Jiang Shao knew Lu Jin Wen had been speaking sarcastically and deliberately goading him, but he had to admit—it worked.
I still came.
The private room was steeped in an atmosphere of decadent revelry and indulgence.
Before coming, Jiang Shao had already known more or less what he would see. He also knew that for wealthy second-generation heirs like these, this kind of thing was perfectly normal and nothing unusual. He had only intended to take a look and leave, with no plans to get involved…
But the instant he pushed open the door and saw Qi Mu surrounded by a group of men and women, with a young man’s arm around his shoulders as the two spoke practically ear to ear, the embers flickering inside Jiang Shao’s chest seemed to have gasoline poured over them and wind fanning the flames. They erupted into a roaring blaze, sweeping through him with unstoppable force.
Jiang Shao’s icy gaze landed on the man beside Qi Mu.
The man had an arm slung carelessly around Qi Mu as he spoke. He was the very same drunken man who had appeared in the photograph Lu Jin Wen sent before, looking intimately close to Qi Mu… Even though Jiang Shao had only seen him in profile back then, he recognized him at a glance.
Jiang Shao had thought he did not care that much. But now that he was seeing this scene with his own eyes, he realized he might have overestimated his self-control.
Right now, I really want to kill this man.
Yu Yue Ning keenly sensed the hostile gaze and frowned toward the man standing in the doorway.
Where did this rude bastard come from? He barges in without knocking or saying a word, and his face might as well have “I’m here to cause trouble” written all over it.
Yu Yue Ning might normally be easygoing and carefree, but that did not mean he had no temper. Whenever someone deliberately came looking for trouble, Young Master Yu had never been one to back down.
Yu Yue Ning’s rebellious streak rose immediately. He stared coldly back at Jiang Shao, lifted his chin, and confronted him head-on. “Who the hell are you? You dare come onto Young Master Yu’s turf and cause trouble?”
Qi Mu had still been staring blankly.
The moment he heard those words, his vision nearly went black.
What kind of cannon-fodder line is that?!
He desperately wanted to reach over and cover Yu Yue Ning’s mouth!
But that would be far too obvious. Qi Mu secretly grabbed Yu Yue Ning’s hand and pinched his palm hard. Snap out of it! Don’t automatically transform into cannon fodder the moment you see Long Aotian!
Yu Yue Ning’s mouth twitched from the pain, and he nearly failed to maintain his Young Master Yu swagger. He turned to look at Qi Mu aggrievedly.
This guy obviously came here to provoke us. Instead of helping your best friend, why are you pinching me…? Wait. Do you know him?
At that thought—
Yu Yue Ning’s aggressive aura eased slightly. He looked at Qi Mu in confusion and silently asked with his eyes what was going on.
Qi Mu couldn’t possibly have deliberately brought someone here to ruin his party, right?
It was his birthday!
Qi Mu was suffering in silence.
The truth was that he had no idea why Jiang Shao had appeared here either, but there was no time to wonder about that now. Remembering what happened to Yu Yue Ning in the dream after he offended Jiang Shao, Qi Mu knew he had to stop the two of them from clashing.
He could not stand by and watch Yu Yue Ning walk down the path predetermined for him in the novel.
Jiang Shao’s gaze grew darker and darker, making Qi Mu’s scalp prickle. Under the suffocating tension, Qi Mu suddenly said, “He’s my assistant, Jiang Shao. If he came looking for me, there must be something going on at the company.”
Yu Yue Ning: “?”
You’re sure that’s an assistant? He looks more like hired muscle.
Qi Mu had come up with the excuse in a flash of inspiration, and once he started, the rest of the lie flowed more and more smoothly. He had not wanted to stay here any longer anyway, so he simply pushed Yu Yue Ning away, stood up, and said, “Something came up, so I’ll head out first. You guys keep having fun.”
With that, he turned toward Jiang Shao, grabbed him, and tried to pull him out.
But when he tugged—
Jiang Shao did not move.
Jiang Shao’s cold gaze fell on Qi Mu’s hand. Only moments ago, Qi Mu had been getting all touchy-feely with Yu Yue Ning, holding Yu Yue Ning’s hand tightly. Now he had come over to pull Jiang Shao instead. You think I’ll just do whatever you say?
Yu Yue Ning watched the two men standing rigidly at the doorway. The atmosphere between them was strange, though he could not put his finger on why. He asked blankly, “Why aren’t you leaving now?”
Qi Mu looked somewhat awkward.
What exactly is wrong with this formidable ancestor today? Why did he suddenly come here and start causing trouble for no reason?
I’ve already changed so much. Does heaven still insist on forcing Yu Yue Ning through this plotline?
Is the plot itself trying to force this outcome?
Qi Mu rapidly and calmly considered his options. He took his car keys from his pocket and pressed them into Jiang Shao’s hand, putting on a slightly dazed, tipsy expression as he said softly, “I drank, so I can’t drive. Will you take me home?”
Qi Mu had his back to everyone else as he spoke. He lowered himself slightly, his tone carrying a hint of negotiation and pleading. No matter what, the priority was to coax Long Aotian away from here first. Everything else could wait until later…
Jiang Shao felt the car keys being placed in his palm, Qi Mu’s warm fingertips lightly brushing his skin.
He could not help lowering his gaze.
Behind Qi Mu’s gold-rimmed glasses, his eyelashes trembled faintly. A thin haze clouded his eyes, making him look genuinely drunk. When he spoke softly to Jiang Shao, the faintly sweet scent of wine drifted over with his breath like a gentle breeze… and the inferno blazing inside Jiang Shao was suddenly scattered by that mist and wind, vanishing almost without a trace. Only a few glowing embers remained, slowly smoldering inside him.
Leaving his mouth dry.
Jiang Shao pressed the tip of his tongue against the inside of his teeth and rubbed the keys lightly between his fingers. Then he suddenly gave a low laugh, naturally slipped an arm around the “drunken” Qi Mu, lowered his head beside Qi Mu’s ear, and said, “All right.”
Jiang Shao’s low, amused voice fell beside his ear. Qi Mu met those bottomless dark eyes, and an instinctive sense of danger sent a chill down his back. But Qi Mu was the one who had come up with the excuse, so now he could only grit his teeth and continue acting.
At least this formidable ancestor finally agreed to leave, right?
With an arm around Qi Mu, Jiang Shao left without looking back, coming and going like the wind.
Yu Yue Ning stared blankly at the doorway.
That man had barged in looking as though he wanted a fight. Yu Yue Ning had thought something major was about to happen, but in the end, all he did was take Qi Mu away?
What the hell…?
Besides, Qi Mu had only taken two sips of red wine. Surely he wasn’t actually drunk?
Wait… Yu Yue Ning had nearly overlooked an extremely important issue. Other than him, there was actually another man who was allowed to put an arm around Qi Mu’s shoulders!
Does Qi Mu have another best bro besides me?
A sudden sense of crisis rose in Yu Yue Ning’s heart. He suspected his position as Qi Mu’s number-one best friend had been shaken. That guy clearly looked like trouble. Why would Qi Mu hire someone like that as an assistant?
Something’s wrong. I’m worried.
…
Qi Mu was, of course, not drunk.
But sometimes pretending to be drunk could save a person a great deal of embarrassment. For example, right now, Jiang Shao had an arm around his shoulders as they walked. If Qi Mu were completely sober, he might have been so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. But if he was drunk, then he could simply treat all of this as perfectly normal.
After all, he had once carried a drunken Jiang Shao on his back, so this really was nothing…
That was how Qi Mu comforted himself.
Jiang Shao strode with Qi Mu toward the parking lot and pressed the button on the key. The lights of a black Mercedes-Benz flashed. Jiang Shao walked over, opened the front passenger door, helped Qi Mu inside, then bent down to fasten his seat belt. He glanced sideways at Qi Mu with a teasing expression. “What’s your home address?”
Qi Mu avoided his gaze, lowered his head, and mumbled an address.
Fortunately, Jiang Shao did not come any closer. He straightened, walked around to the other side, and got into the driver’s seat, allowing Qi Mu to breathe a little easier.
The car slowly drove out of the underground parking garage.
The enclosed cabin had little airflow. It had not been very noticeable outside, but once they were in the car, a cloying perfume smell quickly spread through the space. It was not Qi Mu’s scent. Qi Mu smelled light and pleasant, not like this nauseating mixture of different perfumes. Jiang Shao did not even have to think to know that the scent had rubbed off from the women in the private room.
Not only was he hugging men, he was getting entangled with women too.
Jiang Shao frowned.
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he used the other to lower the window.
Early-winter air rushed inside.
Qi Mu shivered from the blast. What is this formidable ancestor doing? It’s freezing, and instead of turning on the air-conditioning, he opens the window? Maybe you don’t care if you catch a cold, but I do!
The cold wind cut across his cheeks like a blade.
Jiang Shao felt himself calm down slightly. He turned to look at Qi Mu and saw Qi Mu quietly tuck his neck in against the cold…
Jiang Shao: “…”
So annoying.
He silently rolled the window back up.
For the entire drive, that cloying, nauseating perfume completely smothered Qi Mu’s natural scent.
By the time they reached the apartment—
Jiang Shao’s patience was almost exhausted.
He stepped out of the car and drew a deep breath before irritably hauling Qi Mu out. With an arm around Qi Mu’s waist, he dragged him into the elevator.
Qi Mu: …I can walk by myself.
But Jiang Shao’s entire aura was dark and oppressive, as though he were teetering on the verge of exploding. After thinking it over, Qi Mu decided to endure it rather than provoke this walking powder keg of a Long Aotian.
Jiang Shao would leave once he had delivered him home anyway.
Just put up with it for a few more minutes.
Although Qi Mu still had no idea what Jiang Shao was angry about.
Qi Mu lived in a spacious luxury apartment in an upscale residential complex, with one residence per elevator landing. The elevator opened directly onto a large entryway. Jiang Shao took Qi Mu by the wrist and used his hand to unlock the fingerprint lock.
The apartment had intelligent climate control and a fresh-air ventilation system, keeping the temperature comfortable and the air circulating.
At least it was not as stuffy as the car.
Jiang Shao led Qi Mu directly inside, but instead of releasing the arm around his waist, he deliberately rubbed Qi Mu’s waist twice. Feeling the man in his arms stiffen, a wicked gleam appeared in Jiang Shao’s eyes.
He deliberately leaned close to Qi Mu’s ear and asked slowly, teasingly, “President Qi, aren’t you going to ask me what happened at the company?”
Qi Mu stiffened.
Only then did he remember the excuse he had made up earlier—that Jiang Shao was his assistant and must have come looking for him because something had happened at the company. He had blurted it out in desperation and never expected Jiang Shao to question him about it now.
Qi Mu asked blankly, “What are you talking about?”
Jiang Shao watched him at leisure and patiently repeated himself. “Aren’t you going to ask what happened at the company that required me to come looking for you this late?”
How the hell would I know why you came looking for me?!
Jiang Shao’s large hand rested around his waist, forcing Qi Mu to lean partly against his body. Irritated and flustered, Qi Mu inwardly complained about why Jiang Shao insisted on getting to the bottom of everything.
Qi Mu closed his eyes and made himself look as though he could barely keep them open, sleepy and unsteady on his feet. He decided to carry the art of muddling through all the way to the end. “Wh-whatever it is… we can talk about it tomorrow…”
Elio’s Notes: 糊弄学, literally “the art of muddling through,” is Chinese internet slang for bluffing, half-assing, or otherwise finding the easiest way to muddle through a situation. Here, Qi Mu is committing fully to his fake-drunken act rather than trying to explain his lie.
Jiang Shao sighed softly, as though talking to himself. “Looks like President Qi isn’t in any condition to deal with company business tonight.”
Qi Mu thought, Yes, yes, exactly.
Now you can finally put me down and leave, right?
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief—
Jiang Shao suddenly swept him up horizontally. Qi Mu jolted in shock. If even a shred less of his reason had remained, he would nearly have sprung up and shoved Jiang Shao away!
Even so, it took everything Qi Mu had to keep himself under control.
Jiang Shao effortlessly carried Qi Mu in his arms, kicked open the bedroom door, and strode inside. He lowered his eyes toward the man pretending to sleep in his arms, the corner of his mouth lifting with obvious mischief.
“In that case, I’ll put President Qi to bed.”
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