By the time Jiang Shao arrived at Qi Mu’s company,
it was already past eleven at night.
Late on a Sunday night, in the enormous office building, the only floor still occupied was the one where Qi Mu was.
A single light shone there.
Jiang Shao raised his head and looked at the illuminated room.
Darkness surrounded it on every side.
That only made the room seem brighter—so bright that even from down here, it was almost painfully dazzling.
Like the only lighthouse in the night,
drawing people toward it.
Yet when he was almost close enough, he was afraid it was only an illusion.
Or perhaps,
it simply had no place for him inside.
Jiang Shao stood beneath the building for a very, very long time.
At last, he lifted his heavy feet and walked inside.
＊
Qi Mu sat in his office.
There was no one else in the company this late at night. Qi Mu opened the safe beneath his desk and, from under a thick stack of files and documents, took out the Employment Termination Agreement.
Everything on the agreement had already been filled in. Only the compensation amount remained blank.
Qi Mu lowered his eyes and thought for a long time.
Then, in the compensation field, he wrote down one million yuan.
He had considered that amount carefully.
He knew one million yuan was nothing to Jiang Shao, but Jiang Shao had not yet revealed his true identity, so Qi Mu could only treat him as an ordinary employee. For an ordinary employee who had joined the company only a few months ago, considering his apparent relationship with President Lu and what had happened in that “misunderstanding” the night before, one million yuan seemed a relatively appropriate amount.
Any less would make him seem insincere; any more would make his motives look suspicious.
Qi Mu put down his fountain pen and stared at the agreement.
A trace of hesitation crossed his eyes, but whether the result was good or bad, there had to be a conclusion sooner or later.
He remained motionless for a long time.
Suddenly, clear footsteps sounded in the silent corridor.
The moment Qi Mu heard them, he knew who had come.
There had been so many nights like this before, with Jiang Shao staying by his side, that somewhere along the way it had become a habit. He could recognize Jiang Shao from his footsteps alone.
Qi Mu sat there in a slight daze. After a while, a bitter curve touched his lips.
It was just as well that Jiang Shao had come.
It saved him from having to go find him.
Perhaps because he had already thought so much about this over the past few days, waiting for this moment every minute and every second, when it finally arrived—like the day of judgment he had been waiting for—he was strangely calm instead.
Qi Mu raised his head toward the doorway.
He watched Jiang Shao push the door open and walk in.
There was no expression on the young man’s cold, sharp face. Only the tension in his jaw revealed that he was in a terrible mood.
Qi Mu met Jiang Shao’s dark, shadowed eyes.
One sat and one stood, separated by a desk, neither speaking for a long time.
The air in the office seemed to have frozen into something gelatinous, making it hard to breathe. The air conditioner was clearly running, yet Jiang Shao came in carrying such a wintry chill with him
that the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
In the suffocating silence—
Qi Mu was the one who finally broke it.
He stood to face Jiang Shao, pushed the agreement across the desk, and said slowly, “You came at the right time. I’m very sorry about what happened that day. This is compensation for you.”
Jiang Shao heard those words
and almost wondered whether something was wrong with his ears.
He had not even had time to give his own apology, yet Qi Mu had apologized to him first?!
He was clearly the one who had done something so excessive, and Qi Mu was the victim. Yet not only did Qi Mu not blame him, he was apologizing to him and offering him compensation?
Jiang Shao’s mind, rarely ever caught completely off guard, simply stalled. Even he could not understand how things had somehow reached this point. Numbly, he reached out and picked up the agreement.
The first thing that entered his sight was the title printed in large letters: Employment Termination Agreement.
Before Jiang Shao even read the contents, the sight of those words alone sent blood surging straight to his head. His rapidly swelling blood vessels made his eyes instantly web with red.
He gripped the agreement tightly.
Then he read it slowly, line by line.
It did not take long.
He only needed to look at the sections that had been filled in.
Qi Mu had already signed his name at the bottom and stamped it with the company seal. None of that surprised Jiang Shao. The only thing that did was the amount of compensation.
One million yuan.
Qi Mu was not only apologizing to him—he was giving him one million yuan in compensation.
Everything had unfolded completely outside Jiang Shao’s expectations. He had imagined Qi Mu refusing to see him, telling him to get lost, cursing him, hitting him, even calling the police to arrest him. He had imagined every possible reaction Qi Mu might have, except the scene before his eyes.
This was absurd, wasn’t it?
The shock, pain, and bewilderment were so overwhelming
that he even forgot what he had originally come here to do.
He abruptly raised his eyes to Qi Mu, his voice hoarse as he forced the words out one by one. “What. Is. This. Supposed. To. Mean?”
Qi Mu looked at Jiang Shao’s bloodshot, ferocious eyes.
He looked like a demon from hell.
Qi Mu had thought Jiang Shao that night had already been frightening enough, but only now did he realize
what Jiang Shao truly looked like when he was furious.
Qi Mu had to use every ounce of effort to keep himself calm. Without retreating a single step, he stood there and met Jiang Shao’s eyes, saying the words he had rehearsed long ago:
“What happened wasn’t my doing, but it did happen because of me. I’m deeply sorry about that. This is my compensation to you.”
Qi Mu knew that if he completely washed his hands of the matter now and pushed Xu Wei Ran and Yu Yue Ning forward to die in his place, there might be the faintest chance of buying himself a way out…
But judging by the Jiang Shao in his dream, the more likely outcome was that even if Qi Mu truly knelt down and begged for mercy, Jiang Shao would simply make all three of them die together.
When a villain begs for mercy, he only dies faster.
If there was no escaping this disaster no matter what he did, why drag Yu Yue Ning and Xu Wei Ran into it too? This should never have had anything to do with them, and he could not betray his friends just to cling to his own life.
Rather than let everyone be dragged down with him,
he might as well shoulder it alone
and keep the damage to a minimum.
Besides, this had always been a problem between him and Jiang Shao in the first place, hadn’t it?
Qi Mu said calmly, “Given your relationship with President Lu, I’m sure that even if you leave here, you’ll have no trouble finding a better position elsewhere.”
Jiang Shao stared fixedly at Qi Mu’s face, the hand hanging at his side clenched so hard that veins bulged beneath the skin.
How could this man say something like that so calmly and rationally?
How could he possibly be this composed?
Jiang Shao’s mind, battered to pieces by shock, disbelief, anger, and hurt, slowly began to turn again.
There was no way Qi Mu had gone home without finding out exactly what had happened. So by now, Qi Mu must already know that Yu Yue Ning and Xu Wei Ran had schemed against them.
But Qi Mu did not want to blame them.
Even though Qi Mu was a victim too.
Qi Mu wanted to protect the two of them, because one was his best friend and the other his first-love white moonlight—both people he would risk his life to protect.
Put Jiang Shao on one side and Yu Yue Ning and Xu Wei Ran on the other, and for Qi Mu there was no choice to consider at all.
He only had to fire Jiang Shao
and pretend none of this had ever happened.
That was the best solution in Qi Mu’s eyes.
All he had to do was spend a mere one million yuan to make this man who embarrassed and disgusted him get lost, and then he could return to a peaceful life with his best friend and first love.
As for how Qi Mu could remain so calm, that was easy enough to understand too.
Because he had no feelings for Jiang Shao at all. If you did not like someone, you would not hurt over them. If you did not care, you would not feel disappointed. If they did not matter, you would not expect anything from them. For someone completely insignificant…
even anger would be a waste.
Qi Mu had simply made the most dignified and rational decision available to someone in his position.
He would let everything end quietly, without a sound.
But—
Jiang Shao was unwilling.
Pain and jealousy scorched every nerve in his body, as though even his blood were boiling, every pore screaming its refusal.
Jiang Shao suddenly stepped forward, closing in on Qi Mu.
His voice was hoarse and slow, every word seeming to squeeze through clenched teeth. “Are. You. Sure. You want to protect the two of them?”
Qi Mu’s expression changed slightly.
Jiang Shao really had investigated it already. He should never have underestimated Long Aotian’s abilities.
Qi Mu looked at Jiang Shao’s bloodshot eyes and listened to his icy, mocking voice. This was the first time he had ever seen Jiang Shao this furious. After all, Long Aotian was proud by nature; even when dissatisfied with someone, he usually needed only a few casual words to decide their life or death.
Qi Mu had never seen him like this, either in reality or in the dream.
It seemed Jiang Shao truly hated them to death.
Qi Mu’s heart grew heavier. He said slowly, “They didn’t do it on purpose. Ultimately, this happened because of me. Don’t take your anger out on them.”
Because of you?
Have you forgotten I almost… you?
Jiang Shao could no longer contain his anger. A mocking smile appeared on his lips. So even after being treated like that, you still don’t care at all?
How could a person be so cold and heartless?
Even Jiang Shao had to concede defeat.
His fingertips almost dug into his palms. Looking at the man before him, he could not stop scene after scene from the time they had spent together from surfacing in his mind: Qi Mu’s gentle smile, his shy expression, the tips of his reddened ears, the tender voice he used when taking care of Jiang Shao, and the time they had spent together beneath the rainy-night starlight…
Was all of that fake too?
How could you wait until after everything we’ve been through to tell me you never felt anything for me at all?
Jiang Shao’s chest rose and fell. His lips curved in self-mockery as he said, “If you hate me so much, why did you transfer me to the President’s Office? Why did you keep me by your side?”
Qi Mu had not expected Jiang Shao to ask that so suddenly. It was not among the answers he had prepared, and he tensed for a moment.
I can’t exactly tell you it was because of a prophetic dream, that I was afraid you’d cause trouble, so I kept you beside me where I could watch you—and borrowed some of your male-lead luck while I was at it, can I?
Qi Mu thought for a few seconds, then said calmly, “I read your résumé. You’re very capable, and I thought you were worth developing. The facts proved me right. You haven’t been with the company long, but you’ve brought in a great deal of business, which proves there was nothing wrong with my judgment, doesn’t it?
“Given your relationship with President Lu now, I’m sure he’ll be willing to support your career. If you continue staying here with me, it may actually restrict your development.”
Jiang Shao listened to Qi Mu’s calm, indifferent explanation.
So logical, so well reasoned, even considerate of Jiang Shao’s future. It was almost impossible not to be convinced.
So everything before this had been his imagination—his own one-sided wishful thinking.
It was because he had no self-awareness and insisted on digging for an answer that he had finally received one…
an answer enough to make anyone give up completely.
Jiang Shao’s expression slowly settled into calm. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, and a hoarse, chilling laugh slipped from deep in his throat. One eyebrow rose mockingly as his cold, snake-like gaze fixed on Qi Mu. “Fine. Very good.”
Anyone else would probably have happily taken the one million yuan and found themselves a better job.
But there was one thing Qi Mu had miscalculated about Jiang Shao—
he had never understood what it meant to give up.
Nor did he know how to spell the words “let go.”
Someone he hated, he would destroy at any cost. Someone he wanted, he would obtain by any means necessary.
Aren’t you just afraid I’ll go after those two?
Fine.
As long as you’re willing to pay the price for them.
Jiang Shao tore the agreement in his hands straight into pieces. He tossed the scraps aside, and they fluttered down like snow. Then he raised his eyes and said playfully, “But if President Qi thinks this little bit of money is enough to send me away, you’re making things far too simple.”
Qi Mu’s expression froze. This was the worst possible development he had imagined.
Jiang Shao was clearly truly enraged now.
Judging by the way he behaved in the dream, the next step was for all three of them to die miserable deaths.
From the moment Jiang Shao appeared, Qi Mu had done his best to stay calm, but now he was beginning to panic despite himself.
Something even more frightening lurked beneath Jiang Shao’s mild, mocking gaze. Qi Mu did not dare meet it and looked away, his voice carrying the faintest, almost imperceptible tremor. “The amount… isn’t necessarily nonnegotiable.”
Jiang Shao saw the tension and panic in Qi Mu’s eyes.
He laughed softly.
Seeing Qi Mu this frightened…
If Qi Mu had not reminded him, Jiang Shao might almost have forgotten what a petty, vindictive man he truly was.
In this world, he had always been the one to use others. No one had ever been allowed to use him; anyone who dared would have the debt collected a thousandfold, ten thousandfold.
No one who schemed against him had ever been able to walk away unscathed. He would make sure they paid a sufficient price for it.
He had always been like this.
Never magnanimous.
It was only when Qi Mu was in front of him…
that sometimes he forgot his own nature.
Yet Qi Mu seemed to understand him even better than he understood himself, to know exactly what kind of person he was.
Jiang Shao walked toward Qi Mu.
Qi Mu instinctively sensed danger. Every time Jiang Shao took a step forward, he took one back, but the office was only so large, and soon there was nowhere left to retreat.
The small of Qi Mu’s back pressed against the cabinet behind him.
A faint smile hung on Jiang Shao’s lips as he leisurely watched Qi Mu reach the end of his escape. Only then did he raise a hand and press it against the back of Qi Mu’s neck, forcing him to look at him.
Jiang Shao’s burning palm rested against his nape, like a beast had caught his vital point between its jaws. Qi Mu could not help remembering that night again.
His hands gripped the edge of the cabinet tightly. He heard his own voice come out dry and uncertain. “H-how much money do you want? We can discuss any amount…”
He even began calculating his entire net worth.
Would it be enough to extinguish even a little of Jiang Shao’s fury?
But Jiang Shao looked as though he had heard some hilarious joke. He merely glanced at Qi Mu, then pulled him abruptly closer until there was almost no distance left between them.
Their breaths mingled.
Qi Mu’s pupils contracted with fear.
Jiang Shao’s low, smiling voice sounded beside his ear. “There’s no need for money… But if President Qi is willing to pay me some other form of payment, then we may have something to discuss.”
Although Jiang Shao’s voice was gentle and lingering now, even carrying the faintest hint of intimacy,
Qi Mu’s breath still caught.
If he doesn’t want money, what does he want?
One of my legs? One hand? One eye?
Or all of them?
But in the next second, Qi Mu learned the answer.
Because Jiang Shao lowered his head and kissed him.