Bang! Yan Ye dropped to one knee, kneeling directly in front of Xue Bao Tian!
Years of combat training made Yan Ye instinctively enter a fighting state. His muscles tensed instantly, one hand suddenly clamping onto the wrist twisting his tie. As he twisted it counterclockwise, a gaze as cold and sharp as a blade shot upward.
“Two Hun—!”
The fierce look shattered immediately. Only then did Yan Ye fully come to his senses after the reflexive reaction. He quickly released the strength in his hand and asked anxiously, panic in his voice, “Did I hurt you?”
Although he had withdrawn the movement quickly, Yan Ye’s grip was naturally strong enough to cause pain. Enduring the ache in his wrist, Xue Bao Tian wound the tie tighter and looked down at him from above.
“You wanted to hit me?”
Yan Ye could easily have stood up, yet he maintained his kneeling posture. The tightened tie straightened his back, and his voice emerged from his constricted throat, full of apology.
“No. That was a reflex reaction. I’m sorry.”
But when he continued, his tone shifted. It was not bad, but it certainly wasn’t good either.
“That move just now—hooking the leg after catching it—is a standard grappling technique. Where did Master Xue learn it?” Then he answered his own question. “From the bodyguard who protected your sister? I remember he was pretty good at that move.”
Xue Bao Tian jerked the tie upward.
“Am I fucking talking to you about that?”
“Two Hundred, if you want to learn anything in the future, come to me. I ranked first in annual evaluations. I’m better than all of them.” Yan Ye lifted a hand toward Xue Bao Tian’s cheek. “Whatever you want to learn, I’ll teach you.”
Xue Bao Tian let out a cold laugh.
“So I can use it on you?”
“Yes. As long as it makes you happy.”
Xue Bao Tian leaned down, his breath scorching Yan Ye’s cheek.
“Yan Ye, did your ears go on strike too? Did I not tell you not to call me Two Hundred? And not to touch me?”
He slapped Yan Ye’s hand away and revealed a smile brimming with malice.
“You want to make Master Xue happy? That’s simple. Take a walk with Master Xue—that alone would be enough to please me.”
Slowly straightening, Xue Bao Tian casually stepped to the side. The hand wrapped around the tie gave a tug, making a pulling motion.
One pull. No movement.
Another pull. Still unmoving.
Xue Bao Tian lowered his cold eyes to look at Yan Ye. He remained kneeling on one knee. Even at a disadvantage, he did not look the least bit disheveled.
Yan Ye favored dark suits, and his shirt was likewise understated black. Aside from his slightly loosened collar, he still looked neat, fitted, and meticulous.
To maintain his current posture, the powerful muscles beneath his shirt appeared even fuller. Their tension accentuated the superior lines of his hips beneath the suit trousers. Because one knee was bent, the trouser leg had ridden up slightly, revealing a strip of white sock at his ankle, drawing the eye despite the darkness of his attire.
Such a tall, powerful man was now subdued beneath his feet.
Xue Bao Tian suddenly felt his blood begin to stir. An uncontrollable desire to conquer rose from his chest.
His languid tone permitted no refusal, carrying an air of lofty superiority.
“I think I said this before. If you’re going to be Master Xue’s dog, then behave.”
Under the shifting light and shadow, Yan Ye’s features appeared even sharper and more defined. Even while being treated this way, his gaze toward Xue Bao Tian remained gentle, his tone tinged with helplessness.
“Master Xue, kneeling is one thing. But this… really isn’t possible.”
“Isn’t possible?” Xue Bao Tian pulled a cigarette from his pocket, placed it between his lips, lit it, then turned and crouched in front of Yan Ye so their eyes were level. “You think I’m humiliating you?”
He let out a scoffing laugh. Smoking leisurely, he searched through pictures on his phone. After some effort, he finally found one and held it up in front of Yan Ye.
“Look. It’s not humiliation. It’s an invitation.”
The shock in Yan Ye’s gaze grew as he stared at the screen. Instinctively, he reached out, wanting to take the phone for a closer look.
Xue Bao Tian raised his hand and extinguished the screen.
“Never seen it before?”
Yan Ye’s voice came out hoarse.
“This is the first time I’ve learned… it can be done… like this.”
The cold light above illuminated Xue Bao Tian’s dark lashes, making the sharpness in his eyes even more pronounced.
“Yan Ye, are you acting like some innocent little idiot again? Is that persona really fun? How many shells have you wrapped around yourself? And which layer are you showing Master Xue now?”
“Two Hundred—”
Xue Bao Tian gave Yan Ye no chance to speak. Clamping the cigarette between his lips, he wrapped the tie around his hand another two loops and dragged Yan Ye closer.
“Zhang Chi. Zhang Tian Ze. Yan Ye. What the fuck is your real name? How many more names are you hiding? How many identities? How many precious older brothers?”
Through the slowly rising smoke, Xue Bao Tian narrowed his eyes and laughed softly.
“Honestly, Master Xue doesn’t care how many shells you’re carrying, how many names you’ve got. As for all those random brothers and friends of yours—never mind that there’s nothing between us. Even if I were your husband, I wouldn’t care about your past. Who the fuck hasn’t had a few romantic entanglements before? But you, Yan Ye, can’t treat me, Xue Bao Tian, like a monkey!”
“You play innocent, play the virgin, and because you don’t want the reputation of taking advantage of someone when they’re down, you act pitiful. You talk about some ridiculous imprinting complex, say you lose control whenever you see me, and trick me into sleeping with you—is that it? All those clingy things you whisper in bed every day—how long did it take your pea-sized brain to make them up?!”
Keeping the cigarette between his lips, Xue Bao Tian freed one hand and patted Yan Ye’s cheek.
“You really don’t have to go through all that. I owe General Manager Yan money. If you want to sleep with me, you don’t need all these tricks.”
Dragged lower by the tie and unwilling to resist, Yan Ye could only bend slightly at the waist. He had not interrupted once, nor had he defended himself. Only now did he speak in a low, steady voice.
“I didn’t lie to you. You’re the first person for me. I really do feel stronger impulses toward you than toward anyone else. I think you’ve felt that yourself these past days.”
Xue Bao Tian laughed mockingly.
“Master Xue may have a bad temper, but I’m not stupid. You once said there were no people like you around you, so you stayed single all these years. But you knew Fang Fei long before you knew me. Fang Fei is handsome, has a good personality, and he’s obviously never gotten over you. Why didn’t you consider him? Fine—you can say there was no chemistry. Feelings can’t be forced. Then what about Bai Yu from the nightclub?”
Yan Ye looked surprised.
“How do you know Bai Yu?”
“Not only do I know Bai Yu, I know you met him long before you met me too.” Xue Bao Tian’s voice grew sharper. “And how did we meet? You paid for a hookup and mistook me for an escort! Bai Yu works at a nightclub and willingly throws himself at you. Back then I was bruised and battered, and you still wanted to sleep with me. Don’t give me that bullshit about being picky!”
Even with the tie restraining him, Yan Ye slowly straightened his back. He took the cigarette from Xue Bao Tian’s mouth and extinguished it. Then, under Xue Bao Tian’s furious glare, he gripped his chin and forced him to look directly at him.
“Since you’ve met Bai Yu, then tell me, Master Xue—do you think I’ve slept with him?”
“Maybe not Bai Yu. But in a single day, I met two of your backups. General Manager Yan has plenty of identities and plenty of backup options too. Should I be grateful you happened to pick my number?”
After a long silence, Yan Ye suddenly seized the hand wrapped around his tie and pulled it toward himself. Still crouching, Xue Bao Tian lost his balance and was drawn forward as Yan Ye wrapped an arm around him and guided him down against the wall beside him.
“I can’t keep kneeling anymore. That drink of yours has too much kick.” With just two simple movements, Yan Ye trapped the struggling Xue Bao Tian in his arms. His deep voice seemed to pour directly into Xue Bao Tian’s ear, each word becoming clearer. “Two Hundred, there’s no one else. I have nothing to do with either of them. I’m not hiding it from you. Be good and listen to me.”
Xue Bao Tian was about to snap back when Yan Ye bent down and bit his lip. The rich scent of liquor on his breath wound its way over, serving as the perfect threat. “Master Xue, would you like to try the Life of Drunken Dreams you mixed yourself?”
After cursing him a dozen times in his heart, Xue Bao Tian finally barked with a dark expression, “Then spit it out already.”
A Life of Drunken Dreams was indeed potent. Yan Ye normally had an excellent tolerance for alcohol, but even he was showing signs of drunkenness now. His eyes had lost some focus. His speech was still mostly coherent, though he occasionally slurred words, making him harder to understand.
“Fang Fei was the first person like me who ever clearly told me his orientation. The reason I never had those kinds of thoughts about him was partly because I felt there was something hard to define between Fang Fei and my senior—that is, his teacher. And the other reason…”
Xue Bao Tian still hadn’t let go of the tie. He tugged on it. “And the other reason?”
Yan Ye actually looked a little embarrassed. Drunk, he had lost his sense of restraint and was holding Xue Bao Tian so tightly he could barely breathe. “Also… I thought he was a little too skinny… not very durable.”
“Fuck!” Xue Bao Tian exploded. “So I’m thick-skinned and built to take a beating, am I?!”
To his utter shamelessness, Yan Ye nodded. “You only look thin. Your endurance—”
“Shut the fuck up!”
Yan Ye pretended not to hear him and continued. “You asked me why it was you and not Bai Yu.” The man was clearly drunk now, saying foolish things he never would have said sober. “Because there’s still light in Bai Yu’s eyes. He doesn’t belong in a place like that. I couldn’t make that kind of transaction with him.”
Xue Bao Tian’s movements slowed for a moment. He went over Yan Ye’s meaning in his head again, hardly believing it. Then he shot up in fury and grabbed Yan Ye by the throat. “So because there’s no light in my eyes, I deserve to stay stuck in the mud? I’m a straight guy, and you don’t pity me, but you pity the one who willingly throws himself at you?! All your damn compassion goes to everyone else, and I’m the only one you keep screwing over? Yan Ye, I let you live too long. Today neither of us is walking away alive. I’ll stake my own life on it—we’re dying together!”
He was genuinely furious. Xue Bao Tian’s burst of strength was astonishing. Yan Ye was drunk and didn’t dare fight back, so he could only endure being chased and beaten all over the room.
Eventually, sprawled on the sofa, Yan Ye laughed as he pulled Xue Bao Tian down into his arms. Knowing he had caused trouble, he hurriedly changed the subject. “Master Xue, do you know why I’m always changing names?”
Xue Bao Tian froze slightly.
“One reason is the nature of certain assignments. But the biggest reason is that I don’t like my own name.”
“Yan Ye?”
“Mm. Yan Ye. When I was little, people called me ‘bastard’ too many times. Eventually, hearing the character ‘Ye’ started giving me a physical sense of discomfort.”
Xue Bao Tian’s lowered eyelashes trembled twice. He clicked his tongue and lifted his eyes to look at Yan Ye. “You little idiot.”
Yan Ye brushed Xue Bao Tian’s hair back, revealing his handsome brows and eyes. “Do you know which of those names I like best?”
Turning his face aside, Xue Bao Tian muttered, “They all sound awful.”
“Zhang Chi. Zhang Chi was the one who met you. The one who met Xue Bao Tian.”
His strong fingers slowly stroked through the strands of hair. “When I took you out of that alley, I wasn’t thinking about anything at all. The moment you asked me for help, it felt like something grabbed my heart and squeezed it twice.” Yan Ye pulled him closer, his voice entering his ears slowly. “I practically wanted to fuck you right there.”
“You motherfucker!” Xue Bao Tian’s temper instantly flared up again. He started rummaging across the coffee table for something suitable to use as a weapon. “Maybe dying together really is the best option!”
Yan Ye laughed so hard his chest shook. He seemed to mutter the word “cute.” That only made Xue Bao Tian angrier. Grinding his teeth while searching for something to hit him with, he snarled, “Go ahead and laugh while you still can. Might as well fulfill the saying—‘cry when you come, laugh when you go.’”
At last he found a thick hotel information booklet. Testing its weight in his hand, he nodded. “This’ll do.”
Just as he turned around to commit violence, he saw that Yan Ye had tossed aside the pen and torn a page from the notepad. He was holding it out toward him. The booklet slipped slightly from Xue Bao Tian’s fingers. The few neatly written words on the note struck straight into his eyes.
“Two Hundred, I know how to write your name.” He heard Yan Ye’s gentle voice. “Xue Bao Tian. Both ‘Xue’ and ‘Tian’ are hard to write. I practiced them for a long time.”
The three characters seemed very close. Yan Ye’s voice seemed very far away. Whether Xue Bao Tian’s mind was completely empty or completely full, even he couldn’t tell. The booklet slipped further. He looked at Yan Ye. At that exact moment, Yan Ye was looking at him too.
Their silent gaze was interrupted by Yan Ye’s movement. Slowly, he untied the wrinkled tie and draped it around Xue Bao Tian’s neck. His fingertips brushed lightly over the skin there as he said in a low voice, “You’d look really good with the bell from that picture.”
“Want to die?” Xue Bao Tian’s threat came out calm.
Yan Ye gave the tie a gentle tug downward. “Kiss me, Two Hundred.”
Leaving no room for refusal, the impatient man leaned in and kissed him deeply. His lips met lips. Warmth met the scent of liquor…
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