Chapter 30: Payment

Chapter 30: Payment

Qin Yan yawned as he dragged his weary body up the stairs.

As he neared the door, he caught a glimpse of a slender figure out of the corner of his eye, bent over his desk, focused on cleaning it.

"Take care, Master Qin!"

The butler's thunderous voice boomed from downstairs, echoing through the entire villa.

Hearing the call, Qin Yan paused mid-step.

Qin Mo left?

He strode straight to the window. Rather than yanking the heavy curtains open, he merely parted a narrow gap with his fingers and peered through it.

Two minutes passed, and Qin Yan remained motionless, staring outside.

Only when he finally witnessed the black sedan exit the villa's gates and gradually disappear from view did the weight in his chest finally lift.

Well, he's finally gone.

Meanwhile, Su Zhiyu, who had been quietly cleaning the room, found it odd that Qin Yan had come upstairs without a word and headed straight for the window.

But then, recalling what had just happened, a wild, ridiculous thought suddenly popped into his head—

Could it be that Qin Yan had said all that on purpose just to get him out of trouble?

The thought hit him like a stone thrown into a still lake, stirring up ripples in his heart.

But before he could think it through, Qin Yan turned around.

Their eyes met across the room.

After a brief moment, Su Zhiyu was the first to look away. He quickly dropped his gaze and went back to what he was doing, even though his heart had started racing despite himself.

"If you're not done cleaning and you need to rest, I can come back this afternoon to finish," Su Zhiyu said in a low voice.

Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Yan lunged forward, snatched the rag from his grip, and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

It was one smooth motion.

Su Zhiyu didn't react much, only saying calmly, "Young Master Qin said earlier that if I didn't clean it properly, I'd be dead. I'd rather not die that young."

With that, he bent down as if to fish the rag out of the trash.

"Su Zhiyu!"

Qin Yan grabbed his arm, annoyed.

When their eyes met again, Qin Yan noticed the cold glint in the young man's eyes.

Mad?

So even the cold, untouchable Omega lead could throw a little fit.

That thought made Qin Yan want to laugh. A smirk tugged at his lips as he teased, "What's the matter? You mad?"

The teasing remark seemed to break down the walls between them, and Su Zhiyu's heart was pounding. He jerked his head away like a startled rabbit, but his voice was ice-cold:

"No."

What right did he have to be mad at this young master?

"Tsk, you're clearly mad. What, you don't like my arrangements? Yeah, I told you to clean earlier, but I changed my mind. Got a problem with that?"

Qin Yan arched an eyebrow.

Su Zhiyu was speechless. Did he think he was upset because he kept changing his mind?

Yeah, people who aren't normal just think differently.

Su Zhiyu almost laughed at himself for feeling so wronged and angry for no reason.

When Su Zhiyu didn't answer, Qin Yan tugged him back again. "Say something, will you?"

"..."

Biting back his annoyance, Su Zhiyu looked up with a blank face. "Fine. Since I'm done here, I'll go back to my room now."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"Hold on!"

Su Zhiyu stopped. "Something else?"

"Yeah." Qin Yan lazily held up a hand, a bank card between his long fingers.

A smug smile tugged at his lips as he casually slid the card into Su Zhiyu's pocket. "This is your pay for cleaning my room. The PIN is 127924.

Oh, and for eating with me. Remember, unless there are outsiders like today, you can't skip a single meal from now on!"

Su Zhiyu was completely confused.

He had no idea what this rich young master was up to.

Outsiders? Qin Mo was his own brother—was he an outsider too?

"Alright, scram. I need to rest."

Qin Yan didn't pay him any more attention. He sauntered over to the bed, not even glancing at Su Zhiyu, who was still standing there, and started casually taking off his clothes.

His pale, well-defined muscles were suddenly on full display for Su Zhiyu.

Especially those two gorgeous shoulder blades, like a piece of art.

Every muscle, every line of his body, practically radiated pheromones.

Even the most vulnerable gland on an Alpha's body was exposed to him without a shred of caution!

The sight made Su Zhiyu's pupils shrink.

From this angle, if he were cruel enough to stab that gland with something sharp, the guy would be ruined for life.

Was he always this careless?

Watching Qin Yan act so casually, a mess of complicated feelings welled up in Su Zhiyu's chest.

At that moment, Qin Yan suddenly turned his head: "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

His thoughts were abruptly cut off, Su Zhiyu quickly looked away.

The guilty feeling of being caught red-handed washed over him, making him instinctively step back.

"N-no... nothing, I'll be going now."

Qin Yan watched the wind blow the door shut, amused, a subtle smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

So this little rabbit had been sneaking peeks at him, and then didn't dare admit it when caught.

Looks like Su Zhiyu really had changed a lot.

Maybe his own fate wouldn't be so tragic from here on out?

Meanwhile, in the room next door...

Su Zhiyu pushed the door open in a daze, walking to the table like a zombie, sitting there blankly.

A weird thought popped into his head again.

And that bank card, now lying quietly on the table, only made that thought stronger.

Qin Mo must have given this card to Qin Yan.

Why would Qin Yan pass this card to him? Was it really just some kind of "payment"?

"Hah, how could that be."

Su Zhiyu couldn't help but shake his head.

He didn't think his small efforts were worth much money.

Moreover, as for the so-called "dining companionship," Qin Yan provided all the ingredients and labor. Not only could he eat here for free, but he even enjoyed the same standard as Qin Yan himself.

Given such treatment, he should be glad he didn't have to pay.

"Whatever, if he wants to give it, I'll keep it. It's what he owes me, and what I deserve."

Su Zhiyu pushed aside those tangled thoughts, carefully stowed away the bank card, and planned to withdraw the money at the bank later.

His mother's medical expenses at the hospital were steep, and this money came just in time.

Think of it as... Qin Yan doing a good deed.