Chapter 43: You’re Injured Too?

Chapter 43: You're Hurt Too?

An hour earlier.

Xu Zhouzhi finished giving his statement and headed home, rubbing his hands together as he looked at the gift Qin Xu had sent, sitting on the table.

Qin Xu was so wealthy; the gift definitely couldn't be cheap.

Xu Zhouzhi held the purplish-red gift bag with both hands, turning it over carefully for a detailed look. The bag was printed with dark patterns and a uniquely designed English logo. He pulled the contents out of the bag.

Inside was a velvet box in the same color scheme. He opened it, and the woody scent of cedar and sandalwood mixed with the damp, distinctive smell of a cork wafted toward him.

The wine bottle was wrapped in semi-transparent matte oil paper, with the embossed logo of the winery faintly visible under the light. As his fingertips brushed over the raised patterns, he could feel the exquisite craftsmanship and weight of a century-old family emblem.

Xu Zhouzhi didn’t know much about wine, only having a superficial understanding of some wineries. For certain brands, provenance mattered—the older the winery, the more expensive the wine.

And this bottle’s origin was from the longest-standing winery, making it the most expensive and top-tier wine.

Xu Zhouzhi clicked his tongue in admiration. As expected of the Qin family—even a casually given gift was so valuable.

He carefully placed the wine bottle down, took several photos to post on his social media, then cautiously packed it back up. Just as he was debating whether to store it in a safe or a wine cabinet, a thin card inside the gift bag caught his attention.

It looked familiar…

Xu Zhouzhi took out the card—a gold-foiled logo against a bright yellow background. Wasn’t this the key card to his own hotel?

This… this!

What did President Qin mean by this?

Xu Zhouzhi widened his eyes. Was this Qin Xu’s way of arranging someone for him?

Did President Qin play around so openly in private?!

…He never would’ve guessed…

Xu Zhouzhi stared at the key card, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He didn’t have those kinds of preferences.

But if he didn’t go, would it be seen as disrespectful? And would he have to return the wine? It didn’t seem right to accept only half the gift… But if he went, he’d have to… offer his body…

President Qin enjoyed playing around in private, but he didn’t!

After pondering for five minutes, Xu Zhouzhi decided to call his old friend Deng Yi for advice. "Old Deng, if President Qin gave you a key card and asked you to… you know, would you go?"

"...What nonsense?" Deng Yi had just fallen asleep five minutes ago when the phone rang. Hearing Xu Zhouzhi’s question, his drowsiness vanished instantly.

"President Qin is asking you to… get laid. Would you be willing?" Xu Zhouzhi simplified it, speaking bluntly.

"…………Lift your hand and feel your forehead. Make sure you’re actually awake." Deng Yi thought Xu Zhouzhi was messing with him. After all, someone who’d been cracking down on company discipline during the day wouldn’t turn around and tell someone to go… get laid.

"Cut it out. I’m serious. Give me some advice—should I go or not?" Xu Zhouzhi pressed.

"...Really?"

"24-karat genuine."

"Ah…" Deng Yi still found it hard to believe, but his friend’s earnest tone wasn’t faked. This was the kind of tone he used only when facing a real dilemma.

He pulled the phone away to check the time, then said, relaxing a little, "Just go. At this hour, I’m guessing the person has already left. Then it won’t be your fault for not showing respect—it’ll be theirs for lacking patience."

"That’s true…" Xu Zhouzhi also checked the time and realized it was indeed very late. He changed clothes and drove to the hotel.

When he reached the room door, Xu Zhouzhi clasped his hands together, praying that no one was inside. But when he stepped in and heard the rustling sound of fabric rubbing together, his heart sank with despair.

It felt like if he didn’t offer himself, that top-tier bottle of wine might slip away from him at any moment…

After much internal struggle, Xu Zhouzhi went in anyway, and then…

His arm was grabbed as if by iron pliers, then brutally twisted!

Excruciating pain exploded the moment his joint dislocated, as though a scalding pair of pliers had clamped down on his shoulder, or as if millions of steel needles were simultaneously piercing his flesh, tearing wildly along his nerve endings.

The pain was so intense that Xu Zhouzhi couldn’t stand steady. He staggered and fell to the ground, his throat filled with agonized screams. Every slight breath tugged at his dislocated joint, sending waves of darkness across his vision from the pain.

"Buzz!"

With a soft buzz, the lights in the luxurious ocean-view room flicked on all at once.

Xu Zhouzhi was rolling on the ground, clutching his arm in pain, when a familiar angry voice suddenly reached his ears. "Xu Zhouzhi, you’ve got some nerve! How dare you lay a hand on me!"

"………"

For a moment, Xu Zhouzhi felt as if his injury had completely stopped hurting. He stared dumbfounded at Qin Xu, who was dressed in pajamas. His pain-paled face instantly turned ashen.

Waxen and lifeless.

"P-President Qin…? …!"

Cold sweat poured continuously from Xu Zhouzhi’s forehead. The dual impact of physical and psychological shock brought his brain to near standstill.

"You… ah!"

Before he could finish, Qin Xu grabbed him and kicked him straight out of the room.

Qin Xu stood at the doorway, looking down at Xu Zhouzhi with a condescending gaze. His dark pupils were like frozen deep pools, so cold they seemed to congeal the air. His sharply defined jaw was tense, the furrow of his brows sharp as a blade. The pressure around him was suffocating, as though wrapped in an intangible frost carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

"You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, President Xu."

Xu Zhouzhi struggled to get up from the ground, but his dislocated arm made him nearly faint. "No, no, President Qin… didn’t you give me the key card?"

Qin Xu let out an emotionless hum deep in his throat, his pitch-black pupils swirling with a terrifying storm. With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, "Do you take me for a fool?"

"Then… why did you put the key card… in the gift?"

"Are you crazy, or am I? Why would I give you my key card?" Qin Xu scoffed, the temperature around him instantly plummeting. The coldness floating in the air almost solidified into something tangible.

"But I only came in because I got the key card…"

Xu Zhouzhi inhaled softly, cold sweat trickling from his temple down to his jaw. He felt wronged beyond measure—the other party had clearly given him the key card, so why were they denying it now?

And they’d even dislocated his arm…

Was the esteemed head of the Qin family resorting to entrapment?!

Qin Xu stared intently at Xu Zhouzhi’s expression, then belatedly recalled that earlier he’d asked Song Shimu for the key card, but Song Shimu had searched everywhere and couldn’t find it…

He frowned, his voice low as he asked Xu Zhouzhi, "Are you sure it was in the gift?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Xu Zhouzhi nodded vigorously, his eyes full of hope.

"Go get dressed."

After saying that, Qin Xu turned and walked to the next room, knocking sharply.

*Knock, knock, knock—*

The sudden knocking was like a thunderclap, jolting Song Shimu awake from his hazy dreams. He shielded his eyes, still heavy with sleep.

*Knock, knock, knock—*

The knocking didn’t stop; instead, it grew louder and more urgent. Still bleary-eyed, Song Shimu fumbled toward the bedside, found his phone, and checked the time—3:30 AM.

As the knocking persisted, Song Shimu muttered in annoyance, "What's going on—?" He threw off the covers, got up, and headed for the door.

Just as his fingers gripped the handle and the door cracked open a sliver, a powerful force suddenly shoved it wide open!

Song Shimu stared, bewildered, as a hand grabbed his pajama collar.

?

The grip was incredibly strong. Before Song Shimu could even struggle, he was forcibly dragged away.

"Hey!"

Startled and furious, Song Shimu grabbed Qin Xu’s hand and tried to break free. "What are you doing!?"

Qin Xu said nothing, only continued dragging Song Shimu toward his own room. The hand clutching his collar was like an iron vise, making it impossible for Song Shimu to break loose.

Awakened in the dead of night, his irritation from lack of sleep compounded by the rough treatment, Song Shimu frowned deeply and snapped, "Can’t you just sleep properly at this hour? What's your problem!"

Qin Xu turned his head and glared fiercely at Song Shimu before hauling him to the bedside and throwing him roughly onto the bed. "I should be asking you—what did I do to deserve this? Giving my room key to someone else? You’re something else!"

Song Shimu’s attention was solely focused on Qin Xu. When he was thrown onto the bed, he didn’t even notice there was someone else in the room hurriedly getting dressed. Even after getting up, he still didn’t notice. He was just frustrated at being treated so inexplicably harshly.

"When did I give it to anyone? The key was in your room, wasn't it?"

"I came back and couldn’t find it, so I thought you’d lost it." Qin Xu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he tried to discern whether Song Shimu was acting or genuinely unaware.

"How could I lose it if I never took it?" Song Shimu’s delicate brows furrowed tightly.

"You say you didn’t take it," Qin Xu tilted his chin slightly in Xu Zhouzhi’s direction, "then how did he get in? Did he fly?"

"Who is—?!"

Song Shimu was initially furious, but when he caught sight of Xu Zhouzhi frantically trying to put his clothes on, his anger instantly gave way to shock.

……………

The luxury ocean-view suite was actually quite spacious, with plenty of room to move around indoors and a long balcony outside for leisurely enjoying the sea view.

But at that moment, even with only three people present, Song Shimu felt the room was somewhat cramped… or more accurately, he felt so embarrassed he wanted to flee.

The moment his eyes landed on Xu Zhouzhi, the memory of taking the gift and the key unlocked itself as if triggered by a key—

He had taken the room key to check the banquet address, then casually slipped it into the gift bag, intending to take it out after he was done. But in the time it took to ride the elevator, he had completely forgotten about it…

Of the three people, the one who most wanted to escape was actually Xu Zhouzhi.

Because among the three, he was the most disheveled.

His relationship to the other two was the most tenuous.

He didn’t dare talk back to President Qin.

Even though he was the victim, his treatment was to be left on the cold floor with an injured arm, while Secretary Song—the one who started it all—was dumped safely onto a soft bed, and, crucially, was able to argue with President Qin, and the more he argued, the calmer President Qin became…

Xu Zhouzhi pulled his jacket on with one hand and, as he walked out, said in a voice hoarse with pain, "I’ve called a friend to pick me up. I’m leaving now."

"………"

Song Shimu pressed his lips together apologetically and said, "I’m very sorry, President Zhou. This accident was caused by my carelessness. If you’ve suffered any harm, I’m willing to compensate you with three times the medical expenses."

Xu Zhouzhi’s gaze swept over Qin Xu. He forced a faint smile and said, "It’s fine. This incident happened because I couldn’t resist temptation. It’s not your fault. I only ask that you consider us more for suitable projects in the future."

"Of course. My sincerest apologies, President Zhou." Song Shimu moved to see him out.

"It’s alright." Xu Zhouzhi weakly raised a hand to stop him, signaling that there was no need.

Song Shimu stopped and watched as Xu Zhouzhi left.

Once Xu Zhouzhi’s footsteps could no longer be heard in the hallway, Qin Xu also turned to leave.

Song Shimu caught up to him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Qin Xu didn’t answer. In two or three steps, he entered Song Shimu’s room. The moment he stepped inside, he spun around and pushed Song Shimu out, then slammed the door shut with a "Bang!"

Song Shimu: ???

Isn’t this my room?

Song Shimu knocked on the door and said irritably, "Why are you taking my room?"

Through the door, Qin Xu’s voice sounded somewhat muffled, but its icy tone still cut straight to the heart:

"After compensating Xu Zhouzhi, it’s time to compensate me."

"What? Are you hurt too?"

"...Yeah. My heart."

"…………"