Chapter 14.2

The moon gradually sank into the clouds, leaving only the even and serene breathing from the corner sofa, like the afterglow of the moonlight outside the window.

Duan Zhuxian lifted his head from the long-untouched email interface, and the gaze that had been restrained behind the glasses finally fell unabashedly on the sleeping man.

The man who was just arguing with him in a strange manner a second ago, in the next second, retracted his bristling fur, lying flat, like a fox dozing off with its belly up, his aggressive mouth breathing slightly, without any guard.

Jiang Yao’s lips were fleshy, plump in the middle with slightly upturned ends, unconsciously pouting when arguing, like acting coquettishly, making people can’t help but want to temporarily let go of winning or losing, and coax him in a soft and gentle voice.

But sometimes, when annoyed by this young master, he would also have some dangerous thoughts, such as using a certain straightforward way to block that mouth.

In his sleep, Jiang Yao turned over, because the sofa was a bit narrow, half of the thin quilt on his body fell on the ground, and the other half was held in his arms.

Duan Zhuxian walked over, bent down to grab the edge of the blanket, and just as he pulled it out two centimeters from Jiang Yao’s embrace, Jiang Yao yanked it back forcefully, and hugged it even tighter like a treasured possession.

After a while, still feeling wasn’t secure enough, Jiang Yao raised a long leg and pressed it on the quilt, the stretching movement separated the hem of the shirt and the waist of the pants, and exposed a white waistline glaringly to Duan Zhuxian’s eyes.

Duan Zhuxian’s expression became slightly complicated.

Two hours ago, when Jiang Yao came in to seek shelter, he was actually very surprised.

Despite what had happened between them, even to the point of Jiang Yao being so angry that he never wanted to see him again.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, Jiang Yao acted as if he had forgotten everything, and in some aspects, still held an almost naive trust in him, thinking he could nullify everything with an indifferent attitude.

Little did he know, such “generosity” only makes one more greedy, insatiable, and unable to stop wanting more.

Duan Zhuxian’s gaze darkened a bit, forcibly moving away from that exposed waistline, he continued to adjust the quilt, careful not to wake the other party, he opted to cover Jiang Yao with the half that had fallen on the floor.

Just as he finished tucking in the blanket, he saw the person beneath him twitch his lips, muttering in a low voice, “Shameless old thief, take my sword…”

Then, Jiang Yao’s two long arms stretched out beyond the sofa, clenched his fists and waved at his chest, with his eyes closed, and his eyebrows getting tighter and tighter.

Seeing that he was about to go berserk in the next second, he should have used up all his martial arts skills without cutting the opponent.

To make Jiang Yao so anxious, the old thief in his dream must be him.

How can there be such a beautiful and adorable person?

And yet, he had appeared before him so early on, year after year, vivid and passionate, making it impossible for him to ever get enough.

Duan Zhuxian stood up straight, rubbing the space between his eyebrows, feeling incredibly soft-hearted.

Not far away, his phone lit up, received a message from across the ocean. It was from Gu Heng, a good friend of Duan Zhuxian’s during his study abroad, asking him why he hadn’t been in contact for so long and what he was busy with recently.

Duan Zhuxian replied: [Preparing to get married.]

Eight thousand kilometers away, Gu Heng, who was sunbathing on the beach, suddenly sat up, so shocked that his sunglasses fell off: [So sudden?? Who??]

Duan Zhuxian replied: [Him.]

Gu Heng almost thought he was daydreaming and took a moment to reply, [My god, you finally tied the knot? It’s not one of those legendary business marriages, is it?]

Back when they were studying abroad, Gu Heng knew that Duan Zhuxian had someone he cherished in his heart, but he didn’t know who it was. He only knew that Duan Zhuxian had a very bad relationship with that person, making it absolutely impossible for them to be in a romantic relationship, unless it was a forced one.

He was actually quite puzzled, a top student with a high IQ, who could stir up the financial world during his student days, how did he get himself into such an unsolvable predicament?

Eventually, he figured it out: God opened a hundred doors for Duan Zhuxian but had to close a window. Otherwise, how could other mortals live?

Duan Zhuxian looked at Gu Heng’s message, paused for a moment, and replied with a [Hmm], without denying the word “tie” used by the other party.

Indeed, he had used a method that Jiang Yao would definitely dislike, the kind that was not straightforward or honorable.

Gu Heng teased: [A forcibly twisted melon is not sweet^[1]強扭的瓜不甜 (qiǎng niǔ de guā bù tián) = “A forcibly twisted melon is not sweet.” It is a common saying that metaphorically means when conditions are not ripe or mature, and … Continue reading, and might even be poisonous. Just look at my cousin and his ex-husband for reference—how disgraceful their divorce was.]

His cousin was the young master of the Gu family bank, who once had a marriage alliance with the eldest grandson of a real estate tycoon. Their marriage and subsequent divorce had caused a sensation throughout the city.

[Everything depends on people.]

Duan Zhuxian replied with just four words.

At the beginning, it was he who personally handed Jiang Li’s information to his grandfather, and it was also he who took advantage of Jiang Li’s stormy situation to secretly promote the initial plan of Hua Yan’s investment in Jiang Li.

Then came the marriage alliance.

With the marriage certificate, he and Jiang Yao gained the closest relationship possible in the world, even if Jiang Yao despised him, eventually, he would have to return to their shared home.

As for how to get along in the long years to come, he, like Jiang Yao, had no idea either.

But one thing he was sure of was that no matter what happened in the future, he would never let go of Jiang Yao. The word “divorce” did not exist in his dictionary.

Jiang Yao’s evaluation of him was actually quite accurate, he was selfish, and never an upright person.

Calling him a “hypocrite” was not an exaggeration.

Duan Zhuxian glanced at the sofa.

The sleeping man had already wrapped himself in the small world rolled up by the quilt, leaving only a strand of red-dyed hair sticking out at the back of his head, completely unaware that he had fallen into a deep and long-lasting trap with ulterior motives.

This pure appearance made Duan Zhuxian involuntarily recall the scene when he first met Jiang Yao in their first year of high school.

It was late autumn at that time.

Beside the Cornelian cherry tree, on the volleyball court, a spirited and tall young man in a red sweatshirt swept past him flamboyantly.

At the moment of jumping, his slim waist bent backward into a resilient arc, and he slammed the ball fiercely that established an unshakeable point difference between the two teams amidst cheers.

After the intense match ended, the young man was surrounded by a group of teammates and left the field, like a red fox showing off its prowess, with its tail raised high, full of pride, more eye-catching than the sun in the sky.

As he passed by Duan Zhuxian, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and asked, “You’re Duan Zhuxian, right? I’ve seen your name on the performance board. I’m Jiang Yao, from class 7.”

Duan Zhuxian took a moment to recall, then responded with a “Hmm” and said: “So, the person below me is you.”

Jiang Yao curled up the corner of his lips: “You better remember my name, Jiang of the river water, Yao of the quiet, because next time I will be on top of you.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

Duan Zhuxian accepted the challenge calmly.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yao’s eyes suddenly brightened, as if his competitive spirit had been ignited.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Jiang Yao extended his hand towards Duan Zhuxian, glanced at the dirt left from touching the ball, and then withdrew it, “It’s a bit dirty, so let’s not shake hands for now.”

Not far away, someone was calling Jiang Yao. It was a few classmates from other classes. Jiang Yao was liked wherever he went, and his popularity was off the charts.

Before leaving, Jiang Yao said to Duan Zhuxian, “You’re quite tall, you must play volleyball, right? Let’s have a match against each other next time.”

He said ‘against each other,’ not ‘team up.’

In response to this, Duan Zhuxian just raised his eyebrows slightly and didn’t comment.

Perhaps from the beginning, Jiang Yao had unilaterally pushed him to the opposite side, endowing him with the position of a rival that was hard to give up, yet untouchable.

He watched Jiang Yao’s swaggering figure leaving, as if looking at an unexpected event in his life that had never been preset, and played calmly with that arrogant red with his eyes.

The color of the ripe fruit exudes an enticing sweetness.

It wasn’t until much later that he gradually sank into it, only to realize that it was sour.

The deeper it was hidden in the heart, the more piercing the sourness became.

Until it seeped into the lungs and continued to be sour endlessly.

[Author’s Note]

Xiao Duan: Soft-hearted