Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Lin Se gently placed the photos on the table, then crossed his arms and said kindly, "Let's imagine a situation."

Qi Jing looked at him, puzzled.

"You enter a restaurant, starving, on the verge of collapse if you don't eat."

"But you can only eat the food on the table if you're seated. Right now, there are only two empty spots."

"Spot A is surrounded by people of the opposite sex, and Spot B is surrounded by people of the same sex."

Lin Se leaned in and asked, "Where would you sit? Both places welcome you."

Without hesitation, Qi Jing said, "I choose B."

"Oh? Why? Can you explain your reasoning?" Lin Se asked gently. Frankly, this game wasn't scientific; its true purpose was to elicit inner thoughts.

In school environments, most children still tend to befriend those of the same gender, maintaining a traditional distance and curiosity toward the opposite sex.

Of course, this wasn't absolute.

Lin Se was simply curious what answer Qi Jing would give.

"Sitting with girls might not be appropriate?" The boy frowned, looking a little troubled.

Lin Se: "Why wouldn't it be appropriate?"

"Mm... there's a difference between men and women," Qi Jing replied after some thought.

Then he asked nervously, "Is that wrong?"

Lin Se raised an eyebrow and soothed him, "Xiao Jing, this isn't a test—there's no right or wrong. We're just playing a random story game."

His slender fingers picked up the stack of photos again, and the young man slowly continued, "Hmm... after you've finished eating at the table, a lady comes over and invites you for a drink."

"In your imagination, what would that lady most likely look like?"

The photos were spread out, ranging from gentle and intellectual to sexy and fiery—all types were represented.

Qi Jing quietly looked down at them for a while, then said earnestly, "I can't drink alcohol."

His expression was overly docile.

Lin Se frowned: "You're an adult; you can drink now."

"Mr. Bo said I can't."

"."

Lin Se couldn't imagine what kind of authority this person held over Qi Jing, but he changed his approach: "Sweetheart, just pick one you find pleasing to the eye, someone you'd feel comfortable and safe walking with."

Qi Jing looked conflicted, his legs swinging slightly on the chair, before finally pulling out a photo.

It was a female bodybuilder, with well-developed biceps... and an angelic face.

Lin Se let out a slight hiss, then softly asked, "Can you tell me why you chose this one?"

"She's very healthy."

"Oh?"

"I'm not very healthy. I like healthy people."

Qi Jing replied gently, as if to prove his point by extending his arm. His skin was smooth and translucent, but still quite slender.

Lin Se tilted his head and told him, "It's just puberty, sweetheart. You might still grow taller and put on weight in college."

"But do you think these other ones aren't pretty?"

They were slender girls in pretty dresses, full of youthful vibrancy.

Qi Jing shook his head: "They're very pretty."

"But they're as thin as me."

Lin Se was startled and was about to press further when Qi Jing said awkwardly, "We'd both get drunk."

The boy still remembered the initial premise.

His gaze was too pure.

Lin Se thoughtfully pulled out the bodybuilder photo and changed the question: "What if it were a male classmate inviting you? Who would you choose?"

Another pile of pictures.

Qi Jing looked bewildered, staring for a long time.

He didn't choose anyone.

*

"He asked me why there weren't any photos of you."

Bo Chengyan frowned.

Lin Se came out with his bag, also a bit perplexed, and said seriously, "It's hard to ask deeply. He always remembers the conditions I set for him."

"He's probably one of those people who are very difficult to hypnotize."

The young man emerged from his thoughts, lowered his head, took a few photos from his bag, and handed them over, his tone very light.

"Still, I got him to rank them, based on aesthetic preference."

Bo Chengyan took the photos, remaining motionless for an unusually long time.

"He likes men in suits."

"And white shirts."

*

Meanwhile, in a luxury hotel in Beijing, stifled moans could be heard.

It lasted for over half an hour.

The phone rang.

Chen Zhuo lit a cigarette, stepped away, and stood by the window to answer his sister's call.

It was noisy on her end, full of crying and shouting.

The man frowned: "Speak clearly."

"Waaah... He kicked me out! How could he be so awful? That old hag from the Bo family, I even lost my five-million jade piece! Brother! You have to stand up for me!"

Chen Zhuo, cigarette dangling from his lips, asked nonchalantly, "What about the engagement announcement? Didn't you have the media release it?"

The Bo family should still care about their reputation. This low-level trick, though nasty, sometimes worked.

Anyway, that old man wouldn't live much longer; might as well make him useful.

A marriage alliance had its benefits. After all, interests speak louder.

Besides, he didn't think Bo Chengyan would break—

"Lingyue Group issued a statement, and the media apologized! How am I supposed to save face now?!"

Chen Zhuo exhaled smoke, his expression subtly changing. That shouldn't have happened.

"Brother!"

The man said impatiently, "Stop whining."

Chen Zhuo pondered for only a few seconds, then asked, "Did he bring anyone with him?"

The woman on the other end was sobbing incoherently.

"How should I know?!"

Chen Zhuo took the cigarette from his mouth and rephrased, "Weren't you staying at the Bo family's old residence for a while? Besides you, who else came out?"

There was a pause on the other end.

She sniffled and stammered, "I... I think... Shen Nanzhi... I ran into her at the hotel."

"Wasn't she supposed to be staying at the old residence? I didn't ask her..."

The call was cut off.

Chen Zhuo, tall and imposing, strode to the bed, reached out, and gripped the man's throat, forcing him awake.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Jiang Xiuyuan's eyes were red at the corners, his breathing ragged. Now the other person released his grip.

"Tsk, didn't I tell you to watch the kid? What, he's gone, and you didn't tell me?"

Chen Zhuo reached out and pinched the man's jawbone with great force, saying coldly, "You're not worth that much money if you can't even keep an eye on one person? Hmm?"

The person on the bed opened his mouth and began to lick the other's fingers, smiling, "It's not my fault, he didn't even take his phone, he didn't reply to any of my messages... Mmm..."

His throat was roughly violated, and soon tears welled up in his eyes.

A few minutes later, Chen Zhuo wiped his fingers with a tissue, too lazy to bother.

He stood up, intending to leave.

But just then, the person on the bed showed a hint of resistance. Jiang Xiuyuan sat up on the edge of the bed, very impatiently saying, "You were too rough. No one plays like that."

His body was almost entirely covered in bruises.

Chen Zhuo chuckled lightly, and said casually, "I heard your 'white moonlight' is Bo Chengyan? Is that why you went to provoke his darling that day?"

The person on the bed paled slightly, saying nothing.

Chen Zhuo walked back, reached out, pinched Jiang Xiuyuan's face, and tilted it upwards. His face was somewhat feminine, and he had manicured nails.

A living little duck.

"You're not the innocent type."

Chen Zhuo was about to mock him further, but then the person's eyes genuinely welled up with mist, looking at him with resentment.

Tsk.

He instantly lost interest.

Chen Zhuo released his hand, watching the person lower his head and stay silent, feeling an inexplicable sense of disgust.

"You think Bo Chengyan is some kind of good person?"

"He and I have been friends for ten years. What good could he be?"

The room remained very quiet. The young man on the bed had visible ligature marks on his neck, glaringly obvious before him.

Jiang Xiuyuan didn't want to listen; he just wanted the money. But his attitude of disregard was too obvious, causing him to be grabbed by the neck and pulled closer again.

His voice was almost gone.

Chen Zhuo enunciated each word: "He used to play games that could kill people."

*

Macau residents entering mainland universities need to pass the Joint Entrance Examination, with subjects generally the same as those in mainland high schools.

In the following days, Qi Jing sat at his desk, feeling utterly despairing. The competition for the Joint Entrance Exam was much less than for the Gaokao.

But the exam was very early, in mid-May.

He was completely tense.

Why hadn't Bo Chengyan told him about his residency status earlier? Why didn't he let him take his backpack? Would he have to take the exam as soon as he landed in Beijing?

Qi Jing even dreamed during his nap that he failed and was exiled to the mountains.

[I really want to die.]

The door was wide open. The boy lay sprawled on the desk, lost in thought. Outside the window, the phoenix flowers bloomed profusely, with some petals scattered on the windowsill.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Qi Jing was about to look up, but a cup was already placed on the desk. Inside, jasmine petals gently unfurled, white, floating.

The boy blinked. From the perspective opposite the cup, his eyes, magnified by the glass, looked round and cartoonish.

Amusing.

"How about I arrange for your academic records to be transferred here in Beijing? You could get in through a recommendation, and then you wouldn't have to take the exam."

Qi Jing instantly sat upright, flustered. He hadn't expected Bo Chengyan to bring him water.

In Macau these past few days, apart from being slightly free on the first day, the other person had been very busy, practically nowhere to be seen.

He didn't know what he was dealing with.

"No, no need!"

Qi Jing reacted to what the other person said and immediately waved his hands in refusal, a blush rising to his cheeks.

"I've already taken too much advantage, I can't... can't... This isn't fair."

He stammered.

Bo Chengyan didn't understand: "I'll pay for it. Why would that be unfair?"

It was just a transaction.

Giving up a spot, that's all. If one million wasn't enough, then two million. If two million wasn't enough, then three million.

Keep increasing, and eventually, both sides would reach a satisfactory outcome.

Before Qi Jing could react, the back of his neck was pulled forward, and his chin was pushed up by the other's slightly cool fingertips, making him automatically tilt his head back.

This action carried a subtle sense of control.

"Don't stay up late."

Bo Chengyan released his hand, then raised it to check Qi Jing's forehead temperature again, his expression not looking too good.

"Am I having a fever?"

Qi Jing mumbled, tilting his head up and nudging the hand with his forehead.

"Not serious."

But by nightfall, the fever had returned.

Dazed, his cheek was pinched open to hold a thermometer, and soon he wanted to spit it out.

Bo Chengyan vaguely felt like he was breaking in a falcon—except the one being tamed was himself.

Lin Se rushed over in the middle of the night and couldn't help but laugh the moment he entered, seeing the other person frowning helplessly at a child.

It was truly amusing.

It had been years since he had seen him like this.

"Hey, you're wearing a sweater?"

Lin Se circled him several times, resting his chin on his hand as he commented, "Honestly, it makes you look quite young, kind of like when you were in college."

Bo Chengyan merely reminded him: "Go see if he needs an injection."

"You're not wearing suits at home because of what happened last time, are you?"

"..."

"Hahaha..."

"Quiet down."

"Oh."

Qi Jing slept restlessly, in a daze, until he felt a cool touch on his forehead.

Just as it was about to pull away.

He instinctively grabbed the hand, pressing his forehead against it.

Murmuring in his sleep.

Bo Chengyan sighed, didn't pull his hand back, but just asked the person beside him, "No injection?"

Lin Se bent down to tidy up his things, explaining calmly, "Tsk, he's still in high school. It's normal to be stressed. Didn't you just take him in to raise two years ago?"

"On one hand, he's afraid he won't get in. On the other, he's afraid you'll abandon him."

"Anxiety causes fever."

The room was dimly lit, the main light off, presumably to help him sleep.

Lin Se leaned against the desk, picked up a test paper from it, and looked at it without lifting his head, saying, "He'll have to let his body adjust naturally. It'll be fine once he's in university."

There was no reply in the room.

The young man looked over. The man who was decisive and ruthless in the outside world was now expressionlessly using his hand to cool down the person on the bed.

"Mmm..."

Qi Jing seemed to dislike how his hand had warmed from his body temperature, and he pushed it twice, making a faint, indistinct sound.

So Bo Chengyan turned his hand over, looking down at him calmly.

Lin Se narrowed his eyes slightly.