The answer was obvious—who else but Ke Mingxuan could have these photos?

The anger that had been simmering inside him suddenly exploded, rushing to the top of his head in a wild surge. His hand, still clutching the shard of broken glass, tightened again and again, the jagged edges digging deeper into his palm, but he felt nothing—only the raw, burning fury consuming him. That maddening emotion, as if from nowhere, slammed into the remnants of his consciousness. His dizzy, heavy head lacked the strength to question why Ke Mingxuan had given the photos to Ruan Chengjie, let alone understand why he’d done such a thing. All that mattered in this moment was one thought: if Ke Mingxuan were standing in front of him, he would kill him.

Perhaps his breathing was too loud for someone in a coma, Ruan Chengjie turned his head to look at him, mildly surprised by the fury burning in his eyes.

“Awake? Faster than I expected.” Ruan Chengjie said as he set down his wine glass and walked over to him, towering above him as if admiring a wild beast whose fangs he had pulled. “Your body really is suited for some high-risk pleasures. Young Master Ke is truly a waste. Aside from restraints, has he never tried anything else with you?”

Since Bian Yiqiu was wearing a black coat and the lighting was dim, the blood that had dripped from his hand was smeared all over his clothes. Ruan Chengjie didn’t notice anything wrong with his palm.

Bian Yiqiu wanted to conserve his strength and had no intention of answering him. However, from Ruan Chengjie’s words, it was clear he had misunderstood the context and reason behind the photos.

Ruan Chengjie crouched down to meet his gaze, his smile as gentle as ever. “Don’t glare at me like that. I didn’t plan on being… so uncivilized with you. But you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

Bian Yiqiu tugged at the corner of his mouth, forming a half-hearted, cold smile.

“What’s wrong? Do you have a problem with it? I’ve never lied to you.” Ruan Chengjie reached out and gently stroked Bian Yiqiu’s face, lingering especially tenderly on the side where he had been slapped earlier. “Everything I’ve said to you has been the truth. And you? On the first day of the New Year, whose bed were you in?”

Bian Yiqiu was almost laughing from anger. He wanted to snap back at him, why the hell should I report to you whose bed I was in?

“How good did Ke Mingxuan fuck you, that you forgot you had plans with me that day, huh?” Ruan Chengjie pinched his chin, forcing him to look at him. “Do you know how long I waited for you that day? How many times I called you?”

“…” This was indeed Bian Yiqiu’s fault, and there was nothing much to say.

Ruan Chengjie stared intently into Bian Yiqiu’s eyes, his gaze growing increasingly wild and heated, but his voice became softer and softer.

“So… I think you need a little punishment.”

Bian Yiqiu’s internal alarm went off. Before he had fully processed the meaning behind Ruan Chengjie’s words, a sudden burst of bright light forced him to reflexively shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the only word that could describe his shock was “Holy shit.”

Various ropes of different materials and models, whips, chains, handcuffs, daggers, massagers, vibrators, gags, nipple clamps, silver needles… all kinds of tools, both common and rare in the BDSM scene, were carefully displayed in the cabinets on either side. They were all arrayed in a dazzling array of shapes and sizes. In the corner, there was even a small, delicate iron cage, inside which a few golden snakes, thicker than his thumb, were kept.

Bian Yiqiu’s body instantly went rigid with goosebumps. He hated all invertebrate creatures! Even seeing an earthworm or a caterpillar on the road could send a shiver of disgust down his spine. The thought of coming into close contact with a creature like a snake made his skin crawl.

Ruan Chengjie didn’t miss the subtle expression on Bian Yiqiu’s face when he saw the snakes. With evident interest, he smirked. “Don’t be scared, I’m a professional. What have you and Ke Mingxuan played with?”

A retort of “go fuck yourself” almost slipped out, but as the words reached his mouth, Bian Yiqiu gritted his teeth and swallowed them back down.

He remained silent, avoiding Ruan Chengjie’s increasingly insistent gaze. The combined effects of the drugs and pain made his face turn pale. He turned his head, pressing his temple against the wall. His Adam’s apple slowly bobbed in his neck. The light spilled down from above, casting sharp contrasts that highlighted the defined, strong lines of his profile. His temple throbbed slightly, betraying the tension that he could no longer control.

Ruan Chengjie’s gaze was raw and hooked, as if he wanted to carve a piece of flesh off the beast he had subdued. His lips were parched, and he unconsciously extended his tongue to lick them, then swallowed deeply. He reached out, preparing to undress Bian Yiqiu.

But he had forgotten that a beast, as long as it still breathed, remained a terrifying danger. Not to mention, Bian Yiqiu still had his claws intact, and he was covered in blood…

He gathered his strength in the shadows, then exploded into action, swiftly pinning  Ruan Chengjie beneath him and pressing the bloodstained shard of glass against his carotid artery. The entire sequence unfolded in the blink of an eye.

It turned out that business elites who were fond of BDSM would always fall short in a fight compared to a gangster boss with real combat experience.

Ruan Chengjie’s eyes were filled with disbelief. He had used enough of the drug to take down two people. Even if Bian Yiqiu woke up earlier than others, his strength should never have returned so quickly. What had gone wrong? He hadn’t yet realized what was pressing against his neck when he tried to flip his wrist and grab Bian Yiqiu’s arm to counterattack.

“Your red wine is tainted, but the glass is quite useful.” Bian Yiqiu gritted his teeth and delivered a powerful kick to Ruan Chengjie’s knee. The sharp crack of impact made Ruan Chengjie cry out in pain, finally causing him to quiet down.

Only then did Ruan Chengjie notice the chill at his neck. His gaze dropped, and he saw a thin trail of blood still dripping from Bian Yiqiu’s elbow. A flicker of something unfamiliar flashed in his eyes, an emotion he didn’t even recognize.

Pain can stimulate the sensory nerves, and in extreme situations, it’s indeed the most effective way to stay conscious. The palm, which was almost completely torn apart and covered in blood, was enough to show just how ruthless this man was toward himself.

Ruan Chengjie’s eyelids twitched. “You dare kill me?”

“Guess.”

“…You wouldn’t.”

Bian Yiqiu pressed the shard of glass down further, and a string of blood immediately welled up on Ruan Chengjie’s neck. “Wrong guess.”

The sharp pain in his neck finally caused Ruan Chengjie’s face to change drastically. “You’re crazy! My backer is Huarui!”

“Dead men have coffins behind them.” Bian Yiqiu’s voice was cold to the extreme, his eyes as frigid as ice. Ruan Chengjie shivered involuntarily, finally realizing the kind of person he had provoked.

Then, a heavy blow struck the back of his head, and he lost consciousness in an instant.

Bian Yiqiu certainly wouldn’t kill him. While he wasn’t afraid of going against Huarui, he hated trouble, especially now that Longxing was watching him from behind. He didn’t believe that the white jade Guanyin statue could truly resolve things between him and the Qian family. Even though Old Qian might temporarily hold back due to face, Qian Ying would definitely not let this go easily.

Being attacked from both sides was not the outcome he wanted, but it was also not in his nature to let things slide. Since President Ruan was so fond of those few nude photos of him, he thought it only right to return the favor in some way—or at least that was what he would do in return for such admiration. If his stamina allowed, he was indeed quite interested in using all the props in the room on President Ruan. However, the reality was that after exhausting himself dealing with Ruan Chengjie, his body was all but collapsing onto the hard floor.

The dizziness and weakness, which he had suppressed with pain, were now overwhelming his consciousness and body. Every muscle and bone in his body felt alien, completely out of his control. Taking even a single step became incredibly difficult.

The world around him blurred and became uneven as he staggered forward, his wrist trembling as he clutched the phone. He collided with everything in his path, but finally managed to dial Zuo Cheng’s number. Just as his vision went dark and his head neared the sharp corner of a desk, a pair of strong arms caught him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

The phone hit the ground with a muffled thud, and faintly, Zuo Cheng’s voice could be heard shouting: “Boss, where are you? Are you okay? Boss…”

Bian Yiqiu gripped those arms tightly, struggling to resist the overwhelming force pulling him toward darkness. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes met a pair of eerily familiar ones.

“Ke Mingxuan?”

“Bian Yiqiu, are you okay?”

Ke Mingxuan’s voice, urgent yet tinged with a sigh of relief, echoed around him—now loud, now soft, now distant, now near. The swirling sound seemed to fade in and out, making Bian Yiqiu’s already confused mind even more disoriented.

“Ke Mingxuan!”

After a moment, Bian Yiqiu finally recognized who was in front of him. Consumed by rage, he threw a brutal blow at Ke Mingxuan, the force of his anger crashing into his face like a storm, filled with the heat of burning fury.

Ke Mingxuan didn’t expect Bian Yiqiu to suddenly strike at him. The punch landed squarely, and out of instinct, he staggered backward. Without support, Bian Yiqiu’s body lurched toward the table, but Ke Mingxuan quickly caught him just in time.

That punch was Bian Yiqiu’s last burst of strength. Before slipping into unconsciousness, the words “You bastard” slipped from his lips.