these elite boys would want to talk
to him and become friends all of a sudden. They always acted arrogant and
unreasonable at school. Even if they beat someone up, they would never
show any remorse. Why would they now apologize to him?

"Yes, we think that you are a good person. Let's be friends."

Li Chengxiu looked at him suspiciously, still feeling there was some

conspiracy behind all of this.

Li Wenxun saw his doubts, rolled his eyes, and said, "To be honest, the real
reason is this - I heard from the teacher that you have the best grades in
school. Is it true?"

Li Chengxiu straightened his back and nodded: "Yes."

"You’re aware that we are going to be divided into different classes in the
second year of junior high. My dad said that if I didn’t get into the top class,
he would kill me. He is afraid that I wil embarrass him. So we discussed it
and decided that we wanted you to give us private lessons."
"Private lessons?"

"Private lessons?" Shao Qun was also surprised, but after Li Wenxun gave
him a wink, he immediately nodded, "Yes, private lessons."

Li Chengxiu looked at the four boys surrounding him. Shao Qun was an
arrogant bastard with a horrible temper, the auburn-haired hippie named Big
Li without a doubt looked like a delinquent, the person who

was talking to him seemed pretty nice and very gentle. Behind them was a
boy with a cold face who didn’t say a word this entire time. This thing with
the private lessons sounded more or less believable.

But whether it was true or not, Li Chengxiu didn’t want to have anything to
do with them. He stil felt that nothing good would come out of this.

So he shook his head: "I don't have time."

Shao Qun glared at him - he was so angry that he was about to have a
seizure. Li Wenxun quickly waved at Shao Qun to shut him up: "Why don't
you have time? I heard that you are always the first one to leave the
classroom after class. Now you’l be leaving just a little later every day. Give
us one or two hours...of lessons. The material for the first year of junior high
must be very simple for you."

"I…I have to work."

"Part-time job? What kind of work are you doing? Oh, right, you smell like
burnt oil all the time! That’s because you work in a restaurant, correct?" Big
Li approached him, wrinkled his nose, and smiled wickedly.

Li Chengxiu didn't dare to look up and nodded.

Li Wenxun asked: "Ah, so you leave so quickly every day to go to work.

How much money do you make a month?"

Li Chengxiu didn't want to name the amount, so he deflected and just said:
"It's calculated by the day."
"Then how much do you earn in a day?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips: "...Fifteen, so I have to go every day..."

"Fifteen?" boys almost dropped their jaws on the ground.

It was the 90’s, and these guys were already wearing limited edition sneakers
worth more than 2000

RMB[19] and watches that were worth tens of thousands. They had no idea
what one could even buy for 15

RMB[20], much less why would one work hard for the whole day just to get
this measly amount of money.

Actually, he only managed to get 15 RMB, because his distant relatives

treated him decently. If he was just some random illegal[21] underaged
employee, he would be lucky to get even 10 RMB.

Getting these 15 RMB every day, as well as leftover food for himself and his
mother, was very important to him. To save money, he didn’t dare to take
baths or wash clothes too often, and he never bought any unnecessary things.
Even though his height was almost 170 cm[22], he still had the cheek to only
stuff 50

cents into the coin box on the bus[23]. Every time he saw the slightly
contemptuous look in the driver's eyes, he felt his face get hot.

He really wanted to dress into clean and fresh clothes, and he wanted to look
decent. But what could he do, if there was never any money? It was more
important not to starve to death after all. Between having dignity and having
food the choice was pretty clear.

His classmates were exhausted and nervous when they thought about
upcoming examinations, but Li Chengxiu was actually really excited about
the day of the senior high school entrance examination. As long as he got
admitted to the top high school in the province, the county was willing to
sponsor his education, as well as cover his monthly boarding costs. In
addition, he would also get a living allowance. He wanted to jump for joy
just thinking about it.

Then he'd be able to clean himself up and maybe even make friends. And
after a few more years, when he got into a good university and found a
decent job, he could have a good life, just like everybody else. Li Chengxiu
was full of hope for the bright shining future.

As for now, he still needed those 15 RMB a day. Even if he was beaten up,
he would still go to work and earn his money.

Shao Qun showed a strange smile, as if he wanted to mock him but at the
same time thought that this whole thing was ridiculous. He snorted and said,
"You dash out of here every day like a chicken without a head just for...
Okay, how about on the days that you give us private lessons like A-wen
asked you to, we give you 150 RMB? And on the other days when we don’t
need you, you can go wash your dishes for 15, okay?”

Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded and looked at the boys without an

expression.

150? He must have misheard it!

Li Wenxun smiled and nodded: "See, it's a good deal. You give us classes for
ten days, okay? Is there any other issue?"

Li Chengxiu's face turned slightly red, and he was suddenly really moved.

150! In order to earn that, he would have to work 10 consecutive days for 4
hours without a break in a sultry and sweltering kitchen. And just by giving
some lessons to a few people, he could make so much money…

Seeing his visibly shaken expression, Li Wenxun turned back to look at Big
Li and Shao Qun with a smug smile. Both of them gave him a thumbs up
and mouthed "Well done!" with their mouths.

"Then it's settled - you are not going to work today." Li Wenxun took out
three one-hundred-notes out of his wallet and handed them to Li Chengxiu.
"I’m purchasing two classes from you, Little Teacher Li."
Li Chengxiu looked at the money that was right in front of him and hesitated
to accept it.

"Take it." Li Wenxun put the banknotes into his hand, "What’s there to think
about! It’s a good thing, isn’t it?"

Li Chengxiu still had some concerns at first. It really felt a little too good to
be true. He wanted to push the money back to Li Wenxun but, as he was
holding it in his hand, he just couldn’t do it.

Three hundred RMB. He was holding three hundred RMB in his hand.

How could money come to him so easily? He felt conflicted for a while, but
he couldn't resist the temptation.

He hesitated to look up at the boys, eyed the money in his hand, and finally
gritted his teeth. He took the schoolbag off his back, and carefully put the
money inside it.

The guys looked at his cautious appearance, and couldn't help showing their
contempt.

Shao Qun smiled sarcastically and raised his chin: "Okay, so are you coming
with us now?"

Li Chengxiu finally lifted his head, his face red: "Where are we going?"

Shao Qun glared at him: "We are taking you to change your clothes first.
You can’t teach us, wearing this.

Do you want us to put on gas masks?”

Mood throughout chapter 5

** *A note on Li Wenxun (A-wen) - he appears as a minor character also in

“You’re in love with an Idiot '

and in “My Little Poplar”. ***

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 6
Li Chengxiu was in a daze when he got into the car.

Big Li was behind the wheel. Although the boy looked almost like an adult,
he was still about eleven or twelve years old. Li Chengxiu immediately
wanted to get out of the car.

Shao Qun sat down next to him and said impatiently, "Sit properly."

"He… does he… have a driver's license?"

"Oh, so you know what a driver's license is. What kind do you mean? Can't
you see the one over there?"

Shao Qun pointed at a copper sign on the windshield. Li Chengxiu could

only see the back of this sign because it was facing outside. Judging from
the pattern and the shape, it should have been something like a national
emblem. "With that kind of driver’s license no one would dare to stop us. "
[24]

Big Li smoothed his red hair, turned his head and smiled: "Shao Qun, you
are so brave. If your father finds out, he’l kil you."

Shao Qun forcefully kicked the back of his chair: "Just drive and stop
talking nonsense."

Xiao Sheng, who was riding shotgun said softly, "Big Li, keep your eyes on
the road."

"Don't worry, even though I’m young, my driving skil s are good." After
saying that, he stepped on the gas, and the car started with a bang.

It was the first time that Li Chengxiu was inside a car. However, it wasn’t as
cool and glorious as he had imagined. He was so scared that his body was
trembling, and he even felt sick.
Due to inertia, Shao Qun was pushed directly onto Li Chengxiu. He shoved
him away in disgust, and hit the back of Big Li's head: "Fuck you, dude,
slow down!"

Xiao Sheng frowned and glanced at him with disapproval: "Shao Qun, it
was your idea to take the car. Why are you mad at him?"

Shao Qun glared right back at Xiao Sheng and leaned back in his seat,
cursing: "Xiao Sheng, you bastard, you always take his side and make me
the bad guy!"

Li Wenxun laughed.

After that the boys talked non-stop, laughing all the way till the city center.

After Li Chengxiu got out of the car, his face was as pale as a piece of
paper. He bent down and put his hands on his knees. He retched for a long
time, but nothing came out. He felt extremely uncomfortable.

Shao Qun snorted: "Are you made of paper? Come on, let’s go.."

Li Chengxiu touched his stomach, straightened up and followed behind the

gang.

Li Chengxiu looked at the high-rise buildings around him, and was startled
by the view for a while.

He hadn't been to the city center in a long time. In his memory, when he
was in elementary school, and his parents were still together, all three of
them would occasionally come here for a stroll. Basically, they didn't need
to buy anything - it was enough to feel the lively atmosphere and look at the
dazzling array of goods in the shopping windows. At the time, it was one of
the most enjoyable entertainments for Li Chengxiu.

Boys led him into a sportswear store.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t familiar with many brands. He had seen the large tick
mark[25] before, but all he knew about it was that it was very expensive.
He didn't dare to touch any of the fancy things. Even standing on the clean
and translucent marble floor with not a single speck of dust on it, he felt
like he was soiling it by his presence.

Li Wenxun picked two pieces of clothing and handed them to Li Chengxiu:

"Go change into these here."

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly, neither daring to hold the clothes too
tightly, nor throwing them on the floor: "I.. I.. can't afford it."

"You don't have to buy anything, just put them on."

Li Chengxiu stil shook his head: "That’s not good..."

Shao Qun pushed Li Wenxun away impatiently: "Why are you being so
polite with this little sissy?" Shao Qun pointed at Li Chengxiu, "You,
change into these immediately! If you dare appear in front of me in those
tattered rags again, I promise I will slap you right here and now!”

The people in the store all turned around at the sound of the scolding.
Everyone was quite surprised, when they realized that these were just some
arrogant children screaming around..

Li Chengxiu quickly grabbed the clothes, and hid inside the fitting room.

He looked at the label on the short-sleeved top, and when he saw the price,
he almost stopped breathing.

But when he remembered the vicious Shao Qun who was waiting for him
outside, he gritted his teeth and put the clothes on. He thought that he didn’t
even have that much money on him, so they couldn’t make him pay
anyway. Besides, he didn't have to buy this stuff just because he tried it on.
Vendors in big shopping malls should be at least this reasonable.

After he came out of the fitting room, the boys stared at him, and the looks
of surprise on their faces couldn’t be concealed.

Big Li said "Hah!", turned away and took out his wallet to pay.

Li Wenxun smiled and looked at Shao Qun: "Not bad. He’s pretty."
Li Chengxiu turned around and glanced at himself in the mirror with a
blushing face.

Wearing such clean and beautiful clothes, he seemed much more energetic.
He felt strangely ashamed when he looked at himself.

Shao Qun pointed at the row of clothes on one of the shelves, and said to
the salesman, "We’re taking all of these in his size." The young salesman
nodded perfunctorily, looking at them with a bit of sarcasm and disdain in
his eyes.

Li Chengxiu also found Shao Qun's arrogant attitude unpleasant. They were
obviously children, but they acted very disrespectfully towards the adults.
They were bossy whenever they talked to anybody. Just being around these
boys would make anybody feel uncomfortable.

Li Chengxiu hesitated to say anything about not being able to afford all this
stuff. Shao Qun also didn't say a word to him. He didn't even let him change
back into his clothes. He just tore off the label and took him directly into the
next store.

Li Chengxiu didn't know what they were up to, so he just played along and
tried on all kinds of clothes he had never seen before in his life. He didn't
dare to say a word anymore.

They shopped around for more than an hour. It was already dark, when they
carried the countless bags to the car.

Afterwards, they took Li Chengxiu out for dinner in a restaurant.

Li Chengxiu was completely stunned by that time and didn’t protest at all,
for fear that they would make him do something that he real y couldn’t
accept.

They bought him a lot of stuff and took him out for dinner. It was obvious
that there was an agenda behind all this kindness. He didn't want any of
these things at all, but he didn't dare to refuse, so he was forced to accept it.
He was terrified and felt as if he had sold himself out to these guys. He
could probably pay off the price of those clothes after several months of
work. Li Chengxiu was already looking at these boys, as if they were his
creditors.

He was scared, because he couldn’t figure out the reason for them being so
nice to him all of the sudden.

What did they want from him?

Seeing Li Chengxiu just sitting there in a daze and not even moving his
chopsticks, Li Wenxun tapped at his bowl: "What are you staring at? You
haven’t eaten anything."

Li Chengxiu raised his face, looked at him timidly, and summoned the
courage to ask, "What do you guys want with me?"

Li Wenxun smiled lightly: "We want to protect you."

"Wh… why?"

"You’re nice to look at, and for many other reasons. In short, if you hang
out with us in the future, no one can bully you anymore. We will protect
you. How about it? Be glad."

Li Chengxiu was confused and unable to speak for a long time. Final y he
said, "I… I'm going to the restroom."

After saying that, he ran out immediately.

As soon as he left, Shao Qun's face turned grim and he glared at Li

Wenxun, "Are you having fun? It's not fucking fun at all. I want to beat him
up every time I look at him."

Li Wenxun kicked him under the table: "As I already said that day - if you
can't play any more, you have to admit defeat. You can quit any time."

Big Li also coaxed him: "Yes, just admit that you lost. If you say it, I'll
throw him out of here right now. As if I’m wil ing to eat together with that
sissy boy! It's embarrassing."
"Admit defeat? These words are not in my vocabulary."

"Then you should be nicer to him. You are so mean, that you almost scared
him away a couple of times.

Anyway, where should we go to confirm that he is one of those?"

When Shao Qun heard this, his mood improved a little: "We have to be
100% sure."

"I also think so. Then let him admit it himself. Can you cooperate with us?
If you sabotage this, you will have to say that you lost, and we will stop
playing."

"Fuck it. I know, I know. I will be nicer to him."

"That's right, you are our main weapon after all. He blushed when he saw
you, didn’t he?" said Big Li and laughed out loud.

Li Wenxun also smiled gleefully: "Maybe one day he will fall in love with
you."

Shao Qun cursed: "Fuck off!"

Li Chengxiu went to the bathroom and splashed his face with water a few
times. He calmed down a bit, and then came out as if nothing had happened.
He sat down and asked, "Don't you want to start studying?"

Li Wenxun took a sip of his iced tea and said perfunctorily, "Ok, you can
start now."

"Now, here? How should we begin?"

"Let's start with English. Name everything on this table in English for us."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment and a little embarrassed. He

hesitantly looked at the things on the table, and then started listing the
objects: "These are called “chopsticks”. Have you already learned this word
in the first year of junior high? Can you spell it?"
Shao Qun spat out all the water he had in his mouth and looked at Li
Chengxiu as if he was insane.

Big Li smiled and put his hand on Xiao Sheng's shoulder: "Oh really?
Really, tell me more. Hahahahaha."

Li Chengxiu's face turned red, and he held up his chopsticks helplessly:

"No… Do you even want to study…?"

Li Wenxun wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled: "Let's go to another
place for a proper live lesson.

Come on! "

Li Chengxiu had to get into the car again. Looking at the dark sky outside,
he tried to negotiate with Li Wenxun, "It's already so late. How about we
make up for this day some other time?"

"Late? It's not even nine pm!"

It takes two hours from the city center to his house. If Li Chengxiu didn’t
leave now, he’d only be home in the middle of the night.

But looking at the tough attitude of these guys, he couldn't leave even if he
really wanted to.

He was so anxious that he could only watch Big Li start the car and drive
him to a place he didn't know.

Finally, the car stopped in front of a nightclub that was covered in colorful
lights.

Li Chengxiu was shocked.

Although he had never been in such a place before, he had heard of it.
According to his knowledge, places like karaoke, discos, nightclubs, etc.
were not where good people or children should spend their time.
Looking at the young men and women in various beautiful clothes who
came in and out, Li Chengxiu intuitively felt that they were not good
people. He was embarrassed to see the men being dressed so fancy and the
women wearing so little.

Shao Qun dragged him out of the car and pushed him towards the entrance.

Li Chengxiu shouted, "What are you doing?"

His voice was normally as quiet as a mosquito buzz, so it was really

unusual to hear him shout. and it was rare that his voice was so loud. The
boys were startled.

Li Wenxun frowned and said, "We’l just go in and play around a little."

Li Chengxiu's body trembled: "Play... We are only in junior high school.

They won’t let us in. How can we go to this kind of place and play around?"

"My brother runs this club. It's fine."

"No. It's not right... Things are very messy inside. We shouldn’t go in. Let's
just go."

Shao Qun rolled his eyes: "What are you afraid of? Is someone going to eat
you? We are kind enough to show you the world. Usually children can’t go
in here, so you wouldn’t be able to get inside without us.

What are you afraid of?"

Li Wenxun lifted his chin proudly: "You have to cherish this opportunity.
Are you a man? All men have to come and play around in places like this.
When you hang out with us in the future, you can't be such a coward."

Li Chengxiu still shrank back and refused to move away from the car.

Big Li rolled his eyes: "By the way, we can't go in like this. We have to
change our clothes." They looked at themselves, and realized that they were
still wearing school uniforms. Even if they were allowed to enter, it would
be embarrassing to come in like that.
Children of that age often think they are very mature and not afraid of
anything. They think that it’s enough to put on casual clothes in order to
seem like adults.

Shao Qun pushed Li Chengxiu into the car again. Then they looked for the
clothes they had just bought to change into them inside the car.

Li Chengxiu huddled in the corner, looking out the window. He didn't dare
to watch the boys take off their clothes.

When Li Wenxun noticed that, he winked at Shao Qun. Shao Qun glanced
up and saw Li Chengxiu twisting his neck and looking out the window. The
streetlights outside the window were illuminating his profile, and the visible
section of skin on his neck was white and almost translucent. Even in the
dim light, he could still see that Li Chengxiu was abashed. His face was
blushing. Suddenly, there was a strange feeling in Shao Qun's heart. He
couldn't tell what it was exactly but it went away as quickly as it came, and
then it was replaced by disgust.

He took out a set of clothes from the paper bag and threw it at Li Chengxiu:
"Put these on."

Li Chengxiu grabbed the clothes, lowered his head and whispered, "I don't
want to go."

Shao Qun clicked his tongue: "Hurry up and change, or do you want me to
dress you?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head and glanced at him timidly: "Can I not go?"

Shao Qun pouted and raised his arm to hit him.

Li Chengxiu shrank in fright and closed his eyes tightly.

The expected fist didn't land. He opened his eyes carefully, and saw Shao
Qun looking down at him. His childish, yet handsome facial features
showed the kind of arrogance that didn't match his age. There was
undisguised contempt in his bright eyes.
He simply spat out one word: "Change!"

Li Chengxiu bit his lip, digging his fingers into the hem of his school
uniform, shamefully looking at the boys with his clean and innocent eyes.
Seeing that they didn't do anything for a long time, he whispered, "Turn
around..."

Big Li made a face: "Fuck". He opened the door, got out of the car, and then
slammed the door shut.

Xiao Sheng also gave him a meaningful look and left the car.

Li Wenxun smiled ambiguously: "Why? Aren’t we all men here? What are
you afraid of? Or are you ashamed of something?"

Shao Qun sat in the back seat with his arms folded, just looking at him
without any intention of getting out of the car.

Li Chengxiu blushed even more and tried to explain: "I'm not used to..."

"We’re all men. What are you not used to? I heard, if you go to high school
in the future, you wil have to shower together with other guys.."

Li Chengxiu grabbed the hem of his clothes. No matter what Li Wenxun

said, he just refused to change it in front of them.
Seeing that they had reached the limit with the teasing, Li Wenxun gave
Shao Qun a wink, and the two of them got out of the car.

They lit up cigarettes, pretending to smoke and imitating adults as well as

they could. In the meantime, Shao Qun, for some reason, turned his head
and glanced inside the car. Through the dark windows, he could hardly see
anything. But when Li Chengxiu was putting the clothes on, his back was
right next to the car window, which happened to be seen by Shao Qun. He
saw a thin pale back - so thin in fact that he could vaguely see the straight
spine and ribs sticking out.

He suddenly felt that his throat was a little dry and hoarse. Before he could
swallow, he choked on the cigarette in his mouth. His face turned red as he
coughed

Li Chengxiu took a long time but finally got out of the car.

Shao Qun had given him a very fashionable set of clothes, but he felt
embarrassed wearing them.

The clothes were so tight that they almost stuck to his body, and his thin
waist and thin legs were highlighted. His limbs were flexible and slender.
Wrapped in tight clothes, there was a certain youthful lure about him.

This particular set of clothes was chosen by Li Wenxun. He saw those male
prostitutes in his brother’s nightclub wearing something like that. He
originally suspected that Li Chengxiu had a lot in common with them, so he
bought those clothes specifically for him to wear. Now he laughed
maliciously when he saw Li Chengxiu actually wearing them.

Li Chengxiu was even more uncomfortable hearing this laughter. After he

put that stuff on, he felt that it was awkward and strange. Although he didn't
know why, subconsciously he still felt ashamed. But he didn't dare to ask
for other stuff to wear. It was given to him by Shao Qun. He felt that
everything in that bag, including this set, was bought by other people. These
weren’t his things, so he had no right to choose.
Shao Qun got really irritated when he saw that Li Chengxiu was dressed
neither like a boy, nor like a girl[26].

He went up to him and grabbed his arm, "Come on. We’re going inside."

Li Chengxiu being literally “pretty-woman-ed” by a bunch of 12-year olds

who have nothing better to do than to take their bullying target shopping

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 7
The boys didn’t go through the front door, but went around to slip into the
back door.

A yellow-haired man who was squatting at the door and smoking looked up.
As soon as he saw Li Wenxun greeting him, his face became angry, and he
shouted, "My little ancestor[27], why are you here again? If your brother
finds out..."

"Don't worry, my brother is on a business trip and will not come back today.
If you don't tell, I won't tell either. How would he find out?"

"Didn’t you say the same thing last time? As a result, not only did you get
beaten, but I also got in trouble.

You are a junior high school student. Why aren’t you going to school,
instead of running around here day after day?”

Li Wenxun giggled: "Guo-ge, just let me in! It’s fun here. Don't worry about
my brother. If he finds out, I'l say I sneaked in by myself, and it won't cause
you any trouble."

"Forget about it. Your brother won’t believe a word you say. I’m begging
you, just go home."

"Oh, Guo-ge, don't be like that. Let us in, let us in! If you don't let us in, you
won’t be my Ge[28] anymore!."

The two pushed and shoved each other at the door for a long time, The
man’s big yellow head swayed like a sunflower in the wind. But he finally
gave up and let them in with a sad face. He personally took them into a box
and instructed: "Don't come out of here. If you want anything, tell the waiter.
There is a toilet here too, so you don't need to come out at all. Don’t let
anybody see you, understand?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, go and do your job." Li Wenxun waved him away.

The yellow-haired man sighed with resignation, closed the door for them and
left.

As soon as the door closed, Big Li jumped up from the sofa: "Damn, A-wen,
you really did it! You really got us in."

Li Wenxun smiled smugly: "Nonsense, when have I not delivered on my

promises!"

Big Li sat beside him, winked and said, "Hey, can we get a couple of girls in
here?"

Li Wenxun laughed and scolded him: "Why are you so timid? How about
asking for some guys?"

Shao Qun shouted at him: "Ew, you’re so disgusting! How dare you ask
something like that?"

Big Li pouted in Li Chengxiu's direction, and then laughed at Shao Qun:

"Don't you want to try?"

Shao Qun cursed: "Try what, my ass! Fuck off."

The boys broke out in laughter.

Li Chengxiu didn't understand what they were laughing about, and he was
still in a state of panic.

When the yellow haired man took them through the hall and into the private
room just now, he saw a group of people in the middle of the dance floor
contorting their bodies like pretzels. Li Chengxiu’s ears were buzzing with
loud high-decibel music, and it seemed that even his internal organs were
shaking. On the way, he tried to make himself as small as possible and
closely followed behind Shao Qun's gang. He had no idea who maliciously
grabbed his butt out of the blue. He squealed like a frightened rabbit and
jumped up. Stil , he didn’t dare to turn around and just continued to follow
the boys. He real y hated those guys but at this moment they were a
reassuring presence.

He felt like a small animal who was thrown into a wolf's den. The box they
were sitting in was sort of a barrier now. Although he didn’t like being there,
he didn’t dare to go out either.

He was thinking about the moment he could finally go home, when suddenly
there was a loud "bang", and a huge glass jar appeared on the table in front
of him. It was filled with yellow and frothy beer.

Shao Qun pushed it towards Li Chengxiu: "Drink it."

Li Chengxiu was very familiar with the smell of alcohol. His house was full
of that smell all year round -

even the walls and furniture had soaked up that smell so deeply, it couldn’t
be eliminated anymore.

Still, this smell revolted him so much that his face contorted in disgust when
he saw this beer.

Shao Qun took a sip first.

Li Chengxiu glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and noticed his
skinny arms that had just begun to develop some muscle. Shao Qun was
holding a huge glass jar that looked unusually heavy. Suddenly Li Chengxiu
wasn’t so scared of him anymore. He seemed like a child who had just stolen
a shoe from an adult and was trying it on. It looked ridiculous, and made one
laugh.

Li Chengxiu was at a loss. Shao Qun’s face had flushed red after just one
sip, and his eyes had widened.

Yet, he was pretending really hard to be unaffected. This made it even more
clear to Li Chengxiu that this boy was actually two years younger than
himself. Why would this little boy scare him?
Shao Qun put the glass jug onto the coffee table with a loud bang again, and
the sound made everybody jump up. He was buzzed after this sip of beer,
and there was a bitter taste in his mouth. It wasn't too unpleasant, but it
definitely wasn’t very tasty either. The moment he drank it, he felt
nauseated. As soon as he raised his eyes, he happened to see the little sissy
looking at him from the corner. There was a strange smile in his eyes, as if
he was mocking him. His anger flared up.

He pushed the jug right in front of Li Chengxiu, almost hitting his nose:
"Drink it."

Li Chengxiu pulled back, frowned and turned his head away.

Shao Qun’s temper exploded when he thought about that mocking smile
again. Just seeing this boy who looked like a slut made him want to pour the
beer all over his head.

You don't want to drink? I’l fucking force it down your throat.

Shao Qun put his knee up on the sofa, and gave Li Chengxiu a
condescending and threatening look: "I’m counting to three. One, two..."

Li Chengxiu glanced at his ferocious expression and used both of his

trembling hands to hold the jug filled with cold beer.

Shao Qun urged: "Drink."

Others in the box also cheered him on: "Drink, drink! Men have to drink."

Li Chengxiu had no choice, so he put the heavy mug to his mouth and took a
sip. His face immediately contorted.

The thing that Shao Qun disliked most about him was the nerve of this sissy.
He could see Li Chengxiu fastidiously holding the beer mug in his emaciated
hands, looking like their female classmates, and taking a

careful sip. Shao Qun nearly exploded, so he pushed Li Chengxiu down with
one hand, grabbed his chin with the other and then poured the beer right into
his mouth, which was wide open in astonishment.
Li Chengxiu twisted his hands and feet and struggled to get away. He was
thin, that’s true, but he spent most of his time doing physical work, so his
strength wasn’t negligible. Shao Qun underestimated him, and didn’t hold
him down properly.

Li Chengxiu covered his head and retreated to the corner of the sofa, looking
at Shao Qun in horror. There were wet stains on his cheeks - it wasn’t clear
whether it was beer or tears. His hair was also wet, and he looked very
pitiful.

Shao Qun didn’t look much better either. From his chest to his crotch his
newly bought clothes were soiled with beer, making him shiver from the
cold.

Suddenly, Shao Qun jumped up from the sofa, and slammed the mug in his
hand onto the ground. Li Chengxiu let out a trembling cry, startled by the
sound of breaking glass.

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu by the hair, and his fist was about to meet
his face.

Li Wenxun hurried up to stop him: "Hey, hey, don't fight, don't fight! Don't
destroy your friendship with him, Shao Qun. Calm down."

Big Li hugged Shao Qun from behind and moved him aside. The two of
them whispered to Shao Qun for a long time before he finally let go of his
rage.

Li Chengxiu shrank himself into a ball and looked at the three boys in fear,
as if waiting for his own trial and execution.

Shao Qun glared at him, bent down, and took off his soaked T-shirt. He
threw it on the ground, and then rushed over to Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu timidly watched him approach step by step. Shao Qun dragged
him up from the sofa by his arms and pointed at his own wet chest and
abdomen: "Wipe it clean."
Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, but then quickly grabbed the tissue
box on the table, took out some wipes and diligently cleaned Shao Qun up.

Shao Qun put his hands on his hips and looked at him coldly.

Although Li Chengxiu was two years older than him, he was half a head
shorter. Now that the two of them were so close to each other that he could
feel Shao Qun's breath on his face and smell Shao Qun’s fresh body odor
that couldn’t even be covered by beer.

The young boy's body already had a thin layer of muscle, his skin was
delicate and fair, his chest and abdomen were hard and flexible. The longer
Li Chengxiu rubbed his sturdy body, the more embarrassed he felt.

Big Li watched him finish wiping Shao Qun's chest, leaned over with a
wicked smile, and pulled at the elastic band of Shao Qun's trousers with one
finger: "Hey, it’s also wet inside here.”

Shao Qun slapped his grabby paws away from himself: "You want to lick me
clean or what?"

Li Chengxiu thought that Shao Qun was talking to him. He looked up in

horror and disbelief.

Shao Qun was also stunned for a moment. When he finally understood what
exactly he had just said right now, his face turned red. In order to hide his
embarrassment, he yelled loudly: "Fuck you! What the hell are you even
thinking?"

Li Wenxun and Big Li held onto their stomachs, rolling from laughter. Shao
Qun got angry and kicked Big Li's ass, when he was least suspecting it. He
pointed at the untouched beer on the table and said: "Today, I will graciously
spare you, if you can drink this whole mug at once!”

Li Chengxiu's cowardly eyes wandered between the beer and Shao Qun for a
moment. Finally, he grabbed the mug and opened his mouth.

Shao Qun was calmly sitting on the sofa, as he watched Li Chengxiu's little
face twisted in pain. It seemed like he had been injected with poison.
Li Chengxiu's skin turned red from the top of his head to the hem of his
clothes. After a short moment, tears flowed out of his tightly closed eyes,
while the beer was pouring out of his mouth onto his chin and then into his
collar. It looked pitiful, yet it was also strangely touching.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s twisted pale and tender face, at his
Adam's apple that kept sliding up-and-down, at his chest, at his slender waist
and at his slightly upturned butt that looked prominent on his otherwise very
slim frame. Shao Qun suddenly couldn’t stop staring.

He felt that there was something wrong with him. He shouldn't consider
another man's waist “nice to look at”. And he definitely shouldn't think that
this pitiful contorted face is…cute. Shao Qun was shocked and wondered if
he was under a spell - he had heard that "this kind of people" were proficient
in seducing other men.

Shao Qun got angry yet again, because he felt that he had accidentally been
infected by this terrible virus called "homosexuality". It made him feel
genuinely disgusted.

He shouted viciously: "I will fucking kill you if you leave even one drop."

Li Chengxiu took a few more sips, and after a short break, he continued to
pour the contents of the mug into his mouth. He felt like his whole body was
about to burn from the inside. Especially his throat all the way to the
stomach felt hot and uncomfortable. He felt that something was coming up
and he was about to vomit. His eyes were dim, and his head felt heavy.
Although he was still conscious, he stand on his own two feet anymore.

He couldn't help but wonder, why would anyone enjoy drinking alcohol at
all. It was unpalatable and nasty.

What made him even more uncomfortable than drinking itself was the
feeling of complete helplessness and the embarrassment of being forced to
drink.

With difficulty and disgust, he finally managed to finish the large jug of
beer. Li Chengxiu's legs softened, he fell down on the sofa and started to cry,
covering his face.
Shao Qun scolded him: "You’re crying again! For fuck’s sake."

Li Chengxiu took a long breath and didn't dare to make another sound. He
just shrunk into the corner of the sofa and closed his eyes tightly, as if he
wanted to isolate himself from the world through this action.

Shao Qun didn't like to be ignored like this. He stood up and walked over to
Li Chengxiu. He was about to say something when the door of the box was
suddenly kicked open from the outside. The door hit the wall with a loud
bang, which startled the boys. They stared blankly at the door.

A tall young man rushed in looking angry like the devil. As soon as he came
in, his eyes looked for someone.

Li Wenxun called out: "Older brother!"

Then he covered his head and jumped into the corner.

The young man reached him in a few steps, twisted his ear and pulled him
up.

Li Wenxun cried out in pain, "Brother, brother, it hurts. Let me go!"

Li Wenxun's brother forcefully shoved his head: "Fuck you, you bastard. Are
all my words falling on deaf ears? How many times have I fucking told you
that you are not allowed to come to this kind of place? If you don't study
hard and get yourself involved in all kinds of messes, you’l grow up to be a
gangster. Do you want that? Don’t you believe I won’t kil in that case?"

Li Wenxun cried and begged: "Brother..."

The young man pushed him again, pointed at his nose and scolded: "I’l teach
you a lesson today you wil never forget..." Suddenly he made a "huh?"
sound, as if he saw something that surprised him. Then his eyes locked on Li
Chengxiu who was huddled in the corner behind Li Wenxun.

Shao Qun was still in a stunned state, when he noticed the young man
staring at Li Chengxiu.
Suddenly the young man's face contorted with anger. He cursed loudly,
rushed up in three steps, passed by Shao Qun and grabbed Li Chengxiu up
from the sofa. Before anyone could react, he knocked Li Chengxiu down on
the ground with a heavy slap.

"You shameless slut! Who the hel hired you? What’s fucking wrong with
you that you’re wil ing to sell it to a bunch of underaged bastards - are you
poor, crazy, or just horny? This is my brother! If you touched him, I’l
fucking chop you up in pieces right now!” The man kicked Li Chengxiu's
stomach again.

Li Chengxiu was in so much pain that he curled up into the shape of a

shrimp. He couldn't say a word, and even his cries couldn’t escape his lips,
buried deep inside his body.

The young man raised his foot and was about to kick Li Chengxiu again
when Shao Qun suddenly rushed up and shoved him away.

Shao Qun squatted in front of Li Chengxiu, staring at the man fiercely:

"Yao-Ge, he is our classmate."

Li Wenyao[29] was stunned for a moment, his cheeks were puffed up, as he
tried to suppress his anger:

"You stinky brat..."

Li Wenxun rushed to grab his brother's arm: "Brother, he really is our

classmate."

Li Wenyao glanced at him suspiciously, and then took a closer look at Li

Chengxiu, who was crying in pain while holding his stomach. Indeed, he
saw that it was just a child in front of him.

He got so angry at first because when he saw a person dressed like that in the
dim light he automatically assumed he was a prostitute. Upon closer
inspection, it turned out he was mistaken.

Li Wenyao pouted and muttered, "What the hell is he wearing?" He stopped

paying any attention to Li Chengxiu and grabbed Li Wenxun's arm, "Come
on, let’s go home now, so I can deal with you."

Li Wenxun showed a sad face, as he was dragged out of the room.

Big Li and Xiao Sheng just came back to their senses and were just standing
there awkwardly.

Shao Qun silently helped Li Chengxiu up from the ground. Looking at his
crying face, he felt a little uncomfortable.

He turned his head to Big Li and Xiao Sheng and said, "Let's go home. I'll
take you back first."

"Rather not. If I get into the car with you, I’l also smell like beer. My mother
wil definitely notice! Xiao Sheng and I wil walk around for a bit to get rid of
the smell, and then we’l take a taxi back. Him..." Big Li looked at Li
Chengxiu who was not even moving anymore and added: "Take him home.
He really got the short end of the stick..."
Shao Qun nodded and didn't look at the boys again.

When they left, Shao Qun sat next to Li Chengxiu for a while. Finally, he
took away the hand that covered Li Chengxiu’s face and saw that half of his
cheek was swol en. There was even blood at the corner of his mouth. He
pulled up his clothes and saw large bruises on his waist and abdomen. He
knew that Li Wenyao was a merciless person - he was an actual gangster.
Being beaten up by him would be painful even for an adult, let alone such a
thin child like Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun felt some guilt and sympathy in his heart. In more than ten years
of life, this was the first time that he actually felt guilty towards someone.

However, this feeling was too short-lived and disappeared in a blink of an

eye. Instead, he suddenly felt that if it wasn't for him, Li Chengxiu would
have been beaten by Li Wenyao to death today. So actually Li Changxiu
should be grateful to him. Besides, it was his own fault for looking like a
slut.

He lightly patted Li Chengxiu's face: "Hey, are you alright?"

Li Chengxiu was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He had never

experienced such pain in his life before.

He could only cry. There was nothing else he could do about the pain.

He could neither make the pain go away, nor make the person responsible
pay for what he did to him.

There was no other way to vent - only tears.

Xiao Sheng (who we forgot even existed) chilling during this whole ordeal in
the nightclub

Chapter 8

Shao Qun touched Li Chengxiu’s purple-blue waist, causing him to shrink in

pain.

Shao Qun felt his ribs up all the way down to his waist. After confirming it
several times, he finally said, "It's alright, no bones are broken. Don't cry."

Li Chengxiu hugged his stomach, avoiding his touch.

Shao Qun patted him on the back: "Don't be such a scaredy cat. Why are you
still crying? Get up and I'll take you home."

Li Chengxiu finally regained some energy when he heard that he was finally
going home. He wiped his face with his hands and struggled to get up from
the sofa. Unexpectedly, as he lifted himself up, his stomach turned inside
and out, and he vomited with a loud “blerg”.

Although Shao Qun jumped away quickly, a big chunk of vomit still
splashed onto his trousers. His face went dark.

Li Chengxiu vomited again, and then his limbs became weak. He couldn’t
exert anymore strength - all he could do now was lie on the sofa and pant
heavily.

He felt like he was dying. He couldn’t move, his whole body hurt, and he
was unbearably stinky. What if he died like that? If he was going to die, at
least he wanted to be clean.

He regretted that he was so greedy earlier and accepted that money from Li
Wenxun. Making money should be a result of hard labor - he shouldn’t covet
a pie in the sky. This was his retribution for taking the money that did not
belong to him.

He hated Shao Qun and the other boys, yet he also hated himself for being so
useless. He deserved to die here.

Suddenly he felt weightless. He opened his eyes and saw Shao Qun's
beautiful sharp chin.

Shao Qun had picked him up and taken him to the bathroom.

He put him in front of the sink, turned on the faucet, and pressed his head:
"Rinse your mouth."

Li Chengxiu spat out the nasty stuff he still had in his mouth, put his whole
face under the faucet, and rinsed his mouth like crazy.
Shao Qun took some water and poured it over Li Chengxiu’s head. After
splashing around for a while, Li Chengxiu’s appearance only got messier.

Finally, Shao Qun just pulled him away and helped him out of the bathroom.

Li Chengxiu covered his stomach and muttered softly, "I want to... go home,
go home."

Shao Qun stuffed him into the car and drove to the nearest hotel.

Li Chengxiu was so confused that he couldn't say a complete sentence. He

had no idea where he was, when Shao Qun took him inside some hotel room.

He immediately threw Li Chengxiu into the bathtub, turned on the hot water
and poured it all over the boy.

Both of them smelled of alcohol and vomit, not to mention that Li Chengxiu
also smelled of smoke. Seeing the hot water flow all over him, Shao Qun let
out a long sigh.

He was so unlucky today. In the end, he was left alone with this drunk stinky
sissy boy. He had never been so embarrassed in his life.

He took off his clothes and rushed to get under the water. He cleaned his
entire body before squatting down to take off Li Chengxiu's clothes.

Li Chengxiu was very comfortable under the hot water, and was a little
drowsy. But when Shao Qun started moving around, he immediately woke
up, half-opening his eyes. With a dull expression he watched Shao Qun take
off his clothes.

When Shao Qun was undressing Li Chengxiu, he struggled for a while, as

for some reason he felt that he should not be doing this.

If it was Big Li or A-wen in front of him, etc. he would not give it another
thought. What hasn’t he seen there anyway?

But Li Chengxiu was somehow different. Shao Qun couldn't treat him just
like an ordinary same-sex person. For some reason he felt that taking off his
clothes was just like taking off a girl's clothes. There was a secret shame in
his heart, but at the same time there was some unspeakable expectation.
Shao Qun’s hands were even shaking a little.

Li Chengxiu's skin was very pale, even morbidly pale. He was also
extremely thin. As he was lying on his back, his ribs were clearly visible.
The waist was so tiny that it seemed it would break just at the touch of a
hand. His body hair was very sparse and soft. The lower part of his body was
also exposed to the view, and Shao Qun could see his pink penis limply
hanging between his legs, looking shy and pitiful.

Shao Qun remembered a porn movie he had just watched a couple of days
ago. The Japanese woman in it also had this kind of pale, translucent skin,
slender thighs, and a slim waist. The image in front of him seemed to
overlap with the movie. As if in a trance, he suddenly had a fantasy about the
naked body lying ín front of him - in his mind Li Chengxiu was the one
spreading his thighs and gasping for breath.

Years later, Shao Qun could still recall that unfamiliar impulse he felt at that
time. It was driven by teenage ignorance about such matters and natural
curiosity about sex. It was the first time in his life that he discovered an
indescribable reverie of shame he could feel about other people's bodies.
Although in retrospect he found it kind of funny, at that time it was like a
heavy blow for him. After all, he was looking at a male body, so he pinched
his own thigh to snap out of it.

He felt that his thoughts were very wrong. How could he be thinking about
this sissy whom he actually disliked so much?

Irritated, he got up and used the shower head to wash Li Chengxiu.

He finished up as quickly as possible, then wrapped Li Chengxiu into a sheet

and threw him on the bed.

Afterwards he left, feeling like he was running away from something.

Li Chengxiu slept until noon the next day. When he woke up, he had a
splitting headache. He half-squinted his eyes and looked at the snow-white
sheets. For a long time, he didn’t understand where he was and whether he
was already awake or still dreaming.

He slowly recalled what happened last night. He put his hand on his stomach
and found that he was still in severe pain.

After lying in bed for a long time, he slowly came to his senses. He looked
up and saw the clock hanging on the wall. Suddenly, he was so frightened
that he quickly straightened out and jumped up.

Only then did he realize that he hadn't gone home overnight, and he hadn't
gone to school today.

He had never stayed outside for the whole night before. And he had never
skipped school for no reason.

Today, he had done both. And now, there was no one around him, so all he
could do was sit alone on this big bed, abandoned and at a loss.

When he lifted the sheet, he realized that he was naked. He couldn't help
blushing when he thought that it was Shao Qun who had undressed him and
given him a bath last night.

He got out of bed and looked around. It turned out that Shao Qun had left
clean clothes for him. It made Li Chengxiu feel a little uncomfortable.

When he was putting on the clothes, the phone in the room suddenly rang,
startling him.

"……Hello?"

"Hello, hello! Do you want to check out before twelve o'clock?"

"What?"

"If you can't check out before twelve o'clock, you will be charged another
half-a-day fee for the room."

"Ah, I’m checking out, I’m checking out!"

Li Chengxiu put himself in order, and then looked at the messy room around
him. It made him feel guilty.

He had never stayed in a hotel before and didn't know the rules, so he
quickly rolled up the dirty clothes on the floor and put them in bags, then
made the bed, folded the quilt neatly, and finally cleaned everything up in
the bathroom.

Only then did he cautiously leave.

The maid who was doing room service told him to go downstairs to the front
desk to check out, so he went, trembling on his way.

He didn't have a penny on him, and he didn't know how much it would cost
to stay in such a high-end hotel for one night. In case he couldn't afford it...

Unexpectedly, instead of asking him to pay, the clerk gave him more than
200 RMB, saying it was his deposit.

Li Chengxiu took the money and left in a daze.

He struggled a lot about whether to go to school or go home first. Finally he

decided to go home.

He didn't go to work yesterday, so he had to go back and make a phone call

to explain his absence to his relatives. And since he didn't go back last night,
he wasn’t sure if his mother had eaten.

He remembered that his school bag was still in Shao Qun's car, so he could
only use the money the hotel gave him to take the bus home.

As soon as he returned, he made a phone call from the telephone booth to his
boss in the restaurant. He apologized and explained for a long time, as well
as promised to show up this evening. Only then did he drag his tired body
home.

When he entered the room, a disgusting stench of alcohol hit his nostrils.
Fortunately, his stomach was empty, otherwise he’d have to vomit again.
The food he had prepared for his mother last morning didn't seem to be
touched. Since it was summer and it was left out for the whole night, it was
stinking.

Loud snoring came from the back room, and he went in to take a look. His
mother was asleep. It seemed that she hadn’t even noticed that he didn’t
come back last night.

He went over and tried to wake her up: "Mom, mom, get up and eat some
food!"

"Mom, get up and eat something!"

He called her for a long time, but his mother just mumbled in response,
turned over and almost hit him with her hand. Li Chengxiu jumped back in
fright, looked at his mother’s back and couldn’t help but sigh.

He was so hungry that he picked at some of the spoiled food on the table.
Then he took off the new clothes and soaked them in water. He changed into
his own clothes, and then headed to school.

He arrived at school just in time for the afternoon sessions. He first went to
the office building to inform the teachers about him missing half a day. He
said that he wasn’t feeling well in the morning. The teacher looked at his
swollen face and bloodshot eyes, sighed, and let him go back to class.

He was restless the whole afternoon, because all his classmates were looking
at him strangely. Usually he was invisible, and nobody even looked at him.
But today their undisguised attention made him feel very uncomfortable.

During recess, he couldn't take it anymore and ran to the toilet. He looked
into the bathroom mirror and was shocked. The right side of his face was so
swollen that his eyes turned into slits, and he could barely open them. It also
hurt a lot when he touched his face.

There was also a large bruise on his stomach, and every breath was
accompanied by pain, which made him miserable.

He splashed cold water onto his face a few times, and the burning pain could
be shortly relieved by the coolness.
Just as he was bending over to splash water onto his face, somebody hit him
hard on the lower back. He reacted in time by grabbing the edge of the
washbasin, so even though he slipped, he didn't fall onto the dirty floor of
the toilet.

He turned his head and saw a boy from another class looking at him with a
smile.

Li Chengxiu regained his balance, bowed his head and was about to leave
when the boy blocked his path and asked, "Hey, where did Shao Qun and the
others take you out yesterday? Did you stay out the whole night?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head. With a slight panic in his eyes, he made himself
small and tried to move towards the door.

"Come on, tell me! I can see that only half of your face is swollen. Why is
that? You went out with Shao Qun, and you came back alive today. It's not
an easy feat. Did you guys go out to play?"

"No…No playing..."

"If not playing, what did you do?"

Li Chengxiu stayed silent.

How dare he tell them that Shao Qun took him to a nightclub? If the teacher
finds out, he will probably be expelled from school.

The boy continued pushing him: "Speak."

Li Chengxiu stumbled and stood leaning against the wall, feeling that his
stomach hurt so badly that he almost couldn’t straighten out his waist.

There were several people surrounding him now. There were also a bunch of
onlookers next to the door.

Little by little, he felt like more and more people tightly encircled him. He
prayed for the bell to ring soon.
A sudden cry came from the direction of the door, accompanied by the sound
of something falling to the ground. The crowd at the door dispersed, and the
light pierced through - a tall and slim figure enveloped by the sun suddenly
stood in front of Li Chengxiu.

He raised his head slightly, feeling that the image was very familiar. On the
sunny rooftop that day, the same young boy with a handsome face and
gorgeous black hair looked at him condescendingly.

Shao Qun rushed in and kicked the boy standing behind Li Chengxiu to the
ground. Several people around him retreated in fear. The narrow men's
bathroom was in chaos for a while.

Shao Qun shouted: "Get out!"

The people inside and outside left in an instant. Only Li Chengxiu was still
standing there, leaning against the wall, as he squinted and winced at Shao
Qun.

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s chin and lifted his face up. He frowned at
his swollen and deformed cheeks, and then poked them with his fingers.

Li Chengxiu hissed in pain and turned his face away.

Shao Qun took his hand away and raised his other hand in front of Li
Chengxiu: "Your school bag."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, but then he quickly took his bag.

At that moment, Shao Qun grabbed him: "Let’s go."

Li Chengxiu pushed his arm away and refused to move: "Go… Go where?
I…I…I won’t go."

"I want to take you to the school nurse."

"No. I have class."

"Bullshit. Will you die if you don’t go to class?"

Shao Qun dragged Li Chengxiu out of the men’s toilet and took him
downstairs under the gaze of the schoolmates that gathered around.

Li Chengxiu real y didn’t want to go anywhere, especially with that guy. He

didn't want to have anything to do with Shao Qun’s gang anymore. His life
was original y very peaceful, and he was slowly approaching his

goals step by step. But these boys suddenly barged into his life and started
messing with it. If it had any impact on his high school entrance
examination, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Shao Qun real y took him into the school nurse’s office. The nurse happened
to be absent at that moment, so Shao Qun took the matters into his own
hands. He pushed Li Chengxiu into the chair and then opened the cabinet to
look for something.

Li Chengxiu felt restless and tried to reason with him in a low voice: "The
nurse isn’t here. Don't just rummage through her things willy-nilly."

Shao Qun frowned and ignored him. Finally he found a box of medicine and
a bottle of Huo Luo oil[30].

He handed the medicine to Li Chengxiu: "It’s anti-inflammatory. Take two

of those."

Li Chengxiu read the instructions carefully, before taking out a water bottle
from his schoolbag and swallowing the two anti-inflammatory pills.

Shao Qun opened the oil bottle, pointed to the bed and said to Li Chengxiu,
"Lie down."

Li Chengxiu held onto his school bag and looked at him blankly.

Shao Qun couldn't stand this stupid look of his. Li Chengxiu was wasting his
time! So he just dragged him up and pushed him onto the bed: "Lie down.
I'll apply the medicine for you."

Confused, Li Chengxiu asked: "Wh…. why?"

Shao Qun raised his eyebrows: "Your stomach is purple. I need to put the
medicine on it so it heals. What do you mean why?”

What Li Chengxiu actually meant to ask was: Why would you want to apply
the medicine for me?

Shao Qun's disgust and contempt for him was clearly visible. If it weren’t for
him and his friends, Li Chengxiu wouldn’t have been beaten up for no
reason. Why would he suddenly want to help him with his wounds? Did his
conscience return after a long absence or what?

Li Chengxiu was unhappy in every possible way, but his fear of Shao Qun
was engraved deeply in his bones. So he had no choice but to lie down
obediently and stretch himself out.

Shao Qun lifted his clothes and looked at the large bruise on the left side of
his waist and abdomen. It looked even more ghastly on Li Chengxiu’s snow-
white skin. Shao Qun pursed his lips and said, "It hurts to even look at it."

Li Chengxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly and timidly looked at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun poured some oil into his hands, wiped it all on Li Chengxiu’s
stomach, and said, "I'l rub it in for you. If it hurts a bit, just bear with it."

Li Chengxiu cried out, and his whole body curled up: "It hurts. Don’t press."

"No, if I don't apply pressure properly, it wil heal too slowly. It’s better to
bear with a little pain now than to prolong it.”

"Don't… don't press. It hurts."

Shao Qun pul ed Li Chengxiu’s arms and legs apart: "Don't move. Just be
patient."

Li Chengxiu refused to cooperate. He kicked around but for some reason this
time it hurt him more than before. He wasn’t sure whether his kick was too
heavy or Shao Qun’s hand was too strong.
Shao Qun exclaimed angrily: "Why the hell are you so fussy? Will you die
from a little pain? Will it kill you to endure it?"

With tears in the corners of his eyes, Li Chengxiu whimpered and cried out,
"Bite me."

Shao Qun was stunned by this sudden rudeness.

He looked at the oil on his hands, noticed the pungent smell in the air, and
suddenly realized what was happening.

What was he even thinking? When he heard that sissy didn't come to school
in the morning, he felt uneasy.

As soon as Li Chengxiu finally appeared, he rushed to see him, and even

insisted on giving him a massage.

Why was he acting like such an idiot?

Shao Qun angrily threw the bottle at Li Chengxiu and cursed: "Fuck you."
Then he angrily walked out.

Li Chengxiu suddenly remembered something and shouted after him,

"Wait."

Shao Qun froze and turned around with unconcealed anticipation in his eyes.

Li Chengxiu quickly took out the 300 RMB from his school bag and then
got the 200 RMB he received from the hotel in the morning out of his
pocket. He then walked up to Shao Qun and handed it to him: "I don't want
your money."

Shao Qun's face darkened immediately. And it wasn’t just metaphorical - it

was such a visible physical change that Li Chengxiu got scared.

Shao Qun slapped the bil s out of Li Chengxiu’s hand and said viciously,
"Keep it for your medical expenses."
The Huo Luo Oil (word for word translation “active/activated oil”)

Chapter 9

Li Chengxiu waited for Shao Qun to leave. Afterwards he rubbed his

stomach for a while. But the pain was so bad that he couldn’t press too hard.
He was fine with waiting for it to slowly recover, anyway. His bones were
not broken, so everything was going to be okay in the end.

He stayed in the nurse’s office for a while and then went back to class.
Although his classmates peeked at him from time to time, no one dared to
bother him anymore.

When classes were over, he was still the first one to rush out of the
classroom to catch the earliest bus in order to go to his relative's restaurant.
Although he felt very uncomfortable, he couldn’t afford to take a sick day.

For several days after that, Shao Qun's gang didn’t appear in front of him
anymore. Li Chengxiu wanted to return their money and their clothes to
them, as he felt that it was not a good idea to keep the things that didn’t
belong to him. Who knew what kind of bad luck they would bring? But it
seemed that the gang had lost their interest in him, and Li Chengxiu was also
unwilling to look for them on his own initiative. He was in a sort of a
dilemma.

He always carried the money with him, and kept the clothes in his desk. In
case he came across those guys, he could return everything immediately.
A week later, the swelling on his face had finally disappeared, and the bruise
on his stomach had significantly improved. Just when he was about to throw
Shao Qun and his gang completely out of his mind, he ran into Shao Qun yet
again.

Strictly speaking, Shao Qun had planned that encounter.

As usual, at noon, Li Chengxiu ran to the rooftop of the teaching building to

have his lunch break - read a book, revise some exam tasks, eat something,
and take a nap.

While he was reading a book and nibbling on the steamed bun filled with
fermented bean curd, the big iron door on the rooftop hit the wall with a loud
bang. Li Chengxiu was startled and turned around to see who it was.

Shao Qun was squinting his eyes, standing in the midday sun. When he saw
Li Chengxiu, he immediately walked towards him.

Li Chengxiu, who was previously leaning against the wall in a relaxed pose,
sat up nervously, looking around with some helplessness. The scorching sun
had dried the concrete floor, and one could feel how crazy hot it was just by
looking at it. It was the spring season, yet the high temperatures already
approached the midsummer levels. There was only one small patch of shade
under the water tank where Li Chengxiu was sitting. It was originally the
only comfortably cool and pleasant place on the rooftop.

He wanted to run the moment he saw Shao Qun. He wanted to pretend he

hadn’t seen him, turn around and head downstairs. But as Shao Qun was
approaching him one step at a time, he was just too scared to move.

Shao Qun sat down beside Li Chengxiu and glanced at him: "Why do you
still look so dirty? Where are the clothes I bought for you?"

Li Chengxiu looked at his wrinkled shirt: "In my desk. I…I… can give it
back to you in the afternoon after school?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, then he raised his voice: "Are you
insane? What would I need them for? How can I wear something meant for a
stunted body shape like yours? Even if I could fit in those clothes, I wouldn’t
dare touch them - I’m afraid of getting your lice and fleas."

Li Chengxiu's face turned red, he choked up and tightly twisted the corner of
his clothes with one hand. He was still holding a half-eaten steamed bun in
his other hand. He lowered his head and kept quiet.

Shao Qun suddenly grabbed his chin and lifted his face up. He carefully
examined his face and said: "Well, the swelling has disappeared." Then he
reached out and pressed Li Chengxiu’s cheek.

Although the swelling really had subsided, it still hurt when pressed like
that. Li Chengxiu closed his eyes and hissed.

"So it stil hurts." Shao Qun took his hand away and suddenly reached out to
lift up Li Chengxiu’s clothes.

Li Chengxiu was startled. He tried to block him with his hand, which was
still holding the steamed bun. As a result, it fell directly onto Shao Qun’s
thigh. The weather was hot, and Shao Qun was wearing shorts, so the red
bean paste was rubbed all over Shao Qun’s upper leg.

This made Shao Qun really angry. It seems that every time he encounters Li
Chengxiu, he always gets dirty all over. He kicked the half-eaten steamed
bun away and shouted, "What the hell are you doing? I just wanted to check
if your stomach is okay."

Li Chengxiu nervously stared at Shao Qun's thigh, turned around and

searched for something to wipe him.

He was afraid that if something didn’t go Shao Qun’s way, this little
delinquent would beat him up. He was always very careful, but for some
reason ended up offending him every time they met.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s anxious appearance - the way his nostrils
slightly flared, the way his long eyelashes were fluttering quickly like little
brushes, and the way he was biting his lower lip with a row of small white
teeth. Shao Qun suddenly felt a little hot, and he had a bunch of evil
thoughts he couldn’t control anymore.
He stretched out his hand and grabbed Li Chengxiu's ear, pretending to be
calm and pointing at his thigh: "I wil kindly forgive you this last time. But I
can’t let it go just like that either… You have to lick it clean for me."

Li Chengxiu's eyes widened and then immediately filled with tears.

He didn't expect that Shao Qun could insult him like that. Li Chengxiu had
tried his best to be cautious, humble and not to give him any opportunity to
embarrass him. But he had completely overlooked the main problem - this
person was deliberately troubling him, and there was no way to hide from
him.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s aggrieved expression, and an

uncontrollable excitement surged up inside him. He wanted to see what his
tongue looked like and whether it felt just like he imagined it - soft and
velvety. He wondered what it would feel like to have his thigh licked by that
tongue.

Young Master Shao grew up with an innate ability to bully people. He would
vent his bad temper on anyone he didn’t like, but he had never felt this kind
of... desire to manipulate towards any other people he bullied.

It was an indescribable feeling - he vaguely sensed that he wanted to do

something to Li Chengxiu, but he didn't know what exactly. He wanted Li
Chengxiu's bright eyes to look at him, he wanted him to be scared of him, he
wanted him to obey him, he wanted Li Chengxiu to flatter him like all other
people did, and he wanted him to lick his thigh with his tongue .

He chalked it up to the fact that this boy was too much of a sissy to be
treated like any other man. It was too boring to beat him up or slap him
around. One just had to play something special with him.

So Shao Qun pressed Li Chengxiu’s head towards himself and forced him to
lick his thigh.

Li Chengxiu cried.

He was already numb to the indifference and contempt of his classmates. To

keep himself out of trouble, he isolated himself every day, ignoring all kinds
of overt and covert acts of violence towards him. But that didn’t mean that
he had no dignity.

Although he had no idea what the deeper meaning behind licking his male
classmate’s thigh was, he was stil ashamed to do that. It seemed akin to the
humiliation of crawling under somebody’s crotch[31]. In the TV

series he had watched as a child, this was the biggest insult to a man. As long
as the hero still had the last bit of blood flowing in his veins, it was
absolutely not acceptable to undergo such humiliation.

But Li Chengxiu was not a hero after all, so he didn't dare to spit on Shao
Qun's face and tell him off with a few bold words. But even under the threat
of being beaten, Li Chengxiu didn't want to do such an embarrassing thing.
So he could only cry and try to push away Shao Qun’s hand on his head.

Shao Qun had always been defiant - the more one went against him, the
more he pushed the person to obey. But this time, it was somehow different.
Looking at Li Chengxiu's crying eyes, he suddenly felt a little soft.

But even though his heart softened, he still was unsatisfied.

"Don't you fucking cry again! Why are you constantly crying?"

Li Chengxiu felt that his grip weakened, so he quickly straightened out and
took a big step back. From a safe distance, he looked at Shao Qun cautiously
while wiping away his tears.

Irritated, Shao Qun picked up a notebook off the ground, tore out a piece of
paper from there and wiped the fermented bean paste with it.

The unsatisfied longing was still there, and he had a strong desire to do
something about it.

Shao Qun approached Li Chengxiu again, grabbed him by his clothes and
stopped him from moving away.

"Damn it, I'm so good to you! If you didn't make me feel like I'm dealing
with a girl and if you weren’t such a sissy, I would have fucking beaten you
to death for annoying me like that!”

In the opinion of Little Master Shao, he really was "good" to Li Chengxiu.

His tolerance towards him was very high, so he was extremely annoyed that
Li Chengxiu was such an ungrateful animal.

He pulled at Li Chengxiu's clothes: "I just want to see how your stomach is
healing. If you don't lift it up, I'm going to get really angry."

Li Chengxiu was stubbornly holding onto his shirt. He choked and said, "No,
don’t look."

As soon as Shao Qun heard this, he immediately raised his hand to slap him,
but seeing Li Chengxiu shrinking his neck in fear, he couldn’t go through
with it. He was so angry, yet he didn’t know whether he was angry at Li
Chengxiu or at himself.

The anger made him act - he suddenly threw Li Chengxiu to the ground, sat
on his crotch, pressed his shoulder with one hand and pulled his clothes up
with the other: "I just want to look."

Li Chengxiu couldn't throw him off, so he was forced to lift his clothes,
revealing his thin waist.

Shao Qun put his hand on Li Chengxiu’s stomach. The skin was soft and
warm to the touch, and he could feel how his stomach rose and fell with
every breath.

Shao Qun couldn't help but gently stroke it a couple of times. It wasn't until
he saw Li Chengxiu's wide eyes staring at him when he realized that his
hand was now stroking the smooth and delicate skin of his chest.

Shao Qun had never been so embarrassed before. His cheeks suddenly
blushed, and he pulled his hand away as if he was burnt.

Li Chengxiu's little face was also blushing, and his narrow chin was
stretched out so far that it formed a stiff angle with his neck. What happened
a couple moments ago seemed somehow abnormal - how can a normal man
touch another man like that?
Young Master Shao got off Li Chengxiu and sat down next to the water tank.
The atmosphere between them was awkward. Shao Qun secretly clenched
his fists, in order to prevent the feeling of the soft and smooth touch from
escaping.

Li Chengxiu also sat up, straightened his clothes, packed his book and his
notebook back into his school bag and wanted to sneak out of Shao Qun's
sight.

Shao Qun glanced at him from the corner of his eye: "Where are you
going?"

"Ah... going back."

"Going back where?"

Li Chengxiu himself didn’t know the answer to that. Anywhere where he

didn’t have to stay alone with that person was fine.

Young Master Shao pointed to the ground: "Sit down. You’re not allowed to
go."

The only thing left for Li Chengxiu was to sit down. The expression on his
face was so painful as if he was forced to sit on a sharp knife.

Shao Qun puffed up his cheeks and stared at Li Chengxiu for such a long
time that he could have counted all the hairs on his body.

Suddenly Shao Qun pulled up his previously discarded school bag towards
himself - the shiny leather bag was mercilessly dragged all over the concrete
floor. Shao Qun opened his bag and shook out a bunch of things.

Li Chengxiu looked down and saw that most of them were snacks, but there
were also a few boxes of medicine and a few books inside.

Shao Qun piled the medicine in front of Li Chengxiu: "These pills are good.
You will feel better soon after taking them." Then he pointed at the snacks,
"These are also for you."
Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly.

Shao Qun opened the medicine box on his own, took out a few pills and
handed them to Li Chengxiu together with a bottle of water: "Take the
medicine first."

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, took the pills and swallowed them with
water. Afterwards he stared at the pile of snacks in front of him.

"Don't just look! Eat some." said Shao Qun, picked up a bulging bag and
started tearing it open.

Li Chengxiu quickly pushed the bag away: "Don't open it! I won’t eat any."

Shao Qun shook his hand away and opened the bag anyway : "Yes, you’l eat
it! Why are you whining?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I'm full."

Shao Qun frowned: "You have no fucking balls - if I tell you to eat, you’re
gonna eat. You have to be obedient when I’m angry with you, otherwise
what’s the fun in it for me?”

A trace of shame flashed in Li Chengxiu's eyes.

Shao Qun was right - he didn't have the guts to resist, so he might as well do
what Shao Qun told him to.

Provoking a young master like Shao Qun, who was accustomed to

obedience, won't do him any good.

Li Chengxiu took a small orange-yellow cake from the bag. He could feel
the sweet smell coming from it.

He glanced at Shao Qun and lowered his head to eat it.

Shao Qun watched him cautiously handle a piece of custard pie the size of
his palm - he was just like a little squirrel he had teased outside last month.
What exactly did he do then? Right, he touched it’s head,
and the little thing immediately jumped away in horror trying to avoid his
touch. When it was far enough, it lowered its head and continued chewing.

Shao Qun stretched out his hand and lightly patted Li Chengxiu's head. Sure
enough, the boy looked up in shock. Big glossy black eyes were looking at
him in a loss. His long eyelashes fluttered as he quickly blinked twice and
then quietly pulled his body up, trying to avoid Shao Qun’s hand.

Shao Qun laughed.

Li Chengxiu was stunned.

It was the first time he saw Shao Qun laughing. He was a very good-looking
boy, with red lips and white teeth, and a heroic look about him. It's just that
he liked to frown too much, and his actions were not so kind. Therefore, he
always had a fierce expression on his face, and no one dared to approach
him, no matter how handsome he was.

But when he smiled, it seemed like his whole person became brighter. The
atmosphere of a vicious bully that usually surrounded him suddenly faded.
This smile brought back the refreshing sunny youth that he should have been
at this age. Li Chengxiu was speechless for a while, as he suddenly felt his
heart skip a beat.

Shao Qun didn't take his hand away and continued touching Li Chengxiu’s
hair which was very fine and soft. It felt really nice to the touch. Before,
Shao Qun had always disliked this kind of soft messy hair but turns out it
had such a pleasant texture.

He felt like he was handling a small pet - it was soft and warm, and it was
pleasant to stroke.

Shao Qun suddenly realized that he liked touching Li Chengxiu so much

because he regarded him as a pet! Finally he had found a reasonable
explanation for his behavior. He had a cat and a dog at home. He also liked
to play with them. He fed them when he was happy, and kicked them when
he was unhappy.
Shao Qun got a little excited. He was suddenly like a child who just received
a brand new toy and was looking forward to playing with it, as well as
thinking about all the ways he could make this toy even more fun.

He moved even closer to Li Chengxiu and fondled his head the same way he
did to his labrador: "I'll protect you in the future. So from now on follow
me!"
Steamed bun with fermented red bean paste
“Under the crotch humiliation”

The origins of this idiom can be found in Sima Qian's "Historical Records:
The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin". Apparently the marquis was
forced to endure this kind of humiliation when he was poor and powerless.
When he subsequently rose to power, instead of taking his revenge on the
person who did this to him, he actual y promoted the guy. The reason being
that if that man hadn’t come up with this humiliation technique at the time,
the marquis would have been killed. So in a certain way he owed this man
his life.
Custard pie (it has much less custard inside than one would expect >:( Will
fight anyone who disagrees.)

Chapter 10

From that day on, Shao Qun seemed to be really hooked on the game of
"protecting" him. Not only did he openly take him on walks around campus,
but he often spent his lunch break with him.

Li Chengxiu was scared at first that he would do something wrong, and

something bad would happen. More than that, he was actually deeply
disappointed that Shao Qun had taken over his rooftop place which used to
be his own “private land”. Since he had nowhere else to go during lunch, he
could only accept this new reality.

But after a few days of getting along with Shao Qun, he felt a lot more at
ease.

Shao Qun didn't do anything bad to him - he just brought him a bunch of
food, which he forced him to eat.

He would touch his hair for a while and then pinch his face, as if he was
playing around with a doll. It was a bit awkward at first, but if he dared to
show any unwillingness, Shao Qun would immediately lose his temper. Li
Chengxiu gradually got used to it and let him touch around as much as he
wanted.

The more they got along with each other, the more his fear of Shao Qun
faded. To think about it, even though Shao Qun would often threaten to beat
him up, he had never actually done it. And now he was even… nice to him.

Li Chengxiu had finished the lunch box that Shao Qun bought for him. His
facial expression was complicated, when from time to time, he would sneak
a peek at the handsome boy who was leaning against the wall with his eyes
closed. The outline of his face was as beautiful as a painting.

He didn't understand why Shao Qun would suddenly hang out with him. He
never concealed how much he hated Li Chengxiu before. As far as he could
remember, Li Chengxiu had never done anything that would particularly
please Shao Qun, yet they were now spending time and eating together every
day.

He was vaguely afraid that Shao Qun might have some bad intentions, but he
couldn't figure out what exactly he could do to him.

It was easier for Li Chengxiu to endure contempt and insults from others
than to get used to someone being nice to him.

He had already eaten too much of Shao Qun’s food. He was also forced to
accept the reference book[32] he had been eyeing for a while that Shao Qun
bought for him. In a short time, Shao Qun had become his creditor.

Receiving something that didn’t belong to him was very scary for Li
Chengxiu, yet at the same time he was very moved.

Turns out there were still people in this world who would treat him well. It
slightly frightened him. He had never imagined that this unattainable rich
young master would do things for him that even his own parents never did
for him.

He brought him delicious food, gave him medicine and clean clothes, and
even told everyone to stop bul ying him. Although Shao Qun’s attitude to
him was uncertain, and he would stil curse him out when he was unhappy
about something, but more often than not, Li Chengxiu felt like he was being
cared for.

Why did Shao Qun treat him so well?

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but be cautious, because generally good things

never happened to him. He was even afraid that it was all just a dream. One
day he’l wake, and all of this would turn out to be a fake.

Shao Qun seemed to sense his gaze. He half-opened his eyes and turned his
head slightly to look at him.

Li Chengxiu raised the lunch box in his hand: "Thank you."

Shao Qun squinted his eyes slightly and smiled at him. The lazy expression
on this handsome, yet delicate face was unusually charming.

Li Chengxiu's heart jumped again, and his cheeks felt slightly hot. He
quickly lowered his head and continued to eat.

Shao Qun yawned and lay on the ground, turning his back towards Li
Chengxiu: "Come here and give me a massage."

Li Chengxiu took a few more mouthfuls of rice, wiped his mouth, and
rushed over. He kneaded Shao Qun’s shoulders with his thin but powerful
hands. He was glad to do something that made him feel like he owed Shao
Qun at least a little less.

Shao Qun closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a while. Then he suddenly said,
"By the way, I rented a place outside the school - it’s only 5 minutes away
from here. In the future, you can rest there at noon. I wil take you there after
school."

Li Chengxiu’s hands paused: "No… no need... I'm fine here..."

"Be obedient," Shao Qun said these two words lightly, yet his tone was
harsh.

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you doing
this?"

"This? What exactly?"

"Why... are you taking special care of me?"

“It makes me happy,” Shao Qun answered nonchalantly. He then raised his
hand and pinched Li Chengxiu’s tender face, "Be obedient, and I wil let you
graduate comfortably."

Feeling embarrassed, Li Chengxiu nodded. There was a hint of shyness in

his eyes.

After school, Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu to the apartment he had rented
temporarily.

At the school gate, the two of them ran into Li Wenxun. This kid’s eyes were
stil bruised which was probably why he hadn’t shown up at school for a long
time. Big Li and Xiao Sheng usually hung out with each other, so Shao Qun
was recently all by himself.

They greeted each other, and Li Wenxun gave Li Chengxiu, who was shyly
standing behind Shao Qun like a little daughter-in-law[33], a surprised look.

Shao Qun told him what he was up to during the last week.
When Li Wenxun heard that Shao Qun had rented a place for Li Chengxiu,
he dragged him aside with an expression of disbelief on his face and
whispered, "Bro, you don't have to do this anymore, okay? I’m telling you,
Big Li has recently been too busy picking up girls. And I’ve been dealing
with my brother and couldn’t get out of bed for the last couple of days. None
of us cares about the stupid bet anymore! You don’t have to take it so
seriously."

Shao Qun put his hands up in the air: "He's just funny. More like a puppy,
really. I've been bored recently, so let's just keep him around for shits and
giggles."

Li Wenxun snorted: "I don’t feel too good. You can play around by yourself.
My brother is real y ruthless, and I now even have a curfew. My driver is
already here, and I have to leave. Just gonna have to wait for my brother to
chill out at some point. Then we can go to that place you rented to have a
drink together."

Shao Qun pushed him: "Then go. See you around."

The apartment was really close to the school. They just basically needed to
cross the road and turn a corner to get there. The neighborhood was a little
old, but the room was newly renovated, clean and bright, and the layout was
very warm and elegant.

The place wasn’t too big - there was just one bedroom, one living room, a
kitchen, and a bathroom. All of the rooms were pretty spacious, though. For
one or two people it was more than enough.

Li Chengxiu had never seen such a beautiful apartment before.

He lived in an urban village[34] in the old part of the city. It has been up for
demolition for ten years now but nothing has happened yet. The traffic there
was inconvenient and the road conditions were not good. The bungalow he
lived in was blocked by the residential building behind him, so there was
only a short time during the day when he could see the sun. The lack of light
also made the house humid and cold. In the summer, it could be considered
bearably cool but in the winter, it was terrible, since the heating was not
working very well. Sometimes Li Chengxiu himself wasn’t sure how he and
his mother could survive the harsh winters.

He had always dreamed of living in a house with broad windows, white

walls, wooden furniture, and sunlight coming in generously and illuminating
the room.

Shao Qun closed the door while holding the key in his hand. He wrinkled his
nose and sniffed around.

"All right, it doesn't stink here. Although it's pretty crude, it has everything
you need, and it's very clean. In the future, you can come here at noon. Then
you don’t need to sleep on the roof anymore. If you want to stay here at
night, it’s also fine."

Li Chengxiu kept looking around, unable to conceal his excitement.

Shao Qun suddenly shouted "Catch!" and threw the key in his hand to the
unsuspecting Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu couldn't react in time, so the key hit him and then fell to the
ground.

Shao Qun sneered: "Why are you so stupid?"

Li Chengxiu blushed, bent over to pick up the key, and stared at the silver-
white metal in a daze.

Shao Qun sat down on the sofa and muttered to himself, "It was quickly
available, and the layout is pretty good."

Li Chengxiu looked at him, and the rims of his eyes gradually turned red.

As soon as Shao Qun saw his rabbit eyes he asked: "What's wrong?"

"Is it for real? Are you really letting me live here?"

Shao Qun smiled and said, "Yes, really."

"I……"

"Hey, you're not allowed to say no. You have to take whatever I give you!
Don’t you know how to show your gratitude?"

Li Chengxiu was holding the key in his hand and felt uneasy. What did Shao
Qun want in return for such an amazing favor? The problem was, that either
way he was not allowed to refuse. This kind of forced acceptance made him
feel embarrassed, and the guilt in his heart only increased.

Shao Qun stood up and took him by the hand: "Come here and I’l show
you."

He dragged Li Chengxiu through the whole place and finally reached the
bedroom.

There were not many things in there, except for a conspicuously large beige
bed.

Shao Qun suddenly jumped onto the bed, rolled around in it and let out a
long sigh of relief: "Damn, I'm so sleepy. The old geography teacher is so
boring. He always extends the class[35] because he talks too much."

Li Chengxiu stood in front of the bed and carefully examined the room.

Shao Qun supported his head and looked at him with curiosity. Involuntarily,
he smiled and waved Li Chengxiu towards himself: "Come here and lie
down. This bed is very comfortable."

Li Chengxiu swallowed, bent down and took off his shoes. He hesitated for a
long time, and then finally cautiously climbed onto the bed.

Shao Qun was too impatient to wait, so he pulled him closer with his arm.

When he fell onto the soft bedding, Li Chengxiu felt as if the fatigue of the
day had been relieved, so he unconsciously let out a comfortable sigh.

Shao Qun licked his lips, and then suddenly came closer and hugged Li
Chengxiu’s waist.
Li Chengxiu was startled, but did not dare to move. He just lay there stiffly
as he was hugged.

Shao Qun also seemed to be testing the waters. First, he just wrapped his
arms lightly around him, then he slowly tightened his grip, and then he
tightened it a little more. Seeing that there was no reaction from Li
Chengxiu, not even a breath, Shao Qun became more daring. As if he had
finally received permission, he wrapped himself around Li Chengxiu’s waist
as tightly as possible.

Li Chengxiu felt that all the blood in his body had rushed to his face. At a
complete loss, he just stared at the ceiling, not daring to react.

Shao Qun, on the other hand, gradually relaxed and became much less stiff.
Soon he had already presumptuously put half of his body weight on Li
Chengxiu and muttered: "I've been around you for a long time and I've
already gotten used to your smell. Did you take a shower yesterday?"

"……Um."

"Oh, that explains it... From now on you will take a shower here every day
and change your clothes too. Do you understand?"

Shao Qun felt good holding Li Chengxiu in his arms - he was just the right
size, so it made him comfortable.

Suddenly he was really sleepy, so he closed his eyes.

"I'll sleep for a while."

Li Chengxiu nodded awkwardly and tried to move away.

Shao Qun pinched his waist: "No moving."

Li Chengxiu's body stiffened - every minute and every second he spent like
this was very difficult for him.

It must be completely normal for two men to hug each other, so why was he
so nervous? His heart was beating so loudly, he was scared it was about to
jump out of his throat.

Fortunately, the "torture" didn't last long. A while after Shao Qun had closed
his eyes, his cell phone rang.

Shao Qun cursed impatiently, took his phone out from his trouser pocket and
put it to his ear: "I see. I’m coming down now."

He sat up on the bed: "The driver has come to pick me up. My dad is coming
home today... I gave you the key already. I can’t stay here today but I’l come
over tomorrow, okay?”

Li Chengxiu also sat up, moved back quietly and nodded.

Shao Qun glanced at him, suddenly hugged him fiercely as if unwilling to let
go and threw him on the bed again.

Li Chengxiu was startled, let out a low cry, and pushed him away: "Wha…
what are you doing?"

"What's wrong with a hug? Why are you so cautious?" Shao Qun asked self-
righteously.

Li Chengxiu didn’t have anything to say to that.

There was really nothing wrong with a hug. He often saw his male
classmates in school hugging each other on the shoulders. Sometimes Li
Chengxiu even blushed when he noticed the boys do that. This right now
was really just a hug... It was nothing unusual. He felt ashamed, when he
thought that he had just behaved like a woman.

Shao Qun gave him another tight hug before finally letting him go and
jumping out of the bed: "I'm leaving.

See you tomorrow." Then he ran out the door like a gust of wind.

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the empty room and unconsciously touched

his blushing face.
Neither of them remembered at the time that "tomorrow" was Saturday.

Li Chengxiu didn't stay in the apartment that night. Seeing that it was still
early, he went to the restaurant to work for a few hours. The next two days
he was busy - he had reading to do, he needed to study and also work to
make some more money. Occasionally, when he had some free time, he
would think about Shao Qun.

Shao Qun he knew now was completely different from the Shao Qun he had
met for the first time.

In Li Chengxiu’s opinion, although Shao Qun was arrogant and

domineering, had a bad temper, and cursed a lot, he was actually a good
person.

Even though he always forced Li Chengxiu to accept his kindness, in the end
it was kindness after all. He didn't know why he was worthy of Shao Qun
doing all of this for him. Maybe he pitied him? Even though pity is such a
cheap feeling, Li Chengxiu was still grateful and happy to know that there
was at least one person who was willing to waste this feeling on him.

Now, when he thought of Shao Qun, he felt warm in his heart. And when he
saw that heroic and handsome face in front of him, his ears felt hot. The
intimate hug he received from Shao Qun, although it was short-lived, was
still fresh in his memory - the warm chest, the strong heartbeat, the fresh and
clean breath seemed to be still surrounding him.

Shao Qun was so nice to him, that he couldn't help thinking how lucky he
was to know him and be friends with him.

Li Chengxiu didn’t know which high school they wil be admitted to in the
future. But wouldn’t it be great if they went to the same high school? But
even if they went to different schools, they would only have to be apart for
two years. Li Chengxiu's mind had drifted far, far away, as he was already
imagining how they would enter the same university, study there together
and work really hard for their ideals and their future.
Go, little rock star…

[1] “Xiao” = “small”, “little”, a term of endearment for someone of a lower

seniority/younger than you.

[2] Victoria Harbor is a natural landform harbor in Hong Kong separating

Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north (
source: wikipedia)

[3] Actually, the title Manager Zhang wants him to use is 总 (zǒng), which is
something like a “boss” or “chief”.

[4] Also 总 (zǒng) - possible translations “chief Shao” or “boss Shao”.

[5] It’s what it says in the original (自闭). However, I would presume that he is
not actually on the spectrum, rather the author wanted to say that he presents
with certain symptoms of social anxiety.

[6] “Three highs” (三高), meaning “high blood sugar”, “high blood lipids”, and
“high cholesterol”

[7] Preserve his dignity/ avoid humiliation.

[8] Shenzhen (深圳) is a city in Guangdong province (southeastern part of
China). It links Hong Kong to China’s mainland, it’s a port city, and it has
been cal ed China’s Silicon Valley (Tencent and Huawei started there).

[9] Older Brother Li

[10] Around 160 USD. Pretty shitty even for the 2010 Shenzhen renting
prices. Basically, he couldn’t afford anything decent, and the subsidy
probably covered less than 50% of what he had to pay (correct me, if I’m
wrong)

[11] 糖水(literal y “sugar water”) - collective term for any sweet, warm soup or
custard served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. Tong
sui shops are one of the “must-see” places when visiting Hong Kong.

[12] Again, it’s what it says in the original. Probably, it means that he
became more social y withdrawn.

[13] Putting A(阿) in front of somebody’s name is a term of endearment.

[14] Basically, everyone thought that the first character of his given name
was his last name, and the second character of his given name was his name.
Chinese full names usually consist of 2 or, more often, 3 characters.

[15] Industrial alcohol is distilled ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH), normally of high

proof, produced and sold for other than beverage purposes. It is imperative
not to confuse industrial alcohol with consumable alcohol! But people still
drink it.

My grand-uncle used to say that it was much cheaper and not that bad - he
died of liver failure.

[16] 86°F

[17] Could be that he is referring to the meaning of character “Xiu” (秀,

“beautiful”, “elegant”) in Li Chengxiu’s name.

[18] Around 2,40$. Bare monthly survival income would be around 380$.
This is just to illustrate that he really can’t afford to give up on those 2,40$.
[19] 350$

[20] It could get you a small meal, or 5 small bottles of coke, or 12 eggs, or
at least 7 bus tickets. I think you could even get a cheap T-Shirt for 15
yuan…

[21] To clarify: “illegal” here means that he was doing illicit work, namely
not paying any taxes.

[22] 5’6 ft

[23] In China children are only eligible for discounted bus tickets, if they are
not taller than 150 cm (around 5 ft).

[24] The use of national emblems on vehicles is restricted to

authorities/people in high places/rich assholes.

[25] Nike swoosh mark, I assume

[26] In the original these clothes are described as 不男不女的打扮 (could also be
translated as “unisex”). I’m making this note here because I’ve seen a couple
reviews/comments claiming that Shao Qun made Li Chengxiu put on
women’s clothes. That is not the case. I suspect he is just wearing some kind
of k-pop idol outfit (no hate to k-pop idols)

[27] The original meaning refers to a title given to young masters by slaves
when they are anxious. Nowadays it’s used when parents or other adults
complain and blame children for being naughty.

[28] Older brother.

[29] Li Wenxun’s older brother also appears in “You’re in Love with an Idiot
'' as a minor antagonist. Li Wenyao is kinda insane when it comes to his
brother.

[30] Muscle and joint massage oil in traditional Chinese medicine.

[31] Reference to a Chinese idiom “under the crotch humiliation” (胯下之辱)

which refers to the practice of having to crawl between somebody’s legs,
showing humility and subservience.

[32] Could be a dictionary, could be an encyclopedia, could even be an atlas.

We’ll never know.

[33] Means that someone is quiet, delicate, obedient, and pleasing to the eye.
Modern usage doesn’t imply any familial relations - rather it’s a joking
description of someone who is behaving very properly.(ex. “Hey, when did
you become such a little daughter-in-law? ”)

[34] Urban villages - are villages that appear on both the outskirts and the
downtown segments of major Chinese cities. They are a unique phenomenon
that formed part of China's urbanization efforts. Urban villages are
commonly inhabited by the poor and transient, and as such they are
associated with squalor, overcrowding and social problems.

( source: wikipedia)

[35] Basically, he continues to teach, even though the class is already over.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 11
When Li Chengxiu came to school early that morning, before he even
entered the school gate, Shao Qun suddenly jumped in front of him out of
nowhere, blocking his path and staring at him with burning anger in his
eyes.

Li Chengxiu was startled: "Wha… what's wrong?"

Shao Qun grabbed his arm and furiously said, "Why didn't you come to the
apartment that day?"

Li Chengxiu didn't understand: "Which day?"

"Saturday! On Friday after school, I clearly told you to come “tomorrow”!

Why didn't you come?"

"Ah... It was the weekend, and I didn't go to school..."

"Even if there’s no school, if I tell you to come to the apartment, you have
to show up. I waited for you the entire Saturday! Damn, I have no idea how
to find you, you don't even have a mobile phone... What do you need your
ears for if you can’t understand the human language properly?"

Subconsciously Li Chengxiu took a step back, fearful of Shao Qun’s

temper. At the same time he felt very guilty about the missed appointment.
He had assumed that the "tomorrow" that Shao Qun was referring to was
obviously Monday. But now that he thought that Shao Qun had waited for
him for an entire day, he couldn't help but feel warm inside his heart. The
feeling of being valued was nice.

Li Chengxiu shrank his shoulders, timidly looked at Shao Qun with his
bright eyes and sincerely apologized to him: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Shao Qun was still boiling with anger, but seeing this expression of a
frightened little animal in front of him, he couldn’t let it out.
It was only after he came back home that day that he realized that the next
day was Saturday, and they didn’t have school. But after struggling with it
for the whole night, he decided to go to the apartment the next day and wait
for Li Chengxiu to show up. He thought he had made it clear that Li
Chengxiu had to come to the apartment “tomorrow”. He could come, even
if it was the weekend. And since Shao Qun had thought of it like that, why
couldn’t Li Chengxiu have made the same conclusion?

But unexpectedly, Li Chengxiu didn’t show up. Shao Qun waited for him
like an idiot in that small dilapidated apartment until the sun went down. He
was so angry he wanted to smash every single thing inside.

If he knew where Li Chengxiu lived, he would have definitely gone to his

house and killed him without another word.

He took something out of his pocket and stuffed it into Li Chengxiu's hand:
“Take it. Carry it with you in the future at any time. So I can find you at any
time I want.”' His tone was unassailable, and he repeatedly emphasized the
words "any time."

Li Chengxiu looked down and saw that he was holding a heavy little black
box with rows of number keys on it.

In the 1990s, mobile phones were still a novelty. Although they were thick
and heavy like bricks, they still cost a lot of money, and regular people
couldn’t afford them at all. Li Chengxiu was too scared to even touch it, so
he quickly pushed the phone back to Shao Qun: "This is too expensive. I
don't want it."

Shao Qun shoved the phone into Li Chengxiu’s pocket: "If I ask you to take
it, you take it. It doesn't cost me any money. My dad has received a dozen
of those. My family can't use all of them."

"But...I… I don't know how to use it."

"It's very simple. Anyway, go to class first and during lunch break we’l go
to the apartment, and I’l teach you."
"I don't need it."

Shao Qun glared at him: "Who told you that you don't need it? Do you want
me to wait for you again in the future? Let me tell you something, young
master! I haven't waited for anyone for such a long time in my life.

In order to avoid that kind of thing from happening again, you must take the
phone."

"But……"

"Stop talking nonsense! Go to class quickly. I'll find you after school."

Li Chengxiu first put the mobile phone in his school bag, thinking how to
ensure its safety. Finally, he wrapped it in a handkerchief and stuffed it into
one of the pockets. But then he thought about it for a while and realized that
this wasn’t such a good idea. Last time he took out his handkerchief, Shao
Qun laughed at him, saying that only girls would use that kind of thing. In
the end, he had no other choice but to cover the phone in some scraps of
paper and hide it between his pile of books.

He thought that if he lost that kind of expensive thing, he wouldn’t be able

to pay for it, even if he sold himself. Besides, the school rules didn’t permit
bringing mobile phones and pagers. It didn’t matter to Shao Qun and his
shameless gang, of course. But if Li Chengxiu was caught, he didn’t know
what he would do.

He kept his school bag on his lap for the whole morning, never letting it out
of his sight. He was nervous, and he looked forward to the end of classes.

Shao Qun really came to pick him up after class, but to his disappointment,
he was not alone. His three friends were right behind him.

Shao Qun pointed at them: "They want to look at the apartment."

Li Chengxiu nodded with an "oh" but felt uncomfortable. He regarded the

apartment to be a secret place for him and Shao Qun, just like the rooftop.
He only wanted to share it with Shao Qun and nobody else. But he didn't
have the right to say "no".

Li Wenxun and Shao Qun walked together, with their arms on each other’s
shoulders.

Li Chengxiu walked behind them with his school bag on his back.

After entering the house, Big Li immediately complained: "Couldn’t you

have rented a bigger place?" He then slumped onto the sofa and groaned
comfortably.

Li Wenxun winked and smiled: “You have no idea what you’re talking
about! This place is a so called

“golden cage”[1], so it can’t be too big.”

Shao Qun cursed: "Fuck you guys, you can now entertain yourselves." Then
he went over to Li Chengxiu, whose face was flushed, and dragged him
towards the bedroom: "Come here, I'll teach you to use your mobile phone."

Big Li and Li Wenxun booed: “Hey, hey, why are you entering the bridal
chamber so soon? Don’t be so shameless!"

Li Chengxiu looked back at them awkwardly, and then looked at Shao Qun
with embarrassment.

"Never mind them, they suck! Just ignore them," Shao Qun kicked the door
as he spoke, and the voices outside the bedroom became even louder.

Shao Qun dragged him onto the bed. The two of them were lying very close
to each other, almost head to head, as their eyes were focused on the small
black box in question.

"Look, it's very simple. In fact, you only need to use two functions - making
calls and sending text messages."

Shao Qun fiddled with the buttons: "If you press this green button, you will
be able to call the last number that was dialed on this phone, which in this
case is mine. You actually only need to have my number. In order to call
me, you just press this green button twice. Remember this key."

Li Chengxiu nodded seriously.

"The next step is sending text messages. For that you need to click here, and
then type... as long as you know pinyin[2], it won’t be an issue." Shao Qun
demonstrated how to type the message by entering "Shao Qun is the most
handsome in the whole world" on the small green screen. These words
made Li Chengxiu laugh.

After a while, Shao Qun's cell phone rang, and he demonstrated the
message he received to Li Chengxiu:

"Here is a text message that you sent me."

Li Chengxiu looked at the screen, and saw that the sender was saved in
Shao Qun’s phone under "Xiu"[3].

For some reason, his face became very hot. He lowered his head slightly to
hide his face behind his long bangs and muttered, "It was clearly written by
you."

"Well then, now you write something and send it to me." Shao Qun handed
him the phone, "Go on."

Li Chengxiu held the phone in his trembling hands but even after thinking
for a long time, he didn't know what to write.

"You won't or you can’t? Are you stupid?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at him shyly: "I can do it, it's pretty simple." After that
he slowly pressed the keys with his thin white fingertips until the words
"Shao Qun" appeared on the screen.

Shao Qun suddenly felt that he was short of breath, and at the same time he
didn't even dare to breathe.
He was unconsciously really excited to see what Li Chengxiu would write
to him.

But Li Chengxiu suddenly turned the phone away from him and smiled at
Shao Qun, showing his little white teeth: "I'll send it over, and then you can
look."

That slightly shy smile was youthful and beautiful, which made Li
Chengxiu's already pleasant facial features even more soft and amiable.
Shao Qun felt his heart beating like a drum.

While he was still in a daze, his phone rang. He hurriedly picked it up and
took a look. The message was just one short line: "Shao Qun is a bad guy".
He saw Li Chengxiu looking at him with a smile.

"Bastard, you dare call me names?" Shao Qun squinted his eyes, faking
anger. He got up, threw himself onto Li Chengxiu and began to tickle him.

"Ahaha, ha, don't! Stop making trouble, haha, it’s uncomfortable! Stop,
Shao Qun..."

Shao Qun pressed his thin body under him, not so much tickling him
anymore, but rather patting him down.

Li Chengxiu was already out of breath.

Shao Qun was also tired of playing, but he couldn't get down yet. He
pretended to be furious and said,

"Who are you calling a bad guy, huh? Say that I’m a good person! Am I not
good to you?"

Li Chengxiu who had to beg for mercy again and again, finally gave up and
quickly said, "Good, good person."

"Am I nice to you?"

"Yes……"
Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s blushing little face, which was so soft
and tender, that it seemed one could squeeze water out of it. He couldn't
help but pinch it. Then he turned over, satisfied, and threw the phone at Li
Chengxiu: " Send another message."

Under Shao Qun’s supervision, Li Chengxiu sent him a lot of nice words.
The two of them played with their mobile phones for more than half an
hour and had a lot of fun.

When they were tired from playing, and the noon fatigue gradual y hit
them, they realized that they hadn’t even eaten yet.

Only then did Shao Qun remember that his friends were still outside. He
decided to go out and discuss what to eat for lunch with them.

Before, both of them had completely ignored anything that happened

outside the bedroom but now that they were paying attention, certain
sounds suddenly became audible. Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu were stunned
for a moment. They heard a strange moaning sound, and it seemed to be
coming from the TV.

Shao Qun reacted at once - his face changed slightly, he pouted, and a trace
of embarrassment appeared on his face.

Li Chengxiu stared at him suspiciously: "They’re just watching TV?"

Shao Qun glanced back at him, and suddenly got into a teasing mood. He
dragged Li Chengxiu out of bed:

"Come here, I’l show you something fun."

"What do you mean?"

Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu out of the room against his will. As soon as
the two of them entered the living room, Li Chengxiu saw two white naked
bodies entangled on the TV screen. He screamed in fright.

The three boys in the living room were startled by Li Chengxiu's voice.
Big Li glared at him: "Fuck, you scared me to death! It felt as if my mother
just walked in." He then continued to stare at the screen, "Damn, it's
amazing! This woman's butt is really big."

Li Chengxiu blushed like a cooked shrimp and quickly turned away. His
lips were trembling, and he looked at Shao Qun in panic.

Shao Qun grinned and forcibly pulled him onto the sofa: "What are you
afraid of? How could a man not want to watch this?"

Li Wenxun stared at the screen while stuffing peanuts into his mouth:
"That's right. It wasn’t easy to get my hands on it. I stole it from my brother.
So it's a rare opportunity. If you don't watch it today, you won't be able to
watch it ever again."

Shao Qun watched the wonderful scenes on TV with interest, exclaiming

“wow” once in a while. "A-wen, you’re real y capable. The last one we
borrowed was censored. But this one doesn’t have any of those black bars.
This is too good, why didn’t you call me when you decided to watch it?”

"Call you? You and your little daughter-in-law were having some kind of
heated fight over there. How dare I disturb you?"

"Fuck you." Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu's hand and pulled it away from
his face. "Why are you covering your face? What are you afraid of? This
TV won’t eat you."

Li Chengxiu was so frightened that he cried: "This… this is porn. We can't

watch it..." He couldn't understand why they were watching such disgusting
things, while still in junior high school. If somebody found out, he real y
didn’t know what would happen to them. Shao Qun’s image of a “good
person” that Li Chengxiu had promoted him to recently was now suddenly
a little shaken.

Big Li gave him a disdainful look: "Idiot, you can watch whatever you
want, if you’re not scared. If you don’t tell and I don’t tell, who would ever
find out? Maybe rather take a good look and learn something. Or if you
ever have a girlfriend in the future, you won’t be able to do it."
Li Wenxun sneered: "Big Li, you’re thinking about girls too much.
Considering that they don’t even produce condoms in your size yet, once
you learn how to “do it”, you’l just change your fucking left hand to your
right.”

Big Li was so angry that he shouted “ahhhh", jumped at Li Wenxun and

started fighting with him.

Shao Qun didn’t pay any attention to those two. His eyes never left the
screen.

He had seen this kind of pornographic movies two or three times before,
and although the scenes would make him a little dizzy every time, but now
it was somehow different. When he saw the snow-white skin

and the thin waist of the Japanese woman on TV, he unconsciously thought
of Li Chengxiu, who was shrinking into a ball right next to him.

When compared to the woman on TV, Li Chengxiu's skin was whiter, his
waist was thinner, his legs were much longer, and his face was more
delicate. If it was him right now who was spreading his legs, blushing all
over his body and moaning with his eyes closed...

Shao Qun suddenly stood up, startling the guys around him.

When Li Chengxiu looked up at him in surprise, he happened to see Shao

Qun looking down at him disdainfully. From this angle, his straight nose
bridge looked as sharp as a knife, and his eyes were unbelievably fierce. Li
Chengxiu had no idea how he had provoked him.

Shao Qun turned his head and walked towards the door: "I'll go downstairs
to buy something to eat." He then slammed the door behind him and leaned
against the wall in the corridor, gasping for breath.

He was not normal, he was really not normal. What the hell was going on?

He looked at the small tent that appeared in his crotch area, and a feeling of
shame and fear filled his chest.
Why was he thinking of Li Chengxiu while watching porn? How could he
think of him? He is a man. A man!

Shao Qun stil didn’t want to admit that he got hard because of Li Chengxiu.
He justified himself by thinking that this was just a normal male reaction
when watching such a movie He original y dragged Li Chengxiu to watch
porn in order to tease him. Now, he wasn’t sure which one of them actually
ended up teased.

Resisting the desire to reach inside his pants and touch himself, he leaned
against the wall with his eyes closed. He waited until his hard-on
disappeared and then dejectedly went downstairs to buy food.

While eating, nobody bothered with the movie anymore. The novelty had
faded, everyone was tired of the repeating aesthetics, not to mention the
general fatigue had settled in.

The uninvited guests had a playful conversation, while both Shao Qun and
Li Chengxiu had a lot on their minds and seemed very silent.

After the meal, the boys leaned against the sofa to rest, smacking their lips
joyfully.

Shao Qun looked at his watch. There was still more than an hour left before
school was back in session. As he eyed the messy smokey room, he
suddenly felt really annoyed.

He shouldn’t have allowed the guys to come over here. This place should
have just been his and Li Chengxiu's. He had originally planned to nap next
to Li Chengxiu during the break, but now it was all ruined for them.

Irritated and angry, he got up and kicked Li Wenxun, who was sitting
closest to him.

Li Wenxun cursed at him but didn’t pay him any mind and continued
chatting with Big Li about the movie they had just watched, using a lot of
foul language, which made Li Chengxiu pray for a hole to burrow into.
Shao Qun pul ed at Li Chengxiu’s arm: "Let's go back to the rooftop for a
while. The guys are so noisy, and I can't sleep."

Li Chengxiu frowned, looked at the smoke in the room and nodded.

The two of them left the apartment ahead of schedule and ran to the same
rooftop where Li Chengxiu usually spent his lunch breaks.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 12
They sat side by side, while the midday sun was still shining so brightly it
made one dizzy. Especially now that both of them were not only feeling hot
on the outside, but their hearts were also beating so fast, making them burn
from the inside out.

Li Chengxiu suddenly turned around and asked in a low voice, "Do you have
a girlfriend too?"

This question was thoughtless. In terms of grammar it was a little

ambiguous, so it wasn’t real y clear how to answer it. But Shao Qun felt that
he understood what Li Chengxiu meant.

He shrugged lightly. For some reason he wanted to avoid the key issue, so he
replied with a simple: ”There is currently no girl that I like, anyway.”

Li Chengxiu said "oh" and looked down on the ground.

Shao Qun suddenly bumped into his shoulder.Li Chengxiu looked up and
met his slightly playful eyes.

"Hey, did you think that woman right now looked pretty?"

Li Chengxiu's face turned red.

Shao Qun pinched him: "Why do you blush so easily? You blush whenever I
say anything. Your skin is thinner than a dumpling wrapper."

Li Chengxiu said: "Watching…watching that kind of thing is not good."

"Which guy our age hasn't watched it? Do you live under a rock?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips, not knowing how to react.

"So do you think she was attractive?"

Li Chengxiu felt dizzy when he recal ed the obscene images on TV. He
didn’t dare to look at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun suddenly put his hand on his thigh, and asked with some
hesitation, "Right here. Did you feel anything here?"

Li Chengxiu's brain was buzzing. He immediately pushed Shao Qun’s hand

and moved his body away in panic.

Stunned, Shao Qun stared at his hand. Then he immediately became angry:
"What is this pretend-modesty? If you didn’t react, then you’re a eunuch!"

Aggrieved, Li Chengxiu said: "I'm not a eunuch."

Shao Qun reached out to him, "Come here!"

Li Chengxiu glanced at him hesitantly, but still moved closer.

Shao Qun stuck his chin out and continued messing with Li Chengxiu:
"Even if you are not a eunuch, then you’re too much of a sissy to even watch
porn!."

Li Chengxiu felt so anxious that even the tip of his nose became red. Being
called a sissy hurt him the most. He hadn’t even had enough time yet to learn
how to behave like a man but he was already labeled with this shameful
word.

He had spent so much time around Shao Qun that he had forgotten how
much he looked down on him, so Li Chengxiu didn’t bother to conceal his
innermost self in front of him anymore and had revealed his most
embarrassing sides. Now, this made Li Chengxiu feel ashamed and angry:
"Don’t… don't say that to me."

Shao Qun shook his head and pretended to be casual, "Am I wrong? Are you
even a man? You’re more beautiful than that woman on TV!"

As soon as these words came out, both of them were stunned.

Shao Qun's head was buzzing with chaotic thoughts, and he didn’t know
how to sort them all out. Was it him or Li Chengxiu who was supposed to be
ashamed right now?

Li Chengxiu was both angry and sad. His face blushed, as he fiercely stared
at Shao Qun and shouted on top of his lungs: “You bastard! You…you…
Bastard!”

Shao Qun quickly withdrew his hand, looking at Li Chengxiu's red angry
eyes, and felt a little regretful. He touched his soft hair and smoothed it out
for him: "Okay, okay. I'm just talking out of my ass. You don't have to be so
mad."

Li Chengxiu tried to avoid his hand by turning away from him. He sulked,
his lips tightly pressed together.

Shao Qun continued petting his hair, as he softly said, "Don't be angry. I
didn’t mean anything bad by it. I just said it as it is - you’re indeed prettier
than that woman."

Li Chengxiu turned around to give Shao Qun a vicious look.

Shao Qun looked at his pitiful appearance with his small nose and small eyes
and couldn't help laughing.

He pinched his smooth and silky face, as he sneered: "Just look at you!
You’re pouting so much, one could hang two pounds of pork on your lips!”

Li Chengxiu slapped Shao Qun’s fingers away while staring at him.

Shao Qun grabbed his hand in response and looked deeply into his bright
and clear eyes.

Li Chengxiu suddenly held his breath. He quietly looked right back at him.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time - they didn't even dare
to breathe, as if even a little sound could ruin this delicate atmosphere.
It was really hot outside. So hot in fact that both of them were really dizzy.
Many years later, when they recalled this moment, they were still not quite
certain who made the first move.

When the two pairs of trembling lips finally came together, both of them
were instantly overwhelmed by this forbidden sweetness that left their minds
completely blank.

The soft, warm touch was really beautiful, intoxicating, and unforgettable.
Neither of them dared to make any rash moves, for fear that it was just an
illusion that would shatter the moment it was touched. Gently and
cautiously, with their eyes closed, they were absorbing each other’s warmth
through this small connection point.

Both of them were focused on that feeling of being intoxicated just by this
light touch, by this kind of satisfactory sweetness. At that moment, they
didn’t realize that they would eventually have to wake up from that sweet
but fleeting dream.

The door to the rooftop flew open but the two boys were too distracted to
notice it. None of them heard anything until loud cursing tore them out of
their little world.

They turned around and saw the three boys - Li Wenxun was standing in the
door in total confusion, the cigarettes in Big Li's hands fell to the ground, as
he looked at the scene in front of him with a startled expression.

Shao Qun felt his blood rushing in his ears, as he quickly pushed Li
Chengxiu away and jumped up from the ground.

Li Chengxiu stabilized his body with his elbows and looked up. He would
never forget the expression on Shao Qun's face at that time.

It was like he had just woken up from a dream and was looking at an enemy.

"Fuck... this…what are you doing… what the fuck..." The three boys were
shocked and incoherent.
Shao Qun's face was pale, and his legs were weak, barely holding him up.
When he realized what he had just done, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Li Wenxun stepped forward and fiercely grabbed his arm: "What the fuck is
wrong with you? Shao Qun, what the hell are you doing?"

Shao Qun turned around to look at Li Chengxiu, who also looked whiter
than a sheet of paper. At that moment, he felt that Li Chengxiu’s usual weak
appearance was no longer pitiful but rather dazzling: "I… I don't know, I… I
am not…not gay...I'm not."

Xiao Sheng, who rarely even said anything, suddenly rushed over, picked Li
Chengxiu up by his collar and slammed him against the wall, saying coldly:
"Of course you are not. This sissy is, though. Admit it, did you seduce Shao
Qun??"

Seduce……

Li Chnegxiu’s simple mind couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of that word.

Big Li cursed: "It’s exactly as I told you before - this sissy really is gay! It's
fucking disgusting! A-wen, you were right! People like him are only
thinking about hooking up with men all day long. Shao Qun was just being
nice to him, and he used this opportunity...Damn, I'll fucking kill him today."
Big Li ran up to him and kicked Li Chengxiu to the ground.

Xiao Sheng also gave him a slap: "Bah, what's the difference between hitting
him and hitting a woman? But we can't go easy on this sissy."

Li Chengxiu covered his burning cheeks and looked at Shao Qun with his
clear eyes without blinking. Shao Qun guiltily turned away.

Li Wenxun kicked Li Chengxiu’s shoulder and scolded him: "You damn

sissy, you stinky shemale! Give you an inch, and you take a mile! How dare
you seduce my bro? How shameless are you?"

Big Li echoed his sentiment: "This creature is just too disgusting! He may
look like a man but do you think he actually has a dick?"
Li Wenxun smiled maliciously: "How can we be sure without checking?"

Li Chengxiu looked at them in horror: "You..."

Big Li leaped towards him and started taking off his pants.

Li Chengxiu screamed in fright, pressing himself into the wall. He couldn't

help calling out: "Shao Qun, Shao..."

Xiao Sheng frowned and slapped him on the mouth before he could say
another word. "Don't call him by his name again! Shao Qun is different from
you, and you don't deserve to say his name." he warned.

Shao Qun looked conflicted. His eyes were red, and he seemed to be frozen
in place, as he just stared at Li Chengxiu.

Seeing Shao Qun's indifference, Li Chengxiu's heart instantly dropped, and

he started crying. He shrunk helplessly in the corner, looking at the four boys
in front of him in shock and fear. All of them were taller and stronger than
him. They all looked at him with expressions of disgust and hatred, as if they
wished they could swallow him alive.

He didn’t understand what he did wrong. Everything was fine just moments
ago - why did all of this happen in a blink of an eye?

He didn’t seduce Shao Qun. What did that even mean?

He wasn’t gay. He didn’t know what these boys were talking about.

Shao Qun final y pul ed Big Li and Xiao Sheng away from Li Chengxiu and
whispered: "Let's go. It’s enough. Let's just go."

Li Wenxun gave Shao Qun a complicated look, put his clothes back in order
and straightened out.

Shao Qun lowered his head and moved towards the door without turning
around. He didn’t dare to look at Li Chengxiu, as he desperately tried to
ignore his shrill cries.
Big Li spat at Li Chengxiu, gave him a contemptuous look and turned to
follow Shao Qun.

Xiao Sheng pointed at the tip of Li Chengxiu's nose and warned him, "If you
dare tell anybody about what happened today, or if you dare implicate Shao
Qun in any way, you will be in serious shit."

Li Chengxiu trembled all over, tears streaming down his face, as he watched
the boys leave. Finally, he hesitantly whispered: "I didn't seduce him. I'm not
gay."

Shao Qun couldn’t endure it any longer - he turned around and glanced at Li
Chengxiu’s tear-stained face.

His heart suddenly tightened, and he almost fled away from this small
rooftop, leaving many of his memories behind.

After their figures disappeared into the stairwell, Li Chengxiu cried for a
while holding his head.

Punches and kicks that the boys had delivered to Li Chengxiu didn’t seem to
bring them any relief.

Since that day, Shao Qun had been absent from school, and he refused to
appear in front of anybody.

Li Wenxun and Big Li were not happy about it, so they instructed Li
Chengxiu's classmates to make things difficult for him. Li Chengxiu’s school
life became an absolute hel .

His desk, textbooks, and workbooks were covered in insults. During class,
someone openly threw chalk at him, while the teacher was completely
indifferent.

Ugly rumors quickly spread throughout the campus. He was no longer just a
weak sissy but rather a shameless, disgusting, and scary homosexual.
Although at the time, very few people actually understood what
homosexuality even meant, it was still enough of a reason to bully Li
Chengxiu. Going to school every day became a torture for him. Even if he
kept next to the wall and avoided everyone, he would still often be
humiliated for no reason. This made it actually impossible to study
productively.

Just three or four days seemed like a year.

One afternoon, after classes were over, he received a note from his
classmate.

He opened it and saw a message written in Shao Qun’s handwriting, asking

him to come meet him at the teaching building after school that day.

Li Chengxiu gritted his teeth and crumpled the note, hesitating in his heart.

He didn’t know when exactly he started to rely on Shao Qun so much that he
actually hoped for him to show up and save him. But Shao Qun's
indifference that day real y chil ed his heart. He wasn’t sure whether he
should meet Shao Qun or not.

After thinking about it, he stayed in the classroom, watching the sky slowly
turn dark.

It was a secret hope that forced him to stay. Sitting in a dark and empty
classroom, he fantasized that Shao Qun would give him an explanation or
even a little comfort.

He had been so exhausted the past few days that he fell asleep on his desk
while waiting for Shao Qun to show up. When he woke up from the cold and
looked out the window, it was already dark outside.

The empty classroom with swaying ceiling fans and gloomy blackboards
seemed so terrifying in the dark.

Li Chengxiu shuddered. He wanted to turn on the lights and look at the clock
that was hanging on the wall.

However, after school was out, the power to the entire teaching building had
been cut. It was pitch dark and deadly quiet. Only the dim moonlight entered
through the windows.
Li Chengxiu opened the classroom door in a hurry. He looked at the empty
corridor. It was an endless path of darkness that extended into nowhere. His
legs felt weak, and he could only manage to walk towards the stairs while
heavily leaning against the wall.

There was no moonlight in the stairwell, so it was even darker than the
classroom. Li Chengxiu could only take blind steps, while holding onto the
handrail.

Usually it took him less than a minute to leave the small four-story building
but right now, it seemed to be the longest road he ever had to walk in his life.

He felt trapped in the darkness with four white walls surrounding him. It
seemed there was an unknown beast hidden in the dark that was about to
swal ow him at any moment. He didn’t know what was behind him and what
was in front of him. His hand fumbled around with the handrail, not sure
what he’l touch the next second. His imagination ran wild, and he managed
to scare himself silly.

Li Chengxiu knew that he had been tricked. He was angry, hateful, and sad
in his heart. Now that he was completely alone in a huge teaching building,
all his feelings of helplessness, fear, and grief were infinitely magnified.
When he finally reached the first floor, his legs were shaking, his eyes felt
blurred, and he was sweating profusely.

The exit on the first floor was indeed already locked, but fortunately it was
an iron gate, not a solid door. Li Chengxiu grabbed the bars and shouted
loudly, sticking his face into the gap: "Is anybody here? Anyone at all?"

His loud shouts echoed eerily in the empty campus, which made Li
Chengxiu even more afraid.

After a full ten minutes of shouting, a ray of light finally appeared from the
direction of the school gate. A man with a flashlight was trotting over
towards him.

Li Chengxiu cried, "Campus police shūshu[4], hurry up and let me out of

here!"
The campus policeman shouted at him from a distance, "Student, did
something happen? Why are you still here? Why didn’t you go home after
school?"

Li Chengxiu didn't know how to explain his situation, so he just waited

quietly for the man to come over and open the door for him.

The campus policeman shone a flashlight in Li Chengxiu’s face and smiled

strangely: "Oh, it's you."

Could be that because the word "homosexual" was so new and unheard of in
this closed social environment, it was all everyone could talk about at that
time. Thus, Li Chengxiu was a well-known topic of conversation in school.

Li Chengxiu felt ashamed. He wiped his tears and whispered, "Thank you,
campus police shūshu."

The man raised his hand and looked at his watch: "It's past ten pm. What are
you doing here so late?"

"It's already past ten o'clock?" Li Chengxiu choked, "I… I fell asleep."

Of course, the man didn't believe him. After giving it some thought, he had
an idea what had happened. He turned around, opened the gate and asked,
"How are you going to get home?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned: "I don't know… There are no more buses at this
time."
The campus policeman shook his head: "That’s right. Where do you live?"

Li Chengxiu answered, and the man’s eyes widened in shock, "That far? If
you walk, you’d only be home at dawn."

Li Chengxiu sniffed and nodded, feeling sad and wanting to cry again.

The policeman waved his hand: "Forget it! I'l be a good person and take you
back on a bicycle. That’l be faster, eh?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head gratefully: "Real y… real y? Thank you,

campus police shūshu!"

The campus policeman looked at Li Chengxiu’s fair little face and raised the
corners of his mouth in a crooked smile.

I will not be sober while translating the next chapter, k?

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 13
Content warning: violence against a minor, suicidal ideation

"Hey, hold on to my waist!" The campus policeman turned his head to Li

Chengxiu while pedaling the bike.

"Ah?" Li Chengxiu was taken aback.

"I asked you to hold on to my waist. I’m a little tipsy right now, so the bike
might be a bit unstable. You don’t want to fall down, right?"

Li Chengxiu hesitated, and his hand that was holding onto the bicycle frame
before grabbed the man’s clothes.

"It’s fine," the campus policeman said with emphasis, "Hold on tighter. I
don't mind if you get closer."

As Li Chengxiu moved towards the man, he could smell the alcohol on him,
mixed with the stench of sweat.

It was really pungent. Li Chengxiu frowned but obediently put his arms
around his waist.

The policeman let out a laugh, and suddenly patted the back of Li
Chengxiu’s hand: "Good, now I won’t have to worry that you’l fall. Such a
good boy."

Li Chengxiu shivered, feeling a little weird.

On the way the man tried to find something to talk about, while Li Chengxiu
just nodded without saying a word.

After riding for half an hour, the policeman exclaimed that he was too tired,
and they got off the bike to walk for a bit. As they were walking into the old
part of town in the middle of the night, less and less people passed them by.
The street lights were very dim, so one couldn’t see anything farther than ten
meters. The atmosphere was eerie and daunting.

The policeman put his hand on Li Chengxiu's shoulder, lowered his head
towards him and told him all about his experiences working on campus. As
his face was getting closer, so was his body.

Li Chengxiu felt more and more uneasy. He didn't know if he was just
thinking too much into it but it seemed that the school policeman’s attitude
towards him was a little strange. Also, he smelled of alcohol, so Li Chengxiu
real y didn’t want to get any closer to him.

Just as he was contemplating all of this, the man’s hand suddenly slipped
from his shoulder down to his waist and gave him a light hug.

Li Chengxiu was startled and wanted to jump away.

But the man didn't let go. He moved even closer to him and smiled:"They
say, you’re a homosexual. Is that true? Don’t worry, you can tell me. I won’t
tell anybody else."

Li Chengxiu's face was pale. He fiercely pushed the man away: "Wha…
what are you doing?"

The school policeman suddenly let go of the bike and grabbed Li Chengxiu
with both of his arms. With a hint of ferocity on his face he said: "I'm being
so kind as to take you home at night, and you're not even willing to chat with
me? Can't you talk to me?" With these words his hand slipped onto Li
Chengxiu's buttocks and rubbed over them a few times. "Actually, men like
you are a rarity..." he smiled lewdly.

Li Chengxiu let out a scream. He could have never imagined that he would
run into such a depraved situation.

He struggled desperately in the arms of the school policeman, shouting,

"Help!"

Seeing that the lights of several nearby houses were still on, the man got
anxious, raised his hand and slapped Li Chengxiu with all his force.
Li Chengxiu’s ears started tingling, and then all he could hear was a non-stop
beeping sound. But he had no time to care about this. While crying "Help"
on top of his lungs, Li Chengxiu tried his best to beat and kick the man
anywhere he could reach him.

In all this chaos, curses and punches rained down on him. Li Chengxiu
endured the pain, as he tried to crawl away.

After a short time, the beating finally stopped. Finally, he heard the sound of
hurried footsteps and a bicycle speeding away.

Li Chengxiu hugged his head and curled up into a ball, as he lay on the cold
and wet ground, like a corpse, without moving for a long time.

In the silence of the night, his shrill cries were particularly miserable. His
crying got louder and louder, until it abruptly stopped and turned into choked
sobbing. His tears gathered into a small pool under his head.

The uncomfortable feeling of moisture was filled with sorrow, as it

penetrated through his dream.

End of Flashback

Li Chengxiu woke up from his nightmare still crying. He felt that his face
was wet, and the pillow towel under his head was soaked through, making it
extremely uncomfortable to lie on.

Li Chengxiu wiped his tears and realized that he hadn’t even turned off the
lights, before he accidentally fell asleep. He dreamed a lot about the events
of the past that he didn't want to recall anymore.

After finally regaining his senses, Li Chengxiu staggered up from the bed
and went to pour himself a glass of water.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been crying but his throat was real y dry.

He first turned off the lights, changed his clothes and stared at the moon
outside in a daze, while holding his water glass.
Back then he was fourteen, and that night was probably the longest night of
his life.

Crying the whole way, he walked home for more than two hours. When he
was finally back, he found his mother foaming at the mouth, as she lay
unconscious on the ground.

With the help from a neighbor he took her to the hospital. The doctors fought
for her life the whole night. Li Chengxiu waited in the hospital, unable to
sleep. The next day, the doctor told him that his mother had been completely
paralyzed due to a stroke caused by excessive drinking.

He sat in the hospital for a long time, crying as he held onto his mother’s test
results. He cried so much that he ended up fainting. Li Chengxiu
remembered that in the past, no matter how difficult things got for him, he
always knew deep in his heart that the Heavens would reward him in the
future, if he gained independence, improved himself and worked really hard.
But at that moment, he was thinking about the 843 RMB that he had left in
savings, the looks of his classmates that treated him like he was a rodent or a
parasyte, the awful laughter of the school policeman… and all he wanted to
do was to die.

He was too young at the time, so he couldn't figure out why his life was so
difficult. He didn’t understand why nobody liked him, even though he never
hurt others or did anything bad to them. Most of all, he didn’t understand
why his life was the way it was.

There were too many things he didn’t understand back then… And the harsh
reality didn’t give him any time to ponder on it.

When he came back to his senses, within a week he sold his family's old
house at a low price to be able to take care of his sick mother. His right ear
ended up badly damaged by the beating he got from the school policeman
but it was the last thing on his mind.

From that day on, he never returned to school.

His mother had become a complete waste. She spent her days in a perpetual
state of confusion - she didn’t even recognize anyone anymore and couldn’t
take care of herself at all. Li Chengxiu ended up going back to his hometown
and borrowing a lot of money from his relatives and neighbors.

Li Chengxiu still remembered those hardest days of his life when he worked
three jobs and was constantly burdened by the high hospital bills.

But even living like that, after one year, he could no longer afford to keep his
mother in the hospital. The relatives in his hometown would immediately
slam the door in his face when they saw him. He was running around 24
hours a day, but the pay he got for one day of work couldn’t cover one day
of hospital stay for his mother.

There was no other way but to bring his mother to the house he had rented
and take care of her himself.

Not long after that, his mother passed away.

He was left penniless and alone - with nothing left but despair.

At that time, there was a chef in the restaurant he was working at who was
very kind to him.The man took pity on Li Chengxiu and gave him some
money to be able to start an apprenticeship in the chef school.

After a few years, the chef introduced him to a work opportunity in

Shenzhen. He had been living in the city ever since.

Li Chengxiu really hadn't been thinking about the past for many years. If it
wasn't for Shao Qun's reappearance, he would have been able to completely
push it out of his mind.

It was hard to say whether what happened to him was a blessing or a curse.
Li Chengxiu was quite content with his current life - he had almost paid off
his debt to his relatives, and things were generally going well.

But when Shao Qun appeared in his life again, he instinctively felt uneasy.
He had once been bitten by that snake, and he was afraid that that person
was about to make another big wave in his life. However, just like in the
past, Shao Qun didn’t give him an opportunity to resist.
Li Chengxiu was still holding his water cup in a daze. Outside the window
there was only a mottled wall of the opposite building. There was nothing
exciting about it, yet Li Chengxiu couldn’t take his eyes off it.

When he returned home today, he was physically and mentally exhausted.

But now, he couldn’t sleep.

Saturday came quickly. Li Chengxiu thought about it for a while, but still
decided to go to work, in spite of Shao Qun’s request.

He felt that he shouldn't let Shao Qun boss him around. Besides, he hadn’t
actually promised him to ask for a leave that day.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the work day, Shao Qun appeared in the hotel
yet again. It's just that this time he didn't look for Li Chengxiu but went
directly to his manager.

When Li Chengxiu entered the office, he saw President Chen and Shao Qun
having a lively chat with each other, while Manager Zhang was standing on
the side with a flattering smile on his face.

As soon as Li Chengxiu walked through the door, Manager Zhang quickly

and affectionately pulled him over: "Oh, Chef Li, you are here! Mr. Shao
came over especially for you."

Li Chengxiu lowered his head and said, "Hello, Mr. Chen. Mr. Shao."

President Chen laughed: "Xiao Li, Brother Shao said that you didn’t want to
skip even one day of work, since things are so busy around here. As a boss,
I’m very happy to have an employee like you. Haha."

Li Chengxiu glanced at Shao Qun, wondering what his intentions were.

President Chen sighed heavily, patted Shao Qun's shoulder and said,
"Brother Shao, I'm telling you the truth! Whether it’s you or anybody else, I
can’t lend my chef for such a long time! This location has just opened - it’s
real y busy around here."

Shao Qun smiled and nodded, "Brother Chen, you are so mean to me."
"Al the chefs here have been transferred from other branches. We don’t have
enough staff, as we’re stil in the middle of hiring new chefs. It’s difficult to
find the right chef nowadays, don't you think?"

"Right. Not only do you have to look for someone who knows their craft but
also make sure they don’t jump ship."

"Yes, exactly! Just look at our Chef Li. In terms of qualifications, he is still a
junior. But, amongst the younger generation, I still value him the most.
Brother Shao, do you know why?"

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu and smiled without saying a word.

"Xiao Li is not only good at his craft but he is also very reliable. You can’t
use this word easily anymore. I wouldn’t describe anybody else like that but,
let me tell you, Chef Li is not somebody who wouldn’t come back to the
hotel, if I lended him to you. Xiao Li, what do you say?" President Chen
looked at him with a smile.

Li Chengxiu was a little stiff at first, but Manager Zhang secretly gave him a
little push, so he quickly nodded.

Manager Zhang said: "Mr. Shao, we are actually very reluctant to give him
to you. After you called yesterday, Mr. Chen and I discussed it for a while.
He asked what impact it would have, if we lent Chef Li out for two weeks. I
didn't know it was a request from you, so I immediately said that it was
absolutely

impossible. Without Xiao Li, we’l have to delay a lot of daily work in this
hotel. Who would do it instead of him? Something like this is normally
completely out of the question! President Chen was also very hesitant.

But finally, we decided that since it was Mr.Shao’s special request, we didn’t
mind taking a loss for our business. After all, it’s important that your sea
party is perfect, since it is an announcement of your business presence in the
Pearl River Delta[5]."

Shao Qun laughed: "Brother Chen, just look at your people! They real y
know how to talk well. I’m real y grateful to Brother Chen for being so
generous. After the two weeks are up, I promise I will definitely return Chef
Xiao Li back to you.”

President Chen repeatedly said that Shao Qun was very welcome and then
hurriedly pulled him aside to discuss his non-performing asset in Panyu,
Guangzhou[6], leaving Manager Zhang and Li Chengxiu behind.

Li Chengxiu was shocked after the conversation he had just witnessed. They
laughed and chatted so openly about renting him out like some kind of
commodity. And no one even asked what he thought about the whole thing.

Manager Zhang took him outside and asked him to wait for Shao Qun in the
corridor.

Li Chengxiu pulled at Manager Zhang’s clothes and anxiously asked,

"Manager Zhang, what is going on?"

The kindness Manager Zhang had just displayed in the office had all but
evaporated. The man raised his eyebrows, "What is it that you don't
understand? Mr. Shao called yesterday to request a full-time chef for his
party, since he’s on a tight schedule. I hope you can provide him with the
service he needs. For the next two weeks you are temporarily off work."

Li Chengxiu's face was pale. He opened his mouth several times but did not
speak.

Manager Zhang patted him on the shoulder: "Xiao Li, you’ve worked hard.
This is basically a paid holiday for you. Isn’t that a good thing? Remember,
if you serve Mr. Shao wel , you wil be rewarded. On the other hand, if you
offend him... Well, our boss needs something from him right now, so you
better not offend him.

Is that clear?"

Li Chengxiu nodded stiffly.

"That's it. You wait here. When they’re done talking, Mr. Shao wil directly
take you away with him."
Li Chengxiu stood outside the office for more than half an hour, before Shao
Qun finally came out. Mr.

Chen brought them all the way down to the parking lot and even
considerately closed the car door for Shao Qun. He then waved him goodbye
with a smile.

Being alone with Shao Qun in an enclosed space made Li Chengxiu really
nervous for an unclear reason.

His every pore screamed for an escape.

Shao Qun turned his head, smiled at him and then looked ahead: "Chengxiu,
you’re real y a busy man.

Your phone was turned off when I called you today."

"It’s off during working hours."

Shao Qun let out an "oh" and suddenly said, "Put on your seat belt."

Li Chengxiu was confused for a moment, but then turned to look for the seat
belt. He didn’t know whether it was because he was too nervous but he
couldn’t pul it out, even after trying several times.

Shao Qun chuckled lightly, parked the car on the side of the road and then
leaned forward, his arms crossing Li Chengxiu's body, as he grabbed his seat
belt.

Li Chengxiu was so nervous that he didn't dare to breathe. He leaned away

as far as possible, pressing his back into the seat. If it was possible, he would
have jumped to the back of the car just to keep his distance from Shao Qun.

When he was a child, Shao Qun was already pretty tall. Now, he was even
taller. His broad shoulders hidden under a casual shirt and his sturdy and
slender arms bursting with strength were no more than an inch away from Li
Chengxiu. The smell of his refreshing aftershave entered his nostrils.
The time seemed to freeze in an instant. Shao Qun slowly pulled out the seat
belt, tilted his head and looked straight into Li Chengxiu's eyes. Shao Qun’s
look was deep and seemed to contain countless emotions. Li Chengxiu’s
heartstrings tightened and he closed his eyes on an impulse.

Li Chengxiu felt that this small action took far too long, and he was relieved
when his seat belt was finally buckled in with a “click”, and Shao Qun’s
invisible pressure was lifted off him.

However, Shao Qun suddenly leaned over again. He put his elbows on the
armrest, smiled and whispered right into Li Chengxiu’s ear: "Why are you so
nervous every time we are alone?"

Li Chengxiu stretched out his neck, fixing his eyes on the view in front of
him, as he didn’t dare to look back at Shao Qun. “That’s not true,” he
insisted.

Shao Qun chuckled softly, got back into his seat and took the car back to the
driveway.

Both of them were quiet.

Basically this entire chapter
Just as an afterthought…

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 14
The car quickly reached a high office building in the city center.

Shao Qun's company branch in Shenzhen was renting floors ten to twelve in
it. Both of them went upstairs, and as soon as they entered the offices, the
lady at the front desk quickly got up, stepped outside and greeted Shao Qun
with a sweet smile: “Hello, Mr.Shao.”

Shao Qun nodded with a smile and asked, "Is anybody still here?" He
looked at his watch and clicked his tongue, "I'm more than an hour late."

"They’re waiting for you in the conference room, sir. Over here, please."

"All right." Shao Qun quietly put his hand on Li Chengxiu's back,
"Chengxiu, come with me."

Li Chengxiu followed Shao Qun into the conference room.

The two people sitting inside immediately got up and said with a smile:
"Mr. Shao… Mr. Shao! Hello, hel o."

Shao Qun smiled and shook their hands: "I'm really sorry that you had to
wait for so long. There were traffic jams on the road."

"Of course, of course! Mr. Shao is a busy man. Besides, the traffic situation
in Shenzhen is unfortunately nothing new."

Shao Qun laughed and said, "Yes, when I was in Beijing, I had to pass
through the 3rd Ring Road[7] every day to go to work. I thought it would
be better here, but I guess I was wrong, hehe."

They exchanged a couple more polite words, and then final y they asked
“Who is this?” as if they had just discovered that Li Chengxiu was also in
the room.
"Oh." Shao Qun quickly put his hand on Li Chengxiu's back in an almost
intimate gesture and pushed him to the front, "This is the chef from Futong
Grand Hotel[8] whom I specifically hired to prepare Chinese food.

Besides, he is also my junior high school classmate. Just call him Chef Li.
Chengxiu, these are the people from an event planning company in Hong
Kong. They are here to help me organize the party."

The two guys quickly shook hands with Li Chengxiu: "Chef Li is so

young."

Li Chengxiu returned their handshakes and stiffly smiled in response.

These kinds of occasions where he had to take part in social interactions

scared him the most. The more enthusiastic the other party, the more
uncomfortable it made him.

After some more polite small talk, the two began to discuss business affairs
with Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu watched them show a PowerPoint presentation, which offered

several party design options for Shao Qun to choose from.

Shao Qun smiled without saying a word, and when the presentation was
over, he turned his head towards Li Chengxiu and asked, "Chengxiu, what
do you think?"

"Ah? Very… very good."

"Which option is better?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at the two men from the planning company who were
looking at him with expectant eyes and suddenly felt guilty for not listening
carefully enough.

Shao Qun said: "Ok, how about you show the key points to Chef Li again?"

The event planners quickly clicked over to the key point slide and presented
it to Li Chengxiu again with pictures and text explanations.
Li Chengxiu was confused by all of this. He didn’t understand what they
meant by baroque style or by Caribbean style…Moreover, he felt it was
ridiculous to use three characters to spel just one English word[9].”

Shao Qun approached him and put his hand on his shoulder, "So?
Chengxiu, what do you think?"

Li Chengxiu moved his body away uncomfortably and whispered, "It's all
good. You decide."

Shao Qun smiled, "But I want to hear your opinion." He squeezed his
shoulder gently and said in a soft voice, "Your opinion is very important to
me."

This time even the two Hongkongers felt that the atmosphere was not quite
right, but they didn’t let it show.

Li Chengxiu felt his heart beating like a drum. He hurriedly said, "I…I real
y don't know. You choose."

Shao Qun laughed, then turned his head and said, "To be honest, I'm not
very satisfied with either of the options. I’d rather not have something that
is not quite in the western style but also not quite in the Chinese style. I
want the style of this venue to be worthy of chef Xiao Li’s cooking skil s.”
He winked at Li Chengxiu.

One of the guys quickly responded: "I understand, Mr. Shao. How about we
keep the venue in modern Chinese style but at the same time incorporate
some classical details, like wooden utensils and ceramic plates. Only this
way can it be fully worthy of Chef Li's gourmet delicacies."

Shao Qun laughed and said, "That's not bad, really not bad. You guys go
back to your drawing board and revise the design. We don’t have a lot of
time left, so let’s decide on this as soon as possible. Now, let's put this aside
for a while, and discuss the dishes with Chef Li."

Shao Qun's hand was still on Li Chengxiu's shoulder, but when he noticed
his tense face and stiff body, he put it away."
Li Chengxiu immediately relaxed, nodded and proceeded to seriously
discuss the dishes with the event planners.

Since this was his area of expertise, the conversation ran much smoother.

Shao Qun didn't participate very much. He occasionally dropped a few

comments but most of the time he just sat there with a propped up chin,
tilted head and confident smile on his face. He was looking at Li Chengxiu
with deep and cunning eyes, just like a wolf who was stalking his prey.

They talked for more than two hours before they managed to finalize the
menu.

Shao Qun looked out the window - the sky was already dark.

He stood up and stretched. His movements revealed his toned and sturdy
body, making the two thin southern men really envious.

Shao Qun patted Li Chengxiu on the back: "Chengxiu, I'll take you out to
eat something nice." Then he raised his head, "You two can join us, if you
want. You've worked hard today."

The men waved their hands repeatedly: "Thank you for your kind
invitation, Mr. Shao. But we still have something to do after this, so no
need!"

Shao Qun smiled, showing his white teeth, very satisfied with their answer.

He seemed to be in a good mood, as he led Li Chengxiu to his car, throwing

his car keys up and down.

"Chengxiu, what do you want to eat?"

"I want to go home."

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, then he frowned, "Why?"

"I have things to do. At home."

"What kind of things would you need to do at home?"

Li Chengxiu answered honestly: "Wash clothes, clean my room."

"You can do this after dinner. Don't you want to eat?"

"I can cook for myself."

A bit of displeasure flashed in Shao Qun's eyes. He didn’t expect Li

Chengxiu to have so little respect for him that he didn’t even bother to think
of a decent excuse for refusing his invitation.

He laughed dryly and mocked him: "Chengxiu, you are really something.
Do you know how many people need to make an appointment in advance in
order to have a meal with me? Can't you treat me a bit better?"

Li Chengxiu silently looked down at his feet.

Shao Qun unlocked the car, got into the driver's seat and slammed the door
behind him with a bang.

Li Chengxiu stood outside at a loss. He knew that Shao Qun must be angry,
but now he didn't know whether he was supposed to get into the car or not.

Shao Qun rolled the car window down and said impatiently, "Get inside."

Li Chengxiu hesitated: "Or I can also go back by myself?"

Shao Qun rolled his eyes, opened the door and got out of the car. He stood
very close to Li Chengxiu, as he gave him a condescending look and
jokingly threatened him: "Xiao Chengxiu, get in the car. Or would you
rather I carry you inside?"

Frightened, Li Chengxiu took a big step back. He turned around and

obediently got into the car.

Shao Qun showed a sarcastic smile and also got in.

The two of them drove out of the parking lot in silence. Li Chengxiu looked
outside the window and anxiously asked, "Can I go home?"

Shao Qun glanced at him, suddenly made a sharp turn and parked the car on
the curb.

Li Chengxiu was taken aback by this sudden action and looked at Shao Qun
in horror.

He vaguely felt that Shao Qun hadn’t changed at all. His temper was stil so
irritable and unpredictable. As an adult, he probably learned to hide it well
behind his manners but actually deep down his temper never improved.

Shao Qun took a deep breath, then put on his friendly smile again and
turned to look at Li Chengxiu: "I'll take you home now."

Li Chengxiu was a bit suspicious, “Al right..."

"But..." Shao Qun grinned, "I'm also going to your house."

Li Chengxiu was startled and blurted out, "Why?"

"We haven't seen each other for many years, and we haven't even had a
good conversation yet. Is it asking too much of you to invite your old
classmate to dinner?"

Li Chengxiu thought about it for a long time before saying, "My house is
messy."

Shao Qun laughed out loud: "It doesn't matter. I don't care."

Li Chengxiu gritted his teeth: "I…don’t think…it’s a good idea."

"Oh, why not?"

"I think... my house…is not good. You won't be comfortable."

Shao Qun touched his head: "How can I not be comfortable, if you’re
there?"
Both his tone and his words sounded extremely ambiguous. No matter how
dense Li Chengxiu was, he could still feel that something was off.

Shao Qun didn't give him a chance to react. He pulled at his arm and
begged in a coquettish tone:

"Chengxiu, invite me over! I want to eat a meal cooked by you."

Li Chengxiu was speechless.

"Chengxiu, is it because you still hate me? Do you really still hate me? I
was such a jerk back then. If you stil hate me, you can hit me. I won’t fight
back."

"No..." Li Chengxiu didn't want to hear anything about the past, especially
from Shao Qun's mouth. There was just too much irony in it.

Shao Qun quickly said: "Since you don’t hate me, what's wrong with
inviting an old classmate to your home? Are you afraid that I will eat all the
food you have at home? Or are you afraid that I will eat you?"

Li Chengxiu felt his ears become inexplicably hot, and he really couldn't
think of a suitable reason for refusing Shao Qun. In the end he said:
"Let's… let's just eat somewhere else."

"No, I don't want to eat anywhere else. I want to go to your house."

Li Chengxiu was at a loss for words..

Still flabbergasted, Li Chengxiu took Shao Qun to his house.

The place where he lived was a residential block of flats. The house was
already old, and the outer walls had lost all the remnants of the original
color. The building was seven stories high, but there was no elevator. Li
Chengxiu lived, of course, on the top floor.

The apartment on the top floor was the cheapest place he could rent at the
time. Not only was it inconvenient to go up and down, but in the summer,
he was directly under the sun-heated roof which made his room feel almost
like an oven.

Although the sun had already set and by the time Shao Qun had arrived at
the apartment, the noon heat had long passed, it was still very hot inside. He
parked the car in an open space more than 200 meters away from the house.
After walking all that distance and then climbing up to the seventh floor,
Shao Qun was sweating profusely, and the last thing he expected was a
wave of heat rushing toward him and almost knocking him out when he
entered Li Chengxiu’s place.

Shao Qun didn’t like the heat, and he hardly ever stayed in places without
air conditioning in the summer.

At this moment, he felt like he was really suffering too much.

He couldn't help complaining irritably: "Why is it so hot here? Turn on the

air conditioner, hurry up!"

Li Chengxiu turned on the lights and shook his head:"There is no air

conditioner."

"No air conditioner?" Shao Qun repeated in disbelief. In the summer,

Shenzhen was like an oven - the heat in this place could drive people
insane. Especially during the tropical typhoons that came several times a
year, the whole city would basically turn into a big sauna. Shao Qun
couldn't figure out how Li Chengxiu survived here without air conditioning.

He looked around the place. The interior structure was extremely simple. It
was a 30 square meter apartment. Except for the bathroom, all the other
rooms - kitchen, bedroom and dining room - were connected to each
other.Just a piece of glass was dividing the kitchen away from other spaces.
A single bed was standing directly opposite a simple table and a chair.
There was almost nothing else in the apartment. And, of course, not a trace
of air conditioning.

Li Chengxiu pointed to the chair: "You sit down here." He went to the
bedside, dragged the stool with the fan over to Shao Qun and switched it
on.

Shao Qun was already covered in sweat and was extremely disgusted with
this sticky feeling. He irritably sat on the chair, letting the fan blow all over
him, and said to Li Chengxiu, "Bring me a piece of tissue."

Li Chengxiu took the roll of toilet paper standing by the bed and handed it
to him. There were no extra chairs in the room, so he sat down on the bed
and watched the fan blow at Shao Qun. He adjusted his breathing and
hoped to cool himself down like that.

Shao Qun's irritability and visible disdain for this room made him
somewhat uncomfortable. For him, living in such a house was actually a
luxury. He could have rented a cheaper single room which he would have
had to share with other people, but his personality was not suitable for
living with strangers at all. When he thought about living under the same
roof with people he didn’t know, it scared him to the bottom of his heart.
No matter how much he cared about saving money, he stil couldn’t force
himself to accept roommates. He had no choice but to spend an extra 300
RMB a month to rent a small single apartment just for himself.

No matter whether it was good or not, he was satisfied with his own place.
Besides, he didn’t want to invite Shao Qun here at all. It was his choice to
insist on coming over.

Although Li Chengxiu was annoyed, he didn't know how to express it, and
he was too hot. Shao Qun was occupying his fan now, so Li Chengxiu got
up and said, "I'm going to take a shower. You just sit here for a while."

Shao Qun's body had cooled down a little, and his tone became better.

"By the way, can you pour me a glass of water?" he asked.

Li Chengxiu gave him some water, then took his pajamas and went in to
take a bath.

When he came out after a quick shower, he saw Shao Qun flipping through
an accounting book on his desk with great interest.
Shao Qun immediately noticed Li Chengxiu standing in front of him,
looking fresh and tender, with his wet hair and in his white freshly washed
cotton pajamas.

Li Chengxiu's fair face was slightly red, his soft hair was clinging to his
cheeks, and water droplets trickled down his slender neck into the collar,
leaving a few water stains on his beautiful collarbone.

Shao Qun swallowed unconsciously.

This man in his late twenties looked like a young and pure student, exuding
unadorned temptation. Even though Shao Qun had just cooled down, now
he seemed to feel slightly hot again. He had been imagining this body for
more than ten years.

Shao Qun was looking at Li Chengxiu with the eyes of a hungry wolf but
the other party didn't realize it. He was actually focused on the book Shao
Qun was holding in his hands.

Shao Qun came back to his senses and held up the accounting book: "What
is this? Are you studying?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

"Night school?"

He shook his head: "Now, just self study."

When he first arrived in Shenzhen, he was not only poor but also deep in
debt. At that time, he was still young and energetic, capable of working day
and night. So apart from making money, he didn’t really think about
anything else.

It was not until a few years ago that his income actually allowed him to
save some extra money in addition to paying his living expenses and
settling his debts. At that time, the thirst for knowledge buried deep in his
heart gradually awakened again.
So he bought some high school textbooks and squeezed some time away
from work to study by himself.

After dropping out of school for several years, even if he had once been a
top student, he had almost forgotten everything. When he picked up
studying again, he didn’t realize how difficult it would be at first.

But with a bit of tenacity, he still managed to pass the exams to get his high
school diploma.

In the past two years, he began to teach himself some accounting. He didn't
have time to go to night school, so he could only buy books and study what
he could.

He thought about it a lot and felt that accounting was a profession that
demanded the least face-to-face contact with anybody. Besides, the entry
threshold was relatively low, so it seemed to be the most suitable choice for
him.

Being a chef was not his dream job. He still remembered how when he was
a child he hoped to become a doctor or a scientist. But those dreams were
annihilated a long time ago, in the summer of the third year of junior high
school.

Shao Qun handed him the book: "Chengxiu, if you want to learn, I can ask
a professional accountant to give you private lessons."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, but then shook his head: "No,
thank you."

Shao Qun smiled: "Chengxiu, you don't have to be polite with me." He then
stood up, grabbed the towel on Li Chengxiu’s shoulders and was about to
wipe his hair.

Li Chengxiu quickly turned his head away to avoid Shao Qun’s touch.

A flash of embarrassment flashed across Shao Qun's face. He still

stubbornly put the towel over Li Chengxiu’s head and rubbed it with his
hands: "You should wipe it dry, otherwise you can easily catch a cold."

Li Chengxiu simply took a step back, looking at Shao Qun with vigilance.

Shao Qun reluctantly threw the towel on the table. When he saw this
deliciously juicy fat sheep in front of him which he couldn't eat yet, he felt
really hungry.

"Chengxiu, cook something for us. I'm starving."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 15
Li Chengxiu nodded and quickly turned around to go to the kitchen, as Shao
Qun watched his every move.

Li Chengxiu half-squatted in front of the refrigerator, looking for

ingredients. At the same time, Shao Qun was sitting under a cool breeze,
admiring Li Chengxiu’s half-exposed snow-white waist, fantasizing about
hugging him from behind, taking off those baggy knee-length shorts and
leaving a row of teeth marks on his protruding spine.

Li Chengxiu got up as soon as he found what he was looking for,

interrupting Shao Qun's obscene thoughts.

He quickly put on his apron, washed the vegetables, cut up the meat and
sautéed it all in a hot pan. The house was soon filled with a tempting aroma.

Shao Qun’s eyes followed Li Chengxiu around, examining his back.

His soft messy hair, his white and slender neck, his thin shoulders, his
slender waist, and his straight and beautiful calves made Shao Qun want to
hold him in his arms and play with him to his heart’s content.

When he smelled the fragrance of cooked vegetables and saw all the food,
Shao Qun felt so hungry that he could not wait to start eating.
In a short while, Li Chengxiu served him four main dishes - a cold-cut spicy
pork heart and a plate of mixed snacks, of which two were vegetarian (kale
in garlic sauce and Chinese cabbage in a broth) and one contained meat
(sweet and sour pork ribs). Additionally, there was also a spinach tofu soup.

Cold-cut spicy pork heart Kale in garlic sauce

Sweet and sour pork ribs Chinese cabbage in a broth The dishes were quite
homely, but they looked very particular - one didn’t even need to taste them
to know that they were delicious.

Shao Qun sat at the small round table and looked at the dishes in front of
him with slight concern.

He was very picky about his meals. He didn’t eat organ meat, and he hated
coriander. The kale looked good, but he didn't like onion, ginger, and garlic.
Apart from the condiments, all he could eat were pork ribs, cabbage, and the
tofu soup. Although Shao Qun was not happy about the selection, he didn't
say anything.

Now was obviously not the time. When he gets this chef here to be docile,
he’d be able to order whatever he wants.

Even though Shao Qun didn’t complain and just avoided the pig heart and
kale, Li Chengxiu quickly noticed the pattern. He was a cook after all, and it
was his job to pay attention to different people’s preferences.

He was indifferent, thinking that even if he knew that Shao Qun didn’t like
it, he would have stil put garlic and coriander into every dish.
Shao Qun took a piece of spareribs. The color of the spareribs was red and
bright, the meat was fresh and tender, and the crust was crispy and sweet.
This dish really appealed to him. Then he added a piece of cabbage to his
bowl. The Chinese cabbage in the broth was actually his favorite dish. It
seemed very simple, but preparing it right was the ultimate test for the skill.
This cabbage was fragrant and delicious, cooked exactly right. It left a juicy
and sweet aftertaste. Shao Qun took a couple more pieces and couldn’t stop
praising: "Chengxiu, your cooking is delicious."

Li Chengxiu smiled shyly: "Thank you."

When Shao Qun saw him smiling, his mood also improved. Although there
was only one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup for him to choose
from, this food was tastier than all the dishes served at Manchu–Han
Imperial Feast[10].

Li Chengxiu ate in a similar way he did when he was a child. He shrank his
shoulders, held the bowl delicately in his hands, and quickly stuffed the food
into his mouth. Although his movements were careful and neat, it was not
very pleasing to the eye. Rather, one would think how can this man eat like a
total sissy? Maybe being full of delicious food put Shao Qun in an agreeable
mood but when he was looking at Li Chengxiu, instead of thinking how
awkward he was, he felt that the man was “pretty cute”.

Li Chengxiu got up to clean up the dishes. Shao Qun leaned back and
offered: “Let me help you.”

But this was obviously just lip service - Shao Qun was not going to lift a
finger.

Li Chengxiu turned his back to him and replied, "No need."

Shao Qun took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket. As soon as he lit it up,
Li Chengxiu frowned and turned towards him: "No… no smoking."

Shao Qun spread his hands: "Just one."

Li Chengxiu still glared at him: "No.Smoking."

"Okay, okay." Shao Qun took a deep breath, before he unwillingly put out
his cigarette and threw it into the trash can.

Li Chengxiu then turned around and continued washing the dishes. Shao
Qun pouted angrily, as he was sitting back in front of the round table. He
drummed his slender fingers on the table and rolled his eyes.

Li Chengxiu deliberately dragged the time, hoping that Shao Qun would be
bored and leave quickly. He didn't expect that Shao Qun wouldn’t want to
leave even after all the dishes were clean.

He had no choice but to wipe his hands and ask, "Do you want tea?"

Shao Qun raised his eyebrows: "I've been sitting here for so long without
you saying a word to me. I'm really not very thirsty."

Li Chengxiu groaned quietly, not knowing how to react.

"However, if we’re going to drink tea, how about we also talk a bit?"

Li Chengxiu looked at his watch - it was eight pm already, and this guy still
wouldn’t leave...

Both of them sat at the small round table in front of the teapot that Li
Chengxiu had prepared. They were in a reaching distance from each other.

Li Chengxiu was not afraid of silence at all. He could last days without
saying a word to anybody. Just sitting and drinking tea quietly didn’t make
him feel embarrassed one bit.

Shao Qun waited for a long time for Li Chengxiu to look at him, before he
deliberately sighed: "Chengxiu, do you hate me that much?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise, then shook his head: "No."

"Then why don't you even want to talk to me?"

"...Can't speak."
"You were not like this before. Why do you seem to be struggling to speak
now?"

Li Chengxiu looked at the tea leaves floating in his cup and silently lowered
his head.

Shao Qun lightly put his hand on top of his head and said softly, "Is it
because of me?"

Li Chengxiu shuddered and turned his head away to avoid his hand.

Shao Qun took a hold of Li Chengxiu’s hand, but this time he secretly
exerted enough strength to prevent him from breaking away: "Chengxiu, tell
me about what happened back then. After I left, why did you drop out of
school? Was it because of me?"

Li Chengxiu glared at him angrily and used his other hand to get rid of Shao
Qun’s grip.

"Chengxiu, Chengxiu." Shao Qun grabbed his arm with both his hands
instead of letting go, "Don't be afraid. If you still blame me, just say so. I'm
willing to compensate you."

"No...no...no need to say anything."

"Then why did you drop out?"

"Had nothing to do with you."

A trace of displeasure flashed in Shao Qun's eyes, but it was fleeting. He

stared in Li Chengxiu's eyes and said reluctantly: "If you don't want to tell, I
won't force you. I just want you to know that over the years I have never
forgotten you."

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun at a loss.

"You haven't forgotten me either, right? How good it was between us back
then… I'm sorry, it was my fault at the time. I was young, and I was so
scared. I..."
"Don't say it!" Li Chengxiu shouted out suddenly, looking flustered, "Don't
say it. I don't want to hear it."

Shao Qun tightly held Li Chengxiu’s hands in his palms and looked at him
affectionately: "I must say these words to you. I should have said them back
then." He shook Li Chengxiu's hand, smiled, and said: " You were my first
love."

That was indeed the truth. When he first started having wet dreams, the
object of his lust was always Li Chengxiu. The first time he hid under a quilt
and touched himself, he was also thinking about Li Chengxiu.

His fantasies were full of lingering images of having sex with him. Who
knows how many unspeakable nights Shao Qun had spent with Li Chengxiu
in his imagination. No matter how many good-looking men and women he
had afterwards, he could never forget the original impulse that opened the
door for him to this whole new world.

The main issue was that he didn’t have a taste at the time.

He had been thinking about it for so many years. Since he never actually got
what he wanted, there was still this lingering obsession.

Shao Qun observed Li Chengxiu's bewildered expression and leaned

halfway across the table, almost pressing his lips against Li Chengxiu's face.

"Chengxiu, it can’t be that you didn’t know that, right?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't help recalling some scenes from the past. It was a long
time ago, so his memory was blurry, and many details were already unclear
and half-forgotten. He only remembered that even though in the end Shao
Qun left without looking back, before that he seemed to be very fond of Li
Chengxiu.

And that uncontrollable kiss… Maybe what Shao Qun was saying was true.

Shao Qun lightly caressed his face and whispered softly: “Believe me, I real
y liked you at that time. But I didn't even realize it myself. I was only twelve
years old back then, and liking someone of the same sex was a big issue for
me. It was too difficult for me to accept, so I ran away like a coward. I left
you to deal with the fallout and left. My family arranged for me to go to the
UK. But I real y regret it. I’ve been regretting it for many years. I looked for
you after I returned to China, but I couldn't find you. Chengxiu..." Shao Qun
gently rubbed his cheek with a sincere expression, "I’ve missed you."

It took Li Chengxiu a long time to recover from shock. His first reaction was
to bury his head in his chest.

Shao Qun pressed his fingers against his chin, raised his face, looked into his
eyes and said, "I'm so happy to see you again."

The fingertips that touched his cheek seemed to be on fire, making Li

Chengxiu’s entire face burn bright red. He nodded stiffly, held his breath for
a long time and finally let out just an: "Oh..."

Shao Qun kept leaning closer and closer towards him. Li Chengxiu could
feel the heat of his breath on his face. Shao Qun’s eyes were full of affection,
so much so that Li Chengxiu felt like he could drown in them:

"Chengxiu, I want to take care of you. Just like before..." Shao Qun’s lips
slowly met his.

Li Chengxiu immediately woke up from the daze and jumped up from the
chair.

Shao Qun's eyes suddenly also regained clarity. He raised his hands in a
gesture of surrender and smiled reassuringly: "Sorry, Chengxiu, I'm moving
too fast."

Li Chengxiu was a complete mess. In a trembling voice he tried to articulate

himself, "You…You want…"

Shao Qun stood up. His hands were still up in the air, as he approached Li
Chengxiu.

"You know, I still feel very much the same when I see you. I'm single now,
and I believe you are too. Why not give each other a chance then? I want to
make up for the mistakes I made when I was young. And yes, I want to be
with you."

Shao Qun's words were straightforward and candid, and there was a
confident smile on his face. His gestures were firm and unrestrained. Even if
one ignored his appearance, just his forceful charisma alone was already
very attractive.

Li Chengxiu was flabbergasted by his words. He didn't expect that Shao Qun
would suddenly show affection to him. The two of them had only met two or
three times so far, but he was already confessing to him.

While Li Chengxiu was still stupefied, Shao Qun took a big step forward,
stretched out his long arms and hugged his waist, pressing him tightly into
his arms.

Li Chengxiu cried out, but before he could escape, Shao Qun grabbed his
arm and whispered into his ear:

"Don't be afraid, Chengxiu. Don't be afraid, let me hug you for a bit. You
know what? Back then, I liked holding you the most. I still don't know why.
Maybe you can explain it to me?"

Li Chengxiu's body trembled uncontrollably.

Shao Qun's pure male presence, Shao Qun's strong arms, Shao Qun's broad
chest, Shao Qun's magnetic voice. Shao Qun...

Fourteen years have passed like a dream. In a trance, Li Chengxiu

remembered a beautiful young boy with a sour face. He would fiercely tell
him that he wanted to do this and not that…He would rush to hug him
whenever he could - without a reason, just like that. Was that Shao Qun the
same person as this one?

Then why did he seem stranger than some strangers?

It's been too long. Although he still remembered the Shao Qun from school,
this Shao Qun was still somebody he didn’t even know. He didn’t hate him
but he didn’t like him much either. However, if a person he’d never even met
was suddenly so nice to him, Li Chengxiu wouldn’t be able to stay
indifferent. After all, nobody had treated him this way before.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Shao Qun continued to push: "Of course, it's
because I like you. And now, I'm also holding you because I like you."

Shao Qun likes him? Li Chengxiu looked at him in confusion, wondering if

he had suffered a heat stroke today that made him imagine all these
unbelievable things.

Shao Qun looked at his unfocused eyes, confused expression, and slightly
parted pale pink lips. He really wanted to press him against the wall right
now and have a taste. He regretted that when he was a child other than
hugging him he didn't do more stuff that he could cherish in his memories.

Shao Qun knew very well that in the game of conquering people's hearts one
had to be patient and relaxed.

Impulsivity could easily negate all the efforts. After he had reliably
conveyed what he wanted to say, he should just let the seeds slowly sprout in
the heart of the other party and wait till they bloomed. Shao Qun had full
confidence in himself in all aspects of life, and his love life was no
exception. He didn’t believe that Li Chengxiu could stay indifferent.

He leaned over and quickly pecked Li Chengxiu’s cheek. Then he

immediately let him go, took a big step back, spread his hands, and gave him
a mischievous smile.

Li Chengxiu's face was blushing from embarrassment. He didn’t know

whether to be angry or not. Such intense emotions were rare for him. He
thought about it for a long time, and felt that he real y didn’t understand
anything, so he asked, "Wh… why?"

Shao Qun laughed when he heard the question: "I just like you. What do you
mean with “why”?"

Li Chengxiu thought for a while and sternly said, "We are both men."
Shao Qun smiled and slowly blinked: "Xiao Chengxiu, you are not being
honest. Ask yourself, whether you like men or women. And if you like
women, why are you still not married at this age?"

Li Chengxiu felt that Shao Qun had seen right through him and felt ashamed.

He knew that he had no interest in girls since he was a kid but he also didn't
have the courage to show interest in boys. He had no relatives around, no
friends, and no one actually to talk to. He lived a solitary and lonely life. His
loneliness was like a beast that terrified him but wouldn’t let him go. He real
y wanted to have someone to accompany him, but he didn't dare to approach
anyone. Does he like men or women?

That question was so far beyond the point. As long as someone was willing
to stay with him and live a good life together, he would accept both men and
women, both young and old. However, he couldn’t accept Shao Qun. One
look at him was enough to know that he wasn’t someone who wanted to live
an honest life.

Shao Qun observed his face and suddenly showed a surprised expression:
"Chengxiu, in all these years, have you never been in love?"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, neither confirming nor denying.

Shao Qun was suddenly inexplicably excited. He was now more eager than
ever to have a piece of this virgin ass as soon as possible.

He let out a laugh: "Chengxiu, don't be nervous. We are both adults here, so
there is nothing inherently wrong about this. You see, I’m the same as
you.I’m not breaking any laws by liking you. And since you’re also single,
why don’t you think about it and let me take care of you?"

Li Chengxiu was distraught for a while, then he slowly shook his head: "I
don't know."

Shao Qun's tone was doting and gentle: "I'm not in a hurry. You don’t have
to agree now. We stil have a lot of time ahead of us to get along. You wil
gradual y find out that I’m a good person. Don't be too quick to reject me,
okay?"
Shao Qun's attitude was so sincere that it was impossible to refuse. Li
Chengxiu was still in a state of shock. He couldn't get back to his senses for
a while, so all he could say was a stiff "um".

Shao Qun smiled slightly and touched his soft hair: "Thank you for your
hospitality today. I’l be going now. I still have some things to do tomorrow,
so I'll come pick you up at ten o'clock in the morning, okay?"

"Okay……"

"Have a good rest. See you tomorrow."

"Okay……"
After sending Shao Qun away, Li Chengxiu took out a rag and started
cleaning up the house, wiping everything he could see in front of him. He
stopped only after he was soaked in sweat and completely exhausted. He
then sat on the bed in a daze, holding his knees in his arms.

He thought that the emptiness of the room was unpleasant.

If he didn’t speak and didn’t move, everything was completely silent. Shao
Qun came, and Shao Qun left

- suddenly the apartment went from lively to deadly quiet. The difference
was now very obvious, which made Li Chengxiu’s loneliness feel several
times worse than usual.

When Shao Qun said he was a good person

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 16
Li Chengxiu was used to getting up early. Although, thanks to Shao Qun, he
didn't have to go to work, he still woke up at six o'clock in the morning.

After washing up and having breakfast, he sat down at the table to study. The
time passed by very quickly.

When his phone rang, he realized it was almost ten o’clock already.

On the phone, Shao Qun said that he was going to be there soon and asked
Li Chengxiu to meet him at the same place where he parked yesterday.

Li Chengxiu was ready, so he immediately left. In front of a row of small

shops he saw a silver-white off-road vehicle parked with its back to him. The
window of the driver's seat was open, and although Li Chengxiu couldn’t see
the face of the driver, he recognized Shao Qun at a glance - his slender
fingers were flicking ashes, while the jet-black diamond watch was visible
on his wrist.

Shao Qun saw him coming from the rearview mirror and opened the door to
get out of the car.

Li Chengxiu nodded to him as a greeting.

Shao Qun threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it with some
resentment: "Fuck, somebody scratched the car I parked here yesterday."

"Oh? Is it serious?" Li Chengxiu remembered Shao Qun’s car that looked

very high-end at first sight and wondered how much money it would cost
him to repair the scratch. However, he kind of felt that the car

Shao Qun drove was really flashy - a bit like the one you could see on the
“Transformers” movie poster.

This neighborhood had al kinds of people, so he could consider himself

lucky that the car wasn’t stolen.”
"Those fuckers circled the whole car. It's a damn shame. The paint has to be
shipped from Europe now.

And I've only had it for less than a month."

Li Chengxiu glanced at Shao Qun’s off-roader: "In the future… don't… stop
here."

Shao Qun pouted, stretched out his hand and squeezed Li Chengxiu’s face:
"Didn't I have to take you home?"

Li Chengxiu took a step back, ignoring Shao Qun’s naughty hands: "In the
future… you don't need to take me."

"That won't work. I'm afraid you'd get lost."

Li Chengxiu blinked: "Then… just don't park..."

Shao Qun crossed his arms on his chest and squinted at Li Chengxiu: "You
mean, I have to drive you home, yet I can’t even go up to your house for a
cup of tea?"

Li Chengxiu stopped saying anything.

Shao Qun shook his head: "Chengxiu, you really have no conscience."

"... or don't drive me home..."

"No, of course I have to drive you. I have a better solution to this problem."

"What?"

Shao Qun nonchalantly took him by the hand and even personally opened
the door for him: "Come on, get in the car. I’l tell you in a while."

After Li Chengxiu got inside, he asked, "What are we doing today?"

Shao Qun blinked and smiled: "Today, you are going on a date with me."
Shao Qun led him into a fancy styling studio. Li Chengxiu was stunned as
soon as he entered. The three people in front of him were holding scissors,
and their movements were so rhythmical, as if they were working to the beat
of the music. They were surprisingly coordinated, as they circled around a
fake model, neatly cutting its hair. Li Chengxiu had never seen such a
“dancing-haircut” technique before, and it real y amazed him.

A particularly beautiful man approached them. He had delicate makeup on

his face, and his nose was slightly highlighted, making it brighter than the
rest of his face. He had a tiny waist which he was twisting around as if it was
a water snake. As soon as he saw them, he revealed a soft and charming
smile.

"Young Master Shao, long time no see."

Shao Qun also greeted him with a smile: "Adrian."

When he got closer, Shao Qun said "huh" and sneered. "You fixed your nose
again? Was there something wrong with the way it looked before? "[11]

Adrian didn't care at all about his remark. With a careless smile he
responded, "I'm a perfectionist." As he said that, his tiny arm was about to
pull at Shao Qun's sleeve.

Shao Qun coughed and frowned at him.

Adrian glanced at Li Chengxiu, who had almost zero presence next to Shao
Qun, raised his eyebrows and then threw Shao Qun a questioning look.
Finally, he shrugged, pursed his lips and greeted Li Chengxiu with a smile: "
Hi, my name is Adrian. You can also call me Adi."

Li Chengxiu said "oh" and nodded properly: "Hello, my name is Li

Chengxiu."

Adrian blinked, as he looked him up and down, frowning at his loose old T-
shirt, washed-out jeans and sneakers with broken shoelaces.

Li Chengxiu awkwardly lowered his head.

Shao Qun patted Adrian on the shoulder: "What are you staring at? Give him
a more refreshing hairstyle."

Adrian rolled his eyes at Shao Qun and smiled at Li Chengxiu, "Come with
me, please."

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun in surprise: "We came here... You took me
to cut my hair?"

Shao Qun nodded.

"My hair isn’t long."

Adrian pouted and shook his head: "Your hair isn’t long, but it has no shape
at all."

Li Chengxiu was unconvinced: "I can cut it myself. Why did you take me to
cut my hair?"

Adrian chuckled: "Oh, so you cut it yourself. No wonder it's so ugly."

Li Chengxiu's face turned red: "Today…it's not work… I'm going home."

Shao Qun glared at Adrian and quickly grabbed Li Chengxiu by the hand:
"Cutting your hair is also part of your job. You are my Chinese food chef,
and your image also represents my image."

"I'm only in the kitchen."

"That doesn't matter. Chengxiu, you are working for me now, and you have
to meet your employer's requirements, right?"

Li Chengxiu thought about it, and realized it was not a big deal to have a
haircut. But he just felt so out of place here. Adrian was obviously even less
manly than him but at the same time he was so dazzling. It

seemed, the people here respected him very much, and he walked around
like a proud and confident peacock without flinching. In fact, Li Chengxiu
was very envious of him. This kind of confidence was something he could
never achieve in his life.

A young girl approached Li Chengxiu and was about to take him to wash his
hair.

Adrian waved her away, "I'll wash him."

The little girl looked surprised: "Master, you want to wash his hair?"

"Yes. You go get my things ready."

Li Chengxiu lay down on the reclining chair, and Adrian gently massaged
his scalp while rinsing him. Li Chengxiu had never been treated like this
before, so he nervously straightened out his neck, for fear that his head was
too heavy and would press too much against this person’s hands.

Adrian smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. Relax your neck, yes, relax. It's
alright. Put the weight of your head on my hands. It's alright."

Adrian's voice was soft like water, and it made Li Chengxiu feel warm in his
heart, so he couldn't help but slowly relax.

Adrian whispered over his head, "Your hair is so soft and nice to the touch."

Li Chengxiu didn't know how to answer that, so he just said "um".

"Can I call you Chengxiu?"

"Okay……"

"Chengxiu, how do you and Young Master Shao know each other?"

"He hired me. To cook."

Adrian laughed and said, "I don't think it's that simple."

Li Chengxiu thought about it and added, "We went to the same…junior high
school."
"Oh, you’re old classmates." Adrian paused, "Chengxiu, there are some
things I shouldn't say, but I think you're an honest person, so... ah, I just can't
keep quiet. I don't want you to panic, I just want to warn you.

Shao Qun is quite a bastard, so you have to be careful."

"Huh……?"

"Just keep it in mind. I don't know, maybe I’m thinking too much. And it’s
real y not my place to say more. If he finds out that I even said anything, I’l
be in serious trouble. You don't seem to be in the circle, so you have to be
careful with him. Take everything he says with a grain of salt, don’t trust
him too much. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Li Chengxiu nodded and glanced at Adrian gratefully: "Thank you."

In fact, without being reminded, Li Chengxiu also felt that Shao Qun was
too arrogant and unreliable.

Although he was fine when they were one-on-one, he felt inexplicably

nervous and scared after hearing what Adrian had to say. Subconsciously he
wanted to distance himself from Shao Qun as much as possible.

Adrian squinted his eyes and gave him a charming smile: "Okay, you can get
up. I'm going to give you a makeover."

When Adrian started cutting Li Chengxiu’s hair, Shao Qun sat next to them
for a while, but then his phone rang and he went out to answer it.

When he came back, Li Chengxiu was already standing in front of him with
clean and refreshing haircut His facial features were delicate, his skin was
fair, and his hair was straight and soft which made him look a little shy.
There was a gentle glow in his eyes, and he looked just like a young naive
college student.

Nobody would be able to tell that he was nearly thirty years old.

Li Chengxiu was not traditionally handsome, but he was really good-

looking. Whether it was his appearance or temperament, he was exuding
purity. One couldn’t help but give him a second glance, and one couldn’t
help but feel that his look was neat and nice.

Shao Qun put his hands in his trouser pockets, tilted his head and looked at
him for a while, smiling ambiguously: "Chengxiu, you’re so beautiful."

Li Chengxiu shyly touched his hair.

Adrian clapped his hands beside him and giggled, "Just as I thought, I'm a
genius. Shao Qun, now it’s time to change his outfit."

Shao Qun nodded: "Yes, I have to get him a new wardrobe."

Adrian blinked: "Do you want me to recommend a brand that suits him?"

Shao Qun waved his hand: "You gotta be kidding me. Considering you’re
from the post-1990 generation[12],

how would you be able to pick anything that actually suits him?”

Adrian pouted and stretched out his thin hand: "Pay and fuck off."

Shao Qun pul ed Li Chengxiu over to his side and said: "Contact Xiao Zhou.
We’re leaving."

Li Chengxiu quickly took his hand out of Shao Qun's grip and looked back
at Adrian.

Adrian gave him a gentle smile and waved at him.

Li Chengxiu also smiled and gave Adrian an envious look before turning his
head.

Adrian watched them leave and sighed heavily.

"I’m not going to buy clothes," Li Chengxiu said seriously to Shao Qun, as
they left.

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment.

"I don't need to change… my clothes."

Shao Qun frowned and looked at what he was wearing. Just as he was about
to open his mouth, Li Chengxiu interrupted him first and said firmly, "I'm
just in the kitchen."

Li Chengxiu was not an idiot. He knew that the reason Shao Qun wanted to
improve his look was because he considered Li Chengxiu’s appearance
lacking and was unwil ing to stand next to him, if he didn’t look a certain
way. If Li Chengxiu could speak properly, he would tell Shao Qun that he
was not willing to stand next to him at all. Besides, his clothes were not
stolen, and even if they didn't look good, Li Chengxiu was not ashamed to
wear them.

He didn't need Shao Qun to give him anything.

Shao Qun patiently coaxed him: "Xiao Chengxiu, if you look more
attractive, won’t you feel better?"

Li Chengxiu was a little annoyed: "I'm not… A decoration."

A hint of anger flashed across Shao Qun's face.

He originally had a bad temper, and his current patience with Li Chengxiu
was unprecedented. If someone else would unhappily talk back to him like
this over and over again, he would have already flipped the table a long time
ago.

Shao Qun tried his best to suppress his anger and invited Li Chengxiu to get
inside the car: "Okay, if you don't want to buy clothes, then we won’t buy
any."

Li Chengxiu hesitantly held onto the car door hesitantly and asked,
"Today… no work?"

"I told you, you are going on a date with me today."

Li Chengxiu was about to open his mouth to say something, but Shao Qun
quickly interrupted him: "Hey, don’t say that you want to go home! I won't
let you go home. You are mine for the next two weeks."

Li Chengxiu remembered how fawningly President Chen was treating Shao

Qun, and felt like his boss basically sold him. He had no choice but to get in
the car.

Shao Qun drove him to a property with a sea view. Li Chengxiu knew this
place. He passed by it on the bus every day on his way to work. It was not
far from the hotel - only ten minutes of walking distance.

After they drove into the courtyard of the property, Shao Qun looked a little
excited.

Li Chengxiu doubtfully looked at the new high-rise building in front of him

through the car window.

He had no concept of housing prices, because with his salary, if he ever

wanted to buy a house in Shenzhen, he would have to stop eating and
drinking for the rest of his life. So he never paid any attention to the housing
market. However, even he knew that the house near the sea must be
exceedingly expensive. Li Chengxiu looked enviously at the snow-white
stone walls, the balconies with exquisitely fashioned iron decorations, and
the bright floor-to-ceiling windows.

Shao Qun parked the car in the underground parking lot and took Li
Chengxiu to the 23rd floor in an elevator.

Li Chengxiu looked at the shiny metallic elevator doors and asked, "What
are we doing here?"

Shao Qun smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out in a while."

Shao Qun opened an apartment door in front of him, and Li Chengxiu

immediately felt a cool breeze coming his way, which was really refreshing
on this hot summer day.

Li Chengxiu looked inside and saw an empty room. It was large, and the
floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite side of the wall were wide open. At
a glance, one could see the unobstructed view at the vast sea.
The scenery was intoxicating.

Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu inside and took him around the premises:
"How is it? Do you like it?"

Li Chengxiu gave him a suspicious look.

Shao Qun smiled: "In the future, you can live here. Within three days, I will
have people complete all the necessary preparations."

"What?" Li Chengxiu said in surprise.

"How can you continue living in that place of yours? It’s just a matter of
time til you die of heatstroke! You shouldn’t stay there anymore. It wil also
be more convenient for me to come visit you here." The more Shao Qun
talked, the darker Li Chengxiu’s face got.

"Why would I want to live here? I already have a home."

Shao Qun frowned and then said softly: "I care about you. Living in that
apartment is not good for your health. I can’t help but feel bad."

Li Chengxiu was someone who was easily swayed by kindness[13], so when

he heard Shao Qun say that, he softened: "Thank you. I don't think it's too
hot. I can't… live. In your house."

Shao Qun sighed, grabbed Li Chengxiu's shoulder and pressed him against
the wall, pushing himself against him.

Now that there was no one around them, if Shao Qun didn’t try at least
something, he would real y feel sorry for himself.

Li Chengxiu nervously widened his eyes: "You..."

Shao Qun pressed his struggling arms and whispered into his ear,
"Chengxiu, why do you always reject my kindness? I just want to be nice to
you. Can't you give me a chance to be nice to you?"

"First, let me go."

"I won’t let you go, Chengxiu." Shao Qun slightly bent down, pressing his
nose against his face, as he squinted : "I want to kiss you."

Li Chengxiu was shocked. He was just about to open his mouth to say
something, when Shao Qun suddenly blocked his lips.

Shao Qun was an expert in flirting and seduction, and he knew exactly what
to do. He pressed Li Chengxiu's waist tightly against his abdomen, gently
rubbing it, while the other hand was firmly placed on the back of Li
Chengxiu's head, as he sucked on his soft lips. .

Li Chengxiu was completely immobilized. He opened his eyes in horror, and

even his neck turned red in an instant.

Shao Qun took advantage of his state to stick his tongue into his mouth,
churning it around there and entangling the tip of Li Chengxiu’s tongue.

Li Chengxiu couldn’t avoid it. His legs went weak, and his mind went blank
from the kiss. He had to rely on Shao Qun to avoid collapsing to the ground.

Shao Qun kissed him until he was almost deprived of oxygen before finally
letting go.

Li Chengxiu's whole body was soft in his arms, and his fingers trembled as
he grabbed the front of Shao Qun’s shirt.

Shao Qun exhaled softly into his ear: "Chengxiu, how was that? You also
have feelings for me, don't you?"

Li Chengxiu trembled, "Let go..."

Shao Qun didn't hear clearly: "What?"

"Let go." Li Chengxiu suddenly opened his mouth and fiercely bit Shao
Qun’s arm.

Shao Qun hissed in pain and retracted his hand.

Li Chengxiu took advantage of the situation, pushed Shao Qun away and
rushed out the door without looking back.

A nice illustration of Adrian (also known as Adi, real name: Wen Xiaohui)
from Weibo.

Hands down the best character in the entire 188 universe. I think I could
write essays about his superiority.

He will appear in the future some more.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 17
The elevator took too long, so Li Chengxiu ran down the stairs. But how
could he outrun Shao Qun who was taller and had longer legs? Li Chengxiu
was caught before he could even go down a few floors.

He nervously glared at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun gave him a reassuring smile: "Chengxiu, I'm sorry. It was too
soon."

Li Chengxiu pointed at him with a trembling finger: "Asshole."

Shao Qun used the opportunity to grab his hand: "Yes, I'm an asshole. I'm
sorry, Chengxiu. I just like you too much. I can't help it."

Step by step, Li Chengxiu retreated to the wall: "I want to go home."

"Don't worry, I'll take you home. But you have to forgive me first."

"You..." Li Chengxiu was angry.

Shao Qun leaned over Li Chengxiu, trapping him between the corner of the
wall and his body. He clasped his wrists lightly, but still firmly enough to
prevent him from breaking free. He then gently touched his face:

"Chengxiu, do you remember that first kiss?"

Li Chengxiu was shocked.

"Our first kiss. I don't believe you've forgotten it. I still remember the mood
at that time. I've never felt so good or content before, I was on top of the
world. Tell me, did I kiss you first, or did you kiss me?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him in confusion. Unconsciously, Shao Qun’s words

brought back the memories:
"I…I don't know."

"I don't know either. But I know for sure that you felt the same as I did at
that moment."

Li Chengxiu was not good at lying, so he could only stay silent.

"Chengxiu, look me in the eye and tell me honestly - at that time, you also
liked me, right?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him in amazement.

Like... Did he like Shao Qun back then? He wasn’t sure. And before he
could confirm his feelings at the time, it was already too late anyway, and
he was afraid to admit anything even to himself.

"Chengxiu, you liked me, I could feel it. I liked you too, and I believe you
know it. Can you try to recall how you felt at the time? I'm stil the same
Shao Qun, I stil like you. It’s just that I’m a grown up now. Now that I'm
older, I won’t act like a coward. I'll treat you better than I did back then.
Can you try to like me again, please?"

Li Chengxiu's heart tightened, and his nose felt sour.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu’s expression had softened, Shao Qun secretly

rejoiced in his heart and gently pul ed him closer. Seeing that Li Chengxiu
didn’t refuse, he boldly hugged him.

"Chengxiu, we can get our feelings from the past back. Remember how that
kiss felt? We just lightly pressed our lips together, but I still remember how
soft it was, how beautiful." In the past ten years, Shao Qun had coaxed
many men and women into sleeping with him. When he used his sweet
words, it was difficult even for the most hard-hearted to remain unmoved.
His voice was low and gentle, and he was very persuasive. While Li
Chengxiu was still in a trance, Shao Qun lightly lifted his chin and gently
kissed his lips.
This kiss was not as impatient and violent as the one before. It was rather
soft and light as a feather - just a touch, nothing else.

It was as if both of them had returned to that time fourteen years ago and
relived the same kiss. That first youthful chaste kiss was worth all the riches
in the world, and the excitement of forbidden pleasure seemed to burst out
from their chests.

It wasn’t just Li Chengxiu who was caught up in the whirlpool of

memories, even Shao Qun temporarily lost his cool. The same feeling he
had first experienced so many years ago made his heart beat faster and
warmed his body.

When their lips parted, neither of them said a word. They just quietly
looked at each other. In the dim stairwell, Shao Qun's eyes were particularly
bright, and Li Chengxiu had the illusion of being burned by them.

Suddenly Li Chengxiu said, "Shao Qun, we have grown up."

Shao Qun was stunned - it seemed to be the first time that Li Chengxiu
called him by his name. Only now there was an actual feeling of reunion
after a long separation, as if Li Chengxiu had finally admitted that he
indeed was his former classmate Shao Qun,

With a subtle melancholy in his heart, Shao Qun unconsciously copied Li

Chengxiu's tone and said, "Yes, we have grown up."

Li Chengxiu freed his hand from Shao Qun’s grip and looked down at the
toes of his shoe in silence.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s red ears and white neck, and he felt
unbearable longing in his heart.

He knew that it was not the right time yet, so all he could do now was
suppress his desire. Softly he said,

"Chengxiu, even though I’ve grown up, my feelings for you have not
changed. Let’s give each other a chance, okay?"
Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I don't know."

"You don't have to know now. Take your time. But don't reject my kindness
any more."

Li Chengxiu stil stubbornly shook his head: "I wil not live…in your house."

"Okay, I won’t force you. I just want to make your life a little better. I have
no ill intentions."

Li Chengxiu finally raised his head and gave him a relieved smile: "Thank
you."

Shao Qun also smiled and rubbed his face: "You are so stubborn. Come,
let's go downstairs. It's almost noon - I'll take you out to dinner."

While the two were eating, they chatted a little more. Li Chengxiu even
explained to Shao Qun why the lark mushrooms in abalone sauce that they
had ordered were not authentic enough. Shao Qun could feel that Li
Chengxiu's defenses that had been set in place since they met were
obviously melting away.

Shao Qun had never worked so hard to seduce someone before, but he
didn't feel bored at all. As a man, he naturally loved the feeling of conquest.
And now he seemed to be marching onto the city, attacking it again and
again, as he slowly destroyed its defense systems. The spoils of victory
seemed to be within reach. But they were still a bit too far away, making
Shao Qun feel excited and unable to stop.

After the two of them finished eating, Shao Qun planned to take Li
Chengxiu out to play. However, an unexpected phone call came through -
there was an urgent matter that required his immediate presence.

So Shao Qun had no choice but to take Li Chengxiu home.

Before leaving, Shao Qun said, "Tomorrow I’l take you to purchase the
ingredients. You’l have to do some tasting.."

Li Chengxiu nodded.
"And the day after tomorrow, we’l have another date.”

"What?"

Shao Qun blinked slyly: "One day I’m taking you out for work, and one day
I’m taking you out for a date."

Li Chengxiu slightly blushed: "Don't you… don't you need to work?"

Shao Qun smiled ambiguously: "How can work be more important than
being with you?"

Li Chengxiu gave him an embarrassed look.

Shao Qun whispered in his ear: "Chengxiu, can you kiss me?"

Li Chengxiu was so frightened that he quickly stepped back. Then he

remembered the kiss in the stairwell, and his face turned red.

Shao Qun laughed, "Why do you get embarrassed so easily?"

Li Chengxiu said: "This… this is not good."

Shao Qun sighed, pouting slightly, and showed a disappointed expression.

Now he was looking at Li Chengxiu like a pitiful child who was asking for
pocket money.

Li Chengxiu felt a little relieved and smiled as he told him "Goodbye."

In the next few days, Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun met almost every day, and
Shao Qun took him out to eat, drink and have fun. All this time he was
caring, gentle and considerate to Li Chengxiu.

It was no exaggeration to say that Li Chengxiu hadn’t experienced such an

easy life in the least twenty years.

He didn’t need to work, but his salary was stil paid in full.
For the first time in his life, he was pursued and felt valued. Having
somebody to spend time with was also a beautiful feeling. Moreover, Shao
Qun was very knowledgeable, and he took him to see a lot of new things
around town, which broadened Li Chengxiu’s horizons. He had never
suspected that there were so many interesting and exciting things in this
city, even though he had stayed here for several years.

Although he reminded himself every day not to get carried away,

subconsciously he started looking forward to seeing Shao Qun.

It was very similar to the time when they had just started to hang out as
kids.

Original y, school was just Li Chengxiu’s escape from his gloomy life at
home. But gradual y it evolved into actually looking forward to having a
quiet lunch break with Shao Qun on the rooftop at noon.

Just like then, Shao Qun seemed to have opened a door to a new world for
him. The same door that isolated Li Chengxiu from everybody else and
made him feel sad, frustrated, inferior, and exhausted.

In this new world there was no trouble, no problems, no reality - he was no

longer discriminated against, ignored, or living a humble and bitter life. On
the contrary, somebody cared for him and treated him better than anybody
else. When he was with Shao Qun, even those who ignored him before
would treat him with respect. He felt like such an important person now -
someone appreciated him, liked him, and was willing to accompany him so
that he no longer needed to be lonely.

Step by step, Shao Qun had turned his fantasies that would only appear
secretly in his dreams into reality.

Li Chengxiu had never dared to seek life's pleasures before, but he found
himself unable to resist these things he had always longed for.

What’s more, these days, Shao Qun hadn’t crossed any lines again. And Li
Chengxiu was actually already accustomed and too lazy to react to the
occasional gestures of intimacy here or there.
The sea party was coming closer - more than half of the allotted 2 weeks
had passed by, and Li Chengxiu felt a weird sense of loss.

No matter how good the dream was, eventually it was time to wake up.

On this day, he stayed home alone, staring at the wall in a daze.

Shao Qun had been very busy these last few days. Although the
preparations for the party were basically done, there were still some
important details that had to be worked out.

Li Chengxiu’s live had been so full of action every day, and all of a sudden
it felt empty - he real y wasn’t used to it anymore.

He took a sip of water and flipped through the recipes he had prepared to
see what else could be improved.

Suddenly his phone rang.

He quickly picked it up, but when he saw the caller ID on the screen, he
was a little disappointed.

"Hello, Manager Zhang."

"Hey, Xiao Li. What are you doing now?"

"I’m at home."

"Oh, that's great. Get ready, you're gonna be busy today."

"Oh? Why?"

"Mr. Chen has arranged a dormitory for you."

"A dormitory?"

"Yes, previously the staff dormitory wasn’t quite ready yet. But now all the
work has been completed.
President Chen is very fond of you, so he has chosen a very good place for
you. You’re real y lucky.

Anyway, if you’re free today, you can move in."

"Ah?" Li Chengxiu was frightened. Having a place in a dormitory was

indeed a good thing. He could save on rent but there was no reason to move
in so quickly.

"What do you mean “ah”? Give me your address, I'm free today, so I can
come and help you move."

Manager Zhang had never been so friendly to Li Chengxiu that he would

suddenly sacrifice his holiday just to come help him move. This made Li
Chengxiu really suspicious.

He explained with some difficulty: "Too soon. I have to…cancel. The

apartment."

"Just give your landlord a call. It's almost the end of the month anyway.
Move in first, and let your lease run out."

"I need to cancel two months in advance. Or I lose the deposit."

"Oh, the hotel wil be responsible for your deposit. We can’t leave that nice
place standing empty after all.

Don't offend Mr. Chen - hurry up and tell me your address."

"Manager Zhang… but it's too sudden..."

The voice on the other side finally revealed some impatience: "Why are you
still haggling like a woman on the marketplace? If you don't move into such
a good house quickly, somebody else will snatch it away in a few days. This
house is just for you alone, no roommates. How many people in our hotel
get such good treatment? Why are you still hesitating?"

Li Chengxiu was a little afraid of offending his manager. Thinking about

what he just said, it really did make sense. Since the hotel was going to
reimburse his deposit, he had nothing to worry about. As soon as Li
Chengxiu had made up his mind, he gave Manager Zhang his address.

Only then did Manager Zhang sound happy again: "There's a traffic jam
now. I'll be there in a bit more than an hour. So you should hurry up and
pack up already."

Li Chengxiu put down his phone and froze for a while.

Urging him to move immediately as if it was the question of life and death
was really weird. Besides, Manager Zhang usually ignored him, so why
would he make a special trip now just to help him move?

There were many doubts in Li Chengxiu’s heart, and no matter how he

thought about it, he felt that something was wrong.

He hurriedly called his landlord. At first, his landlord was really angry at
him for moving out so suddenly and being unable to quite explain the
reason. He told Li Chengxiu off on the phone for a long time, until he was
reassured that there will be compensation for breaching the contract.

After calling the landlord, Li Chengxiu called Shao Qun.

He didn't expect that one day he'd actually have someone in his life whom
he could notify about moving.

It was a pity though that Shao Qun didn’t pick up, so Li Chengxiu had to
drop the call.

Although his speech wasn’t very fluent, Li Chengxiu’s actions were usually
very quick. In recent years, he had moved many times. He only had a few
things that were easy to pack. He took out the big woven bags and
cardboard boxes he used in the past, and quickly began to fill them up.

By the time Manager Zhang arrived with the moving company, Li

Chengxiu had basically finished packing up and was already dismantling
his wardrobe with some tools.
Manager Zhang stepped forward to stop him: "You don't have to bring any
furniture. Everything you need is already there. Whatever you think you
might require, has been provided."

Li Chengxiu frowned: "But..." He had bought this furniture with his own
money. If one day he had to move out from that place, would he need to
buy new furniture again?

"Don’t worry about it. Leave it here. There’s no place for it there anyway."

"No. In the future. If I move..."

"Let's talk about it later. There’s real y no place for all this junk there. Are
you going to fil the house rented by President Chen with this old stuff? If
the landlord finds out, wouldn’t it cause trouble for our boss?"

Li Chengxiu thought about what he said, but he was really reluctant to

throw anything away. He could, of course, move in first and figure out what
to do later. There were still a few days left until the end of the month. When
he is free tomorrow and the day after that, he could come here and take the
furniture to sell at the second-hand market. Or maybe negotiate with the
landlord to sell it to the next tenant.

Everything happened very fast - in the afternoon, Li Chengxiu was already

sitting in the moving van which drove in the direction of the hotel.

When the moving van entered a familiar neighborhood, Li Chengxiu was

dumbfounded.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 18
This was the same neighborhood where Shao Qun brought him a few days
ago.

He had a bad premonition in his heart, and sure enough, Manager Zhang led
him into the same building and took him to the same floor.

Li Chengxiu was panicking. He pulled Manager Zhang's sleeve to prevent

him from opening the door of the apartment.

"Manager… Manager Zhang."

"What's up?"

"Here……"

"Oh, it’s not a bad place, right? This apartment even has a sea view."
Manager Zhang's tone was obviously envious when he said it. Taking
advantage of the dimness of the corridor, he couldn't help but glance at Li
Chengxiu. He wondered what was so special about him. Was it just because
he was Shao’s former classmate that he would get such preferential
treatment? The rent for this house was 81,000 RMB[14] a month. Why did
Li Chengxiu get something like that? President Chen had also specifically
requested that he had to bring Li Chengxiu here on his rest day.

"Manager Zhang, is this Mr. Chen's arrangement?"

"Yeah, Mr. Chen takes special care of you." Manager Zhang opened the
door and held his breath in amazement.

Li Chengxiu looked inside and was also very surprised.

A few days ago, it was still empty, but now it was a well-decorated house. It
had an elegant and warm design, and it seemed ready for the new owner to
move in at any time.
Manager Zhang couldn't help but glance at Li Chengxiu again. His
expression was full of doubt. He opened his mouth, but didn't ask any
questions.

He greeted the people from the moving company: "Come, you can bring
everything up."

"No, no." Li Chengxiu hurriedly blocked the door. He anxiously asked

Manager Zhang again, "This… is real y Mr. Chen’s… arrangement?"

"Tsk, Mr. Li, you’re so annoying. I've told you everything clearly enough
already. You see that everything is here, and your stuff is ready to be
moved. What else is there to talk about?"

Li Chengxiu didn’t want to say anything anymore. This was obviously a

good thing done by Shao Qun. But he was not sure whether Manager Zhang
knew about it. If it was President Chen who asked him to arrange
everything, there was no use to even start this discussion with Manager
Zhang?

"Manager Zhang, I…I'l make a call, okay?"

Manager Zhang waved his hand impatiently: "Hurry up."

Li Chengxiu quickly hid in the stairwell and started to dial Shao Qun's
number, but even after several rings no one answered.

When he went back to the apartment, he saw that the moving company had
put all his luggage in the living room.

Manager Zhang left the key on the shoe cabinet: "Well, everything has been
moved. This key here is for you."

"Manager Zhang, how can I... I can't… live here."

"Can’t live here? What's the matter with you? You don’t want to live in such
a nice house for free?"
Li Chengxiu was anxiously sweating, but didn't know how to explain what
he meant: "I… I can't. Manager Zhang, tell President Chen that… I can't
live here."

"Go and tell it to President Chen yourself." Manager Zhang gave him a
strange look, "Boss Chen takes such good care of you, yet you don't
appreciate it. Aren't you being disrespectful towards him? I already told you
that our boss values his reputation the most. To tell you the truth, if you
weren’t such good friends with Mr. Shao, Mr. Chen would not treat you this
way. Our boss is trying to curry favor with Mr. Shao right now. If things go
well, then President Chen can get his hands on a profitable piece of land
through him.

Once that happens, he’l have no problem paying your rent."

"I'm not… friends with Mr.Shao."

Manager Zhang frowned and glared at him: "I don't care about any of that. I
just care about what Mr. Chen tells me. Xiao Li, I don’t get you. Mr. Chen
treats you so wel , he gives you a big apartment, gives you an

opportunity to earn extra money, pays for your five insurances and even
finances your housing costs. And all of this for free. Completely free! Why
would you turn this down? To negate all his hard work for you?”

Li Chengxiu was speechless.

When Manager Zhang left, he was overwhelmed by all his stuff on the
ground. He just stood there motionless for several minutes.

What was he going to do now? Move all his luggage back? Or actually stay
and live here?

If he stayed, his relationship with Shao Qun would be weird. If he didn’t

stay, he would offend his boss. Li Chengxiu couldn't make up his mind for a
while, so he just sat there on the floor and stared at his luggage in a daze.
The sun went down, and the room was getting darker and darker. Then, with
a sudden "snap" the huge living room was instantly illuminated by all the
overhead lights.

Li Chengxiu was startled. When he turned around, he saw that Shao Qun
was standing behind him and smiling.

"Chengxiu, why didn’t you close the door? Aren't you afraid of bad
people?"

Li Chengxiu got up from the ground and glared at him: "Shao Qun, you..."

"I know what you're going to say. Don't be angry. Come on, it’s been a long
day, and you're tired of moving.

It's getting dark, and you're still sitting here in a daze. Have you even eaten
yet? I brought you your favorite rice noodles." Shao Qun raised his hand
and put the lunch box he was holding on the table, inviting Li Chengxiu for
a meal.

"Shao Qun, what are you doing?"

Shao Qun calmly shrugged: "What do you mean?"

"Here… I said before… I don't want to stay."

"This is a long story. When I had breakfast with your boss one day, I
mentioned that your living environment is not very good. Your boss felt
very sorry about that. If it weren't for his lack of funds, he would have
arranged dormitories for you a long time ago. Now that he has more
income, he decided to solve this housing problem at least for some of the
employees who have contributed to the hotel the most. He thinks that you
have worked for the chain for a long time now and you have done a good
job, so he wanted to arrange a nice single apartment for you. But he
couldn’t find a good place for a while. So I recommended this place that I
had just bought. This apartment is standing empty anyway, and I have to
pay the property fee every month. It’s just not worth it. It’s better for me to
rent it out. And it’s even better to rent it out to an acquaintance." Shao Qun
spread his hands innocently, "Come on, Chengxiu, let's eat."

Li Chengxiu was speechless for a long time, and his eyes were about to fall
out from shock.

Shao Qun came up to hold his hand and led him to the dining table: "What
are you doing standing there?

Just eat."

Li Chengxiu waved his hand away, blushing with anger: "You… On

purpose..."

"Yes, I did it on purpose. But it also makes sense. I didn't just give you this
house, it is being rented by your boss and used as a staff dormitory for you."

"You!"

"Chengxiu." Shao Qun held his hand again and looked into his eyes with a
smile, "Chengxiu, don't be angry. I know I didn't tell you beforehand, and it
wasn’t so good from my side. But you reacted so badly to this before, that I
was afraid you’d refuse to move, if you knew about the arrangement. After
all, I just feel sorry for your living conditions."

Li Chengxiu real y couldn’t deal with this soft approach, and his harsh
expression was a little shaken.

"I want to be nice to you, but you always reject my kindness. Thinking of
you living in that place makes me sad. It's so hot in the summer, and the
traffic is not convenient. The security is also not good. Chengxiu, I care
about you and I worry about you. Don't you understand that?"

"I… I understand, but I can't live in your house."

"Chengxiu." Shao Qun touched his face lightly and emphasized: "I rented
this house to your boss. And then your boss made this your dormitory. You
don't owe me anything, because you got it by working at the hotel."
Li Chengxiu opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know how to
refute Shao Qun’s words.

"Chengxiu, do you remember the time when we were young?" Shao Qun
pulled Li Chengxiu to the dining table and sat him down, pushing the lunch
box in front of him, "I used to bring you delicious food back then.

And later, I rented a house just for you. We went there during lunch break,
do you remember?

Li Chengxiu thought about these moments in the past and felt a little
touched. His shoulders finally relaxed, and he nodded.

"At that time, you also didn't want to eat my food or live in my house. But
when I was a child, I always used my fists to scare people. You were afraid
of me, so you had to accept it." Shao Qun laughed out loud, "I just wanted
to treat you nicely at that time. And if you refused, I got angry. Same now, I
just want to be nice to you. But I’m not going to threaten you anymore, if
you refuse. I'l just be very sad."

Li Chengxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his heart softened when he

heard those words.

Shao Qun continued: "Isn’t this house designed to feel like home? When I
saw it, I thought of the small place we rented outside the school at that time.
It made me recall all of our good memories. Don't you miss it at all?"

Li Chengxiu hesitated: "I..."

Shao Qun took advantage of the situation to slowly approach him and
gently kiss his cheek.

Li Chengxiu's eyes were as bright as stars - clear and innocent. Still a little
nervous, he looked at Shao Qun hesitantly.

How could Shao Qun let him hesitate? He bit his lower lip and slowly
sucked at it, while tightly holding Li Chengxiu’s arms with both of his
hands.
Li Chengxiu's upper body kept shaking. He rigidly accepted Shao Qun's
kiss, but he was still struggling a lot in his heart.

Shao Qun kissed him for a while, and before Li Chengxiu tried to push him
away, he moved away and looked at him with a smile.

Li Chengxiu felt guilty and hurriedly lowered her head.

How could Shao Qun miss such a great opportunity? He held Li Chengxiu’s
face and said, "Xiao Chengxiu, you didn't refuse this time. So have I
succeeded?"

"What…what?"

"Do you like me?"

"I… no...I don't know..."

Shao Qun raised the corners of his mouth, showing a complacent smile,
then kissed his forehead and laughed loudly: "Okay, I won't force you.
Sooner or later you will have to admit it yourself. Come on, eat now, I can’t
let my darling[15] starve."

"Why did you bring these things here? All the kitchen utensils are provided,
so you can throw your stuff away." After the two of them finished eating,
Shao Qun insisted on staying to help Li Chengxiu with unpacking. But he
didn’t even lift a finger - just stood there and gave commands.

Li Chengxiu ignored him and moved all the pots and pans he brought with
him to the kitchen.

Even if he decided to stay here for the time being, he didn’t dare to mess
with the things in the apartment.

Everything around looked very expensive. What if he breaks something and

needs to pay for it?

"This pot has loose screws. If it falls apart while you’re cooking in it, won't
you get burnt?"
Li Chengxiu took the pot from him: "It’s stil fine."

Shao Qun frowned as he watched Li Chengxiu rush in and out of the room.
After a while, the pile of stuff on the floor disappeared, and the house was
spotless and orderly again.

When Li Chengxiu was done, Shao Qun made a pot of tea and invited him
to rest on the balcony.

There was a set of cream white rattan coffee table and rattan chairs on the
balcony. When one looked outside, one could see a seascape in the distance
- the silvery moonlight was reflecting from the water, while the moist sea
breeze blew gently, creating small waves. This night was dazzling, quiet,
and cool. In this noisy and busy city, it was undoubtedly a rare treat to
experience such serenity.

Li Chengxiu held a small tea bowl, as he faced the sea and enjoyed the sea
breeze, while squinting comfortably.

Shao Qun also squinted, but he was looking at Li Chengxiu's slightly raised
pointed chin, delicate upturned nose, and long slightly trembling eyelashes.

This moment was very quiet. Li Chengxiu's beautiful profile seemed like a
still painting, which made Shao Qun feel calm when he looked at him.

Li Chengxiu noticed his glance and shyly turned his face away: "This…
natural wind. Be… better than air conditioning."

Shao Qun smiled: "The ventilation here is good. Even during the day, it
won't get too hot. If you live here in the future, I wouldn’t have to worry
about you getting a heat stroke."

Li Chengxiu nodded slightly and continued to squint at the dark sea.

Shao Qun’s heart skipped a beat, and he moved his rattan chair towards Li
Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu looked at him nervously.

Shao Qun's hand wrapped around the back of his head and gently touched
his soft hair: "The day after tomorrow you will have to work a lot, and you
will be busy all day long. Are you prepared?"

Li Chengxiu smiled and said, "That's what I usually do."

"That's good. But when it’s all over, we won’t be able to meet every day.
That makes me real y reluctant."

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes in embarrassment.

"Chengxiu." Shao Qun gently touched his eyes with his fingertips: "Be
mine."

Li Chengxiu narrowed his eyes and looked at the buttons on Shao Qun's
shirt.

Shao Qun raised his chin: "I'll treat you well. Just be mine, okay?"

"I……"

"Do you stil want to say that you don't know? Chengxiu, you’re an adult.
Don't you even know what you want? Since you don't know, don't you want
to find out? Look at me and ask yourself - do you hate me?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head in a daze.

"Then are you happy when you’re with me?"

Li Chengxiu paused for a while, then nodded.

"In that case, why can't you be with me? I can give you an astonishing life."

"We…we…are not suitable."

"Why do you think so? How are we not suitable?"

Li Chengxiu was silent. Where should he even begin? He felt that they were
unsuitable in all aspects.
Shao Qun was so outstanding, so dazzling, and he has always been like this,
ever since he was a child.

While Li Chengxiu hasn't made any progress in life at all. He was suddenly
almost 30, yet he still felt at a loss about his future. He couldn't figure out
why Shao Qun even liked him. And because he couldn't figure it out, he
was afraid that everything was just a dream. If he took a step forward, he
might accidentally walk out of this dream.

It was unclear when Shao Qun got so close to him that he was almost
holding him in his arms: "Chengxiu, I like you. I don’t care about being
suitable. You just need to let it go and be with me. No need to think about
all these useless things."

Li Chengxiu hesitated: "Let me…think… think about it more."

Shao Qun looked at his weak expression and let out a long sigh: "Okay, I'll
give you some more time, but..."

A phone call suddenly interrupted them. Shao Qun lowered his head and
took out his mobile phone. He looked at the caller ID and said: "I have to
take this." He got up and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind
him.

Li Chengxiu was stil dazed, as he hadn’t recovered from the warm

atmosphere that surrounded him just now.

"Hey, A-wen."

"Right. I haven't been around recently. I’m all right."

"What? You’re all coming? Okay, let me tell you, Shenzhen's service
industry is very developed! Let's have a good time with all the bros reunited
again."

"Fuck! So you’re not rushing here for me? Once Li Chengxiu is mentioned,
you’re all running over, but when I invited you, you were all sooo busy!"

"Well, I'm chasing him. Actually I'm with him right now."
"I don’t fucking want to do it now. Not to that extent."

"Tonight? Forget it, I’m a civilized person. Why would I go so far as rape?
If I touch him now, he’l bite me."

"Nonsense, of course there's no problem. Is my name even Shao Qun, if I

can’t deal with that little sissy?"

"Forget it. In front of him I have to be a perfect gentleman. I’m warning

you, you can come, but don’t you dare ruin my little play."

"Okay, okay, just act polite with him. If you fucking cause me any trouble,
I’l beat the shit out of all of you."

"Okay, I’m hanging up. See you the day after tomorrow."

When Shao Qun returned, he saw that Li Chengxiu was still sitting
crookedly in the chair. His head was leaned against the iron railing of the
balcony.

He walked over and saw that his eyes were closed, and he was breathing
evenly, as if in a deep sleep.

Li Chengxiu's face looked a bit tired. In his sleep he looked innocent and
defenseless. Seeing that, Shao Qun involuntarily smiled, stepped forward
and picked him up.

Li Chengxiu woke up as soon as he felt some movement. When he opened

his eyes, he was startled to see himself hanging in the air.

"Shao Qun, I dozed off for a while. Put me down."

Shao Qun pretended to take his hands away in order to frighten him. "Don't
move, or I'll throw you off the balcony, hehe." He laughed.

Li Chengxiu also giggled: "You dare… kil me!”

Shao Qun lowered his head and kissed Li Chengxiu on the hair: "I'm
carrying my wife into the bridal chamber."
Li Chengxiu blushed: "I'll go by myself."

"What's the matter? Are you so impatient? Are you afraid it’ll take too long
for me to carry you?"

"No……"

Shao Qun hugged him closer and suddenly ran a few steps, frightening Li
Chengxiu so much that he quickly grabbed his arm.

Shao Qun rushed into the bedroom and threw Li Chengxiu onto the double
bed. He then pressed his whole body onto him.

Li Chengxiu let out a low cry, as he panicked and struggled with the weight
of another person on top of him.

The relationship between him and Shao Qun was that Shao Qun kept
approaching while Li Chengxiu kept retreating. Shao Qun's initiative made
him scared, yet also tempted. As he couldn't make up his mind about the
situation, he could only keep retreating, but Shao Qun slowly pushed him
into a dead end. And now there was nowhere to retreat. There were only
two paths in front of him - either push Shao Qun away and leave, or he
could...

Shao Qun hushed him and chuckled: "Are you nervous that I’l force you?"

"Then… what do you… want to do?"

"I want to hug you." Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu into his arms, buried his
head in his neck and said in a muffled voice, "I want to hug you just like I
did when I was a child."

Li Chengxiu's rapid breathing gradually calmed down, and his heart was
beating softly.

Shao Qun's soft kisses lingered on his neck and cheeks and finally stopped
on his lips. Shao Qun pecked and kissed them carefully.

The alluring moonlight was peaking through the window into the pitch dark
room, and the surroundings were so quiet that one would be able to hear a
needle falling on the ground.

Li Chengxiu heard Shao Qun's heartbeat.

Heartbeat can't be faked, he thought.

They say that when you like someone your heart beats faster. He felt that
his heart was about to jump out of his throat. He could feel that Shao Qun's
heart was also beating really fast. Does this mean that...

His body slowly relaxed, and he tremblingly accepted Shao Qun's kiss.

Me googling the term “love bombing”

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 19
That day, Shao Qun didn't stay for a long time. He hugged Li Chengxiu for
a bit, they talked for a while, and then he finally left. Li Chengxiu felt
relieved.

In a blink of an eye, the day of the party had arrived.

Li Chengxiu had to get up at four in the morning. Shao Qun wasn’t up that
early, so he sent a driver to take him to Shenzhen Bay. The plan was to sail
from Shenzhen Bay to Hong Kong.

It was already past six am when Li Chengxiu arrived in Shenzhen Bay. It

was dawning.

The car stopped at a yacht marina, and someone came down to pick him up
with a boat. Besides Li Chengxiu, other staff members also started arriving
one after another.

Dozens of snow-white yachts were neatly parked on the dock, and it looked
spectacular at first glance.

The person in charge took them for a walk along the pier. In front of them
they saw a three-storey luxury yacht which was more than 30 meters in
length. Li Chengxiu stared blankly at this snow-white and elegant vehicle.

The person in charge was pretty smug about it: "This yacht can
accommodate fifty or even sixty people!

There are only a few yachts in China that can hold so many guests."

Everyone around sighed.

Li Chengxiu boarded the yacht after everybody else.

Shao Qun told him that all the guests were pretty distinguished. Not many
people were invited, but everything had to be up to the highest standard.

In order to prepare perfect dishes for 40 people, Li Chengxiu had to start

out early in the morning. He didn't have time to look around the yacht, as he
hurried into the kitchen to begin the preparations.

When one is busy, time flies quickly. So in a blink of an eye, it was already
afternoon. Li Chengxiu also had no idea at what moment the yacht left the
pier.

Except for a quick lunch at noon, he didn't take any breaks at all. After
finally preparing everything that should have been prepared, Li Chengxiu
waited for the time to start cooking. That was when he finally could take a
breather on top of the deck.

After a while, someone came up to him and said: "Chef Li, are you free
now? Go to the second floor when you're ready. The boss is waiting for
you.”

"Okay."

Li Chengxiu went upstairs and saw Shao Qun standing in the shade of the
cabin, leaning against the railing to catch some wind.

"Shao Qun."

Shao Qun turned towards him and smiled: "Chengxiu, come here."

Li Chengxiu walked over, and as soon as he approached him, Shao Qun

naturally took him into his arms.

He leaned on the railing with his elbows and trapped Li Chengxiu between
his body and the railing.

Li Chengxiu was a little uncomfortable. He looked left and right and

wanted to push him away.
"It's okay, there’s no one here. And even if there were people around, what
of it? This yacht is my private property." Shao Qun grinned ambiguously,
"You’re also my private property."

Li Chengxiu turned away in embarrassment. He still had some doubts in his

heart, but Shao Qun seemed to think that they should get along in this way.
Were they really in love now? Why did Li Chengxiu feel then that they
hadn't reached this level yet? Shao Qun behaved so naturally that he
wondered whether they had already established their relationship that night
in the new apartment.

But then again, he had already kissed and hugged Shao Qun. If he didn't
admit it, it would make him a hypocrite.

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, and although he was uncomfortable, he

still quietly shrank into Shao Qun's arms and didn’t move anymore.

Seeing his reaction, Shao Qun was very happy. His lips were close to his
ear, as he spoke intimately.

"Chengxiu, are you tired? You got up early in the morning, and I only just
got onto the boat."

"Not tired… had to do early preparations."

"You should take a good rest for a few days after this event is over."

"The day after tomorrow…I have to return to work."

"I’m calling the shots here. Take a few more days off. Your boss won’t
mind."

Li Chengxiu nodded, thinking that it would be good to have a few more

days of rest. The essential thing was to get paid, of course, but he also
wanted to laze around a bit.

"Chengxiu, is this yacht beautiful?"

"Very beautiful."
"During the financial crisis, I bought it from a very unlucky Indian[16] guy.
Hey, this Indian was close to tears when I negotiated the price down."

Li Chengxiu just smiled and nodded.

"But yachts are nothing special! Wait until I earn some more money to
actually buy a cruise ship." Shao Qun was only turning twenty-six this year.
Usually he would present a mature and reserved front to the outsiders. But
in front of his fresh little squeeze who has never seen much of the world,
Shao Qun inevitably wanted to show off, and he didn’t conceal the flashy
arrogance of his words.

Li Chengxiu smiled and nodded yet again, feeling that Shao Qun was really
a high-powered person. He couldn't help but wonder how someone like that
could notice someone like him.

Shao Qun looked at the admiration in Li Chengxiu's eyes and felt the
calming comfort of his body. This made him happier than any flattering
words he had ever heard from anyone else before.

Shao Qun's heart was full of anticipation, and he pulled Li Chengxiu into
the inner cabin: "Come in! Come and sit here for a while. It's windy outside,
you can't stay on the deck for too long."

The two entered the cabin, which was basically a luxuriously furnished
room. Although it was not large in size, it had everything one would need.

Shao Qun closed the door with a "bang", then pressed Li Chengxiu against
the wall and impatiently lowered his head to cover his lips.

Li Chengxiu was startled and kissed him back with his eyes wide open.

Shao Qun pul ed Li Chengxiu’s waist close to his abdomen and held the
back of his head with his other hand, while he sucked at his lips so
passionately as if he was going to swallow Li Chengxiu whole. He kept

pressing down on his lips, kissing him harder and harder. Shao Qun’s
dexterous tongue took advantage of Li Chengxiu's mouth, stirring inside,
licking his gums and finally chasing and entangling his slippery tongue.

Li Chengxiu's brain was deprived of oxygen by the violent kiss, his limbs
went soft, and his whole body was almost hanging off Shao Qun.
Transparent fluid slowly leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

He felt that he was about to suffocate, so he used all his strength to push
against Shao Qun's chest.

At that moment, Shao Qun was oblivious of anything else, as he was

entirely addicted to this amazing feeling rising up inside him. It was not
until Li Chengxiu pushed him that he came back to his senses and let go of
him.

Both of them were panting heavily, nose to nose, staring at each other.

Shao Qun waited for Li Chengxiu to catch his breath, then he leaned over
and kissed him again. But this time he was no longer so impatient, and there
was no lack of tenderness in his enthusiasm. He was slowly mobilizing Li
Chengxiu's erotic desire. Shao Qun’s hand quietly slid underneath his
clothes, sensually stroking his smooth and slender waist.

Li Chengxiu was immersed in this warm atmosphere and didn't even realize
what was happening. Although he only passively accepted Shao Qun's
kisses and didn't know how to respond, this sweet feeling made him lose his
senses.

It wasn't until Shao Qun's palm was already rubbing all over his chest that
he suddenly woke up. He curled up like a frightened rabbit and stared at
Shao Qun with wide eyes.

Shao Qun patiently reassured him: "Don't be afraid, Chengxiu. We’re both
men. Don't you have needs?

Just leave it to me, okay?" As he spoke, he started taking off his clothes.

Li Chengxiu was still curled up, too stiff to straighten out: "Shao ... Qun,
I'm scared."
If currently his face wasn't right in front of Li Chengxiu, Shao Qun would
have rolled his eyes. He could have never imagined that one day there
would be a guy in his bed who would hunch over like a total sissy and tell
him he was "scared".

He didn't understand that Li Chengxiu was really scared.

He didn't know that at that moment, his eyes were full of naked lust. He
didn’t know that he looked fierce and impatient like a beast, eager to
swallow his prey in one bite.

His dick was already hard, so no wonder that Shao Qun could no longer
pretend to be a gentleman. He spent more than a month of his time on Li
Chengxiu, and now he was final y so close that he couldn’t wait to taste the
spoils of victory. Just for this, he had pretended to be so fucking noble.
Seeing the fresh meat in front of him, how could he hold back?

But looking at Li Chengxiu's teary eyes, he knew this was it for today.

He was so annoyed that he wanted to flip a table, but he tried his best to
endure it.

Patting Li Chengxiu's face, he pulled him up. He hugged him and coaxed
him softly: "Okay, don't be scared. If you don't want it, I won't force you. I
will respect your boundaries." In his experience, or in any man's experience,
nine times out of ten, these were the words one would say to a woman.
Although he didn't really think of Li Chengxiu as a man in his heart, he did
have a penis after all, so Shao Qun felt a little ridiculous having to say all of
this stuff to him.

The more uncomfortable and awkward Li Chengxiu looked, the more

unpleasant he seemed to Shao Qun.

With the bowstring already stretched, he had to forcibly withdraw his

troops. No one had ever let Young Master Shao suffer like this. Today was
the first time he had experienced such a thing, and it felt terrible.
Moreover, he had to coax and calm down the person who made him
uncomfortable in the first place. This whole situation really set his heart on
fire.

The two of them parted ways.

Li Chengxiu ran back to the kitchen under the pretext of work.

Shao Qun angrily sat in the bedroom all alone with all kinds of immoral
ideas circulating inside his head.

The sun was about to go down, and the kitchen was at its busiest.

The kitchen on the yacht was not very big. But there were more than ten
people working there at the same time. Li Chengxiu was so hot that he was
sweating profusely, and his white chef clothes were soaked with sweat and
were sticking to his back.

Fortunately, he had prepared well, and everything went smoothly. Every

time someone opened the door, he could hear the sounds of music leaking
in, and he didn't need to look to know that it was very lively outside.

After all the work was done, Li Chengxiu took off his hat and ran to the
deck to stand in the wind for a while.

It didn’t take a long time for the person in charge to come up to him: "Chef
Xiao Li, the boss is waiting for you on the second floor. You can go up."

Li Chengxiu nodded, remembering the embarrassing afternoon, but he bit

the bullet.

Shao Qun was wearing a milky white thin cashmere sweater with a round
neck and dark linen slacks. The width of his collar showed off his slender
neck and beautiful collarbone. He was tall, his legs were long, he

had a strong physique and a very handsome face. He looked like a calm, yet
energetic and elegant gentleman. At that moment, he had one hand in his
pocket and was holding a wine glass in the other.
When he saw Li Chengxiu coming up, he raised the glass to him with a
smile.

Li Chengxiu’s face felt hot. He thought that Shao Qun was better-looking
than the stars on TV. No matter what clothes he was wearing, he looked like
a model.

He remembered that he often looked at Shao Qun's face in a daze when he

was a child. He was not interested when he heard his male classmates
discussing pretty and cute girls, but every time his female classmates would
talk about how handsome Shao Qun was, he would prick up his ears to
listen. He really was gay. People were not wrong about him at the time.

Shao Qun smiled and said, "Are you done? You've worked hard today. You
look tired."

Li Chengxiu straightened out the hair that was deformed by his chef's hat:
"It's okay."

Shao Qun approached him and wrinkled his nose, "You smell of burnt oil.
Hurry up and take a bath. I have prepared other clothes for you."

"Oh? Why?"

"So you can join the party."

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise: "Me? I can't..."

"Don't be nervous, it's not a formal party. It’s just an ordinary social event.
What are you afraid of?"

Li Chengxiu waved his hands again and again: "No, I’m not good…at
speaking."

No matter how Li Chengxiu tried to get out of this, Shao Qun insisted on
letting him participate. He coaxed him into the bathroom: "I'll come back
for you in twenty minutes. Hurry up and wash yourself."
Li Chengxiu had no choice but to take a quick shower and then change into
the clothes prepared on the bed for him.

When Shao Qun came in, wet-haired Li Chengxiu was turning the wall-
mounted hair dryer left and right, trying to find the switch.

Shao Qun laughed: "The switch is on the wall." He pressed the button, took
the hair dryer from Li Chengxiu, and stood behind him to dry his hair.

It's true what they say - you are what you wear.

Li Chengxiu was wearing a polo shirt with a blue starched collar. The soft
colors made him look extraordinarily fair and delicate, and he immediately
seemed more lively.

Li Chengxiu shyly dodged Shao Qun's scorching gaze in the mirror, not
knowing where to put his eyes.

Shao Qun put down the dryer and smeared some wax into his hair. Then he
grabbed Li Chengxiu by the back of his head and smiled ambiguously: "My
darling looks so good, that I'm not willing to take you out in front of people
anymore."

Li Chengxiu blushed slightly and gave him a shy smile.

This shy and timid smile was more provocative for Shao Qun than anything
else. He felt that his body was getting hot. He lowered his head and licked
Li Chengxiu's earlobe, still staring at the mirror, meeting Li Chengxiu's
eyes.

Li Chengxiu turned his head away in embarrassment and wanted to hide.

Shao Qun hugged him from behind, licking all the way along the contour of
his ear.

"It tickles……"

Shao Qun chuckled into his ear and kissed his cheek before letting him go.
"Come on, let's go out. There will be a surprise for you later."

"What surprise?"

Shao Qun blinked: "You'll find out in a while."

Li Chengxiu followed him a little nervously. He listened to the people in the

kitchen chatting today. Most of the guests were young upstarts from the
Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong's political and business circles.

Shao Qun took him down to the first floor, and a wave of heat mixed with
loud music hit him directly in the face.

Li Chengxiu looked at the group of people in the hall and was immediately
stunned.

He originally thought that since they were all distinguished people, they
would all be very decent. So he didn't expect such a chaotic scene.

Shao Qun glanced at him and whispered into his ear, "This is a closed party.
All the people here know each other. So everyone can relax. You can also
relax. Don't be nervous."

Li Chengxiu pointed at the two large tables in the middle surrounded by a

bunch of people: "What are they doing?"

"Ah, let's play too." Shao Qun led him closer, and only then did Li
Chengxiu see that it was an American-style roulette table, and there were
quite a few pretty girls standing around there, holding trays with wine
glasses for the guests. "This...is…" Li Chengxiu whispered, "gambling?"

Shao Qun laughed: "You know, this is not as bad as it looks. Don't worry,
we’re on the high seas. We wouldn’t be able to play otherwise.[17]"
With satisfaction, Shao Qun looked at the people in front of him who were
gradually losing all inhibitions.

These people were usually so virtuous, and all of them pretended to be

fierce. Today, under the stimulation of alcohol and other pleasures, some of
them might still be able to pretend but they will all show their true colors
sooner or later. And that was exactly what Shao Qun wanted. When they
wake up tomorrow, they will regret today's drunken decisions, but it would
invisibly end up making their relationship much tighter.

Thus, they will continue having good times with him in the future.

Li Chengxiu didn't understand Shao Qun's world, so he didn’t want to say

anything. But all of this once again hinted at how big of a gap there was
between them.

A few people saw Shao Qun and rushed over to greet him. Shao Qun
responded to them one by one.

When they asked about Li Chengxiu next to him, Shao Qun suddenly
dropped his usual intimate act and just said he was some friend of his. But
he didn't mean to introduce Li Chengxiu to them at all.

Seeing this, the guests naturally assumed that Li Chengxiu was no one
important. Li Chengxiu didn't feel there was anything wrong about that, so
he just politely greeted everyone.

Several people were chatting around them, when suddenly someone called
loudly: "Shao Qun!"

Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu both turned around and saw three men coming
down the stairs - all outstanding in terms of clothes and appearance.

Shao Qun greeted them with a smile: "I was looking around for you. Where
did you disappear to?"

Li Chengxiu's face instantly turned pale.

"Yo, this really is Li Chengxiu!"

The man in the lead of the trio came over and hooked Shao Qun's shoulders.
He then bent down and turned his face towards Li Chengxiu, looking at him
with a smile: "Hey, do you remember me?"

He didn’t forget Shao Qun, and naturally he would never forget these three
people. In front of him was Zhou Li[18], a delinquent who dyed his hair red
when he was a child and always had two buttons undone on his shirt.
Behind him was Li Wenxun, who looked like a young elite in his metal-
framed glasses, and next to him was Ke Yisheng[19] with his dull face.

He didn't expect to see them here. He remembered that Shao Qun clearly
promised that if he didn't want to see them, he wouldn't have to see them.

Li Chengxiu instantly paled and looked at Shao Qun.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 20
Content warning: rape (I marked the part that can be skipped just in case)
Shao Qun spread his hands and said apologetically: "Chengxiu, they wanted
to come, and I can't control their legs." He patted Zhou Li's head, "Don't
scare him."

"Oh, Shao Qun, isn’t it too soon to start protecting the weak? I just leaned a
little closer to him, and you’re already so concerned."

Li Wenxun folded his arms and smiled politely: "Li Chengxiu, we haven't
seen each other for a long time.

It's been more than ten years. Hey, in a blink of an eye, we’re all now
pushing 30. It was real y fate for Shao Qun to run into you again. We were
all surprised when he told us."

Li Chengxiu was surrounded by the three of them and felt more and more
invisible pressure on himself.

Even after more than ten years, he was still so weak and useless, while they
were still just as condescending as before. He had an indescribable disgust
and fear towards these guys - just like he did in the past.

He didn’t even want to say a word to them now. Al he wanted was to turn
around and run.

However, Shao Qun seemed to be unaware of his frightened state. Instead,

he handed him a tall glass of wine: "Chengxiu, this is basically an
impromptu alumni gathering. It's a rare occasion. So no matter what, we
have to have a drink together."

Li Wenxun raised his glass in front of him with a sincere face: "Li
Chengxiu, we were ignorant when we were young. Now that I think about
it, it was really naive and ridiculous what we did. I see that you look
uncomfortable. If you are still angry about what happened back when we
were young, then how about you just punish me and my brothers by making
us drink an apology cup[20], okay?"

He deliberately emphasized "when we were young" repeatedly, and after he

finished speaking, he emptied his glass without waiting for Li Chengxiu's
reaction.

Zhou Li laughed: "A-wen is really something! Okay, in that case, I will also
drink. Speaking of which, I remember I beat you up at the time. Well, oops,
it's been so long, who still remembers these things?

Anyway, it was something we did as kids. It’s fate for us to meet again, I
guess. I have finished my cup.

Xiao Sheng, it’s your turn now."

Li Chengxiu was at a loss as he watched these guys arrogantly drain the

wine in their glasses.

In their view, it was just something unimportant that happened during

"childhood", but for Li Chengxiu this was what ruined his life and his
future.

If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have encountered such nasty things on his
last night at school. If he came home earlier that day, he might have been
able to take his mother to the hospital in time, and she wouldn't have
become paralyzed. His relatives advised him to continue his studies back
then, but he did not have the courage to go back to school after everything
they did to him.

Man's fate is determined by the Heavens. Sometimes when Li Chengxiu

pondered about the events in his life he came to the conclusion that
everything might have been destined, and he wouldn’t have been able to
escape his fate anyway. Shao Qun's gang only played a role in fueling the
flames. But even if that was the case, Li Chengxiu stil couldn’t let go of
resentment.
At least when he didn’t have to see these guys, he could forget that they
existed. But now that they were in front of him, he real y couldn’t control
his hateful thoughts about the things in the past, even if they were just
something from his "childhood".

Seeing that he didn't respond, Shao Qun lightly tapped his wine glass to get
his attention: "Chengxiu, don’t ignore them. Aren’t they all wil ing to
compensate you?."

Li Chengxiu glanced at Shao Qun and felt a little cold. He lowered his eyes
and took a sip of his wine.

Shao Qun smiled and said, "All right then! Chengxiu, you are good at
drinking, haha."

Li Wenxun pursed his lips and took another glass of wine: "Come on, how
about another toast. I heard that you were responsible for preparing the
main meal today. You are really talented! In the whole world this was the
best meal I‘ve tried. Real y amazing! Let’s drink to that."

Li Chengxiu didn't know how to deal with these guys. And as he didn't want
to talk to them, he had to drink.

Li Wenxun looked at Li Chengxiu's evasive posture and winked proudly at

Shao Qun.

Seeing that the wine in his glass was coming to an end, Shao Qun hurriedly
stuffed him a new glass. Then they all took turns toasting again.

Li Chengxiu was in a bad mood today and was currently surrounded by the
people who scared him to death when he was a child. He has never been a
big drinker, but today he was consuming one glass after the other, hoping it
would help him temporarily escape this reality.

He also felt that this wine tasted like juice, so it wouldn’t make him drunk
easily.
He didn't know that what Shao Qun gave him was Sprite mixed with
Tequila. The lemon masked the strong smell of alcohol, and it tasted sweet
and slightly pungent. He didn't realize that this kind of mixture was really
strong - it was actually 43% alcohol[21]. It seemed completely innocuous
when he just started drinking it.

Before he could feel the effects, Shao Qun coaxed him to have another two
glasses. Li Chengxiu hadn’t consumed any alcohol in a year, and had no
tolerance. But now he had quickly downed a lot of high-concentration
tequila, so very soon he felt dizzy and couldn’t stand straight anymore.

He was completely out of it, when Shao Qun helped him into the cabin.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu lying on the bed, so drunk that he couldn't
even open his eyes, and chuckled with ridicule.

He regarded Li Chengxiu as a novelty snack that he wanted to eat back

when he was a child but did not dare to open his mouth at the time.

Back then, this snack had an alluring aroma, but Shao Qun was still young,
inexperienced, and ignorant, so he didn't dare to eat it and only managed to
get it closer to his nose to sniff. Later, when he grew up, he wanted to
finally eat it but couldn't find the snack anymore. Which was a pity.

Who knew he’d be so lucky to bump into him by chance? Although this
snack has long since passed its expiration date, and could be considered
discounted goods when compared to the time when it was still

young and fresh, it still had some purchasing value. Even now, it was
appetizing enough to make Shao Qun drool.

Right now there were no reasons to postpone what he had coveted for a
long time and hadn’t dared to try back then.

Shao Qun put his knee on the bed and took off Li Chengxiu's clothes.

Li Chengxiu was considerably under the influence. He had blushed from

the top of his head to his toes, and his fair skin was touched by gentle pink
hues. This made him look delicate, tender and alluring. Just like when he
was a child, he still had little body hair. At that moment he looked like an
exquisite piece of jade[22] - so beautiful that Shao Qun couldn’t take his
eyes off him.

Immediately, a wave of heat rose up in Shao Qun’s chest. His desire was so
prevalent that it was almost flowing out of his throat.

He leaned over and pressed Li Chengxiu under his body, then lowered his
head and kissed his lips heavily.

Li Chengxiu's eyes were barely open, and there was only confusion in his
unfocused pupils. He was staring at the ceiling without seeing anything, and
did not react at all to the violent kiss.

Shao Qun's hands stroked his smooth skin inch by inch, setting him on fire.

Li Chengxiu was like a fish thrown to the shore. He was tossing and turning
uncomfortably under Shao Qun, a low moan escaping his throat from time
to time…

—----------------rapey smut warning, can be skipped without losing too

much context—--------------

Shao Qun turned him over, took out the lubricant and squeezed it directly
onto his hole.

He knew that he was being a little impatient - instead of doing some

foreplay to prepare his partner, he went straight to business. This was a bit
uninspiring, since it made him look like a young boy who just couldn’t
wait. But today he real y couldn't control it. He felt that he had been
thinking about this fresh piece of meat for far too long. If he didn't swallow
it quickly, he was afraid it would be too late.

Shao Qun distributed the lubricant all over the crevice and slowly massaged
the opening with his thumb to loosen it up.
Li Chengxiu's body froze, and he seemed to be jolted awake. He turned his
head to look at Shao Qun in confusion, "You..."

Shao Qun leaned down and gagged his mouth with a kiss.

He slowly inserted his fingers into the gradually expanding and softening
back hole, turning them around there and stirring the lubrication inside. Li
Chengxiu fluttered uncomfortably, but was suppressed by Shao Qun with a
little force.

Shao Qun put on the condom and lifted Li Chengxiu's waist and hips. He
then pushed his thighs apart and exposed his soft and gaping hole to the
view. The flesh was weakly pulsating, opening and then closing, as if
begging him to enter.

Shao Qun was so hard it was almost painful. He held his own dick, aimed it
at the narrow entrance and squeezed in mercilessly.

When he pushed in, Li Chengxiu's body’s struggle became bigger. Although

his eyes were stil closed, his brows were tightly knit together, and there was
a constant whisper of pain coming out of his throat.

Shao Qun was experienced enough to know what to do. His hand went
down and touched Li Chengxiu’s soft genitals. Li Chengxiu let out a low
cry, and his body completely softened. He buried his head in the quilt with a
low humming sound.

Shao Qun grabbed his buttocks, sinking all of his five fingers into the flesh.
He then adjusted Li Chengxiu’s waist to a suitable position for him and
proceeded to insert himself inch by inch.

The previously untouched hole was tight to the point of toothache - not only
was Li Chengxiu gasping for breath in his half-conscious state, but Shao
Qun was also uncomfortable.

He rubbed at the wet and soft opening in an attempt to make Li Chengxiu

relax and tried to push in some more. When Shao Qun was almost all the
way inside, Li Chengxiu was covered in sweat.
Shao Qun spread Li Chengxiu’s legs as much as he could, so that they were
almost touching his hips. He then rapidly straightened out, breaking through
the narrow path that kept pushing against him and refusing his invasion.

Li Chengxiu shed tears in his sleep, his expression pained and struggling.

Shao Qun raised his neck and let out a comfortable moan. The
psychological feeling of complete possession and conquest surpassed any
kind of physical pleasure. He felt so good that he almost came right at that
moment.

He grabbed Li Chengxiu's thigh and slowly started moving. His movements

were shallow at first, as he forced the scorching corridor to open up for him,
making it soft and easy to slide in and out. Afterwards he slowly increased
the speed, holding on to Li Chengxiu’s waist.

Shao Qun had a lot of alcohol today, and his long-cherished wish was
finally fulfilled. Thus, his psychological excitement was exponentially
increasing. Normally he would take care of his partner’s needs during sex,
but this time it was less important.

Li Chengxiu's body quickly gave up the resistance, and Shao Qun was
vigorously plowing the passage he had just opened up.

Shao Qun was indiscriminately stroking Li Chengxiu's body, looking at the

red marks that he left on the snow-white skin with every touch. This
doubled his desire.

He moved his waist fiercely, and the rapid sound of their flesh colliding
made even him blush. The transparent lubricant was whipped into white
foam under the impact, and was sparsely flowing down Li Chengxiu's legs,
smearing the place where the two of them were connected.

Shao Qun frowned tightly, closed his eyes, and a heavy gasp came out of
his throat. He firmly fixed Li Chengxiu's body in place, preventing it from
constantly moving forward and continued to vigorously stab at his soft hole.
Li Chengxiu's waist was so thin that Shao Qun could wrap around it with
one arm. Now it was forced to bear this violent impact, and every time Shao
Qun pushed himself until the end, it seemed it was so fragile it would break
at any moment.

After a while of doing it from behind, Shao Qun turned Li Chengxiu over,
put his thighs on his shoulders and slammed his dick in again.

Li Chengxiu's painfully distorted face was right in front of him. Shao Qun
had never actually had any interest in SM before, but at that moment, this
expression made his blood boil, and his movements became more fierce.

The wet and hot hole was fucked completely open, as it was powerless to
hinder the increasingly fierce ravaging. When Shao Qun lowered his head,
he could see the place where the two of them connected - the pink and
moist opening was swallowing his genitals again and again.

The swaying hull of the ship, this secret cabin, this body that he could play
with unobstructed - everything was so perfect. Shao Qun hadn’t
experienced such indulgent sex in a long time.

At this point he didn’t care about Li Chengxiu. It was all about enjoying
himself.

After he came, Shao Qun was sweating profusely. He lay on Li Chengxiu's

body, licking the wet tears off his blushing cheeks and feeling the soft skin
under his body. He was extremely satisfied, both physically and
psychologically.

------------end of rapey smut (kinda) but the following part is important for
some context-----------

Although it was a bit boring not to have any response, Li Chengxiu’s body
was stil quite acceptable, even if he had no experience before. He didn’t
know how to actively please Shao Qun yet, but he could be trained to Shao
Qun’s liking.
Shenzhen was going to be his long-term base in the future, so he naturally
needed a nice knowledgeable little lover in these parts of the woods to
accompany him.

Shao Qun was a little hesitant about Li Chengxiu in this regard. He was the
kind of person he could use privately but he real y couldn’t bring him out in
public. He couldn't dress up decently or even speak like a normal person.
Bringing him somewhere with him would be a joke.

Shao Qun didn’t want him as an official lover but he was also a bit reluctant
to give him up. Li Chengxiu was a sissy, yet he was also very comfortable
to be around, his tenderness emanating from his bones. It was also an
advantage that he was quiet and didn’t make a lot of noise. Shao Qun had
even already begun considering living with him.

After holding Li Chengxiu and resting for a while, Shao Qun was hard
again. He propped up Li Chengxiu’s legs and lifted them almost to his
chest, completely exposing his still gaping hole. Shao Qun inserted his stiff
penis in again and went for the second round.

Compared with the urgency of the first time, this time Shao Qun was
calmer. As if savoring the food on his plate, he alternated deep and shallow
thrusts, enjoying the thrill of being squeezed tightly by the hot walls.

[1] In the original it says “Golden House of Cang Jiao” (金屋藏娇). It refers to a
golden house that an emperor promised to build for his wife/concubine. It
symbolizes the depth of his love for her.

[2] Romanized spel ing for transliterating Chinese (just in case somebody
didn’t know that already)

[3] “Xiu” from the name “ChengXiu” - a very informal way to address our
Li Chengxiu.

[4] Uncle (in this case used as an address form towards an older male)

[5] Pearl River Delta Economic Zone consists of several Chinese cities on
the southeastern coast (Shenzhen amongst them). It’s a center of advanced
manufacturing and modern service industries, as well as a center for
international shipping, logistics, trade, conferences and tourism. Read
“Additional Inheritance” to know more about Shao Qun’s business dealings
in the region.

[6] A city in China, in approx. 2 hour driving distance from Shenzhen

[7] The 3rd Ring Road is notorious for its traffic jams. The eastern segment,
which runs through Beijing's central business district, is regularly
gridlocked during rush hour.

[8] The hotel with that name actually exists but not in Shenzhen ;)

[9] I think what he means here is that they spel ed e.g.“Baroque” out in
Chinese using 巴(ba)洛(luo)克(ke), instead of just leaving it in English. Not sure
why that is so bad, though. Maybe it was just confusing.

[10] It refers to a style of cooking and a type of grand banquet that

combined elements of Manchu and Han's Chinese cuisine developed in the
Qing dynasty of China. But it is actually used more as an idiomatic
expression to represent any feast of significant proportions

[11] Adrian is the main character from the novel “Additional Inheritance”.
This dialogue here makes him seem somewhat shal ow but it’s really not the
case. The story behind the nose job is tragic, and Shao Qun is being an
asshole here. Read “Additional Inheritance”, you’l fall in love with Adrian.

[12] The funny thing is that Shao Qun was born in 1987, while Adrian is
from 1990. These 3 years, I guess, make a big generational difference.

[13] In the original the author uses the idiom “He ate soft, not hard”. It
refers to people who are easier convinced when one uses a soft approach
with them, rather than brute force. As they say in English, one catches more
flies with honey.

[14] It’s 12.756 USD. That this kind of housing prices even exist, makes me
irrationally angry but okay.
[15] In the original he uses “baobei” (*wink, wink*) which is also often
translated as “baby”. Literal translation would be something like “treasure”.

[16] Shao Qun is using here a pejorative term to refer to Indian people –
“Asan”( 阿三). The origin of the term has some racist connotations but mostly
it stems from the hate towards the British military presence in China during
the foreign concession time. There are also other theories about the origins
of this term. In any case, just another tiny clue that Shao Qun is a bit of an
asshole.

[17] Gambling is illegal in China (except for Macau)

[18] Known as Big Li in school

[19] That’s the “invisible” friend Xiao Sheng

[20] An extra portion of alcohol that has to be consumed as a punishment

for something. Usually for coming late to the party or skipping your turn in
karaoke. Definitely not a common punishment for severe bullying.

[21] 86-proof

[22] He didn’t look green XD “Looking like jade” is basically calling

someone very beautiful. In xianxia novels one can often come across the
term “jade beauty” when ethereally beautiful women are described.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 21
Content warning: dubcon
Li Chengxiu had a long dream.

In this dream he was kissing Shao Qun. At the same time, there was a white
light shining at him from above, which was so piercing that he couldn't open
his eyes.

His body felt very uncomfortable. For a while, he seemed to be burned by

flames, and then he was suddenly thrown into an ice cellar. The whole world
was spinning around him - it felt like all the gravity had disappeared at once.
Li Chengxiu had a splitting headache, and his limbs were weak.

He reluctantly opened his sore eyelids and stared at the wooden ceiling,
completely stunned. For a while, he didn't know where he was.

Something heavy was weighing him down, making it hard for him to
breathe. He tried to move his arm, and his body was instantly awakened. The
part below his waist felt like it was run over by a car - painful and numb.
Especially his secret place underneath - it seemed like it was on fire.

He slowly turned his head. Shao Qun's sleeping face and bare arms were
right in front of his eyes. He could even feel his breathing directly on his
face. At the same time, he realized that he wasn’t wearing anything, and
Shao Qun who was lying next to him was also naked.

Li Chengxiu's head buzzed. It was actually about to explode.

With a lot of effort, he pushed Shao Qun's arm away from his chest and
moved to the edge of the bed.

Shao Qun slowly opened his eyes, stared at him for two seconds, quickly
propped himself up, yawned and said while rubbing his eyes, "Darling,
you’re up."
Li Chengxiu covered his chest with the quilt, his face bloodless, "You...I..."

With a wicked smile Shao Qun said, "Chengxiu, you were so enthusiastic
last night. Really beyond my expectations."

Li Chengxiu was stunned: "I...?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?" Shao Qun leaned his upper body towards him
with his arms propped up, as he smiled charmingly, "Last night was really
remarkable."

Li Chengxiu only felt a sharp headache. He shook his head and pointed at
him tremblingly: "No... Maybe, I…I was drunk… drunk."

"Well, if you weren't drunk, you wouldn't be so bold, but..." Shao Qun
leaned over and kissed his cheek, "In that case I really hope you get drunk
every day."

Li Chengxiu shuddered and forcefully pushed him away.

Shao Qun was unprepared, and his back hit the backboard of the bed. It
wasn’t painful per se, just that the

“bang” sound was real y loud, so it made Shao Qun angry.

He frowned and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

Li Chengxiu glared at him angrily: "You…you… I was drunk…and you…

you did..." The more anxious he was, the less clearly he could speak. He just
wanted to ask Shao Qun point blank what he did to him.

But Shao Qun looked completely unperturbed, "What's the matter? When
two people are together, they would naturally do this."

"But… I was drunk. I… I didn’t... agree."

Shao Qun's face changed instantly: "Chengxiu, what do you mean? Are you
saying I forced you?"
Since the time the two met, Shao Qun had never shown him this kind of
face. Li Chengxiu subconsciously felt very nervous when he saw this
expression. Moreover, Shao Qun's righteousness made him feel like he was
in the wrong, and he did not dare to accuse him anymore.

Shao Qun said coldly with a sullen face: "Chengxiu, I thought we both liked
each other. Could it be that I've acted selfishly? You don't even remember
what happened yesterday, yet the first thing you do after you wake up is
scold me?"

Li Chengxiu was left speechless by Shao Qun's indignant reaction. He stared

at the white quilt with lost eyes, and his shoulders couldn’t stop shaking.

He was now confused. Shao Qun acted in such a righteous manner that Li
Chengxiu started to doubt himself. Maybe he real y lost his inhibitions while
he was drunk yesterday? But, even so, didn’t he stil kind of take advantage
of his precarious situation?

He raised his head and trembled: "I… I don't remember, but…I was drunk.
You..."

Shao Qun approached him, his shadow looming over Li Chengxiu, and said
softly: "Chengxiu, you were not like this yesterday. You were much more
honest and lovely than now. I am a normal man, after all, and I like you.
How could I resist? Chengxiu, don't you like me?"

Li Chengxiu's mind became a mess, and he tightened his body, trying to

avoid Shao Qun's oppressive presence.

Shao Qun touched his face and said softly, "Chengxiu, am I not affectionate
to you? You obviously like me too, right? If so, what's wrong with doing
this?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him with confusion in his eyes.

Shao Qun continued to persuade him: "I know, you are nervous. Don't be
afraid, relax. To become mine, you just have to accept this pain. You will
enjoy it much more in the future. Really."
Li Chengxiu was flustered and aggrieved, but he didn’t say anything, even
though he was full of doubts. He wasn't even sure if he had acted weirdly
last night. Shao Qun looked so faultless and calm that Li Chengxiu couldn't
refute his words.

He pushed against Shao Qun’s naked chest, but as soon as he touched it, he
felt so hot that he immediately retracted his hand as if he had just been
scalded.

He stumbled out of bed stil holding the quilt and said anxiously, "I want…to
go home."

Shao Qun hugged his chest and looked at him with a smile.

Li Chengxiu got up and rushed to the door. But as soon as he opened it, a
gust of sea breeze with a fishy smell blew right into his face. He looked at
the endless sea outside the deck and was stunned on the spot as if struck by
lightning.

Shao Qun also jumped out of bed, approached him from behind and
whispered into his ear: "Darling, we're at sea. I'l take you home tomorrow.
There are no outsiders on the boat right now, so we’re basically on a
honeymoon. All right?"

Li Chengxiu felt cold all over his body. It seemed that a frosty chill was
tightly binding him from inside out, encasing him and cutting off all the
escape routes, leaving him nowhere to go.

Shao Qun laughed out loud and hugged him from the side: "Let’s take a
shower."

Shao Qun then silently carried Li Chengxiu into the bathroom and placed
him directly into the bathtub.

Just as Li Chengxiu was about to stand up, Shao Qun pressed him back by
his shoulders and turned on the faucet behind him.

Li Chengxiu’s naked body was splayed in the huge bathtub. He raised his
chin slightly and looked at Shao Qun with bright eyes which were full of
surprise and grievance. He looked so pitiful that Shao Qun suddenly felt a
little bad for him in his heart.

He also got into the bathtub, ignoring Li Chengxiu's frantic dodging. He then
took him in his arms and poured warm water onto his body.

Li Chengxiu's thin back rested on Shao Qun's chest. Shao Qun put his chin
on Li Chengxiu's shoulder and said softly, "Chengxiu, are you angry with
me?"

Li Chengxiu buried his head in his knees and said nothing.

Shao Qun suddenly reached down to his crotch and grabbed the soft flesh.

Li Chengxiu stiffened and struggled, "What are you doing?"

Shao Qun held him tightly with his arms across his waist, preventing him
from moving away.

"I'll let you taste the joys of this experience. Who told you to forget all about
it so soon?"

Shao Qun's fingers were nimble and skillful, as he wantonly rubbed his
member. Li Chengxiu's body softened only after a few movements, and his
struggle became quite weak, as he moaned in Shao Qun's arms. .

It's not that he had never touched himself but compared to how Shao Qun
did it, it was simply like heaven and earth. Since he got into puberty, he had
never been so strongly stimulated before. His body trembled as if he had
received an electric shock, his moans turned into cries, and the tears flowed
uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s fascinating expression, only to feel his

throat become dry and hoarse.

His body had also reacted.

The bathtub gradually filled up with water. Now, together with a hot and
broad chest behind him, it had made Li Chengxiu feel warm. His lower body
was stimulated more and more intensely, while the side of his face was
covered with hot and humid kisses. At the same time ambiguous love words
flew into his ears. Li Chengxiu felt as if he was in the middle of the ocean,
drifting in the waves. For a while, a gentle and warm current was carrying
him forward, then he encountered turbulent waves, until his body could no
longer bear the overwhelming pleasure and vented it out in one fell swoop.

Li Chengxiu slumped in Shao Qun's arms, sweating profusely and staring

ahead with his dazed eyes.

Shao Qun kissed his sweaty hairline and laughed in a low voice, "Darling,
do you feel good?"

Li Chengxiu didn't dare to turn around. He was blushing like crazy. His body
was placed tightly against Shao Qun at this moment, so naturally he could
feel something hard and ready to attack pressing against his buttocks.

Shao Qun deliberately moved his waist, and Li Chengxiu's body trembled,
"You feel good, but what should I do? Huh?"

Li Chengxiu suddenly grabbed the side of the bathtub, using his last strength
to escape.

How could Shao Qun let him go? He hugged his waist tightly, put him back
closer to his lower body and rubbed his genitals against Li Chengxiu's ass.

Li Chengxiu begged him with a crying voice, "Let me go." His backside was
still hurting, and when he thought about what had already happened to that
place, his scalp felt numb.

Shao Qun bit his shoulder lightly, "Chengxiu, you have no conscience. You
want to run away right after you’re done."

"I… no..." He felt that Shao Qun's breathing was becoming heavier, as he
was continuously rubbing against him. That thing down there was getting
harder and hotter, and it made Li Chengxiu speechless in fear.

"All right. Don't be afraid. Be good and help me please."

Li Chengxiu looked at him tearfully.

Shao Qun rubbed his face and said coquettishly, "Help me, darling. It's so
uncomfortable."

Li Chengxiu turned his head, at a complete loss.

Shao Qun picked him up, pressed his upper body against the edge of the
bathtub and adjusted his arms and legs into a kneeling position, "Come on,
darling, just lie down. Don't be scared, I won't go in."

Li Chengxiu was very afraid - he twitched and exclaimed weakly.

Still, Shao Qun fixed his waist in place with his arms, put his legs tightly
together and inserted his genitals between Li Chengxiu’s legs.

Li Chengxiu screamed in fright, "Shao Qun! Shao Qun!"

Shao Qun kissed his back and reassured him, "Don't be afraid. No need to be
afraid, it's alright. I said I won't put it in, so what are you afraid of? Your
backside is swollen now - how can I be willing to hurt you?

Don't be scared, be good." Shao Qun just moved between his legs, rubbing
himself back and forth.

Li Chengxiu didn't know how he felt when they did it last night. After
waking up all he had left was pain. But now, as Shao Qun was only moving
between his legs, he already felt his body getting hot, and his mind buzzing.

The hot and hard penis was also periodically rubbing the tender flesh of his
genitals at the base of his thighs. And Shao Qun seemed to be doing it on
purpose. He pushed himself up a few times, just enough to hit his pouch and
limply hanging dick. Li Chengxiu’s legs were so weak that he slipped into
the water again and again, and Shao Qun had to stabilize him.

Shao Qun's lower body was moving faster and faster. While kissing and
biting Li Chengxiu's back, he wrapped his hands around his chest, kneading
and pulling at the two small beads on his chest.
Li Chengxiu felt that the place where he had just vented was raising its head
up again. His body was hot, and the shattered moans escaped every time
Shao Qun rubbed at him.

In the end, the intercrural act was not as enjoyable as actually putting it in,
so Shao Qun slammed at him only a couple more times, before shooting his
semen all over Li Chengxiu's ass and thighs.

Li Chengxiu slid into the water as soon as his body had no more support.

Shao Qun hurriedly hugged him and laughed into his ear, "Well, did I lie to
you?"

Li Chengxiu panted hard with panic in his eyes.

Shao Qun gently stroked his body, "Come on, let’s wash up. Then afterwards
we can have something to eat." He had enjoyed the process very much, and
his movements were slow and unhurried.

Li Chengxiu's neck was red from embarrassment.

After washing himself, Shao Qun put his hands on Li Chengxiu’s back hole.

Li Chengxiu jumped up as if struck by lightning.

"Don't move, keep still. This place needs to be cleaned up too." Shao Qun bit
his ear and whispered.

He disregarded Li Chengxiu’s embarrassment and struggling, as he stuck his

fingers inside, lubricating and cleaning the place with water.

After the bath, Li Chengxiu's eyes were red from crying. But Shao Qun was
extremely satisfied, as he happily wiped his body and his hair dry.

It was the first time that Young Master Shao had served someone like that.
And he actually liked it a lot.

Who would have known that this simple act could be so much fun?
After Li Chengxiu was neatly dressed, Shao Qun led him downstairs. There
was already a parasol and a table placed on the deck. The table was covered
with snow-white tablecloth and decorated with flowers, candlesticks, and
delicate tableware.

Blue sea, blue skies, bright sunshine, snow-white umbrella, swaying

tablecloth, bright yellow flowers -

everything seemed very romantic.

Li Chengxiu shyly lowered his head when he received Shao Qun's fiery
gaze.

Shao Qun led him to the table and winked at the waiter next to him.

Li Chengxiu was suddenly a participant of all the scenes he had previously

only seen on TV.

Some people were pouring wine for them, some people were serving them
dishes, and some people were playing the violin right next to them.

Li Chengxiu was stunned.

Shao Qun smiled: "Do you like it?"

Li Chengxiu secretly glanced at the waiter who looked completely

undisturbed and felt very embarrassed.

If they were a pair of a handsome man and a beautiful woman, the scene
would naturally be very pleasing to the eye. But two men...

Shao Qun smiled, looking at Li Chengxiu's shy expression, and felt quite
proud of himself.

He knew that these kinds of gimmicks would be an absolute home run with
Li Chengxiu. And to think that not even all women would like this useless
stuff…
Li Chengxiu had finally managed to relax a little. Or maybe he was just
hungry. In any case a lot of his tenseness had dispersed. He picked up a knife
and a fork, and ate silently.

After the meal, Shao Qun happily dragged him to do some fishing and
preparing for a barbecue. When they were tired of that, Shao Qun pulled Li
Chengxiu into the cabin, put him on his lap and taught him how to play
Black Jack.

Li Chengxiu was really flattered by this kind of treatment. Shao Qun was
even more warm and attentive than usual, casually saying some words or
acting a certain way that made him blush and feel overwhelmed.

Shao Qun was so magnanimous, that Li Chengxiu didn’t feel it was right to
question him about what happened last night, for fear that he would wrong
him or hurt his feelings. After thinking about it, Li Chengxiu didn’t dare to
say anything.

As the day went on, the two of them became more and more sweet with each
other. It was rare for Shao Qun to be so leisurely. But now that he took this
little lover on vacation, he was suddenly in such a good mood.

Li Chengxiu had never imagined that someone would ever pamper him like
that. He was trembling with fear, yet he followed Shao Qun around,
cooperated with Shao Qun's expressions of intimacy and enjoyed the
beautiful feeling of being cared for.

In the evening, the yacht returned to Shenzhen Port. When he drove Li

Chengxiu to his house, Shao Qun pressed him onto the backrest and kissed
him hard, before letting him go.

He then licked his lips: "I’d real y like to stay with you tonight, but I have to
accompany A-wen and the others. It's rare for the four of us to get together."

Li Chengxiu had a fascinating day and had long forgotten about those three
people. Now, as soon as he was reminded of them, his face instantly
changed.

Shao Qun pinched his chin: "What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head.

"You’re stil holding grudges from the past? Why are you so petty, eh?"

"That’s not……"

Shao Qun pinched his face, "They are my buddies. You know the saying,
that if you love me, you have to love my dog[1]?"

Li Chengxiu thought for a while and nodded meekly.

"Come on, kiss me."

Li Chengxiu shyly moved back: "Just now… no..."

"I didn't kiss you enough just now." Shao Qun raised his chin, lowered his
head and kissed him again. He made Li Chengxiu completely out of breath
before reluctantly letting him go.

The newly acquired sugar baby is the hottest during the first three days. Shao
Qun's fire was burning brighter and brighter, as he felt that he didn’t play
enough in the last two days.

Shao Qun made a phone gesture to Li Chengxiu and then drove away.

He could have still taken another holiday, but after such a long rest, Li
Chengxiu felt a bit uncomfortable.

After all, not working and taking money for nothing, would make everyone
uneasy[2]. So the next day, Li Chengxiu went to work as usual early in the
morning.

When he came to the hotel, he saw that everyone was looking at him
weirdly.

He was stunned by those looks that contained scrutiny, disdain, suspicion,

and envy.
He hadn’t been here in two weeks. After changing his clothes, Li Chengxiu
first reported to Manager Zhang.

Manager Zhang smiled meaningfully: "Yo, Chef Li, you’ve come back.
Have you been doing well all this time?"

Even someone as slow as Li Chengxiu could hear the sarcasm in his words.
He stiffened his neck and didn't know how to answer.

"Well, in any case, you’ve made a lot of money."

After this reminder, Li Chengxiu remembered that he had not received any
payment at all. Given his current relationship with Shao Qun, it didn’t feel
right to ask for money, so he naturally forgot.

"You’ve real y earned your large new apartment. The private work was
really worth it, huh.”

Li Chengxiu immediately looked up at him: "What... what do you mean?"

"Oh, you don’t need to pretend in front of me. I'm the one who took you to
the house, after all. I don't care about your business, don’t worry. I was just
asking casually. You can go back to work."

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything and
returned to his duties.

This working day was much harder than any other day in his career before.

Dozens of pairs of eyes would stare at him from time to time. Those eyes
were so aggressive that they really made Li Chengxiu terrified.

He didn't know what those glances meant, or what rumors had been
circulating about him during his two weeks of absence.

He was already very uneasy because of his shady relationship with Shao
Qun, and now these silent suspicions and accusations made him even more
flustered.

When he dragged his tired body home at night, he opened the door with the
key, only to find that the lights in the living room were actually on.

Li Chengxiu had been a very careful person his entire life, and it was not like
him to forget to turn off the lights.

Also... He left for work during the daytime, so why would he even have the
lights on in the first place?

He was shocked, and just as he was about to rush out the door, a person
walked in from the balcony.

It was Shao Qun. He was looking at him with a cigarette in his mouth.

Inexplicable anger rose up in Li Chengxiu’s heart: "You…Why do you…

have the key?”

Shao Qun be like

Me when I realized in the middle of this translation that the version of
“Sissy” I read before was actually censored, and now all this smut I didn’t
know even existed is coming up. And it kinda makes this novel even sadder
than I thought.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 22
Shao Qun squinted his eyes, took out the cigarette from his mouth, slowly
spread his hands and said with a smile, "This is my house. Why would I not
have a key?"

Li Chengxiu didn't know how to argue with that, but he felt really
uncomfortable about this situation, especially when he thought about what
Manager Zhang said today.

Shao Qun threw the cigarette into the ashtray, walked towards him, leaned
down and kissed his face: "Why was your phone off the whole day?"

"I was at work. Had to switch it off."

"You get off work so late every day?" Shao Qun looked at his watch. It was
almost eleven pm.

"No, there are morning shifts and evening shifts."

"I've been waiting for you all this time."

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise: "You… waited for me?"

"Of course, I wanted to have dinner with you. But you came back only
now."

"Did you have a meal already?"

"What do you think?" Shao Qun pointed at the empty plates.

Li Chengxiu raised the plastic bag in his hand: "I have packed some…
meals."

Shao Qun frowned: "Do you want me to eat other people's leftovers?"

Li Chengxiu said, "I'll cook for you."

"No need." Shao Qun went up and put his arms around his waist, "I've
already eaten." He sniffed Li Chengxiu's neck and then frowned, "You
smell of burnt oil again. Hurry up and take a shower."

Li Chengxiu pushed him away with slight embarrassment, turned around

and rushed to the bathroom.

Shao Qun caught his arm: "Wait. I'll come with you."

Li Chengxiu's face immediately turned red: "Not… good...."

"It's not like I haven’t washed you before." Shao Qun dragged Li Chengxiu
into the bathroom, squinted his eyes and threatened, "Stop running. Behave
yourself. I’m not planning to do anything yet, but if you move around, I
won’t be able to guarantee it."

Li Chengxiu couldn't fight him off, so in just two or three strokes he was
completely stripped. Both of them got under the shower. Although Shao
Qun touched everything that should have been touched and kissed

around a lot, he didn’t go all the way. Li Chengxiu’s backside was stil raw,
so he cried out and docked Shao Qun’s advances, who was quite
disappointed.

After the two of them were done with their bath, Shao Qun took out the
pajamas from the closet in the bedroom and put them on. The bathroom was
filled with bottles and jars that Li Chengxiu had never seen before. It
seemed like this was the place where Shao Qun lived..

Stunned, Li Chengxiu stood at the edge of the bed looking at Shao Qun
lying comfortably on the big bed.

Shao Qun stretched out his hand towards him: "It's past eleven. Are you not
tired? Come to bed."

"You……"

"What's up?"
Li Chengxiu was silent.

Shao Qun took him for granted to such an extent that he didn't even need to
ask his opinion when he decided to stay overnight.

Shao Qun acted like it was his house but didn't he say that he rented this
place out to his boss, who gave it to Li Chengxiu as a staff dormitory? In
that case, how could he just come in whenever he wanted and stay over
whenever he wanted?

Li Chengxiu felt a little sad, that even after he grew up, he still was used to
everybody disrespecting him.

Having spent all this time with Shao Qun recently, Li Chengxiu really
thought that this man was different.

Unexpectedly, nothing had changed.

Shao Qun got up and pulled him onto the bed, looking at his sad expression:
"What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head, touched the pillow and lay down. He was used
to being patient and didn't want to create any unpleasantness with Shao Qun
because of this.

Shao Qun put the quilt over the two of them, pulled Li Chengxiu into his
arms and rubbed his cheek against his neck.

This intimate gesture made Li Chengxiu feel comforted and more relaxed.
He touched Shao Qun's hair and said softly, "It's still a little wet."

"It's okay, It’l dry in a while."

"Blow dry again?"

"No." Shao Qun grabbed his hand and kissed him: "Chengxiu, let me talk to
you about something."

"Um."
"Quit your job."

"What?"

"It’s just not a good job for you - it's dirty and tiring. You're with me now,
so you don't need to work. Just quit."

Li Chengxiu broke away from his hug, propped himself up and stared at
Shao Qun in disbelief with his bright eyes.

Shao Qun still continued talking: "Instead of working hard every day, it is
better if you take care of me at home. If you feel uncomfortable telling this
to your boss, leave it to me."

"No." Li Chengxiu trembled, "I wil not… resign."

Shao Qun also straightened out and frowned: "What can't you resign? Will
there be a shortage of cooks at the hotel?"

"This is my job."

"Does it make sense for you to earn two or three thousand RMB a month? I
won’t be unfair to you, since it’s me who’s asking you to quit. Will fifty
thousand[3] a month be enough for you?"

"Shao Qun!" Li Chengxiu rarely raised his voice like this. His eyes were red
with anger, "Shao Qun. I don't need it. I don’t need you supporting me. I'm
not… not that kind... I don't need you to support me!" The more anxious he
was, the more tongue tied he became.

Li Chengxiu felt like he had been publicly slapped - embarrassed and angry.

What does Shao Qun think of him? Isn't he treating him like a sugar baby?

He knew that life wasn’t easy for some girls, and they entered into these
kinds of relationships with rich men. But Li Chengxiu was a man. He could
perfectly support himself. How could Shao Qun insult him like this?
What saddened him the most was that he actually thought that he and Shao
Qun were in love with each other, and it wasn’t a transactional relationship.

Shao Qun saw Li Chengxiu looking like a rabbit, as his eye rims reddened.
He was quite puzzled: "What's the matter with you? I can give you a good
life. You won’t need to work anymore, only enjoy yourself. Al right?"

Li Chengxiu was shaking with anger: "I'm not… a woman. I can support
myself."

Shao Qun felt disdainful when he heard those words. In his opinion, any
kind of ambition or dignity people like Li Chengxiu had was just a big joke.
Shao Qun didn’t think that this kind of attitude made Li Chengxiu more of a
man but rather demonstrated that he had no idea how things worked.

However, after being with him for a month, he was already familiar with Li
Chengxiu's temper. Li Chengxiu was someone who ate soft, not hard[4].

Shao Qun immediately adjusted his attitude and said kindly: "Chengxiu,
you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t mean that. You leave early every day and
come back so late. I can’t help but feel distressed, and I just want you to
have a better life. I also want to see more of you during the day."

When Shao Qun said this, Li Chengxiu’s heart softened, "I…but I… want
to work."

"Okay, you can work. It's fine if you don't want to resign. But I'm alone in
Shenzhen, and I have no relatives or friends. I don't even have anyone to
take care of me."

Li Chengxiu frowned and thought for a while: "I can…adjust my shift… try
my best, to get the early shift."

"What's the difference?"

"Then I can make you breakfast and dinner."

Shao Qun smiled: "Really?"

"Um."

"Then I'll tell your boss to give you the morning shift."

"No."

"Why not?"

Li Chengxiu said hesitantly, "My colleagues… wil be dissatisfied."

Shao Qun sighed impatiently. For the first time in his memory someone
didn’t want to accept a pie that fell from the sky. Why was Li Chengxiu
singing this tune? Playing hard to get, huh?

After turning around, Shao Qun had an idea. Since he couldn't persuade Li
Chengxiu to resign, he should make him resign on his volition. He put his
arms around Li Chengxiu's waist and lay down: "Okay, let's talk about it
tomorrow. Now, sleep."

Shao Qun seldomly slept together with his lovers. The one whom he had in
Beijing changed his mind from day to night and would ask Shao Qun for
this and that. The one in Hangzhou would not let him go if he came over. It
was really annoying. He was so sick of this by now that he was planning to
break it off with both of them soon. In the short term, he was going to be
staying in Shenzhen anyway.

Li Chengxiu was not the same as them. At least for now, it was very
comfortable to stay with him - there was not so much noise and no fuss, and
the atmosphere was very calm. Shao Qun had tasted all kinds of fiery
temperaments and was tired of it all. Now he began to appreciate someone
who was gentle and well-behaved. Sleeping with Li Chengxiu was like
sleeping with a cat. He was soft and hot, and didn’t move too much.

When Shao Qun woke up the next morning, Li Chengxiu had already left at
some point.

When he got up, he saw that his clothes were neatly folded at the head of
the bed. The edge of the sink in the bathroom was wiped clean without a
single drop of water on it. The breakfast on the table was covered with a lid,
and when Shao Qun lifted it up, it was still hot. Even the tableware was set
up properly.

Shao Qun felt quite refreshed, as he sneered: "Wasn’t he just born to serve
men?"

After finishing his food, he took out his mobile phone and dialed a saved
number: "Hey, Manager Zhang, it's me. Um, you too, you too! Yes, same
old. I would actually like to trouble you privately."

Li Chengxiu began to feel that his days in the hotel were getting more and
more difficult.

Since he returned after taking on Shao Qun’s sea party, everyone's attitude
toward him seemed to have changed. Now he felt constant contempt and
hostility every step of the way.

Needless to say, a few chefs would sneer at him when they saw him.
However, now even the apprentices under him began to embarrass Li
Chengxiu, which directly affected his work.

While he was in the middle of cooking, he heard a shady and cool voice
behind him: "Hey, look at this small waist of his! If I had a figure like him,
would the big boss come to me then?"

Everyone around him laughed.

Li Chengxiu's face instantly turned pale.

The worker who was washing vegetables next to him giggled and said,
"Well, you’re not gay, so how could you attract a gay guy, no matter how
thin your waist is?"

"Yeah, what's the use of having a thin waist? One also has to be thin-
skinned, tender, and feminine, just like our Chef Li, right?"

A group of people laughed unscrupulously behind Li Chengxiu.

The spatula in Li Chengxiu's hand became unsteady. He turned around
slowly and whispered, "You guys, don't talk nonsense."

"We’re just kidding. What did we say?"

"Chef Li, we're joking around. But if there's something you don’t like, don't
hide it from us. We're all colleagues, and we've been working together for
so long. Why act like strangers?"

"That's right. Society is very open nowadays. We don't discriminate against

gays."

"Gays are also human beings, and they have to date. But if you can date a
big boss, it really saves you a lot of effort! It's almost like you’re a female
star marrying into a wealthy family.”

"How about I also try to be gay?"

"Hahaha, you’re too thick and strong. Gays won’t like you.”

Li Chengxiu barely stabilized his trembling hand, turned around and forced
herself to ignore their words. He just silently kept stirring the dishes in the
pot.

One workday like this seemed to last for a year.

RIght after the dinner rush hour was over, Manager Zhang called him to the
office.

"Sit." Manager Zhang pointed to the chair.

Li Chengxiu sat down nervously, unconsciously twisting his fingers.

"Xiao Li, there have been some rumors circulating around the hotel
recently."

Li Chengxiu nodded stiffly.

"Actually, there is nothing I need to say about you and Mr. Shao. As long as
one has a brain, one can guess what’s going on. Right?"

Li Chengxiu didn't raise his eyes but still nodded.

If it wasn't for certain things he had overheard, Li Chengxiu wouldn’t have

believed that people in the hotel could suspect anything just because he
took on a private job. The only person who was originally suspicious about
his relationship with Shao Qun was Manager Zhang who saw the apartment
on that day.

It was obvious who had spread the rumors, but what could Li Chengxiu
say?

"Although our society is very open, this kind of thing has a bad influence
on the workplace environment after all. Do you understand?"

Li Chengxiu raised his face and asked sadly, "What…do you want …to do
to me?"

He wasn’t good at lying, so he couldn’t say that there was nothing going on
between him and Shao Qun. If Manager Zhang was deliberately trying to
antagonize him, whatever Li Chengxiu said would make him in the wrong.

Manager Zhang answered: "What can I do to you? How dare I do anything

to you? You have a deep relationship with Mr. Shao now, and the boss
appreciates you very much. It stands to reason that it's really not my place
to even tell you any of this. But, after all, I have people who I am
responsible for, and I have to pay close attention to the emotions and the
enthusiasm of my employees.This incident obviously makes the male
employees of our hotel very uneasy. I am afraid that these kinds of
emotions might affect their work. If I do nothing, wouldn’t I be ignoring my
duties? Can you understand my predicament?"

Li Chengxiu felt his tears coming up, but still nodded.

"I called you here because I hope you will try your best to be careful in the
future. Don't get too close to male employees and don't rely on your
relationship with Mr. Shao to act like you’re special and neglect your work.
I'm a department manager, and I can't force you to resign, but I hope you
will be considerate of me and try to make my work as smooth as possible,
okay?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up from the chair,

shaking his fists behind his back.

Manager Zhang glanced at him and waved: "Okay, you can go back to
work."

Li Chengxiu turned around and walked out the door without saying a word.

"Oh, by the way." Manager Zhang said behind him, "From now on, you will
work one night shift every week, and your rest days wil be increased to two
days. See, I can’t refuse Mr. Shao’s requests! But what do you want me to
do with the discontent of other employees? Xiao Li, I am really
embarrassed to have you here."

Li Chengxiu walked home that day.

The hotel was not far from where he lived, and it took him only ten or
twenty minutes to get there. He didn’t know if Shao Qun was there now,
and he didn’t want to turn on his mobile phone. He just wanted to think
about all of this by himself.

From the way Manager Zhang talked to him, even the deaf would
understand that he was driving Li Chengxiu away.

But he real y didn’t want to resign. How could he resign?

He has been working in this hotel for almost six years. His five insurances
and housing funds were all paid by the hotel. His salary was increasing
every year. After a few more years, he was on the track of getting his own
apprentice. By then, the hotel might also be willing to give him some
shares. It took Li Chengxiu a long time to come this far, and he was not
willing to give up all his previous achievements.
Besides, if he resigned, would he be able to find a good job in a short time?
What about the debts that he owes?

Could he still hang around no matter what? Thinking of the scenes in the
hotel during the day,Li Chengxiu felt the chills.

Was it so shameful for him to be together with someone?

After returning home, he found that Shao Qun had not come today.

He took a shower and dragged his tired body onto the bed before turning on
his mobile phone.

A text message popped up on the display immediately.

Three simple words: ”I miss you.”

Li Chengxiu thought about the first mobile phone Shao Qun bought him
when he was a child. The two often sent some boring messages to each
other, but no matter how boring they were, both of them still felt that they
were very sweet.
A warm current poured into his heart, and he seriously typed out four words
in response: “I miss you too.”

The phone rang immediately, and Shao Qun's magnetic voice came into his
ear: "Darling, are you off work?"

"Um."

"Tired?"

"Tired."

"I'm not coming over today, you can rest well."

"Okay... Shao Qun."

"Um?"

"Did…did you ask…for a shift…for me?"

"Yeah, I don't want you to be too tired. Don't you want to spend more time
with me?"

Li Chengxiu said hesitantly, "I think so… but..."

"No need for any “buts”. The schedule has been adjusted, so just do as
you’re told. Tomorrow you can go to work early and cook for me in the
evening, okay?"

"……Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Li Chengxiu felt better.

Shao Qun's voice was really nice, he thought. After listening to it, the stone
weighing on his heart seemed to become lighter by a lot.

Even if he might lose his job, it was still worth it, if he had Shao Qun to
accompany him.
Self explanatory

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 23
The next day, Li Chengxiu finished his morning shift and came back in the
afternoon.

He went to the market to buy some fresh fish and planned for a good meal
to cook for Shao Qun.

In fact, transferring to the morning shift was a good idea. Now, whenever
he went to work he was frightened, so he couldn’t wait to go back as early
as possible.

When he thought about how Shao Qun had complained that there was no
one around to take care of him, Li Chengxiu felt very uncomfortable. He
knew that people like Shao Qun were used to being pampered when they
were young. It was definitely not easy to move for business completely
alone. It was unhygienic and unhealthy to always eat out. Now that Li
Chengxiu had more time, he wanted to take good care of Shao Qun.

When cooking the evening meal, one had to make sure it was light.

Normally, he would never cook so many dishes, as he would definitely not

be able to finish eating them all.

Now, even if he himself had to eat leftovers for the next two days, he hoped
to make more nice food for Shao Qun..

After he finished with the cooking, Li Chengxiu began tidying up the

house. On the inside and the outside he didn’t miss a single spot.

But even after seven o'clock, Shao Qun stil hadn’t arrived

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but make a phone call. The phone kept ringing,
but no one answered. He was a little anxious.

After waiting for another half an hour, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Li Chengxiu jumped up immediately, turned on the lights and ran to open
the door.

A strange man stood at the entrance, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a

straight shirt and trousers.His demeanor seemed calm and capable.

Li Chengxiu looked at him without a word.

The man nodded politely with an unsmiling look: "Hello, Mr. Li, I'm Mr.
Shao's assistant. My last name is Zhou."

"Oh, hello."

Li Chengxiu let him into the room, only to find that he was holding a
suitcase in his hand. There was also a person behind him who pushed in a
rack full of clothes similar to what one would see in a clothing store. Li
Chengxiu took a closer look at the various suits hanging there.They were
mainly black and gray, with the edges ironed straight, and all of them
covered in transparent bags.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Shao can't come over right now because something came up.
He asked me to send some of his daily necessities and a change of clothes
to your place."

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the rack made of stainless steel and nodded.

Assistant Zhou placed the suitcase in the center of the living room: "Mr. Li,
these are some things that Mr.

Shao is used to having around. Please arrange them for him." Then he
instructed the person pushing the rack, "Put these clothes in the closet.
Make sure not to disrupt the color order - from light to dark."

Li Chengxiu stood aside, silently watching as assistant Zhou and his

entourage walked around the room, leaving light gray footprints on the
floor he had just washed.

When the clothes were placed where they belonged, assistant Zhou took out
another folder from the briefcase and handed it to Li Chengxiu, "Mr. Li, as
Mr. Shao's assistant, I have the responsibility to ensure that his life is stable
and orderly, so that he can focus on his work. This document contains most
of Mr.

Shao's living habits and some provisions, including the foods he should not
eat, the things he should avoid, as well as his working and resting habits.
The time that Mr. Shao will stay here in the future will increase, so I hope
that these will help you to live a more harmonious and enjoyable life."

With a wooden face Li Chengxiu took the soft leather folder. It was
obviously just a few pieces of paper, but he felt like he was holding
something heavy.

Assistant Zhou continued with a straight face: "Mr. Shao may or may not
come tonight. Mr. Li can make a phone call to confirm whether he needs to
prepare in advance."

After saying that, he left.

During the whole process, assistant Zhou was very polite and proper, but
for some reason Li Chengxiu felt that he had been slapped several times.

He didn't know if he was too sensitive or was it really that this man named
Zhou treated him as Shao Qun's mistress?

Trembling, he crumbled the folder in his hand into a ball, turned around and
threw it into the trash can.

Exhausted, he collapsed on the sofa, looking at the suitcase standing in the

center of the living room and at the table of exquisite meals he had
prepared. His heart felt heavy.

He was a little confused and didn't know if he was doing the right thing. He
knew that Shao Qun was not the person to live with, but he couldn't help
feeling a little attracted to the idea. But this here was just the beginning
which made Li Chengxiu doubtful.
Li Chengxiu didn't dare to think about it anymore. He felt that Shao Qun
was now in charge. He himself couldn’t stop and think about it, even if he
wanted to. He had no choice but to take this step by step and see what
happens..

Li Chengxiu got up and put all the dishes on the table into the refrigerator.
He didn’t eat a bite.

Then he arranged the things in Shao Qun's suitcase, distributing his stuff
between the bedroom and the bathroom.

After he was done, he looked at his watch. It was past ten o'clock. He stared
at the display of his mobile phone for a long time, hesitated, and then final y
sent a text message to Shao Qun: “Are you stil busy?”

Li Chengxiu was very disappointed after lying in bed and waiting for a long
time without getting a response.

Unconsciously he fell asleep.

Around midnight he suddenly felt something hot and heavy pressing against
him.

Li Chengxiu slowly opened his eyes and felt a dark shadow behind him. At
first he was still sleepy and confused, so he didn’t react. But then he
immediately screamed and struggled to get up.

Shao Qun grabbed his waist and whispered, "It's me."

Li Chengxiu immediately calmed down and carefully curled up in his arms.

"I was so busy today. I'm exhausted."

Li Chengxiu couldn’t help frowning when he felt the pungent smell of

alcohol and cigarettes on Shao Qun’s body.

Shao Qun's ice-cold hand reached directly into his pajamas and stroked his
chest in the dark.
Li Chengxiu hunched up. He still couldn't get used to this kind of intimacy.

Shao Qun touched for a while, then his hand moved down to tug at Li
Chengxiu’s baggy pajama pants.

Li Chengxiu was shocked and wanted to push him away: "Shao Qun,
don't..."

Shao Qun was panting heavily, his articulation a little unclear, as he said
impatiently, "How long do you want me to endure it?" He then roughly pul
ed Li Chengxiu’s pajamas and panties down to his knees.

Li Chengxiu felt something hot touching his buttocks, and his face turned
pale with fright. He turned around and pushed Shao Qun away.

Drunk and eager, Shao Qun did not display even half of his usual
thoughtfulness, which made Li Chengxiu scared.

Shao Qun rolled over and pressed Li Chengxiu under him, angrily saying,
"What the hell is wrong with you?

It's not like you haven't done it before."

Li Chengxiu stared at him and whispered, "You are drunk."

"I’m sober enough to fuck you." As he said that, he pulled his thighs apart.

Li Chengxiu screamed in fright, shrinking himself into a ball and resisting

Shao Qun's attack with both hands and feet.

Although Shao Qun was not completely drunk, he was indeed a bit
inebriated, so his hands and feet were not very strong at that time. As Li
Chengxiu struggled, Shao Qun was dizzy and couldn't pin him down even
after a long time. Finally, Shao Qun got out of bed with his body swaying
from side to side, slammed the door and walked away.

Li Chengxiu was frightened by the loud bang and shook violently. After a
long silence in the dark, he tremblingly sorted out his clothes.
He remembered that Shao Qun was still wearing a coat, and that he didn't
even take off his leather shoes.

He ran directly to the bed after entering the door.

So careless… Who did he take him for?

Li Chengxiu got out of bed and turned on the lights. He glanced at the
wrinkled sheets with a few obvious shoe prints on them. His nose was sore,
and his eyes felt a little blurry.

The next day Li Chengxiu worked the night shift, but he turned off his
mobile phone early in the morning.

He didn't know what to say if Shao Qun called.

Every second in the hotel was still very difficult, as his colleagues became
increasingly disgusted and disdainful towards him. Male colleagues would
even make a big detour when they saw him. All kinds of unpleasant rumors
were spreading throughout the hotel like a wildfire.

Manager Zhang was now giving him a talk every other day, and the words
were getting heavier and harsher, making Li Chengxiu feel that he was
shameless for staying at the hotel.

Li Chengxiu felt exhausted physically and mentally, and the pressure was
so great that he couldn't even eat, and he began to consider whether it was
really time to resign.

It was past ten pm when he got off work and left through the back door.

To get to the bus stop from here, he had to go through the hotel's leisure
area. This area with a broad sea-view covered over 100 acres. It had two
swimming pools and several hot springs. The entire leisure area was full of
lush tropical plants. At night, the visibility was not very good there. A few
people were hiding out there without Li Chengxiu noticing.

While he was passing through, a couple of workers from the hotel blocked
his path in the hidden corner of Building Nr. 3.
Li Chengxiu had never seen such posturing before, so he shrank his neck in
fear.

He didn't expect to encounter this kind of thing at his age. Wasn’t this
something that only middle school students did? Coastal cities were usually
pretty open-minded, so he couldn’t understand why these people whom he
didn’t even know personally would be so intolerant of him.

The one in the front looked him up and down with contempt: "Chef Li, I've
been waiting to meet you for a long time."

These people were not regular employees of the hotel. They were
freelancers who received fixed wages to do all kinds of chores. As long as
they had their money, they could always move on to a different workplace.
Li Chengxiu's heart fell. Why would Manager Zhang go so far to force
him?.

"You guys, what do you want to do...?"

"Talk to you."

"I don't know you."

"It doesn't matter if you know us. Who in the hotel hasn’t heard about you
yet? Chef Li, you're already close to a big money bag, yet you’re stil here to
hustle and bustle. Why don’t you just stay home and enjoy your blessings?"

"Don't...don't talk nonsense."

"What nonsense are we saying exactly? Who doesn't know it already?

Every day you’re waiting for the bus in that area, and it’s a high-end
community. I heard that one square meter costs more than 60,000 RMB[5].

If it weren't for the big boss, would you be able to live there? Could you
afford it? Why are you even still pretending? There are many people in the
hotel who take that bus every day and have seen you many times."

"Hey, why didn't this big boss give you a driver? Hahahaaa…."
Li Chengxiu's face was ashen. He held a plastic bag in front of his chest,
preparing to escape.

The person closest to him pushed him directly on the shoulder and then
slammed him against the wall.

Li Chengxiu trembled and looked at the people surrounding him in horror.

"Li Chengxiu, I won’t talk nonsense with you anymore. You are a bother for
other people, understand? You already have such a good life, so don't come
here anymore to take away a workplace from somebody who could actually
use it, okay? The head chef will retire next year, and many people are better
qualified than you. It's the right time for you to quit. Don’t be selfish, others
stil have to rely on this job to support their families. You should be aware of
how things work, so save yourself the embarrassment and get the hell out of
here."

Li Chengxiu gasped sharply and summoned up his courage: "You...on what

grounds..."

"On what grounds?" The man grabbed Li Chengxiu's collar and waved his
fist, "How long do you want to stay? We can do it the easy way or the hard
way."

Li Chengxiu shrank his neck and looked at the fist in front of him. His face
was completely bloodless.

"What the hell are you doing? Let him go." Someone said coldly from
behind.

Li Chengxiu's eyes warmed when he heard the familiar voice.

Shao Qun came over and frowned, looking at Li Chengxiu who was
surrounded by the guys: "What's going on?"

He had just exited the parking lot and was about to enter the hotel to pick Li
Chengxiu up. Halfway through, he saw a gathering of people next to the
building, and when he got closer, he saw that Li Chengxiu was right in the
middle of it.

He had asked that Zhang guy to find a way to make Li Chengxiu quit, but
he didn't mean for him to get a group of idiots to fight him. What kind of
BS is this?.

A few men turned their heads, but they didn't recognize him. They thought
he was just a guest, so one of the guys responded viciously, "Sir, it's none of
your business. Don't worry about it."

Shao Qun cursed, pointed at his nose and said, "Get out of here."

The man let go of Li Chengxiu and side-eyed him: "Who the hell are you?
Looking for trouble?"

These people were indeed instructed by Manager Zhang, so they were

pretty daring. Ordinarily, they would never dare to casually offend hotel
guests.

Li Chengxiu huddled in the corner, looking worriedly at Shao Qun who was
now surrounded by a few people.

Shao Qun's eyes gleamed fiercely.

Although he was now successfully pretending to be a gentleman and a

proper young elite, his ferocious and irritable temper hadn’t disappeared.
The little leader of delinquents who’s been aggressive since he was a child
didn’t change much. It’s just that now he vented by merging and acquiring
shopping malls.

These people had stimulated the hostility that hadn’t come out in a long
time.

Shao Qun took off his tie, then raised his foot and fiercely kicked the person
in front of him.

Before the man could even make a sound, he was kicked more than a meter
away, and was retching on the ground, holding his stomach.
Everyone around was stunned for a moment, then immediately recovered
and rushed towards Shao Qun all together.

Li Chengxiu was in a dizzying mess.

"Shao Qun! Shao Qun!" he shouted.

The situation quickly got out of control. Four or five people surrounded
Shao Qun, ready for a fight. Shao Qun was also full of hostility, and his
fists left no doubt about his intentions.

Li Chengxiu wanted to help Shao Qun, but he didn't have the courage to
step into the chaotic battle circle.

Just thinking about being punched with a hard fist made his legs go soft.

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of other people. Due to the
loud noise, soon Manager Zhang and a few security guards appeared.

When Manager Zhang saw Shao Qun with blood in the corner of his mouth,
he was so frightened that his face turned pale.

"Oh, Mr. Shao! Mr. Shao! What is this? What's going on?"

Shao Qun glared at him and snorted.

Manager Zhang was overcome with overwhelming fear and kept

apologizing to Shao Qun.
Shao Qun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and reached out to
Li Chengxiu: "Come here."

Li Chengxiu was leaning against the wall and trembling. When he heard
Shao Qun calling him, he quickly ran over to grab his arm. He was choked
up when he asked, "Are you ok, Shao Qun…?"

Shao Qun put his arm around his shoulder: "I’m alright. Let’s go home and
talk."

Li Chengxiu started crying as soon as he got into the car: "Shao Qun..."
"Why are you crying? It's okay."

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt. When I lived in the UK, I used to fight with foreign brats
every day. Those guys were tough.

How can these pussies even compare?"

Shao Qun started the car and drove directly back to Li Chengxiu’s
apartment.

As soon as he entered the room, Li Chengxiu immediately went to look for

the medicine box. He then wiped the corners of Shao Qun’s mouth with
some cotton dipped in alcohol.

Shao Qun touched Li Chengxiu’s cheek: "Don't cry. It's fine."

It was not a bad feeling to have Li Chengxiu worry about him. His tearful
look made Shao Qun less annoyed about today.

"I’m sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Shao Qun paused: "I drank too much
yesterday. It’s me who has to apologize to you."

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun's swollen face and felt guilty. After Shao
Qun’s words, he was also moved, and tears flowed down his cheeks.

Shao Qun held his face and kissed him softly.

Li Chengxiu looked at him quietly.

"Chengxiu, I'm a normal man. I can't help it, do you understand?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

Shao Qun leaned over to lick his tears and slowly pushed him down on the
sofa.
As Shao Qun was taking off Li Chengxiu's clothes, he thought proudly that
what happened today was really worth it.

Chapter 24

Content warning: noncon, dubcon

Li Chengxiu cowered and pointed to the floor-to-ceiling windows behind

them: "Curtains..."

Shao Qun turned a deaf ear to his words, wrapped his hands around his
waist and pulled down his remaining underwear.

Li Chengxiu was red from head to toe just like a boiled shrimp.

"Shao Qun, the window..."

Shao Qun lowered his head and covered his mouth.

Li Chengxiu's body sank into the beige leather sofa. The shame of being
completely naked made him subconsciously want to curl himself into a ball.
However, Shao Qun pressed his hands down and spread his legs apart with
his knees. Then he kneeled between them.

Li Chengxiu was left breathless by Shao Qun’s kiss. He didn’t know how to
skillfully respond to it, so he could only rigidly accept Shao Qun's plunder,
while not even daring to move his neck.

When Shao Qun finally broke the kiss, Li Chengxiu was still aware that
they were in the living room. He whispered, "Not here".

Shao Qun lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile: "We have to do it here,
because the lighting is perfect. I want to take a good look at you, and you
also have to take a good look at me."

Li Chengxiu covered his eyes with his hand and trembled: "What should I
look at?"

Shao Qun smiled briskly: "At your first man."

Shao Qun removed Li Chengxiu's hand from his dodging eyes and gave
him an affectionate look, capturing Li Chengxiu’s shyness and fear with
great interest.

Li Chengxiu turned his neck. His eyelashes trembled quickly, as his eyes
focused on the bright tiles on the floor. The snow-white neck was stretched
out, and his protruding Adam's apple slid up and down.

Shao Qun lowered his head and bit his neck, half joking and half
threatening: "Wait for me. Don't move. If you dare to move, I'l carry you to
the balcony.”

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes tightly.

Shao Qun got up and went to the bathroom to get condoms and lubricant.

When he came back, he saw Li Chengxiu still curled up on the sofa, not
daring to move.

Shao Qun patted his smooth thighs all the way up. Then he caressed his butt
and said, "Darling, open your legs."

Li Chengxiu's nose twitched slightly, as he looked at Shao Qun with

pleading eyes.

Shao Qun grinned, "So shy." He grabbed both of Li Chengxiu's thighs and
spread them apart. Li Chengxiu screamed:"Shao Qun!"

Although the lights in the living room were warm, they were also very
bright, and all the details of his body could be seen at a glance.

Shao Qun squeezed his hand full of lubricant and probed Li Chengxiu’s
backside.

Although Li Chengxiu was ready, he was still shivering with fear.

Shao Qun gently caressed his waist and abdomen with one hand, as he
rubbed between his buttocks with the other.
"Ah!" Li Chengxiu jumped up and twisted his waist uncomfortably. Tears
burst from the corners of his eyes, and he tightly grasped Shao Qun's arms
with both hands.

Shao Qun pressed on his forehead to stop him from moving, "Relax,
Chengxiu. Relax your body."

Li Chengxiu was full of fear about what was about to happen and could not
relax no matter what. He begged in a low voice, "Shao.. Shao Qun, it
hurts..." He hoped that Shao Qun would let him go.

Shao Qun touched his face, "Darling, bear with it for now. It won't hurt
once you do it a few more times. I'll make you feel good."

He tested the gradually softening hole and felt it was about time. He then
unbuttoned his pants and pulled out his dick.

Li Chengxiu turned blue in the face after just one look at it. He tightly bit
his lip and closed his eyes.

Shao Qun put on a condom, grabbed his big baby and rubbed it back and
forth between Li Chengxiu's buttocks, evenly smearing out the lubricant.

Li Chengxiu was trembling all over and looked at Shao Qun with wet eyes.

Shao Qun pressed hard on Li Chengxiu’s thighs that tried to close up

several times. He then lifted his hips, aligned them with the gaping fleshy
hole and inserted himself into it.

This time, Shao Qun didn't give Li Chengxiu much chance to breathe, but
instead firmly fixed his waist and squeezed himself in really hard.

Li Chengxiu cried out in pain.

The feeling of being invaded by a foreign body in an indescribable place

was not only painful, but also made him feel nauseous.

He felt as if his ass was about to burst. Shao Qun's dick that was constantly
invading his body felt like a sharp knife. The shameful pain made Li
Chengxiu feel helpless, and he wanted to pass out.

"Shao Qun... Shao Qun..." Li Chengxiu cried out, looking at Shao Qun with
blurry eyes.

Shao Qun leaned down and kissed his face, "It's fine. It'll be fine in a
while."

He himself was sweating profusely. That place was real y too tight. If he
can fuck it lose, he won’t have to spend so much effort every time in the
future. Damn, that was tight.

He ignored Li Chengxiu's cries, grabbed his round and full buttocks and
pushed in hard.

Li Chengxiu cried out in pain, only to feel that his internal organs were
tossed around by the intruding object, making him want to hurl.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth, slowly pulled out his penis a little and then
pushed it right to the end.

After several repetitions, he felt the smoothness of entering and exiting

freely, as well as the pleasure of rubbing against the tight flesh walls.

As for Li Chengxiu, his eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse from
crying.

Shao Qun's former partners were all accustomed to his unrestrained style of
fucking when he was especially eager. Moreover, they mostly had a lot of
experience in that area and knew how to cooperate with Shao Qun to
receive their pleasure. But Li Chengxiu had no idea about anything, so he
could only suffer from this painful sex with his body completely limp.

Shao Qun's five slender fingers left several red marks on Li Chengxiu's
thighs. He firmly fixed Li Chengxiu's constantly writhing waist, letting his
scalding sharp blade fuck into the hot and humid flesh.

Part of Li Chengxiu's head was already hanging off the sofa. He tilted his
neck back in pain, as his fingers tightly gripped the sofa which was swaying
under Shao Qun’s violent movements.

Li Chengxiu’s fragile back hole, which was directly subjected to Shao

Qun's impact, was now completely opened up, as it tightly surrounded the
twitching genitals.

Shao Qun was indulged in lust without paying attention to anything else. He
only cared about the hard and fast collision until the moment he finally
vented.

He pulled out of Li Chengxiu's body and threw the wet condom on the
ground, noticing a little blood on it.

At an unknown point Li Chengxiu had covered his eyes with his arm again,
and his face was full of tears.

Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu's hand away, looked at his crying red eyes and,
unable to bear it, stuck out his tongue and lightly licked the corners of his
eyes.

Li Chengxiu choked, "Shao Qun, it really hurts."

"I know, it always hurts at the beginning. But it will be fine later."

Li Chengxiu sniffed hard and shook his head.

Shao Qun picked him up and took him to the bedroom, where he gently
placed him on the bed.

Li Chengxiu immediately pulled up the quilt and tried to cover himself up.

Shao Qun snatched the quilt from his hand and lay down beside him before
covering both of them.

He hugged Li Chengxiu from behind, and Li Chengxiu’s back was now

leaning against Shao Qun's firm chest.

Shao Qun's hand went down to Li Chengxiu’s crotch and took a hold of his
soft genitals.
Li Chengxiu murmured, "Don't..."

Shao Qun bit his ear, "Don't talk. Just feel it."

He gently moved his hand on Li Chengxiu's genitals, and they slowly

became hard and hot.

Li Chengxiu didn't dare to move, closed his eyes and bit his lips, enjoying
the thrill of his rising lower body.

The movements of Shao Qun's hands were getting faster and faster, and Li
Chengxiu felt that his lust was snowballing.

Suddenly, he felt two fingers inserted into his back hole.

Li Chengxiu's attention was focused on his front, so the sense of violation

of being invaded was not so strong this time.

His lower body had been completely conquered by sexual desire, as his
gaping squishy back hole was tossed, fingered and probed.

Li Chengxiu felt that his body was gradually changing. His hole was
tingling, and there was a strange feeling that wave after wave rushed from
his tail vertebra straight into his brain and made him shudder.

Shao Qun pulled out his fingers, took out a condom from the bedside table
and put it on. He then lifted one of Li Chengxiu's thighs and penetrated him
again in a sideways position.

This time the invasion was going much smoother. Shao Qun continued to
awaken Li Chengxiu's desire while moving his powerful waist.

Li Chengxiu felt that he was about to fall apart. His mind was blank as he
was pierced again and again. In all this chaos, there was nothing but intense
pleasure, as his body was tortured by this raging desire. He had lost all his
strength, and even his moans turned into helpless dry hoarse cries.

The quilt covering the two of them had already fallen under the bed. Shao
Qun put Li Chengxiu in a kneeling position with his buttocks raised high,
which allowed Shao Qun to fiercely enter and exit his body.

Li Chengxiu’s genitals that had vented a couple of times already were

rubbing against sheets, which made him hard yet again.

Such a night was destined to be sleepless.

Shao Qun personally called Boss Chen the next day and helped Li
Chengxiu resign.

Boss Chen kept apologizing on the phone and said that he had already fired
Manager Zhang and those few troublemakers. Shao Qun noncommittally
snorted a few words in response.

As he put down the phone and looked at Li Chengxiu's lost expression,

Shao Qun felt very happy.

In the future, Li Chengxiu will just stay at home which will allow Shao Qun
to conveniently find him whenever he needs him.

Shao Qun said with a smile: "You've been busy lately. It's rare for you to
take some time off, so why don’t you relax for a while?"

Li Chengxiu nodded: "I will rest for a few days and then start looking for a
new job."

The smile on Shao Qun's face froze: "Let's talk about this again. It's not that
easy to find a job, you know."

"Yeah." Li Chengxiu sighed, "I'll go around other hotels and see what they
have."

Shao Qun nodded perfunctorily, thinking that he’l never let any place hire
him.

He took out a large envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Li

Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu took the heavy envelope and looked at him suspiciously.

Shao Qun raised his chin: "Your payment."

Li Chengxiu looked at the envelope in surprise. It was really thick.

"Too much." Li Chengxiu muttered.

Shao Qun sneered: "You deserve it. Take it."

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, then smiled shyly as he took the money:
"Thank you."

This little humble expression made Shao Qun's heart full of anticipation yet
again. He hugged Li Chengxiu and together with him rolled directly onto
the bed.

Their cohabitation had officially begun.

Li Chengxiu had to stay at home, as there was no response to any resumes

he had submitted.

He had no friends and couldn’t surf the Internet. When he had nothing to
do, he could only stare at the TV

in a daze without actually watching.

Although he wasn’t used to talking a lot, Shao Qun had become the only
person he could talk to freely, so he anticipated seeing him every day.

But Shao Qun didn't live in the apartment most of the time. He showed up
only three or four times a week.

Li Chengxiu didn't know where Shao Qun was during all the other days and
he felt that it was inconvenient for him to ask. After all, Shao Qun had to
work and it was impossible for him to accompany Li Chengxiu at home
every day.

Shao Qun was always very busy. He often said that he wanted to come back
for dinner, but he didn’t keep his appointments. And he wouldn’t even make
a phone call to let Li Chengxiu know that he wasn’t coming.
So very often the whole table of meals that he cooked for him were
completely wasted. But what could Li Chengxiu do, besides having to eat
leftovers every day?

Similarly, Shao Qun rarely notified Li Chengxiu before coming over. He

came when he came, sometimes he stayed for a longer time, sometimes not.
But each time he would want to have sex.

In his heart, Li Chengxiu was actually kind of averse to their physical

intimacy, but Shao Qun was very enthusiastic about it, so he could only
cooperate.

He vaguely felt that his relationship with Shao Qun was a little strange, but
he couldn't say what exactly was wrong.

Li Chengxiu felt that Shao Qun treated him very well. He often praised the
delicious dishes he cooked for him. He also commended Li Chengxiu for
keeping the apartment very clean. When the two of them slept together,
Shao Qun would say a lot of things that made him blush. Li Chengxiu
thought that Shao Qun liked him very much.

Considering that he was the way he was, and Shao Qun was such an
excellent person, Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but feel flattered.

After he quit his job, Shao Qun still allowed him to stay in the apartment
and was still treating him very kindly. Li Chengxiu wanted to repay his
kindness in full, so when Shao Qun came over he took care of him in every
possible way. He couldn't speak so well, and he didn't dare to take the
initiative to express his love.

So he found his own way to express his feelings for Shao Qun.

It's just that this kind of life couldn’t go on for long, so even though Li
Chengxiu was wil ing to give his all to take care of Shao Qun, he stil
couldn’t live without a job.

In order to make up for living in Shao Qun’s apartment, Li Chengxiu had

been paying for living expenses out of his own pocket for more than two
months. He hadn’t touched any of the money that Shao Qun left in the
house.

His savings were meager, yet he had to repay his debts every month, and he
had to eat. If he didn’t find work, he wouldn’t be able to stay afloat for
long.

But Li Chengxiu hadn’t anticipated that getting a job would turn out so
difficult. He had submitted dozens of resumes, but only few of the places
even responded. However, these occasional responses also didn’t work out
in the end.

Finally, Li Chengxiu really couldn't be idle anymore, so he decided to give

up the big hotel restaurants and possibly find something at a small
restaurant. Although the salary and conditions there were not as good as in
the big hotels, it was still better than sitting around and eating through his
savings.

So he started to get busy again, going to the city every day to look for a job.

This, however, caused Shao Qun’s dissatisfaction.

He physically couldn't forbid every single restaurant in the city to hire Li
Chengxiu. So in the end Li Chengxiu managed to get a job and started
getting busy again.

Shao Qun was really bothered by the fact that Li Chengxiu came back home
every day smelling of burnt oil.

While his hands were clean, there was also a lingering stench of garlic in
the crevices of his nails. Shao Qun wanted to hold him after a long tiring
day, but the smell was really disappointing.

In Shao Qun's life, his career was there for self-realization and increasing
his self-worth, money was there to enjoy earthly pleasures, and lovers were
there to adjust to his needs and entertain him in his spare time.

He considered himself to be a good lover - generous and affectionate. He

was also never too cruel to his partners.

Shao Qun decided to talk to Li Chengxiu first, as he was still quite

interested in him. Li Chengxiu was a rare and considerate person. He was
so gentle and obedient that even women couldn’t compare. It was just
idiotic that he had to go out and sell cheap labor. Other than that, Li
Chengxiu was his most satisfactory kept lover so far. Shao Qun real y didn’t
want to break it off for the time being.

If Li Chengxiu could just stay at home obediently, everything would be

perfect. Shao Qun felt that he could keep him for a long time, considering
that changing lovers around too often was troublesome and, most
importantly, unhygienic.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 25
When Li Chengxiu came back from work in the afternoon, he saw Shao
Qun sitting on the sofa smoking, as he typed something on his notebook.
Most of the ashes were scattered outside the ashtray.

Li Chengxiu didn't like the smell of cigarettes, but since he was living in
someone else's house, he was too embarrassed to say anything about it.

Li Chengxiu put down his shopping bag: "You came! Are you hungry?"

Shao Qun wrinkled his nose, without raising his eyes, as he kept looking at
his computer screen: "Go take a bath before you start cooking. You smell
like kitchen. I feel full just from the smell already."

Li Chengxiu nodded embarrassedly, turned around and went to the

bathroom.

After ten minutes, Li Chengxiu stood in front of Shao Qun, clean and
refreshed.

Shao Qun closed his notebook, put out his cigarette and stretched out his
arm towards Li Chengxiu: "Come here."

Li Chengxiu obediently came up to him, and Shao Qun wrapped his arms
around his waist, pulling him into his lap. Li Chengxiu was already used to
this, so he huddled in Shao Qun’s arms like a kitten.

"Tell me, what did you do today?"

Li Chengxiu had finally found a job. Although he was still in his probation
period, and the salary was low, it still made him very happy: "I had morning
shift today."

"Didn't I ask you to rest for a while? Why are you running around again?"
"I rested. For more than two months."

Shao Qun said with displeasure in his voice: "It's not like I can't afford to
support you. Yet you have to go out and look for trouble, huh."

Li Chengxiu blinked: "I have to work."

"Why do you have to work? If you want more money, I'l give it to you. I
don’t want my person to be out of my reach all the time. Makes it look like
you’re even busier than me.”

Li Chengxiu looked at him embarrassedly: "I don’t need your money."

Shao Qun was a little annoyed: "Don’t be stupid. You’re earning so little
with this that it makes more sense for you to work as my housekeeper. "

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, then slowly moved away, trying to
get off Shao Qun’s lap.

Shao Qun clamped his waist and glared at him with burning eyes.

Li Chengxiu looked back at him blankly.

"Don't go to work tomorrow. Stay home."

"...Shao Qun, no."

"Tsk, what's the matter with you?"

Li Chengxiu said hesitantly, "I’m in debt."

"In debt? Whom do you owe? Why?"

"My relatives. It’s the money for my mother’s hospital bil s."

Shao Qun nodded: "How much do you owe?I don’t actual y care how much
it is, I’l pay it in full for you."

"No."
Shao Qun raised his voice: "What not?"

Li Chengxiu said stubbornly: "Shao Qun, no. I can pay it back myself."

Shao Qun impatiently pushed him away, stood up and left the apartment,
cursing, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Li Chengxiu looked at the open door for a long time.

He felt uncomfortable, but he didn't know how to explain himself to Shao

Qun.

Shao Qun didn't want him to work too hard. It was for his own good. But Li
Chengxiu had to make money.

He couldn’t spend Shao Qun's money. That just wasn’t right.

Li Chengxiu looked at the empty room in despair and suddenly saw the
mobile phone on the coffee table.

He quickly picked it up and sent a message to Shao Qun.

"Shao Qun, thank you for your concern. But I can support myself. I can't
rely on others to live. I hope you can understand."

Shao Qun was driving when his phone rang. For some reason, he felt that it
was a message from Li Chengxiu. He looked at it while standing at the red
light.

After reading the few lines three times over, Shao Qun’s mouth corners
went up.

Li Chengxiu's cheap self-esteem was extremely ridiculous to him. In all of

his adult life Shao Qun had never met anyone who stood by their virtues[6]
and self-proclaimed nobility. In the end, for the ones who “refused”

to give in, it was always a matter of price. He speculated that Li Chengxiu

probably lacked a sense of security, since he hadn’t given him anything
substantial yet. Once he piled up enough luxuries, Li Chengxiu would find
it difficult to resist.

He was too impatient today and forgot for a minute that it was the soft
approach that worked better with Li Chengxiu. Li Chengxiu wasn’t
someone who would bleed when cut - he looked weak and useless, but he
was extremely stubborn. Shao Qun thought about it and decided to give Li
Chengxiu a house and then coax him a little bit, hoping that then he would
be more aware about the state of things.

He threw the phone on the co-pilot's seat cushion, turned around and drove
back.

When he opened the door and went in, Li Chengxiu was sitting cross-
legged on the sofa, holding a book in his hand. He looked at Shao Qun in
surprise, his mouth open.

Shao Qun closed the door, came over and threw himself onto Li Chengxiu.
He rubbed his face against Li Chengxiu’s warm neck and said in a low
voice, "I was too hasty just now."

Li Chengxiu’s eyes felt a little warm. He put down the book and opened his
arms to gently wrap them around Shao Qun’s waist.

Shao Qun lightly bit his collarbone and reached into his clothes with his
cold hands, stroking Li Chengxiu’s smooth back.

Li Chengxiu obediently rested his chin on his shoulder, closing his eyes and
slightly trembling.

Shao Qun touched him for a while, setting them both on fire. He then got
up, carried Li Chengxiu into the bedroom and pressed him tightly onto the
bed.

The two were entangled for the whole afternoon until it was already dark
outside. Li Chengxiu was so exhausted that he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Shao Qun kissed his sweaty brow: "Darling, I'm hungry."

Li Chengxiu whispered: "I'm hungry too." He rubbed his head against Shao
Qun's arms, nostalgic for the warmth just now and reluctantly got up. Softly
he asked, "What do you want me to cook for you?"

Shao Qun’s heart felt warm. He hadn't felt so relaxed and comfortable in a
long time.

"Whatever you make, I’m sure, it wil be delicious."

Li Chengxiu smiled and headed out to cook.

While Li Chengxiu was busy at the stove, Shao Qun was smoking a
cigarette and watching his back through the slowly floating smoke.

Li Chengxiu's back was very beautiful. His neck was slender and fair, and
his ears were always slightly pink. The thin shoulders looked a bit fragile,
and the shoulder blades were a bit too prominent, especially when Shao
Qun pulled at his arms. When Li Chengxiu had his back turned towards
him, he really liked to bite at those shoulder blades. Li Chengxiu’s waist
was also very thin, without even an inch of fat, so his pajamas looked very
loose on his midsection. His butt was slightly tilted, and only Shao Qun
knew that without the underwear those two perky buttocks were very full
and felt good to the touch. Loose pajama pants wrapped around his slender
and straight legs. Li Chengxiu had little body hair - if one judged only by
his calves, he actually looked a bit like a woman. However his knee joints
were strong and slender, giving away his male physique.

Shao Qun could have never imagined that he would see the epitome of
home in one of his little lovers.

The way he treated his previous bed partners was nothing more than
walking in, undressing and leaving after he was done. Occasionally, he
would take them out somewhere, but mostly it was just to let them shop for
stuff.

No one has ever taken care of him in a way Li Chengxiu did. At the same
time, he never asked Shao Qun for anything.
Recently, Shao Qun had been getting busier and busier with work and
didn’t need to have sex as often as in the previous years. Still, he came over
to Li Chengxiu three or four times a week because he was sick and tired of
eating out in different hotels.

He would rather have a quiet meal with Li Chengxiu. And then hold him
afterwards, while watching TV or surfing on his computer. Li Chengxiu
would quietly stay in his arms, watching TV, reading books, or surfing
together with him. Shao Qun sometimes felt like he had a pet that could
cook, do laundry, clean up, talk to him and have sex with him. At the same
time Li Chengxiu was undemanding and easy to support.

How could someone be so useful?

How could there be such a perfect thing in the world?

The more Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s back, the more he wanted to
laugh from the bottom of his heart.

He walked over and put his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist from behind.

Li Chengxiu was taken aback and smiled, "What is it?"

"I want to hold you for a while."

"I’m cooking."

Shao Qun put his head on his shoulder and muttered, "I won’t do anything.
Just continue what you were doing."

Li Chengxiu was helpless, having to drag this big man behind him around,
as he continued to skillfully prepare the ingredients to add to the pot.

Shao Qun knew that he definitely didn’t want to break up with Li Chengxiu
now.

His career in the Pearl River Delta had just begun, and he really needed
such a considerate person to relieve the pressure of his busy life.
After eating, Shao Qun lay on the sofa with his head resting on Li
Chengxiu's thighs, as he flipped through the accounting book that Li
Chengxiu had just been reading.

Li Chengxiu's slender fingers were going through Shao Qun's hair, as he

massaged his scalp.

Him being a chef, his hands were very strong, and the pressure was just
right. Shao Qun squinted his eyes in an expression of comfort.

Shao Qun raised the book in his hand and asked casually, "How are your
studies going?"

"It's hard. It was easy at the beginning but it's getting harder and harder
now. I also have no one to ask questions."

Shao Qun smiled and said, "You can ask me."

Li Chengxiu responded, "You are very busy."

Shao Qun's heart suddenly moved: "Chengxiu, do you want to study

seriously?"

Li Chengxiu nodded. How could he not want to do that? Unfortunately, he

had no time, and he hadn’t saved up enough money for that yet.

Shao Qun happily got up: "The don't go to work. I'll sign you up for tutorial
classes, so you can study."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, bright light flashing in his eyes.
But it quickly dimmed, and shook his head.

"Do you want to be a chef for the rest of your life? Accounting is a good
career option. You are meticulous and careful, and you can endure hard
work. This is suitable for you."

Li Chengxiu absently looked at the book in Shao Qun's hand.

It was his dream to study again.

His grades have always been good when he was a child. It wasn’t because
he was extraordinarily smart but rather because he worked several times
harder than all the others.

If he had enough time, he felt that he could excel at his studies. Shao Qun's
words really moved his heart.

Shao Qun continued to urge him: "Accounting is a discipline that requires

profound knowledge. It is not going to be enough if you just learn it by
yourself. You must be guided by a professional. I will enroll you in a
tutorial class first to lay the foundations. Once you’re that far, I can find an
accountant to guide you further. If you study well..." Shao Qun squeezed his
cheek and smiled at Li Chengxiu, "...you can come work for my company."

Li Chengxiu's eyes shined. Shao Qun could see that he was really excited.

If he could real y complete his studies, it would be great. And if he went to

work for Shao Qun’s company…

It would mean that he could see him every day and have the opportunity to
understand what kind of life Shao Qun was living. Something that he never
even dared to think about.

But money...

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and looked aside hesitantly.

Shao Qun had already planted the idea into his heart, so he was not in a
hurry to force Li Chengxiu to agree now. Just like Li Chengxiu’s successful
resignation from the hotel, Shao Qun wanted to put him in a situation where
he had no more room for rejection.

Shao Qun put his arms around Li Chengxiu and reassured him: "Don't
worry. I respect your wishes, so you can think about it carefully. After all,
this is extremely beneficial to you… For me, not so much. After all, if you
spend so much time with the outsiders, when wil you have time to see me?”

Li Chengxiu refuted: "That’s not..."

Shao Qun interrupted him: "You don't need to explain, I understand. So I
won't force you. Just think about it. You can still go to work these days, but
you should also spend more time studying. I know that you have
perseverance, and you don’t do things halfway."

Li Chengxiu nodded and looked at Shao Qun gratefully.

Although he sometimes had a bad temper and was at times self-centered,

Shao Qun had a good heart and treated Li Chengxiu really well.

No one in the world is perfect. Since Li Chengxiu accepted Shao Qun's

good sides, he must also accept his bad sides. He can't only accept Shao
Qun's care and then be intolerant at the times when Shao Qun makes him
sad. Li Chengxiu had already received so many good things from him, and
he felt very satisfied.

In the next few days, Li Chengxiu still went to work. Although he was
seriously considering Shao Qun's suggestion, he still planned to work for at
least one month before quitting, in order to get his salary.

Shao Qun came to Li Chengxiu occasionally, reminding him every time to

think carefully and weigh all the pros and cons.

One day, as soon as Li Chengxiu came in through the door, Shao Qun said
that he wanted to give him a gift.

Li Chengxiu didn't know what the occasion was, so he just waited with a
smile.

Shao Qun took out a document bag from behind his back and opened it in a
way that it faced down. Like snowflakes, dozens of paper notes were
immediately scattered onto the coffee table.

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the notes.

Shao Qun threw the bag away and quietly looked at him.

As soon as Li Chengxiu realized what these pieces of paper were, his eyes
became wet, and it felt as if he was struck by lightning.
He could never forget them.

When his mother was sick, he had no choice but to go back to his
hometown in the countryside and go from house to house borrowing
money. He knelt all the way from the beginning of the village to the end of
the village - the blood on his knees even seeped through his pants at that
time. He would borrow a few hundred from one family, write an IOU and
then get to the next house. He visited more than hundred households in the
vil age, and the pain and suffering of that time couldn’t be described in
words.

These IOUs were his burdens - not only financially, but also
psychologically. Now that Shao Qun just handed them to him like this, he
felt as if a heavy mountain was lifted off his chest in an instant. Even
breathing became much easier.

At this moment, he had no time to consider how much he now owed Shao
Qun. He only felt that Shao Qun had saved him.

For the first time during their time together, Li Chengxiu took the initiative
to hug Shao Qun, choking and trembling, as he kept thanking him non-stop.

Shao Qun silently stroked his back. His eyes flickered, and his mind filled
with thoughts.

If his assistant hadn’t reported all of these things to him, he real y could
have never imagined how difficult Li Chengxiu's life was when he was a
child.

Li Chengxiu was only thirteen or fourteen years old when he had to take
care of his paralyzed mother and also humble himself going house to house
to borrow money. Shao Qun couldn't imagine how such a young child
managed to endure all this.

He had to admit that for the first time, this thin and withdrawn man in his
arms made him feel pity and admiration.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 26
Li Chengxiu finally resigned.

The moment he threw those IOUs into the trash can, he felt as if he had
been given a new lease on life.

He could say goodbye to the past. Now he had new goals, and most
importantly, a lover.

Li Chengxiu’s heart was full of gratitude and admiration for Shao Qun.

Shao Qun for him was like the warm sun in the winter, like charcoal heating
in the cold snow. He treated Li Chengxiu so well, that it made him feel as if
he had value and deserved to be cared for. For the first time ever, he felt that
God treated him so kindly by sending Shao Qun to him.

So Li Chengxiu was now relying on Shao Qun in almost everything. Before

the month was out he quit his restaurant job.

He also seriously wrote an IOU to Shao Qun, including the debt that Shao
Qun helped him repay and the money he paid for his schooling.

Although it was also an IOU, this one didn’t make Li Chengxiu feel like it
was a burden, rather it was a motivation for him to study hard and work
hard in order to treat Shao Qun kindly and repay him for everything he had
done for Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun gave the IOU a perfunctory glance, shoved it into the drawer,
turned around and pressed Li Chengxiu onto the big mahogany table in the
study, intending to ask for something he was really interested in in return.

The class that Shao Qun registered him for only happened on Mondays and
Wednesdays, however it ran from nine o’clock in the morning until four in
the afternoon, with one-and-a-half-hour break at noon.
On the first day, he heard many people complaining that such a long
condensed class was too tiring.

However, Li Chengxiu enjoyed every minute and every second of sitting in

the classroom and studying instead of working in a smoky kitchen. He
didn't feel tired at all, but rather regretted not being able to attend classes
every day. There were only two classes a week, so what was he going to do
on the other five days? That seemed to be a waste.

Li Chengxiu scribbled on his scratch paper, calculating his recent expenses

and trying to figure out how long his existing savings of tens of thousands
of RMB would last.

"Hi."

A brisk voice startled him, and his hand shook. The tip of Li Chengxiu’s
pencil scratched the table, and the lead immediately broke.

"Hahaha, I scared you."

The girl talking was his deskmate. They were always the ones who arrived
in class first. After seeing each other a few times, the two of them often sat
together.

The girl was outgoing and talkative and didn’t care at all that Li Chengxiu
was very reserved.

She took a bite from the bun she was holding: "Do you know who was
invited as a guest lecturer this afternoon?"

"No."

"He’s actually someone incredible. I heard that he is the shareholder of this

school[7], and he is also the boss of an amazing accounting firm. You have
definitely heard of it. If you get good grades, you can intern at this firm."

Li Chengxiu nodded: "I have heard of it." When he just came to school, he
heard that if he got the best exam results for three consecutive months, he
would have the opportunity to go to the top accounting firm in China for an
internship. This was a great opportunity for every newbie.

The girl suddenly leaned over to Li Chengxiu's side and whispered, "I’ve
also heard..."

Li Chengxiu looked at her with a smile, wondering why she heard so much
about this person.

There was an obvious excitement in her voice: "I’ve heard that this guy is
handsome."

Li Chengxiu smiled and nodded: "That’s good."

For as long as he could remember, his deskmate was the only woman he
had ever come into contact with other than his mother. Before that, he felt
that women lived in a different world than him. Now, he felt that women
were very cute.

"I heard that he’s only in his thirties. And that he’s real y rich. I real y real y
want to see him soon!"

Classes continued as usual in the morning. At noon, Li Chengxiu took out

the lunchbox he had prepared and gave it to his deskmate. Considering that
last time when she saw his lunch, she couldn’t stop talking about it, he
brought an extra one with him every time he cooked. It wasn’t much of a
hassle after all.

"So good! Li Chengxiu, you’re such a talented cook! Any woman would be
lucky to marry you!"

Li Chengxiu smiled shyly and lowered his head to eat.

The girl slanted her eyes to sneak a peek at Li Chengxiu.

Since Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun were together, Shao Qun no longer
allowed him to go out in his store-bought clothes. Al Li Chengxiu’s attires
were now purchased by Shao Qun. Although Li Chengxiu didn't realize it
himself, but from head to toe he was wearing famous brands. The clothes
were well-matched, and the tailoring was exquisite. Coupled with his fresh
hairstyle and an already fair and beautiful face, he looked warm and
handsome.

Also, his “girliness” stayed wel hidden because he hardly talked to anyone.
Since the classes started, many girls have been secretly thinking about him.
At the same time they couldn’t wait to look at his collar to see if he was
wearing Versace or Armani on any given day.

His deskmate was however a bit confused, as she pondered on Li Chengxiu

- he was rich, gentle, and good-looking. One would think he was a perfect
man… Unfortunately, his personality and behavior were really very girly...

After the lunch break, the head of the school and several teachers entered
the classroom together with an unknown man.

As soon as the man came in, Li Chengxiu could hear excited low-pitched
screams of his female classmates.

The man was pretty attractive. He looked like he was in his early thirties,
tall and straight, with wide shoulders and narrow waist. His white shirt and
gray trousers were ironed with precision, and his facial features revealed a
mature and intellectual temperament. There was a pair of gold-rimmed
glasses on his tall nose. His gait was firm and confident, and he swayed
lightly as he walked. The kind of charm that this man had transcended even
his appearance, making ordinary people feel ashamed around him.

The man walked to the front of the podium where he stopped with his arms
outstretched and a gentle smile on his face: "Dear students, it's a pleasure to
meet you. Honestly, this is the most anticipated day of the year, because it is
my only chance to see so many great people in front of me at the same
time."

All the students in the class laughed, and the tense atmosphere disappeared
at once.

"Al right, let me introduce myself. My name is Li Shuo. It’s the same “Li”
(黎)[8] as in the word “daybreak” (
黎明) and the same “Shuo” (朔) as in the word “new moon” (朔月). I will be
replacing your teacher Chen today to give you this afternoon's class and
also share with you some details about my personal career as an accountant.
I hope it will be helpful to the future accountants in this classroom..."

After the class was over, everyone was in awe of Li Shuo.

He was wise, funny, and approachable. He could turn boring numbers into
sheet music. He could make everyone laugh at any time, and he didn’t mind
putting himself down, which made everyone admire him even more for his
humility and open-mindedness.

The girls around Li Chengxiu were so excited that they were tugging on Li
Chengxiu's sleeves throughout the class: "Wow, how can he be so
handsome! How can such an attractive man exist! God, I'm losing my
mind."

"Look at him! His legs are so long, and his body looks so good! OMG,
OMG, I wonder if he is married! It’s definitely over, if he is. Maybe he is
divorced?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head helplessly, while intently taking notes.

He could understand why these girls were so obsessed. This man was
indeed charming, and it made him envious.

Li Shuo asked a question and was going to pick someone from the class to
give an answer.

He looked at the register in his hand and called out a name. By chance, it
was the name of Li Chengxiu’s deskmate.

When the girl next to him heard her name out of Li Shuo’s mouth, she was
stunned. She was obsessing over Li Shuo during the whole session and
didn't actually listen to him at all. How would she know what Li Shuo was
even talking about right now?

She stiffly raised her hand.

Li Shuo looked at her with a smile: "Oh, it's a lovely young lady. I'm very
lucky." He then blinked and asked,

"Can you answer my question just now?"

The girl stared at the whiteboard and smiled awkwardly.

Li Chengxiu tried to whisper the answer to her. But as the classroom was
too quiet, he didn’t dare to speak too loud, so in the end she couldn't hear
what he was trying to tell her at all.

Li Shuo smiled at her again: "Don't be nervous. How about we let the
gentleman next to you answer the question? He has been trying to help you,
so I have to give him this chance."

Everyone laughed again and looked at Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu's face turned red, as he unconsciously got up from his seat.

He still felt like he was in junior high, so when the teacher asked a question,
he felt like he had to stand up.

When he realized that he didn't need to do that, he didn't know how to sit
down in front of everyone without it being awkward.

He heard everything that Li Shuo said just now. He also knew the answer
but he just couldn’t speak.

What he was most afraid of was being humiliated in public. Those eyes of
other students that kept looking at him were cutting at Li Chengxiu’s sanity
like a knife. Every second was a torment for him. Al he could do was
tremble with anxiety - speaking was out of the question.

The person next to Li Chengxiu nudged him but saw that he was
unresponsive, so he said loudly, "Mr. Li, this student is shy, and he can't
speak in front of so many people. But he certainly knows the answer.

Li Shuo looked at Li Chengxiu, who was blushing like a tomato, with some
interest. He then tapped the whiteboard with his fingers: "In this case, this
gentleman can come up and write the answer on the board.

Just give a demonstration of this arithmetic to your classmates."

Li Chengxiu was unable to refuse, so he stiffly walked over and tremblingly

took the pen from Li Shuo's hand.

Li Shuo leaned in to admire his rosy and delicate face. Then he patted his
shoulder with a smile: "Don't be nervous. Even if you make a mistake, I’m
not allowed to punish you." After that, he turned towards the classroom and
helplessly said to everyone, "This is the bad thing about commercial
training institutions.

Everyone laughed.

The thick voice that strangely echoed in Li Chengxiu’s ears calmed his
beating heart a little, and he felt less nervous.

With his back turned to dozens of pairs of eyes behind him, he quickly
wrote his calculations on the whiteboard.

Li Shuo clapped his hands in admiration: "Very good, thank you... Your
name?"

"……Li."

"Thank you, Mr. Li. You are the hero that saved the beauty."

There was another burst of laughter in the classroom.

Li Chengxiu hurriedly lowered his head and returned to his seat, feeling that
he was sweating profusely.

The girl next to him exclaimed, "I really envy you for getting so close to
him."

Li Chengxiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In the afternoon after school, it suddenly started to rain.

Most of Li Chengxiu’s classmates took a taxi back. Some guys who came in
their own cars diligently took the initiative to take their female classmates
home.

Li Chengxiu usually walked home. It was only half an hour to forty

minutes' walk to where he lived, so he could save 4 RMB a day and have
some exercise at the same time.

Now that it was raining, he had no choice but to stay on the first floor and
wait for the rain to stop. But even when all his classmates were gone, the
rain stil didn’t show any signs of being over soon. Li Chengxiu looked at
the time and realized that Shao Qun was about to come by the apartment,
and he needed to go back to cook. He gritted his teeth - he had to run to the
nearest bus stop in the rain.

Not long after he ran out of the building, a car horn sounded behind him,
signaling non-stop.

Li Chengxiu turned around to see a black sedan driving slowly behind him.

He didn't understand what he did wrong. He thought he might have been

blocking the driveway, but when he looked back he realized it wasn’t the
case.

Li Chengxiu turned around and continued running, when the car window
rolled down:

"Mr. Li."

Li Chengxiu looked back again, and saw Li Shuo sitting in the car, smiling
and waving at him: "Get in."

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly.

"Get in quickly. It's inconvenient to run in the rain. I'll send you off."

Li Chengxiu pointed to his clothes: "Wet...wet."

Li Shuo smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I have to wash my car after the
rain anyway. Come on, get in."

Li Chengxiu couldn’t resist Li Shuo's goodwil and friendliness, so opened

the car door and got into the seat.

Li Shuo rolled the car window up, took out a tissue and handed it to Li
Chengxiu: "Here, wipe yourself."

"Thank you." Li Chengxiu took the tissue and wiped his face dry.

As he was driving, Li Shuo said: "What a coincidence. I chatted with the

school teacher for a while and I happened to see you when I came out."

Li Chengxiu bowed slightly to him: "Thank you."

"You're welcome, it’s no problem. Oh, by the way, where do you live?"

Li Chengxiu gave him his address.

Li Shuo smiled and said, “That’s a good place."

Li Chengxiu said with some embarrassment, "It's a friend's… house."

Li Shuo smiled without saying a word. Li Chengxiu also sat upright, staring
straight ahead.

"Where are you currently employed, Mr.Li?"

"I don’t have a job right now."

"Oh, then you have more time to study, which is good too."

Li Chengxiu said "Um".

The two fell silent again.

Li Shuo felt a little embarrassed. He had rarely met such a withdrawn

person. Even though usually money and power helped him deal with any
kinds of situations, he real y wasn’t good at communicating with very aloof
strangers.

But even if communication was out of the question, this Mr. Li looked just
like his type of guy. In such gloomy and dark weather, just having a
pleasant person to accompany him for a drive was a nice treat after a tiring
day.

By the time Li Shuo took him home, the rain was almost over. Li Chengxiu
stood in front of the car window and repeatedly thanked him.

Li Shuo said that he was welcome. The two shook hands and said goodbye.
Before leaving, Li Shuo left his business card.

Li Chengxiu now had even more respect for Li Shuo in his heart. This man
was not only capable at what he did, but he was also kind and enthusiastic.
Li Shuo was such a role model, and it was an honor to be helped by him.

When Li Chengxiu returned home in a very good mood, he found that Shao
Qun had already returned to the apartment long ago. He was sitting on the
sofa with his arms folded over his chest, his face as gloomy as the weather
outside.
Illustration of Li Shuo (from 188 Group weibo account, also see the
watermark

At the first glance he seems to be your typical 2nd ML but he is much

deeper than that. And I’m saying it as someone who dislikes him for a lot of
reasons that were articulated in “Additional Inheritance” where he plays a
big part and in “Winner takes Al ” where he is the main character.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 27
Content warning:dubcon
Li Chengxiu looked at the clock on the wall in surprise: "You’re back so
early?"

Shao Qun heavily put the pair of his long legs on the coffee table: "I would
have been even earlier, if your phone hadn't been turned off."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment. He took out his mobile phone from
his pocket and looked at it. It seemed that without him knowing it had
automatically turned off. Li Chengxiu explained, "Ran out of battery."

Shao Qun stood up, with displeasure written on his face: "I thought since it
was raining today, I would get off work earlier to come pick you up. But
your phone was turned off, so it caused me to run around in vain."

Li Chengxiu apologized: "I'm sorry. I didn’t know..."

Shao Qun raised his hand to interrupt him: "Enough about this. Tell me who
was that who just took you home?"

Shao Qun was not in the mood for work today. By chance it was also
raining, so he wanted to pick Li Chengxiu up for a meal, soak in a hot
spring, some romance, and a bit of leisure. But it turned out to be for
nothing. When Shao Qun got to the apartment, he saw that Li Chengxiu still
hadn't come back. It was raining so hard outside that Shao Qun couldn't sit
still. After a while he went to the balcony to check on the rain situation,
only to see Li Chengxiu get out of an S8[9] and say goodbye to the driver
with a smile on his face. Shao Qun couldn’t see who was in the driver’s
seat. But from the look of his hand which Shao Qun noticed during his
handshake with Li Chengxiu, he could tell that it was a young man.
Were it just an ordinary car, Shao Qun would have thought that Li
Chengxiu had hitched a ride with one of his classmates. But who would
drive an S8 to a basic accounting class?

Li Chengxiu answered honestly, "It was the teacher."

Shao Qun frowned and said, "Teacher?" That stil didn’t make sense. How
could some college student who had just graduated from an accounting
major and was teaching introductory courses afford an S8?

Shao Qun raised his voice: "Be honest. How can he be your teacher?"

"Yes, he is a teacher. He’s also a shareholder of our school, and he is a co-

founder of an accounting company. Today he was our guest lecturer."

This did make sense, indeed. However, why would he suddenly drive Li
Chengxiu home? There were many other students. He didn’t drive all of
them.

"Why did he give you a ride?"

Li Chengxiu was confused by Shao Qun's stern tone: "Because it was

raining..."

Shao Qun said impatiently: "Of course, I know it was raining! But there are
dozens of people in your class.

He didn’t give all of them a ride. Why did he drive you specifically?"

Li Chengxiu explained with some difficulty: "I was waiting for the rain to
stop.He was talking to the teacher at the time. When he came out, the other
classmates were already gone. It was just me who was left."

Shao Qun's expression softened. This polished Li Chengxiu looked more

and more delicious, as well as more tempting. Since he seemed like an
unsuspecting rabbit, Shao Qun had to keep an eye out to prevent other
beasts from coveting him.
Although he didn’t mind the past affairs of his lovers, once they were with
him they had to keep themselves clean. Shao Qun didn’t want to catch any
diseases.

Maybe it was time to take Li Chengxiu to a full-body examination? All

Shao Qun’s regular bed partners normally had to do a checkup. Since Li
Chengxiu had no previous experience, Shao Qun forgot about it for a while.
But thinking about Li Chengxiu's former living environment, it was
probably for the best not to skip this step just in case.

Shao Qun leaned over and, like a beast confirming his territory, sniffed at Li
Chengxiu. He smelled of Clive Christian 1872[10]. Shao Qun frowned and
said angrily, "This upstart has a bad taste. Go take a shower.

You stink!"

Embarrassed, Li Chengxiu put down the things in his hands. He didn't

understand why Shao Qun thought that he smelled bad. He wasn’t working
in the restaurant anymore…Unconsciously Li Chengxiu raised his sleeve to
smell himself.

Shao Qun knocked his arm down: "Hurry up!"

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes aggrievedly, silently turned around and

headed to the bathroom.

Just as he was about to close the bathroom door, Shao Qun suddenly
propped it up. A loud "bang" startled Li Chengxiu. He stared blankly as
Shao Qun took a delicate crown bottle with golden liquid off the shelf and
loudly threw it into the trash can[11].

When Li Chengxiu came out of the bathroom, he saw Shao Qun smoking
and pressing buttons on the remote control, constantly changing channels
and looking very irritable.

Carefully, Li Chengxiu sat next to him and put his hand on his arm. He then
asked softly, "Why are you angry?"
Shao Qun muttered, "I'm hungry."

"I'm going to cook." Li Chengxiu quickly got up, went to the kitchen and
got busy.

When he was taking lettuce out of the pot, Shao Qun came in and stood
behind him.

Li Chengxiu said: "It will be ready soon."

Shao Qun suddenly leaned over, almost touching Li Chengxiu’s body. Li

Chengxiu twisted his neck in surprise. Shao Qun suddenly exerted his
strength, put his hand under Li Chengxiu’s apron and rudely pulled down
his pajama pants together with his underwear .

Li Chengxiu screamed, threw away the spatula in his hand and was about to
pull his pants back up. At that moment Shao Qun grabbed his waist from
behind and said: "Don't move. Just continue cooking your dishes."

Li Chengxiu exclaimed, "Shao Qun, what are you doing…?"

Shao Qun smiled evil y: "Finish cooking this dish. Once you’re done, I wil
also be done."

Li Chengxiu turned his head and looked at him with condemnation and
some tears. Shao Qun gave him a long kiss on the lips and pushed up hard:
"Hurry up!"

Shao Qun spread his thighs apart, adjusted his position and squeezed in
without a care in the world.

"Ah!" Li Chengxiu screamed. His body trembled, gasping for breath and
trying to adapt to this sudden invasion.

As Shao Qun aggressively tossed him, Li Chengxiu almost lost his balance
and could barely stand with his hands tightly clinging to Shao Qun’s arms.

Shao Qun gnawed at his ear, as his hand also reached under Li Chengxiu’s
clothes to do whatever it wanted. During the conquest he said with glee,
"Keep cooking. No need to stop."

How could Li Chengxiu even hold on to a spatula like this? He leaned back,
and his neck was resting entirely on Shao Qun’s shoulders. His eyes were
tightly closed, and he was panting as his body convulsed.

But he knew that when Shao Qun's temper came up, Li Chengxiu had to do
exactly what he said, otherwise it would mean trouble. So even though he
couldn't stand the torture, he still tremblingly picked up the spatula and
feebly stir-fried the vegetables in the pot.

Shao Qun was very satisfied with his obedience, enjoying this perfect body
to the fullest. After the wanton conquest, Shao Qun’s mood improved a lot.

In the end, the dishes ended up burnt anyway. Li Chengxiu poured out all
the ruined ones and quickly prepared some more, for fear that a hungry
Shao Qun would come up with other tricks to toss him around.

During the meal, Shao Qun’s facial expression final y improved and he
said: "No matter if it rains or hails, you should call me. Even if I can't pick
you up myself, I will ask my driver to get you. You are not allowed to get
into other people's cars. Do you understand?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

"There are so many bad people out there. This is for your own good."

Li Chengxiu smiled: "Okay."

Shao Qun's expression softened, "I'll take you to the hot springs this
weekend."

Li Chengxiu said happily: "All right."

Shao Qun was usually too busy. Li Chengxiu basically couldn’t see him
during the day. At night, he either didn’t come at all or, if he came, he just
wanted to do that one thing. Since the sea party, Shao Qun had never taken
him out for a “date” again. Li Chengxiu missed those former days a lot.
Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s bright and innocent eyes and couldn't
help but smile.

On Friday afternoon, the driver dropped them off at a spa hotel in Hong
Kong.

Shao Qun first took Li Chengxiu out for dinner at the hotel. After the two of
them returned to their room, Li Chengxiu noticed the place had a distinct
Japanese-style design. There were tatami mats on the ground, and when he
opened the door, he could see that there was a steaming spring right outside.
It was a private spring for the guests of this room only, and it was separated
from other springs by a screen.

Shao Qun stepped barefoot on the stone outside the door: "Nice, it's really
warm."

Li Chengxiu also took off his slippers with some curiosity. Sure enough, the
pebbles on the ground were hot and very comfortable to walk on.

Shao Qunxie smiled and patted his butt, "Quick, take off your clothes. We
haven’t done it in the water yet, right?"

Li Chengxiu blushed: "We have just finished eating. Let’s take a break
first?"

"No, I want to do it now. Hurry up, or are you waiting for me to strip you?"

Li Chengxiu grasped his collar and looked at him shyly.

Shao Qun jumped at him and grabbed Li Chengxiu’s clothes: "Ok, I’l take it
off for you."

Shao Qun hugged Li Chengxiu, and while he shouted and laughed in his
arms, he stripped off his clothes piece by piece.

Shao Qun first put the dumplings with white skin and fresh filling into the
pot, then stripped and boiled them thoroughly.[12]
The two played in the water for a long time, and Li Chengxiu was so tired
afterwards that he lay on the edge of the pool and panted.

Shao Qun went around behind him, lifted one of his thighs and directly
inserted two fingers into his back hole, using the moisture of water as
lubricant.

Li Chengxiu buried his face in his arms and whimpered.

Shao Qun massaged his hole in circles for a few times, then simulated the
copulation movements by twitching his fingers quickly in and out. Li
Chengxiu twisted his waist tightly, and his genitals looked up.

Shao Qun touched Li Chengxiu’s dick and smiled, "Just by having my

fingers in? Once my baby is inside, won’t you have to ejaculate
immediately?"

Li Chengxiu felt that his face was hot and he complained in a low voice,
"Don't… Don't say these things."

Shao Qun pulled out his fingers and patted his ass under the water, "Come
on. Lift your ass up."

Li Chengxiu bent down slightly and raised his lower body.

Shao Qun took a hold of his own dick and then remembered that the
condoms were still in the room. At this moment he was too tense and too
lazy to go get them, even though it was his own strict rule to use condoms
at all times. He had never made an exception for anyone before.

The firm head stabbed into the soft hole at once, but even after a long time,
Shao Qun didn’t move. Li Chengxiu turned around and looked at him
silently. His confused eyes and slightly opened lips clearly marked an
invitation.

Shao Qun felt his blood rushing up. He held Li Chengxiu’s buttocks and
shoved his penis inside.
The invasion also brought in a steam of heat, and Li Chengxiu moaned
weakly like a cat. His eyelashes were stained with water vapor.

Shao Qun didn't expect that the direct contact with the flesh without the
layer of rubber would feel so good.

The way his penis was enveloped by the inner walls felt hot and tight. Li
Chengxiu was squeezing him and wrapping him so tightly that he could
barely move.

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu's waist tightly and thrust in hard.

Li Chengxiu clung to the pebbles under his hands, gritted his teeth and
resisted the moan that was about to escape.

After all, this place was separated from others only by a thin screen.
Although soft music was playing all around, if there was someone in the
room next to them, they’d be able to hear everything clearly. Li Chengxiu
didn’t dare to make a sound.

Shao Qun didn't care about this at all. He moved his powerful waist,
slamming into the depths of the flesh hole again and again. This was the
first time that he did it bareback since he grew up. The novelty and
excitement made him feel that the act was extraordinarily erotic today. It
was really cool.

He slammed himself in a dozen more times from the back. He then adjusted
Li Chengxiu's position, so that he was facing him and said, "Put your legs
up around my waist."

Li Chengxiu's legs were weak, and as soon as his support was gone, he
slipped into the water .

Shao Qun picked him up, grabbed his thighs and put them around his waist.
He inserted himself in again and pushed his hips up.

Li Chengxiu hugged Shao Qun’s neck with both his hands, as his legs
crossed over Shao Qun’s waist. Li Chengxiu’s whole body was now
hanging off Shao Qun. The dick inside him kept being buried in deeper and
deeper, almost to an unbelievable extent. Li Chengxiu felt that his internal
organs were being turned upside down.

He buried his face in Shao Qun's neck, and his whimper was interrupted by
Shao Qun's rough movements.

Suddenly, a burst of erotic coquettish screams poured into both of their ears.

Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun were stunned for a moment, only to realize that
the voice next door belonged to a man...

The screams from next door were really unrestrained. A series of dirty
words kept coming out from behind the screen, making Li Chengxiu want
to close his ears.

Shao Qun also felt quite awkward. He lowered his head and kissed Li
Chengxiu's mouth, as he continued to move his lower body.

Their high spirits were slightly dimmed by the rambunctious actions next
door.

Shao Qun pushed in hard a few more times, and hot liquid flowed out of Li
Chengxiu's body.

When Shao Qun put him down, Li Chengxiu felt embarrassed as the streaks
of warm sperm ran down his legs.

Shao Qun smiled and squeezed his fingers between Li Chengxiu’s hips,
touching the sticky body fluids,

"What’s wrong? Do you need me to wash it for you?"

Li Chengxiu pushed his hand away, blushing, "No, no."

After the two left the springs, they went to take a shower. In the bathroom,
the sounds from the other room couldn’t reach them anymore. Shao Qun
wanted to have sex again, so he pressed Li Chengxiu down one more time.
Afterwards they both collapsed on the bed, hugging each other and
watching TV.

They then spent the entire day either eating or making love. They indulged
so heavily, that by the time the night came, Li Chengxiu was so tired that
his eyes were closing, and he fell asleep holding the pillow.

However, Shao Qun was still in high spirits and decided to go to the pool
room to play for a while.

When he was passing through the baths, someone behind him yelled, "Hey,
handsome guy! Handsome guy!"

Shao Qun paused and turned around.

A rather beautiful young man in his twenties was chasing after him. His
eyes were charming, and his lips were really red, which was very attractive.

Shao Qun habitually frowned: "Do we know each other?"

The young man looked at Shao Qun with his peach blossom eyes[13] full of
naked provocation: "I live next door to you."

"Ooooh..." Shao Qun deliberately lengthened his voice, "It was you who
screamed around until dusk."

Instead of being embarrassed, the guy smiled sweetly: "It was you who
started it first. If we didn’t go at it harder to suppress the sounds from your
side, it would have spoiled the fun for us."

Shao Qun raised his eyebrows, "And what do you want now?"

The youngster licked his lips: "Come here."

Shao Qun had already guessed what was going on. After thinking about it,
he followed the guy into the bushes in the far hidden corner.

The youngster pul ed his bathrobe open and rubbed his thigh against Shao
Qun’s leg: "I saw you at the check-in in the lobby just now. You’re just my
type."

Shao Qun smiled with a corner of his mouth: "I’m everybody’s type."

The guy boldly put his hand inside Shao Qun’s bathrobe and stroked his
prominent chest muscles: "Wow, this feels…just wow."

Shao Qun grabbed his hand, lowered his head and whispered into his ear,
"Aren't you afraid that your boyfriend will be jealous?"

The young man giggled: "It’s a rare opportunity to come out and play once
in a while. The most important thing is to have fun. Besides, how would he
know?"

Shao Qun wrapped his arms around the guy’s waist and stretched out his
hand. He got into his bathrobe, touched his butt and asked, "Do you have a
condom?"

"Of course." The guy took out the condom, put it on Shao Qun and then
directly put his mouth around Shao Qun’s dick.

Shao Qun groaned comfortably, "Yes… Your technique is good."

When he was completely hard, he patted the boy's face, "Turn around and
lie down."

The boy quickly took off his clothes, raised up his snow-white buttocks and
spread his thighs. He then begged in a promiscuous voice, "Come here...
Come and fuck me."

Shao Qun was very turned-on by this little slut. In fact, since he heard those
screams behind the screen, he has been slightly tingling.

There was nothing wrong with Li Chengxiu, but he was too conservative.
When Shao Qun wanted to do something outside the usual, he didn’t know
how to explain it to Li Chengxiu. Men are like that - when they get tired of
the spicy ones, they want to change to the tamer ones. Once they’ve tasted
enough of the tame ones, the spicy ones become a bit more exciting again.
This little slut in front of Shao Qun managed to light up a small fire in his
heart.

The two of them were busy in the bushes for a long time. Shao Qun didn't
touch him much - just listening to his provocative, yet deliberately
suppressed screams was already an interesting experience. He hasn't been
so indulgent for a long time. Since Li Chengxiu came into existence, he’d
only done it with others a handful of times, not to mention having sex in
public.This excitement couldn’t be tasted with Li Chengxiu.

After the two of them pulled their pants and were ready to leave, the young
man licked his lips: "Handsome guy, leave me your number."

Shao Qun thought about it for a while and felt that the experience was
acceptable. Maybe one day he would be interested again, so he said, "You
give me yours."

Some people said that Shao Qun wasn’t actually gay, since he only liked
those boys who looked like girls[14]. He scoffed at that. Sex is an essential
part of life. As long as it is enjoyable, is there any difference between a
male or a female partner? And what did it matter, if he was a true
homosexual or not? He could be with both men and women, and he even
preferred men. Eventually, he will, of course, marry a woman.

Just because men didn’t have wombs. But in his day-to-day life, it was just
more convenient for him to hook up with men, since they couldn’t get
pregnant. .

The young man was interested, so he gave Shao Qun his number.

When Shao Qun returned to the room, Li Chengxiu was already deep
asleep. He was curled up like a cat in the snow-white bedding, his sleeping
face was demure and innocent, and he seemed completely defenseless. Shao
Qun had already knelt on the bed on one knee. Yet he got up again and went
to take a shower. Only after washing his body thoroughly did he get on the
bed again and hug Li Chengxiu.
Li Chengxiu woke up from Shao Qun’s gentle pressure behind him. Softly
he asked, “Finished playing?”

"Um."

"You’re tired, sleep a bit."

"Yes," Shao Qun held Li Chengxiu tightly in his arms and kissed his
hairline: "Darling, go to sleep."
When he cares about “cleanliness”, yet proceeds to fuck some strange in
the bushes.

Some eye shapes for reference. There are many more actually.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 28
Content warning: attempted rape, violence

After waking up the next morning, Li Chengxiu felt really refreshed. He

looked at Shao Qun, who was sleeping soundly, with a hint of sweetness in
his heart. He had never felt so overwhelmed by happiness. He was so
satisfied with the whole world right now that he wanted the time to stop.

He continued to lie on his side. Although he had woken up, he didn't make a
sound. He leaned against Shao Qun's arms and quietly looked at his
handsome and pure face.

He carefully traced Shao Qun’s face outlines with his fingers - from the
smooth forehead to the eye sockets and then to the high and straight bridge
of his nose. Finally his fingers moved on to the thin lips and perfectly
shaped chin.

How could this nose be so high? How could someone be so good-looking?

And how could such a good-looking person actual y lie beside him…?

Li Chengxiu's face was slightly blushing. He buried it in Shao Qun's warm

and thick chest, and then quietly put his hand on Shao Qun’s waist, hugging
it carefully.

Shao Qun didn't wake up, and Li Chengxiu didn't dare to move, afraid of
disturbing him. So he just quietly huddled in his arms, smelling the warm
and refreshing smell of his skin.

It was already noon when Shao Qun finally woke up. He called for room
service, and after a while, the hotel waiter came in with a tray.

Both of them sat next to a low table on the tatami mat and enjoyed their
meal.

Right after they were done, Shao Qun's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, left the room and pressed the accept button.

"Hey, big sis."

"Um."

"It's going to take me a while. I've been busy recently."

"I just called my dad the day before yesterday. We're fine."

"I have found the original copy of the administrative reconsideration[15]

you asked me to look for. I will deliver it to you when I go back to work on
Monday."

"Well, very good. Don't worry. Are you and my brother-in-law okay?"

"I'll go back to Beijing to see you in a while. It's time for Yin Yin to go to
school, right?"

"Well then, that's it."

Shao Qun hung up the phone, leaned against the wall and sighed. He was
about to go back when the door of the next room suddenly opened. A
somewhat sullen-looking man was now blocking Shao Qun’s way, his
stance full of provocation.

Shao Qun raised his eyebrows, intending to spare the guy and just go back
to his room.

The man sneered: "Hey, aren’t you the one who topped my guy? Do you
have anything to say to me?"

Shao Qun snorted coldly: "Say what exactly? That it felt good?"

"Fuck, you really have the nerve!"

Shao Qun shrugged: "What the hell do you want?"

"I say, since we have this kind of relationship now, how about we all play
together?"

Shao Qun's face sank: "What do you mean?"

"Your little lover is not bad..."

"Get the fuck out of here!" Shao Qun cursed. The only way Shao Qun
would spare him was if he returned to his room now.

The man stepped in front of him with a gloomy expression: "You want to
take advantage of me without paying the price?"

Although Shao Qun went on some crazy benders for a while when he was
younger, he had always avoided things like group sex and gang rapes. It's
not that he was so moral, but rather that he considered it really dirty. It was
disgusting to even imagine a bunch of men and women having sex in
groups like animals. This is how STDs are transmitted, isn’t it?[16]

Thinking that this man dared to covet Li Chengxiu made Shao Qun sick. It
was like seeing a pile of rubbish that insisted on getting close to a piece of
clean, pure and white cake. If it weren't for the fact that this was a hotel
where there were people around, Shao Qun would have punched the man
right onto the ground.

Shao Qun raised his chin arrogantly and said maliciously, "Then what do
you want?"

Just as the man was about to speak, he saw cleaning staff walking towards
the end of the corridor. He glared at Shao Qun, went back to his room and
closed the door with a bang.

Only then did Shao Qun's clenched fist relax. When he entered the room, he
saw Li Chengxiu hugging his knees and watching TV. He gently smiled
when he saw Shao Qun come in.

Shao Qun's irritable mood instantly calmed down. He leaned over, lay onto
Li Chengxiu’s lap and proceeded to quietly watch TV.
In the afternoon, the two of them just lay on the bed, chatting, watching TV,
eating fruit, and doing nothing else. Shao Qun had never experienced such a
peaceful and relaxing time with anyone before. Just staying together with Li
Chengxiu quietly made him feel very comfortable. His body and mind after
being tired for such a long time also managed to relax. He felt that Li
Chengxiu was not only very calm himself, but that he also had the ability to
make others calm down.

After eating another meal and soaking in the hot spring for a while, the two
of them were bored just staying in the room all the time. Shao Qun took Li
Chengxiu to play billiards.

It was the first time that Li Chengxiu played this game, so Shao Qun
patiently showed him the ropes.

"Lower your body. Lower your body a little more. Yes, hold the cue stick
tightly between your thumb and forefinger. Don't shake your hands,"

The two were having fun when a cold voice interjected: "Wow, so sweet."

Both of them looked up at the same time and saw that there were actually
two people standing right next to them.

Shao Qun's face darkened immediately. He didn't even look at the youngster
who kept smiling at him. He just glared at the man next to him, lowered his
head and continued to guide Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu asked, "Do you know them?"

Shao Qun answered without changing his expression, "No."

The couple picked the table farthest from Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu and
started playing too.

Li Chengxiu felt that the way the man was looking at them was very
unfriendly. He felt a little strange, but he didn't particularly care.

The two of them gradually forgot about the whole thing. Before leaving,
Shao Qun went to the bathroom. As soon as he left, Li Chengxiu saw the
beautiful youngster leave his place at the billiard table and follow Shao
Qun. At the same time, his male companion walked towards Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the man who came up to him.

The man looked very decent, but there were a few hints of maliciousness
hidden between his eyebrows.

When he looked at Li Chengxiu, he seemed to be staring right through his

flesh, which was very uncomfortable.

"Hi." The man greeted.

Li Chengxiu put down the cue stick and straightened out. He nodded and
asked, "Who are you?"

"I live next door to you."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment and suddenly remembered the high-
pitched cries from yesterday.

He immediately blushed.

The man laughed and quietly came closer: "You’re getting shy so easily.
Very cute."

Li Chengxiu looked back awkwardly, hoping that Shao Qun would come
back soon. He didn't know how to deal with the stranger in front of him.

"Actually, I have something to tell you."

"To me?" Li Chengxiu asked in confusion.

"To you."

"……why?"

"It’s about your boyfriend."

Li Chengxiu looked at him alertly: "He said that he doesn’t know you."

The man pursed his lips and smiled, then shook his finger, lowered his head
and said into Li Chengxiu’s ear, "He lied."

Li Chengxiu took a step back nervously.

The man smiled and said, "He spent the last evening together with my guy.
Did you know that?"

Li Chengxiu realized what he meant and said angrily, "Nonsense."

"Then what do you think the two of them are doing right now?"

Li Chengxiu turned to look in the direction of the bathroom again and

wondered why Shao Qun had not come out for so long.

And... he remembered that when they just came in now, Shao Qun asked the
waiter, "Where is the billiard room?" Although Shao Qun spoke Cantonese,
Li Chengxiu had lived in Shenzhen for many years, so he could understand
simple sentences[17]. Why didn’t Shao Qun know where the bil iard room
was…?

The man looked at Li Chengxiu's suspicious expression and made an

inviting gesture: "Come over and let's talk. Obviously we both have the
same issue, don't we?"

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, but followed the man.

The man led him through the lush foliage of the public spa.

Li Chengxiu walked behind him for a while, feeling a little uneasy and
thinking that he shouldn’t have left just like that. What if Shao Qun came
back and couldn't find him?

Li Chengxiu asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"Looking for a quiet place to have a good chat."

"I… when he comes back… I wil ask him…You can also ask him."

"I don't need to ask him."

Li Chengxiu thought for a while: "I stil want…to ask him." After saying
that, he turned around and headed back.

The man suddenly grabbed his arm with one hand, covered his mouth with
the other and pulled him into the corner, which was hidden by an array of
plants.

Li Chengxiu was horrified. The scene in the dark alley more than ten years
ago seemed to be repeating itself. He violently struggled.

"Fuck, stop moving. It’s al because of that idiot. He promised I could use
you as a payment for what he owes me."

Li Chengxiu paused but then continued to struggle. He didn't believe this

person. Why would he believe the words of bad people?

The man's thick and hard penis directly pressed against Li Chengxiu’s
thighs, and his cold hands reached into his bathrobe. Li Chengxiu felt
nauseated and wished he could kill the guy.

Who could save him now? Who could come and save him now…

The disgusting hand roughly rubbed his buttocks, and the heavy breathing
echoed in his ears. He closed his eyes and wept.

"Chengxiu! Chengxiu!"

A loud cry suddenly echoed throughout the open-air baths. Since the baths
were on the ground floor and were surrounded by guest rooms, the call “Li
Chengxiu” turned into a repeating echo.

Li Chengxiu's sluggish limbs suddenly came back to life. He pushed hard

against the person trapping him, and finally the hand covering his mouth
loosened a little. Li Chengxiu trembled and shouted, "Shao Qun!"
He thought he was shouting loudly, but his voice was actually very weak.
Before he could gather enough strength to shout for a second time, a heavy
slap landed on his face, and burning hot tears streamed down his cheeks.

The sound of that slap was louder than his cries, and finally Li Chengxiu
heard approaching footsteps.

"Fuck—-ing—--shit!"

Li Chengxiu only heard an angry shout, then the hands that bound him
suddenly disappeared. With a loud

"bang", his captor was thrown into the wall.

Even from the back, Shao Qun looked violent. He lifted the man who had
not yet recovered from the first blow, and his hard fists continued to greet
him like raindrops.

Not to be outdone, the man finally managed to hit back. The two of them
fought, destroying all the plants around them.

The man was obviously not Shao Qun's opponent. After a few rounds, he
was defeated. Shao Qun kept hitting the man in the face like crazy, and his
fists were covered with blood.

The screams of pain were unending. They sounded especially horrifying in

the dark of the night. Soon, one could hear a clutter of footsteps, and several
young and strong security guards from the hotel went up to grab Shao Qun.
At first even they couldn't hold him down. But in the end, the five guards
finally managed to subdue Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu and the beautiful youngster were both terrified, as they

shivered with their backs against the wall.

Shao Qun was like a furious lion, roaring and cursing for a long time. He
only slowly calmed down when the man was finally carried away.

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun, trembling all over. He stood as if

stupefied, not daring to move.
He had never seen Shao Qun like this before. It turned out that Shao Qun
had such a terrible side - it seemed he was capable of killing somebody.
This made Li Chengxiu shudder.

Shao Qun pulled himself away from the grip of the security guards and
turned to stare at Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu looked back at him in horror.

Shao Qun shouted at him: "Are you a fucking idiot? Why did you go with
him?"

Li Chengxiu burst into tears and looked at Shao Qun at a loss.

When Shao Qun saw him crying, his anger became even more intense:
"Stop fucking crying! Like a fucking sissy, all you know is how to cry all
day long! He would have raped you and thrown out the body, and nobody
would have even found out how you died!”

Li Chengxiu didn't dare to cry anymore, but his tears just wouldn’t stop
rolling. Now Shao Qun was so scary that it seemed he might rush up and
kill him at any moment.

Shao Qun felt a little pity when he saw that Li Chengxiu was shaking so
badly. It's just been a long time since anything could provoke him like this.
When he saw that man pressing against Li Chengxiu and touching him all
over, he really wanted to kill the guy. Shao Qun only regretted that instead
of kicking the guy directly, he just punched him in the face.

Shao Qun walked up and touched Li Chengxiu's face. Li Chengxiu shook

and looked at him aggrieved.

"Does it hurt?" He gently tapped his swollen cheek. That damn bastard! If
no one had stopped Shao Qun, he would have fucking killed him.

Shao Chun took Li Chengxiu back to their room, took out an ice cola from
the refrigerator and applied it against his cheek.

Li Chengxiu sniffed and said, "I'm sorry."

Shao Qun had calmed down a lot by now. He picked Li Chengxiu up and
sat him on his lap: "In the future, you are not allowed to go anywhere with
strangers. You are almost thirty now, you’re not a child. Do you really need
to be reminded?"

"I didn't expect..." Li Chengxiu suddenly remembered why he went

somewhere with that person in the first place. He looked at Shao Qun's still
arrogant face, hesitated for a long time and finally said, "He told me…that
you and his..."

Shao Qun glanced at him: "What about me and him?"

"You and his… boyfriend..."

Shao Qun preemptively asked, "Are you suspecting me of something?"

Li Chengxiu hurriedly said, "No, it's just..."

Shao Qun raised his voice: "Why are you suspecting me? You’re the one
who just went somewhere with some guy."

Li Chengxiu hurriedly explained: "No, I didn't suspect you. Really."

Shao Qun looked at his anxious face and was satisfied. He didn’t feel guilty
about anything. It was obviously that little slut’s fault who seduced him.
And Li Chengxiu was also to blame for being fooled by a couple of words
and following that man which made Shao Qun lose his temper.

And now Li Chengxiu is even questioning him!

The two of them original y planned to stay until tomorrow. But considering
the situation, the mood wasn’t right anymore, and they returned to
Shenzhen that night.

On the way back, Shao Qun didn't say a word. He was thinking about his
relationship with Li Chengxiu.

Why did Li Chengxiu suddenly dare to question him? Whom he did and
what he did should not be supervised by his own pet.
Maybe it was because he didn't show his actual feelings at first, which made
Li Chengxiu misunderstand?

Who asked him to be so stubborn and old-fashioned? Shao Qun repeatedly

hinted to him that he could give him all kinds of rewards. Yet, he didn’t
want that. So Shao Qun had no other choice but to play with his feelings.
And now he has had enough of that.

Shao Qun has been playing this game for far too long, and even he himself
has fallen into it a bit. Does Li Chengxiu real y think that they’re in love?

He began to think about a way to make Li Chengxiu understand that there

was a deal between them and at the same time make Li Chengxiu accept it
willingly.

He took out his mobile phone and made a call: "Hey, Xiao Zhou, have you
already completed the procedures for that real estate certificate?"

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 29
The weather was getting colder, and Li Chengxiu was afraid of the cold, so
he had already started wearing a sweater. Since he didn’t like turning on the
air conditioner, he kept the window closed all day.

Since the time they had come back from the hot springs, Shao Qun very
rarely came over. Li Chengxiu wasn’t sure if he was being too sensitive but
he felt that Shao Qun’s attitude now was a little cold. He would
occasionally be very picky. For instance, at that moment:

"Why don't you open the window? There’s an unpleasant smell in the
house. Can't you smell it yourself?"

Li Chengxiu quickly opened the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a cold wind

came in. He shivered and put on his coat.

Shao Qun looked at him like he was a freak and turned on the air
conditioner: "Can't you turn on the AC?"

Li Chengxiu responded: "Electricity is expensive."

When he used to work in the hotel, he heard that the most electricity-
consuming thing was the air conditioner.

Shao Qun said loudly, "If you catch a cold by freezing yourself, it will be
more expensive to treat your il ness. Since you can’t even make this easy
calculation, you probably need to study some more accounting."

Li Chengxiu thought that something unpleasant might have happened to

Shao Qun again. He was very angry today, and Li Chengxiu didn't want to
annoy him even more, so he silently went into the kitchen to cook.

The Shao Qun now was completely different from the kind and courteous
gentleman that Shao Qun used to be when the two of them had just met
again. The longer they stayed together, the more Li Chengxiu realized that
this person was domineering, arrogant, short-tempered, and sometimes even
unreasonable.

His living habits were also not very good. As soon as he entered the house,
he would just throw his clothes and keys around. And then he’d get angry
when he couldn’t find them before leaving.

Li Chengxiu could tolerate all of this, and he was also willing to take care
of Shao Qun, if it could make the two of them get along more
harmoniously. But recently, Shao Qun's attitude made him feel more and
more that Shao Qun only came around to have sex.

Even though Li Chengxiu had prepared a whole table of dishes for him,
Shao Qun didn’t even take a couple bites before forcefully dragging Li
Chengxiu into the bedroom and venting all the desires on him that had been
pent up for days.

Li Chengxiu was a little hurt by his rough actions, so he lay in bed for a
long time, unwilling to move.

Shao Qun got up and left the bedroom. After a while he came in again and
threw a document in front of Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu picked up the document and looked at it, but he didn't

understand what it was: "What is this?"

Shao Qun sat on the bedside, lit a cigarette, and said slowly, "A present for
you."

"……What?"

Shao Qun turned over some pages and pointed to the one with the signature:
"Sign here, and then this house is yours."

Li Chengxiu was startled. He dropped the document in his hands, as if it

was a hot potato: "Why...why?"

"You deserve it. You've been with me for more than half a year. You've done
a great job."
Li Chengxiu felt that his tone was a little strange. Was it somehow not a
given thing to be nice to each other when in a relationship?

"I… I can't…accept"

Shao Qun pul ed out a pen from the bedside table and threw it to him: "Sign
it. You’ve been taking care of me during all this time. This house is just a
symbol of my kind feelings. I don't like to be indebted to others."

Li Chengxiu's face was pale, and he felt a little pain in his heart: "You don't
owe me anything. I take care of you… not because…of this."

Shao Qun exhaled a smoke ring: "Chengxiu, we are both adults. Can you be
more pragmatic? You have stayed in this city for so many years. You are
thirty years old now, and you don't even have a place to live in. Aren’t you
thinking about your future? Someone is giving you a house for free. That
doesn’t just happen every day. Do you understand what I mean?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head. He didn't understand.

He understood every word separately but he couldn’t understand exactly

what Shao Qun was getting at.

Shao Qun impatiently picked up the pen again and put it in Li Chengxiu’s
hand: "It’s a good thing for you to sign. You will thank me in the future."

Li Chengxiu threw away the pen. His body was shaking. Eloquently he
said: "Shao Qun, I am together with you not for any of this."

Shao Qun almost blurted out: “Why the fuck then? Do you real y want to
play “feelings” with someone like me? Are you worthy?”

However, looking at Li Chengxiu's obviously hurt expression, he

swallowed his words.

He knew that Li Chengxiu undeniably really liked him now. Although this
made him very happy, he also hoped that Li Chengxiu would be just like
everyone else. When they broke up in the future, he would rather they go
their own merry ways. Li Chengxiu mustn’t become like one of those
annoying people who first cried, then screamed, then threatened to kill
themselves.

Shao Qun didn’t like to owe anybody anything, but Li Chengxiu had to be
stupid and refuse to accept this pie in the sky. Oh, so he wanted to talk
about feelings? Okay then, that saved Shao Qun a house.

Shao Qun threw the document on the ground, rolled over and got out of
bed. Then he put on his clothes and left.

Li Chengxiu shrank under the covers, feeling that his eyes were a little sore.
The longer they were together, the more obvious was the difference
between him and Shao Qun. The anxiety caused by these differences made
Li Chengxiu’s inner unease gradual y grow stronger.

Shao Qun hadn’t appeared again for more than ten consecutive days.

Li Chengxiu called him, but Shao Qun just perfunctorily said that he was
too busy and quickly hung up. He felt uncomfortable, but he didn't want to
offend Shao Qun, so he sent a text message every few days to just say hello.
He didn't dare to make another phone call.

Shao Qun still came over occasionally, but did nothing more than eat, have
sex, and sleep. He seldom hugged him while reading or chatting like he did
previously, and the sweetness between the two of them had obviously
disappeared.

Li Chengxiu remembered that he once had read in one book that it was
normal for partners to reach this stage. Everyone was always very
enthusiastic at the beginning, and then gradually things would become more
ordinary. But Shao Qun's enthusiasm lasted much too short.

Winter was approaching. Although Li Chengxiu had a lot on his mind, he

didn’t delay his studies at all. He got the top ranking in all of the three
exams and finally received the opportunity to start an internship at Li
Shuo’s accounting firm.
Since then, he had classes every Monday and Wednesday and went to work
every Tuesday and Thursday.

Such a busy and fulfilling life made him feel relieved. He didn't have to stay
alone in a cold house and wonder if Shao Qun was going to come over
today. That feeling was more difficult to endure than the cold winter.

When Li Chengxiu went to work on the first day, he was wrapped like a
dumpling. When he and the two other interns reported to Li Shuo's office,
Li Shuo didn't recognize Li Chengxiu at first sight.

The office was located in a high-end office building in the CBD[18], and
the rent was staggeringly expensive.

Li Shuo was a very charismatic leader. Although he practiced centralized

management, his subordinates basically worshiped him[19].

Li Shuo was extremely handsome. Li Shuo was witty and humorous. Li

Shuo was generous, and Li Shuo had clear rewards and punishments. Li
Shuo could make any employee feel valued. Li Shuo was a perfect boss and
a perfect man.

These were the conclusions that Li Chengxiu made after listening to the
talks in the office only after one week at work..

But Li Shuo also had a secret that was not actually a secret. Perhaps the
only flaw that this man had was that he was gay.

He didn't deliberately hide it, but he also never took the initiative to
publicize it. Even though he was very attractive to women, Li Shuo, a
thirty-six-year-old diamond bachelor, avoided the trouble of being
entangled with any of them by just using these rumors.

Li Chengxiu, like all the employees of the firm, was also brainwashed into
worshiping his boss. He dreamed that one day he could also become such
an excellent accountant like Li Shuo.
Although it was officially an internship, the nature of Li Chengxiu’s work
was basically doing chores.

Because Li Shuo was a shareholder of the tutoring school, the three

internship places were actually only offered as a marketing tool for the
school. In fact, there was no need for so many interns at all.

Li Chengxiu was older than even most of the regular employees, so he

really wanted to learn as much as possible. Basically, he was doing the
work of the other two interns too. But it made him happy. Checking the data
over and over again was much more enjoyable than frying the oil in the pan
over and over again.

"Xiao Li."

Li Chengxiu was stapling documents in front of the copier. When he heard

Li Shuo's voice, he immediately turned his head and greeted, "Mr. Li."

Li Shuo handed him the documents in his hand, glanced at the papers that
Li Chengxiu was already holding and said with a smile, "This looks quite
tedious. Make sure not to mix them all up.”

Li Chengxiu quickly nodded.

"Make a copy of this for me. Then fax it to this number."

Li Chengxiu had just learned to use the copier. But after a few days he
knew the big machine in and out already. He carefully took the documents
from Li Shuo and said, "Okay."

Li Shuo glanced at him with admiration: "You work very hard. Diligence is
a rare quality, and you must continue to maintain it."

"Um."

When Li Chengxiu was done with his work, he knocked on Li Shuo's office
to hand in the printed materials.

"Come in."
Li Chengxiu entered right when Li Shuo was bending over to find
something on the bookshelf.

Li Chengxiu put the documents on the table: "Mr. Li, the papers are here."

Li Shuo final y found the book he was looking for and turned around
happily: "Come, Xiao Li, I’d like to give you a book."

Li Chengxiu looked at the book. It was a treatise on accounting, and the

author's name was Li Shuo.

Li Shuo said with a smile: "I wrote it three years ago. I gained a lot of
experience when I was an actuary in my early years, so I compiled a book
about it. I think it's easy to understand, and I hope it can help you."

Li Chengxiu was flattered and thanked him again and again.

"You're welcome, Xiao Li. I think you have great potential. You are careful
and hardworking. If you do well, you can continue to work with me after
you graduate."

Li Chengxiu's eyes widened in surprise: "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Li!"

Li Shuo looked at him with a smile: "You're welcome."

When Li Chengxiu returned to the desk to continue checking the data, his
phone suddenly rang.

He was so embarrassed that he quickly dropped the call. He remembered

that he had forgotten to switch off the sound. No one would call him on the
weekdays besides Shao Qun anyway, and Shao Qun hadn't called him in a
long time.

While Li Chengxiu was walking across the office to the hall, his phone rang
yet again. He had to drop the call once more.

When he was finally in the hall, Li Chengxiu pressed the call button and
said with confidence: "Hello."
"You dare to hang up on me!" Shao Qun's angry voice came from the
opposite side.

Li Chengxiu explained: "I'm at work."

"Work? Are you going to work again?" Shao Qun raised his voice. He got
even angrier hearing the word

“work”.

Shao Qun hadn't contacted him for so long that even though it was already
Li Chengxiu’s second week at the firm, he had no chance to tell about it to
Shao Qun. He didn’t think it was a big deal, since he couldn’t just sit at
home the whole time.

Li Chengxiu answered with a little excitement: "I'm doing an internship at

an accounting firm."

"Accounting firm? Which firm?"

"The one that collaborates with my tutoring school..."

Shao Qun paused for a while and suddenly said sharply, "Is it the firm of
that shareholder who took you home that time?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned by his tone, yet he nodded in response. Then he

remembered that Shao Qun couldn't see him, so he said, "Yes."

Shao Qun went silent, and it took a long time before he gritted his teeth and
said, "Address. Now. I'll pick you up."

Li Chengxiu hesitantly said, "I'm at work."

"Address!"

Li Chengxiu quickly told him the address, hung up the phone and waited
anxiously for Shao Qun to come.
He didn’t know why Shao Qun was angry. Actual y, he never knew why
Shao Qun was angry. Shao Qun's temper was just too bad. Anything could
make him angry.

Li Chengxiu looked at his watch. Fortunately, it was almost time for lunch
break.

When Shao Qun called him again, he was already on his break. Li
Chengxiu answered the phone and took the elevator directly to the
underground parking lot.

This office building had three floors in the parking lot. It looked pretty
gloomy there. Li Chengxiu was looking around for Shao Qun, when the
sound of a horn suddenly startled him.

He turned his head and saw that Shao Qun was driving a commercial car he
had never seen before. He was sitting in the driver's seat in a suit and
leather shoes with an unhappy expression on his face.

Li Chengxiu hurried over. Shao Qun got out of the car, opened the door of
the back seat, and the two of them got inside the car together.

Shao Qun's face was full of anger: "Why did you come to work here
without telling me? Why are you even able to work here? Did the
shareholder hire you?"

Li Chengxiu explained earnestly: "You were too busy, so I didn't say

anything. There are three exams hosted by the school. If one gets good
grades on them, then one can come work here."

Shao Qun looked at him suspiciously: "Did you really get in due to the
exam results?"

Li Chengxiu nodded: "Really."

Shao Qun tugged at his clothes uneasily: "How old is that shareholder?"

"He’s almost forty."

Shao Qun's expression softened a little: "I told you a long time ago, you
don’t need to work. But now not only did you start working, but you also
didn’t tell me about it. What’s the deal with that?"

"Shao Qun, I have to work. Being alone at home is boring."

"You can find other things to do. You can go shopping or go to a beauty
salon. In short, I hope I can see you at home when I come by."

Li Chengxiu was stunned: "I… I don't go shopping… I work, so I can gain

knowledge…. Besides, you rarely come by..."

Shao Qun frowned: "You think I don’t spend enough time with you?"

Li Chengxiu said hurriedly: "No, you are busy… I thought…If I am also

busy…I won't be bored."

Shao Qun said in a vicious tone, "Then how about you move in with me?"

As soon as these words came out, Shao Qun regretted it.

He had never lived with a lover before, as he had to get rid of these people
at some point in the future, which in that case would be troublesome. But
looking at Li Chengxiu's surprised expression, he didn't want to take his
words back.

Shao Qun felt that his eating preferences had been spoiled by Li Chengxiu.
It always seemed to him that the food outside was not as delicious as Li
Chengxiu's cooking. He also thought that the part time workers at home
were not as good as Li Chengxiu. Even the boys who were younger and
prettier than Li Chengxiu and knew how to serve him well were worse than
Li Chengxiu. There was something unpolished that only Li Chengxiu had.

Shao Qun didn't know what was wrong with him. He got tired of Li
Chengxiu, so he played outside like crazy for a month. But now he was fed
up with all of that again, and he felt that it was better with Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu looked at him with uncertainty: "Really?"

Shao Qun kissed him: "Really. So just quit your job. Then you can see me
every day."

Li Chengxiu's surprised expression instantly darkened: "Shao Qun, I can't

quit. I like this job, and I am very happy here."

Shao Qun lowered his face again: "Now you’re going to school and also
working. How can you stil have the time to take care of me?"

Embarrassed, Li Chengxiu looked at him, "Shao Qun, I real y don't want to

resign. This is my opportunity…

Shao Qun."

Shao Qun looked at his pleading expression, and he couldn't say any harsh
words.

He had mentioned before that Li Chengxiu could go work at his company,

but he just said that casually. In reality, it was impossible for Shao Qun to
mix his private life with work. If Li Chengxiu caused him any trouble, it
wouldn’t be worth all the loss. So he couldn't make Li Chengxiu resign at
this point in time. After all, Shao Qun had left him in the cold for a while
and had to coax him again. It was a bit inappropriate to talk about it just yet.
Shao Qun decided to put this aside for later: "Okay, let's talk about it some
other time."

Li Chengxiu was smiling again.

Shao Qun pul ed him closer and touched his waist: "Darling, I’ve missed
you. Did you miss me too?"

Li Chengxiu whispered, "I did."

Shao Qun smiled with satisfaction and put his hand into Li Chengxiu’s
pants.

Li Chengxiu was shocked, as they were still inside the car.

Shao Qun didn’t care about any of this. Regardless of his struggles, Li
Chengxiu had nowhere to hide in this small space. Shao Qun hugged him
and put him on his lap. He then entered him right in this position.

Li Chengxiu hugged his neck, feeling confused as Shao Qun kissed him
with abandon and rampaged his body.

After a while, the car was violently shaking.

Li Chengxiu gritted his teeth and let out a cat-like moan.

Li Shuo’s wise words. Mhm.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 30
Li Chengxiu thought that “moving in together with Shao Qun” meant that
Shao Qun would move into the apartment where Li Chengxiu was living
now. He didn’t expect that he was the one who had to move.

Shao Qun's actions could only be described as vigorous and resolute. The
day after they had the talk, the elite assistant Zhou arrived together with the
movers.

Li Chengxiu couldn’t intervene in the entire process at all. In a matter of a

single morning, Li Chengxiu was brought to a duplex villa together with his
things.

The lighting in the house was very good. As soon as one entered, there was
an immediate feeling of sunshine. The interior decorations were elegant and
simple and mainly kept in cool tones. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows
there was a garden with a large flowerbed and a small fish pond. Li
Chengxiu felt that the air around here was unusually fresh.

With a blank expression, assistant Zhou instructed the workers to put all the
things at their respective places. He then said to Li Chengxiu, "Mr. Li,
please feel at home. However, there are some things here that you should
pay special attention to. For example, Mr.Shao’s study is off limits. Please
don't go in there without his permission. Also, please don't move the things
that Mr. Shao usually uses from their places. He will be angry if he can't
find them. The plants and the fish species in the garden are very precious,
so there are special people who take care of them. Please don't water the
plants and don’t feed the fish."

Li Chengxiu nodded awkwardly, not used to assistant Zhou's cold and very
polite tone.

Assistant Zhou looked at his watch before leaving: "Mr. Li, you can start
preparing lunch. Mr. Shao's office is very close to here. He said he would
come back for lunch at noon."
"Oh……"

Li Chengxiu didn't have time to unpack his things. He immediately got

busy in the kitchen. He had just finished cooking, when Shao Qun arrived.

As soon as Shao Qun entered the door, he felt the smell of vegetables and
got into a good mood.

He didn’t like outsiders coming in and out of his home at wil , except for
the part-timers and those who took care of the garden. In regards to his
meals, Shao Qun always tried to either eat outside or go to Li Chengxiu's
place.

After eating out for a long time, he didn’t feel so good, so being able to eat
home-cooked food for lunch was a great comfort to Shao Qun’s stomach.
And Li Chengxiu’s food was especially delicious. Shao Qun now felt that
even top hotel chefs were nothing compared to Li Chengxiu.

He sneakily hugged Li Chengxiu and said coquettishly, "Wifey, I'm home."

Li Chengxiu blushed, and his heart felt as sweet as if it was just covered in
honey. He patted Shao Qun’s back lightly and said softly, "Let's eat."

This was the most perfect life that Li Chengxiu could imagine. He studied,
worked, and cooked warm meals for his lover. He felt very happy.

Shao Qun had always had a good habit of taking naps. This kept him clear-
headed and energetic throughout the day. On the other hand, the nature of
Li Chengxiu's previous work made him have no concept of a lunch break at
all.

After eating, Li Chengxiu was pulled into bed, where he slept comfortably
in Shao Qun’s arms.

At first, Shao Qun hesitated letting Li Chengxiu enter his private territory,
regretting that he had spoken too quickly. But after a few comfortable days,
he felt that his decision was very correct.
Li Chengxiu was taking care of Shao Qun in a way one would serve people
in heaven.

No matter if he had something to do or not on that day, Li Chengxiu always

got up earlier than Shao Qun.

By the time Shao Qun was up, the toothpaste was already squeezed out for
him, the clean towels were arranged, and the bathroom was so spotless that
no water stains could be found anywhere from the sink to the floor.
Breakfast was also prepared in advance for him, and it was still hot under
the lid. And every day it was something different.

Even if Li Chengxiu wasn’t at home during lunch time, he would prepare

lunch for Shao Qun in advance. Al he needed to do was heat it up in the
microwave. In the evening, Li Chengxiu always came back earlier than
him. No matter when Shao Qun came back, a hot meal would be served to
him within two minutes. If he wanted to take a bath, the water temperature
would be adjusted to his liking, the underwear and pajamas would be placed
within reach of his hand, and he could change into dry slippers immediately
after washing. The bedspreads, sheets, etc were changed every week, and
the house was so clean that even a person as picky as Shao Qun couldn’t
find anything to complain about.

In short, Li Chengxiu could pay attention to the tiniest details of his life.
Shao Qun really felt like he had married an almighty wife, so that he had
nothing left to worry about except work. While Shao Qun was growing up,
there were four nannies in their house. Even they didn't manage to make
Shao Qun feel so comfortable and have such a convenient life. When he
first hooked up with Li Chengxiu, he really didn't expect that there would
be so many benefits.

He felt that as long as he needed to stay in Shenzhen for even one day, he
would not be willing to break up with Li Chengxiu.

On Thursday, a colleague at work told Li Chengxiu that the boss was

inviting everyone to dinner that evening.
Because it was a group activity, Li Chengxiu felt it would be awkward not
to participate, so he called Shao Qun during his lunch break. Although Shao
Qun was real y unwil ing, he didn’t insist on him not attending.

They all got off work an hour earlier that day. Li Shuo brought all the staff
to a high-end Japanese restaurant, and dozens of people stormed the place
like a hurricane.

During the meal, someone kept toasting Li Shuo, and Li Chengxiu was
shocked to see it.

After a few glasses of wine, the usual high-level white-collar workers were
really letting loose. Several people grabbed the microphone and started
wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves.

Such a scene really scared Li Chengxiu. He retreated to the corner of the

restaurant by himself. Since there was a large root carving in front of him
now, it made him feel more at ease.

Sitting there alone in a daze, he was watching his lively colleagues, when Li
Shuo quietly sat down next to him.

Li Chengxiu exclaimed in panic, "Boss!"

Li Shuo's face turned slightly red, and he raised the wine glass in his hand:
"Why don't you drink?"

"I can’t drink."

Li Shuo said with a smile: "This is not good. How can a man say that he
can't drink?"

Li Chengxiu was a little embarrassed: "I'm bad at drinking."

Li Shuo didn't push him anymore. He put down his glass and said, "I just
saw that you didn't eat much.

Why? Was it not up to your liking?"

"No. I'm just not used to eating raw."

Li Shuo said with a smile: "They also serve many cooked dishes here. How
about asking the kitchen to make you a ramen?"

"No, I'm full."

Li Shuo shook his head, smiling. Before Li Chengxiu could dissuade him,
he got up and walked to the kitchen. After a while, he returned with a bowl
of noodles, "It’s ready-made fried udon. Eat some, while it’s hot."

Li Chengxiu glanced at him gratefully and carefully started eating the

noodles with his chopsticks.

Li Shuo smiled: "Xiao Li, where are you from?"

"Beijing."

"Oh, how did you get here?"

"I came for work."

"What did you do before?"

"I was a cook."

Li Shuo said in surprise: "A chef? Why did you suddenly decide to study
accounting?"

Li Chengxiu said shyly: “It wasn’t a sudden decision. I thought about it for
a long time ago, but I had no money."

"Then you can finally realize your dream now. Congratulations."

"Thank you, boss."

Li Shuo said: "I really love food. When will I have the opportunity to try
your craftsmanship?"
"Ah..." Li Chengxiu didn't know how to answer that.

"I mean it. In my spare time, I also like to cook things by myself. My
kitchen has everything. It’s absolutely equipped for any chef to use. When
you have time after work, we can invite a few friends to my house to cook,
chat, and drink tea."

Li Chengxiu said hesitantly, "Okay." He had never been invited anywhere

by any classmates or colleagues, and he was really reluctant to refuse such a
kind invitation.

Li Shuo happily took out his mobile phone and pressed a few keys.

Li Chengxiu's cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down and saw that it
was an unfamiliar number.

"This is my number. Call me when you are free."

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the screen, wondering when Li Shuo had

managed to save his number.

Li Shuo put down his mobile phone and said, "I'll take you home in a while.
Since I already know where you live…"

"I…I moved."

"Oh? It doesn't matter. There won’t be any traffic jams now anyway."

Li Chengxiu remembered what Shao Qun said about not being allowed to
ride in someone else's car, so he declined: "Thank you, boss. I'll go back by
myself."

Li Shuo smiled gently: "You're welcome. Taking care of employees is also

the duty of a good boss. This place is relatively remote, and it’s not easy to
take the bus here."

Li Chengxiu insisted: "Thank you, boss. I’l go back…by myself."

Li Shuo's expression showed a little disappointment, and he spread his
hands: "Well, then be careful. If you need anything, just call me. I'll be
happy to help you at any time."

Li Chengxiu nodded and said sincerely, "Thank you, boss."

That night, Li Chengxiu didn't return home until after nine o'clock. Shao
Qun was very unhappy and told him to avoid such useless gatherings in the
future. Or, if it was impossible to do so, to resign.

Li Chengxiu was most afraid of resigning, so he quickly promised Shao

Qun that he would try not to participate in the future.

A few days later, Li Shuo called Li Chengxiu to the office and said that he
was going to take him to a bidding meeting of a state-owned enterprise. He
brought the most important staff members from the two offices, and Li
Chengxiu was the only intern among them.

Li Chengxiu was naturally excited to have such an opportunity and thanked

Li Shuo again and again.

After leaving the office, he noticed that his colleagues were looking at him
weirdly. But there was no malice in those glances, rather some curiosity and
ambiguity.

After the lunch break, the driver took the four of them across the city to the
bidding meeting.

Li Shuo was confident and calm at the meeting. He had a lot of witty words
to say, and his limelight overshadowed everyone else in the room. This
made Li Chengxiu and several other people admire him even more.

Li Chengxiu originally thought that this meeting would be over before the
end of the work day. What he didn’t expect was that it ended right at the
beginning of rush hour. The city roads were jammed, and it took them half
an hour to drive 200 meters.

Li Chengxiu looked at his watch and felt anxious.

His two colleagues finally couldn't sit still anymore. They got out of the car
and planned to take the subway back.

Li Chengxiu didn’t have such an option. The place where Shao Qun lived
was not accessible by the subway. People in that residential area used their
cars to go in and out. Even the closest bus station was 10 minutes away.

Li Shuo looked at his watch, pursed his lips and smiled: "At this speed, it
will take us two hours to return to the company. It's dinner time now. I'm so
hungry that my stomach is touching my back already. I know a restaurant
nearby. It only takes ten minutes to walk there. Let's go have a meal."

Li Chengxiu hesitantly looked at the long traffic jam dragon with no head
and no tail and felt that it was impossible to come home earlier than Shao
Qun today.

Li Shuo got out of the car without saying anything, went around to the
opposite side and opened the car door for Li Chengxiu. He then made an
inviting gesture: "Come on! Instead of wasting our time here, why don't we
enjoy some food? And when we're done eating, the rush hour should
already be over."

Li Chengxiu had no other choice but to get out of the car. Li Shuo said a
few words to the driver and closed the door. Supporting Li Chengxiu on his
back, Li Shuo led him to the sidewalk: "Be careful! Watch out for the cars."

Li Chengxiu wrapped himself tightly in his clothes and followed Li Shuo.

After getting onto the sidewalk, he took out his mobile phone: "Boss, I have
to make a call."

Li Shuo smiled and nodded.

Li Chengxiu turned his back to him and called Shao Qun. But even after
two calls there was no answer.

Li Shuo joked: "What’s wrong? Is your girlfriend waiting for you?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "No." He was a bit worried and afraid that
Shao Qun would get angry again, if he came home and saw that he was not
there.

Li Shuo made an inviting gesture again: "No matter who is waiting for you,
there is no way to go back right now. How about you spend some time with
me?"

Li Chengxiu bowed politely: "Thank you, boss."

Li Shuo walked right beside him, and Li Chengxiu could see that many
women's eyes lit up when they saw Li Shuo.

Li Shuo took him to a Thai restaurant and told him with a wink: "The curry
crab here is really unique. And it's not raw this time. You’l have to eat a bit
more later."

Li Chengxiu smiled and nodded.

This Thai restaurant had a name that was hard to pronounce. The layout and
the atmosphere of the restaurant seemed to be couple-oriented. There were
only a few large tables inside, while all the tables by the windows were
meant for two people.

Li Shuo expertly ordered a few dishes. While waiting for their food to
come, he decided to chat. His eyes were gentle and sincere when he said:
"Xiao Li, I want to know more about you."

Li Chengxiu didn't know why, so he carefully asked: "Know... what?"

Li Shuo took off his glasses and rubbed his eyebrows: "I'm really tired
today, as you can see. Everyone is similar to a starving beast when there’s a
competition to acquire a business. But now that we're off work, you don't
have to treat me as your boss. I don't plan to treat you as my employee
either. I hope we can just be friends. What do you think about that,
Chengxiu?"
Friends... Li Chengxiu was not familiar with the world, but he knew that
employees couldn’t be friends with the boss.

"Can I call you Chengxiu?"

Li Chengxiu quickly nodded.

"Then when we’re not at work, I don't want you to call me “boss”. You can
call me Li-Dage[20]."

Li Chengxiu was not very happy about his boss's initiative to get closer, but
rather felt terrified. He stared at the lemonade in front of him, not daring to
look up.

Li Shuo's warm voice and soft music were flowing into Li Chengxiu's ears:
"Chengxiu, please do it."

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a long time, then whispered, "Li-Dage."

Li Shuo smiled with satisfaction: "And now that we’re friends, isn’t it
reasonable to get to know each other?"

Li Chengxiu agreed: "Okay."

Li Shuo crossed his hands, put his thumbs against his chin, and looked into
Li Chengxiu's eyes without hesitation: "Chengxiu, in fact, from the first
time we met, I could see some similarities between us."

[1] In the original the saying is “If you love somebody, you wil also love
the crow on their house”, meaning that one should accept their loved one
with everything that they bring with them.

[2]Speak for yourself XD

[3] Around 8000 USD

[4] As explained previously, it means he “was more easily convinced by a

soft approach rather than brute force”.
[5] A little more than 9000 USD.

[6] In the original it says, “three chastities and nine virtues”, which refers to
the ideal attributes of a perfect wife.

[7] In the original it says that he is “a shareholder of this class”. Since only
companies have shareholders, I assume that here she means the school.
This, of course, would mean that this is a for-profit school.

[8] Just a note that “Li” from Li Chengxiu is a different character, namely
this one: 李

[9] An Audi model - full-size luxury car

[10] An extraordinarily expensive perfume for men (like, 400$ for 100ml).
The smell is a mix of fresh citrus and spicy notes. Sounds like one of those
typical male aroma profiles.

[11] So Shao Qun actually had that perfume himself XD Man, the pettiness
of it all.

[12] Food metaphors are always fun

[13] Peach blossom eyes is a description for long and slender eye shape
with tails slightly tilted upwards. It resembles a peach flower petal and
typically looks lovely. It is also sometimes known as the “bedroom eye”
because it gives people an impression that this person has not fully woken
up from sleep yet.

[14] As a personal opinion side note: if you read “Additional Inheritance”,

you’ll see that that’s not quite the case. Shao Qun is not attracted to
“girliness” per se, but rather to low self-esteem.

[15] Citizens of China have the right to contest administrative penalties and
compulsory enforcement actions, either by seeking administrative review
through the administration reconsideration process or court review through
the administrative litigation process. ( according to Yale Law School.edu)
[16] Funnily enough he is not that wrong. According to a study by New
York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, men who had
group sex were more likely diagnosed as having gonorrhea compared with
men with dyadic sex. At the same time, they were less likely to get HIV due
to condom usage being more prevalent during group sex than during dyadic
sex.

[17] Cantonese is the most spoken language in Hong Kong, with only 48%
speaking Mandarin. In Shenzhen the official language is Mandarin,
however locally a lot of Cantonese is spoken.

[18] Central Business District (not cannabidiol XD)

[19] The original uses the expression 个人崇拜 (“cult of personality”). Since I
only associate this term with Mao, Stalin, and Kim Jong-Un, I decided to
avoid using it in the translation. Then again, when I read the next paragraph
with all the Li Shuo praise, I thought maybe I should have left it in.

[20] Literally, “big brother Li”.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 31
"Similarities?"

Li Shuo had a pair of very beautiful eyes - not large, long and narrow, and
unusually deep. After taking off his glasses, he looked a little less strict and
sophisticated, and a little more suave. Under the look of those eyes,
Chengxiu felt that Li Shuo was able to instantly see right through him.

Li Chengxiu was a little embarrassed to look back at him, so his own eyes
began to wander.

It was lightly raining outside. There was a small fountain visible from where
they were sitting. The music in the restaurant was gentle and quiet, and the
sound of the rain hitting the water in the fountain was clear and pleasant. Li
Shuo's thick, magnetic voice rang out with great solemnity at that time, and
when Li Chengxiu thought back on it later, he felt that it was one of the most
touching things he had ever heard.

"Chengxiu, when people get to my age, they tend to avoid wasting time.
Because they feel that their youth is already gone, they understand that they
should do everything as soon as possible, in order not to miss out on
opportunities and regret it when they get old. To be honest, a few months
ago, I got out of a three-year relationship. I thought that he was someone
who could accompany me for the rest of my life, but...How do I put it? I
gradual y just can’t keep up with the minds of young people anymore. I
believe that my sexuality is no secret in the office. My parents also know,
they are very enlightened. I'm looking for someone who would be willing to
seriously share their life with me. So I invited you out today to get to know
you better. I hope it all doesn’t sound too abrupt, but I'm sure you don't like
beating around the bush either, do you?"

Li Chengxiu twisted his fingers under the table. He never dreamed that Li
Shuo would say something like that to him. His eyes widened in surprise.
In his mind, Li Shuo was unattainable. Although he was always humble and
courteous, a person like that without any flaws could only be regarded as an
idol.

How could Li Shuo step down from his altar?

This made Li Chengxiu terrified.

Li Shuo laughed out loud, and his slender fingers waved in front of Li
Chengxiu’s eyes: "Look at you! Why are you scared like this?"

Li Chengxiu responded with some embarrassment: "Boss..."

"Hey, don't call me “boss”! Just call me Li-Dage."

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth several times, but he stil couldn’t overcome
his shame, "I… how do you know…that…I am..."

Li Shuo gave him a mysterious smile: "I have met many people in my life,
and I can usually tell... In fact, the first time I took you home, I real y just
did it out of kindness. I didn’t expect at all to encounter someone like you.
Isn’t it fate?"

"But……"

"What’s wrong? Do you already have a boyfriend?"

Li Chengxiu blushed and was about to say something when his phone
suddenly rang. He looked at the screen and immediately picked it up: "Hello,
Shao Qun..."

"Where the hell are you again?" Shao Qun's angry voice came from the other
end of the phone. The restaurant surroundings were quiet, and Li Shuo was
close enough to hear everything clearly. He couldn't help raising his
eyebrows.

Li Chengxiu's face looked embarrassed. He nodded apologetically to Li

Shuo, got up and walked to the corner of the room.
"Shao Qun, just hear me out."

"It's already past seven pm! Don’t you know that I’m stil hungry, and there is
no one here to attend to me?

Didn't you say you were not going to any more of those stupid parties in the
future?"

"I’m not at a party. Today… we went to a tender meeting… on the way

back…we got stuck in traffic."

"If you were in a traffic jam, you would be in the car right now. It doesn’t
sound like you’re in the car though"

"I'm here with..." Li Chengxiu remembered that every time he mentioned his
boss, Shao Qun would seem very disdainful, and his face would immediately
darken. He didn't want to have any unpleasantness with

Shao Qun because of this, so he avoided the key issue and just said lightly,
"...with my colleagues…to have a meal. "

Shao Qun's tone immediately became sharp: "Which colleague? Male or

female?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at Li Shuo and gritted his teeth: "Colleagues... a lot of

colleagues."

Shao Qun's tone softened a little, but he still insisted: "You should quit your
job as soon as possible. I've been tired all day, and now I can't even have a
meal when I get home. What do I need you for then?”

Li Chengxiu felt uneasy, and he thought that what Shao Qun said was too
harsh.

Shao Qun probably also felt that his tone was too heavy, so he took a deep
breath and said, "Where are you? I'll pick you up."

"I...I don't know where it is."

"Ask the waiter and tell me the address. Doesn’t matter what you were going
to eat just now, you are not allowed to eat anymore. Wait for me to arrive, so
we can eat together."

"But……"

"Chengxiu, our food is here. Come and eat it while it's still hot. My stomach
is rumbling with hunger." A gentle and ambiguous voice suddenly came
from behind. Li Chengxiu's back froze, and Shao Qun suddenly went silent.

"I…I'l go over right away." Li Chengxiu quickly stepped back, looking in

horror at Li Shuo who was smiling at him.

"Li Chengxiu!" Shao Qun gritted his teeth and angrily hung up the phone.

Li Chengxiu stared at the phone blankly. He wanted to call Shao Qun back,
but he didn't dare.

Li Shuo pulled him back to the table: "Come on, let's eat. It will be a shame
if it gets cold."

Li Chengxiu was still restless, there were sweat droplets on his forehead.

Li Shuo placed some food into his bowl: "Chengxiu, you deserve a gentle
partner. Or at least someone who respects you."

Li Chengxiu became defensive: "He's just… temperamental and… a little

aggressive. In fact, he treats me well..."

"Oh, really?" Li Shuo chuckled, "Why does that sound a little forced? You're
just having a meal with a friend, and he is yelling at you. What kind of
respect are we even talking about here?"

Li Chengxiu's face gradually paled.

"Sorry, I shouldn't comment on your private affairs. I just think that if there
is a lack of respect and trust in a relationship, something must be out of
balance there. An imbalanced relationship is in danger of losing its footing at
any time, don't you think?"
Li Chengxiu silently took a bite of his food. It felt like chewing wax.

Li Shuo's words seemed to be sort of a wake-up call for him. Before that, Li
Chengxiu had never even thought about the word "respect".

He has been carefully safeguarding his relationship with Shao Qun, and it
could be said that he was grateful for what he had. There was a person who
liked him and wanted to spend time with him. This alone was enough for Li
Chengxiu to be grateful for a lifetime. Not to mention that this person was
someone as great as Shao Qun. There was no balance even possible between
Li Chengxiu and him.

Shao Qun had a bad temper, he was domineering and unreasonable.

Sometimes his words were very harsh and hurtful. But Shao Qun also had a
gentle and caring side. He gave Li Chengxiu a place to live, he let him go
back to studying, and he created a lot of good memories with him. All in all,
Shao Qun was still very good to him. Li Chengxiu shouldn't be too greedy.
Even if keeping this relationship required him to compromise a bit, Li
Chengxiu still felt that it was well worth it. Between the two of them, Shao
Qun will never be the one to yield, so Li Chengxiu was willing to tolerate all
of Shao Qun's shortcomings, for the sake of this hard-won happiness right in
front of his eyes.

Moreover, judging from what happened just now, there was actually
something wrong with Li Chengxiu himself. He was the one who lied to
Shao Qun.

When he thought about that, Li Chengxiu felt even more uneasy. He said
apologetically to Li Shuo, "Boss, I'd better leave now."

Li Shuo put down his chopsticks and frowned slightly: "Why are you in such
a hurry? You haven't even eaten yet."

Li Chengxiu also felt quite embarrassed. He thought that he should at least

pay for the meal, in order to apologize a little for the situation. So he
subconsciously glanced at the bill right next to him. It was actually
unbelievable - the crab cost more than 2,000 RMB[1]. Li Chengxiu suddenly
felt as if something was stuck in his throat. He used to work in a hotel, and
expensive ingredients were not something he hadn’t seen before. However,
when he had to pay for the meal himself, he found the price unacceptable.

He looked at the orange aromatic crab curry and felt that it would really be a
great waste if he didn't finish what was in front of him. This made him feel
even more guilty in front of Li Shuo.

So he had to bite the bullet and just continue eating.

Li Shuo changed the topic and talked with Li Chengxiu about the food in the
restaurant. This immediately lightened the atmosphere.

Towards the end of the meal, Li Chengxiu's phone rang again. This time it
was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

Assistant Zhou's cold voice came from the other side: "Mr. Li, are you at a
French, a Thai, a Hunan, or a Sichuan restaurant?"

"What?" Li Chengxiu was stunned by his question.

"Mr. Shao asked me to locate your mobile phone. There are four restaurants
in the building where you are right now. I guess you wouldn’t be at a Pizza
Hut. So which one is it? I wil then inform President Shao, and he will soon
be there."

Li Chengxiu suddenly felt a chill down his back. Tremblingly he said "Thai.
Thai restaurant."

"Thank you." Assistant Zhou deftly hung up the phone.

Li Chengxiu looked out the window anxiously and put down his chopsticks:
"Boss, I'm done eating… I… I have to go now."

"Oh?" Li Shuo wiped his mouth with the napkin, "I'm full too. Let's have
dessert! All the coconut-flavored desserts here are delicious. You must really
try some." He raised his hand and called for the waiter.
Li Chengxiu couldn't stop him, so he just watched as the waiter turned
around and brought them exquisite desserts.

Li Chengxiu was really nervous. He frequently looked out of the window

and at his phone.

Li Shuo smiled and said, "Is your boyfriend coming to pick you up?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

"It's a good thing, isn’t it? Why are you so nervous?"

"I……"

Li Shuo sighed: "It's a pity, I like you very much, but someone else has
already snatched you up.

However..." Li Shuo winked at him, "You are not married. You can change
your mind at any time without having to bear any legal responsibility."

Li Chengxiu waved his hands in fright: "We… we are doing fine."

Li Shuo raised his eyebrows and smiled noncommittally: "Chengxiu,

although it is not very noble to steal someone's lover, but abandoning the
darkness in favor of the light is a choice of a wise man. I would rather be a
villain and let you be that wise man. But I don't know if you want it."

Just as Li Chengxiu was about to open his mouth to argue, Li Shuo suddenly
raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "One more thing. I am a Chinese-
American, so I can actually marry my lover and enjoy all the same rights as
the ordinary couples. Chengxiu, have you considered your future with your
impulsive young boyfriend?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned by his question. Marriage?

Li Shuo looked at him sincerely: "Chengxiu, although it's too early to say
this, I really think that I'm a good fit for you. I appreciate many of your
qualities - your gentle and quiet nature, your caution and your
thoughtfulness. I am sincere, and I hope to deepen my understanding of you
even more in the future.”

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth to speak, but Li Shuo interrupted him yet
again: "Don't be in a hurry to reject me for your boyfriend. People make
many choices in life. Some are right, some are wrong, and for some you
have to wait and see to know, if they were right or wrong in the end. So don't
be in a hurry to reject me

- maybe he is really not the right person for you. And maybe I am. At least, I
am more mature and gentler than he is. And I will respect you. Aren't you
curious as to who it is that you can spend your life with?"

Everything Li Shuo said was well-rounded and comprehensive. There was

no vitriol or harshness in his words, which left Li Chengxiu speechless.

But at the moment he could only think about escaping. He started to get
dressed: "Thank you, boss. I'm leaving."

As soon as he put the scarf around his neck, a loud shout resounded
throughout the restaurant.

"Li Chengxiu!"

Li Chengxiu's body trembled. In the blink of an eye, Shao Qun came over
angrily, stomping his feet loudly on the wooden floor. Everyone in the
restaurant was giving him sideway looks.

Li Chengxiu stood up nervously. Li Shuo raised his eyebrows, gracefully got

up and looked at Shao Qun with a little scrutiny.

As soon as Shao Qun saw the tall, elegant, and handsome Li Shuo beside Li
Chengxiu, the anger in his chest exploded and seemed to completely set him
on fire.

While he was still a few meters away from them, Li Shuo already made a
preemptive strike. He stretched out his hand and smiled politely: "My last
name is Li, I’m Chengxiu's boss. And you are…?"
Shao Qun desperately suppressed his fists that were itching for a fight. He
glared at Li Shuo, then turned to Li Chengxiu, grabbed his arm and said
angrily, "Many colleagues? Huh? Since when have you learned to lie?"

Li Shuo took his hand away without a hint of embarrassment. Then he

stepped forward and explained:

"There were indeed several other colleagues with us just now. But everyone
has left already. As the boss, I had to stay and pay the bill."

Shao Qun gave him a suspicious look and stared at Li Chengxiu: "Really?"

At this moment, Li Chengxiu didn't dare to say no. He quickly nodded, full
of gratitude to Li Shuo.

Shao Qun narrowed his eyes and glanced at their dining table. No matter
how he looked at it, it seemed as if two people were just having dinner
together.

Li Chengxiu was so nervous that his hands were shaking.

Li Shuo calmly explained again: "We were originally at the big table. But
after everyone left, the restaurant gave us this table."

Li Chengxiu nodded and called weakly, "Shao Qun..."

Shao Qun's heart was still full of doubts. He was unwilling to believe
anything that came out of this smiling man’s mouth in front of him.

He grabbed Li Chengxiu and said coldly, "We’re leaving." Then he dragged

Li Chengxiu out of the restaurant.

Li Chengxiu looked at Li Shuo apologetically, then lowered his head,

avoiding the suspicious glances shot their way.

When they exited the restaurant, Li Chengxiu remembered that he wasn’t

wearing his coat. He shivered from the cold.
Shao Qun didn't seem to notice this at all. He just silently pulled Li
Chengxiu into the parking lot.

Li Chengxiu tried to ease the tense atmosphere: "Shao Qun, let’s have dinner
together."

Shao Qun stopped suddenly and turned around. His face was gloomy, as he
grabbed Li Chengxiu's chin with one hand and said fiercely: "I’l deal with
you when we get back."

Li Chengxiu's face paled.

At this moment, Li Shuo's voice came from a distance: "Chengxiu."

The two turned their heads at the same time. Li Shuo was wearing a camel-
colored cashmere coat, looking dashing even in the cold wind. He held Li
Chengxiu's coat in his hand.

"Chengxiu, how did you forget your clothes? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Li Shuo didn't even look at the gloomy Shao Qun. He stretched out his hands
to put the coat on Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun suddenly grabbed the coat and ruthlessly threw it on the ground.
Then he went up to Li Shuo and grabbed him by the collar, squinting his
eyes and spitting his threat out word by word: "Stay away from him."

Li Shuo was not afraid at all. Instead he smiled smoothly: "Then you should
watch him very closely."

Shao Qun's fist was already prepared. As soon as he heard those words, he
immediately lifted it up. Li Chengxiu had been carefully watching Shao
Qun's actions from the side. When he saw him raise his arm, he rushed up
and grabbed it: "Shao Qun, Shao Qun, don't!" This was his boss, not a bad
guy who trapped and molested him.

Li Shuo pushed away Shao Qun's hand that was holding his collar and
leisurely smoothed his wrinkled front. He smiled at Li Chengxiu:
"Chengxiu, goodbye. Keep warm." After saying that, he gracefully left.
Shao Qun harshly waved Li Chengxiu away, and he fell to the ground. Shao
Qun then turned around and kicked his car. Immediately there was a massive
dent in it.

Shao Qun picked the still dazed Li Chengxiu up, stuffed him into the car and
sped out of the parking lot with his foot on the accelerator.

Me during this entire chapter

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 32
Content warning: rape
As soon as the two of them entered the door, Shao Qun pressed Li
Chengxiu to the wall. He then grabbed his arm and trapped him between the
wall and his body, glaring at Li Chengxiu condescendingly.

Li Chengxiu said coyly, "Shao Qun, don't be angry..." He wanted to explain,

but he still couldn't figure out whether Shao Qun was angry because he
didn't come back home in time, or because he didn’t like Li Shuo. Be it as it
may, Shao Qun was very angry.

"You’ve grown tough. Now you’re even having dinner with other men
behind my back?"

"We are...just… colleagues."

Shao Qun roared: "A blind person could see what that old pervert is
thinking!” Shao Qun’s Adam's apple kept going up and down, and he
couldn't calm down.

He knew that he was overreacting. But he just couldn't stand seeing Li

Chengxiu with other men. He was the one who cultivated this little pet.
Without him, Li Chengxiu would still wear that dirty and unfortunate look
on the daily. And now, he can suddenly seduce people? Who the fuck dares
to covet him? They can all go die.

Li Chengxiu was shocked by Shao Qun’s loud roar. He looked at Shao Qun
with some guilt. Li Chengxiu couldn't imagine how furious Shao Qun
would be if he knew what Li Shuo said to him today.

"He's just…my boss."

"Just a boss? That old pervert is a good-looking guy. Didn't you admire him
very much before?

Tel ing me how good he is and how capable he is… Now that he has taken a
fancy to you, you are quite happy, right?" Shao Qun had always imagined
that forty-year old accountant described by Li Chengxiu as some fat brainy
nerd, so he had let his guard down. He didn't expect to see what he saw
today - this gentlemanly style was really enough to fool Li Chengxiu who
has never seen the world. When Shao Qun thought of Li Chengxiu's
admiration and worship towards Li Shuo, his anger went straight to his
forehead.

"No, Shao Qun. He is really just my boss."

"He drove you home, invited you out for dinner and brought you, a little
intern, to the bidding meeting. He clearly has his eye on you. And you're
quite cooperative. Did you have a nice dinner with him? Was it more
interesting than having dinner with me?”

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale: "Shao Qun, you misunderstood."

"I misunderstood? Since you’ve started this shitty job, you haven’t come
back for dinner twice already.

Sometimes you get home later than me. And then look at how attentive that
old perv was today! You two seemed to be well-acquainted. Who knows
how long you’ve been seeing each other?" The more Shao Qun

talked, the angrier he became. He knew that Li Chengxiu would never have
the balls to cuckold him, yet he wanted to say all of this and hear Li
Chengxiu personally refute it.

Li Chengxiu real y defended himself anxiously: "Shao Qun… I don't… I

like him."

"Of course, you don't dare to like him!" Shao Qun squeezed his chin, half-
squinted his eyes and annunciated, "You can only like me."
Li Chengxiu's clear eyes looked at him without a hint of insincerity: "I do…
only like you."

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, a strange and very unfamiliar feeling
rising up in his heart, which made him very satisfied with Li Chengxiu’s
answer.

"You really like me?"

Li Chengxiu nodded seriously.

Shao Qun has heard a lot in his life about liking, loving, and other such
nonsense. It was hard to tell whether it was genuine or fake. But this was
the first time that Shao Qun felt that it was, indeed, nice to hear someone
say it.

Because it already sounded a little flirtatious, he asked another question:

"How much do you like me?" After asking it, he felt a little regretful,
suspecting that he was led astray by this little sissy here. One would only
hear such a stupid question in romance dramas, right? But even so, he still
was a little expectant. He looked forward to how Li Chengxiu would
answer this question. Will his answer be better than in the dramas?

Li Chengxiu realized what he meant and said shyly, "I like you very much."

Shao Qun's expression softened a little: "In that case, you are not allowed to
see that old pervert ever again in the future. And you are not allowed to go
back to work there, not even to the school. I will re-enroll you somewhere
else.."

Surprised, Li Chengxiu said, "No."

Shao Qun's face sank again: "No?"

"Shao Qun, I don't want to resign," Li Chengxiu hugged his arm and
begged, "Shao Qun, I like it there. I don't want to resign from this job."

Shao Qun waved his arm away, tightly grabbed Li Chengxiu’s chin and
forced him to raise his face to look at him. He then said fiercely, "You don't
want to resign, because you still want to flirt with that old pervert?"

"No……"

"No my ass! Don’t you know how to fucking avoid suspicion? Or do you
have to hook up with him because you're a fucking bitch? Either you stay
home and serve me or get the fuck out!"

Li Chengxiu's body froze, and his eye rims gradually turned red.

Shao Qun felt irritated when he saw this teary-eyed sissy in front of him. He
grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him over, making him face the
wall with his back to Shao Qun. He then roughly pulled at his belt.

Li Chengxiu turned his head in surprise and wanted to beg for mercy: "Shao
Qun, don't..."

Shao Qun grabbed the back of his head and turned his head away again
with such force that Li Chengxiu’s forehead hit the wall with a bang: "Don't
make me look at your sissy face."

—----------------------------------rape scene, skip till the next red line—--------

-------------------------------

Li Chengxiu felt dizzy after being hit. In a daze, he felt that his lower body
suddenly felt cold, and his pants were torn off.

Shao Qun spit on his hand, and his cold fingers reached into the gap
between his buttocks, opening up the tight hole without any gentleness.

Li Chengxiu began to cry, but he neither dared to resist, nor to look back.
He was really afraid of Shao Qun at this time, and he hated his own
cowardice.

Seeing that the required expansion was almost done, Shao Qun unzipped
his trousers, took out his dick and eagerly rubbed it up and down a few
times. He then stretched Li Chengxiu's snow-white buttocks open and
squeezed in.
"Shao Qun, don't..." Li Chengxiu's choked voice sounded weak, yet it
couldn't stop Shao Qun's violent atrocities.

It was very rough. Although Shao Qun could successfully fit his big thing
inside, Li Chengxiu grinned in pain, and his fingers unconsciously dug at
the snow-white wall.

Such a reckless entry without proper preparations didn’t feel good to Shao
Qun either. But he didn’t hold back his strength, and even if it was
uncomfortable, he continued to move hard. He just wanted to make Li
Chengxiu hurt and let him remember this lesson forever.

The stretched flesh walls were completely captured by Shao Qun’s

constantly moving member. The muscles gave up their resistance and
slowly relaxed, making Shao Qun's thrusting easier. The thrill of friction
finally took over his mind. He pressed Li Chengxiu against the wall and
pushed up hard.

Li Chengxiu was still wearing clothes on his upper body, but his lower body
was completely naked. His slender legs were forced wide open, his face
was pressed against the cold wall, and he was panting uncomfortably,
bearing the storm-like impact.

Shao Qun fixed his waist with one hand, put his hand into his clothes, then
played vigorously with his nipples, maliciously pulling and kneading. Li
Chengxiu arched up in discomfort, and his ass was lifted higher, which
made it more convenient for Shao Qun. The constant thrusting in and out
and Shao Qun’s rough play made Li Chengxiu's legs soft.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu was gradually losing his strength, Shao Qun
dragged him onto the sofa and put him into a kneeling position. Li
Chengxiu’s butt was now raised high towards Shao Qun like a sacrificial
offering.

Shao Qun grabbed his buttocks and slammed into the dark red flesh hole,
pushing his waist forward and hitting it hard. It was no longer even a hit,
but rather a stab. The terrifying strength and speed tore irregular moans out
of Li Chengxiu's throat. It seemed that his thin body was about to be
shattered to pieces in the next second by this violent impact .

"Shao Qun, enough... Enough, Shao Qun..."

Li Chengxiu was half-up in the air at this time. With his head down,and his
body bent into a twisted shape, he was suffering from Shao Qun's explosive
desire.

He didn’t know how long this terrible sex went on. Al he knew was that his
whole body was numb, and his mind was in chaos. He was sweating
profusely, and his face was full of tears. Intermittently, he begged,

"Shao Qun... Please... Shao Qun..."

He really couldn't take it anymore. How long would this torture continue?
Shao Qun's aggressive copulation not only hurt him but also chilled him to
the bone.

Shao Qun was like an angry beast who had to tear his opponent to pieces to
appease his agitation.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------—--—----
-----------------------------------

Li Chengxiu had no idea how much time had passed before Shao Qun
finally stopped his seemingly endless plundering. He threw Li Chengxiu,
who was soaked in sweat, onto the sofa, turned around and entered the
bedroom, slamming the door behind him with a bang.

Li Chengxiu was already in a semi-conscious state at that time. He was

lying paralyzed on the sofa, his limbs too weak to move. There were blue
and red marks all over his body, which particularly stood out on his fair
skin. His hips were soaked in white turbid liquid.

It was too cold in the living room, and Li Chengxiu was still naked. He
wanted to take a shower, but he didn't even have the strength to even move
his fingers.
Sobbing cries would intermittently come out of his mouth. Li Chengxiu
didn't understand how Shao Qun could treat him like this. He didn’t know
whether Shao Qun had changed recently, or Li Chengxiu just didn't see
through him clearly at first. He had thought that although Shao Qun was
irritable and arrogant, he still had a kind heart.

Li Chengxiu felt both wronged and helpless at this time. But he didn't know
what else he could do except cry. He even looked down on himself.

After Shao Qun entered the bedroom, he collapsed on the bed, too tired to
move.

He stared at the moon outside the window, waiting for Li Chengxiu to open
the door and come in.

He knew that he was too impulsive just now. Shao Qun rarely regretted
being impulsive, but today was an exception. Today he felt a little regret.
He seemed to have really overdone it, and he didn't know if Li Chengxiu
could handle it.

But he had personally slammed that door, and he couldn't get over himself
to go open it again.

If Li Chengxiu came in at this time and shrank into his arms as usual, this
page would have been turned over, and he could treat him the way he
treated him before.

But why didn't Li Chengxiu come in?

Was he angry?

Why was he angry?

Will he make him breakfast tomorrow morning?

Shao Qun turned over and lay on the bed, spreading both his arms and legs
widely.[2] He realized that the bed was so big that he couldn't reach the
edges even like that.
He just stared at the ceiling and lay there, while the time quietly passed by.
There was no sound in the room, and soon fatigue crept up. Unconsciously,
Shao Qun fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, he was woken up by the cold. In his sleep, he
was searching all over the bed for something warm, yet he couldn’t find it,
so he was suddenly jolted awake. He raised his hand and looked at his
watch. It was already past three am. Where was Li Chengxiu?

Shao Qun sat up on the bed, shook his head and remembered that Li
Chengxiu hadn't entered the bedroom at all. Did he go to sleep in the guest
room? What is this? Was he brave enough to throw a temper tantrum now?

Shao Qun got out of bed. As soon as he walked into the living room, he saw
Li Chengxiu still lying naked on the sofa. His thin body was shrunk into a
ball, shivering and looking so pitiful.

Shao Qun felt that his heart tightened. He quickly went up to him:
"Chengxiu..."

As soon as his fingers touched Li Chengxiu’s shoulder, he realized that his

body was terrifyingly hot.

Shao Qun picked him up.

"How is he?" Shao Qun was at the edge of the bed, looking at the
unconscious Li Chengxiu.

The doctor pushed up his glasses: "It's not a big problem. He caught a cold
and is running a fever. After the IV drip is through, you can remove the
needle. Afterwards he should take this medicine according to instructions. If
the fever doesn't go away tomorrow, call me again."

Shao Qun nodded and attentively looked at Li Chengxiu.

At this time, Li Chengxiu's body was tightly covered by a thick blanket, and
only his small face was exposed. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he
looked more fragile than usual. It was as if “Handle with care” was written
on his face.

After the doctor left, Shao Qun sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the IV
drip in a daze.

The liquid leaked very slowly, dripping and dripping. Shao Qun was bored
to tears at this moment, since Li Chengxiu was unresponsive.

He looked at his watch. It was the regular time for him to get up on
weekdays. Normally, Li Chengxiu would wake him up softly, straighten his
slippers, squeeze toothpaste for him, and prepare breakfast for him.

Now he was lying on the bed, so fragile that it seemed he was gradually
becoming transparent.

Shao Qun felt very lonely. He had long been accustomed to living with Li
Chengxiu. It turned out that a morning without Li Chengxiu was like this...
abrupt, as if something was missing.

Shao Qun took off his shoes, got on the bed, gently lifted the quilt and
hugged Li Chengxiu's hot body in his arms. He then peacefully closed his
eyes.

Li Chengxiu was unconscious until later that night. After two bottles of IV
fluids, his fever had slightly dropped.

He gently opened his heavy eyelids and saw a faint light in front of him.

Shao Qun was sitting next to him, lightly tapping on the keyboard of his
laptop. When he saw that Li Chengxiu opened his eyes, he immediately put
down his computer and said happily, "Chengxiu, you’re awake."

Li Chengxiu gave him a confused look.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry? You have a fever, and you’ve been sleeping
all day."
Li Chengxiu reluctantly squeezed a word out of his dry, sore throat:
"Thirsty..."

Shao Qun quickly jumped out of the bed, poured Li Chengxiu a glass of
water, held his head, and slowly let him drink.

Li Chengxiu was so thirsty that he finished two glasses of water.

Shao Qun helped him sit up and leaned him against the back of the bed.

"Chengxiu, are you hungry?"

Li Chengxiu nodded dazedly.

Shao Qun got up and went to the kitchen. He filled a bowl with porridge
from the rice cooker. and brought it to Li Chengxiu.

"I asked the hotel to cook today. It's still hot. Let me feed you. Come, open
your mouth."

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth mechanically and swallowed the porridge

given to him by Shao Qun one spoonful after the other.

He didn't have any water or food for an entire day, so he quickly finished
the whole bowl. Shao Qun asked him if he wanted some more, but he shook
his head.

Shao Qun put down the bowl and touched his forehead: "How are you
feeling? Are you still uncomfortable?"

Li Chengxiu opened his eyes and seemed to be distracted. It took a long

time for him to focus his eyes on Shao Qun. Then he closed his eyes tiredly
and shook his head.

Shao Qun laid him down again and tucked him in a quilt: "Sleep a little
longer. I’l call the doctor tomorrow to have a look. Maybe your fever will
subside by tomorrow."

Li Chengxiu quietly shrank his body under the quilt.

Another horrible chapter. Another day that Shao Qun is not in jail.
Honestly, I almost had a qi deviation while translating this part.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 33
After another day of sleep, Li Chengxiu’s fever final y subsided, and he
gradually came to his senses the next morning.

Shao Qun was very happy to see him awake. He asked him how he was
feeling and whether he was hungry.

Li Chengxiu glanced out the window and forced out a few words from his
dry throat: "What day of the week is it today?"

Shao Qun replied casually: "Thursday."

Li Chengxiu frowned and said hoarsely, "My phone…cal …need to ask for
leave."

Shao Qun's face sank immediately: "I stayed with you at home for two days
and didn't even go to my company. And as soon as you wake up, you give
me a hard time and think about your shitty job."

Li Chengxiu's face was a little anxious: "I want to ask for leave..."

"You don't need to ask." Shao Qun said nonchalantly, "I have already
resigned for you."

Li Chengxiu was stunned.

"In addition, you don't have to go to the tutoring school anymore. You can
rest at home for a few days, and I will find a better school for you."

Li Chengxiu felt like he was thrown down from a big height. His heart was
so heavy that he could hardly breathe.

He said with difficulty: "Shao Qun, have you ever considered...respecting

me?"
This time it was Shao Qun's turn to be stunned. He then sneered: "Are you
still burning up? What did I do to you? Oh right, I did go a bit too far the
day before yesterday. But it was you who provoked me first. If you had
listened, I wouldn't have been so angry. It's better for you to quit now. Or do
you still want to fight with me because of that old pervert? What is so
special about this job? I can find you a better one. Besides... ''

Shao Qun took out something from the bedside table and threw it in front of
Li Chengxiu, "I bought you a new mobile phone. You should use this one
and give yours to the cultural relics museum."

Yesterday Shao Qun saw more than ten missed calls on Li Chengxiu's
mobile phone, all of which were from Mr. Li. He was so angry that he
threw the mobile phone directly against the wall and smashed it to pieces.

He felt that a new function should be developed for mobile phones, so that
Li Chengxiu could only contact him, 110[3], and 120[4].

Li Chengxiu didn't even look at the new phone. His body trembled slightly:
"I like that job, Shao Qun. You…

you’ve gone too far."

This was the first time that Li Chengxiu had so solemnly accused Shao Qun
of something since the two of them came together. He mustered up his
courage and this way hoped to win Shao Qun's "respect" for him.

Shao Qun's voice suddenly turned cold: "Do you like that job, or do you
like that person who works there?

Li Chengxiu, you are still ill now, and I don't want to make any more
trouble with you. Think about it yourself very carefully. Is a dispensable job
more important for you than me?"

Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded.

Of course, Shao Qun was much more important to him. But did it really
have to be a multiple-choice question? Doesn’t Shao Qun trust him at all?
Seeing Li Chengxiu’s shaky and weak body, in his heart Shao Qun real y
didn’t understand why he was causing all this trouble.

He softened his attitude and coaxed: "Okay, you see that you haven’t
recovered yet. The most important thing is to take care of your illness right
now. Let's talk about those other things when you get well, okay? I promise
to find you a better school. You will be able to study, and then I will find a
top-level company for you to do your internship. You will learn a lot of
useful things there, okay?"

Shao Qun pushed Li Chengxiu back on the bed, making him lie down. Li
Chengxiu looked at him with a little sadness.

Expecting Shao Qun to be at least half-apologetic for hurting him or for

terminating his work contract without permission was just too much to ask,
right?

Shao Qun lowered his head and pecked Li Chengxiu on the nose. He spoke
as if he was calming down kittens and puppies: "Be good, be obedient, and
I will treat you with more love."

After Li Chengxiu recovered from his illness, he became more and more
silent.

Life hadn’t changed much. He stil dutifully managed his and Shao Qun's
daily life in an orderly manner.

However, the appearance of happiness was ripped apart by Shao Qun again
and again, and Li Chengxiu gradually saw the insurmountable gap between
them.

And Li Chengxiu knew that no matter how hard he tried he wouldn’t be

able to fil this gap. As long as he thought that one day in the future he might
lose his footing, he was so worried that he couldn’t even sleep well.

Originally, everything was so good between him and Shao Qun. Or at least
he thought that everything was good. Since when did he start to worry?
Worry that in the end this all will be a wasted effort?
The more anxiety Li Chengxiu felt, the more he hoped to double his efforts
in strengthening their relationship.

Shao Qun always had countless reasons to shirk his promises about finding
work or school for him. Li Chengxiu ended up staying home for more than
a month.

He knew that he actually had no reason to blame Shao Qun. All of these
things were freely given to him by Shao Qun in the first place. Stil , Li
Chengxiu’s dissatisfaction grew uncontrollably.

For the past month he hadn’t been idle. He was preparing for the accounting
certificate exam. He planned to find a job after passing the exam and slowly
pay off the money he owed to Shao Qun.

He thought that if he didn't owe Shao Qun so much, Shao Qun might
respect him more. Now that he lived under his roof and owed him a debt,
naturally he was inferior in his eyes.

Today, Li Chengxiu was in his apron in the kitchen cooking soup for Shao
Qun when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Li Chengxiu put down the spoon, wiped his hands and went to open the
door.

As soon as he opened the door, he was stunned. He saw a woman in her

thirties. She was tall and exquisitely beautiful. Whether it was her makeup
or her dress, one could tell that she was a very particular person. However,
although she was beautiful and elegant, her temperament seemed to be cold
and serious. Her eyebrows with upturned corners were giving a strong sense
of distance. Although she was a woman, she seemed to be more imposing
than a man.

The woman glanced at Li Chengxiu, frowned slightly and said, "Shao Qun
lives here, right?" Her tone was quite arrogant, as if she was naturally
accustomed to being bossy.

Li Chengxiu nodded blankly.

The woman brushed past him, entered the room, sat down on the sofa and
said as if it was a matter of course: "Pour me a glass of water."

Li Chengxiu looked at her in amazement: "Uh, may I ask, who you are?"

She didn't even look at Li Chengxiu. Instead she took out her mobile phone
and made a call.

"Shao Qun, I'm at your house." After that, she immediately hung up the
phone.

At a loss, Li Chengxiu looked at the door that was still open, hesitating
whether he should close it or not.

The woman looked at the room casually, and finally her eyes landed on Li
Chengxiu. Indifferently she said,

"Water?"

Li Chengxiu has never seen a woman with such a powerful demeanor. Her
gestures and movements seemed to be full of intimidation. Just one word
out of her mouth could make people tremble. Li Chengxiu unconsciously
moved his feet and went to pour her a glass of water.

She took a sip and nodded to Li Chengxiu: "Sit down."

Li Chengxiu did as he was told and looked at the woman suspiciously.

She raised her hand and glanced at her watch, then turned to look at Li
Chengxiu: "Are you making soup?"

"Yes……"

"What kind of soup?"

"Mutton soup."

"All right, to treat the cold." She nodded, "Add more ginger, in order to
eliminate the smell of mutton. Shao Qun doesn't like too much mutton."
Li Chengxiu felt extremely embarrassed: "Excuse me, you are his..."

She took a sip of water: "Sister."

Li Chengxiu was shocked and said incoherently: "Hel… hel… hel o, I… I

am…I..."

She glanced at him blankly: "Shao Qun will be back soon. When will the
soup be ready?"

"Uh, soon, soon."

She nodded with satisfaction.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, Shao Qun returned home in a hurry.
As soon as he came in, he shouted, "Eldest sis, why are you here?"

The eldest Miss of the Shao family, Shao Wen, stood up from the sofa,
folded her arms over her chest, looked at Shao Qun with scrutiny and said
coldly, "If I didn’t come, when were you planning to go home?"

"Didn't I say that I would go back for New Year’s?" Shao Qun messed up
his hair with a little irritation. He then went up to Li Chengxiu and pulled
him up from the sofa, without even looking at him, "Go eat outside today."

Li Chengxiu was slightly startled, pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "I
cooked for you..."

Shao Qun said impatiently, "Go quickly."

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes sadly, nodded to Shao Wen, took off his
apron, put on his coat and shoes and ran out of the door as if escaping.

Shao Qun pressed Shao Wen's shoulders back onto the sofa and said
coquettishly, "Sit down, sis. I haven't seen you in a long time. Let's have a
good chat."

Shao Wen's expression softened, as she glared at him: "Little bastard, you
left your home just like that.
How can you be so heartless?"

"Why is that? I’m busy with a project. I said that I’d go home once I’m
done."

"You went to Shenzhen after arguing with Dad, and since then you haven't
returned to Beijing for more than half a year. What do you want dad to
think?"

Shao Qun pouted: "Is dad okay?"

"He's okay. Although he’l never admit that he misses you, he always talks
about you when I visit him at home."

"Talks about me? You mean, he scolds me? I can never measure up to
anything in his eyes."

Shao Wen patted his head: "Don't talk nonsense. You’re his only son. Why
wouldn’t he cherish you? Dad is just stubborn. He has spent more than 40
years in the army. How can he be any other way after that? You expect him
to go soft with a little brat like you? Dream on! Besides, as a son, no matter
who is right and who is wrong, how can you be angry at your elders?"

"Oh, I got it, sis. Can't I just call dad tomorrow?"

"No, call today."

"Okay, today."

Shao Wen glanced at him: "Little bastard..."

Shao Qun laughed and said, "How are the second sis and the third sis
doing?"

"They’re good. Just haven’t seen even a shadow of Nuo Nuo recently. No
idea where she’s playing around now. Real y…"

"What about you and my brother-in-law?"

As soon as the word "brother-in-law" was mentioned, Shao Wen's face
immediately fell, and she said lightly: "It's stil the same. We’re both busy,
and we don’t delay each other."

Shao Qun shrugged: "And Yin Yin? Did she start elementary school?"

"Yes. Getting good grades."

"Can somebody with our genes be stupid?"

Shao Wen smiled lightly: "By the way, since I'm here this time, I also want
to talk to you about your personal problems."

Shao Qun gave a "hey" and then said: "Sis, why do you have the same tone
as dad?"

Shao Wen glared: "Don't interrupt."

Shao Qun surrendered: "Say what you want to say."

Shao Wen said carefully: "You should get married soon."

Shao Qun frowned, feeling a little conflicted in his heart: "It's too early."

"You are turning twenty-seven next year. How is this early?"

Shao Qun muttered, "Didn't you get married at thirty-one?"

Shao Wen sternly said, "How can you compare yourself to me? I gave birth
to a child with a foreign last name."

"Oh, okay, okay." Shao Qun rolled his eyes, "But I really don't want to get
married so early, and I don't like anyone right now.."

"You don't have to worry about this. I will help you find someone. Dad also
wants you to get married and have children quickly. I gave birth to a girl.
Xiao Wu, as you know, can't give birth. Not to mention Nuo Nuo's messy
relationships… You are the only man in our family. And you know what
you should do for the family, don't you?"
Shao Qun nodded.

"That's it. Tell me what kind of women do you like."

Shao Qun leaned on the back of the sofa, put his legs on the coffee table
and said nonchalantly: "Big tits and no brains. More authority and less
responsibility."

Shao Wen glared at him angrily: "In this case, I do have a candidate."

"Forget about it. You already had someone in mind."

Shao Wen didn't care and continued: "The granddaughter of the old Qi
family. Remember, you met her a few years ago? Now you can see her
everywhere."

"Oh, the one who is in the entertainment industry in Hong Kong right now?
Yes, she’s very beautiful."

"How do you like her?"

"Can I like someone so stupid? She is obviously a native of Shandong, but

she pretends to be from Hong Kong."

Shao Wen patted his head: “Stay serious."

Shao Qun said: "It doesn't matter if I like her or not. As long as you like her,
and dad is satisfied… But wil dad be satisfied with her? Such a
rambunctious woman who’s showing off her face all day long..."

"When all their old comrades came together, Qi Lao mentioned the
possibility of marriage to dad. Dad didn't agree or refuse at that time. He
came back to discuss it with me. He also felt that the girl was a little floozy,
but she’s stil Qi Lao's granddaughter. And the family promised that if she
got married, she would stop working."

Shao Qun nodded: "As you wish then."

Shao Wen said, "It's time for you to take care of yourself. Dad hopes that
after you get married, you can become more serious."

Shao Qun frowned and asked, "Am I not serious enough?"

"What was that just now?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that she was
talking about Li Chengxiu: "What can it be? It is what it is."

"And what is it?"

"Tsk, sis, aren't you getting old? Acting like mother…"

"What are you talking about!" Shao Wen glared at him, "Before you get
married, you should take care of all your messy affairs."

"I know, I know."

"It's a good thing to have someone to take care of you here, since you don’t
know anybody. But you can't stay here forever. Sooner or later, you’l have
to go home. Take care of all these things before your marriage. Don't let Qi
Lao's granddaughter catch a whiff of this. If she feels wronged even before
marriage, dad will beat you to death."

Shao Qun was really impatient: "Oh, sis, I know. I know my priorities. You
don't have to be so long-winded."

"It's good that you know. This marriage will be arranged in the spring of
next year. Before this time, you should cultivate a good relationship with
her. This is her phone number. As it happens, you’re currently not far away
from each other."

Shao Qun took the post-it and threw it on the coffee table: "Got it."

"Okay, let's go out for dinner."

"Oh, all right." Shao Qun got up and headed out.

Shao Wen remembered something: "The little one from before said that he
was making soup. Go turn off the fire."

Shao Qun turned around and entered the kitchen. He saw freshly cut green
peppers neatly placed on the cutting board. The green color looked very
nice. The crock pot on the stove was steaming hot and fragrant.

Shao Qun remembered that Li Chengxiu seemed to want to say something

to him just now, but he didn’t really care. He went up to turn off the stove,
intimately hugged his eldest sister's shoulders and took her out to eat.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 34
Li Chengxiu didn't go far after he left the house. He realized that due to
leaving in such a haste he forgot to bring any money, his mobile phone and
even his keys.

It was an escape.

In front of his sister, Shao Qun treated him with complete indifference, like
a housekeeper. Although Li Chengxiu understood that their relationship
could not be revealed just like that, especially to his family, he still felt
uncomfortable.

Shao Qun could have introduced him as a friend...

Li Chengxiu didn't have any money on him. He didn't dare to go far, nor to
go to any restaurant. But the weather was so cold that he had no choice but
to walk to the nearest supermarket to wander around inside.

After staying in the supermarket until it was about to close at 10 o'clock, Li

Chengxiu reluctantly came out, clutching his arms, as he shuffled back.

When he got back, he saw that the lights in the house were on, but one of
Shao Qun’s cars was missing.

He knew that Shao Qun never had the awareness to turn off the lights or
switch off the air conditioner when he went out.

Li Chengxiu was looking at the beautiful little villa in confusion.

It was brightly lit inside, yet he was standing on the outside, shivering from
the cold, unable to get in. As if it was someone else’s house, and the owners
were staying inside in the warmth and had nothing to do with Li Chengxiu.

In fact, wasn’t that the case? This was Shao Qun's house after all, and Li
Chengxiu was only allowed to live here.
Shao Qun could let him in or throw him out at any time. Just like today.

At this point, Li Chengxiu didn't know where to go, so he cowered at the

gate, hoping that Shao Qun would come back sooner.

He thought that he should move out after the exams.

He could rent a place with his own savings. It wasn’t an option to live in
someone else’s house all the time.

After finding a place to live, he could look for a job. Now, at least he
doesn't have to pay off his debts every month. With the salary that Shao
Qun gave him for the sea party last time, he could continue taking classes
and slowly repay what he owed to Shao Qun.

If the two of them were on an equal footing, like when they first met, and
didn’t owe each other anything, Li Chengxiu could talk to Shao Qun with
his back straight.

He didn't know how long he waited. But his feet were already numb by the
time he heard the sounds of the car coming from the driveway.

The automatic gate opened with a "beep", and the sensor lights immediately
turned on. Li Chengxiu, who was standing by the gate, suddenly appeared
in front of Shao Qun. He braked hard and almost grazed Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun got out of the car and angrily shouted, "Are you insane? What are
you doing standing here?

Don’t you fucking know that I could have hit you right now?"

Li Chengxiu said tremblingly, "I forgot my keys."

Seeing that he was shivering from the cold, Shao Qun walked up to him and
touched his face: "How long have you been standing here? Why didn’t you
go somewhere?"

"I forgot to bring any money."

"And you didn't bring your phone?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head stiffly.

Shao Qun scolded: "You idiot."

He took out his key and threw it to Li Chengxiu, "Hurry up, get inside.I'll
park the car."

Li Chengxiu's hands were still trembling. He failed to catch the key, and it
fell to the ground.

Shao Qun picked up the key for him and pressed it into Li Chengxiu’s hand,
when he realized that it felt like an ice cube. He took his coat from the car
seat, wrapped Li Chengxiu inside it, picked him up and walked into the
house .

He put Li Chengxiu on the bed, covered him with a quilt and then went to
the bathroom to run hot water. By the time he returned after parking the car
in the yard, the bath was almost ready.

He took Li Chengxiu out of the quilt again: "Come on. Take off your
clothes and go take a bath. You must be really cold."

Li Chengxiu nodded and did as he was told. Shao Qun carried him to the
bathroom and gently placed him in the bathtub.

The moment Li Chengxiu was surrounded by warm water, he felt as if the

pores all over his body were slowly thawing. His limbs and his bones
finally regained vitality, and he took a deep breath.

Shao Qun also took off his clothes and got into the huge jacuzzi. He hugged
Li Chengxiu from behind and rubbed his slowly warming hands.

"Since you didn’t bring anything, why didn’t you come back to get it?"

"Your sister was here."

Shao Qun couldn't help biting the snow-white neck in front of him: "Idiot.
Just look at how cold you were!"

Li Chengxiu stared absently at the surface of the water and asked, "Your
sister… does she know that we..."

Shao Qun responded casually, "She knows. But it's fine, don't worry."

Li Chengxiu’s heart felt sore. He almost couldn’t hold back the words:
“Since she knows, why did you have to kick me out?”

Shao Qun squeezed his cold hand, feeling somewhat uneasy.

He didn't plan to let Li Chengxiu know about his marriage. Whether he gets
married or not has nothing to do with Li Chengxiu anyway. But he couldn't
help thinking that if Li Chengxiu was a woman...

If he was a woman, he might have actually married him. Such a virtuous,

gentle, obedient and considerate wife would truly be one of a kind.

Damn, why wasn’t he a woman?

However, Shao Qun decided to treat him well. Li Chengxiu was different
from his former lovers. When they got together, Li Chengxiu was still
inexperienced. Shao Qun was the one who taught him every little thing,
which naturally made him treat Li Chengxiu more or less as his own private
property. And Li Chengxiu’s performance was really good, so Shao Qun felt
that he liked him very much. No matter how long they would be together in
the future, Shao Qun was not going to treat him badly.

As he thought about it, he kissed Li Chengxiu's smooth shoulder and said,

"Let’s get you a driver's license.

In my free time I can teach you how to drive. You can choose any of the
three cars in the yard. If you don't like any of those, I can buy you a new
one, okay?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head gently: "No need, I'm not used to all of this."
"Then it’s time to get a driver for you. It's cold, and it's too inconvenient for
you to go outside like that."

Li Chengxiu did not respond. Everything was up to Shao Qun anyway.

Shao Qun felt that Li Chengxiu should be happy right now. He stroked Li
Chengxiu’s gradual y warming body, and then they did it once in the
bathtub.

The days were still passing by smoothly.

What comforted Li Chengxiu a little was that Shao Qun seemed to be a lot
more enthusiastic about him than before. The frequency of him coming
home for dinner at night had increased significantly, and he often brought
him various valuable gifts. Since all these things came from Shao Qun’s
heart, Li Chengxiu didn’t really mind receiving them. They all stayed in the
house anyway. When one day Li Chengxiu moved out, he just wouldn’t
take them with him.

There were still a few days left before the exam, and Li Chengxiu
concentrated entirely on his preparations.

Never before in his life had his wish to make more money been so strong.

Although the previous days were a little tough, Li Chengxiu still felt
content. It was going to be different from now on. He hoped to give good
things to Shao Qun too, and hoped that Shao Qun might look up to him.

After Shao Qun went to work during the day, Li Chengxiu tidied up the
house as usual and then flipped through the daily newspaper while resting
on the sofa.

He usually didn’t watch a lot of TV. When he was bored, he just read
newspapers.

When he flipped to the entertainment page, the picture on the headline

made his body freeze.
The article was about a famous model with a certain background who was
photographed while on a date with an unknown man in Kowloon[5]. It was
rumored that the man also came from a great family, and their parents were
close friends. According to the article, the two were engaged, and were
going to have a bright future together.

The picture was very clear. It was not a candid shot at all.

Li Chengxiu didn't know this beautiful actress, but the man next to her
seemed familiar. Although his eyes were covered by a black bar, the
handsome silhouette and slender body shape could be clearly identified by
anyone who knew him…

Besides, Shao Qun was wearing the clothes that Li Chengxiu had prepared
for him that day by the bedside.

Li Chengxiu tremblingly looked at the date again. It was the night of the
13th.

That night, Shao Qun didn't come back home at all. He told Li Chengxiu
that he went to Guangzhou[6] for business and was too tired to come back.

He was obviously in Hong Kong...

Li Chengxiu's heart throbbed, and his hands were shaking so much that he
couldn't even hold the newspaper anymore.

Engaged… Shao Qun was getting married?

The matter, which Li Chengxiu had been avoiding this entire time and dared
not to even think about, was finally exposed right in front of him.

Shao Qun never mentioned anything about his family to him. He only found
out that he had a sister because she came over the other day.

When one gave it a serious thought, how could a rich man like Shao Qun
not get married?
But what about Li Chengxiu? What did he take him for? If Shao Qun
wanted to get married, shouldn't he first tell him that? Even if it meant
breaking up...

Li Chengxiu saw black spots in front of his eyes, and it was so difficult for
him to even breathe. He tremblingly picked up his mobile phone and dialed
Shao Qun.

Shao Qun rarely answered his personal calls when he was working. Li
Chengxiu knew that most likely his call would be ignored, but he was really
eager to hear Shao Qun's voice now.

It would be great if Shao Qun could tell him that this was all fake.

Shao Qun didn’t pick up.

Li Chengxiu clutched the newspaper tightly, sitting on the sofa with his
back stiff and staring at the wall in a daze.

Li Chengxiu spent more than an hour sitting like this, before Shao Qun
came back home for lunch.

As soon as Shao Qun entered the door, he saw Li Chengxiu jump up from
the sofa. His eyes were flickering, and he gave Shao Qun a sad look.

Shao Qun felt that something wasn’t right and frowned, "What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu asked witlessly, "Are you getting married?"

Shao Qun stared at Li Chengxiu in shock, wondering how he managed to

find out. Yet he quickly regained his composure, lowered his head to change
his slippers and said as indifferently as possible: "Who told you that?"

Li Chengxiu put the newspaper he was holding in his hand on the coffee
table.

Shao Qun walked over and picked it up. His face immediately turned
gloomy.
No wonder those girls in the company were constantly looking at him
weirdly when he went to work today.

Naturally, they didn't dare to gossip right in front of him, and Shao Qun
never read those stupid pages in the newspaper that were meant for women.
So he didn't even know when an article about him came out.

Li Chengxiu's eyes were empty, as he asked, "Is it true?"

Since it had come to this point, at first Shao Qun planned to just lay all his
cards on the table and let it be.

But looking at Li Chengxiu’s expression as if he was about to cry at any

time, Shao Qun swallowed his words.

Li Chengxiu was sad, and his heart was in pain.

He crumpled up the newspaper and threw it in the trash.

"Don't believe all the nonsense in those messy newspapers. I know her, and
we are just friends."

Li Chengxiu choked and said, "On the 13th…you said you were in
Guangzhou… but you were in Hong Kong."

Shao Qun casually responded: "I was indeed in Guangzhou at the

beginning. But it was my friend's birthday that day, so I had to go to Hong
Kong to visit him. What's the big deal? These newspapers like to write
about celebrities and gossip just to increase sales. Why would you believe
any of that?"

Seeing that Shao Qun was acting so righteously, Li Chengxiu really started
to have some doubts. He thought for a while and then said: "But… you had
your arms around her waist..."

"Li Chengxiu!" Shao Qun finally became annoyed, "Are you fucking done
with this? Can't you see that we're crossing the street? It's common courtesy
to protect the lady next to you, not to mention that we're actually friends.
Do you have to make a scene? "
Li Chengxiu cowered and recalled the photos in the newspaper, his face
pale. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the actions on the photos
were too ambiguous. They didn’t seem to be just friends.

When Shao Qun felt guilty, he tended to become more and more irritable, as
he was trying to cover up his lack of confidence with anger. At this time,
under Li Chengxiu's repeated questioning, he felt especially vulnerable.

Since when was he, Shao Qun, such a little bitch that he needed to explain
himself to anybody? If it wasn't for the fear that Li Chengxiu would get
upset and start crying again, Shao Qun would have thrown the newspaper
right in his face. Was it up to him to control whom he slept with?

Li Chengxiu slowly sat back down on the sofa, hugged his chest and stared
absently at the patterns on the coffee table.

Last time at the hot springs, when Li Chengxiu only started to say
something about that youngster, Shao Qun was just as furious.
Did Li Chengxiu really misunderstand him, or...

He really didn't dare to think any further. He also didn't have any evidence
to confirm his guess. And once Shao Qun was shouting, Li Chengxiu didn't
dare to continue asking questions.

He didn't want to damage his relationship with Shao Qun because of

unfounded accusations. But at this point, he real y couldn’t trust Shao Qun
anymore.

Shao Qun calmed down slightly, sat down next to Li Chengxiu, hugged his
shoulders and said, "Chengxiu, don't look at these stupid things in the
future. Our life is so good now, and I want it to continue like this. "

Li Chengxiu turned his head to look at him, his bright eyes as clear as the
winter spring.

Shao Qun felt flustered under the gaze of such eyes.

After a long time, Li Chengxiu said softly, "Shao Qun. If you get married,
you should tell me."

Shao Qun's eyes instantly turned cold: "Are you still not fucking done with
this shit?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were red, but he calmly continued, "I mean… if… if
you get married, tell me… tel me…

and I'll go."

"What the hel ? I already told you I wasn’t getting married!"

Li Chengxiu choked: "My family… my mother… She was ruined by

extramarital affairs. So, in the future, if you get married, please tell me."

Shao Qun could no longer look at Li Chengxiu’s eyes that seemed to stare
right into the depths of his soul.

He jumped up from the sofa angrily, slammed the door and left.
Li Chengxiu picked up the newspaper from the trash can, straightened it out
slowly and gently rubbed the corner of Shao Qun's smiling mouth with his
fingers, feeling that his heart was being gutted with a knife.

He didn’t know since when his feelings for Shao Qun had become so deep-
rooted in his heart. When he moved even a little, it hurt him so much that he
couldn’t bear it. Li Chengxiu couldn’t imagine a day when Shao Qun
wouldn’t want him anymore. What would he do then?

With a gloomy face, Shao Qun took out his mobile phone, as he was
driving: "Hey, Xiao Zhou, go find out which idiot published those photos of
me and Qi Ming."

It was noon, and the roads were jampacked. Shao Qun looked at the cars
that surrounded him from all sides, and felt like he was being stared at by
countless pairs of eyes. Those eyes were clear and bright, with an
unexpressed sadness deep inside them. Shao Qun felt that his chest was
being squeezed by some unknown force, and his anger just couldn’t escape
anymore. An ear-piercing car horn brought Shao Qun back to reality.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 35
Shao Qun didn't come home that night.

He was annoyed and was just driving around the city without knowing
where to go. In the end, he went straight to the airport and bought a plane
ticket to Shanghai.

After Xiao Sheng[7] received Shao Qun’s call in Shanghai, he personally

went to the airport to pick him up.

Then they went directly to the bar without eating anything first.

Xiao Sheng had booked a private lounge for himself early in the morning
already, and when he opened the door, Shao Qun saw a row of colorful
wines on the marble table.

Xiao Sheng smiled and invited him in: "Come, let's celebrate your
engagement!"

Shao Qun pouted and sat down on the sofa: "What's there to celebrate?"

Xiao Sheng raised his eyebrows: "Then why are you here?"

"I can't come visit you just like that? You're not that far from Shenzhen[8]
after all."

Xiao Sheng also sat down on the sofa and winked at the waiter, who quickly
opened a drink for them.

"So, how is it?"

Shao Qun tilted his body and half-squinted his eyes: "How is what?"

"Your bride-to-be."

Shao Qun smiled sarcastically: "She’s ok. Bit pretentious."

"Does she annoy you?"

"Nah, she’s pretty good at what she does."

"Then..." Xiao Sheng pointed at Shao Qun’s gloomy face with his finger,
"What does that mean?"

Shao Qun cursed: "Have you seen those fucking photos in the newspaper?”

Xiao Sheng laughed: "Yeah, it seems that Qi Ming feels good about herself,
right? Despite being just a semi-popular starlet. You both look like a couple
of fucking idiots wearing sunglasses at night. But I guess that woman really
loves to show off?"

Shao Qun clicked his tongue: "Who asked you to say all of this bul shit? I’m
talking about the photos and the fact that it was my sister who published
them. What the hel is she doing? I promised her that I’d get married. And
now she seems afraid that I would go back on my word. Everybody knows
that I hate being pushed around like that. The more she does this kind of shit,
the less I want to listen to her."

"Your sister is very capable. She knows you very well. She is just afraid that
you will regret it when you wake up one day, and go on to embarrass both
families. You've done a lot of shit like this before, so be prepared."

Shao Qun glared at him and opened his mouth to say something, yet he
remained speechless for a while.

After some time, he said unwillingly, "In any case, this makes me sick."

"Tell it to your sister. But since you intend to get married anyway, it is what
it is. What do you care about her ploys?”

Shao Qun raised his voice, "I don’t care about it at all. It’s just that Li
Chengxiu saw the photos and started yapping at me as soon as I came home.
Fucking annoying."

"Ooooh." Xiao Sheng said slowly, "So that’s the thing that’s bothering you
so much that you decided to come to Shanghai in the middle of the night."
Shao Qun shouted at him: "What's the matter with you, you big girl? Can’t I
come see you in the middle of the night?”

Xiao Sheng sneered, "So you were kicked out after making trouble?"

"Bullshit. I just don't like watching him cry all the time, so I don’t feel like
going back.”

Xiao Sheng blinked: "If he annoys you so much, just throw him out."

Shao Qun didn't answer that, took a sip of wine and said, "You know, this
30-year-old man is so fucked up.

He doesn’t even have a decent place to live, and he only has like 10 000
RMB in his savings.”

"You’re the one who’s supporting him, and now you’ve let him get into your
head and meddle into your private affairs. But instead of dealing with your
mess, you decided to come here and drink with me. Shao Qun, just how
lame are you?"

Xiao Sheng's words seemed to hit Shao Qun’s sore spot. After two sips of
wine, Shao Qun’s blood rushed to his head, and he angrily threw the glass he
was holding: "Fuck, I just don't like to bother with him. He’s such a sissy."

"So you were forced out of your own house by a sissy..."

Shao Qun said angrily: "Fuck you, Ke Yisheng. If you say something like
that again, I will leave."

Xiao Sheng grinned and shrugged: "I won’t say anything, let’s just drink."
He picked up a can of beer and stuffed it into Shao Qun's hand.

Shao Qun didn't even look at it, as he poured it into his mouth.

"Hey, but real talk…" Xiao Sheng pushed Shao Qun, "Aren’t you tying the
knot at the beginning of spring next year? What do you plan to do with Li
Chengxiu?"
"Nothing. I’m not going to break up with him."

"The girl is Qi Lao's granddaughter. You really have to respect the Qi family
and not do this kind of shit when you get married."

"She’s open-minded. The other day she told me that after marriage we
shouldn’t care about each other’s affairs."

"Not bad, she’s quite sensible. But what about Li Chengxiu? After the
wedding you have to go back to Beijing, right? Do you plan to bring him
back with you?"

"Not sure about it yet. We’l talk about it later."

"I would advise you to get rid of him now. Once you become a married man,
even if you have a handle on him, you would stil have to be on guard. You
know, biting dogs don’t bark."

"That’s why I didn’t fucking plan to let him know about this. If not for the
stupid thing my sister did, I wouldn’t have to think about telling him.”

"If you tell him, what’s he gonna do? Turn against you?"

Shao Qun remembered Li Chengxiu's red eyes and didn't say anything.

He was really embarrassed to tell Xiao Sheng that he didn't train his little
lover well enough.

Xiao Sheng said in a slightly serious tone : "Shao Qun, if you’re real y
trapped by your own pet, I don’t even fucking know who you are anymore.”

"That’s total bul shit." Shao Qun felt some panic in his heart. He
remembered that a few years ago, a buddy in his circle was being led around
by the nose by his mistress. He acted so stupid, that he really seemed to be
kicked in the head by a donkey. He even wanted to get a divorce. Shao Qun
couldn’t even remember how many times he laughed at him behind his back.
There was nothing wrong for people like them to play around. As long as it
was for fun, nobody cared. But if you took it too seriously, everyone would
look at you like a fool.
This was the most despised thing to do.

"Then what's the matter with you now? I’m advising you to break up with
him. Why are you hesitating?"

Shao Qun rubbed his hair impatiently: "He… he behaves very well. He
serves me every step of the way, and he is comfortable to be with. Anyway, I
have to stay in Shenzhen for now. It’l be a while until my return to Beijing."

Xiaosheng glanced at him meaningfully: "Shao Qun, don't blame me later

for not reminding you. This matter is serious, you have to deal with it."

Shao Qun's face changed slightly: "You’re overthinking this. Who do you
take me for?"

Xiao Sheng shrugged: "Just giving you a wake up call. Let's not talk about
this anymore. We haven't seen each other for more than half a year. How
about we drink?"

Shao Qun didn't return for several days.

Although Li Chengxiu was used to him disappearing without a word once in

a while and not answering his phone, he was still worried.

After all, Shao Qun left very angry that day.

Li Chengxiu was really tired of this. Shao Qun's temper was out of control.
If Li Chengxiu as much as disagreed with him, he would get angry. Li
Chengxiu wanted to communicate with him, but first of all, he would start
stuttering whenever he was nervous, and second of all, Shao Qun would
never have the patience to hear him out. Maybe one day, without him even
knowing, Shao Qun will just leave and never come back?

In such a panicked state, Li Chengxiu couldn't sleep well at all, and often
couldn’t close his eyes until dawn.

Also the night before the exam, he didn't have a good rest. The next day he
was sleepy when he was taking the test.
As soon as the exam was over, Li Chengxiu immediately started looking for
a job. He ran around applying to various hotels and restaurants.

Li Chengxiu felt that if he stayed idle, his situation would become more and
more abnormal.

This entire time he had dedicated his whole mind only to Shao Qun. His
main task every day was to pay attention to Shao Qun's every move. He
could spend hours obsessing about one frowning expression on Shao Qun’s
face. He also cooked just for him. No wonder that Shao Qun couldn’t stand
his meekness…How could things go on like this?

If he was busy, he wouldn’t have to think about Shao Qun all day long. Then
Li Chengxiu could feel a bit better about himself.

After a whole day of running around, Li Chengxiu came home to take a bath.
He was so tired that he crouched on the bed and couldn't get up for a long
time.

He flipped through his new mobile phone he had just learned to navigate,
expecting missed calls or text messages from Shao Qun.

But to his disappointment, there was nothing.

He thought that maybe he had really misunderstood Shao Qun. So much so

that Shao Qun didn't even bother to explain anything anymore.

Li Chengxiu looked at the screen hesitantly and finally couldn't help sending
a text message.

"Shao Qun, shall we talk?"

After sending the message, he closed his eyes and held his phone tightly,
expecting it to ring.

But it wasn’t the phone that rang, it was the doorbel . Frightened, Li
Chengxiu opened his eyes.
He jumped up from the bed, when he remembered that Shao Qun didn’t take
his keys when he left.

Li Chengxiu opened the door with anticipation, and it really was Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu felt that his nose was a little sore.

If you leave somebody in the dark for a long time, the moment you turn on
the lights, their eyes will hurt, but at the same time they will feel like they
have been saved.

"You… you are back."

Shao Qun's heart moved, and he had the urge to hug Li Chengxiu fiercely.

He had never felt that it was so exciting to have someone say "You're back"
to him while looking at him with those bright eyes.
Shao Qun quietly shook the object in his hand behind his back, feeling that
he wasn't such a dumbass after all.

Li Chengxiu let him in: "Wh…where did you go? It's been a few days..."

Shao Qun suddenly took his hand from behind his back and presented what
he was hiding to Li Chengxiu, almost touching the tip of his nose. He then
said a little uncomfortably: "It's for you."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, before he realized that he was

looking at a big bouquet of flowers.

It wasn't simply a large bouquet of flowers.This construction was shaped like

a peony, with layers of flowers on top of each other. Every other layer was
filled with bright red roses. One of the layers was hiding a fluffy brown
teddy. What surprised Li Chengxiu the most was that in the center of the
bouquet, there was a small flannel box with a golden ribbon which contained
a chocolate-colored palm-sized puppy who was blinking at him with his
black bean-like eyes.

From his color and appearance, the puppy looked exactly the same as the
teddy bear. If one didn't look too closely, it could be mistaken for a slightly
bigger toy.

Li Chengxiu was originally very upset and barely hanging on, but even he
couldn't help laughing at this silly little toy-like thing.

Seeing him smile, Shao Qun unconsciously relaxed his expression: "Take it
out."

Li Chengxiu bit his lip, carefully untied the ribbon and held the puppy in his
palm.

"Why…is it so small?"

Shao Qun put down the flowers and said with a smile, "It’s a teacup poodle.
This species is so small that even when it grows up, it won’t be bigger than
my hand."
This kind of cute little thing was really hard not to like. Li Chengxiu held it
fondly close to his chest, for fear of accidentally hurting it.

Shao Qun took advantage of the situation and hugged Li Chengxiu’s waist
from behind, rubbing his forehead against his neck: "I'm afraid you're bored
sitting at home alone. It can accompany you."

The two of them had a disagreement just a few days ago, and now they were
so close again all of a sudden. Li Chengxiu really couldn't adapt to this so
quickly, so he only nodded stiffly, "Thank you, thank you."

Shao Qun greedily absorbed the warm and the refreshing smell of Li
Chengxiu’s skin, feeling that the brashness of the past few days was slowly
dissipating.

He couldn't help but think that it was nice to be home.

Li Chengxiu didn't dare to speak when he saw that Shao Qun had no plans to
mention the day of the argument again.

It was okay to let this matter go. Shao Qun was back, and everything could
be the same as before, right? Li Chengxiu desperately wished for it. He
wanted nothing to change, and even if he had doubts in his heart, he didn’t
want to say anything to keep the current peace and harmony.

The two of them sat on the sofa and teased the puppy together.

"What’s its name?" Li Chengxiu said to himself, touching the puppy’s furry
bel y.

Shao Qun thought for a while: "Let's call it Teacup[9]."

"Ah?" Li Chengxiu said with a smile, "It's so ugly."

"Haven't you heard that it’s easier to raise someone with an ugly name[10]?"

Li Chengxiu laughed and repeated the name twice: "Teacup, Teacup."

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu, as he lowered his head, revealing his white
neck with a tinge of pink.

Because of the smiling expression, his jaw line was very vivid and beautiful.
For some reason, Shao Qun was reminded of a pretentious but exquisite
poetry line:

"The most gentle one bowed his head,

Like a water lotus flower that is too shy to overcome the cool breeze"[11]

Shao Qun took Teacup in his hands, put it on the coffee table and turned to
stare at Li Chengxiu: "Don't just focus on the dog. I haven't seen you in a
few days. Why don't you look at me?"

Li Chengxiu blushed slightly: "What are you looking at?"

"Did you miss me?" Shao Qun slowly pulled him closer and whispered into
his ear seductively.

Li Chengxiu nodded shyly.

"I missed you too." Shao Qun kissed his cheek gently.

Li Chengxiu continued to nod.

"You seem to have lost weight."

Li Chengxiu touched his face subconsciously: "I don’t...think so."

Shao Qun licked his lips: "Well, I have to check then." He then put his cold
hand into Li Chengxiu's shirt.

Li Chengxiu shrank away: "Cold..."

Shao Qun slowly undressed him: "Be good, and it will be hot in a while."

After a short separation, the two of them reunited like newlyweds, tossing
and turning from dawn till dusk.
Afterwards, Li Chengxiu dragged his sore waist to arrange a temporary
living space for the little Teacup. He then fed him and watched it soundly
fall asleep. As he did that, he felt that his heart softened.

Before going to bed, Shao Qun was in a good mood, and Li Chengxiu took
the opportunity to tell him that he was looking for a job again. He didn't
mention moving out for the time being.

When Shao Qun heard that he was going to work at a restaurant again, he
furrowed his brow. But since the two of them were so good right now, he
really didn't have the strength to get angry anymore, so he just calmly said,
"I see."

Li Chengxiu asked cautiously, "Are you okay with that?"

Shao Qun looked at his cautious appearance and felt uncomfortable to say
that he wasn’t: "Well, if you really can't be idle at home, then you can go out
to work if you want."

Li Chengxiu’s heart final y calmed down: "That's great. Shao Qun, thank
you."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 36
"Sis?"

"Well, well, well…look who took the initiative to call! The beginning is
promising."

Shao Qun's tone was not very good: "I want to talk to you about the photos."

"Oh, that." Shao Wen's voice did not waver at all, "Is something wrong?"

"Why did you post that picture in the newspaper?"

Shao Wen snorted: "Isn't that a good thing? Dad saw it and said that you two
look good together, since you’re both so tall."

"Big sis!" Shao Qun said angrily, "Don't worry about my affairs. Since I
already promised you, I won't go back on my word. If you keep giving me
trouble, I won’t marry anyone."

Shao Wen paused and asked in a probing tone: "Shao Qun, what's the matter
with you? Even if I did this behind your back, is it worth it to get so worked
up about it? There must be something else going on there.

Tell me."

"There’s nothing else."

"Nothing?" Shao Wen sneered, "If you don't say it, then I'll just take a guess.
I think...Could it be because of that little whore you’re keeping?."

Shao Qun said impatiently, "He's not a whore."

"Real y? So it’s because of him?" Shao Wen said coldly, "Shao Qun, are you
angry with your own sister because of him?
"Why am I now suddenly the asshole? Originally everything was fine. It all
went according to your wishes.

Why would you set my backyard on fire when it doesn’t even concern
you?"

"Shao Qun!" Shao Wen said angrily, "Do you know what you are doing
right now? I have my own reasons for what I did, and all these reasons are
for your own good. Why the attitude, huh?"

"Sister! Didn't I explain it just now? Originally, everything was fine. Then
you made trouble for me, don't you understand?"

"I made trouble for you? You're about to get married. What’s so great about
keeping a man older than you in your house anyway? I've been too lazy to
care about your messy affairs for so many years, because I thought you also
didn’t give a shit. But now you know that it’s serious. Qi Ming is different
from the other men and women around you. In the future, she will be
presented to the world as your wife. If you cause any trouble, or a word
about your “hobbies” spreads around, you wil shame the whole Shao family.
How dare you?"

"What do you even know? Qi Ming understands everything better than you.
We already agreed that she won't ask me about this stuff as long as it doesn’t
go public. If it wasn't for the unnecessary thing that you did, everything
would have been just fine. Nothing would have happened! Nothing at all!"

Shao Wen took a few deep breaths on the other end of the phone: "Shao
Qun, I don't want to argue anymore, whether I did anything wrong or not.
It’s already done. What I want to talk about is your current attitude."

"Don't change the subject."

"But that’s the whole point! How can you throw accusations at your own
sister because of some dispensable…partner?”

"It has nothing to do with who he is..."

"Do you think I’m a fucking idiot? You've never been like this before. So
what if he found out? So what if your backyard caught on fire? I think it's
the right time for you to part with him now. Or, is he really worth throwing
tantrums at your sister?"

"I said it has nothing to do with him. I just didn't like what you did."

"Shao Qun, now you are changing the subject.."

Shao Qun was so angry that he kicked the trash can next to the table: "I
don't want to tell you anything more. Anyway, in the future, don’t meddle in
the affairs between me and Qi Ming or me and that man.

Leave it alone. As long as you keep your paws away, everything will go
according to your wishes."

Shao Wen said coldly: "Is that right? Now I’m real y starting to wonder…"

Shao Qun hung up the phone and threw it to the ground in a fit of rage.He
then irritably tugged at his hair.

Shao Qun felt very uncomfortable. He was brought up by his eldest sister.
She could easily guess what was on his mind. He real y hoped that she could
be reasonable from now on. Shao Qun didn’t want to get married and felt
like he was being forced. And most of all, he didn’t want Li Chengxiu to
know anything about this matter.

There was a light knock on the door. Shao Qun fixed his hair and opened the
door of the study.

Li Chengxiu smiled and looked at him, holding a bowl of steaming soup in

his hands.

"Still working? How about a bowl of chicken soup?"

Shao Qun nodded: "Put it on the table."

Li Chengxiu carefully placed the bowl on the table and then picked up a
shattered mobile from the ground with a surprised "huh? ”[12]
"Did something happen?"

"It's nothing." Shao Qun sat on the sofa and patted his thigh, "Come here."

Li Chengxiu obediently sat down in his lap and couldn't help straightening
Shao Qun’s messy hair.

Shao Qun put his arms around him gently and asked casually, "How's your
job search going?"

Li Chengxiu was surprised that Shao Qun would take the initiative to ask
him about it. He said happily:

"Tomorrow…I have two interviews. I’m hopeful for both of them."

Shao Qun nodded: "I'll find a decent job for you when you pass your
accounting exam. You won't have to work in the kitchen in the future,
okay?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes lit up: "Okay! Thank you!"

Shao Qun smiled wearily, tightened his arms, put his nose against Li
Chengxiu’s shoulder and smelled the fragrance of his fresh and clean body.

Li Chengxiu saw that his attitude was very good today, so he felt that the
timing was good to finally say something: "Shao Qun, after I find a job… I
think, I’l move out."

Shao Qun raised his head suddenly, narrowed his eyes, and his voice
immediately dropped an octave:

"What did you just say?"

Li Chengxiu's back froze. He realized that he had said something that he

really shouldn't have said. At this moment, it was difficult to drop the
subject anymore, so he had to ride the tiger till the end.

"I can't… always live in your house," he stammered.

Shao Qun frowned and said, "What's the difference between my house and
your house? You are mine. If you don't live with me, where do you plan to
live then? You want to go back to your kennel? Do you enjoy abusing
yourself or something? Even if you’re wil ing to live there, I’m not wil ing
to visit you there.”

Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded. Even if he had thousands of good reasons,

he could only keep silent when faced with Shao Qun's displeasure. And now
it wasn’t because Li Chengxiu cared so much about Shao Qun but rather
because he was afraid of him.

Afraid that he would be unhappy, afraid that he would be dissatisfied, afraid

that he would be disgusted and sarcastic, afraid that he would call him a
"sissy", afraid that he would slam the door and leave.

Li Chengxiu kept backing off step by step, giving up his territories one by
one, hoping that it would reduce the tension between them and help preserve
the relationship.

His character was originally very weak. And he became even weaker in
front of powerful people.

Li Chengxiu sighed softly and whispered, "Just saying…whatever…"

Shao Qun rolled his eyes and said, "I really don't have any energy to chat
with you today...let's just go to sleep. And I won't be discussing such trivial
things in the future."

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyelids and nodded lightly.

Early next morning, after sending Shao Qun off to work, Li Chengxiu got
ready and went for the job interview.

After all the applications he had sent, he received an answer from the largest
hotel he had applied to. Li Chengxiu had really high hopes for it.

He arrived at the front desk and explained the purpose of his visit. Right
afterwards he was taken to an office, where they asked him to wait for the
manager.
Li Chengxiu sat quietly in his chair and waited.

After about ten minutes, the door of the office opened with a "click". Li
Chengxiu hurriedly stood up and turned to look at the person who came in.

He was stunned after he saw who that was.

The person who came in turned out to be manager Zhang from the hotel
where he used to work before.

Manager Zhang didn't seem at all surprised to see Li CHengxiu here. He sat
down on the chair and said:

"Xiao Li, please take a seat."

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly, not knowing whether to sit down or to

walk out.

"Just sit down." Manager Zhang raised his voice.

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, but still complied in the end: "Manager
Zhang..."

"Long time no see, Xiao Li. I was quite surprised when I saw your resume.
It's quite a coincidence."

"You… how did you..."

"How did I end up here? Yes, this hotel is indeed not as good as the one I
worked in before. And the treatment is worse. Why do you think I came
here? Is it not because of your Young Master Shao?"

Li Chengxiu stood up uncomfortably: "I'm leaving."

"Hey! Come on. Don't go, don't go! Sit down. I have something to tell you.
Don't worry, I’m not blaming you for anything."

"Tell me what?"
"Something you might be interested in. For example, what Shao Qun did in
order to capture you and what he did to make you stay at home to serve him
all day long."

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale: "Wha... what did you say?"

Manager Zhang pointed to the chair: "Sit."

Li Chengxiu sat down tremblingly, staring at Manager Zhang without

blinking.

Manager Zhang said, "Let me ask you first, are you still together with Shao
Qun?"

Li Chengxiu nodded with some uncertainty

Manager Zhang sighed: "Xiao Li, in fact, I've always been quite satisfied
with you. And I’ve never had any grudges against you. I’m very sorry to see
such an honest person like you being fooled by Shao Qun."

"What’s your purpose here?"

"I just want to tell you what kind of person Shao Qun is. But you have to
promise me that no matter what you hear today, you can't let Shao Qun
know that I was the one who told you. This job was not easy to come by.
But I real y can’t keep swallowing this anymore. So please, promise me."

Li Chengxiu nodded stiffly: "I promise."

"Good. I know that you are an honest person, and your word means
something. I’l be honest, this thing with you and Shao Qun is really
unfortunate."

"Wha... what is wrong with him?"

"He has done a lot of wicked things. So where do I even start? Right, at the
very beginning, Shao Qun and President Chen discussed lending you out to
work for him for two weeks. I happened to be right next to them when they
were talking. At the time, Mr. Chen didn't really understand why he needed
to borrow you for such a long time. I mean, does one really need two weeks
to prepare a meal on one particular day? Do you know what Shao Qun told
him? He was very direct. He said outright that he fancied you, and he
needed some time to get you in his hands. Mr. Chen didn’t believe that only
two weeks would be enough for that. Shao Qun said that, if he didn’t
believe it, he could bet a 600-year-old tortoiseshell specimen in his office. If
Shao Qun managed to get what he wanted, Mr.Chen would have to send
him that specimen.

Well…you know the result of that bet."

Li Chengxiu's face was bloodless. He thought of the tortoiseshell specimen

in Shao Qun's study. Every time Li Chengxiu saw it, he would sigh, thinking
that if it was alive, it would be a living fossil.

He didn’t know that it came from President Chen's office.

Li Chengxiu saw black spots in front of his eyes…

Manager Zhang gave him a sympathetic look: "This is just one of many.
Remember the time I helped you move into that apartment? It was Shao
Qun who asked me to do it. Xiao Li, you probably thought that he felt bad
for you and thus found you a good place to live, right? Actually, he just
thought that your living conditions were too poor for him to visit you at
your place. Do you think I would be willing to help you move on my day
off? That was not an order from President Chen."

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly.

Manager Zhang shook his head: "Also, do you remember that time when
Shao Qun had a fight with those guys in the hotel? I actually ended up here
because of that fucking thing. Did you ever wonder why I was pestering you
day after day as if I had nothing better to do, even though my only wish was
that people would work peacefully under my management? It’s all because
Shao Qun asked me to do it. "

Li Chengxiu final y got really agitated and said in a trembling voice, "I…I
don't believe it… you… you..."
"You still don't believe it? You are so stupid. He asked me to find a way to
make you quit. Why? Because, if you go to work, you can't serve him at
home every day. He’s keeping you as his sugar baby, don’t you get it?”

Li Chengxiu abruptly got up from his chair. The heavy solid wooden chair
made a loud "bang" due to his movements. Li Chengxiu’s expression was
somewhere between anger, panic, agitation, and helplessness against the
enemy who was about to invade.

Manager Zhang's eyes did not flicker at all. He kept looking directly at Li
Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu took a few deep breaths before sitting down again. He then
said witlessly, "Go ahead."

Manager Zhang lit up a cigarette and said while puffing out clouds of mist:
"I really didn't expect you to be able to bear all of that harassment at the
time and still continue to go to work every day. So Shao Qun was unhappy,
and he called me several times to urge me to hurry up. But I stil wasn’t
allowed to fire you. You had to resign voluntarily. I had no other choice but
to ask Xiao Liu to trap you somewhere and scare you.

Who would have thought that Shao Qun would come by and start a fight?
President Chen fired me in order to make amends to him. Fucking shit."

Manager Zhang said angrily, "I still have to support my wife and children.
Rich people are fucking assholes."

Li Chengxiu was speechless. He felt that his heart was just split in two, and
it hurt to even move his fingers.

Why did everything Manager Zhang say sound so true? And if it was true,
what should Li Chengxiu do then?

Basically, he really liked somebody and thought that they were in love with
each other. But then he found out that that person only regarded him as a
lover who can be bought by money. How could there be such a horrible
thing in the world?
Li Chengxiu felt dizzy, and everything blurred in front of his eyes when he
looked at the floor. Very slowly he bent down and hugged his head.

Manager Zhang sighed and shook his head: "Xiao Li, in this matter I have
also wronged you.

But I had no other choice. Tell me, how can I refuse when people like Shao
Qun ask me for something? I didn't want to help him with those wicked
things. And it also didn’t end well for me. I guess, this is my retribution. To
be honest, if you had already broken up with him, I wouldn’t be telling you
this. But since

you’re stil together, I want to warn you, because I feel very guilty towards
you. Besides, you are an honest person with your heart on your sleeve. It’s
easy for you to be hurt. After all, for two men to be together is never a long-
term thing. So don’t be too sad. You might as well take advantage of the fact
that you're with him now to get some more money.

I know that you’re not wel off, so since this is not a permanent arrangement,
create some options for yourself. I’m telling you, you don't owe him
anything. Shao Qun is real y a bastard."

Li Chengxiu raised his head, his eyes were red. He stood up, while holding
onto the armrests, and nodded to Manager Zhang: "I'm leaving now."

Manager Zhang got up, grabbed him and took out a business card from his
pocket: "I'm sorry, Xiao Li, this hotel can't hire you. If Shao Qun finds out, I
won't be able to keep my job here either. This is my friend's business card.
There is a shortage of chefs at his place. You can go there to ask for a job. I
told him about you beforehand."

Li Chengxiu didn't even look at the business card. He closed his eyes, shook
his head, turned around and staggered away.

He didn't know how far he walked along the road. He was like a wandering
lost soul. Finally he sat down on a park bench.

As soon as he did, he started crying.

At this time, he realized how sad it was to not have any friends or relatives.
He didn’t have anyone he could talk to, so when he was sad, all he could do
was hold it in.

Was that true what Manager Zhang said? Was that the truth?

Is it possible that he just wanted revenge on Shao Qun for losing his job?

That tortoiseshell was probably just gifted to Shao Qun by President Chen.

The apartment…the apartment was arranged by Shao Qun for his own good.

And about the fight… Wasn’t it just a random colleague who didn’t like
him?

Was Manager Zhang lying to him? Was he twisting the facts in such a way
that it would seem true what he was saying when in fact he was lying?

At such a time, shouldn't he trust his lover instead of a stranger who is

trying to sow discord?

However, why was there a tiny voice in Li Chengxiu’s heart whispering that
every word that Manager Zhang said was true.

Should he go back and ask Shao Qun? But what will happen after he asks?
No matter what the answer was, Li Chengxiu didn’t want to see the fallout.
What should he do?

During this early spring morning in the park only a couple of elderly people
were exercising and chatting with each other. Li Chengxiu sat alone on the
cold stone bench, feeling the cold air all over his body, which made his
hands and his feet freeze. The unstoppable tears kept running down his cold
red face. The boundless darkness of this world made Li Chengxiu feel even
more insignificant and hopeless.
Thank all the gods and SQC for Adrian who made this bleak chapter much
more bearable by his presence! ( Official Adrian art from 188 Group on
Weibo: https://m.weibo.cn/u/6457705652) Chapter 37

Li Chengxiu wandered outside for the whole day and only came back when
the sun was about to set.

Seeing the villa in front of him gave him an urge to flee.

He didn't know how to face Shao Qun. After thinking and struggling for the
entire day, he still decided not to ask Shao Qun about anything. The thought
of what he might have to endure after asking such a question made him
terrified.

How can one know someone’s true heart without the risk of losing
everything?

Li Chengxiu rubbed his puffy eyelids and walked into the house one step
after the other.

When he opened the door and entered the house, Shao Qun was leaning
against the floor-to-ceiling window with his back turned to him. He was
looking at the fish pond outside.

As soon as he heard the movement, Shao Qun immediately turned his head.
He was holding his mobile phone. He slowly lowered his hand and frowned
slightly: "Did the interview take so long? I was about to call you."

Li Chengxiu nodded tiredly and couldn't even summon the courage to look
up.

Seeing his lost look, Shao Qun walked over to stand in front of him. He then
gently lifted his chin: "What's the matter? So dispirited… No success?"

Li Chengxiu turned his head away and hummed softly.

Shao Qun couldn't deal with that kind of arrogant posturing. He grabbed his
chin tightly and forced Li Chengxiu to turn his face towards himself: "So if
you can’t find a job, you give me attitude. You’re really something, huh.”
Li Chengxiu's nostrils puffed up and suddenly he raised his hand with some
agitation.

The loud "pop" sound made both of them freeze.

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun at a complete loss. Shao Qun was also
stunned for half a second. His eyes gradually widened, and he looked at Li
Chengxiu in disbelief.

He seemed to be too accustomed to Li Chengxiu's total obedience. When

had he ever resisted him in the slightest? What was going on today?

Li Chengxiu moved his lips. There was a little panic in his eyes.

Shao Qun pulled his arm fiercely and pressed Li Chengxiu against the wall.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you on your period?" he gritted his
teeth Li Chengxiu's eyes were slightly red. He carefully observed Shao Qun
inch by inch, trying to read the answer he wanted off this perfect face that
he adored.

What exactly was he thinking? How serious was this relationship for him?
Could Li Chengxiu trust him?

Was he the Shao Qun that he had envisioned in his mind?

He had too many questions to ask, and his heart roared desperately. But his
throat was being tightly strangled by an invisible hand, so he couldn’t make
a sound.

Shao Qun noticed his red and swollen eyes and couldn't help touching his
upper eyelids: "What is this? Did you cry?"

His anger suddenly disappeared under Li Chengxiu's obviously aggrieved

look.

He didn't know what happened at Li Chengxiu's interview today. But it must

have been quite unpleasant.
An honest and weak person like Li Chengxiu, when he was bullied, could
only swallow the insults. When he returned home, he showed a little
emotion. Shao Qun decided that he should be tolerant of that. This just
shows that he doesn’t treat Shao Qun as an outsider.

Shao Qun felt a little more pity in his heart. He let go of Li Chengxiu’s arm,
touched his face lightly and said softly, "Why do you feel wronged? What
made you so angry?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head gently.

Shao Qun felt that it was fine if he didn't say anything. He didn't plan to
help him vent his anger anyway.

After all, if Li Chengxiu couldn't find a job, it was only better for Shao Qun.
He hugged him and coaxed softly: "It's alright. Don't be angry. Isn't this just
some trivial thing? You’re a grown-up. Be strong."

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes and fell silent in his arms.

Shao Qun thought that actually such a small Li Chengxiu with his little
temper tantrum was kind of cute and occasionally could be fun.

Shao Qun put his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist and dragged him to the
porch: "Come on, put on your shoes. I'll take you out to dinner. I haven't
eaten yet, I've been waiting for you."

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I don't want to go out."

Shao Qun didn’t argue: "Okay, if you don't want to go, we don’t have to
go." Shao Qun lowered his head and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I’l listen
to my wifey. Then let's order some takeout."

Li Chengxiu whispered, "No, I'll cook."

"Okay." Shao Qun released his hand, "Do it. Just make something light, it’s
already late."
Li Chengxiu let out an "um" and entered the kitchen with his head down. He
turned around and leaned against the kitchen table in an entirely collapsed
state. Supporting his body with his hands, he quickly took a couple of
breaths in this space that didn’t have Shao Qun’s presence.

How could he finally gather his courage? He either should say something or
forget what happened today entirely. He had to choose one of those options,
or he wouldn’t be able to face Shao Qun anymore. What should he do?

He quickly prepared some noodles, and the two of them sat face to face,
having the most silent dinner ever.

Although Shao Qun kept trying to talk to him, Li Chengxiu dodged any kind
of conversation, which made Shao Qun disappointed.

After dinner, Shao Qun leaned against the kitchen door with his hands
folded over his chest and said to Li Chengxiu who was washing the dishes:
"When you're done, pack a suitcase for me. I'm going abroad for about a
week. I'll need summer clothes."

Li Chengxiu paused: "Okay."

Shao Qun shook his head impatiently, returned to the bedroom and leaned
against the bedside to read.

Tomorrow he was going to Tahiti with Qi Ming for a vacation. After their
return, they planned to officially get engaged in Beijing.

Everything was proceeding according to plan, and on the surface life

seemed to be peaceful. However, Shao Qun felt a little uneasy in his heart,
but he didn't know where this uneasiness came from. This was something
that disturbed him the most.

Buying a restaurant for Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun didn't know what happened, but as he abruptly moved his body
around, this idea suddenly came to him. When he thought about it some
more, he came to the conclusion that it was a great idea.
Didn't Li Chengxiu love to cook? He could get him a restaurant and let him
run it in any way he wanted.

The restaurant needed to be close to here, so Li Chengxiu could go home at

any time. He would have flexible work hours…Yes, that was a great idea.
Why didn't he think of it before?

Shao Qun smiled smugly, threw his book away and lay down on the bed,
relaxed. He planned to let Xiao Zhou find a suitable place nearby, and then
he could quickly arrange everything when he came back from vacation.

After Shao Qun left early in the morning, Li Chengxiu felt relieved.

He started going out every day in order to find a job as soon as possible.

On the third day after Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu came out of a restaurant
where he just had his job interview and ran into an unexpected person.

"Li Chengxiu?"

"Adrian?" Li Chengxiu looked at the delicate little gay boy in surprise.

Li Chengxiu had met him three times in total before. It was always when
Shao Qun took him to cut his hair.

The place where he interviewed today happened to be on the same street as

Adrian's studio.

Adrian's face was puffed from the cold. While rubbing his hands, he went
up to grab Li Chengxiu’s arm and dragged him into a nearby restaurant just
like that: "Come on. Let’s not stand outside talking in the cold.

Have lunch with me!"

Adrian had a cheerful and straightforward personality. Although he was

sometimes mean, he was never malicious. In Li Chengxiu's eyes, he was the
kind of person who dared to say and do anything.
"Oh, what a coincidence! You haven't been in the studio for a long time, and
your bangs have grown out.

After dinner, let’s go to my shop, and I'l fix it for you."

"Ah… no… no… thank you."

"You're very welcome. I managed to fix your hairstyle real y nicely…

Tsk,tsk, my craftsmanship is real y good.” After saying that, he giggled.

Li Chengxiu smiled lightly, not knowing what to say.

Adrian was dazzling, brilliant, and Li Chengxiu felt so small in front of him.
If it had been Adrian in his situation, he would have dared to act decisively
when faced with a problem, instead of being a coward like him, hesitating to
even ask a single question and torturing himself with sleepless nights.

"Hey, by the way, what about Shao Qun? Why are you here on your own?"
Adrian asked inarticulately, as he was sticking a chopstick into his mouth.

"He’s on a business trip."

"Oh. How have you two been recently? Having a good time?"

Li Chengxiu's expression darkened.

"What's wrong?" Adrian put down his chopsticks and blinked to observe Li
Chengxiu's face, "Did you argue?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head.

Adrian suddenly shouted: "Ah! Have you broken up?" There was an
obvious excitement in his voice.

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while, then quickly shook his head: "No."

"Then tell me what’s wrong." Adrian's eyes flashed in an anticipation of

gossip.
Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the orange pumpkin pie in front of him. He
was really overwhelmed by his heavy thoughts, and he wished for someone
to listen to him. But he didn’t know how to say all these things.

Adrian was not his friend after all. He was Shao Qun's friend.

Adrian grabbed his arm that was lying on top of the table and said
coquettishly, "Well, let's see what the problem is. Maybe I can help you."

Li Chengxiu lowered his head sadly and shook it: "It's okay."

Adrian sighed: "Don't think that I'm being nosy. I'm just worried about you."

Whether what he said was true or not, Li Chengxiu felt a little warmth in his
heart. He forced out a smile:

"Thank you."

"At first sight it’s clear that people like you can be bul ied easily. So I’m
worried about you, since I hate it the most when honest people are being
bullied. You have to be tough, so that you don't suffer. Do you understand?"

Li Chengxiu nodded. Who would argue with the truth?

"To put it bluntly, you're so weak, that it was clear that sooner or later Shao
Qun would eat you up without spitting out the bones." Adrian wiped the
corner of his mouth lightly with a tissue and suddenly gave Li Chengxiu a
wink, "However, if you’ve actual y broken up with Shao Qun, why don’t
you get together with me?"

Li Chengxiu was taken aback.

"Hahahaha." Adrian laughed, "Just kidding. I’m only into guys with six
pack abs. Not into skinny ones like you."

Li Chengxiu smiled awkwardly.

"But..." Adrian lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "If your thing is
longer than fifteen centimeters, I might still consider it."
Li Chengxiu's face turned red, and he subconsciously leaned back in his
chair .

Adrian said quite seriously: "You know, a lot of good-looking thin guys
have unexpectedly big dicks."

Li Chengxiu looked around awkwardly, not knowing how to keep up with

Adrian's unrestrained nature.

"But you look like you don’t have any experience in topping…I mean it, Li
Chengxiu. Although you and I are not very compatible, if you’re not
together with Shao Qun anymore, I could introduce you to a good man. I
have plenty of resources. There will be a line of people waiting to snatch up
someone like you - a kind, gentle, virtuous type that is a must-have for any
traveler.”

"Uh, I..."

"There is someone! There is someone! I immediately thought of a suitable,

really really handsome gentleman for you. He’s rich, and the main thing is
that his techniques are good. Perfect fit for you."

Li Chengxiu smiled bitterly.

"Hey, leave me your digits!" Adrian picked up Li Chengxiu's cell phone,

then dialed a number on it and smiled, "If you have any difficulties, you can
call me. No need to be polite, we’re fellows from the same boat. And once
you're single, I'll definitely introduce you to a boyfriend. I like being a
matchmaker."

Li Chengxiu nodded helplessly.

After the meal, Adrian took Li Chengxiu to his studio and fixed his hair
before he happily sent him out the door.

Adrian was very enthusiastic and straightforward, which made Li Chengxiu

feel as if he had made an instant friend. He never thought that meeting him
would be so delightful.
When he got off the bus and was on his way home, his phone suddenly rang.
Li Chengxiu looked at the screen and saw that it was Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a long time, but finally accepted the call: "Hello."

Shao Qun's magnetic voice came from the other side: "Hello, darling. Miss
me?"

"Um."

"What’s with the “um”? Do you miss me or not?"

Li Chengxiu said hesitantly, "I miss you."

"That’s more like it. What have you been doing these past two days?"

"Looking for a job. And you? Are you busy?"

"Of course I'm busy." Shao Qun didn't seem to want to continue this topic
and added, "I really want to go home soon. It's so boring here. I miss you."

Li Chengxiu unconsciously smiled : "Work is important."

"By the way, I bought a lot of gifts for you. And some very special
clothes..." Shao Qun chuckled ambiguously, "When I come back, you’l put
them on for me, okay?"

Li Chengxiu didn't understand what he meant, so he replied casually,

"Okay."

"This place is quite fun. I'll take you here to play around some other time."

"Where are you?"

"Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t know…"

There was a sudden knock coming from the other side, and Li Chengxiu
faintly heard a delicate female voice: "Hubby, it's me."
Li Chengxiu paused.

Shao Qun reacted quickly and said to Li Chengxiu, "Oh, it’s Xiao Zhou's
girlfriend. We were just discussing some things with him, and he went to the
bathroom. I’l hang up to open the door. See you at home then."

Without waiting for Li Chengxiu to respond, Shao Qun decisively hung up

the phone.

Li Chengxiu listened to the busy tone, as he recalled the female voice just
now. Suddenly, he froze right in the middle of the road.

He was just a little slow, but not stupid.

Shao Qun was free enough to call him. So why would he use his break to
also talk about work with assistant Zhou? And Shao Qun's rush just now
was really abnormal.

Li Chengxiu felt exhausted physically and mentally.

Since when did he need to doubt everything about Shao Qun? How did the
two of them get to this point?

He felt that he really couldn't hold it in anymore. He made up his mind that
when Shao Qun came back, he would ask him about everything. Otherwise
these doubts would overwhelm him sooner or later.

He wanted to ask Shao Qun whether what Manager Zhang said was true or
not. He also wanted to know who the woman in the newspaper was. And
also who the woman on the other side of the phone was.

If he doesn't ask, he'll only have sleepless nights from now on. No matter
the outcome, it won't hurt him more than this current torture.

He walked back home slowly, and as he approached the gate, he saw a black
car parked there. At first glance it was clear that the visitor was aiming for
Shao Qun’s house. The car blocked the entire driveway, and the car lights
were still on.
It was a little dark, and when Li Chengxiu looked inside the car, he could
only see a middle-aged man sitting in the driver's seat.

He quickly walked over, and the driver got out of the car, nodding politely
at him: "Mr. Li, hello. Please open the gate. The Third Young Miss is
waiting in the car."

Third Young Miss? What Third Young Miss? Li Chengxiu looked at the
driver suspiciously.

The driver explained: "It's the Young Master's sister."

Li Chengxiu was stunned. But he remembered that the last time Shao Qun's
sister came around, he clearly called her "eldest sister[13]".

He didn't have time to think much, so he hurried to open the gate.

The driver saw that Li Chengxiu was doing as he was told and got back into
the car.

Since Li Chengxiu didn't drive, he didn’t have the remote key to open the
gate automatically like Shao Qun did. He could only use his usual key to
open the lock first. Then he had to laboriously push the two large carved
iron gates to both sides by hand.

The weather was so cold that touching the iron gate felt like touching ice.
The temperatures had dropped a couple days ago, when Shao Qun was
already on his business trip. The iron gate hadn’t been opened for several
days, so it had frozen a little and became a bit sluggish. Usually, Li
Chengxiu just opened the small door in the gate to go in directly. This time,
he had to rely on his manpower to manually push the automatic gate open,
only to realize that it was pretty damn hard.

Li Chengxiu’s forehead was already covered in sweat when he was done

with one side of the gate. He turned his head and glanced back at the car.
The people there didn't have the slightest intention to help. Li Chengxiu
sighed and proceeded to push the other side of the gate open with great
effort.
The car pulled through the gate and parked in the yard.

Li Chengxiu put in another great effort to push the two gate doors closed
again.

It wasn't until he had locked the gate and opened the door to the villa that
the driver got out of the driver's seat and graciously opened the doors for the
Third Young Miss.

An extremely delicate and beautiful woman, wrapped in thick and luxurious

fur, got out of the car.

She looked a bit like Shao Qun's eldest sister, but she was obviously
younger and had a completely different temperament. Shao Qun's eldest
sister looked majestic and wise, and this person in front of Li Chengxiu,
looked a bit savage, with her eyebrows also slightly upturned.

She gave Li Chengxiu an arrogant glance and walked into the house with
her high heels.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 38
She was the third young miss of the Shao family - Shao Nuo.

After entering the room, she sat down on the sofa, raised her eyebrows at Li
Chengxiu who was taking off his coat, and asked with disdain, "Are you Li
Chengxiu?"

Li Chengxiu nodded: "Do you want to drink water? Or tea?"

Shao Nuo raised her chin proudly : "No need. I'm here for a very simple
purpose. Then I'll leave immediately. My brother is getting married. Take
this check and be gone." She took out a piece of paper from her bag and put
it on the coffee table.

Li Chengxiu put his shoes into the shoe cabinet with a stiff hand. Then he
slowly took out his house shoes.

For some reason, he was not surprised - neither by this woman’s intentions,
nor by what she said.

He lingered, before he finally sat down on the sofa on the other end from
Shao Nuo. He lowered his head slightly and then whispered, "He said…
he’s not getting married."

"Marriage naturally takes some time to arrange. But when they come back
from vacation, they will get engaged."

Li Chengxiu raised his eyes up and looked at Shao Nuo with a little
confusion: "Vacation?"

"Yes, they're vacationing in the South Pacific right now."

Li Chengxiu shook his head absentmindedly: "No… he said…he’s on a

business trip."
Shao Nuo was also stunned for a moment. She pursed his lips, took out her
mobile phone from her bag and showed Li Chengxiu her screen: "This is
the photo my brother sent me yesterday."

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the photo.

It was indeed Shao Qun. And the woman next to him who was wearing a
swimsuit and hugging him intimately was the supermodel he had seen in
the newspaper before. The two of them were smiling happily.

Li Chengxiu's eyes twitched and he said with a trembling voice, "I…may…

maybe it's a friend of his."

Shao Nuo stared at him with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

She frowned and pressed the call button, "Be quiet for a while. I'll make
you give up on him completely."

She turned on the loudspeaker, and soon a lazy voice came from the other
end of the phone, familiar to the both people present in the room.

"Hey, third sis."

"Shao Qun, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I'm lying in bed."

"Are you having a good time?"

"It's okay. Hey, Qi Ming, it’s my third sister. Say hello to her."

A soft voice immediately chimed in: "Hello, sister."

"Well, hello there. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I'm very happy. It's so beautiful! You should also come spend some time
here when you’re free."

"Good. Is Shao Qun treating you well?"

"Very well. Shao Qun is the best, haha." Her voice was vaguely playful.

Shao Nuo smiled dryly and said perfunctorily: "That's good. Call Shao Qun
to the phone for a moment. I need to tell him something."

Shao Qun's voice was back: "Sis, what's the matter?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if you had any special requirements for the
engagement banquet?"

"No. You can arrange what you want."

Shao Nuo said a few more words and then hung up the phone. When she
turned her head, she saw Li Chengxiu covering his mouth, as tears streamed
down his face.

A trace of panic flashed in Shao Nuo's eyes: "You… Why are you crying?
What is an adult man crying for?"

What was he crying for? Where does he even begin?

Was it because Shao Qun lied to him? Or because Shao Qun was getting
married? Or because he had just now completely woken up from his dream?

Shao Qun's every word, like a knife, fiercely stabbed into his heart. Li
Chengxiu’s heart was bleeding, so what was so weird about shedding some
tears?

No matter how much he deceived himself and tried to silence all his doubts,
he was helpless in the face of naked truth.

It was like a nightmare...everything was like a nightmare.

Shao Nuo didn't seem to know how to deal with such a scene, so she was
completely stunned.

She stiffened her back and for a long time looked awkwardly at Li
Chengxiu crying with his head down, before she angrily stood up. Her lady-
like demeanor was completely gone, as she cursed casually, “Shit, it looks
like I’m the bul y.”

She pushed the cheque in front of Li Chengxiu: "Hey, just take it. Then
quickly move out of here. My brother is not suitable for you. He is also…
no… not as good as you think. Long story short, just break up with him as
soon as possible, okay? It’s in everybody’s best interest."

Li Chengxiu looked up at her blankly, and spoke, while choking and

sobbing: "You go… you go… The key is there. On the shoe cabinet... You
go. I will go too. I will definitely go. "

Shao Nuo's face turned blue, and she walked out in her high heels.

It was not until the door was closed that Li Chengxiu dared to make a sound
and cry with his head in his arms.

His heart hurt too much. He had never experienced such a feeling of
despair. The existence he was accustomed to had collapsed in an instant.
Where should he go now?

Shao Qun's deception. Shao Qun's betrayal. Shao Qun's tenderness. Shao
Qun's affection. Did he even know him?

How can there be somebody who carves bits and pieces of himself into the
soul of another person?

Shao Qun's laughter, his angry and emotional expressions - all of it

appeared clearly and vividly in front of Li Chengxiu, repeatedly smashing
his heart into pieces.

He vaguely remembered that more than ten years ago, he was also saddened
by Shao Qun's indifference.

Back then, he was alone in the cold hospital, holding his mother’s diagnosis
sheet in his hands and crying.

At that time it was just like now. He had no one. No one could help him. No
one could save him.
If he could save himself the first time around, could he save himself the
second time?

Li Chengxiu didn't know how long he had been crying in the dark and cold
room. When he staggered up to his feet, it was completely dark outside.

He walked into the utility room, dug out his suitcase, dragged it back to the
bedroom and started packing.

He couldn’t stay in this place even a second longer.

Shao Qun was everywhere in this house. In every corner there were some
happy memories. So he must leave immediately.

It took Li Chengxiu just over half an hour to pack all his things.

After moving here, Shao Qun bought most of the stuff for him. Part of his
old clothes ended up in the garbage anyway, so there was not a lot to pack.

As he dragged his big suitcase outside, he felt as if he was leaving a hotel.

Once he left, he couldn’t take anything with him. Because if he did, he’d
have to pay a price for it, and those costs were too high for him to afford.

He only took two things that Shao Qun gave him - Teacup who couldn’t
survive without him and a sim card.

After Shao Qun came back, Li Chengxiu still had to settle some things with
him in person. There were also certain issues that had to be dealt with, like
the money he owed Shao Qun.

Several restaurants with whom he interviewed today were likely to call him
back. Li Chengxiu was in urgent need of a job now.

He wrapped his coat tightly around himself, took his suitcase and, while
crying, left the place where he had lived for the past half a year and had
made some of the best memories in his life.

He took the bus to the train station, bought a second-hand mobile phone for
more than 200 RMB on the side of the road. He then found a small hotel
which charged only 50 RMB for a room. He planned to stay there for just
one night and then look for a house as soon as possible tomorrow.

Li Chengxiu gave Teacup some food, put it into a warm blanket and
watched it fall asleep, before lying down with his clothes still on. He didn't
dare to cover his body with the mottled quilt which was stained with who
knows what. So he had to wrap himself in his own clothes, as he lay on the
damp and cold bed that gave off an unpleasant smell.

His body and mind were exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep no matter what.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw images of Shao Qun and his beautiful
fiancee embracing intimately.

He couldn’t control it, and it would make him cry every time.

He didn't know what else he could do besides crying. Grieving alone was
the safest way. He neither had the guts to hurt anybody, nor did he have any
power to make things go his way. What could he do except vent with his
tears?

Li Chengxiu kept his eyes open until dawn.

He stayed up all night, and his eyes were swollen like walnuts. In the
morning, he got up, washed his face, deposited his suitcase and Teacup with
the proprietress of the hotel and went out to look for a house.

During his many years in Shenzhen, he had looked for houses and moved
countless times. He had more experience than anyone in finding a cheap
place to live. However, he also hoped that one day he would no longer have
to look for another house.

Li Chengxiu had always dreamed of having a house of his own. Where no

one could kick him out. Where he doesn't have to pack his suitcases
because of a job change or rising rent.

He originally planned to leave Shenzhen after paying off his debts and
saving up 150,000 RMB[14]. He wanted to go to a small county town with
a low cost of living, so he could afford to buy a house. If he had money left,
he would open a small restaurant. Then he’d live a happy and peaceful life.

The appearance of Shao Qun completely disrupted his pace, allowing him
to see and experience more.

And also to expect more.

When one expects something that is not a part of their own world, they are
bound to fall hard and hurt themselves.

When Li Chengxiu was young, he was stupid, but then he could still say
that he was ignorant because of his youth. But what about now? If he hadn't
learned his lesson yet, he deserved to repeat it.

His penance now was to drag his tired body and mind around this lonely
city and look for a suitable place to live.

Because it was too urgent, Li Chengxiu didn’t care if the house he chose
was good or bad. In the end, he rented a small attic of 12 square meters.
With his height, he could walk upright there, but he could barely take five
steps before running into the wall. The kitchen and bathroom were located
downstairs. The room was very inconvenient, but it was also very cheap.
And it could be rented month by month, which was also convenient for Li
Chengxiu, if he had to move for a job and make other arrangements in the
future.

He went back to the train station to get his luggage and Teacup. He cleaned
his new room, put on clean sheets and bedding and then sat on the bed
panting from exhaustion. From last night until now, he hasn’t been able to
drink even a drop of water. He had been busy for an entire day, and was so
tired that he didn’t want to move.

But once he stopped moving, he felt more and more lonely.

Unfamiliar room, unfamiliar darkness, unfamiliar coldness. Where did

everything he knew go? Where was Shao Qun? Where was this person who
used to accompany him?
Li Chengxiu felt that his eye sockets were starting to itch again. He
suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself fiercely.

"Do not cry."

Slap.

"Don't cry... sissy... it's useless, don't cry..."

Slap.

"Can't cry. It's useless... useless, so useless... sissy... so useless..."

Slap.

"Don't cry..."

Slap! Slap!

In the end, there was only the sound of desperate cries on the verge of
collapse in this dark room.

Li Chengxiu received a call the next day from the restaurant across Adrian’s
studio with a notice to report within two days.

He took advantage of the daytime to buy some daily necessities and then
began looking for rentals again.

The location of the new job was a little far away from where he lived now.
Next month he had to move somewhere closer, otherwise he’d have to
commute three hours every day.

In the afternoon, he got a call from Adrian.

Adrian, who seemed to be perpetually energetic, started making a fuss as

soon as he opened his mouth:

"Hello? Why is your voice so hoarse? Do you have a cold?"

"No...yes, I have a cold."

"You’re ok, right? Do you want me to visit you? Has Shao Qun returned
from his business trip? Is anyone taking care of you now?"

"It's okay. I’m just a little hoarse. It's okay.."

"Oh, it's a change of seasons, you know. Many people get colds around this
time. You should pay attention to your health."

"All right. Thank you."

"By the way, weren’t you looking for a job near my place last time? Did
you find something?"

"Yes."

"On my street?"

"Correct."

"Wow, that's great! Is it that Sichuan restaurant? I usually go to the same

few restaurants all the time. But now that you’re working there, I’l
definitely come by. Shao Qun mentioned that your cooking is delicious."

When Li Chengxiu heard Shao Qun’s name, he felt a dull pain in his heart
and reluctantly said, "Yes, that’s the one."

Adrian seemed to sense that something was wrong: "Chengxiu, are you
really all right? Your voice doesn’t sound right…"

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a while, but still avoided to say anything: "It's
really okay."

Adrian muttered some nonsense again and asked Li Chengxiu to call him
after work, so they could go hang out together or something. Adrian was
like a child who could chat by himself for hours.
At this time, anyone's concern was touching for Li Chengxiu. He wanted to
say something to Adrian several times, but in the end, he still hesitated.

Now, he real y didn’t dare to trust anyone easily.

He originally planned to report to the restaurant the next day, but in the
morning, he received a call from Shao Qun.

Looking at the name on the caller ID, he felt that his vision went blurry, and
his heart was jumping out of his throat. The phone rang seven or eight times
in a row until it was disconnected, and all this time Li Chengxiu didn't have
the courage to answer the call.

After a while, the phone rang again.

Li Chengxiu endured the fear and heartache and final y gently pressed the
“accept” button.

"Hey, Li Chengxiu? Why aren't you at home? I just got off the plane, and
you were not there at such an early hour! Did you find a job? Didn’t you
know that I was coming back today? Why didn’t you make me breakfast
before leaving?" Shao Qun sounded displeased.

Li Chengxiu moved his lips, but his throat couldn’t physically make a
sound for a long time.

"Hello? Hello? Did you hear what I said?"

"I...I am...in transit."

"What?"

"On my way."

"You’re coming back now? Then come back quickly. I want to eat your
food. Forget it, where are you? I'l pick you up."

"No, it’s fine."

"Okay, hurry up."

After hanging up the phone, Shao Qun couldn't help but smile. He looked at
the pile of bags on the floor and wondered how Li Chengxiu would react
when he received these gifts.

He didn't know what was going on with him this time. He didn't just buy a
few things. As soon as he saw something nice, he felt like that would be
suitable for Li Chengxiu. And that one too… And that one to… In the end,
he just bought everything.

Tahiti was a good place to relax. But next time he should take Li Chengxiu
with him, so it wouldn’t be so boring.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 39
An hour later, the doorbell rang, and Shao Qun opened the gate door for Li
Chengxiu from the inside, and then went on to open the vil a door too:
"Why didn’t you take the key with you when you left?"

Li Chengxiu's face was as white as a piece of paper. When he saw Shao

Qun in front of him, his whole body started shaking.

Shao Qun dragged him inside the house, surprised: "What's wrong with
you? I've been gone only for a few days. How did you manage to lose so
much weight?"

Li Chengxiu anxiously glanced at him and gently pushed away the hand
that was holding his arm.

Shao Qun frowned: "What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him.

This was still the same Shao Qun. Except for a little tan, nothing had
changed. But to Li Chengxiu, he looked like a stranger. They were apart for
a week, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Shao Qun felt that something was wrong with Li Chengxiu. It seemed as if
he had lost his soul. He had never seen such Li Chengxiu before.

"Chengxiu, what's wrong with you?" Shao Qun pulled him into the room,
"Come in first."

Li Chengxiu was basically dragged into the house by him.

Shao Qun looked at him with worry: "What happened? Tell me."

Li Chengxiu took out something from his pocket: "Here is 40,000

RMB[15]. I’l return the rest in the next two years."
Shao Qun looked at the dark red bank book. He was stunned: "What do you
mean?"

"I've already moved out. I’l return the rest of the money to you."

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and asked again, "What do you mean?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were red. As if he was in great pain, he said witlessly,

"Shao Qun, let's break up."

Shao Qun showed an expression of disbelief. He widened his eyes and

raised his voice: "What did you just say?"

Li Chengxiu used all his strength to repeat: "Let's break up."

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s neck. His eyes were bloodshot, as he

ruthlessly said, "Do you dare to repeat what you just said?"

Li Chengxiu's nose slightly twitched, and his clear eyes slowly became
misty. He choked and said, "Shao Qun, you’re getting married. Let's break
up."

"Who the fuck told you that?"

"Your third sister." Li Chengxiu pushed Shao Qun’s arm hard and looked at
him sadly, "When you guys telephoned, I was by her side."

Shao Qun's heart trembled, and he dropped his arms. He tore at his hair and
exhaled heavily: "Chengxiu, sit down and let's talk."

Li Chengxiu shook his head, wiped his eyes and put the bankbook on the
table: "I'm leaving."

With his long legs, Shao Qun was faster than Li Chengxiu and was already
blocking his path. Angrily he said, "Can't you at least talk to me? How can
you just leave like that?"

Li Chengxiu sniffed and said in a trembling voice, "I said…if you get
married, you should tell me… why didn't you tell me?"
Shao Qun became angry: "Why the hell would I need to tell you? It's none
of your business whether I get married or not!"

There was a hint of despair on Li Chengxiu's face, and he turned again to

leave.

Shao Qun tugged at his arm and said sternly, "Is it such a bad thing for us?
I’l treat you the same way when I’m married. Why the fuck are you so
braindead? If I don't marry a woman, can I marry you instead,

huh? We can still be together. It doesn't change anything if I get married or

not. I can fucking treat you even better. What the fuck are you making a
fuss about?"

Li Chengxiu raised his head and looked at him with pain on his face: "Shao
Qun, what do you think of me?"

"I..." Shao Qun was about to speak, but he was suddenly too stunned. What
did he think of Li Chengxiu?

He regarded him as a little pet that he had trained. Albeit a pet that Shao
Qun was much more interested in than the others he had trained before.

Tears gradually fell from his eyes, and Li Chengxiu choked up: "Shao Qun,
tell me, was the tortoiseshell in your study given to you by President Chen
because of me?”

Shao Qun was startled.

"I was forced to resign from the hotel. Did you do it?"

Shao Qun's eyes glistened, and his Adam's apple moved up and down.

His expression was basically a tacit agreement.

Li Chengxiu’s vision blurred. He didn’t know this person in front of him.

"Shao Qun, I thought that we… liked each other…but you…you were
just…keeping me.."
Shao Qun lowered his eyes and cursed angrily. His third sister was a happy-
go-lucky person, who never cared much about his affairs. She had
absolutely no reason to come here, so this was definitely on behest of his
eldest sister.

Li Chengxiu rubbed his eyes hard and tried to push Shao Qun away.

Shao Qun grabbed his hand. His cheeks were puffed up, and he seemed to
be holding back something. He lowered his voice and coaxed: "Chengxiu,
stop making trouble. I already told you that my marriage will not affect us
in the slightest. You can continue living here, and I will come to accompany
you very often. When I go back to Beijing in the future, I promise, I will
take you with me..."

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes in pain.

Every word that Shao Qun said was like a knife, slashing at his heart.

This person…this person… He was wrong. He was so wrong.

Shao Qun eagerly held Li Chengxiu’s face and lowered his head to kiss
him, but Li Chengxiu suddenly pushed him away.

Shao Qun was unprepared at that moment, so his waist hit the dining table.
The impact was not painful, but it still made him angry.

"Have you had enough of this shit already? What the hell do you want?
How much do you think you are worth? Do you really think I can't do
without you?"

Shaking, Li Chengxiu turned around and staggered outside.

Shao Qun’s breathing paused.Instantly, an inexplicable fear emerged in his

chest.

Something hit Li Chengxiu's back. He grunted and stumbled. If he hadn't

been holding on to the wall, he would have fallen to the ground.
Shao Qun seemed to have just regained his senses. He looked at the iron
ashtray on the ground. Although it was not heavy, the hit was definitely
painful.

Shao Qun’s hands were shaking a little, as he went up to check on him:

"Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu suddenly turned his face towards him. His tearful eyes showed
sorrow, and he whispered,

"Don't come closer… don't come closer."

Blue veins bulged up on Shao Qun’s forehead. He raised his foot and
kicked the delicate glass- reinforced plastic dining table to the ground,
roaring: "Li Chengxiu, if you have the fucking guts to leave right now, don't
ever come back! I can snatch a younger, prettier, and smarter one off the
street just like that! I treat you nice for a little, and you think you’re the
shit? You real y take yourself so seriously? Are you worthy of breaking up
with me? Are you worthy at all? Who are you? Who the fuck do you think
you are? Get out!

Get the fuck out of here! Don't ever let me see you again!"

Li Chengxiu rushed out the door without looking back.

Shao Qun was so furious that he lifted his chair and used it to smash a row
of glass cabinets on the wall.

When he turned around and saw the gifts he bought for Li Chengxiu, his
eyes turned red with anger. He roughly opened the floor-to-ceiling window
and threw all the things he had so carefully selected into the fish pond.

Shao Qun felt that the anger and anxiety in his chest couldn’t be quelled
until he got so tired that he was out of breath. He smoked one cigarette after
the other, but he couldn't get the image of Li Chengxiu leaving without even
turning his head out of his mind. Shao Qun wanted to burn the house down,
so that Li Chengxiu, that ungrateful fool, would completely disappear from
his life.
Successfully escaping from that house was like being baptized in pain and
despair yet again. Li Chengxiu swore that he would never step foot into that
place again. Let his memories and feelings be buried here -

he just wanted to forget everything.

Just forget it… forget it, and it won't hurt anymore. He won't be sad, and he
won't be hurt again and again.

Li Chengxiu dragged his numb body back to his tiny newly-rented attic. As
soon as he entered the door, Teacup jumped out of its nest bed and ran up to
rub against Li Chengxiu’s trousers.

Li Chengxiu picked up the little thing, put it on the bed, and fed the dog one
piece after the other.

At this time, there was at least someone to accompany Li Chengxiu through

this, which was already much better than when he was a child. Back then,
he couldn't even support himself. At least now, he could afford to keep
Teacup, and he could even afford the most expensive dog food. Teacup
relied on him - it would never lie to him, hurt him, or betray him.

He rubbed Teacup’s soft little body against his cheek again and again:
"Teacup…tomorrow I'l buy you…something delicious."

Li Chengxiu went to the restaurant to report the next day. The restaurant
wasn’t big, but the owner was very nice and friendly. Although he had to go
through two months of trial period, if he could become a regular employee,
the salary would be quite good. Knowing that his situation was difficult, the
owner also promised to subsidize his accommodation after he became a
regular.

Li Chengxiu had one day off a week, three morning shifts, and three night
shifts. The setup was very reasonable. Li Chengxiu could easily get used to
this kind of workload.

Adrian called him on his first day at work.

Small restaurants were not as strict as big hotels, so nobody minded that he
had his phone on during work hours.

Li Chengxiu happened to be idle at the time, so he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Chengxiu, are you at work?"

"Yes, right now."

"I'll go to your place for lunch at noon. Can you join me to eat?"

"No, I have to work."

"Then what time do you get off work?"

"Four p.m."

"Ah, that's great! Then after work I'l take you to a Yunnan cuisine
restaurant. It's real y delicious, and it’s not far from here."

"But…” Li Chengxiu needed to go home to feed the dog.

"Ok, that's all! I'll call you at four and pick you up."

Adrian happily hung up the phone, and Li Chengxiu stared at his screen in a
daze.

After Li Chengxiu got off work, Adrian really came to pick him up.

Before Adrian could honk his horn, Li Chengxiu already knew it was him
as soon as he saw the big red sports car.

Adrian opened the car door for him with a smile: "It seems to be getting
warmer outside."

Li Chengxiu nodded: "It seems so."

Just as Adrian was about to drive off, he suddenly turned to look at Li

Chengxiu: "Huh? I haven't seen you for a few days - how did you manage
to lose so much weight so quickly? How did you do it? Come on, teach me
your secret!"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head in embarrassment.

Adrian moved closer to him, so close in fact that his small white face
almost touched Li Chengxiu's face. He then blinked at him, "Chengxiu,
what's the matter with you? It looks like you’re in a bad state."

Li Chengxiu shook his head.

"Ah… Did you have a fight with Shao Qun?"

Hearing that name made Li Chengxiu freeze.

Adrian was very attentive, so he immediately caught that reaction.

Suddenly he exclaimed: "You broke up with him!"

Li Chengxiu raised his eyes slightly and nodded numbly.

Adrian shouted: "It's a good thing! It’s such a good thing! Uh..." Adrian
suddenly fell silent and asked cautiously, "Chengxiu, are you sad?"

Li Chengxiu's nose was slightly sour, and he whispered, "I want… to go

home…to feed the dog. I don't want to go… to dinner." He opened the door
to get out of the car.

Adrian hurriedly pressed the car lock and jumped up to hug Li Chengxiu,
startling him.

Adrian patted his head lightly: "Baby, don’t be sad. I’l be honest with you,
it's a good thing that you broke up with him. I knew it would happen sooner
or later... Shao Qun is not worthy of you. I will find you a better one. Don't
be sad, okay?"

Adrian smelled good. Although his shoulders were not very broad, they
were warm, and Li Chengxiu's stiff body gradually relaxed.
Adrian took Li Chengxiu to dinner. The entire time he kept talking about
Shao Qun's various bad deeds, recounting some of the absurd things he did
in Beijing before[16]. Only then was Li Chengxiu fully convinced that the
Shao Qun he knew was miles away from the real Shao Qun.

After eating, Adrian wanted to take Li Chengxiu out for drinks, but Li
Chengxiu insisted on going back to feed the dog. Adrian became curious
and said that he definitely must meet the dog.

Li Chengxiu said helplessly: "I don't have a place to sit."

"Huh? What do you mean you don’t have a place to sit?"

Li Chengxiu explained: "My house is very small."

Adrian exclaimed in surprise, "You broke up with Shao Qun and didn't even
get a decent house?"

Amongst this crowd, it was a common rule to bestow a break-up gift.

Otherwise, why would all these rich people, no matter how shitty they were,
have dozens of beauties rushing to be at their side and treat them nicely?

Li Chengxiu shook his head. He didn't understand how he could still live in
someone else's house after breaking up.

"You idiot!" Adrian poked his forehead with his finger. "You've been
sleeping with him for over a year for nothing! So now he says he doesn’t
want to be with you anymore, and you get nothing out of it? What do you
figure?"

Li Chengxiu turned his head away silently.

Adrian shook his head and sighed again. He picked up the phone and said,
"Just you wait! I’l make him cough something up for you. Shit, how can he
bully people like that?"

Li Chengxiu was shocked and quickly held Adrian’s hand: "No… no

need…we’re not in contact anymore..."
"Even if you’re not in contact with him, I’m in contact with him. You can’t
miss out on the house, the car, etc... Don't worry, you can get at least a few
mil ion out of this. Shao Qun is good for it.”

Li Chengxiu was about to cry. He tightly grabbed Adrian’s hand: "No,

please don’t." Li Chengxiu currently had enough for food and clothing, and
he stil owed money to Shao Qun. He couldn’t let him look down on him
even more.

Adrian was getting angry: "What the hell are you thinking? Are you really
that stupid or are you pretending?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I don't need it… now…it's all fine."

Adrian lowered his hand and looked at Li Chengxiu with pity. After a long
while, he finally put away his phone and said helplessly: "How about we try
it? You and me? I’ve had a bit of a dry spel lately, and I’ve never been with
a pure bottom before. Let’s give it a go!”

Li Chengxiu looked at him awkwardly. He real y couldn’t tell when Adrian

was joking and when he was serious.

Adrian blinked: "Come on, give me a kiss first to see what it tastes like!"
Then he got closer and puckered his lips.

Li Chengxiu was startled and quickly moved away.

Adrian pouted: "Hmph, so you don’t like me..."

"No, that’s not it……"

"Don't say anything anymore! I'll find a masculine guy for you."

"No… no need… thank you..."

Seeing that Adrian was about to dial somebody again, Li Chengxiu quickly
held his hand and pleaded,

"Adrian..."
Adrian gave him a hateful glare: "Were you born this cheap? You don’t
even think about yourself.Is there a problem with your brain?”

On the way to Li Chengxiu’s house, Adrian was providing him with

valuable education.

You should make money, while you’re stil young. When you get old and
decrepit, there wil be no one rushing in to provide for you anymore. No
matter who you fall in love with, you should always prepare escape routes
for yourself. The ones who don’t do it, will run into very bad luck sooner or
later. The more honest you are, the more people will want to take advantage
of you. Being upright and honest is the same thing as writing “I am easy to
bul y. Bully me!” on your forehead.

Although Li Chengxiu disagreed with many of Adrian’s theories, he was stil

very grateful that someone cared so much about him.

Adrian dropped him off at his place, but didn't go in. When he just looked at
the appearance of that house, it made him shake his head. He immediately
volunteered to help Li Chengxiu find another place to live.

Li Chengxiu politely refused.

Although the house was small, it was still his own territory.

He didn’t dare to owe others favors any more. Who knew what the price
would be?
Little sunshine Adrian to the rescue :)

( from the official 188 Group: https://m.weibo.cn/u/6457705652) Chapter

40

After washing up, Li Chengxiu lay on the bed together with Teacup and
glanced at the calendar over and over again.

In a few days, the results of the accounting exam were to be published. Like
all the candidates waiting for the results, Li Chengxiu was feeling uneasy.
He kept recalling the questions he answered and was second-guessing
himself.

The little Teacup was whimpering in his arms. After a while, it patted the
cheap calendar with his little paw.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu didn't respond, he bit it.

Only after that, Li Chengxiu came to his senses. He quickly took the paper
out of the dog’s mouth.

He turned his body, held his little Teacup up, pointed its warm belly
towards himself, and rubbed it with his fingers: "Hungry?"

The puppy wobbled its little chocolate-colored fluffy body and whimpered.

Li Chengxiu took out a couple of dog treats from under his bed and brought
them to Teacup’s mouth: "You can't eat too much! I have already fed you."

He couldn't figure out how this creature with such a tiny stomach could eat
so much.

When Li Chengxiu was still living at Shao Qun's house, Shao Qun had
looked up the feeding guides for teacup poodles on the Internet. Such a
small dog couldn’t eat heavy foods, or it would die. Li Chengxiu was very
anxious about it. When he fed Teacup, he counted out the dog food for him
kibble by kibble. As a result, he had now trained the little guy to only accept
food, if it was brought up to his mouth. Li Chengxiu had to personally feed
him. When sleeping, Li Chengxiu had to hug Teacup - only then, it would
keep quiet.

Li Chengxiu was probably a naturally-born caregiver. When he took care of

the ones around him, he always did his very best. Even if it was just a palm-
sized dog.

After feeding the little guy, he put him in his dog nest and covered him with
a thick quilt. He then turned off the lights to go to sleep.

Just as he closed his eyes, a harsh sound suddenly rang out in the quiet little
room.

Li Chengxiu was startled. He quickly sat up, picked up the mobile phone
from the bedside table and, without even looking at the caller ID, put it
directly to his ear.

"Hello……"
There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Li Chengxiu looked doubtfully at the display, and suddenly his heart

throbbed.

It was Shao Qun.

Li Chengxiu also fell silent. Then he thought about it and quietly hung up.

Unexpectedly, just as he dropped the call, the phone impatiently rang again.

Even Teacup whimpered in protest. Li Chengxiu had no choice but to press

the “accept” button again.

Shao Qun's irritable voice entered his ear: "You really have the guts to hang
up on me."

Li Chengxiu worked hard to adjust his breathing, trying to get through the
pain in his heart. He took several deep breaths in a row before he could
finally calm down.

"Shao Qun, what's the matter?"

Shao Qun's voice was a little hoarse, and his tone was really bad: "You still
have some things at my place.

Come and pick your shit up. Did you leave it here, so it can grow
maggots?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, then he whispered, "I don’t think…
I left anything."

"I’m telling you that you did. If this rubbish isn’t yours, is it mine then?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips: "Then… throw it away."

There was first a pause on the other side of the phone, and then Li
Chengxiu could only hear cursing: "So now I have to take care of throwing
out your fucking things? I don’t have time for this shit. Come over quickly
and pack everything up!"

Li Chengxiu was resolutely unwil ing to step into that vil a again: "Get rid
of it…I don’t want it."

Shao Qun was so angry that his veins burst out. He gritted his teeth and
said, "Where do you live? I'll send it to you!"

Li Chengxiu repeated again: "I real y…don’t need it." He couldn’t

remember leaving anything important behind.

"Tel me where you live! You left without saying a word. In case your phone
doesn’t answer one day, who the hell am I going to call for the money you
owe me? You want to renege on your debt?"

Li Chengxiu quickly said, "No… I wil pay everything back… In the span of
two years."

"No way! How am I going to find you if you run away one day? I need to
know where you are. Or you have to pay everything back to me now with
interest."

Li Chengxiu's face paled. The arm that was outside the quilt was shaking
from the cold.

He never thought that Shao Qun could be such a jerk. After the break up,
Shao Qun's vile nature was gradual y exposed to Li Chengxiu. As if Shao
Qun wasn’t controlling it at all anymore. The more Li Chengxiu understood
him, the more it chilled him to the bone.

He said hoarsely: "In that case…you can find me at the place where I
work."

Shao Qun paused: "Address."

The next day, Li Chengxiu was sweating profusely while cooking. The
waitress came into the kitchen from the restaurant floor: "Chef Li, there’s a
friend looking for you."
Li Chengxiu thought that it might be Shao Qun, and his legs got a little
weak. He hesitated and said, "I'm busy now. Ask him to wait."

The young girl hummed in acknowledgement. Before she left, she couldn't
help asking with some anticipation: "Chef Li, how do you know such a
handsome man? Are you close with him?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head awkwardly: "I'm not at all close with him."

A few people working nearby made fun of the young waitress.

Li Chengxiu was restless, thinking that Shao Qun was just a few meters
away. He felt his calves twitching.

The colleagues around him were all very nice, and Li Chengxiu was
welcomed as a newcomer. After he finished cooking the dish, someone next
to him took over, saying that since his friend was waiting for him, he should
go on his break earlier.

This was the lunch rush - the busiest time at the restaurant. Everyone was
supposed to be at their places, and everybody was very busy. Li Chengxiu
felt embarrassed to leave, so he promised to return as soon as possible.

When he entered the lobby, he saw Shao Qun sitting at the table in the
corner, holding the menu in his hand, looking bored with his chin propped
up.

As soon as he noticed Li Chengxiu, his back straightened immediately, his

cheeks were puffed up, and he sharply stared at him.

In order not to attract attention, Li Chengxiu pulled out the chair and sat
down. With some difficulty he said,

"What did I leave behind?"

Since the moment Li Chengxiu appeared, Shao Qun's eyes never left his
face. Casually he said, "I tossed it."

"Huh? Didn’t you want to send it to me?"

Shao Qun said with confidence: "You said you didn’t want the stuff
anymore."

Li Chengxiu was speechless, but then he said in a low voice, "Then it's
fine..." He got up and planned to leave.

Shao Qun grabbed his hand.

Li Chengxiu was startled and looked around nervously.

They were sitting in the corner, and if someone didn’t deliberately look this
way, they wouldn’t notice them at all, but even so, Li Chengxiu was still
uncomfortable.

Shao Qun frowned: "Your hands are so dry! Can’t you put something on
them?"

Li Chengxiu tried to pull his hand back and said in a trembling voice, "Let
go. What are you doing?"

"Can’t I come see you?" Shao Qun stil held Li Chengxiu’s hand tightly. He
then exhaled and said,

"Chengxiu, haven’t you come back to your senses after so many days? Are
you stil planning to continue fighting with me?"

In Shao Qun’s view, Li Chengxiu seemed reluctant to leave him.

He could see that this softie really liked him. So it was easy to understand
why he was so mad when he found out about the marriage.

After calming down, Shao Qun thought about it carefully and felt that Li
Chengxiu was just jealous. He most likely ran away from home, trying to
attract his attention.

Although he felt that this kind of pointless back-and-forth with tears and all
the girly melodrama was very annoying, he couldn't help but secretly
rejoice that Li Chengxiu liked him so much.
From the bottom of his heart Shao Qun believed that this matter could be
resolved.

It was impossible for him not to get married, and now it was impossible for
him to hide it from Li Chengxiu.

So all he needed to do was offer him more benefits and find a way to make
him accept the situation.

Li Chengxiu was so kind-hearted, that as long as Shao Qun coaxed him a

little more, softened his attitude a little, and gave him a way out of this
embarrassing situation, he wouldn’t be too rigid.

Compared with the love and obedience he could buy for money, Li
Chengxiu's undisguised, sincere and true love made Shao Qun feel both
excited and happy.

So he needed to lure him back.

Besides, these couple of days that Li Chengxiu was away, Shao Qun felt
really uncomfortable.

The house suddenly became empty, and it felt like nothing was in its place
anymore. Shao Qun slept alone at night, and there was no one next to him
to hold or talk to. He couldn't help feeling this void. He couldn’t eat the
food made even by the top level chefs anymore - all he could think about
were Li Chengxiu’s home-cooked meals. Without Li Chengxiu, he felt a
sense of crisis, as if his life had been derailed. Shao Qun suddenly found
that everything was inconvenient, and he was upset by every little thing.

Li Chengxiu ended up occupying such a large part of his life. It's not that
Shao Qun didn’t understand that he was veering into dangerous territory,
but his urgent nostalgia for the peaceful and stable life with Li Chengxiu
had surpassed his vigilance. He hesitated but in the end, he still took the
initiative to make a call.

It was no exaggeration to say that recently he had been thinking about Li

Chengxiu every single day. But now that they met, Li Chengxiu seemed to
be anxious to avoid him, and it looked like he was sitting in a frying pan
every second of their interaction. Shao Qun couldn’t help but get angry.

Li Chengxiu clenched his fists tightly and enunciated word by word, "Shao
Qun, we broke up."

The muscles on Shao Qun's face tightened. He was barely controlling

himself, so as not to lose his temper right here and now.

With a gloomy face, he gritted his teeth and said, "Li Chengxiu, don't be
shameless."

Li Chengxiu's eyes felt hot, and he was trying real y hard to remove his
hand from Shao Qun’s grip.

Shao Qun held onto it, and didn't let him move. He then said eagerly: "Just
fucking say what you want!"

Li Chengxiu said urgently, "Let go."

Shao Qun took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible: "Chengxiu, I'm
going to buy a restaurant for you. You can choose any good location in
Shenzhen, and you can manage it any way you like, okay? In the future,
you can work, if you want. Or you can enjoy yourself at home, if you don’t
feel like it. If you want to work at a company, I will find a position for you
immediately. So stop all of this, okay?"

Li Chengxiu was about to cry: "Shao Qun, stop… insulting me."

Shao Qun stiffened when he heard that, and unconsciously he weakened his
grip. Li Chengxiu took the opportunity to pull out his hand. He pushed
away his chair and ran back to the kitchen.

Shao Qun slammed the table and then slammed the door on his way out
under the side glances of people around him.

Still panicked, Li Chengxiu got off work at four o'clock. Adrian called him
right on time.
Now that he had memorized Li Chengxiu's shift schedule, he would often
drag Li Chengxiu to hang out with him, when he had nothing to do.

Li Chengxiu was not good at rejecting people. He was especially bad at

rejecting people like Adrian who were enthusiastic and heartful, and didn’t
understand or didn’t care about other people's rejections. After helplessly
getting into his car, Li Chengxiu couldn't help but ask him, "Don't you need
to work?"

Adrian smiled nonchalantly: "There are other people in the store. If I need
to be there every day, what's the point of being the boss? Might as well let
people support me."

Li Chengxiu was critical of some of Adrian’s views. He thought that

everyone needed to work. Even if they didn’t want to, they had to support
themselves.

Adrian glanced at him with a smile: "I know what you're thinking. But in
fact, it's also a valuable skill to get someone to support you. My biggest
wish in the past was to find someone to support me. I wanted to be idle and
happy every day. Later, I got kicked, and then I had to reconsider certain
things. I don’t think that

this plan will work out for me in the long-term, since I’m going to get older
sooner or later. Fortunately, I’m talented, and I’m stil alive and wel , but…”
Adrian smiled smugly, “I’m not as foolish as you. Look at my shop, and
look at my car - all of it was pried out of my ex’s hands.[17] But I guess, if
everyone was as stupid as you, the world would be in harmony.”

Li Chengxiu's face was pale.

Adrian glanced at him with a sigh: "I know what I'm saying sounds ugly.
But it’s just the way I am. You can think about it for yourself. And even
though I probably don’t have the right to say it, I'm stil going to say it -

if somebody doesn’t take care of themselves first, they deserve to be

unlucky."
These days, Adrian would often take Li Chengxiu out to eat delicious food
in different restaurants. Today he took him to a Thai restaurant.

Li Chengxiu was a little surprised when they arrived at the place. Wasn’t
this the same Thai restaurant that Li Shuo took him to before?

After Adrian pushed him through the door, he winked and said, "I’m going
to introduce you to a good man."

Li Chengxiu was startled, but it was too late to leave. Adrian's so-called
“good” man had already lifted his eyes up from the menu and was looking
directly at them.

That handsome and elegant man was no one other than Li Shuo whom Li
Chengxiu hadn't seen in a long time.

The two of them looked at each other with surprised expressions.

After coming to his senses, Li Shuo stood up excitedly, took a few steps
towards them and exclaimed in disbelief, "Chengxiu!"

Li Chengxiu was also very surprised: "Boss?"

Li Shuo's face was full of joy, and he couldn't help hugging him.

Although the action was a bit sudden, he stil didn’t cross any lines and just
lightly hugged his shoulders.

Right next to him, Adrian exclaimed: "You two know each other? How
could you have met behind my back?

How about my sense of accomplishment as a matchmaker? What about my

sense of accomplishment, huh? I demand compensation!"

Li Chengxiu was also very happy. He felt really guilty that he left without
saying goodbye to Li Shuo.

Li Shuo asked eagerly: "Chengxiu, I’m so sorry that last time I provoked
your boyfriend in a moment of anger! I don't know how much trouble it
caused you. Later, after you disappeared so abruptly, I felt guilty for a long
time. Are you OK?"

Li Chengxiu smiled reluctantly: "I’m okay."

Li Shuo led him to his seat: "Come on, sit down. Let's have a good chat."

Adrian pouted and sat down too. "I'm going to order the most expensive
thing on the menu."

Li Shuo smiled and patted his head: "Good boy, order whatever you want.
You did an unprecedentedly good job at matchmaking this time.”

Adrian showed a rare gentle smile, half-joking and half-seriously he said: "I
can’t sleep, if I don’t find you a good wife."

Li Chengxiu vaguely felt that the atmosphere between those two was a little
unusual, but he didn’t say anything.

Li Shuo already had his eyes on Li Chengxiu, as he raised the glass of

readied wine: "To meeting old acquaintances at old places! I'm going to
drink this glass. You can join me if you want," said Li Shuo and drank his
red wine in one go, as if there was no tomorrow.

Li Chengxiu took a symbolic sip.

While waiting for their food, Li Shuo carefully chatted with Li Chengxiu.

"When I went back home that night, I felt that I had done something wrong.
I called you many times but I couldn't get through. After that, you didn't
come to work, or even to class. I tried to find you in many ways, but I just
couldn't. At that time, I really regretted my actions, and I was so afraid that
he did something bad to you.”

Li Chengxiu recalled that chaotic and crazy night, and unconsciously got
goosebumps.

Li Shuo asked again: "Chengxiu, tell me honestly, was everything okay?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head stiffly: "Yeah. He just resigned for me."

Li Shuo was a little relieved, but still very apologetic: "I'm so sorry. To be
honest, at my age, I rarely am driven by impulses. But when I saw that you
had to succumb to someone who clearly didn’t deserve you, I felt really
upset from the bottom of my heart."

Then Li Shuo smiled lightly: "However, now that you’ve broken up with
him, I feel you’ve made the right decision. Although it will inevitably be
painful, at least you are free now. I am very happy."

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale.

Li Shuo observed his expression and laid it on a little thicker: "When

Xiaohui told me all about it, I didn’t know he was talking about you, but I
already could sympathize with you."

Li Chengxiu's face was almost bloodless. He opened his mouth, not

knowing what to say.

Adrian was meanwhile shouting right next to him: "What did you call me?
What did you call me again? How many times have I told you not to call
me that! Do you think that a name that sounds that corny is worthy of me?
Does it fit me?[18]"

Li Shuo blinked at Adrian: "Adi, Adi… okay?" He looked at Li Chengxiu

again and smiled gently, "Did I say too much?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head slightly.

"But what I said was the truth." Li Shuo looked into his eyes, "I'm indeed
very happy that you are single now."

Under his hot and sincere gaze, Li Chengxiu felt his face become slightly
hot, and he slowly lowered his head.

[1] 315$
[2] In the original it says that he lay in the shape of this character: 大. I mean,
if you even care to know at this point.

[3] Police

[4] Emergency Center

[5] Kowloon encompasses the northern part of Hong Kong, on the mainland
across Victoria Harbour. It’s a shopping, arts, and entertainment district.

[6] It’s 130 km away from Kowloon…

[7] The school bully friend that I constantly forget even exists XD

[8] 2 hours and 30 minutes by plane.

[9] Chabei

[10] This superstition comes from the belief that ghosts and bad spirits
would not pursue and trouble someone with an ugly, unlucky name. So
children in the rural areas are often given derogatory nicknames to protect
them from evil.

[11] From a short poem by Xu Zhimo (1897 - 1931) called “Shayanara”

(“To Japanese Girls”). Full poem: The most gentle one bowed his head,

Like a water lotus flower that is too shy to overcome the cool breeze, The
Tao is cherished, the Tao is cherished,

There is sweet sorrow in that precious voice-

Shayanara! (translation by Yu Xinying)

[12] The count of phones destroyed by Shao Qun in a fit of anger this far: 2

[13] “Third Young Miss” means that she is the third among the sisters, so
she can’t be the eldest sister.

[14] Around 24,000$

[15] 6300$

[16] Read “Additional Inheritance” to know more about Shao Qun’s bad
deeds in Beijing

[17] For heartbreaking details read “Additional Inheritance”, and then this
passage wil make you cry.

[18] “Xiaohui” (小辉) is Adrian’s real given name. “Xiao”(小) means “smal ”
and “Hui”(辉) means “glow” or “light”, or

“radiance”. So his name basically means “little ray of light”. Cal me corny,
but I think it’s beautiful.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 41
Li Chengxiu hadn't had a meal in such a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere for
a long time.

After their food came, Li Shuo didn't mention Shao Qun anymore, and they
just had a nice chat.

Li Shuo was quick-witted, well-spoken, and also funny. Even Li Chengxiu,

who was not good at words, felt like he could communicate with him
comfortably. Besides, there was Adrian next to him who always had
something to say.

After eating, Li Shuo asked for Li Chengxiu's phone number.

The three chatted for a long time, and it was getting late. Adrian said that he
would take Li Chengxiu home.

Li Shuo blinked and said softly but irrefutably, "No, I'll take him home."

Adrian gave him an ambiguous smile: "Yes, of course. You can take him."

Li Chengxiu said with some embarrassment: "No...rather… Adrian can take

me. Thank you, bo…, I mean, Li-Ge..." Under Li Shuo's repeated reminders,
he was finally forced to change the way he addressed him.

But as for Li Shuo's obvious good intentions, he stil didn’t dare to accept it
so easily.

Li Shuo tilted his head and thought for a while: "Okay, buuuuut..." Li Shuo
deliberately lengthened the last sound, "Have dinner with me tomorrow
night. This time you can't refuse."

Li Chengxiu was about to speak, when Li Shuo raised his hand to interrupt
him: "I'll pick you up tomorrow."

He then smiled and winked at Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu was too embarrassed to refuse.

On the way home, Adrian kept talking Li Shuo up.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but ask, "Do you know him well?"

Adrian was silent for a while, and after a long pause he pretended to be
relaxed and smiled:

"Well, he was my first man after all. "[1]

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment.

"Don't worry, it was seven or eight years ago. I've almost forgotten about it.
Li Shuo is always really popular wherever he goes. I’m not sure I’d be able
to handle it. But he is a very good man, so as long as you want stability,
you’d be in good hands. It’s just that I am…not someone for stability.”

Li Chengxiu quietly listened to Adrian talk.

Adrian seemed to be caught in his memories: "I have wronged him. I had
something going on with another person behind his back… Not only did he
not blame me, but he also helped me a lot. He was already a well-known
accountant at the time. Long story short, I feel very sorry for him. I've
known him through many years, and he's never been very successful in his
relationships. So I always hoped that one day he’l find the one. Chengxiu, I
think you two are a match made in heaven. You really should grasp the
opportunity.

You can’t be hung up on that one person forever.”

Li Chengxiu silently leaned back in his seat. Li Shuo's gentle and elegant
smile appeared in his mind. Yet it was replaced by Shao Qun's domineering
and arrogant face in an instant.

When can he finally stop thinking about Shao Qun? When can he get out of
this hopeless abyss?
After getting off work the next day, Li Chengxiu quickly took a shower in
the restaurant and changed into a set of fresh clothes.

He had so much respect and admiration for Li Shuo that he felt it would be a
great rudeness to meet him with a dirty face, while smelling of burnt oil.

He hurriedly packed up his things and went out. He found that Li Shuo was
already sitting at a table in the lobby, leisurely drinking tea .

Li Chengxiu hurried over: "I'm sorry for making you wait!"

Li Shuo stood up with a smile and took the plastic bag from Li Chengxiu’s
hands: "It's fine. I just arrived."

Li Chengxiu felt embarrassed and wanted to take his bag back: "I can carry
it myself..."

Li Shuo suddenly raised the bag over his head and gave Li Chengxiu a
charming smile.

Li Chengxiu smiled back unconsciously.

Li Shuo embraced his shoulders in a very natural way and said: "Let's go. I
can’t park here for too long."

Li Shuo drove him to a sea-view hotel in Dameisha[2], where the waiter led
them into a large private lounge that was elegantly designed and could
accommodate at least 20 people.
Unexpectedly, there was no big round table in the lounge. Instead, there was
just a table for two by the window. The wood grain of the carved mahogany
table was clear and smooth, and it was clear at a glance that the thick varnish
could withstand a lot of damage. The wood was of an exceptionally high
quality.

Li Chengxiu had been working in a hotel for many years, so he knew that the
minimum consumption for such a big lounge was astronomical. In a low
voice he reminded Li Shuo: "It’s just the two of us."

As he was taking off his coat, Li Shuo said: "I know. If anyone dares to
disturb us, I won’t be happy.” He smiled and opened the thin wooden
curtains, "This private lounge is the best place in the entire hotel."

Outside the window, the sun was setting. On the sea surface one could see
the reflection of the bright yellow light which turned the sea water into gold.
The scenery was charming to the extreme.

Li Chengxiu was astounded for a while.

Li Shuo walked over and gently put his hand on his shoulder: "Take off your
coat.The heating here is pretty good."

Li Chengxiu came back to his senses and quickly unzipped his coat. Li Shuo
helped him take it off in a gentlemanly manner and even pulled out a chair
for him.

Li Chengxiu felt uncomfortable.

He didn't expect that he would end up in a scene from a TV show. Moreover,

even while acting this way in front of a man, Li Shuo didn’t seem
pretentious and kept his usual unadorned elegance.

Li Shuo noticed Li Chengxiu’s awkwardness, sat down with a smile and

asked, "Is my way of courting someone too old-fashioned?"

Li Chengxiu was startled for a moment, then he quickly shook his head.

"I have even more old-fashioned ideas. You know, I’ve always dreamed
about lifting the red veil on my wedding day."

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but smile.

"When I was about seven or eight years old, I moved to the United States
with my parents.

For more than ten years, our family of three was completely out of touch
with the rapid developments happening in China. When I returned to China
again, I found that a lot of information about Chinese traditions, folklore,
and culture that I got from my parents was out of date, because it was all
based on China they knew a decade or two ago. I’ve memorized everything
about traditional Chinese festivals, but when I talk to young people in their
twenties, nine times out of ten they don’t know what I’m talking about. I

grew up envisioning a wedding with an abundance of red, but when I

returned to China, I discovered that Western-style white weddings were
popular now. I was a little disappointed...I think I'm still a very traditional
Chinese man in my bones." Li Shuo saw that Li Chengxiu was listening to
him very attentively, and suddenly his regretful tone changed, as he joked:
"I’ve said too much. Al I wanted actual y was to ask whether you, my little
friend Li Chengxiu, would be interested in wearing red on your wedding
day?”

Li Chengxiu couldn’t keep up with Li Shuo’s quips, so he just nodded in

astonishment.

Li Shuo laughed heartily, half joking and half serious: "Great, now I’ve
taken my precautions. If one day I am lucky enough to marry you, you must
wear a red veil. When the time comes, you’re not allowed to think that I'm
old-fashioned. And you can’t go back on your word!"

Li Chengxiu blushed and smiled shyly.

Li Shuo's warm and sincere attitude made everyone who spent time with him
feel like a spring breeze. How could there be such a person in this world?
One couldn’t help but be attracted to him, be willing to obey him, hang on to
his every word and idolize him.

They were quickly served plates of delicate dishes.

Li Shuo noticed that Li Chengxiu, who was not good with words, only
talked more when they were discussing food. After all, this was his
profession. So when they couldn't find anything to say, both of them would
comment on the food presented on the table.

Li Shuo didn't care about Li Chengxiu’s stammering speech. He felt that his
best ability was not necessarily speaking, but he was definitely a good
listener. Li Chengxiu was very patient. He didn’t comment much, but he
responded with glances or nods to what the other party was saying, which
made one feel very comfortable.

The more Li Shuo got along with Li Chengxiu, the more he liked him.

Next to the view of the sunset over the sea and surrounded by soft music, the
two of them had a delicious dinner.

Li Chengxiu liked spending time with Li Shuo. He thought that most people
would like that. It didn’t only put him into a happy mood, but more
importantly, it made him feel that he could learn a lot from Li Shuo.

Whether it was about life, different experiences, or general knowledge.

What's more, although Li Shuo's intentions were obvious, he behaved very

well, and he never did anything to make Li Chengxiu uncomfortable. Li
Shuo was entering into his life very patiently, little by little.

Although Li Chengxiu was hesitant, many times he couldn’t refuse Li Shuo's

invitations, so the number of times the two of them went out gradually
increased.

When he was busy, he could make himself not think about Shao Qun. If
Shao Qun didn’t appear anymore, his life would slowly return to normal.

When Li Chengxiu went to work that night, a spark flew onto the sweater
worn by a colleague next to him, and it suddenly caught on fire. One of the
young workers was terrified and poured a ladle of water all over the guy.
Actual y, it wasn’t a big deal, as the man was wearing a shirt underneath, and
he was not burned at all. But his good sweater now had several burned holes
in it and couldn’t be worn anymore.

The colleague took it off with a sad face and said, "This sweater was really
good. It's pure cashmere. My aunt brought it to me from Inner Mongolia last
year. Now it's all ruined."

The people around him comforted him, someone handed him a towel, and
someone helped him with his wet clothes.

Seeing that the guy was about to throw the sweater into the trash can, Li
Chengxiu couldn't help himself:

"Hey…don't toss it."

The man gave him a strange look: "Why not? I can’t wear it anymore."

Li Chengxiu whispered: "Give it to me, okay? I'l use it… to knit some
clothes… for my dog."
Everyone laughed and commented that it was, indeed, the best use for it
now.

The man readily handed his wet sweater to Li Chengxiu: "Remember to dry
it before taking it apart. It needs to be dried on a flat surface, or it wil lose its
shape. Don’t forget to show us what you end up making out of it!"

"Aiya, chef Li is really virtuous and ingenious. He can do anything!"

"Yes, that’s true. Chef Li is very capable. If he was a woman, I would be

pursuing him for sure!”

Li Chengxiu's face was a little red, as he held on to the sweater with both of
his hands.

The cashmere, when soaked in water, was really heavy, and Li Chengxiu
didn't know where to put it now.

As he was shaking his head from side to side, trying to figure out what to do,
the kitchen door opened, and the young waitress from the front hall excitedly
said to Li Chengxiu, "Chef Li, the handsome friend from last time came to
visit you again. And he brought another handsome guy with him. They are
having dinner in the private lounge No. 4! You should hurry up." Her voice
was fil ed with excitement that couldn’t be concealed.

Li Chengxiu thought that she was talking about Li Shuo and Adrian.

Lately, Li Shuo would often visit him here. All the girls and boys from the
front hall, who talked to him, would treat him like a god and worship him to
no end.

Li Chengxiu was preoccupied. He couldn’t think what to do with this thing

in his hands, and at the same time he was afraid to make Li Shuo wait for a
long time. His brain went into an overdrive, so he just left the kitchen, while
still holding the wet cashmere sweater. As he gradually got to know Li Shuo
better, he realized that he never reacted weirdly to any of Li Chengxiu’s
blunders. So Li Chengxiu wasn’t that scared to expose his awkward side to
him. Adrian would make fun of him at times, but it was never malicious. It
was also almost eleven p.m. now, so there were not so many guests outside
anyway, and Li Chengxiu wasn’t afraid to be seen.

Thus, Li Chengxiu was currently wearing his chef's uniform with dirty spots
on his chest and carrying a wet gray-black sweater in his hands. He sneakily
made his way to the private lounge, planning to find a plastic bag there to
pack up the sweater.

As soon as he entered the room, he was completely dumbfounded.

Shao Qun was sitting in a chair with his legs stretched out. Next to him was
a particularly showy and beautiful young man who was intimately
whispering something into Shao Qun's ear.

Li Chengxiu's brain buzzed, and he froze on the spot.

As soon as the young man looked up and saw Li Chengxiu's appearance, he

laughed out loud with a “pffft”.

Shao Qun also raised his head, and the moment he saw Li Chengxiu, there
was a particularly complicated expression in his eyes. Instead of laughing,
his face sank.

He sarcastically said, "Did this restaurant hire you to cook or to do laundry?"

Li Chengxiu's face turned red and then pale again.

He silently squatted next to the TV cabinet, pulled out one of the plastic bags
that were usually used to pack meals for the guests, put the sweater inside it
and then turned around to leave.

Shao Qun shouted loudly, "Stand still!"

Shao Qun stood up angrily, irritated by Li Chengxiu's indifferent attitude.

It took him a lot of resolve to swallow his pride and come look for Li
Chengxiu again. So what the fuck was up with this reaction?
Li Chengxiu paused when his hand was already touching the doorknob.
Without turning around, he asked in a low voice, "Shao Qun, what more do
you want?"

To flaunt his beautiful lover in front of him? Shao Qun, what are your
intentions?

Shao Qun took a deep breath, raised his hand and knocked over a plate of
food off the table. The soup splashed onto Li Chengxiu's pants. Shao Qun
then yelled in a vicious voice: "Is this stuff even for human consumption?
What if my darling gets food poisoning? Can you fucking afford to pay for
it?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes became red, and he slowly turned his face: "Then… don't
eat here."

"Is it up to you to tell me where I should eat? Who do you think you are?"
Shao Qun felt that his heart and lungs were about to explode. If Li Chengxiu
had shown just a little bit of weakness, would he fucking need to do such a
stupid thing? Why couldn’t he be a bit more flexible? He didn’t want to live
in a fancy vil a. He didn’t want to have a life of leisure. Yet he had to ruin
himself in a place like this! What the hel did he want?

What the fuck was Shao Qun even doing here? He spent hours tossing and
turning, thinking about whether to come to Li Chengxiu or not to come to Li
Chengxiu. He then finally made a decision, only to start rethinking it over
and over again. Shao Qun’s brain was hurting from all of this.

Li Chengxiu trembled and said, "Shao Qun, you… don’t go overboard."

Shao Qun said angrily: "Is this how your restaurant treats its guests? By
talking to people with their backs?

Turn around and face me."

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath: "I’m off duty…you should go."

"Go? Why would we go, if we are still hungry? This stuff here is for pigs.
Go and make everything from scratch again!”
The guy who came here with Shao Qun was a little shocked by this
argument.

Just now, this Young Master Shao had tasted all the dishes that were served
to them. He then muttered,"He made it", and gobbled up almost everything
in such a hurry, as if he hadn’t eaten for the last three days.

He could see that the Young Master Shao and this cook were both very
angry.

Li Chengxiu looked at his watch, and it was almost time for him to get off
work. However, there was a rule at the restaurant that the personnel couldn't
leave if the guests were still there.

Li Chengxiu turned around slowly and lowered his head: "What do you
want? I’l make it now."

Shao Qun's eyes swept across Li Chengxiu's face and body several times.
Only then did he feel that he had looked enough. He deliberately embraced
the person beside him and said softly: "Darling, tell him what you want to
eat."

The young man was insightful, so he cooperated and casually named a few
dishes.

Shao Qun squinted and stared at Li Chengxiu: "Did you write it down?"

Li Chengxiu held back his tears and nodded.

"Darling, any special requests?"

The man shook his head awkwardly: "No, just don’t make it too spicy."

Shao Qun asked maliciously, "Did you hear that?"

Li Chengxiu nodded slightly.

Shao Qun continued making things difficult for Li Chengxiu again and
again, and he refused to let him go.
Li Chengxiu couldn't take it anymore. He felt that his vision blurred, so he
simply slammed the door and left.

As he walked across the corridor, he rubbed his eyes as hard as possible to

keep his tears back.

He didn't understand why Shao Qun was hurting him again and again when
they had already separated.

Couldn’t he give him some space? Why was he pushing him so hard?

Most of the kitchen workers had left already, only a few were still around.

Li Chengxiu quickly turned on the fire, poured the oil on the pan and made
the dishes that Shao Qun ordered one by one.

He looked at the fire several times, his eyes filled with tears, and he finally
just wiped them off. After Li Chengxiu had already been busy with the
dishes for a long time, the waitress came in and told him that Shao Qun and
the other guy had left.

Li Chengxiu paused and then fiercely threw his spatula away.

Li Chengxiu's shoulders trembled slightly, as he stood with his back turned

to the waitress.

But the young girl stil noticed that something wasn’t right and asked
cautiously, "Chef Li, are you alright?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "It's okay… you… go home."

Li Chengxiu helped the other worker to clean up the kitchen and then
dragged his tired body to the bus station.

Just as he was about to cross the road, a black sports car aggressively
swerved right in front of him.

The window of the driver's seat slowly rolled down, and Shao Qun's face
appeared.
"Get in the car," he ordered.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 42
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and glanced at Shao Qun, trying to get around
the car.

Shao Qun quickly opened the door and jumped out, grabbing Li Chengxiu’s
arm.

Like a frightened puppy, Li Chengxiu let out a low whimper and pushed
Shao Qun away with his other hand.

Shao Qun unrelentingly dragged him: "Li Chengxiu, get in the car."

"No, let me go."

Shao Qun angrily twisted his body: "Li Chengxiu! Get in the car. Let's
talk."

Li Chengxiu struggled uncomfortably: "No talking. There’s no need to

talk."

Shao Qun hooked his waist, pulling him up like a chicken, and dragged Li
Chengxiu to the car.

There were not many people on the road at night, but it didn’t mean that
there were no people at all. Some of these people were watching them from
across the street.

Li Chengxiu's face was bloodshot, but no matter how he kicked and

struggled, Shao Qun just wouldn’t let go.

Li Chengxiu was in a state of panic. Suddenly a lot of memories rushed to

the top of his head - the good Shao Qun did and all the bad, especially all
the hurt and betrayal caused by him. The urge to dig out his heart was so
painful that his brain was buzzing. Li Chengxiu raised his hand and slapped
Shao Qun in the face.
After the slap, both of them were stunned.

Shao Qun's face twisted, and the veins on his neck bulged: "How dare you
fucking hit me!"

Li Chengxiu looked at him fearfully.

Being hit in the face out of all places... Knowing Shao Qun's temper, who
would have the guts to give him such a blow, other than his old man? If he
didn't cripple this person right on the spot, his last name wasn't Shao. His
fists were already clenched but he still wouldn't lift them.

Shao Qun thought angrily that he just didn’t want to deal with some sissy.

Shao Qun dragged Li Chengxiu into the back of the car and then squeezed
himself in too.

Li Chengxiu was so scared that he cowered at the other side of the seat. But
how big could a car be? Shao Qun trapped Li Chengxiu between his body
and the door.

Li Chengxiu cried, "Let me go!"

Shao Qun grabbed him by the chin and turned Li Chengxiu’s face towards
himself: "I can fucking mess you up. Talk to me!"

Li Chengxiu looked at him in horror.

This look of obvious rejection made the evil fire rush straight to Shao Qun’s
forehead. He turned his face away and took a few deep breaths before he
could calm down. He then put his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist in a
domineering manner and said very close to his ear:

"Li Chengxiu, I real y don't want to fucking argue with you. You tell me…
tel me what you want, and I wil do my best, I promise!" Shao Qun said with
a rare openness to negotiations, while observing Li Chengxiu's expression.

Li Chengxiu paled and whispered, "I want to break up..."

Shao Qun roared: "Did I agree to fucking break up? Do you think you can
leave just because you say so?"

"You're getting married."

"Why are you so stupid? If I don't marry her, should I marry you? I'd love
to, but can I? Do you dare to expect that?”

Li Chengxiu trembled: "So, we break up..."

Shao Qun pinched Li Chengxiu’s chin and said fiercely: "Li Chengxiu,
where did I wrong you? Why are we fighting back and forth for an entire
month just because of this shitty thing? You say, I forced you away because
of my marriage? But I've already told you that this marriage is not going to
change anything between us. If you faithfully stay with me, I won't treat
you badly. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Why can't you
think about me for a second? I have to get married sooner or later. Or you'll
give me a son? Do you think that's realistic? You just don't have an official
title but I can give you everything else.

You're a man, why do you even care about this?”

Li Chengxiu's eyes were red.

Why do I care? I really like you, but you're marrying someone else and
expect me to continue to be with you as if nothing is wrong. What do I care,
you ask?

With tears in his eyes, Li Chengxiu asked, "Then can I…also… get
married?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He
immediately exploded: "The fuck no! I'll break your legs if you dare to
think about it!"

Li Chengxiu choked and asked, "You can get married… but I can't…
Why?"

Shao Qun was at a loss for words.

Li Chengxiu looked at the face he had loved so much before and was
heartbroken: "The reason is the way I regard you… and the way you regard
me… Shao Qun, you are not sincere at all. Don't… force me…

anymore. I…I don't want… to see you ever again."

Shao Qun was so angry that his temples throbbed. He could barely breathe.

Li Chengxiu's repeated refusal had almost exhausted his patience. He

couldn’t wait just to tie him up and carry him home. Release Li Chengxiu,
and let someone else have him? No, he won’t do it even if he is beaten to
death.

Without even thinking about it, Shao Qun suddenly blocked Li Chengxiu's
mouth.

He was so strong that his teeth slammed into Li Chengxiu's lips, and the
pain caused his vision to blur.

Shao Qun held Li Chengxiu by the back of his head. He sucked hard on the
soft lips he had been thinking about for a month, then pried his mouth open
and stuck his tongue in, twisting, turning, and licking all around.

He missed this clear flavor, this refreshing meal that he couldn’t eat in a
while[3]. Shao Qun was truly a beast - all he wanted was to strip Li
Chengxiu naked and do him hard right here and now.

While pushing Li Chengxiu against the car door and kissing him fiercely,
Shao Qun reached into his clothes and greedily touched the smooth skin.

Li Chengxiu felt so cold that he shivered all over - not just his body, but
also his heart.

He couldn't push Shao Qun away, so he just endured the violent kiss until
Shao Qun let him go.

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyelids, his brain dizzy because he couldn't

breathe. Motionless, he sat in the car seat.
Shao Qun gasped, rubbed his face, and said softly, "Darling, let’s go home.
I promise, I wil treat you well.

I’ve real y missed you these days..."

Li Chengxiu's body trembled slightly, his palms pushed against Shao Qun’s
chest, and he said hoarsely,

"We broke up. Let me go."

Shao Qun's hand froze on Li Chengxiu’s face, as he felt like he had received
a blow on his forehead. He couldn't recover for a long time.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and asked, "What do you want?"

Li Chengxiu said in a low but firm voice: "Let me go."

Shao Qun's face flushed with anger, and just as he was about to say
something, a thumping sound suddenly came from above his head.

Shao Qun turned around and saw a police officer standing outside,
knocking on the roof of the car.

Shao Qun cursed and rolled down the window.

"Sir, you can't park here. Please get out of the car and show me your driver's
license."

Shao Qun impatiently cursed: "I have no fucking time for this!"

The police officer's face changed: "Sir, please get out of the car
immediately and present your driver's license!"

Shao Qun angrily opened the door and went around to the front seat to get
his driver's license.

Li Chengxiu quickly jumped out of the car and ran across the road without
looking back.
Shao Qun exclaimed angrily, "Li Chengxiu!"

Over here, the police officer was pestering him, and over there Li Chengxiu
had already gotten on the bus.

Shao Qun wrote down the license plate number of the bus, threw the
driver's license at the police officer, and drove after the bus.

Looking at the familiar scenery passing him by, Li Chengxiu pinched his
arm, resisting the urge to cry.

He has been living in this city for several years, and when he thought about
it carefully, he really had nothing.

He had no home, no close friends, and even a guaranteed job with

promising prospects was gone just because of Shao Qun’s meddling.

What he thought was love, in the end, turned into sadness and grief.

He will be thirty next year. Is he going to spend the rest of his life alone like
this?

Where were the people who could be trusted and with whom they could
mutually support each other?

Having gone through the “Shao Qun experience”, Li Chengxiu real y didn’t
believe that there was someone in this world willing to be with him.

He was useless and cowardly, but he treated people with sincerity, and he
also had his dignity. Why did Shao Qun have to ruin him like this?

No matter how humble Li Chengxiu was, he still wanted to experience love

based on mutual respect and admiration. If it wasn’t possible, he would
rather give up on the idea than be a third wheel in other people’s
relationship.

Everything Shao Qun did pained and chilled him to the bone. Shao Qun
could never understand Li Chengxiu’s thoughts. He didn't bother to
understand, let alone give him a little respect. Li Chengxiu could only
escape now as far away as possible, trying to avoid all the traces of Shao
Qun.

As soon as Li Chengxiu entered the door, Teacup heard his movements,

jumped out of his nest and ran up to him to rub against his legs.

There was no air conditioner in this tiny attic apartment, so it was so cold
inside that it made Li Chengxiu shiver.

Li Chengxiu turned on the light, put down his backpack, picked up Teacup
and gently rubbed his cheek against its warm little body.

"Are you hungry?" Li Chengxiu asked. He took out some dog treats from
under his bed, sat down and fed them to Teacup one by one.

"I brought you…very good yarn…when I have time…I wil knit some
clothes for you…some tiny clothes," Li Chengxiu blinked and swallowed
his tears.

Teacup licked his fingers with his little tongue.

Suddenly a loud noise came from downstairs, followed by the landlord's

wife shouting, "Xiao Li, someone is looking for you!"

Li Chengxiu put Teacup on the bed, opened the door and shouted, "Come
in!" He thought it was Adrian, since Adrian was the only one at the moment
who knew where he lived. Although Li Shuo gave him a ride several times,
he would just stop at the gates of the community. .

Someone came upstairs with heavy footsteps.

The sound of those footsteps echoed heavily in Li Chengxiu's ears.

These were not Adrian's footsteps, it was...

Shao Qun appeared from the corner of the staircase with a sullen face. He
put his hands in his pockets, the collar of his black coat stood up high, and
he gloomily looked at Li Chengxiu. He walked very slowly, but every step
he took was as if he was stepping directly on Li Chengxiu's heart.
Li Chengxiu trembled and closed the door with a "bang".

Shao Qun's footsteps stopped right in front of the door, and he said
solemnly, "Li Chengxiu, can this shitty door withstand my kick?"

Li Chengxiu gritted his teeth and opened up.

Shao Qun looked at his palm-sized "room".

There was only one bed, a table, and a modest wardrobe there. Not even a
chair to sit on…

He could feel the cold just standing outside the door. He couldn't imagine
how Li Chengxiu could survive in such a place.

After hesitating for a while, he stepped inside and realized that the ceiling
was just as high as he was.[4] As long as Shao Qun straightened his back a
little, his hair would literally touch the ceiling.

Shao Qun said angrily, "You'd rather live in this kind of kennel than go
home with me? You’re insane.”

Li Chengxiu took a step back: "That wasn’t my home."

Shao Qun came closer, shrouding Li Chengxiu in his shadow.

"I really fucking regret wasting so much time with you. I should have
known better than to bother with your bullshit. I'm giving you two choices
now, pack your things and come home with me, or I'll carry you back.

You know, I am someone who does what he says. So will you leave on your
own, or do you want me to help you?"

Li Chengxiu couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He looked around the

small room at a loss and then fixed his eyes on Shao Qun’s intimidating
figure.

Shao Qun slammed at the flimsy wardrobe and said in a threatening voice,
"Pack up your stuff."

Li Chengxiu shook his head.

Shao Qun noted coldly: "It’s also fine if you don’t pack up. There is
everything at home." He grabbed Li Chengxiu's wrist and urged, "Let's go."

Li Chengxiu exclaimed, "No! You're crazy..."

Shao Qun hugged Li Chengxiu’s waist: "Shut up!"

Li Chengxiu shouted angrily, "Shao Qun! Let go! Let me go!"

Shao Qun scolded: "I shouldn't have fucking argued with you. Listen
carefully, the only way for us to break up is if I say so. Who are you to
break up with me? Don't even think about it!""

Li Chengxiu turned towards the woofing little Teacup. With tears in his
eyes he called, "Teacup!

Teacup......"

Shao Qun paused for a while, only to find the scared little puppy sitting on
the bed. He was about to pick the dog up, when Li Chengxiu's phone, which
was lying on the table, suddenly rang.

Li Chengxiu was surprised, and subconsciously he moved to get the phone.

However, Shao Qun was faster, and he managed to snatch up the phone
right before Li Chengxiu got to it.

He put it away, then frowned and looked at the display.

Nobody other than him should be calling Li Chengxiu's cell phone,

especially not at midnight.

When he saw the words "Li-Dage" spelled out on the screen, Shao Qun's
hand shook, and he stiffly accepted the call.

Li Shuo's gentle and steady voice came from the other side into the small
attic room: "Chengxiu, are you off work? Are you home?"

Shao Qun felt that blood rushed to the top of his head, and his vision
blurred. He clenched his fists, and his gloomy eyes swept towards Li
Chengxiu, staring right through his flesh.

Li Chengxiu was shocked and took a step back. He could physically feel
Shao Qun's violent anger, so he couldn’t stop shaking.

Seeing that there was no answer, Li Shuo asked curiously, "Chengxiu?"

Shao Qun sneered and said slowly, "He's off work. And he's also home.
Now he's sticking out his ass waiting for me to fuck him. Would you like to
hear it?"

Li Chengxiu exclaimed, "Li-Dage……"

Shao Qun had already dropped the call. He threw the outdated old phone to
the ground and smashed it to pieces[5].

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun with fear.

He had never seen Shao Qun in such a state before.

Shao Qun put his hand on his collar and slowly unbuttoned his coat. Coldly
he said, "So that’s how it is. I was wondering why you left so abruptly.
Turns out, you’re already with someone else. But he didn’t pay you well
enough, you little whore? That’s why you’re living in this doghouse,
pretending to be pitiful. Or are you stil evaluating your options? Huh?”

Li Chengxiu was very frightened, but he had no more possibilities of

retreat, so he could just sit down on the bed.

Shao Qun's tall figure was looming over his head like an impending
nightmare.

If I needed to find one picture to il ustrate this whole situation…

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 43
Content warning: rape, verbal abuse, violence, suicidal ideation[6]

Shao Qun threw his coat on the table and then roughly pushed Li Chengxiu
onto the narrow bed.

Scared, Li Chengxiu struggled against Shao Qun with both his hands and
feet: "Shao Qun, what are you doing..."

Shao Qun pinched his cheek and said viciously: "When did you hook up
with him? It wasn’t easy, since I destroyed your phone. So you had to go
find him at some point. When? Huh? When?!"

When he thought that Li Chengxiu might have had contact with Li Shuo
behind his back for a long time, he saw red. It felt as if his heart was being
punched non-stop, and the pain was unbearable.

"To think that I felt a little sorry for you! I didn’t expect that you were so
eager to get rid of me, so you could get together with your big boss as soon
as possible. And I wondered why you left so easily? Did you guys take me
for a fool?” Shao Qun's eyes were bloodshot, and the blue veins on his
forehead were bulging.

The hand that was holding Li Chengxiu's face seemed to be crushing his
bones.

Li Chengxiu contorted in pain and pushed Shao Qun's hand away as hard as
he could, but his strength was negligible in front of Shao Qun.

"Shao Qun...don't..."

He heard whining right next to his ear, and as he glanced towards the sound,
he saw that Teacup was nearby, hitting Shao Qun’s fingers with his small
paws and biting him.
The puppy was barely three months old, so its bite was more like a scratch.
Shao Qun picked Teacup up and threw it on the table without even properly
looking at it.

Li Chengxiu was afraid that it would fall off the table, so he stretched out his
hand to put the dog down.

However, Shao Qun pressed his chest hard to keep him from getting up,
knelt on one knee between his legs and began tearing his clothes off.

"Shao Qun!"

Shao Qun was already in a fit of rage. He had only one thought in his mind -
Li Chengxiu was with someone else. But Li Chengxiu was his. How could
he be with someone else?

“You real y surprised me, you little slut. Pretending to be so clean and
innocent with me! Marriage was just an excuse, right? You wanted to break
up with me to get together with him?"

With tears in his eyes, Li Chengxiu tried to grab his clothes: "No... That’s
not..."

Shao Qun pul ed off the cashmere scarf around his neck. Ignoring Li
Chengxiu’s struggle, he used it to tie his hands to the rusty iron bedpost,
"What do you mean “no”? Didn’t he just call you in the middle of the night?
Didn’t he know exactly which shift you were working today? Damn bitch, I
wil fucking kil you now!”

Li Chengxiu was trembling with fear and begged Shao Qun tearfully: "Shao
Qun, please, don't..."

Who could save him now? Such Shao Qun was really terrifying. It was like
he wanted to eat him alive.

In three or four strokes Shao Qun took off Li Chengxiu's pants, and he felt
cold air on his lower body. Li Chengxiu cried and tried to shrink back, but
Shao Qun squeezed his knees between Li Chengxiu’s thighs, so he couldn’t
close them.
With both hands, Shao Qun pressed his thighs wide apart, presenting Li
Chengxiu’s lower body to his sight.

"Li Chengxiu, do you know what I regret the most? What I regret the most is
that I didn’t fuck you in junior high. At the time, you were so easy… It was
enough to give you some cake to keep you happy for a long time. If I had
fooled around with you to my heart’s content back then, I wouldn’t have
bothered to pursue you now. And then you wouldn’t have had the chance to
cuckold me.”

Li Chengxiu sobbed, as his heart was being torn apart with unbearable pain.
He gave Shao Qun a heartbroken look: "Don't say that..."

Stop talking. Give me some leeway.

Shao Qun looked at his hurt expression and felt a twisted pleasure.

It was exactly how it was supposed to be - whoever made Shao Qun

uncomfortable, should feel even more uncomfortable.

Shao Qun took a hold of the other end of his long scarf, lifted one of Li
Chengxiu's legs, and wrapped it directly around his ankle.

This put Li Chengxiu into an extremely humiliating position.

He cried so much that he couldn't even speak properly anymore, as he

begged Shao Qun over and over again.

Shao Qun unzipped his pants, took out his penis and rubbed it a couple of
times to make it hard. He then grabbed Li Chengxiu's buttocks and ruthlessly
squeezed himself in.

Li Chengxiu's brief scream was swallowed into his stomach. He still had a
shred of awareness that the sound insulation wasn’t good in this house, and
the landlord's family lived on the first floor.

“Scream, you whore! When you did it with your Li-Dage, you were
screaming quite a lot, weren’t you? Did he have a good time fucking you?
Can he even satisfy a horny slut like you at his age?" Shao Qun's eyes were
gleaming. It seemed that he had completely lost his mind.

He grabbed Li Chengxiu's thin waist and inserted himself till the end.

Li Chengxiu bit his lips until they were oozing blood, and he couldn’t wait
to just faint from the pain as soon as possible.

Not only his body was bleeding, but also his heart. This brutal invasion
damaged both. All the sweetness and warmth from the past was smashed by
Shao Qun like a mirror, and nothing could ever be put back together again.

Shao Qun didn't feel good either. Entering such a dry and tight place, he was
also in pain.

But he felt a certain masochistic pleasure. The anger and mania[7] in his
heart had to be vented on the person who caused them in the first place.
Maybe that could give Shao Qun a moment of comfort.

Li Chengxiu's face was full of tears, and his skin was pale. Shao Qun turned
a blind eye to it and continued to vigorously move his waist.

This kind of sexual encounter that was basically rape[8] damaged Li

Chengxiu's body and mind to such a degree that he could never be healed
anymore.

As he continued his movements, Shao Qun cursed, "Bitch! Whore! Do you

really take yourself so seriously that you think that I can’t do without you?
Or that I wil never forget you? Are you fucking woth it? How many times
have I slept with you? And you dare go and seduce someone else? Who fed
and clothed you?

When have I mistreated you? Huh? When the fuck have I mistreated you?
You traitorous sneaky bitch!"

Li Chengxiu felt as if his lower body was split in half, as Shao Qun’s
genitals came in and out, cutting him like double-edged knives and
shattering all his dignity.
Shao Qun continued to spew vitriol: "You want to know about that
tortoiseshell? You want to know why you were forced to resign? Yes, I admit
it, it’s all fucking true! Because you are only worthy of serving me at home -
cooking and washing for me every day. Why would I want to keep a whore
who smells of oil and smoke? Who are you, Li Chengxiu, to fight against me
and dare to tell me “no”? You stil want to talk to me about your feelings?
Are you good enough for that? I’d like to see the fool who’d talk to you out
of all people about your pussy ass feelings! So I’m getting married, and you
think you deserve to have an opinion about it? You are nothing! You’re only
good enough for me to fuck!”

Li Chengxiu felt that he might have died at that very moment.

Wouldn’t it be great if he real y died? He couldn’t bear this anymore… Al

this suffering, all this pain, all this despair. If it was a nightmare, he would
like to wake up as soon as possible, because currently he was going mad
from the pain.

There were never any feelings, never any kind of sweetness… It never
existed. It was all fake. Shao Qun was just playing around with him and
treating him as a charity case. How could such cruelty exist in this world?

Li Chengxiu had never hurt anyone, and he had never done anything wrong,
so why was he subjected to this?

Shao Qun looked at the despair on Li Chengxiu's face and felt that his body
was as cold as ice.

Shao Qun wanted to hurt him, he wanted to hurt him in the cruelest way
possible, so in turn, he himself could feel better.

But it didn't seem to work at all. He felt that the pain in his heart made it
difficult for him to breathe, and that there was some cold liquid flowing
down his face. He didn't dare to touch it.

He also didn't dare to look at Li Chengxiu's crying face anymore. So he

untied the scarf and turned Li Chengxiu over into a kneeling position. He
then continued his vigorous movements.
This humiliating torture didn't last long. Neither the victim nor the
perpetrator could get any pleasure out of this. The rough sex only brought
pain.

Shao Qun couldn’t stay in this place anymore. He didn’t know what to do
next. What could he even do? It was dark and cold here, and this attic was
full of Li Chengxiu's suppressed cries. There had never been such a place
before that made Shao Qun so unnerved and terrified.

After he rushed out the door, the wind blew right into his face, making it feel
very cold.

He reached out his hand to touch his cheek and realized that he was actually
crying.

He stared blankly at the wet liquid on his hands, unable to come to his senses
for a long time. In his memory, the only time he cried before was when his
mother died.

Shao Qun squatted down slowly,very slowly… trying to ease the throbbing
pain.

When Li Chengxiu opened his eyes, he saw only endless whiteness. An

opaque whiteness without any other color.

He spent some time trying to figure out where he was and what he was doing
here.

As soon as he moved, he was stabbed by a shameful pain in his lower body.

Li Chengxiu's eyes widened, and in an instant, his brain was flooded with
unbearable memories.

His eyes felt sore, and he burst into tears.

Li Shuo, who was resting his eyes at Li Chengxiu’s bedside, woke up and
quickly jumped to his feet:

"Chengxiu, Chengxiu, you are awake!"

Li Chengxiu quickly realized that it was Li Shuo by his side, and that he was
currently at the place that deeply scared him. The place he never wanted to
come back to ever again. The hospital.

Li Shuo looked at Li Chengxiu’s tear-stained face, and his heart ached for
him.

He knew that something bad was about to happen on the other end of the
phone when the call was hung up. However, he didn't expect to see such a
horrible scene when he arrived together with Adrian.

Li Shuo’s temperament had always been peaceful. He hadn’t experienced

major emotional ups and downs in a long time, and he wasn’t one for great
joys or great sorrows. But at that moment, he real y had the urge to kill Shao
Qun, that brute.

At the same time, his sympathy and pity for Li Chengxiu increased
dramatically.

The moment Li Chengxiu saw Li Shuo, he covered his eyes with the back of
his hand.

He could already imagine how he got to the hospital, even though he fainted
right after Shao Qun left. How could he face anybody now?

Li Shuo stretched out his hand and stroked Li Chengxiu’s head. With his
other hand he gently removed Li Chengxiu's palm from his eyes. He gently
leaned down, tenderly kissed his tears away and said softly: "It's alright. I'm
here, it's alright." Li Shuo was also about to cry. Seeing Li Chengxiu like this
was painful.

Li Chengxiu held back the hoarse cries in his throat, but his tears kept
running down his face. He grabbed Li Shuo's hand with great strength, just
like a drowning person would grab the only available driftwood.

Only like this could he find some energy to live.

Li Shuo pressed his head into his arms and coaxed him softly: "Cry if you
want to cry. Don't hold back, Chengxiu. I will protect you, and I won't let
anyone hurt you ever again."

Li Chengxiu whimpered in a low voice, and then cried for a long, long time
in Li Shuo’s arms.

Adrian brought him fragrant porridge and some side dishes in the evening.

The three of them tacitly kept silent about Shao Qun and the reason why Li
Chengxiu was in the hospital.

Li Shuo put his work at the accounting company on the backburner for a
while, in order to take care of Li Chengxiu. He was gentle and considerate,
and all the doctors and nurses in the hospital, old and young, were
completely enamored.

Adrian also came to see him every day, often making self-deprecating jokes,
but nothing could make Li Chengxiu smile.

Li Chengxiu became more and more silent.

He didn’t like to talk in the first place, and now he wouldn’t even open his
mouth more than several times a day.

Adrian also brought Teacup to the hospital. Original y, the hospital didn’t
allow any pet visitors. After being discovered, Adrian tried to trick the nurse.
She was the motherly type, so she couldn’t resist seeing such a cute boy
putting up a spoiled child act, and ended up turning a blind eye.

Li Chengxiu often distractedly hugged the little Teacup, yet for most of the
time he was like a person without a soul.

He stayed in the hospital for a week in total.

In fact, there was nothing seriously wrong with him. He had a cold, and
there were certain unspeakable injuries, but they healed fast.

After he was discharged from the hospital, he learned that Li Shuo had
already found a new place for him to live. His luggage and other things were
already moved over entirely. The house had everything he needed, it was
warmly and comfortably decorated, and had a homey feel to it.

Li Chengxiu didn't say anything other than thank you and just moved in.

Li Shuo also helped him quit his job.

Because apparently Shao Qun had gone to the restaurant several times
already when he couldn't find anyone at Li Chengxiu's place anymore. Even
if Li Shuo hadn't resigned for him, Li Chengxiu was no longer willing to
work at that place.

He wanted to completely eliminate Shao Qun from his life. He never wanted
to meet him ever again or give him a possibility to find him.

These days, Li Chengxiu’s life was suddenly very idle. Al he did all day was
watch TV in a daze while holding Teacup in his arms.

Li Shuo saw him like this and was worried and heartbroken.

After Li Chengxiu had settled down a bit, Li Shuo planned to look for Shao
Qun, the brute. He didn't expect, though, that Shao Qun would deliver
himself to his door.
At this point, I wonder why I’m translating this.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 44
When Li Shuo received a call from his secretary, he was buried in a pile of
documents and was tiredly massaging his temples.

He was absent from work for a few days due to taking care of Li Chengxiu,
and now the work had piled up like a mountain.

The intercom phone rang. Li Shuo didn't even lift his head and just fumbled
to press the button.

"Mr. Li, Amy said that a certain Mr. Shao is looking for you..." The
secretary's voice was hesitant.

Li Shuo's expression froze, and he slowly raised his head: "Mr. Shao?"

"Yes, he didn't make an appointment. But Amy said that he seemed very
aggressive and didn't look like he was all there. Should we call security?"

Li Shuo responded with an affirmative "um" and then said: "Let him come
up. You can call the security department and ask for a few people to stand
outside my office. Also, call the police."

"Oh..." the secretary hesitated.

"Do as I say and just let him come up."

"……OK."

When he got off the phone, Li Shuo put all the important documents into
the drawer beside him, got up and stretched a little. He then pulled off his
tie and undid the top button on his shirt.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.

Li Shuo called out to enter.

The lady from the front desk opened the door, led Shao Qun inside the
office with a cold look on her face and then quickly backed away and
closed the door behind her.

Shao Qun looked exactly the same as the first time Li Shuo met him. His
clothes were bright and neat, his hair was layered and fixed with hair wax,
not a trace of lint could be seen on his spotless coat, his pants were ironed
straight, and his leather shoes were unbelievably shiny.

Despite all this, Li Shuo could still see that his condition was not very good.

As a man, he could understand that Shao Qun would never fall short in
front of his love rival. But all this deliberate perfection was betrayed by the
two dark circles under his eyes and his gloomy face.

One can’t hide when one is in high spirits, similarly, dejection and
depression couldn’t be easily concealed either.

Shao Qun's expression was that of a man who was ready to rush at Li Shuo
and kill him at any moment.

Li Shuo crossed his hands on his chest, subconsciously taking a defensive

posture. He looked at Shao Qun with contempt and ruthlessness in his eyes.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and said, "Where is Li Chengxiu?"

Li Shuo snorted sarcastically: "Do you think I'll tell you?"

Of course, Shao Qun knew that Li Shuo would never tell him anything
easily. But right now, he really had a sense of urgency to find Li Chengxiu,
and he had no other options but to come here.

After that night in the attic, he got himself drunk and slept all day and night.

He didn't know where he went wrong.

Although Shao Qun was short-tempered and often caused trouble, he had
always known the limits of what was appropriate. He had never felt that
there was something out of the ordinary in the matter of Li Chengxiu.
Everything that Li Chengxiu did was within the scope of Shao Qun's
control. So Li Chengxiu should have been firmly under his control! And he
thought that he was treating him pretty well. How did it get to this point?
This was really far from what he had expected.

Whether he was drunk or sober, he couldn't free himself from this

unfamiliar feeling of grief and anguish.

Shao Qun thought about Li Chengxiu so much that he was scared.

He was even more scared when the next day he went to see him again, and
the landlady told him that Li Chengxiu had moved out and was taken to the
hospital before he left.

Although in his heart he was stil disgusted with Li Chengxiu’s and Li

Shuo’s affair, he felt that this time he had really overdone it.

He had to get Li Chengxiu back. He could slowly think about what to do

with him in the future, but he absolutely needed to get him back.

Shao Qun pointed at the bridge of Li Shuo's nose, his eyes full of fire: "You
fucking dare to steal what belongs to me? Why the hell did you meddle?
Give him back to me now!"

Li Shuo showed a disdainful expression: "You are not worthy of Chengxiu.

Besides, he doesn’t want to see a brute like you ever again in his life."

Shao Qun was so angry that his eyes turned red. He clenched his fists, took
a step closer and said angrily:

"If it wasn’t for you stirring trouble between the two of us, would he have
left me? Don’t piss me off, Li or whatever your last name is!”

Li Shuo said coldly: "It's your own fault that Chengxiu left you. I only met
Chengxiu again after you two broke up. Don't throw dirty water on others,
just because you yourself lack in virtue. How dare you slander Chengxiu
like this!"
Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, his body shaking a little:
"Really...really?"

Did he misunderstand?

Shao Qun’s vision blurred for a moment, and his body suddenly turned
cold.

Li Shuo looked at him with disgust: "If you didn’t come to me yourself, I
was planning to find you anyway. I wanted to tell you that Chengxiu will
have nothing to do with you in the future. I will be taking good care of him.
If you still have any conscience left, don't look for him again because
seeing you might affect his mood real y badly.”

Shao Qun's eyes were full of bloodthirsty anger. He took another step
forward, desperately suppressing the fist that he wanted to swing.

He really wanted to find out Li Chengxiu's whereabouts from this man, so

he could only resist the urge to beat him to death.

Unexpectedly, it was actually Li Shuo who rushed up to Shao Qun and

punched him hard in the face.

He put all his strength into this punch, knocking Shao Qun to the ground at
once.

All of Li Shuo's anger was concentrated in his fist, and he was just about to
throw a second punch when Shao Qun dodged, jumped up from the ground
and rushed towards Li Shuo.

Without a word, both of them just continued fighting. Their eyes glowing
red, it was as if both of them were wrestling against their mortal enemy.

The sounds coming from the office quickly attracted the attention of the
people who were on standby outside, and several young and strong security
guards rushed in.

They were there to help Li Shuo, so several men tried to pull the two of
them apart first. It took a lot of effort to separate the fighters but finally
three or four security guards could hold Shao Qun down, and Li Shuo took
the opportunity to go up and kick him several times.

Shao Qun could not wait to kill Li Shuo. His eyes were bloodshot.

After a while, several police officers came in.

Li Shuo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a tissue and said
lightly, while adjusting his clothes: "This person broke into my office for no
reason and attacked me."

Shao Qun had also regained his composure at this time. Although he knew
it was humiliating, the only thing he regretted was that he didn't punch this
bastard Li Shuo a few more times just now.

Seeing this situation, the police naturally took Shao Qun away. Because it
was clear that there was something wrong with Shao Qun.

Li Shuo looked at the surprised employees standing in his office who were
all busy gathering their jaws off the floor. He reluctantly smiled and waved
his hand: "He’s gone. Let's go back to work."

In the evening, Li Shuo went to visit Li Chengxiu.

Recently, he would often go to Li Chengxiu's place to eat after work. Even

if he worked late, he still went to have a late-night snack.

Li Chengxiu had already prepared the meal for him.

As soon as Li Chengxiu opened the door, he was startled by Li Shuo's

bruised cheeks.

"This… What happened?"

Li Shuo smiled: "It's fine."

Li Chengxiu let him into the room and asked, "Does it hurt? Did something
happen?"
In Li Chengxiu’s impression, Li Shuo was by no means an impulsive
person. He always calmly analyzed the pros and cons of everything, and he
never did anything useless. Even if he encountered a robbery, Li Chengxiu
thought that he would probably just pay off the thief to avoid trouble.

How could Li Shuo get into a fight?

Li Shuo turned his back to Li Chengxiu and put his coat on the hanger:
"Shao Qun came by my company today.."

Li Chengxiu was shocked, and a look of pain appeared on his face.

Li Shuo turned his head and smiled lightly: "It's been a long time since I
had a fight with anyone, so I got to blow off some steam."

Li Chengxiu looked at him guiltily: "I’m sor..."

Li Shuo waved his hand to stop him from apologizing: "Hey, you don't have
to say sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. If I didn't teach him a
lesson, I would have felt even worse."

Li Chengxiu put Teacup with its sil y expression on the sofa: "I’l look for
some medicine."

"No." Li Shuo took a step forward and held Li Chengxiu’s hand, "I already
dealt with it. It's all fine. The swelling will go away in a few days."

Li Chengxiu was a little uncomfortable and too embarrassed to pull his

hand back.

Li Shuo looked at him tenderly and said in a relaxed tone, "I have
something for you. You will definitely like it."

Li Chengxiu nodded.

Li Shuo took out a red leather booklet from his pocket and turned the cover
towards Li Chengxiu: "Your junior accounting certificate."

Li Chengxiu widened his eyes.

This certificate, which he had basically forgotten all about, seemed to
immediately bring him back to reality.

For the past few weeks, he felt like he was living in a dream. He closed
himself up and built a shell around himself. It seemed that this was the only
way he could protect himself from external damage.

If somebody asked him what he was doing recently, he would have trouble
remembering anything. He could spend a whole day silently staring into a
corner.

Shao Qun was like cancer, which was spreading in his brain. The only way
to avoid that pain and protect himself was to keep his brain completely
blank.

But this thin little booklet finally woke Li Chengxiu up. He was like a
person who was gradually recovering from being frozen and numb -
although the pain was unbearable, there was, after all, a hope for getting
better.

He tremblingly took the red booklet into his hands, his nose twitching
slightly.

Li Shuo patted his head: "Congratulations! Let's celebrate it today."

Li Chengxiu looked gratefully at Li Shuo.

After the past few weeks, Li Shuo was very happy to finally see an actual
expression on Li Chengxiu's face.

"Chengxiu, how about you take a few more days off and then go to work at
my friend's company?"

Li Chengxiu blinked: "Okay...Okay, thank you."

Li Shuo smiled: "You don’t have to be polite with me, I think you can learn
a lot there. You have to work hard so you can take the Certified Public
Accountant exam later."
Li Chengxiu nodded, full of gratitude to Li Shuo.

He remembered something and said: "This…this house... I wil pay the

rent..."

Li Shuo raised his eyebrows and glanced at him with a smile: "Okay. In
fact, this house would just stand empty, if it wasn’t for you. So why don't
you just help me pay for the property fee? It's about three hundred a
month."

Li Chengxiu shook his head with embarrassment: "It’s too little..." How
could he pay only 300 RMB a month for such a good apartment?

A few days ago, he had already mentioned that he wanted to look for
another place, but Li Shuo gently persuaded him to stay.

Li Shuo blinked: "Or you can kiss me to cover the rent?"

Li Chengxiu slightly lowered his head, his face a little red.

Li Shuo laughed and said softly: "Chengxiu, I only want to take care of you.
You don't need to feel embarrassed. You just stay here, and you can pay the
rent, if it makes you more comfortable. I think you are not in a very good
state right now, so it’s not suitable for you to live completely on your own.
When your work and life are on the right track, we can look for another
apartment together, okay?"

Li Chengxiu hesitantly stared at the porcelain bowl.

He didn't want to owe anyone anything anymore - the price turned out too
high for him to pay.

But Li Shuo was such a sincere and persistent person. And Li Chengxiu
wasn’t good at rejecting others, especially people with good intentions.

"Chengxiu, if you weren’t living here, the apartment would just be empty.
I'd rather you stay here and make use of it. And this way you can help me
pay the property fee, okay?"
Li Chengxiu finally nodded.

Since he had partly paid Shao Qun back, money was really tight right now.

Li Chengxiu didn’t even receive his salary from the restaurant, since he had
quit before the end of the month. Even his medical expenses were paid by
Li Shuo.

With that little money he had now, it would be very difficult for him to find
a rental.

He silently recorded all the debts he owed. Once he started making money
again, he would return everything to Li Shuo, till the last penny.

Li Chengxiu didn't want to stay and rest at home anymore. He couldn't wait
to finally go to work.

Li Shuo introduced him to a medium-sized foreign trade company, which

mainly engaged in clothing and industrial crystals[9]. The daily accounts
were numerous and cumbersome, but although it was tiring, it was still an
exercise for the mind. And due to Li Shuo's negotiations, the salary wasn’t
low. Li Chengxiu was really satisfied with this kind of work. He felt as if he
was gradually coming back to life.

Shao Qun's situation, on the other hand, wasn’t good at all.

Although on the day of the fight Shao Qun only needed to make one phone
call to get the few public security officers off his back, this matter naturally
filled him up with pent up anger. He secretly vowed that if he didn't kill this
Li guy, his last name won't be Shao anymore.

He immediately called Xiao Zhou and asked him to investigate Li Shuo

thoroughly and find someone to follow him, in order to locate Li Chengxiu.

After everything was arranged, Shao Qun called Li Wenxun[10] and asked
him to fly over to Shenzhen to have a drink with him that day.

They usually had their own busy schedules, and Shao Qun wouldn’t
normally ask him to fly all across China for a drink. Li Wenxun knew that
something was up as soon as he heard the request, so he also took Big
Li[11] with him.

Shao Qun made a point of not calling Xiao Sheng.

He still remembered that last time Xiao Sheng sarcastically reminded him
not to allow his little lover to take advantage of him. Right now, Shao Qun
just wanted to drink and not think about why things were the way they
were.

Shao Qun was already drinking in the private lounge all alone, when Li
Wenxun and Big Li came in. As soon as they entered, they shouted at Shao
Qun, "You're really fucking mean! After getting us all the way here, you
sent a driver to pick us up? We’re not asking you to throw a welcoming
parade but you could have at least picked us up personally!”

Shao Qun glanced at him and said nothing.

Li Wenxun leaned over and sat beside him: "Shao Qun, what's wrong with
you?"

Big Li also sat down next to Shao Qun: "Fuck, what’s with the wimpy
look?."

Shao Qun was about to open his mouth when his phone suddenly rang.

Shao Qun looked at the caller ID, and it was no exaggeration to say that fire
rushed to the top of his head.

He picked up the call but didn’t say anything.

A calm and cold female voice came from the other side: "Shao Qun, Qi
Ming called me, saying that she can't reach you. What’s going on?"

Shao Qun sneered: "Qi Ming? Who the hell is Qi Ming?"

There was a pause: "Shao Qun, what's wrong with you? Don't be an
asshole. If you guys are quarreling, then you should properly…”
"Quarrel my ass!" Shao Qun enunciated, "Sis, listen up. I'm not tying the
knot, yes, you heard it right, I'm not fucking tying the knot! Don’t you just
love your little schemes? Don’t you always get what you want?

This time, we’l see about that. We’l see if you can drag me to the Civil
Affairs Bureau." Shao Qun finished talking and pressed off the call with a
snap.

Li Wenxun and Big Li looked at him in surprise.

"Hey, what's the matter? Why are you talking to your sister like this? And
what’s with not getting married?

You’re real y not going to…?"

The phone rang again.

Shao Qun took a sip of wine and accepted the call. Shao Wen's voice came
into the room again, but this time it was rather stern: "Shao Qun, are you
drunk? What nonsense are you blabbering about? What is wrong with Qi
Ming? You should be more considerate. She’s a woman, and she is younger
than you.”

"I’ve said everything already. I don't fucking know who Qi Ming is. I told
you the other day to leave me and my private affairs alone. Why did you
send the third sister to my house, huh? You think I will do what you want
after you’ve pushed Li Chengxiu out? I’m telling you, I won't! It’s over
now. You can clean up the mess any way you like it. You’re such a smart
ass after all, so you can handle it yourself.” This time after saying
everything he wanted, Shao Qun turned off his phone, picked up the wine
on the table and took a sip.

Big Li insisted on snatching the wine glass out of his hand, and said loudly,
"Shao Qun, what the hell is wrong with you? Speak!."

Shao Qun threw the glass to the ground and growled uncontrollably:
"Damn! Li Chengxiu ran away with someone! Ran away with someone
else!"
Guys, we did it. We’re entering the crematorium.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 45
Both Big Li and Li Wenxun were stunned.

Li Wenxun swallowed a mouthful of spit, then pretended to be relaxed and

smiled: "Big fucking deal! So a two-timing rabbit escaped. When we just
came in, I saw a pretty little darling outside with a very twisty waist. Should
I call him here for you?"

Shao Qun was silent.

Li Wenxun gave Big Li an awkward look.

Big Li patted Shao Qun on the shoulder: "Hey, buddy, you can’t be serious.
I know it's frustrating, but real y, so what if he ran away? It’s easy to find
someone better than him, right?”

Shao Qun drank a little more, then looked at his hands and muttered, "I
can't find him now. Fuck, I really have to find him."

"Yes, you should find him and his lover, strip them both naked and throw
them out on the street to relieve your anger, okay?"

Shao Qun shook his head, then hugged it with both his hands, sitting
uncomfortably and repeating over and over again, "I have to find him."

Li Wenxun frowned. He couldn't stand Shao Qun's dejected appearance

which made him look stupid. He quickly changed the subject and said,
"New Year’s coming up. When wil you return to Beijing?"

Shao Qun whispered: "I won’t."

Big Li shouted loudly, "What the hell, Shao Qun! Do you really intend to
go against your sister? Are you not afraid of being beaten to death by your
old man Mr. Shao?"
When Shao Qun thought that things became like this between him and Li
Chengxiu due to his sister’s

“good” deeds, he didn't want to go back to his family’s house at all.

Besides, in case Xiao Zhou finds Li Chengxiu in a couple of days, Shao
Qun has to go and take him home at the first opportunity.

He wanted to celebrate the New Year’s together with Li Chengxiu. Just the
two of them.

This was the busiest time of the year in the office. The young accountants
were so tired of looking at the mind-numbing accounts over and over again
that they wanted to fall asleep right on the office floor.

Li Shuo was also so exhausted every day that he didn't go to see Li

Chengxiu for several days in a row.

But he knew that Li Chengxiu had been doing well recently. He was very
motivated at work, and he seemed much more alive.

Taking advantage of some free time at noon, Li Shuo called Li Chengxiu.

"Hello, Li-Dage."

Li Shuo felt comfortable when he heard this soft voice.

"Chengxiu, are you having lunch?"

"Yes, on my break right now."

"I've been very busy recently. It's the end of the year."

"Yes, it's a busy time. Everyone is very occupied now."

"Have you adapted well?"

"Yes… I can learn… a lot…It’s very good."

"That's good! Since you're planning to do this in the future, you have to get
used to it. I'm just worried that your body won't be able to take the
pressure."

"No, I'm fine."

"Did you have a good meal?"

"Yes, don't worry." Li Chengxiu thought a little bit and then asked, "What
about you?"

"Me?" Li Shuo laughed, "I just order takeout every day now. After eating
too much of your cooking, nothing can measure up anymore! Tel me, what
should I do?”

Li Chengxiu chuckled: "When you're free again, let's have dinner."

"Al right, once I find time I’l definitely take you up on that." Li Shuo
smiled, "By the way, Chengxiu, New Year’s Eve is coming up. Are you
going back to your hometown or something like that?"

Li Chengxiu paused, and there was a hint of sadness in his voice: "No, I
don’t have any relatives."

"So you're staying in Shenzhen for New Year’s?"

"Um."

"Oh, all right then. I’m not planning to go back to the United States this
year. Adrian is also staying here for New Year’s. How about the three of us
celebrate together?"

Li Chengxiu felt slightly melancholic in his heart. He had no idea how

many times he had been preparing the New Year's Eve dinner by himself,
making dumplings[12] just for himself and then watching the Spring
Festival Gala[13] all alone.

It would be such a joy to have someone celebrate New Year’s with him.
He couldn't hide the excitement in his voice: "Okay, okay! I'll prepare the
food, and you two can come over for the New Year's Eve dinner."

Li Shuo said with a smile: "Good. Then on the day of the holiday, we
should go shopping together for the New Year's goods[14]. And we must go
early, otherwise it’ll get real y crowded."

Li Chengxiu nodded quickly: "Right, right. New Year's goods."

As the Chinese New Year was approaching, it gradually got warmer

outside, and there were more and more people out on the streets. The
atmosphere was cheerful all around, as everyone was crowding the
shopping malls to purchase New Year's goods.

Li Shuo was pushing a cart that was so full of stuff that it looked like a little
mountain. Li Chengxiu followed him, looking helplessly at the long
checkout line in front of them.

Li Shuo sighed: "This line will take at least half an hour or even more."

Li Chengxiu nodded. He would rarely come to supermarkets, since he could

buy things for cheaper at small markets. So he real y had no idea that there’l
be so many people here during the Chinese New Year’s rush.

Li Shuo leaned his elbows on the cart and looked at Li Chengxiu with his
head sideways and with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

Li Chengxiu noticed his gaze and said a little bashfully, "What..."

"Are you happy today?"

Li Chengxiu smiled lightly: "Yes." Then he immediately frowned,

"However, now we have too many things to eat…

"I can finish all of it. Since I’m going to have a lot of days off, I can go to
your place every day and mooch off some food, okay?"

Li Chengxiu nodded and smiled shyly at him.

Li Shuo stood up straight, trapped Li Chengxiu between himself and the
cart, then reached out and shook his palm.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled softly.

Every time they met, their feelings would slowly warm up. Li Shuo had
excellent self-discipline, and he never crossed the line with Li Chengxiu or
put pressure on him.With this gradual approach, they became closer without
Li Chengxiu even noticing.

Li Chengxiu didn't know if he could fall in love with someone again, but Li
Shuo was so kind to him, that he couldn't bear to refuse Li Shuo's goodwil .
If somebody treated him well, Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but want to return
their favor tenfold. Besides, staying by Li Shuo's side made him feel safe
and at ease.

With Li Shuo around, he didn’t have to face the past all alone. Perhaps, he
wouldn’t have to face the future alone either.

No matter how long Li Shuo could actually stay in his life, at least for now,
Li Chengxiu was really reluctant to let go of this warmth.

By the time they paid, their legs were already really sore from standing. Li
Shuo pushed the cart to the underground parking lot, loaded all the stuff up
into the trunk and then took Li Chengxiu out for dinner.

The two of them happily enjoyed their meal, then leisurely strolled around
the mall buying a lot of useful and useless things along the way, like any
other ordinary couple.

Li Chengxiu really disagreed with Li Shuo's purchasing policies and

couldn't help reminding him not to buy things that were unnecessary.

Li Shuo was a person who paid great attention to the quality of life. He
would even take a long time to choose socks made from the right material
and towels of the perfect thickness. Thus, he patiently and with some sense
of humor tried to instill his life philosophy into Li Chengxiu.
More than two hours of shopping was basically their after-dinner exercise,
and by the time they came out from the mall, it was already dark outside.

Li Shuo didn't give it a rest until he physically couldn’t carry anything in

his hands anymore. The two of them walked to the parking lot with their
large and small bags. They loaded their things into the car with a smile and
finally got into the front seats. Li Shuo looked at the vehicles lining up in
front of them and sighed.

After waiting for several minutes, the car successfully pulled out of the
parking lot. Lined up behind a long queue, they moved towards the toll gate
little by little.

Bored, Li Shuo turned on the radio. The radio host happened to be telling a
joke about traffic jams right at that moment, and Li Chengxiu giggled.

Li Shuo couldn't help stretching out to hold Li Chengxiu’s hand. Softly he

said, "Your hands are so cold.

Didn't we just come out of the mall?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at Li Shuo's hand that was wrapped around his own
and responded, "My hands get cold easily."

Li Shuo smiled and said, "My blood runs hot. As long as it's not freezing,
my hands and feet will always be hot. Just enough to keep you warm."

Li Chengxiu smiled shyly and whispered, "Thank you."

Li Shuo's heart was moved.

He had always thought that Li Chengxiu looked his best when his head was
slightly lowered, and he had this shy expression on his face. He was so
good-looking that Li Shuo just couldn’t help himself.

Li Shuo squeezed Li Chengxiu’s palm.

Li Chengxiu raised his head and looked at him suspiciously with his bright
eyes.
Li Shuo leaned over, approached him slowly, and said gently, with some
expectation, "Chengxiu, can I kiss you?"

Li Chengxiu's face instantly turned red, and he stared blankly at Li Shuo.

Li Shuo burst out laughing: "Chengxiu, if you look like this, I'll take it as
your tacit approval."

"I..." Li Chengxiu became nervous.

He asked himself over and over again, whether it was possible between him
and Li Shuo.

Li Chengxiu lowered his head and said hesitantly, “Li-Dage, what if..."

Li Shuo turned his head to the side and slowly came closer.

Li Chengxiu was so anxious that he immediately stopped breathing.

Li Shuo half-closed his eyes and gently gave him a peck on the lips, saying
tenderly but firmly, "Chengxiu, I want to kiss you."

Li Chengxiu timidly clenched his fists and looked at Li Shuo without

blinking. There was panic and hesitation in his eyes. He looked like a little
kitten that had just been weaned and was fearfully facing the world.

Li Shuo's heart was full of tenderness, as he stretched out his hand, gently
cupped the back of Li Chengxiu’s head, covered his lips and tenderly
sucked on them.

Li Chengxiu trembled as he accepted the kiss.

He felt that there was a chaotic stream of contradictory thoughts flowing

through his mind. It seemed, this chaos was about to break the barriers of
his physical body and violently erupt. As if right the next second he
would…

Boom! ! !
The loud noise scared Li Chengxiu, and he screamed "Ah!" under the
illusion that it was his own chest that had just exploded.

Li Shuo was also startled. Subconsciously he protected Li Chengxiu with

his arm.

Both of them turned their heads in horror to look where the sound came
from and found that the windshield now had a spider crack on it - tiny
cracks were spreading in all directions from the center of the impact. If this
hadn’t been hard tempered glass, the windshield would have been shattered
at once.

Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu turned to look at the perpetrator, and their

expressions suddenly changed.

Outside the window they saw a furious Shao Qun, who was holding up a
steering wheel lock bar, aiming yet another blow.

Suddenly two people quickly ran towards him and grabbed Shao Qun by his
arms from both sides.

Li Chengxiu's face was bloodless, as he looked at Li Wenxun and Zhou Li

desperately trying to stop the crazy-acting Shao Qun.

Li Shuo's face was ashen. He soothingly patted Li Chengxiu's shoulder:

"Don't be afraid. And don't get out of the car." He then opened the door and
gave Shao Qun a cold look.

Shao Qun's roar became louder: "Let go of me! Li, you son of a bitch! How
dare you touch him! Are you worthy?"

Li Shuo showed a cruel smile: "Li Chengxiu is mine, so why can't I touch
him? Mr. Shao, I can forgive you for breaking my car but can you afford to
pay for ruining my date?"

"Fuck you!" Shao Qun felt his heart was about to explode, his brain was
buzzing, and he had a splitting headache.
After waiting for so many days, Shao Qun finally got news from the person
who was tailing Li Shuo. Like an idiot, he rushed here just to witness Li
Chengxiu and Li Shuo chatting and laughing inside the shop and then
affectionately kissing in the car. At this moment, Shao Qun wanted nothing
more than to shoot this bastard Li Shuo right in the head.

The commotion soon attracted the security guards who rushed towards
them from all sides of the square in twos and threes. The people stuck in the
traffic jam were also leaning out of their cars and curiously watching the
free show.

Li Wenxun’s and Big Li's faces were getting red from anger. They had
never been so humiliated in all their lives.

They desperately dragged Shao Qun back: "Shao Qun! Shao Qun, calm
down! What are you fucking nuts?"

Big Li grabbed the steering wheel lock bar from Shao Qun's hand, turned
towards Li Shuo and raised his chin: "Hey, you better fucking take this little
sissy away as quickly as possible! Or you know, it might be fun to smash
your head in with this thing."

The onlookers could notice at first glance that this was a scene of two men
fighting each other due to jealousy. However, one could clearly tell that
these men were not ordinary people. Both of them were rich and handsome.
Not to mention that their cars were also eye-catching and of high quality. So
everybody was intensely curious about what kind of impressive beauty was
sitting in that car.

But since it was dark, one couldn’t see the beauty very clearly from the
outside. It was only possible to decipher a very good-looking white face
with red lips that was turning left and right in fright.

The security guards quickly rushed over and were already surrounding Shao
Qun and his “murder”

weapon.
Li Shuo gave Shao Qun a sarcastic look and got back into the car.

Shao Qun called out: "Li Chengxiu, Li Chengxiu! Get out of the car now!
Get out of the car!"

Li Shuo looked at the windshield with some distress, thinking that it won’t
be easy to drive back safely under the conditions that affected his vision so
much.

Li Shuo reluctantly took Li Chengxiu's coat from the back seat: "Chengxiu,
let's take a taxi. It's not safe to drive like this." He then took out his mobile
phone and called his assistant, asking him to take care of the car.

After he was done with the call, Li Shuo noticed that Li Chengxiu was
looking at him helplessly, his face as white as paper. He wasn’t even
wearing his coat.

Li Shuo draped his coat on him and gently reassured him: "Don't be afraid.
I told you I'm here, so don't be afraid. Trust me, okay?"

Only then did Li Chengxiu stretch out his arms and put on his coat properly.
He held onto the handle for a very long time before finally pushing the car
door open.

As soon as Shao Qun saw him come out, he forcefully pushed away the
guards that were holding him back, "Li Chengxiu, Li Chengxiu!" His voice
was not only furious, but also had a hint of imperceptible grievance.

He had too many things to say, too many things to do. He wanted to snatch
Li Chengxiu home, so that no one could find him and no one could compete
with Shao Qun for his attention.

Li Chengxiu, however, did not even look at him. He lowered his head,
while Li Shuo shielded him.

Shao Qun felt as if he had been punched in the chest, and the pain was
unbearable. Li Chengxiu's gesture of seeking protection from him was like
a stab.
Li Shuo put his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist and comforted him in a
low voice: "I'm here, Cheng Xiu.

Don't worry."

Only then did the onlookers see that the person who caused so much
jealousy was actually a man. Such an unexpected culmination of the drama
had the crowd abuzz, as they eyed them with bemusement.

Li Shuo explained the situation to the staff, left the car and called a taxi.

When Shao Qun saw that they were about to leave, he struggled, elbowing
Big Li in the stomach.

"Ouch, fuck!" Even though Big Li was wrongfully beaten, he still didn't
dare to let go of Shao Qun and only grabbed him tighter.

Shao Qun shouted at Li Chengxiu's back: "Li Chengxiu, how dare you
leave! You are not allowed to go!

You come back to me, Li Chengxiu! Come back!"

Li Chengxiu didn’t look at him and just hid in the taxi as soon as possible.
Li Shuo got in with him, smiling provocatively at Shao Qun.

"Li Chengxiu! Don't go! Come back to me. Don't go!" Shao Qun's roaring
voice was filled with tears. He had never expected that anyone could hurt
him so much in his life, leaving him powerless to fight back.

Li Chengxiu really just left. Without even looking at Shao Qun from
beginning till the end, he left with another man.

Didn't Li Chengxiu like him? How could he be together with someone else
so quickly? What the heck? How could he not even look at him? How could
he be so cruel?

How could he do this? How could he be like this?

Shao Qun’s heart felt tight, and he felt like he was about to cry, when he
thought of Li Chengxiu's back.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 46
On the way home Li Chengxiu was completely silent. Li Shuo held his hand
and felt that it was as cold as an ice cube, and it couldn’t be warmed up for a
long time.

As soon as they entered the door, Teacup happily ran towards them.

The chocolate-colored little body bounced up and down on the snow-white

floor tiles. It almost looked like a remote-controlled plush toy.

Li Shuo grabbed the puppy and fiddled with his fingers around its nose:
"Such a cute little thing." Then he turned its body and rubbed it against Li
Chengxiu's face.

Li Chengxiu reluctantly twitched the corner of his mouth and took Teacup
into his hands.

Li Shuo pulled Li Chengxiu down on the sofa, poured him a cup of hot water
and then gently stroked his back.

"Feeling better?"

Li Chengxiu stiffened his neck and nodded.

Just now, he did not even dare to look at Shao Qun.

Just hearing his voice made all kinds of unbearable memories come up. The
humiliation and pain were carved into his bones, soaked in blood and could
never be erased.

Before that night, Li Chengxiu still had many good memories of Shao Qun.
But afterwards, all that was left was fear and hatred.

Li Chengxiu didn't want to remember anything at all, yet, scarily enough,

every word Shao Qun said was clear in his ears and vivid in his mind,
reminding him over and over again how pathetic and unbearable he was in
this relationship that did not even deserve to be called a relationship.

He would rather completely disappear from this world than see Shao Qun
ever again.

Li Shuo hugged Li Chengxiu’s trembling shoulders and comforted him

softly: "Chengxiu, don't be afraid. I told you that you can trust me, okay?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but move closer to Li Shuo, wanting to borrow

some of his warmth for his cold body.

Li Shuo was greatly encouraged by this subtle action. He took Li Chengxiu

into his arms and gently consoled him.

"Thank you," Li Chengxiu said witlessly.

Li Shuo kissed his forehead and responded softly, "You're welcome."

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and gave Li Shuo a grateful look.

Li Shuo held his face and chuckled, "We haven’t finished our kiss from
before. Should we continue?"

Li Chengxiu awkwardly looked down. Li Shuo didn't wait for him to speak,
instead he lowered his head and kissed his lips.

It was a very tender and lingering kiss. Li Chengxiu closed his eyes and felt
the feather-like touch on his lips. The kiss slowly deepened, as Li Shuo
careful y tasted Li Chengxiu’s soft lips. This simple but beautiful action
conveyed an indescribable tenderness and warmed Li Chengxiu’s heart.

After the kiss, Li Shuo smiled at Li Chengxiu, winked at him and cautiously
asked, "Can I stay tonight?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, and his eyes suddenly showed some
panic.
Seeing this, Li Shuo touched his head and comforted him: "I just want to
borrow your sofa, nothing else.

Tomorrow my assistant should bring over the stuff that we bought. There’s a
bit too much for you to handle alone, so since I’m on vacation, I’l stay and
help you unpack everything and clean up, okay?”

Li Chengxiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shuo pursed his lips and smiled. He then suddenly leaned over to Li
Chengxiu’s ear and flirtatiously said,

"Chengxiu, sooner or later, I’d like to stay over for real."

Li Chengxiu's face turned crimson, and his heart was beating like a drum.

He wanted to ask Li Shuo how long they could stay together. But he didn't
dare. Every time Li Chengxiu made another step towards Li Shuo he asked
himself if it was the right thing to do or not. And he couldn’t give himself a
definitive answer.

How could he know whether Li Shuo was fake or sincere? Shao Qun was
also gentle and affectionate at a certain time in the past. And look how that
turned out.

He didn't know how long Li Shuo was willing to accompany him. At the
same time, Li Chengxiu was terrified to lose this delicate relationship that
they had, because he was too afraid to end up completely alone. As long as
he thought of the kind of loneliness and helplessness, which could turn
bones into ice, it made him scared to no end.

Both Li Wenxun and Big Li were sweating profusely as they dragged Shao
Qun home.

The two of them had embarrassed themselves plenty in front of the

Shenzhen people today. After stuffing Shao Qun, who looked like a
madman, into the car, they spent a long time hashing out the situation with
the mall manager and Li Shuo’s assistant. Only after they had paid out the
compensation, they could finally bring Shao Qun home.
Everybody was staring at them, and they both regretted coming all this way
to Shenzhen just to make fools out of themselves.

Big Li washed his hands and patted Shao Qun's face with his wet palm:
“Sober up!"

Li Wenxun sat down on the sofa, gasping for breath, and shouted: "Fuck
you, Shao Qun! What the hell is wrong with you? The whole jealousy thing
is stupid enough, not to mention all the gay shit. You’ve real y entertained
the crowd. Are you happy now?"

Big Li also sat down and quietly looked at Shao Qun with a sullen face. He
then sighed: "Shao Qun, tell me the truth, are you really in love with that
little sissy?"

Shao Qun turned around stiffly, stared at Big Li with bloodshot eyes and spat
out two words through his teeth: "That’s bul shit."

Big Li said sarcastically, "So I’ve just imagined everything that happened
today, right? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Shao Qun lowered his head and said fiercely: "Li Chengxiu is mine.
Whoever dares touch him, will have to pay for it."

Li Wenxun knocked on the coffee table, and Shao Qun raised his eyes at
him.

Li Wenxun looked at Shao Qun with a rare seriousness and said, "Shao Qun,
don't say I didn't warn you.

You are completely unhinged right now. You have to remember well what
you should and shouldn't do as a Shao family member. Why would you
humiliate yourself in the middle of the street because of this rabbit?"

Shao Qun said coldly and without any concern: "If you guys hadn’t stopped
me, I would have wrecked that Li bastard and also his fucking car. The
fucker took what is mine, so we’l see who wil be humiliated in the end!"
Li Wenxun sighed and pointed to Shao Qun's nose: "Bro, look at me and tell
me the truth, what exactly is Li Chengxiu for you? Is this all worth it? Are
you really that attached to him?"

Li Wenxun’s questioning had hit a nerve. Shao Qun got enraged and
grimaced in denial: "Bullshit, as if I can’t get a dozen like him with a
fucking snap of my fingers! I just don’t want him to cuckold me. I’l get him
back and throw him away immediately, but I won’t let anybody else have
him.”

Li Wenxun looked at him blankly for a while, then threw up his hands and
said, "All right, all right. You have a point, I’l give you that.”

Big Li dragged Li Wenxun up from the sofa, "Let's go out for dinner and just
ignore him! We’ve been running around up until now and didn’t even
fucking eat!"

Shao Qun didn't notice when the two of them left.

He felt a throbbing pain in his heart, thinking of Li Chengxiu's back and how
he didn’t even turn his head to look at him. Shao Qun felt that he couldn't
just sit there anymore - he needed to find him immediately. He couldn’t
admit it even to himself how much he really missed that man. He was Shao
Qun after all. He never lacked people to warm his bed, wait on him and cook
for him. He just couldn’t deal with Li Chengxiu being with somebody else.
Absolutely not.

He's just... He's just used to Li Chengxiu. He just misses his kindness. He
just misses the time he spent with him. He just feels guilty about what
happened that night. It doesn't mean that he has any kind of feelings towards
him.

He just can't bear that Li Chengxiu doesn't belong to him.

After a long silence, Shao Qun picked up his phone and called the person in
charge of tailing Li Shuo.

"Hello, boss."
"Well, still keeping an eye on him?"

"Boss, I'm next to Li Shuo's house right now. He hasn’t come back yet. I've
been watching for more than four hours, and the lights in the room are still
off."

Shao Qun's heart suddenly jumped to his throat, and he asked hoarsely,
"What did you say?"

Didn't come back?

Li Shuo left together with Li Chengxiu and didn't come home after eleven
o'clock at night. It was obvious whom he was with.

"Li Shuo real y didn't come home. They took a taxi at that square in the
afternoon, and that’s when I lost track of them. So I could only guard his
home afterwards. But he hasn't come back until now."

Shao Qun felt his chest tighten suddenly, making him unable to breathe.

Li Shuo didn't come home.

Li Shuo didn't come home.

He didn't come home.

He was with Li Chengxiu. It was already so late. Was he staying over? What
will they do? They will...

After Shao Qun hung up the phone, he roared and kicked the coffee table far
across the room.

He felt that his body was in turmoil - all the organs were being twisted and
squeezed. The pain made it difficult for him to breathe, and he couldn't do
anything to help himself at all.

The dimly lit room was empty and silent.

He never realized how big this house was before. But since Li Chengxiu left,
it felt so empty that it made him irritated to no end, and this beautiful villa
had lost all its charm.

That person who should have been going about his day in this room, the
person Shao Qun could hold for warmth, the person who gave him
tenderness with abandon…Now this person might be in the arms of another
man.

He wondered where they were right now and if Li Chengxiu was acting with
that man the same way he did with him. Did he dispel the winter cold for
him with his smiles and hugs? Did he cook that man a nourishing soup? Was
he obediently lying in his arms? Was he whispering to that man, until he
unconsciously fell asleep?

All of these things were originally only his. Why would Li Chengxiu give
them to someone else?

What did Shao Qun do to make Li Chengxiu go to another man?

Shao Qun slumped down on the sofa, tightly hugging his head.

He had never cared so much about another person before. He longed for him
so strongly that he couldn’t fall asleep. But that person wasn’t there
anymore.

How could he admit that he had actually fallen in love? How could he admit
that he was repenting? How could he admit that he didn’t even want to get
married? Li Chengxiu was already with somebody else. What was the point
of admitting all of that?

He tremblingly redialed the previous number and wearily said to the man on
the other end, "Keep watching and find out where Li Chengxiu lives as soon
as possible."

Facing this empty big house alone, for the first time in his life Shao Qun
realized that loneliness and regret could also turn into knives that were
capable of bloodlessly wounding him from the inside out.
The New Year’s Eve had final y arrived with great fanfare.

Only during the Chinese New Year was this city with a sizable out-of-town
demographic so extraordinarily quiet and serene.

In the afternoon, there were very few cars and pedestrians on the road, and
most of the shops were closed.

As long as one had a home, who wouldn’t want to have a warm reunion with
their family to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year
together?

Adrian arrived at Li Chengxiu's house before lunch and when he entered the
door, he shouted that he wanted to stay over from today until the 3rd day of
New Year’s celebrations.

Li Shuo had already arrived early in the morning in order to help with the
preparations.

Even though it was just the three of them celebrating New Year's Eve
together, the dinner couldn’t be sloppy by any means.

Li Shuo had a lot of fun assisting Li Chengxiu - a professional chef. He

couldn’t stop praising and complimenting him, as Li Chengxiu just shyly
smiled.

When Adrian came into the room, he immediately sat down on the sofa with
a bucket of pistachios and started watching TV without any intention to help
out.

While eating, he muttered: "Oh, Xiuxiu, you’ve changed the sofa! This one
is more comfortable. You two really have a sweet life here!"

Li Chengxiu poured him a glass of water and explained, "This is Li-Dage’s

house. He wanted to change..."

Adrian smiled cheekily, "Oh, as if he didn’t change it for you."

Li Shuo came over and said with a grin: "I actually changed it for you, so
you can comfortably watch TV, eat snacks, look at us being busy and not lift
a finger.”

Adrian smiled shamelessly: "Li-Gege[15], look!" He handed his white jade-

like hand to Li Shuo, "I just got my nails done, and it was expensive. How
can you let me work like that?"

Li Shuo swatted his hand away: "Since you’re not helping, how about you
just eat quietly? Aren’t you tired running your mouth all day?"

Adrian winked at Li Chengxiu: "Xiuxiu doesn't mind. Xiuxiu is better than

you."

Li Chengxiu guffawed and reminded him, "Eat slowly. This is dry…you

should drink water."
Adrian jumped up from the sofa, hugged Li Chengxiu and kissed him,
shouting, "I love you to death! Now hurry up and make me crab fried rice
cake! And I want it to be spicy…”

As far as Li Chengxiu could remember, since his father abandoned him and
his mother died, he hadn’t had a single decent New Year’s.

As a child, he would secretly cry when he saw other people's houses

decorated with colorful lights. But later he became apathetic.

After so many years, when he was almost thirty, he finally had two new
friends to accompany him on New Year’s Eve. The gratitude and joy in his
heart could not be described in words.

So Li Chengxiu put a lot of thought into every dish of this New Year's Eve
dinner. He had no other skills, so he could only use this to express his
gratitude.

The table was full of delicious mouthwatering food, full of color and aroma.

Adrian jumped to the table like a happy monkey, his eyes glowing with
excitement.

Li Chengxiu lived on a relatively top floor. The sound of fireworks would

burst into the apartment through the floor-to-ceiling windows. From time to
time, bright sparks illuminated the night sky.The rich festive atmosphere lit
up the mood of all three of them and put cheerful smiles on their faces.

They sat around the table and enjoyed the food that Li Chengxiu had
carefully prepared. Li Shuo and Adrian were both full of praise.

During the meal, Adrian couldn't help but talk out of his ass: "Xiuxiu, I
regret introducing you to Li Shuo! I should have kept you for myself. For
real, I can afford to support you too. And because of your superior cooking
skills, my life could be prolonged by 20 years!"

Li Shuo laughed and hit his head with chopsticks: "Eat your food!"
Adrian ignored him and put his face right in front of Li Chengxiu's eyes:
"I'm serious! Be with me, be with me, be with me! I will definitely treat you
well."

Li Chengxiu has long been accustomed to his jokes and occasional insanity,
so he gently smiled and casually replied, "Mhm."

Throughout the meal, the three of them were laughing and joking in a
peaceful and joyful atmosphere.

After dinner, Li Shuo helped Li Chengxiu clean up the kitchen. Then he and
Adrian retreated to the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Adrian
immediately started commenting on what was going on the screen,
criticizing that this or that was stupid.

Li Chengxiu moved two chairs next to the sofa. One he used for sitting, and
the other one to place a bowl with dough. He was preparing dumplings,
while chatting and watching TV.

Little Teacup had also had enough food and drink and was sleeping on Li
Chengxiu’s lap, from time to time wiping its mouth with its tiny paws, which
was incredibly cute.

Li Chengxiu remembered that his family was just like this when he was a
child.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, he and his father would watch the Spring
Festival Gala, and his mother would sit next to them, kneading the dough
and chatting with them. The simple happiness of that time was hard to
recreate.

Li Chengxiu felt that this was a New Year that he would never forget.

Shao Qun felt the same way, but this was undoubtedly the worst New Year’s
in his life.

Reading descriptions of Shao Qun’s “suffering”

Whenever Adrian appears in the narrative

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 47
While Li Chengxiu and the others were celebrating New Year’s at the
apartment, Shao Qun was sitting alone in his car and staring into their
brightly lit floor-to-ceiling windows in a daze.

On New Year's Eve he had a quarrel with his family, so he turned off his
phone and didn't want to fucking contact anyone anymore.

Li Wenxun and Big Li went home early for the Chinese New Year. For the
first time in his adult life he was facing New Year’s completely alone. In the
past, he would always receive a lot of seasonal greetings at this time.

After the guy who tailed Li Shuo finally found out where Li Chengxiu
lived, Shao Qun headed there immediately to sit in front of the house
almost all day without eating or drinking.

He didn't want anything else, other than just to be closer to Li Chengxiu.

Today, he didn't want to go up and cause any trouble. First, he was a little
afraid to see Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo being close to each other and happy
together. Second, he felt that if he didn't let Li Chengxiu at least have a
peaceful New Year’s Eve, he would resist him even more in the future.

He looked into the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminated by bright yellow

lights and imagined what Li Chengxiu might be doing inside.

Was he wearing an apron, while preparing his exquisite dishes in the

kitchen?

Was he laughing at silly sketches on TV?

There was nothing that Shao Qun wanted more than spending a nice New
Year’s with Li Chengxiu.

He knew that he was obsessed[16].

Since Li Chengxiu left, he couldn't eat anything made by other cooks. He
couldn’t get interested in any other boy, no matter how beautiful he was. At
night, lying in his big cold bed, he finally experienced what sleepless lonely
nights[17] really meant. His obsession with this person scared him to no
end and made alarm bells ring in his heart, but he couldn't control it
anymore.

Shao Qun knew now that he really liked Li Chengxiu. If it was someone
else who had left him for another person, he would have just told them to
fuck off. But in the case of Li Chengxiu, Shao Qun still wanted to get him
back. Even if he had to forcefully erase his own memories, he stil wouldn’t
let Li Chengxiu go.

The sound of fireworks and firecrackers outside his car seemed to have no
end. The sky was constantly lighting up, and the celebrations were coming
to their high point as the hand on the clock was approaching 12.

The floor-to-ceiling window that Shao Qun was staring at suddenly opened.
His heart trembled, as his eyes locked up on the fifth floor balcony.

Li Chengxiu came out with a fireworks stick in his hand, chatting and
laughing together with Adrian.

Shao Qun was a little surprised to see Adrian beside Li Chengxiu, but he
had no time to think about it. His whole mind was just on Li Chengxiu.

Adrian was jumping around Li Chengxiu with his fireworks stick like a
child. He then finally lit it up and raised it to the sky, screaming with
excitement.

Li Chengxiu was also holding one in his hand and peacefully smiling.

As if enchanted, Shao Qun couldn’t take his eyes off him.

He was only thirty or forty meters away, but he might as well have been up
on a high mountain.
After a while, Adrian turned around and got back inside. When a tall figure
came out on the balcony, Shao Qun's expression immediately changed.

Li Shuo approached Li Chengxiu while laughing: "That idiot Adrian got

sparks onto his sweater!"

Li Chengxiu giggled, "He didn't burn anything, right?"

"Don't worry, no." Li Shuo gently stood behind him and couldn't help
hugging his waist, as he rested his chin on his shoulder.

Li Chengxiu's body became a little stiff: "Li-Dage..."

Li Shuo softly said, "Chengxiu, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year."

"Chengxiu, in the new year, could we make some progress? I want to take
care of you, so can you offer me a place in your heart?"

Li Chengxiu froze for a moment, his eyes felt slightly warm.

"Chengxiu, a lot of people have experienced failed relationships. But all of

us have to get back on our feet at some point and move on to find the right
person. Leave your past behind and give me a chance, okay?"

Li Chengxiu was full of doubts and uncertainties, but he couldn't think of a

reason to reject Li Shuo.

He was a good man, a man worthy of his respect. He fell in love with the
wrong person, and now the Heavens were giving him another chance to not
end up alone in the future. Was there any reason for him to say no?

Li Chengxiu wanted someone to accompany him, and he didn't want to die

alone. Li Shuo respected him, took care of him and was very helpful. This
relationship seemed to be evolving very naturally. He should completely
forget Shao Qun and pour his whole heart and soul into this person now.
Li Shuo gently rubbed his cheek against Li Chengxiu's neck and asked
softly, "Chengxiu, is that okay with you?"

Li Chengxiu's chest was sore. He closed his eyes and nodded slowly: "Yes."

Li Shuo smiled happily, put his face right next to Li Chengxiu and raised
his chin.

Li Chengxiu was a little uncomfortable, but he still turned around and

intimately kissed Li Shuo under the gorgeous night sky filled with bright
fireworks.

The kiss didn't last long, because Adrian came out on the balcony again and
started jumping around them.

All three of them quickly got back inside.

Shao Qun was sitting in the car, stiffly watching this scene. Although the
heating was turned on to 27°C ~

28°C [18] , he still felt cold all over. The pain in his heart exceeded any
limit, and he felt that he was about to stop breathing.

This Li guy had taken his place. Li Chengxiu was so affectionate with him,
while Shao Qun was left alone peeping through the window on the night of
Chinese New Year. Worst of all, he didn’t know who to hate and who to
blame for this.

Shao Qun tremblingly took out his phone from his pocket, turned it on and
called his assistant.

There was a lot of noise on the other end - firecrackers and sounds from the
TV: "Hello, Mr. Shao! Happy New Year!"

Shao Qun said in a dul voice, "How's that matter I asked you to check
going?”

"Hello? Mr. Shao? Happy New Year?"

Shao Qun impatiently raised his voice: "Find a quiet place to talk!"

The person on the other end seemed to have entered a room, and it got
much quieter: "Mr. Shao..."

"What's with that thing I asked you to check?"

"I checked all Li Shuo's company projects of the past few years. I found
that there was something fishy about a bankruptcy case of a real estate
company the previous year."

"Tell me."

“This real estate company in question mortgaged a piece of land to Bank X

back then. The government took the land back without any remuneration
because it had not been developed for more than a year. The reason why the
land was not developed was because the land was involved in some
property rights issues.

Bank X actually never got the land certificate. It is rumored that at the time
the president of Bank X had a personal relationship with the boss of that
real estate company. He knew that there was a problem with the land but he
stil financed the loan. The connection between them was facilitated by Li
Shuo. Li Shuo’s firm was handling all the accounts of this real estate
company. And before they filed for bankruptcy, they received loans for
more than 1 billion RMB from two other banks. After filing for bankruptcy,
due to the large amount of money involved, the Financial Services Office
also intervened in the matter. However, no evidence was ever found against
Li Shuo. "[19]

"What’s your opinion on this?"

"Li Shuo is extremely smart. Even if he did create fake accounts, he did it
flawlessly. Based on the information I have, I really can't do anything.
Unless, of course, I can locate the owner of that real estate company."

"Is it possible to find him?"

"It's hard. Who knows where he’s hiding from his creditors? Nobody has
heard of him in several years. If we can find this guy, we can get rid of Li
Shuo in one fell swoop.”

"Keep looking for him and continue collecting evidence. Even if there is
nothing concrete, it will at least make him restless. As long as there’s
probable cause, we can make someone start an investigation. And once they
are done with him, no matter the outcome, he wil be ruined together with
his company,” said Shao Qun, gritting his teeth.

Assistant Zhou pondered for a while: "It will take a lot of effort and
connections..." He actually wanted to ask whether some petty jealousy was
even worth all the fuss. But since Shao Qun was paying his salary, he
couldn’t real y say anything. Stil , he felt some disdain.

Shao Qun wasn’t even listening anymore: "Xiao Zhou, call Wang Jiang and
the others now! I'l send you the address."

"Ah? What?"

"I can't fucking stand it anymore. I have to take Li Chengxiu away today."

"Huh?" Assistant Zhou hesitated, "Mr. Shao, it's already one a.m...."

"No kidding! So do you want me to wait for them to wake up?”

"But… It’s New Year's Eve. Who would be wil ing to come out now?"

"Where there’s money, there’s a way. Make it happen. I give you forty
minutes." Shao Qun decisively hung up the phone, gloomily looking at the
still lit floor-to-ceiling windows. He impatiently tapped his fingers on the
steering wheel.

Apart from the tapping sound, the car was completely quiet. So much so
that one could hear Shao Qun’s watch ticking. He couldn't wait to rush into
that house and snatch Li Chengxiu back.

He didn’t care about his means anymore. In his bones Shao Qun was a
scoundrel after all. He was going to use all the tricks in the book. So what if
Li Chengxiu became more resistant? Anything was better than watching Li
Chengxiu fall in love with someone else.

He wanted Li Shuo, this phony foreign devil, to never see Li Chengxiu ever
again! He wanted him to actually never come back to China again!

And he also wanted to make Li Chengxiu unable to escape his grip ever
again.

Assistant Zhou's work efficiency was really astonishing. In less than half an
hour he managed to deliver three sturdy and professionally trained men to
the requested address.

Shao Qun led them all upstairs and rang the doorbell.

Li Shuo called from inside: "Who is it?"

Assistant Zhou responded in a low voice, "Hello, I’m your neighbor."

Li Shuo wasn’t suspicious at all and directly opened the door.

The men quickly rushed in, grabbed Li Shuo by his shoulders and directly
punched him in the stomach.

Li Shuo was unprepared - he ended up being beaten to the point of

collapsing on the ground, bent in half and retching from pain.

Li Chengxiu and Adrian, who were sitting at the table and playing poker at
the time, were both shocked and dumbfounded, as they watched everything
unfold in less than a few seconds.

The three hired people were actually retired soldiers from the army. They
worked as security guards in the nightclub Shao Qun was running. How
could Li Shuo oppose someone with such a background, not to mention that
all the three of them attacked him at the same time and delivered their
blows quickly and efficiently?

He didn't even manage to react at all, when his arms were twisted, and he
himself was pressed down to the ground. He was dizzy and couldn’t recover
for a long while.

Shao Qun felt vindicated for the time when he was held down by Li Shuo’s
guards and beaten by him in his office. He gave Li Shuo a fierce look, and
then his cold eyes glanced at Li Chengxiu.

After the initial shock had passed, Li Chengxiu screamed "Li-Dage!" and
ran towards Li Shuo.

Shao Qun stepped in front of him, grabbed Li Chengxiu’s arm and gritted
his teeth: "You only have eyes for your fucking Li-Ge! Don't you see me at
all? Did you even look at me now? Are you looking at me?"

Why don't you look at me? In the past, there was only me in your eyes!

Li Chengxiu looked at him with a sad and indignant face: "Shao Qun,
you're an asshole. Let go of me."

Seeing Li Shuo's body pressed to the ground with a knee on his back, Li
Chengxiu felt guilty and distressed. There was panic in his eyes.

What other horrible things can someone like Shao Qun do? How much does
he want to hurt him to finally be satisfied?

Shao Qun laughed angrily: "Yes, I'm an asshole. Did you just figure it out?
You think you can have a bright shiny future with your Li-Ge? Dream on. I
haven’t told you that I don’t want you anymore, so you can’t be with
anybody else!"

Li Chengxiu raised his hand to hit him, but Shao Qun immediately grabbed
his other hand and then secured both of his hands behind his back. He then
pushed Li Chengxiu towards one of the burly men: "Get him to the car."

The man covered Li Chengxiu's mouth and, disregarding his screaming and
kicking, easily carried him out.

Adrian was more bark and less bite. Apart from being good with his words,
his practical physical ability was almost non-existent[20]. Not to mention
that he had never encountered such a situation before.
But seeing that Li Chengxiu was about to be kidnapped, he couldn't just sit
and watch.

He quickly rushed up: “Shao Qun, don't be a jerk! Hurry up and let him go.
Have you completely lost your mind?"

Shao Qun glared at him coldly: "Adrian, what role are you playing here?"

Adrian was stunned for a moment and then said angrily, "It's none of your
damn business! Let him and Li Shuo go!"

Shao Qun approached him with a few steps and towered over him,
threatening, "How can you meddle in other people's business when you
haven't even dealt with your own family affairs properly? Your little
nephew is looking all over the world for you. Do you want to be reunited
with him?[21]"

Adrian's face instantly paled, and he stared at Shao Qun with panic and
resentment.

Shao Qun pushed him away, pointed at his nose and said, "Don't fucking
come between me and Li Chengxiu! You've been hiding out here for so
long, but I need to make just one phone call..."

Adrian subconsciously put his hands behind his back, and a pained look
surfaced on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, "You should at least let
Li Shuo go."

Shao Qun smiled coldly and waved at the person who was pressing Li Shuo
down.

The man got his knee off Li Shuo’s back, and Li Shuo tried his best to get
up from the ground. However, his chest and his back were hurting badly,
and his hands and feet were too weak.

Adrian rushed up and helped him stand.

Shao Qun's eyes were vicious: "Li, listen carefully. Chengxiu is mine. Don’t
touch things that don’t belong to you. If you go against me, you will regret
it."

Li Shuo covered his stomach, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth
and said with a look of disgust on his face, "Shao Qun, you real y are a
savage animal! Al you’ve accomplished now is make Chengxiu hate you
even more."

These words directly hit Shao Qun's sore spot. His eyes were red as he said:
"He can hate me to death but I will not give him to anybody else."

Li Shuo was furious and exasperated. What a great beginning of the new
year! Li Chengxiu was now kidnapped by Shao Qun, and if Shao Qun
wanted to hide him somewhere, it won’t be easy to locate him again. He
could have never imagined that Shao Qun would go so far as to openly
snatch Li Chengxiu up like some kind of gangster.

Li Shuo said in a chilly voice: "Shao Qun, you will regret it."

With a disdainful face, Shao Qun coldly and proudly declared, "You will
never see him again."

He then turned around and headed downstairs. Shao Qun couldn't wait to
rush to his car.

When the man who had Li Chengxiu in his grip saw Shao Qun coming out
of the house, he got out of the car, closed the door and went around to take
the driver's seat.
Shao Qun quickly got into the back seat and hugged the horrified and
furious Li Chengxiu, sniffing the familiar smell of his body. Shao Qun’s
eyes felt hot, and he couldn't help calling out to him: "Chengxiu..."

We all know who deserves this one.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 48
Li Chengxiu's body was shaking. He knew that he couldn't fight against
Shao Qun, yet he was still pushing him away as hard as he could, because
Shao Qun's touch made his hair stand on end. In an enclosed space with
nowhere to go he had to face the person he wanted to avoid the most.

Shao Qun hugged him tightly.

The feeling of this long-awaited hug was both familiar and unfamiliar. The
man in his arms seemed thinner than before, and Shao Qun even felt a little
pained when he tightly wrapped his arms around him and felt the protruding
shoulder blades.

Shao Qun wondered why touching such a thin, cowardly man who could
cry easily, made him feel so comfortable and peaceful. Even feeling Li
Chengxiu’s temperature against his own skin was enough to warm him up,
and it seemed that his frozen body was gradually thawing.

So was his heart… and it felt sore and painful.

Shao Qun was in a daze, holding Li Chengxiu in his arms, when he felt a
sudden pain in his shoulder.

Li Chengxiu's eyes were wet, as he was biting Shao Qun’s shoulder as hard
as he could.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth: "Go on, bite. But biting a fucking shoulder
won’t do you any good. Do you have the guts to bite here?" Shao Qun
raised his neck, exposing the major artery to his sight.

Li Chengxiu released Shao Qun’s shoulder and said in a trembling voice,

"Let me go. I want to go home."

The car had already started long ago. Li Chengxiu didn't know where Shao
Qun was taking him, but no matter where it was, as long as Shao Qun was
there, Li Chengxiu didn't want to go.

Shao Qun clenched his teeth and said, "You want to go home? Which home
do you mean? Do you think that the place Li Shuo gave you is your home?
Then why didn’t you want the apartment that I gave to you?

Is his place made of gold or something?”

Li Chengxiu put his hands against Shao Qun's chest and pushed him away.

He was afraid of Shao Qun - the brute force of his hands, the aggressive
smell of his body, his fierce expression. All of it made him really scared.

Li Chengxiu was trembling with fear, as he cowered in the corner, choked

and said, "I want to go home."

Shao Qun felt a pain in his heart, and all he wanted was to hold Li
Chengxiu’s face and kiss him.

He didn't know what to do. Shao Qun had never dealt with somebody like
that before. Somebody who didn't know how to protect himself, somebody
who didn’t know how to resist, somebody who didn’t know how to fight
back. Li Chengxiu's words and actions made Shao Qun really
uncomfortable, so he could only try to cover his mouth with his lips.

Li Chengxiu turned his face away and twisted his neck to the greatest extent
possible.

Shao Qun grabbed his chin and continued chasing his lips. Li Chengxiu
frantically struggled: "Asshole, asshole!"

Didn’t the atrocities of that night also start with a rough kiss? He didn't
remember, and he didn't want to remember. The humiliating pain, the
embarrassment and then the despair of lying in the hospital was like a
nightmare. Just a little reminder caused all the bloody memories to flood his
mind.

The more he resisted, the more insistent Shao Qun was.

"No! No! Shao Qun, let me go! Don't… Ah—" Li Chengxiu suddenly
screamed so loudly that it frightened the driver who couldn’t help but turn
around.

Shao Qun was stunned. He desperately hugged Li Chengxiu, trying to calm

him down.

Li Chengxiu cried and curled up: "Don't touch... Don't touch me!!! Shao
Qun… you are…an asshole! Don't touch me..."

Shao Qun felt as if his heart had been stabbed several times. He sharply
roared: "Why are you afraid of me? Why the fuck are you afraid of me?
Even Li Shuo can touch you, why can't I? Why the fuck can't I?"

Li Chengxiu raised her face that was covered in sweat and tears. He then
hoarsely said, "You are an asshole."

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu's chin and kissed him fiercely.

The space in the car was too small, and Shao Qun couldn't get a hold of Li
Chengxiu for a while. He was hit several times in the head, and it made him
so angry he was about to explode. He finally managed to twist Li
Chengxiu's arm behind his back like he would do to a fighting opponent.
All of that just to get a kiss.

When their lips touched, Li Chengxiu bit down hard.

Shao Qun was in pain for a while, but instead of retreating, he desperately
continued his attack, desperately pushing at his lips and squeezing them, as
the taste of blood gradually filled his mouth.

Li Chengxiu’s and Li Shuo's affectionate kisses appeared over and over

again in Shao Qun's mind, and he felt that it was driving him crazy.

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes in pain. He was pinned to the backrest by Shao
Qun who was kissing him so hard that he couldn’t breathe, and his heart
couldn’t stop feeling sad.
Shao Qun let go of Li Chengxiu, panting heavily and looking at his tear-
stained face. Suddenly he couldn't even get angry. He only felt sad.

Was this person in front of him the same one who used to kiss him with a
shy and tender look?

He no longer smiled at him. His eyes no longer held any warmth or

affection. Did he still love him? Could everything be restored again?

Shao Qun felt scared. What should he do if they could not be like before?

Li Chengxiu buried his face in his hands and didn’t lift it up anymore.

Shao Qun still stubbornly held him in his arms. But he felt that no matter
how hard he tried, he couldn't hold him at all. It seemed that Li Chengxiu
might disappear at any moment. Shao Qun also couldn’t let go of him,
afraid that then he himself would go under.

The car quickly arrived at the destination. It was a place that Li Chengxiu
had never been to before.

Just as Shao Qun was about to carry him out of the car, Li Chengxiu
avoided his arms and slowly stumbled out of the car by himself.

Shao Qun coldly pulled him into the room and slammed the door shut. The
sound of the lock seemed like a nail driven right into Li Chengxiu’s heart.

He was still wearing his house slippers when Shao Qun brought him to this
weird place. He didn't know what was awaiting him. Although he was
afraid, he had no choice but to face it all alone, yet again.

Shao Qun wiped his face, and his hand felt heavier than a thousand pounds.
After hesitating for a while, he final y calmed the turbulent emotions in his
chest, clenched his teeth and asked: "You…Have you slept with him?"

Li Chengxiu's face was woeful, as he gave Shao Qun a blank look.

Shao Qun felt that his heart was about to jump out.
He was fervently praying that Li Chengxiu would deny it.

In Shao Qun’s heart, Li Chengxiu was as clean as a clear spring. He was the
most pure and the most beautiful thing he had ever owned. Li Chengxiu
was his private possession, and Shao Qun couldn't imagine him being
invaded by another man. It would be the same as somebody raping his wife.
Just thinking about it drove Shao Qun insane.

Shao Qun’s face was miserable, as he hoarsely asked again, "Tel me, have
you or have you not. You haven’t, right?"

Li Chengxiu's expression changed, he suddenly opened his mouth and

whispered, "I have."

It seemed that at that moment Shao Qun was struck by lightning, and his
eyes instantly turned red. He grabbed Li Chengxiu by the throat and
slammed him against the wall. His face was distorted, as he coldly said,
"Say it again."

Li Chengxiu's eyes were filled with fear, but he still said in a trembling
voice: "I have."

Shao Qun rubbed his temples with his fingertips and said shakily, "He… he
forced you, didn't he?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him mournfully with some accusation in his eyes:

"He isn’t you."

He isn’t you.

He isn’t you.

Shao Qun's pupils contracted sharply, and he slowly released his hold on Li
Chengxiu’s throat. However, almost immediately his hard fist appeared in
front of Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes.

The expected pain didn’t come. But a loud noise exploded in his ears.
Li Chengxiu turned his face to the side and saw Shao Qun's fist hitting the
wall. It was now stained by the blood oozing from his knuckles.

Shao Qun was raising his fist and punching the hard wall over and over
again. It was akin to self-harm - by punching the wall and hurting himself
physically he could at least transfer some pain.

When he was a child, a professional trainer taught him a lot of self-defense

techniques. He knew exactly where to attack and how to defend, but no one
ever told him what he was supposed to do if someone broke his heart.

He has never been in love in his life. Love… ah… love. What could Shao
Qun know about it? He had final y found someone whom he wanted to be
together with peacefully. And he managed to drive him into the arms of
another man.

This was the person whom he cared about the most when he was growing
up. But neither back then, nor at this moment did Shao Qun realize that this
anguish that was deeply engraved in his bones was something called “love”.

When Shao Qun heard other people go on about who was in love with
whom, he always dismissed these talks, thinking that such a dumb thing
didn’t have anything to do with him. Until the time he met Li Chengxiu.
Shao Qun was really moved by him and in his own way gradually tried to
be good to him. He seriously thought about staying with Li Chengxiu for a
long time.

If this was love, then shouldn't Shao Qun be allowed to make mistakes? He
had no experience, after all.

That’s why he made a mess, that’s why he screwed things up. Wasn’t it
possible to start over? Li Chengxiu couldn’t just turn around and leave,
letting him fall so hard first and then throwing a giant boulder on top of
him!

Li Chengxiu looked at the scarlet blood on the wall, and it pained his heart.
He wanted to stop Shao Qun several times, but no matter what, he just
couldn't open his mouth. He could only close his eyes and hold his breath.
He was afraid that if he didn’t tense up, he would collapse on the spot.

Shao Qun didn't know how long he spent punching the wall. He only
stopped when his fist was so bloody and beaten up that it couldn’t move
anymore.

Li Chengxiu's tears ran down his cheeks, but he didn't dare to open his eyes.

After a while, he heard the sound of a door closing.

He opened his eyes again, and saw that he was left all alone in a huge
house.

Right next to his face there was a wild blood spatter, which looked
terrifying.

Li Chengxiu slumped down on the ground, hugged his knees and cried in
pain.

Most of the night afterwards was spent rummaging through every corner of
the room. Unfortunately, Li Chengxiu couldn’t locate the spare key. Shao
Qun had locked him inside.

He couldn't go out, couldn't make a phone call, and couldn't even cry for
help, since he was somewhere high up.

He ran around until it was almost dawn. He couldn’t help but succumb to
the fatigue, so he final y fell asleep on the sofa.

He felt so cold that he shivered all over but he couldn’t wake up. This
feeling tormented him for a long time, until something was wrapped around
his body, and a pair of warm and strong hands held him, allowing him to
finally sleep peacefully.

Li Chengxiu didn’t sleep for too long.

The blindingly bright early morning sun was shining directly into the living
room. Li Chengxiu woke up in confusion and found that he had an extra
hand in front of him.

Immediately alert, Li Chengxiu slightly propped himself up and noticed that

he was covered with a blanket, while Shao Qun was holding him in his
arms. His hand was on Li Chengxiu’s shoulder in a defensive gesture.

At that moment, Shao Qun also slowly opened his eyes. When Li Chengxiu
got up, he was still sitting on the sofa, since his legs were too numb to
move.

Shao Qun just wanted to reach out to touch Li Chengxiu, but Li Chengxiu
had already jumped off the sofa and rushed up to the door in a few big
strides. He then pulled the door handle as hard as he could. After realizing
that the door was still locked, he lowered his head in despair.

Shao Qun stood up reluctantly, staggered towards Li Chengxiu and hugged

him from behind.

Only then did Li Chengxiu realize that he reeked of alcohol.

Shao Qun's voice was so hoarse that it seemed like it was an entirely
different person talking. He muttered in a faintly pleading tone: "Chengxiu,
I'm not getting married. You couldn’t accept the marriage... And I'm not
getting married anymore. Let's get back together, okay? Let’s make up!"

How could Li Chengxiu believe any word coming out of Shao Qun’s mouth
ever again? Hearing this, he felt like he was slapped. It was painful and
embarrassing.

He couldn’t forget what Shao Qun told him that night.

What would Shao Qun want with a man who couldn’t give him a child?
This was obviously just another lie.

Li Chengxiu broke free from his arms, turned around to face him and
pressed his back against the door:

"Let me go."
A cold light erupted in Shao Qun's eyes. He placed his hands on both sides
of Li Chengxiu's face and said in a deep voice: "I won't let you go. Do you
think I wil let you return to Li Shuo? I don’t want you to ever see him
again. You can only be with me. Only me."

Li Chengxiu was frightened by the madness and obsession in Shao Qun's

eyes, and he felt cold again.

He had long known that Shao Qun's behavior was very different from that
of normal people. He always did unexpected and bold things, but Li
Chengxiu really didn't expect that Shao Qun would actually be insane
enough to lock him up.

Even the anger and sadness in Li Chengxiu's heart were nearly gone.

If Shao Qun had even a trace of respect towards him as a human being, how
would he be able to do something like this to him?

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu somewhat lost in thought, raised his hand
that was wrapped in layers of gauze to his eyes and gently touched his hair:
"Won’t it be nice to return to the way we were? I promise I will be good to
you. I will give you whatever you want, Chengxiu. Can you still treat me
like before?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were cold, and his heart was also completely cold.

Shao Qun was suddenly flustered: "No. Not like before. I'l find a
housekeeper. You won’t have to do any housework anymore. But can you
stil cook for me? I’d like to eat your food… You won’t have to cook every
day..."

Shao Qun couldn't go on, because at that point Li Chengxiu's eyes were like
hot knives, stabbing him painfully all over.

Li Chengxiu in his memory was such a gentle person. He was never angry
and never cared about winning or losing an argument. He had never seen
such a look on his face and in his eyes. It was as if… It was as if Li
Chengxiu had given up all hope in him.
Shao Qun wondered if he had done something wrong again.

But he had no choice. He couldn't watch Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo come

together. He regretted not stabbing Li Shuo that day.

Apart from restricting Li Chengxiu's freedom, he actually had no other way

to keep him around.

He planned to take Li Chengxiu back to Beijing with him once everything

was settled here. It was his old nest after all. Even if he had to lock him up
for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t let Li Chengxiu leave him.

Shao Qun didn't dare to think about his life without Li Chengxiu. He never
imagined that one day, he could be attached to another person to such a
crazy degree that he would only feel at ease when he had firmly imprisoned
him by his side.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 49
Shao Qun did as he planned and just kept Li Chengxiu locked up.

He fantasized that one day they could go back to their old life.

Every morning when he gets up, there will be a hot breakfast that is
different every day waiting for him.

When he comes back from work in the evening, the food will be already
served at the table, and Li Chengxiu will be waiting for him with a gentle
smile.

In the days when Li Chengxiu had just left, Shao Qun relied on his
memories over and over to comfort himself until that trick stopped working.

It was a pity that when Shao Qun was finally willing to compromise and
bow his head, Li Chengxiu was unwilling to do anything for him anymore.

Shao Qun piled up the ingredients that were just delivered on the kitchen
table and gave Li Chengxiu a long look. He was currently sitting by the
window with his back turned towards him.

Shao Qun walked over, softly approached him and said in a negotiating,
hopeful tone, "Chengxiu, cook for me. Today is the first day of the New
Year..."

The first day of the year - what a great day! The first day of the New Year
should be a day full of joy and expectations.

But this house was isolated from all the festivities.

Li Chengxiu didn't react at all, just continued staring out the window in a
daze. In fact, there was nothing outside the window to look at. Besides, the
floor-to-ceiling windows were fogged up anyway.
Shao Qun forcefully turned Li Chengxiu’s face towards himself.

"Chengxiu, get up and cook. I want to eat your food. I was thinking about it
all the time that you were away."

Li Chengxiu turned his head, avoiding Shao Qun’s hand.

Shao Qun's gaze darkened, and he pinched Li Chengxiu’s sharp and thin
jaw.

Li Chengxiu didn’t grow a lot of facial hair, so his chin felt much smoother
than that of most other men.

Shao Qun held it in his hand and felt that he could break it with just a little
force.

This man was so humble, so small, so weak that it didn't even take much
effort to manipulate him. Yet currently he had a firm grip on Shao Qun’s
weaknesses, making him unable to act.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't get over the fact that he
actually needed to stoop so low just to get this person to respond to him.

Shao Qun looked into his eyes and said seriously: "Chengxiu, I can forget
everything about you and Li Shuo. And you should also forget all about
what I said and what I did... Just forget it, okay? Let's start over."

Seeing that he didn't respond, Shao Qun continued urgently: "I wil be nice
to you. I won’t get married. I won’t have anyone else. I wil only be nice to
you, and I wil only ever be with you, okay? Let's do it al over again,
Chengxiu ......"

Li Chengxiu spoke indifferently, and in just one sentence Shao Qun was
pushed into the abyss: "I can't forget it, and I don't believe you either."

He will never trust him again.

He believed him when he was a young and ignorant child. When he grew
up, he believed him again, when he was momentarily confused. He believed
him again and again… How could there be a third time?

The amount of times that Shao Qun had cheated him could make his heart
bleed. And it was just the times that he knew about…

He was so stupid, he couldn’t see through Shao Qun’s lies, and he believed
everything he was told. Shao Qun then played with him and treated him like
a pet, while he sincerely believed that they were in love.

Li Chengxiu had experienced enough of the consequences of his own

stupidity. So how could he continue being stupid?

He did not dare to believe any of Shao Qun's words again.

Shao Qun's heart twinged, and he looked at him reluctantly: "Li Chengxiu,
what do you really want? I've never said such words to anyone in my
fucking life before. What the hell do you want from me?"

"Let me go."

"Don't even think about it!" Shao Qun pushed Li Chengxiu down onto the
sofa, fire burning in his eyes.

He couldn’t recognize Li Chengxiu like this anymore.

He was obviously so weak and timid, yet he suddenly showed this desperate
stubbornness. Li Chengxiu's heart seemed to have been surrounded by a
wall. Shao Qun tried his best to destroy it, but he repeatedly failed. He
panicked, seeing that little by little he was losing this person. But there was
nothing he could do about it.

Li Chengxiu teared up and trembled, "You want to…treat me that way

again?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a while, remembering what he had done to Li
Chengxiu in that cold and dark attic.

He was furious back then, and even though he regretted it in every possible
way, he couldn't turn back time.
A look of shame flashed on his face. He pulled Li Chengxiu up into his
arms and whispered, "I'm sorry, Chengxiu. I'm… I'm an asshole. I'm sorry
for that day...... How about you hit me?"

Li Chengxiu just firmly pushed him away: "Let me go, Shao Qun."

Shao Qun really didn't expect that such a big strong man like him could be
turned into such an idiot by a timid and gullible little sissy.

"Li Chengxiu, tell me, what do you want! What do you want from me? You
fucking tell me what I should do, and I'l do it all. Can you stop tormenting
me like this? Tell me what I’m doing wrong! I’l change everything.

I’l fucking change everything."

What the hell should he do so they can go back?

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes tiredly: "What are you trying to achieve with
all of this?"

"I just want us to be the same as we were before." Shao Qun squatted in
front of him, hugging Li Chengxiu’s waist, "Wasn’t it good between us?
You said you liked me, didn't you? I..." Shao Qun blushed slightly, "I like
you too. So let's start over. I won't be a jerk anymore, I will treat you as my
wife! Let's have a good life together, okay?" Shao Qun's eyes were so
bright, sparkling with a rare shyness and naivety.

Li Chengxiu didn't react at all. He just looked at him blankly and then
shook his head: "You don't like me.

From the very beginning, everything was a lie."

Shao Qun's heart tightened and he quickly said, "I won't lie to you again in
the future! I will treat you well.

And I will never have anyone else. Chengxiu, please believe me."

Li Chengxiu wearily shook his head.

For a long time, Li Chengxiu was satisfied with the luxury of Shao Qun
treating him with one tenth of sincerity that he himself gave to Shao Qun.
Later, he no longer dared to hope for anything. So no matter whether what
Shao Qun said was true or not, Li Chengxiu was not going to believe it.
Because he didn't even want anything anymore.

Li Chengxiu's looked down in silent refusal.

Shao Qun felt exhausted. He wiped his face, unsteadily got up to his feet,
took out his mobile phone and made a call.

After a while, someone came up and served them a hot meal. It was
carefully placed right on the table together with exquisite dishware and
cutlery.

Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu to the table and put the chopsticks into his
hand: "Chengxiu, eat something."

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, but could barely swallow anything after the
first two mouthfuls.

It's not that he wasn't hungry, but even this delicious-looking food tasted
like wax to him, so he just couldn't eat it.

The atmosphere between the two of them was so cold that it chilled the
room.

Li Chengxiu refused to take the initiative to say a word. He didn’t even look
at Shao Qun, sitting there in a daze, just like a zombie.

Shao Qun was heartbroken, thinking how in just two months the sweet
warmth between him and Li Chengxiu had turned into this cold silence.

When it was time to go to sleep at night, Li Chengxiu was even more

reluctant to move.

He didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, but only one of the four
bedrooms in the house was tidied up and prepared.
When Li Chengxiu saw the bed, his expression immediately changed, and
he refused to enter the bedroom.

After gentle coaxing and persuasion turned out ineffective, Shao Qun got
angry, picked Li Chengxiu up and threw him on the bed.

Li Chengxiu struggled to get up, but Shao Qun immediately pressed him
down under the weight of his body.

Li Chengxiu panicked and gave Shao Qun almost a hateful look.

Shao Qun couldn't help covering Li Chengxiu’s eyes with his hands.

He gritted his teeth and, enduring insufferable heartache, said: "Don't

fucking look at me like that. Can’t you see that there’s only one bed here?
We…we'l just lie together. I won't force you."

Li Chengxiu bit his lip, as his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Shao Qun carefully hugged him from behind and whispered into his ear:
"Don't move. If you move, don’t blame me for not keeping my word. I just
want to hug you, nothing else."

Li Chengxiu weighed his options and finally decided to just stay still.

Shao Qun breathed a sigh of relief, and his slender and powerful arms
tightly hugged Li Chengxiu. He didn't dare to look at Li Chengxiu's face.
He let him lie with his back towards him, rubbing the tip of his nose against
his hair and smelling the warm smell of his body.

Shao Qun said very softly and gently: "Chengxiu, I miss you.

Li Chengxiu’s heart was in pain, and he remained silent.

Shao Qun gently kissed the fuzz on his neck: "Just stay with me. Don’t
think about leaving again. I wil treat you well. I can spoil you to death and
give you the best things you could ever want or think of as long as you stay
with me."
Shao Qun tightened his arms. It turned out that holding Li Chengxiu could
be just as satisfying as holding the whole world.

"Chengxiu, don't leave me..."

The New Year's holidays had quietly passed by before people even realized
it.

Shao Qun didn't return to the company at all and just told assistant Zhou
that he was going to handle all the urgent matters directly at home.

He knew that this was not a long-term solution, but at least for a short time,
he didn't want Li Chengxiu out of his sight. Shao Qun was afraid that if he
left, once he came back, Li Chengxiu would be gone.

He had to quickly deal with his current business and then bring Li Chengxiu
back with him to Beijing.

Li Wenxun called him several times, saying that his father General Shao
was so angry that he wanted to flip the roof. He advised Shao Qun to go
home immediately.

Shao Qun listened to what he had to say and hummed perfunctorily.

Since his old man was so angry, Shao Qun didn’t dare to go home yet. At
least he needed to wait until he calmed down and remembered that Shao
Qun was his only son. His father once put a gun to his head. He real y
didn’t want to experience something like that for the second time.

Besides, Shao Qun was already upset enough with this whole Li Chengxiu
situation. He didn’t have any energy left to deal with his father and his
sisters.

After dealing with yet another work issue, Shao Qun got up, stretched his
muscles and walked out of the study.

Li Chengxiu was lying on the sofa, holding the remote control in his hand.
Although the people on the TV
were moving, there was no sound at all. Li Chengxiu’s eyes were empty,
and it wasn’t clear what exactly he was looking at.

As soon as Shao Qun walked over, Li Chengxiu immediately sat up straight

and looked at him warily.

Shao Qun felt that he had no pride left anymore. Li Chengxiu was disgusted
by him and disliked him but Shao Qun got used to that. He went up to him
and put his arms around his shoulders: "Chengxiu, isn’t it too boring?
Should I take you out for a walk?"

Li Chengxiu didn’t speak.

Shao Qun leaned his body against him and said in a muffled voice, "Forget
it! Let’s just stay in. If you get lost, how am I going to look for you?”

Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes and looked away in silence.

Shao Qun said to himself: "By the way, last time you were bored, I got you
a dog. Since we left in such a hurry, we forgot to bring the little thing with
us. How about I get you another one, okay?"

Li Chengxiu finally couldn't keep silent anymore, "Don't abuse an animal

like that."

Shao Qun frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Li Chengxiu said indifferently: "I have to leave… sooner or later. I don’t

want…your things."

Shao Qun's face froze, and his fingers trembled slightly. He clamped Li
Chengxiu's cheeks and fiercely said: "Don't mention leaving again. I told
you, you’re not leaving."

Li Chengxiu glared at him angrily: "Why… can't you… let me go?"

If I let you go, who the hell will let me go?

Shao Qun thought to himself with infinite sadness.

If he could let Li Chengxiu go, why the hell would he be willing to force
him to stay here and make both of them uncomfortable?

For Li Chengxiu’s sake, Shao Qun had offended his old man's comrade, so
that now he was afraid to even come home. Most likely, the rumors have
already spread around his Beijing circle, and everybody was discussing how
the son of the Shao family had some screws missing and had destroyed his
marriage and fallen out with his family because of some love affair.

Shao Qun had been straight up not having a good time lately.

For Li Chengxiu’s sake, he had muddled up all his principles and values.
How dare he now say no to him?

An inexplicable anger rose in Shao Qun's heart.

Since he grew up, he hadn’t bowed his head even to his father. And now he
was trying to please this Li Chengxiu in every possible way, while the man
was reluctant to even look at him!

What exactly is he trying to achieve? How could Li Chengxiu treat him like
this?

Shao Qun took a hold of his hand and suddenly became dishonest, as he
slowly slipped down to his waist, trying to reach into Li Chengxiu’s clothes.

Li Chengxiu was always on guard against him. He jolted up as if he had just

been electrocuted, pushed Shao Qun away as hard as he could and shouted
at the same time, "Don't touch me!"

Shao Qun was pushed and stumbled, almost falling off the sofa.

He steadied himself, his face full of embarrassment and surprise, as his

deep eyes stared directly at Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu retreated to the corner of the sofa and looked at him in panic.

Shao Qun was about to do something several times, but he kept suppressing
the impulse again and again.
Finally, a sad expression appeared on his face that seemed to be permanent.

Shao Qun turned around, took a cigarette from the coffee table and lit it up,
his hands trembling slightly. He then put the cigarette into his mouth.

Neither of them spoke.

Li Chengxiu sat with his head lowered, while Shao Qun was smoking.

After a long time, Shao Qun said hoarsely: "Chengxiu, I'm impatient. I do
cherish you, but don't make me wait for too long. Besides...I am made of
flesh, so please regard me as a living and breathing person."

Li Chengxiu trembled, hugged himself and shrank into the corner.

Shao Qun put out his cigarette, stood up and planned to go back to his study
just when the doorbell rang.

Shao Qun called out, "Who is it?" His tone was very bad.

A majestic and deep male voice came from outside the door: "Me."

Shao Qun's eye twitched a couple of times and he cursed in a low voice,
"Damn it."

He went up to Li Chengxiu and pulled him off the sofa: "Go to the bedroom
and lock the door. Don’t come out, until I tell you so."
After he pushed Li Chengxiu into the bedroom, Shao Qun rubbed his
already messy hair, sighed and went to open the door.

There were four people outside.

Assistant Zhou looked frustrated and embarrassed. Li Shuo, his rival,

looked like he was about to come up and kill him. His eldest sister looked
cold, elegant, and domineering, as always. And his father, who was wearing
his military uniform and had his usual majestic expression, looked angry
and intimidating.

Before Shao Qun could speak, a heavy slap landed on his face.

Li Chengxiu this entire chapter

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 50
Shao Qun's cheek burned in pain. His father was old, but you couldn’t tell
that from the force of that slap at all.

The pain was nothing. A much bigger issue was being embarrassed in front
of Li Shuo, which really made Shao Qun angry.

He probed his beaten cheek with his tongue from the inside and called out
reluctantly, "Dad."

Old General Shao scolded him, "Oh, so you still know that I am your
father! How did I manage to produce such an ungrateful thing like you!”

Shao Qun lowered his head and stepped out of the way: "Come in and let’s
talk."

General Shao took a deep breath, turned his head slightly and said in a deep
voice to Li Shuo, "Young man, we’re going to deal with some family
matters. So you should leave for now."

Li Shuo's face was gloomy. His eyes had already scanned every corner of
the living room, but he couldn’t find Li Chengxiu. He responded, "Mr.
Shao, I have no intentions to get involved in your family affairs. But the
reason why I reached out to you was because my lover has been taken
away. Make your son release him, and I’l leave."

Shao Qun's face suddenly changed, and his cold gaze cut Li Shuo like a
knife: "Your lover? You phony foreign devil who takes what doesn’t belong
to him! Get the hel out of my house!"

When General Shao saw his only son fighting over a man like nobody’s
business, he couldn’t stand the humiliation and exploded. Angrily he
shouted, "Shut your mouth!" Then he added in an aggravated tone,
"Young man, I will return your... lover back to you. Just let me finish this
matter first. Go and wait downstairs."

General Shao was an imposing man, and his words were loud and clear. It
was impossible to disobey.

Li Shuo hesitated for a while, but in the end, assistant Zhou half-pushed and
half-coaxed him to go downstairs.

General Shao and Shao Wen entered the room, and both sat down on the
sofa.

Shao Qun stood besides them, constantly throwing glances towards the
bedroom.

General Shao also glanced at the bedroom door and coldly said, "Call him
out. I want to see what kind of a looker he is."

Shao Qun frowned: "Dad, don’t you have something to discuss with me?"

General Shao fiercely slammed the table, "Call him out right now! Do as I
tell you!"

Shao Qun sighed, came up to the bedroom and knocked on the door:
"Chengxiu, come out."

After a long while, Li Chengxiu opened the door, his face pale.

Shao Qun softly comforted him: "My dad and my sister are here. Don't be
afraid, I won't let them bully you."

Li Chengxiu didn't want to be involved in the Shao family affairs, but he

knew that he couldn't hide forever.

He seemed to have heard Li Shuo's voice just now, and that made him feel a
lot more at ease.

He couldn't help but ask, "Is Li-Dage here?"

Shao Qun’s face immediately darkened, he gritted his teeth and said, "Do
you only have eyes for Li Shuo?"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, as Shao Qun dragged him into the living
room.

When Old General Shao and Shao Wen's cold eyes fell on him, Li Chengxiu
felt that their gazes were slashing him open.

He couldn't help but think how naive he was before when he imagined that
he and Shao Qun could be together forever.

What kind of person was Shao Qun? What kind of family did Shao Qun
have?

Being together with Shao Qun was a foolish dream for someone like him.

At this point, shouldn't he be glad that he woke up early from this dream?
Otherwise, he would definitely fall to pieces and never be able to become
whole again.

Li Chengxiu lowered her head slightly, as if awaiting his own trial.

Fortunately, General Shao just gave him a cold look. Similar to Shao Wen,
he didn't even want to bother with Li Chengxiu.

General Shao pointed at Shao Qun's nose and scolded: "Oh, you’ve grown
bold. You’ve grown very bold.

So bold, in fact, that you don’t even dare to come home to your family,
huh? What was so wrong with Old Qi’s daughter that, instead, you now
have to fool around with this thing that’s neither male, nor female?”

Shao Qun frowned and subconsciously stepped in front of Li Chengxiu:

"Dad, don't say such things about him."

General Shao's eyes widened, he picked up an ashtray from the table and
threw it at Shao Qun's forehead.
The delicate crystal ashtray reached its target. Shao Qun closed his eyes, as
blood flowed down his face.

Shao Wen couldn't sit still anymore and grabbed her father's arm: "Dad, we
agreed not to do something like this before we came."

General Shao said sternly: "Shut up! You women spoiled him rotten! Just
look at him! He can’t even behave properly. When I was at home, I used to
beat him up three times a day to get all this nonsense out of him! And now
look at him! He either hangs out with his good-for-nothing friends all day
long or locks up people who don’t want to be with him. God damn you! In
my day and age, such a rogue like you would just be shot!” The old general
got more and more agitated as he continued speaking. He final y stood up
and slapped Shao Qun again.

Shao Wen was really distressed. She quickly gave Shao Qun a wink, trying
to tell him to concede softly.

Shao Qun seemed not to have seen it. With an ashen face, he stood upright.

Li Chengxiu glanced at the blood on Shao Qun's face and quickly turned
away.

Only now did he understand that Shao Qun's irritability, Shao Wen's
arrogance, and Shao Nuo's spiteful unruliness was nothing to fear compared
to their father’s temper.

He had seen enough of the Shao family to know that each of them was
worse than the other.

Old General Shao was so angry that the veins on his forehead were
throbbing. He pointed at Shao Qun's nose and said, "You pack up now and
come home with me immediately!"

Shao Qun ripped at his hair and said with a sullen face: "Dad, I still have
business here to take care of.

How can I just leave?"

Mr. Shao snorted coldly: "Business? Is it business that keeps you so busy
that you can’t come home for New Year’s? You’re going back with me now,
and we wil both directly go to Old Qi’s door to offer our apologies."

Shao Qun turned his face away: "Dad, don't worry about this. I gave Qi
Ming a house and a car. She was really happy about this and was going to
explain everything to Old Qi herself."

The old man's face turned dark: "You youngsters! You made such a mess!
Such a mess! Treating your marriage so sloppily! What are you even
thinking about? Come back with me. You absolutely have to apologize to
Old Qi!"

Shao Qun pursed his lips and said bluntly, "I can't leave."

Mr. Shao quickly stood up from the sofa and looked heavily at his son, who
was half a head taller than him:

"I can't control you anymore, can I? You’re completely out of control?"

Shao Qun's Adam's apple went up and down, and he couldn't help turning
his head slightly to glance at Li Chengxiu, his eyes full of reluctance and
struggle.

But Li Chengxiu wasn’t even looking at him.

Shao Qun felt like he was about to cry, it seemed like his heart was yet
again cut by a knife. He closed his eyes and said dumbly: "Dad, I can't
leave. Don't force me."

Mr. Shao straightened his military uniform, took out his phone and said in a
commanding tone, "Both of you, come up."

Shao Qun and his sister looked at each other.

Shao Wen was desperately winking at him, begging him to just do as he was
told.

Shao Qun gave his father an angry look: "Dad, I told you not to force me."
Old General Shao said coldly: "Your old man isn’t dead yet. Once I’m gone,
who else wil be able to reign you in? If I don’t discipline you before I kick
the bucket, I won’t be able to face your mother!”

Soon the sound of neat and rhythmical footsteps came from the corridor.

Two soldiers in military uniforms came in and immediately saluted General

Shao.

General Shao pointed at his son: "Take him."

The two men looked at each other.

Mr.Shao repeated with an emphasis: "Take him!"

Shao Qun's face turned blue from anger, and he clenched his fists.

Seeing this, Shao Wen quickly went up and hugged her brother’s arm,
desperately shaking her head at him.

The two soldiers approached Shao Qun and twisted his arms behind his
back.

Shao Qun waved them away angrily: "I can go by myself."

Shao Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

The old man snorted, turned around and headed out the door.

Shao Qun smiled self-deprecatingly at Li Chengxiu: "Didn’t you hate me

for being an asshole? See, I’ve learned from the best."

Li Chengxiu slightly lifted his chin, but did not look at him.

Shao Qun went up and grabbed Li Chengxiu's arm, forcing him to face him.
He looked into his eyes and said solemnly, "Wait for me, I won’t give up."

Shao Wen took a tissue from the coffee table and pressed it at her brother's
bleeding forehead, urging him:
"Hurry up, don't irritate Dad."

Shao Qun took one last look at Li Chengxiu and left.

Frozen in place, Li Chengxiu stood in the room that was now completely
empty and looked at the open door.

He heard footsteps coming from the corridor, and soon Li Shuo rushed in.

As soon as he came through the door, he hugged Li Chengxiu.

"Chengxiu, Chengxiu, are you all right? Did he give you a hard time? Did
he hurt you?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him absent-mindedly, and it took him a long time to

realize that this was Li Shuo in front of him.

He numbly shook his head: "I’m fine."

Li Shuo touched his thin face and said sadly: "I was looking for you
everywhere... Then I managed to contact Shao Qun's elder sister. She found
this property in Shenzhen under Shao Qun's name. Only then did I know
where you were. I was going insane...""

Li Chengxiu's eyes were slightly wet: "I made you worry…"

Li Shuo forced a smile and said, "What are you talking about! It was
impossible for me not to worry, when I couldn’t find you night after night."

Li Shuo looked drained and exhausted. Indeed, it was noticeable how much
effort he had put into looking for Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu was very grateful: "Thank you. Thank you."

Li Shuo hugged him again and said softly, "As long as you’re fine, it’s all
good."

Li Chengxiu looked at the open door and was silent.

Although Shao Qun was temporarily detained by his father, he couldn’t be
locked up forever after al . So sooner or later, he was coming back. Thus, Li
Chengxiu couldn’t stay at any of the places he had stayed in before.

Li Shuo offered Li Chengxiu to move in with him, until they could find
another place.

Li Chengxiu had always been a little bit hesitant about this new relationship
in his heart. It wasn't that he couldn't accept Li Shuo - he was trying really
hard to accept him. It was just that he needed more time.

Besides, Li Chengxiu didn't want to live with anyone anymore. Especially

not Li Shuo.

He wanted to find a place of his own and pay his own rent, so that there
wouldn’t come another day when he was forced to leave in embarrassment
because of a failed relationship.

He didn't want to experience the double blow of losing a familiar lover and
losing a familiar place to live for the second time.

No matter how awful the pain was, he could endure it - it was just a part of
life. There was no hurdle in this world that he couldn’t overcome. However,
Li Chengxiu was afraid that the hurdles wil just become higher and higher
every time. So he had to become stronger day by day, in order to be ready
to face any coming disaster or despair all by himself at any moment.

Seeing his dilemma, Li Shuo didn’t pressure him, but rather carefully gave
him some suggestions.

Adrian was also not used to living with others, but he offered his help in
looking for a house.

Li Chengxiu politely refused and insisted on doing everything himself. He

was a self-reliant person. In fact, he didn’t need any help from others. He
felt that Li Shuo and Adrian had already done their best for him, and he was
embarrassed to trouble them again and again.
Since he got his job through his connections with Li Shuo, Li Chengxiu’s
boss didn’t give him a hard time, even though he missed a few days of
work.

He now had a fixed income, so he managed to find a decent house for

himself this time. It was gradually getting warmer outside. When Li
Chengxiu was at work during the day, little Teacup could leisurely bask in
the sun. Although his new house was old and small, it had a kitchen and
bathroom, and the transportation was quite convenient. This was ideal for
Li Chengxiu.

The dark memories about his imprisonment in Shao Qun's house for more
than a week slowly faded, and Li Chengxiu's mood gradually calmed down.
Since Shao Qun had completely dropped off the radar, Li Chengxiu’s life
returned to the right track.

It was also an undoubted pleasure to interact with Li Shuo.

He wasn’t like your usual young man in love who was eager to monopolize
every aspect of his life. Instead, Li Shuo respected Li Chengxiu's work time
and personal space, and he also encouraged him to have more social life. He
enjoyed the fact that both of them had their own busy lives going on during
the weekdays, while having sweet cozy dates on their days off.

Such a mature and considerate way of communication made Li Chengxiu

feel grateful, and he became more and more trusting and committed to Li
Shuo.

Li Chengxiu's independence also surprised Li Shuo.

In his eyes, Li Chengxiu was too weak and required protection. He had
proposed living together because he felt that Li Chengxiu needed to be
taken care of. But gradual y he found out that Li Chengxiu didn’t need the
care of others. His life was regular and orderly. His house was very old, but
he always kept it spotlessly clean. Even the cushions in Teacup's nest were
changed every three days, keeping them fresh and free of smells.
Li Chengxiu took good care of his own life. This made Li Shuo both admire
him and feel greatly pleased by him.

It was a fact that Li Chengxiu was by no means the best among the people
that Li Shuo had been with.

However, he was the one who fit him the most in regards to his character
and behavior. Li Chengxiu corresponded to the image of the person he had
imagined spending his whole life with.

Li Shuo didn’t need an unrestrained love that was tormented by passion

from the inside out. He didn’t want to date different kinds of people
anymore and experience relationship failures over and over again. All Li
Shuo wanted was a good, reliable person whom he loved and could regard
as his wife. He was willing to give all his feelings and all his respect to this
person and be with him for the rest of his life.

He felt that Li Chengxiu was this person.

When he returned home after a busy day, Li Chengxiu took a bath and then
sat down to read a book on the sofa together with Teacup.

Teacup had grown a little in this time, and was now bigger than his palm. It
also felt a little heavier than before. This puppy could really eat and sleep
well!

Teacup didn’t like eating dog food very much nowadays. Ever since Li
Chengxiu once gave him some leftover chicken soup with rice, it was the
only thing he wanted.

Such a small dog was very delicate, and it was more difficult to take care of
than a big dog.

When he used to live alone, Li Chengxiu would never turn the lights on
when going to the bathroom at night. Now, not only did he have to turn on
the lights but also be extra careful while walking not to step on the little
pup.
Adrian told him several times not to spoil Teacup so much, but every time
he came over, he brought a bunch of dog snacks and toys with him. Li
Chengxiu was very adamant about always preparing and heating up the
soup for the puppy, no matter how tired he was after work.

It was also a good way to save money.

Li Chengxiu touched Teacup’s soft curly hair, while quietly enjoying his
book.

Suddenly his phone rang.

He thought it was Li Shuo at first, but when he saw the caller ID, it turned
out to be an unfamiliar number.

Since he started working, he had many different people contact him via
mobile phone, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise to receive a call from an
unsaved number.

"Hello?"

There was only the sound of nervous breathing on the other end.

Li Chengxiu frowned suspiciously and whispered, "Hello?"

Suddenly, he heard a weak voice: "Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu was shocked and hung up the phone as quickly as possible.

This voice he could never forget for the rest of his life. It was Shao Qun.
The phone rang again immediately, and Li Chengxiu just directly turned it
off.

He panicked, wanting to call Li Shuo. But he was too scared to switch his
phone on again.

How did Shao Qun get his number? Where was he now? Was he back? Did
he know where Li Chengxiu was?

A series of questions made Li Chengxiu anxious, as he looked at his mobile

phone in fear.

How Li Shuo sees Li Chengxiu

[1] Al the details in “Additional Inheritance”, hehe.

[2] One of the largest beaches in Shenzhen

[3] In the original, it says “couldn’t eat raw seafood”. In Cantonese “raw
seafood” could refer to something refreshing.
But I’m not 100% sure about it.

[4] 188 cm, obviously XD

[5] The counter of phones destroyed by Shao Qun in a fit of rage: 3

[6] I won’t “designate” any skippable parts for the rape this time because
some dialogue at these moments can’t really be skipped. In general, this is
the worst chapter so far. Be prepared. Maybe take a break?

[7] In the original, it says “bipolar disorder” or “manic depression” (躁郁). I

would presume that it doesn’t mean that Shao Qun is actually bipolar.
Rather, that he has a mania in the sense that he has an “excessive
desire/obsession”.

But it’s just my interpretation.

[8] To avoid any misunderstandings: In the original, it says “sex that was
the same as rape”. It sounds a bit clunky, so I rephrased it a little. But the
main point is that his experience is equated to rape completely, and not just
compared to it. The author doesn’t avoid calling things what they are.

[9] It’s a transparent quartz crystal that can be used in industry (e.g. for
watches or semiconductors)

[10] A bully friend from school - the one with the violent older brother.

[11] Another bully friend from school - the one with red hair

[12] It’s one of the most important foods in Chinese New Year.Traditionally,
members of a family get together to make dumplings during the New Year's
Eve.

[13] It’s a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group. It is
broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese New Year. The Gala has the
largest audience of any entertainment show in the world.

The program is a variety show, often featuring music, dance, comedy, and
drama performances. It has become a ritual for many Chinese families,
including overseas Chinese,

[14] The New Year 's goods refer to certain items that are traditional y
purchased before the New Year’s. Usually, it’s abalone, sea cucumbers,
shark fins,and fish maw. In some places, people will buy candy melon seeds
and put them on a traditional platter. The New Year's goods could also be
gifts for New Year's greetings, like chocolates, cookies etc. This is because
when visiting relatives and friends' homes, it is customary to bring
something with you.

[15] Just like “Dage”, it means “older brother”, however “Gege” is more
informal, some would even say flirty. “Heaven Official’s Blessing” is a
great novel to read to learn al about the usage of “Gege” ;)

[16] In the original it says that he knew that he was “Mara” (魔障), which
refers to a demon of temptation in Buddhism.

It is usually used to describe a person who is crazily obsessed with

something.

[17] Reference to this song 周華健 Wakin Chau【孤枕難眠 Sleepless night alone】
Official Music Video

[18] About 82 Fahrenheit.

[19] This case is elaborated in more detail in “Winner Takes All”. The gist,
however, is that Li Shuo did, in fact, cook the books. On a personal
sidenote, this is one of the biggest reasons I dislike Li Shuo - he helps rich
assholes game the system.

[20] A bit of inconsistency with “Additional Inheritance”. Adrian can

actually fight. Maybe just not against three trained soldiers.

[21] More about the nephew in “Additional Inheritance” :)

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 51
Li Chengxiu stayed up all night and was completely dispirited the next day.
He was staring at the report in front of him, feeling that the numbers were
floating all over the page, and he couldn’t understand anything.

When it was time for his lunch break, he mustered up the courage to turn on
his phone.

As soon as the phone was on, several missed calls and many text messages
popped up.

Seeing that the messages were from the unfamiliar number, Li Chengxiu
hesitated, before opening them.

"I miss you."

"Chengxiu, I miss you."

"I miss you."

"I’m thinking about you all the time."

Li Chengxiu couldn't stand it anymore, so he quickly closed everything.

His eyes were sore and his legs felt soft, so he squatted down on the floor in
the hallway.

Was Li Chengxiu someone who never learned from his mistakes? Even
after being deceived by Shao Qun so many times, he still couldn't help
being moved by this inexplicable behavior.

Li Chengxiu raised his hand and fiercely slapped himself. A crisp sound
immediately echoed in the hallway.

Shao Qun lied to him, but he couldn’t lie to himself.

This person only hurt him, insulted him, deceived him, treated him like a
servant and a convenient bedmate and never respected him.

No matter what Shao Qun did or said now, it was all a sham and couldn’t be
believed.

Li Chengxiu won’t believe it. He’l never believe it.

Shao Qun was the most terrifying virus in the whole world. Only by staying
away as far as possible could the wounds finally be healed, and Li
Chengxiu could avoid making the same mistakes.

Li Chengxiu sniffed, tremblingly took apart his phone, removed the SIM
card and threw it into the trash.

Shao Qun had never been so humiliated in his entire life.

No matter how much of a bastard he was, he couldn’t antagonize his father.

Also, he was afraid that if he really pissed off his father and his sister, they
would somehow take it out on Li Chengxiu, so he was forced to return
home.

It's just that every minute and every second of being separated from Li
Chengxiu was a torment for him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Li Chengxiu might be doing right

now. Was he with Li Shuo? What were they talking about? What were they
doing? How happy they probably were spending time in places Shao Qun
couldn’t see…

Shao Qun felt that his heart was completely empty.

General Shao had seized the opportunity to finally teach his son a lesson.
As long as he was free, he would call Shao Qun over to scold and lecture
him. Shao Qun wanted to return to Shenzhen several times, but his father
didn’t give him any possibility to argue.

When General Shao was still in his active years, he was away from home
almost all year round. Around the same time all his four children were born.
He was outside the maternity ward only when Shao Qun was born. All the
other times he was out on assignments.

In fact, he himself was not that feudal, that he only cared about having a
son. General Shao actually thought that having daughters was very good -
they were well–behaved and obedient. However, his wife felt guilty for
having three daughters in a row and insisted on having a son. After giving
birth to Shao Qun, her body began to fail. Later, she died when Shao Qun
was only five or six years old.

General Shao was accustomed to giving orders all his life. His wife was the
only link he had between him and his young children. When this link was
gone, he found that he couldn’t communicate with his children at all, let
alone understand how to get along with them.

Shao Qun was basically brought up by his three older sisters. Even though
father and son lived under the same roof, they had very little
communication.

He couldn’t understand Shao Qun’s cocky behavior of a pampered son from

a wealthy family. Especially, he didn’t get all of his messy affairs. Of
course, it’s not like he didn’t know what kind of morals his own son had
but, no matter how young and frivolous he was, one day he was supposed to
step on the right path.

But the current Shao Qun made General Shao completely exasperated.

When he tried to speak to him, Shao Qun would just sit there motionless
with his head down and a soulless look on his face, making Old General
Shao angry to no end.

In the evening, Li Wenxun came over to take Shao Qun out.

Xiao Sheng also heard that Shao Qun had returned to Beijing. He originally
went back to Shanghai for New Year’s but he deliberately returned to
Beijing just for Shao Qun’s sake.
Mr. Shao actually brought Shao Qun back to let him clear his mind from all
the nonsense, so he was not very wil ing to let him go out. However, he
didn’t want to be disrespectful to the younger generation.

Shao Qun got into the car without saying a word.

Xiao Sheng put a hand in front of his eyes and waved: "Hey, what are you
thinking about? We’ve arranged everything."

Shao Qun shook his head, nodded and finally just impatiently looked out
the window.

Li Wenxun, who was sitting in the front seat, looked back at Xiao Sheng
and showed an “I told you so!”

expression.

When they were halfway there, Shao Qun suddenly took out his mobile
phone and made a call.

"Hey, Xiao Zhou."

"Mr. Shao, you have final y turned on your phone! We have a lot of
decisions we’re not so sure about at the company…"

Shao Qun interrupted him, "Have you found out Li Chengxiu's phone
number and his place of residence?"

Xiao Zhou was stunned for a moment: "Mr. Shao, there are business iss..."

"I don't care! Let my eldest sister take care of it. She can handle everything
and manage all the decisions.

Have you found out Li Chengxiu's phone number and where he lives?"

"Well, we stil have someone tailing Li Shuo. It’s just a question of time."

Shao Qun said in a serious tone: "Hurry up, I need it as soon as possible."
After that, he hung up the phone.
The car fell silent for a long while. No one spoke again.

Li Wenxun and Xiao Sheng took Shao Qun to the club they used to frequent
some time ago.

As soon as they entered the door, a gorgeous woman greeted them. Her eyes
lit up when she saw Shao Qun: "Oh, Mr. Shao, it's been a long time since
I've seen you here! Just yesterday Dongdong was talking to me about you.
He’d be happy to know that you’re back."

Shao Qun snorted indifferently, without even raising his eyes.

Li Wenxun waved at the woman: "Go and call our usual darlings to join us."

The waiter led them into the private lounge, and Li Wenxun ordered drinks.

Shao Qun sat down at the very edge of the sofa, staring thoughtfully at his
phone screen.

Xiao Sheng sat right next to him and pushed his arm: "Hey, Shao Qun!"

Shao Qun only made a soft "um" sound.

"What's the matter with you? I heard that you had a fight with your old man
because of Li Chengxiu."

Shao Qun paused and then glared at him.

Xiao Sheng was both angry and amused: "What are you glaring at me for?
Did I do something to you?"

Shao Qun took a sip of wine: "I can't stay in Beijing any longer. Who
knows what sweet lovey-dovey shit is going on between Li Chengxiu and
that phony foreign devil? And my dad won't let me go. Damn it!"

Xiao Sheng sighed: "Shao Qun, do you realize what you are doing right
now? Last time in Shanghai I advised you on this issue, and you said you
understood perfectly. So why has it come to this?"
Shao Qun shook his head: "You know shit, Xiao Sheng. Li Chengxiu... He
is different from others."

"No matter how different he is, he won't be able to give birth to a son. Do
you think it was worth it to offend Old Qi and embarrass your father in
front of him?"

There was a visible struggle on Shao Qun’s face. After thinking for a while,
he slowly said, "Xiao Sheng, you don't understand. I…I real y can't let him
go."

Xiao Sheng was dismissive: "It’s only a matter of time until you can let him
go. I don’t believe you actual y care so much about him. At best, he’s just a
novelty. There’s probably a few people in the world that you could real y
fall in love with…But most of the time, once the lust is satisfied, love is
also gone. Do you remember A-Shan? He took pil s and slit his wrists for
his little girlfriend. And how did that end? He’s back on his horse again,
living his happy life and flirting around. That’s how feelings work. When
your mind is clouded by passion, you feel that the sky will collapse without
the other party. But in a few years, when you look back on this, I’m afraid,
you won’t even remember who Li Chengxiu is.”

Shao Qun looked at his transparent wine glass with a hint of doubt in his
eyes.

Maybe Xiao Sheng was right. Maybe the whole situation with Li Shuo just
provoked him. Maybe he just couldn’t handle Li Chengxiu cuckolding him
and that’s why he acted so impulsively. Maybe he just hadn’t gotten used to
life without Li Chengxiu yet.

Xiao Sheng patted him on the shoulder: "You have a bad temper. The more
you can’t get something, the more you want it. You’re just annoyed that you
can’t get it. I know you too well. You’re now making a lot of noise, but
once you get Li Chengxiu back, I guarantee you wil be bored with him in a
few days. It’s interesting to think about, isn’t it?"

Shao Qun felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart.

Was this really the case?

It did sound like him. He always had to fight and win. The more resistance
he faced, the more interesting it got for him. If he couldn’t get someone, he
absolutely had to get them. And afterwards, the freshness didn’t last long.

Was it the same with Li Chengxiu?

There was a knock on the door outside the lounge, and the beautiful woman
from before brought in three handsome men and three charming women
with her. As soon as they entered the room, they approached the guys sitting
on the sofa.

One of the handsome young men called out, "Young Master Shao!" as soon
as he saw Shao Qun.

Shao Qun raised his head and glanced at the guy. The face seemed vaguely
familiar but he couldn’t remember who it was.

Seeing Shao Qun's indifferent expression, the boy didn’t care at all. He
obediently greeted Xiao Sheng with a courteous "Master Ke", then sat down
next to Shao Qun and gently took him by his arm:

"Young Master Shao, I am Dongdong. Don’t you remember me?"

Shao Qun didn’t pay any attention to him and continued drinking his wine.

Dongdong hurriedly refilled his glass and brought it right to his mouth.

Shao Qun took another sip of wine, suddenly grabbed Xiao Sheng’s arm,
interrupting his conversation with the beautiful woman beside him, and
asked hoarsely, "What if it’s not the case?"

Xiao Sheng was stunned by this brainless question: "What?"

Shao Qun's gaze kept flickering, and he dazedly looked at Xiao Sheng for a
long time before reluctantly letting go of his arm and getting up to go to the
bathroom.
As soon as he entered the stall, Dongdong, who had followed him inside,
locked the door behind them with a charming smile.

Shao Qun gave him a cold look and unfastened his zipper.

When Shao Qun was done relieving himself, Dongdong immediately

squatted down and put his mouth on him, without bothering about
cleanliness at all.

Shao Qun looked at the boy who was doing his best down there. The swirl
of hair on his head was a bit similar to Li Chengxiu's, and even this dark
brown hair color reminded him of Li Chengxiu.

He tried his best to imagine that it was actually Li Chengxiu right now who
was servicing him, but it didn't work. Li Chengxiu wouldn't be acting like
that. He was always anxious and reluctant to do this for Shao Qun. His
technique also wasn’t particularly skillful but Shao Qun still enjoyed it a
lot.

That kind of inexperienced, clumsy, yet very sincere reaction of shyly

trying to please him couldn’t be faked.

No one has ever given to Shao Qun as unreservedly as Li Chengxiu did, and
he never asked for anything in return.

There was only one such Li Chengxiu in the world. If he missed out on him,
he would never meet anyone like that anymore.

Shao Qun's heartache was unbearable, and he couldn’t even straighten out
his waist. He kicked the boy away to the ground and said in a hoarse voice,
"Scram."

The boy was quite sensible. As soon as he figured out the situation, he
immediately got up from the ground, turned around and rushed out.

Shao Qun’s eyes felt sore. He quickly turned on the cold water and splashed
his face a few times. Looking at the haggard face in the mirror, he couldn't
even recognize himself for a moment.
This club was the place he most often frequented in Beijing. It should have
been familiar and comforting, yet now he only felt bored.

What he wanted most was to spend a peaceful and warm night together with
Li Chengxiu during such a lukewarm season. Without Li Chengxiu, Shao
Qun suddenly had nowhere to go back to.

It's not that he had never pursued arrogant and difficult beauties. People like
that could arouse his desire to conquer every time, giving him an
unexpected stimulation and a welcomed challenge. But before Li Chengxiu
came along, Shao Qun had never thought of staying with just one person for
the rest of his life.

Such a quiet person with a feeble presence had gradually entered his heart,
taken root there and sprouted.

And now taking him out was just as painful as gouging his heart with a
knife.

When Shao Qun entered the lounge again, his friends looked up at him.

He said lightly, "I'm going back."

Big Li stood up in front of him, frowning, "Xiao Sheng flew in here from
Shanghai especially for you. It's rare for us to get together once in a while.
It’s kind of shitty of you."

Shao Qun whispered: "I want to go back to Shenzhen."

"What?"

"I'm going back to Shenzhen."

Li Wenxun and Big Li looked at each other.

Xiao Sheng said: "Oh, don’t stand in the way of Master Shao! Have you
forgotten that he can lock you up if he’s unhappy? It’s not like he hasn’t
done something like this before. "[1]
Shao Qun ripped at his hair: "I have to go back to Shenzhen. I have to get
Li Chengxiu back."

Li Wenxun showed a particularly incomprehensible expression: "Are you

even Shao Qun? Is this little sissy worth it? Are you not afraid that people
will laugh at you?"

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and said, "Who the hell would dare to laugh at
me? Besides, it's better to be laughed at than watch him be together with
someone else." Shao Qun turned around and slammed the door before
leaving.

He could understand why these guys would think that. After all, they were
the same kind of people as he was. It was indeed laughable to hear about a
man who got entangled in a gay love affair. But Shao Qun couldn't care less
anymore. He only knew that without Li Chengxiu, he would go crazy.

It was almost midnight when Shao Qun got back home, and Mr. Shao was
just about to go to bed. He was surprised to see his son come back so early.
But then Shao Qun stood upright in front of him and said,

"Dad, I'm going back to Shenzhen."

Mr. Shao raised his head slightly and squinted at him: "What do you intend
to do?"

"I'm going back to Shenzhen. The first flight leaves tomorrow morning."

Old General Shao hurriedly stood up from the sofa and said loudly, "What
the hell is wrong with you? Did I let you go?"

Shao Qun’s face was expressionless: "I have to go."

"For what? For that Li something?"

"I have business in Shenzhen that’s waiting for me. There are a lot of things
going on in the company. I have to leave."
"Pure bul shit! You’re leaving because of that… because of that… Are you
not even ashamed of yourself?

Are you trying to piss me off to death?"

Shao Qun just stiffly said: "I just told you. I have to go back."

Mr. Shao was really angry. He wandered around the living room, picked up
his golf club and used it to hit Shao Qun’s knee socket. Shao Qun
immediately knelt down on the ground.

Mr. Shao then beat his back with the same golf club.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and endured it silently.

The housekeeper aunty who was resting in the nanny's room at the time
hurried out after hearing weird sounds. She had taken care of Shao Qun for
more than ten years, and when she saw him being beaten up like that, she
felt very distressed.

"Master, master! Stop hitting him! Stop it! You’re going to break his back!"

Mr. Shao turned a deaf ear to her cries and didn't show any mercy at all.

Shao Qun’s back felt on fire, and he could already taste blood between his
lips and his teeth.

The housekeeper couldn't stop the Old General, so she rushed back into her
room, took out her mobile phone and called Shao Wen.

By the time Shao Wen came over in the middle of the night, General Shao
was so tired that he was panting on the sofa, while Shao Qun was still
kneeling on the ground.

When Shao Wen saw her brother like that, she almost started crying. She
carefully tried to calm her father down.

Mr. Shao locked Shao Qun up in his room. There were people standing
guard outside the gate of the house, and there was no shortage of other
people watching his movements.

After Shao Qun was locked up, he refused to cooperate with the doctor in
regards to his back injury and he also refused to eat.

His old man was his old man after all. He couldn’t directly go against him
but he wanted to see who would give in first.

After he had stayed locked up in his room for two days already, assistant
Zhou finally took the initiative to contact him and give him Li Chengxiu's
new mobile phone number.

Shao Qun stared at the number and hesitated for a long time before
summoning the courage to call him.

Li Chengxiu's gentle voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello?"

Shao Qun felt that there were thousands of words stuck in his throat, and he
was speechless for a while.

The other side said another doubtful "Hello", and Shao Qun cautiously
called out, "Chengxiu."

The phone was hung up without hesitation.

Shao Qun almost started crying.

He reluctantly called that number over and over again until the other end
was turned off.

Shao Qun just wanted to hear Li Chengxiu’s voice. But Li Chengxiu didn't
want to hear his voice anymore.

Shao Qun tremblingly typed "I miss you" and sent it.

These three short words were like a password to the sealed box of Shao
Qun’s emotions. Now that it was open, he suddenly realized what it was
like to have a complete and utter emotional breakdown.
He typed in and sent "I miss you" over and over again, as if to pass on all
his thoughts, regrets, grievances, and sadness he was feeling right now,
begging the other party to give him some sympathy and response.

Shao Qun’s vision got blurry, and he suddenly couldn’t see anything.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 52
Li Chengxiu called Li Shuo from the company phone and told him that he
had changed his phone number.

Li Shuo felt it was a little strange: "Why did you change your number?"

Li Chengxiu whispered, "I lost my SIM card."

Li Shuo said: "It’s not a problem. You can get a replacement SIM card and
keep your number. I'l take you to the shop tomorrow."

Li Chengxiu hurriedly said, "No need!"

Li Shuo frowned: "No need?"

Li Chengxiu hesitantly said, "I… I already bought a new one."

Li Shuo pondered for a while: "Then tell me your new number."

Li Chengxiu choked and couldn’t speak for a long time.

Li Shuo sighed, a little disappointed: "Chengxiu, why are you lying?"

Li Chengxiu slumped on his chair, not sure how to explain everything to Li

Shuo.

He didn't want to tell Li Shuo that Shao Qun called him. He didn't want Li
Shuo to worry. Li Shuo had already suffered a lot of horrible treatment
because of him. Li Chengxiu felt guilty for subjecting him to all of this.

Li Shuo asked softly, "Chengxiu, am I not worthy of your trust?"

Li Chengxiu hurriedly said, "No, that’s not it."

"Then why are you hiding things from me? Did Shao Qun call you?"
Li Chengxiu felt uncomfortable for a while, but finally hummed softly.

Li Shuo gritted his teeth and said, "This bastard isn’t done yet?."

Li Chengxiu's voice was a little weak, "Li-Dage, what should I do?"

Li Shuo reassured him: "Let me think of a way. Buy a new SIM card and
tell me your phone number. In the future, don’t answer any unfamiliar
numbers."

"Okay……"

Li Shuo sighed, "Chengxiu, if anything comes up in the future, remember to

tell me next time. The two of us should stand together, okay?"

"I'm just afraid that you’re going to worry."

"Wouldn’t I be even more worried, if Shao Qun was harassing you without
me knowing? When he kidnapped you, I was so worried that I couldn't
sleep at all. If you really don't want me to worry, communicate with me in
time and don't let something like that happen again!"

Li Chengxiu's heart gradually warmed up. Thinking of the deep gentleness

of the person on the other end of the phone, he felt empowered. His heart,
which had been agitated and in a state of panic all day, gradually calmed
down: "Thank you, Li-Dage."

Li Shuo said with a smile: "Oh come on, I’m the one who has to thank you.
Just don’t disappear from my sight again, okay?”

Li Chengxiu's heart was slightly aching, as he said: "Okay."

After that phone call, it had been quiet for a few days.

Li Chengxiu thought that this matter was over, and he unconsciously

relaxed his vigilance.

This night he worked overtime, and when he came home it was already
dark.
He lived in an old house, and it was usually very dark when he entered the
staircase. The lights on the first floor didn’t work.

He walked upstairs and headed towards his apartment. Just as he turned the
corner, he saw a dark shadow sitting next to his door, blocking the entrance
completely.

Li Chengxiu couldn’t even see if it was a person. He was so frightened that

he was getting ready to run.

As soon as he turned around, he heard some movement. Then a hoarse

voice came from behind him:

"Chengxiu."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment. Although the voice was hoarse, Li
Chengxiu was too familiar with it and could recognize it no matter what.

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale instantly. He turned his head slightly and
watched Shao Qun sway from one side to the other, as he slowly got up to
his feet.

Shao Qun had lost a lot of weight, his hair was a little messy, there was
stubble on his chin, and his cheeks were abnormally flushed.

Li Chengxiu wanted to leave, but this is where he lived after all. Where
could he go so late at night?

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu who was constantly backing away,

frowned and panted, "I came all the way back to see you. Not even a minute
of rest… and I have been waiting for you all day. Will you let me in for a
glass of water?"

Li Chengxiu stepped back to the wall, looked at Shao Qun alertly and said
hoarsely, "Go away."

Shao Qun focused his gaze on him for about two seconds. Then with deep
disappointment in his eyes and a self-deprecating smile on his lips he said:
"You’re real y not polite with me. Kicking me out directly... I remember
you used to be so lame that you didn't even dare to speak loudly to people.
But now… How can you be so tough with me? Hmm?"

Li Chengxiu leaned against the wall and slowly moved towards the stairs:
"What do you want?"

"What the fuck do I want? I just want to see you, to see if you're doing well,
and whether you're happy with your lover." After saying that, Shao Qun felt
sick and lowered his head.

Li Chengxiu pointed at the stairs tremblingly and repeated: "Go away. I…

I'm fine."

Shao Qun suddenly raised his head, and his eyes flashed with resentment,
staring right into Li Chengxiu's heart.

Shao Qun then walked towards him - one step after the other.

Shocked, Li Chengxiu was about to run downstairs but before he could

even turn around, Shao Qun had already pounced on him.

Shao Qun's 188 cm body pressed onto Li Chengxiu, who then tried his best
to avoid him and for that reason made both of them fall to the ground.

Feeling Shao Qun’s body on top of his, Li Chengxiu realized that Shao Qun
had a fever. His skin was hot, and he murmured his name into his ear.

Li Chengxiu tried hard to push him away in order to get up, but Shao Qun
had already fainted and lay on him like a stone.

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun, whose eyes were closed and whose face
was flushed. He was even slightly gasping for air. For a moment, Li
Chengxiu didn’t know what to do.

He couldn't help but touch Shao Qun's forehead and found that he was
really burning up. The clothes he was wearing were very thin, and his
whole body was shaking.
This was the first time he saw Shao Qun get sick. It turned out that people
like him could also get sick and have such a fragile expression on their
faces. Li Chengxiu felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.

Should he call an ambulance? Li Chengxiu gave it a serious thought.

He heard that calling an ambulance might cost thousands of RMB ...

Li Chengxiu sighed, crawled out from under Shao Qun with great difficulty
and took out his key to open the door.

No matter how much he shunned this person, he couldn't leave him with a
high fever in the cold corridor right in front of his apartment.

As soon as he opened the door, Teacup heard his movements, ran up to him,
rubbed its face against his trousers and looked up at him eagerly.

Li Chengxiu lightly pushed the little pup away with his foot: "Get out of the
way, little guy, so I don't step on you!" He crouched down and used all his
strength to drag Shao Qun inside.

Teacup bared its teeth at Shao Qun and barked, biting Shao Qun's trousers,
trying to prevent this person from entering.

Li Chengxiu was afraid that Shao Qun might accidentally fall on Teacup.
His hands were full, so he could only use his foot to move Teacup away yet
again. The palm-sized little puppy got agitated, barked angrily and
continued biting Shao Qun's trousers to drag him out of the apartment. So
not only did Li Chengxiu have to drag Shao Qun, he also had to deal with
the dog from time to time. Thus, it took him several minutes to get from the
door to the sofa.

Li Chengxiu was sweating from exhaustion after spending so much effort to

get Shao Qun onto the sofa.

He first looked for a blanket to cover Shao Qun up and then for some anti-
inflammatory and antipyretic medicine. Finally, he poured a glass of water,
squatted beside the sofa and tried to wake Shao Qun up.
Shao Qun opened his eyes in confusion and tearfully looked at Li
Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu brought the medicine right to his mouth and said: "Take it."

It seemed that Shao Qun's eyes were nailed to Li Chengxiu’s face. He stared
at Li Chengxiu without blinking, as he slowly opened his mouth.

Li Chengxiu put the medicine into his mouth and made him drink some
water.

Shao Qun tilted his head slightly, and all the water spilled out of his mouth.
Li Chengxiu couldn't help but remind him: "Careful, don't choke."

Shao Qun's eyes lit up slightly, and he looked at him with deep emotion.

Li Chengxiu put the cup on the coffee table and quickly stood up.

Shao Qun grabbed his sleeve. His throat hurt so bad that he had to cough a
few times before he could barely make a sound: "Don't go!"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips, pulled his sleeves back, took out his mobile
phone from his pocket and handed it to Shao Qun: "Call someone to pick
you up."

Shao Qun retracted his hand that was just hanging stiffly in the air, closed
his eyes in discomfort and turned his head to the side.

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while, but continued: "Shao Qun, ask
someone to pick you up. You can't…stay at my house."

Shao Qun's Adam's apple went up and down. After a while he turned his
head and said hoarsely,

"Chengxiu, are you really that cruel?"

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes and held the phone in front of him.
Shao Qun felt a deep pain in his heart. He raised his hand and hit Li
Chengxiu’s palm.

It hurt enough for Li Chengxiu to drop the phone on the floor.

Teacup, who was squatting beside him the whole time, bowed his body and
assumed an attacking posture, barking at Shao Qun with all his strength.

Shao Qun coughed violently. His face turned bright red, as if he was about
to cough out his lungs.

Li Chengxiu stared blankly at the phone lying on the ground and then at
Shao Qun, who was constantly coughing. He finally squatted down and
brought the cup of water to his mouth: "Drink, drink some water."

Shao Qun tremblingly opened his mouth, took a few sips of water and then
slowly calmed down.

Li Chengxiu picked up the phone, put back the battery that had fallen out
due to the fall and tried to turn it on again. Unfortunately, the screen went
black right after it booted up. The phone was now unusable.[2]

Li Chengxiu angrily glared at Shao Qun .

He thought that if he couldn't get rid of Shao Qun, he would have to call Li
Shuo, but now he couldn't even turn on the phone.

Although he knew Li Shuo's cell phone number by heart, where would he

get a new phone in the middle of the night?

He turned around and asked Shao Qun, "Do you have a cell phone on you?"

Shao Qun had coughed so much that his brain was deprived of oxygen, his
eyes were foggy and he was basically in a semi-conscious state.

Li Chengxiu squatted down next to Shao Qun and felt his pockets, but
found that he had nothing other than his wallet and keys.
Li Chengxiu held the broken mobile phone and sat down on the sofa,
staring in a daze at Shao Qun who was burning up with fever.

He didn't know what to do now.

He couldn't throw him out, but he couldn't keep him here either.

Looking at Shao Qun's haggard face, it seemed that all his arrogance and
high-mightiness of the past were gone. At this time, he was just an ordinary
sick young man with a fever who needed to be taken care of.

He remembered Shao Qun's weak "Don't go!"

The voice seemed to penetrate directly into his heart. Li Chengxiu knew
that he shouldn't be so soft-hearted, and that a person like Shao Qun was not
worthy of any kind of soft-heartedness, but he couldn't just ruthlessly throw
him out.

Li Chengxiu let out a long sigh, got up and went to the kitchen to put on the
rice porridge. He then prepared dinner for Teacup.

By the time Teacup was full and satisfied, the porridge was also ready.

Li Chengxiu put a bowl of porridge on the coffee table and gently pushed it
towards Shao Qun: "Get up and eat something."

Shao Qun was in a confused state and had no reaction at all. Li Chengxiu
had to call him for a long time before he finally slowly opened his eyes.

Li Chengxiu helped him sit up and handed him the bowl: "Eat."

Shao Qun's pale face and wet eyes were covered by heat vapors coming
from the porridge. He quietly looked at Li Chengxiu with undisguised
affection and nostalgia in his eyes.

Li Chengxiu felt uncomfortable under this look and urged him again, "Eat."

Shao Qun looked at the bowl blankly and didn’t move.

Li Chengxiu put the porridge back on the table, got up and was about to
leave when Shao Qun tugged hard on his sleeve.

Li Chengxiu felt completely helpless. He sat down again, scooped a

spoonful of porridge and brought it towards Shao Qun.

Shao Qun seemed happy and cooperatively opened his mouth.

This way he quickly finished the bowl. So quickly in fact that it seemed that
Shao Qun hadn't eaten for a long time.

Li Chengxiu got up to wash the bowl and whispered, "Tomorrow…when I

go to work… you should leave too."

Shao Qun said in a hoarse voice, "I'm so ill. Can’t you stay with me for a
couple days?"

Li Chengxiu didn't say anything to that and just went to the kitchen without
looking back. After cleaning up, he went into his bedroom together with
Teacup and locked the door behind himself.

Shao Qun heard the sound of the lock, and even though his body was
burning, his heart seemed to be immediately covered by a layer of ice.

Exhausted, Shao Qun lay on the tiny sofa, his head covered with a blanket.

The blanket smelled of Li Chengxiu - clean and fresh, with a hint of

washing powder. It was as if he was still holding that person in his arms, his
nose full of his scent. Shao Qun took a deep breath, trying to keep Li
Chengxiu’s smell in his chest, so as to at least slightly relieve his pain.

The fact that Li Chengxiu took him in when he was sick, even if it was for
just one night, meant that he still couldn’t be too cruel to him.

Shao Qun still had a chance...

Shao Qun comforted himself with these thoughts, smiled bitterly and slowly
closed his eyes.
Li Chengxiu planned to leave early the next day. When he left, Shao Qun
still hadn't woken up. Because he was sick, his sleep was especially deep.

Li Chengxiu touched his forehead and found that the fever had not subsided
at all - Shao Qun was still burning up. Li Chengxiu was a little panicked.
Apparently, the few pills he gave him were not enough. If Shao Qun
continued to burn like this, he would soon become charcoal.

He hesitated for a while but then ran downstairs to the breakfast shop that
always opened early and borrowed a phone from someone there. He
immediately called Li Shuo.

He had already decided to send Shao Qun to the hospital, but he really
couldn't carry Shao Qun downstairs by himself.

When Li Shuo answered the phone, his voice was still sleepy. But as soon
as he heard that Shao Qun was at Li Chengxiu’s house, he was immediately
awake and said that he would go over as soon as possible.

Li Chengxiu then called his work and asked for a half-day leave.

As soon as Li Shuo came, he carefully examined Li Chengxiu from top to

bottom and asked nervously, "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "He has a fever."

Only then was Li Shuo finally relieved. He glanced coldly at Shao Qun who
was lying on the sofa: "I'm afraid he has hired someone to tail me.
Otherwise, how did he find your place as soon as he came back from
Beijing?"

Li Chengxiu's face was pale, and he witlessly asked, "What should I do…?"

Li Shuo took out his mobile phone: "I'll call his eldest sister and let her find
someone to pick him up."

While Li Shuo was on the phone, Li Chengxiu was looking at the sleeping
Shao Qun with his reddish face.
For a moment, he felt that this person was like a child. No matter how tall
he looked and mature he acted, he would still do so many unreasonable
things that hurt others and himself.

Li Shuo quickly hung up the phone and put his arm around Li Chengxiu's
shoulder: "His sister will soon send someone to take him away. Chengxiu,
you did the right thing. You should always contact me when something like
this happens."

Li Chengxiu nodded, not daring to say that Shao Qun had actually stayed
here for an entire night.

Li Shuo looked at his dazed expression. He then turned Li Chengxiu’s face

towards himself and softly said,

"Are you alright?"

It took a long time until Li Chengxiu’s eyes could focus. He looked at Li

Shuo and shook his head: "I’m fine."

Li Shuo lightly kissed his lips and smiled, "I haven't eaten yet. Do you have
anything at home?"

Li Chengxiu remembered that he hadn't eaten either, so he went downstairs

and ordered some noodles.

After the two of them had finished their meal, the people that were sent
over by Shao Wen had finally appeared.

When they got Shao Qun off the sofa, he woke up and subconsciously freed
himself from their grip.

He couldn't adapt to the surrounding environment for a while and looked

around in confusion. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Chengxiu,
but his expression changed immediately when he noticed Li Shuo.

He pointed at Li Shuo tremblingly, and asked Li Chengxiu in disbelief,

"You called him?"
Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes.

It seemed Shao Qun was about to cry. He swayed slightly as he got up to his
feet, and his speech was a bit slurred. Loudly he asked, "Li Chengxiu, in
which way am I inferior to him? Tell me, in which way is he better than
me? How can you treat me like this?"

Li Chengxiu trembled and lowered his head.

The person sent by Shao Wen was about to come up to help Shao Qun, but
Shao Qun immediately pushed him away.

The person looked at him with some embarrassment: "Young Master..."

Shao Qun was approaching Li Chengxiu step by step, as he shouted in a

hoarse voice: "I can give you everything that he can give you! I can treat
you better than him. Why did you choose him? How am I inferior?"

Li Shuo said coldly: "Shao Qun, you are confused. Chengxiu is my

boyfriend, please don't harass him in the future."

Shao Qun’s jaw dropped: "Li Chengxiu was original y mine! You took him
away!"

Li Shuo said with a sneer: "Of course he’s mine now, since I stole him fair
and square. Except I didn’t steal him. It was you who did everything in your
power to push him away right into my arms. How about you ask your
conscience, whether I would have even had a chance, if you had actually
treated him well, cherished him and loved him? You only regret it now that
you lost him.

Do you think that the whole world revolves around you? So he had to wait
for you patiently, ready to forgive you at any time? Shao Qun, be a man.
You lost. Chengxiu has already moved on. You are stuck in the same place,
but he wil never go back.”

Shao Qun froze in place, unable to say a word of rebuttal. He felt that
something was tearing at his heart, and the pain was so horrible that he
could hardly stand up.

Seeing Shao Qun's dazed expression, Li Chengxiu felt a terrible heartache.

He reluctantly opened his mouth and slowly enunciated, "Shao Qun, let's
not see each other ever again."

I'l never trust you, and I don't want to forgive you. Let’s just stop here.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu.

This was a face that haunted him. He missed it to the point of being unable
to move. He thought about it and dreamed about it over and over again. He
thought he was familiar enough with Li Chengxiu to know each and every
expression of his, but his current expression was entirely unknown to him.

Li Chengxiu should be kind, timid, and soft-hearted. No matter what Shao

Qun does, he should forgive him and treat him well.

But the man in front of him seemed so ruthless and cold. It was clear that he
would never treat him well again. He was standing next to another man and
was asking him to leave forever.

Shao Qun couldn't help recalling everything that he had done and
everything that he had said.

He had squandered the gentleness and obedience of this man, taking it all
for granted. He has made this man of his dreams cry many times, he has
hurt him badly, and he has also repeatedly used his actions and his words to
mercilessly humiliate him. He has made a lot of mistakes, to the extent that
he doesn’t even dare to admit or face them. But no matter how much he
tried to run away from it, finally he had to face the music. It was his
retribution for the numerous wrongs he had committed in the past.

Li Chengxiu had already left, he completely abandoned Shao Qun and was
never coming back to him.

Shao Qun was so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe. He stretched out his
hand towards Li Chengxiu, but before he could raise his arm, he fell down.
The hired people next to him immediately supported him. Once they
touched his forehead, they were immediately concerned.

"Quick, we need to hurry him to the hospital. He’s burning up."

The two men finally carried Shao Qun out.

The remaining two men were silent for a while. Li Shuo went to close the
door.

He walked back to Li Chengxiu and said solemnly, "Chengxiu, you can't

continue living here. I can't stand this bastard always harassing you. Move
in with me."

Shao Qun's heartbroken face before he fainted still lingered in Li

Chengxiu's mind. He was caught off guard by Li Shuo's sudden request and
looked at him blankly.

Li Shuo said seriously: "We've been dating for a while now. I didn't plan to
put pressure on you, but the situation is a bit different now. If you’re by my
side, I can protect you. And then I can also feel much more at ease. Shao
Qun is relentless - he will keep harassing you again and again. How can I,
with good conscience, let you live alone under a threat like that?"

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth and looked at Li Shuo with an empty

expression.

Li Shuo touched his face and asked expectantly, "Okay?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were shining, he looked a little dazed, as he finally

gently nodded: "Okay."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 53
However, after he had blurted out his promise to Li Shuo, Li Chengxiu
immediately regretted it.

He was really not ready to start a life together with another person. But he
reminded himself that since he had already accepted Li Shuo, he should try
having a good life with him.

He knew how painful it was to be let down. So he couldn't let Li Shuo

down no matter what.

On Saturday, Li Shuo came over to help him move.

Li Chengxiu was really exhausted from moving so many times in the past
six months. When he moved to this place, he didn’t have a lot of luggage,
and he hadn’t even unpacked many of the boxes yet. He seemed to have a
hunch that he was not going to stay here for a long time.

At this age, he still had no house of his own, no place to go back to, and
there was no one waiting for him to come home.

He could only keep changing from one place to another. This nomadic style
of living had opened a big hole in his heart. Sadness, loss, and constant fear
to lose everything again was present all the time.

When Li Chengxiu was sitting on the sofa with Teacup and waiting for Li
Shuo. He looked around the empty room and couldn't help but feel
uncomfortable.

The little Teacup followed him around to all these different places. He heard
that it was bad for pets to constantly have to adapt to a new environment.
Besides, Teacup was so small and much more fragile than ordinary dogs.

Sure enough, the puppy seemed to feel that something was up. It kept
spinning on Li Chengxiu's knees and couldn't calm down. A small whimper
came out of its throat.

Li Chengxiu gently touched its back, trying to soothe the pup. Softly he
said, "I don't want to move either. If I had my own home, I wouldn’t need to
move..."

Teacup whimpered again and rubbed its head against Li Chengxiu's palm.

Li Chengxiu held the dog up, touched its head with his lips and felt tears
welling up in his eyes: "You’re really suffering together with me."

This little thing was more expensive than his three-month salary. It was
squeamish and fragile. When Li Chengxiu left Shao Qun, he hesitated
taking the dog with him. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to afford to
care for it properly and wouldn’t give it the best life possible. However,
when he thought about how Shao Qun had irresponsibly brought it to the
house and then proceeded to completely ignore it, he felt that the pup would
be better off with anybody who wasn’t Shao Qun. Now, Li Chengxiu was
glad that he took the dog away with him. Although he couldn’t provide the
best quality things for Teacup, it was still very healthy. Moreover, it was his
only companion when Li Chengxiu felt lonely and sad. Teacup was never
going to betray him, and it relied on him wholeheartedly. Li Chengxiu
wondered if raising a child gave one the same feeling.

Li Chengxiu's hands trembled a little, and he quietly felt the little warmth
under his palm.

When Li Shuo came over, he looked at the scattered boxes on the ground in
surprise: "Chengxiu, is this all?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

He has lived in this city for almost ten years, and he had only a few things
that were worth keeping.

Li Shuo smiled and said, "Then it’s almost done. In fact, the only thing left
is to move the two living creatures in this room.”
Li Chengxiu stood up and put Teacup in his jacket pocket: "Li-Dage, I will
trouble you in the future."

Li Shuo came over and touched his head: "I’m happy to be able to see you
every day."

Li Chengxiu smiled shyly.

The moving company that Li Shuo had hired was basically useless, since all
Li Chengxiu’s things fit into the regular car.

In less than two hours, Li Chengxiu had moved to Li Shuo's house together
with his luggage.

He had been to Li Shuo's house several times before, but when he entered it
now, he witnessed an entirely different design.

Li Chengxiu was stunned.

Li Shuo's previous home decorations were simple and modern. The most
commonly used material was metal which was very compatible with Li
Shuo’s personality.

But in just two days, basically everything that could be changed in this
home had been changed.

The crystal ceiling lamps at the entrance have been replaced with warm
sheepskin lamps, the curtains were now light yellow, and almost all the
furniture here was now made of wood. The numerous big changes and also
small details have completely transformed the house, and the warm tones
have made it appear extra warm and elegant.

Li Shuo pulled him into the room and took out a big pink house-looking
thing from under the sofa.

Li Chengxiu took a closer look and realized that it was a very cute dog
kennel, and just like Li Shuo's house, it was a duplex.
Li Shuo blinked his eyes and smiled: "If you have time, you can actually
build an exact replica of my house to scale for the little Teacup."

Li Chengxiu couldn't help laughing. The warm emotions and gratitude in

his heart could not be described in words. He just felt that meeting this
person was probably the greatest luck in his life.

Li Shuo looked at his expression and was very happy. He walked over to
hug him tenderly, and asked softly, "Do you like it?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

"When I just moved in here, I visited the house during the renovations only
three times in total, and I didn't pay much attention to what was going on.
But when I thought of you coming to live here, I felt that our first home
shouldn’t be a cold model house mass-produced by a design company."

Sweet warmth fil ed Li Chengxiu’s heart when he thought that while Li

Shuo was so busy with work, he stil managed to renovate the house in such
a short period of time, just to welcome him. And he even took the little
Teacup in consideration.

Li Shuo was indeed a perfect person and a perfect lover. Li Shuo was
flawless, and being with him made Li Chnegxiu feel happy and at ease.

Li Shuo continued into his ear: "Here’s what I’m thinking. If one day we
get married, we’l pick a house together and decorate it together. We’l pour
our heart and soul into every tile and every single little detail.

We’l work hard to make the house look exactly the way we like, so that it
can be considered a proper home. What do you think?"

Li Chengxiu trembled: "Li-Dage..."

Li Shuo tenderly took Li Chengxiu’s ear into his mouth and gently licked it.

The sharp and refreshing smell of Li Shuo's body filled Li Chengxiu's

nostrils, and he felt something in his heart slowly softening, as he gradually
leaned on his broad, warm, and reassuring chest.
After spending the afternoon unpacking, Li Chengxiu had a good talk with
Li Shuo about their future life.

The general idea was that Li Chengxiu couldn’t live in Li Shuo's house for
nothing, so he was going to take care of the household chores and living
expenses.

Li Shuo thought that his current salary was enough to support two people,
but he readily agreed.

He appreciated Li Chengxiu's independence and self-respect, so he was

willing to respect him and cooperate with him.

He even prepared a separate bedroom for Li Chengxiu, but when he showed

it to him, he still said with a smile, "Would be better, if you didn’t need it."

Li Chengxiu was a little embarrassed. He naturally understood what

cohabitation meant. However, when the time came to face it, he was still
scared.

In the evening, when Li Shuo came out of the shower, Li Chengxiu was still
in the kitchen wrapping wontons for breakfast tomorrow.

Li Shuo leaned against the door frame to watch him for a while.

When Li Chengxiu heard his voice from behind, he turned around and
smiled at Li Shuo.

Li Shuo was wearing dark red silk pajamas - the kind of close-fitting soft
silk pajamas that outlined his tall and strong figure. He had also taken off
his glasses a while ago, revealing a pair of deep and very attractive eyes.
His hair was wet and still dripping, and some strands were stuck to his
forehead. Without his usual meticulous perfect hairstyle Li Shuo suddenly
looked much younger.

Li Shuo was originally a very handsome and extremely imposing man.

When he was wearing a suit and his glasses, he had “elite” written on his
forehead. But now, as he was wearing his home clothes, looking lazy and
casual, there was a completely different atmosphere around him.

Li Chengxiu sighed to himself that Li Shuo was really a kind of person who
was hard to take one's eyes off.

Li Shuo looked at Li Chengxiu’s hands: "Wrapping wontons?"

"Yes, for breakfast."

Li Shuo walked over, took a few glances and picked up a wonton skin: "I'll
try it."

Li Chengxiu looked at him with a smile.

Li Shuo put some stuffing inside the skin and shaped the wonton wrapper
into a dumpling.

Li Chengxiu laughed and said, "This is a dumpling!"

Wontons Dumplings

Li Shuo spread his hands helplessly, "I can only make dumplings. Can’t one
eat them anyway?"

Li Chengxiu taught Li Shuo how to properly wrap wontons.

When Li Shuo had free time, he really enjoyed cooking as a hobby.

After the wrapping was done, Li Chengxiu put the wontons in the
refrigerator, turned around and washed his hands.

It was a long day for Li Shuo. He had finally had a nice relaxing bath and
was enjoying his evening. Looking at Li Chengxiu's white neck, he felt that
his throat was suddenly a little dry.

Li Chengxiu was washing his hands and didn’t realize that Li Shuo was
right behind him. He turned around and bumped directly into his arms.

Li Shuo took this opportunity to wrap his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist.
He then lowered his head, gently touched the tip of his nose with his own
and said with a chuckle, "Chengxiu, no one has prepared breakfast for me
in many years."

Li Chengxiu blushed: "I… I wil eat too."

Li Shuo grinned, pressed him against the marble cabinet and leaned over to
kiss his lips.

The two of them have been very busy recently. They haven't seen each other
for many days and naturally haven't acted intimate for a long time, so Li
Chengxiu was still a bit unaccustomed to the displays of affection and just
passively accepted the kiss.

Li Shuo was however acting differently than usual. Normally, he would just
gently kiss him a couple of times, but now his kisses were much more
intense. The depth of this passion scared Li Chengxiu.

Li Shuo's skillful and passionate kiss made Li Chengxiu dizzy. By the time
he came back to his senses, he felt Li Shuo's hand reach into his clothes and
gently stroke his back.

Li Chengxiu froze, not knowing how to react.

Li Shuo licked Li Chengxiu’s red lips, then kissed his chin and Adam's
apple. He then went all the way down and lightly bit his collarbone. His
hands weren't idle either, as they erotically stroked all over his body.
Li Shuo's movements were gentle but passionate and could easily stimulate
one's lust. The process was very enjoyable, yet Li Chengxiu felt more and
more uncomfortable.

Li Shuo picked him up and sat him down on the cabinet. He then stood
between his legs, kissing his delicate skin and slowly undoing his buttons.

Li Chengxiu's breathing became rapid and heavy, as if he was barely

enduring something. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and pushed Li
Shuo away.

Li Shuo was stunned and blankly looked at Li Chengxiu.

Nobody would be too happy to have cold water thrown on them right in the
middle of a hot passionate moment. Li Shuo frowned slightly and touched
Li Chengxiu's pale face: "Chengxiu, what is it with you?"

In his opinion, wasn’t this par for the course for two cohabitating adult men
with an average age of over 30?

Li Chengxiu's face was sad and full of guilt: "Sor…Sorry."

Li Shuo calmed down and gave the situation a little thought. Finally, he
found a reasonable explanation for Li Chengxiu’s behavior. Softly he asked,
"Chengxiu, are you stil afraid of this…?"

Li Shuo was referring to the fact that Li Chengxiu had experienced an

extremely humiliating act of sexual violence.

Li Chengxiu's body was trembling.

Li Shuo sighed. All the unhappiness in his heart was now replaced by
compassion. He gently kissed Li Chengxiu on the cheek: "Chengxiu, I’m
not Shao Qun. If you’re not ready, I won’t force you... Do you feel a bit
better now?"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, biting his lips so hard that it drew blood.
Li Shuo stroked his lip line with his thumb, freeing Li Chengxiu’s lips from
under his teeth.

He then took Li Chengxiu into his arms and gently stroked his back: "It's
okay. You’re by my side now. You can clearly see that it's me - Li Shuo,
nobody else. You are safe."

Li Chengxiu let out an almost inaudible "um", put his forehead against Li
Shuo’s chest and closed his eyes.

He couldn't let go, and he couldn't forget. When he and Li Shuo were close,
he couldn’t control the images of Shao Qun appearing in his mind.

Shao Qun's amorous look, impatient and passionate kisses, husky voice,
perspiring chest. But all these memories that made him blush were finally
crushed mercilessly by the night that broke his heart and caused him so
much pain and repeated humiliation.

Li Chengxiu felt as if a huge stone was pressing against his chest. Not only
did it make him breathless, but it also frightened him so much that he
wanted to cry.

Why couldn’t he make himself forget? Why couldn’t he even control his
thoughts?

Shao Qun was sitting on a white hospital bed, staring out the window in a
daze.

In fact, there was nothing to see outside, just traffic jams that basically
turned the bridge into a parking lot during peak times.

There was a familiar knock on the door, and Shao Qun knew who it was as
soon as he heard the sound.

Sure enough, after knocking a few times and getting no response, the
person from the outside still came in, as if used to this situation,"Mr. Shao."

Shao Qun turned around to look at assistant Zhou: "What?"

"Mr. Shao, you've been in the hospital for several days. Why are you still
not discharged?"

Shao Qun replied indifferently, "I'm too lazy to move."

Assistant Zhou was helpless: "Mr. Shao, the company has dozens of mouths
to feed. You have to go back and take care of it at some point."

"Isn't my eldest sister there? Why are you still worried about not being able
to eat?"

"She's too busy. She is constantly torn between Beijing and Shenzhen now,
and she can’t take care of everything at the same time! And there are many
things that still need to be dealt with!"

Shao Qun didn't seem to be listening at all. Instead he asked, "Anything to

report about that thing that I asked you to do?"

Assistant Zhou sighed: "It's going very well. As long as Li Shuo goes
abroad at the right time, we can accuse him of fleeing the country, and then
things wil go more smoothly on our end. There’s something I need you to
confirm, though."

Only at that moment did Shao Qun regain some energy and finally lifted his
head: "What is it?"

Assistant Zhou handed him the file in his hand and said, "This is what I
found out when I investigated Li Shuo's background. Li Shuo's father has
been the CFO of an energy company in the United States for more than ten
years, and he has a personal relationship with the company's controlling
shareholder. They are so close, in fact, that even after his retirement the
shareholder hired him back as his family’s financial advisor. The name of
the shareholder is…”

Shao Qun had already turned to the relevant page, and, as soon as he saw
the name on it, he slowly lowered his eyes.
This confirmed to assistant Zhou that his guess was indeed correct. His eyes
gleamed, and he continued:

"His father’s health is not doing great lately, and he is planning to resign.
His client would want to find someone he can trust to replace him, right?
Wouldn’t it be reasonable for his son to look into the opportunity?"

Shao Qun gradually revealed a sinister smile: "Not only do I want to make
him unable to return to this country ever again but I also want Li Chengxiu
to give up on him completely.”

Assistant Zhou took out a dry-cleaned suit from the cabinet and handed it to
Shao Qun: "Mr. Shao, this should give you some motivation to work. Your
car is waiting outside."

Shao Qun quickly rolled out of bed and put on his neat suit, getting rid of
his disheveled and gloomy appearance. Looking entirely refreshed, he said
to the assistant as he was walking out: "Find that Jinxin kid for me! If you
can't get through to him, then contact my aunt."

“that Jinxin kid”

(taken from the 188 男团 weibo (cutout from the group pic)) This guy plays a
big part in “Winner Takes Al ”. His worst quality is being related to Shao
Qun :D

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 54
Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo enjoyed a quiet and peaceful life for nearly half a
month.

Li Chengxiu felt that their life was very similar to that of an ordinary
couple.

Usually, when they left together in the morning, Li Shuo would first take a
long detour just to bring Li Chengxiu to work and only then would go to his
own company. During their lunch break they would have an obligatory 10-
minute phone call. In the evening, Li Chengxiu would always try his best to
return as early as possible, so Li Shuo could have dinner immediately after
he came back from work. Li Shuo was much busier than Li Chengxiu, but
no matter how late it was or how tired he was, he always wanted to help out
if he saw Li Chengxiu busy in the kitchen.

At night they watched movies and listened to music, while leaning onto
each other. Such life was very leisurely.

Li Chengxiu couldn't tell whether his feelings towards Li Shuo were

romantic or not. He only knew that he was very happy and very grateful to
be together with him.

One day, Li Shuo told Li Chengxiu that he was going back home.

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, remembering that Li Shuo’s

parents actual y lived in the US.

Li Shuo left in a bit of a hurry. Regretfully he said: "It's a pity, I was called
back by my father on short notice this time. If I had known I was going
back in the near future, I would have gotten you a visa, but now it's really
too late."

Li Chengxiu smiled shyly, not knowing how to answer.

Li Shuo continued, "I mentioned you to my parents. They really want to
meet you."

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise: "Your parents..."

Li Shuo said with a smile: "They’re very open-minded people. Don't worry,
my sexuality hasn’t been a secret for a long time."

Li Chengxiu felt a bit envious.

Li Shuo had a family, and his family was also reasonable. He was truly
lucky.

While packing his luggage, Li Shuo noted: "But it's fine. Next time I can
take a longer vacation and apply for a visa for you. Then we both can go to
the US and enjoy ourselves there. This time, I’m only going for a couple
days."

Li Chengxiu nodded: "Take care of yourself."

Li Shuo showed a gentle smile: "I'm used to having you around these days.
I'm going to miss you. Will you miss me?"

Li Chengxiu gave him a shy smile and nodded honestly.

Li Shuo smiled sincerely, his eyes slightly curving. He then approached Li

Chengxiu, kissed and hugged him, promising that he was going to bring
some fun trinkets from his trip.

The two of them thought that this trip was similar to an ordinary business
trip. They had no idea that they wouldn't be able to see each other again for
a long long time.

Before leaving, Li Shuo made sure to install Global Connect service on Li

Chengxiu's mobile phone. He also deposited a couple thousands of RMB on
his mobile account, saying that he could send text messages and call Li
Shuo directly, as if he was in China.
What Li Shuo didn't tell him was that the phone bill would end up being
several times more expensive. Li Chengxiu didn’t even question it and only
said that it seemed to be real y convenient. He always thought that in order
to make a call to a foreign country, one needed to add a lot of numbers and
jump through a lot of hoops.

On the morning when Li Shuo left, Li Chengxiu cooked his favorite crab
porridge for him.

Li Shuo went directly to the airport, and he couldn’t take Li Chengxiu to

work that day. So he asked him to take care of himself.

Li Chengxiu nodded and told Li Shuo to be careful on the road.

Li Shuo cupped the back of Li Chengxiu’s head and tenderly kissed him. Li
Chengxiu didn't know what to do, and he felt a little uncomfortable in his
heart.

Li Shuo was going to return in just a couple days… So why did it feel like
they were parting forever?

He suppressed the strange premonition, smiled and sent Li Shuo out the
door.

While Li Shuo was still waiting on his plane, Li Chengxiu was already
sitting in the office, and they kept exchanging messages.

When Li Shuo finally got on the plane, Li Chengxiu felt empty.

He had never been on a plane. To be honest, Li Chengxiu always felt that

such a big thing flying in the sky was a bit suspicious. He also thought that
Li Shuo would have to sit for such a long time.

Li Chengxiu was very worried and was counting hours til Li Shuo’s
landing. He hoped that Li Shuo would report to him that he was safe as
soon as he arrived.

In the evening, Li Shuo gave him a call. There was a lot of noise coming
from his side. He said that he had just gotten off the plane and was entering
customs control.

Li Chengxiu, who had been on edge the entire day, finally breathed out.

Li Shuo's voice sounded quite relaxed, but the fatigue of the journey could
not be concealed, so Li Chengxiu told him to get some rest when he got
home.

The two hung up after chatting for a while.

When Li Chengxiu had already tidied up at home and was lying in bed, Li
Shuo sent him another text message with a photo. In the photo, he was
pointing his finger at his stubble and helplessly smiling.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but snicker. He texted back: "Why did you forget
to shave yesterday?"

Li Shuo replied: “I just wanted to go to bed earlier before the flight. And
then I wasn’t in the mood to shave on the plane. My mother will laugh at
me when she sees me like this."

Even though it was a meaningless exchange, it made Li Chengxiu feel very

calm and relaxed.

His phone beeped again, and Li Chengxiu opened the new text message
without any hesitation. It was an already familiar sentence: "Chengxiu, I
miss you very much."

Li Chengxiu felt that was a little strange. They were just talking about
something else. Why would Li Shuo suddenly send him this kind of line?

Li Chengxiu tensed up.

He usually made a point of ignoring anything coming from unfamiliar

numbers. But just now, because he had been texting with Li Shuo, he lost
his vigilance.

He knew that most likely the owner of this number was Shao Qun.
Now, Li Chengxiu was no longer in the mood to chat with Li Shuo. He
hurriedly said that he needed to go to sleep early because of work
tomorrow. Li Shuo said that he would contact him when he had settled
down.

Li Chengxiu turned his phone off in a hurry and put it away in the furthest
drawer, as if on the other side of that phone there was some horrible
cannibal waiting for him.

With Li Shuo’s departure, his loneliness and his fear had returned.

The first two days were fine. Li Shuo would text him and call him, telling
him one or two funny stories about his parents when he had some free time.

But on the third day, there was no news from Li Shuo all day long.

Li Chengxiu thought that was a little strange, so he sent Li Shuo a message.

But even after several hours had passed, Li Shuo stil didn’t reply.

Li Chengxiu calculated the time difference and felt that it was inappropriate
to call around this time. He planned to call again tomorrow. Maybe Li Shuo
was just busy.

He made two calls the next day. Li Shuo still didn't answer.

When Li Shuo hadn’t contacted him for an entire three days, Li Chengxiu
final y realized that something was wrong.

He got real y anxious and called him several times in a row. Final y, Li
Chengxiu even contacted Li Shuo’s assistant.

The assistant knew about their relationship. When Li Chengxiu interned in

Li Shuo’s office, they had even met. For some reason, he was very secretive
on the phone and refused to say anything, only telling Li Chengxiu that Li
Shuo was busy and he would contact him soon.

Li Shuo had always been very considerate. No matter how busy he was, he
would never let Li Chengxiu worry about him for so many days without a
good reason. Unless something serious happened, he wouldn’t leave his
messages without an answer.

Li Chengxiu's uneasiness gradually became worse, and his thoughts were in

disarray.

Two days later, Li Shuo finally called. Li Chengxiu's hands shook with
excitement when he saw the caller ID.

"Hello..." A very tired voice came from the other end of the phone.

Li Chengxiu's heart sank. It was clear that something had happened. He had
never heard Li Shuo so tired and frustrated. Li Shuo was always confident
and steady. Even when he was tired, he was never dejected or foul-mooded.

"Li-Dage, what's wrong?"

Li Shuo sighed softly: "Chengxiu, I'm sorry, I've been real y... There’s been
an accident here, and I can't go back to China for the time being."

Li Chengxiu froze: "Your parents…?"

Li Shuo said softly: "My parents are fine. Something went wrong with my
business in China."

Li Chengxiu asked, "Is it serious?"

Li Shuo sighed: "This matter is very complicated. I was framed. Now, as

soon as I set foot on Chinese territory, I will be arrested immediately.
Everything happened very quickly while I was abroad. For a moment, I am
not able to sort this convoluted issue. So, I can’t take the risk and return to
China. Can you understand?"

Li Chengxiu trembled uncontrollably.

If this issue could make a person like Li Shuo so miserable, it must be

really serious.
"Li-Dage..." Li Chengxiu wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to
say.

"I didn't want to make you worry, so I wasn’t planning to tell you that. But I
can’t real y hide it from you, taking your safety in consideration."

Li Chengxiu was shocked: "What… what do you mean?"

"I’m 90% sure that this was Shao Qun’s doing."

Li Chengxiu's body seemed to freeze up. It felt like he had fallen into a
basin of ice water, and the coldness immediately swallowed up his limbs
and his bones.

Li Shuo continued: "Many years have passed since this thing that I’m
responsible for has taken place. It also doesn’t involve the interests of any
third parties. What I mean is that the only possible beneficiary of this case
is the legal representative of the original company or its creditor - a state-
owned bank. Whoever is trying to frame me, is not going to benefit from
this no matter what the final result is. The legal representative of the
company disappeared long ago. And the state-owned bank is unlikely to do
such a useless thing. Since no business interests are involved, I can only
suspect that it’s about a personal grievance.”

Li Shuo paused and then continued:”After considering such factors like

motive, time, tactics, and the influence at the level of government
departments, I can only think of Shao Qun at the moment.”

Li Chengxiu was so anxious that he wanted to cry: "Li-Dage, is it really

him?"

Li Shuo pondered: "90% sure. This matter is too complicated to explain but
the amount of files in this bankruptcy case alone is akin to a mountain. I’m
afraid it wil take at least a year and a half in order to dig up evidence that
can clear me."

"Then you can't come back anymore?"

"I'm afraid, at least not in the short term. I can't risk arrest after my return. If
I stay in the United States, the worst case scenario is that I will never be
able to enter China again, but if I go back ... the worst case is criminal
detention."

Li Chengxiu felt extremely uneasy.

If this is really Shao Qun's work, then it's Li Chengxiu who dragged Li
Shuo into it. Even if Shao Qun did not do it, it was stil a fact that Li Shuo
was in big trouble. If he couldn’t come back for a year and a half,
everything he had worked so hard to build in Shenzhen would be wasted.

Li Shuo continued: "I'm very worried about you now. If this was indeed
Shao Qun’s ploy, then, I’m afraid, his next step is to come after you. My
place... I'm afraid you can't live there anymore. I have contacted my
assistant. He will find you a house, so you don’t have to worry about that
for a time being.”

Li Chengxiu's heart was full of sadness. He suddenly got tired of constantly

hiding. Time and time again, he did everything to avoid Shao Qun. But how
long was he supposed to be on the run? Not only did Shao Qun ruin his life,
he also dragged Li Shuo into it. How could Li Chengxiu afford to pay for
such a big crime?

Li Chengxiu said miserably: "Li-Dage, I'm sorry..."

Li Shuo was silent for a while, and then he softly said: "Chengxiu, I don't
want your apology. The truth of this matter is still uncertain. Even if it
really is Shao Qun's doing, it is not your fault. I have been thinking about it
a lot for the past two days.In fact, when I came back this time, my father
wanted to retire due to health reasons. His client hoped that I could take
over his work. I was not interested at all. I always wanted to build my own
career. But now that I have this chance, I think it might actually be fate.
Maybe I should stay in the US for a while and take over my father’s work. I
have something to ask you, and I want to hear your answer.”

Li Chengxiu said witlessly, "What is it?"

"Would you like to come to America?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned.

"I know you need to think about it first. This is a very important decision.
You would basically need to leave your past life and your familiar
environment behind. This would be a chal enge for anybody. But if there’s a
wil , there’s a way. A way to get used to the language and to the new
environment, a way to find new friends and also work. It’s all possible. And
I wil be here for you, if you want to come. Everyone wil welcome you, and
my parents would real y like to meet you. So if you want…”

After the phone call, Li Chengxiu couldn't calm down for a long time.

He felt that his life had been turned upside down again.

Li Shuo promised to give him time to think about it, but he also asked him
to hand over the required documents to his assistant for the visa application.

Li Shuo’s exact words were: "You can think about it during the visa
application period. You can change your mind even right before boarding
the plane. But I really hope to hug you here in the United States in two
months."

Li Chengxiu understood very well that if he didn't go, he would completely

let Li Shuo down, and their relationship would basically be over.

But, to be honest, it was just a little too much to ask from a nearly 30-year
old man go to an unfamiliar country, pick up the language that he hadn’t
touched in more than ten years and start a new life If he had been in his
teens or even in his early twenties, it would have seemed like an exciting
challenge.

But at his age, it was more like an ordeal.

Li Chengxiu didn’t have a good education, nor did he have good language
skills. Would he have to rely on Li Shuo for everything when he came to the
US? What would that make him?
Even if he also had no relatives or friends in China, at least he was familiar
with everything here and he could always find a job to make ends meet. So
he didn’t have to live in a state of perpetual anxiety.

In Li Chengxiu's heart, he really didn't want to go.

He was not a brave man, so he never dared to change things without

somebody’s permission. He was such a useless person, that even after ten
years in this city, he stil hadn’t established a foothold here.How can he even
think about going to a foreign country?

But Li Shuo...

It was a dilemma.

Li Chengxiu was not too surprised when Shao Qun blocked his way when
he came back home from work.

Strangely, he was neither panicking, nor particularly terrified. He just knew

that it was an inevitability.

When a heart is repeatedly broken, it freezes over and loses its ability to
move.

Shao Qun's face didn't look very good. He was obviously sleep-deprived.
But as soon as he saw Li Chengxiu, he seemed immediately refreshed.

Shao Qun’s eyes were full of emotions, as he looked at Li Chengxiu. Just as

he was about to open his mouth, Li Chengxiu interrupted him, his tone cold
and distant.

"Is what happened to Li-Dage… your doing?”

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 55
As soon as Shao Qun heard Li Shuo’s name, he looked like he had stepped
into dog shit.

He frowned with some uneasiness, neither saying yes nor no, and just
looked at Li Chengxiu.

Seeing his expression, Li Chengxiu knew what’s up, and his body trembled
with anger.

"How…how could you..."

Originally, Shao Qun wanted to pretend that he had nothing to do with

anything but as soon as he realized that Li Chengxiu had easily seen right
through him, his horrible nature was revealed. He craned his neck and
disdainfully said: "I didn't castrate him, so he got off lightly.”

Li Chengxiu was so angry that his eyes darkened. He spat out through his
teeth:"Go away."

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, and his face showed a bit of
desolation. He lowered his head and crushed a cigarette butt on the ground
with his foot. In a muffled voice he said, "He's not coming back anytime
soon, so you guys should break it off before it's too late."

Li Chengxiu held his briefcase tightly to his chest. He took a step back and
said in a trembling voice, "It has nothing to do with you!" As soon as he
said that, he was about to pass Shao Qun to enter the building.

Shao Qun blocked his path, staring straight at him. He felt that Li Chengxiu
had lost some weight yet again, and his face looked tired. Shao Qun
couldn’t help reaching out to touch it.

Li Chengxiu quickly took a step back.

Shao Qun's hand awkwardly stopped in the air, and he finally just dropped
it in dismay.

He continued blocking Li Chengxiu, as he gritted through his teeth,"Tell

me, what's so good about Li Shuo?

I can do anything he can do."

Li Chengxiu shook his head coldly: "Go away."

Shao Qun propped his hand on one side of the wall and looked at Li
Chengxiu with some urgency: "Just tell me what it is, and I wil do it! What
exactly is he capable of? I don’t believe it’s so special. I can treat you better
than him, really! Chengxiu, now that he’s gone, let’s start all over again,
okay?"

Li Chengxiu felt a burst of sadness in his heart.

The person in front of him didn’t even realize that he was hurting others left
and right. Al he cared about was achieving his goals, which he stubbornly
did step by step. He only thought of himself, and nobody else even
registered on his radar.

Shao Qun lived according to his own rules, disregarding whether others
liked it or not. What did he care about hurting or stabbing somebody on his
merry way?

Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu's arm and kept asking unrelentingly how
exactly was Li Shuo better than him.

Li Chengxiu shook his hand away and said coldly, "He respects me and
won't lie to me. You don't even deserve to be compared to him."

When Shao Qun heard this, his eyes suddenly turned red. He stil couldn’t
get used to Li Chengxiu, who was so gentle in his memory, saying harsh
words to him and stabbing his heart with a knife over and over again.

In a hoarse voice he said: "I wil also…I wil also respect you. And I wil not
lie to you again. In the future, whatever you say goes. I will be damned, if I
ever act like a jerk again."

It was difficult for Shao Qun to make these lowly promises. He was a man
whose ego was higher than the skies, and now he had been trapped by
somebody like Li Chengxiu. It was as ridiculous as a tiger paying tribute to
a rabbit. Even children would laugh at him, and Shao Qun was really
embarrassed. But he knew very well that even though he could knock Li
Chengxiu down with just one slap, Li Chengxiu could kill him with just one
sentence. So what could he do?

These few words were difficult for Shao Qun to say, but in Li Chengxiu's
ears, they were too meaningless to even be mentioned.

He remembered how many nice things Shao Qun said to him when they had
just met.

It was all “darling this” and “darling that” and “I like you so much”.

In the end, all of it turned out to be fake. And Li Chengxiu had foolishly
taken it to heart.

People like him can't afford to repeat their mistakes. Li Chengxiu had too
little, and the price of making mistakes was too high.

When Shao Qun saw his expression, he knew that Li Chengxiu didn't
believe him at all.

He trapped Li Chengxiu in the corner of the building. Like a stubborn

teenager, he didn’t want to let go. He needed to know why the person who
rejected him didn’t like him and how he could make him like him again.

Li Chengxiu turned his face away, unwilling to look at Shao Qun, and
whispered, "If you respect me, let me go home now."

Shao Qun whispered, "Is this your home? Huh? So this is your home!"
Shao Qun was reminded how Li Chengxiu had silently rejected everything
at his house. And now he was actual y calling Li Shuo’s place

“home”!
Imagining that Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo lived their daily lives here was as
painful as having his heart gouged out. And now, Li Chengxiu wanted to go
back to his and Li Shuo’s “home” right in front of him!

Li Chengxiu stared at him alertly, clutching his briefcase to his chest,

holding it in front of him like a shield.

Shao Qun felt that he could not exert any strength. He propped himself up
with one hand on one side of Li Chengxiu, and his other hand was very
close to his face. But he didn’t dare touch him.

He was afraid to see Li Chengxiu's evasive expression if he tried to touch

him.

Time passed by quietly, and the two of them didn't speak or move for a
while.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu's soft hair, and there was a sudden rush of
viciousness in his heart.

He wanted to love him. He wanted to hold him in his arms. And as long as
Li Chengxiu came back to him, he was willing to pull out his heart for him.
He was willing to swallow his pride and forget all about Li Shuo.

But Li Chengxiu's repeated indifference and alienation were driving him

crazy.

He was not somebody who could control his temper. He didn't want to scare
Li Chengxiu, but he felt that the aggression in his body was about to burst
out after being provoked by Li Chengxiu over and over again.

He felt a lot of pain in his heart, knowing that what he was about to say
would only push Li Chengxiu farther away, but Shao Qun just couldn't help
saying it.

"Do you want that phony foreign devil to not be able to return to China for
the rest of his life?"

Li Chengxiu was shocked and looked up at Shao Qun in astonishment.

The muscles on Shao Qun's face were strained, and there was a flash of
ruthlessness in his eyes: "Break up with him. If you break up with him, I
won’t go after him again."

Li Chengxiu's eyes slowly turned red, and he said in a trembling voice,

"Shao Qun, you are a monster."

Shao Qun felt that there was a big hole in his heart, and the pain made him
want to cry. He tried to endure it as much as he could: "Yes, I'm a fucking
monster. And you are all such fucking good people. So it’s up to you to
decide what is more important - your itsy-bitsy feelings or Li Shuo’s more
than ten years of entrepreneurial efforts in China."

Li Chengxiu's eyes gradually became wet. He looked at Shao Qun, his

vision blurred. The more he looked, the more blurred this person became
and the more Li Chengxiu couldn’t even recognize him anymore.

How far will this man push him before he finally stops?

Li Chengxiu was tired of a life of uncertainty and fear. Shao Qun forced
him into the corner again and again, and now he even used Li Shuo to
threaten him.

"Shao Qun, I don't owe you anything... why can’t you..."

Why can't you just let me go?

Shao Qun glared at him: "Yes, you don't owe me anything. But I owe you.
So give me a chance, and I will compensate you, okay?"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, sniffed, and said nothing.

Shao Qun said softly: "Chengxiu, I didn't want to force you, real y. But…
but I can't stand you being with him. I've never cared so much about
anybody else in my life. All that I said is true. If you split up with him, I can
provide you with everything that he can. Chengxiu, give me another
chance, and I will give you the sun and the stars. Just give me another
chance."
Li Chengxiu bowed his head and still kept quiet.

He thought about his phone call with Li Shuo - he could clearly feel how
distressed Li Shuo was.

His frustration and loss were so obvious, yet he still comforted Li

Chengxiu.

Li Shuo was his benefactor. Could he watch his hard-earned career be

destroyed by Shao Qun?

Li Chengxiu felt a shattering pain in his heart. He felt as if he had been

drained from all his strength in one heartbeat. Hoarsely he said, "I wil …
break up with him."

Shao Qun was stunned for a while. Then with a look of joy on his face he
said: "Really? Chengxiu, you..."

Li Chengxiu slowly pushed Shao Qun away and whispered, "We will break
up... So don't make his life difficult anymore."

At that moment, Shao Qun could hear that Li Chengxiu's tone and
expression were not quite right.

However, he was too focused on being happy that Li Chengxiu was finally
going to part with that Li bastard.

Shao Qun couldn't help laughing: "I…Don't worry, as long as you break up
with him, I wil not give him any trouble."

Li Chengxiu looked at him indifferently: "You’re not lying, right?"

Shao Qun looked earnest and sincere: "I won't lie to you ever again."

Li Chengxiu nodded, turned around and walked upstairs.

Shao Qun hurriedly grabbed him: "Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu pulled his arm back: "Didn't you say that you will respect me?
Let go."

Shao Qun choked and was speechless for a while. He dejectedly lowered
his hand, but still asked, "Then when will you move out of here?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were empty: "Soon."

Shao Qun said happily: "Just give me a call when you want to move, and I'll
prepare a place for you... Oh, don’t worry, you don’t have to stay with me.
Everything wil be according to your wishes. But you just have to let me
take care of you, okay?"

Li Chengxiu didn’t comment on that and proceeded to go upstairs.

Shao Qun looked at his thin back almost obsessively, his heart beating like
a drum.

Thinking that Li Chengxiu might very soon return to him, he was so excited
that his fingertips slightly trembled.

As soon as Li Chengxiu came through the door, he sat down on the sofa and
took out a thick book from his briefcase.

It was a second-hand book, which he had bought for three RMB at the
bookstand on his way home from work.

Although it was used, it looked like new. The original owner might not have
used it at all. The hardcover was very colorful, and there were words
"Spoken English Crash Course" printed in gold on it.

Li Chengxiu looked at the cover and couldn't help crying.

He didn't know what to do with the book. He knew that he didn't actually
have the courage to cross the ocean and leave his country. But when he saw
this book at the old book stand, he thought for a moment that, maybe, just
maybe, English wasn’t that difficult. And maybe America wasn’t difficult
either.
Except it was.

Was there any guarantee that he and Li Shuo could last for a long time?
What was he supposed to do in a completely unfamiliar place, once he lost
his only support?

Where would Li Chengxiu find the courage to banish himself to the edge of
a cliff yet again?

He couldn’t leave the foundations of life in somebody else’s hands again.

Once that person walked away, he would inevitably fall to pieces. This was
the lesson that Shao Qun had taught him.

Li Chengxiu, who was usually very unwilling to throw anything out, put the
book directly into the trash. He had made up his mind.

He picked up Teacup, kissed it on the tip of its nose and said, "I'm sorry,
we’re moving again."

The little Teacup pushed Li Chengxiu’s face away with his paw and
whimpered.

Li Chengxiu was sick of moving. Even Teacup was barking unhappily when
it saw him pack his things, as if the pup knew what was going on.

Li Chengxiu kept asking Teacup to be quiet but there was nothing he could
do about the dog.

After packing up as fast as he could, Li Chengxiu sat behind the coffee

table and wrote his resignation letter.

Li Chengxiu had always been a very efficient person, and he never

procrastinated when he encountered problems. He quit his job the next day.

His boss didn’t say anything about Li Chengxiu’s hasty resignation out of
respect for Li Shuo.

When he came back from work, Li Chengxiu called Adrian and told him
that he was going home and that there was no need to be worried if Li
Chengxiu didn’t contact him for a while.

Adrian was aware of what happened to Li Shuo, but he didn't know that Li
Chengxiu had no home to go back to. He thought Li Chengxiu was
planning to visit his hometown before leaving the country and was happy
for him: "I'll come to America to have fun with you guys!”

Li Chengxiu was stunned, knowing that Adrian had misunderstood, but

instead of explaining, he just bitterly hummed.

After the call, he sent a long text message to Li Shuo.

"Li-Dage, I'm sorry. I can't go to the United States with you. I'm almost 30
now, and I don't have the courage to start my life over in a foreign country.
Thank you for taking care of me for so long. I can't repay you, so I can only
sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. You treated me really
well. I will always remember that. I caused you a lot of trouble, and I hope
you can forgive me for that. I’m planning to leave Shenzhen. After I leave,
Shao Qun won’t bother you or me anymore. It’s for the best. I've let down
your kindness, and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Please don't worry about me.
I have a relative who is doing business in another city. I’m planning to go to
him. Li-Dage, I'm sorry that I can’t say goodbye to you face to face. I hope
all the best for you, and I hope you can forgive me."

Li Chengxiu pressed “send” with his uncontrollably trembling fingers, as

tears ran down his face.

If only he had met Li Shuo first… things would have been so different.

After the message was delivered, Li Chengxiu took out the SIM card.

Early next morning, he headed to the long-distance bus station with Teacup
and his few suitcases.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 56
In fact, Li Chengxiu wasn’t going very far.

He had no relatives, and no actual destination to go to.

He was afraid Teacup would get tired after a long time on the bus, so he
decided to stop at Guangzhou first.

He found a small hotel to live in. The next day, he planned to go out to look
for a house. After he found a place to live, he could start looking for a job.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t quite sure if he was going to look for a job as an

accountant or go back to cooking.

He now had a brief experience as an accountant but it was much less than
his experience as a chef.

Considering the monetary issues, it might be a better idea to find a job at a

restaurant.

Li Chengxiu pondered for a long time and decided to write two resumes. He
could then try to apply for both positions and see which one worked out in
the end.

Teacup slept in the bus for more than two hours and wasn’t very energetic.
The puppy was lying on the hotel bed now with half-drooping eyelids,
looking weak. Li Chengxiu brought some water to its mouth.

Li Chengxiu thought the dog was just tired, so he rubbed its neck and
massaged it for a while and then put it down in its nest to sleep..

The hotel wasn’t very clean. One of the windows was broken, and it
couldn’t be closed properly, so there was a four-finger gap there which let
the wind in. Although it was warm outside recently, the nights were still a
bit chilly.
Li Chengxiu tightly pulled the curtains together and lay on the bed, staring
at the yellow ceiling with his eyes open.

He had to do everything over again.

Housing, work - he had to find new options and get used to them yet again.
In the past ten years of his life he really had gained nothing.

Li Chengxiu couldn't figure out how his life could be so difficult.

This hopeless feeling made him suffocate. As if in a trance, Li Chengxiu

couldn’t help thinking why did he even live at all. It was so tiring and
uncomfortable, and there was really nothing good about it. What was the
reason for living?

Right when Li Chengxiu was busy looking for an apartment in Guangzhou,

Shao Qun was going crazy.

He had waited for Li Chengxiu's phone call for several days, staring at his
phone so intently that he almost burned a hole in it. But he waited for
fucking nothing.

He gradually felt that something was not quite right. Shao Qun didn't have
much hope anymore that Li Chengxiu would call him, but since he agreed
to move out of Li Shuo’s house, he should have at least sent him a message.

He didn't dare to go to him so soon again, afraid of another rejection.

But after waiting for several days, Shao Qun final y couldn't wait any
longer, so he drove to Li Shuo’s house.

He rang the doorbell for a long time, but there was no response at all.

Shao Qun suddenly slapped himself on the forehead. Of course! Li

Chengxiu must still be working at the company at this time.

Shao Qun thought about it for a while, but he didn't want to wait around this
fucking place where Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo lived together. So he drove
to Li Chengxiu’s company.
When he got there, he found out that Li Chengxiu had resigned a few days
ago.

Shao Qun's head was buzzing, and a chill covered his body from the soles
of his feet to his forehead. A very bad premonition immediately appeared in
his heart.

He returned to his car as if he was running for his life, and he almost flew
back to where Li Chengxiu lived.

He pressed the doorbell non-stop for five or six minutes, but there was no
response at all. In the end, he just knocked on the door with his fist and
shouted, "Li Chengxiu! Li Chengxiu!"

The security system in this community was very good. Shao Qun's loud
actions finally aroused the suspicion of the security department on the other
side of the monitor, and two people came out quickly to see what was going
on.

The two tiny security guards were typical southerners. Seeing that Shao
Qun was tall and big, they didn’t seem too comfortable. They asked him
politely what he was doing bothering the residents.

Shao Qun sighed heavily, his face ugly: "I'm looking for my friend."

One of the security guards looked at the house number, tilted his head and
thought for a while. He then took out his walkie-talkie to talk to the security
department: "Didn’t the 1818 resident move out a few days ago? Who was
on duty that day?"

After a while, a reply came: "He moved out and left before dawn on the
12th. Xiao Wu was on duty that day, and he helped him with the luggage."

Shao Qun's face turned pale, and he asked reluctantly, "Where did he go?"

The security guard snorted: "Mister, how would we know?"

Shao Qun went downstairs, swaying from side to side as his legs were
shaking.
When he got into the car, he called Xiao Zhou and asked him to find Li
Chengxiu.

His mind was in a mess, and his speech was a little awkward. The fear that
Li Chengxiu might disappear was like a relentless pressure on top of his
head. He felt cold all over his body, and his chest was so tight that he
couldn't breathe.

After thinking about it for a long time, he remembered that there was
someone who might have a clue as to Li Chengxiu’s location. Shao Qun
flipped through his contacts and final y found Adrian's phone number.

Adrian had long deleted Shao Qun from his contacts, so he answered the
phone completely unprepared.

Shao Qun didn't make any small talk and just said in a low voice, "Adrian,
where did Li Chengxiu go?"

Adrian was stunned for a moment: "Shao Qun?"

Shao Qun repeated impatiently, "Where did he go?"

Only then did Adrian finally react. He sneered: "Chengxiu and Li Shuo are
together in the US."

Shao Qun's mind was blank, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
It took a long time for him to recover, and he said in a trembling voice: "No,
it's impossible. He said he..." Shao Qun remembered the scene from that
day. Li Chengxiu had only said that he was moving out. How could Shao
Qun have known

that Li Shuo would really throw away his whole career in China and trick
Li Chengxiu into coming to America!?

Adrian laughed coldly: "Shao Qun, do yourself a favor and don’t bother
them anymore. They are going to get married in the US. If you stil have
some feelings for Li Chengxiu, why don’t you just wish him happiness?"

"Bullshit!"
Shao Qun suddenly yelled, startling Adrian.

Shao Qun hung up the phone, flipped through his phone book with
trembling fingers and immediately dialed a friend of his: "Help me check
the departure list for the United States in the last few days. Is there anyone
named Li Chengxiu…?"

After going crazy for an entire afternoon, Shao Qun found out that Li
Chengxiu had, indeed, not left the country. Not a single airline had any
information about him at all - he had never even been on a plane.

Shao Qun was in a complicated mood. On the one hand, he was relieved. At
least Li Chengxiu didn't go to the United States to reunite with Li Shuo, but
on the other hand, Li Chengxiu had just disappeared into thin air. China was
so big, and it was practically impossible to find someone who had no
relatives or friends and left no trace.

Shao Qun now regretted his actions that day. He shouldn’t have forced Li
Chengxiu. But how could he have known that he would force him into
running away? Where was he going to look for him now?

Shao Qun sat motionless in his car until it got dark. In this narrow and dim
space, he was completely alone with his solitude and regret.

He has never been so helpless before. He hadn’t been so frightened even

when bil ions of funds that he had invested seemed to have disappeared.
The fear of losing Li Chengxiu was about to ruin him.

Suddenly his phone rang, and Shao Qun abruptly picked it up with some
expectation in his heart.

It was a string of unfamiliar numbers - a call from abroad.

If he remembered correctly, the area code was that of the US.

Shao Qun picked it up, and the other side was silent for a few seconds.
Then Shao Qun heard: "It’s Li Shuo."
Shao Qun took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Even if Li Shuo
hadn’t contacted him, he would have contacted Li Shuo. So this call came
just at the right time. He solemnly asked, "Where is Li Chengxiu?"

Li Shuo paused, and his tone suddenly intensified, showing boundless

anger: "How dare you ask me that? I should be the one asking!"

Shao Qun's last glimmer of hope was shattered, and he slumped in the car
seat like a deflated balloon:

"He's gone..."

Li Shuo said angrily, "Shao Qun, you bastard! You forced Chengxiu to run
around without a moment of peace, unable to find a safe place to live! Are
you happy now? He's gone. He's completely gone!"

Shao Qun's heart was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. His eyes felt
hot, and his vision blurred instantly.

He covered his eyes with his hands and said in a hoarse voice, "Where
could he go…?"

"How would I know? He said he went to a relative. But I never heard him
mention any relatives before."

Shao Qun choked and said, "He has no relatives..." When he helped Li
Chengxiu repay his debts, Xiao Zhou had told him about Li Chengxiu's
situation in his hometown where he had basically no one to turn to.

After they got their money, they simply stopped contacting him anymore.
Shao Qun couldn’t imagine where Li Chengxiu could go. China was so big
that he could go anywhere. Even if he stayed somewhere in Shenzhen, it
was easier said than done to find a person who had no fixed place to live, no
permanent job and no friends.

Li Shuo said fiercely: "Shao Qun, Chengxiu doesn't have much money on
him. His health is very poor, and he has no relatives. If something happens
to him, I won’t spare you."
Shao Qun didn't speak. If something happened to Li Chengxiu, he wouldn’t
spare himself.

Li Shuo seemed to feel that it was a waste of time and effort to even say
another word to Shao Qun, so he just spat with disgust: "Stop messing with
my affairs and let me return to China immediately. Maybe then I can look
for some clues.”

Shao Qun didn't say anything and just hung up the phone.

He buried his face in the steering wheel, his hands clenched into fists, and
his shoulders were slightly shaking.

Li Chengxiu managed to find an apartment very quickly. After all, he had a

lot of experience in that area -

he had looked for a new apartment no less than 20 or 30 times already.

This time, Li Chengxiu was lucky. The previous resident of this small
apartment was a student. He suddenly received his visa and wanted to go
abroad. However, his housing contract was still running and if he breached
it, he wouldn’t get his deposit back. So he sub-rented it very cheaply to Li
Chengxiu.

Although the house was a bit old, it was at least clean. Most importantly,
the transportation was convenient.

Just in one afternoon, Li Chengxiu managed to move all his luggage over.

After a while, he was finally done cleaning up the house.

Because he was so busy for a long time, he didn’t pay much attention to
Teacup. When he fed the dog at night, he found that the pup was still listless
and didn't eat much.

Li Chengxiu had never had a pet before, so he thought that the dog was just
tired and needed to adapt to the new environment. So he wasn’t too worried
for a while.
After a night of rest, he started looking for a new job.

There were many positions that he applied for. He didn’t know if there was
any hope, though. He could only wait now.

He left early and returned late every day. When he got home, he was so
tired that he almost collapsed, and he fell asleep immediately after touching
the pillow.

In the past two days, there was another issue that gave Li Chengxiu quite a
headache.

Time and time again, he could hear a loud "bang bang bang" sound of a ball
hitting the floor coming from the room nearby. The sound insulation here
was not very good, and even though Li Chengxiu couldn’t hear so well with
one of his ears, the sound was still clear enough to disturb his rest.

Li Chengxiu just moved here and didn't want to have any unpleasantness
with the neighbors, so before doing anything he thought about it at first.

But after a few days, he couldn't take it anymore.

The general fatigue from running around all over the city these days, the
abrupt changes in his life, the guilt towards Li Shuo, and the resentment
towards Shao Qun were weighing heavily on his heart. The continuous
"bang bang bang" noise was pushing him over the edge. It seemed that the
ball was hitting him directly on his forehead. He didn't know why, but he
suddenly wanted to scream and cry, and let out all the emotions that were
stuck in his throat and that he couldn't swallow. It felt as if his body would
explode if all this stuff didn’t find its way out.

When his brain was about to boil over, Li Chengxiu rushed out of the
apartment and knocked on the neighboring door a few times.

The sound coming from the inside stopped, and after a while, he heard
footsteps approaching the door step by step.
Li Chengxiu was suddenly a little nervous. What should he do if the other
party turned out to be an unreasonable person?

The door opened, and Li Chengxiu saw a young man of a very tall stature.
His upper body was naked, and one could see a strong chest and perfect
eight-pack abs. His skin was of a rather attractive wheat color, and the man
was in general quite attractive and handsome. He exuded the usual vitality
of a very young person.

He frowned and glanced at Li Chengxiu, his tone was a little impatient:

"What is it?"

Li Chengxiu noticed that a basketball was rolling at his feet. He realized

that this was the source of the damn noise.

He swal owed and said cautiously, "This… Are you… here…. playing
basketball at home?" This young man didn't look easy to deal with. He also
seemed so strong, and he was at least half a head taller than Li Chengxiu. It
was hard not to be nervous.

The young man glanced at the basketball at his feet: "What's wrong? This is
the first floor."

Li Chengxiu said: "It’s….it's very noisy. I live right next door…And I can
hear it clearly."

The young man made an "oh" sound and curled his lips: "But I don’t play at
night. The sound insulation here is not good, so deal with it."

He obviously wasn’t afraid of Li Chengxiu's thin and weak posture.

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment. He opened his mouth and wanted
to say something. Seeing that the young man furrowed his brow and that his
temper didn’t seem to be very good, Li Chengxiu swal owed the words in
his mouth.

The man glanced at him, and without saying another word, slammed the
door shut in his face.
Li Chengxiu looked entirely flabbergasted.

Assistant Zhou every time Shao Qun calls him with yet another shitty task

Chapter 57

After such an experience, he didn't dare to knock on that door again.

Li Chengxiu wanted to avoid any trouble. It was clear that this person was
very unreasonable, so just had to tolerate the current situation.

After he returned to his room, the sound of the basketball continued. Li

Chengxiu was really annoyed and angry at himself that he couldn’t do
anything about this.

During the day, he continued to go out to look for a job and do interviews.
The job search as an accountant did not go very smoothly. Most companies
were not willing to hire him because he stuttered.

Li Chengxiu came home as usual that day, and at a glance, he noticed that
next to Teacup’s nest there was a small pool of milky white stains on the
floor.
Li Chengxiu thought it was strange, and when he got closer, he realized that
the puppy either vomited or had a weird bowel movement. No matter
which, it was a serious matter.

Li Chengxiu hurriedly picked Teacup up and noticed that it was completely

limp. He then immediately remembered that for several days in a row, when
Li Chengxiu came through the door, the little pup wouldn’t run over to
affectionately rub at his feet .

During this period of time, Li Chengxiu was very tired because of running
around so much, so he didn’t pay so much attention to Teacup. Now it
seemed that the pup was really sick. And any disease might easily kill such
a little dog.

Li Chengxiu was so anxious that he almost started crying. He took out all
the cash that he had at home, wrapped Teacup in a blanket and left the
apartment. He asked around about the nearest vet clinic. By the time he got
there, it was almost closing time. Li Chengxiu basically rushed in at the last
minute.

The veterinarian was a chubby young man who looked very kind. Seeing Li
Chengxiu's anxious look, he couldn’t bear to lock the door in front of him.

The vet looked at the puppy and said: "Oh, this breed is very troublesome!
The teacup poodles are bred by always picking out the smallest puppy in
the litter for future breeding. Thus, the offsprings get smaller and smaller
over time. But think about it, the smallest pup is also usually the weakest or
the sickest, or is incapable of fighting for its mother’s milk. Their resistance
to disease is usual y very weak, and their lifespan is not very long. It’s
basically a sick little baby that can easily die."

Li Chengxiu was about to cry: "Doctor, will it be all right?"

The doctor was obviously not accustomed to a man looking so sad and
frightened, so his heart softened, and he quickly comforted Li Chengxiu,
"This puppy has worms. This kind of thing happens to pets from time to
time. It is normal. Generally, as long as it takes the medicine, the prognosis
is pretty good, depending on its resistance.”
Li Chengxiu sat down with a sad face, watching the doctor treat his little
Teacup.

It was only the size of an adult man's palm, and now it had shrunk into a
small ball. It looked so tiny on the snow-white sheets. Teacup’s eyes were
tightly closed, and its breathing was very weak. Looking at such a fragile
little thing, Li Chengxiu’s heart was stuck in his throat.

His vision was blurry, his nose was sore, and he was at the brink of tears.

The only reason he lived now was because of this puppy who needed him.
Li Chengxiu had nobody else in this world.

If Teacup wasn’t there anymore, he real y wouldn’t know what to do with

himself.

The more Li Chengxiu thought about it, the sadder he became, and he
couldn't help crying.

The vet was terrified: "Sir! Don't cry, it might not even be so serious. Even
people get sick once in a while.

Every living creature gets sick. It’s a common thing… Please don’t worry
too much…"

Li Chengxiu shook his head, nodded, buried his face in his palm, and
choked: "Doctor, please save my dog!"

The vet nodded quickly: "I wil try my best, I wil try my best! So let's just
calmly put it here… I wil give it some medicine, but I have to observe it in
the clinic for a while."

Li Chengxiu raised his head and glanced at Teacup. He was afraid to leave:
"Doctor… I can…stay here."

The doctor showed an embarrassed expression: "It's useless for you to stay
here all alone. Besides, I don't have a place for you to sleep in the clinic.
You should go home first. And early in the morning tomorrow you can
come and see your puppy again."
Li Chengxiu thought about it for a while, and realized that him staying here
would really cause trouble for the doctor. The man had a lot of his stuff
here, and he couldn’t be sure that Li Chengxiu wasn’t a thief.

Li Chengxiu nodded, paid a deposit of 300 RMB, petted Teacup for a long
time and finally turned around to leave.

When he got home, he couldn't even fall asleep. He repeatedly thought

about the possible outcomes for his little Teacup, and he was so frightened
that he cried.

He really had nothing he could do at this time. This kind of helplessness

and despair devastated him. He had experienced too many things recently
that he could not bear. The illness of Teacup was undoubtedly adding fuel to
the fire.

Thinking back on his experience over the past year, Li Chengxiu felt that in
this short period of time, he might have exhausted all his life's energy.
Whether it was the huge wreckage that Shao Qun left of his life, or the loss
and guilt of being separated from Li Shuo - all of this tortured Li Chengxiu,
until he couldn’t bear taking another breath.

He didn't know how many changes and hardships he had yet to endure, nor
how many he was even capable of enduring anymore.

He felt too tired. The Heavens didn't grant him any time for rest, rushing
him from one cliff to the other in order to break him completely.

Without even a wink of sleep, Li Chengxiu got up early in the morning and
went to the clinic.

Teacup had already woken up, but it hadn’t eaten anything yet, and was just
lying there. The vet said that he needed to keep the dog under observation
for a little bit longer.

Instead of looking for a job that day, Li Chengxiu spent the entire time at
the clinic with Teacup.
When he came back home at night, his mood was even worse than before.

He lay in bed, listening to the sound of basketball coming from next door.

Li Chengxiu's heart suddenly burst into flames, and his face felt hot.

When one is in such an anxious mood an annoying noise can really bring
out all the anger at once.

Li Chengxiu rushed out almost without thinking, and slammed the young
man's door a few times.

The sound stopped, and then the footsteps followed.

As soon as Li Chengxiu heard the footsteps, he suddenly got back to his

senses. He realized what he was doing and got so nervous that his palms
became sweaty.

He couldn't imagine what he would do if that impulsive person attacked

him.

Teacup was already in the hospital - Li Chengxiu couldn’t end up in the

hospital too.

The door opened. The guy frowned, looking down at Li Chengxiu.

Obviously, he was annoyed by the loud knocking.

He folded his arms and just silently looked at the thin Li Chengxiu.

Although Li Chengxiu was nervous, he stil tried his best to say, "You…you
are playing in the house….

Playing basketball…. It's too noisy…. I can't rest."

The youngster rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Noisy? Then find a
better place to live."

Li Chengxiu said angrily: "We are… neighbors, and we should value…

peace. Why can't you… be considerate… of others?"
The young man was obviously too impatient to listen to Li Chengxiu's
stammering words, so he hummed:

"You can’t even speak properly, yet you come here and lecture me, Young
Master! I want to practice dribbling. If you don’t like it, move out."

Li Chengxiu's eyes were red from anger, and he was almost speechless, as
he just repeated:

“You…You…You”

The guy saw that Li Chengxiu could only pronounce a few words and was
about to cry.

Li Chengxiu final y managed to say, "You can…go to the basketbal court."

The youngster curled his lips: "If I could find a basketball court, I would
have gone there, duh. I’ve only moved in a couple days ago. How would I
know where to find a court around here?”

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while, but then he hesitantly said, "I know…
one nearby."

The young man's eyes lit up: "Really? Is it for free?"

Li Chengxiu nodded.

The guy picked up his ball: "Then take me there."

Li Chengxiu said: "I can tell you how to get there..."

The youngster waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense, and just take me
there."

In order to have his peace and quiet, Li Chengxiu had no choice but to take
the guy to the basketball court.

Li Chengxiu felt a little bit uncomfortable on the way, so he casually asked:

"What’s… what’s your name?"
The man glanced at Li Chengxiu: "My last name is Ji."

Li Chengxiu realized that the guy only gave him his surname, so he was a
bit embarrassed to tell him his own full name. Finally, he said: "My last
name is Li. You can call me Li-Ge."

The young man sneered: "I don’t call just anybody “Ge”. Looking at you,
I’d rather call you Li-Jie[3]."

Li Chengxiu knew that the youngster was mocking his girliness. He felt
uneasy, so he stopped talking.

The basketball court was actually not far from where they lived. It was only
a ten-minute walk.

Li Chengxiu had a habit of quickly familiarizing himself with his new

living environments, so he knew about this basketball court in their
neighborhood.

The youngster was very happy when he saw the court.

Li Chengxiu said, "I'll go now."

"Hey." The guy stopped him, "Wait for me here. How will I find my way
back without you?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned: "Just go back the same way we came here…?”
That was real y not that complicated to remember.

A strange look flashed on the guy’s face, and he frowned: "It’s my first time
here. How can I remember the way so quickly? Wait for me here for a
while, and then you can take me back. If you start something, you should
finish it!”

Li Chengxiu was reluctant, but thought that if he didn't agree with this
youngster, he would have to suffer from the dribbling noise again, so he had
no other choice but to stay.
The guy took out his phone and his keys from his pocket, then unfastened
the watch on his wrist and rudely threw it all to Li Chengxiu, "Hold it for
me."

Li Chengxiu unwillingly took the stuff.

The youngster ran to the center of the court with his basketball, excited and
fast as the wind breeze.

Immediately he performed a three-step layup.

Bored, Li Chengxiu sat down on the stone bench and glanced at the things
in his hand casually. The watch attracted his attention.

If he remembered correctly, he had seen this kind of watch at Li Shuo’s

house.

Li Shuo was a collector, and actually had a whole cabinet full of famous
watches. One time, Li Chengxiu noticed this particular diamond watch. It
was so beautiful and dazzling that he glanced at it a couple of times. Li
Shuo then said that he would give it to him. Li Chengxiu was frightened at
the time, saying he would never dare to ask for something like this.

Later, Adrian found out about this by accident and made a scene, calling Li
Chengxiu a complete idiot for not accepting a watch that cost more than one
million RMB.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but take a few more glances at the youngster’s
watch, but he assumed it was a fake.

If this young man was so rich, why would he live next door to him?

Li Chengxiu didn't give it more thought but he still was extremely careful
when handling the watch. He couldn’t tell a real thing from a fake, and on
an off chance that the watch was real, he didn’t want to damage it.

After playing for a while, the youngster was probably bored playing by
himself, so he called Li Chengxiu over.
Li Chengxiu waved his hands again and again: "I can’t...I can’t play."

"What's so difficult about basketball? You only need to throw the ball in the
hoop. Come here."

Li Chengxiu stil shook his head: "I real y can’t."

With a "tsk", the youngster suddenly pulled him up from the bench.

He dragged Li Chengxiu into the center of the court: "If you can't play, just
stand here and let me practice passing the defense[4]."

Li Chengxiu didn't understand what kind of "defense" the guy was going to
practice. The kid was already in motion, rushing towards him from a
distance and ready to throw the ball. Li Chengxiu was scared and felt that at
that speed, the guy was going to inevitably crush into him. So he screamed
in horror and ran away.

The young man was a bit surprised for a moment, and then he lost his
temper. He laughed and scolded:

"Are your guts made of fucking paper? Or are you a woman disguised as a
man?"

Li Chengxiu was bitter, feeling that he real y couldn’t keep up with

youngsters. He begged for mercy: "I really don't know how to play."

The guy probably also found it meaningless to play by himself, and, seeing
that the sky had already turned dark, he finally wanted to go back.

Li Chengxiu felt like he was granted amnesty. After returning the things to
the guy, he quickly took him back home.

That night, as expected, there was no dribbling sound coming from next
door, and Li Chengxiu felt relieved.

Teacup stayed in the clinic for four days before finally showing some signs
of improvement - the dog developed some appetite.
The vet said that as long as it was eating, it was a good sign.

Li Chengxiu breathed a sigh of relief, took notes about everything the vet
advised him to do and took little Teacup back home with him.

Li Chengxiu’s hands were a little unsteady when he was paying for the
treatment. Unexpectedly, this whole thing turned out to cost more than 1400
RMB. Li Chengxiu had never even had such an expensive disease himself!

But as long as Teacup was doing well, Li Chengxiu was ready to pay. It’s
just that now his money situation was suddenly much tighter.

In the first few days, Li Chengxiu still didn't dare to leave, for fear that
when he left, something would happen to the pup. But the money was only
going out and not coming in, so he slowly began to panic.

One night he was stewing bone soup at home. Teacup had developed a
better appetite recently, so Li Chengxiu wanted to prepare something good
for him.

As soon as the apartment filled with the delicious fragrance, the doorbell
rang.

Li Chengxiu opened the door and saw the youngster named Ji right in front
of him. He looked at him inquiringly.

The guy seemed a little embarrassed. He pretended to be casual as he said:

"Take me to the basketball court, just like the last time."

Li Chengxiu was taken aback: "I…I’m in the middle of something."

"Isn't it just a few minutes away? Take me there!"

Li Chengxiu thought for a while, then frowned and asked, "Don’t you know
the way?"

The guy’s face changed slightly, and he unconsciously raised his voice:
"I’ve only been there once. How the hell could I remember the way?"
Li Chengxiu was helpless. How was it even possible not to remember the
way? It was just three corners away.

He looked back at Teacup squatting on the kitchen floor and eagerly

looking at the steaming soup pot.

Apologetically he said, "Tomorrow, okay? I really have something to do."

The youngster bent over Li Chengxiu’s shoulder and looked inside. The
apartment was very small, so he could see everything at a glance.

The smell of the fragrant bone broth also drifted into his nose, and his
stomach growled.

Both of them were a little embarrassed. The youngster looked at Li

Chengxiu with his bright eyes.

Li Chengxiu asked politely: "Have you… Have you eaten already? Or..."

Li Chengxiu didn’t actually mean to invite him, so he real y didn’t expect

that this young man would be shameless enough to say "Okay!" and walk
right inside his apartment.

Li Chengxiu just stared blankly at the guy’s back.

Well, it wasn’t so bad to be a little neighborly. Li Chengxiu closed the door

and invited the guy to sit down.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 58
The young man with the last name Ji looked like he hadn't eaten for a long
time. He immediately downed two whole bowls of the bone without even
raising his head. Li Chengxiu was too stunned to speak.

He couldn’t help feeling a little sympathetic. Although his own economic

situation was not particularly good, he still could support himself and a dog.
The young man probably was still going to school and had no income, so he
was even in a more difficult situation.

Li Chengxiu quickly fried some rice and served it to the youngster.

He then squatted down and mixed the medicine given by the vet into the
food meant for Teacup. From time to time, he looked up at the guy who was
enthusiastically munching and let out a quiet sigh in his heart.

The young man kept eating for a while, and when he finally had satisfied
his primal hunger, he realized that he was really missing his manners. His
face slightly red, he looked down at Li Chengxiu who was peeking at him:
"Hey, why aren’t you eating?"

Li Chengxiu shook the small pink bowl in his hand.

The man seemed to have just noticed the existence of Teacup. He said
"Huh?" and then grinned: "Isn't this the kind of dog that only women
have?"

Li Chengxiu lowered his head: "Somebody else gave it to me."

"A girl?"

Li Chengxiu's back slightly froze, and he suddenly remembered the first

time he saw Teacup.
It was tied into a large bouquet of flowers, and was given to him by Shao
Qun as a gift. At that time, Li Chengxiu was overwhelmed by the warm
emotions and sweetness in his heart.

Thinking about it now, this was Shao Qun's usual trick. He would get angry
at Li Chengxiu, say horrible things to him, do horrible things to him… And
afterwards he would find a way to show his goodwil . But he would never
sincerely apologize.

As soon as Li Chengxiu thought of Shao Qun, dark and heavy sadness

overwhelmed him, and he didn’t know if he could ever recover.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu didn't respond, the guy didn’t care to ask anymore.
He lowered his head and continued eating, “How is your cooking so
delicious? I could smell the aroma in my apartment already.

You’re not a cook by any chance?”

Li Chengxiu stood up and said, "I am."

The youngster raised his eyebrows: "So it’s true! No wonder then."

Li Chengxiu got himself a bowl of rice, sat opposite the guy and also started
eating.

He final y remembered that he was actual y a host, so he wanted to say "Eat

some more! Don’t be shy!", but he suddenly realized that there was almost
nothing left anymore.

The youngster awkwardly blinked at him.

Li Chengxiu asked carefully, "Are you full?"

The guy gave it a thought and finally shook his head.

The corner of Li Chengxiu’s mouth unconsciously twitched. He got up and

went to get two more dishes. To think of it, he had almost forgotten how to
laugh.
When he was full of food and drink, the young man became more talkative.
He asked Li Chengxiu for his first name. Li Chengxiu, in turn, started
calling him Xiao Ji.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t someone who talked much, so he didn’t real y know

how to chat with strangers.

Basically, Xiao Ji just asked questions, and Li Chengxiu answered.

The youngster had never met somebody as boring as Li Chengxiu, so he

soon was tired of the conversation and squatted down to tease Teacup.

Teacup was eating when Xiao Ji poked its spine with his finger a few times.
That caused poor Teacup to lose its balance, so it turned around and glared
at the guy.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help but say, "Stop teasing him! The pup has just
recovered, so it needs to eat well."

“The sicker you are the more active you need to be! The more you spoil the
dog, the more delicate it becomes." Xiao Ji said all that while pulling at
Teacup's head, continuing to happily tease it.

Li Chengxiu raised his eyebrows. He couldn't stand it anymore. He went up

to move the puppy and its bowl to a different place.

Xiao Ji sat back in his seat coyly. Then he had the audacity to ask, "Is there
any dessert?"

Li Chengxiu was helpless. He rarely encountered someone who really didn't

treat himself as an outsider, and he didn't know how to deal with that.

He got up and rummaged through his refrigerator, and finally found a piece
of jujube cake that he had bought in the morning. He handed it to Xiao Ji:
"It’s jujube cake. Do you want it?"

Xiao Ji looked at the appearance of that thing and wrinkled his nose:
"Forget it."
Even after eating, the guy didn’t want to leave, and Li Chengxiu was too
embarrassed to drive him away.

When Teacup was done with its food, Xiao Ji came up to hug it, and Li
Chengxiu felt truly terrified.

Finally, when it was already past 10 pm, Xiao Ji patted his butt and left
extremely satisfied.

Li Chengxiu was already very tired by the time he saw him out.

Since then, Li Chengxiu felt that the young man started to take advantage of
him.

Every now and then, he asked Li Chengxiu to take him to the basketball
court. After going there six or seven times, he finally memorized the way.
So he just began coming around to eat.

Li Chengxiu was too thin-skinned and too embarrassed to drive the

youngster away. Besides, he felt some pity for him. A half-grown boy alone
and far from home had really no one to take care of him. In fact, Li
Chengxiu could afford to feed another mouth, and it felt less lonely to have
another person around. Over time, Li Chengxiu got used to Xiao Ji coming
over to eat and sometimes even deliberately left some food for him when he
came back from practicing basketball.

The two were only separated by a wall, so they met often and gradually
became familiar with each other.

When Li Wenxun received a call from assistant Zhou, he was quite

surprised. Even after the other party introduced himself, he stil couldn’t
remember who it was exactly.

Only later did he realize that this was Shao Qun's assistant.

Assistant Zhou's tone was quite serious, as he asked Li Wenxun to come

over to Shenzhen. He said that his boss was really in a bad state, but he
didn't dare to report it to the Shao family.
Taken aback, Li Wenxun asked what exactly was going on. Assistant Zhou
went silent for a while, and only after a long time, he finally said, "It's not
good for me as a subordinate to talk about Mr. Shao's private affairs, but…
it's all because of Li Chengxiu."

Li Wenxun was dumbfounded. He remembered that the last time he met

Shao Qun in Beijing, they had a disagreement. He knew that Shao Qun
might really be in trouble this time, so he bought a plane ticket to Shenzhen.

The moment Xiao Zhou opened the door of Shao Qun's house with his key,
such a strong stench of alcohol hit Li Wenxun’s nose that he almost keeled
over.

He went in to take a look, and real y couldn’t believe that this was the place
where Shao Qun lived.

Although Shao Qun was not a very neat person, he had high requirements
towards his quality of life. How could he stay in this messy place that
looked like a dog kennel?

Li Wenxun kicked away the rolling wine bottle that almost tripped him over
and tentatively called out, "Shao Qun?"

Xiao Zhou pointed to the inside of the house: "He’s in the bedroom."

Li Wenxun and Xiao Zhou entered the bedroom together and saw a man
lying motionlessly on the big bed, with most of the buttons on his pajamas
undone. He looked unshaven. The curtains in the bedroom were still closed,
so the room was very dark, as if it was stil night. The window hadn’t been
opened in a long time, so the smell was really bad. If one couldn’t see the
man’s chest going up and down, one would think that the man on the bed
was dead.

Li Wenxun said "Fuck!" and pointed at Shao Qun: "How long has he been
like this?"

Xiao Zhou frowned and said, "It's been four or five days. After no one could
find Li Chengxiu’s location, Mr.
Shao stopped going to work or even leaving the house. Instead, he just stays
here and drinks all day long. At first I didn’t dare to come in but then I got
scared that there might have been an accident, so I found someone to pry
open the door. Mr. Shao is completely out of it right now, he’s not listening
to any persuasion. And I just… don’t dare to inform the Eldest Mrs.Shao
and the Master. I could only think of calling you here."

Li Wenxun patted Xiao Zhou on the shoulder: "You're right, you shouldn’t
let his eldest sister and his father know about this." He walked over,
grabbed Shao Qun's arm and violently pulled him up from the bed, giving
him two loud slaps.

"Shao Qun, you get the fuck up! Look at yourself!"

Shao Qun narrowed his eyes, opening them half-way. It wasn’t clear if he
even saw Li Wenxun, before he closed them again.

Li Wenxun said to Xiao Zhou, "Open the curtains."

Assistant Zhou did as he was told, and the blinding sunlight instantly shone
through the large slit.

Shao Qun cursed hoarsely and wanted to turn around.

Li Wenxun said to Xiao Zhou: "Find an hourly worker to clean up the

house. Is this fucking place even fit for people to live?" He then dragged
Shao Qun into the bathroom, turned on the cold water and poured it all over
him.

Shao Qun fought against the sudden coldness and was finally awake. He
cursed with his eyes still closed:

"Fuck!"

Li Wenxun went up and kicked him: "Damn it, wake up quickly! I didn't
come all the way here to see this shitty appearance of yours."

Shao Qun sat against the wall and slowly opened his eyes. After a while he
finally identified the person in front of him. He then closed his eyes again
and said hoarsely, "Who the hell asked you to come here?"

Li Wenxun said angrily: "How could I not come? Should I have let your
sister and your father come instead?

They would have come just in time to collect your fucking corpse!”

Shao Qun reached out to push the shower head in Li Wenxun's hand.

Li Wenxun raised his arm, ran the hot water and poured it onto Shao Qun:
"Quickly wash yourself."

Shao Qun held on to the wall, wobbled and tried to stand up, muttering,
"What’s the fucking point? He can’t even smell me anymore." Shao Qun
had just lifted his butt, when his feet slipped, and he fell back down on the
ground.

Shao Qun couldn't get up anymore. He closed his eyes and leaned against
the wall. The circles under his eyes were really dark, and he looked
completely hopeless.

Li Wenxun got angry when he saw his messy state, grabbed a random bottle
and squeezed its contents onto Shao Qun’s head.

Shao Qun was annoyed and shouted, "What the fuck are you doing? Get
out! Get out! Get out of here!!"

Li Wenxun scolded: "You’ve turned yourself into this pitiful resemblance of

a human being just because of some fucking rabbit. Shao Qun, are you
fucking done with your life?”

Shao Qun stared at him with blood-red eyes: "What the hell do you know!
Li Chengxiu is not a rabbit. He, he..." Shao Qun was shaking. He wiped the
water off his face and covered his head with his hands.

Seeing him like this, Li Wenxun felt uncomfortable. He turned off the
water, squatted down, pushed Shao Qun, and asked, "Do you really have
your heart set on him?"
Shao Qun nodded and choked: "I'm completely screwed."

Li Wenxun sighed: "So you like him. What about him? He ran away?”

Shao Qun nodded again: "China is so big. Where the hell am I going to look
for him? He earns like 2 RMB

a month… If something happens to him, I..." Shao Qun's shoulders

trembled slightly, and he pul ed at his hair.

Li Wenxun made a "tsk" sound and then said: "Obviously, what you’re
doing right now is not the right way to go about it. Since he ran away, you
have to get him back. Drinking all day is gonna help shit all. He’s not just
going to fall from the sky all of a sudden. So, how about you quickly clean
yourself up, and your bro here wil help you brainstorm.”

Shao Qun shook his head: "I've been looking for him for a long time... He
hasn't contacted anyone, and no one knows where he went. A-wen, I feel
like a living dead. I will kneel down in front of anyone who can find him..."

Li Wenxun and Shao Qun have known each other since they were both still
wearing open-crotch pants[5]. Li Wenxun had seen all kinds of Shao Qun in
the past - an arrogant gangster, a pretend-serious person, even a desperate
person, but he had never seen him as heartbroken as he was now.

He knew that Shao Qun had really fallen deep this time.

Thinking back to the previous Shao Qun talking to him about Li Chengxiu
with a confident and arrogant look, compared with today, there real y was a
world of difference. Li Wenxun couldn’t tell whether him falling like that
right now was more abhorrent or rather pitiful.

On the one hand, he felt that Shao Qun was weak, but on the other hand, he
was really anxious for him.

Shao Qun couldn’t go on like this. If this continued, he would be entirely

ruined.
Li Wenxun coaxed him: "Shao Qun, you can't be in this state anymore.
What if you collapse, before you can even find him? Or what if he comes
back and sees you looking like a hobo? You should get back on your feet as
quickly as possible. Clean yourself up and eat something. I’l call Big Li and
the others to see if we can come up with a solution. We’l turn the whole
China upside down and dig three feet into the ground just to get him for
you, okay? If you keep this alcoholic act up, your sister and your father will
eventually find out, and it will be even more difficult for you to find him."

Li Wenxun managed to persuade Shao Qun to at least wash himself and

change into clean clothes.

When he came out of the bathroom, Li Wenxun couldn’t stand looking at

him: "Have you stopped eating?

You’re so thin! Do you want to fucking starve yourself to death?"

Shao Qun turned a deaf ear to Li Wenxun’s comments, slumped on the sofa,
and asked hoarsely, "How can we find him?"

Li Wenxun cursed and walked to the kitchen. When he opened the

refrigerator, there was just beer in it. He was so angry that slammed the
refrigerator door as hard as he could.

He took out his mobile phone and said to Shao Qun: "Oh, this makes sense!
You want to pass away from hunger before you can find him?"

Li Wenxun called Xiao Zhou and asked him to bring some food. He then
forced Shao Qun to eat.

Shao Qun continued to ask, "How can I find him? Is there anything you can
do?"

Li Wenxun pushed the food in front of him: "Yes, there are certain
possibilities. Eat your food first."

Shao Qun glanced at him suspiciously, picked up his chopsticks and ate two
mouthfuls of rice.
When he was almost done with his food, he stared intently at Li Wenxun.

Li Wenxun lit up a cigarette: We can go back to his hometown and see if we

can find any clues there."

Shao Qun glared at him, "He has no father or mother. His old house has
been sold, and the relatives in that area have long since stopped contacting
him. What clues could we find there?"

Li Wenxun glared right back at him: "Think about it for a minute, even if he
sold his house, he wouldn’t sell the place where his mother is buried. Once
a year he is bound to come to pay his respects to her. "

Shao Qun's eyes lit up, and he was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly:
"Yes… yes…. why didn't I think of it? Fucking hell, A-wen... Good that
you came. I remember that Li Chengxiu once said that someone in his
hometown helps him take care of his mother’s grave. Damn, he actually
sends money to these people every year!"

Shao Qun jumped up all of a sudden, and he seemed alive again, as if some
light had returned to his life.

Seeing him like that, Li Wenxun shook his head and put down his cigarette
in the ashtray: "I’m telling you Shao Qun, you’re only allowed to be such
an idiot just once in your life. Next time this happens, I’l fucking slap you
to death."
Xiao Ji freeloading like a boss

(I looked for some Xiao Ji fanart/official art but couldn’t find anything. He’s
such a nice comic relief at this point.)

Shao Qun’s mental state.

(Can a sociopath actually be depressed? Asking for a friend.)

Chapter 59

Shao Qun hadn't eaten for several days, and his stomach was immediately
in distress as soon as he ate something.

But he didn’t care about such a minor issue. Instead, he grabbed Li Wenxun
and said they should leave as soon as possible.

Some irritation bubbled inside Li Wenxun. As soon as he arrived from

Beijing, he went straight to this dam house to save this young man who had
entirely lost it. He didn’t even get a tiny bit of rest! And now, the chair he’s
sitting on hasn’t even warmed yet and he has to go on to the next flight?
Was Shao Qun fucking kidding him?

"Do you fucking think that all the airlines belong to your family, and you
can get a plane whenever you want? Or maybe you have the guts to ask
your old man for a military plane to go look for your little love?

Huh?"

Shao Qun scolded: "What are you nagging me for? What if he went back to
his hometown today? What if he is there right now?"

Li Wenxun rolled his eyes at him: "It’s not his mother’s death anniversary
yet."

Shao Qun asked in surprise: "How do you know?"

"I remember he dropped out of school around March or April, and his
mother died a couple months after that."

Shao Qun didn’t let go: "How do you know that?"

"Well, we were in the same school after all, and I have a good memory.
Also, it was around the time of middle school entrance examinations, so I
can remember it clearly. At the time, the teachers organized some student
donations for him…"

Shao Qun paused and sat back in his chair: "Donations…?"

Li Wenxun took out another cigarette, and his expression was a little
uncomfortable: "Right…you went abroad, so you don’t know what
happened. He dropped out because his mother had to be hospitalized.

Apparently, she drank too much and became paralyzed. But he was an
honor student, if you remember. So the school actually tried to get him
back. If he got into high school, they promised to subsidize his studies and
his monthly living expenses. But he never returned to school. I heard that he
worked several jobs and went on to borrow a lot of money, so he didn’t
have time for school anymore. That’s when the school organized this
donation for him. It's kinda funny that when he was still in school, nobody
gave a shit about him. But as soon as he dropped out, the teachers started
going on about his tragic life, so a lot of people sympathized with him and
even competed to see who could donate more."

Shao Qun's body gradually became cold.

Shao Qun had heard some stuff about Li Chengxiu’s past from Xiao Zhou
but at the time he just thought that he was pretty tough. The only reason he
even investigated him was because he was eager to get Li Chengxiu to eat
out of his hand. Once that purpose was fulfil ed, he didn’t give it much
thought and soon forgot all about it. But now, hearing it all from Li
Wenxun’s mouth, he realized that what Li Chengxiu went through back then
was quite something. Li Wenxun could remember it even after more than 10
years have passed.

The more he listened, the more sorry he felt for Li Chengxiu.

The more he found out about Li Chengxiu, the more he realized that he real
y didn’t even know him.

He thought that Li Chengxiu was weak and useless. Li Chengxiu was

indeed not very manly, but he could already support himself and his
paralyzed mother at the age of thirteen or fourteen. Shao Qun couldn’t even
imagine his pampered self in Li Chengxiu’s circumstances. He would
neither have the courage, nor ability.
He remembered that he always laughed at Li Chengxiu for being a sissy,
but now he really felt that Li Chengxiu was a man who could take on a lot
of responsibility.

He might not be able to provide a rich life for his family, but he would
definitely spare no efforts to take care of his close ones. Even if he had to
kneel on the ground, he would still take on this burden to protect others in
his life.

Just like when Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu were together. Li Chengxiu had
no money or power, but he tried very hard to be kind to Shao Qun in any
way he could, and he treated him wholeheartedly.

But what did Shao Qun do?

Shao Qun's face paled.

He regarded Li Chengxiu as a dispensable plaything, trampled his

tenderness and admiration to nothing, took all his kindness for granted, and
then squandered everything without cherishing it at all.

He suddenly had a feeling that the reason why Li Chengxiu left him didn’t
only have to do with his marriage.

Li Chengxiu was probably really disappointed in him.

Shao Qun thought that this was his retribution now. He never actually
considered being nice to Li Chengxiu before, he only blindly absorbed all
his tenderness and kind feelings. When Shao Qun finally came to his senses
and wanted to treat Li Chengxiu well, Li Chengxiu no longer wanted him.

Li Chengxiu’s determination to avoid Shao Qun at any cost couldn’t be

more obvious now that he had so resolutely walked away. At first he had a
little hope that Li Chengxiu might still have some feelings for him, but now
that hope has been replaced by a gloomy despair.

Li Wenxun realized that Shao Qun wasn’t speaking anymore, and, seeing
his pale face, he knew that he had somehow irritated him again.
Li Wenxun sighed: "I’m just telling you not to rush it. First of all, I
remember that his mother’s death anniversary is at least two or three
months away from now. Second of all, you have to think carefully about
what you’re going to do with him once you find him."

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, then muttered: "I haven’t thought
about it yet but I definitely won’t let him suffer any injustice."

Li Wenxun hummed: "Okay, Shao Qun, don't accuse me of being mean but
even if he is willing to be with you again, there’s stil a grievance that he
might not want to bear. Once you get married, he wil break up with you. Do
you intend to never get married for the rest of your life?"

Shao Qun raised his chin slightly and gave Li Wenxun a bright look.

Li Wenxun sat up straight and said in surprise, "You can’t be serious?"

Shao Qun turned his face away, "I haven't figured out how to deal with my
family yet. If they make a big deal out of it, I’l kneel at the gate and go on a
hunger strike. It’s not like they can kil me anyway."

Li Wenxun scolded: "Shao Qun, you're fucking insane! Now you’re even
talking about dying for him. Who doesn’t act a bit foolish when they are
young? But what if all that passion wears off in a couple of years?

What if one day you look at him and you realize you’ve grown tired of
him? And for that you want to fall out with your entire family? What wil
become of you?”

Shao Qun's face was full of sadness, but there was determination in his
eyes: "Don’t say such things. I’m a fool now, and I wil stay a fool for the
rest of my life. Don’t try to talk me out of it. You’ve never met a person like
that in your life. You have no idea what it’s like to have your heart ripped
out by someone."

Li Wenxun waved his hand: "Fine, fine, fine! Stop being so gross! You’re
real y possessed."
Shao Qun shook his head with a wry smile, stood up and said, "Let's hurry
up, we can catch a flight in the evening."

Li Wenxun sighed, grabbed his jacket and put it on.

Once Teacup got better, Li Chengxiu started running around the city again
and looking for a job.

He was actually pretty sure that he was going back to working in the
kitchen again, but to his surprise a small trucking company hired him
instead.

The company's accountant got pregnant and suddenly resigned without a

warning. Although the company was small, the accounts were pretty trivial,
and one accountant was enough to deal with all the workload, it was still
very troublesome for the business when she left. Li Chengxiu came by
coincidence. When the boss saw that he had worked for such a big company
before, he hired him on the spot.

When Li Chengxiu came home, he was very excited. After so many days of
darkness, his mood was finally improving.

When he passed by the vegetable market near his home, he bought some
fish and meat, planning to prepare a special treat that day. He wanted to
invite Xiao Ji to have a lively meal together, and he also wanted to cook
something nice for Teacup.

Li Chengxiu was busy in the kitchen, when Xiao Ji came by.

The guy was a big tall man who followed his nose. As soon as he smelled
delicious food in Li Chengxiu's house, he immediately ran over to eat.

Li Chengxiu got along with him pretty well, and he gradually even learned
some things about him.

Although the youngster didn't go into details, it was clear that he didn’t
come to the city to study but rather he had a fight with his family and ran
away from home. He had no money, so he had no other choice but to stay at
this place and eat instant noodles every day.

Li Chengxiu wanted to coax him into fixing his relationship with his
parents but as soon as he started talking, Xiao Ji’s face fell. Li Chengxiu
thought that they were real y not familiar enough for this kind of advice, so
he stopped saying anything but still called him over for dinner.

Now that Li Chengxiu had a job, he was much less anxious.

He usually didn’t spend much money. He only bought food and paid for his
lodging and transportation.

There were no extra expenses, except for feeding an extra person. Who did
eat a lot.

When Xiao Ji came over that day, he was a bit awkward.

Li Chengxiu didn't notice that anything was wrong, so he just casually told
him to sit down as usual and not to bully the little Teacup. Then he went on
with his diner preparations.

After a while, he had a strange feeling. Li Chengxiu looked back and

realized that Xiao Ji was motionlessly standing behind him. He was a bit
startled.

Li Chengxiu asked, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Ji's expression was a little unnatural. After hesitating for a long time,
he took something out of his pocket and handed it to Li Chengxiu: "This is
for you."

Li Chengxiu didn't respond. He looked down and saw that the guy was
handing him a mobile phone. He was a bit confused: "Huh?"

Xiao Ji blushed slightly: "That’s… I’ve eaten a lot of your food recently...
But I have no money to give you.

So maybe you can sell this for a few thousand RMB…"

Only then did Li Chengxiu finally understand what he meant. He hurriedly
pushed Xiao Ji's hand away: "No, we are neighbors! Besides, you didn't
even eat that much."

Xiao Ji stil continued to push his phone into Li Chengxiu’s hand: "Take it!
Or I'm gonna be too embarrassed to continue eating and drinking for free."

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "Really, no! Keep it in case your family
contacts you..."

Xiao Ji curled his lips: "They won’t. I have already changed my number.
There’s nobody who would contact me now, so what’s the use of having a
phone? I have written down all the important numbers anyway. So you can
just sell it."

The two pushed and shoved for a long time. Li Chengxiu was obviously
less stubborn than the youngster, so in the end he had no choice but to
accept the phone.

It seemed that Xiao Ji really felt a bit uncomfortable and sincerely wanted
Li Chengxiu to sell the phone and get some money.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu had finally accepted the phone, Xiao Ji's face got a
little better and he asked, "Hey, I actually want to find a job. Can you help
me with that?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head. He had been in this city for less than a month,
and he himself had just found a job. There was real y no way for him to
help anybody else with the job search. Also, he wasn’t sure what a nineteen-
year-old kid like Xiao Ji could even do.

Xiao Ji was a little disappointed and sat down on the sofa to play with
Teacup.

The living room and the kitchen were only a few steps away from each
other. In fact, they were basically in the same room, only separated by a
piece of glass. While Xiao Ji was playing with Teacup, he couldn't help but
look at Li Chengxiu's busy back.
A strange thought suddenly popped into his mind. He wondered how a
man's waist could be so thin.

This weird thought was quickly banished from his mind by a delicious
aroma that filled the room. The little Teacup eagerly jumped on Xiao Ji’s
knees, looking in the direction of the kitchen.

Xiao Ji smiled wickedly, poked the pup’s stomach and said, "If you grow
even fatter, we can use you as our backup food!”

Teacup turned around and bit Xiao Ji’s finger in response.

Li Chengxiu was in a good mood today, so he cooked several dishes. Xiao

Ji's eyes lit up: "What's going on today? Usual y there’s only green
vegetables, radishes and very little meat. How could you suddenly afford to
get so much meat and fish? "

Li Chengxiu smiled: "I found a job."

Xiao Ji said "oh" and then added: "No wonder then. Congratulations,
congratulations! Would have been nicer to celebrate with some wine."

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "Just drink your tea."

Xiao Ji didn't care either way.

He would have never expected before to be so excited just to see a bit more
meat on the table. In his situation, after eating instant noodles and dry
bread, he already considered a plate with green vegetables a blessing. Li
Chengxiu was just so good at cooking, that Xiao Ji real y couldn’t control
himself and had to run to his place to eat every day. Apart from good food,
he also got company and at least somebody to talk to.

It was much better than sitting alone at home not knowing where to go.

After dinner, Xiao Ji brought his computer over and connected it to the old
TV set left by the previous tenant.
Two of them together with a tiny dog sat down on the sofa to watch a
movie.

Li Chengxiu made a pot of tapioca pudding, and just the smell of it could
make one drool. They each sat on their own side of the sofa, leaning over
and holding a bowl of pudding in their hands. They ate while watching the
movie. Teacup was squatting in between them, also looking eagerly at the
screen.

Xiao Ji used his toe to tickle Teacup, and the puppy somersaulted face-
down on the sofa. The youngster laughed.

Li Chengxiu glanced at both of them with a smile, feeling a little warm in

his heart.

Holding the documents in his hand, Shao Qun was walking in the middle of
the bluestone road between the two rows of old houses. As he walked, he
was examining the rusted house numbers.

They finally found the urban village where Li Chengxiu lived before but
only after they experienced a long journey with a plane, a car, and even a
rickshaw.

Shao Qun remembered that Li Chengxiu had told him when he was a child
that his home was far from school, and that he needed to travel one hour by
bus every day. This turned out to be true. This place was technically still in
Beijing, but it was already on the sixth or seventh ring road. You could say
that this was Beijing but it real y wasn’t in any way that mattered. The place
didn’t look anything like the flashy modern capital.
The situation in this area had actually improved a lot recently, because a
university had been established nearby, which brought some businesses
with it.

The demolitions had started here last year, and the row of houses that Shao
Qun saw in front of himself now were actually intended to be demolished
by the end of the year. Many people had moved out already.

If they hadn’t taken a rickshaw, they wouldn’t have found another driver
who knew his way around.
Shao Qun was holding onto the address of Li Chengxiu's distant relative
that Xiao Zhou had found last year. But judging from the current situation,
it seemed that she had moved out.

They looked around for more than 20 minutes before finally finding the old
house.

They knocked for a long time but nobody came out, and there was no
movement inside. However, somebody from next door peeked out.

It was an old lady with cataracts which looked like an unnatural milky haze
covering her eyeballs.

The old lady seemed to still be able to see them. She looked Shao Qun and
Li Wenxun up and down: "Who are you looking for?"

Shao Qun gave her the name of the relative.

The old lady said "oh" and added: "She moved away…moved away several
months ago. To a big building."

Shao Qun asked her if she knew the woman’s current address.

The old lady looked at them with some suspicion: "What do you need that
for?"

Shao Qun said: "We are former classmates of one of her relatives. And we
need to ask her something about him."

"Which relative? This place is small, and I basically know everyone in her
family."

"Li Chengxiu. Do you know him?"

"Li Chengxiu?" The old lady thought for a while, "Oh, that child really is
her distant relative! Such a pure and nice boy! He was the one who was
such a good student, right?"

Shao Qun nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, that’s him! Do you know him?"
"Everyone in our village knows him. That child did not have it easy. He was
very good at school already at a young age. So the government financed his
junior high school education. It's a pity that he had such good-for-nothing
parents! His father left his mother… If he had gone to school properly, he
would have

been so successful. But I heard that now he is working in the south

somewhere. It's such a pity." The old lady said and shook her head.

There was pain in Shao Qun’s heart, and he didn't know what to say for a
while.

Li Wenxun hurriedly asked, "Auntie, where does his relative live now?
Please tell us."

"I can't really say exactly. They moved to the area with those big tall
buildings. Why don't you come in and sit for a while? My son is going to be
off work soon, so he’l take you there."

Shao Qun and Li Wenxun exchanged looks. Since they were the ones
asking for a favor, they had no choice but to enter that dilapidated house
that was about to collapse at any moment.

The old lady poured a glass of water for both of them. Then she took out an
old photo album from the cabinet, flipped it to the middle page, put her
glasses on and looked for a long time. Finally she pointed at one of the
photos and handed it to Shao Qun: "Is it this child?"

Shao Qun looked at the old photo.

It seemed to be a photo from somebody’s wedding. There were banquet

tables everywhere, and in one of the corners one could see Li Chengxiu's
fair and delicate face.

Shao Qun felt that his heart stopped for a moment. The memories flooded
him like a tide. He vividly remembered this fair-skinned boy who made his
heart flutter and also how he suppressed those feelings because of fear.
After more than ten years, that exciting and enchanting feeling of wanting
but being too nervous to get closer gradually came back to Shao Qun in its
pure original form. The feeling was painful and kind of bitter, but it was
also mixed with a hint of sweetness.

Shao Qun knew now that he really liked Li Chengxiu back then. Even if he
was still ignorant and green, and the feeling didn’t surpass the level of
trivial budding affection, Li Chengxiu was stil his first love. No wonder that
he had remembered him for so long, no wonder he couldn't help but want to
get closer to him when he met Li Chengxiu again.

It seemed that there was such a person in his life whom he liked a lot. But
when he encountered those feelings for the first time, he was too young.
And later, he considered himself too esteemed for him. So till now, he never
actually completely realized his own feelings.

Shao Qun gently touched the corner of the photo, feeling the urge to cry.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 60
Shao Qun asked the old lady if he could keep the photo.

The photo was taken when a relative of hers got married. At that time, the
whole village was invited to the celebration. There were no important
people in this particular photo, so the old lady easily gave it to him.

Shao Qun carefully put the photo away as if it was a great treasure.

The old lady was curious: "Are you this kid's former classmates? Isn't he
working in the south? Why are you even looking for his relatives?"

Shao Qun didn't respond. He didn't know how to explain anything to this
enthusiastic old lady. He had lost Li Chengxiu, and naturally he wanted to
get him back.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, the old lady didn't ask any more and just
sighed: "He is such a good boy! Did he have a good life these past years?
He used to pay off his debt little by little every month but then last year he
suddenly paid everything off in one lump sum. Did he somehow get a
fortune?"

Shao Qun nodded stiffly.

"The night his mother had the accident, I even went there to help. His old
house was not that far away from mine. At that time, he cried so loudly and
called all the neighbors for help. The whole village was up on their feet.
Come to think of it, it was so strange. That night he didn’t come home until
12 am, and nobody knew why he came back so late. If he had returned even
a bit earlier and sent his mother to the hospital directly, she might have been
saved. His mother drank every day… every day. How can a mother even be
like this?

Well, and finally she managed to drink herself into paralysis! So after his
mother had to be hospitalized, the boy had to drop out of school.”
Li Wenxun's face changed. He remembered some of the pranks he played
on Li Chengxiu when he was younger. It can’t be that…

"That child real y suffered. I heard that he was bul ied in school all the time.
So much so that he even…oh my god… went deaf in one of his ears."

Shao Qun was shocked and looked at the woman in astonishment: "His…
his ear…?"

"Oh, it's no wonder that you don't know about it! I’ve also forgotten which
ear it was. Anyway, he has problems hearing with one of his ears. But since
the other ear is fine, normally people don’t even notice. "

Shao Qun turned to look at Li Wenxun.

Li Wenxun was also stunned. Seeing Shao Qun looking at him, he felt a bit
uneasy: "What are you looking at me for? I didn’t do it."

Shao Qun lowered his head dejectedly.

He has been together with Li Chengxiu for so long, and he had never even
noticed that Li Chengxiu had problems with his hearing. To be fair, it’s not
like he ever paid close attention to Li Chengxiu. At the time, Shao Qun
didn’t think that Li Chengxiu’s needs or feelings were something to be
considered at all.

When he thought about it carefully, there were indeed a few times when Li
Chengxiu wouldn’t respond to him, and Shao Qun had to shout at him
really loudly. He remembered getting so angry that he cursed Li Chengxiu
out, asking him if he was fucking deaf.

Shao Qun thought about the treatment Li Chengxiu received in school at

that time. After so many years, he had no idea who out of all the students
was the culprit for this particular injury. Even he and his gang had
ruthlessly bullied him.

Li Wenxun's face was a little embarrassed, and in his heart he couldn’t help
thinking that he did indeed slap Li Chengxiu around. But he couldn’t have
made him deaf, right?

Shao Qun felt so uneasy that he couldn't breathe - pity, guilt and regret all
came down on him at once.

At that time, he was very young, and when his friends barged into his and
Li Chengxiu’s budding affair, his mind went completely blank. Al he knew
was that he couldn’t let others consider him a dirty homosexual, so he just
ran away.

It's not that he didn't know how his buddies would deal with Li Chengxiu in
order to shut him up. But Shao Qun was too anxious about his own
situation, and the gay panic made him think only of himself at the time.

So he didn’t care much about Li Chengxiu’s predicament.

Later, he went abroad, and his life gradually got more interesting, as he
gained more freedom. So eventually, he completely forgot about what
happened.

Only now did Shao Qun completely realize how much damage he had
caused for Li Chengxiu by escaping like that back then. No wonder that Li
Chengxiu was so hostile and wary of him when they first met.

Shao Qun then did everything possible to make him lower his guard and get
him to open up to himself. And for what? Just to hurt him all over again.
How could Li Chengxiu ever trust him after all of this?

Shao Qun felt that his hands and feet were getting cold, and his heart was in
pieces. He subconsciously touched the photo in his pocket.

The old lady chattered some more, and after a while, her son finally came
back home.

The old lady's son called Li Chengxiu's relative, and after the call said that
he would take Shao Qun and Li Wenxun there.

When the two of them finally left the old lady’s house, it was already dark
outside. If the light had been even a little bit better, anybody would be able
to see that both of them didn’t look so good.

They walked through the muddy road without any proper footing, their feet
sinking in dirt at times, as the old lady’s son led them towards a row of tall
buildings next to the bus stop.

It was only ten minutes away, but it was worlds apart from the old village.

A middle-aged woman with a shrewd face came out to open the door for
them. Shao Qun remembered that Li Chengxiu called this woman his fourth
aunt.

Li Wenxun gave some money to the old lady's son, and the man took it after
some back and forth.

Seeing that the two of them were well dressed and handsome, the fourth
aunt politely let them inside.

When Shao Qun went in, he evasively made up a random story about how
Li Chengxiu used to work for him and that now he needed to find him for
some minor issue. He asked the fourth aunt if she could be helpful in
locating Li Chengxiu.

Li Wenxun also immediately expressed his gratitude for her possible help.

The fourth aunt said: "Oh, I’m indeed the right person to ask! My son actual
y arranged this place for this child’s mother at the time. I might stil be able
to find it.There are several graves in that area, and the place is a bit
deserted. But Chengxiu seems to be sending money to somebody to take
care of the grave at least once a year."

Shao Qun hurriedly asked, "Can you contact that person?"

"Yes, yes… but he lives a bit further away. It would take more than three
hours by bus to get there. Can’t go today anymore, rather tomorrow then.”

A sparkle of hope ignited in Shao Qun's heart.

If Li Chengxiu is sending money to somebody, it’s possible to find his
approximate location. No matter how much effort Shao Qun needs to spend,
he’l be able to find him after all.

Seeing Shao Qun’s braindead appearance, Li Wenxun didn’t expect him to

be good at socializing, so he took care of talking to the fourth aunt, leaving
some money for her and his contact information.

The fourth aunt smiled brightly, and repeatedly told that her son will find
that person tomorrow and inquire about the situation.

Before leaving, the fourth aunt asked them: "When the child worked at your
place, was he doing well? He should have made a fortune, right? Since he
could pay off all his debt at once…?"

Shao Qun nodded stiffly, but didn’t say anything.

The fourth aunt sighed: "This kid is really amazing! He didn't even finish
junior high school, but still was able to pass his accounting examination.
You have no idea how difficult it must have been for him. His grades were
always so good, even the school board insisted on him continuing his
education! But he just refused to. I also tried to persuade him to go back to
school but he told me that he needed to take care of his mother. And then
privately he actually told me that his classmates treated him really badly, so
he didn’t want to go back there. I felt uneasy at the time but I didn’t know
how to help him. Now that I know that he’s doing well, I’m so relieved.”

Shao Qun and Li Wenxun left the fourth aunt's house in silence, and didn’t
speak the entire way back.

The moonlight in the sky was grayish, making the night seem a bit desolate.

The two walked side by side to the gates of the village, where the driver
was still waiting for them.

Li Wenxun suddenly said uncomfortably, "I didn't know that his life was so
difficult when he was a child."
Shao Qun took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, his throat trembled.

He wished he could travel back to when he was eleven or twelve years old
and slap himself hard.

Shao Qun seldom regretted his actions but thinking about what he did to Li
Chengxiu, he was going crazy with regret.

It was because of his ignorance and frivolity back then that he used Li
Chengxiu just to pass the time. And after he had used him enough, he left
him high and dry because of his own cowardice.

Li Chengxiu used to have such good grades. If it wasn't for Shao Qun,
maybe he would have ended up in a completely different situation right
now. At least he wouldn’t feel so inferior and would be able to talk to other
people without fear.

What had Shao Qun done throughout all these years? Why, even as a grown
up, did he hurt Li Chengxiu again and also trample all over his feelings?

After making a circle, Shao Qun’s retribution had final y come for him.

If he finds Li Chengxiu, what should he do to get him back? Does he even

still have a chance? The fear in Shao Qun's heart that he could neither
articulate, nor swallow was stagnating and pressing at him to the point of
suffocation.

A few days later, they received a call from the fourth aunt, saying that she
had contacted the person who took care of Li Chengxiu’s mother’s grave.

Shao Qun immediately wanted to know if Li Chengxiu had been in contact

with him lately.

The fourth aunt said that Li Chengxiu's mother’s death anniversary was in
September. Li Chengxiu usually remitted money to that person two or three
months in advance.

Shao Qun felt a chill in his heart, thinking that he would have to wait at
least two or three months before there was any news. But even that was
better than nothing.

Day after day, he had no other choice but to wait. This feeling of
insurmountable guilt made it seem like he was waiting for his own
sentencing. Deep thoughts and endless remorse had almost overwhelmed
Shao Qun's spirit.

Since Li Chengxiu started working again, his life gradually went back on
the right track.

One day after work, he wanted to sell Xiao Ji's mobile phone for him.

It was a pity and quite surprising that when he asked around, the phone
shop was only willing to give him 800 RMB for it.

Li Chengxiu thought that the man was deliberately haggling with him. He
was not good at bargaining, so he went directly to other places. But they
ended up offering him basically the same amount.

The people in the shop said that even though the phone was new, it was still
a second-hand product.

Besides, it was badly maintained, had scratches on it and couldn’t be resold

for a good price.

Li Chengxiu looked at the phone, and there were indeed many scratches on
it. This Xiao Ji real y wasn’t someone who took care of his things.

Li Chengxiu came back home dejected and told everything to Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji stared at him: "What? Just 800? Isn’t this ridiculous?"

Li Chengxiu was also helpless: "That’s how much they are offering."

Xiao Ji gritted his teeth, “Well, 800 is stil 800. You can sell it for me. By the
way, ask them if they want a computer. "

Li Chengxiu realized that the youngster was now living by selling his
earthly possessions. What kind of life was that?
He remembered that one of their carriers got a foot injury two days ago, so
their company lacked someone at this time. Li Chengxiu saw that Xiao Ji
was in a good shape, and since he was idle every day anyway, Li Chengxiu
told him about the opening.

Xiao Ji asked how much he could earn in a day.

Li Chengxiu thought for a while: "50 or 60 RMB."

Xiao Ji thought he heard it wrong: "How much?"

"50 or 60 RMB."

Xiao Ji showed an expression of disbelief and exclaimed: "That’s insane.

I’m not doing it."

Li Chengxiu frowned slightly and said, "But… you can't keep selling
things?"

Xiao Ji's face darkened, and he impatiently said, "Leave me alone! I will
figure it out."

When Li Chengxiu saw him like this, he knew that the boy just didn’t know
how the world worked. He probably had never bothered about such trivial
things like getting firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Li Chengxiu thought it
would be for the best, if Xiao Ji just went home as soon as possible.

Sulking on the sofa, Xiao Ji didn't know who he was actually angry at. He
looked down at his watch and touched it for a long time. He seemed
undecided and hesitant.

After thinking back and forth for a long time, he turned around and said
pitifully to Li Chengxiu, "I'm hungry.

I've been waiting for you for the whole day."

Li Chengxiu was helpless: "Just wait a little longer. It will soon be done."
Xiao Ji walked over with Teacup and muttered, "Could you come back
earlier from work in the future? If you are back so late again, and I’m
hungry, I might eat the dog."

Li Chengxiu smiled: "There is always something in the refrigerator. You

can cook it up yourself."

"It's not gonna be as good as what you make!"

Li Chengxiu shook his head with a smile. While he was cooking, Xiao Ji
walked around him, holding Teacup.

Li Chengxiu sometimes had the illusion that he actually had two dogs.

A few days later, Xiao Ji really sold his computer. Li Chengxiu saw that his
house was completely empty, and he didn't know what else the boy could
sell.

Sure enough, after paying the rent and forcibly giving Li Chengxiu 2000
RMB for food, Xiao Ji asked him awkwardly, "Do you still need somebody
at the company?"

Li Chengxiu called the manager and said that Xiao Ji was his younger
brother and wanted to earn some pocket money.

The person in charge was an easy-going person, so he just told Xiao Ji to

come by. The work wasn’t very technical anyway - mostly just moving
goods from warehouse to warehouse Li Chengxiu thought that it was a very
simple matter. But already on his first day Xiao Ji got into trouble.

Li Chengxiu was sorting bil s in his office at that time, and a colleague
rushed in, saying that Li Chengxiu’s brother was in a fight with someone.
Nobody could hold him back, so the colleague came to get Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu immediately panicked and quickly ran to the warehouse.

Before he even got to the warehouse, he could hear banging sounds and
angry screams coming from the inside.
Li Chengxiu went in and saw that three workers who were responsible for
moving goods were lying on the ground. Xiao Ji's face was flushed with
anger. Several people were holding him back but he was still insisting on
continuing the fight.

Li Chengxiu called out, "Xiao Ji!"

Xiao Ji glanced at him, but didn't respond. His face was still red, and the
veins on his neck were throbbing.

He seemed very angry.

When the person holding him down saw Li Chengxiu coming, his hold
loosened for some reason.

Xiao Ji grabbed the guy by the collar and threw him aside. He then went up
to the worker lying on the ground and was about to kick him.

Li Chengxiu shouted, "Stop fighting!" Then he rushed over.

Xiao Ji was so angry that he didn't even notice Li Chengxiu approaching

him.

Li Chengxiu was just trying to stop him but got elbowed by Xiao Ji right in
the chin.

Li Chengxiu bit his tongue, and blood filled his mouth. His brain was
buzzing, he fell backwards, and suddenly everything got dark.

[1] So he’s the quiet sassy friend XD

[2] Counter of phones that Shao Qun has destroyed due to his temper
tantrums: 4

[3] Older Sister Li

[4] What he means, is avoiding the player who blocks him from a throw or
from a pass. I honestly have no idea what it’s cal ed in English,nor do I care
to research it.
[5] Open-crotch pants or split pants are worn by toddlers throughout
mainland China. They are designed with either an unsewn seam over the
buttocks and crotch or a hole over the central buttocks. Both allow children
to urinate and defecate without the pants being lowered.

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Chapter 61
Li Chengxiu was completely immobilized. However, except for a bitten
tongue, he didn’t real y suffer any injuries, so he got back to his senses only
after a couple minutes.

When he came to it, he found himself lying on the sofa in the office. Xiao Ji
was arguing with the company people whether to send him to the hospital
or not.

Li Chengxiu's tongue hurt, his chin hurt, and his mouth felt very
uncomfortable, so he just let out a vague hum.

When everyone noticed that he was awake, they quickly surrounded him.

Xiao Ji looked worried and apologetic, and even a little aggrieved: "You…
you woke up? How are you…?

Are you alright?"

Li Chengxiu waved his hand, shook his head and got up.

"Do you still feel uncomfortable? Do you want to go to the hospital?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head again. As long as he could get up, why would
he go to the hospital?

He took a sip of water, which made him hiss in pain as it touched his
tongue.

Seeing that he was all right, his colleagues went on about their business.
Before leaving, they said to Li Chengxiu, "Once you’re done resting, go to
the boss."

Li Chengxiu nodded, and when everybody was gone, he looked at Xiao Ji

with an embarrassed expression and asked hoarsely, "What's the matter with
you? Why….did you get into a fight?"

Xiao Ji said angrily, "It was not my fault."

Li Chengxiu sighed. At the moment when Xiao Ji opened his mouth, he

somehow knew that he was going to say exactly that. He was a child after
all.

Xiao Ji continued to rant: "They dropped a case of wine and then they
wanted to blame me for it! Just because I’m new! Did they fucking think I
was easy to bul y?"

Li Chengxiu remembered that those people in the warehouse who were

responsible for moving goods were not an educated bunch. Usually they
were pretty ok to get along with, but a box of wine cost hundreds of RMB.
In order to pay for it from their pocket, they would have to give up half of
their salary for the month.

What they did was reasonable from their point of view. Since they all knew
each other, they could just unanimously put the blame on the newby. The
boss wouldn’t go as far as investigating the whole thing just for a couple
hundred RMB, so they wanted to make Xiao Ji eat up the loss.

Li Chengxiu asked, "Who started the fight?"

Xiao Ji said confidently, "They cursed at me first."

Li Chengxiu sighed. Facing such an ignorant child, he really had nothing to

say for a while.

Xiao Ji was stil angry: "These idiots! If it wasn’t your workplace, I would
have annihilated them!"

Li Chengxiu's face was pale. He stood up from the sofa: "I'm going to the
boss."

Everything went just as Li Chengxiu expected. Since he brought Xiao Ji

into the company, he not only had to pay 600 RMB for the wine box but
also 500 RMB to the injured parties. Not to mention that he also had to
apologize to them.

When Xiao Ji found out all about it, his eyes were burning with anger and
he shouted, "Why?" He obviously couldn't deal with such an injustice, so he
decided to go to the boss and clear things up.

Li Chengxiu was afraid that he would make trouble again, so he just

dragged him outside.

He knew that Xiao Ji wouldn't understand anything anyway. There were a

lot of injustices in this world, and sometimes there was no clear answer to
the question “Why?” Although one month's salary has been completely
wasted, at least Li Chengxiu got to keep his job.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu was quiet on the way home, Xiao Ji was so angry
that his heart and lungs were about to explode.

He resentfully thought that he did nothing wrong. But still, he somehow

ended up causing Li Chengxiu to lose money and be forced to apologize.
What was this bullshit?

After they got home, he couldn't bear it anymore, so he said to Li Chengxiu,

"I'm sorry."

He really felt sorry for what happened to Li Chengxiu.

He knew that it was not easy for Li Chengxiu to make money. He left early
in the morning and returned late at night. Sometimes he even stayed at the
office until three or four am. He carefully saved up, one dime at a time, just
to be able to afford something extra for Teacup.

Xiao Ji didn't understand it at first. Why was he so busy for a salary of

merely 2000 RMB? In the past, if 2000 RMB fell on the ground in front of
him, Xiao Ji wouldn’t even bother to pick it up.

But he gradually understood.

If he himself ran out of money, he could sell this and that. No matter how
bad it was, he could still sell the watch his grandfather gave him, and it
would be enough to have a decent life for a while. And if push comes to
shove, he could always just make one phone call to solve all of his
problems.

But for Li Chengxiu it was different. He diligently earned his money. If he

earned even a little less, he might starve to death. Xiao Ji himself realized
today how difficult earning money actually was. Just for a few RMB

his waist now felt so sore it seemed to be close to breaking. He could really
understand how hard Li Chengxiu had to work for everything he had.

He couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for the man.

It took him long hours of work to earn just this amount, and Xiao Ji made
him waste it all in one day.

Xiao Ji was very uncomfortable. Seeing Li Chengxiu's depressed

expression, he felt even more guilty.

Li Chengxiu glanced at him and said lightly, "It's okay." He was used to
injustice, even kind of numb to it by now. He was just worried about the
money at this point.

Xiao Ji stared blankly at his profile. Li Chengxiu's face was very good-
looking. Although the bridge of his nose was not high, it was very straight.
His facial expression was also very moving.

Xiao Ji felt that he not only sympathized with Li Chengxiu but also felt a bit
worried for him.

Li Chengxiu was silent for a long time. He was actually busily calculating
the money he still had left.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a lot of savings, except for the emergency

fund which he couldn’t touch. For somebody like Li Chengxiu who didn’t
have a family or even a home, the fear of running out of money was really
overwhelming.

Xiao Ji couldn't stand the silence anymore. Since he felt very embarrassed,
he gritted his teeth and just left.

Li Chengxiu didn't bother stopping him. He really wasn't in the mood to

think about Xiao Ji at this time.

Xiao Ji didn’t come around for two days in a row, and Li Chengxiu didn't
particularly care.

On the third day, Xiao Ji came over right when Li Chengxiu was cleaning
up the house.

As soon as Xiao Ji entered the room, he took out a bulging envelope tied by
a rubber band and put it on the coffee table. He looked at Li Chengxiu with
some expectation and said: "This is for you."

Li Chengxiu didn't know what it was, so he opened up the envelope only to

see that there was a thick stack of money bills in it.

Xiao Ji looked at him cautiously and said, "It's for you. Don't be mad at
me."

Li Chengxiu asked in surprise: "Where… where did you get this from?"

Xiao Ji was so poor just the day before yesterday that he was forced to go to
work. And now he was suddenly handing him all this money? Where did it
come from?

Xiao Ji looked at Li Chengxiu’s suspicious eyes and knew that he was

thinking that something was fishy:

"Don't imagine any nonsense! I didn’t steal it, and I didn’t rob anybody. I
sold my watch."

Li Chengxiu looked at the youngster’s wrist, and the watch was indeed not
there anymore. He didn't say anything, took out the money and counted out
exactly 2000 RMB. He then pushed the rest back to Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji pushed it back again into his hand: "You take the rest too. I’m going
to eat here with you in the future."

Li Chengxiu refused: "You won’t be able to eat so much."

Xiao Ji stubbornly shoved the money into his hand: "If I tell you to take it,
then take it! Please put more meat on the table in the future. I’m not a damn
monk."

Li Chengxiu puffed out a laugh.

Xiao Ji also couldn't help laughing. Seeing Li Chengxiu's radiant face, he

was tempted to pinch his cheeks.

In the evening, while Li Chengxiu was cooking, Xiao Ji watched TV on the

sofa. After watching it for a while, he felt bored, so he began playing
around with Li Chengxiu's mobile phone.

To be honest, there was not so much to play with, since it was an old model
with a very basic 3 megapixel camera[1].

Xiao Ji had nothing else to do, so he flipped through Li Chengxiu’s gal ery.

But there was only one photo there. Xiao Ji opened it and was immediately
stunned.

In the photo, next to Li Chengxiu he saw quite a handsome and

distinguished man seemingly in his thirties.

Even on a photo of such poor quality one could see that the man was
extraordinarily attractive. What actually stunned Xiao Ji was not so much
the man himself but rather how he and Li Chengxiu were acting in the
photo.

This was obviously a selfie. The man was kissing Li Chengxiu on the
cheek, and Li Chengxiu was leaning into his arms, smiling shyly and
avoiding looking into the camera.
Xiao Ji felt that his blood rushed to the top of his head all of a sudden. The
phone now seemed like a hot potato to him, and he almost threw it away.

Three letters flashed through his mind: “G-A-Y”.

Such intimate behavior was unambiguous. In combination with Li

Chengxiu’s girly appearance, it was easy to come to that conclusion.

Homosexuality was a familiar concept to Xiao Ji. He used to be on a

basketball team and suffered a lot of same-sex harrassment there. As a
result, he was more or less disgusted by the whole thing.

The thought of him spending more than two months under the same roof
with a gay guy made him feel irrationally angry.

He always thought that Li Chengxiu was kind and nice to talk to, and he
helped him a lot too. But after finding out about his sexuality, Xiao Ji
couldn’t help but suspect that Li Chengxiu had ulterior motives.

At once, Li Chengxiu's gentle and easy-going nature seemed to have an

agenda underneath it, giving Xiao Ji a sense of annoyance that he had been
deceived this entire time.

In addition to anger, another unclear emotion appeared in his chest. He

didn’t have time to think about it.

Instead, he abruptly stood up and approached Li Chengxiu in three big

steps.

Li Chengxiu was right in the middle of frying vegetables, so he was a bit

surprised.

Xiao Ji held the phone in front of Li Chengxiu, stared him right in the eye
and asked, "What is this?”

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while, looking at Li Shuo who was smiling
gently in the photo. There was an immediate sadness in his heart.
If Xiao Ji hadn't found it, he would have almost forgotten that there was still
a photo of him and Li Shuo on his mobile phone.

Xiao Ji looked at Li Chengxiu's slightly sad expression, and the little flame
in his heart rose. He asked nonchalantly, "Are you gay?"

Li Chengxiu looked at the contempt that could not be concealed on Xiao

Ji’s young face and felt a little aggrieved. He raised his hand to grab his
phone.

Xiao Ji held the phone up higher and continued to ask, "Is this your
boyfriend?"

Li Chengxiu was slightly startled and replied in a hoarse voice, "We’ve

already…broken up."

Xiao Ji didn't know what to feel for a while. But he definitely felt somehow
deceived and also so angry that he wanted to punch someone. He threw the
phone at Li Chengxiu, turned around, slammed the door and left.

Li Chengxiu quickly picked up the phone and stared at the photo on the
screen for a while.

He didn’t know how Li Shuo was doing now[2] and whether Shao Qun had
fulfilled his promise to let Li Shuo off the hook. Li Chengxiu wondered if
he was already back in China…

Li Chengxiu felt like he was near to tears. He gently stroked Li Shuo's

smiling face on the screen and silently looked at the photo for a very long
time.

For the next three days, Xiao Ji did not appear anymore.

Although Li Chengxiu was a bit upset, he didn’t intend to explain anything.

After all, they were just friendly neighbors. If Xiao Ji looked down on him,
he real y couldn’t do anything against it. Because Li Chengxiu was indeed
gay.

He just couldn’t help feeling a bit sad.

Although Xiao Ji was impulsive and arrogant, his heart was in the right
place. Besides, his youthful vitality and enthusiasm were really infectious.
When Li Chengxiu spent time with him, he felt a lot younger.

Besides, it was nice to have another person around for some company and
to avoid loneliness. But now, this person despised him.

Li Chengxiu stuffed the money that Xiao Ji gave him into the crack of his
door, since he thought that the guy wasn’t coming over in the future.

In the blink of an eye, it was summer. Li Chengxiu took advantage of his

noon break to remit 1000 RMB to the person who took care of his mother’s
grave in his hometown.

He hadn’t returned there since he left Beijing. On the one hand, the cost of
the long journey was just too high. On the other hand, subconsciously he
was unwilling to return to that place.

There were no good memories left there after all.

When Li Chengxiu got home that evening, he saw Xiao Ji standing on the
balcony, obviously waiting for him.

Li Chengxiu came closer, and saw that the youngster’s face was not very
good. Both of them were a little embarrassed to face each other.

Li Chengxiu still let him into his apartment.

Xiao Ji entered, looking a bit nervous. Li Chengxiu poured him a cup of tea,
thinking that the youngster might want to say something to him, so he sat
nearby and just waited.

The expression on Xiao Ji's face showed his struggle. He hesitated for a
long time before he finally said, "I can… try."

Hearing such confusing words, all Li Chengxiu could say was: "What?"

Xiao Ji's face turned slightly red and he repeated: "I can… try it with you."
Li Chengxiu stil didn’t get it: "Try what?"

Xiao Ji glared at him. It seemed that he had made up his mind about
something, when he suddenly approached Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu didn't realize what he was going to do at first. When his mouth
was already very close to his own, Li Chengxiu's eyes widened and he
pushed the guy away at once.

Xiao Ji was pushed back onto the other end of the sofa. Once he stabilized
his body, he looked at Li Chengxiu angrily: "What are you doing!"

Li Chengxiu's heart was pounding with fear: "What are YOU doing?"

Xiao Ji was annoyed and angry: "Isn’t this why you have been treating me
so wel ? Why are you pretending now?"

Only then did Li Chengxiu finally understand what this youngster was
thinking.

With some embarrassment he explained: "You misunderstood…I… I didn’t

have that purpose."

Xiao Ji stared at him.

Li Chengxiu smiled bitterly and said, "I took care of you because you are so
young and because we are neighbors."

Xiao Ji was really furious at this moment. His face turned red, and he
jumped up in rage, feeling entirely humiliated.

He has given it a lot of thought these days. He thought that Li Chengxiu

treated him really well, he was even quieter and gentler than a woman, he
cooked delicious food, and he looked pretty good.

After thinking about it, Xiao Ji felt that he didn’t hate Li Chengxiu at all.
Rather, he even kind of liked him.
Although Li Chengxiu was a man, Xiao Ji was young and pretty open-
minded, so it was not like he couldn’t accept it at all. If Li Chengxiu liked
him, he could actually even give it a try.

He didn't expect that Li Chengxiu didn’t actually have any intentions

towards him. So didn’t Xiao Ji kind of make a fool out of himself for
thinking too much all this time?

He had always been quite confident about himself, and it was normal for
both men and women to like him.

So he thought that Li Chengxiu, obviously, must like him. And now it

turned out that he misunderstood?!

Was there anything more embarrassing than this?

Xiao Ji shouted angrily: "Go to hell!" Then he rushed out the door, leaving
Li Chengxiu stunned in the empty and silent room.

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Chapter 62
Li Chengxiu felt very embarrassed. He didn't expect Xiao Ji to think like
that about him. He really just wanted to help him out of kindness, nothing
else.

Li Chengxiu thought that Xiao Ji would not come again this time, however
in his heart he hoped that they could return to the way things were before.
Even Teacup seemed to miss him very much, often squatting motionlessly
at the door, as if waiting for Xiao Ji to come over.

Facts have proven that Li Chengxiu was entirely unable to figure out what’s
going on in the minds of young people. After a few days of silence, Xiao Ji
came over yet again, carrying a plastic bag in his hand.

As soon as Li Chengxiu opened the door, Xiao Ji unceremoniously handed

him the bag: "I want to eat steamed scallops with garlic."

Li Chengxiu was a bit surprised for a while, but then he laughed and let him
in.

Xiao Ji showed a bit of embarrassment on his face. When he came in, he

didn’t speak and only played with Teacup.

Li Chengxiu called him over when the meal was done. He squinted at Li
Chengxiu and awkwardly sat down at the dining table, staring straight at Li
Chengxiu with his dark eyes.

Li Chengxiu handed him the chopsticks: "Eat!"

Xiao Ji took the chopsticks, ate two bites and suddenly said, "My full name
is Ji Yuanqi."

Li Chengxiu was startled and just said, "Oh".

"I came here because I want to play professional basketball, and my family
wouldn't let me. So I ran away."

Li Chengxiu didn't know why he was telling him all of that, but he
continued to carefully listen.

Ji Yuanqi looked at him with his bright eyes: "I told you everything about
me. Now tell me all about you too."

Li Chengxiu didn't understand what he meant: "Tell you what?"

Ji Yuanqi responded: "Tell me all about yourself. Where are you from, how
old are you, what did you do before coming here, why are you here, and….
your boyfriend... what's going on with him?"

Li Chengxiu felt that he was developing a headache.

He didn't know what the young man wanted from him. He seemed like
someone who just said directly what was on his mind. Li Chengxiu felt that
the generational gap between them was just too big, and it was so much
easier to eat together before the misunderstanding.

Ji Yuanqi was unrelenting, tapping his chopsticks against the bowl: "Tell
me! I've told you everything." That somehow meant that if Li Chengxiu did
not share something about himself, Xiao Ji would be an offended party.

Li Chengxiu reluctantly said: "My…my hometown is… in Beijing. I

worked…there. This year…I turn twenty-nine."

Ji Yuanqi tilted his neck to think, saying to himself: "Ten year difference…?
Ah, it’s okay ......" He then continued to knock on his bowl, "Continue!
What about your boyfriend? Where is he from? How old is he?

What does he do? Why did you split up?"

Li Chengxiu really couldn't take this questioning anymore. Why would he

need to tell all that to Xiao Ji?

But Ji Yuanqi was still waiting for the answers with his eyes wide open.
Li Chengxiu sighed: "Let's not talk about this..."

The young man was unhappy, and his face immediately darkened: "Why
can’t you talk about it? Haven’t you already split up? Is there still some
love left?"

For some reason, Li Chengxiu suddenly felt that this guy was just as
domineering and self-willed as Shao Qun when he was a child. He couldn't
tell what exactly it made him feel - sentimental or disgusted. He gently put
his chopsticks on the table and stopped talking.

Ji Yuanqi saw that Li Chengxiu refused to speak, so he became gloomy.

After a long silence, he finally said with a bit of bargaining in his voice:
“Well…why don’t you try it with me?”

After Li Chengxiu's experience last time, he already understood what Xiao

Ji meant by "try" and looked up at the youngster in surprise.

Ji Yuanqi felt that his cheeks were a little hot: "Anyway… you are single.
And I am also single. Let’s try it.

Why not?... Don't you like men? I'm very handsome… Why don't you like
me?"

Li Chengxiu's face froze.

He felt as if a child just ran up to him with a particularly novel toy and
insisted on playing with him. And this child thought that it was a waste not
to try out such an interesting toy together.

But how many adults would actually be interested in children's toys?

Ji Yuanqi moved his chair next to Li Chengxiu, raised his chin arrogantly,
while his eyes flashed with anticipation: "How about it? Why don’t we
try?"

Li Chengxiu sighed: "Xiao Ji, this… you can't just try it. You like girls...
You can't try this kind of thing."
"What can’t I do? I even once ate scorpions on a dare!."

Li Chengxiu didn't know what to say to that. In Xiao Ji’s eyes, dating a man
might just be a novelty and a fun game. He didn't have to take any
responsibility or pay a price if something went wrong, because it was just…
trying.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help being a little angry, so he said coldly: "You are
still young. You... Forget it. Just eat and stop talking about it."

Ji Yuanqi was unhappy: "I'm so fucking sick of people dragging age into
this. We’re both men. Just be more honest. This young master wants to be
with you. What do you have to lose?"

Li Chengxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head: "Let's
just eat."

Ji Yuanqi wanted to say something else, but seeing that Li Chengxiu

lowered his head and didn't even look at him anymore, he rolled his eyes at
him and ate with his head down.

Li Chengxiu thought that he would soon get bored with the topic and move
on, but he didn’t expect that since that day Ji Yuanqi would constantly talk
about the matter, joke around and sometimes even make pretend-gestures of
wanting to kiss Li Chengxiu. It was as if Xiao Ji was addicted to this game
now.

Fortunately, he mostly just talked a lot and didn’t do anything out of the
ordinary. After listening to his nonsense for a long time, Li Chengxiu didn’t
take it seriously anymore.

The weather was getting warmer, and the summers in Guangzhou were
quite difficult. Li Chengxiu was dazed from riding in the overheated full
bus. He got off and unsteadily walked home. When he was about to enter
the building, he suddenly heard an excited incoherent cry behind him.

"Chengxiu!"
Li Chengxiu's whole body froze, and it seemed that the entire heat he had
accumulated left his body at once.

He thought he was just dizzy and probably hallucinating, but when he

turned his head to look at the source of the sound, he realized that this
nightmare was real.

Shao Qun really stood in front of him.

Li Chengxiu's heart violently throbbed. The memories that he had forcibly

sealed up, suddenly broke free and instantly flooded his mind. He drew a
blank and almost subconsciously turned around to run.

Shao Qun rushed up to him with a single stride and hugged his waist.

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale, and he desperately struggled, "Let me go!"

Shao Qun hugged him tightly and trembled "I won't let go again, Chengxiu.
I will never let go again."

Li Chengxiu used his elbow to hit his stomach as hard as he could.

Shao Qun gasped but still didn't let go.

There were usually only a few people on Li Chengxiu's way home. But it
didn’t mean that nobody would pass by at all. It was a bit weird for two
men to be hugging so ambiguously in the middle of the street.

Li Chengxiu was anxious and scared, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Here we go again. He was hiding left and right, hoping to completely erase
his traces in this world. Why couldn’t this person just let him go?

He just wanted to live a peaceful life and stop having trouble with anyone.
Why can't such a humble wish come true? Was Shao Qun trying to force
him to die?

Shao Qun's hands were shaking with excitement. In the past six months, he
really had no idea how he had survived. He never got a good night's sleep,
never stopped missing Li Chengxiu and he real y couldn’t wait to exchange
everything he had just for a bit of news about Li Chengxiu.

He was tortured by constant disappointment, and now his only hope was
just to see Li Chengxiu and know where he was. Hopeless thoughts were
devouring his soul day by day and he never wanted to experience that
feeling again. Whatever happens, he must stay where he can always see Li
Chengxiu.

Shao Qun carefully sniffed the warm and pleasant smell coming from Li
Chengxiu’s neck and felt the security and satisfaction from finally hugging
this person. He feared it was just an illusion, that his arms would be empty
the moment he woke up.

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and said hoarsely, "Let me go."

Shao Qun hesitated for a while, but final y let go. He stil clung to Li
Chengxiu’s sleeve, as if he was afraid that he could disappear in the next
second.

Li Chengxiu turned his face, and Shao Qun looked at him greedily and
eagerly, his eyes full of deep sadness.

"Chengxiu, I missed you very much. You left without saying a word. It was
too cruel." After Shao Qun said this, his eyes looked a little blurry.

Li Chengxiu distanced himself from him, looking at Shao Qun who had
become so thin and haggard in just a few months. He couldn't tell what was
happening in the heart of this man, so he said solemnly, "Shao Qun, Li Shuo
and I have broken up. What do you still want from me? What else do you
need?"

Shao Qun said sadly, "I just want us to go back to the past."

Li Chengxiu felt heartbroken. Back to the past? How long ago does he want
to go back to?
If time could really be reversed, Li Chengxiu would have wished to never
have known Shao Qun in the first place. He would have preferred to live
alone and unattached for his entire lifetime, without any worries, rather than
having this big hole dug in his heart and having to constantly relive what
happened. It's a pity that none of them could ever go back. Li Chengxiu
could only continue protecting himself and not repeat the same mistakes
again.

Li Chengxiu gently shook his head, "Shao Qun, let me go."

Shao Qun grabbed his arm and said hoarsely, "Chengxiu, I've been looking
for you for so long. Please don’t say this. I can’t give up on you, do you
understand? I real y like you. Give me a chance, and I wil treat you well. I
have liked you my entire life, and I wil only be good to you in the future. I’l
do whatever you say, as long as you stay by my side. I can promise you
anything, okay? Chengxiu, give me a chance, I beg you!

Let me make it up for you!”

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes in pain, "Shao Qun, I can't… trust you again.
Let…let me go."

Shao Qun said anxiously, "Trust me one more time! I won't lie to you again.
If I had lied to you, would I have gotten myself into this mess? Do you
know how much effort I put into finding you? Chengxiu, I… I did a lot of
things wrong in the past. I was too much of an asshole, and I know that you
hate me. But you used to love me, right? Give me a chance and let me treat
you well this time. You can use me as anything you want. The only thing I
ask of you is that you don’t run away anymore. If I can just see you, I will
be satisfied.

Chengxiu, give me a chance."

Li Chengxiu pushed him away, " Don't say all this, Shao Qun, I don’t want
to hear it. I don't want to move again. Don't… don't force me again. I…
We…"
Li Chengxiu couldn't even say a complete sentence. The sadness and hope
in Shao Qun's eyes were so obvious that he couldn't ignore it. This person
used to be so high-spirited and arrogant. How could he be showing such an
expression now? Maybe he really believed in what he himself was saying?

Li Chengxiu was real y scared. Shao Qun was probably someone who
wasn’t used to rejection. Or maybe all of this was just some momentary
whim? Even if his intentions were true at this point in time, who knew how
long they would even stay true. One year? Two years? Three years? Shao
Qun will at some point be expected to get married and have a child of his
own. So sooner or later, Li Chengxiu would just end up

falling into an even more unbearable situation than before. And he was
never going to let such a thing happen to him again. He knew that he
wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu's avoidant look, and he really felt as if his
heart was being torn out. He endured the heartache, wiped his face and
forced himself to calm down.

When he saw Li Chengxiu just now, he got excited and lost his calm.
Before coming here, he had warned himself many times to take it slow, not
to be too hasty and not to push Li Chengxiu into a situation where he is
forced to run away again. But as soon as he saw this man, he forgot
everything.

Shao Qun shook his head, took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I won't
force you to do anything. So don't run anymore, okay?"

Li Chengxiu pulled his arm away from Shao Qun, "As long as you don’t
come here again, I won’t run."

Shao Qun showed an extremely bitter smile, "Chengxiu, I really can't do

this. Can you at least let me see you? I won't force you. I just want to come
see you.”

Li Chengxiu said in a trembling voice, "I don't want to see you."

Hearing this, Shao Qun had the urge to slam his head against the wall,
"Okay, you don't fucking have to see me. I just want to see you. Chengxiu,
can you leave me at least that? Just a little tiny hope? A small breath of
fresh air?"

Li Chengxiu took a step back, lowered his head, and tightly bit his lips.

Shao Qun sniffed, forced himself to step away and raised his hands. He then
said, "I'm not forcing you. You don't need to guard against me and you
don’t need to be afraid of me. I just want to make up for the mistakes I
made. I will never hurt you again. You…you can just pretend that I don’t
exist and live your normal life. I wil come look at you from a distance, and
it’s all going to be fine. Al fine."

Li Chengxiu didn't say anything. His chest was already hurting and he
couldn't speak anyway. He took another few steps back and didn't dare to
look up at Shao Qun. He finally turned and walked away.

Shao Qun stared blankly at Li Chengxiu, leaving in a hurry. He felt like his
body was entirely empty, as if he would never be able to fill this emptiness
ever again.

Li Chengxiu returned home in despair. Ji Yuanqi knew it was him as soon

as he heard footsteps going upstairs. He immediately came out of his room
wagging his tail and shouting "I’m so hungry!!!"

Li Chengxiu didn't see him at all. He was about to close the door when he
entered his apartment, and the door panel almost hit Xiao Ji right on the
nose.

Ji Yuanqi let out a "fuck!" and got inside anyway, "What are you doing!?"

Li Chengxiu seemed to only notice the youngster at that moment and finally
turned around to look at him.

Ji Yuanqi saw at a glance that Li Chengxiu’s eyes were red, as if he had

been crying. He got nervous all of a sudden, walked over, sat down next to
him and asked, "What happened? You cried? Why?"
Li Chengxiu shook his head, and was about to get up, "I’l cook."

Ji Yuanqi grabbed him and said, "Don't go! Tell me why you were crying.
Who bullied you?"

Li Chengxiu continued to shake his head, "It's okay."

"It's not fucking okay! Is it okay to have red eyes like a damn rabbit? Do
you think I can't help you? If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, how can I
help you? Just tell me who bul ied you!”

Li Chengxiu turned around and walked to the kitchen, saying solemnly, "It's
okay."

Ji Yuanqi was angry. He pulled at his hair shouting, "SOmething is

obviously wrong! Come on, tell me!"

Li Chengxiu ignored him and got busy cooking.

Teacup jumped out of its nest right around this time, circled around Li
Chengxiu twice and then began woofing with its neck raised high.

Ji Yuanqi came up and picked it up. After putting the pup in his pocket, he
pulled Li Chengxiu over, pinched his chin and seriously said, "Li Chengxiu,
I won't let anyone bul y you. Tel me, and I promise I’l make them pay! "

Li Chengxiu was forced to look at him, and Ji Yuanqi suddenly realized that
the sadness and despair in his eyes was something he had never seen before.

Although Li Chengxiu was often thoughtful, and Ji Yuanqi suspected that

he had some secrets in his heart, he had never seen him this sad.

Li Chengxiu said dumbly, "Xiao Ji, you can't help me. Stop asking."

Ji Yuanqi wanted to get angry, but he couldn't. He really wanted to do

something for Li Chengxiu to repay him for his kindness, but the other
party obviously didn't have any confidence in him.
Also, since he had no money or power right now, why should Li Chengxiu
even believe him? He was currently being taken care of almost entirely by
this sissy whom he despised at first. And he can’t do anything to repay
him.This strong psychological gap didn’t only hurt his self-esteem, but also
made him very sad.

Ji Yuanqi put down his hands dejectedly and sat back down on the sofa.

He looked at Li Chengxiu's silent back. He wanted to help him and protect

him. He wanted to get along with Li Chengxiu for a long time. Could Ji
Yuanqi finally man up and reverse the situation? Could he stop being

the one who needed care and instead take care of Li Chengxiu? Ji Yuanqi
kind of hated his current predicament, and he slowly began to struggle with
his thoughts.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 63
Li Chengxiu was restless all day and all night. He just sat thinking about
different things without even turning on the lights.

He thought about it again and again and realized that he really didn't want
to run and hide anymore. It seemed that no matter where he was hiding,
Shao Qun could find him anyway. In this case, why should he go through
all the trouble and also drag Teacup along with him?

He remembered that when he picked Teacup up from the clinic, the vet
clearly told him that the dog couldn’t move around so frequently in the
future. It was something that not even people could handle easily, not to
mention such a small and fragile dog. Li Chengxiu couldn’t risk the little
Teacup getting sick again.

It took a long time for Teacup to recover from his illness, and Li Chengxiu
was really scared.

He just found a suitable job for his abilities, and he had a suitable place to
live. Everything seemed to be fine. He was real y exhausted and couldn't
muster the courage to move again. He couldn’t hide forever.

And obviously, he didn't harm anyone, so why was he the one forced to
hide?

After Li Chengxiu made up his mind, he felt better. He didn’t believe that
Shao Qun would pester him for much longer. Shao Qun had a lot of good
things going on in his life, so how much time would he be willing to waste
on Li Chengxiu? Most likely, this was some kind of whim, and he’l get
tired of this very soon. Li Chengxiu just needed to wait and see.

From that day on, Shao Qun would send him at least a dozen meaningless
text messages a day. Li Chengxiu didn't dare to read any of them. He knew
that he would feel uneasy for the whole day after reading those, so he
simply deleted everything immediately after receiving.
A few days later, he was cooking in the kitchen, and Ji Yuanqi was playing
with Teacup in the living room, when there was a sudden knock on the door.
Li Chengxiu’s heart skipped a beat, and he almost immediately thought that
it must be Shao Qun.

When he opened his mouth to stop Ji Yuanqi from getting the door, the
youngster was already holding onto the knob.

Shao Qun didn’t actual y expect Li Chengxiu to open the door for him. So
when he heard the approaching footsteps, his palms were nervously
sweating. And when he heard the sound of an opening lock, he was
suddenly really excited. But all the excitement disappeared the moment the
door was opened.

Shao Qun looked at the handsome young man in front of him, his brows
twitching. He slightly backed away and glanced at the house number to
confirm that he had knocked at the right door before frowning and asking,
"Does Li Chengxiu live here?"

Ji Yuanqi looked Shao Qun up and down.

For some reason, even though it was the first time they met, both of them
were immediately hostile to each other. Ji Yuanqi blocked the door with his
body and asked expressionlessly, "Who are you?"

Cold light burst out of Shao Qun's eyes and he said icily, "And who are
you?”

Li Chengxiu came over wearing an apron.

When Shao Qun saw him, his heart froze. He couldn't control himself any
longer, so he pushed Ji Yuanqi's shoulder away to be able to come in.

This action set them both on fire. Ji Yuanqi grabbed Shao Qun’s wrist and
was about to twist his arm. Shao Qun pressed his hand down and raised his
knee to kick Ji Yuanqi.
Before Li Chengxiu could even reach the door, the two guys were already
tearing each other apart in the narrow space in front of the door.

Li Chengxiu hurriedly shouted, "Stop!"

The two of them froze, glared at each other and resentfully let go. Li
Chengxiu pulled Ji Yuanqi into the apartment, separating the two of them.

Shao Qun was angered by this action. He pointed at Xiao Ji and gritted his
teeth, "Who is he?"

Li Chengxiu indifferently said, "A neighbor." Shao Qun was stunned for a
moment, but he obviously didn't believe it and just kept looking at Ji Yuanqi
with resentment.

Ji Yuanqi was young and hot-headed. He hated to be provoked the most, so

he couldn’t help cursing, "Who the hell are you? Are you here to look for a
fight?"

Li Chengxiu saw fire burning in Shao Qun’s eyes, stood between the two of
them and said to Shao Qun,

"What do you want?"

Shao Qun pursed his lips and glanced at Li Chengxiu aggrievedly. Then he
handed the thing in his hand to him, "This is tuna that I just ordered today.
My friend picked the best piece. It's also very fresh."

Li Chengxiu interrupted him without even looking at the tuna, "Shao Qun…
I told you not to come again."

Shao Qun lowered his head and was silent for two seconds. Then he raised
his head again and shrugged his shoulders pretending to be relaxed, "I just
wanted to come and see you and bring you something over.

I’m not coming in."

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "I don't want… you things."

Shao Qun opened his mouth and smiled bitterly, "Chengxiu, I drove here
for almost three hours. You don't have to be so ruthless to me. It's just a
piece of fish. Please, accept it."

Li Chengxiu stil shook his head, "Don’t come here ever again." With those
words he was about to close the door.

Shao Qun suddenly raised his hand and abruptly held the door open. His
dark eyes passed Li Chengxiu and stared directly at Ji Yuanqi, "Chengxiu,
tell me who he is."

Li Chengxiu rolled his eyes, "I just told you. A neighbor."

Not to be outdone, Ji Yuanqi added, "Who are you again? Li Chengxiu just
told you to get lost. Don’t you have ears, huh?"

Shao Qun's eyes were full of struggle. He looked back and forth between
the two, but finally just sighed, put down his arm and placed the bag near
the door. “Just throw it out, if you don’t want it.” After saying that, he
forced himself to turn around.

Li Chengxiu suddenly called out, "Shao Qun."

Shao Qun was startled and turned his head full of expectations.

Li Chengxiu frowned lightly and hesitated before asking, "Li Shuo… Is he

alright?"

Shao Qun lowered his shoulders, his face full of disappointment. Final y he
whispered, "He’s okay. He has returned to China, and he already has
someone new. So you don’t have to think about him anymore.

Li Chengxiu's body trembled slightly, and there was some pain in his heart.

In any case, Li Shuo was back in China, which meant that he was doing all
right. This was good news. He could also find the right person to
accompany him. That was even better news. So he should be happy for Li
Shuo.
Li Chengxiu nodded and gently closed the door, without looking at Shao
Qun again. As soon as the door was closed, he heard Shao Qun's sad sigh,
which struck a nerve. It seemed like this sigh had hit Li Chengxiu right in
the heart, so he trembled when he was locking up.

Immediately, Ji Yuanqi sarcastically said, "Unbelievable! You have quite the

love life. One more handsome than the other. You’re a charmer, I see."

Li Chengxiu’s heart was uneasy, so he turned a deaf ear to the youngster’s

ridicule and went back to the kitchen. Ji Yuanqi suddenly grabbed his arm
and pressed him against the door before he could even react.

He saw undisguised anger on the young man's face.

Ji Yuanqi said angrily, "How many ex-boyfriends do you have? How many
haven't I seen yet?"

Li Chengxiu had a splitting headache. After dealing with Shao Qun, his legs
were already weak. He really had no experience of dealing with this kind of
questioning. What reason did he even have to share his past and be honest
with this youngster?

Li Chengxiu tried to push Ji Yuanqi away, while his tone was really not
good anymore, "It has nothing to do with you."

Ji Yuanqi grabbed his hand and said solemnly, "So why am I not good
enough for you? Are you still in love with one of your ex-boyfriends?”

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and whispered, "Xiao Ji, this is private.
Please don't force me. You should be more mature, okay?"

These words really pissed Ji Yuanqi off. Children of his age often think that
they are very mature and grown-up. They are most afraid of others calling
them naive or childish, especially the people who take care of them.

Ji Yuanqi was really enraged at that moment and eager to prove something.
Suddenly he grabbed Li Chengxiu’s chin and pressed his lips onto his
mouth. Li Chengxiu's vision blurred, and suddenly Ji Yuanqi's enlarged face
was very close to him, and there was a soft pressure on his lips.

Li Chengxiu was shocked and used all his strength to push Ji Yuanqi away.
In fact, Ji Yuanqi was kissing him very lightly. He had absolutely no
experience in kissing men and was at a loss, not daring to make any next
moves. Being pushed so hard, he was completely unprepared and stumbled,
almost falling to the ground.

Li Chengxiu glared at him angrily, his cheeks slightly red. He retreated into
the living room, pointed at the door and said in a trembling voice, "You…
You leave."

This reaction was quite hurtful to his self-esteem, so Ji Yuanqi felt both
embarrassed and nervous. His face blushed, he glared at Li Chengxiu,
giving him a wronged and aggrieved look, then roughly opened the door,
rushing out.

Li Chengxiu was shocked and trembled all over. It took him a long time to
calm down.

Ji Yuanqi was a child, so Li Chengxiu didn’t care when he spoke nonsense

or played his pranks, but this right here was something that Li Chengxiu
couldn’t tolerate.

Thinking of Ji Yuanqi's stubbornness and willfulness, which was almost the

same as Shao Qun's, Li Chengxiu felt a horrible headache and was afraid
that the youngster was going to cause him more trouble.

After he drove Ji Yuanqi away, he didn't care anymore, thinking that he

must move again soon.

When he got off work two days later, Li Chengxiu noticed that the door to
the right of his apartment was wide open. People from the moving company
were moving things inside. No one has been living in that apartment for a
while, so it seemed that today someone was finally moving in.
He didn't care either way. While he was opening his door, he glanced at Ji
Yuanqi's apartment, wondering when the child would stop being awkward.

Li Chengxiu was cooking dinner when his doorbell rang. He thought it was
Xiao Ji and opened the door without thinking. It was however Shao Qun,
standing there in his home clothes, holding a bottle of wine and looking at
Li Chengxiu with a smile.

Li Chengxiu was shocked.

Shao Qun raised the wine bottle in his hand, "I remember that you used to
like this kind of white wine in the past. Can I exchange this wine for some
of your food?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and wanted to immediately close the door. Shao
Qun put his foot in to prevent the door from closing and shamelessly
squeezed in.

Li Chengxiu frowned, "You…"

Shao Qun looked excited. Just seeing Li Chengxiu had already made him
happy. How could he not be excited to enter the place where he lived?

After he came in, he cautiously glanced around the room and found that
there was no one else here, so he was relieved.

Li Chengxiu said solemnly, "Shao Qun, you…"

Shao Qun shushed him, showing a bitter smile, "Chengxiu, don't rush me
out. Let me just put down the wine somewhere. If you don’t want me here,
I’l go."

Li Chengxiu seemed to be relieved, as he held onto the door handle, waiting

for Shao Qun to leave.

Shao Qun felt that his heart had been beaten to a pulp so many times by
now, that it became really resilient. No matter how uncomfortable it was, he
could endure it.
He put the wine on the table and chuckled, "I'll be your neighbor from now
on, so can't you invite me for dinner?"

Li Chengxiu glanced at him in surprise, thinking of the movers he saw

during the day. Unexpectedly, they were moving in Shao Qun's stuff. Li
Chengxiu looked at him in disbelief, "Shao Qun, what do you really want?"

Shao Qun frowned and forced a smile, "Chengxiu, don't be so defensive,

okay? I just want to be closer to you. You said that I didn't respect you.
Okay. But now I do respect you. Whatever you say, I’l make it happen. If
you tell me to fuck off right now, I'l leave. But let me at least stay by your
side quietly. I won’t do anything. I just want to be nice to you and treat you
well. Let me stay here where I can see you and take good care of you. Just
with that, I will be satisfied."

Li Chengxiu turned his head away, "Shao Qun, I don’t care what your real
purpose is here. I won’t be fooled again. Also, I don’t need you to take care
of me."

Shao Qun nodded and laughed, but his laughter sounded somehow worse
than crying.

"I know that you don't believe me now. It doesn't matter. I have time to
make you believe me. Chengxiu, no matter how many times you say you
don’t believe me, I wil stil repeat that my feelings are sincere. If you don’t
believe me, how about you just wait and see? What if I treat you well for
ten years? Or for twenty years? Or even for a lifetime? Will you believe me
then? Will you smile at me again? Will you be more willing to cook me a
meal? That's all I want. As long as you stay with me and don't leave, I can
give you anything. But I won't let you run away. Wherever you go, I’l
follow."

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and trembled, "Get… get out."

Shao Qun tried to endure it, but he still couldn't hold back, "Chengxiu, you
only need to take a small step.
Really, as long as you nod your head a little, I can do anything for you. If
you give me another chance, I will never fail you again. Chengxiu, it is not
difficult at all. If you give me a little sweetness, it will make me happy for
an entire year. Can we please try again?"

Li Chengxiu's face was as pale as paper. Looking down at his toes, he

almost had to squeeze two words from between her teeth, "Get out."

Shao Qun felt a familiar pain in his heart, nodded and walked to the door
obediently. When he passed Li Chengxiu, he suddenly leaned over and
kissed his hair, softly saying, "I won't give up."

Li Chengxiu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He took a big step

back, but didn't even dare to lift his head up.

Shao Qun pulled the corners of his mouth in a self-deprecating smile, "I
will be going back to Shenzhen to work during the day from Monday to
Thursday. I will come back on Thursday nights and stay until Monday
mornings. If you need help with anything, come to me or call me. I’l come
to you no matter where I am."

Li Chengxiu slammed the door behind him.

As soon as the door was closed, Li Chengxiu couldn't hold it any longer and
slumped down on the ground.
What was Shao Qun doing now? Violence and coercion didn’t work, so he
was trying the strategy of treating him well?

Why did he have such an expression on his face? Why did he move here?
What exactly was he planning?

Li Chengxiu felt that his heart that had barely calmed down was disturbed
again.

He was completely flustered by this situation. He felt that this kind of Shao
Qun was much more terrifying than the overbearing and violent Shao Qun
who shouted loudly to hide his guilty conscience.

At least that kind of Shao Qun didn’t make Li Chengxiu hesitate before
escaping as fast as possible.

I’m getting wrinkles from cringing hard during every

single Shao Qun monologue lately.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 64
As expected, Xiao Ji couldn't stay away. After a few days, he was waiting in
the corridor for Li Chengxiu to come back from work.

Li Chengxiu got off work very late that day. May 1st[3] was coming up, and
everybody who was shipping their goods wanted to complete the business
before the holiday. Otherwise, even with the express delivery, the shipment
would take two extra days due to the holiday, so this time of year was very
busy.

Although their company was small, the accounts they handled were kind of
complicated. Their boss was very stingy, and he didn’t want to pay any
attention to the accountant’s workload. Li Chengxiu had spent the past few
days reconciling the accounts in his office. He didn’t even have time to go
to the bathroom.

After so many days like that in a row, Li Chengxiu felt a little overwhelmed
and had problems even walking straight. So he didn’t have time to deal with
Ji Yuanqi. When he saw him, he just gave him a quick glance.

Ji Yuanqi complained, "Why did you get off work so late?" Seeing that Li
Chengxiu didn't answer, his expression became a little nervous, and he
cheekily followed Li Chengxiu through the door. Awkwardly and after a lot
of hesitation he finally managed to squeeze out one sentence, "I'm sorry."

Li Chengxiu glanced at him and sighed.

Xiao Ji made himself comfortable at the dining table , "Have you eaten
already? Are you hungry?" After saying that, he looked at Li Chengxiu
pitifully, "I'm hungry."

Li Chengxiu was sleepy and tired. He barely managed to sit down for a
while and rub his forehead, before he got up again to cook.
Ji Yuanqi had also realized that Li Chengxiu didn’t look too good, so he
went over to him and asked,

"What's wrong?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "It's okay. I'm just a little tired."

Ji Yuanqi tilted his neck and looked at him, "Why don't I cook this time?"

Li Chengxiu laughed, "What can you even cook? Just sit down. I'll be done
soon."

Ji Yuanqi's expression relaxed, and the tension between them just now
seemed to have faded. Half-jokingly he said, "Li Chengxiu, you are really
virtuous[4]. "

While the two of them were having dinner, Ji Yuanqi was excitedly talking
about a particularly wonderful basketball game he watched on TV today,
and Li Chengxiu suddenly asked, "Xiao Ji, when are you going back
home?"

Ji Yuanqi was stunned for a moment, then put down his chopsticks, "Are
you chasing me away?"

"Me? I’m not chasing you away. But, sooner or later, you have to go home,
right?"

Ji Yuanqi pouted, "It's no fun to go home. I'm fine here. No one cares
anyway."

Li Chengxiu said sternly, "You have to go home sooner or later."

Ji Yuanqi pul ed his face down and glared at him : "Aren’t you driving me
away? I already apologized to you. Why are you so small-minded?"

Li Chengxiu put down his chopsticks, "It has nothing to do with that.'"

Ji Yuanqi thought for a while, "Then how about you go back with me?"
Li Chengxiu felt an oncoming headache.

Ji Yuanqi suddenly became excited, "For real though, you can go back with
me! Then you can come to my house… and be a chef? I guarantee you a
much better salary than what you’re getting now. So how about it?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "Don't talk nonsense."

Ji Yuanqi pul ed his face again, stuffed his mouth with food and muttered,
"If I go back, I won’t be able to eat your cooking."

Li Chengxiu's heart softened a little after hearing this. He said gently: "You
can still visit me later."

Ji Yuanqi hummed, his face still gloomy, "You just wish for me to leave as
soon as possible, so you can relax and not have to cook for me or talk to me
anymore. Then you can also resume your relationship with your ex-
boyfriend.”

These words were a bit hurtful, and Li Chengxiu wanted to refute

something, but he really had no strength to argue and was too lazy to speak
any more, so he lowered his head and continued eating.

Ji Yuanqi also knew that he had said something wrong again, but he really
couldn't hold it in. He actually had no idea what he wanted to do with this
person in front of him. He only knew that he liked his current life, he liked
hanging out with Li Chengxiu, he didn't want anyone to disturb them and he
didn’t want to share him with anybody else.

It would be great if Li Chengxiu could only cook for him and spend all his
spare time with him too. Ji Yuanqi originally thought that the two of them
could get along in such a peaceful way for a long time. But that was until
that man appeared the other day. The way he looked at Li Chengxiu was
full of affection and yearning which proved that the relationship between
these two was definitely not so simple.

It was only at that moment that Ji Yuanqi suddenly realized that Li

Chengxiu was not his. He had a past that belonged to others and had
nothing to do with him. In Li Chengxiu's eyes, he is just a "neighbor".

He had a feeling that Li Chengxiu was about to be snatched away, but he

didn't know what to do about it.

For the first time did Ji Yuanqi experience such a feeling of frustration and
loss.

He secretly looked at Li Chengxiu's slightly sad face and suddenly recalled

the soft touch of his lips. This made his heart beat like a drum for a while.

Li Chengxiu was exhausted and dizzy all throughout the recent days, until
May 1st finally came.

He didn't know how he even managed to get home. He fell down on the
sofa as soon as he entered the door and felt that his body was burning up
and his eyes were so heavy that he couldn’t open them.

When Shao Qun came over from work ahead of schedule, he saw that the
door to Li Chengxiu's apartment was not closed. His heart jumped, and he
tentatively called from outside, "Chengxiu?"

When he entered the room, he saw Li Chengxiu collapsed on the sofa, his
face red with abnormal flush.

Little Teacup was sitting beside him and trying to wake him up. Shao
Qunxin quickly ran over and touched his face - it was concerningly hot.

Shao Qun picked Li Chengxiu up and rushed out. Right at that time, Ji
Yuanqi was walking upstairs, dribbling his ball. When he noticed Shao Qun,
he was stunned for a moment and then shouted, "Fuck! Why are you still
hanging around here like an evil spirit? What do you want?"

Shao Qun didn't have time to argue with him. "Li Chengxiu has a fever. Go
and close his door, don't let the dog run away." Then he quickly passed Ji
Yuanqi and ran downstairs.

Ji Yuanqi glanced at Li Chengxiu, who was unconscious, and realized that

there was indeed a problem, so he hurriedly locked up Li Chnegxiu’s
apartment and followed Shao Qun downstairs.

This place was densely populated, and parking spaces were particularly
difficult to find. Shao Qun had to park his car two or three hundred meters
away every time he came here. Now, he anxiously ran the whole distance
holding Li Chengxiu in his arms, and his face was covered in sweat.

Ji Yuanqi looked at him with some jealousy and couldn't help but say, "Give
him to me!" Shao Qun did not even lift an eyelid. He rushed up to his car,
gestured to Ji Yuanqi to take the keys out of his pocket and asked in
passing: "Can you drive?"

Ji Yuanqi hummed, "Of course I can."

In a dull voice Shao Qun said: "Then hurry up."

Ji Yuanqi opened the car door, and Shao Qun carefully placed Li Chengxiu
in the backseat. Then he got inside together with him. He leaned over and
poked around the navigation to find the nearest hospital, while

urging Ji Yuanqi to drive. The youngster was a little unwilling to be the one
driving, while letting Li Chengxiu lie in the arms of that man, but now was
obviously not the time to argue about this kind of thing.

While driving, Ji Yuanqi couldn't help but keep looking at the rearview
mirror to see what was happening behind him. The man whose face was
covered in sweat carefully put Li Chengxiu in a position that made him as
comfortable as possible, and gently tested his body temperature with a
cautious and pitying expression on his face.

Ji Yuanqi felt very uncomfortable. When these two were together, it seemed
that their mutual connection was so strong that whoever was standing
beside them would automatical y feel as an outsider and won’t be able to
enter their little world.

When they arrived at the hospital, Shao Qun picked Li Chengxiu up again
and rushed inside, ordering Ji Yuanqi to do all the registration procedures.
Ji Yuanqi used to have a family doctor who would come over whenever
someone in the family was sick or something. Even if somebody needed to
be hospitalized, Ji Yuanqi never had to take care of it. So when Shao Qun
said "registration", he was completely lost, since he had never heard that
word before.

Shao Qun glanced at him impatiently, put Li Chengxiu down on the bench,
wiped his sweat and ran over to the reception. After all the procedures were
completed, he brought Li Chengxiu into the single-room ward.

Usual y one doesn’t need to be hospitalized with a cold and a bit of fever,
but Shao Qun didn't want Li Chengxiu to stay in a noisy environment, so he
insisted on getting a separate ward.

When the nurse came in to administer the IV, Shao Qun was already done
with all the formalities and was sitting next to the bed watching Li
Chengxiu.

Ji Yuanqi pursed his lips and sat beside him, his eyes full of resentment. He
thought about what would have happened if he had brought Li Chengxiu to
the hospital by himself. Not only did he have no money, but he also didn't
know how to deal with all the procedures. He suddenly felt completely
outmatched by this man. Ji Yuanqi had always had a high self-esteem, but
in everything that involved Li Chengxiu he had experienced only setbacks.

Li Chengxiu's relationship with this person made him feel like a third
wheel. Now, when Li Chengxiu got sick, Ji Yuanqi had completely lost to
that man. No wonder... No wonder that Li Chengxiu didn’t like him…

These thoughts made Ji Yuanqi even more uncomfortable.

He had always refused to accept that the reason why Li Chengxiu didn’t
like him was because he wasn’t good enough. But now that he had realized
his unspeakable inferiority in front of this man, he couldn’t avoid thinking
about this being a possible reason for rejection.

Ji Yuanqi looked at the two people in front of him, and the strong feeling of
being an outsider made him both sad and resentful.
Shao Qun suddenly raised his head and glanced at him, "Go back and get
Chengxiu some change of clothes. Also, feed the dog."

Ji Yuanqi glared at him with an obvious “how dare you give me orders?”
look.

Shao Qun snorted coldly, "You have no money, and you don't know
anything. If Chengxiu needs something, what's the use of you staying
here?"

Ji Yuanqi blushed, but he couldn't argue, since everything the other party
said was correct.

Shao Qun emptied Li Chengxiu's pockets and found his keys. He threw
them together with his own car keys to Ji Yuanqi and said, "Hurry up."

Ji Yuanqi held the keys and hesitated. After a long time, he finally glared at
Shao Qun, got up and left.

After Ji Yuanqi was gone, Shao Qun's shoulders collapsed immediately, and
the calm he was maintaining before disappeared from his face in an instant.

He lay down on the bed with his upper body, tilted his head and gently
kissed Li Chengxiu's cheek. After one kiss, he couldn't stop kissing him for
the second and the third time. Those were all very light and cautious kisses,
as if he was afraid to disturb the fragile person in front of him.

Shao Qun revealed a bitter smile and murmured: "This might be my only
chance, so I have to grab a few more kisses.”

He stroked Li Chengxiu's hair on his forehead, revealing his beautiful but

tired face. He then carefully looked at him. This person had confused him
with his weak appearance, making him forget what kind of stubborn soul
was hidden inside.

Shao Qun knew now how hard his life was and how tiring his work was,
but no matter how exhausted and depleted, Li Chengxiu would never give
in to Shao Qun again. No matter how much he wanted to take care of him
or be nice to him, he would be rejected. This feeling of powerlessness was
so painful.

Now that he thinks about it, only when Li Chengxiu was unconscious, were
his defenses lowered and he wasn’t covered in thorns that hurt Shao Qun
inside and out.

Shao Qun just kept looking at Li Chengxiu and stroking him. He hoped that
through this touch, he could become a little closer to him. He felt that he
was already numb to any kind of treatment by Li Chengxiu. If

he could just get a little warmth, that would already be enough and worth
everything. Even if Shao Qun only got to sit beside him and look at him, he
could endure anything for it.

Shao Qun felt close to tears. He knew that he had no one to complain to and
no one to blame. If he had known that one day he would love this person to
this extent, how many things would he have done differently?

It was Shao Qun himself who ruined this relationship with his own hands.
He regretted it to no end and wanted to beat himself up. Because when he
finally dared to admit that he loved Li Chengxiu and then looked at the
things from Li Chengxiu’s perspective, he realized how deeply he had hurt
him and how much of a fucking asshole he had been.

He wanted to redeem himself. He wanted to go back to the good old days

with Li Chengxiu. Although he didn’t know how far the road ahead of him
was and how long it would take him to complete it, Shao Qun believed that
there was no reason for him to give up. He shattered the most precious
feelings of his life in pieces, so he had to fight to put it all back together
little by little. Even if it took him a whole lifetime, he would continue
fighting.

Shao Qun held Li Chengxiu's hand in his. With melancholy and nostalgia,
Shao Qun’s eyes lingered on his face.

Xiao Ji was still full of resentment when he returned to the house, and his
mind was in a mess.
He went into Li Chengxiu's apartment, packed some of his clothes and put
some dog food in the bowl for Teacup. When he came out, he realized that
his basketball was still rolling around in the hall, so he picked it up and
planned to bring it quickly back to his own place.

He had just put the key in the door lock, when suddenly something felt
wrong. He realized that the lights in the room were on, and his door was not
locked at all.

Ji Yuanqi was stunned for a few seconds, and he couldn't quite remember
whether he turned off the lights and locked the door before he left. While he
was still hesitating, the door was suddenly slammed open from the inside,
and four people in black suits appeared in front of him.

Ji Yuanqi's expression changed, and he dropped his ball on the ground.

The person in front of him said respectfully, "Young Master, we’re here to
take you home."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 65
When Li Chengxiu woke up, he had a splitting headache, and the process of
opening his eyes was hard beyond imagination. Being covered in the quilt
made him feel suffocated, his throat was dry and hoarse, which felt
particularly painful.

He felt it was too hot, so he wanted to stretch his hand out of the quilt. As
soon as he moved, something moved right next to him.

Shao Qun's somewhat tired face immediately appeared in Li Chengxiu’s

hazy sight. Li Chengxiu opened his mouth, and Shao Qun immediately
leaned down and asked nervously, "Chengxiu, you're awake! What's
wrong? Do you need anything?"

Li Chengxiu's throat was uncomfortably dry. In a hoarse voice he said,

"Water..."

Shao Qun quickly poured him a cup of hot water. Only after testing the
temperature himself, did he put his arm behind Li Chengxiu’s back to help
him up and brought the cup to his mouth.

Li Chengxiu frowned and gulped down a few sips. Although the warm
water hurt his throat while going down the pipe, he still felt more
comfortable after drinking.

Li Chengxiu looked at the surrounding environment and realized that he

was in a hospital. He asked Shao Qun, "My phone?"

Shao Qun hurriedly took out his mobile phone from the drawer.

Li Chengxiu flipped through his phone book, his vision still a little blurry.

Shao Qun held his hand, "Chengxiu, it's already past 3 am. Who are you
calling?" Li Chengxiu was stunned. He looked at the dark sky and then
looked at his phone again. Since he was hospitalized, he had to ask for a
leave after all.

Shao Qun realized that Li Chengxiu wasn’t quite awake yet, so he pressed
him back to the bed, "Have some rest first. Whatever you need to do, you
can do it tomorrow, okay?"

Maybe because he was so sick and confused, Li Chengxiu did not resist
Shao Qun. In a total daze, he let Shao Qun tuck him back under the covers
and fell asleep again after only a short while.

After Xiao Ji left, Shao Qun watched Li Chengxiu for a while, then crawled
into his bed and fell asleep right next to him. When he woke up, he realized
that the kid hadn't come back.

Shao Qun frowned, hoping that the youngster didn’t decide to steal his car
and escape.

He was not so much afraid of his car being stolen, since he had an anti-theft
GPS tracking enabled and could find it anywhere, but rather he didn’t want
Li Chengxiu to stay in his uncomfortable sweat-soaked clothes.

Shao Qun waited for Li Chengxiu to fall asleep, then got up and planned to
go back to the house himself.

When he returned, he found that the youngster's door was half-closed, and
the lights were still on. He

pushed the door and saw that the apartment was in a mess. It seemed there
had been a fight. His car keys and the keys to Li Chengxiu’s apartment were
lying on the sofa.

Shao Qun picked up the keys, wondering if there was a robbery and
whether he should call the police. On second thought, it was none of his
business if this guy was robbed. He also wished that this idiot who
constantly hung out around Chengxiu’s ass would disappear as soon as
possible.
Shao Qun entered Li Chengxiu's apartment and picked out two pajamas for
him and some toiletries. He then added some dog food to Teacup’s bowl
before leaving.

When he returned to the hospital, it was already dawn. Li Chengxiu was

sleeping soundly, and Shao Qun reached under the covers to touch his
clothes. They were really damp.

He gently lifted the quilt, unbuttoned Li Chengxiu's shirt and was about to
change his clothes. When Li Chengxiu's fair chest was exposed, Shao Qun
felt that his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, as if his heart was about to
violently jump out of his throat.

Although Shao Qun didn’t consider himself a promiscuous person[5], he

had seen quite a few naked men and women in his lifetime. There were
many exceptional beauties among them, and yet…not a single other body
before could make him so nervous.

At this time, Li Chengxiu looked really defenseless, especially with his eyes
closed and sleeping so peacefully. He was now all at his mercy. Shao Qun
couldn't stop thinking about how many outrageous things that would make
anyone blush he had done to this body when the two of them were together.
These thoughts seemed to set him on fire.

When Shao Qun slightly lifted Li Chengxiu's shoulders to change his shirt,
Li Chengxiu seemed to wake up.

He looked at Shao Qun with his half-open wet eyes, his face blushed, and
his mouth slightly opened. His body seemed as soft as mud, his hair was
closely sticking to his forehead, and his eyelashes were slightly trembling.
This image that made one think of a sheep about to be slaughtered made
Shao Qun’s blood boil.

Shao Qun's head was buzzing, as he nervously sweated all over his body.
He kept saying mostly to himself, "I… I'm going to change your clothes…
just change your clothes."
Li Chengxiu didn't seem to understand what he was saying at all. He looked
at him for a while and then closed his eyes again.

Shao Qun breathed a sigh of relief. His desire for this person had reached an
incredible level. Only when he was close to Li Chengxiu, did he feel really
alive. Unfortunately, even if Shao Qun had the heart of a thief, he did not
have the guts. Li Chengxiu was already repulsed enough by him, so he
didn’t dare to annoy him. But if he at least didn’t take a little advantage of
the possibility to touch around while changing his clothes, could he even be
considered a man?

After changing Li Chengxiu's clothes, Shao Qun was sweating profusely.

Although he didn't get a lot of rest during the night, he couldn't sleep. So he
got up and went to get something for Li Chengxiu to eat in the morning.

At noon that day, Li Chengxiu woke up again.

The nurse took his temperature, which had dropped significantly. He also
looked much more energetic.

Shao Qun helped him up, opened the insulated lunch box, and said with a
smile, "This porridge was freshly prepared by the hotel staff. It smells
delicious. Eat some."

Li Chengxiu's nose was stuffed, and he couldn't really smell anything, so he

didn't even look at the porridge. Instead, he looked at Shao Qun and asked,
"What about Teacup?"

Shao Qun reassured him: "Don't worry. I have fed it."

"Then... what about Xiao Ji?"

Shao Qun frowned, "No idea."

Li Chengxiu sighed and said tiredly: "Where…where is the invoice?"

Shao Qun was stunned, "What invoice?"

"For hospitalization...Give it to me. I’l pay you back once I’m discharged."
Shao Qun’s hand that was holding the bowl with porridge froze for a
moment. He silently put the bowl down and looked at Li Chengxiu with
some discomfort, "Chengxiu, is there a need for such strict accounting
between you and me?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "I don't want to… owe you."

Shao Qun's face sank. After a long silence, he finally gave up, bent down
and pulled out the trash can from underneath the bed. He then picked out a
crumpled piece of paper from it and handed it to Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu took the invoice, wondering if the company would reimburse

him.

His hands were weak, so he could barely hold his mobile phone when he
called his boss. The boss was busy and didn’t have a minute of free time.
When he heard that Li Chengxiu was sick, he even moaned in frustration,
but there was nothing he could do. So he just told him to get a good rest and
then hung up.

Shao Qun was still holding the bowl and looking at him.

Li Chengxiu glanced at the porridge and stretched out his hand. Shao Qun's
face brightened, he quickly scooped a spoonful and brought it to Li
Chengxiu’s mouth.

Li Chengxiu reflexively moved away. Looking at the embarrassment on

Shao Qun's face, he also lowered his head.

Shao Qun handed the bowl to him and asked softly, "Can you eat it
yourself?"

Li Chengxiu raised his hand and took the bowl. He didn't know what to say,
so he just ate in silence. Shao Qun was uncomfortable and was looking for
something to say. "The doctor said that your fever will pass by tomorrow.
There are a lot of flus going around this season. It's not a big deal... Eat
slowly, don't burn yourself... Is it hot enough? Does it taste good?"
Li Chengxiu didn't answer. He could barely finish half of the portion.

As soon as he put the bowl down, Shao Qun took it away and then gently
wiped Li Chengxiu’s mouth with a tissue. Li Chengxiu couldn't stand Shao
Qun's attentiveness. He grew up without anyone ever being so caring
towards him, let alone at the time when he was sick. This person here was
Shao Qun, and Li Chengxiu real y didn’t know how to respond to him.

Shao Qun put an extra pillow behind his back, and held his hand gently,
"Chengxiu, do you feel better?"

Li Chengxiu silently pulled his hand back and closed his eyes.

It was only him and Shao Qun in this quiet ward. It was hard enough for Li
Chengxiu to even be in contact with Shao Qun, so now that he was
completely alone with him he felt panicked and trapped in a corner with
nowhere to escape.

He could only try his best not to listen to him or look at him, in order to
suppress the unspeakable anxiety in his heart and maintain a calm
expression.

Shao Qun was already used to being ignored by him. He raised his hand to
tuck Li Chengxiu’s quilt and said softly, "May 1st is a holiday, so don't
think about work anymore. Take a good rest. I’l stay with you."

Li Chengxiu looked at him quietly, and said witlessly, "Shao Qun, stop
wasting your time on me.”

Shao Qun felt a stab of pain in his heart, but he managed to smile on the
surface, "How can time spent on you be a waste?"

Li Chengxiu looked tired, "We will never go back to the old days, so let me
go."

Shao Qun's eyes seemed to instantly dim, as if covered by a layer of mist.

He whispered, "Chengxiu, let's not talk about this, okay? I've already told
you, I won't give up. I can't give up on you. Unless you die, you won’t be
able to get rid of me. I, Shao Qun, plan to haunt you for the rest of my life."

Li Chengxiu showed a pained expression, "Shao Qun, you have everything.

I don't have anything. Let me…

go."

Shao Qun's eyes felt sore, his vision blurred instantly, he gritted his teeth
and said, "Chengxiu, it's not fair for you to say that. I can give you
everything, but you don't want it. Without you, I have nothing."

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes, which were full of sorrow.

Shao Qun smiled bitterly, "Chengxiu, since you mentioned it, then let's talk
about it. There are many things I want to say to you, but you get annoyed
whenever you see me. How about we talk things out now, okay?"

Shao Qun thought that this might be a good opportunity for him. They say
that sick people are more fragile in their hearts and more dependable on
other people. If he made some effort right now, Li Chengxiu might soften
up to him more.

Shao Qun held his hand tightly, preventing Li Chengxiu from pulling it
back, and looked at him with affection in his eyes.

"Chengxiu, you don't want to believe anything I say at this point. But I want
to tell you something. Do you know how I found you?"

Li Chengxiu just looked at him.

Shao Qun said, "I went to your hometown."

Li Chengxiu trembled and gave Shao Qun a blank look.

Shao Qun said solemnly: "I went to your hometown, and I saw your old
lady neighbor Mrs.Zhang and also your fourth aunt."

Li Chengxiu seemed a little moved, "She….they… are they okay?"

Shao Qun touched his hand soothingly, "They are both doing fine. After I
found your fourth aunt, I contacted the person who is looking after your
mother's grave. When you sent him money, I traced it to the nearby bank...
Chengxiu, after you left, I've been trying my best to find you every day. Do
you know how worried I was? I... I just told you to move out from that
house. I had no idea you’d completely disappear all of a sudden. You’re real
y ruthless."

Shao Qun showed a bitter smile. The time when he was looking for Li
Chengxiu was probably the darkest and most unbearable time in his life.
Even now, when he recalled being in so much pain from missing Li
Chengxiu and being unable to protect himself from it, he felt chills all over
his body. He never wanted to experience something like that again in his
life.

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and also seemed to be lost in memories.

Shao Qun continued: "They told me a lot of things about your childhood. I
realized how much of a fucking bastard I was when I was a child. If it
wasn't for me, you wouldn't...wouldn’t be so unlucky. I...I didn't expect
that… I was just..." Shao Qun's face showed pain and guilt.

Li Chengxiu's body trembled.

He had almost no good memories from his childhood. The only thing worth
recalling was the time he spent with Shao Qun. Unfortunately, even these
beautiful memories were completely wiped out by a series of events that
happened later.

Now that Li Chengxiu thought about it, he really should have stayed away
from Shao Qun without any hesitation, when he reappeared in his life. He
shouldn’t have allowed himself to sink into that humble sweet illusion and
once again become attracted to this person.

Shao Qun wiped his face and said hoarsely, "Chengxiu, what I did to you is
my biggest regret in this life.
Not only was I a total bastard when I was young, but more so when I grew
up. And I hurt you again and again. Honestly, I have never been in a
relationship with anyone in my life, so I have no experience. I didn’t know
how to treat you, so I have done a lot of wrong things. I don't have the
moral right to see you anymore, but want to tell you that I… I am…. I’m
real y in love with you. And, I swear, no one in this world loves you more
than me."

Li Chengxiu felt that his heart was hit by something heavy. For a moment,
he even felt like he was painfully suffocating.

This man… this man said that he loves him.

He pushed him into the abyss and then reached out and told him that he
loved him.

Shao Qun's eyes were red - he was holding back his tears. He grabbed Li
Chengxiu's hand tightly, as if it was a piece of driftwood. If he let go, he felt
he would drown in an instant.

"Chengxiu, it serves me fucking right if you don’t belive me right now. But
you can’t drive me away. I've thought about it for a long time, and I want to
spend the rest of my life with you. And since I already decided to give you
my lifetime, I’m not afraid to wait for you. A year or two, or ten, or even
twenty. You can do whatever you want with me, I won’t complain. As long
as I can see you, I wil fucking volunteer to do anything. I won’t give you an
opportunity to get close to others, I’l chase everybody away, and I won’t let
you disappear from my sight ever again. I wil follow you wherever you go.
Chengxiu, that’s the kind of person I am - you won’t be able to chase me
away. And since you can’t get rid of me anyway, let me take care of you. I
owe you that much. You said that you had nothing. But if I give myself to
you, you will have everything, right? Use me if you need me. And if you
find me annoying, I’l just look at you from a distance…”

"Don't say these things..." Li Chengxiu's shoulders collapsed.

Shao Qun saw that Li Chengxiu’s attitude seemed to be softening, so he

continued: "Chengxiu, just think about it, your rejection towards me is not
so strong. You also like me, right? Everything used to be so good between
us…I just want to go back to the way we used to be. I could see you every
day whenever I came back from work. And after a tiring day, I could eat a
meal cooked by you. And we had fun during holidays, just like every
normal couple. I want to spend my whole life like this with you. I
thought…I just thought we could have a home…"

"Shut up!" Li Chengxiu cried out suddenly and covered his head with his
hands.

Most likely the 39 degree fever[6] had weakened his nerves, because Li
Chengxiu seemed to have an instant emotional breakdown. He hoarsely
screamed, "Shao Qun, you are a monster! All you do is lie to me… You…
you wil get married… and then…you stil insult me! I… I don’t believe a
word you say! Get out!

Shao Qun, you are a monster! "

Shao Qun had the illusion that his heart was bleeding. He hugged Li
Chengxiu and choked: "I am a monster, but I really like you. Chengxiu,
look at me, look very carefully. Do you think I would make myself look
like this just to deceive you? What do I want? What the fuck do I want? I
can't even go home anymore… I just want to be with you. I wil never lie to
you again. I've never been in a relationship before.

You have to allow me to make mistakes. Chengxiu, you have to let me

make some mistakes. Yes, I was wrong. I made too many fucking mistakes!
Give me a way out, please! Let us have a chance to go back.

We have to go back! Don’t tell me that we can’t! Even if the road is split in
half, I’l stil walk back! As long as you nod your head, as long as you give
me a chance...okay? You just need to give me another chance. "

Li Chengxiu didn't know where his strength came from, but he managed to
quickly push Shao Qun away and retract himself under the quilt, covering
even his head. His body violently trembled.
Shao Qun's arms were empty, and his heart was also empty. He fiercely
wiped his face and with eyes full of pain looked at the man covered up in
the quilt.

Who could show him the way? What was he supposed to do?

Li Chengxiu had sealed his heart. He is not willing to give him even a tiny
gap, even if he cries, screams, and jumps around. The life in the past when
Li Chengxiu would abide by his every command now seemed like a dream
to Shao Qun.

He used to own this person completely... But now even if he takes out his
heart, Li Chengxiu won’t even look at it. Shao Qun’s life was so fucked up.
He didn't know how long he could last like this. He didn’t know whether he
would go completely insane one day and do something that would make Li
Chengxiu hate him for the rest of his life.

Somehow the saddest frame from Sissy manhua

(from kuaikanmanhua.com)

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 66
In the afternoon, Li Chengxiu insisted on being discharged from the
hospital.He felt that his fever was down a little, and that he could now at
least walk. He would rather go to the hospital every day to get the IV
treatment than pay daily fees for the hospital bed and stare at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun had no choice but to take him home.

When Li Chengxiu came through the door, Teacup happily jumped up and
down around him. The dog didn’t have company for an entire day and was
really bored.

After Shao Qun helped Li Chengxiu get into the bed, he quickly boiled
some water for him and asked what he wanted to eat at night.

Li Chengxiu's face was pale and bloodless. He weakly glanced at Shao

Qun, "I… can… take care of myself. You..."

Before he could finish, Shao Qun interrupted him, "You can barely walk
without wobbling right now. How can you take care of yourself? Your fever
hasn't subsided yet. Lie down and have a good rest. Not to mention taking
care of yourself, how are you planning to take care of the dog? Don't be a
hero. Let me hang around you for a few more days. When you get better, I
will go back to my own apartment, okay?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't refute anything, and he really didn't have the strength
to argue with Shao Qun. It was true that he was very weak. So weak in fact
that he was scared he might not be able to lift a pot. It wasn’t such a big
deal to skip a meal or two for him but what about Teacup?

Li Chengxiu lay down on the bed uncomfortably, closed his eyes and
frowned. Shao Qun couldn't help but stretch out his hand to smooth out his
forehead. He leaned down and said softly: "Don’t worry about anything.Just
get better."
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and turned around.

Shao Qun covered him up with a quilt, went to get dinner.

Li Chengxiu slept, feeling that he was surrounded by darkness. And indeed,

when he was shaken awake by Shao Qun, the sky was already dark.

Shao Qun lifted him up and leaned him at the head of the bed. He then
brought a warm spoon up to his mouth, before Li Chengxiu could even
open his eyes. He heard Shao Qun whispering, "Open your mouth and eat
something."

Li Chengxiu automatically opened his mouth, and received a spoonful of

hot porridge. Shao Qun said: "The doctor will come to give you a shot after
you eat. You need to eat more to get better soon. Come on, eat some more."

Li Chengxiu had no appetite, but he was forced to finish at least half a

bowl. After eating, his body felt better, and Shao Qun wanted to change his
clothes.

It was hot in the house, but because Li Chengxiu was sick, he couldn’t have
the fan on, so he was sweating a lot. Since he was stil awake and didn’t
want to let Shao Qun change his clothes, Li Chengxiu insisted on doing it
himself.

Shao Qun had no choice but to hand him his stuff. Li Chengxiu covered
himself up with the quilt, slowly undressed and then put the fresh clothes
on. The whole process took twenty minutes, and it made Shao Qun anxious
to watch him.

Afterwards the doctor came by, took Li Chengxiu’s temperature, prepped

the IV drip and left after telling Shao Qun when to remove the needle.

Li Chengxiu had been sleeping too much and couldn’t sleep anymore. Shao
Qun sat beside the bed to accompany him. The two of them were
completely silent.
At that moment, Li Chengxiu felt that it wasn’t that uncomfortable to stay
in the same space with Shao Qun.

As far as he could remember, he had only received such care and attention
when his father was still around.

For more than ten years, he had weathered every single illness by himself.
He had no friends or relatives, so he had to do everything by himself even
with a 39 degree fever, otherwise he would just starve to death.

When you are sick, if there is a person who takes care of you, their kindness
will seem to be magnified by a lot. Even if Li Chengxiu was reluctant to
face Shao Qun, he couldn't help but feel that at this time, when he needed
someone to care for himself and Teacup, it was better to have Shao Qun
around than not to have anybody at all.

Because Shao Qun couldn't cook, he looked up a bunch of recipes for

nutritious porridges on the Internet and ordered the hotel to prepare and
deliver those.

Shao Qun didn’t go anywhere during the May holidays and just stayed
around Li Chengxiu feeding him and making him take his medicine. Shao
Qun had never taken care of anybody before. But now he was very helpful
and also looked very happy.

After two or three days, Li Chengxiu got better, but Shao Qun forced him to
rest some more, so he could stay around a bit longer. Li Chengxiu counted
out the cash and gave Shao Qun what he had approximated for medical and
food expenses. When Shao Qun saw the money, his face immediately sank.

Li Chengxiu handed him the money, thought for a moment and said,
"Thank you…for taking care of me."

Shao Qun pretended not to hear the obvious subtext that he needed to leave.
Since he was afraid of upsetting Li Chengxiu, he took the money and
looked at him with a flattering expression, "Chengxiu, the doctor said you
need to go out to get some fresh air. Should I take you for a walk? The
weather outside is good today. It's neither too cold nor too hot."
Li Chengxiu shook his head, wanting Shao Qun to leave. As soon as he
opened his mouth to say something, there was a knock on the door.

Li Chengxiu didn't know that Ji Yuanqi was kidnapped back to his home
earlier, so he thought that the youngster had come around. Shao Qun also
thought it was him and felt unhappy for a while, but he still reluctantly went
to open the door.

As soon as he did, he was stunned, said "fuck!" and asked:"How the hell are
you here?"

From Li Chengxiu's perspective, he could barely tell that the mysterious

person was a woman, since the door was more or less blocked by Shao
Qun’s body. He saw a slender hand with bright red nail polish which
slapped Shao Qun over the head and scolded: "Son of a bitch, how are you
talking to your sister?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head and blinked when he saw the woman. He
recognized her at a glance - it was Shao Qun’s third sister whom he had met
before.

Shao Qun's face darkened, and he blocked the door to prevent her from
entering. "What are you doing here, third sis?"

Shao Nuo insisted on coming in, "I’m here to take care of you in the name
of the Emperor.”

Shao Qun stil wouldn’t let her in, "You have no business being here. Stay
away from me and don’t get involved in my affairs, okay?"

Shao Nuo stared at him with round eyes, "Bullshit! You and I are from the
same womb. How could your affairs have nothing to do with me?"

Shao Qun was a little annoyed, "What the hell are you doing? If you hadn't
listened to the eldest sister and messed around with me last time, would I be
so miserable now?"
Shao Nuo was stunned. There was a bit of discomfort on her face, "Big
sister asked me to go… I didn’t know..." Shao Nuo's face suddenly
changed, showing a very beautiful smile, "Qunqun, let your sister in!

Your sister is on your side!"

Shao Qun pushed her out, "No, he's sick! No need to annoy him."

Shao Nuo got a little angry and kicked Shao Qun on the calf, “Are you
looking for a fight? How am I going to annoy him? I just came to see you.”
She bit Shao Qun’s arm, then pushed him away, while he was stil in pain,
and got into the room by ducking under his armpit.

Li Chengxiu froze, staring blankly at the excited face of the Third Young
Miss. Shao Nuo put her hands behind her back, stepped in front of Li
Chengxiu with her slender legs in high heels and pouted, "It seems you are
really sick, huh?"

Shao Qun angrily turned around, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her
outside, "Sis, I told you not to irritate him! Go to Shenzhen. I’l give you the
keys to my house and I’l come see you tomorrow."

Shao Nuo shook off his hand and sat down in front of Li Chengxiu, "We’ve
met before. Now, have I actually introduced myself? My name is Shao
Nuo."

Li Chengxiu nodded.

How could he forget? It was her who told him that Shao Qun was getting
married soon. He still remembered how she called Shao Qun in front of
him. On the other end of the phone, Shao Qun and his

fiancee were having fun on their happy vacation, and there was
unmistakable joy in their voices. At that time, Shao Qun lied to him that he
was on a business trip and that he was not getting married…

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale instantly.

Shao Qun was so anxious that he was about to vomit blood. He had been
very careful to avoid his family, fearing that they would provoke Li
Chengxiu again. In fact, him even staying in the same room as Li Chengxiu
was a result of very long and hard work. How could he let everything be
destroyed now?

Shao Qun got really angry, went up to Shao Nuo and nonchalantly pulled
her up, coldly saying: "Sis, I am serious. You go now."

Shao Nuo was also very angry and shouted at him: "Let go of me!"

Shao Qun let out a "tsk", picked his sister up and wanted to throw her out
directly.

Shao Nuo screamed, "Shao Qun, you have no conscience! I'm here for your
own good. The eldest sister and the second sister are coming soon, and I'm
here to tip you off about it. I came to actually share some of my ideas with
you and you dare to kick me out!”

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment and put her down, "What did you
say?"

Shao Nuo punched him hard to vent her anger, glared at him and said: "Dad
is furious, and he wants the eldest sister to take you home. But they can't
find you now. Last time they forced Xiao Zhou to take your father to that
place where you lived. This time, his lips are sealed no matter what. Unless,
of course, somebody, like me, has a way to make him open his mouth."
Shao Nuo glanced at Shao Qun proudly,

"Qunqun, you really got into trouble this time. I can't help you with that.
But I have a good idea."

Shao Qun got a headache, "Then let's return to my house to talk." No matter
what the good idea was, he didn't want Li Chengxiu to hear it.

Shao Nuo sat down carelessly, "No need to hide it from him. The success of
this thing depends very much on this guy.”
Shao Qun wanted to stop her, but Shao Nuo continued, "It's actually very
simple. You don't want to get married, but at the very least you have to have
a child to secure your lineage. You can always use a surrogate until you get
a son."

Li Chengxiu shuddered, his face was as white as paper, and it seemed that
he was about to collapse at any time.

Shao Qun observed all the changes on his face and immediately shouted:
"Stop talking!"

Shao Nuo said proudly: "You have to thank me for this! I even finally
managed to convince dad all thanks to my gift of gab that you liking men is
not such a big deal. But instead I focused his attention on succession as the
main issue. Once that is solved, everything else can be negotiated.”

This time, Shao Qun didn’t give Shao Nuo any chance to fight back. He
picked her up and threw her out the door. After saying “wait for me!” to her,
he slammed the door shut.

He hurried back to Li Chengxiu, squatted in front of him and looked at him

nervously.

"Chengxiu ...don't listen to my sister's nonsense. I… I wil not get married,

nor wil I have children with any woman."

Li Chengxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly and he said hoarsely, "It has

nothing to do with me…"

Shao Qun's heart twitched, "Chengxiu, it's enough for me to have you. I
don't need any children. Don't think about it..."

Li Chengxiu turned his head and said in a trembling voice, "It has nothing
to do with me. You can just go. "

With pain in his heart, Shao Qun gently wrapped his arms around Li
Chengxiu’s waist and said solemnly:
"Chengxiu, I am me.The same me who has tried for so long to convince you
that I can really take care of you. I will not let you suffer again. Please
believe me, okay?"

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes, "...Leave."

Shao Qun's eyes were ful of disappointment, “Have a good rest. If you feel
tired, then go to bed and lie down."

The footsteps faded away, followed by the sound of opening and closing
door, and finally there was only silence in the room.

Li Chengxiu was close to tears.

The appearance of Third Young Miss only strengthened his resolve. It was
impossible for him and Shao Qun to be together, whether Shao Qun was
sincere to him or not.

Li Chengxiu was a man and couldn’t have children. Only a woman could
take a Shao family name. Even if he didn't find out that Shao Qun was
going to get married at the time, even if they didn't separate at that moment,
Li Chengxiu could only have been a kept lover for the rest of his life. And
how long could Shao Qun's love even last under the pressure from his
family and the outside world throughout the years? If Li Chengxiu was
stupid enough to hope that this ethereal feeling could last for a lifetime, he
would probably fall even harder than he did before.

Li Chengxiu felt that the decision to separate from Shao Qun was correct. If
he became soft-hearted even for a bit, it would definitely bring about a
disaster that was several times more terrifying than the one he had

experienced before. Going through that kind of heart-piercing pain made Li

Chengxiu shudder. He would rather spend his whole life by himself, sealed
inside his shell, and not dare take any more risks.

Li Chengxiu looked around the empty room and couldn't help thinking
about where Xiao Ji could have disappeared to. It would have felt nice to
have somebody around. Li Chengxiu felt a bit…lonely.
After a long rest, Li Chengxiu planned to get up and move his muscles and
bones around. He cleaned up the house first and then gave Teacup a bath.
Bathing was more tiring than anything else. The dog was reluctant to be
washed and protested as soon as it got wet. After washing it, Li Chengxiu's
clothes were all wet, and he was covered in sweat. However after sweating
so much, his body felt much more relaxed.

In the evening, Li Chengxiu was considering what to cook for dinner, when
there was a knock on the door.

Shao Nuo shouted from outside, "Xiao Li, Xiao Li![7]"

Li Chengxiu got a headache. He could drive Shao Qun out, but he couldn’t
be so disrespectful to a woman after all. He felt helpless and finally had to
open the door.

Shao Nuo smiled, "Shao Qun said that your cooking is delicious. Can I get
a meal?”

Shao Qun pulled his face behind her, "He's not feeling well. If you want to
eat something, just order it yourself.”

Shao Nuo nonchalantly squeezed into the room, "Not feeling well? It's fine,
then I'll cook for you, and when you're feeling better you can cook for me.
So we'll be even."

Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded. He could count the amount of times he had

dealt with women on one hand, so he didn’t know how to react. Shao Nuo
blinked at both Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun, "Sit down, I'l cook for you."

Shao Qun pul ed Li Chengxiu down on the sofa, "My sister's cooking is
delicious. Since you’re stil tired, let her cook for you.”

Li Chengxiu looked at him abashedly, "This is not good, this ......"

Shao Qun placated him, "It's fine. Let her do it."

Li Chengxiu still wanted to say something, but then somebody knocked on

the door again.
Li Chengxiu felt that at this time it should definitely be Xiao Ji. He felt
uncomfortable in this current inexplicable situation, so before Shao Qun got
up, Li Chengxiu had already opened the door.

There was a man in a black suit standing outside. He politely asked, "Mr. Li
Chengxiu?"

Shao Qun walked up from behind Li Chengxiu and asked the man, "Is
something wrong?"

The man glanced at Shao Qun and then looked at Li Chengxiu again,
saying, "Mr. Li, my Young Master has gone home. He asked me to thank
you for taking care of him during all this time. Please accept it." He handed
Li Chengxiu a thick envelope.

Li Chengxiu didn't react for a while.

The man added: "My Young Master's last name is Ji."

Li Chengxiu was taken aback, "Xiao Ji, came back home?"

The man nodded, "Mr. Li, please accept this. I have another thing to ask
you. My Young Master's identity is a pretty sensitive matter. I hope you will
not tell anybody about what happened to my Young Master here.

We are all very grateful for your help and discretion."

Li Chengxiu still didn't take the envelope. He was a little stunned. It was a
good thing that Xiao Ji finally went home, although Li Chengxiu couldn't
help feeling confused.

The man seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and continued pushing the

envelope to Li Chengxiu, "Mr. Li, please accept it."

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "No need. He already… gave me money for
the food."

The man still insisted.

Shao Qun got annoyed and pushed the envelope aside, "Chengxiu said no.
So it means no. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with your Young
Master in the future. What are you nagging him for?"

The man was stunned for a moment, frowning slightly. Then he nodded his
head and asked tentatively,

"Excuse me, are you Young Master Shao?"

Shao Qun's expression changed suddenly, "You know me?"

The man bowed, "Last year I attended Mrs. Qin's birthday together with my
master. I've seen you there."

Shao Qun thought about it carefully, but he couldn’t remember anybody

with the last name Ji in his circle, so he asked the man, "Who is your
master?”

"I won't disturb Mr. Li and Young Master Shao anymore." The man hurried
away without an answer.

Li Chengxiu returned to the small room, his mood was very complicated for
a while.

When Shao Qun thought of that kid, he had a premonition that Ji Yuanqi
wouldn’t give up easily.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 67
The Third Young Miss didn't stay long - she left immediately after having
dinner.

During the whole time, she was in charge of talking, Shao Qun was in
charge of serving dishes to Li Chengxiu, and Li Chengxiu was in charge of
being silent. Somehow, despite all of them feeling uneasy in one way or
another, they managed to have a meal.

After sending his sister away, Shao Qun wanted to return to Li Chengxiu's
apartment but realized that he had been locked out. He knocked a few times,
but there was no response.

Shao Qun laughed at himself and told Li Chengxiu loudly through the closed
door to remember to take his medicine on time and call him if anything
happens.

By the time May holidays were over, Li Chengxiu had completely

recovered.

When he returned to the company, he found the boss in a good mood -

apparently, he had earned enough money during the holiday season. As soon
as the boss saw Li Chengxiu, he took the initiative to tell him that the
company will reimburse his hospital bills. Moreover, the boss told him that
they were recruiting new accountants, and just in a few days Li Chengxiu
would have some helpers.

Li Chengxiu was very happy about that.

After all, this was Li Chengxiu’s first independent endeavor as an

accountant. Although the company was small and had limited future
prospects for development, he believed that as long as he worked hard, he
could not only support himself and Teacup but also gain some merits.
The goods that couldn’t be sent out before May 1st had accumulated during
the holidays, so the workload now was considerable, and Li Chengxiu
immediately became busy again.

He was so occupied at work, that the time flew by very quickly without him
even noticing. Two weeks had already passed when Li Chengxiu finally
realized that Shao Qun had disappeared, and there had been no sound
coming out of his apartment during all this time.

There was a new tenant in Xiao Ji's apartment. And if it weren’t for more
than ten daily text messages from Shao Qun, Li Chengxiu would have
thought that the man had moved out too.

Li Chengxiu’s routine that day was the same as usual - he walked home,
carrying vegetables and thinking about what to bring to the company
tomorrow morning.

Just as he was about to cross the road, a black car suddenly stopped in front
of him.

The rapid braking sound was unusually harsh, and Li Chengxiu almost fell
over from the fright it gave him.

Before he could regain his senses, the car door had already opened, and two
men in black suits came out.

They stood next to Li Chengxiu - one to the left and one to the right of him -
and gestured, "Mr. Li, please get in the car. " Their behavior was polite, but
there was an underlying irrefutability in their tone.

Li Chengxiu's face turned pale, "What is going on?"

One of the guys said, "Mr. Li, someone wants to see you. Please get in the
car and don't waste too much time."

Li Chengxiu wanted to run, yet his legs were a little weak. Unable to move,
he was basically pushed into the car.
As he nervously sat next to one of the men, he asked, "Who are you? Who
wants to see me?"

"You'l know when you get there. Mr. Li, you don’t have to be so nervous."

How could Li Chengxiu not be nervous? This looked very much like a
kidnapping from a TV show. After giving it some thought, Li Chengxiu
realized that this matter could only be related to Shao Qun. He didn't know
what new tricks Shao Qun came up with, so he felt angry and helpless.

When he got out of the car, he was dumbfounded.

The car had taken him to the villa complex with a single door and a single
courtyard. As soon as Li Chengxiu put his feet on the ground, a golden
retriever excitedly jumped onto him.

The dog came up to his chest, and when it jumped, it almost pushed Li
Chengxiu down on the ground.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard a familiar laugh.

Li Chengxiu turned his head in surprise and saw that Ji Yuanqi was standing
on the lawn not far from him with his hands in his pockets. There were
several large nice-looking dogs beside him.

Ji Yuanqi had cut his hair by half an inch. Although it was a less fashionable
haircut than before, his handsome silhouette was still very clearly outlined,
and he looked energetic and mature.

Ji Yuanqi smiled and said: "I told you that Teacup was a kind of dog mostly
kept by women! Men should keep dogs this size."

Li Chengxiu said in surprise: "Xiao Ji!"

Ji Yuanqi went up to him and pried the over-excited golden retriever away
from Li Chengxiu's body. He then blinked and smiled, "Did you miss me?
Did you?"
Li Chengxiu clapped his shoulder and said, "You went home without saying
goodbye. You…you…then brought me here like this. I thought…I was being
kidnapped…”

Ji Yuanqi laughed and said, "It was just a joke!" He then suddenly stretched
out his arms, hugged Li Chengxiu, and whispered coquettishly, "I missed
you so much! Make me a salted egg yolk pumpkin!"

Li Chengxiu laughed, "So food is what you’ve missed!"

Ji Yuanqi let go of him, looked at Li Chengxiu carefully with his bright eyes,
his expression a bit disappointed, "I didn't want to leave without saying
goodbye. I sold the watch, and it had a serial number on it. So my dad found
out about it…You were sick at that time, and I really wanted to stay and take
care of you. But I was captured, and I couldn't do anything against it!"

Li Chengxiu smiled, "It's a good thing that you went home. You are stil
young. Once you grow up, you’l realize that having a family is the best."

Ji Yuanqi pouted and told him that he didn't care that he was young.

He took Li Chengxiu into the house and explained to him, "I didn’t want to
go home, because my parents are so bossy and annoying. So for the time
being I’m living here. You can come to visit me very often! Or just move in
here!"

Li Chengxiu pretended not to hear him and looked around the room.

The person outside the door knocked lightly and came in, respectfully saying
to Ji Yuanqi, "Young Master, your father instructed you to go home for
dinner tonight. You should get ready now."

Ji Yuanqi stared at him, "Who said I’m going home? Don’t you see that I
have a guest?"

"But Young Master..."

Ji Yuanqi waved his hand, "Don't annoy me. I won't go."

Embarrassed, the man backed out of the room.

Li Chengxiu said helplessly: "Your family is acting like they are in a mob."
He thought about all these people wearing black suits on such a hot day.

Ji Yuanqi responded casually: "Yup, my family is an organized crime

syndicate. And for fear that others won’t notice that, even in this day and
age, they are talking and acting like they are in a movie.”

He continued to complain: "My dad who looks basically like a gang lord
from TV keeps telling us to keep a low profile. But every time he himself
goes out, he makes such a rowdy scene that I’m embarrassed to ride in the
same car with him! I want to die of shame because people look at us like
we’re a bunch of psychos."

Li Chengxiu didn't understand anything, but he nodded, pretending that he

did.[8]

Ji Yuanqi pulled him into the kitchen, "Look, everything is ready for you!
Here are all the ingredients for my favorite dishes. My appetite has been
spoiled by you, so I’ve recently been craving all this stuff!"

Li Chengxiu shook his head with a smile, put on an apron and got to work.

The two of them haven't seen each other for a long time. At the beginning
they couldn’t find a common language but now they could talk easily to each
other. Li Chengxiu felt that he had really made a friend.

Although Li Chengxiu was also grateful to have Adrian before, he always

felt extremely ashamed and embarrassed around him, since the guy knew all
about him and Shao Qun. In the end, Li Chengxiu even decided to avoid
seeing Adrian at all.

Although he felt guilty for being like this towards this warm and cheerful
guy, it was difficult to calmly face someone who had seen, heard and been a
part of his ugly and humiliating past.

Xiao Ji was different. He had a simple mind and a straightforward

personality. Although sometimes he was a bit unreliable, Li Chengxiu
always felt very relaxed and happy when he was with him. Because Xiao Ji
loved and praised his cooking, Li Chengxiu also felt like he was respected.

The two chatted until it was very late. Li Chengxiu looked at his watch, and
it was almost ten pm, so he wanted to go back.

Although he prepared a lot of food for Teacup every day, the puppy would
still get angry if he came home too late. And whenever that pup got angry, he
would pee in his shoes or do some other naughty stuff, which was very
annoying to deal with.
Ji Yuanqi didn't want Li Chengxiu to leave, so he dragged the time out on
purpose. In the end, he couldn't keep it up anymore, so he finally asked
someone to take Li Chengxiu home. However, he insisted that Li Chengxiu
come back to his place on the weekends.

When Li Chengxiu got back and was unlocking his apartment, Shao Qun's
door suddenly slammed open.

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise.

Shao Qun anxiously rushed out, grabbed Li Chengxiu’s arm and said,
"Where were you? Why did you come back so late? And why was your
phone turned off? Do you know how anxious I was?"

Li Chengxiu pulled his arm from Shao Qun’s grip and entered his apartment
without any intention of answering these questions. Shao Qun also squeezed
into the door.

He seemed to realize that he was a bit too much just now, so he took a deep
breath and said slowly, "I've been too busy recently to see you. So, where
have you been today?"

Li Chengxiu put down the things that he had in his hands, held onto the
doorknob, trying to close the door and whispered, "I'm going to rest now."

Shao Qun didn't give up and said, "Chengxiu, the weather is getting hot! Can
I maybe install an air conditioner for you? Otherwise, it will be very
uncomfortable."

Li Chengxiu said lightly: "I will buy a fan."

Shao Qun sighed: "Chengxiu, please accept my kindness! Is it real y so

difficult for you?”

Li Chengxiu shook his head wearily and just waited for Shao Qun to leave.

Shao Qun's face was full of disappointment.

When Li Chengxiu woke up the next morning, he found that it was raining
cats and dogs outside. He was most afraid of such weather. The bus would
always come late, it would be crowded, and it would move very slowly. By
the time he arrived at the company, Li Chengxiu would be all wet and
sweaty.

When he was done packing his things and prepared to go out, he saw that
Shao Qun was already waiting for him with an umbrella.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu came out, Shao Qun hurried to take the documents
he held in his hands and said,

"Since it’s raining, there wil be issues with the bus. I'l take you to work."

Li Chengxiu hurriedly said, "No need..."

Shao Qun was stil urging him. "It’s the rush hour! You should hurry up, or
you wil be late."

Li Chengxiu wanted to reach out and grab his things back, but Shao Qun
turned around, avoiding him and giving him a flattering smile.

It was too early, and Li Chengxiu was too sleepy to have the strength to
argue with Shao Qun. So he got into his car, still kind of confused.

Shao Qun relaxed as soon as Li Chengxiu got inside. At every single red
light he would eagerly look back at Li Chengxiu, his eyes almost glued to
him. In such a small space, Li Chengxiu had nowhere to escape, so he could
only turn his head and look at the gloomy weather outside.

After they were driving for a while already, Li Chengxiu started suspecting
that he might have been fooled by Shao Qun. It was rush hour, and it was
raining, so there were many cars on the road. When Shao Qun's car drove
onto the bridge, it started moving at the speed of 3 meters every 20 minutes.

Li Chengxiu had no choice but to stay in the car, since he couldn't walk
down the overpass. Seeing that he was going to be late soon, Li Chengxiu
calculated that he would have his bonus deducted for being late.
Shao Qun saw that his expression was not happy, so he quickly comforted
him, but the smile in Shao Qun’s eyes was obvious.

The weather outside the window was terrifyingly gloomy, and the sound of
pouring rain hitting the car sounded like a messy tune. This narrow space
had suddenly become the inescapable haven. Here, you could sit side by side
with your loved one, and feel as if you’re in your own little world.

Shao Qun hoped that time would stop at that moment. He was willing to
hold Li Chengxiu's hand and stay like this forever.

They stayed on the bridge for more than half an hour, and only then there
were some signs that the congestion was getting better. But then something
happened that paralyzed the traffic yet again - it seemed that there was a
rear-end collision somewhere in the front.

Li Chengxiu was already too anxious to sit still. Seeing him like this, Shao
Qun chose a moment to say,

"Chengxiu, ask for a leave today. You're late anyway. Your boss will
understand that this is due to the weather."

Li Chengxiu shook his head - that was not a reason his boss would accept.

Shao Qun felt a little sad when he saw how much Li Chengxiu wanted to
leave the car. He thought about it for a while, then took out his umbrella
from the back seat, turned off the engine, and opened the door.

Before Li Chengxiu could react, Shao Qun had already opened the car door
on his side and shouted, "Get out, Chengxiu. I'll find a way to take you to the
company."

Li Chengxiu was stunned, "We're on the bridge."

Shao Qun responded: "Don't worry about it so much. The traffic police are
dealing with the accident at the front, so let’s just go quickly."

Li Chengxiu gritted his teeth, took his things and got out of the car. Shao
Qun raised the umbrella over his head, hugged his shoulders and unsteadily
made his way forward.

Li Chengxiu looked back at the car and couldn't help saying, "What about
your car?"

Shao Qun grinned and said, "It's not a big deal if it gets towed away. It’s
much more important that my darling[9] gets to work."

Li Chengxiu glanced at him and noticed that Shao Qun’s shoulders were
wet. He turned his face away and immediately saw someone in the car
beside him watching them. Li Chengxiu felt too embarrassed to look up
anymore.

The two got off the bridge and went straight to the subway station. There
was no subway station near Li Chengxiu's house. So he didn’t usually take
it, but in fact, the subway was the fastest way to get to the company.

It was likely Shao Qun’s first time on a subway. He looked at the people that
were packed tightly like sardines in a can and kept repeating, “So many
people here…So many people…" He protected Li Chengxiu while they
squeezed onto the subway, and the two of them ended up leaning against the
door, almost chest to chest.

Shao Qun didn't complain this time, but was quite happy with the situation.
He held Li Chengxiu's waist against his chest, lowered his body slightly and
put his head on Li Chengxiu's shoulder with a smile.

There were many people on the subway, so even such an intimate action
wasn’t very noticeable. Li Chengxiu was embarrassed, but there were people
in the front and in the back, left and right, so it was hard for him to move
away.

He slightly raised his hand and pushed against Shao Qun. Shao Qun
immediately grabbed Li Chengxiu’s hand, stuffed it into his pocket, held it
tightly, and then, breathing into his ear, said softly, "Don't move.

There are so many people here."

Li Chengxiu blushed and whispered, "No, you’re too close."

Shao Qun smiled and said, "I heard that there are a lot of perverts on the
subway. I have to protect you."

Li Chengxiu anxiously wanted to step back, but Shao Qun exerted his
strength, so when he moved, Shao Qun was still holding on to his waist, and
the two only got closer to each other.

Li Chengxiu was annoyed and glared at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun smiled softly and whispered into his ear: "Chengxiu, let me hug
you for a while. I've been thinking about it for a long time. Just a little bit."

Li Chengxiu paused and turned his head.

The two were leaning against the door. Since Shao Qun was so tall, he
almost completely covered Li Chengxiu with his body, so his figure couldn’t
be seen from behind.

There was unbearable longing in Shao Qun's heart, and he couldn't help but
carefully touch Li Chengxiu’s neck with his lips.

Li Chengxiu thought at first that it happened by accident, since the action

was so light. But when Shao Qun’s lips touched him for the second time, Li
Chengxiu felt that something wasn’t right. He moved his neck away and
turned his head to angrily glare at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun smiled with some embarrassment, raised his head and couldn't
hide the disappointment and loneliness in his eyes.

Somehow, Li Chengxiu noticed the look in these eyes that was extremely
eager but at the same time not daring to approach. Li Chengxiu felt his heart
twitch, and he suddenly didn't dare to look at Shao Qun who had such an
expression on his face.

When Li Chengxiu arrived at the company, he was more than 20 minutes

late. That made him quite upset.

But when he went upstairs, he saw a tired Shao Qun with a cigarette in his
mouth waving at him with a smile. He thought that if it wasn’t for Shao Qun,
he would have only arrived at noon, so he suddenly felt slightly relieved.

Ji Yuanqi’s father XD

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 68
Li Chengxiu was busy until lunchtime. His co-workers would usually go to
nearby restaurants to eat. Since there were many large and small companies
in the area, the restaurants around would turn into staff canteens at noon.

The company gave Li Chengxiu a lunch subsidy, but he still usually brought
his own food, so he could pocket the extra 400 RMB[10] a month. During
lunch, everyone in the office was gone, and it was extremely quiet. Li
Chengxiu untied his plastic bag and gave a worried look to his deformed
and mushy meal that got squeezed in the subway.

There was suddenly somebody knocking on the door behind him.

Li Chengxiu was surprised. He looked back and saw Shao Qun smiling at
him. His clothes were still wet from this morning.

Their company was small and not very formal. It was not surprising that
there were some idle people who could come in willy nilly just by saying a
couple of words to the uncle, guarding the entrance.

Li Chengxiu wondered why Shao Qun came again at noon. Could it be that
he never even left??

As he walked in, Shao Qun said, "I knew you definitely wouldn’t go out to
eat." Then he put the plastic bag he was holding onto the table in front of
him, "I just went to buy you a hot meal."

Li Chengxiu glanced at him, then turned his face away, and said softly, "I
brought lunch with me."

Shao Qun glanced at his metal lunch box that was visibly leaking, reached
out to pick it up and pushed the things he brought with him to the front,
"Your stuff is cold. You should eat something hot. It was raining in the
morning, so you should have some ginger soup to warm up. Otherwise,
you’l catch a cold again."
Li Chengxiu stood up and tried to grab his own lunch box back. Shao Qun
refused to give it to him. Instead he pressed his shoulder and made him sit
back down, "Ok. How about you eat what I brought you, and I will eat what
you brought? Would that be fine? Then nothing’s wasted."

Li Chengxiu said, "I don’t need..."

Shao Qun didn't wait for him to finish. He had already sat down across the
table from Li Chengxiu, picked up the lunch box and took a big
mouthful.There was suddenly no trace of Shao Qun’s usual elegant look left
- he held onto the lunchbox, eating mouthful after mouthful, as if he had
been starving for a long time.

Li Chengxiu was stunned. The dishes he brought with him were very simple
- one portion of stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs and one portion of
shredded potatoes. These were also all leftovers. The shredded potatoes
didn’t even look good anymore. No normal person would enjoy this kind of
meal so much.

Shao Qun raised his head to meet Li Chengxiu’s questioning eyes and
showed a crooked smile, "You have no idea how much I wanted to eat your
cooking." Seeing Shao Qun in front of him with that smile, Li Chengxiu's
heart trembled, and he lowered his head.

Shao Qun lined up the lunch boxes he brought in front of Li Chengxiu, put
the chopsticks and spoons in front of him, and continued eating: "After you
left, I couldn't sleep or eat... It was basically impossible for me to eat what
other people cooked. I missed you during meals, and I missed you when I
went to sleep. I couldn’t bear it. I was so desperate that I resorted to doing
all those despicable things. And now…"

Shao Qun suddenly paused, put down his chopsticks, looked at Li Chengxiu
carefully with bright eyes and said nervously: "I'm not making excuses for
myself. I really acted like a jerk back then. But I missed you so much..."
Shao Qun couldn't go on, when he saw Li Chengxiu's eyelashes slightly
trembling, while he kept his head down.

He sighed and said softly, "Chengxiu, let's eat."

Li Chengxiu looked at the food he brought. After Shao Qun had eaten from
it, there was only half of it left.

He couldn’t skip lunch, so he resisted the feeling of inexplicable sadness

and started eating. Shao Qun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that and
quietly looked at Li Chengxiu’s face. From his angle, he could see that he
had long slightly curled eyelashes, a somewhat round nose, red lips,
particularly fair skin, and bangs that just about covered his eyebrows. This
made him look so delicate and docile.

Only those who had really experienced it could know that a person who
looks so soft might actually have a very hard heart.

Due to a sudden impulse, Shao Qun reached out and touched Li Chengxiu's
right ear.

Li Chengxiu raised his head in surprise.

Shao Qun said softly, "Go to the hospital for a checkup when you have
time. Maybe it can still be cured."

Li Chengxiu paused and shook his head.

He often forgot that his right ear was damaged. Unless the sound was very
quiet or it was very noisy around, his hearing didn’t differ so much from a
normal person. Maybe he didn’t hear so clearly but he stil could hear, so he
was already used to his condition.

Shao Qun couldn't help asking, "Who did it?"

Li Chengxiu thought for a while, then shook his head again. It all happened
so long ago. Now that he thought about it, it didn’t even upset him
anymore. So what’s the point of remembering the culprit?

"I'm sorry." Shao Qun looked at him sadly, "No matter who did it, it’s
probably somehow related to me…Chengxiu, I'm sorry for so many things.
In fact, I know very well that I should just get off your back.
But I can't live without you… Unless I die or become a vegetable, I won't
be able to forget you."

He forced a smile, "If there was any medicine in this world that could make
me forget you immediately, I would drink it, even if it was poisonous. This
way, you could save your heart, and I could save mine."

Seeing that Li Chengxiu didn't lift his eyes, Shao Qun looked at him almost
insanely and murmured: "I'm talking nonsense. I'd rather I forget myself…
but I wouldn’t want to forget you."

Shao Qun’s wish to peacefully eat and chat with Li Chengxiu like before
didn’t come true after all. Even such simple sweetness was a hope without
merit. Shao Qun felt that he had dug this pit and then buried himself in it.
But he was now a cheap bitch for whatever toxin that attracted him to Li
Chengxiu. He was ready to do all kinds of shameful and outrageous things
just to stay by his side.

Shao Qun loitered around after eating, but when people started coming back
from lunch, he couldn't stay any longer, so he got up to leave. Before
leaving, he said to Li Chengxiu, "I'll pick you up after work. The rain won't
stop for a while, so don't run around by yourself."

As soon as he was gone, Li Chengxiu almost collapsed in his chair.

It seemed that every minute he spent with Shao Qun, he was on guard to
prevent Shao Qun from taking advantage of the situation. Such a gentle,
considerate, dedicated Shao Qun who lied with the truth was hard to resist.
Li Chengxiu reminded himself over and over again to not even think about
whether his promises were true or not. As long as he kept himself closed
off, he was safe. But subconsciously, he was stil repeatedly guessing which
of Shao Qun’s words were genuine and which were not, what Shao Qun
was thinking when showing a certain expression. It was exhausting.

Li Chengxiu knew now that as long as Shao Qun was around, he would
never have a peaceful day. Maybe his best bet was disappearing completely
by going to the most remote place possible where no one could find him
and spending the rest of his life there undisturbed.
This was Li Chengxiu’s last resort if he real y got desperate. Now he only
hoped that Shao Qun would burn out after a while, and he could be rid of
him as soon as possible.

When Li Chengxiu got off work, Shao Qun anxiously ran to the office to
pick him up directly, for fear that he would run away on his own.

It was raining today, so people left early, and only Li Chengxiu and a young
female accountant were still left in the office. The moment Shao Qun
entered the office, the girl looked at him directly, and Shao Qun also
inadvertently glanced at her. She immediately blushed.

Shao Qun was quite satisfied that Li Chengxiu's most contacted colleague
was a chubby young girl with no outstanding features. He wasn’t quite sure
whether Li Chengxiu was attractive to women or not. Al he could say was
that in his eyes Li Chengxiu was very appealing, and his body would burn
hot when he only looked at him. So Shao Qun assumed that Li Chengxiu
could easily provoke other people too. He had just managed to get rid of
that Li Shuo guy, when the second idiot appeared out of nowhere! Shao
Qun was afraid that Li Chengxiu would start attracting even more rivals.

Thinking about it, Shao Qun took the initiative to go up and greet the girl,
"Hello, I'm Li Chengxiu's older brother. He often forgets to eat when he is
busy, so please remind him whenever you can"

Dumbfounded, the girl nodded. Li Chengxiu said "goodbye" to her and

walked out of the office first. Shao Qun followed behind him, as he
anxiously asked, "How many people work in your office?"

Li Chengxiu answered casually, "Five."

"Oh, are there more men or women among them?"

Li Chengxiu frowned and didn’t respond.

Shao Qun continued to mutter, "Don't get too close to your colleagues. You
are here to make money, not to make friends! It's not good to be close to
your colleagues."
The two walked out of the building, and seeing that the rain outside real y
hadn’t stopped, Li Chengxiu sighed.

Shao Qun said with a smile: "See, I didn't lie to you. It's raining very hard,
so you can’t wait for the bus.

Even if you wait, you might not be able to squeeze onto one. Who knows
what time you’d get home then!

The dog would be very hungry."

As he said that, he hugged Li Chengxiu's shoulders and walked towards the

emergency exit. The office building was old and had no underground
parking lot. Shao Qun held an umbrella over Li Chengxiu to protect him
from the rain and led him towards his car.

Shao Qun happily looked at the pouring rain and started the car while
saying: "At this time, there are probably traffic jams on the road. How about
we find a place to eat first?"

Li Chengxiu frowned and said, "Teacup wil be hungry…”

Shao Qun waved his hand, "It's alright! You give that pup a lot of food
every day, so it won't be hungry for a while. But by the time you get home
and finish cooking, you will be hungry!"

Li Chengxiu was rendered speechless by Shao Qun's rhetoric.

Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu to a Sichuan restaurant, and the two of them
ate hot pot. After a while, both of them managed to warm up.

Shao Qun's face was beaming, and he seemed to be in a very good mood,
"Chengxiu, let's go downstairs to watch a movie after we've finished eating.
A famous blockbuster has just been released."

Li Chengxiu shook his head, "I want to go home."

"It’s just an hour or so… We need this time anyway until the traffic clears
up…”
Li Chengxiu said firmly, "Then I'll go back by myself."

Shao Qun seemed disappointed and quickly said, "No movie then. Let's just
return together."

After that, Shao Qun started deliberately wasting time. He would defiantly
throw the food he ordered into the pot, boil it, then pick it out and discard it.
Li Chengxiu couldn't watch him being so wasteful, so he urged him to leave
several times.

The meal took them more than two hours to finish. Seeing that Li
Chengxiu's face didn’t look so good, Shao Qun had no choice but to say
that he had finished eating.

It was quite late when they finally got home. Before Li Chengxiu opened
the door, he heard a strange ping-pong-like noise coming from the inside.
He started suspecting that something wasn’t right, and, sure enough, as soon
as he entered, he saw Teacup dragging the toilet paper roll from the
bathroom right into the living room, tearing it to shreds and scattering the
pieces all over the floor. As soon as the dog saw Shao Qun, it started
barking loudly.

Shao Qun entered Li Chengxiu's apartment and put his shoes on the highest
shelf. If he didn’t do that, he’d have to buy new shoes after every visit.
Little Teacup hated him very much. When Shao Qun came around, it bit his
feet and tried to destroy his shoes, if it could get its teeth on them.

Shao Qun was very annoyed by the dog. He wondered if he had lost his
mind when he decided to gift this thing to Li Chengxiu. Now, the dog was
against him too, and he didn’t dare touch it.

When Li Chengxiu saw that the dog’s food bowl was empty and the
drinking bowl was turned over, he felt distressed. He fed Teacup, while
hugging and comforting it with words like “I’m sorry. I came back late. I
should have come back earlier.” and so on and so forth. Li Chengxiu was so
distracted that he didn’t even care about kicking Shao Qun out of the
apartment.
Shao Qun saw Li Chengxiu's caring expression, while he was looking at the
dog, and he turned green from jealousy. So he planned to stick around and
show off his virtuousness by cleaning up Teacup’s mess with the broom.

Li Chengxiu finally noticed that Shao Qun was constantly bending down
while sweeping the floor, since he was so tall, and the broomstick was so
short. That looked so awkward that Li Chengxiu said, "Just go home. I'll
clean up by myself."

Shao Qun responded, "It's okay. You feed the dog first. I'll help you tidy up
in the meantime."

Li Chengxiu wanted to stand up to take over the broom, but as soon as he

let go of Teacup, the puppy barked loudly, so Li Chengxiu had no choice
but to sit back down.

After Shao Qun finished the sweeping, he poured two cups of hot water, sat
down next to Li Chengxiu and looked at him quietly.

Li Chengxiu felt uncomfortable, so he glanced over at him.

Shao Qun came a little closer to Li Chengxiu and suddenly said, "I'm really
satisfied with how today went."

Li Chengxiu frowned and gave him a look.

Shao Qun supported his head with his hands and tenderly gazed at Li
Chengxiu, "Chengxiu, that’s all I want. I'll clean your house, pick you up
when it rains, and have a meal with you... If you don't want to watch a
movie, we don’t have to… It’s all fine. I used to think that staying at home
wasn’t for me. Even if I got married, I couldn’t imagine someone having
control over me coming and going. But now, it’s not a matter of control
anymore. As long as you are at home, I’m wil ing to stay here with you. As
long as you want to leave, I want to leave with you. One day you will
believe that I, Shao Qun, can change myself entirely just for you alone."

Li Chengxiu's eyes moved, and after a long while, he finally softly said:
"You can't change... You can do this for a month, maybe a year. But life is
long...and, at the end of the day, you are Shao Qun after all."

Shao Qun put down his water glass, turned Li Chengxiu's face towards
himself, looked into his eyes and seriously said, "Chengxiu, I never would
have imagined to be trapped by one person. But look at me now…

You can hate me, you can scold me. Whatever. How you treated me in the
past is how I am treating you now. Just let me serve you. You won’t lose
anything, if you give me a chance."

Li Chengxiu moved away, trying to distance himself from Shao Qun.

Shao Qun suddenly couldn't control himself. He leaned down and lightly
touched Li Chengxiu’s lips. Li Chengxiu immediately turned his head and
pushed Shao Qun hard, his face full of panic.

Shao Qun backed away, but couldn't help touching the remaining sensation
on his lips with his fingers. He showed a bit of a ruffian smile, "This
goodnight kiss makes everything worth it today."

Li Chengxiu's face was hot, and he whispered: "Go away..."

Shao Qun said "um" and added, "I'll leave right now. Can I come over for
dinner tomorrow?"

Li Chengxiu turned around and pretended not to hear the question.

Shao Qun was used to this kind of treatment, so he didn’t feel any
embarrassment, "You don’t have work tomorrow, so have a good rest."

He then suddenly leaned over and kissed Li Chengxiu’s forehead. In his

sexy voice he whispered right into his ear: "Good night, darling."

Li Chengxiu didn't move, until he heard the sound of the closing door. Only
then he could finally relax his shoulders.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 69
Li Chengxiu naturally didn’t wait for Shao Qun to come over for dinner the
next day.

When he woke up in the morning, he planned to leave the apartment. His

boss promised to pay for his medical insurance and asked him to go to the
hospital to get a medical examination.

He left very early - around eight or nine o'clock in the morning, but Shao
Qun seemed to be listening to his every move through the cracks in the
walls. As soon as Li Chengxiu opened the door, Shao Qun also came out,
grinning at him.

Li Chengxiu gave him a glance, locked his door and walked downstairs.

Shao Qun was stunned for a while, then rushed back to his room, changed
into a T-shirt as quickly as possible, put on his flip-flops and ran out with his
keys and wallet.

Having a height advantage and long legs, he caught up with Li Chengxiu in

no time and asked while walking right beside him, "Chengxiu, where are
you going?"

Li Chengxiu ignored him and headed towards the bus station.

Shao Qun blocked his path: "Wherever you’re going, I'l take you there."

Li Chengxiu went around Shao Qun and said: "No."

The weather was fine today, so there was no reason to go with the car.

Shao Qun still followed him, "Then I'll come with you."

Li Chengxiu sighed. Shao Qun had his own legs, so if he wanted to follow,
there was nothing Li Chengxiu could do to stop him.
It was a Saturday, so even though the buses were not as crowded as on
weekdays, there were still quite a lot of passengers.

Li Chengxiu was actually not in a hurry, but he insisted on taking the

crowded bus instead of waiting for the next one in five minutes.

Shao Qun gulped when he saw Li Chengxiu getting on but still managed to
squeeze himself in.

Li Chengxiu immediately forced his way into the innermost part of the bus.
He was thin and had years of experience with these kinds of situations, so
with just a few moves he was very far away from Shao Qun.

Shao Qun was so anxious that even his head was sweating, while he tried to
follow.

The driver gave him a "hey!" and pointed to the cash register.

Shao Qun stared at it and took out his wallet. As usual, he didn’t have any
change, so he frowned, took out a 100 RMB[11] bill and stuffed it in.

The driver was stunned for a while, then quietly muttered "nutcase" in
Cantonese.

Normally Shao Qun would kick him but at that moment all his attention was
focused on following Li Chengxiu with his eyes.

Among a group of southerners Shao Qun’s stature was particularly

impressive. On a crowded bus, whenever he tried to move, he had to push a
lot of people, so he constantly heard impatient “tsk, tsk” all around him.

Shao Qun was really unable to get any further, since a big girl intentionally
or unintentionally blocked his path and was giving him ambiguous bold
looks and winking at him It upset Shao Qun to see that while Li Chengxiu
was only eight or nine steps away, it seemed there were insurmountable
mountains and rivers in between them.

Although the bus was air conditioned, it was not enough for such a large
number of people. Shao Qun was sweating from the heat, and his clothes
were sticking to his back, making him feel very uncomfortable. His
scorching eyes were almost staring a hole in the back of Li Chengxiu's head,
but Li Chengxiu didn't even turn around.

This dire state lasted for too long - Shao Qun was so irritated that he wanted
to hit someone. Finally, Li Chengxiu got off the bus, and he quickly
followed.

Shao Qun wiped his sweat while keeping up with Li Chengxiu who was
crossing the road and said with a bitter smile, "This was so fucking
miserable..."

Before he finished complaining, he saw that Li Chengxiu was heading

towards a hospital.

Shao Qun's nerves tensed immediately. He grabbed Li Chengxiu and asked

nervously, "Chengxiu, why are you going to the hospital? Are you unwell?"

Li Chengxiu pulled his arm back: "Physical examination."

Shao Qun breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask, "Why do you need
a physical examination?"

Li Chengxiu knew that Shao Qun wouldn’t leave him alone unless he
answered, so he explained, "The company will pay for my medical
insurance, so I need a physical."

Only then did Shao Qun relax. He followed Li Chengxiu while looking at his
tender and white neck with gleaming eyes.

The two walked into the reception area and found that it was full to the brim.
If one didn't know it was a hospital, one would think it was a vegetable
market. The people were lining up to the registry window all the way from
the entrance.

Li Chengxiu looked at the crowd with concern.

With a faint smile, Shao Qun said, "Chengxiu, by the time all these people
get their services, the hospital wil be closed. You’ve come in vain today."
Although Li Chengxiu didn't speak, his expression indicated that he agreed
with Shao Qun’s assessment.

But since he had already made his way here, he couldn’t just give up and
leave.

After thinking about it, he still decided to stand in line.

Shao Qun pulled him back: "Chengxiu, don't waste your time."

Li Chengxiu frowned and said, "I’m already here, so..."

Shao Qun said with a smile: "My friend's private hospital is nearby. It’s only
half an hour away from here. I guarantee that you won't have to wait in line
when you get there."

Li Chengxiu didn't want to accept Shao Qun’s help anymore, so he shook his
head and insisted on queuing up.

Shao Qun tried to persuade him: "You came back home late last night, and
the dog made all that mess. If you come back so late two days in a row, your
apartment will be entirely demolished!"

Li Chengxiu thought about Teacup’s boundless energy and hesitated.

Shao Qun pointed to the sign outside the registration window: "Look,
internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, and orthopedics are already
completely booked out today. Everything else will also fill up very quickly. I
guarantee that you will have to come back tomorrow anyway. So why waste
your time?"

Seeing that Li Chengxiu was almost convinced, Shao Qun took the
opportunity to drag him out: "My friend's hospital doesn’t charge more than
this place... I’m just telling you, so you can save some time. And relax, you
can pay for yourself. Come on, let’s not wait any longer."

Li Chengxiu also understood that waiting was just a waste of time, so he had
no choice but to get into a taxi together with Shao Qun.
The hospital was really not far away, but just looking at its interior design, it
was clear that this place charged a pretty penny. The reception looked more
like a luxurious hotel lobby than a hospital.

As soon as they came in, they were greeted by a person in his early thirties,
wearing a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses. Although the man was quite
handsome, the expression on his face was very serious, and the whole person
gave an aloof and distanced impression.

Shao Qun smiled and said to Li Chengxiu quietly, "Chengxiu, I'm going to
catch up with my friend. You go do the physical, and I'll find you later."

Not only were there fewer people seeking medical treatment in this place,
but their work efficiency was also much higher. Li Chengxiu was
immediately issued a medical record book which looked like a beautiful
hard-cover daily planner. Li Chengxiu was stunned.

In just a few minutes, he was personally led to various examination rooms

by a young nurse with a particularly cute smile.

When the last item on the list was checked, Li Chengxiu was brought into a
consultation room, where Shao Qun and his friend were waiting for him at
the door.

Shao Qun smiled and said: "I heard that this was the last thing you needed to
do. I'll wait for you here, and we can go home in a while."

Li Chengxiu nodded and entered the room. Unexpectedly, the serious doctor
followed him.

Li Chengxiu was a little surprised. Judging by his posture, he seemed to be

an important figure in the hospital. Did he need to be there in person for a
simple physical?

After they came in, the man directly handed him a transparent container and
uttered a certain sentence. Li Chengxiu thought that he heard it wrong. It
wasn’t his first physical examination, so he was pretty sure that normally
only blood and urine samples were required. Why would they need him
to…?
The doctor pushed the container into Li Chengxiu’s hands.

Li Chengxiu asked with some uncertainty: "You want..."

The man nodded, frowned and said coldly, "It’s a routine inspection."

Li Chengxiu asked, slightly embarrassed: "Does…one need it for a physical?

It wasn’t like this before…"

The doctor's face got even stricter: "Are you a doctor or am I a doctor?"

Just like people normally respect teachers in school, most people in the
hospital are in awe of doctors, and Li Chengxiu was no exception. Even if he
was confused, he still took the container and turned around to go to the
bathroom.

After a long while, he came out with a blushing face and awkwardly handed
the container to the man.

The doctor didn't even lift his eyes. He put the container directly into the
freezer and then went about his own business.

Li Chengxiu stood behind him at a loss, wondering if the checkup was over.

After a while, the doctor turned around slowly, pressed his chin, looked at Li
Chengxiu from above his glasses and enunciated, “You. Can. Go. Now.”

Without daring to even take another breath, Li Chengxiu escaped from the
room.

Shao Qun was waiting outside, and when he saw him coming out, he asked,
"Chengxiu, did it go well?"

Li Chengxiu awkwardly nodded.

The young nurse smiled and said, "Mr. Li, please leave your address, phone
number and signature here.

After we have your results, we will send them to you with express post."
When Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun left the hospital, Shao Qun was obviously
very excited. The corners of his mouth were lifted up all the way in a smile.

Li Chengxiu felt a little awkward, and had a vague feeling that something
wasn’t quite right.

But he soon didn’t have any energy to think about it anymore. When they
returned and got out of the taxi, they noticed a black car blocking their entry.
Suddenly all the car doors opened up at the same time.

Li Chengxiu suddenly saw a familiar face right in front of him, and his heart
tightened.

Li Shuo!

The person who got out of the car was Li Shuo, whom he hadn't seen for
more than half a year. Next to him was Shao Qun's eldest sister, Shao Wen,
and some guy who looked like a driver. Behind Li Shuo was another man
whom Li Chengxiu couldn’t see quite clearly. Li Shuo rushed over to Li
Chengxiu with excitement and hugged him.

"Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu was close to tears and he couldn't help exclaiming, "Li-Dage..."

The hug didn’t even last a second, before Shao Qun was already glaring
fiercely at his sister and pressing onto Li Shuo’s shoulder to push him away
from Li Chengxiu. He the dragged Li Chengxiu behind himself and said
sharply, "Don't fucking touch him[12]."

Li Shuo's face was grim: "Shao Qun, you shameless villain. How dare you
still walk around and spout your bullshit?"

The man behind Li Shuo finally came to the front and called out to Shao
Qun with a smile: "Ge, it's so hot outside! Need you get angry now?"

Shao Qun glanced at the visitor: "Jinxin, what are you doing here? Did you
bring my sister over?"
The man named Jinxin raised his hands in the air: "Ge, don't wrong me! The
eldest sister found out about this place all by herself. I'm just here to witness
all the excitement... Huh, what do we have here?" The man suddenly bent
down and brought his face close to Li Chengxiu. He then smiled and
winked, saying, "Yo, so this is Li Chengxiu? Ah, looks quite scrumptious."

Li Chengxiu took a step back and looked at the man with uncertainty.

The man was very good-looking. He had a pair of extremely bright and
expressive peach blossom eyes, sexy lips and a seductive charming smile.

Shao Qun frowned: "Don't scare him." He then said to Li Chengxiu, "This is
my cousin, Zhao Jinxin."

Li Shuo bypassed Zhao Jinxin and grabbed Li Chengxiu's arm: "Chengxiu, I

have a lot to tell you..."

There was immediate coldness in Shao Qun's eyes. He blocked Li Shuo’s

path and was about to grab his neck.

Zhao Jinxin hurriedly jumped between the two of them and quickly hugged
Shao Qun's arm: "Ge, ge, don't get too excited! Let's sit down and talk. Why
would you throw your fists around as soon as we meet? It’s kind of lame, so
hold your horses."

Shao Wen, who had been watching from the sidelines, came over with a
blank expression.

Although she was a woman with a petite stature compared to all the men
around her, the aura she exuded couldn’t be ignored.

She looked at Shao Qun coldly.

Shao Qun was actually raised by his sister, so in his heart, even if she was
just 10 years older than him, he saw her as a mother figure. So he was a bit
fearful of her.

He sighed, "Sis…"
Shao Wen said in an icy tone: "So you still know that you have a sister? Do
you still remember that your last name is Shao?"

Shao Qun ripped at his hair, pointed at Li Shuo and asked, "Why did you
bring him here?"

Shao Wen's knife-like look almost pierced through Li Chengxiu's face.

Although it didn't hurt, the coldness seemed to penetrate directly into his
bones, causing Li Chengxiu to break out in cold sweat on this summer day.

"These two are a couple that yearn for each other. What's wrong with me
reuniting him with his boyfriend?

You are the one who stands in the way of people’s feelings."

Shao Qun said angrily: "What a load of crap. Li Chengxiu is mine."

Shao Wen glared at him: "Shao Qun, are you insane?"

Shao Qun sarcastical y responded, "If it wasn’t for you, I’d be 50% less
insane."

Shao Wen raised her hand, slapped him in the face and said sternly: "You
don’t come back home, you don’t answer your phone. Al because of some
man you’re making such a fuss with your own relatives. Are you seven or
are you twenty-seven? When will you grow up? When will you start
thinking about your family and not just about yourself? Will you be happy if
you piss off your father to death? "

Shao Qun's face turned grim, and his expression was a little guilty.

Shao Wen glared at him: "Let’s go inside to talk. Why are we all standing
around here like a bunch of weirdos?" She turned her head and walked into
the building first.

Shao Qun resolutely squeezed himself between Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu,

not letting them get close. Zhao Jinxin squeezed between Shao Qun and Li
Shuo, for fear that they would start a fight.
When they got upstairs, Shao Qun lost it when he saw that Li Chengxiu was
going to enter his apartment together with Li Shuo.

He pointed at Li Shuo and shouted, "Aren't you doing fine with Jinxin? Why
are you pretending to be so lovey-dovey with Chengxiu now? Get out of
here, before it’s too late, you fucking disgusting person!"

Li Shuo blushed, and his calm demeanor and usual self-control suddenly
disappeared. Angrily he scolded:

"Shao Qun, you bastard! Don’t throw around your stupid accusations. Do
you think that you can separate me and Chengxiu with this kind of
despicable trick? He will only hate you more, you asshole."

Shao Qun's eyes almost popped out of anger.

Shao Wen impatiently shouted: "Enough is enough! Shut the fuck up, both
of you!" She turned to Shao Qun and Zhao Jinxin, "You come with me and
let those two talk in private. We have some unfinished business."

Shao Qun was still stubbornly standing his ground. Li Chengxiu's face was
as white as paper, when he witlessly said to Shao Qun, "Don't come in."

Although this quiet voice was barely audible in the tense atmosphere, it
sounded like thunder to Shao Qun.
His arrogance suddenly dimmed, and he seemed to have shrunk in front of
Li Chengxiu. His eyes were full of grievances and sadness, as he silently
looked at Li Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu turned his head away and led Li Shuo into his apartment.

Zhao Jinxin’s dark eyes stared intently at Li Shuo's back until the door was
slammed shut behind him.

Jinxin then pushed Shao Qun, who was a little lost, and said, "Ge, let’s go."

Shao Qun didn't move and just stared at the closed door, which isolated him
from Li Chengxiu and at the same time created a separate space for Li Shuo
and Li Chengxiu to be alone with each other.

Zhao Jinxin grabbed onto Shao Qun's arm, showed an evil smile and
whispered into his ear: "Ge, don't worry. I promise to stir some shit up
between them. You can just exhale now, ok?"
Shao Qun glanced at him and gritted his teeth: "You’re so fucking capable,
right! You shouldn't let him come here at all."

Zhao Jinxin wanted to say something, but Shao Wen was already sitting on
the sofa and shouting at them,

“Get in here."

Zhao Jinxin stepped into the room before Shao Qun and coquettishly said to
Shao Wen, "Wen-Jie, let me pour you a glass of water!"

Fanart from “Winner Takes All” to commemorate

the reappearance of Li Shuo and Zhao Jinxin.

Artist: 请嘟嘟吃肉 @Weibo

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 70
After Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo entered the apartment, they were a little
embarrassed around each other. It's not that Li Chengxiu was unhappy to see
Li Shuo again, but Li Shuo appeared in front of him too suddenly, and he
didn't know how to react to it.

Li Chengxiu remembered the time he spent with Li Shuo and was filled with
different emotions. Right now, both of them were not sure where they were
standing with each other.

Li Shuo seemed to have calmed down a bit, returning to his usual

unperturbed state. He sat down on the sofa and gently held Li Chengxiu's
hand: "Chengxiu..." He smiled bitterly, "I haven't seen you in such a long
time. I have a lot to say, but now I don't even know where to start."

Li Chengxiu asked simply, "Li-Dage, how are you doing?"

Li Shuo didn't answer, but instead asked back, "How about you?"

Li Chengxiu smiled: "I’m okay... I found a job...by myself."

Li Shuo pointed his chin towards the room next door, his eyes a little
gloomy, "What's the deal with him?"

Li Chengxiu's face slightly changed: "He… He found me and then moved in

next door... I don't want to move anymore…I’m tired of it myself, and
Teacup is also not fond of it."

Li Shuo sighed: "Chengxiu, why didn't you come to the United States?"

They finally got to the real questions.

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath, and a look of shame appeared on his face:
"Li-Dage, I'm sorry... I hurt you... I… I didn’t dare to go."
Li Shuo looked at him sadly: "I know that was a difficult decision for you to
make in such a short time. But if you trusted me more, things would be
different now."

Li Chengxiu's eyes were red: "I'm sorry..."

Li Shuo looked at him: "Chengxiu, let's not talk about the past anymore.
What about now? We still have a chance. You can still come with me. I have
settled all the troublesome affairs. However, after this incident, I’ve been
thinking about it a lot. So I sold the company. I’ve worked hard for this
business for more than ten years and missed out on a lot of other things, like
love, life, time with my family… My father was sick, and I wasn’t even at
his side at the time. Now I want a fresh start, I want to do something else
entirely. I want to leave Shenzhen…Would you like to come with me?"

Li Chengxiu felt that a big stone was suddenly pressed against his chest.
Under Li Shuo's earnest and sincere eyes, it was difficult for him to
pronounce the words of refusal.

There was a time when Li Chengxiu had to go through the depths of despair,
helplessness and fear. The damage that was done to him by Shao Qun made
him feel burdened by constantly having to walk on thin ice, anxious that
Shao Qun might mess with his life again.

Li Shuo was the one who helped him the most during these darkest days. He
comforted him, he encouraged him, he gave him a place to stay and gave
him warmth that he so desperately needed. Without Li Shuo, Li Chengxiu
didn’t know what would have become of him.

So, whether intentionally or not, at that time, Li Chengxiu was using Li

Shuo. This made him feel so guilty that he couldn’t even look the man in the
eye.

His gratitude to Li Shuo was beyond words, so he stayed by Li Shuo's side,

hoping to really become the gentle lover that Li Shuo wished for.

But no matter how Li Chengxiu lied to himself, deep down he knew that his
feelings had nothing to do with romantic “liking”.
Li Chengxiu had poured all his romantic feelings into Shao Qun. He didn’t
know how to reverse this process, he could do nothing about it anymore -
even if Shao Qun didn’t want any of his feelings, threw them on the ground
and trampled all over them, Li Chengxiu stil couldn’t take them back.

If he had met Li Shuo first, everything would have been different. But he
met Shao Qun first.

This was Li Chengxiu’s fate, and it was his alone. He could no longer
implicate Li Shuo in this mess.

Although Li Shuo said that he sold the company out of his own volition, it
was clear that if Li Shuo had kept the business, it would have negatively
affected the company. Reputation is the bread and butter of an accounting
firm. And after 10 years of hard work, it was basically gone now.[13] Li
Chengxiu had no idea how to compensate him for this loss and he didn’t
dare to do anything that might further harm Li Shuo.

Li Shuo's expectant eyes gradually dimmed due to Li Chengxiu's long

silence.

Li Chengxiu choked and said, "Li-Dage, I'm sorry..."

Li Shuo fixed his gaze at him and said softly, "When Shao Wen found me,
she told me she’d bring me here to take you away. Can you imagine how
happy I was? I actually thought I’d never see you again. I thought that this
time, we could actually leave together and start a good life…" He took a
painful breath: "You said you were sorry. What are you sorry for?"

"I……"

Li Shuo said in a deep voice, "What you should be most sorry for is for
disappearing so suddenly!”

Li Chengxiu's shoulders shook, and his tears started flowing out

uncontrollably.

"You know how anxious I was when I heard about your disappearance while
stuck on another continent?
Why couldn’t you trust me? Why didn't you wait for me to help you out?
You just left all alone out of the blue… Did you even take my feelings into
consideration?"

Li Chengxiu couldn't say anything except "I'm sorry".

He couldn’t tell whether the decision he made was right or wrong, but if he
had to do it all over again, he would still do the same thing.

Li Shuo couldn't bear Li Chengxiu’s reaction, so he lightly patted him on the

back. Yet, there was a deep disappointment on his face.

After that, the two of them talked intermittently about each other's lives in
the last half a year. Before leaving, Li Shuo left his new number: "I will give
you some time to think about it. If you have any difficulties, just call me. I
will help you with whatever you need."

Li Chengxiu accompanied Li Shuo to the door. Before stepping out, the man
suddenly turned his face and said with a gloomy and slightly embarrassed
expression: "Chengxiu, about what Shao Qun said before...

Me and his cousin are not what you think…"

Li Chengxiu was slightly surprised, yet he nodded.

"When I was in the United States, Shao Qun asked his cousin to approach
me. These kinds of underhanded methods are real y despicable, I…" Li Shuo
seemed to be very careful about choosing his next words.

Li Chengxiu didn't know what to say to that.

Although Li Chengxiu was a bit dense, he still intuitively felt that there was
something unusual going on between Li Shuo and Shao Qun’s cousin. But
he didn’t feel like he could ask anything about that.

Li Shuo frowned and thought for a long time, before finally giving up. He
leaned over and kissed Li Chengxiu's forehead: "This matter is not
important. Just trust me, okay?"
Li Chengxiu nodded even though he didn't quite understand what he meant.

He sent Li Shuo out and saw that Shao Qun, his sister and his cousin were
already standing next to the car. Shao Wen's eyes were red and stern. She
gave Li Chengxiu a strict look and then turned around to get into the car.

After the others left, Shao Qun hurriedly approached Li Chengxiu and asked,
"What did you talk about with him?"

The appearance of Li Shuo brought back all of Li Chengxiu's unbearable

memories. He remembered what situation Shao Qun had put him in and
what it took for him to survive. Now, when he was facing Shao Qun, he
naturally had no good feelings towards him.

Without saying a word, Li Chengxiu turned around and walked upstairs.

Shao Qun followed him into the apartment and slammed the door behind
himself. His face looked fierce.

Li Chengxiu turned to look at him, wanting to see what Shao Qun was going
to do now.

Shao Qun's breath was rapid, and his palms were sweating: "Chengxiu, what
did he say to you? Does that old pervert still have thoughts about you?"

There was a burst of anger in Li Chengxiu's chest. It came on so quickly that

he managed to fiercely say:

"None of your business!" He then wanted to throw Shao Qun out

immediately.

With a frighteningly gloomy expression on his face, Shao Qun pressed

against the wall with both his hands, blocking Li Chengxiu between his body
and the door.

Li Chengxiu was shocked: "You..."

Shao Qun stretched out his trembling hand, gently touched Li Chengxiu’s
face and said hoarsely, "What did he say to you? Do you want to get back
together? Are you going to leave with him?"

Li Chengxiu pushed against Shao Qun, trying to get away.

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s hand, his eyes full of struggle. He gritted
his teeth and said, "Chengxiu, does our long time together mean nothing to
you? Is Li Shuo a saint in your eyes? And I’m the devil? He's also just a man
who is capable of anything after a couple glasses of wine. So why do you
treat him so well and keep hating me? Why can’t you give me a second
glance?"

Li Chengxiu's shoulders trembled: "Let me go..."

Shao Qun gave him a miserable smile: "Let you go? “Let me go”, “Go
away”, “Leave”, “Get out”... do you have anything else to say to me besides
these words? I am nothing in your eyes, but my heart is also made of flesh
and blood. It hurts and it does get sad, when you treat me coldly and flirt
with others. It makes me unable to sleep at night... All I want is to have you
in my life. So every day I keep putting on thick skin and acting like a total
sucker. But you still refuse to believe me. Are you some kind of celestial
being[14] that I would go through the trouble of treating myself this way
only to deceive you? Why can't you just believe it? I also have a fucking
heart, and all my sincerity is for you..."

Li Chengxiu shook his head and slowly retracted his body, as if he could
somehow protect himself in this way.

Shao Qun forcibly lifted his chin and stared into his eyes: "Chengxiu, I
admit that I can act like your flunky and kneel in front of you three times a
day, if you ask me to. But over my dead body will I watch you getting close
to others. Don’t force my hand. I beg you, don’t provoke me. I have no idea
what I’m capable of, and I don’t want to hurt you again. I can endure it if
you don’t forgive me. I can wait for years to see which one of us will turn
out to be more stubborn. But if you ever get together with somebody else, I
don’t know what I’l do…"

Shao Qun's icy fingers rubbed against Li Chengxiu's face, and there was a
hint of sadness in his eyes. The coldness of these fingertips hit Li Chengxiu
right in the heart. He looked into Shao Qun's bottomless eyes and shuddered.

He had a feeling that Shao Qun had weaved countless invisible nets all over
his body, and every single thread was pierced through his flesh, surrounding
him tightly. He couldn’t escape, no matter where he went. There was no way
to get out of bondage created by this one and only person.

Li Chengxiu was so frightened that his legs became weak.

This intense, raw feeling shook him to the core. He once loved this person so
much, so no matter how he tried to prevent himself from falling into the trap,
he couldn’t stay completely indifferent hearing all these affectionate
confessions repeated over and over again. For this reason, every time he saw
Shao Qun, he got scared. He feared hearing those beautiful words again,
afraid that he couldn't suppress his own feelings, even if he tried very hard.

But Shao Qun was like a sharp sword. The closer he got, the more serious
the injury became. Li Chengxiu had learned his lesson numerous times, so
he couldn’t help remembering what the price was.

Shao Qun wiped his face and said hoarsely, "Chengxiu, why do you have to
torture yourself and me like this? You can find a thousand reasons to hate
me, but can you maybe find even half a reason to start over with me? You
used to like me before. I beg you to like me again, okay?”

Li Chengxiu was heartbroken. This person who had mercilessly trampled all
over his sincerity dared to ask him to rely on him again? Li Chengxiu had no
more feelings left, he was long used up - his body was dry, and his heart was
empty. How could he like him again?

"Liking... you? You don't want it… you… you don’t deserve it..."

Shao Qun felt such an unbearable pain as if his body was about to be split
apart. He laughed miserably, retracted his arms, slumped his shoulders and
gave Li Chengxiu a thumbs up: "Chengxiu, I used to think you were such a
sissy. I was so fucking wrong about that. Not only are you as manly as they
come, your heart is damn ruthless too. You don’t even see blood when
you’re stabbing someone to death."
Li Chengxiu pushed him away.

Shao Qun tightly clenched his fist: "My sister won't bother you for the time
being... Unless you see Li Shuo again, we return to the status quo, right? I'm
going back to being a hard-working, shameless neighbor.

That's enough then."

After Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu cried on the sofa for a long time.

It seemed that his life was just getting harder and harder no matter what he
did. He didn't know who was at fault, but whichever way he went, the results
were always miserable.

There was just one being in this world that truly belonged to Li Chengxiu
and that was not going to abandon him in any case. Other than that, he was
his own master. However, he knew very well that if he went on a run
together with Teacup, he would never dare to return to Shao Qun.

Every pore in his body remembered Shao Qun’s smell. Shao Qun was the
most intense presence in Li Chengxiu’s memory. Whether these memories
were beautiful or painful, they were going to stay with him for the rest of his
life. Shao Qun was a poisonous seed planted deep in his heart. He couldn’t
let this thing grow, otherwise he would enjoy the short moment of warmth
and then won’t be able to live anymore, once Shao Qun abandons him again.

Li Chengxiu cried for a long time before he finally made up his mind and
called his landlord.

"Hello...Li-Jie[15], I'm not going to rent the apartment anymore..."

From the moment Shao Qun appeared in front of him again, Li Chengxiu
knew that sooner or later this moment was bound to come.

He just didn't expect it to come so quickly, though. He originally hoped that

he could at least wait until Teacup grew up a bit and got less skinny and
fragile. On that day, they could just disappear together. But right now, he
didn’t have any other choice anymore.
Shao Qun was acting more attentive and considerate day by day. He got
more gentle and helpful.

The same Shao Qun, who wouldn’t lift his finger to pick up a broom that fel
in front of him, was now even learning to cook to curry favor with Li
Chengxiu.

Li Chengxiu knew that he had a tendency to be soft-hearted. He could deal

with it when others humiliated him or treated him badly. But he real y
couldn’t turn a blind eye towards kindness. But it was clear that under no
circumstances could he soften his heart towards Shao Qun.

So escape was the only option.

Li Chengxiu quietly made an appointment with Li-Jie to let her check the
premises. He settled the deposit, the rent, his water and electricity bills, as
well as a series of other formalities. By the end of the day, Li Chengxiu was
ready to leave.

He had no idea where exactly he was going, but he was definitely going as
far away as possible.

He had heard from his colleagues before that Sichuan[16] was a good place
to live due to its good climate and low cost of living.

The only places Li Chengxiu had visited in his life were his hometown and a
few cities in Guangdong. He had only heard about other places from the
mouths of other people. So when he was thinking about where to go, he
could only come up with a few ideas.

He was very reluctant to resign from the company.

Li Chengxiu had just gotten a foothold at the firm, and they were even
providing him with insurance. If he stayed there for a long time, he could
actually live a carefree life with no monetary issues until he got old.

But, as it happened again and again, due to Shao Qun he had to give this
opportunity up.

Fortunately, the results of his physical examination were still delayed, so he

could just pretend that he forgot all about the medical insurance and hand in
his resignation with less embarrassment.

The boss was not happy about the situation. He lost his temper at Li
Chengxiu and finally made him stay for another two weeks, so he could at
least manage to find a replacement.

Since Li Chengxiu's lease was also expiring in two weeks, he agreed.

After he got home that day, he began to pack away some rarely-used things
first. Just as he was packing, somebody knocked at the door.

Li Chengxiu straightened up and just silently stared at the door panel for a
long time, ignoring the knocking.
He thought it could only be Shao Qun.

Shao Qun didn’t seem to give up - he kept knocking and knocking. And the
more he knocked, the more impatient he became. The last couple of knocks
were so powerful that the door seemed to be barely hanging on.

Li Chengxiu couldn't take it anymore, so he rushed over and opened up.

Shao Qun's face was fierce and his eyes were red, as he threw a piece of
paper towards Li Chengxiu.

Hoarsely he said: "You resigned again? So you are willing to quit a job that
you like so much? Where are you going this time? Do I disgust you to such
an extent that you need to keep running away again and again?!"

Went on a semi-hiatus because I accidentally discovered a new favorite

danmei author whose works I’m now binging. Seriously, Lan Lin’s MLs are
often so much worse than Shao Qun XD

Might start translating a particularly toxic novel of hers after “Sissy” is

done.

[1] 6 megapixel-cameras were standard around 2010, I think. My current

phone actually has 12 mp, so at least I’m doing better than Chengxiu.

[2] Oh, he’s doing quite well around this time during his adventures in
“Winner takes Al ”.

[3]International Workers’ Day - public holiday almost everywhere except the

US.

[4] Could also mean “chaste”. But here the joke is probably in comparing Li
Chengxiu to a “virtuous wife”.

[5] I reread this line several times, but that’s what it says (不 (NOT) 算
(consider)淫乱(promiscuous)). The guy is delusional.

[6] 102° F
[7] She actual y cal s him “Xiao Li Zi” (小李子), where “xiao” is “smal ”, “li” is
his last name, and “zi” is “child”. However, 李子 (“lizi”) together means
“plum”. So it could be that she is referring to Chengxiu as “Little Plum”.

[8] You're confused? I'm also fucking confused bro~

[9] Funnily enough, Shao Qun is still using the term 宝贝 ( baobei) here. This is
how he referred to Chengxiu in the past, and also how he and his friends
refer to their kept lovers/sex workers in the club. Maybe I’m reading too
much into this but it makes one think, whether his attitude has *really*
changed.

[10] That would total to around 3USD per workday. You could probably get
a very cheap meal from a street vendor for that kind of money.

[11] 15 USD for a bus ride XD

[12] He actually tel s Li Shuo not to touch “his person”. It sounds a bit
awkward in English, so I chose to go with “him”.

But I think it’s stil an important nuance.

[13] Just a reminder: Shao Qun dug up a case of illegal loans that Li Shuo
was implicated in to keep him trapped in the US. Although the case was
dropped later, and Li Shuo was in no danger of being arrested anymore, the
case still made some waves in the business world. Thus, his reputation as an
honest accountant was kind of ruined. “Winner Takes All” gives a more
detailed explanation of what happened and what led him to selling his
company.

[14] He uses the word 天仙 which means a “Goddess”/ a “fairy” or a “female

immortal”. I used “fairy” at first but due to certain connotations in the
English language (hehe), decided to go with something divine but gender-
neutral.

[15] He is calling his landlord “Elder Sister Li” or “Li-Jie” not because she
is actually his sister but because she is a lady older than him, whom he is
addressing slightly informally.
[16] A province approx. 18-hour drive away from Shenzhen. It’s cold in the
winter and hot in the summer. While the cost of living without rent in
Shenzhen is around 700 USD, the cost of living in e.g. Chengdu (Sichuan)
would be around 500 USD.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 71
Li Chengxiu looked at the thin piece of paper in surprise. It was the
resignation letter he had handed in today: "You… how did you…?" Then
suddenly he didn’t want to ask anymore. Figures that Shao Qun had a way to
find these things out. So what if he asked? Li Chengxiu had been so proud of
himself, thinking that his achievements at the company were actually the
result of his own hard work. What if it turns out that these were also just
handouts given to him by Shao Qun?

If it turned out that he was nothing without Shao Qun, how would he be able
to go on?

Shao Qun crumpled the piece of paper, threw it at Li Chengxiu’s feet, stared
at him with his red eyes and asked sternly, "Where are you going? Where do
you want to go this time?"

Li Chengxiu took a step back, feeling weakness in his legs. He knew now
that there was nowhere for him to go.

Shao Qun suddenly leaned over, fiercely hugged Li Chengxiu and hoarsely
shouted at him:

"Chengxiu...Where do you want to go? You want to leave me again, so that I

can't find you anymore. Why are you so fucking cruel?"

Li Chengxiu's eyes were full of tears, and the desperate feeling in his heart
could not be described in words.

Shao Qun's voice trembled slightly: "I won't let you go. You’re not going
anywhere. You’re not leaving me again…"

Li Chengxiu said, shaking: "Shao Qun. You’re done here. I’m done too.
Let’s just end it."
Shao Qun roared, "I'm not fucking done! I want to spend the rest of my life
with you. So where are you going?"

Li Chengxiu slowly pushed him away, then sat down on the sofa, feeling
exhausted. He then choked:"Shao Qun,your words are so cheap." This
person told him that he liked him, told him that he was going to treat him
well, told him that he was not getting married, told him that he was the only
one… The same person then stepped on him. These promises were such
flimsy and frivolous things…How could one believe in such things?

Even now, Shao Qun was so persistent in claiming his sincerity. But if he
was so sincere in the first place, then why was he being so forceful in
making Li Chengxiu accept him? Shao Qun was still the same Shao Qun,
after all. He still thought that everything had to go according to his wishes. If
he wanted to abandon Li Chengxiu, he would abandon him in a heartbeat. If
he wanted to reconcile again, Li Chengxiu wouldn’t be allowed to say “no”
and would be forced to accept his “care” and “sincerity”.

Why was that? In fact, Shao Qun had never even given him a choice. If Shao
Qun said he didn’t want him, then that was it. But if he said he wanted him,
then Li Chengxiu had to immediately come back. Shao Qun already owned a
lot. Li Chengxiu had almost nothing. Could he at least keep the right of
making his own decisions in life?

Shao Qun squatted beside Li Chengxiu’s legs and looked up at him:

"Chengxiu, you hear my words, and you think they are cheap. Do you have
any idea how much I’ve paid for these words that you describe as

“cheap”? Do you know what I’ve traded to be able to give you this promise?
I’ve never been in a serious relationship before. I’ve only ever liked you. In
my entire life, this is the first time that I’ve lost somebody I love. So, of
course, I am disheartened and I have no idea what to do. I’m just trying to
get close to you, trying to look at you and tell you over and over again that I
know that I was wrong and that I can still change and that I hope you can
give me another chance…Other than that, I don't know what to do. If I need
to do something else, just teach me. I’m wil ing to do whatever you ask of
me. I’m not going to get married, I won’t let anyone bul y you, even my own
family. I wil listen to whatever you say. You can even tell me to die. Just
teach me what I should do, so we can go back!”

Li Chengxiu said hoarsely: "What if I tell you… to let me go?"

Shao Qun's vision gradually blurred, and his heart was in so much pain that
he almost lost consciousness.

He heard his own voice as if it was coming from somewhere far away,
"That’s the one thing I can’t do."

Li Chengxiu held back his tears, took a deep breath and said: "Shao Qun.
You said that you respect me.

But when have you ever… taken my feelings into consideration? When you
moved next door to me… did you ask me what I thought about it? Did you
ask my opinion… when you intervened in my work life? I won't give you a
child… and you can’t bring me anywhere with you in public… since your
family wil never accept that. How long can we even… be together then? One
day… you'l get tired of me. Then… where should I go? What… should I do?
You’ve abandoned… and humiliated me… before. So what if it… happens
again?

Have you ever… thought about this? You’re only thinking about… your
current wish to reconcile… but have you actually… thought about me? "[1]

Shao Qun looked at him blankly. This was the first time that he heard Li
Chengxiu speak so much, and every single word was like a knife mercilessly
slashing at his body. When Li Chengxiu was done, Shao Qun almost had no
more strength to squat.

Shao Qun choked: "Chengxiu, it's unfair of you to say that. I have been
working hard for our future. I want my family to accept you, and I want you
to enter the Shao family publicly. And I will be able to achieve all of this, if
you give me some more time. Everything in the Shao family will be yours
one day, so how can you say I haven’t been thinking about the future? I’m
only afraid that you won’t want me. I can promise you everything, except for
giving up. Even if you tell me to let go, I won’t be able to, so there is no use
for you to tell me that."
Li Chengxiu slightly turned his head : "Shao family… doesn’t concern me.
And … I don’t want to have anything to do…with your family anymore."

Shao Qun's body trembled, he turned Li Chengxiu's chin towards himself

and said with some excitement:

"Chengxiu, what I told you is true. The Shao family will be yours. If I give
you the entire Shao family, will you believe me again? In that case, can you
give me another chance?"

Li Chengxiu pushed him away: "What are you even talking about…?"

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s hand: "Chengxiu, believe me. Listen, I am

going to give you the Shao family. Together with me, the entire Shao family
will belong to you. Does that put your mind at ease? As I already told you
earlier, you think that you have nothing, but if you have me, you will have
everything."

Li Chengxiu wanted to pull out his hand and stop this torrent of nonsense:
“Stop talking. Just leave..."

"Chengxiu!" Shao Qun seemed to be desperate, "Chengxiu, do you

remember your physical examination that day?"

Li Chengxiu’s heart skipped a beat and he turned to look at Shao Qun.

"In nine months…you wil have a child of your own."

It seemed that Li Chengxiu was struck by lightning at that moment. He was

completely stunned, unable to digest the bomb that Shao Qun had just
dropped on him. He thought that he must have heard it wrong.

Shao Qun looked at him and said with excitement: "The surrogate mother
I’ve found has been successfully fertilized. She wil give birth to your child.
And this child’s name wil be Shao. He is your child and also mine. He is
ours. In the future, everything in the Shao family will belong to him and to
you..."
Before Shao Qun even finished speaking, Li Chengxiu's face was already
distorted. His whole body trembled, he raised his fist and punched Shao Qun
right in the face.

Shao Qun was knocked to the ground by the sheer force of it, but Li
Chengxiu stil wasn’t done venting his hatred. As if he was possessed, he got
on top of Shao Qun and kept hitting his face and body over and over again.

Unexpectedly, even weak people could go berserk, if they were angered

enough, and their wrath could be quite painful.

At first, Shao Qun subconsciously blocked Li Chengxiu’s punches a couple

of times, but then he simply frowned with a painful look on his face and let
him beat him up as he pleased. In any case, these fists hurt his heart much
more than his body.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Chengxiu was so exhausted that he

couldn’t even lift his hands anymore. His body softened, and big teardrops
started falling onto Shao Qun’s face: "This is... Shao Qun, you bastard! This
is...this is a life...You can’t just casually….casually do whatever you
want...are you even human? This is… a human being you’re talking about!"

Shao Qun struggled to sit up and hugged Li Chengxiu, tears welling up in

his eyes: "Chengxiu, I had no choice. I can’t let you go. I wil go absolutely
crazy without you. I'm so scared that I can't sleep anymore. I'm afraid that
when I wake up one day, I won't be able to find you again. But you don't
want me anymore. So what else could I have done to keep you? Apart from
this, what other option did I have to keep you? If you don't want me
anymore... What the fuck should I do then? What do you think I should do?

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth and fiercely bit Shao Qun’s shoulder,
wishing that he could bite through the flesh. But even that wouldn’t be
enough to vent his hatred.

How far was Shao Qun willing to push him before he was finally willing to
give up?

A child! A child! A lowly homosexual like him now had a child. This was
something he had never even dared to think about in his life. To Li Chengxiu
this was such a sacred and beautiful thing. And Shao Qun had the nerve to
actually use it as a bargaining chip to preemptively force him into a corner.
This innocent child now had to be born into these complicated
circumstances. What was Li Chengxiu to do? What would happen to that
child? How could Shao Qun do such a thing?

Shao Qun was hugging him tightly, but Li Chengxiu couldn’t even feel or
care about the pain in his shoulders or his body.

This tragic love affair was doomed but Shao Qun had the guts to do
whatever needed to be done. He was really stupid before because he had to
reach the end of the dark tunnel before he finally realized how much he
loved Li Chengxiu and that he actually couldn’t live without him. It was his
retribution that their relationship had become what it was now. There was no
chance that Li Chengxiu was willing to return to the way things were before.
But Shao Qun couldn’t let him go. He knew that this would only make Li
Chengxiu hate him more, yet he couldn’t think of a better way. Li Chengxiu
was Shao Qun’s only failure in life. He didn’t dare to think where his actions
would lead the both of them, and he didn’t know if Li Chengxiu was ever
going to smile at him again.

Shao Qun held onto Li Chengxiu just like a drowning man holding onto a
driftwood.

This was the most important wish in his life, the most urgent desire. He
could give up anything, but he could never let this person in his arms go.

Li Chengxiu sobbed and cried - at this moment, he had entirely collapsed.

The two of them hugged for a long time, as if they were the only ones left in
each other’s worlds.

Teacup’s angry barking was what final y brought them both back to reality.

Li Chengxiu struggled to get himself up from Shao Qun’s body, picked up

Teacup that was biting Shao Qun's clothes, put the puppy into his pocket and
then stumbled out of the door.

Shao Qun quickly jumped up and chased after him: "Chengxiu, where are
you going?"
Li Chengxiu's face was full of tears: "Don't follow me..."

Shao Qun grabbed his arm: "Chengxiu, where are you going? You are in a
really bad state right now. You shouldn’t walk around like that..."

"Don't follow me!" Li Chengxiu screamed, pushed him as hard as he could,

turned around and ran away.

Shao Qun didn't care how fierce Li Chengxiu was acting. He still chose to
chase after him.

He had never seen Li Chengxiu like this before. It seemed that all the anger
that had been suppressed in his body before had been ignited at the same
time. Shao Qun had never imagined that this incident was going to stimulate
Li Chengxiu so much.

Shao Qun felt a little regretful in his heart, and he knew that he did
something very wrong again. He kept making mistakes like that, pushing Li
Chengxiu farther and farther away. But the more mistakes he made, the more
mistakes he needed to make to fix them. So he had no other choice but to
continue making mistakes. There was no way back for him anymore.

When Shao Qun rushed downstairs together with Li Chengxiu, he saw a car
approaching from a distance.

He knew at a glance that that was his eldest sister.

He wanted to ignore it and continue chasing after Li Chengxiu but the car
suddenly accelerated and swerved in front of him, blocking his way.

Shao Wen got out of the car, grabbed Shao Qun and said angrily, "So you see
me and then you run…"

Seeing Li Chengxiu moving farther and farther away, Shao Qun was so
anxious that he broke out in sweat.

Now all he wanted was to get rid of his sister.

Shao Wen asked sharply, "Shao Qun, what happened to you? Who hit you?"
She looked at her brother's face, which was blue and purple. Shao Qun’s
cheeks were also stil swollen. She realized that Shao Qun seemed to be in a
hurry right now, so she kind of had an idea of what might have happened.
The whole thing made her angry and distressed.

Shao Qun said anxiously, "Sis, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Then he bypassed
her and ran in the direction where Li Chengxiu had disappeared to.

Shao Wen blushed from anger, turned around and got into the car.

"Follow him," she instructed the driver.

Li Chengxiu was running very fast, and he actually had no goal in mind.
Right now, at this time, he just didn't want to look at Shao Qun anymore.
The farther away he could be from him, the better.

Although Shao Qun followed closely, he didn't dare to get too close. He kept
a little distance between them, afraid that if he approached Li Chengxiu right
now, he would go berserk again.

Li Chengxiu’s thoughts were a jumbled mess. Al of a sudden, countless

pictures and sounds were rushing through his mind. He felt that he was
thinking a lot, yet at the same time he wasn’t thinking at all.

Teacup was nervously twisting inside his pocket. The puppy whimpered,
clasping at the edge of his pocket with its claws, and looked at the distance
between the ground and Li Chengxiu’s pocket. It tried to jump down a
couple of times, but didn’t dare.

Suddenly, the phone right under Teacup’s butt rang. The vibration startled
the dog, so it started whimpering even more anxiously.

It took Li Chengxiu a long time to calm down too. He took out his mobile
phone, looked at the number on the screen and accepted the call.

Ji Yuanqi's energetic voice came from the other side: "Hey, Li Chengxiu,
why haven't you come to visit this Young Master in such a long time? I'm
stuck in this shabby house, and I'm dying of boredom. I want to eat tasty
food."

Li Chengxiu didn't speak, instead he just pressed out an "um".

Ji Yuanqi immediately sensed that there was something wrong with his
voice: "Hey? What's wrong with you?"

Li Chengxiu still didn't speak, so Ji Yuanqi quickly repeated his question:

"Li Chengxiu, what's going on?

Are you crying?"

After a long while, Li Chengxiu finally just said "um" again. At this time, he
could no longer control his emotions, and his voice was trembling.

The person on the other end of the phone immediately exploded: "Shit,
you're crying again... What happened? Who caused you trouble? No, I mean,
you're a man, so you shouldn’t cry under any circumstances. Tell me what's
going on, and I'll help you vent."

Li Chengxiu uncomfortably called out: "Xiao Ji..." After that he couldn’t

help but cry even more.

He was indeed a man, so he really shouldn't cry after every little thing. But
he was a man who had absolutely no say about his own life - even if he
could provide for himself, he was still under somebody else’s control. And
now he was forced into such a dilemma. Even if he doesn’t want to have this
child, can he still reject it? It was his own flesh and blood after all.

Li Chengxiu had always known that he wasn’t the most capable person, but
this was the first time in his life that he felt so desperate about any kind of
situation.

He hated Shao Qun's willfulness, and he also hated his own weakness and
uselessness. He still couldn't come up with a solution to this problem. So he
was now crying his heart out to a child who was a decade younger than
himself.
Ji Yuanqi was anxious: "Where are you now? I'll ask someone to pick you
up. Don't cry, just come over. I'll help you. Tell me where you are."

Li Chengxiu ran out of the house at the spur of the moment, and now he
didn’t want to go back. In the big city of Guangzhou, he really only had this
one friend. After hesitating for a while, Li Chengxiu told Ji Yuanqi his
location.

Ji Yuanqi told him to stay put and immediately sent someone to pick him up.

Li Chengxiu waited at the side of the road for about 20 minutes. Sure
enough, a familiar car appeared. The same men in black from the last time
respectfully opened the door for Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun had been monitoring Li Chengxiu from a distance, and as soon as
he saw what happened, his eyes widened. He hastily jumped into a taxi and
followed.

Remembered this quote for some reason.

At least Shao Qun didn’t kil Teacup.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 72
Very soon they arrived at the villa which Li Chengxiu had already visited a
couple of times before. During the ride, he managed to calm down a bit.
When he got out, he was a little embarrassed to see Ji Yuanqi quickly
running towards him.

As soon as Ji Yuanqi approached, he hugged Li Chengxiu and touched his

red puffy eyes with his fingers:

"What happened? Did you lose your job? Did Teacup die?"

Li Chengxiu frowned and patted his pocket: "It's doing very well. Don’t
talk nonsense..."

Ji Yuanqi glanced at the puppy in the pocket, put his arm over Li
Chengxiu’s shoulders and then led him inside the house: "Tell me, what's
the matter with you."

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and gave Ji Yuanqi a heavy look.

He didn't know where to start. The entanglement between him and Shao
Qun was so chaotic, that it was impossible to untangle it. And even if he
could do it, it wasn’t something he was wil ing to divulge to Ji Yuanqi.

Ji Yuanqi saw that Li Chengxiu didn't speak, so he poked his face to make
him hurry up.

"You're looking at me with such a desperate face, and you still haven't told
me what's going on. Are you deliberately trying to stir something up here
with me?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I should just go back..."

Ji Yuanqi pressed him back down onto the sofa, "Don't go. You can't go
until your thing is resolved."
Li Chengxiu took Teacup out of his pocket, fiddled around with it, lowered
his head and kept quiet.

Ji Yuanqi took out a paper tissue and pushed it towards Li Chengxiu, so he

could wipe his face.

Li Chengxiu awkwardly took it and whispered, "Thank you."

Ji Yuanqi sighed: "Talk. How can I help you if you don't talk to me?"

Li Chengxiu rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath: "What do you want to
eat? I'll cook it for you."

Ji Yuanqi shouted in a husky voice, "I don't want to eat anything right
now!"

Just as the two of them were looking awkwardly at each other, there was a
sound of commotion coming from the outside.

Ji Yuanqi was about to get up to take a look, when a bodyguard knocked on

the door and came in.

"What's going on?" Ji Yuanqi looked outside the window and saw several
people making noise around the gate.

The bodyguard answered: "Master, someone outside was insisting on

coming in. He said that he’s looking for Mr.Li…Then a lady arrived right
after him. One of the subordinates recognized her as the eldest Young Miss
from the Beijing Shao family."

Li Chengxiu's face suddenly changed, and he nervously looked at Ji Yuanqi.

Ji Yuanqi showed a fierce expression: "Were you crying like this because of
that Shao Qun guy?"

Li Chengxiu stood up anxiously: "I still..."

Ji Yuanqi stared out the window: "Just sit down... Fuck, I’ve been itching to
teach this Shao jerk a lesson for quite some time. Let him in and ask his
sister to wait outside."

The bodyguard said cautiously, "Master, that person doesn’t seem too
friendly. Are you sure you want to let him in? Why don’t you rather invite
Miss Shao here? It’s not appropriate to make her stand outside…"

Ji Yuanqi said indifferently: "I’m already being very respectful by letting

her brother come in. What are you afraid of? This is my territory."

The bodyguard helplessly retreated.

After a while, the people who were crowding at the door dispersed, and
Shao Qun was brought in with a gloomy expression on his face

Ji Yuanqi firmly squeezed Li Chengxiu's hand and grinned: "Watch me

channel your anger at him!"

As soon as Shao Qun entered, he first located Li Chengxiu and was slightly
relieved. Then his eyes moved towards Ji Yuanqi, and his gaze turned cold
in an instant.

Ji Yuanqi glared right back at him, serving the same energy.

Shao Qun reached out towards Li Chengxiu: "Chengxiu, let’s go home."

Li Chengxiu didn't lift his head. He only covered Teacup with his hands,
while his shoulders slightly trembled.

Ji Yuanqi put his arms around Li Chengxiu and said coldly to Shao Qun:
"He’s not even paying any attention to you, and you’re stil pestering him.
Are you not done yet?”

Shao Qun responded: "What do our affairs have to do with you? You’re an
outsider. Just be smart, stay out of it and don’t get in between us."

Ji Yuan said sarcastically: "You are standing on the floor of my house right
now. Li Chengxiu came to my house on his own volition. Me and him are at
least friends. And who are you? Can't you see that he won't even bother
with you?"
Shao Qun resisted the urge to wave his fist and said to Li Chengxiu with a
pleading tone: "Chengxiu, what's the matter? Let's just go home and talk
about it, okay?"

His sister was waiting outside the door. And he didn't want her to know that
his relationship with Li Chengxiu had reached a very bad point. It would
make it more difficult for him to convince his family on this matter.

Li Chengxiu remained unresponsive, while Ji Yuanqi proudly glanced at

Shao Qun.

The three of them were in a deadlock for a long time. Shao Qun finally
couldn't hold it any longer, so he came up to Li Chengxiu and tried to pull
him up.

As soon as he made his move, Ji Yuanqi also stood up and blocked Shao
Qun, looking at him provocatively.

Li Chengxiu got up from the sofa and took several steps back, trying to
avoid him.

This apparent dodging stabbed Shao Qun right in the heart. His eyes
immediately turned red, and he shouted at Li Chengxiu: "I just want to be
with you! Why are you always running away? Why are you always
avoiding me?"

Li Chengxiu trembled: "I don't want to be with you."

When Shao Qun heard these words, his eyes filled with deep pain, and his
expression partly showed utter despair and partly cold cruelty.

He pushed Ji Yuanqi away and wanted to come closer to Li Chengxiu.

Ji Yuanqi had been waiting for this opportunity to show off in front of Li
Chengxiu for a long time. And here came the awaited trigger. Ji Yuanqi
grabbed Shao Qun’s arm, twisted it to the side, and his fist went right into
Shao Qun’s face.
Shao Qun quickly took a hold of Ji Yuanqi's hand that was twisting his arm.
He then ducked away from one of the punches and slammed his shoulder
into Ji Yuanqi’s chest.

Ji Yuanqi was knocked over backwards, but he didn't let go of Shao Qun's
arm, so both of them instantly fell to the ground.

The bodyguards who were on guard next to the door rushed in to witness
this scene. Ji Yuanqi’s face was red from anger. He shouted at his men,
"Don't come in between! Not a single one of you."

The bodyguards were discouraged by his words, so they had no other

choice but to stand around with some embarrassment and watch the two
guys go at it.

Looking at the fight, Li Chengxiu was so frightened that he was nervously

retreating back until he reached the wall.

He actually wanted to go up to them and stop this madness, but he didn't

dare to get close to the battle area, so he was beside himself with anxiety.

Li Chengxiu then ran towards the bodyguards: "Hurry up and stop them!"

The leader shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Young Master didn’t allow
us to interfere."

So there was nothing Li Chengxiu could do besides nervously pacing back

and forth, The bodyguard tried to comfort him: "Mr. Li, don't worry too
much. He can't beat the Young Master without a weapon..."

Before he even finished speaking, someone next to him shouted: "Wei-Ge,

they have a knife!"

The person who was called Wei-Ge turned his head, and sure enough, Ji
Yuanqi and Shao Qun had snatched the fruit knife from the coffee table. It
was unclear who exactly was holding the knife at that moment.

Wei-Ge shouted: "Not good, we have to stop them now!" He then rushed up
towards the men first.
Several other people ran to protect their Young Master.

After that, the situation turned chaotic, Li Chengxiu was pushed onto the
sidelines, while Ji Yuanqi and Shao Qun were tightly surrounded by a group
of people in black. Li Chengxiu couldn't see anything at all, when he
suddenly heard a grunt. All the people in the room immediately quieted
down.

Li Chengxiu felt that the grunt had hit him right in the heart. A terrible
thought suddenly invaded his mind.

He staggered over and pushed the person in front of him away.

Then he saw Shao Qun lying on the ground with a frown and sweat on his
forehead. Blood was seeping out from the side of his waist. Most of the
shiny blade was still outside his body.

At that moment, Li Chengxiu had the illusion of going into cardiac arrest.
For a while, it seemed like a heavy weight was put on top of him. He
couldn't stand anymore, so he slid down to the ground.

Ji Yuanqi was stunned, as he looked at the bloody knife in his hand.

Wei-Ge went up to him and grabbed the knife out of his hand. Sweating
profusely, he shouted "Quick, take him to the hospital. Hurry!"

Li Chengxiu felt dizzy. He placed his weak hand onto Shao Qun and called
out to him as quietly as a mosquito:"Shao... Shao Qun... Shao..."

Shao Qun barely opened his eyes, covered his waist with one hand, and
wanted to hold Li Chengxiu’s arm with his other hand.

Li Chengxiu’s body was being torn apart by the unbearable pain he felt.
Unspeakable fear and despair squeezed out the remains of his rationality.
His body started to tremble in an abnormal way, and tears ran down his
cheeks. Li Chengxiu barely managed to take a hold of Shao Qun’s hand and
open his mouth to say something, when Shao Qun was already lifted up.
Li Chengxiu was still kneeling on the ground and couldn't stand up. The
two of them were holding tightly onto each other and wouldn’t let go, no
matter how much they were persuaded.

In desperation, one of the bodyguards held Li Chengxiu's other arm and

lifted him up from the floor. Li Chengxiu felt as if his legs were stepping on
cotton. He couldn’t exert any strength, so he just reluctantly walked forward
while being supported by the man.

In his eyes, the whole world had suddenly become dim, and there were no
more colors left. The surrounding noise, screams, people in front of him…
Li Chengxiu couldn’t see or hear any of that anymore.

There was currently only Shao Qun's dazzling red blood in front of his
eyes… And there was a real possibility that Shao Qun was going to
disappear from his life forever.

Li Chengxiu wasn’t sure how the bodyguards managed to stuff him into the
car. Shao Qun was now lying in his arms, and both of them had blood on
their hands, but they kept holding on tightly to one another.

Shao Qun's voice slowly reached his ears: "Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun’s pale face as if he was in a trance.

Shao Qun forced a rogue smile: "Give me... a kiss..."

"Give me... a kiss..." Shao Qun weakly raised his hand and put it on Li
Chengxiu’s neck, "Come on, in case... I can't kiss anymore... ok?... come..."

Li Chengxiu's eyes fil ed with tears, and he could only see a blur instead of
Shao Qun’s face.

Shao Qun's voice seemed to be losing its strength, so he was barely audible
when he repeated: "Come on..."

Li Chengxiu slowly moved closer to his face.

This was real y not a good kiss. Li Chengxiu was crying so hard that he
could barely locate Shao Qun’s mouth.But as soon as hot and humid lips
were finally pressed together, Shao Qun felt that getting stabbed was worth
it.

At that moment, the power that was choking Li Chengxiu’s throat slowly
eased, so he suddenly cried out:"Shao Qun, you... don't die... Shao Qun..."

Shao Qun had already passed out in his arms.

When they got to the hospital, Ji Yuanqi's bodyguards final y managed to

separate Shao Qun’s and Li Chengxiu’s people's hands.

Shao Qun was taken into the operating room. Li Chengxiu felt that he had
become just an empty hull of a person - everything in front of him was just
an illusion that would shatter when touched. Even the fact that he was alive
became unreal.

In a trance, he vaguely noticed that Shao Qun's sister was crying in front of
him and saying that she would never let him go, if something happened to
her brother.

Shao Qun...

Li Chengxiu gradually couldn't even feel his own body temperature. He was
standing against the wall as if penalized for something and stared at the
lights inside the operating room. He feared that if he took his eyes away
even just for a moment, he might miss something important.

In those few short hours, Li Chengxiu experienced unforgettable pain and

suffering.

He couldn't restrain himself from thinking about the worst case scenario,
and he felt like he was on the verge of collapse.

All their love-hate entanglements became worthless in the face of death.

Those fierce words they exchanged, those chaotic emotions he experienced
- all of that was slowly being erased. Only Shao Qun remained - still utterly
and completely occupying all of Li Chengxiu’s thoughts and attentions.

He might die... There was so much blood, his complexion was so pale, his
voice so weak… Shao Qun, who always seemed invincible before, was now
so fragile that he could disappear at any moment.

Li Chengxiu didn't know how to accept that. He couldn't imagine that there
might not be a Shao Qun in this world.

Even if he and Shao Qun were separated and lived on opposite ends of the
world, at least Shao Qun would always live in Li Chengxiu’s memories as
high spirited as always. In that case he wouldn’t need to worry at all - just
that was enough for Li Chengxiu to peacefully live his own life. But he
couldn't bear the cruel possibility that Shao Qun would just be gone forever.

Li Chengxiu couldn’t take it anymore... He couldn’t figure it out... How did

it get to this point? What happened to him and Shao Qun?

An unknown amount of time passed before the lights in the operating room
finally went out.

Li Chengxiu was standing still as a sculpture. When he finally moved, his

legs were sore. He walked towards the operating room, feeling hoarse in his
throat.

Just a few steps away, he was stopped by Shao Wen's driver.

As soon as the door of the operating room opened, Shao Wen rushed over,
anxiously questioning the doctor.

Li Chengxiu could only see Shao Qun lying there on the bed with his eyes
closed. But he couldn’t push the chubby and strong driver out of his way no
matter how hard he tried.

While he was attempting to approach Shao Qun, he heard the doctor say,
"Everything’s alright for now. The patient is still under anesthesia, so he
needs some rest."
Li Chengxiu’s eyes fil ed with tears, his legs softened, and he could barely
prevent himself from kneeling down by holding onto the wall.

He helplessly watched as Shao Qun was taken away, while Shao Wen
followed. He then slumped to the ground. Everything in front of his eyes
gradually turned black, and he lost consciousness.

When Li Chengxiu woke up again, he saw one of Ji Yuanqi's bodyguards

sitting beside him and playing with his cell phone.

When he noticed that Li Chengxiu was awake, he immediately leaned over:

"Mr. Li, are you conscious? Do you need anything?"

Li Chengxiu propped himself up planning to leave the bed, but the man
stopped him.

Li Chengxiu grabbed his arm and asked urgently, "Shao Qun! Where is
Shao Qun?"

The bodyguard reassured him: "Mr. Shao is fine. He is resting upstairs."

Li Chengxiu's eyes felt sore, and his body was trembling. He closed his
eyes and fell back on the bed, repeating to himself, "It's okay...it's okay..."

The bodyguard picked up his phone: "Mr. Li, my Young Master wanted you
to call him as soon as you woke up."

Li Chengxiu glanced at the phone and gently shook his head.

He didn’t want to talk to Ji Yuanqi right now. He didn’t want to talk to

anyone. Because he didn’t know what to say.

The man put the phone away with some embarrassment: "It's fine. You can
do it when you're emotionally stable... Also, Mr. Li, your dog is currently at
my Young master's vil a. It's already been fed, and we’l send it to you with a
car at a later time."

In all the chaos, Li Chengxiu had long forgotten about Teacup. At a time
like that, how could he think about anything else other than Shao Qun?
With tears in his eyes, he nodded to the bodyguard.

The bodyguard was about to say something else, when there was a knock
on the door, and Shao Wen's driver came in. Seeing that Li Chengxiu was
awake, he said, "Mr. Li, my Young Master wants to see you."

Li Chengxiu was shocked, but he immediately sat up: "He… how is he?"

The driver looked a little embarrassed: "Mr. Li, let's just go."

When Li Chengxiu got out of bed, he realized that his legs were still soft,
and he was shaking when he walked.

Higher Brothers - Young Master (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

Due to the constant “Young Master” this and “Young Master” that in this
chapter, I now got this song stuck in my head.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 73
Shao Qun woke up as soon as the anesthesia wore off. His waist was sore,
and it felt like it was on fire. He touched his wound and slowly smiled.

When he moved, Shao Wen, who was napping while sitting next to him,
immediately woke up. She quickly straightened up and asked with concern,
"Qunqun, are you awake? How are you?"

Since the time he grew up, his sister hadn’t called Shao Qun by his
nickname anymore. At this moment, when he looked at the dark circles
under her eyes and her swollen eyelids, he felt very uncomfortable.

Hoarsely he said, "Sis... It's okay. I made you worry."

Shao Wen touched his forehead, her eyes full of discomfort: "You made
such a mess... I don’t even dare to tell Dad. How could this happen? How
could you be so stupid?"

Shao Qun sighed: "Sis, I know you can't understand… But in any case, I’m
in love with him, and I only want to be with him. We have already
discussed everything, and that woman I found is pregnant. If she gives birth
to a girl, I will do all of this again, until there is an heir for the Shao family.
So you can stop pestering me with that."

Shao Wen shook her head gently: "I think he's not worth it... You'll regret it
later."

Shao Qun closed his eyes: "Whether he’s worth it or not, it's a question for
the future. Right now, I hope that Li Chengxiu can enter our Shao family in
a dignified manner."

Shao Wen turned her head away: "Don't push it."

Shao Qun sighed and said solemnly: "Eldest sister, I used to treat him very
badly. I was such a jerk to him on so many occasions, but from now on, I
don't want to wrong him ever again. I know that you’re looking down on
him, but he's really not the kind of person you think he is. He is good to me,
and he harbors no ulterior motives. Why can’t you accept him? Beijing is
such a big and diverse city. Have you and dad real y never encountered
something like this before? Why can’t you just turn a blind eye and let me
live a happy life?"

Seeing that his sister still didn't speak, Shao Qun said, "I want to see Li
Chengxiu."

Shao Wen glared at him.

Shao Qun became angry and was about to get out of bed.

Shao Wen said: "He has already left the hospital. Where do you think
you’re going?"

Shao Qun was stunned and stared at his sister: "He left?"

Shao Wen pressed him back onto the bed.

Shao Qun smiled but his smile looked even more ghastly than a crying face
would. He murmured, "Was this fucking knife completely useless..." He
clearly remembered kissing Li Chengxiu before he passed out.

It wasn’t just a hal ucination from excessive blood loss, was it?

Shao Wen didn't hear him clearly: "What did you just say?"

Shao Qun lifted the quilt: "I'll go find him."

Shao Wen angrily slapped him on the top of his head: "Are you crazy?
Don't move or your wound will open up again."

Shao Qun still insisted on getting out of bed: "He didn't even care about me
and left. I have to find him."

Shao Wen angrily said, "He didn't leave. He's still in the hospital!"
Shao Qun's face immediately turned red, and he exclaimed in surprise,
"Really?"

Shao Wen turned her head away. It annoyed her to see her brother’s current
pathetic appearance.

Shao Qun insisted on seeing Li Chengxiu, and he couldn't sit still at all.
Shao Wen really had no other choice but to ask her driver to bring Li
Chengxiu in.

Shao Wen wiped the corners of her eyes and said tiredly, "Don't talk for too
long." After that, she left the room.

As soon as Li Chengxiu came in, he saw Shao Qun lying on the bed with
his eyes closed. His face was just as white as the sheets.

He had never seen Shao Qun in such a state. In addition to the bruises on
his face, there were also several other injuries from his fight with Xiao Ji.
He looked completely miserable and haggard.

Li Chengxiu’s heart tightened, and he slowly approached him with light

footsteps.

Shao Qun opened his eyes and slightly turned his head to look at Li
Chengxiu, seeming very weak.

Li Chengxiu stood by the bed and didn't move, just helplessly wringing his
hands : "You…you are awake..."

Shao Qun witlessly said: "Chengxiu..." He slowly stretched out his hand,
"Come here..."

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a moment, then came a bit closer, but didn't take
Shao Qun’s hand.

Now that he knew that Shao Qun was out of the woods, his heart that had
been hanging up in the air before final y felt relieved, thus he came to his
senses. When he thought of his own reaction to Shao Qun’s injury, he was
unable to face the man without some awkwardness. It seemed he wasn’t
indifferent towards Shao Qun, but he wasn’t close to him either.

It must have been because he felt guilty about Shao Qun’s injury that he
reacted like that. After all, it wasn’t Shao Qun’s fault that he got injured.

Seeing the man’s pale face and his hand that was stil stubbornly hanging
mid-air, Li Chengxiu’s heart softened. He grabbed Shao Qun’s arm and
wanted to put it back under the quilt.

However, Shao Qun held tightly onto him, clasping his hand with his five
fingers and refusing to let go.

Li Chengxiu sighed, pulled a chair over and sat down.

Shao Qun looked at him without blinking, his eyes full of anticipation.

Li Chengxiu lowered his face and whispered, "Do you feel better?"

Shao Qun pul ed Li Chengxiu’s hand to his chest: "I'm lucky to be alive and
stil be able to see you."

When Li Chengxiu felt Shao Qun’s warm, firm chest and his strong
heartbeat, his own heart ached uncontrollably.

No matter what, Shao Qun was still alive.

It’s good that he lived.

Li Chengxiu said: "I'm sorry…Xiao Ji, he is..."

"It's not your fault. I had it all coming. If you aren’t satisfied yet, you can
vent your anger on me a couple more times."

Li Chengxiu was stunned at first, then he shook his head with a wry smile.

He hated Shao Qun, but not so much that he wanted him to end his life on
an operating table.
Shao Qun brought Li Chengxiu’s hand to his mouth and kissed it,
whispering, "If your anger has been satisfied, does it mean I have hope?"

Li Chengxiu pulled his hand back slowly but firmly. The two of them have
been entangled with each other for almost two years. Both physically and
mentally Li Chengxiu was exhausted.

At this point, he was also tired of frowning and acting fierce. He finally felt
that he could have a calm conversation with Shao Qun.

Slowly, "Shao Qun, I won't hate you anymore, but..."

Shao Qun interrupted him and said, "Don’t say “but”! Nothing good ever
comes after a “but”. Chengxiu, I know you stil have feelings for me. You’re
stil concerned about me, right? If I real y die, I don't believe that you won’t
care at all."

Li Chengxiu lowered his head and said nothing.

Shao Qun continued: "Ask yourself - isn’t this the case? I have wronged
you too much in the past, so I understand your need to be mean to me and
drive me crazy. It’s all right. I'm an asshole, true, but even a murderer gets a
chance for rehabilitation. You can't just shoot me dead. I am willing to do
anything for you for the rest of your life. I can even give you the Shao
family. What are you so worried about? What else makes you distrust me?
If you’re unhappy in the future, you can just throw money left and right,
and I will keep supporting you forever. How can you stil say that you have
nothing? Doesn’t all this make you feel at ease?"

Chengxiu sniffed and choked: "Shao Qun… us…It's not about money..."

Shao Qun said anxiously: "I didn't say it was about money! I’m just trying
to make you feel at ease. Your main concern is that one day I’l become a
jerk again. In that case, you can kick me out, you can dump me, you can
slap me and tell me to get lost. I want you to feel secure for the rest of your
life. And it’s my job to make that happen."
Li Chengxiu wiped his eyes: "I...you stil need to… get better., Let’s wait…
wait for you to recuperate..."

Shao Qun was already ecstatic. He knew that Li Chengxiu had finally given
up his positions. The knife was so fucking worth it. At least Li Chengxiu
felt too sorry for him now to treat him like an enemy.

At this time, it made sense not to push too hard anymore. Shao Qun sighed,
relaxed his body and whispered: "Chengxiu, can you stay with me? My
stomach hurts... I can't eat anything yet…but I really want to eat your
porridge."

Li Chengxiu looked down at his hands: "When you can eat again, I’l make
some for you."

Shao Qun stretched out his arm again, trying to grab Li Chengxiu, when
suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Li Chengxiu turned around and saw that the person had already entered.
That was the same bodyguard who stayed at his bed earlier. He handed Li
Chengxiu a phone and quickly said, "Mr. Li, please answer it right away.
My Young Master is calling"

Before Li Chengxiu even managed to say something, Shao Qun growled,

"Get the fuck out of here!"

The bodyguard pretended he didn’t hear anything: "Mr. Li, please be sure to
pick it up now. Master has returned from abroad and is heading to the place
where the Young Master currently lives. When he arrives, the Young Master
will not be able to contact you anymore."

Li Chengxiu stood up and said to Shao Qun, "You rest." Then he walked to
the door.

Shao Qun hurriedly shouted: "Chengxiu, don't go! I'm in this kind of
state… and you’re stil going to talk to that bastard!"
Li Chengxiu gave him an embarrassed look: "I… I have to take it...
Besides, you were the one who started it first..."

Shao Qun was nervously sweating. He really didn't want Li Chengxiu to

answer that call.

But unfortunately he had a hole in his waist. It hurt even when he wasn’t
moving, not to mention sitting up or getting out of bed to stop Li Chengxiu.
He could only helplessly watch as Li Chengxiu said "hello" on the phone
and closed the door.

"Li Chengxiu." Ji Yuanqi's voice was filled with great frustration, "I won't
be able to see you for a long time."

Li Chengxiu sighed and said in a reproachful tone: "Xiao Ji, you were too
reckless..." It wasn’t entirely Ji Yuanqi’s fault, but he did indeed cause the
injury to Shao Qun. It was a good thing that Shao Qun woke up.

In case he... Li Chengxiu didn't even dare to think about it. But these kinds
of thoughts made him feel uneasy towards Ji Yuanqi.

Ji Yuanqi's tone suddenly became impatient: "It's not what you think! It
wasn’t my fault at all..."

Li Chengxiu interrupted him, "You injured a person! How can you…say

such a thing…?"

Ji Yuanqi retorted angrily: "I didn't injure him! He stabbed himself."

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while.

Ji Yuanqi continued to rant: "I had to call you just to tell you that! This Shao
guy is insane! He was the one who grabbed the knife. I thought he was
going to stab me, so I snatched it from him. Then he held onto my wrist and
stabbed himself in the stomach! And I’m the one who has to take the blame
for it, damn it! Since my dad is coming home soon, I’l have to postpone
killing him for now…"

Li Chengxiu broke out in cold sweat and he shivered.

He heard his own voice coming out with some difficulty : "You’re
saying...that he... himself..."

"Exactly! If you don't believe me, ask him yourself! He is a sick fuck...
Chengxiu, no matter what, you can't trust him. I had someone investigate
him. He's not a good person. He’s had countless affairs with men and
women. He’s someone who’l treat you like a treasure while he’s chasing
you but as soon as he gets what he wants, he’l kick you to the curb…"

Li Chengxiu hung up the phone.

He was dizzy, his eyes couldn’t focus, and his legs were shaking. He slid
down the wall and sat on the ground.

He stil couldn’t digest what Ji Yuanqi had just said.

Shao Qun did this to himself? That knife… was his own doing…

Why would he do such a thing? He lost so much blood... What if he had

really died? Why did he do it just because of him...

Li Chengxiu trembled uncontrollably, and an unspeakable fear tightly

enveloped him .

Was this what Shao Qun's love was like? So intense and so desperate... It
was like an insatiable fire that burned himself and also others around him.

If Shao Qun could make him a father against his wil , if he could stab
himself with a knife…what else could he do?

Li Chengxiu had never been so scared in his life before.

What kind of crazy person is Shao Qun, and what exactly is he capable of?

Li Chengxiu climbed up from the ground and staggered towards Shao Qun's
ward.

He wanted to ask him point blank.

He had to know beyond any doubt that what Xiao Ji had said was true, and
he wanted to know Shao Qun’s objective.

When Li Chengxiu approached, he saw Shao Wen and the driver standing at
the door of the ward and discussing something. Shao Wen's face was ashen.

As soon as she saw Li Chengxiu, Shao Wen looked at him with disgust. It
seemed she wanted to pounce on him and strangle him to death right there
and now: "Haven’t you talked enough? Get fucking lost!"

No matter how much Shao Wen disdained Li Chengxiu, she had always
maintained a certain level of politeness. Now, her emotions were obviously
out of control.

Li Chengxiu said dumbly: "Let me… let me go in. I'l just ask him… a few
questions..."

Shao Wen stared at Li Chengxiu for a long time. Her eyes gradually turned
red. Then she turned her back to him: "Ten minutes. Don't disturb his rest."

Li Chengxiu opened the door and walked in. Shao Qun had already turned
his head, expecting him to come closer. His eyes were so dark that it was
difficult to decipher his emotions.

Li Chengxiu dragged his body forward as if he was a walking corpse. He

stood in front of Shao Qun’s bed, hearing his own voice coming out of his
throat, sounding hol ow: "Did you… by yourself… this… knife..."

Li Chengxiu was incoherent. But the other party in the room understood
him all too well.

Shao Qun kept quiet. His bright black eyes were staring at Li Chengxiu
without blinking.

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes, then opened them again. They now looked
red.

"Why… why…?"
Shao Qun gave him a self-deprecating smile: "Aren't you here right now?"

Li Chengxiu asked in a trembling voice, "Shao Qun, are you crazy?"

Shao Qun nodded, his eyes empty: "You’re damn right I am. And it’s not a
light case either. I’m not just a regular nutcase walking the streets. I’m so
rare, that I’m actual y wil ing to die. I guess I am very abnormal."

Li Chengxiu choked, "Shao Qun, you’re going to drive me insane."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 74
Shao Qun's eyes gradually filled with tears: "I didn't want to force you either.
I had exhausted all my tricks at that point. And you stil wouldn’t even look
at me. So I had to do what I did. And if I didn’t, would you be here talking to
me? Li Chengxiu, let me tell you, taking this knife was far less painful than
what I felt when you stabbed at my heart over and over again. I tried
everything else. At first, I thought that as long as I was a good person,
treated you well and let you know that I really loved you, you’d forgive me.
Then I found out the hard way, that that wasn’t fucking true. No matter how
good I was and no matter whether you believed in the sincerity of my
feelings or not, you stil didn’t want me anymore. You just didn’t fucking
want me at all.

Since you left me no way out, what else was I supposed to do?"

Li Chengxiu sat down on the chair, covered his face with his hands, and his
shoulders slightly trembled.

Shao Qun looked at him with unbearable pain in his heart.

He was at his wit’s end. Al he could do now was desperately throw his
weight around. If Li Chengxiu’s heart stil didn’t soften after all of this, what
else was he supposed to do? Die? Lock him up?

Either way, they've both come to the end of the line. Li Chengxiu was still
unwilling. Shao Qun could obviously make him happy, yet he refused to
accept it. Why? Why couldn’t he just trust him again? Shao Qun would
literally do anything for him. So why did he refuse to go back to the way
they were?

How stubborn was Li Chengxiu? He was stubborn to the point that Shao
Qun’s forehead was bleeding from trying to break through the wall that Li
Chengxiu had built around his heart.

He was desperate.
Li Chengxiu suddenly moved and asked witlessly, "What… what else are
you planning to do?"

Shao Qun smiled a miserable smile: "You tell me. If you’re going to leave
now, just pick another place I should stab at. What do you say, if you just
leave like this, why don't you pick a place and stab you again. If I die, you’l
have your peace, and no one will disgust you anymore."

Li Chengxiu couldn’t help crying when he said: "Shao Qun, threatening me

with something like this...you...you are sick..."

Shao Qun took a deep breath, trying to prop himself up. He then turned his
face towards Li Chengxiu and said anxiously: "Chengxiu, is it so hard to
accept me again? Hm? You once loved me, and we were also very happy
together. We can be just like we were before. No, I… I wil treat you a
thousand times better than before. Is that so hard? If you give me one more
chance, you will save me and yourself. I beg you, give me a second chance.
You can do whatever you want with me, except leave me!"

Li Chengxiu covered his face.

After a long time, he asked in a weak voice: "Is it true…the thing about the
child?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, then he realized that he was asked a
question and hurriedly said,

"Yes! It's true."

"A boy or a girl?"

"She just got pregnant, I don't know yet... If you’re so eager to know, we can
do a chromosome test[2]..."

"No..." Li Chengxiu raised her tear-stained face, "If…If it's a girl...you…

and Shao family… won’t need it?"

Shao Qun responded anxiously: "Nobody said that! Doesn’t matter if it’s a
boy or a girl - your child is also my child. So how can I not need it?"
Li Chengxiu looked at him as if he was in a trance.

Is this affection, or is it just a creepy obsession?

The image that Shao Qun had created in Li Chengxiu’s heart was inseparable
from cruel ruthlessness. But more and more he felt that maybe he didn’t
know Shao Qun well enough. This man could do all these crazy things, his
eyes were full of sadness and deep affection… Was it the same man who
brutally humiliated him? Li Chengxiu almost couldn’t recognize him
anymore.

No matter how much he told himself not to fall into the trap again, his heart
had still moved. And he actually began to believe that Shao Qun really loved
him.

Although he couldn't forgive what Shao Qun had done to him, Li Chengxiu
also couldn't continue lying to himself.

Shao Qun loved him. And this time it was true.

After this person had hurt him, humiliated him, and pushed him into the
abyss of excruciating pain, the most painful thing in the world was hearing
Shao Qun tell him that he loved him.

Loved him to the point where you could do anything and be relentless in his
pursuit.

Li Chengxiu felt that after these two years of his entanglement with Shao
Qun, he was more exhausted than ever before.

He suddenly wanted to lie down on the ground and tell anybody, who passed
him by, that he didn’t care about love and that all he wanted to do was to
never get up.

Li Chengxiu wiped his tears with quick violent motions. He needed to be

alone for a while.

He didn’t want to face Shao Qun at this moment. And he didn’t want to face
his own predicament. He wanted to be alone to think about all of this in
peace.

He had to think about Shao Qun and also about his innocent soon-to-be-born
son or a daughter.

Only after thinking about it, he would come back and tell Shao Qun... tell
Shao Qun that...

Li Chengxiu got up from his chair and shuffled out.

Shao Qun's pupils shrank sharply, and in a trembling voice he asked , "Li
Chengxiu, where are you going?"

Li Chengxiu stumbled out without turning around as if he didn't hear him at

all.

Shao Qun shouted anxiously: "Li Chengxiu! You are not allowed to leave!"

At that moment, he felt as if an invisible hand had penetrated through his

chest and was tightly and mercilessly squeezing his heart. No surprise, that it
hurt like hell.

He propped himself up on the bed with his arms and was about to roll over.
Unfortunately, his body had lost too much blood, so it was obviously not as
flexible as he had imagined. As soon as he left the bed, he couldn’t keep his
balance and fell heavily to the ground. Shao Qun felt a sharp pain in his
waist, and warm blood started flowing out again.

Li Chengxiu was shocked when he turned around and saw Shao Qun
struggling on the ground.

He hurried back and helped him up: "You…What are you doing?" His hand
touched Shao Qun’s waist, stained with blood, and his voice changed: "Shao
Qun, you... Ah, the wound... Shao Qun!"

Shao Qun put his arm around Li Chengxiu’s neck and choked: "Chengxiu,
don't go. Don't leave me. I have nothing else left in my life... Stay by my
side, I beg you. You stay... I'm dying... If you leave, I'l go crazy…
real y… real y…I’l go crazy... You stay..."

"I'm not...not going anywhere...I...Doctor!!!"

The door of the ward suddenly burst open, and Shao Wen rushed in first,
followed by the doctor and two nurses. They came up to help Shao Qun, and
the scene became a chaotic mess.

Li Chengxiu didn't even understand who pushed him out of the ward. While
he was still out of it, he was heavily slapped, and then a woman's cry rang in
his ear.

It took him a long time to realize that it was Shao Wen who was sitting next
to him and crying.

It turned out that even such a strong woman would cry so sadly.

Li Chengxiu slowly got back to his senses and said hoarsely, "I'm sorry."

Shao Wen's shoulders paused. She maintained this awkward position for a
long time before her crying finally faded. She wiped her face and stood up.

Shao Wen was very tall. In her high heels she was even taller than Li
Chengxiu. As soon as she got up, her facial expression went back to
indifference and sternness. This put an invisible pressure on Li Chengxiu.

"Come with me," she said coldly.

The two of them entered an empty ward. Shao Wen turned her back to Li
Chengxiu, looked out the window and after a long time spat out: "When our
mother died, Shao Qun was only four or five years old.”

"Al year round, our father was not at home. Besides, he’s not the type to take
care of children. At that time, I had to bring up my two younger sisters, who
were eight and six, as well as Shao Qun… Shao Qun is more like my son
than my brother. He grew up being pampered by everyone around him. He
always got what he wanted. And there came a time when I realized that he
became selfish and stubborn. He never gave a thought to what others did for
him or to what I did for him. There was always someone around to clean up
his fucking messes..."

Shao Wen paused, "But... it was just the way he was. He... I remember when
he was nine years old, there was a man in my school who kept harassing me.
After he found out, he went to pick a fight with that

person. Could a nine-year-old boy beat a grown man? To be safe, he brought

a knife... No one taught him to do that. I myself knew there was a better
solution to the situation. But he went there on impulse... and almost ran into
a disaster. He doesn’t care what others think. He has his own ideas on how to
be good to somebody. And it doesn’t matter to him, if that somebody wants
that or not in the end."

Shao Wen turned around and looked at Li Chengxiu blankly: "I watched him
grow up, and I worry every day that he will cause irreparable disasters
because of his recklessness and impulsiveness. He is more daring than an
average person. He dared to stab somebody when he was nine, he dared to
steal my dad’s gun, he dared to jump from the third floor on a bet. Today, he
hurts himself for you, tomorrow he’l dare to drive into the wall."

Looking at Li Chengxiu's terrified expression, she smiled sarcastically: "This

is how my brother is. He has to get what he wants, or, sooner or later, he will
destroy himself or others."

She took a deep breath: "After telling you all of this, I want you to know that
it is impossible for me in this lifetime to approve of a man entering our Shao
family. But I have no choice. Before doing any of his stupid things... Shao
Qun could always force me to compromise. Fortunately... Fortunately, at
least he agreed to the matter about the child. So the major demand of the
Shao household about having a descendant has been satisfied. Since Shao
Qun agreed to make such a concession, I also have to give up some of my
positions. So, from now on, I don’t care about your private affairs."

Li Chengxiu looked at her blankly, his throat seemed to have closed up, and
he couldn’t make a sound.
Shao Wen hugged her chest and looked at him: "You don't have to be afraid.
If he really likes you as much as he claims, you should be glad. Although he
often pisses off the people he likes with his various shenanigans, he will also
give his everything to protect us from any harm." Shao Wen stepped closer
to Li Chengxiu with her high heels. Her eyes became colder, "Things have
come to this. I don't want to hear any more words that I shouldn't hear. You
just stay by his side. If you cause any more trouble to my brother, I won’t let
you off." After Shao Wen finished speaking, she walked right past him.

Li Chengxiu squatted down holding his head.

His fate had always been decided by others. Who had ever asked him what
he thought? Who had ever asked him, whether he was willing or not?

Everything Shao Qun had done shocked and frightened him. Li Chengxiu
had to admit that Shao Qun had achieved his goal.

Unless Shao Qun chased him away, Li Chengxiu wouldn't dare to think
about "leaving" again.

Shao Qun’s desperate appearance, bleeding out on the ground and looking at
Li Chengxiu as if he was abandoning him still lingered in his mind. Even if
he was reluctant, he couldn't stop himself from looking forward to having a
child whom he had actually always wanted from the bottom of his heart.
This little hope was now a part of his heartbeat.

Shao Qun had thrown an invisible big net, tightly wrapping it around Li
Chengxiu and making him unable to move even an inch away.

Li Chengxiu originally thought that he could push Shao Qun out of his life
completely, but he had underestimated the level of Shao Qun's obsession. In
the face of such a crazy person who would literally do anything there was
nothing left but a complete surrender.

Li Chengxiu thought about his future life. The most difficult thing was going
to be kicked out by Shao Qun yet again.

But come to think of it, this fear was completely useless. No matter how
scared Li Chengxiu was, he had no choice but to take this path. When the
time comes, he’l stil be alive. So even if Shao Qun doesn't want him
anymore, he will at least have the child. Li Chengxiu wil then secretly take
the child away, so he won’t end up alone.

At least he won’t be alone...

Li Chengxiu covered his head and cried.

His life was too hard. It was too hard, when no one even took him seriously.
Li Chengxiu wanted to think for himself, wanted to protect himself but there
was always someone around who wouldn’t let him do what he wanted.
Honestly, how many things in his entire life had actually gone smoothly for
him from beginning till the end?

He knew that he was a thirty-year old man, so he shouldn't always complain

and ask why the Heavens had treated him unfairly. But he just couldn't
restrain his grief and anger. If there were really gods in this world, then Li
Chengxiu wanted to ask them whether it was possible for a good person who
never went against his conscience to live a peaceful life? Everyone claimed
it was the case. So why was reality so different?

When Shao Qun woke up, the first thing he did was look for Li Chengxiu.

When he saw that Li Chengxiu wasn't there, he quickly pushed the button by
his bedside.

Before he even lifted his finger, the door opened, and a tired Li Chengxiu
came in.

Shao Qun was ecstatic: "Chengxiu! Chengxiu."

Li Chengxiu was carrying a lunch box in his hand which he then put down
by the bedside. He looked at Shao Qun with red swollen eyes and said
lightly, “I made porridge.”

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment. He almost thought that he was
hallucinating from excessive blood loss. He stretched out his trembling
fingers, grabbed Li Chengxiu's hand and put it on his knee. He then
excitedly said, "Porridge? You... made porridge for me?"
Li Chengxiu sniffed: "Didn’t you… want porridge?"

Shao Qun held his hand and then put it to lips, almost greedily kissing him.
His eyes filled with tears:

"Chengxiu, thank you... Thank you, Chengxiu..." He was so excited that he

couldn’t say anything anymore.

Li Chengxiu's eyes were also full of tears. He wiped them and said: "Drink...
Drink your porridge."

Shao Qun stretched out his other hand: "Let me... hug you, Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a moment and finally leaned down.

Shao Qun tremblingly wrapped his arms around Li Chengxiu’s neck and
burst into tears. He couldn’t say another word other than repeating his name
over and over again.

Li Chengxiu looked at the snow-white sheets beneath him with bewildered

eyes, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Could they be happy this time?

Could this person accompany him for the rest of his life?

How long was the shelf life of his sincere promise?

These were the questions that tightly gripped his heart, but they couldn’t be
answered at this moment. Li Chengxiu could only let time slowly reveal the
answers.
This novel has me stuck between these two moods

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 75
When Li Wenxun and the others came to visit Shao Qun, they started to
doubt whether they had heard him right on the phone. He said that he was
stabbed in his stomach, not in his head. Otherwise, why was he smiling like
an idiot?

They also immediately saw Li Chengxiu sitting with his back to them. He
turned around and gave them a quick glance.

When Li Wenxun got closer, he noticed that Li Chengxiu was peeling

apples, and a tiny fluffy ball was nestling in his lap. When he looked closer,
he realized it was a sleeping dog.

Shao Qun's eyes seemed to be glued to Li Chengxiu's body. When he

realized that his friends seemed unresponsive, he just said: “Come on in.”

Li Wenxun sat down on Shao Qun’s bed, lifted his quilt and looked at the
wound: "Oh, it would have been so much better, if the knife went in just a
few inches lower."

Shao Qun laughed and scolded him: "Fuck you for cursing me like that!"
He then looked at Li Chengxiu with warmth and affection, "Chengxiu, my
lower half is completely unaffected.”

Zhou Li said "fuck" and pretended to vomit.

Li Chengxiu put the apple he was peeling on the plate, carefully picked up
Teacup and looked around for a good place to put it down. Final y, he
said,”You guys talk…I’l go out.”

Zhou Li thought that the little fluffball in Li Chengxiu’s hand seemed very
interesting, so he stretched out his arm and said: "Give it to me!"

Li Chengxiu warily glanced at him and put Teacup in his pocket. The puppy
barked, moved around and then calmed down again.
"Don't go!" Shao Qun quickly grabbed Li Chengxiu, "Don't go. Just sit
here. You are my wifey, so there is nothing you can’t listen to."

Shao Qun had recovered quite well in the past few days. However, there
was another problem now. If he couldn’t see Li Chengxiu even for a couple
of minutes, he would start making trouble. Like a little child, he would
alarm the whole building in the middle of the night, because Li Chengxiu
left for a bit to go to the bathroom and wasn’t sitting next to Shao Qun’s
bed.

Since Li Chengxiu had to take care of the dog and of this adult child, he
was very busy.

Li Chengxiu sighed. He really wanted a short break, so he said, "I'll go to

the bathroom and come back later."

Shao Qun had no choice but to let him go. He muttered, "They stil haven’t
repaired the bathroom in this damn ward! Is this what they call fucking
premium service? To think that you have to go outside to look for a
bathroom..."

Li Chengxiu ignored his ranting and left.

Shao Qun finally reluctantly noticed that people around him seemed
nauseated.

Li Wenxun waited for Li Chengxiu to close the door, when he solemnly

said: "Shao Qun, this is the kind of fucker you are. How come I didn’t
realize earlier that you were the lovey-dovey type! Was your head kicked in
by an ass?"

Shao Qun nonchalantly retorted, "You know shit! My wifey is so good, you
have no idea. You can be envious all you want!"

Zhou Li rolled his eyes.

Shao Qun bragged: "When I did the stabbing, I went for the waist, so I
wouldn’t hurt any internal organs. It looked very scary with all the blood.
But it’s actual y nothing."

Li Wenxun gave him a thumbs up and said sarcastically: "You have nerve.
You fucking have the nerve.

You’re so great and smart - even if you had stabbed yourself in the kidney,
you would still have a spare one. Ain’t that marvelous?"

Shao Qun snorted: "I was pretty precise."

Ke Yisheng, who had been silent all this time, asked, "Shao Qun, how did
you get your sister off your back in the end?"

Shao Qun lightly said: "Made a child." The child wasn’t his, of course. But
the less people knew about it, the better. Even if these were his close
friends, he was not willing to divulge. So far, Shao Qun had only told Li
Chengxiu and the doctor who took his sperm. The doctor promised to keep
it a secret, besides he didn’t really know what it was for.

Zhou Li sat on his bed and said, "Bro, you've really taken a dark path. What
if there is no return?"

Shao Qun said with a wry smile: "In order to take this path, I have fallen on
my face and bruised it so hard that there is no way for me to ever look
back."

Zhou Li shook his head: "This world feels too fucking unreal right now. I
hope that at least Mars is still the same."

While they were chatting, Shao Qun was continuously looking at his watch.
After a long time he finally couldn’t help it: "Why hasn't Li Chengxiu come
back yet?"

One couldn’t blame him for being nervous. He real y felt insecure.

Li Chengxiu didn't say anything to him. For some reason, he just stayed and
took care of him without making any substantial promises. And Shao Qun
didn't even dare to ask.
Now every minute and every second of his life was so blissful and
beautiful, and he was so happy. Even if Li Chengxiu was just taking care of
him for the time that he was sick, Shao Qun was already very grateful.

He was afraid that if he asked anything, he would get an answer like "I'l
leave when you get better”, so he didn't raise the topic at all. He could only
take it one day at a time. So when he didn’t see Li Chengxiu, he worried
that he had changed his mind and just left.

Li Wenxun patted Shao Qun’s head: "We came al this way here. Wouldn’t
you like to spend some time with us first?"

Shao Qun glanced at him reluctantly, resisting the urge to get out of bed and
go looking for Li Chengxiu. He politely continued to talk to the guys.

When his friends felt that they had teased Shao Qun enough and left, he
couldn't bear it anymore. Quickly, he pressed the button by his bedside.

After a while, a young blushing nurse came in, and Shao Qun anxiously
asked her to look for someone.

When Li Chengxiu finally came back, he seemed to be in a good mood.

Shao Qun impatiently asked, "Chengxiu, where have you been?"

Li Chengxiu said, "Just walked around."

"Is it annoying for you to be stuck here with me all day? Let me go on a
walk with you!"

Li Chengxiu frowned, "Your injury hasn’t healed. You shouldn't move."

"The wounds have scabbed over already! Why would I worry about such a
small inconvenience…I'm afraid you’re bored..."

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "It's okay. I’m not bored."

It has just been him and a wall for more than ten year. What could even
bore him at this point?
Li Chengxiu started playing with Teacup, lowered his head and stopped
talking.

Li Chengxiu’s nails were always cut a little short. They looked particularly
beautiful and delicate. So Shao Qun looked at the dog with some jealousy.

Shao Qun's heart beat like a drum, when he nervously asked, "Chengxiu,
when I'm discharged from the hospital, let's move back to Shenzhen."

Li Chengxiu's movements stopped, he raised his eyes and looked at Shao

Qun in confusion, nodded and then shook his head again: "Not living
together."

Shao Qun said happily: "Ok, we won’t live together. But can we stil be
neighbors?"

Li Chengxiu said softly, "As you wish."

Shao Qun then asked, "Chengxiu, would you like to come work for my
company?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him with hesitation.

Shao Qun grabbed his hand and kissed it: "I can't wait to be able to see you
every minute of every day."

Li Chengxiu nodded.

Whether he agreed or disagreed, the end result would still be the same. So
why waste his breath?

Shao Qun was overjoyed and wished that he could immediately jump out of
bed and take his wifey into a new life.

In fact, Shao Qun had actually completely recovered at that point and could
be safely discharged. But in order to let Li Chengxiu take care of him a little
longer, he stayed in the hospital for extra two weeks. Poor Xiao Zhou had to
visit Shao Qun in the hospital every day and bring his work to him. He
would never smile when he saw Li Chengxiu.
After the discharge procedures, the shrewd and capable assistant Zhou had
already found a suitable apartment for Li Chengxiu. The place was very
close to Shao Qun's company - basically, just across the street. It was a
small single apartment with all the necessary facilities but the decorations
were relatively simple. It was also an older house. It was unclear if the
choice of this particular place was due to Xiao Zhou's unintentional actions
or Shao Qun's detailed understanding. Li Chengxiu was just relieved that
Shao Qun didn't arrange some kind of mansion for him.

When Li Chengxiu moved in with little Teacup, he was not surprised at all
to see that Shao Qun was living right next door to him.

Li Chengxiu settled the place for Teacup and then began to unpack his own
luggage.

Right at that moment, Shao Qun knocked on the door and came in.

His injury was healed, so he spent his days hanging around Li Chengxiu.

With obvious excitement on his face, he handed him a thin file bag:
"Chengxiu, I have good news for you!"

Li Chengxiu suspiciously took the bag, opened it, and saw something that
looked like a lab result sheet from the hospital. He didn’t understand what it
was about.

Shao Qun said softly, "It's a boy."

Li Chengxiu looked at him in surprise. A strange light flashed in his eyes,

when he finally reacted to what Shao Qun had just said.

Shao Qun's eyes were full of warmth: "I can't wait for her to have a B-
ultrasound[3]. The surrogate did a chromosome test in advance. It's a boy.
And the due date is April next year."

Li Chengxiu looked at the piece of paper with excitement, and finally could
decipher the information on it.
Just eight months later, in April next year, Li Chengxiu will be able to see
his son. His hands slightly trembled, and an unspeakably huge expectation
rose in his heart.

He never thought that one day he would actually have an offspring.

Li Chengxiu’s joy and complicated emotions couldn’t be described in

words, when he thought about a new innocent defenseless life in this world,
who would wholeheartedly rely on him, whom he will raise and whom he
will see grow up with his own eyes.

Shao Qun's heart also made a leap. He bent down and hugged Li Chengxiu
from behind. He pressed his nose to his neck, sniffed the warm scent and
said into his ear, "We will soon have a son. I really want to see him as soon
as possible"

Li Chengxiu put the lab results close to his chest. For a moment, he felt that
such a huge joy really needed to be shared with another person. And Shao
Qun was currently the most suitable person. Li Chengxiu couldn't help
saying: "Me too..."

Shao Qun felt his heart suddenly tremble.

This was the first time that Li Chengxiu had openly said that he wanted this
child.

When he found out about the baby, he was so angry, and he hated Shao Qun
for what he did, but in the end Li Chengxiu’s heart softened because of this
child. As Shao Qun expected, Li Chengxiu had finally begun to sincerely
look forward to the birth of their son.

He finally got his wish and could bind Li Chengxiu to his side.

Shao Qun hugged him tightly, desperately wishing to become one with him.
He couldn’t help but say,"Chengxiu, I love you..."

Li Chengxiu trembled and closed his eyes.

The next day, Li Chengxiu went to report to Shao Qun's company. He
refused to take Shao Qun's car, since it was only a ten-minute walk from
where he lived now.

Perhaps Shao Qun had prepared everyone in advance for his arrival, but his
new colleagues were very warm and friendly towards him.

In addition to this, his salary level and benefits were very average, and there
was no preferential treatment that would make him uncomfortable. Li
Chengxiu felt that Shao Qun had really changed this time. He learned to
consider Li Chengxiu’s feelings. Even in such trivial matters, he avoided
hurting Li Chengxiu’s self-esteem.

Li Chengxiu felt that the current way of them getting along was better than
he had imagined, and the big stone pressing onto his heart suddenly became
much lighter.

The life of two neighbors and colleagues had officially begun.

During the working day at the company, Shao Qun didn’t put Li Chengxiu
in any embarrassing situations, except occasionally eating at the same table
with him at lunch. Shao Qun had significantly reduced his after-work
socialization. Most of the time, he would come home directly and then
knock on Li Chengxiu’s door saying that he’s hungry.

Li Chengxiu gradually got used to this kind of life. He would prepare

breakfast for two people in the morning. After both of them finished eating,
they went to work separately - Shao Qun would take his car, and Li
Chengxiu would go on foot. When Li Chengxiu came back in the evening,
Shao Qun would also come over, and the two of them would eat together. If
Shao Qun wasn’t there, Li Chengxiu ate together with Teacup.

Shao Qun never entered his place casually ever again. When he saw Li
Chengxiu getting close with his colleagues, he would get angry but he
didn’t dare to even make a peep on the subject. Although Teacup bullied
Shao Qun in various cruel ways when he came over, he kept his mouth shut.

Li Chengxiu thought that his life was really good now.

A few months later, Shao Qun brought over another mysterious file.

Li Chengxiu opened it up and saw a couple of ultrasound pictures in full

color. There was a blurry image in the middle, and it was easy to recognize
that it was a curled up fetus.

Li Chengxiu's face turned slightly red with joy, and he repeatedly outlined
the fetus on the picture with his finger.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s excited face, and he real y couldn’t wait
to jump him.

It has been three or four months since he and Li Chengxiu had been
neighbors and colleagues, but all he could do for now was hug his waist,
hold hands and occasionally kiss him on the face. His beloved was so close
to him, right at his fingertips, but he didn’t dare to make a move. Was there
anything in this world more frustrating than that?

Shao Qun took the opportunity to hug him: "The hospital said that next
month they can make a video. You’l be able to see him moving, turning
over, kicking his legs and so on…"

Li Chengxiu was pleasantly surprised: "Real y…? Everything’s so

advanced… nowadays…"

Shao Qun was stunned when he saw Li Chengxiu’s sincere joy.

Li Chengxiu would only smile at him when he brought news about the
child. The rest of the time, his face showed rarely anything other than
indifference.

Although Li Chengxiu's usual attitude towards Shao Qun was not

deliberately cold, the feeling of caution and detachment was palpable.

He knew that Li Chengxiu was wary of him and could not forget the abuse.
Shao Qun tried hard to make him reopen his heart. Taking even one step in
the right direction took a long time and a lot of effort. But Shao Qun wasn’t
going to give up.
He didn't know when Li Chengxiu would gift him a sincere smile, let go of
his grudges and accept him again. All he knew was that he would just keep
working hard and waiting.

Shao Qun cuddled on the sofa with Li Chengxiu in his arms. The two
seemed like an ordinary couple, looking at the ultrasound photos together
and happily discussing their soon-to-be-born child.

Teacup curiously patted the photo with its paws and wanted to bite it, which
made the puppy’s old enemy Shao Qun laugh.

At that moment, Shao Qun felt that all the filthy thoughts in his heart had
disappeared.

He felt that such happiness was enough for him to savor for a long time -
just being able to stay next to this person like this, just being able to calmly
talk to him and share common joys.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 76
Content warning: references to rape, some rapey behavior

After seeing the ultrasound photos, Li Chengxiu, like most parents waiting
for the birth of their child, started anxiously preparing for the arrival of the
baby - buying clothes, toys, baby bottles and so on and so forth.

When he got off work one day, he went to a nearby shopping mall and
found that the current baby products were terrifyingly expensive. Almost
more expensive than stuff for the adults!

Li Chengxiu walked around becoming more and more depressed until Shao
Qun called him and asked him where he was. He then finally decided to go
home.

As soon as Shao Qun found out that he went shopping by himself, he

pestered him to go to the shop together next Saturday.

"This is our son! Why would you go alone?"

To think about it, Shao Qun wasn’t quite wrong about that.

Shao Qun was, of course, a rich wealthy man who threw everything he saw
right into the cart. When he got the same clothes in different colors, Li
Chengxiu quickly stopped him.

Such a small piece of fabric cost hundreds of thousands! It was basically

just a rip off, since little babies grow really fast. It would be really
expensive and uneconomical to buy clothes which could only be worn a
handful of times.

Looking at the label was enough to make Li Chengxiu’s skin crawl. There
was no way around buying pacifiers and cribs. But clothes he could also
make by himself.
Li Chengxiu felt a bit awkward at first but final y couldn’t bear it anymore,
so he said all of that to Shao Qun.

Shao Qun looked at him with a smile: "So you can also make clothes, huh?"

Li Chengxiu nodde. There was basically no manual work that he couldn’t

do.

Shao Qun felt really happy. He hid behind the shelf and gave Li Chengxiu a
quick kiss: "My wifey is really virtuous. You can do anything! Okay, since
you can make clothes by yourself, let's not buy all this shitty stuff and rather
go get some nice fabrics."

Li Chengxiu blushed and quickly looked around, for fear of being seen by
others.

The two of them got into the car, while carrying large and small bags. Shao
Qun then drove them to buy a lot of good-quality fabrics.

Li Chengxiu touched the soft materials, and his heart was filled with joy
and hope.

Shao Qun had a lot of financial staff at his company. So although it was
almost the end of the year, Li Chengxiu’s workload was not too heavy. He
spent all his spare time sewing clothes for his son.

Shao Qun thought it was a very fun and fresh idea. The most important
thing for him was being able to interact with Li Chengxiu. So he would
have been happy, even if he was just sitting there and staring at the wall in a
daze. After work, he would go to Li Chengxiu's place and search up pictures
of cute babies on the Internet. They then discussed which baby clothes
looked good and which pictures could be used as inspiration.

Shao Qun bought so much fabric that one could fil half a wardrobe with it.
Li Chengxiu wasn’t worried at all about running out of materials but he got
quite addicted to the craft.
His heart softened every time he looked at the babies on the Internet, which
were dressed as watermelons, as Mickey Mouse, as Superman, even as little
angels… He couldn't help but imagine what his son would look like. Would
he also be just as fair and chubby and look cute in everything?

When Li Chengxiu was sewing clothes for the baby, Teacup would roll
around in the pile of fabrics.

Sometimes Li Chengxiu would become a little absent minded and try some
fabrics out on Teacup’s little body. Finally, he even sewed some pieces for
the puppy. Later, he got even more addicted and started making matching
outfits for his son and Teacup. Although the baby stil wasn’t there, Teacup
was ready and available. Li Chengxiu finished his piece and put it on the
puppy, trying to imagine what his son would look like wearing these kinds
of clothes. He then smiled so much that his eyes turned into tiny slits.

Li Chengxiu was happy, and Shao Qun was happy. He kept boasting: "My
wifey really knows how to live right. And my wifey is very skillful."

Not only did he boast around, he also took pictures of the clothes and of the
dressed up Teacup and posted them on the forum of the game he was
playing in his spare time to show off how capable his wife was. Sure
enough, soon a bunch of envious comments appeared under his post, and
Shao Qun pulled Li Chengxiu closer to show these remarks to him.

Li Chengxiu was a little embarrassed but he looked at the compliments

from strangers with bright eyes, and also felt very happy.

It seemed to Shao Qun that the timing and the atmosphere were just right,
so he gently hugged Li Chengxiu and kissed him on the neck.

Li Chengxiu was indifferent to Shao Qun’s grabby hands and feet and
didn’t respond one way or another, still intently reading new replies on the
forum.

Seeing that he didn't react, Shao Qun became more and more daring,
hugging his waist, then gently biting his lower lip, and finally licking and
sucking to deepen the kiss.
Li Chengxiu was frightened by his sudden enthusiasm, and was stunned,
until he felt Shao Qun’s hand reaching inside his clothes.

Li Chengxiu's mouth was completely blocked by Shao Qun, and he couldn't

say anything even though he wanted to speak.

Shao Qun had been acting fairly well in the past few months. Unfortunately,
he had been holding back for too long, so as soon as he got a little taste of
Li Chengxiu, his body went out of control.

He pushed Li Chengxiu down on the sofa and kissed him passionately

while stroking his smooth skin. Li Chengxiu could already feel something
hot and hard pressing against his thigh.

He suddenly panicked, and a huge fear enveloped him like a dark cloud.

Li Chengxiu’s last memory of intimacy was Shao Qun's brutal and

humiliating treatment. Even a year later, he couldn't completely get rid of
that shadow. Especially now, when the same person who treated him like
that was pressing against him, impatient to invade again.

Li Chengxiu felt his body twitching hard, and his eyes instantly dimmed.

What Shao Qun did to him in that cramped up rental loft was the nightmare
of his life. Li Chengxiu forced himself to forget it, but Shao Qun chose to
use the same behavior yet again to give him a reminder.

Li Chengxiu tremblingly pushed him away: "Let go... Let me go..."

Shao Qun, who was already on fire, turned a deaf ear to his pleas, lightly bit
his collarbone and proceeded to undo his belt with one hand.

Li Chengxiu suddenly opened his mouth and fiercely bit down on Shao
Qun’s shoulder .

Shao Qun was in pain - he let out a muffled cry, and his grip loosened.

Li Chengxiu pushed him as hard as he could, so that Shao Qun ended up

heavily falling off the sofa right down to the ground.
Shao Qun was confused by the fall. Before he could regain his senses, Li
Chengxiu jumped up, rushed to his bedroom and locked the door from the
inside.

Shao Qun sat on the ground.

After a long while, he gave himself a frighteningly loud slap in the face.
Only then did he finally get up from the ground, grit his teeth and knock on
Li Chengxiu's door.

"Chengxiu..."

Shao Qun put his forehead against the doorframe and said dumbly,
"Chengxiu, I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me."

There was no sound coming from inside.

"Don't be angry... I…I couldn't hold back, but… but I… I real y won't force
you any more. If you don't want to, I won’t..."

Shao Qun squatted on the ground in frustration, his face was filled with
disappointment and sadness: "If you don't want to, I really won't force
you... Chengxiu, come out. I won't do anything like this in the future,
okay?"

Shao Qun smiled bitterly: "Chengxiu, you have to understand me a little, I

am a healthy man. How can I not think about these kinds of things, when I
look at you…I just… my brain went into overdrive, and I got confused. I…
I promise it won't happen again. Just stay by my side - I will burn incense to
deal with my own issues. Let’s just take it slow. I promise that I won’t force
you. I wil just wait until you are wil ing to accept me, okay? I know that for
you that time was…that time…Fuck, it’s all my fault, I deserve it.
Chengxiu, don't mind me, you also don’t have to… don’t have to be afraid
of me. I’l fucking cut my own dick off but I won't force you again. Just trust
me..."

He sat at Li Chengxiu’s door for a long time, but there was stil no response.
Shao Qun sighed, wiped his face, got up from the ground and staggered
back to his room.

The atmosphere between the two of them had been very good recently. Li
Chengxiu was kind to him, and he would cook dinner for him every night.
Shao Qun just couldn't help but want to go a bit further, become more
intimate.

But Li Chengxiu was still afraid of him and very resistant. It seemed he
could still feel the way he trembled in his palms.

As soon as Shao Qun remembered what he had done to Li Chengxiu, he

wanted to kill himself. If there really was a regret-fixing medicine in the
world, he would buy it even if it made him go bankrupt.

Not a day went by that he didn’t miss the time when he and Li Chengxiu
were in love. It was the happiest, most blissful memory in his life. It was
just a pity that he had destroyed it by his own hands. He wanted to put it all
together again but didn’t expect that it would be so difficult.

It was still unknown how he could make Li Chengxiu whole again and how
long it would take him to deal with the large, broken pieces of sadness and
despair.

Every day Shao Qun spent with Li Chengxiu was full of happiness and
pain. If his huge desire for this person was released, he would destroy
himself and him too, so he can only endure, endure, endure…

Even if he couldn’t bear it, he had to continue to endure it.

He wanted Li Chengxiu to sincerely accept him. He wanted all of him.

Completely.

When Li Chengxiu heard the sound of the outside door closing, he felt
relieved and at the same time unbearably exhausted.

At this point, he actually wanted to start over with Shao Qun.

Regardless of whether he was initially willing or not, now the two of them
got along well with each other.
Also, the child was going to be born very soon. Since Li Chengxiu didn’t
have any other choice anyway, he was also willing to make his life a bit less
difficult.

Moreover, re-accepting Shao Qun turned out to be less difficult than he had
imagined.

Shao Qun respected Li Chengxiu in many regards and really cared for him.
Both of them also had more common topics and a closer relationship
because of the child. Everything was going well. Li Chengxiu hoped that
they could continue like this, and he was satisfied with the way things were.

But this incident right now was obviously a hurdle that Li Chengxiu
couldn’t avoid. If both of them could pass this obstacle, they would have a
much easier time going forward. But if they couldn’t, both of them would
suffer.

Li Chengxiu buried his face in the quilt and felt the urge to cry for a while.

Subconsciously, he had already outlined his new "home" and his new life
with Shao Qun and their soon-to-be-born child.

As long as Shao Qun didn't abandon him, he was going to dedicate his
whole life to this "home". Wouldn’t it mean that he also should make some
compromises for the sake of “home”?

The next day, Shao Qun didn't dare to go to Li Chengxiu's place for
breakfast.

When the two of them met in the company, Li Chengxiu acted as usual. He
glanced at Shao Qun and left.

Shao Qun wanted to lean over and say a few words to him, but he really
didn't dare to.

After getting off work, Shao Qun drove home and waited for Li Chengxiu
in the staircase.
When Li Chengxiu came back, Shao Qun didn't say anything and just
followed him upstairs.

Li Chengxiu gave him a look but said nothing.

The two of them went upstairs quietly. Li Chengxiu took out the key to
open the door, and then he suddenly turned around and asked Shao Qun,
"Are you coming in to eat?"

Shao Qun stared at him blankly, feeling close to tears for a while.

Li Chengxiu muttered to himself, "In the morning...I boiled bone-broth…

Days are getting cold."

Shao Qun suddenly came up, hugged Li Chengxiu from behind, buried his
face in his neck and said hoarsely, "You're not angry anymore..."

Li Chengxiu gently broke away and whispered, "Let's eat."

Shao Qun was relieved. He didn't sleep last night, because he was worried
that the harmonious atmosphere between them that he had been cultivating
so hard in the past few months was destroyed by his impulsive behavior
yesterday. However, Li Chengxiu was still willing to eat with him. He was
so happy he wanted to jump up and down.

The two then ate facing each other. When they finished their meal, Li
Chengxiu stood up and was about to clean up the dishes.

Shao Qun also suddenly stood up. Startling Li Chengxiu, he fell to one knee
in front of him.

Li Chengxiu saw Shao Qun take out a small red flannel box from his
pocket.

Anybody would know what it was at a glance, and Li Chengxiu's heart

suddenly leaped.

Shao Qun opened the small box, and Li Chengxiu saw a platinum diamond
ring.
The diamond ring looked simple and elegant, and it didn’t have any
excessive design - it wouldn’t look awkward on a man’s hand. The
designer's talent and good taste were reflected in the elegant and concise
style of the ring. Even Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but admire the
craftsmanship.

Shao Qun looked up at him sincerely: "Chengxiu, I know I'm acting like a
fool…Don't laugh at me. I ordered this ring a long time ago. I already had it
before you... left. I… I original y planned to give it to you back then, but I
didn't have the chance. And afterwards…I didn’t even dare think about it.
You hated me so much that you definitely wouldn’t want it. I don’t know if
you can accept it now. This ring is my promise to you, there’s no other
meaning to it. With this, I want you to know that I wil treat you as my wife,
I will be good to you for the rest of my life, I wil respect you forever, and I
wil never hurt you again. Don’t be afraid of me. I am patient, I will wait as
long as you want. I will wait for you to sincerely accept me."

Tears welled in Li Chengxiu's eyes, as he looked at the beautiful ring. He

was filled with emotion.

What Shao Qun was doing right now was once Li Chengxiu’s shameful
fantasy which he knew people would mock him for.

How would he ever dare to admit to anybody that there was a time when he,
a man, dreamed of Shao Qun affectionately proposing to him just like he
was doing now? When he used to be in love with Shao Qun, this little
fantasy had a sweet taste of shyness to it, and made Li Chengxiu savor it
again and again.

But when this fantasy really became a reality, Li Chengxiu didn’t have any
more expectations towards the person in front of him.

What an entirely tragic thing it was.

Li Chengxiu felt heartbroken.

Shao Qun took out the diamond ring from the box and held his hand:
"Chengxiu, can I put it on for you?"
Li Chengxiu gently bent his fingers.

Shao Qun was still holding his hand. He then lightly pinched the ring and
looked at Li Chengxiu with quiet expectation and determination in his eyes.

The two of them were looking at each other for a while. Li Chengxiu finally
lowered his eyes and slowly stretched out his fingers.

Shao Qun was so excited that his hands were shaking. He tremblingly put
the ring on Li Chengxiu’s left ring finger.

The size was just fine. As soon as Li Chengxiu felt the ring around his
finger, suddenly an inexplicable sense of responsibility surged in his heart.
It was as if Shao Qun had given him all his lifelong expectations for
happiness. And he chose to accept it. He now had to bear this responsibility
for the rest of his life and be there for him till the bitter end.

He didn't know if every person who decided to enter a marriage felt this
way at first.

Li Chengxiu only knew his own state of mind at that moment, and he felt
that suddenly something was different.

Shao Qun got up and excitedly hugged Li Chengxiu.

He real y didn't expect Li Chengxiu to accept the ring. In order to get this
thing on Li Chengxiu’s hand, Shao Qun had already prepared for a long-
term war with hard resistance. So right now he was so happy he could fly.

Since the New Year was coming closer, Shao Wen's phone calls became
more frequent.

Shao Qun felt bad in front of his family. Although he wanted to celebrate
New Year’s together with Li Chengxiu, he understood that this wasn’t the
right time to act like that. Now he needed to go and placate his old man, so
one day he might bring Li Chengxiu home with him for the celebrations.

When Shao Qun told Li Chengxiu that he wanted to go home for the New
Year’s, he carefully observed Li Chengxiu's expressions.
Li Chengxiu was not surprised by this at all. He just felt a little strange
when he remembered how lively his last New Year’s Eve was and what
farce it evolved into at a later point.

Nobody wanted to be alone on New Year’s Eve. But Li Chengxiu knew that
Shao Qun couldn’t ignore his family and stay with him.

He had had lonely celebrations for so many years already, and it was fine to
have another one like that. So Li Chengxiu behaved very normally.

Shao Qun kept comforting him: "Once I manage to pacify my dad, my

sister, and the others, I will be able to take you home for the Chinese New
Year in an upright manner."

Li Chengxiu nodded noncommittally, knowing that that day was very far
away.

Before the holidays, Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu shopping to buy New
Year's goods. Whenever he saw anything he fancied, he immediately bought
it, so even Teacup got a new fancy dog bed.

On the twenty-ninth, Shao Qun reluctantly returned to Beijing.

The two of them hadn't been apart from each other for more than half a year
at this point. When Shao Qun was gone, Li Chengxiu was suddenly not
used to it. His heart felt empty - especially at this time of New Year’s
reunions, his loneliness seemed to be exponentially magnified.

On New Year's Eve, when he and little Teacup celebrated the festival all by
themselves, Li Chengxiu missed Shao Qun a lot.

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 77
Since the day Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu was constantly bombarded by
phone calls and text messages, which he received in high frequency every
single hour.

Li Chengxiu was mostly sitting at home alone with nothing to do.

Sometimes he would chat with Shao Qun and send him concise replies.
Every time he returned his message, Shao Qun would immediately call and
ask Li Chengxiu in an obviously excited voice, whether he was missing
him.

Li Chengxiu felt that Shao Qun was recently acting more and more like a
child.

On the evening of the thirtieth, Shao Qun was most likely really busy, so he
didn't bother Li Chengxiu for several hours in a row.

Li Chengxiu ate the New Year's Eve dinner early, kneaded the dough for the
dumplings and put it in the kitchen.

It undoubtedly felt very lonely.

Last year, he celebrated this day with Li Shuo and Adrian. They were
chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was very lively at the time.
Although everything was ruined by Shao Qun later on, it still was one of Li
Chengxiu’s happiest New Year celebrations in the past ten years. Because it
was the only New Year when there was somebody around to celebrate with
him.

He had no idea what Li Shuo and Adrian were doing now[4]. Was there
anyone with them? What was Xiao Ji doing now? Was he stil locked up at
home and couldn’t come out?

All the people Li Chengxiu had met and contacted in the past two years
vividly entered into his mind.
They were all good people. At this time, he really missed everybody and
had an impulse to call them.

But he couldn’t. He didn't know how he would explain why he was together
with Shao Qun again when these people inevitably asked him about it. They
would probably be really disappointed, and Li Chengxiu would feel very
embarrassed.

Li Chengxiu picked up his phone, opened the address book and saw only a
handful of people there.

He realized that Shao Qun was actually the only one whom he had left.
Whether these were received calls or missed calls, Shao Qun's name was
always at the top of the list. His inbox was also filled mostly with Shao
Qun’s messages.

Li Chengxiu looked at some of his texts, and the corners of his mouth
reluctantly went up.

This was the moment when Li Chengxiu realized that he actually wanted to
have Shao Qun by his side.

In the past six months, he had let go of his resistance and defenses against
Shao Qun. Shao Qun easily became a part of his life again. And an
extremely important part at that. It was just like at the beginning of their
journey.

Only that back then, Li Chengxiu sincerely worshiped Shao Qun and put
him up on a pedestal. Now, he could finally stand next to Shao Qun on an
equal footing.

Li Chengxiu sincerely hoped that his life could go on like this.

The high tide of the Spring Festival Gala sounded the bell to signify the
approaching end of the year, and the sounds of fireworks outside the
window were getting louder and louder - the sky was blooming with
gorgeous flowers. The view fascinated Li Chengxiu.
The countdown on the TV screen had begun.

Li Chengxiu moved Teacup's little paws up and down in the air and also
counted down the seconds with a smile on his face.

The New Year's bells were finally ringing , and Li Chengxiu clapped
Teacup's paws together.

At the same time, his phone rang.

Li Chengxiu quickly accepted the call.

Shao Qun's voice came from the other end with the noisy background:
"Chengxiu, Chengxiu, can you hear me?"

Li Chengxiu responded loudly, "Yes! Happy New Year!"

Shao Qun also shouted: "Happy New Year! I love you!"

Li Chengxiu was stunned but couldn't help smiling.

Shao Qun continued to shout: "Chengxiu, did you hear me? I said I love
you! Did you hear me?"

Li Chengxiu realized that Shao Qun was probably a little drunk, so he

replied, "I heard that."

Shao Qun didn't speak for a while, but Li Chengxiu could hear that Shao
Qun had entered a seemingly quieter room.

"Chengxiu, it's a New Year. You should say something."

Li Chengxiu paused: "Happy New...Year..."

Shao Qun sighed lightly: "Can you tell me what I want to hear? Even if it's
only a lie, just humor me and consider it New Year's charity."

Li Chengxiu kept quiet.

Shao Qun waited for a while, which seemed to last as long as a whole
century. His heart ached before he finally sighed in disappointment: "Forget
it, I drank too much...You, you are alone. Don't go to bed too late.

I'm hanging up."

Li Chengxiu suddenly called out, "Shao Qun..."

Shao Qun's eyes lit up: "What?"

Softly, Li Chengxiu said, "Come back soon."

Shao Qun's hand holding the phone trembled.

"Okay...Okay, definitely...I'll return home as soon as possible. Just wait for

me! I'm thinking of you all the time… I must come back very very soon,
you...you should go to bed early...and then...what…I…" Shao Qun was so
excited that he became incoherent.

Li Chengxiu asked him to come back soon! So he was going to return at the
earliest date possible! What did Li Chengxiu’s words actually mean? Did he
begin to accept him again? Shao Qun even imagined Li Chengxiu's gentle
smile as he beckoned him.

Shao Qun had worked so hard for so long, hoping to break through Li
Chengxiu's defenses, and now he finally saw the dawn of victory at the
beginning of the New Year.

Shao Qun was so happy that he almost jumped up, wishing he could
immediately walk through his phone -

hug Li Chengxiu and kiss him vigorously.

He took advantage of his "slightly drunk" status to shyly bully Li Chengxiu

and say a lot of lovey-dovey words. Hearing all these sweet nothings Li
Chengxiu's ears burned. He had repeated "I'm hanging up"

several times, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he just
continued to patiently listen.
After putting down the phone, Li Chengxiu quickly made some dumplings
for himself, and put Teacup's bowl in front of the pup. One person and one
dog were eating hot dumplings together to celebrate the New Year.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help thinking that he should be able to spend the next
New Year with Shao Qun.

The New Year's holidays soon came to an end. Li Chengxiu went back to
work but Shao Qun - his boss -

still hadn't come back.

Shao Qun complained to him, saying that his father asked him to stay until
the fifteenth and not a day less.

In order to make his father less resistant to the fact of Li Chengxiu’s

existence, Shao Qun had to resist his urge to fly back to Shenzhen
immediately.

On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, after Li Chengxiu
got off work, he made sure to thoroughly clean the house.

Shao Qun was going to come back tomorrow, and Li Chengxiu was
thinking about what he could cook for the occasion.

He fell asleep early that evening and slept until midnight, until he was
suddenly awakened by the sound of his mobile phone.

Li Chengxiu squinted his eyes and dazedly picked up the phone from the
bedside table.

"Hey, Chengxiu." He clearly heard Shao Qun's voice.

Li Chengxiu glanced at the bright screen. It was the middle of the night.
Why would Shao Qun call him at this time?

"Shao Qun... what's wrong?"

"Chengxiu, open the door for me."

Li Chengxiu paused for two seconds: "What?"

Shao Qun laughed: "Chengxiu, open the door!"

Only then did Li Chengxiu react. He hurriedly got up from the bed, ran out
of the bedroom, and unlocked the entrance door.

Shao Qun stood in front of him in his ink-blue cashmere coat - cold
emanated from his body but there was a warm smile on his face.

Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly: "You are back… You are real y back."

Shao Qun stepped into the room with one foot, and before Li Chengxiu
could react, he leaned in and hugged him.

Li Chengxiu was startled: "Shao Qun...?"

Shao Qun gave him a kiss on the cheek: "Why the hell are you not even
wearing slippers? You might catch a cold."

Only then did Li Chengxiu realize that he was barefoot. Embarrassed, he

said: "Let me go then."

Of course, Shao Qun did not abide - he lifted Li Chengxiu up and walked
into the bedroom, placing him directly on the bed.

He then took off his coat, sat down and touched Li Chengxiu's face with his
cold hands, staring at him with bright eyes in the dark.

Li Chengxiu felt that his heartbeat suddenly quickened.

Shao Qun leaned over, pressed his lips against Li Chengxiu’s, kissing him
warmly and tenderly.

Li Chengxiu froze, but did not move. He dazedly accepted Shao Qun's kiss.

Shao Qun's breathing became more and more unstable. When he was done
with the kiss, he pushed Li Chengxiu onto the bed, heavily pressing his
body beneath him, and let out a tired breath.
Li Chengxiu panicked and wanted to move away.

Shao Qun hugged his waist and said softly: "Don't move. It's alright, just let
me hug you for a bit. I'm very sleepy, since I had to catch the plane in the
middle of the night. Baby, let me hold you for a while. I won't do anything.
Really ."

Li Chengxiu's body slowly relaxed.

Shao Qun kicked off his shoes and turned over, hugging Li Chengxiu in his
arms, as his warm breath lightly tickled Li Chengxiu’s neck.

Li Chengxiu opened his eyes and looked at the dark ceiling.

Shao Qun said sleepily: "I missed you every single day. Did you miss me?
When you asked me to come back soon that day, I wanted to come back
right away. Unfortunately, my father said that if I wanted to take you back
next year for the Chinese New Year, I would have to stay until the 15th
without any discussion.

But hey, I ran away as soon as he fell asleep."

Li Chengxiu kept quiet, listening to Shao Qun's strong heartbeat in his

warm chest.

With someone by his side, even on such a cold winter night, he felt a lot
warmer and more comfortable.

When he first separated from Shao Qun, Li Chengxiu had really understood
what it meant to sleep alone.

If one is accustomed to having someone who always sleeps by your side,

with whom you can chat about something inconsequential before going to
bed, whom you can touch when you stretch out your hand, and whom you
can hug for warmth no matter how cold it is, then losing this person will
make everything around you and your heart feel empty. Those who haven't
experienced it will never understand the feeling of waking up in the middle
of the night and wondering where this person has gone.
When Li Chengxiu first encountered these feelings, he suffered a lot from
this kind of hopeless loneliness.

Now, as he was lying together with Shao Qun again, he couldn’t quite tell if
he felt joy or sorrow.

Li Chengxiu only thought that it was no doubt a good thing to have

someone to accompany him.

Shao Qun's voice still lingered in his ears: "Our son will be born in two
months. Shall we move back to the old villa then?"

Li Chengxiu thought of the place which gave birth to the happiest memories
in his life, but which he finally vowed to never enter again. He didn't know
how to react for a while.

"The day after tomorrow, let's go there and see how the arrangements for
the baby’s room and our rooms are coming along. It's up to you, though. By
the way, the housekeeping company I found last time recommended several
nannies. We have to pick wisely, since it's hard to find a good nanny
nowadays."

Li Chengxiu nodded: "Okay."

Shao Qun said softly, "Chengxiu, I'm very happy now. For the first time in
my long life I'm so satisfied with everything. I don’t need anything else!
What about you? How has my performance been during this time?

Are you still satisfied?"

Li Chengxiu whispered: "It‘s fine. Al is good."

Shao Qun smiled and hugged him tightly: "I can treat you even better! You
just wait and see. I want to hold you up to the sky!"

Li Chengxiu laughed softly.

Shao Qun closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead against Li Chengxiu’s
face: "Let's sleep. You have work tomorrow."
Li Chengxiu quietly responded, "Okay, let’s sleep."

Shao Qun hugged the man in his arms so tightly as if he was holding the
rarest and most precious treasure in the entire world. Only this person could
give him the satisfaction of his lifetime. Only this person could give him
peace of mind. Only to this person could he give everything without
reservation and not be afraid of losing his footing. Even if the sky fell, Shao
Qun would never let him go.

Shao Qun was really tired, so after a short while he fell asleep and started
snoring[5].

Li Chengxiu hadn't slept next to anybody in a long time. In the past, Shao
Qun rarely snored. Li Chengxiu had always been a light sleeper and now
with this noise, it was almost impossible for him to fall asleep.

Even so, he didn't feel uncomfortable. Just like in the old times, he was in
Shao Qun's arms again, which made Li Chengxiu feel a long-lost peace of
mind.

He didn’t know how long exactly they stayed like that but suddenly a loud
"bang bang bang" sound ruined the quiet dawn. Li Chengxiu was half
asleep and half awake, his heart skipped a beat, and he opened his eyes.

He realized that somebody was knocking on the door and looked out the
window through the gap in the curtain.

Who would come to his place at this time?

The knocking was particularly aggressive, as if the person would not stop
until he woke them up.

Li Chengxiu got a little scared. He called out: "Shao Qun! Shao Qun!", as
he pushed him awake.

Shao Qun was in deep sleep, so it took some pushing to finally wake him
up.

"What's wrong?"
There was panic on Li Chengxiu’s face: "Someone is knocking on the
door."

Only then did Shao Qun finally react. He turned over and got out of bed:
"Don't be afraid. I'll go take a look."

After Shao Qun left, Li Chengxiu also ran towards the bedroom door,
hiding behind it, as he cautiously peeked out.

Shao Qun looked through the door’s eye and recognized Xiao Zhou at a
glance.

He felt annoyed, thinking that his assistant was like a high level spy or
something. Xiao Zhou always knew where Shao Qun went. He feared that
even if he decided to go to Africa, Xiao Zhou would chase after him there
to pester him with more work matters.

Shao Qun opened the door and scolded, "How the hell did you know I was
back already? Do you know what time it is? Are you sick in the head?"

He finally noticed that Xiao Zhou's face was pale, and there was another
person standing beside him, who seemed to be covered in nervous sweat.

Xiao Zhou said anxiously: "Mr. Shao, go to the hospital quickly! The
surrogate Ms. Liu fell, and I am afraid she will give birth prematurely."

Shao Qun was stunned for a while.

Li Chengxiu felt like he was struck by lightning, and he immediately rushed

out: "What did you say? What?

Who? What did you say!?"

Xiao Zhou explained: "The intermediary came to me when he couldn't find

you. I called your phone but it was turned off. I then called your elder sister,
and she said that you were already gone. So I thought that you must be
here… Mr. Shao, hurry up. Let’s go."
The scene in front of Li Chengxiu was suddenly distorted. He felt dizzy, as
he grabbed Shao Qun's arm. His heart seemed to be blocked by something.
He opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

Shao Qun tried to calm him down. He squatted, tying Li Chengxiu's shoe
laces. Then he walked out with his arms around Li Chengxiu: "Don't be
afraid, we'll go to the hospital right away."

OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 78
Li Chengxiu didn’t even manage to take a few steps, before his legs felt
weak. Shao Qun helped him get into the car.

He asked in a trembling voice, "Shao Qun, what should I do? Will it be..."

Shao Qun patted him on the back and said solemnly, "No, don't think too
much. I am a lucky person, and the Heavens have always been on my side.
Our son will be fine."

Li Chengxiu's eyes gradually became wet. He looked at Shao Qun with an

unfocused gaze and choked:

"But... she fell..."

Li Chengxiu didn't understand why this was happening now. He stopped

fighting, he had already resigned himself to fate. The only thing he hoped
for in exchange was to be able to live a peaceful and stable life.

But the Heavens stil didn’t leave him be.

He already had nothing. Couldn’t he at least have a child? Why should a

weak little life that was only about to be born suffer such twists and turns of
destiny?

Li Chengxiu didn't even dare to think what would happen in case the child
was gone...

He was so frightened by his own thoughts that his face was deadly pale. He
tightly held onto Shao Qun's arm. Only this man could prevent him from
crumbling down entirely.

Shao Qun comforted him: "Baby, don't think about it too much. Trust me,
it's all gonna be fine. Most people don't carry to full term, so many babies
are born prematurely after only 7 months. The baby just couldn’t wait to
meet us. Don’t be afraid. Believe me, it wil be alright.”

Li Chengxiu trembled: "Really?"

Shao Qun nodded firmly: "Really."

Shao Qun's heart was beating wildly.

He couldn’t believe something so bad could happen. How could the

Heavens make him and Li Chengxiu go through so much?

He repeated to himself over and over again that they already had a hard life,
so the Heavens would definitely bless their baby. If something really
happened to the child, Shao Qun didn't know how he would look Li
Chengxiu in the eye.

They finally got to where they are today, and Shao Qun was not going to let
anything or anyone take Li Chengxiu away from him.

Shao Qun pressed Li Chengxiu's head to his chest and stroked his back to
comfort him. He was afraid that Li Chengxiu would see the panic in his
eyes.

Li Chengxiu's body trembled uncontrollably. He stretched out his hand and

gently wrapped his arms around Shao Qun's waist.

When something like this happened, he realized how important it was to

have someone with a strong backbone beside him.

Compared to his panic, Shao Qun's calmness and determination at this time
gave him great strength. Shao Qun's voice seemed to have magic powers,
and it hypnotized him, making him actually believe that their child would
be fine and would grow up strong and healthy.

Li Chengxiu still doubted how long this man's love would last. He was
afraid that there would never come a time when he wouldn’t doubt it.
However, no matter what happened in the past and what wil happen in the
future, at least at this moment, Li Chengxiu was grateful that Shao Qun was
by his side.

Whether it was when his mother had an accident or when he painfully

ended their relationship, Li Chengxiu had always carried everything on his
own shoulders. He prayed countless times that someone would help him.
Even if it was just a little bit of comfort.

At least now, Shao Qun was there for him.

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes, listened to Shao Qun’s strong heartbeat, felt
his warm chest, and his heart gradually calmed down.

When the two of them arrived at the hospital, the surrogate was already in
the delivery room.

The hospital was empty and silent in the early morning. Shao Qun wrapped
Li Chengxiu in his coat, as they sat down on the bench. He gently squeezed
Li Chengxiu's hand and comforted him: "Both the mother and the child will
be safe. Trust me."

Li Chengxiu was weary, but he still nodded: "Yes, yes... Mother and child
will be alright."

Shao Qun said softly, "Chengxiu, have you decided what your son's name
will be?"

Li Chengxiu took a loud breath: "I thought about it for a long time... I
haven't decided... What about you, have you thought about it?"

"Hehe, how about we call him Xiuqun[6]?"

Li Chengxiu smiled reluctantly: "Don't joke about this, you brat."

Shao Qun laughed out loud: "Actually, I don't like children very much. I
find them kind of annoying, but as long as I think that this little one shares
your blood, I think of him as a treasure to be protected."
Li Chengxiu looked at the clock and said softly, "Shao Qun, have you
thought about... In case the child…

looks like me..."

Shao Qun squeezed his hand and looked at Li Chengxiu with a smile: "I
thought about it a long time ago.

And you know what? I thought I’l cross this bridge when I come to it. Back
then, all I cared about was deceiving my sister for long enough to manage
to lure you back to me."

Li Chengxiu looked at him helplessly: "You..."

Shao Qun hugged his shoulders, let him lean on his body, and said
solemnly: "At that time, I was like a fly without a head. As long as there
was a way out, I would rush towards it. I didn’t have the capacity to
seriously weigh the negatives and consequences of it all. It turned out that I
did the right thing, since this decision allowed me to hold you in my arms
like this now. Also… don’t all boys just look like their mothers?

If it doesn’t fool my sister and my father, then, hey, so be it. I real y don’t
care much about it anymore."

Li Chengxiu looked at him and felt a little moved.

He knew how much pressure Shao Qun had to bear in order to do all these
things. He also knew that Shao Qun did feel guilty towards his family. Once
this matter was discovered, Shao Qun would probably get himself into hot
waters.

Li Chengxiu was undoubtedly the beneficiary of this incident. In order to

give him guarantees, Shao Qun pushed himself so far that it made Li
Chengxiu suddenly feel uncomfortable.

If you want to be with somebody, don’t you have to share their joys and
also their difficulties?
Li Chengxiu raised his hand and gently touched Shao Qun's frowning
eyebrows: "Shao Qun, I like children.

I like all of them. You, if...you can… how about you get one of your own?"

Shao Qun looked at him blankly, and then his eyes suddenly became clear.
He grabbed Li Chengxiu's hand, his face full of excitement.

He didn't know whether he was excited because of Li Chengxiu's words or

because of his actions. In short, he felt that the unusually heavy door in
front of him, which had been closed for a long time, suddenly opened up
with a loud bang, indicating that he was once again allowed to enter.

"Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu gave him a shallow smile: "I mean it."

Shao Qun hugged him fiercely, as he choked up: "Chengxiu, thank you."

The best thing Shao Qun ever did in his life was to never let go of Li
Chengxiu.

This person had the purest and the strongest soul, the kindest and the
gentlest heart, the broadest and the most compassionate mind. Most
importantly, this was the only person whom he loved deeply. Only when he
was with Li Chengxiu, he could feel that his world was complete.

As the two of them sat so close to each other, they could hear that their
hearts were beating in unison.

Although they were a little anxious and a little scared, both of them were
still hopeful.

The rules dictated that the surrogate and the father couldn’t meet, so Shao
Qun and Li Chengxiu could only sit in the waiting hall, anxiously watching
the clock on the wall.

The two of them sat around for more than four hours, witnessing as the
hospital went from quiet to very full and lively. When they were almost
passed out from exhaustion, the person in charge of the surrogacy agency
finally appeared.

Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu quickly stood up and looked at the man with
nervous anticipation.

The expressions on assistant Chen's and the intermediary's faces were now
much more relaxed.

"Mr. Shao, congratulations! Both mother and son are doing well."

When Li Chengxiu heard these words, his body instantly felt much lighter.
His nose felt sore - he was about to burst into tears.

Shao Qun hugged him and kissed his forehead with a lot of emotion.
Excitedly, he said "It's alright, everything’s fine!"

Li Chengxiu nodded and sniffed: "That's really great..."

Shao Qun patted his face: "I wasn't wrong. The Heavens are on my side
after all."

Li Chengxiu finally let out a sincere laugh.

The intermediary explained: "The child is pretty weak right now. However
all the health indicators are within the norm. You can look at him through
the glass right now, and in two days you’l be able to hug him."

Li Chengxiu was so excited that he just kept repeating “all right” again and
again.

Together with Shao Qun they approached the nursery and looked at the
small crib through the glass.

The baby was tiny. Since he couldn’t be bathed yet, his skin was red, and
his hair was stil stained with his birth mother’s bodily fluids which made
the child look a little pitiful.
Li Chengxiu pressed his forehead against the glass and intently looked at
the little buddy in the crib. After a long time, he finally was sure that an
almost transparent nose was indeed breathing in and out.

Although the child looked so fragile and small now, one day he was going
to grow up. Li Chengxiu hoped that he would be bigger than himself and
also not so thin. This baby should become a man who stands tall.

Just thinking about witnessing the whole process of this child’s

development fil ed Li Chengxiu with gratitude.

Shao Qun quietly stood by his side, watching Li Chengxiu’s focused

expression, while a deep sense of satisfaction arose in his heart.

Beside him was his wifey, and in that crib there was his son. He had both a
wife and a child. As a man, his life could now be considered complete. In
the future, his only goal in life was to work hard to earn more money and
spend all his days with Li Chengxiu.

The child was supposed to stay with the birth mother for the first month, so
after this day, Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun wouldn’t be able to see the child
for quite some time.

According to the rules, they were actually supposed to receive the baby
only after it turned one month. If not for the emergency situation, they
wouldn’t have been able to see the child so early.

If Li Chengxiu hadn’t seen the baby, he would have probably been fine. But
now, after seeing his child, he couldn’t sleep so well anymore. He called the
agency at least twice a day to ask how the baby was doing, whether he was
eating well, drinking well, sleeping well... Since the child was born
prematurely, all these issues weighed heavily on Li Chengxiu’s heart.

Li Chengxiu was often distracted at work during the day. After work, he and
Shao Qun were busy decorating the nursery, shopping for baby supplies and
other stuff like that. Every day passed by with Li Chengxiu looking forward
to his son finally turning 1 month.
Once that day finally arrived, Li Chengxiu, who had normally been a
diligent worker, took a rare day off just to welcome the arrival of his child.

Early in the morning, Shao Qun nervously told him that his father and his
sisters were coming over to celebrate the baby’s One Month Banquet[7].

Li Chengxiu was a little dumbfounded. How could Shao Qun only tell him
about this now and leave him completely unprepared for this occasion?

Actually, Shao Qun's eldest sister had started pestering him about this
already a few days ago. Shao Qun didn't want his family to visit them so
early, so he didn't mention the entire thing to Li Chengxiu.

"You don't need to prepare anything in particular. Just cook a few more
dishes than you usually do. They are family, so you don't need to prepare
anything special."

Li Chengxiu's original excitement had gone down considerably, since he

was subconsciously afraid of Shao Qun's family, especially his father.

Even when not speaking, this intimidating old man had a strong oppressive
aura. Li Chengxiu wouldn’t be surprised if this man actually pulled a gun at
him once he found out that his grandson was not actually his grandson.

Looking at Li Chengxiu’s face, Shao Qun immediately knew what he was

thinking and quickly tried to calm him down: "Don't be afraid. You would
have to meet them sooner or later, there’s no way around it. But no one wil
dare to bul y you, as long as I’m here, okay? My dad is a piece of work, but
he is not unreasonable.

I have talked to him already, so he will not act out in front of you."

After the pep talk, Li Chengxiu felt slightly relieved.

Shao Qun then went out to buy vegetables according to the list that Li
Chengxiu gave him, while Li Chengxiu himself was busy cleaning up.

When the intermediary came over with the child, Li Chengxiu was so
excited to hold him that he even forgot to take off his apron.
The heavy and warm feeling of having his baby in his arms made Li
Chengxiu's eyes turn red all of a sudden.

The child looked much better than a month ago. He had already managed to
grow soft fluff on his head, and his skin was white like milk. His eyes were
big and dark, while his little lips were pink and tender. Li Chengxiu loved
this little bundle of joy so much he didn’t know what to do.

Shao Qun looked at him with a smile: "Do you know how to take care of
babies?"

Li Chengxiu nodded: "I have some experience."

Shao Qun asked with curiosity, "Which child have you taken care of?"

"Distant relatives in my vil age had a baby… Shao Qun, look at him! Isn’t
he smiling?"

Shao Qun fiddled with the baby’s little fingers: "It seems to be his regular
expression."

Li Chengxiu rubbed his cheek against the baby’s face: "I'm also smiling."

Shao Qun laughed: "I can’t real y tell who this child looks like exactly.
Probably, takes after his birth mother, after all." The baby’s features were
too inconspicuous - at least, Shao Qun believed that his father and his
sisters wouldn’t be able to notice anything suspicious.

Li Chengxiu looked at the baby’s facial features carefully and breathed a

sigh of relief. On the other hand, he was also somewhat disappointed.

He took out some warm clothes that he had sewed for the baby, picked out a
red onesie and carefully dressed the child. Then he put a onesie of a similar
style on the little Teacup. The longer he looked at the two cuties together,
the more he liked what he saw and the broader his smile got, as his eyes
formed little crescents.

Shao Qun, standing nearby, was taking pictures of this cozy familial bliss.
Li Chengxiu had just finished the preparations for the meal, when the
doorbell rang. He stood next to the door with the child in his arms and
looked at Shao Qun at a loss.

Shao Qun kissed him, said "Don't be afraid" and then opened the door.
General Shao came in first, followed by his three daughters.

"Dad. Sisters." Shao Qun greeted them in a somewhat flattering manner, as

Li Chengxiu nervously looked at the four people who came in.

He had met the father, the oldest and the youngest sister before. The
unfamiliar woman was probably Shao Qun’s second sister. She had a gentle
smile on her face, and her whole demeanor was different from the rest of
the Shao family.

Sure enough, Shao Qun pointed at her and said, "Chengxiu, this is my
second sister! You haven't met yet."

Li Chengxiu almost bowed to the proper lady-like Second Young Miss

Shao: “Hello. Hello.”

The woman covered her mouth and smiled at him: "Nice to meet you too."

General Shao coughed: "Come on, let’s see the child."

Li Chengxiu carefully handed the baby to him. The child was in good
spirits, so rather than being uncomfortable with strangers, he was more
curious about them. He stretched his little hand to grab Old General Shao's
collar.

The general seemed moved, and his face turned a little red.

Shao Nuo exclaimed "So cute!!! I want to take a bite of this little bun!"

General Shao was holding the child in a particularly stiff manner, as if he

was holding a precious ancient vase. After a while, he awkwardly handed
the baby to Shao Wen and murmured, “It’s fine. The child is fine.”
The always serious Shao Wen also smiled, as she and Shao Nuo proceeded
to tease the baby.

Shao Qun then led his family to the dining table.

Shao Nuo looked at the food on the table and praised Li Chengxiu for being
such a virtuous cook. What Li Chengxiu didn’t realize though, were the
long looks that General Shao kept giving him.

General Shao wasn’t a big talker, neither was Li Chengxiu. The others also
didn't seem to have much to say, so the meal was pretty dull.

Li Chengxiu kept giving Shao Qun uncomfortable looks but it seemed that
Shao Qun was used to this kind of atmosphere, so he just blinked at him
reassuringly.

After dinner, as they were watching TV in the living room, General Shao
said that he had thought about the child's name.

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, then he quickly glanced at Li

Chengxiu. Li Chengxiu smiled and shook his head. Respectfully he asked
General Shao: "What name did you think of?"

"Call him Shao Zheng[8]. I hope this child will be a serious person in the
future. I hope he chooses the right path, becomes a righteous man and
doesn’t follow a bad example set by his predecessor." He glared at Shao
Qun and snorted coldly, as he said that.

Li Chengxiu felt slightly embarrassed by his words, while Shao Qun smiled
awkwardly: "Dad, we’l do as you say, okay? You want to call the baby Shao
Zheng? Very good! What do you think, Chengxiu?"

Li Chengxiu nodded: "I’m fine with it."

Shao Wen asked: "What about the nanny? Already found one?"

Shao Qun nodded and said, "I invited two nannies already. They both will
come in tomorrow."
Shao Wen said: "After the Shenzhen project is completed, you should come
back to Beijing and stay there.

It’s a shame to make your dad take such long flights to see his grandson."

Shao Qun nodded obediently: "Yes. Of course."

After the Shao family left in the evening, Li Chengxiu sat on the sofa for a
long time. He felt really tired.

It was not so much his body that was tired but rather his mind.

The whole evening he was worried what would happen if the truth came
out.

Fortunately, so far everything went smoothly. But what happens when the
child grows up and things become more apparent? Considering that the
Shao family was not exactly a bunch of idiots…

After Shao Qun sent his father off, he came to sit down next to Li Chengxiu
and started rubbing his shoulders: "My wifey’s tired. Let me massage you a
little. Also, you know, my cooking skil s have improved recently. You can
now rest assured that I am even able to cook some dishes for you."

Li Chengxiu smiled: "Last time, your stir-fried green beans were mushy."

Shao Qun laughed: "You have to leave some room for failure. Only then,
you can gradually make progress."

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes and felt his shoulders being massaged. It was
quite relaxing.

Shao Qun said softly: "You have done a good job today. My dad was
satisfied."

Li Chengxiu asked, "How do you know?" Old General Shao hadn’t shown a
single happy facial expression throughout the whole evening.
"He's my dad - of course, I know. He isn't as rigid as you might think. Let
me tell you something, my dad's ancestors were big landowners for
generations but their lands were expropriated during the Cultural
Revolution[9]. Originally, my father was engaged to my mother but in those
circumstances my other grandfather’s side was suddenly against the
marriage. So my father actually took a gun and went to kidnap his bride."

Li Chengxiu burst out laughing: "Really?"

"Really. I heard it from my sister. Later, when my mother mentioned it

again, he wouldn't admit it even under a threat of death. My father's temper
was quite similar to mine when he was young. He actually became a soldier
due to his connections, but because of his bad temper, he had problems in
the army. In fact, sometimes I understand why he is so controlling but I stil
can’t deal with that."

Li Chengxiu nodded: "So, it's not easy for you to get along with your dad."

Shao Qun said: "I hope this child has a temper like yours, not like mine.
Otherwise, we’l have a problem."

Li Chengxiu smiled, "It means, you also know that you’re not a god’s gift."

Shao Qun laughed but said nothing.

Li Chengxiu patted his hand: "Let’s go check up on the baby."

Both of them walked into the nursery and saw the little one soundly asleep
with drops of saliva hanging from his mouth.

Looking at his son, Li Chengxiu felt that his heart was full of happiness.

Shao Qun hugged him from behind and asked, "Chengxiu, are you happy?"

Li Chengxiu whispered back, "I'm happy."

Shao Qun's kiss fell softly on his cheek: "I will make you feel happy for the
rest of your life!"
Li Chengxiu turned his head and looked at him with his bright eyes.

Shao Qun then passionately kissed his lips.

When their lips were tightly pressed against each other, the soft and
wonderful feeling reached the bottom of their hearts. Shao Qun was kissing
Li Chengxiu, wishing he didn’t have to stop.

Relaxed, Li Chengxiu leaned in his arms, enjoying this tender moment.

Although he had experienced many unbearable things in the past, it was still
Shao Qun who had accompanied Li Chengxiu up to this day. This man had
many shortcomings and had done a lot of cruel things to him, but he was
also the only one who Li Chengxiu could rely on and also the only one with
whom he could share the joys of fatherhood.

Being with Shao Qun gave him a real home.

Although he felt sad and desperate at times, he really loved having a place
to come back to. After Shao Qun presented him with a blueprint of a family,
Li Chengxiu couldn’t refuse such an offer. He only hoped that through his
own efforts, he could keep this home forever and ever.

He had hoped throughout all his life that he would one day gain a sense of
belonging. And Shao Qun was the one who gave it to him.

This was enough. With that, Li Chengxiu was content.

This was a painful ride, ngl.

Sorry for taking a longer time to finish this last part. Somehow the last
chapters were kind of a drag. Some people have messaged me on NU about
the translation, and I felt really bad for pushing this project aside for a
while. I have already started with the extras. I’l do one final update when
they’re all done.

In the meantime, if you have any comments you want to share with me
(about mistakes, typos, incorrect grammar, weird phrasing, or
mistranslations), you can also find me
here https://twitter.com/Anthropicprinc3.

I don’t post anything for now but I answer messages.

And for the people who are about to type an incoherent angry one-star
review on NU, I get where you’re coming from but let me leave you with this
little piece of wisdom:

[1] Just a reminder that the reason for so many “...” in Li Chengxiu’s
monologue is not that he is uncertain or thoughtful. It’s due to his speech
impediment. In the original, the author showcases it by putting a comma
after every single word Li Chengxiu says. Besides, he has a knack of saying
a lot with very few words (which is easier done in Chinese than in English).
Throughout this translation, I replaced commas with “...” and tried to put it
after every

“completed pragmatic entity”. Also, in my interpretation, Li Chengxiu is

much wordier than he is in the original because if I translated his speech
word for word, it would sound in English as if he was a child or there were
issues with his grammar. And his speech neither has errors, nor does he
come off as uneducated or childish in Chinese. In contrast, Shao Qun has a
particular ability of saying very little in a lot of words ;)

[2] Correct me if I’m wrong, but one can do a chromosome test on the 10th
week of pregnancy. It screens for congenital disorders, and also can reveal
the gender of the baby. However, you could already see the sex of the baby
by week 14 on an ultrasound. Or, if one does a prenatal blood test, one can
find out the gender on the 11th week. So, mentioning chromosome test at
this point seems a bit random to me, since they’l have to wait for it anyway.
But Shao Qun might just be talking for the sake of talking again.

[3] High resolution ultrasound

[4] If I remember correctly, Li Shuo is doing pretty poorly at this time in the
story. While Adrian is enjoying his well-deserved happy ending… Time to
reread “Additional Inheritance” and “Winner Takes Al ”.

[5] lol

[6] “Xiu” from Chengxiu and “Qun” from Shao Qun. It’s like if Angelina
and Brad called their child Brang or Angrad.

[7] One Month Banquet or “Red Egg and Ginger Party” is the traditional
Chinese celebration of a baby's one month birthday. The custom dates to
ancient times when infant mortality rates were high and new babies were
named and celebrated only after a month had passed and survival seemed
assured.

[8] The character “Zheng” (正) by itself means something “right”, “correct”,
“righteous”.
[9] The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's
Republic of China launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his
death in 1976. Big landowners had their lands seized at the time, and the
expropriated land was turned over to collective property. This reform lifted
a lot of people out of poverty.

OceanofPDF.com
Sissy (娘娘腔) Extras

Sissy (娘娘腔) Extras

by Shui Qian Cheng (水千丞) in 2010

(Intro and Chapters 1 - 10 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) ) (Chapters 11 - 20

can be found here: Sissy (娘娘腔) c11 - c20)

(Chapters 21 - 30 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) c21 - c30)

(Chapters 31 - 40 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) c31 - c40)

(Chapters 41 - 50 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) c41 - c50)

(Chapters 51 - 60 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) c51 - c60)

(Chapters 61 - 70 can be found here:Sissy (娘娘腔) c61 - c70)

(Chapters 71 - 78 can be found here: Sissy (娘娘腔) c71 - c78)

0. Hundred questions about the relationship between husband and wife

(2011) Interviewer: Lao Qian (Old Qian, meaning the author herself)

Protagonists: Xiuxiu (Chengxiu), Scumbag

1. May I ask for your names?

Xiuxiu: Li Chengxiu

Scumbag: Shao Qun

2. What’s your gender?

Xiuxiu: ... male

Scumbag: I’m Chengxiu’s man through and through! What kind of question
is that?
Lao Qian: …

3. What’s your personality?

Xiuxiu: ...comparatively, an in… introvert...

Scumbag: The best top in the entire world!

4. What do you think of your partner’s character?

Xiuxiu: …normal character

Scumbag: The best wifey in the entire world!

5. When did the two of you meet for the first time? And where?

Xiuxiu: In junior high school. On the roof.

Scumbag: Yes, at that time. I saw him sleeping.

6. So how did you meet?

Xiuxiu: He… he just...

Scumbag: I started a conversation.

7. What was your first impression of the other person?

Xiuxiu: Very…handsome. Just that…he likes swearing…a lot.

Scumbag: A bit girly... Kind of like a girl. Like, he talked like a girl and
walked like one too.

8. What do you like about each other?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Chengxiu, tell the truth! Don't be shy.

Xiuxiu: …
Scumbag: Well, my wifey is great. He's just shy.

9. What do you hate about the other person?

Xiuxiu: He’s…unreasonable.

Scumbag: He’s a little too stubborn.

10. Do you think both of you are compatible?

Xiuxiu: Yes, sure.

Scumbag: We’re a match made in heaven.

11. How do you address each other?

Xiuxiu: Shao Qun

Scumbag: Chengxiu, baby, wife, wifey, sweetheart...

12. What do you want your partner to call you?

Xiuxiu: Chengxiu

Scumbag: Something intimate. Like, “husband”...would be nice.

13. What kind of animal would your partner be?

Xiuxiu: ... a wolf

Scumbag: A kitten. Suits him well.

14. What kind of gift would you give to your partner?

Xiuxiu: I’d cook for him.

Scumbag: I belong to him completely. He will get whatever he wants.

15. What gift do you want to receive from your partner?

Xiuxiu: Can't think of anything.

Scumbag: If he would occasionally take the initiative to kiss me.

16. Do you have any complaints about your partner? What are you
dissatisfied with?

Xiuxiu: He is unreasonable.

Scumbag: How am I unreasonable? I listen to everything you say.

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: He just doesn't like to talk. He keeps everything bottled up inside.

I have to guess every day what he wants. I’m afraid that if he is unhappy, he
just won’t say anything. This makes me tired.

17. What hobbies do you have?

Xiuxiu: Tidying up the house

Scumbag: Now I mostly like to stay at home with my wifey.

18. What are your partner’s hobbies?

Xiuxiu: He… he likes…that… that... ( blushes)

Scumbag: He likes to play with his son, play with his dog. He can do it all
day long. ( dissatisfied) 19. What are some of your faults?

Xiuxiu: I talk… like this... Also… my ear. This one. I have trouble with my
hearing.

Scumbag: Chengxiu, these are not your faults… Forget it, my wifey doesn’t
have any faults. There is nothing wrong with him at all.

20. What do you hate about your partner?

Xiuxiu: Well…that thing… too often. If it was a little less...

Scumbag: I like whatever he does… I'm just afraid he won’t do anything.

21. What makes your partner angry?

Xiuxiu: He has a bad temper. He is often angry. And I don’t know why.

Scumbag: I often can’t tel when he is angry. Anyway, I know that he is angry
when he makes me sleep on the sofa... Basically, it’s just because I want to
do it, but he doesn’t.

22. What is the relationship between the two of you so far?

Xiuxiu: We… that is… are… together...

Scumbag: Husband and wife.

23. Where was your first date?

Xiuxiu: Does junior high school time count?

Scumbag: Why wouldn’t it? I was already in love during our first date in that
small rental house near the school.

24. What was the atmosphere between the two of you at that time?

Xiuxiu: Very good.

Scumbag: It’s nice to think of that time.

25. How far did you go back then?

Xiuxiu: Just… lay down next to each other.

Scumbag: We hugged, I think. What are you getting at? I was only 11 at the
time. Ah, I was so pure and innocent.

26. Where do you often go on dates?

Xiuxiu: We live together.

Scumbag: After having a child, we rarely go out anywhere. I occasionally
take him on a vacation.

27. What do you do on each other's birthday?

Xiuxiu: I cook something really tasty for him.

Scumbag: I cook, I sweep the floor, I change Teacup’s mat. And I’m on duty
when the baby cries in the middle of the night.

28. Who confessed first?

Xiuxiu: He did.

Scumbag: It was me. Fortunately, I did it quickly.

29. To what extent do you like each other?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: He's the most important person in my life.

30. So, do you love each other deeply?

Xiuxiu: ...I...

Scumbag: Chengxiu, if you don't want to say it, don't force yourself. I
already told you that I will wait for you to truly accept me. As for me, you
should always know that there is no one in this world who loves you more
than I do.

31. What do you fear your partner saying to you?

Xiuxiu: …”one more time”...( blushes)

Scumbag: “My son is crying, I'l go take a look.”

32. If you suspect that your partner is cheating, what will you do?

Xiuxiu: If he... then I'll go.

Scumbag: Chengxiu won’t cheat. But what would I do, if I suspected…?
Well, think of Li Shuo’s fate.

33. Can you forgive the other party for cheating?

Xiuxiu: ...No, not at all.

Scumbag: Chengxiu, that's all in the past. I only have you now.

34. Your partner is an hour late for a date! What do you do?

Xiuxiu: Wait.

Scumbag: Go pick him up.

35. Which part of your partner’s body do you like the most?

Xiuxiu: Shoulders. His shoulders are very broad.

Scumbag: His neck is very beautiful.

36. What’s the sexiest thing about your partner?

Xiuxiu: He's handsome...

Scumbag: He’s pure and clean. I just want to give him the best this world
can offer.

37. Does your partner make your heart beat faster?

Xiuxiu: Often…many times..

Scumbag: When he gives me a serious look, it’s enough to make me

nervous.

38. Do you lie to each other? Are you good at lying?

Xiuxiu: No.

Scumbag: Never again.

39. What makes you the happiest?

Xiuxiu: Right now… every day is good.

Scumbag: As long as he's by my side, I will be happy.

40. Have you ever had a fight?

Xiuxiu: Yes...

Scumbag: Very rarely. I'm afraid he will be angry with me.

41. What do you argue about?

Xiuxiu: He always does as he pleases and makes decisions by himself.

Scumbag: I do everything for your own good, but you always scold me (
aggrieved) 42. How do you reconcile?

Xiuxiu: He apologizes.

Scumbag: He ignores me, and I can't stand it, so I can only apologize.

43. Do you want to be lovers in the next life?

Xiuxiu: ...I haven’t thought about it.

Scumbag: If there is a next life, we have to meet as soon as possible.

44. When do you feel like you are loved?

Xiuxiu: When he is thoughtful of me.

Scumbag: It's enough for him to just be by my side.

45. Will you be able to tell that your partner doesn't love you anymore?

Xiuxiu: ...I don't know.

Scumbag: Although he doesn't say it, I know he has feelings for me. And
Chengxiu’s love is a long-term thing.

46. How do you express your love?

Xiuxiu: I take care of him.

Scumbag: I do my best to be nice to him.

47. Which flower would you compare your partner with?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Why would you compare men to flowers? Next question.

48. Are you hiding something from your partner?

Xiuxiu: No.

Scumbag: Neither do I.

49. Is your relationship public or confidential?

Xiuxiu: … public.

Scumbag: Well, even my folks know.

50. Do you think the love between two people is eternal?

Xiuxiu: As long as I have a home, I will be happy...

Scumbag: I will stay with him forever.

51. Are you a top or a bottom?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: What a bullshit question.

52. Why are the roles the way they are?

Xiuxiu: I… I don't know.

Scumbag: Another bullshit question. Next.

53. Are you satisfied with the way the roles are divided between you two?

Xiuxiu: It’s fine… fine.

Scumbag: Quite satisfied.

54. Where did you do it for the first time?

Xiuxiu: On his boat.

Scumbag: Well, it was a yacht.

55. How did you feel at the time?

Xiuxiu: I don't remember much...

Scumbag: Cough... Well, he was drunk.

56. What was your partner like at that time?

Xiuxiu: I don't know.

Scumbag: So fucking tempting.

57. What was the first thing you said to each other the next morning?

Xiuxiu: I… don't remember.

Scumbag: It was probably something like “baby, you’re awake”? What else
could I have said?

58. How many times a week do you do it?

Xiuxiu: Not sure...

Scumbag: Three to five times.

59. Ideally how many times a week would you like to do it?

Xiuxiu: One time… once...

Scumbag: I want to do it every day. But he's not happy with that.

60. What kind of sex do you have?

Xiuxiu: The kind that makes me.. a bit tired.

Scumbag: It's great sex, as long as I'm with him. I can be unrestrained.

61. Where is your most sensitive place?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: I’m sensitive to his touch, so as long as he touches me…

62. Where is your partner’s most sensitive place?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Neck, waist, thighs, and…you know.

Xiuxiu: No, don't say it.

63. What do you want to say to your partner during sex?

Xiuxiu: “Too much. It hurts.”

Scumbag: “We real y are a match made in heaven. Even our parts fit
perfectly.”

64. Do you like sex or do you hate it?

Xiuxiu: I don’t...don't hate it

Scumbag: Nonsense. Of course I like it.

65. Under what circumstances do you usually think of sex?

Xiuxiu: When Zhengzheng…is sleeping...

Scumbag: When I come home after a busy day, I naturally think about it
when I see him. Of course, when I’m in the office, I’d also like to do it, but
he doesn’t want to.

66. Is there a place where you want to try having sex?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Many. Balcony, office, outdoors.

67. Do you shower before or after sex?

Xiuxiu: Both.

Scumbag: Well, same. I like to help him clean up.

68. Do you two plan for sex?

Xiuxiu: No.

Scumbag: He always tells me in advance not to take too long.

69. Have you ever had sex with someone other than your partner?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: That's all in the past.

70. How do you feel about the saying "it doesn't matter if your partner
doesn’t have feelings towards you, as long as you get the other person's
body"?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Fuck you. Next question.

71. What would you do if your partner was raped?

Xiuxiu: He… he won’t be raped.

Scumbag: I’d chop the asshole up into minced meat.

72. Are you embarrassed before or after sex?

Xiuxiu: Both...a little bit before and after...

Scumbag: What is there to be embarrassed about?

73. What would you do if your friend said, "Sleep with me tonight, I'm
lonely" and asked for a one-night stand?

Xiuxiu: I don’t… have such friends.

Scumbag: I'm a family man now. So anybody who pulls something like this
on me will just make a fool out of himself.

74. How do you feel about your skills in bed?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: I always serve my wifey well.

75. Is your partner’s technique good?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: He's embarrassed to say, but he's definitely satisfied. I don’t care
about technique so much - I’m happy with even a little response.

76. When you are having sex, what do you want the other party to say?

Xiuxiu: Doesn't… matter

Scumbag: Something nice, like “I love you”, “you're awesome”, “you're

amazing” and so on, but unfortunately he never says it.

77. What's your favorite expression to see when you're having sex?
Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Going crazy. Uncontrollable.

78. Do you think it's okay to have a relationship with someone other than
your partner?

Xiuxiu: ...that's not good...

Scumbag: It didn't matter to me before. But I've changed my mind now.

79. Are you interested in SM or something like that?

Xiuxiu: What?

Scumbag: Some day I’d like to try it... Forget it, he definitely won't be up for
it.

80. What would you do if the other person suddenly no longer needed your
body?

Xiuxiu: That's also... fine.

Scumbag: That's not good! I’d find a way to make him need it.

81. What are your thoughts on rape?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Fuck, I told you not to ask these kinds of questions. Are you
looking for a fight?

82. When you are having sex, what do you find the most tiresome?

Xiuxiu: He… when he takes too long...

Scumbag: The time it takes to coax him to do it is the most tiresome.

83. So far, where did you have the most exciting and thrilling sex?
Xiuxiu: Nowhere...

Scumbag: We haven't tried any thrilling places yet… Damn, we must try it
outdoors one day.

84. Was there ever any special request from the bottom?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Never

85. What was the top’s reaction at that time?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: If this time ever comes, I'll make sure to take care of the request.

86. Has the top ever committed rape?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Fuck you! Stop asking questions with this word in them! I swear,
I'll throw you out the window.

87. What was bottom’s reaction at that time?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Go away! Chengxiu, let's go back home and not waste any more
time here with this idiot!

Old Qian: Yeah right! Do you still want that sex scene in the office or
outdoors?

Scumbag: …

88. Do you have a specific ideal image of sexiness?

Xiuxiu: No...

Scumbag: Just my wifey.

89. Does the other party meet your ideals?

Xiuxiu: More or less...

Scumbag: I’m fully satisfied.

90. Do you use props when doing it?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Occasionally.

91. How old were you when you had your first time?

Xiuxiu: Twenty-eight

Scumbag: Fourteen...

92. Was it with your current partner?

Xiuxiu: Yes.

.
Scumbag: No.

93. Where do you like being kissed the most?

Xiuxiu: Mouth…just on the mouth.

Scumbag: Of course, down there... But he doesn't want to, so forget it.

94. Where do you like to kiss your partner the most?

Xiuxiu: I like...just normal kissing.

Scumbag: Anywhere.

95.During sex, when is your partner the happiest?

Xiuxiu: It seems, always...

Scumbag: I have to warm him up first.

96. What are you thinking about during sex?

Xiuxiu: I don’t…don’t think of anything.

Scumbag: How I want to put it in.

97. How many times do you usually have sex in one night?

Xiuxiu: …

Scumbag: Generally, two to three times. The highest record was six times.

98. During sex, do you take off your clothes or does your partner do it for
you?

Xiuxiu: He… he takes off my clothes.

Scumbag: Well, I like to undress him.

99. For you, what is sex?

Xiuxiu: A good...good thing.

Scumbag: Essential.

100. Thank you for your hard work! Now tell your partner what you want to
tell them the most!

Xiuxiu: Zhengzheng is crying again

Scumbag: That little brat is so annoying

SSQ shading her own character XD

1. Busy parenting life of newlywed husbands (2011)

Since the arrival of the baby Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun have been very
busy.

Although they had hired two nannies, neither of them liked outsiders living
in their house, so the nannies only came around during the day and left for
the night. After Li Chengxiu got off work, he took over the task of feeding
the baby.

Shao Qun found the little bundle quite interesting at first, but unfortunately
his interest didn’t even last three days.

He couldn't understand why the baby cried so much and why it cried so
loudly!

Shao Qun was very annoyed with the child, but fortunately it was Li
Chengxiu's baby. Therefore, he had to display some love for the baby in the
name of “love me, love my dog” principle. If it had been Shao Qun’s own
child, he would have definitely handed it over to his sisters and wouldn’t
have bothered with it anymore.

One day after work, Shao Qun wanted to find Li Chengxiu in the office to go
home together but he soon discovered that his subordinate had left earlier
than the boss.
When Shao Qun got home, he found Li Chengxiu walking around the house
with the child in his arms.

In order to keep the baby from crying all night long, Li Chengxiu tried to
keep him awake during the day - he moved the baby up and down, making it
laugh.

Shao Qun looked around the house.

Li Chengxiu had obviously just arrived from work. Under normal

circumstances Li Chengxiu would have tidied things up, then played with
Teacup for a while and fed it. At this moment, most likely he would have
already put on his apron and started cooking dinner. Shao Qun would
normally walk over and follow him around, watching the preparations, and
then they’d final y have a nice meal together.

But since the arrival of the baby, the first thing Li Chengxiu did when he
entered the house was go straight to the child. His things would just be
thrown on the sofa in disarray, poor Teacup fell out of favor, and the cooking
only started when Li Chengxiu deemed that he had entertained the baby
enough.

The most irritating thing was that Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu had been
sleeping in the same bed for almost a week, and the mood was pretty good a
couple of times. But every time Shao Qun was just about to make his move,
the little one would start crying. So what was the end result? Nothing, nada,
couldn’t do a single thing!

Even before the baby, Shao Qun had thought that he didn’t have enough
alone time with Li Chengxiu but now he had to share him with this little brat
who couldn't take care of himself. So Shao Qun was pretty angry.

Dissatisfied, he sat down on the sofa and shouted, "Chengxiu, I'm hungry!"

Li Chengxiu didn't even turn around, "The leftovers from yesterday are in
the fridge. Heat them up."

Shao Qun was about to blow a fuse.

Now that the baby was here, half the time he had to eat leftovers. Li
Chengxiu was such a talented cook but now he only used his special abilities
to make sure that the baby’s milk was of the right temperature. He was so
meticulous about it as if every time he was doing some scientific
experiment.

Shao Qun's current position in this family was lower than a dog. At least the
dog received fresh food to eat.

Li Chengxiu offered to ask the nanny to cook for him but Shao Qun was not
happy with the idea and insisted on eating only Li Chengxiu’s hand-cooked
meals.

Shao Qun lay down on the sofa and sulked, quietly staring at the ceiling..

Li Chengxiu had finally made sure that the baby was happy. He put him
back in the crib, and let him play with the wind chimes hanging above his
head. Then he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Busy parenting experience must be a universal thing, eh?

Li Chengxiu was always restless when he was at work now - he would often
lose his focus and start thinking about his son.

After all, he couldn’t be at ease while his son was taken care of by somebody
else. On the other hand, he also didn’t want to take the woman’s path[1] -
quit his job and stay at home with the child. So he would usually rush back
immediately after work, and sometimes even during lunch time, to check up
on the baby and alleviate his worries.

Li Chengxiu looked at little Zhengzheng who was having a good time at the
moment, and a smile appeared on his face.

Just as he was about to start cooking, he noticed Shao Qun lying on the sofa,
frowning with his eyes closed and looking very tired.

Li Chengxiu quietly walked over and sat down next to him.

"Sleeping?"
Shao Qun half-opened his eyes and glanced at him, then stretched out his
arms to hug Li Chengxiu’s waist and muttered, "I'm starving to death!"

"Then I'll cook now." Li Chengxiu got up.

Shao Qun hugged him, not letting him go, and whispered: "Now that you
have a son, you have completely forgotten about your husband."

Li Chengxiu burst out laughing, "Zhengzheng needs someone to care of him.

How old are you?"

Shao Qun arched his head into Li Chengxiu’s arms, "No matter how old I
am, I stil need you. You don't have to take care of me, but you can't treat me
as if I don’t exist. Since the baby came, you haven't even looked at me
properly."

Li Chengxiu shook his head helplessly, "How old are you?"

Shao Qun didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly turned his head and lightly bit
Li Chengxiu’s waist. Then he rolled over, jumped up from the sofa and
pressed Li Chengxiu close to his body. Finally, he gave him a deep kiss and
looked at him, feigning anger.

Li Chengxiu laughed, "Okay, get off me. I'll cook."

Annoyed, Shao Qun let Li Chengxiu go.

Before going to bed at night, Li Chengxiu checked up on Zhengzheng three

or four times, before he could finally enter the bedroom with some peace of
mind.

Shao Qun had just finished taking a bath and only had a bath towel wrapped
around his lower body. He was wiping his hair with the towel, as he asked
casually, "Is Zhengzheng asleep?".

Li Chengxiu's eyes swept across Shao Qun’s sturdy upper body, and his
heart jumped abruptly in his chest.

He took out his pajamas from the closet and said, “Yes, he’s sound asleep."
Shao Qun came over and reached out to gently touch Li Chengxiu's face,
"Thank you for your hard work."

Li Chengxiu chuckled: "It's not “hard work”.” He then turned around and
proceeded to take a shower in the bathroom, letting the warm water wash the
fatigue of the day away.

While Li Chengxiu was still under the shower, the bathroom door creaked
open.

Li Chengxiu turned around and saw Shao Qun standing in the doorframe
with his arms folded across his chest and with his eyes fixed on Li
Chengxiu’s naked back.

Li Chengxiu became nervous all of a sudden. He wanted to cover himself

up, but he felt that with the current relationship between the two of them it
wouldn’t be quite right to do so.

Shao Qun's dark eyes were partly hidden behind the water vapors, which
were flowing through the air.

Li Chengxiu dumbly said, "Shao… Shao Qun, you..."

Shao Qun kept leaning against the door frame, as his eyes wandered back
and forth over Li Chengxiu’s body. The desire in his eyes wasn’t concealed
at all.

"Chengxiu, Zhengzheng won't cry tonight, right?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, "Ah...likely... not..."

When Zhengzheng first arrived, he was used to sleeping during the day and
crying during the night.

Shao Qun's sexual manoeuvres had been interrupted several times by the
little bundle, and he was at his limit. Li Chengxiu also felt that crying in the
middle of the night every day wasn’t real y conducive to good rest, so he
asked the nanny’s cooperation to adjust the baby to a more “human-friendly”
regiment.
The rule was that Zhengzheng was not allowed to sleep during the day, and
he had to play as much as possible. Thus, he would get tired throughout the
day and wouldn’t cry in the middle of the night.

Through the efforts of the past few days, the time of nightly crying had
significantly reduced. Shao Qun couldn't wait to enjoy the undisturbed time
between himself and Li Chengxiu.

Shao Qun walked over step by step, as his misty eyes stopped on Li
Chengxiu’s face, "Then it’s just you and me tonight, right?"

Li Chengxiu swallowed and took a step back.

Shao Qun cautiously pretended to be a gentleman for over half a year. It was
really hard to coax Li Chengxiu to let go of his vigilance and stop resisting
in this matter. There was no way he was backing off at this time. Shao Qun
stretched his arms and wrapped them around Li Chengxiu’s waist.

Li Chengxiu was completely naked, as Shao Qun pressed his lower body
onto him, letting him feel his lust through the bath towel.

Li Chengxiu's face immediately turned red, "I… I… am washing… Taking a

shower..."

Shao Qun lowered his head and bit his ear, then covered the side of his face
with a row of shallow kisses.

Caressing Li Chengxiu’s smooth back with one hand, he said, "Be honest...
How long are you going to torment me? It was so hard to get that little brat
to fall asleep…"

—-------------------------------CONTENT WARNING: consensual smut —----

-----------------------------

Shao Qun got rid of his bath towel and rubbed his hot cock against Li
Chengxiu's thigh.

Li Chengxiu's body trembled, feeling that the skin that was in contact with
Shao Qun was burning up with terrifying heat.
Shao Qun had been hungering for too long, so it took a lot of concentration
to control himself. He couldn’t just start stuffing himself immediately but he
was so excited that his arms around Li Chengxiu were shaking.

He pressed Li Chengxiu against the wall, leaned over and fiercely covered
his mouth with his own.

Li Chengxiu was blinded by the shower water that was pouring over his
head, so all his other senses were keenly aware of Shao Qun's fiery kisses
and erotic strokes.

Shao Qun forcefully pried open his mouth, and his slippery tongue stirred in
as deep as he could. Li Chengxiu let out a slight moan, dazed by the
passionate kiss.

He could feel Shao Qun's hand on his buttocks, kneading them over and over
again.

Shao Qun's kisses fell lower and lower - first on his chin, then across his
chest, his belly button and all the way to…

"Ah...!" Li Chengxiu exclaimed. He tried to open his eyes, but the pour of
warm water prevented him from doing that. He felt that his dick was being...

Shao Qun was squatting in front of him, and his dexterous tongue was
licking Li Chengxiu’s genitals. Once he could clearly feel that Li Chengxiu’s
dick slowly became hard and hot, he final y took him in his mouth.

Li Chengxiu shouted out, as his legs softened, and he almost couldn’t stand
anymore. Shao Qun supported his weight by holding up his waist. While
Shao Qun was stimulating Li Chengxiu's center of desire with his tongue
and his mouth, his dishonest fingers were already poking at Li Chengxiu’s
hole.

Li Chengxiu had never experienced such stimulation before. As soon as the

realization that his dick was inside Shao Qun’s mouth hit him, he felt that his
surging desire was about to split him apart.
He could barely keep up on his feet and could only rely on Shao Qun for
support. His back was firmly pressed against the wall, but the cold tiles
didn’t cool him down at all. Instead, his lust felt only hotter and hotter.

"Shao Qun... Shao... ah... Enough... Shao Qun... ah ah..."

Li Chengxiu's unbearable, out of control moaning was real y hot. Shao

Qun’s head went up and down, swallowing Li Chengxiu’s dick over and
over again and pushing him to the peak of desire. Li Chengxiu's body
trembled more and more severely. As he couldn't bear anymore, he grabbed
Shao Qun's hair and tried to push his head away, but Shao Qun held on to his
waist and did not let go. Li Chengxiu couldn't control himself - his entire
body shook, and the hot bodily fluids squirted out.

Shao Qun turned around and spat out the liquid in his mouth with a chuckle.
Then he stood up and grabbed Li Chengxiu by the chin, violently robbing
him of his breath.

Li Chengxiu was at that moment just hanging onto Shao Qun's body,
passively accepting the excessive kisses.

Shao Qun’s direct initiative made Li Chengxiu entirely helpless, so he just

went with the flow.

Shao Qun picked Li Chengxiu up by his waist and walked to the large
double bed in the bedroom.

As soon as Li Chengiu lay down, he started coughing and couldn’t stop for a
while.

Shao Qun pressed himself on top of Li Chengxiu and moved his hand away
from his face. With a smile he asked, "How is it? Do you feel good?"

Li Chengxiu whimpered and couldn't help curling up. He didn't even dare to
open his eyes to look at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun chuckled, pushed his thighs apart, squeezing himself between
them, and opened his mouth to hold onto Li Chengxiu’s nipple.
Li Chengxiu's skin was generally light, and even this place on his chest was
very light in color. After Shao Qun bit and licked it, the nipple became
moist, red, and tender, making him want to swallow it up at once.

Shao Qun squeezed some lube onto his hands, pushed Li Chengxiu’s
buttocks apart and gently rubbed the closed entrance.

Li Chengxiu tightly covered his face with his hands and bit his lips, not
daring to make a sound.

While kissing and licking his pink skin, Shao Qun pushed himself between
Li Chengxiu’s hips, working hard at expanding the narrow corridor.

Watching the process of the tightly closed flesh gradually softening is

generally a sweetly torturous and exciting visual feast for any man. Shao
Qun put one of Li Chengxiu’s legs on his shoulder, pressed down on his
slender waist and finally inserted his hard dick into the crimson hole.

Li Chengxiu's body instantly tensed up. His wet eyes pleadingly looked at
Shao Qun through his fingers.

Shao Qun massaged the entrance, stretching all the folds with his thumb.
Softly he soothed him, "Relax, Chengxiu, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you.
Think about how happy we were before. Don't be afraid, just relax."

Li Chengxiu arched his neck, tightly biting on his lip, as he tried to get used
to the fleshy blade squeezing into his body little by little.

His body that hadn’t endured this kind of desire for over a year obviously
couldn’t adapt to the invasion so quickly.

Li Chengxiu's face flushed red, and his body twisted in pain.

Blue veins popped up on Shao Qun’s forehead. He lay on Li Chengxiu's

body and rubbed his cheek against Li Chengxiu's chin, "Chengxiu, relax,
don't be so tight... I want to go in, I miss you so much... Let me come in...
Relax..."
Li Chengxiu whimpered in a low voice and couldn't help but respond to
Shao Qun’s comfort by rubbing against his cheek, absorbing the warm
breath on his face.

Shao Qun seemed to have received great encouragement. He pushed a pillow

under Li Chengxiu's waist, raised his hips, and moved towards Li Chengxiu's
body.

"Ah..." Li Chengxiu moaned in confusion, reaching out and tightly grabbing

at the sheets.

Shao Qun resisted the urge to start pumping, instead he proceeded with slow
shallow thrusts, trying to completely open Li Chengxiu’s body.

Li Chengxiu's intermittent moans kept escaping from his throat. One

couldn’t quite say if these were moans of pain or pleasure, but in Shao Qun's
ears, any sound at that moment seemed sweet.

Shao Qun was covered in sweat. His hand was pressed onto Li Chengxiu's
buttocks, leaving five red fingerprints on it. He held onto Li Chengxiu's
waist and impatiently pushed in.

The narrow passage was tight and hot, and every time he entered, he felt the
thrill of being squeezed by the intestinal walls. Shao Qun almost cried out
from pleasure.

He had longed for this person for many months - thus, the great physical
pleasure this time was negligible when compared to the psychological
satisfaction. It alone was enough to swallow Shao Qun whole.

He finally had this person in his hands again, and he was finally able to
embrace him to the fullest again.

Compared to all the disappointment and discouragement he had experienced,

the happiness of this moment was worth everything he had gone through.

Shao Qun felt that his body was on fire. He had never been so excited
before, as if his whole being was a container full of emotions. He wanted to
ignite all his emotions and pass them to Li Chengxiu via sex.
He spread Li Chengxiu's legs as wide as possible and moved his waist,
quickly thrusting.

Shao Qun’s hot and firm genitals were like a red-hot soldering iron, and the
process of them going in and out seemingly set Li Chengxiu’s whole body
on fire.

Shao Qun's movements became faster and faster, and the lubricant applied to
Li Chengxiu's back entrance had turned into foam and was flowing out onto
the sheets from the place where both of them were connected, forming a
small pool of liquid.

Shao Qun slammed into Li Chengxiu again and again, each time
accompanied by a wet slapping sound that made the whole room drown in
the whirlpool of debauchery.

Li Chengxiu finally couldn't help groaning with tears in his voice.

"Shao... Qun... Slow, slow... Shao Qun... ah... ah... Shao Qun... Slow... oh..."

Shao Qun's movements were too fast, pushing Li Chengxiu's body forward.
But every time he was pulled back by Shao Qun, who then went even
deeper. The accompanying intense “pa, pa, pa” sounds would have made
anybody deaf.

Li Chengxiu's body was turned into a soft mess by the intense sex, and he
didn't even have the strength to lift his arms.

Shao Qun let out a heavy gasp. His perfectly sculpted chin was raised high,
and large beads of sweat were sliding down his neck all the way down to his
firm chest. His whole body seemed covered in sensual eroticism.

Li Chengxiu's moans were met with only heavier thrusts, and in the end he
couldn’t even complete his plea for mercy.

Shao Qun turned Li Chengxiu over, made him kneel on the bed, and then
entered from behind.
Li Chengxiu couldn't tell anymore whether these were tears or drops of
sweat on his face. He buried himself into the bedding and whined in a low
voice. Under the impact of Shao Qun thrusts, Li Chengxiu’s lower body was
rubbing against the sheets, making his dick perk up again.

Shao Qun put his arms around his waist and forced Li Chengxiu to pucker
his asshole.

The back hole, that was so thoroughly fucked that it wouldn’t close up
anymore, was in Shao Qun’s full view.

Li Chengxiu's throat was hoarse, and he was on the verge of fainting, so all
he could do was to try to beg for mercy. However, Shao Qun's whole body
was occupied by desire, so he turned a deaf ear to any pleas.

While slapping Li Chengxiu's snow-white buttocks, he continued to fiercely

conquer the place that brought him the ultimate pleasure.

It was unclear how long it took, until Shao Qun finally reached the peak of
his desire and came with a low growl.

All the hot bodily fluids spilled inside Li Chengxiu's hole. His fragile and
sensitive inner walls were so overwhelmed by the sensation, that he
screamed, feeling as if he was being burned from inside.

Shao Qun hadn't had such wild sex in a long time. After finishing once, he
fell directly onto Li Chengxiu's body, gasping for breath.

He did not pull out but stayed inside, enjoying the warmth that only
belonged to him. Shao Qun hugged Li Chengxiu from behind, licked his ear
and touched his chest with both hands.

Li Chengxiu couldn't even utter a word - his whole body slumped softly into
Shao Qun's arms as if he had just been fished out of the water.

Shao Qun was also very tired. He had stayed abstinent for too long and
completely lost his self-control.

Just doing it once almost exhausted his physical strength.

It was hard to get Li Chengxiu to lie under him again. So regardless of
exhaustion, Shao Qun felt that he should be able to fight another 300 rounds.
Being so tired only after doing it once was such a waste.

Shao Qun kissed Li Chengxiu’s neck and unwil ingly backed off, leaving a
string of crimson hickeys on his bare skin. His hands were also not idle - he
used his fingertips to fiddle with Li Chengxiu's nipples. His soft dick was
also sneakily moving inside Li Chengxiu’s backside, feeling the pleasure of
his own semen flowing out.

Li Chengxiu said dumbly, "Shao Qun..."

Very content, Shao Qun responded, "Baby..."

"Pull out, pull out..." Just saying these kinds of words cost Li Chengxiu a lot
of courage. He was too ashamed to face what Shao Qun had just done to
him.

Shao Qun laughed softly into his ear, "Let me stay inside for a while... I
want to do it again, I just need to rest a bit. Baby, you are so amazing…
Without even moving, you can make me so excited. If you ever learn a trick
or two, it will be the end of me."

Ashamed and angry, Li Chengxiu exclaimed, "You… You bastard! Pull out
immediately! Pull… out."

Instead of pulling out, Shao Qun twisted his waist and moved his dick
around inside Li Chengxiu's body.

Although the soft organ was not such a lethal weapon, the hole that had just
been ravaged was still very sensitive, so Li Chengxiu's waist immediately
twitched in response.

Shao Qun laughed wickedly, moved his fingers towards Li Chengxiu’s lower
body and fiddled with the soft flesh between Li Chengxiu's legs.

Li Chengxiu blushed with anger, "Shao Qun, you’re a bastard!"

He struggled to get out of Shao Qun's grip, but was held so tightly that he
was completely helpless against Shao Qun’s shameless advances.

Shao Qun whispered lovey-dovey nonsense into his ear, while making
obscene movements with his hands.

Li Chengxiu wished he could just faint at that moment.

Shao Qun finally felt that he had rested enough and was ready for another
vigorous round.

—--------------------------------------------------end of smut—-----------------—--
-------------------------------

Just as both of them were turning around, a sharp cry suddenly burst through
their eardrums.

The two of them froze.

Shao Qun pressed Li Chengxiu down and wanted to continue his

movements.

Li Chengxiu, who was already exhausted, had no idea where his sudden
burst of strength came from - he pushed Shao Qun away, “Zhengzheng is
crying.”

Shao Qun gritted his teeth, "So what can we do about it?"

Li Chengxiu glared at him, "I'll go check up on him."

Shao Qun pressed on Li Chengxiu even harder, preventing him from

moving. His semi-hard-on slammed into Li Chengxiu, "Do you really want
to leave right now?"

Li Chengxiu became anxious, "Don't be ridiculous! The baby is crying. Let

me go…let go of me!"

As if there was a way for Shao Qun to let him go… Instead, he grabbed Li
Chengxiu’s thighs and continued thrusting.
Li Chengxiu was so angry that he gave Shao Qun a hard punch, "I'll go take
a look."

Shao Qun's face turned green, but when he saw Li Chengxiu's expression, he
immediately realized that the man would be real y angry if he didn’t let him
go this time.

Shao Qun didn't have the guts to make Li Chengxiu angry. If he left without
a word again, who would Shao Qun go cry to?

No matter how uncomfortable Shao Qun was, he could only pull out. Li
Chengxiu covered his body with pajamas, stumbled out of bed and walked to
the nursery.

Shao Qun listened to the high-pitched cries of the little brat, and it made him
so angry that he rolled around the bed in frustration.

He now regretted that he didn't commit to handing the baby to his sisters. At
the time, he was afraid that Li Chengxiu would miss the child. Also, the
baby was an important bargaining chip for him to be able to hold on to Li
Chengxiu. Now Shao Qun regretted this decision even more than giving him
Teacup.

With sadness and indignation, Shao Qun couldn't help thinking that in Li
Chengxiu's mind, the baby was ranked first, Teacup was second, and he was
only third.

And the first two places were taken by the things he had given to Li
Chengxiu himself! Shao Qun would be lying if he said that he wasn’t
regretful.

Just as he was ruminating on it, Li Chengxiu called from the nursery "Shao
Qun, bring the bottle!"

Shao Qun immediately bolted out of bed and servively responded, "Coming,
wifey!"

2. The office is a good place full of romantic affairs (2011)

When Li Chengxiu came to work early one morning, as soon as he got out of
the elevator, he was almost deafened by the sound of a quarrel that could lift
a house roof,

Li Chengxiu heard a familiar voice shout: "Since he’s not in, can’t you just
pour me a cup of tea and let me wait for a while? Why the fuck do I have to
come back another day?"

Then he heard Assistant Chen's calm voice: "Young Master Ji, what I mean
by coming back another day is that you need to make an appointment with
the boss first at a suitable time. And then you can see him."

"I have to make an appointment to see him? Who does he think he is?"

"Young Master Ji, it’s just a procedure. We are just doing our jobs here to put
some food on the table.

Please don’t make it harder than it should be."

"Are you fucking looking for a fight?"

Li Chengxiu hurried to the front desk, and sure enough, he had heard it right.
The person who was making a scene was the one he hadn’t seen in a long
time - Ji Yuanqi.

He saw that Assistant Chen had been forced by Ji Yuanqi to retreat to the
very back of the front desk. He was frowning, as he asked the person next to
him, "If he beats me up right now, will it be considered a work injury?

Li Chengxiu sighed quietly. Why doesn't this guy’s temper show any signs
of improvement?

"Xiao Ji."

Several people present turned around to look back at Li Chengxiu.

As soon as Ji Yuanqi saw him, his expression suddenly changed: "Li

Chengxiu!"
He looked happy at first but then his face darkened: "Li Chengxiu, you are
actually working for this Shao guy."

Li Chengxiu was slightly stunned and immediately showed some

embarrassment on his face.

"Xiao Ji, let’s not inconvenience Assistant Chen any longer. Come in and
let’s talk." Li Chengxiu pointed to the reception room and motioned for Ji
Yuanqi to follow him.

Only then did Ji Yuanqi relax his shoulders. He turned his head, showed
Assistant Chen his middle finger and then followed Li Chengxiu into the
reception room.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Ji Yuanqi began to complain:

"Even the dogs raised by Shao Qun have the same rotten virtues as he does!
They are an arrogant bunch of stupid asshole scum!"

Li Chengxiu sighed: "These are just regular working people, and you are
here to cause trouble.."

"So what if I am?" Ji Yuanqi sat down on the sofa angrily, "I actually came
here for you! I was locked up by my dad for several months. Now that he
finally stopped watching me so closely, I wanted to quickly find you,
because I was afraid that Shao Qun would bully you! But what do I see? You
have made peace with him! Damn, it makes me so angry even to talk about
it. What the fuck are you thinking? "

Li Chengxiu was a little dizzy from all this yelling, and he slowly sat down,
his face a little pale.

He could only imagine how surprising and completely incomprehensible it

was for Ji Yuanqi to find out that he was still with Shao Qun. But Li
Chengxiu didn't know how to explain it to him.

The world of adults is just too complicated and entangled, and Li Chengxiu
couldn’t expect a child to understand.
When Ji Yuanqi saw that he wasn’t speaking, he became even angrier. He
pointed at Li Chengxiu’s nose and shouted, "You always do this! I know
what you are thinking, you don't take me seriously at all. That’s why you
don’t tell me anything. In your eyes I’m just some doofus who can’t do
anything while you are being bul ied to death. You don’t even think about
asking me for help!"

Li Chengxiu whispered: "Xiao Ji, I don't think about you like this. I… I treat
you as a friend."

"Like fart you do! Just saying some perfunctory bullshit."

Li Chengxiu twisted his fingers and looked at Ji Yuanqi with embarrassment.

Ji Yuanqi resentfully scratched his neck.

Li Chengxiu then carefully asked, "How have you been recently?"

Ji Yuanqi glared at him: "Very well, not bad. I’ve even gotten myself a very
beautiful girlfriend."

Li Chengxiu smiled, "Congratulations."

Ji Yuanqi said angrily: "My girlfriend is taller than you."

Li Chengxiu smiled again and said, "Very nice, she must be a good match
for you."

Ji Yuanqi glanced at him with some grievance and muttered: "But she can't
cook so well."

Li Chengxiu burst out laughing: "She can learn."

Ji Yuanqi waved him over: "Sit down over here."

Li Chengxiu sat beside Ji Yuanqi, looking gently at him: "Xiao Ji, since you
have a girlfriend now, you should learn to speak nicely and control your
temper."
Ji Yuanqi suddenly hugged Li Chengxiu’s shoulders and whispered into his
ear, "I miss you."

Li Chengxiu patted him on the back: "Come and hang out with me more in
the future."

Ji Yuanqi was just about to say something, when the reception door was
pushed open.

Shao Qun walked in aggressively, looking very angry. Assistant Xiao Zhou
followed behind with a dark face.

Ji Yuanqi got up and looked at Shao Qun with provocation.

Shao Qun walked over and pul ed Li Chengxiu to his side, staring at Ji
Yuanqi with disdain: "Weren’t you looking for me? What did you want?"

Ji Yuanqi raised his eyebrow: "Weren’t you unavailable? I was looking for
you to find him."

Shao Qun shouted, "So you can just come see my wife because you want to?
You really are a piece of work, acting so familiar!"

Li Chengxiu quickly pushed Shao Qun away, indicating that they were in the
place of business right now, and his colleagues were outside.

Ji Yuanqi shouted: "Do I need your fucking consent to talk to him? Do you
think he’s your dog?"

Shao Qun's face darkened: "Fuck off, this is my turf! I'm warning you, if you
don't leave, I'll call your dad and tell him you came to my office to cause
trouble."

Ji Yuanqi's face turned green from anger, and his hand that pointed at Shao
Qun’s nose was shaking. For the longest time he was speechless.

Li Chengxiu pulled at Shao Qun's arm: "Don't do this..."

Assistant Chen came over at some point, holding Shao Qun's mobile phone:
"Mr. Shao, do you need me to call a car to take Young MasterJi home? It's
raining outside, and the road is slippery."

Shao Qun took the phone with a sneer: "I'll kindly call a cab for you, lest
you get wet. That would really upset your mother."

Ji Yuanqi angrily exclaimed: "How dare you! "

Li Chengxiu frowned and snatched the mobile phone away from Shao Qun:
"Don't bully him."

Shao Qun gave Li Chengxiu a dissatisfied look, and angrily turned his face
away.

Ji Yuanqi grabbed a piece of paper that was lying on the table, quickly wrote
something on it and handed it to Li Chengxiu: "Here. This is my mobile
phone number, my landline number, and also my mailbox. You can always
reach me, so you must come over to hang out."

Li Chengxiu accepted the note: "Sure, definitely."

"Give me your phone number."

Li Chengxiu also wrote his number on a piece of paper.

Shao Qun tried to speak several times, but always stopped at the last
moment. Finally he shouted, "Xiao Zhou, hurry up and send Young Master Ji
away."

Assistant Zhou gestured Ji Yuanqi over.

Ji Yuanqi reluctantly said goodbye to Li Chengxiu, glared at Shao Qun

sternly, and shoved Assistant Zhou before slamming the door and leaving
without turning around.

Li Chengxiu looked at his back with some pity.

When Ji Yuanqi left, Li Chengxiu walked out of the room without even
looking at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun was behind him, desperately pretending to have a casual talk:
"This kid is really annoying... Hey, why are you here so early today? I ran
into the nanny downstairs when I was leaving, and she said that Zhengzheng
was getting heavier every day."

He said some other nonsense, but Li Chengxiu kept ignoring him, so Shao
Qun finally started to worry.

When they were passing by the pantry, Shao Qun took advantage of the lack
of people and blocked Li Chengxiu’s path. Impatiently he asked,"What's
wrong with you?"

Li Chengxiu frowned and said softly, "Can't I have friends?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, obviously panicking: "It’s not what it’s
about. This kid obviously has his sights set on you..."

Li Chengxiu lowered his head, bypassing Shao Qun quietly and heading
back to the office.

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s back in a daze for a long time.

At 11 am, everyone was eagerly looking forward to their lunch break.

While Li Chengxiu was stretching his muscles and bones, a person from the
office told him to go report to Shao Qun.

This kind of report wasn’t usually Li Chengxiu’s responsibility, so this was

probably just an excuse that Shao Qun had cooked up. But with so many
people around Li Chengxiu couldn’t just openly refuse, so he sighed and
took out the documents.

He arrived at Shao Qun’s office door and barely managed to knock, when
the door suddenly flew open.

Looking uncomfortable, Shao Qun said: "Come in."

Li Chengxiu glanced at him and entered the office.

Shao Qun closed the door and locked it with a "click". Then he proceeded to
hug Li Chengxiu from behind.

Li Chengxiu guiltily looked around.

Although the office was locked, it was his workplace after all, and Li
Chengxiu was worried that others would notice something.

Irritated, Shao Qun muttered: "Why are you angry at me? Just because of
some random outsider guy you stopped talking to me… And I couldn’t see
you this morning, so it’s real y giving me a hard time.”

Li Chengxiu had already forgotten the squabble from this morning, so he

just sighed:"You are so small-minded."

"Am I small-minded or are you small-minded? When did I ever say that you
can't have friends? It’s just that all your friends have a tendency to keep me
on my toes. Should I remind you that you’re a family man now?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "Xiao Ji is only twenty years old. You
shouldn’t overthink it - he’s just reliant on me, besides he has a girlfriend."

Shao Qun stil wasn’t convinced. When he himself was twenty, he had so
many men and women that they could fil up mahjong parlors. And that kid
also didn’t look like a grass-eater.

Li Chengxiu didn't want to argue with Shao Qun about this: "Let me go. It’s
all fine, I'l just head back."

Shao Qun suddenly reached his hand into Li Chengxiu’s clothes.

Li Chengxiu caught his fingers: "Don't mess around! We are at the

company."

"What's wrong with being at the company? I’m the one who owns and runs
it after all." Shao Qun suddenly became energized, and seemingly eager to
prove to Li Chengxiu his ownership of everything around, put the other hand
into his pants.

Only then did Li Chengxiu realize that he was being serious. Anxiously he
said: "Shao Qun, don't be ridiculous!"

Shao Qun responded, "I wanted to do it in the office for a while… At home,
we are always disturbed by the little brat. I haven’t had a good time in so
long…Chengxiu, baby, you promised me just one time..." In the end this
grown up man actually started to pout like a spoiled child.

Li Chengxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "No, if somebody sees...

ah..."

Shao Qun was already holding Li Chengxiu's dick in his hand and stroking it
skillfully. He couldn't stand this kind of stimulation. Every time Shao Qun
touched him like that, his body became soft, and he couldn’t refuse his
advances anymore.

"Shao Qun, you really want to do it right here...you..."

Shao Qun was real y serious about doing it right here and now. He was
taking off Li Chengxiu’s pants while he was still talking.

Li Chengxiu's trousers slid down his white thighs all the way down to the
ground. His shirt was lifted, revealing his thin waist. Dazed, he was being
caressed by Shao Qun all over.

.. .[2]

Afterwards Li Chengxiu was so tired that he couldn't even open his eyes.

When he came to it again, Shao Qun had already finished bathing him and
had carried him over to the bed in the lounge. Shao Qun pushed him awake
and offered him some food.

Li Chengxiu wearily opened his eyes and, somewhat confused, stared at the
spoon that was offered to him.
Shao Qun held him in his arms and lightly patted his face: "Chengxiu, open
your mouth. You should have something to eat - you haven't had lunch yet."

Li Chengxiu obediently opened his mouth, but unfortunately he could barely

taste the food. With a smile, Shao Qun fed him half a bowl of rice and then
gently wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Li Chengxiu asked in a hoarse voice: "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock."

Li Chengxiu sighed: "I have to head back..."

"For what? You’re soon off the clock anyway. Besides, you’re so tired. Let’s
just stay here for a while longer. When everyone’s gone, I’l take you
downstairs."

Li Chengxiu patted his arm: "It's not… It was you…You can't restrain
yourself..."

Shao Qun kissed his cheek: "We should do it more often while we are
young, since we won’t be able to do it as often as we want to when we get
old. So we must take advantage of our current happiness.”

Li Chengxiu didn't even have the strength to get angry with Shao Qun - he
felt so lazy that all he wanted to do was to keep lying on the bed.

Shao Qun hugged him and lay down next to him. He then hugged Li
Chengxiu’s naked body and whispered softly: "Chengxiu, if you get angry
with me in the future, you should beat me or scold me. I won’t fight back.

But please don’t just stonewall me."

Li Chengxiu quietly listened to the words of Shao Qun who kissed his nose
and continued, "A year ago, you treated me just like that. You wouldn’t look
at me or talk to me, treating me not like a person but rather like a telephone
pole. Do you even know how horrible that felt?" Shao Qun’s heart ached
when he thought of the indifferent Li Chengxiu at the time when Shao Qun
was at his lowest point of despair.
Li Chengxiu reached out and touched Shao Qun’s face. His eyes were
shining in the dim light. Then he touched Shao Qun's lips, leaned in and
softly kissed him. In a low voice he said, "I won't do that anymore.”

Shao Qun froze, then suddenly hugged him with excitement, "Chengxiu..."

Li Chengxiu buried his head in Shao Qun’s broad chest.

This reassuring and warm feeling was so intoxicating, that one couldn’t help
but want to stay like this forever.

Shao Qun gently stroked his back: "Go back to sleep and rest for a while.
We're going home."

Li Chengxiu said "um" and closed his eyes with peace of mind.

They were going home.

3. Confession or the Bitter Extra about Scumbag Shao[3] (2011) On a

Friday night after work, Li Chengxiu got home first. When he arrived, he
saw Zhengzheng crawling on the carpet, while Teacup was right next to him
biting at his pants and pulling him forward. The nanny was right behind
them. When Zhengzheng noticed Li Chengxiu, he giggled and crawled
towards him.

Li Chengxiu’s heart was bursting from happiness. He quickly took off his
shoes and sat down on the carpet, waiting for Zhengzheng to crawl towards
him little by little, until his tiny hand could touch his knee.

Li Chengxiu hugged both his son and his dog in a burst of affection.

The nanny smiled and said, "Mr. Li, I'm going to head back first. The
ingredients for dinner have been prepared as per your instructions."

Li Chengxiu smiled back at her, "Thank you! Be careful on the road."

After the nanny left, Li Chengxiu hugged the two little bundles of joy for a
while. Finally, he put the baby into the crib and went on to prepare dinner.
Under normal circumstances, Shao Qun would come back more than an hour
later than him. Naturally, the working life of a boss and an employee were
on a very different scale.

So he really didn't expect that Shao Qun would come back early that day.
But the door opened as soon as Li Chengxiu just managed to wash his hands.

Shao Qun entered with a concerned expression on his face.

Li Chengxiu walked over and took Shao Qun’s document bag away, "So
early today?"

Shao Qun nodded sullenly, then went up to hug him. He put his head on Li
Chengxiu’s shoulder and just quietly stood like that for a while.

Li Chengxiu thought that Shao Qun was tired, or maybe something went
wrong at work, so he stroked his back and comforted him, "What's the
matter? The project’s not going well?"

"……no."

"Then what happened?"

"...Two people are coming over tonight."

"Oh, who would that be?"

"My little brother," Shao Qun's tone was full of resentment. It sounded like
he was announcing the arrival of his archnemesis.

"Your younger brother? Ah, you mean your cousin from America?"

"Right."

Li Chengxiu suddenly breathed in nervously, "Then the one coming over

with him..."

He had already found out from Shao Qun that Li Shuo was now dating Zhao
Jinxin, and the two of them had been together for a long time.
Although Li Chengxiu was very concerned about Li Shuo's current situation,
he did not dare to ask too many questions because of the tense relationship
between Shao Qun and Li Shuo. If the conversation concerned Li Shuo or Ji
Yuanqi, Shao Qun had a tendency to lose his temper. Sometimes he couldn’t
control himself and angered Li Chengxiu, and then was frustrated by the
need to apologize. After these kinds of unpleasant experiences, Li Chengxiu
wanted to avoid any disputes on these topics.

He couldn't understand why Shao Qun was so small-minded - all he wanted

to know was if they were doing well. Li Chengxiu didn’t have too many
friends in this world, so every single one counted, and he couldn’t help but
care about them.

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, the other one is Li Shuo."

Li Chengxiu blinked and asked in confusion, "If you don't want him to
come, why didn’t you just say so?"

Shao Qun raised his head and said angrily, "My sister asked Jinxin to come
visit me. And the Li guy comes as a package deal, since Jinxin listens to
him."

"Then it means, they're getting along well."

"Yeah, all right, I guess." Shao Qun's tone was impatient, "Let's lay some
ground rules first. When they come over, you can't...you can't be too
welcoming."

Li Chengxiu smiled and said, "You’re thinking too much. Both me and Li-
Dage have other people in our lives right now. We’re just friends. Can you
be a bit more open-minded?"

"Hmph, that's what you think! Let me tell you, that old geezer Li Shuo is
definitely up to no good. My brother is very handsome, so he should just be
happy to follow him wherever he tells him to go. Why does he have to be so
shameless and demand to see you?"

Li Chengxiu said warmly: "He just wants to make sure that I'm doing well.
Same as I want to know if he’s all right. When he comes over, you have to
be polite towards him."

Shao Qun's facial expression was still very ugly.

Li Chengxiu sighed. When he got home after a busy day, he had to coax two
children and one dog. Life was real y busy. He patted Shao Qun on the back
and said, "Stay with Zhengzheng for a bit. I’l start cooking and call you over
to eat later."

Shao Qun made an “um” sound, took two steps and then suddenly turned
back, "Wifey, give me a kiss."

Li Chengxiu smiled and obliged. Shao Qun hugged him for a long time
before finally letting go.

After their family of four finished eating, Li Chengxiu prepared several

snacks for later and even arranged a fruit platter.

Shao Qun looked unhappy and was gritting his teeth next to the baby.

Li Chengxiu pretended not to notice him.

Since he’s been together with Shao Qun for a while, he had basically gotten
used to these moods. Shao Qun would barely tolerate it when Adrian came
over to drag Li Chengxiu out for a special offer meal or take him to the city
to play around during the weekend. At least, on the surface he would hide his
discontent. But if it concerned Ji Yuanqi, even if Li Chengxiu just
telephoned with him, Shao Qun would spend the whole day in a foul mood.

In fact, Shao Qun had gotten much better than he used to be before. As long
as certain red lines were not crossed, he didn’t dare to show Li Chengxiu his
temper.

It's just that Ji Yuanqi and Li Shuo in Shao Qun’s mind were not on the same
level in regards to their threat and perceived disgust. Ji Yuanqi was just a
stinky little brat who didn’t have much influence, and Li Chengxiu certainly
didn’t have any feelings for him. But Li Shuo was fucking different. He was
Shao Qun’s ultimate rival whom he couldn’t wait to completely get rid of.
As long as he remembered Li Chengxiu’s and Li Shuo’s past, it would make
him so irritable that he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

The thought of seeing this man tonight made all the bad memories resurface,
and it would have been weird for Shao Qun not to feel bothered.

Fuck, how about you ask any man in the world what he thinks about his wife
meeting an old friend with

“common past”!

Shao Qun leaned against the wall watching Li Chengxiu rush in and out of
the kitchen. Usually he would help him with chores whenever he was free,
but at that moment he didn’t want to move a finger. Maliciously he said:
"Wifey, did you know that your Li guy was topped by my brother?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while, not knowing what he was supposed to
say to that, so he just answered with some embarrassment: "I didn't know."
After giving it some thought, Li Chengxiu realized how wrong the question
seemed and asked Shao Qun reproachfully: "And how do you know that?"
He really felt that Shao Qun was becoming more and more childish every
day.

Shao Qun snorted, "I just know. Nobody in my family would lie under
somebody."

Li Chengxiu frowned and glanced at him, "It means that you… you wouldn't
lie under somebody either, right?" Li Chengxiu felt a little uncomfortable -
he himself didn't really care who was on top and who was on the bottom, but
it sounded like for Shao Qun being on the bottom was somehow really bad.

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he had just shot
himself in the foot. Quickly he tried to explain: "No... I don't mean it like
that."

Li Chengxiu sighed softly and shook his head.

Shao Qun was a little anxious. At this moment he didn’t want to have any
unpleasantness between him and Li Chengxiu, since he was planning to
flaunt their affection in front of Li Shuo to annoy him out of his mind!

Shao Qun quickly tried to suck up, "Chengxiu, you aren’t angry at me,
right?"

Li Chengxiu smiled shallowly, "Why would I be?"

Shao Qun breathed a sigh of relief. Li Chengxiu had always had a good
temper. As long as he doesn't go too far, everything will be fine.

The next second, Li Chengxiu said in a more serious tone, "Don't embarrass
Li-Dage. He is our guest tonight."

Shao Qun curled his lips in disdain, but didn’t say anything.

The two of them each had their own concerns, weighing on their minds
while they were waiting for the guests to arrive. It felt like an eternity
passed, when finally the doorbell rang.

Li Chengxiu got up and was about to open the door, Shao Qun quickly
handed the baby to him and said,

"I'll go."

Although he was holding Zhengzheng, Li Chengxiu was afraid that

something would go wrong as soon as Shao Qun and Li Shuo met, so he still
followed.

Shao Qun looked like he was about to face his greatest enemy, as he angrily
opened the door.

Zhao Jinxin immediately popped up with an excited smile on his face:"Ge!"

He hugged Shao Qun and asked, "Big brother, did you miss me?"

Shao Qun didn't grace him with a friendly expression. Instead, after seeing
Li Shuo behind him, he snorted coldly.

Zhao Jinxin smiled and slapped him in the stomach, as he noted, "Ge just
look at yourself. You’re so small-minded."
Shao Qun pouted: "Weren’t you going to the hotel in Hainan[4]? What are
you even doing here?"

"Sanya[5] is so close to Shenzhen. If I didn’t come see you, it wouldn’t

make any sense… Awwww, what a cute little baby!" Zhao Jinxin exclaimed
and came inside.

Li Chengxiu was momentarily confused - suddenly his child was taken

away, and he was just standing there with empty hands.

Zhao Jinxin didn't even take off his shoes. He just walked in completely
carefree and hugged the baby as if it was nothing.

Li Shuo and Shao Qun stared at each other at the door.

When he saw Li Shuo, Li Chengxiu felt his heart pounding in his chest.
Although he wasn’t able to deepen his feelings towards this man, he stil
couldn’t forget how kind he was to him. Especially now, when they met each
other again after such a long time, it was impossible for his heart to stay still.

Li Shuo looked at him with a gentle and elegant smile, just like at the time
when they first met,"Chengxiu, long time no see."

Li Chengxiu nodded dazedly, "Li-Dage... long time no see."

Shao Qun didn't like to see those two making eyes at each other, so he put
his arms around Li Chengxiu's waist and said, "Come on in."

Zhao Jinxin was already shouting around in the living room, "Sister-in-law,
can the baby have milk? Can I feed him? I have never fed a child before."

Shao Qun laughed and scolded him: "How about you feed a fart? Can you
do that?"

Li Chengxiu quickly replied "He has eaten already" and then said to Li
Shuo, "Li-Dage, please come in."

Li Shuo smiled lightly and closed the door behind him.

Zhao Jinxin brought the baby to Li Shuo and said with a mischievous smile:
"Look, how much fun it is! Let's get one too."

Li Shuo said helplessly: "What was that saying... Never act on impulse[6].”

Li Chengxiu asked the guests to their places and brought out the
refreshments and the fruit platter.

Li Shuo looked at the snacks on the table and smiled at Li Chengxiu, "You
still remember what I like to eat."

Shao Qun's eyes were burning red, as he squinted at Li Shuo, "Just eat your
food! What’s up with the nonsense talk!"

Li Shuo ignored him, picked up a taro crisp[7] and was about to put it in his
mouth.

Zhao Jinxin brought his face close to Li Shuo and shouted "Aaaah!" at him
with his mouth open.

Li Shuo glanced at him and had no choice but to give the dessert to him.

Zhao Jinxin struggled to free his hand, then grabbed Li Shuo's chin and
kissed him without a bit of hesitation.

Li Shuo frowned, but did not push Zhao Jinxin away.

Zhao Jinxin really had some cheek - Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu were stuck
watching from the sidelines. Li Shuo’s face had already turned red, but Zhao
Jinxin stil deepened the kiss, only letting him go when he was satisfied.

After the kiss, Zhao Jinxin gave Shao Qun a “you don’t need to thank me”
look.

Li Shuo wiped the dim sum from the corner of his mouth and said lightly,
"Next time, don’t be so naughty."

Li Chengxiu was the most embarrassed among the people present. He was
even too shy to look at the two men in front of him.
Only at that point did Shao Qun’s mood improve, and he even asked about
Zhao Jinxin's investment in China.

Li Chengxiu chatted a little with Li Shuo. Their conversation was mainly

about work and other neutral things, like each other's recent situation. With
Shao Qun present, while he was throwing glances at them from time to time,
they couldn’t real y talk about anything else.

Li Shuo told Li Chengxiu that he and Zhao Jinxin had invested in a hotel
property in Perfume Bay[8] in Hainan. He was busy with this matter
recently, and it turned out to be more interesting than dealing with numbers
and accounting all day long.

Li Chengxiu was also very happy for Li Shuo when he learned that after
selling his business, he became much more relaxed and had more personal
time to spend with his family and friends.

Li Shuo also praised Li Chengxiu for speaking much more smoothly than
before - he felt like he could hardly notice anything out of the ordinary in Li
Chengxiu’s speech anymore.

Li Chengxiu smiled and said that things were different than before, and now
he had an opportunity to talk every day.

Taking advantage of the fact that Shao Qun and Zhao Jinxin were distracted
by their happy chat and not paying attention to them at that moment, Li Shuo
suddenly came closer to Li Chengxiu. His bright eyes looked straight into Li
Chengxiu's eyes, he lowered his voice and asked, "Chengxiu, tell me the
truth, are you doing well?"

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, then he lowered his head and said
softly, “Li-Dage, don't worry. I have a job, friends, and a family now. I'm
doing well."

Li Shuo smiled bitterly: "Is that so? I still can't figure out why you would..."

"What are you talking about sitting so closely to each other?" Shao Qun got
up and squeezed himself between the two of them, looking at Li Shuo like
he was facing a great enemy.
Zhao Jinxin rolled his eyes, "Ge, can you stop being so cringy?"

Li Shuo slowly sat up straight and gave Shao Qun a calm look.

But in Shao Qun’s eyes his expression was obviously hiding daggers and
thus was a naked provocation.

Shao Qun actually also felt that he was being a bit petty, and this wasn’t a
good look in front of his younger brother, but he really couldn't control
himself.

As soon as he saw Li Shuo come so close to Li Chengxiu, he felt that all his
violent tendencies had awakened, and all he wanted to do was throw Li Shuo
out the window.

In fact, even if Li Shuo had done nothing and was just standing there, Shao
Qun still had enough reasons to kick him. But now he was talking to Li
Chengxiu right in front of his face, and he dared to come up to him so
fucking close as if he was about to bite his ear. Shao Qun cursed all eighteen
generations of Li Shuo's ancestors in his heart.

Li Chengxiu felt ashamed and gently tugged at the corner of Shao Qun's
clothes.

Shao Qun’s face darkened. He looked at his wifey and at his younger brother
and managed to hold back his anger.

Zhao Jinxin felt that the atmosphere was not good, and it was kinda lame to
hang around any longer, so he said to Shao Qun, "Ge, we haven't seen each
other in a long time. Why don't we go out for a drink?"

Shao Qun pointed at Li Shuo, "Is he coming?"

Li Shuo stood up and said to Zhao Jinxin, "I'll go home first."

Li Chengxiu also stood up, "You’re not gonna stay a bit longer..."

Shao Qun went up to Li Chengxiu and put his arms around him, "Don't
leave. Someone must stay at home."
Li Chengxiu wasn’t actual y planning to go anywhere. He had a baby at
home, so how could he just leave him alone?

"I know. You can go."

Shao Qun grabbed his jacket but stil thought that something wasn’t right. He
turned to Li Shuo "You won't double back, will you?"

Zhao Jinxin felt a little upset at his words and frowned: "Brother! I think
everyone apart from you is acting like a normal person tonight."

Shao Qun was a little embarrassed, but he was still worried, so he just stood
there with his clothes, refusing to move.

Li Shuo sighed and didn't bother to even look at him, "I'm heading home. If
you're still so worried, you can just call me at home."

Shao Qun finally stopped hesitating,: "Okay, you head down first. I'll have a
word with Li Chengxiu and then come over right away."

Li Shuo threw another glance at Li Chengxiu, smiled and waved at him. He

then followed Zhao Jinxin downstairs.

As soon as the two of them left, Shao Qun finally exploded and asked,
"What did he just say to you?"

Li Chengxiu felt real y helpless about Shao Qun's behavior tonight, so his
tone wasn’t good when he said,

"He just asked me if I was doing well."

"Don’t fucking talk to me like I’m a child! He leaned so close to you only to
ask if you were doing wel ?" Li Chengxiu's perfunctory answer made Shao
Qun completely sure in his belief that the two of them were discussing
something unspeakable.

Li Chengxiu’s expression turned angry, "Can you just stop with this
nonsense! Your brother and Li-Dage came to visit us once in a blue moon,
and you made everyone…everyone feel awkward. Why would you do this?"
Shao Qun also responded in anger: "So it's my fault now! Ask yourself this -
have you even looked at me, since the moment this Li came in? As soon as
he entered, your eyes were glued to him. And everything

you prepared for tonight were things that he likes to eat! Then the two of you
were sitting there whispering to each other intimately the second I wasn’t
paying attention. What should I think!?"

Li Chengxiu blushed when he heard what Shao Qun said. In Shao Qun's
eyes, how could these little things become such a big deal? Shao Qun was
the one looking for trouble the entire night, but in the end he made
everything sound like Li Chengxiu’s fault.

"Shao Qun, I don't know what you are talking about. When other friends
come over, I also prepare their favorite dishes. Besides, Li-Dage helped me
out during the most difficult time in my life. So this little token of
appreciation is literally nothing. You were so unreasonable tonight. If Li-
Dage wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have even bothered with you…"

Shao Qun was so disgusted by hearing Li Chengxiu say “Li-Dage” yet again
that he almost vomited. He glared at Li Chengxiu and roared, "Li-Dage this,
Li-Dage that! It’s so gross! Is Li-Dage some kind of god in your eyes? I can't
even compare to him in any way that matters, right? He is so tolerant and
generous, but I’m the one who’s petty and small-minded, right? But then he
is the one who came to my house and flirted with my wife, while I had to
endure it like a fucking good boy!"

Li Chengxiu was shaking with anger, "You…you are creating trouble where
there is none. You.. you…

unreasonable. At least…have some decency…the most basic courtesy. We

were just talking. What…

what… are you even…going on about? Can’t you have…some manners…?”

Shao Qun's eyes were burning with rage: "Get fucked sideways with your
manners! When this Li guy slept with you, did he give a fuck about being
polite to me?"
After these words, there was a dead silence in the room.

Li Chengxiu couldn't quite come back to his senses for a long time. Back
then, he didn’t want to explain himself and blurted it out on an impulse[9],
and now… now he was even less inclined to explain anything to Shao Qun.
In more than a year that the two of them had been back together, this was
their first time arguing like this. Li Chengxiu had thought that Shao Qun's
temper had somewhat improved - he didn’t expect that the man was just
holding himself back all this time.

After Shao Qun said that sentence out loud, he immediately regretted it. The
matter between Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo had been a ticking time bomb in
his heart for a long while. He desperately told himself to forget about it, to
stop caring…He also understood quite well that it was his own fuck up that
pushed Li Chengxiu into that relationship, but he really couldn't let it go.

He hated Li Shuo, hated that Li Shuo had touched Li Chengxiu and tarnished
the most precious person in his life. But he hated himself even more. If it
wasn't for the big idiot named Shao Qun who didn't manage to tie Li
Chengxiu to his side at the time, how much less would he have had to suffer
and how much better things would have been today!

The relationship between Li Chengxiu and Li Shuo was a cancerous growth

in his heart. The deeper he tried to hide it, the bigger it got. When it finally
erupted, it was almost impossible to deal with the fallout anymore.

He could now regret what he had said til the cows came home, but he
couldn’t take his words back.

He looked at Li Chengxiu standing there with his head down and didn't
know what he was thinking. Feeling a sting in his heart, he said,

"Chengxiu...I..."

Li Chengxiu said softly, "Go downstairs. They are still waiting for you."

"Chengxiu, I just..."
"Go downstairs." Li Chengxiu turned around, and Shao Qun couldn't see his
expression anymore, "Go downstairs, don't make them wait too long." He
then went back to the room.

Shao Qun watched as the door gently closed behind him and felt his breath
tighten. Irritated, he pulled at his hair, grabbed his jacket and rushed out the
door.

Hearing the sound of Shao Qun slamming the door, Li Chengxiu let out an
uncomfortable sigh.

In fact, if Shao Qun hadn’t mentioned it, he would have completely

forgotten about that little detail. Shao Qun had been very good to him all this
time, so intentionally or unintentionally, he tried not to think about the past.
He just wanted to enjoy a good life here and now.

Come to think of it, it was indeed typical of Shao Qun to brood about such
things.

Li Chengxiu was sitting next to the baby crib, looking at his sleeping child,
and was deep in his thoughts for a long time.

He decided that when Shao Qun came back tonight, he was finally going to
clear the air.

Back then, he didn’t deny sleeping with Li Shuo, deliberately angering Shao
Qun. But now that the two of them had started a new life together, he didn't
want to make Shao Qun suffer due to this matter.

He hoped that their family would always stay peaceful and happy. The two
of them had come this far, and they had no idea what kind of suffering each
of them had made through. Li Chengxiu didn’t want to make Shao Qun sad,
so he had to explain everything once and for all.

After making up his mind, Li Chengxiu felt relieved.

He got up and went to boil some hangover soup for Shao Qun, he then
poured it into a health pot made of purple sand[10] and prepared to go to
bed.
He took a shower and was just about to lie down under the quilt when his
phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number but Li Chengxiu stil picked it up by carefully

pressing the “accept” button.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chengxiu."

Li Chengxiu was taken aback, “Li-Dage? How do you have my phone

number?"

Li Shuo chuckled: "Where there’s a wil , there is always a way."

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and tried to calm down, "Li-Dage, you…
you are at home?"

"Well, I just got home. The two of them went out for a drink."

"Oh……"

"Chengxiu, sorry for calling so late. Did I disturb your rest?" Li Shuo's voice
was as gentle as usual, and it could make one really feel comfortable. Li
Chengxiu felt that Li Shuo's voice was the best sound he had ever heard in
his life.

"No, no worries."

"Chengxiu, if you're not in a hurry to get to sleep, let's talk."

Li Chengxiu gently grabbed the sheets, struggling a little bit in his heart.

"I originally wanted to ask you out, but after thinking about it for a while, I
realized that it was not appropriate. After all, we... and you have always been
a very decent person, so you wouldn’t have agreed anyway, would you?"

Li Chengxiu didn’t say anything, silently agreeing.

"I haven't finished asking my question today."

"You… you said…"

"I wanted to say that I still can't figure out why you would rather choose
Shao Qun than me. Am I in any way worse than him?"

"No... Li-Dage, you are fine." Li Chengxiu didn't know how to answer such
a question, and he felt that Li Shuo might not really expect him to answer.

Li Shuo sighed softly on the other end of the phone, "Sometimes I think that
fate has tricked me. I still think that you are the most suitable person for me
from everyone that I have ever met, but you have already been claimed by
another. In fact, Jinxin has told me some things, and judging from that I
think that Shao Qun is real y treating you well now. It’s probably just me not
being able to cope."

Li Chengxiu said softly, "Li-Dage, aren't you and Zhao Jinxin doing well
too?"

"Oh, him." Li Shuo smiled bitterly: "It's okay. He's a good lover, and it's very
pleasant to be together with him. But that's all there is to it. Jinxin is just too
young. How long could this thing between us last? We’re just… keeping
each other company."

Li Chengxiu listened silently.

The desolation in Li Shuo's voice made him uncomfortable.

He knew that what Li Shuo had been looking for was someone with whom
he could live a peaceful life. And the flirty Zhao Jinxin was definitely not the
kind that Li Shuo wanted for himself.

Li Chengxiu couldn't help feeling sorry for Li Shuo. Why couldn’t such a
good person get his heart’s desire?

It seemed that Li Shuo hadn't talked to anyone for a long time. After a while,
the two of them started chatting like old friends.
Li Shuo said: "A few days ago, a friend introduced me to a middle school
teacher. He is very quiet and honest, and he has dimples when he smiles. I
think that he is very cute, and I plan to try it out with him."

Li Chengxiu asked: "Then…What about Zhao Jinxin?"

"Oh, he doesn't care. He himself is fooling around on the side. We’re like
that, Little Chengxiu. You know, things between men aren’t usually as
innocent as you think. Only someone like you would be worthy of being
completely dedicated to."

Li Chengxiu sighed lightly: "Li-Dage, no matter what, just don't waste your
feelings."

Li Shuo was silent for a while, then he said with a smile: "Don't
underestimate me. When I was younger, I was quite a seducer myself."

After that sentence, both of them chuckled.

The two of them chatted for a long time without even realizing it. That night
they probably talked more than during the entire time of them being
together.

Li Chengxiu felt that he was finally able to face Li Shuo calmly and treat
him as a friend he hadn't seen in a long time or as a respectable senior. The
heavy guilt he was carrying before had been reduced by a lot.

The two of them talked for another half an hour, when suddenly another call
came in. Li Chengxiu saw that it was Shao Qun and quickly said to Li Shuo,
"Li-Dage, I need to take a call. Wait a minute, please." After that, he
nervously switched over to Shao Qun.

Shao Qun solemnly asked, "Aren’t you sleeping yet?"

"Well, I was going to."

"With whom were you on the phone right now?"

Li Chengxiu didn't know whether he should even answer that, so he could
only keep quiet.

Shao Qun took a deep breath, tightened his hand around his phone and
asked, "Is it that Ji kid?"

Li Chengxiu hesitated for a moment. Would it be wrong to just go along with

what Shao Qun was saying?

After all, Shao Qun was more tolerant of Xiao Ji than he was of Li Shuo.

On the other hand, Li Chengxiu felt that he had done nothing wrong, so why
should he lie?

Realizing his hesitance, Shao Qun pressed with some urgency, "So is it him
or someone else?"

Li Chengxiu responded indifferently, "No, it's Li-Dage."

Shao Qun fell silent.

With some mixed feelings in his heart, he raised his head and glanced at Ji
Yuanqi, who was sitting in the booth not far away from him and giving him
provocative looks from time to time.

It was some weird masochistic tendency in him that made Shao Qun test
whether Li Chengxiu would lie to him.

When Zhao Jinxin called Li Shuo earlier and realized that the line was busy,
Shao Qun immediately had a bad premonition. He called Li Chengxiu, and
indeed his line was also busy.

Li Chengxiu was really talking to Li Shuo, but at least Li Chengxiu didn't lie
to him. Whether it made him more sad, or somewhat comforted, even he
himself couldn't tell.

Shao Qun was actual y quite a carefree character. If it wasn’t for him liking
Li Chengxiu too much, he wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble and
would have just respected Li Chengxiu’s freedom in making friends. But
Shao Qun didn’t expect that this would turn out to be so unbearable.

Li Chengxiu immediately tried to explain: "Shao Qun, don't think too much,
we're just talking."

"Talking about what? What do you even have to talk about?"

"...Just… just idle chat."

"What are you discussing? Regretting that you didn’t end up with him? Or
complaining about me shamelessly tying you to myself?"

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath. The grievance in Shao Qun's voice made
him feel distressed.

Many times Li Chengxiu clearly felt that Shao Qun was overreacting and
being unreasonable, but in order to keep the peace, he had to compromise
again and again. Because compromising for Shao Qun, especially when it
concerned Li Chengxiu, was more difficult than cutting himself open with
two knives.

Li Chengxiu closed his eyes wearily and sighed, "I’l stop talking to him now,
okay?"

Shao Qun felt that his mouth seemed to be completely out of his control, as
the next thing that came out of it was "So are you done talking already?
Reunited after such a long time, you should be bursting with things to tell
each other! So fucking sorry to disturb you."

Li Chengxiu said in a trembling voice, "Shao Qun, do you have to be like

this? You know well what kind of person I am."

Shao Qun gritted his teeth and didn't say anything. Finally, he hung up the
phone.

Zhao Jinxin next to him shook his head and filled up his glass with more
alcohol: "Ge, I know what kind of person Li Shuo is. He is one of the decent
ones. What's wrong with them having a phone call? Can you not create all
this drama? Do you know how annoying that is?"

Shao Qun took a sip from his glass with a gloomy expression.

Zhao Jinxin felt really uncomfortable seeing Shao Qun like this and couldn't
help but say, "Ge, you're acting like a total bitch now. Are you still my
brother?"

Shao Qun glared at him fiercely, "Get the fuck out of here. How dare you
say that to your older brother? Are you looking for a fight?"

Zhao Jinxin snorted disdainfully, "It's too embarrassing to see you acting like
a hysterical nag in your relationship."

Shao Qun slammed his glass on the table, flying into rage, "You've come all
this way here to bring me bad luck. If you hadn't brought that idiot with you,
I'd have nothing to do with him right now, and my relationship would have
stayed harmonious. Everything is because of you, so if you dare to scold me,
I'm gonna fucking warn you once - if you talk to me like that again, I’l beat
you up."

Zhao Jinxin pouted, but in the end he didn't continue getting on Shao Qun’s
nerves. He waved at the young waiter pouring the wine, gave him a tip and
then whispered a few words into his ear, "Go find us two decent ones."

Shao Qun was pouring one glass of liquor after another and kept staring at Ji
Yuanqi who was still in the vicinity.

After a while, the waiter came over with two delicate-looking boys.

Unusually, both of them were quite understated. They were dressed like your
regular college students and looked very clean.

They immediately took their places next to Zhao Jinxin and Shao Qun.

Shao Qun narrowed his eyes and looked at the guys, he then threw a glance
at Zhao Jinxin.
Zhao Jinxin said: "It's boring to drink with you. So either I'll take you back
home, or you can play around with the guy next to you. In any case, I can’t
be bothered to talk to you anymore." He then hugged the boy next to him
and focused all his attention away from Shao Qun.

Shao Qun didn’t want to go home now. He really didn’t know how to face Li
Chengxiu when he came back.

He didn’t bother with Zhao Jinxin either and just continued drinking on his
own.

The boy next to him felt a little embarrassed, so he just quietly sat beside
him for a while. Finally, he said "Handsome guy, is it your first time here? I
haven't seen you before." His intonation was just right.

Although it sounded a bit coquettish, it stil didn’t make one weary.

Shao Qun glanced at him, then pushed the glass in front of the boy and said
casually, "Drink up."

Since settling into the family life, Shao Qun hadn’t chased any wild tail
outside.

It's not that he didn't feel anything when looking at this handsome boy - he
wasn’t a eunuch after all. But when he thought about doing something like
this to Li Chengxiu and him finding out, he just couldn’t risk it.

So even when he went out for business talks in informal settings at those
“special” places, he would at most do something for show but would never
actually go through with it when it came to doing the deed.

Even though he had been angered by Li Shuo for the whole evening today,
and his heart was full of grievances, and despite this bel e de jour in front of
him, Shao Qun stil couldn’t step over that hurdle in his heart.

The boy, however, wasn’t happy with him just sulking and drinking.

It was hard to come across such a top-quality guest, so he wanted to try and
stick to the money.
The boy was intimately whispering little nothings into Shao Qun’s ear,
coming closer and closer to him, as his dishonest hands were caressing Shao
Qun’s back and waist.

Shao Qun was a little dizzy after drinking, so he gave the boy a harmless
look, "You’re fucking obsessed with touching me all over, but..ah… why
haven’t you poured me another glass?"

The boy giggled and poured him some liquor, "Handsome guy, you're in
such good shape. What is your secret?"

Shao Qun was too lazy to pay attention to him. He just stretched his hand to
get a hold of the glass.

The boy dodged slightly and then smiled, "How about I give it to you
directly?" He tilted his neck, took a sip of the liquor and then brought his
mouth up to him.

Shao Qun swayed away from him, avoiding the boy’s lips at first but then he
simply didn’t bother to move anymore. To Shao Qun, a kiss was not a big
deal after all.

Just as the boy's lips were about to touch him, Shao Qun's peripheral vision
suddenly caught sight of a dazzling light - like a flash.

Shao Qun was shocked, and his mind cleared up. He suddenly remembered
that the little Ji brat was still staring at him from the booth nearby.

He hurriedly pushed the money boy away, then turned his head, and sure
enough he saw Ji Yuanqi holding the phone in his hand. The camera was
facing in Shao Qun’s direction, and the brat was smiling provocatively at
him.

Shao Qun let out a "fuck" and got up, taking a step forward.

It's just that he was already top-heavy from all the drinking, and he couldn’t
keep his balance after getting on his feet, so if the boy hadn’t quickly hugged
him, he would have fallen nose first.
Shao Qun shook his head vigorously, feeling a strong sense of crisis in his
heart.

If Li Chengxiu saw this photo, how would he be able to explain it?

Shao Qun was so angry that he gathered up the remnants of his strength to
push the money boy away,

"Scram, get the fuck away from me!"

Zhao Jinxin heard the ruckus and quickly came over to support Shao Qun’s
unsteady body, "What happened?"

Shao Qun raised his arm and pointed in Ji Yuanqi's direction, "Quickly grab
that kid… that kid's phone….

Bring it to me."

Zhao Jinxin was at a loss when he looked in the direction Shao Qun was
pointing at.

What he saw was a bunch of men and women dancing around frantically.
Behind them there were some sofas, all of which were full of people. He
really couldn’t tell who Shao Qun was referring to.

Meanwhile, Shao Qun pushed him, "Move."

Zhao Jinxin asked, "Who are you talking about? That person?"

Shao Qun was so angry that he wanted to smack him over the head. He
wobbled forward but when he looked up again, Ji Yuanqi was already gone.

Shao Qun’s heart fil ed with cold dread.

He tightly clutched at Zhao Jinxin's clothes, "Hurry up and take me back

home."

"Okay, I’l do that right now,." Zhao Jinxin quickly helped Shao Qun out of
the bar, feeling helpless.
Shao Qun was seeing double, and he couldn’t walk steadily, so he basical y
wobbled into the parking lot. At that point, he couldn’t even remember why
he was in such a haste. After Zhao Jinxin threw him into the car, he
immediately fell asleep.

Poor Zhao Jinxin then had to carry the 160-pound[11] heavy Shao Qun all
by himself.

Zhao Jinxin was out of breath by the time he managed to deliver Shao Qun
to his doorstep, and he regretted his decision of ever coming to Shenzhen.

After hearing the doorbell ring, Li Chengxiu quickly put on his clothes and
opened the door. He sighed when he saw two drunk men outside.

Zhao Jinxin grimaced at him, "Sister-in-law, I’ve delivered him back to you.
Now you can deal with him yourself."

Li Chengxiu hurriedly said, "Help me get him to the bedroom! I can't carry
him alone."

Zhao Jinxin had no choice but to drag the unconscious Shao Qun onto the
bed. Then he refused to stay even a minute longer and ran out without saying
another word.

With great effort Li Chengxiu took off Shao Qun's clothes and then wiped
his face and neck with a towel.

Looking at his sleeping face, Li Chengxiu couldn't master any resentment

for the man.

It was what it was - all according to the expectations when one lives with a
person like Shao Qun who is not very easy to get along with.

While Shao Qun's heart was still at home for one more day, Li Chengxiu was
willing to do his best to guard their family life.

Li Chengxiu settled Shao Qun into the bed and also lay down himself. He
decided to explain the matter between him and Li Shuo when Shao Qun
sobered up tomorrow. When living under the same roof and seeing each
other every day, as long as Shao Qun was happy, Li Chengxiu would also be
able to live a good life.

When Shao Qun was drunk, he slept like a log. He didn’t even roll around,
snore, or move his hands and feet as usual. Li Chengxiu normally had a very
shallow sleep, so he would always wake up due to Shao Qun’s movements.
Thus, it was nice to be able to sleep unbothered once in a while.

The next day Li Chengxiu got up very early.

He warmed up the soup, ate some breakfast, fed Zhengzheng and Teacup,
and then started reading, waiting for Shao Qun to wake up.

After a while, his phone rang and he quickly picked it up. It was someone
from the company who wanted to remind him of a few business matters.

After hanging up, Li Chengxiu realized that he had an unread text message.

Last night in a daze, he seemed to hear the sound of an SMS, but he was so
sleepy that he didn't manage to read it. And then he forgot all about it when
he woke up.

Li Chengxiu opened the text message and froze immediately. He felt a rush
of coldness run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his heart
trembled.

It was an MMS[12], that contained a photo that was a little blurry. The
lighting was dim, and it looked like it was taken in a bar or some place like
that. Still, Li Chengxiu could easily tell that the person in the photo was
Shao Qun, and the person in his arms was a handsome-looking boy whom he
was seemingly kissing.

Li Chengxiu felt as if his body was being pressed down by something huge
and heavy, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He looked at the sender - it was Xiao Ji. Then those two must have met at
the bar last night. Hence the photo.
From the time Li Chengxiu moved in with Shao Qun again, he knew that
this day would come. Li Chengxiu had a lot of hands-on experience with
Shao Qun and his ways, so he harbored no illusions about the nature of this
man. He didn’t even dare hope that Shao Qun’s obsession with him was a
long-term thing.

He had been telling himself not to expect too much and just take it one day
at a time. If there were no expectations, there was also no place for
disappointment. Once Shao Qun got tired of playing house, Li Chengxiu
could just go on his merry way.

He just didn't expect that it would barely last a year…

Li Chengxiu held the phone with trembling hands, and there was severe pain
in his heart - so much so that he couldn’t even straighten out his waist.

He shouldn't be sad, he shouldn't be surprised. This was all according to his

expectations from day one.

From the very beginning, he had given himself an inoculation against this
kind of thing - it was inevitable, so he shouldn’t feel sad.

Li Chengxiu’s eyes itched. His vision blurry, he stil managed to touch the
screen of his phone and press the delete button.

Zhengzheng cried out just at the right time.

Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and hurried to the nursery to coax the little
bundle who was not even as big as his arm yet.

No matter what Shao Qun was doing outside, at least inside the house things
still remained harmonious. Li Chengxiu’s greatest hope was for his son to
grow up happily. As for himself...

Li Chengxiu buried his face in the baby's little chest, which smelled sweetly
of milk. Although his heart ached, she couldn't shed a single tear.

Shao Qun didn't wake up until noon. Because of the severe headache, it took
him several minutes just to open his eyes.
It took a long time for him to come to his senses, only to find that he was
lying on his bed, but there was no one beside him.

Judging from the sky, it was already noon. For someone like Li Chengxiu
who usually got up around 6am every day, it was enough time to go to the
mall and come back.

Shao Qun got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and
wash his face. He then looked at himself in the mirror and touched his
stubble. A quick thought flashed through his mind, his eyes widened, and he
suddenly remembered something very important.

He didn't even bother to wipe his face, as he quickly ran out of the bedroom.
When he opened the door, he saw Li Chengxiu sitting quietly on the sofa and
reading a newspaper. Seeing Shao Qun come out, he slowly raised his head
and glanced at him, "Up already?."

Shao Qun suddenly became nervous, and his mouth felt full of cotton,
"Ah… what time… what time is it?"

"It's half past twelve. You're probably hungry."

"Ah… um."

"Then eat. It’s all stil hot." Li Chengxiu got up and went to the kitchen. He
then put the dishes on the table one by one, inviting Shao Qun to have a
meal.

Shao Qun’s heartstrings were very tense, but seeing Li Chengxiu acting as
usual, he was also quite puzzled. Didn’t Ji Yuanqi take that photo? Or did he
take it but then he didn’t send it to Li Chengxiu?

But he clearly saw Ji Yuanqi taking the photo. Also, knowing his enthusiasm
for Li Chengxiu, how could Ji Yuanqi not take this opportunity to destroy
them?

Shao Qun was full of doubts, as he stiffly sat down.

Li Chengxiu also sat down and started eating, without paying Shao Qun
much attention.

Although he looked calm, Shao Qun still felt that something was wrong.

The two of them didn’t leave it off on good terms last night, so normally Li
Chengxiu would either be giving him aggrieved looks or would stop talking
to him out of anger. On the other hand, Li Chengxiu’s acting skil s were not
as good as to pretend that nothing happened. So however Shao Qun looked
at it, something wasn’t right.

How could Li Chengxiu be acting so calmly now? Yesterday, even Shao Qun
himself felt that he was out of line and couldn't control his temper. He really
regretted it now and was thinking about making amends but Li Chengxiu
seemed completely unfazed.

Shao Qun frowned and looked at him, feeling even more uneasy.

Li Chengxiu watched Shao Qun stare at him and not move his chopsticks for
a long time. Finally, he couldn't help it and softly urged, "Eat."

Shao Qun was dragged out of his thoughts and asked bluntly, "Why are you
not even looking at me?"

Li Chengxiu paused, "What do you mean? Why are you not eating?"

Shao Qun's Adam's apple went up and down, "You got mad yesterday. I’m
apologizing to you, so don't be angry with me."

Li Chengxiu let out an “um” and said, "It's okay. It's all over. Just eat your
food."

"You… are you real y not angry?"

"I'm not."

"Listen…about yesterday... If you have something weighing on your heart, I

can give you an explanation.
So don't hold anything back."

Li Chengxiu didn't understand what he meant and shook his head, "There’s
nothing..."

Shao Qun was even more puzzled. Did Ji Yuanqi really just let it go?

Li Chengxiu took a few more bites of food and suddenly said, "Shao Qun,
there is indeed something I want to tell you."

Shao Qun's heart jumped, "Say it."

Li Chengxiu raised his face and glanced at him, "We have discussed it
before. You told me that there’s stil time and that you were afraid that I’l be
overwhelmed with another child around. In fact, I don’t feel overwhelmed at
all. I enjoy raising children a lot. So you should have another baby. Your
own baby."

Shao Qun never expected that Li Chengxiu would mention something like
this at this time.

"That's what you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. I want another child. Zhengzheng also needs some company."

Shao Qun thought for a while, "As long as it’s what you want, I have no
objections." Shao Qun held Li Chengxiu's hand and said softly, "But you
have to remember that Zhengzheng will always be our son, and I will give
him the best of everything."

Li Chengxiu forced a smile, but didn't know what to say to that.

It was indeed typical of Shao Qun to throw such affectionate words around
even though he was already out there sleeping with others. But that was fine
- Li Chengxiu saw through it very clearly now, so he was not going to be
hurt again in the future. At this point, he didn't need to waste his time on
constant suspicions and ruminations of whether Shao Qun is cheating or not
and how long their relationship would last.
There was no need to think about any of these questions anymore. Their
relationship will end when Shao Qun says that it’s over. And on that day, Li
Chengxiu was going to leave together with Zhengzheng. With some
meticulous preparations, he would definitely be able to survive.

At least he won't be alone in the future - this thought comforted Li Chengxiu

and gave him courage.

Shao Qun's palm was pressed against the back of his hand, and he felt a
familiar scorching heat. Li Chengxiu used to be grateful for all the strength
and support he received from these hands but now all he could think of was
how these hands were touching someone else yesterday.

Li Chengxiu gently pulled his hand away and picked up his bowl, "I'm done
eating. I’l go wash the dishes, so you can eat in peace."

Shao Qun was stunned for a moment, he really couldn't figure out what was
going on with Li Chengxiu's reaction.

Shao Qun's eyes drifted aimlessly over the living room, and finally Li
Chengxiu's mobile phone fell into his line of sight. A strange thought
occurred to him, so he went and picked up the phone.

He flipped through the call records. There was a call from an unfamiliar
number last night - this was probably from Li Shuo. Last call from Ji Yuanqi
was a week ago. Shao Qun looked at the text messages, but there were no
new ones.

Li Chengxiu's cell phone wasn’t some sacred ground for Shao Qun - he
would often flip through it while Li Chengxiu was in the bathroom. Shao
Qun didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it, but he felt a little
guilty. As for whether Li Chengxiu knew about him snooping, he wasn’t
very clear on that.[13]

After going through the inbox, Shao Qun gave it some thought and opened
the deleted messages.

Li Chengxiu’s mobile phone was the latest model on the market. However,
except for making calls and texting, Li Chengxiu wasn’t familiar with most
of its other functions. He didn’t seem to know that when one deleted a
message on a modern phone, it wouldn’t just disappear but be moved to the
trash folder instead.

The latest text message in the folder made Shao Qun's heart sink.

It was an MMS from "Xiao Ji".

Shao Qun still had some resistance in his heart. He just stared at the
message, hesitating to open it for a long time. He wasn’t quite sure what he
was afraid of.

As he expected, the MMS contained a photo of him and the boy from last
night. The angle of the picture was so ambiguous that it looked like they
were really kissing. Only the people involved would know that their lips
hadn’t touched.

The message was sent in the middle of the night. Shao Qun didn't remember
when he got home, so he didn't know if Li Chengxiu had seen it before he
came back.

But one way or another, he must have seen it.

Although he saw it, he acted as if nothing had happened and took care of
Shao Qun as usual last night.

Then, this morning he prepared food and cleaned up, without mentioning
anything about the MMS.

Well, if Li Chengxiu pretended that he hadn’t seen the picture, Shao Qun
wouldn’t have to rack his brains to come up with an explanation. So,
according to reason, he should be happy. However instead, Shao Qun’s heart
was surging with anger and sadness.

Why would Li Chengxiu just delete the message without even asking him
anything? It was highly doubtful that Li Chengxiu trusted him to this extent.

Although the two of them were formally back together, and Li Chengxiu
treated him with meticulous care and attention almost like before the split,
Shao Qun stil felt that Li Chengxiu’s niceness was just something innate to
his nature. If it was Adrian living in Li Chengxiu’s house, then he would
wash Adrian’s socks.

In the past, Shao Qun could stil proudly think that Li Chengxiu’s care for
him was because he loved him.

But later he found out that it was just Li Chengxiu’s character. Whatever
Shao Qun did for Li Chengxiu was because he was full of love but all the
things that Li Chengxiu did for Shao Qun were just part of his living habits.

This made Shao Qun extremely depressed, especially at this stage of their
relationship. Although everything seemed fine, he constantly had a sense of
crisis, as if he was walking on a very thin ice.

He could feel Li Chengxiu's defenses against him.

Although Li Chengxiu treated him kindly, he was not the way he used to be
before - there was no undisguised admiration in his eyes, no feeling of
wholeheartedness or unreserved love.

That Li Chengxiu, who truly loved Shao Qun, real y wasn’t coming back
anymore And whose fucking fault was that?

Shao Qun squeezed the thin phone so hard that his knuckles cracked.

"What are you looking at?" Li Chengxiu's clear voice came from the
direction of the kitchen.

Shao Qun looked up and saw that Li Chengxiu was looking at him with a
very complicated expression.

Shao Qun shivered and pointed at the phone, "Did you see that message?"

Shao Qun was different from Li Chengxiu. He couldn't just hide his
thoughts. He was even more reluctant to hide things related to his feelings.
On many occasions Shao Qun himself knew that he was too direct and too
impatient, which was often counterproductive, but he couldn’t control
himself.
Li Chengxiu wiped his hands with the towel and uttered a low "um".

Shao Qun took a deep breath, "I… there was nothing between me and
him..."

Li Chengxiu just said "um" again and lowered his head without looking at
Shao Qun, "It's fine... I'm going to the supermarket to buy some vegetables.
You look after Zhengzheng."

Shao Qun said anxiously: "You don’t believe me? I drank too much
yesterday, but I stil remember what happened. The guy leaned over on his
own initiative, and I really didn't touch him."

Li Chengxiu felt that even his breathing became unsteady. He silently turned
around, as his mind filled with a bunch of messy pictures, many of which
were just him imagining Shao Qun and that handsome boy in various poses
together. Li Chengxiu didn’t even want to waste a single word on Shao Qun
right now.

He just wanted to shout at him to final y stop lying. What’s the point of it
anyway? It was not like Li Chengxiu cared. He didn’t care anymore! Never
ever wil he entertain any delusions about Shao Qun again.

Li Chengxiu had been ready for a long time. And no matter what Shao Qun
did next, Li Chengxiu was ready to face it.

He grabbed the house keys on the table and turned around to leave.

Shao Qun shouted, "Why don't you ask me?" This is what he desperately
wanted to know.

Li Chengxiu paused, with his back to him and his fists clenched, "Ask
what?"

"Why don't you ask me about the photo? I can explain!"

Li Chengxiu noted softly, "What is there to ask?"

Shao Qun walked over to Li Chengxiu, turned him around and said coldly:
"What do you mean - what is there to ask?"

Li Chengxiu's clear eyes were covered with a layer of a certain emotion that
shocked Shao Qun.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Li Chengxiu's eyes dimmed,
and he slowly pushed Shao Qun's hand away, "I'll go shopping."

How could Shao Qun let him go at this time? He dragged Li Chengxiu back
and said angrily, "Please explain it clearly to me. Why is there nothing to
ask?"

"I have nothing to say. I believe you. Whatever you say, I believe it."

This sentence pushed Shao Qun's anger up to a whole new level. Li

Chengxiu's attitude was as if he didn’t give a shit what Shao Qun did and
with whom last night. He didn’t even care enough to ask him directly.

This realization set Shao Qun’s heart on fire, which made him even more
helpless and scared than if Li Chengxiu had interrogated him about the
photo.

There's nothing more chilling than complete indifference.

Shao Qun raised his voice, "What do you mean by that? It doesn’t fucking
seem like you believe me. Why don’t you just ask? Why don’t you let me
explain? Or you just don’t give a flying fuck about what I do outside? You
couldn’t care less if I was dead or alive or if I was fucking someone else,
right?"

Li Chengxiu turned his head away and whispered, "Stop it. That’s enough."

"Li Chengxiu, just tell me clearly what do you take me for! I, Shao Qun,
would dig my heart out for you, I would sacrifice anything to the Heavens
for you. Do you understand what you are for me? Huh? Do you get it? I see
you as my lawfully wedded wife. But what am I to you? If you actually took
me seriously, you wouldn’t have this flippant attitude when seeing shit like
this! You would have slapped me twice already and forbidden me from
going out at night in the future! So what the fuck do you mean by this
indifferent attitude? Tell me clearly!" At the end of his last sentence Shao
Qun choked up.

He racked his brains about all the ways he could treat Li Chengxiu better. He
obsessed about making him let go of all the grievances and go back to the
time when the two of them were doing so well. But Li Chengxiu kept his
heart completely closed off and seemed to be ready to leave him at any
moment. Shao Qun was not a fool. Compared to the good old times they had
in the past, he could clearly see that Li Chengxiu wasn’t treating him
wholeheartedly. He was hiding his true feelings and wasn’t letting go of his
reservations. How could Shao Qun not feel it?

If it wasn't for this matter that made it impossible for him to bear it any
longer, Shao Qun could still continue pretending that he didn’t notice all
these subtle clues. After all, it took him a lot of effort to even get to this
point, so he should just be satisfied with what he managed to get. The
problem is that human beings are greedy creatures. If they have a bucket of
water, they want a tank. If they have a tank, they can’t wait to

have an entire lake. Shao Qun’s biggest hope was that Li Chengxiu’s every
hair, every cell, every molecule belonged to him alone.

Nervous and agitated, Li Chengxiu started stuttering again "Wh… Why are
you questioning me? I… I don't care… I can't control what you do."

"What do you mean you can't control it? You just don't want to control it!
You see this photo and pretend that everything’s fine. Do you care about me
even a little? Is it possible that if I one day bring someone else home, you’l
just act as if it doesn’t concern you?"

The phrase "bring someone else home" seemed to have hit a nerve. Li
Chengxiu didn't want to quarrel with Shao Qun at first, but once he heard
that, he couldn’t help shouting out what he had long thought in his heart:"It’s
only a matter of time anyway!"

The expression on Shao Qun's face instantly froze, and he looked at Li

Chengxiu in disbelief.
Li Chengxiu was frightened by his expression and slightly shrank his
shoulders, but didn’t step back. A huge sadness suddenly enveloped him, and
he felt that his life was getting more and more ridiculous by the day.

Originally, he had made up his mind to explain to Shao Qun what exactly
happened between him and Li Shuo, but after seeing that photo, he changed
his mind. Although he pretended not to care, his heart was bleeding out.
With certain vengefulness he now wanted Shao Qun to continue suffering
from that misunderstanding.

It turned out that no matter how he controlled himself, he couldn't control his
love for Shao Qun. Whether it was when he was young or when he grew up,
he didn't make much progress. He knew that it was impossible between the
two of them, but he couldn't help but try. It's just that the more he cared, the
more scared he became. And the more scared he became, the more he
wanted to protect himself. He didn't dare to even think about that day in the
future when Shao Qun really "brought someone else home". What was he to
do? Would he be able to leave as gracefully as he imagined? In his heart he
was afraid that this shadow would hang over him for the rest of his life -
living in a constant state of terror, lest one day he will be pushed into the
abyss yet again and experience excruciating pain.

Secretly, he even blamed Xiao Ji. Why did he tell him? Why did he send him
this kind of photo? How much better would it have been, if he just didn’t
know…

Shao Qun said in a trembling voice: "A matter of time? Li Chengxiu, what
are you saying? In your eyes... In your eyes, am I this kind of person? It’s
only a matter of time, til I do something like that? This is how you fucking
see me?"

Shao Qun was so sad that he wanted to cry. In Li Chengxiu's eyes, his hard
work all this time amounted to nothing. No matter how well he behaved, no
matter how stupidly loyal he was to Li Chengxiu in his heart, Li Chengxiu
had never believed that or never even intended to believe that.

No matter what effort he put in, it was all in vain. Such a realization could
really break a person.
Li Chengxiu looked at Shao Qun's expression, and his body trembled
slightly. It was hard not to be moved by such a display of undisguised
misery.

Shao Qun sniffed and swore at him: "Li Chengxiu, you fucking son of a
bitch! Isn't your heart made of stone?"

Li Chengxiu grabbed the mobile phone from Shao Qun's hand and pushed
the screen so close to his face that it almost touched the tip of Shao Qun’s
nose. With flames in his eyes he yelled, "How dare you swear at me! This….
this is on you! You did this. Why are you scolding me?"

"I told you it was a misunderstanding. This guy was just someone my
younger brother invited to join. He sat beside me drinking, and we did
nothing else. After we got back together, I was more virtuous and chaste than
a woman in fucking ancient times! Why wouldn’t you believe it? Don’t you
know your own temper?

You have a tendency to disappear without a word. Do you think I would dare
to provoke you like that? How can you still see me like this? If this is not
good enough for you, what else do you want me to do?” Shao Qun said,
getting more and more aggrieved. He finally put his ass down on the sofa
and panted heavily with his head lowered.

Li Chengxiu was stunned for a while. Shao Qun's aggrieved and

uncomfortable appearance made him wonder whether he had really
misunderstood.

Shao Qun lit up a cigarette and said hoarsely: "I’m fucking warning you.
You’re not allowed to leave the house right now. If you dare leave…I wil …I
wil … you wil regret it.”

Li Chengxiu looked at him silently for a while, then sat down beside him,
"I'm not going anywhere."

Shao Qun glanced at him, his eye rims red.

Li Chengxiu put the phone on the table and sighed, "Tell me what happened
last night."
Shao Qun whispered: "Do you care?"

Li Chengxiu looked at him, then pursed his lips and whispered back, "I
care."

"Do you really care?"

Li Chengxiu felt dumbfounded for a while, "...it’s just that I’m scared."

Shao Qun sat up straight and looked into his eyes, "What are you scared of?"

"I’m scared that..." Li Chengxiu's body trembled slightly, "You are so kind to
me right now. But in case one day, it’s all gone..." This was the first time Li
Chengxiu had addressed these concerns out loud, so after finally voicing it,
he suddenly felt more relieved.

It's not that he couldn't speak about such things… he was just afraid to hear
all kinds of sweet promises by Shao Qun as a response. Trying to figure out
whether he believed them or not, only made him more miserable, so it was
better not hear any of that.

But at this moment he felt like he needed to hear Shao Qun coax him. Even
if he wasn’t sincere, it would still be consoling to Li Chengxiu right now,
when he was feeling so paranoid and frightened.

Shao Qun turned around and slowly hugged him, "Chengxiu, believe it or
not, I am even more scared than you. I am scared that my life is too good
right now, and if one day you don't want me anymore, what will I do? You
act like you are ready to bolt at any moment. Maybe you can live a good life
without me, but I can’t live without you… I real y can’t."

Li Chengxiu gently put his hand on the back of Shao Qun’s hand, feeling the
slight tremor run through the body of this seemingly tough man.

The two hearts were separated by the skin, so neither of them could guess
what the other was thinking.

Therefore, they both were constantly suspicious and paranoid. How long
could a life like this without any mutual trust last?
Li Chengxiu also longed to go back to the past. At least back then, he didn’t
have to think whether Shao Qun was sincere or not. He could just simply
treat Shao Qun the way he felt about him..

The two of them had gone through so much, and, whether fortunately or
unfortunately, they were still deeply entangled with each other.

Shao Qun slowly tightened his arms around Li Chengxiu and sighed: "I have
gone through hell and back to keep you in my life. I wouldn’t dare ruin all
this for an affair. You never have to worry that I wil give up on you. At the
bottom of my heart, I am more worried than you are. For over a year, the
thing that I'm most afraid of is to wake up one day and realize that it was all
a dream, that you are still somewhere out there, and I can’t find you no
matter how much I try. You have no idea how terrible it feels. I will never
ever let you leave me."

Li Chengxiu silently hugged Shao Qun's back. Only at that moment, did he
finally understand that the feeling of wanting to freeze a certain moment in
time that was often expressed in novels was a real thing.

He was ashamed to put it in words, but in his heart Li Chengxiu knew that
Shao Qun was the most expensive luxury item he had ever owned in his life.
He wanted to hold him close and cherish him.

After all this trouble, the two of them returned to their peaceful life. In fact,
both of them knew very well that their story had just begun, and most likely
there will be many cases of suspicions and conflicts of similar nature in their
future. After all, Shao Qun did face many temptations on the daily, and who
could guarantee that after a certain time his feelings will not disappear? The
two of them could only take it one step at a time, trying their best to make it
through another day.

A few days later, Shao Qun called Ji Yuanqi.

Xiao Ji was frustrated because Li Chengxiu hadn’t responded to his

message. When he received a call from Shao Qun, he was just about to mock
him, but what Shao Qun said made Ji Yuanqi swallow his words in shock.
Shao Qun calmly noted: "Ji, I will say this once and for all, so remember my
words well. For you, Li Chengxiu is just a toy that you yearn for because
you can't get him. But for me, Li Chengxiu is my life. If you try to ruin our
relationship with these kinds of dirty tricks again, I swear by my own name
that I will make you regret it."

After hanging up the phone, Shao Qun's cold expression contorted in

anger.He stared at the innocent phone, while cursing Ji Yuanqi and his
ancestors with all the swear words he had learned in his more than 20 years
on Earth.

Li Chengxiu had finally gathered his will to call out to him, "Shao Qun."

"Yes."

"Come inside."

Shao Qun said "oh", turned around and entered the bedroom.

Li Chengxiu sat on the bed with a nervous and embarrassed expression,

"Shao Qun, I want to tell you something."

"Oh? What?"

"About me and Li-Dage."

Shao Qun's face immediately turned ugly, and he pouted: "What?"

Li Chengxiu smiled reluctantly with some embarrassment, "Listen..at that

time, in fact, Li-Dage and I…."
This is the last extra that came out in 2011. And then there was nothing for 4
years. Imagine finishing

“Sissy” on this bitter note? If this was actually the last extra, I would have
been 100% sure that “Sissy” is a BE. However, we are lucky to live in this
day and age when many other extras are already available. All the ones that
follow are actually so sweet and fluffy they might give you diabetes. To
everyone who withstood the angst - here is your well-earned reward!

4. The happy married life of Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu (2015)

In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

Shao Qun’s and Li Chengxiu's married daily life became even more loving
and sweet. Together with Zhengzheng they really were a complete family.

The two-and-a-half-year-old Zhengzheng could already run around and

make trouble, and that’s what he did for most of the day. In order to make Li
Chengxiu’s life easier, Shao Qun hired three babysitters to watch him at the
same time, but Li Chengxiu was still the one who stuck to the child the most.

When Li Chengxiu got home from work, Zhengzheng shouted "Papa!" at the
top of his lungs and ran downstairs with loud footsteps.

Li Chengxiu scolded him: "Don't run in the house, Zhengzheng! I've told
you many times already, that you can't run like this! What happens if you fall
down?"

Zhengzheng turned a deaf ear to his complaints, smiled and rushed into Li
Chengxiu's arms: "Papa hug!"

Li Chengxiu had already squatted down and stretched out his hand, when
Shao Qun suddenly scooped Zhengzheng up from the floor with one hand:
"Stop bothering him! He’s been so busy all day long.

Chengxiu, go take a bath."

Dissatisfied, Zhengzheng pouted: "I want Papa hug, not Daddy hug."
Shao Qun lightly patted his butt: "What's the difference, Zhengzheng?"

"No, I want Papa hug." He was desperately twisting his little body in Shao
Qun's arms.

Li Chengxiu put down his briefcase and took the child from Shao Qun's
arms: "It's okay, I'll take him."

Shao Qun kissed him on the face: "Don't overwork yourself. I'll go make a
call."

Li Chengxiu smiled at him and nodded. He then carried the child to the sofa
and played with him for a while.

The babysitter had already prepared some food and invited everyone to eat.
Zhengzheng was immediately distracted by the dining table, so Li Chengxiu
was free to go back to the bedroom and finally change out of his suit.

After finishing his call, Shao Qun walked in from the balcony and happened
to see Li Chengxiu changing his clothes with his back turned to him. Even
after two years of eating and drinking to his heart’s content, Li Chengxiu stil
didn’t manage to gain any weight. The slightly convex spine, his slender and
thin body, the sparse body hair, and a very fair skin made this man in his 30s
look like a student.

Shao Qun’s heart moved, he walked over and hugged Li Chengxiu from
behind.

Li Chengxiu was startled: "Shao Qun? Why are you walking around so
quietly?"

"Obviously, it’s not me who’s walking around quietly, it’s you who didn’t
hear me. What were you thinking about?” Shao Qun lowered his head and
kissed Li Chengxiu's cheeks with his fiery hot lips.

Li Chengxiu relaxed into Shao Qun’s embrace and let out a long sight. He
seemed real y worried about something.
Shao Qun asked: "What's the matter with you? Is there something really on
your mind?"

Li Chengxiu nodded and anxiously said: "When we visited your family last
week, your dad and your eldest sister said that Zhengzheng doesn't look like
you."

"Oh, don’t mind them. Just don’t listen to their talk."

Li Chengxiu grabbed at Shao Qun’s clothes and paused.

Shao Qun's kisses moved from his cheek to his neck. Finally, he said with a
mischievous smile: "Would you like to exercise before dinner?"

Li Chengxiu solemnly said: "Shao Qun, I'm really worried that they will
notice."

Shao Qun sighed in disappointment, took the clothes Li Chengxiu was

holding and helped him put them on:

"What are you afraid of? If the skies really fall, then I will take care of it.
You just have to keep living happily and leave the rest to me."

Li Chengxiu turned around: "Shao Qun, it's not just about you. It's about our
family. How can I not worry?"

Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu by his chin and carefully studied his face
which was not particularly handsome but which never made Shao Qun tired
from looking at it. Softly, he said: "Chengxiu, I don't want you to be troubled
by anything. I'll take care of all the issues, okay?"

Li Chengxiu nodded hesitantly, but then immediately shook his head: "Shao
Qun, they will find out sooner or later that Zhengzheng is not of your
bloodline..."

Shao Qun frowned. He really didn't want to talk about this.

Li Chengxiu looked into Shao Qun's eyes: "In the past two years, I have
mentioned more than once that I want another child who is truly your flesh
and blood. But you have been avoiding this topic. Shao Qun, why? Don't
you feel... guilty in front of your father?

Shao Qun was silent for a while, and then said a little bluntly: "I'm more
afraid of feeling guilty in front of you."

Li Chengxiu was stunned: "Are you afraid that I will get ideas, and that is
why you don't want any more children?"

Irritated, Shao Qun ruffled his hair: "Let's stop talking about this, okay?
Zhengzheng is my son. One is enough for me. Why do you want more
children? They’re annoying."

Li Chengxiu grabbed Shao Qun's arm and looked at him without blinking:
"Shao Qun, I'm living a good life now. It’s real y good. But the better it is,
the more I'm afraid that your family wil find out... Shao Qun, I don't want
anything to affect our current life. So before they have figured it out, I want
you to have your own child."

Shao Qun put his back against the wardrobe, stroked Li Chengxiu's face with
his big hands, and stared at him with his deep eyes: "Chengxiu, the reason
why I don't want my own child anymore is that I want you to be completely
sure that everything in my Shao family belongs to you. And I want you to
never have to worry about this matter for the rest of your life. I also don't
want you and Zhengzheng to have any qualms about the property division
one day."

Li Chengxiu sighed "Shao Qun, do you really think I care about this?"

Shao Qun wrapped his arms around Li Chengxiu’s waist and said nervously,
"I didn't mean to say it like that. Of course I know that you don't care. But I
want to prove my sincerity to you, I ..."

"Shao Qun." Li Chengxiu softly interrupted him and showed a gentle smile,
"I have lived happily these past few years, and you have proven your
sincerity to me."

Shao Qun's eyes flashed, and his lips slightly trembled.

Li Chengxiu touched Shao Qun's face: "I know for a fact that you are more
worried than me that your family will find out. Every time your father
mentions that Zhengzheng doesn't look like you but rather looks like me,
you start refuting it louder than anyone else in the room. How long do you
think the excuse 'he takes after his primary caregiver' is going to work? I
also know that you feel guilty in front of your family because your father’s
greatest expectation was for you to have an heir. But you ended up lying to
him. Your father and your sisters have finally accepted me, so I don't want
them to start hating me and Zhengzheng. I also don't want you to feel
uncomfortable, and I hope that you can be as happy with this family of ours
as I am."

Shao Qun's eyes turned slightly red. He suddenly hugged Li Chengxiu and
said in a trembling voice, "I….

Of course, I am happy. I have a good wifey like you, and I am jolly as a fool
every day."

The growing doubts he faced at his parent’s home did put a lot of pressure
on Shao Qun but all this time he had been holding on to the principle that
"real men can't bring their troubles home and let their wives and children
worry about them". Thus, he never said anything in front of Li Chengxiu.
However, not saying anything didn’t mean that there was no issue. Li
Chengxiu's careful consideration for him made Shao Qun feel so moved that
his nose tingled. How did he manage to obtain a person like Li Chengxiu?

Li Chengxiu smiled and smoothed Shao Qun's thick black hair: "I'm ready
for another child. I like children.

And your child is going to be as precious to me as Zhengzheng."

Shao Qun sniffed: "Chengxiu, thank you. Meeting you was really the
greatest blessing of my life."

Li Chengxiu put his chin on Shao Qun's shoulder and rubbed it lightly. With
a satisfied smile he said:

"Same."
"I'll take you to the surrogate agency in a couple of days, so you can be the
one who chooses the mother."

Shao Qun said with a smile, "My old man will be very happy to hear this
news. I want to tell him that it was you who persuaded me."

Li Chengxiu nodded with a smile.

Shao Qun cupped his face, then forcefully kissed and hugged him.

Li Chengxiu was startled: "Let me go. It's time to eat."

Shao Qun licked his lips: "Are you really not in the mood for some exercise
before the meal?"

Li Chengxiu flicked his forehead: “Let’s go eat."

Shao Qun was as always very efficient. Very soon he took Li Chengxiu to
the top surrogate agency in Beijing, and they chose a surrogate mother with
excellent education and appearance.

After finishing all the formalities, the two of them stayed in the reception
room. Shao Qun called his father immediately and praised Li Chengxiu on
the phone. Old Mr.Shao also seemed overjoyed.

Li Chengxiu listened to their conversation with a warm smile on his face.

After hanging up the phone, Shao Qun let out a long sigh, as if in an instant
he had gotten rid of a very heavy burden. He looked very relieved.

Li Chengxiu looked at him, thinking about all the pressure Shao Qun had
endured in the past two years and how heavy his heart must have felt. Li
Chengxiu couldn’t help feeling a bit distressed for him. He rubbed Shao
Qun's shoulders,and joked: "Zhengzheng’s father has worked hard.”

These words made Shao Qun’s heart soften to cotton. He tightly hugged Li
Chengxiu's waist and rubbed his head against his chest: "With you by my
side, nothing is hard."
Li Chengxiu gently looked at Shao Qun’s hair in front of him.

"We will have a second child next year. And children are so much work. You
already have your hands full with Zhengzheng, and you’re stil working…"

"It's okay, I feel very fulfil ed when I am busy. I also like children a lot,” Li
Chengxiu sighed. "This surrogate woman is real y outstanding. It’s a pity
that she was born under unfortunate circumstances."

Shao Qun didn't like Li Chengxiu praising some woman, so he rubbed his
belly with his big hands and said with a smile, "If you were a woman, you
would have given birth to countless of my children."

Li Chengxiu pretended to be angry: "Talking nonsense again."

"What do you mean nonsense?" Shao Qun stretched the last syllable and
raised the corners of his mouth.

His fingers slipped between the opening of Li Chengxiu’s shirt buttons and
slightly scratched his navel.

Li Chengxiu grabbed Shao Qun’s hand: "Don't make trouble. We are in a

public place... ahh..." Before he could finish the sentence, Shao Qun had
already harshly blocked his lips.

Shao Qun seemed very excited. While roughly and enthusiastically sucking
on Li Chengxiu's lips, he unbuttoned his shirt and caressed the warm skin
with his big hands[14].

Li Chengxiu had always been powerless to resist Shao Qun’s advances. Stil ,
he remembered that they were in a public building. They were kissing so
heavily that there was a real danger of suffocating. This was when Shao Qun
shortly let go of him, and then Li Chengxiu anxiously panted: "Shao Qun,
let’s leave. Let's do this at home."

Shao Qun smiled and kissed him again. He then got up and opened the door
of the reception room.

Leaning on the door frame, he called out to the lady at the front desk.
"Sir, do you need anything else?"

Shao Qun took out his wallet, threw it to her, and winked: "Take how much
you want from here and don't disturb me and my wife having sex." After
that, he slammed the door shut and locked it.

Li Chengxiu anxiously jolted up: "We’re in broad daylight."

Shao Qun crossed his arms on his chest and looked at Li Chengxiu’s
disheveled appearance, lightly licking his lips: "What are you afraid of? We
are legally wedded husband and wife, after all."

"The marriage certificate from the United States is not recognized by

Chinese authorities... Shao Qun..."

Step by step, Shao Qun walked over towards him. His tall body towered
over Li Chengxiu who was sitting on the sofa: "Who cares whether they
recognize it or not." He slowly unbuttoned Li Chengxiu’s shirt, letting the
white chest appear in front of his eyes. His kisses then went all the way
down his neck.

..... .[15]

Satisfied, Shao Qun licked his lips and let out a comfortable sigh.

Looking at Li Chengxiu, who was lazily splayed on the sofa, Shao Qun’s
heart felt unbearably soft. He hugged Li Chengxiu, gently kissed away his
tears and joked, "Baby, you could really keep up this time.

Your endurance has improved. Previously, you would always pass out long
before I ejaculated."

Li Chengxiu touched his wet face, his expression tired and erotic at the same
time: "You are always pulling stunts like this... What if anybody walked in?"

"So what if they did? We’re not breaking the law." Shao Qun kissed his face
again, "We should try more new places in the future. This was very
exciting."
Li Chengxiu gave him a dirty look: "You’re father now, yet you’re stil
messing around like that."

Shao Qun pinched his buttocks: "You are also a father, yet your ass is quite
naughty.”

Li Chengxiu couldn't stand this shamelessness and pushed Shao Qun away:
"Let's quickly go home." He didn't even know if he really had the courage to
walk out of this room minutes after having sex with Shao Qun right there.
How could he do such a bold thing?”

Shao Qun laughed and took out a piece of tissue to clean up the mess on Li
Chengxiu’s body, taking advantage of this opportunity to make Li Chengxiu
blush and finally letting him go with a smile.

After Li Chengxiu tidied up his clothes, he carefully cleaned the sofa and
wiped the floor, making sure they didn’t leave any stains behind. Only then
could he breathe a sigh of relief.

Shao Qun put his arms around his waist: "Wifey, let’s go home. I’l make you
bitter melon rib soup which I learned to cook recently. It helps one cool
down in the summer."
Li Chengxiu looked at the door and shrank back.
Shao Qun asked: "What's the matter? Are your legs still weak? It's okay. I
can help you walk."

Li Chengxiu nervously said, "I don't dare to come out yet. The people
outside must have heard everything."

At this point, he just wanted to find a hole to burrow himself in.

Shao Qun laughed, "What are you afraid of?" He pulled Li Chengxiu up,
opened the door and forcibly dragged him out.

There were not many people in the office, but the ones that were there
definitely heard everything that went on between them. When they came out,
they noticed people suddenly running to their offices and pretending to be
busy.

Li Chengxiu blushed to the point of almost bleeding. He didn't dare to look

up at all - he only looked at the carpet under his feet.

When Shao Qun was leading him through the front desk area, the
receptionist handed the wallet back to Shao Qun with a blushing face: "Sir,
please don’t forget your belongings."

In a good mood, Shao Qun took his wallet and said "thank you". While
whistling, he then took Li Chengxiu downstairs with him.

Li Chengxiu final y could relax only when they entered the elevator. Angrily
he stomped on Shao Qun’s foot as hard as he could. But then he immediately
felt bad about the custom-made leather shoes and wanted to squat down and
wipe them for him.

Shao Qun pulled him up and kissed him fiercely: "Let's go home."

When passing by the cake shop, Li Chengxiu got out of the car and bought
an ice cream cake that looked like a bear. He carefully held it and said with a
smile: "I always wanted a younger brother for Zhengzheng. I don't know, of
course, if you will have a boy… But actual y, I hope it wil be a girl. A very
well-behaved girl."
“Well, I hope it’s a girl, too. It’s easier with girls. Much less fuss.”

"However, I think your father would prefer a boy."

"Yeah, my dad prefers boys to girls. But this is not something that is up to
us. So you don't need to think about it."

Li Chengxiu smiled and nodded, thinking about the upcoming events. He

felt a little excited about this new little life that was Shao Qun’s flesh and
blood. What kind of child would that be? Just imagining it fil ed Li
Chengxiu with anticipation.”

When they returned home, Zhengzheng ran over to them as usual. Suddenly,
his little nose smelled cake, and he started clamoring for it.

A family of three sat down at the table. Li Chengxiu divided the cake into
four pieces - one for himself, one for Shao Qun, and two for Zhengzheng.

Shao Qun looked at the cake that Li Chengxiu handed over and pouted: "It's
too sweet, I won't eat it."

"Eat, it’s just one piece. We are celebrating."

Shao Qun laughed: "What are we celebrating?"

"Isn’t this worth a celebration?" Li Chengxiu asked back, "You having your
own child."

Shao Qun touched his ear: "Of course it's worth celebrating. Every day of
my life is worth celebrating because you're right here in front of me."

Li Chengxiu grabbed Shao Qun’s wrist and lightly kissed his palm with a
gentle smile in his eyes.

Zhengzheng pushed the spoon at Li Chengxiu's mouth: "Papa eat."

Li Chengxiu opened his mouth and took a mouthful of ice cream, which was
sweet and delicious and cooled him from the tip of his tongue to the bottom
of his heart.
Shao Qun rubbed Zhengzheng's head: "Bunny, what about some cake for
me?"

Zhengzheng pouted: "Not for Daddy."

Shao Qun snorted.

Zhengzheng suddenly laughed, dug out a large piece of ice cream and
brought it to Shao Qun's mouth: "I lied! Daddy eat too."

Shao Qun smiled and opened his mouth to take a big mouthful.

The family of three laughed. Then they excitedly ran around the house with
cake in their hands, playing and eating at the same time.

Li Chengxiu looked at Zhengzheng jumping up and down and said softly:

"Shao Qun, although a lot of things happened between us before… I stil
thank you for bringing Zhengzheng into my life. No matter... No matter what
your motives were in the first place."

Shao Qun's expression became tense: "Wifey, I didn't make you angry today,
right? So let's not talk about the past. Let's just pretend that that old bastard
Shao Qun died."

Li Chengxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Stop talking nonsense.

What do you mean died? Also, what do you mean you didn’t make me angry
today? At the agency you…"

Shao Qun said with a smile, "Didn’t you enjoy it?"

Li Chengxiu gave him a slap on the head and stood up: "I'm going to cook."

Shao Qun followed him into the kitchen, hugged him from behind, and
sweetly said, "It’s my turn today. I was going to make you a bitter melon
pork rib soup."

Li Chengxiu smiled, "Okay, then you cook."

Shao Qun kissed him, put on the apron and got busy. Li Chengxiu stayed on
the sidelines to give him a hand if needed.

Watching Shao Qun, who from a spoiled and pampered young master had
turned into a good family man with decent cooking skills who carefully hid
his beast-like nature and sharp claws at home, Li Chengxiu still wasn’t sure
if the old bastard Shao Qun was really “dead”.

However, he knew that a person could maybe pretend for a day or two
without revealing his true nature, but certainly not for a year or two. Li
Chengxiu had received plenty of Shao Qun’s love and respect by now, which
made him confident and satisfied, and also gave him courage to face any
possible future life changes.

Shao Qun smiled and stretched out his hand to him: "Wifey, peel the
potatoes for me."

Li Chengxiu took over the potatoes, moved himself closer to Shao Qun, got
on his tiptoes and softly kissed him, "You’ve worked hard."

Shao Qun smiled and kissed him back: "My wifey has worked hard too.”

5. Shao Qun's Social Events (2016)

Shao Qun quietly pushed open the door, took off his shoes in the dark and
tiptoed through the entrance. He gently put down his shoes and then reached
out for the shoe cabinet, intending to put his keys on it.

With a bang, the bright lights in the living room suddenly came on, and Shao
Qun was caught off guard. His keys fell to the ground with a loud sound. He
tightly closed his eyes, unable to adapt to the light for a while.

"You’re back." A soft voice came from the living room.

Shao Qun sighed, half-squinted his eyes and said with some chagrin, "I
woke you up."

"No, I was waiting for you."

Shao Qun felt even more guilty: "Why were you waiting for me? It's so
late!" He looked at Li Chengxiu, whose thin body was leaning on the sofa.
His slender neck and protruding collarbone were exposed by his pajama
collar. Combined with his soft facial features, the man looked fragile and
harmless.It was a bit worrisome that however well he ate, he never seemed
to gain any weight.

Li Chengxiu looked up at Shao Qun's red face and noticed his shaky
footsteps. He sighed in his heart and walked over to support the man:
“You’ve been drinking again. I'l make some sugar water for you to dilute the
alcohol."

"It's not that I don’t want you to wait but you have to get up early for work
tomorrow.”

Li Chengxiu didn't say anything, took off Shao Qun’s coat and hung it up for
him. He then pushed Shao Qun onto the sofa and went to the kitchen to bring
him a bowl of sugar water.

Shao Qun's heart felt warm. Was there anyone in this world who was more
gentle and virtuous than his wifey?

Li Chengxiu silently watched him finish drinking the water, and then got up
to wash the bowl.

Shao Qun grabbed his hand and said, "Don't worry about it! Let the house
staff clean it up tomorrow. You just quickly go to bed."

"Go to sleep. I'll clean up." Li Chengxiu lowered his head, picked up the
tableware and went to the kitchen.

Shao Qun sat on the sofa for a while. He didn't actually drink that much
today, so his mind was still clear.

After a little pondering, he realized that Li Chengxiu's mood didn't seem

quite right.

He scratched his head, got up and went to the kitchen: "Baby, are you angry
with me? I know I've been coming home a little late recently. But it’s the end
of the year, so there are a lot of entertainment events I have to attend."

"Yes, I know." Li Chengxiu was in the middle of washing the bowl.

"There's just no way around drinking. I don't want to drink so much either."

"Yes, I know."

Shao Qun frowned, hugged Li Chengxiu’s waist from behind and said
coquettishly, "If you're not happy, then just say so. Don't bottle it up, okay?"

Li Chengxiu looked back at him with a shallow smile: "I'm not unhappy."

Shao Qun kissed him on the cheek: "I really can't do anything about work.
I'll hang around with you more after the New Year’s."

"..." Li Chengxiu nodded and continued to wash the dishes.

Seeing that Li Chengxiu was still gloomy, Shao Qun felt that something was
really bothering him.

He turned Li Chengxiu around and seriously looked into his clean and docile
eyes: "Chengxiu, is there anything else? I won’t be able to sleep wel if I
don’t know."

Li Chengxiu blinked, pursed her lips slightly, and whispered, "Do you
think...it's a little boring at home?"

"Why would you say that?" Shao Qun was a little nervous, "Am I doing
something wrong? You just tell me, and I’l fix it immediately."

"You are obviously hanging out with friends. Why do you always say that
you’re out for work events?"

Shao Qun was a little dumbfounded: "How do you know... Who…who told
you?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "I can always tell whether you’re going out to
play or going out for a work event. The liquor you drink is different, the
smell on your body is different, the car you drive is different, the clothes you
wear are different, and the time you come home is also different."

He gave Shao Qun a calm look, "Today you went out to meet your friends,
right?"

"I..." Shao Qun real y didn't expect Li Chengxiu to be so observant, "I didn’t
say anything because I was afraid that you might think too much into it.
Going out with friends is just another form of forced socializing.

The Beijing community has many underwater currents, so one has to honor
acquaintances and connections. I real y don’t want to waste my time with
them. I would much rather stay at home with you and the kids, but
sometimes there's no way around it."

Li Chengxiu whispered, "Whatever you say you need to do, I believe you.
But don’t lie to me… or if you’re going to lie, make sure that I don’t find
out."

"What are you talking about!" Shao Qun became anxious, "In all these years
we’ve been together, have I been untruthful with you even once? We’re not
just randomly living together, we’re a couple. So I don’t want your so-called
“understanding” but rather, if you’re unsatisfied with me in any way, you
should just come to me and scold me and let me fix things. Don’t just bear it
quietly until you can’t bear it anymore and shoot me dead without giving me
a chance to make amends!"

Li Chengxiu twisted his fingers: "Then the reason...why you never take me
with you… is because you’re ashamed?"

"Of course not!" Shao Qun couldn’t control the volume of his voice
anymore. "Whenever I took you out before, you would get sleepy around 11
pm. And you also don’t drink or smoke. I know that crowded places are not
real y your scene, so I didn’t want to make you suffer through it."

Li Chengxiu looked up at Shao Qun and finally showed a relieved

expression.
Shao Qun also breathed a sigh of relief and pinched Li Chengxiu's face:
"Besides, my wifey is so good that I don't want to show you to anybody."

Li Chengxiu felt a lot better and couldn't help but smile: "You’re saying
nonsense again. If we go on like this, we’l scare off the normal folks."

"What do you mean by normal folks? Was it not normal for me to marry
you?"

Li Chengxiu nodded with a smile.

Shao Qun held his face and said softly, "Chengxiu, we have been together
for so many years. Zhengzheng is even already running around. You should
have enough confidence in yourself and me. In between the two of us if
someone is not worthy, that’s me. I’m the one who is not good enough for
you. You are the best person in the whole world. My Shao family has
accumulated a lot of virtues[16], so that I can be with you.

Believe me, I am afraid of losing you much more than you are afraid of
losing me. Because I’ve already tasted what it feels like. I didn’t
purposefully try to hide going out with friends from you. I just didn’t want
you to worry. From now on, when I go out, I’l give you a detailed report
about whom I’ve met and what I did."

Li Chengxiu burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that even the rims of his
eyes got red: "No need, I'm not that small-minded."

"No, you better keep tabs on me." Shao Qun smiled and bit his neck, "Do
you know how popular your husband is? You should be a bit stricter."

"What if I don’t monitor you closely?"

"Well, then I just have to be stricter with myself."

There was a smile in Li Chengxiu's eyes.

Shao Qun took him in his arms, lightly kissed his cheek and his neck, and
finally landed a kiss on his soft lips: "I know you don't like the smell of
alcohol. I'll go wash up."
Blushing, Li Chengxiu suddenly wrapped his arms around Shao Qun’s neck
and whispered, "I like...your smell."

A wolfish glow appeared in Shao Qun’s eyes.

6. On the Eve of the First Day in Kindergarten (2016)

The night before the kindergarten officially began, Zhengzheng was so

excited that he couldn't sleep and jumped around in his bed. But as soon as
he heard that Li Chengxiu was not going to go with him tomorrow, he cried
a lot.

Shao Qun was annoyed by his crying, so he carried him out to the balcony
penalty station and then gently pounded his small chest with his big fist,
asking, "We have already discussed it. Tell me again, why are you going to
kindergarten?"

Zhengzheng said, "To meet new friends."

"Very well, so you're going to make new friends, and stop pestering Papa all
day long. Papa belongs to Daddy..."

Li Chengxiu smacked Shao Qun from behind and laughed, "What nonsense
are you saying!"

Shao Qun pinched Zhengzheng's shoulder, "In short, we have already agreed
that when you grow up, you won’t be around Papa all the time, so you need
to make new friends. So go to the kindergarten and if children are nice to
you, treat them well. And if they bully you, you bully them back."

Li Chengxiu interjected in a loud voice, "The more you talk, the more I don't
like it!" ”

Shao Qun frowned at him, "I'm educating Zhengzheng."

Li Chengxiu pushed Shao Qun away, squatted down and wiped

Zhengzheng's small face from tears, “Only big kids go to the kindergarten,
and big kids are too ashamed to cry for their Papa. Zhengzheng, tomorrow
you have to make friends and listen to the teacher, do you understand?”
Zhengzheng nodded, thought about it for a while and said, "Isn't Daddy a big
kid? Why does he always want Papa?" ”

Embarrassed, Li Chengxiu blinked at him.

Shao Qun picked Zhengzheng up with one hand and walked with him to the
children's room, "Daddy is not a big kid. Daddy is an adult. When you
become an adult, you will understand. Now go to sleep."

"Then I want to become an adult, I want Papa..." Shao Qun covered his
mouth, threw him on the bed and wrapped him up in a quilt. Zhengzheng
rolled around on the bed laughing, having completely forgotten why he was
crying just now.

Li Chengxiu leaned against the door and looked at them with a smile.

After putting Zhengzheng to sleep, Shao Qun closed the door and hugged Li
Chengxiu, "I want my wifey, my wifey should accompany me to work
tomorrow, and accompany me to dinner, and accompany me to all the
meetings."
"You still dare to call yourself an adult." Li Chengxiu said with a smile.

"Huh? Am I not?”

“...”

7. Li Chengxiu’s and Shao Qun's story before the Qixi[17] Festival

Cosplay show (2017)

"Xiaohui asked us to come to the Qixi Festival to hang out, but he also wrote
something about..." Li Chengxiu frowned at the WeChat sent by Wen
Xiaohui, "Putting on a costume?"

"Costume? What kind of costume?" Shao Qun yawned, still wrapped in the
quilt, as he put his arms around Li Chengxiu's waist and coquettishly rubbed
his head on him, "Who wants to spend the Qixi Festival with those two?
How about we do something together? Just the two of us? We can even send
the little brat off to my sister."

"Recently I've been too busy to meet Xiaohui, so I haven’t seen him in a
long time." Li Chengxiu said with embarrassment, "It's not good to always
postpone meeting friends, don't you think?

"Whatever…" Shao Qun pouted, “Since he wrote to you, he must have also
written to that Li guy. I real y regret knowing him."

"You could also meet your cousin..." Li Chengxiu whispered.

Dissatisfied, Shao Qun said, "You just want to see them that much?"

"I..." Li Chengxiu hesitated, "I don't have that many friends, so..."

When Shao Qun went out to socialize, Li Chengxiu went home from work
and then to the supermarket.

When Shao Qun went to a party, Li Chengxiu went to the supermarket from
work and then home. It wasn't because Shao Qun didn't want to bring him
along, rather Li Chengxiu couldn't quite adapt to those kinds of occasions.
He could only feel relaxed when he was around his couple of friends.
Shao Qun immediately saw through his thoughts: "Okay, then let's go."

"How are we going to dress up?"

“We’l just buy a few sets of clothes. Something that the boy can play with
later." Shao Qun opened the shopping tab on his mobile phone. Suddenly he
had a perverted thought and typed in certain keywords. He then showed
what he found to Li Chengxiu,"Baby, what do you think of these?" His
expression was teasing, as he was smiling like a gangster. In his lazy sleepy
eyes one could see unadorned sexy charm.

Curious, Li Chengxiu leaned over and saw that all the clothes on the screen
were “indecent” and strange.

He pushed Shao Qun’s hand away and said, "I'm going to cook."

Shao Qun laughed and said: "You don't like these? There are others that you
can take a look at."

Li Chengxiu angrily exclaimed: "I won't wear something like that outside!"

"Who told you to wear it outside? You can just wear it here. Not for the
others." Shao Qun gave him a kiss,

"Just for me to see."

"I won't wear it!" Li Chengxiu blushed.

Shao Qun laughed and said, "Just kidding! I'm just playing a joke on my
wifey. Well, you can put on any costume you want. Should we match?"

Li Chengxiu pursed his lips, feeling like he was always being teased by Shao
Qun. Suddenly he decided to get him back for all those times and after a
little thought offered, "How about you wear my clothes and I wear yours?"

Shao Qun was stunned for a while, but then smiled: "Okay, this could be
fun."
"You wear a chef's outfit, and I wil wear a suit. And we pretend…to be each
other." Once Li Chengxiu said that, an inexplicable sweetness rose in his
heart.

Shao Qun's eyes were full of warmth. He smiled and said, "Okay, I like it.
We were originally born as a couple - there is no distinction between us
anyway."

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, gentle affection palpable
between them.

8. Feeding the chickens (2017)

On Friday, all the workers had to leave the office building early because of a
fire drill.

Li Chengxiu was very happy. Although the financial decisions of the entire
company were in his hands, he stil didn’t see himself as the boss, so like all
the other employees, he felt happy to get half a day off.

He went to the supermarket to buy some fresh vegetables, planning to cook a

good meal at home. For a while now, he had been working overtime every
day, so he hadn’t cooked by himself in a long time.

When he arrived home, it was only two o'clock. As soon as he approached

the yard, he saw the nanny carrying two large black plastic bags. When she
saw Li Chengxiu, she was stunned.

Li Chengxiu smiled: "Sister Gao, I left work early today. I wil cook dinner,
so you can head back to rest. ”

Sister Gao looked overwhelmed, and her hands carrying the two garbage
bags seemed very stiff.

"What's wrong?" Li Chengxiu asked, "Have you cleaned out so much

garbage?"

The two nannies in their family were cleaning every day, and Li Chengxiu
himself also paid attention to the cleanliness of their living environment, so
it was generally impossible to find so much garbage in the house at once.

Sister Gao smiled awkwardly and kept quiet.

Li Chengxiu became suspicious, took the garbage bag out of her hand,
opened it and saw that it was full of clothes that looked almost brand new,
including suits, casual clothes, accessories, and some children's things.

Li Chengxiu suddenly became so angry that his brain hurt. He looked

upstairs, and, sure enough, he saw that the curtain that had originally been
opened was suddenly closed in a bout of bad conscience.

Li Chengxiu took both bags in his hands and walked into the house, "Shao
Qun! ”

After a long time, a pair of long legs finally appeared on the stairs, and then
Shao Qun slowly came down.

He was wearing a navy blue velvet housecoat, his hair was lying softly on
his forehead, and his whole demeanor was lazy and casual. He let out a
laugh: "Why did my baby leave work so early?"

"If I hadn’t come back early, you would have left this house completely
empty." Li Chengxiu took out the clothes from the garbage bag, "Didn't you
just buy this last year?" What's so wrong with it that you're throwing it away
now?”

"It's from the last season." Shao Qun muttered quietly.

"Has it been worn out during the last season? Can’t you wear it this season
again?" Li Chengxiu continued to take out the stuff, getting angrier and
angrier, "This, this, and this one haven’t even been washed yet.

They’re just like new! Also these are my clothes. Why are you throwing my
clothes away? And this piece is actually very good, I bought it last year, and
I can wear it this year! ”

Shao Qun smiled, "The way you talk is so much smoother now."
Li Chengxiu pursed his lips and glared angrily at Shao Qun.

Shao Qun walked over and hugged Li Chengxiu, shaking him: "Why are you
angry? You came back from work early, and I canceled my afternoon trip.
No, I actually canceled all the plans for the weekend. So let’s hand
Zhengzheng over to my sister and go on a date!"

Li Chengxiu pushed him away and gloomily said, "Shao Qun, you can't be
so wasteful… many people...

There are many people who haven’t worn new clothes in their entire life.
And I don’t want Zhengzheng to grow up internalizing this kind of attitude.”

"Okay, I know it's wrong. I won't throw anything away in the future." Shao
Qun didn’t real y care about this.

For nearly 30 years, he had been accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. But he
also didn’t want to argue with Li Chengxiu over such a small matter.

Li Chengxiu didn’t respond. In fact, both of them had a lot of differences

when it came to their living habits.

And every time Shao Qun would just wave off Li Chengxiu’s concerns and
then continued doing things his way. Li Chengxiu had a gentle personality
and was obedient in many things, but when it came to certain principled
issues, he was extremely stubborn. He real y couldn’t accept Shao Qun being
so wasteful, moreover he didn’t want Zhengzheng growing up in this kind of
environment.

Shao Qun pinched Li Chengxiu's face and coaxed him, "Oh, how did I find
such a good wifey who is so diligent and frugal with our family budget?” He
then leaned down and kissed Li Chengxiu's white delicate cheek, "You’re
real y awesome."

Li Chengxiu suddenly had an idea. He looked up at Shao Qun: "So you want
to go out and do something together over the weekend?"

"Yes, but without the little one. Just the two of us."
"Adi told me about an interesting place. A farm. I’d like to go there."

"Why the hell would you want to go to a farm..." Shao Qun noticed Li
Chengxiu's expression and immediately corrected his course, "Very well,
then farm it is. We’l do as you say." To himself he thought that that Adrian
guy should have told Li Chengxiu about a decent place, not something lame
like this.

Li Chengxiu said, "Then I'l go pack up my things. We'l leave immediately."

”

"Baby isn't angry with me, is he?"

Li Chengxiu shook his head: "If I hypothetically did something that made
you angry, you still wouldn't be angry with me, right?"

"Of course not, I love you too much."

Li Chengxiu smiled and said, "That's good then."

When Li Chengxiu returned to his room, he called Wen Xiaohui: "Adi,

remember last time you told me that your friend was doing that show. I’d
like to..."

When they finally arrived at the so-called farm, Shao Qun's eyes widened.

It was located in a small rural area, and the residents here still lived in old-
fashioned brick bungalows. Each household seemed to have chicken, ducks,
geese and other poultry in the yard. One could smell the excrement “aroma”
from afar.

Although Shao Qun wasn’t a big fan of farms, his general impression of
them was very different from what he saw. He imagined there would be
small clean buildings and manors around, some restaurants, a fish pond and
an orchard - all to let the guests from the city experience the leisure of the
countryside.

What the hell was wrong with this place?

Shao Qun’s face darkened: "This is the place Wen Xiaohui told you about?"

If Wen Xiaohui had been present and heard that Shao Qun called him by his
full name, he would have run for the hills.

Li Chengxiu nodded: "Yes. This vil age offers an experience activity tour, so
let’s go."

"Go where exactly?" Shao Qun called out to the driver, "Old Wu, take us out
of here. We’re not gonna waste a good weekend in this shithole."

Li Chengxiu stubbornly said: "We drove for three hours. Let’s stay here. I
want to try out the activity."

"As if they can have decent activities in a place like this," Shao Qun frowned
and looked around,

"Fortunately, we didn't bring Zhengzheng along."

"I've never tried something like this, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun." Li
Chengxiu took Shao Qun by the hand, "Let’s go."

Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s excited expression and sighed, "Okay, but
we’re not staying here overnight. We will go to a hotel."

"Let's go look around first."

Once they drove through the gates, a young man jumped up and ran towards
them. Immediately he started talking at the speed of a firing machine gun:
"Oh, it's Mr.Shao and Mr. Li! Wow, Mr. Shao is even more handsome than
Adi described him! And I thought he was exaggerating. You’re exactly what
we need. Our guide told me to pick the two of you up. You can just call me
Xiao Ben. The road to the village is pretty bad, so this good car of yours
won’t do. We’l take my car.”

"A guide? Why do we need a guide? ”

Li Chengxiu got out of the car, took his luggage and urged: "Shao Qun, get
out!"
Shao Qun looked puzzled: "What the hell is this all about?"

Xiao Ben smiled and said, "So you don't know yet?”

"What don’t I know?" Li Chengxiu was pul ing Shao Qun out of the car, and
Shao Qun was pul ing Li Chengxiu back inside, "What the fuck is going on
here?"

Li Chengxiu soothingly patted his arm: "Let's go first. I'll explain later,
okay?"

Shao Qun saw that Li Chengxiu’s expression was quite serious. So although
he was full of doubts, he sucked it up and followed him to the car.

Xiao Ben took them into the village and told them a bit about the place on
the way. Basically, the villagers here lived off planting fruits and vegetables.
This year they had an excessive grape harvest, thus not all grapes could be
sold. The local TV station hosted a variety show with very high ratings, and
they were all hoping that they could remedy the situation through this
program.

Shao Qun thought he understood what the guy meant: "So you need me to
donate?" Why not just get straight to the point? Why did he even have to
come over? He couldn’t help them eat all those fucking grapes, after all!

Xiao Ben smiled: "No, no, we don't need your donation. We just need you to
help us with the show by reflecting the difficulties that the villagers have to
face in their daily lives, and also show off the virtues of hard work. Thus it
would be a sort of message to the society to help the villagers solve their
difficulties."

"What kind of show is this exactly?"

While they were still talking, they had already arrived at their destination.
They parked outside the row of interconnected village houses. At a glance,
one could notice a production and filming team all around.

Xiao Ben said: "Mr.Shao, do you see the man in the car over there? It’s an
Olympic shooting champion. A famous supermodel is parked right next to
him. Next to her you can see the car of a well-known actor. And the car
that’s farthest away from here belongs to a writer. So with you, an
entrepreneur, we have a full set of all kinds of celebrities."

When the two of them got out of the car, Shao Qun said unhappily:
"Chengxiu, can you tell me now what exactly is going on?"

Li Chengxiu pulled him aside and did not beat around the bush anymore:"In
this show you will work together with the villagers and experience their
daily lives."

Shao Qun was pissed to no end: "These kinds of shows are made for a bunch
of idle people who have nothing better to do with their lives. What's the
point of making me participate in this kind of show? So I can jump around
like a monkey on reality TV?"

"I think there is a point for you to take part." Li Chengxiu looked at Shao
Qun seriously, "Since childhood, you have never known what hardship is.
Do you even understand what kind of life low-income people are living?
One piece of clothing that you threw away today may be their family's
income for an entire year. So I hope that you wil be able to experience the
difficulty of struggling with money on your own skin. ”

"Of course I know that it is not easy to make money! Is the money I earn
blown to me by the wind?" There was clear anger in Shao Qun's eyes.

"No, but it's a much more difficult process for them than for you." Li
Chengxiu grabbed Shao Qun's arm and said softly, "We are always having
arguments in this regard. And the main issue here stems from our different
backgrounds. I am doing my best to adapt to your lifestyle. Could you try to
experience a little bit of my perspective on life? This would also set an
example for Zhengzheng.”

Shao Qun narrowed his eyes, his face tensed. When he wasn’t smiling or
speaking, he couldn't hide his innate coldness and arrogance.

"And the show is for a good cause. The grape problem might be solved
through this, which would be a great help for the villagers. Also, we have so
many weekends when we can do something else. Why not do something
different just this once?" The longer Li Chengxiu was talking, the quieter his
voice became: "Are you angry with me?"

Shao Qun glanced at Li Chengxiu who looked like a deer in the headlights
and smiled helplessly: "Only you dare to do something like this to me." He
suddenly lifted the hem of his trench coat, draped it over Li Chengxiu's head
and then leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips, whispering, "I’l punish you
when we come back."

Li Chengxiu's face instantly turned red, and he quickly pushed Shao Qun
away, afraid to be seen like this in public.

Shao Qun took the luggage and said: "Let's go."

Xiao Ben then led them to the show director.

The man was very happy to see Shao Qun: "Adi’s recommendation is real y
top notch! Mr.Shao is more handsome than an idol, so our ratings are going
to explode."

Shao Qun gave him a fake smile, took out his mobile phone and sent a
WeChat message: “Wen Xiaohui, are you tired of living?”

The other side immediately responded with dozens of kneeling emojis that
called out “daddy”.

The director gathered all the guests who were participating in the show for a
meeting to explain the filming process. During the entire time, the
supermodel intentionally or unintentionally was throwing glances at Shao
Qun, giving him a very charming smile. Shao Qun was upset, so he couldn’t
even be arsed to be polite. He just pretended he didn’t notice anything.

The show began with each of the participants getting an assigned home
where they would live and work together with the host.They started rolling
immediately, in order to show the guest’s raw unfaked reaction to their new
accommodations.

Li Chengxiu didn’t trust Shao Qun to be diligent, so he naturally followed

him around during the entire process, standing where the cameras couldn’t
film him. He watched Shao Qun feed the chickens under the guidance of the
hostess.

When Shao Qun walked out with a pot of feed, a group of roosters, hens, and
chicks surrounded him in a hoop, and some even used their beaks to peck at
Shao Qun's shoelaces.

"Holy fuck!" Shao Qun wanted to dodge the birds but he literally had
nowhere to go. His feet and arm movements became chaotic.

Li Chengxiu burst out laughing.

"Just walk! They will make way - you won’t step on them!” The hostess
shouted.

With an angry face, Shao Qun took a step forward, and the chickens really
freed his path. He walked to the center of the yard and then looked at the pot
full of various rice bran cereals and diced vegetables stirred into it. Shao
Qun asked: "What about the spoon?"

"What do you need a spoon for?" The hostess laughed, "Just grab it with
your hand and throw it on the ground.”

Shao Qun real y didn’t want to touch the stuff with his hands, so he tried to
sprinkle the food on the ground directly from the pot. As a result, he
accidentally poured half of the stuff out and almost buried two small chicks
under it.
A big group of chickens immediately spread their wings and used their claws
to grab the food. Shao Qun’s pants ended up soiled with the grain, and the
whole scene was quite comical.

Shao Qun furiously dropped the entire pot on the ground.

Li Chengxiu was enjoying himself to the maximum.

After feeding the chickens, the next task was cooking. The village had gas,
yet the stove still was dinky and so low that one had to bend over to cook.
Shao Qun had learned a trick or two about cooking from Li Chengxiu but in
front of this large black pot that was so big one could fry a whole sheep on it
he was completely helpless. He spilled some oil, then he spilled some
vinegar - the whole meal was cooked in a wild frenzy. In the end, Shao Qun
resolutely refused to eat what he had made, suspecting that the edges of the
bowl he had cooked in were not very clean from the get go.

Shao Qun VS the stove

Nothing could be done about that, so once the cameras stopped rolling, Li
Chengxiu called Shao Qun into the car and secretly gave him some bread
and some mineral water.

Shao Qun’s face was dark, as he ate and complained: "When can I go
home?"

Li Chengxiu reassured him: "Sunday afternoon. It’s the day after tomorrow,
so very soon."

"Does it really make sense for me to do this?"

Li Chengxiu touched his face: "If you stil feel that this is meaningless, then
you haven’t understood what it’s all about."

Shao Qun pul ed a face: "I won’t stay in that house at night. I’l sleep in the
car."

"No, the filming team won’t allow it. Also, you’re being very rude. You
didn’t eat dinner with your hosts, and now you don’t want to stay in their
house. What wil they think?"

"I don't care what they think."

"The crew has prepared a completely new bedding for you. I'll help you with
making the bed in a moment, so be nice, okay?"

Shao Qun was silent for a moment, then turned around and hugged Li
Chengxiu, like a child who was abandoned by his parents.

Li Chengxiu stroked his back: "It's okay. I'll be next to you all the way."

Although Shao Qun was very particular about his living arrangements, he
finally spent the night in the village house.

In the morning, even before dawn, Shao Qun was woken up, and had to feed
the chickens, boil the water and cook. He wasn’t very happy about that, but
he saw that the other show participants were not complaining. Also, Li
Chengxiu was watching him from the sidelines, so Shao Qun felt
embarrassed to say anything. When the host told him to do something, he
patiently did what he was told. He even overcame his psychological barrier
and ate breakfast, since he knew that he would have to work in the field for a
while and wouldn’t be able to survive on an empty stomach.

As soon as the sun came up, all the participants were taken to the greenhouse
to pick grapes. Looking at the endless large bunches of tightly clustered
emerald green fruit on the grapevines, even Shao Qun who

was pretty indifferent to such things before experienced a certain joy of

harvest - the most primitive and instinctive joy human beings could feel for
nature and vitality.

The filming crew announced that they were going to hold a competition
between the host families to see who was going to pick the most grapes. The
family who won would be able to eat a whole roasted lamb at noon.

The number of participants had to be the same for each family - the host
couple themselves with their children and the show guests. It was also
possible to ask someone from the side for help.

Since childhood Shao Qun had been very competitive. This personality trait
of his was reflected in his business dealings, as wel as in his love life. Even
in such a small competition, Shao Qun didn’t want to lose. He pulled Li
Chengxiu closer to himself and asked with an excited light in his eyes: "Do
you like picking grapes?"

Li Chengxiu smiled and answered, "Yes, I do."

"This is more like a farmhouse activity." Shao Qun pressed his lips against
Li Chengxiu's ear, "Your hubby must win."

Li Chengxiu said joyfully, "We will definitely be able to eat the roasted lamb
today!"

Shao Qun immediately organized his team and set up the rules - everybody
was supposed to only pick the grapes from the vines that matched their
height. No reaching, no bending. Thus, each person in their team was
responsible for exactly one row of grapes, and they couldn’t get into each
other’s way.

The game began. Already wearing gloves, they rushed into the greenhouse
with large baskets on their backs and started cutting down the grapes
according to Shao Qun’s instructions. They only picked the easy ones, so the
five of them were really quick.

Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu looked at each other across the grapevine and
exchanged smiles. The sweetness between them was even sweeter than the
smell of grapes that permeated the air around them.

Among the five guests, Shao Qun and the Olympic champion were in the
best physical form. So the two teams were not going to give in to each other,
and for a long while the whole greenhouse was filled with quick sounds of
shears clicking.

Half an hour later, the competition was over. The crew weighed the harvest,
and it turned out that Shao Qun’s team won with an 8 kg advantage over the
Olympic champion.

Shao Qun was so happy that he put his arm around Li Chengxiu and kept
winking at him, feeling very smug.

The people around them threw ambiguous looks at them. No one was blind,
so everyone had noticed that there was something going on between Shao
Qun and Li Chengxiu.

As if there was no one around them, Shao Qun smiled only at Li Chengxiu
and asked: "Ain’t I strong?"

Li Chengxiu pushed him away and said with a soft laugh: "I’l praise you
later."

As spoils of victory their team received the roasted lamb. Shao Qun called
over all the participants to share the meal together. He even cut the best
piece of leg meat and gave it to his host family’s twelve-year-old daughter,
who was very nimble when picking grapes and didn’t lose to the boys in any
way.
The girl was originally a little afraid of Shao Qun, so she just shyly accepted
the plate that Shao Qun personally brought over.

Xiao Ben looked at her and teased: "Wei Wei, isn’t Uncle Shao handsome?"

"He is." said Wei Wei blushing.

"When you grow up, you have to find a boyfriend as handsome as Uncle
Shao, okay?"

The little girl was too embarrassed to answer, so she just ran away with her
plate.

The crowd burst into laughter.

Shao Qun bumped Li Chengxiu with his elbow and raised his eyebrow at
him, asking for the promised reward.

Li Chengxiu glanced at him with a smile. The man was so charming that it
made Li Chengxiu’s heart beat harder.

By the time he had to cook the evening meal, Shao Qun had already
managed to figure out the trick to operating the stove and controlling the
heat. He took the lamb bones left over from their lunch and used them to
stew a pot of soup for Li Chengxiu and himself to eat later.

Li Chengxiu and the host family's husband and wife were meanwhile
casually chatting about the weather, the price of vegetables, the way to hatch
eggs, the recipes to make delicious meat dishes… They also talked about
how their Wei Wei had improved in math recently and how the wine they
made here was really delicious. These topics were as simple and common as
the meal in front of them but it was exactly these kinds of mundane, non-
glamorous things that were the cornerstone of a real pure life.

For the first time in his life, Shao Qun was so close to this kind of
completely raw and unpretentious atmosphere. This also allowed him to see
a different side to Li Chengxiu - more real, more dynamic, more natural.
It’s not that Shao Qun hadn’t seen the real Li Chengxiu before, but rather
that he had suddenly realized how many compromises Li Chengxiu had
made in order to match his pace and adapt to his style of life and
communication.

When he found out that the grapes they had worked so hard to pick today
could only be sold for a dozen RMB, he suddenly understood the purpose of
Li Chengxiu bringing him here. There were some principles that were deeply
rooted in Li Chengxiu’s heart, and those could not be compromised or
changed.

At night, the two of them slept together on the host’s kang bed[18]. In order
to welcome the guests, the hostess especially bought incense wax from the
supermarket. It smelled like a toilet air freshener, but Shao Qun didn’t
complain. He just quietly hugged Li Chengxiu, who was giving him an
enjoyably gentle scalp massage with his delicate fingers.

"Tomorrow we'll go home." Li Chengxiu said.

"Good, just now during the video call Zhengzheng was already visibly
missing us."

Li Chengxiu smiled: "I should have brought him along with us but I was
afraid that..."

"Afraid of what?"

"I was afraid that you, his father, won’t be able to deal with the chal enges,
and he would end up making fun of you."

"Hmph, you’ve underestimated me." Shao Qun pinched Li Chengxiu’s waist.

"Wasn’t it you yesterday who wanted to go back while pulling faces?"

"Didn't I adapt?" Shao Qun pressed his forehead to Li Chengxiu's shoulder,

"You're right. There are many people for whom making money is much
harder than for me. Rest assured, I won't be so wasteful in the future."
"Real y?" Li Chengxiu said with a smile, "You’ve already promised me that
before. Again and again."

"Not this time." Shao Qun forcefully took him into his arms, "I know now
how uncomfortable it is for you to watch me be wasteful with money. I will
not make you feel bad again."

Li Chengxiu hugged him back: "I’m used to hardship since childhood - I

tasted it for the first time when I started working in the back of the restaurant
kitchen. I washed the dishes in the winter until my hands cracked but I only
earned like 10 RMB a day. I don’t want you or Zhengzheng to go through
anything like that, but I also hope that you have the sense of appreciating
what you have. As long as our family is living a nice peaceful life, the
material things are not important.”

Shao Qun buried his face into Li Chengxiu’s chest. When he thought about
how he had exacerbated Li Chengxiu’s suffering, he felt heartbroken and
ashamed.

"I love you so much. What am I gonna do?" he muffled.

Li Chengxiu snickered, "Ah, me too..."

After the show finished filming, they returned home and picked up
Zhengzheng. Li Chengxiu started cooking dinner.

Shao Qun was holding a huge glass jar filled with pickled grapes and was
explaining to Zhengzheng the process of fermenting wine. Zhengzheng was
listening with his face pressed to the glass, while snacking on the grapes.

Li Chengxiu brought the food out and scolded:”Zhengzheng, stop fil ing
your stomach with grapes! You won’t be able to eat dinner."

Shao Qun snatched the grapes from Zhengzheng's hand, picked him up and
put him into the kid’s chair.

When Li Chengxiu sat down, Shao Qun stuffed the grape he was holding
into his mouth: "I picked these grapes myself. Are they sweet or what?"
Li Chengxiu smiled, "Very sweet."

"Papa, I want one too!"

"No, eat your dinner."

Shao Qun and Li Chengxiu looked at each other and smiled, as the silky
sweetness enveloped their souls.

9. Bankruptcy (2018)

A project that Shao Qun had invested into the previous year had brought him
a loss of over 100 million RMB[19] due to a sudden policy change. Since he
got a whiff of the situation early enough, he managed to withdraw in a
timely manner and stop any further damages. However, many companies in
the industry lost a lot of blood.

Their company also experienced some pressure. Even Li Chengxiu was very
anxious about the situation and had a couple of sleepless nights. Only Shao
Qun himself seemed completely unbothered - he boosted the morale in the
company, coaxed Li Chengxiu at home and played golf on the weekends as
if nothing had happened.

Li Chengxiu was not only worried about the money issues, but also about the
workload that fell on the shoulders of Shao Qun and other company
employees. Still, Li Chengxiu acted carefree in front of Shao Qun and didn’t
show his concerns in order not to affect Shao Qun’s mood.

One day after work, Shao Qun wanted to hold another meeting and so he
asked the driver to send Li Chengxiu home by himself. Secretly, Li
Chengxiu pulled Shao Qun aside and asked: "Are you coming back for
dinner?"

"Yes, I'll come home right after the meeting."

"Then I'll wait for you here."

Shao Qun smiled, "No, just go home."

"Then..." Li Chengxiu hesitated, "what do you want to eat for dinner? I
haven't cooked in a long time, so how about you choose something you
like?”

"I don't have to ask you for anything specific - you already know what I like
to eat." Shao Qun stroked his hair, "Be careful on the road."

On the way back, Li Chengxiu called the nanny and asked her to pick
Zhengzheng up from kindergarten and prepare all the ingredients for dinner.
The road conditions were pretty good that day and there were no traffic
jams, so when Li Chengxiu arrived back home, the nanny was already
playing with Zhengzheng.

"Papa." Zhengzheng ran over and hugged Li Chengxiu's leg. Then he looked
behind him, "What about Daddy? ”

"He'll be back later." Li Chengxiu picked him up, "Did you have fun in the
kindergarten today?"

"Yes! The teacher chose me to be a storyteller next week." Zhengzheng

showed him three fingers and proudly said, "The teacher only chose three
children."

"That’s real y great. Papa wil teach you some stories before bed." Li
Chengxiu put Zhengzheng down and asked the nanny to stay with the kid for
a while, so he was able to start cooking.

He had asked the nanny earlier to prepare Shao Qun’s favorite ingredients.
For the longest time, while dealing with the failed investment fallout, they
had been too busy to eat properly.

While Li Chengxiu was cooking, Zhengzheng came in from time to time to

stick to him. Later, he played with Zhengzheng when they were setting the
table.

At eight pm, when it was pitch dark outside, the nanny had already left. Only
then did Shao Qun finally come back. As soon as he had his foot in the door,
he shouted:”Wifey, did you cook the tofu crucian carp soup? It smells so
great!”
Zhengzheng ran over to hug Shao Qun's leg.

Li Chengxiu smiled and said, "Didn't you say that any of your favorite
dishes was fine?"

Shao Qun's face was tired, and his eyes were a little dim, but he still smiled
back, put his arms around Li chengxiu and kissed him:”Thank you for your
hard work!”
"It wasn’t that hard, I just cooked a few dishes." Li Chengxiu helped Shao
Qun hang up his coat and put away his briefcase, "When I used to work at
the hotel, I had to make hundreds of dishes in one day. ”

"You'll only cook for us in the future." Shao Qun took his hand and then
picked up Zhengzheng with his other hand, "Let’s eat."

The family of three had a harmonious dinner, and both of them tacitly didn’t
mention the company's affairs.

They proceeded to seriously discuss with Zhengzheng which stories he could

tell in the kindergarten.

It was already late when they were done with food. Li Chengxiu put
Zhengzheng to sleep, then washed himself, and finally dragged his tired
body to bed.

After a while, Shao Qun, emanating a light fragrance and still wet from the
shower, slipped under the covers, affectionately hugged Li Chengxiu and
softly asked: "Tired?”

"Not tired, just a little sleepy." Li Chengxiu's bright eyes looked particularly
gentle in the dim light, "What about you? Tired after a whole day full of
meetings?”

Shao Qun smiled, "Not real y. I’m used to it."

Li Chengxiu gently stroked the hair on Shao Qun's forehead and studied his
handsome face with a sharp jawline, "You didn’t blow dry your hair?"

"I did." Shao Qun grabbed Li Chengxiu’s hand, put it to his mouth and bit it,
then said with a quiet laugh:

"I’m warning you, don't look at me like this! Otherwise you won't be able to
sleep tonight."

"You’re such a rascal." Li Chengxiu laughed and scolded him, "It's so late
already, sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow."
Shao Qun leaned over and kissed Li Chengxiu: "Good night."

Li Chengxiu hesitantly looked at Shao Qun. Actually, he wanted to talk to

Shao Qun about the project, wanted to comfort him somehow… But it
seemed that Shao Qun didn’t care, so there was no opening for him to say
anything and he decided to just let it go: "... Good night.”

In the middle of the night, Li Chengxiu woke up again. He wasn’t sleeping

very well during this period of time and often woke up at night. But he
didn’t want to bring that up to Shao Qun, so he just turned over, intending to
go back to sleep, but then he realized that there was no one in the bed with
him.

His heart thumped. Perhaps stil not fully conscious, he was instantly
overwhelmed by the fear that “Shao Qun was gone”. Even though the
feeling passed quickly, it stil made him break out in cold sweat.

He quietly laughed at himself. What was that about?

But after waiting for a few minutes, Shao Qun stil didn’t come back. Li
Chengxiu final y couldn't help but get out of bed. Seeing that Shao Qun was
not in the bathroom, Li Chengxiu quietly left the bedroom and went to the
living room.

In the otherwise dark living room, the bright moonlight made a silvery path,
shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Shao Qun's tall body was sunk
deeply into the sofa. Barefoot, looking almost too thin, he was flickering the
lights off the cigarette butt between his fingers.

Li Chengxiu couldn't see Shao Qun's face clearly, but Shao Qun's loneliness
and frustration were clearly visible. Li Chengxiu’s heart suddenly ached for
him.

Shao Qun heard the movement behind him and turned around, looking a
little uncomfortable for a moment:

"Why are you up?"

"Aren't you also up?"

"I got up to go to the bathroom, and then I really wanted to smoke." Shao
Qun threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray, "Go back to sleep..."

Li Chengxiu walked over, held Shao Qun's face in his hands and softly said,
"If you are struggling with something, just tell me, okay?"

Shao Qun laughed, "What are you talking about?"

Li Chengxiu caressed his smooth skin and dark eyebrows with his fingers:
"Do you not trust me, or do you think that I won’t be able to help you?"

"What nonsense!" Shao Qun put his arm around Li Chengxiu's waist, "Let's
go back to sleep."

Li Chengxiu sighed: "I know that that project weighs on you. Why are you
pretending not to care in front of me?"

Shao Qun was embarrassed and showed a helpless smile: “I just don’t want
you to worry. One more person worrying about it won’t solve anything."

"But I don't want you to go through it alone." Li Chengxiu sat down and said
softly, "After losing so much money, you didn’t lose your temper and stayed
so calm… It made me real y worry about you. Home is the place where you
can relax and unload all your burdens, okay?"

Shao Qun gently rubbed Li Chengxiu's warm cheeks, and felt his heart warm
up: "Why would I have lost my temper in front of you? The entire situation
is not your fault. Only pathetic men would take out their frustrations on their
wives and children. I don’t want to be like that. I just need some time to
digest the situation."

Li Chengxiu tightly hugged Shao Qun's waist: "But I hope that you can at
least share your worries with me.

Even if the only thing I can do is listen to you. As long as it makes you feel
better…"

Shao Qun snorted and laughed, "It's not so serious. After so many years of
doing business, I've encountered many more fucked up things. It doesn’t
matter how much money I lose, I can always double my earnings."

"It doesn't matter if you can get the money back or not." Li Chengxiu
breathed in the familiar and warm fragrance of Shao Qun's body, and his
mind was suddenly at peace, "The only thing that’s important is that our
family of three stays safe and healthy."

"Then what if I go bankrupt and become poor?" Shao Qun quipped.

"I can support my family." Li Chengxiu raised his head and said seriously, "I
can provide for us."

Shao Qun stared at this beautiful and gentle face in front of him, and his
heart felt indescribably soft.

Quietly he asked, "And what if I stay poor for the rest of my life?."

"Whatever happens to you, I wil never leave you." Li Chengxiu looked very
determined, "I swear.”

Shao Qun couldn't help but smile. He pinched Li Chengxiu’s chin, roughly
kissed him and sighed: "How could you be so perfect? You are the best in
the whole world."

Li Chengxiu cautiously asked: "Is the company really going bankrupt?"

Shao Qun laughed: "Please…what bankruptcy? You have no idea how much
money the company real y has. We’re on the way to becoming a public
trading company."

Li Chengxiu showed a relieved smile: "I am afraid that you will still hide
things from me in the future. If you ever have something weighing on your
heart, you should tell me. Don’t hold it all in."

"Just listen to yourself!" Shao Qun brought his forehead towards Li

Chengxiu's forehead, "There is always something big going on with
business. But as long as I can come home to see you and Zhengzheng, I feel
that nothing else matters. While you are next to me, I’m going to be fine."
Li Chengxiu was close to tears. He buried himself into Shao Qun's broad
chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat. This person gave him an immense
sense of security.

That night, they talked a lot. Shao Qun finally revealed all his pent-up
frustration and anger. Li Chengxiu gently comforted him. Then they fell
asleep in each other's arms. Li Chengxiu finally managed to have a sweet
good-night’s sleep that he hadn’t had in ages. He felt that he could even be
calm in the face of an apocalypse, as long as he stayed in this person's arms.

Like this, he could face every single day in the future.

10. Summer vacation (2020)

It was the first time in Osaka, Japan, that Li Chengxiu wore a yukata at the
summer festival.

Li Chengxiu felt a little awkward. His waist seemed to be tied too tightly,
and the clogs were hard to get used to. When he walked, he felt unsteady,
and he lowered his head several times to adjust his obi-belt.

"What's wrong?" Shao Qun’s voice came from above. He was unhappy with
Li Chengxiu letting go of his hand twice already.

"I feel that it’s a bit tight for my waist," Li Chengxiu said with some
embarrassment. "Maybe I ate too much at night."

Shao Qun wrapped one of his arms around Li Chengxiu's waist, letting him
lean into his embrace, and then lowered his head to help him loosen the belt.
He used his hands to measure Li Chengxiu’s waist, and only one word came
to his mind: temptation. Shao Qun’s head was suddenly fil ed with a lot of
pictures, not suitable for children, that involved a slender waist, a round
belly button on a pale, smooth concave stomach...

The erotic fantasy was interrupted by Li Chengxiu saying: "It’s fine now."
Shao Qun raised his head, just in time to meet Li Chengxiu's face and
smiled: "You’re eating more than usual, since I’m around."
Shao Qun had just finished a big project. After working like a dog for half a
year, he just wanted some rest.

So he dispatched Zhengzheng to his second sister, and headed to Japan for a

vacation together with Li Chengxiu. Although he did miss the child, it was
indeed easier to enjoy a proper vacation without him around.

Li Chengxiu whispered coquettishly: "I won't eat so much in the future."

"No, I want you to eat more at every meal. It took so much effort to grow
even this tiny amount of extra meat!" Shao Qun's eyes caught Li Chengxiu's
slightly raised ruddy lips and gave them a quick peck.

Li Chengxiu quickly pushed him away. During the summer festival party,
the streets were full of people, and having Shao Qun’s arm around his waist
was already embarrassing enough. He looked around, fearing that somebody
had noticed the kiss.

He heard a low laughter next to the top of his head - the voice was pure and
magnetic, a little ambiguous and a little playful. Li Chengxiu felt his scalp
go numb just from hearing it. He raised his head and glanced at Shao Qun.
However, the handsome and compelling face was hidden by lights and
shadows. With a trembling heart, Li Chengxiu lowered his head again: "Let's
go, the lady said that the best place to watch the fireworks is right there in
the front."
Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu’s hand again and intertwined their fingers:
"Why are you so bashful? Nobody knows us here."

"Ok." Li Chengxiu also secretly tightened his grip on Shao Qun's hand.

The two of them strolled around the garden party, looking at the weird
gadgets, funny games, and exciting performances.

"This apple candy looks so beautiful." Li Chengxiu said with a smile, "It's
actually very much like our tanghulu."

Tanghulu - candied fruit skewers Japanese candied apples

"Indeed," Shao Qun bought one immediately and brought it to Li Chengxiu's

mouth, "Xiuxiu, try it!"

"I don't want to eat, I'm still full."

Shao Qun took a bite himself and almost vomited in disgust: "Bah, it's so
sweet!"

He was about to throw it away when Li Chengxiu quickly grabbed it from

him: "Hey! Don't waste food. I'll eat it."

"Don't force yourself! They are really not that good."

Li Chengxiu looked at the teeth marks left in the apple, thinking that Shao
Qun’s bite was very cute: "I like sweets. I'll take it back to the hotel for a
late-night snack."

“Want to try something else?”

“Forget it! You are such a picky eater. No need to be wasteful.”

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way, until they reached a small
hillside where the crowd had gathered to watch the fireworks. They found a
place that was less crowded and sat down on the lawn.

“Hey, the grass is wet here.” Shao Qun picked Li Chengxiu up and put him
on his lap.

Li Chengxiu felt awkward but since he was held down by Shao Qun, he
couldn’t move.

“Don’t move. Your robe is very thin, it’s uncomfortable to sit on the grass
with it.”

“It’s okay, I don’t feel uncomfortable.” Li Chengxiu whispered. “It’s not so

nice to be stared at by everyone around.”

“I think it’s good.” Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu’s hand and put it around his
own neck, looking at him with a smile. “Don’t mind the others. Just look at
me.”

Li Chengxiu lowered his head and did not dare to look at anybody else.
White and tender swan-like neck was brought to Shao Qun’s mouth, and he
had always been somebody who followed his instincts. He lowered his head
and took a bite, breathing in the fragrance of tea-flavored shower gel, which
smelled tender and sweet.

Li Chengxiu shivered and softly rebuked him, “Don’t make trouble! If

you’re going to be like this, we should just go back to the hotel.”

“Okay, let’s go back to the hotel,” There was no need to ask Shao Qun twice.

Li Chengxiu immediately realized what his words had implied and hurriedly
grabbed Shao Qun by the leg: “I want to watch fireworks and make a video
to send to Zhengzheng, so we can then rewatch it together.”

Shao Qun hugged and kissed him repeatedly: “Then let’s just stay here and
not go to the hotel for now.

We’l watch the fireworks but you are not allowed to make a video.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to share this moment with anyone, not even with our son.”

Li Chengxiu laughed and scolded him: “So childish.”

“Children are childish.”

There was a sudden loud bang, and both of them looked up at the same time,
only to see a cluster of fireworks rushing up into the sky, blooming up, as a
beam of light turned into the stars and shone in the night sky, illuminating
the happiness on both of their faces.

“So beautiful!” Li Chengxiu exclaimed with excitement.

Li Chengxiu looked at the fireworks, and Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu

with a smile on his face and affection in his eyes.

“Would you like to make a wish?”

“Wishing on fireworks? Are you stupid?”

“Children are stupid,” Shao Qun let out a hearty laugh.

“Make a wish, say it out loud!”

“I wish for our family to be happy forever.” Li Chengxiu hugged Shao Qun’s
neck and snuggled into his arms, looking at him with sparkling eyes, where
one could see the reflection of the fireworks, the stars and the warmth of the
midsummer season.

Shao Qun lightly pecked him on the lips, saying: ”And I wish for all your
wishes to come true.”
From my private collection :)
There is stil one extra left to be translated (Ten Year Anniversary Extra from
2020). It’s sweet and steamy and just a bit sad, and it gives the story a nice
conclusion. Unfortunately, it’s also pretty long, a bit complicated in certain
places, and I also keep mysteriously losing my Haitang password and have
to re-register there every time I sit down to continue with the translation 🙁

I’m now around 15% done, and planning to work on it some more during the
upcoming winter holidays.

[1] Literal translation would be “let himself be like a woman”. It does sound
a bit sexist, to be honest, but I think this thought stems from Li Chengxiu’s
issues with being perceived as “girly” and not so much from misogyny per
se.

[2] I’m not sure if the scene is censored or if the author just didn’t write it. I
found a lot of discussions online looking specifical y for this scene but so far
I couldn’t locate it anywhere. It’s not on Haitang (your usual go-to for the
“meat”), and I also found nothing on the author’s Weibo. If someone
happens to know something about this, please be a dear and share the joy :)
Your contribution to questionable smut will be honored for generations.

[3] The author actual y cal ed this extra “The bitter extra about Scumbag
Shao which I don’t know what to call” but later it was renamed to
“Confession”.

[4] An island in China.

[5] A city on the southern end of Hainan island. It’s actually like a 1.5 hour
flight between Sanya and Shenzhen.

[6] The saying in Chinese is 想一出是一出 (literal translation would be along the
lines: “think it out, then it’s out”, meaning “acting on impulse, without
thinking”)

[7] Taro Crisp is a Taiwanese shortbread dessert with a spherical shape and
sweet filling with betel nut taro (veggie similar to yam). It first appeared in
Taichung City around the late 1980s, when it was made with surplus taro,
but it has since become a local dim sum.
[8] Perfume Bay is famous for its fine sandy beaches and stretches of
coconut groves. It has been developed as a tourist attraction in Hainan. There
are a lot of hotels and resorts there.

[9] As far as I understand, he means the time when he told Shao Qun that he
had slept with Li Shuo.

[10] It’s a special cooking pot that is made of several chemical components
that are considered good for your health.

There are electric versions of it that can also warm up the food. The
traditional pot just looks like your regular clay pot.

[11] So I guess, he’s actually more lean than muscular as some fanarts might
suggest XD

[12] A type of SMS that supports picture and video formats. Keep in mind,
this is a historical novel about olden times back in 2010 when cave people
didn’t have Whatsapp :)

[13] This guy is just unbelievable…

[14] The “big hands” keep coming up in this extra, and all I can think of are
the monstrous “yaoi hands” from 80’s manga.

[15] Same as in the office extra, it’s not quite clear if the scene is censored or
skipped by the author.

[16] Or “good karma”

[17] Chinese Valentine’s Day. It's based on a romantic legend about a weaver
girl and an ox herd. It fal s on the 7th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month.

[18] A kang bed is a heated sleeping platform widely used in villages in

northern China.

[19] 14.5 million USD

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