Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Fu Xie hurriedly tried to cover the bag, but Li Junyuan shot the other members a knowing look. The two tussled over it, shoving each other as the group steered them toward a dimly lit alley.

It wasn’t until he noticed the fading light and the thinning crowd that Fu Xie realized something was off.

Yet Li Junyuan kept yanking at his bag. The moment Fu Xie’s attention wavered to scan his surroundings, Li Junyuan ripped it away.

The black bag split open with a loud tear, nearly sending the contents spilling out.

Fu Xie’s heart raced. He desperately lunged forward, managing to grab only the pepper spray stashed in the outer pocket for easy access.

The shop had disguised it as an ordinary water bottle, so no one else recognized it for what it was.

One of the thugs sneered, “What’s a dumb water bottle gonna do? Just come with us quietly!”

Li Junyuan dangled the bag tauntingly. “What junk did you even buy… Oh, ugly mugs with dinky cartoon prints. Ugly.”

Fu Xie was furious. *Classless prick!*

Rage drowned out his social anxiety. His mind, now sharp, dug up dirt on the bastard’s past from the original story to fire back.

“So what if they’ve got little figures? You wet yourself in sixth grade and had to steal another kid’s cartoon-printed underwear to change into!”

Li Junyuan’s face darkened instantly. How did he know about that?! The others stared, slack-jawed.

In that split second, Fu Xie covered his nose and mouth and hosed everyone down with pepper spray.

“What the hell?!”

The men inhaled the mist unprepared—snot and tears gushed, their eyes burned, and they couldn’t open them.

Fu Xie snatched his bag back and bolted, dodging past them in seconds.

Li Junyuan had covered his face just in time, so the spray barely fazed him. Seeing Fu Xie’s path, he gave chase.

Out of shape from holing up at home, Fu Xie tired quickly. A few strides in, Li Junyuan was almost on him.

Just as he reached for the hood of Fu Xie’s jacket, hulking men in black cut him off.

“Mr. Li, please refrain from harassing anyone affiliated with the Xi family.”

Li Junyuan shrank under their looming figures, finally realizing he could no longer treat Fu Xie like before.

He itched to punch a wall. That little fox had him completely fooled!

All that ‘I love you’ crap, only to climb the ladder through Yansheng and ghost their history!

Fu Xie ran breathlessly for a long stretch before daring to glance back. Seeing no one followed, he finally relaxed.

He didn’t care about the torn bag—as long as the merchandise was safe.

Counting each piece, he confirmed none were missing. His mood visibly lifted.

Looking up, he realized he’d already reached the villa gates. Cheerfully, he headed inside.

It was a close call, but he’d made it out unscathed.

Back home, Fu Xie carefully unpacked his haul, even asking the servants to bring a display cabinet specifically for his newly purchased collabs. Row after row, they lined up neatly.

Piled together with the posters, fan art, and figurines he had bought before, the display looked like an eye-catching array at first glance.

Fu Xie stood in front of the display cabinet with his hands on his hips, unable to suppress the grin on his face. Being rich was awesome! He could buy whatever he wanted!

He glanced left and right, feeling like something was still missing, when he suddenly remembered he had tossed an anime plush somewhere in the master bedroom.

No way—his merch had to stay together as one happy family!

Fu Xie immediately rushed to the master bedroom, rummaging carefully through the corner where he usually piled his belongings.

In the conference room, a man in a tailored suit was delivering an impassioned speech in front of a computer.

Xi Wenlun sat quietly in the front row, absentmindedly toying with the Rolex on his wrist.

At the peak of his excitement, the man even approached Xi Wenlun. "President Xi! What are your thoughts on our subsidiary’s future prospects?"

Xi Wenlun remained cool as a cucumber. "Mmm."

What did that "mmm" mean? The man couldn’t quite grasp his reaction and was about to press further when—

Xi Wenlun’s phone suddenly vibrated violently. His eyes darkened as he uttered a curt "Excuse me" and strode out of the conference room.

Sweat poured down the man’s forehead—had his presentation failed to impress President Xi?

The moment Xi Wenlun stepped outside, his expression shifted. He usually kept his phone on silent during meetings, except for one specific type of notification.

The remote alarm for the safe he had installed in the master bedroom! The slightest disturbance would trigger an immediate alert on his phone.

Though it was merely a honeypot trap, a surge of irritation still coursed through Xi Wenlun.

Hadn’t he always known this would happen?

His previous leniency had worked—he should be pleased. After all, he had indulged Fu Xie for so long. It was time to put an end to this charade once and for all.

Since the meeting wasn’t particularly crucial, Xi Wenlun had his assistant take over while he headed straight back to the villa.

He returned in a rush, dust still on his clothes, startling the servants, who quickly and efficiently prepared everything for him with practiced efficiency.

After a quick cleanup, Xi Wenlun took the stairs two at a time with long, purposeful strides.

He glanced at Fu Xie’s room—the door was ajar—while his own master bedroom was slightly open, suspicious shuffling noises coming from inside.

A predatory smile curled on Xi Wenlun’s lips. Perfect—caught red-handed!

Without ceremony, he kicked the door open with a move so beneath his usual dignity that it felt almost foreign. The loud bang against the wall startled Fu Xie, who jumped out of his skin before turning around.

Fu Xie blinked at Xi Wenlun, baffled, as the latter stood at the doorway with thunderous disapproval, staring in bewilderment at him—and the anime plush clutched in his arms.

A doll? Shouldn’t he be holding the fake documents Xi Wenlun had planted?

His gaze flicked to the safe—still securely locked, with the tamper-proof seal still untouched.

“Did you forget something? Is it that urgent?” Fu Xie asked, puzzled.

He had never seen Xi Wenlun so worked up before.

Fu Xie had always imagined him as the shadowy mastermind—an aloof yet charming scheming antagonist whose daily routine involved secretly plotting in a dark little room how to ruin the protagonist.

No matter where he was, he remained cool and collected—even when dying, he’d stubbornly say, “We’ll meet again,” before vanishing.

So if he’s acting this flustered now, it must be because he forgot something super important!

Looking at Fu Xie’s bewildered expression, the anger that had been building up inside Xi Wenlun deflated like a popped balloon. Suddenly, he couldn’t even get his words out.

“You…” Xi Wenlun was momentarily speechless.

Watching Xi Wenlun’s face keep changing expressions, Fu Xie sensed danger ahead. Better not push it—he decided to sneak away first: “Uh, I found what I was looking for, so I’ll just go now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he made a break for the door—only for Xi Wenlun to swing his arm out and slam it shut with a *click* right in front of him.

At the same time, his long arm blocked Fu Xie’s path.

Fu Xie slowly turned his head to glance at Xi Wenlun’s expression—only to find the other smirking at him.

Oh crap, this isn’t good, Fu Xie thought, instinctively hugging the doll tighter.

“Uh… Mr. Xi, did you want something? If not, can I leave…?”

“Of course I do.” Xi Wenlun suddenly felt annoyed. Why was he the only one riding an emotional rollercoaster while Fu Xie acted like nothing was wrong?

Out of nowhere, Xi Wenlun smiled—a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, sending a chill down Fu Xie’s spine.

Just as Fu Xie tried to step back, Xi Wenlun hauled him up and dumped him onto the bed.

Thankfully, the mattress was high-quality, and Fu Xie bounced softly a couple times without any pain.

His brain short-circuited. *Didn’t Xi Wenlun have a white moonlight and ED? What is he going to do to me? He’s not some creep who’s into kinky gear, is he?!*

After tossing Fu Xie onto the bed, Xi Wenlun strode over to the nightstand and yanked open a drawer—revealing all sorts of *toys*!

Holy shit! Are you serious?!

The color drained from Fu Xie’s face. He wanted to press his temples and pass out on the spot. *These novel CEOs are all the same—total scum!*

So was Xi Wenlun being nice earlier just a trick to lower his guard? Or was he shy when they first met?

Fu Xie looked dead inside. What could he do? He was doomed.

Not stopping there, Xi Wenlun pulled out a pair of cold, shiny handcuffs from the drawer and dangled them in front of Fu Xie’s eyes.

The metallic clinking made Fu Xie’s head spin. He swallowed hard.

Xi Wenlun toyed with the cuffs in his hand, narrowing his eyes. “Who did you meet today?”

“Today?” Fu Xie blinked, answering reflexively, “No one…”

Xi Wenlun shot him a side-eye that got progressively darker. Fu Xie suddenly remembered—he *had* run into someone that morning.

“Oh, right, right! I did—I saw my old company’s CEO.” Fu Xie backpedaled fast.

Xi Wenlun: “Hm.”

What did *that* mean? Fu Xie was even more confused now. Then it hit him—was Xi Wenlun thinking he was still hung up on his ex-company? Absolutely not!

"Mr. Xi!" Fu Xie raised his hand in a vow, "I swear I just happened to run into you—I absolutely have no intention of going back to my old employer!"

His face suddenly flushed red as he lowered his head and lifted his gaze affectionately at Xi Wenlun. "Besides, it's you I like. I won't leave unless you chase me away. I'm willing to do anything you ask."

And it was true—he’d made good money in the short time he'd been by Xi Wenlun’s side. Only an idiot would bail now. A year from now? That was another story.

Yet Xi Wenlun abruptly averted his gaze, paused mid-motion with the props in hand, and then returned them all into that cursed drawer.

Fu Xie immediately sighed in relief, but before he could even begin to feel grateful, Xi Wenlun pulled out a black choker adorned with bells from the drawer.

It looked like some kind of collar.

Xi Wenlun’s long fingers trailed over the choker, making Fu Xie’s arm prickle with goosebumps.

He shuddered, staring at the black loop—the message of submission was crystal clear—and instinctively edged further back onto the bed.

Xi Wenlun raised an amused eyebrow. "Didn’t you just promise you’d do *anything*?"