Chapter 117: Exploded

Chapter 117: Exploded

Ji Min couldn't think of any reason to hold back in that instant.

He pressed forward again.

Relying on memory, he guided the person towards the edge of the bed.

In the darkness, they stumbled and bumped into the bench at the foot of the bed, producing a muffled thud.

Lu Ran, who was being held, paused and struggled slightly.

But for the first time, the man in front of him ignored his struggles, lost in heavy breathing.

"Hey, your leg!"

Lu Ran tried to turn his head away, but was pulled back by the grip on his chin.

"My leg is fine," the man replied casually, his voice lost amidst the deepening kiss.

Lu Ran's tongue throbbed in pain from being sucked.

The air in his chest was relentlessly stolen away, while heavy, ragged breaths pelted his face, scorching hot.

His rationality grew hazy, melting into a thick and sweet syrup.

Yet, a single thread of concern still lingered cautiously over Ji Min's leg.

Struggling once more, Lu Ran seized a moment to catch his breath between the man's lips.

Then, with effort, he pushed against the person in front of him.

Only at this moment did Lu Ran truly comprehend the immense strength of the man before him.

His attempt to push away was effortlessly neutralized by Ji Min's gentle grip.

With just one hand, Ji Min held both of Lu Ran's wrists firmly behind his back.

His knee brushed against the edge of the bed in a futile attempt to resist for a moment.

Ultimately, he trembled before collapsing backward.

The tall and powerful male figure pressed down upon him.

Unlike last time, there was no comical squishing on top of him, but they were still pressed intimately together.

He was securely trapped beneath the man.

Click.

It was the sound of a metal belt buckle being undone.

Lu Ran froze for a moment, instinctively struggling once more.

As he shifted slightly, the man lying atop him let out a low groan.

The man's brow knitted tightly together, and he let out a low, ragged breath.

A voice hoarse to the point of being barely recognizable whispered intimately into the youth's ear, "Immediately."

The room was dimly lit, creating an atmosphere of intimacy.

It exuded an indescribable warmth and sultriness.

The curtains were undrawn, and the faint yellow light from the courtyard filtered in, just enough for Ji Min to discern the flush on the young man's cheeks.

Ji Min lowered his head to kiss again.

In this moment of utmost intimacy and ambiguity.

Yet, he heard the youth beneath him lean in close to his ear, his voice a devilish whisper, "Uncle Ji."

Ji Min: "..."

It was as if someone had slammed on the brakes on a highway, jerking Ji Min's reason back to reality in an instant.

He fell silent for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the man beneath him, Lu Ran.

The young man's cheeks were still flushed, yet he looked at him with a mischievous expression, calling out again, "Uncle Ji, what are you doing?"

Ji Min: "..."

He lowered his head again, intent on silencing the person with a kiss.

In the middle of the kiss, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and say through clenched jaws, "Did you have to call me that way at this moment?"

"Haha! Haha! Haha!"

Lu Ran forcefully pushed the person away, flipped over on the bed, and stood up, reaching out to turn on the light.

Blinding brightness instantly filled the entire bedroom.

Dispelling the intimacy that had been concealed in the darkness.

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Lu Ran stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Ji Min and asking,

"Would you assume that my anger has subsided now?"

Ji Min: "..."

Indeed, he had forgotten about that.

First with Uncle Ji's remark, and then with Lu Ran jumping up and causing a commotion.

Now, there's nothing else to be done.

The man sat cross-legged on the bed, propping his forehead with a sigh.

After some thought, he still felt stifled.

He said helplessly, "Just go ahead and kill me then."

"Did I call you wrong?"

Lu Ran also sat across from him, gesturing at Ji Min. "Didn't you want to be my elder before? When I called Gu Zhi 'Uncle Gu,' weren't you quite dissatisfied?"

Ji Min: "..."

At this moment, he didn't wish to utter a single word.

Glancing at the youth across from him, he couldn't help but feel that his present state was rather ungainly. He reached out to fetch a pillow, placing it demurely upon his lap.

Seeing this, Lu Ran burst into another round of laughter.

He pounced forward, seizing Ji Min by the neck and asking, "Well, have you realized your mistake?"

Ji Min had developed a slight aversion to Lu Ran's pranks.

Seeing someone rush over, he hurriedly caught them with his hands and let out a long sigh. "What do you think?"

After such a scene, whether it was a person or a ghost, they would realize their mistake.

"Oh?" Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and asked,

"Well then, let me ask you, if something were to happen again in the future, would you still keep the dangers from me, secretly making wills and arrangements for friends just like before?"

Ji Min paused for a moment before obediently responding, "Of course not."

The man's reply was impeccable, radiating righteousness: "I'll definitely discuss it properly with you."

Lu Ran: "..."

Fixing Ji Min with a stern gaze, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did that moment of hesitation mean?"

"Ahem."

Ji Min raised his hand to touch his nose, diverting the subject with a soft plea, "You're leaning on me."

Lu Ran was infuriated.

Without further ado, he smacked him lightly with the pillow, his voice stern: "Don't interrupt! Answer me properly!"

Ji Min furrowed his brow and let out a muffled hum, pulling the person closer into his embrace.

He leaned against the headboard of the bed, gazing down at the youth in his arms whose eyes shone with both determination and sincerity. With a sigh, he answered earnestly:

"Rest assured, I won't hide any dangers from you anymore, forcing you to climb in through the window to see me. That was indeed my fault," the man said, pausing for a moment before continuing, "But..."

"What 'but'?" Lu Ran's displeasure was evident.

"However, if there are unforeseen circumstances, I'll still find ways to ensure everything is taken care of," Ji Min said, gently stroking his hair.

Lu Ran took a deep breath and reached out to grip his throat again.

"I think you're doing this on purpose. You know it upsets me, yet you insist on going ahead with it!" He pressed his fingers against Ji Min's Adam's apple.

Ji Min quickly dodged.

"I'm about to explode with anger! You sleep alone!" Lu Ran struggled to get up.

But the man reached out to hold him back.

With all his might, Lu Ran tried to sit up, but his face flushed in vain as he remained stuck.

He simply reached out to tousle Ji Min's hair instead.

After some playful antics.

Suddenly, Ji Min winced and furrowed his brow.

Lu Ran quickly ceased his actions, turning to examine Ji Min's leg:

"What's wrong? Is your leg hurting again?"

Leaning his chin on Lu Ran's shoulder, the man sighed softly, "My leg is fine, but other parts of me are about to break from your antics."

Lu Ran: "..."

He fell silent for a moment, still somewhat concerned. Eventually, he lifted the pillow off Ji Min's legs to take a look.

After just a brief glance, he threw the pillow back, his ears reddening as he said,

"Nonsense, it's not broken at all!"

Unable to contain himself, Ji Min chuckled as he embraced the other.

They sat facing each other, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

Lu Ran nestled in Ji Min's arms and said in a muffled voice,

"I don't like it when you arrange those things."

Seemingly, every move was planned with the assumption of his departure.

But Lu Ran was unwilling to entertain such "assumptions."

Ji Min rubbed his chin against the top of Lu Ran's head.

Precisely because he knew that Lu Ran was reluctant to think about these matters, Ji Min had secretly made arrangements without informing him.

Lu Ran was not ready to confront these hypothetical scenarios.

Let him face it alone then.

It was late into the night.

In the end, Ji Min took a shower, gradually suppressing the urge that came with just being discharged from the hospital.

Lu Ran didn't return to his own room either.

After waiting for Ji Min to finish his ablutions, he took a shower as well.

With his hair half-dried, he climbed into bed, still steaming from the shower.

Only when he got on the bed did he realize that Ji Min had brought another blanket up.

There were now two separate blankets on the large bed.

Ji Min lay in one of them, eyes already closed and drifting off to sleep.

The man slept very properly, with his limbs well-behaved, stretched out long and straight.

Lu Ran observed for a moment before slipping under his own covers.

Then, he emerged from the other side of the blanket and slinked into Ji Min's.

"Tsk."

Ji Min opened his eyes, promptly grabbing hold of his hand.

"What are you doing?" Ji Min looked at him coolly, then reached up to brush a hand through his hair. "Dry off before coming in."

But Lu Ran chuckled and burrowed in completely, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around the man.

"Lu Ran, you're being too much," the man said in a deep voice.

He had just prevented an accident, and now this rascal was intentionally teasing him.

Yet, Lu Ran hugged him with all limbs, issuing a muffled sigh. "Boss, you're really like a huggable bear."

The moment he heard the term "Boss," Ji Min knew the kid was half-asleep.

He sighed, deciding against sending the person away.

Rather than removing the blanket, he gently tugged it upwards, enveloping the youth's head within its cozy confines.

The lights in the bedroom dimmed once more, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's embrace.

As the two of them took a break, the Shen family's banquet was only just reaching its climax.

The guests in the courtyard had gradually dispersed.

Yet, Shen Hongyuan's study was still occupied by numerous prominent figures from the business world.

Now, the Fang family had expressed their intention to cooperate with the Shen family.

Should they genuinely secure the HZ project, the Shen family's status would undoubtedly soar.

At present, many individuals were keen on doing the Shen family a favor.

Seizing this opportunity, Shen Hongyuan began to actively seek investments.

He was also willing to lower himself, flattering the influential figures in the study and entertaining them with his wit, leaving them all grinning from ear to ear.

"One good turn deserves another. Let's seal the deal tomorrow and sign the contract!" one of them proposed.

The others also expressed their eagerness to collaborate.

Shen Hongyuan promptly agreed, "Very well, I'll be available anytime tomorrow!"

With several investments secured in a row, Shen Hongyuan felt invigorated.

Noticing the increased warmth in the expressions of the executives before him, he responded in kind.

Especially Mr. Yang, the eldest among them, Shen Hongyuan almost wished he could support the man while descending the stairs.

Upon reaching the ground floor and preparing to depart, the executives, assuming they had spent quite some time and consumed refreshments, excused themselves to use the restroom.

At that moment, Shen Hongyuan treated these gentlemen as if they were his saviors.

Upon hearing that the group was heading to the restroom, Shen Hongyuan couldn't help but shudder, recalling Lu Ran's visit earlier that day.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Yang," Shen Hongyuan said, not daring to be careless and fearful of any mishaps.

Rather than assigning a servant, he personally went down to the first floor to inspect the restrooms.

Hmm, everything seemed to be in order.

Each stall was tidied up neatly, with no sign of cockroaches lurking about.

This relieved Shen Hongyuan greatly.

He hadn't expected that Lu Ran wouldn't pull any pranks today.

After the inspection, Shen Hongyuan personally supported President Yang into the restroom:

"The floor here can be slippery. Please be cautious, sir."

Despite his efforts, Shen Hongyuan was, after all, still the boss of a company.

Seeing that Manager Yang had gone into a stall to use the toilet, Shen Hongyuan had no interest in waiting for him in the bathroom and thus returned to the corridor outside, where he lit a cigarette.

Coincidentally, Shen Xingyu walked over at that moment.

Upon seeing Shen Hongyuan, he frowned and said, "Dad, did Shen Cheng do something again today?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hongyuan's gaze darkened.

He waved his hand and said, "That's your uncle. He's still your senior, regardless."

Shen Xingyu sighed. "Dad, I've told you not to associate with him anymore."

Shen Hongyuan's expression turned grim. "He's a director of the company and my younger brother. If anything really happens, can I just ignore him?"

"Allow me to speak frankly," Shen Xingyu said with a cold tone. "The internal financial deficit of the Shen Corporation is all because you've been indulging him."

"Enough, I know what I'm doing."

Shen Hongyuan spoke sternly, "Your uncle's father passed away due to company affairs. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be the Shen Corporation as it is now. Where would you be CEO of?"

Shen Xingyu was left speechless.

Shen Hongyuan was in a good mood that day and didn't intend to get angry with his son.

He patted Shen Xingyu and said,

"Alright, go entertain those uncles and elders. We should be able to settle the funding issue today."

As he finished speaking, the sound of the bathroom door slamming echoed behind him.

He turned around to see President Yang, who had just entered for a bowel movement, stumbling out with a distended belly.

His clothes were drenched, and his face was filled with terror.

As he ran, he yelled, "It's exploded! It came out!"