Chapter 81

Chapter 81

On the surface, they were like oil and water, two individuals with no apparent connection. Apart from a few exceptions, no one associated them with each other. For an entire afternoon, they operated in entirely different spheres, circles, and social networks.

The only minor incident occurred when the newcomer drew the only blank slip during the afternoon's group assignment process.

This meant that the newcomer would automatically enter the first round of elimination for this session.

"Didn't the organizers verify the number of participants?" Xi Siyan suddenly showed concern about the situation, which caught some off guard.

A leader from the supervisory department noticed and frowned, "What’s going on here?"

"I'll check the situation," said the head of the joint enterprise, wiping his sweaty forehead. "There must have been an error by the staff; I’ll ask around."

In reality, there was no need to check.

It was simply a targeted move, as everyone knew Chuanxing and the newcomer were at odds.

But could he report this straightforwardly to the supervisory department? He dared not.

The head pretended to make a call to verify the situation.

Meanwhile, the supervisory officials noticed the newcomer's team, who remained calm despite the situation.

One of them commented to Xi Siyan, "No wonder they are showing signs of becoming industry leaders. Despite being young, they are quite composed. Who was the one in front again?"

Xi Siyan sat at the edge of the conference room and replied, "Chen Mo."

"Do you know him?" the official was surprised.

Xi Siyan glanced in Chen Mo's direction and nodded, "We've met."

"No wonder you brought up this issue earlier," the official smiled slyly, implying something unspoken. "Everyone knows the newcomer is just a target today. This kind of thing isn’t unusual."

Xi Siyan crossed his hands on his lap, seemingly just changing positions out of habit.

But those familiar with his mannerisms knew it was a sign of dwindling patience.

The official, unaware of this, continued, "It’s fortunate you’ve met Mr. Chen. Most companies at your level would rather take a silent loss in such situations."

Xi Siyan smirked, "Let him take a silent loss? We’ll see who ends up losing."

The official fell silent, sensing something unusual.

If their relationship was good, it didn’t seem so. If it was bad, it also didn’t seem so.

So the official wisely chose to keep quiet.

However, they never imagined that the two, who had no interaction throughout the day, would leave in the same direction, to the same place, and even the same room that evening.

Chen Mo was equally surprised when he opened the door and saw someone leaning against it. His immediate reaction was to pull the person inside.

"What are you doing here?" Chen Mo asked, shocked.

He had left earlier than Xi Siyan and had already showered, his damp hair still wet as he looked at the person before him. "Didn’t Han Qian say your hotel wasn’t here? You..."

Chen Mo’s words were cut off.

Xi Siyan, having rushed straight from the meeting, let go of his suit jacket as he embraced Chen Mo, allowing it to fall carelessly onto the floor behind the door, under Chen Mo’s disheveled feet.

It was just a hug.

A moment of comfort after a brief separation, filled with a sense of longing.

During their short-lived romance five years ago, they hadn’t experienced such intense feelings. Instead, after being apart for so long, they felt a perfect alignment of time and circumstance, fully surrendering their hearts to each other.

"Xi Siyan," Chen Mo grabbed his nape, "you haven’t answered me. Why are you here?"

Xi Siyan slightly pulled back and touched Chen Mo’s forehead.

"Just came to see you," Xi Siyan said, then used the back of his hand to feel Chen Mo’s neck, touching the warm, damp skin after his shower. He paused, then continued, "Also, I found some information about Lunaer related to this conference, so I came over."

Chen Mo grabbed his wrist, stopping his movements, "Who told you about this?"

"What is it?" Xi Siyan let him hold his wrist.

Chen Mo’s thumb caressed Xi Siyan’s wrist, and as Xi Siyan’s eyes narrowed, he deliberately lowered his voice, "Weren’t we supposed to act like strangers? Mr. Xi, knocking on a business partner’s hotel door late at night doesn’t seem proper, does it?"

"Is that so?" Xi Siyan stared at him with half-closed eyes. "What are Mr. Chen’s rules?"

Chen Mo leaned closer, licking Xi Siyan’s Adam’s apple, feeling it move up and down, his voice hoarse with pleasure, "My rule is that some people need to pay with themselves. Ah Yan, kiss me."

Xi Siyan gripped his chin, stopping him from going further, pressing his forehead against his and saying sternly, "You really don’t know when to stop."

In the next second, he hugged Chen Mo and flipped him against the door.

A deep, punishing kiss followed.

This kiss was full of retribution, lacking any form or technique, purely sensory control and breath-taking dominance.

Chen Mo realized he had a wild side, adapting surprisingly well to Xi Siyan’s dominance and control. Even when he felt like prey with his neck bitten, he managed to bite back.

But the physical disparity often led to Chen Mo giving in first.

When he could only lean against the door, panting and trying to escape by grabbing Xi Siyan’s neck, Xi Siyan finally relented.

At the same time, he grabbed Chen Mo's hand and raised it above his head.

Xi Siyan pressed his entire body against him, pinning both of Chen Mo's wrists with one hand while the other traced along his ribs to his waist. He didn't rush to continue kissing, instead, his breath moved slowly from Chen Mo's temple to his cheek and then to his lips, as if confirming their existence through this intimate touch.

Chen Mo leaned against the door, and when Xi Siyan paused at his lips without making a move, he deliberately turned his head, brushing past Xi Siyan's lips.

Compared to the dizzying and suffocating deep kiss, this light caress often made one itch with anticipation.

"You can continue," Chen Mo said, pulling Xi Siyan's tie forward and drawing him closer. "I won't dodge. I heard that when someone has a fever, they get really hot."

Xi Siyan's grip on Chen Mo's wrist tightened suddenly.

Chen Mo's words did not arouse him further but rather made him frown in extreme displeasure.

He lifted Chen Mo and carried him to the sofa.

With a mix of roughness and care, he laid him down, supporting himself on either side of Chen Mo's head and lowering his body threateningly. "There's a limit to how reckless you can be. If I hear those words again, there won't be a second time for anything else either."

Chen Mo was taken aback at first, but then he laughed, covering his eyes with his arm.

He had never heard such a threat before.

But damn, it worked.

It wasn't because he craved such intimacy or demanded equal loyalty in a relationship.

It was because some forms of cherishing were beyond mere words.

In the other person's eyes, it was always present in his heart.

Chen Mo slightly rose from the sofa, reaching out to wrap his arms around Xi Siyan's neck, allowing himself to be held close to his chest.

Chen Mo enjoyed these tender moments.

No wonder some people seemed like different individuals when in love. Chen Mo thought, if he were to go back to his previous life, even if Xi Siyan took all his important projects, he would find it hard to say harsh words to him.

After all, this was the person he loved.

Even though the other person was completely unaware.

"What are you thinking about?" Xi Siyan asked, sitting him in front of him and rubbing his hair with a towel.

Chen Mo seemed quite troubled, saying, "I just realized today that I don't know myself well enough. I think I have the potential to be a tyrant."

Xi Siyan: "What? Are you going to hand over Xinrui to me?"

"Not a chance," Chen Mo replied instantly, coldly. "Anything else, feel free to ask."

Xi Siyan sneered, "I can give CM to you."

Chen Mo turned in shock, "Saying that makes me feel guilty."

That night, they didn't talk much about work.

They chatted about trivial matters, occasionally throwing jabs at each other. In this relaxed moment, Chen Mo fell asleep leaning against Xi Siyan, quickly drifting off.

The bottle of sleeping pills he brought with him remained unused.

His last memory was falling asleep next to Xi Siyan.

So when he woke up the next morning, his first instinct was to reach out and hug the person beside him.

He didn't hug anyone, but he felt a hand and squeezed it, asking drowsily, "Did I press it numb last night?"

Without waiting for a response, Chen Mo suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Because the hand he squeezed felt entirely different from Xi Siyan's.

He realized for the first time that in a state of shock, one could not react, and he was grateful he didn't have a heart condition.

Old K stood by the bed, staring at him suspiciously. "What were you mumbling about?"

"Nothing," Chen Mo sat up, trying to control his emotions, maintaining a semblance of normalcy. Looking at the few people crowding his room, he asked, "Why are you all here?"

Yuan Hao scratched his head, "We called you this morning, but you didn't answer. We knocked on the door, but you didn't respond, so we got the key card from the front desk and came in."

Old K stood up, annoyed. "Thankfully, you weren't unconscious inside. You nearly scared us to death."

Chen Mo reached for his phone.

When he picked it up, he saw that Xi Siyan had turned off his alarm.

Feeling a bit groggy from the early morning disruption, he massaged his temples. "What's the schedule for today?"

Yuan Hao's face was expressionless. "Actually, nothing special, just that UA is being investigated for cross-border money laundering."

He didn't want to mention that this news had dominated the headlines that morning.

Chuanxing Technology also canceled today's speech.

Indeed, nothing special.

After all, two people with the same goal had secretly met in a hotel full of conference attendees the night before.

Compared to conspiracy, he thought his master should have covered up the hickey behind his ear better.

Unfortunately, his sleepy and tired master, upon hearing this, immediately threw off the covers, revealing a deep bite mark on his collarbone.

Bright and clear, it revealed someone's ferocity and explosive possessiveness.

Chen Mo got out of bed, disregarding what his apprentice might be thinking.

"Let's proceed according to the plan." He gathered his clothes from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. Suddenly, he paused at the door and turned back to the few people who hadn't left yet: "Don't let CM get ahead of us again. Since they are our old enemies, it's embarrassing enough to beat a fallen dog without having others hand us the stick."

Old K was confused.

He asked the person beside him, "Does he have a grudge against CM?"

"No," Yuan Hao shook his head. "I think it's because Master saw us early in the morning and is in a bad mood."

Old K: "What do you mean, our ugly faces are bothering him?"