Chapter 74: No Relationship

Chapter 74: No Relationship

Cen Wu didn't sleep well all night, dreaming that he was touching Xie Guiluan's abs, grabbing Xie Guiluan's collar, and pressing him onto the bed, forcing Xie Guiluan to taste his saliva.

Unable to control himself, he straddled Xie Guiluan's legs, kissing Xie Guiluan's thin, cold lips until they turned red. Xie Guiluan turned his head to avoid him, but Cen Wu pulled him back by his hair and kissed him again.

Xie Guiluan frowned, his Adam's apple bobbing as he was forced to swallow, the black collar tight against his pale neck, both icy and alluring, sending a shiver down Cen Wu's spine.

He even cursed Xie Guiluan as a slut in his dream.

Cen Wu was in a frenzy all night, and when he opened his eyes, Xie Guiluan was still asleep. Facing Xie Guiluan's cold and handsome face, he blushed from the tips of his ears to the soles of his feet, unable to help but despise himself.

He felt terrible about himself.

How could he treat Xie Guiluan like this?

Xie Guiluan's skin was cold and pale, his eyelashes long but not curled, the shadows under his eye sockets deep. Sleeping so quietly, not going crazy, not licking anyone, still cold and unattainable, like the distant moon in the night sky, Cen Wu's buttocks clenched a bit.

He couldn't take it anymore. If this continued, he would definitely end up in bed with Xie Guiluan.

The nights in Huaijing in winter were long. It was still dark outside, already mid-January, with only half a month left until the final exams. Cen Wu moved Xie Guiluan's hand from his waist and went to wash up.

He had never been in a relationship in his past life, only bought a few toys, sometimes taking matters into his own hands.

But after transmigrating into the book, he was busy coaxing men, neglecting everything else. Except for the time he got drunk during the autumn outing and Xie Guiluan helped him, he hadn't taken care of himself in months.

But Xie Guiluan kept seducing him, making him want to mess around with someone, though Xie Guiluan would definitely break down. He wasn't afraid of Xie Guiluan going crazy, but he was afraid of him being sad.

Forget it, just let it suffocate him.

Cen Wu splashed water on his face, his lips suddenly hurting, his tongue numb. He couldn't help but wonder—he didn't remember kissing Xie Guiluan last night.

Could it be that he really kissed Xie Guiluan in the middle of the night?

Xie Guiluan had also gotten up at some point, his sleep pants hanging loosely on his narrow waist, half of his groin exposed, quite indecent, looking down at him.

Feeling someone beside him, Cen Wu wiped his face and looked up, blinking in confusion. "Wh...what's wrong?"

Xie Guiluan's dark eyes stared straight at him, seemingly looking at his hand. Cen Wu was baffled. He lifted his hand to his nose and took a whiff. Xie Guiluan's eyes darkened.

Last night, he had wanted to stop, but Cen Wu hadn't woken up. He couldn't help but hold Cen Wu and kiss him a bit more. Cen Wu's lips were still swollen and red.

Xie Guiluan's long eyelashes drooped, showing no emotion. Cen Wu's alarm bells rang. What's wrong now, brother?

Don't be unhappy.

Cen Wu leaned in to examine his face, nervously circling him twice, then was pulled by Xie Guiluan's wrist, standing in front of Xie Guiluan, reaching out to rub Xie Guiluan's face.

Xie Guiluan hugged him, and Cen Wu obediently let him. Xie Guiluan lowered his head, his lips brushing against Cen Wu's ear tip. Cen Wu held back, finally not avoiding.

"Brother," then he heard Xie Guiluan bite his ear, risking being beaten to death, trembling slightly as he whispered, "I got it in your hand last night."

Cen Wu: "..."

Cen Wu was stunned, at first not understanding what Xie Guiluan was saying. Buddy, are you even speaking human language?

"I also kissed you," Xie Guiluan was now very obedient. He hooked Cen Wu's cold, pale chin, lowered his head to open his teeth, briefly kissed him, and said, "Like this."

Cen Wu didn't even have time to avoid. Each word seemed to make sense, yet didn't. He wished he didn't understand, his snow-white ear tips gradually turning red.

Xie Guiluan was overcome with the urge to kiss him again, as if afraid that Cen Wu would get angry and he wouldn’t be able to kiss him in a few days.

Cen Wu's lips trembled. He took a deep breath and then lifted his leg to kick at Xie Guiluan, so furious he lost his composure, a sudden surge of murderous intent welled up. How could this person have the audacity to tell him?

Xie Guiluan's voice was low, barely containing his laughter, dodging him, only to be pressed down by Cen Wu, who grabbed his sweater and lashed it hard against Xie Guiluan's back. Still unsatisfied, he kicked him several more times.

"Baby," Xie Guiluan reached out to steady him, afraid he might fall, no longer dodging, bending over to let him hit, "don't be angry."

Cen Wu cursed angrily, "Who is your baby?!"

"I'm your baby," Xie Guiluan said with a smile in his dark peach blossom eyes, shamelessly embracing him.

Cen Wu's head was spinning with anger. He slapped him again, still not satisfied, when suddenly he heard someone softly exclaim. His hand stiffened, and he immediately looked up.

Then he saw Guan Xingxue standing at the bedroom door.

Xie Guiluan picked up the sweater to put on, but his skin had a cold paleness, and Guan Xingxue still saw his back red from being whipped.

Guan Xingxue was at a loss for words.

"I made him angry," Xie Guiluan shielded Cen Wu behind him, "we were just fooling around."

Cen Wu's throat constricted slightly. He couldn’t tell Guan Xingxue that Xie Guiluan had secretly used his hand for something at night.

Guan Xingxue and the others had been looking into the Xie family recently, wanting to know how Xie Guiluan was doing there, and should have already discovered that the original owner had been humiliating Xie Guiluan all along.

He had even slapped Xie Guiluan in front of Guan Xingxue, though this time not on the face.

Who could stand by and watch their newly found child being mistreated?

Guan Xingxue's eyes lingered on them for a few seconds, but she didn’t say anything, simply calling out, "Come down to eat."

Cen Wu and Xie Guiluan had to go to school soon. She had originally come to call them for breakfast, but hearing the noise and fighting inside, she grew worried and entered without knocking.

Cen Wu walked last. Xie Guiluan had already gone downstairs, while Cen Wu was still on the second-floor stairs. Xie Guiluan turned his head to wait for him, and Cen Wu bit his lip before running down quickly.

Guan Xingxue adjusted her shawl and also turned her head. As Cen Wu ran down, Xie Guiluan's hand instinctively lifted, perhaps without him even noticing, ready to catch him in case he fell.

"Mom?" Cen Xiao asked, puzzled, "What are you looking at?"

Guan Xingxue raised her hand to cover her expression, avoiding showing too much surprise, lest Cen Xiao notice something and get scared. Her eldest son was as rigid as her husband.

She grabbed Cen Xiao's arm, dragging him away forcefully, even twisting him hard, and complained, "Nothing, it's already dark. Why are you so late to the company?"

Cen Xiao: "..."

Listen to what you're saying!

Does this family only need two sons?

He's leaving now!

Cen Wu lowered his head, sitting at the dining table. The old butler had made pasta for today. He waited for Xie Guiluan and the others to pick up their forks before starting to eat. Guan Xingxue gave him a small piece of steak.

Cen Wu took it and said, "Th...thank you."

Guan Xingxue rested her chin on her hand, a bit disappointed. Since getting the paternity test, not only had Xie Guiluan not called her mom, but Cen Wu hadn’t called her either—both were so stubborn.

In truth, Cen Wu didn’t treat her as a mother either.

Xie Guiluan's demeanor was icy, far from the tearful reunion one might expect with his biological parents. Guan Xingxue and the others wanted to show him care but didn't know how to begin.

Fortunately, Cen Wu was there, so it wasn't too awkward.

Xie Guiluan ate quickly. He put down his fork and looked up to ask Guan Xingxue, "Is Chairman Cen here?"

"Your father is in the study," Guan Xingxue replied.

Xie Guiluan nodded. He had matters to discuss with Cen Junshan, so he got up and left the dining table.

After he left, Cen Wu lowered his head even further, wanting to finish his meal quickly. But once he finished, he would have to talk to Guan Xingxue. He held a strand of pasta in his mouth, cheeks puffed out, not swallowing.

Xie Guiluan knocked on the study door.

Cen Junshan looked up and said, "Come in."

Xie Guiluan was there to talk about Xie Mingcheng. Before Xie Mingcheng married Zhou Li, he had already planned to kill Old Master Zhou.

One night, Xie Mingcheng went drinking with Song Lingwei. The club was a glittering palace of luxury. He put his arm around Song Lingwei's shoulders and stood on the rooftop terrace of the club, overlooking the night view of Huaijing.

"Do you know?" Xie Mingcheng lowered his head and said to Song Lingwei, "She took me to get a custom suit tonight."

Song Lingwei, with her delicate, parasitic beauty, felt a sourness in her mouth but still spoke gently, "Really?"

She knew she was merely a hostess. She despised these men, but Xie Mingcheng was an exception. She genuinely liked him and had liked him for many years.

But Xie Mingcheng always talked about other women.

Xie Mingcheng's handsome face was clouded with gloom. Despite studying in Huaijing for a few years and working as a department manager at Zhou Corporation for several years, he still felt out of place, having grown up in the mountains.

He had never set foot in such a place before. The cashmere carpet was so soft he didn't know how to step on it. Over a dozen people respectfully measured him for a suit, and he didn't even need to try it on himself. Zhou Li had brought in a model with a similar build.

All he had to do was sit on the leather sofa and watch these people bustle around him, trying to please him.

That evening, he also attended an auction with Zhou Li. A vintage watch worth tens of millions was auctioned off without Zhou Li batting an eye, and she gave it to him. He had never dared to dream of such luxuries while carrying pig baskets in the mountains.

Even during his years in Huaijing, when people mocked him as a wild dog from the mountains, ridiculing him for not knowing where to put the umbrella in a luxury car, he had never dared to imagine such a life.

"Can you imagine?" Xie Mingcheng said excitedly, pointing at Song Lingwei, "You, Song Lingwei, stepping out of a car, and these people would practically kneel to please you!"

Song Lingwei almost flinched as he pointed at her nose. She had never experienced such things and felt envious just hearing about them.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, clung to Xie Mingcheng's arm, and laughed with cautious flirtation, "Because I'm Mrs. Xie."

She had intended to flatter Xie Mingcheng, saying it was all because of him that she could be treated so well.

"What Mrs. Xie?!" Xie Mingcheng frowned, dissatisfied. "You're Song Lingwei. They should bow and scrape at the sound of your name, offering you all the best things!"

Of course, he wasn't saying this out of respect for Song Lingwei. He was projecting himself—he was Xie Mingcheng, not the son-in-law of the Zhou family.

Song Lingwei was both frightened by his madness and drawn to the life he described. She placed her hand on Xie Mingcheng's chest, soothing him, "Mingcheng, once you become a vice president at Zhou Corporation and Old Master Zhou values you, won't you be able to live like this?"

Xie Mingcheng smirked with his crimson lips. A vice president? No, he aimed for the CEO seat at Zhou Corporation, to oust the old man. He narrowed his eyes, saying nothing, but a voice echoed in his heart.

Kill him.

...

Xie Guiluan's cool, peach blossom eyes rose to meet Cen Junshan's gaze. "He has a video hidden in Michigan, but I don't know the exact location."

When Xie Mingcheng killed Old Master Zhou, he recorded a death video, a trophy of his notorious triumph. He had finally crushed all those wealthy people who looked down on him.

Every time his business faced setbacks, he would have his secretary bring this video from abroad to him.

He wanted to share his victory with someone, but couldn't risk being discovered for his murder, so he turned to the eight-year-old Xie Guiluan.

Little Xie Guiluan sat with him in the Xie family's private cinema, watching the video over a hundred times until it was dark.

Little Xie Guiluan watched expressionlessly as Old Master Zhou was tied to a hospital bed, struggling in his final moments, his throat emitting horrifying gurgling sounds. The hospital room was dark, lit only by moonlight, casting an eerie glow. His pale, emaciated hands clawed desperately, then suddenly he stopped breathing.

Xie Mingcheng didn't explain the video, even going so far as to blur it, distrustful even of the child Xie Guiluan.

But Old Master Zhou had a scar on his neck, which Xie Guiluan had seen before, when Chen Weiguo was still alive, around the time he was six.

During dinner, Chen Weiguo wasn't home, and Song Lingwei turned on the news. She liked watching financial news, sometimes seeing Xie Mingcheng, but tonight it was Old Master Zhou being interviewed.

Xie Guiluan's dark eyes lifted; he wasn't interested in what Old Master Zhou was saying, his gaze only falling on the scar on his neck, about five centimeters long, unsure what kind of blade had caused it.

It must have been a specific shape.

Xie Guiluan asked Song Lingwei, who was startled, feeling a chill down her spine, and quickly interrupted, "What knife could make such a cut? It's a surgical scar."

Xie Guiluan nodded, no longer interested in watching.

Xie Guiluan didn't expect to see that scar again two years later, the length, the shape, there couldn't be an identical scar, and he immediately recognized who had been killed.

Cen Junshan seemed calm, but was seething over the child abduction, resolved to cut all business ties with the Xie family, no matter the cost, and was currently negotiating with the Xie family.

The upper echelons of Huaijing were intricately connected, and a decade-long partnership couldn't be severed cleanly overnight. Even the Cen family would lose at least several billion, but the Cen family wasn't short of that money.

Xie Mingcheng was the one truly hurt, with the Cen family suddenly breaking ties, the Xie family's stock prices crashed overnight, and Xie Guiluan considered having someone bring him that video once more.

The police couldn't catch Xie Mingcheng, nor find a reason to detain him, but this video could be a breakthrough.

After hearing this, Cen Junshan's face darkened; he knew Xie Mingcheng was crazy, but he didn't expect him to show such things to a child, what a psychological scar that must be.

Of course, he couldn't imagine that perhaps Xie Mingcheng was the one living with the devil, unaware.

"I understand," Cen Junshan said sternly to Xie Guiluan, "Don't worry, I'll have someone keep an eye on him."

Xie Guiluan's cold eyelids flickered.

Watching him wasn't enough.

He should be killed.

But Xie Guiluan didn't say more; if things went smoothly, Xie Mingcheng would be executed several times over, no need for the Cen family to act privately. Showing too much eagerness would only make Cen Junshan suspicious.

Cen Wu picked at his meal, muttering a few words to Guan Xingxue, and went to find Xie Guiluan. He circled outside the study several times, unsure what Xie Guiluan was discussing with Cen Junshan.

It couldn't be anything good.

When Xie Guiluan came out of the study, he paused, the ferocity in his dark eyes immediately receding. He walked over and gently took Cen Wu's wrist, saying softly, "The second young master was waiting for me?"

Cen Wu: "..."

He inexplicably felt that Xie Guiluan really seemed like the type of person who, even while killing people outside at night, would take a moment to reply to his wife's messages.

Cen Wu went to school with Xie Guiluan, while Guan Xingxue and Cen Junshan went to the company by car.

The car was dimly lit. Guan Xingxue propped her chin on her hand, gazing continuously at the neon lights outside the window.

Cen Junshan couldn't help but ask her, "What are you thinking about?"

"You tell me," Guan Xingxue paused, then turned her head and said, "Is it not good to let them sleep together?"

"What's wrong with that?" Cen Junshan knew she was talking about Cen Wu and Xie Guiluan. "They are willing themselves, and besides, Xiao Lan doesn't confide in us. He only clings to Cen Wu—what can we do?"

Guan Xingxue listened carefully, then suddenly got angry, frowned, and said unhappily, "What do you even know?!"

Cen Junshan, feeling wronged, didn't dare to speak: "..."

What now? Can't you be happy?

Guan Xingxue didn't want to deal with him. She just always felt that sleeping together was good for Xie Guiluan.

But it seemed not so good for Cen Wu.

Yet she couldn't say why.

The Cen family and the Lu family were old friends, with a very good relationship. So Cen Junshan told the Lu family that Xie Guiluan was actually their child. Old Man Lu had a manufacturing plant that was originally supplying parts to Xie Mingcheng's shipping company, but after hearing this, he cut off the supply.

Lu Wang also found out about Cen Wu and Xie Guiluan. The brother suddenly became a different person; he was disheartened and headed to school.

How could this be? Was he not the biological child of Cen Wu and Xie Guiluan either?

No wonder he didn't resemble Xie Guiluan or the others.

When Cen Wu arrived at school, Lu Wang stared straight at Xie Guiluan's belly. Xie Guiluan looked up, met his gaze, with a heavy gloom in his eyes.

Lu Wang was so scared that he shivered, then stared at Cen Wu, disappointed, and said, "I can't believe I wasn't born by you."

Cen Wu: "..."

Cen Wu's ears flushed red. Thinking about childbirth reminded him of last night's events—his hand was practically useless now. Cen Wu snapped, fiercely saying, "I... I don't have a rebellious son like you!"

Lu Wang cried.

Cen Wu felt helpless. He decided to secretly search for an emotional forum and anonymously posted a thread.

"OP: What should I do? I have someone I really like, but I don't feel that way about him. Yet he always kisses and hugs me and wants to sleep with me."

"1L: ??? Can you elaborate?"

"2L: Why does he want to sleep with you?"

"OP: He says he's scared at night."

"5L: ...What a scheming man."

Cen Wu frowned.

"OP: What if he's really scared? If I don't sleep with him, he's so pitiful."

"9L: Wait a minute, I want to know—besides kissing and hugging you, what else has he done?"

"OP: ...Does it count if he did something with my hand?"

"18L: No, do you know what you're saying? How can you agree to this? Are you sure you two aren't dating???"

"OP: I fell asleep... I didn't agree."

"36L: Haven't seen such a crazy post in a long time, this guy is just a pervert, what do you even like about him???"

"OP: Why are you cursing him? He didn't mean it, no... even if he did..."

"104L: And you're not calling the police? You're being forced, are you sure you're safe now? Don't be fooled into having a child, it'll be too late by then, wake up!"

Cen Wu's face turned red, he was instantly overwhelmed, why is it always about children, he can't even have one, okay?!

"OP: I'm also a boy."

"201L: ..."

"346L: ..."

"458L: Alright, it's fine now, give me an address, I'll go check it out, help you decide, I don't mean to see the scene, but can you leave a spot under the bed for me?"

Cen Wu: "..."

Cen Wu was so embarrassed he couldn't lift his head, what kind of people are on this forum, the forum isn't completely anonymous, you can change it yourself, there's an ID called Crucian Carp below, gloating.

"Crucian Carp: I'm laughing so hard, this guy is so perverted, seems like he could give my buddy a run for his money."

A bunch of people below tagged Crucian Carp, asking him to tell his buddy's story, Cen Wu angrily closed the post.

Zhang Yuanzhou heard something about having a child and immediately turned his head, "What child? Whose child with whom?"

Lu Wang dumbly said, "Wu Wu and Bro Xie's."

Cen Wu: "..."

Cen Wu's ears turned red, he stood up and tightly covered his mouth, but several people around had already started to tease.

"Pass it on! The second young master is going to have a child with Bro Xie!"

"Pass it on! The second young master and Bro Xie's child is already three months old! I delivered it!"

"No, is it too late for me to reincarnate now, I also want to be part of the Cen family, are you sure the Cen family doesn't have a long-lost son? Wuwuwuwu."

Cen Wu suddenly found himself with a bunch of grown-up sons, overwhelmed and at a loss, Xie Guiluan didn't help him, just chuckled softly behind him.

Cen Wu, red-faced, angrily said, "What's so funny?!"

He didn't even realize he wasn't stuttering from being angered by Xie Guiluan.

"Brother," Xie Guiluan's peach blossom eyes curved, his thin lips also curved into a very mischievous smile, leaning close to his ear and whispering, "How to have a child, I don't know, can you teach me?"