“Don’t move!”
Xue Bao Tian shoved Yan Ye down, fingertips pressing slowly against his jaw. “I already told you not to fucking move. Being disobedient, are we?”
Yan Ye tipped his head just enough to sink his teeth into that finger. His deep voice came out low and rough, carrying that magnetic edge:
“Master Xue… no one’s ever tortured a man like this.”
Xue Bao Tian looked down at him and let out a soft, mocking laugh.
“Figured as much. You’ve never had anything fine in your life—just wolf it down every day and ruin the good stuff.”
Yan Ye’s usual good temper never made it to the bed. He reached up, hooked Xue Bao Tian down, and kissed him while threatening him gently:
“Master Xue, eating well and eating slow are two different things.”
One knee planted on either side of Yan Ye’s body, Xue Bao Tian glanced down at him, eyes half-lidded.
“Think it’s too slow? General Manager Yan, don’t come begging your Master Xue to take it slow later.”
He pushed Yan Ye’s hands aside, turned around, and slowly lowered his head.
That single movement instantly set Yan Ye’s eyes burning. The veins on his arms stood out sharp, blood seeming to race wildly just under the skin.
Sensation and sight slammed into him at the same time, battering against the thin line of control he still had left. He had never known that taking something slow and careful could feel this good—that the appetizer alone could taste this delicious.
He’d promised not to move.
But his hands stopped obeying. Fingerprints pressed deeper and deeper into soft, white flesh—like a steamed bun made of the finest rice, firm and pale, every bite leaving a lingering sweetness.
Xue Bao Tian’s breathing grew ragged. The corners of his mouth were starting to ache. That dog of a man never had any patience. He reached back, tossed a bottle over, eyes wet and gleaming—looking both fierce and pitiful.
“Help me.”
After being tasted so carefully for so long, Xue Bao Tian finally met Yan Ye’s eyes again. He closed a hand around the man’s throat, cleared his rough throat, and said in a hoarse voice:
“Listen up, you little shit. Your Master Xue is the one fucking you. Everything goes how I say. Got it?”
He still looked cold and fierce, but the flushed eyes and deep-red lips had stripped most of the menace away, leaving only stubborn bluster.
Yan Ye’s body might not behave, but his mouth was sweet:
“Whatever Master Xue says. This cheap body of mine isn’t worth anything—do whatever you want with it.”
As he sank down slowly, Xue Bao Tian let out a soft “mm.”
“Anything Master Xue keeps should fucking know how to be good.”
Moonlight hung on the treetops, a single clear beam. Bamboo shadows stretched across the wall. The wind seemed to have died, yet the shadows kept moving—swaying, drifting, fast then slow, just as they pleased. Bamboo leaves rustled softly, like a long, drawn-out pleasure.
“Two Hundred. Hurry up.”
A rough male voice cut in. The shadows on the wall froze.
“Say it again.”
Xue Bao Tian’s ear tip was kissed over and over. The soft, deliberate tone scraped at the nerves:
“Master Xue… hurry up and fuck me.”
The nights deep in the bamboo forest were cold, especially after the sweat had dried.
Xue Bao Tian lay in Yan Ye’s arms smoking. He liked the steady source of warmth and hated Yan Ye’s clinginess at the same time.
One wrist hung over the edge of the bed. Long fingers loosely held a cigarette. Feeling rather pleased with himself, Xue Bao Tian drawled lazily, “Look at the way you acted earlier, like you’d never seen the world before. Hard to watch.” After a pause, he added, “Wasn’t Master Xue amazing?”
No praise came.
Instead, the warm embrace suddenly cooled.
Yan Ye rolled over and sat up. His gaze settled on Xue Bao Tian, unreadable, before he suddenly asked, “Master Xue, did you enjoy yourself?”
Xue Bao Tian was fiddling with the cigarette in his mouth. The answer slipped out before he could stop it.
“Yeah.”
Before the word had fully left his lips, he began coughing. Yan Ye watched him coldly, his eyes growing dimmer by the second.
The moment he recovered enough to speak, Xue Bao Tian kicked him. “Enjoy my ass. I’m a straight guy.” He continued cursing. “I was just teaching an idiot like you a thing or two so you won’t embarrass yourself with someone else later. You’ve got some nerve asking questions like that. Did I enjoy it? Fuck. You nearly led me into a trap. Stay away from me. You’re annoying as hell.”
“Would Master Xue really hand over someone he personally trained to somebody else?”
Xue Bao Tian froze for a moment. His gaze drifted toward the bamboo forest outside the window. “If I teach you properly, then you can go torment somebody else. There’s no reason I should be the only one suffering.”
“Mm.”
Yan Ye lowered his eyes for a long time before responding. “Then I’ll have to trouble Master Xue to teach me properly. Go to sleep. Don’t you still have a contract to sign with General Manager Zhao tomorrow?”
The mention of Zhao Xiao Quan immediately made Xue Bao Tian cautious. “You don’t have any objections to me signing that contract with him, do you?”
“Why would I?”
“You’ve helped me so much, and I haven’t even mentioned giving you a share of the money.”
Yan Ye slowly raised his lowered eyelids. His eyes looked as though they had been dusted with ash, dim and lifeless, yet something cold flashed beneath the murkiness. The sight made the hairs on Xue Bao Tian’s neck stand up.
He hurriedly explained, “That’s not what I meant.”
It had been a long time since Yan Ye had switched between gentle and hard-edged. Over the past weeks, he had spoiled Xue Bao Tian shamelessly. No matter how terrible Xue Bao Tian’s temper was, Yan Ye accepted it all without complaint. After enough time passed, Xue Bao Tian had begun to feel as though he held the winning hand, two jokers and four twos, and had nothing to fear.
Now, suddenly remembering the bastard Yan Ye used to be, Xue Bao Tian quickly extinguished his cigarette. “Brother Chi, hear me out. What kind of relationship do we have? Talking about money cheapens it.”
“What kind of relationship do we have?” Yan Ye asked slowly.
“Comrades-in-arms right now. Buddies in the future. Partners on the road to prosperity.” Xue Bao Tian shamelessly laid it on thick. “Once I get my money back, I’ll support you taking control and getting rid of that bastard Sheng Yu. Then you can work as my bodyguard. I definitely won’t mistreat you.”
“How won’t you mistreat me?” Yan Ye’s voice remained emotionless. “Can I sleep with you?”
Xue Bao Tian choked. The curse words that had reached his lips were forcibly swallowed back down. “Brother Chi, you’re still young. I understand why you think about these things all the time, but you need to take a longer view. Even married couples split up eventually. So if you ask me, no relationship compares to being buddies.”
Putting on an exaggeratedly heroic act, he punched Yan Ye twice on the shoulder. “In the future, we’ll support each other. Brothers united…”
“Buddies? Partners? Comrades?” Yan Ye slowly closed in like a beast stalking prey. “Xue Bao Tian, I fucked you half the night, and now you’re talking about being buddies?”
Sensing danger, Xue Bao Tian retreated half a body length and looked away. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere. You’re young and full of hormones, and I’m all alone. Helping each other out isn’t unreasonable. Besides, I still owe you money…”
The words barely escaped before he realized how wrong they sounded.
These past days, he and Yan Ye had gotten along surprisingly well. Yan Ye had sacrificed enormous benefits to help him. In every possible way, he had gone above and beyond. To reduce that sincerity to money or sex felt unnecessarily cruel.
Sure enough, Yan Ye remained silent for a long time. Even the shadow cast on the wall seemed unusually rigid and bleak.
Then he laughed softly and nodded to himself.
“Master Xue really is a businessman. You calculate everything perfectly.” He looked over. “Fine. Then tonight, let’s settle some accounts too.”
Yan Ye’s gaze landed on him.
Xue Bao Tian’s heart skipped a beat.
“Settle… what?”
The next moment, Yan Ye grabbed his hand and pressed it against his broad, warm shoulder. Beneath his fingertips was a circular depression.
“Let’s start with this cigarette burn.”
Yan Ye reached over and shook Xue Bao Tian’s cigarette pack. Catching the cigarette that fell out between his lips, he lit it. There was something roguish about the way he smoked, making him resemble Xue Bao Tian seven or eight parts out of ten.
The flame burned through the tobacco until only a dull red ember remained in the darkness. After coughing several times from the smoke scratching his throat, Yan Ye held the cigarette between two fingers and looked at the stunned man.
“Xue Bao Tian, don’t dodge.”
His voice was calm.
“If you can’t burn me in exactly the same spot, then we’ll just keep trying until you can.”