Qi Mu had never been carried bridal-style in his entire life.
During the mere few steps from the living room to the bedroom, Qi Mu felt as though he had lost all the face he possessed in this lifetime. Thank goodness no one was there to see it…
At last, Qi Mu felt himself being lowered onto the bed.
When Jiang Shao finally let go of him—
Qi Mu actually felt as though he had escaped with his life.
Qi Mu kept his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep, planning to get up after Jiang Shao left. But immediately afterward, the edge of the mattress sank as someone seemed to sit down beside him, and then he felt a pair of hands close around his ankle.
The coolness of Jiang Shao’s fingers seeped through the fabric of Qi Mu’s suit trousers and into his skin, making his body stiffen. He nearly opened his eyes to demand—
What exactly are you trying to do?!
But Jiang Shao did nothing else. He merely took off Qi Mu’s shoes.
Qi Mu: “…”
Good thing I didn’t react just now.
Jiang Shao placed Qi Mu’s shoes at the foot of the bed, but did not release his ankle. He simply continued holding it as he turned to look at Qi Mu.
Qi Mu looked as though he were asleep, but beneath his thin eyelids, his eyes were shifting uneasily, and his body was unnaturally stiff… He probably had no idea just how terrible he was at pretending to sleep.
He could not fool anyone at all.
Yet watching such clumsy acting, Jiang Shao felt no anger at being deceived. Instead, he found it adorable, which only made him want to tease Qi Mu even more…
The corners of Jiang Shao’s lips unconsciously rose.
But he quickly pressed them down again as he remembered the way Qi Mu had been fooling around with that group of people at the private club tonight, and irritation made his teeth itch all over again.
His stomach was already bad, yet he still went out drinking and partying with those people. He really had no idea how to take care of himself. It made Jiang Shao want to teach him a harsh lesson.
Jiang Shao gave a soft snort and looked down at the man lying on the bed.
You’re such a good actor, aren’t you?
Let’s see how long you can keep this up.
With one hand around Qi Mu’s ankle, Jiang Shao pushed his trouser leg slightly upward and removed his sock. The room was warm and comfortable, so removing his shoes and socks would not make him cold, but Qi Mu still gave a faint shiver.
Because Qi Mu did not dare open his eyes, he could not see Jiang Shao’s expression and had no way to guess what he intended to do. The unknown only made him even more uneasy.
All he could feel was how extraordinarily cold Jiang Shao’s fingers were, still carrying the chill of the early-winter wind outside. Without fabric separating them, those fingers pressed directly against the skin of his ankle, like the touch of some cold-blooded creature, sending fear crawling through him.
Qi Mu used every ounce of self-control he possessed to suppress the urge to flee.
Jiang Shao lightly stroked the skin beneath his fingertips. Even somewhere as insignificant as Qi Mu’s ankle was smooth and delicate. Qi Mu was usually standing, dressed immaculately from head to toe and covering nearly every part of himself, so there was no way to tell that the bones of his ankle were this slender—slender enough for Jiang Shao to encircle easily with one hand.
Blue-green veins stood out along the top of his foot against cool-toned pale skin that rarely saw sunlight, looking startlingly distinct and fragile, as though they might rupture from the slightest breath.
And even though Jiang Shao was merely holding his ankle, Qi Mu was already tense beyond belief, yet he stubbornly refused to open his eyes and look at him. He resembled prey playing dead in front of a beast, believing that a convincing enough disguise might save his life, completely unaware that lying there helpless and at another’s mercy only awakened the darker, more violent instincts buried inside the predator.
Doesn’t he know?
After a hunter finishes playing with its prey, it still swallows it whole in the end.
Jiang Shao’s dark gaze traveled over him inch by inch. His Adam’s apple moved, some indistinct impulse stirring inside him as he stared for a long time at that patch of pale skin enclosed in his palm…
He drew a deep breath and slowly looked away.
If he crossed that line, Qi Mu would run.
And for now, Jiang Shao did not want this game to end.
The spacious master bedroom was far from cramped. Jiang Shao drew in a faint breath through his nose. The smell was not as strong as it had been inside the car, but that barely perceptible perfume still lingered…
It was probably clinging to Qi Mu’s jacket.
Jiang Shao’s brows knitted together. In a few quick movements, he stripped off Qi Mu’s jacket, strode out of the bedroom, threw it into the trash, then returned and shut the door again.
Much better.
Qi Mu had not expected Jiang Shao to leave only to come back, and inwardly groaned in misery.
At first he had not understood what Jiang Shao was doing, but after thinking about it for a while, he finally reached a conclusion—Jiang Shao probably thought Qi Mu had genuinely fallen asleep and was therefore helping him take off his shoes and jacket?
That old question surfaced in Qi Mu’s mind again: Long Aotian actually knows how to take care of someone?
But aside from that, Qi Mu genuinely could not imagine any other possibility. Once every other explanation had been eliminated, then however unbelievable the answer seemed, this was the only explanation left.
All he could say was that Long Aotian had gotten far too immersed in the role. Driving his boss home apparently wasn’t enough; now he intended to wait on his boss and put him to bed as well?
Has he gotten addicted to playing the dutiful employee?
Qi Mu felt utterly speechless.
But since he had already started pretending to sleep, and Jiang Shao had gone this far, wouldn’t waking up now be even more awkward? Things had already reached this point. Qi Mu could only grit his teeth and keep playing dead.
What Qi Mu did not know—
Was that Jiang Shao was standing beside the bed with his arms folded, watching every minute change in his expression.
His gaze traveled openly up and down the man lying on the bed. Although Qi Mu’s shoes, socks, and jacket had been removed, his shirt and tie were still perfectly neat, the tie snug around his long neck.
Who sleeps with a tie on? That can’t possibly be comfortable.
The corner of Jiang Shao’s mouth lifted. He suddenly leaned down, bracing one bent knee against the edge of the bed and planting one hand beside Qi Mu’s neck. With the index finger of his other hand, he slipped into the narrow space between the tie and shirt collar and gently moved it around.
His finger was trapped beneath the tie and pressed against Qi Mu’s neck, making Qi Mu swallow uncomfortably. He deliberately furrowed his brows and let out a faint hm, but still refused to open his eyes.
Even so—
The sensation of the mattress dipping beneath the weight of the tall man, the soft rustle of the long-staple cotton sheets against stiff suit trousers, and the warm breath drifting down from above all caused the scene Qi Mu could not see to take vivid shape inside his mind.
He could almost picture Jiang Shao looming above him, looking down at him with those sharp black eyes.
Qi Mu’s heartbeat involuntarily sped up. He desperately reassured himself, Jiang Shao is completely sober right now. He isn’t going to strangle you or bite you to death. He’s only helping you loosen your tie.
Don’t overthink it!
But… could you hurry up?!
Why are you taking so long to undo one tie? Do you not know how to untie a necktie?
Of course Jiang Shao knew how.
He simply felt that such an opportunity was rare and could not bear to let it end too quickly.
After all, Qi Mu would never ordinarily lie there this obediently and let Jiang Shao do whatever he wanted.
Jiang Shao stared steadily at the tie around Qi Mu’s neck. It was a gray-blue matte satin tie, obviously made from expensive, high-grade material, tied in an immaculate and beautiful knot around Qi Mu’s pale, slender neck, making his skin appear even fairer. In Jiang Shao’s eyes, it was no longer a tie. It was the ribbon tied around an exquisitely precious gift…
And Jiang Shao was not undoing a tie.
He was unwrapping a gift that belonged to him.
Jiang Shao suddenly remembered his childhood.
Back then, Jiang Zong Chao had eloped for love and been financially cut off by his family. He and Jiang Shao’s mother had lived in very straitened circumstances, so Jiang Shao rarely received presents. To him at that age, a gift was something exceptionally rare and precious…
So whenever he did receive one, he could never bear to unwrap it too quickly, as though taking his time could somehow prolong the surprise and happiness.
For many years afterward—
Jiang Shao never experienced that feeling again.
Until this very moment.
He felt like a child who had once again received a treasured gift, his heart brimming with anticipation and delight, mixed with an unfamiliar nervousness and excitement.
Jiang Shao’s finger moved slowly back and forth in the space between the tie and collar. Through the shirt, his finger remained pressed closely against Qi Mu’s neck, faint warmth passing from the other man’s body into him. With them this close, he almost imagined he could feel the vibration of Qi Mu’s breathing—again and again, like a heartbeat pulsing within a chest and traveling into Jiang Shao’s fingertip. The strange novelty of that sensation filled him with excitement, as though he had discovered something endlessly fascinating.
He could hardly bear to take his hand away.
Outwardly, Qi Mu did not react at all and appeared to be sleeping.
Inside, however, he was ranting furiously. Formidable ancestor, do you actually know how to untie a tie or not? If you don’t, I can teach you! What is so interesting about this?!
Jiang Shao’s presence was simply too overwhelming.
Even with his eyes closed—
Qi Mu could sense him with perfect clarity.
Perhaps time was passing too slowly, making every second agonizing.
Like a sentence that refused to fall.
Qi Mu’s usual calm gradually gave way to unease and impatience, and his breathing grew slightly faster.
Jiang Shao noticed the change and curiously leaned even closer.
Qi Mu’s face had grown faintly flushed, a thin wash of pink seeming to seep outward from beneath his skin. Beneath skin so fair it was nearly translucent lay hot blood and flesh, while Jiang Shao’s finger beneath the tie had also been warmed by Qi Mu’s body heat. That warmth traveled up from his fingertip like a spark that instantly caught fire inside his chest.
Jiang Shao’s dark eyes deepened. His lips pressed tightly together as his chest slowly rose and fell with every breath.
If Qi Mu opened his eyes right now—
He would never believe Jiang Shao was merely helping him remove his tie.
He would run away in terror.
Unfortunately, Qi Mu did not.
Jiang Shao’s piercing gaze, sharp enough to almost dissect a person, remained fixed on Qi Mu for a long while. Finally, just as Qi Mu seemed close to reaching the limits of his endurance—
Jiang Shao hooked one finger and loosened the knot.
Then gave a gentle pull.
The satin tie slid smoothly free from beneath the collar.
The instant the tie came undone—
Qi Mu felt like a prisoner whose neck had finally been released from a restraint and who could breathe again. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.
But the very next moment—
Jiang Shao’s fingers moved to the buttons of his shirt.
Qi Mu’s entire evening could only be compared to riding a roller coaster. Every downward plunge seemed to lift all his internal organs into his throat, yet before he could relax, the car would climb straight back to the top of the track and leave him waiting for the next drop. Again and again, with no idea when the ride would finally end.
There was only one thought left in Qi Mu’s mind—
I never should have let Jiang Shao take me home.
Or perhaps Jiang Shao had changed direction so many times tonight that Qi Mu had finally passed through shock, fear, tension, and embarrassment and begun to feel numb instead. Why am I even this nervous?
I’m the boss right now!
If Jiang Shao insisted on being this dedicated to his job, there was nothing Qi Mu could do about it. He simply gave up trying, lay there, and hoped Jiang Shao would hurry up, finish whatever he was doing, and get the hell out.
Jiang Shao raised an eyebrow with interest.
Wasn’t Qi Mu shy and nervous just a moment ago?
How did he suddenly become this relaxed?
Jiang Shao’s fingers moved slowly along the collar, lightly tracing Qi Mu’s chest through the shirt before undoing the third button. The collar fell partially open, revealing half of his collarbone, like a ravine carved into a luminous snow-covered mountain.
Half-hidden, half-revealed.
Jiang Shao paused. Looking at the man beneath him who still showed no reaction, he frowned slightly.
At first, Jiang Shao had been delighted by Qi Mu’s obedience and had only intended to tease him. But now that Qi Mu genuinely remained completely unmoved, Jiang Shao found himself unhappy again.
Is Qi Mu this unguarded around everyone?
Isn’t he afraid I might actually do something to him?
Jiang Shao ground his teeth.
What irritated him even more was the sudden realization that one expression from this man, one sentence, one movement—even the slightest change in his demeanor—could easily stir Jiang Shao’s emotions and make him react to everything Qi Mu did.
But to Qi Mu—
Jiang Shao was no different from anyone else.
Just an employee.
Jiang Shao did not want to see Qi Mu acting as though none of this mattered.
His dark gaze fixed on Qi Mu. Suddenly, he reached out and removed Qi Mu’s glasses.
Jiang Shao casually tossed the gold-rimmed glasses onto the bedside table, where they made a faint clink against the stone surface.
Without the glasses obscuring him—
Qi Mu’s face was completely exposed.
Jiang Shao rarely got to see Qi Mu without his glasses, and opportunities like this were rarer still. He could finally take his time looking at Qi Mu closely without worrying that his gaze was too naked and would reveal something to the other man.
At such close range, Jiang Shao stared directly at him, their noses almost touching. He could make out every single eyelash, each casting a faint shadow across Qi Mu’s lids. Light reddish marks remained along both sides of his nose where the glasses had pressed against the skin. Beneath his straight nose, his beautiful, understated lips resembled a rose veiled in mist, and Jiang Shao could smell a faint trace of sweetness.
Qi Mu and red wine.
Jiang Shao’s breath fell against Qi Mu’s face. His right hand settled at Qi Mu’s waist, his thumb brushing against the hard buckle of his belt. Mischievously, he murmured beside Qi Mu’s ear, “President Qi?”
Qi Mu did not move.
As though he had not heard.
With an effortless flick of his long fingers, Jiang Shao deftly opened Qi Mu’s belt buckle.
Qi Mu finally could not take it anymore.
You spent forever studying one necktie just now. Why are you suddenly so damn good at undoing a belt?!
If I don’t wake up now, my pants are going to come off!
Qi Mu opened his eyes groggily, pretending he had only just awakened. He looked at Jiang Shao in confusion, waited a moment, then asked, “Y-you’re still here?”
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