Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Ye Mingzhao enjoyed chatting with Chu Hengyi. Because Chu Hengyi was a smart person, and a reincarnated individual who had seen through his true nature. In front of Chu Hengyi, he didn't need to hide or pretend, which made him feel relaxed and comfortable, while also giving him a thrilling sense of pleasure.

"The great revenge has been avenged, and the enemy has been captured, all because you offered ten billion dollars upfront," Ye Mingzhao suddenly smiled, keeping his achievements and fame hidden: "The other details are trivial and not worth mentioning."

Ye Mingzhao generously gave all the credit for capturing Hua Rui to Chu Hengyi, and indeed, that was true. Only Chu Hengyi himself disagreed.

"Even without my ten billion dollars, you wouldn't have let Hua Rui go."

"I don't like to speculate," Ye Mingzhao said with a smile: "In life, no matter what choices one makes, there might be regrets. But now, I made this choice and achieved the result I desired. I'm very happy."

Because he had already gauged Chu Hengyi's intentions. In Chu Hengyi's heart, at least his own safety and the safety of the Ye family were worth ten billion dollars.

Regardless of past grievances or emotions, at the moment of life-threatening danger, Chu Hengyi still saw the Ye family as flesh and blood relatives who needed protection, taking them under his wing.

Otherwise, Chu Hengyi should have suggested that the Ye family raise the bounty, rather than quietly offering ten billion dollars himself.

Chu Hengyi looked steadily at Ye Mingzhao, then smiled after a moment: "That makes sense."

He pushed himself up, like a nimble leopard stealthily emerging from the pool. The splashing water scattered in all directions with his movements, and with each step Chu Hengyi took, he left a wet footprint in the moonlight.

He approached Ye Mingzhao, accompanied by dampness and an irresistible warmth. A wave of hormones from a healthy adult male hit Ye Mingzhao.

Ye Mingzhao didn't move, allowing Chu Hengyi's face to tentatively approach his. The space between them quickly diminished, and Ye Mingzhao could even feel Chu Hengyi's high nose bridge gently brushing his nose tip.

Ye Mingzhao felt a coolness on his nose tip, a refreshing yet commanding dampness quietly invading under the moonlight, like an invisible net slowly surrounding Ye Mingzhao. Subtle, yet with a powerful presence.

Ye Mingzhao chuckled and teased: "Just talking, no need to get so close, right?"

Chu Hengyi didn't blink, firmly gazing into Ye Mingzhao's eyes: "You could have moved away."

Ye Mingzhao didn't move at all, allowing Chu Hengyi to kneel on the lounge chair with one leg, one hand propped above his head, his upper body slowly leaning down, pressing against him in an absolutely ambiguous yet relatively restrained posture.

Ye Mingzhao glanced up at the moon. The moon hung high in the night sky. From the moon's perspective, it should be a crouching posture, and his body was completely enveloped by Chu Hengyi's figure.

"Why should I move away?" Ye Mingzhao not only didn't move away, but even changed to a more comfortable posture under Chu Hengyi's watchful eyes, leisurely admiring Chu Hengyi's muscles that were tensed to the limit.

Like a beautiful bowstring, ready to shoot, tense and ready.

But without the owner's permission, he could only maintain this tense posture, not daring to make any further moves.

Ye Mingzhao leisurely admired Chu Hengyi's seemingly bold but actually hesitant bravado. He knew very well that between him and Chu Hengyi, the initiative was always in his hands.

Ye Mingzhao raised his hand and lightly traced a line with his nail along Chu Hengyi's suddenly tense jawline.

"You seem a bit nervous," Ye Mingzhao smiled and curved his eyebrows, asking with great tenderness and consideration: "Are you cold?"

Under Ye Mingzhao's gaze, which was brighter and gentler than the moonlight, Chu Hengyi's Adam's apple struggled to swallow. The up and down movement was quite obvious. So Ye Mingzhao's fingers continued down Chu Hengyi's clear jawline, lightly tapping on his protruding Adam's apple: "Are you thirsty?"

Chu Hengyi couldn't bear it anymore and grabbed Ye Mingzhao's wrist.

Ye Mingzhao sneered: "What are you doing?"

Ye Mingzhao asked him: "Using so much force, do you want to crush my bones?"

Chu Hengyi's pupils suddenly dilated, and he instinctively let go.

But it was too late. On Ye Mingzhao's fair and slender wrist, there was already a palm-sized bruise. Like a big hand tightly gripping his wrist, under the moonlight, the contrast between the fair skin and the bruise was not only obvious but also added an indescribable ambiguity.

At that moment, Chu Hengyi felt his eardrums ringing and his heart pounding. He swallowed, his throat dry.

Standing so close, Ye Mingzhao of course noticed the subtle changes in Chu Hengyi. His gaze shifted slightly downward, his usually cool and deep eyes now glistening with silvery moonlight. As his eyes moved, a subtle radiance seemed to emanate from the corners of his eyes and brows.

"Chu Hengyi," Ye Mingzhao spoke leisurely, with an undeniable authority, feigning ignorance, "Do you... like me?"

It felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in Chu Hengyi's ears. His knees weakened, and he nearly fell onto Ye Mingzhao.

Ye Mingzhao lifted his knee to press against Chu Hengyi's chest, feeling the continuous heat radiating from the other's body, along with the strong, rhythmic beating of his heart.

So vivid, so intense.

The moon was cool like water, silent and still.

A cool night breeze brushed past, as if trying to cool the thin yet scorching air between them.

Chu Hengyi, his mind blank, finally came back to his senses. His pupils, once unfocused, gradually sharpened, clearly capturing Ye Mingzhao's even more handsome face under the moonlight.

The silvery moonlight bathed his face and body. Ye Mingzhao's robe had somehow slipped open, revealing a large expanse of fair skin on his chest, with well-defined lines. The smooth contours looked like a piece of exquisitely carved mutton-fat jade, fine in texture and warm to the touch.

Chu Hengyi's gaze instinctively stuck to Ye Mingzhao's chest until he heard a soft chuckle from above.

Ye Mingzhao lay on the lounge chair, seemingly at a disadvantage, yet he didn't give off a sense of weakness. Instead, he appeared even more composed, having discerned someone's true feelings.

Chu Hengyi studied the lines of Ye Mingzhao's features with his eyes, his mind racing to figure out how to respond to such a direct question.

After a long silence, Chu Hengyi held back his confession and instead asked, "What if I said it's more than just liking you?"

Ye Mingzhao raised an eyebrow, adopting a "please enlighten me" expression, prompting gently, "For example?"

Chu Hengyi leaned down, stopping just before his lips touched Ye Mingzhao's, and said calmly, "Third Young Master Ye has always been perceptive. Why don't you guess?"

"I only guess the intentions of enemies," Ye Mingzhao replied with a meaningful smile, asking pointedly, "Do you really want to be my enemy?"

Ye Mingzhao's playful smile was like that of a Persian cat toying with a mouse, yet Chu Hengyi wasn't offended.

He only felt as if he had unwittingly been caught by this proud and beautiful Persian cat. Though it was somewhat dangerous, he didn't think it was life-threatening.

"More than just liking—it's much more than that," Chu Hengyi said boldly, then gently grasped Ye Mingzhao's chin. "I've been so obedient. Shouldn't I get a reward?"

Ye Mingzhao chuckled softly, reaching out to press the back of Chu Hengyi's neck and pulling him down.

The soft, warm touch, with a hint of cool mint, was like a dragonfly skimming the water—fleeting yet unforgettable.

Just as Ye Mingzhao was about to push Chu Hengyi away, the back of his head was gently but firmly held by a large hand.

Then, the gentle yet dangerous beast leaned in again. This time, the kiss was lingering.

*

The next morning, when Chu Hengyi woke up, he felt a bit dizzy. He casually took out a thermometer and checked his temperature—sure enough, he had a fever again.

Chu Hengyi sighed silently, knowing that despite his 1.9-meter frame, his constitution was still weak due to the abuse he suffered as a child. That's why he often caught colds and fevers. Last night, he had stayed by the pool for too long, and with his heightened emotions, he must have caught a chill again.

Chu Hengyi didn't want to be so fragile. He had died young in his previous life, and he didn't want to meet the same fate this time. It seemed he needed to take better care of his health.

Chu Hengyi lay in bed for a while longer, then struggled to get up, his limbs feeling weak. He went to wash up and then headed downstairs for breakfast.

A regular health routine, of course, started with eating on time.

When Chu Hengyi walked into the dining room with a flushed face, Ye Mingzhao was the first to notice something was off. "Why is your face so red?"

Chu Hengyi patted his forehead: "I'm running a fever."

Mrs. Ye looked alarmed: "How did you get a fever again?"

She quickly pulled Chu Hengyi to sit beside her, touched his forehead, and found it burning hot: "You're too frail. Have you been eating the medicinal meals I made for you lately?"

Ye Mingzhao frowned, recalling that Chu Hengyi had only worn swim trunks and stayed outside for so long last night: "Let's eat breakfast first. Wait half an hour before taking the fever medicine."

Ye Mingxi glanced at Chu Hengyi, then turned to look at Ye Mingzhao, hesitant to speak.

Chairman Ye turned to his second son: "What’s on your mind?"

Ye Mingxi's eyes flickered for a moment, then he shook his head: "Nothing. I just think Mingyi’s health is too weak; he needs proper nourishment."

Ye Mingchen said: "For boosting vitality, traditional Chinese medicine works best. I’ll have my secretary look into it and take Mingyi to have his pulse checked."

The Ye family members all nodded in agreement.

Only Ye Mingxi suddenly spoke with concern: "Mingyi’s so weak; I wonder if it’s because of kidney deficiency..."

His words left the entire Ye family speechless.

Ye Mingzhao’s hand, holding the porridge spoon, paused briefly, then he casually glanced at Chu Hengyi’s waist.

Chu Hengyi felt a vein on his forehead about to pop out and immediately defended himself: "I’m just a bit weak; my kidneys are fine."

"Oh, right," Ye Mingxi quickly nodded, his eyes unconsciously flicking over Ye Mingzhao’s face.

The repeated glances made Ye Mingzhao suspicious.

Ye Mingzhao quietly set down his chopsticks but did not intend to ask Ye Mingxi any questions.

The Ye family’s breakfast was extravagant. Besides the rich, sweet seafood porridge simmered for hours, there were also Cantonese dim sum dishes like shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, and tripe.

However, since Chu Hengyi would take fever medicine later, he should steer clear of seafood.

"Let’s warm up some milk," Ye Mingzhao turned to Chu Hengyi: "Or is there something else you’d like to eat?"