Qi Mu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
His entire mind went blank.
For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.
He even forgot to react.
He felt Jiang Shao’s cold lips press against his. The chill made him shiver slightly, but they quickly warmed to his temperature. Their lips and teeth were pressed tightly together. At first, Jiang Shao was somewhat stiff and inexperienced, but he soon began to plunder him forcefully.
Jiang Shao’s breath mingled with his.
Their breathing intertwined.
Qi Mu could clearly feel that Jiang Shao was completely sober right now. He had not been drinking, did not have a fever, and had not been drugged… Every expression on his face and every movement he made came from a state of absolute clarity and calm.
But… wasn’t that the most inconceivable part?
Doesn’t Long Aotian hate men too?!
It was as though Qi Mu’s brain had been bombed. All reason, thought, and judgment had been wiped out, leaving only ruins behind. Even his entire worldview collapsed.
What the hell is going on?
Where the hell has this ridiculous plot taken me now?
Jiang Shao’s large hand pressed firmly against the back of Qi Mu’s neck, his fingers threading into his hair. His other hand braced beside Qi Mu, trapping him within the small space between his arms and allowing him no room to escape.
The instant their lips touched—
An unprecedented softness and sweetness washed over Jiang Shao. It was even more delicious and intoxicating than he had imagined. Qi Mu clearly carried a cool, understated scent, yet it excited him more than the strongest liquor ever could.
The indescribable sensation rushed straight to his head, making Jiang Shao’s thoughts freeze for an instant.
At last, he had kissed this man’s lips.
It almost did not feel real.
Only after a moment did he cautiously extend his tongue and lick across those soft lips. It was as though he were facing the most precious treasure in the world, something no amount of money could buy. He licked at him greedily and lingeringly. Their noses bumped together, and even their breaths became impossible to distinguish.
Qi Mu remained frozen as though he had turned to stone.
At first, Jiang Shao was still slowly testing him, but impatience quickly took over. He tried to pry open Qi Mu’s teeth. His tongue pushed between them, his canine lightly grazing Qi Mu’s lips before he slipped his tongue into his mouth.
He sucked forcefully at the moisture inside.
His tongue swept over every tooth, then keenly pursued Qi Mu’s retreating tongue amid his panicked, rapid breathing.
Qi Mu was kissed until tears welled in his eyes.
Clear saliva escaped uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.
His body trembled faintly, and his hands gripped the edge of the cabinet so hard that his fingertips turned white.
The only thing he could still perceive was Jiang Shao’s completely undisguised desire to possess him.
Far more vivid than it had been that night.
Blunt and direct.
Jiang Shao held the back of Qi Mu’s neck so tightly that the collision of their lips and teeth hurt, yet Qi Mu was extraordinarily compliant. Even though he was frightened enough to tremble, he still did not push him away.
Jiang Shao knew why.
Since you’re willing to go this far, why should I hold back?
Jiang Shao kissed him without restraint, licking away the saliva at the corner of his mouth. Even what had trickled down to his chin and neck was not spared.
Since you don’t need my apology, then at the very least, you should know—
I like you.
I like you so much that all my pride, dignity, and self-respect mean nothing. I can trample them all underfoot.
I like you so much that as long as I can have you, I’m willing to be a petty, despicable bastard who never lets a grievance go.
Under the bright white lights of the office—
He could see every minute expression on Qi Mu’s face, every tiny change.
Like a greedy dragon that had finally obtained its treasure, Jiang Shao wanted this treasure that belonged solely to him to be completely covered in his scent. He repeatedly worried Qi Mu’s lips until they were swollen and full, like ripe berries on the verge of bursting, then wickedly gave them a light bite. It took considerable effort not to actually break the skin.
He buried his face against Qi Mu’s neck. That long, beautiful neck tried to arch backward, but remained firmly under his control, unable to escape even an inch and forced to let Jiang Shao do whatever he pleased.
He had wanted to kiss this man like this for so long.
Now, at last, he had gotten his wish.
The fingers resting on the back of Qi Mu’s neck stroked him gently, feeling him shiver beneath Jiang Shao’s palm.
Jiang Shao looked into Qi Mu’s misty, tear-filled eyes. Only then did the resentment filling his chest finally dissipate a little. Although he desperately wanted to possess this man completely, Jiang Shao was exceptionally calm and rational this time.
He knew how to slowly devour his prey. He would boil the frog in warm water, letting Qi Mu grow accustomed to his presence little by little until he no longer knew how to escape and willingly remained at his side. He would not push him too hard all at once and force him into a fight to the death.
Reluctantly, Jiang Shao released him.
Qi Mu finally managed to catch his breath. He blinked, and his foggy vision gradually cleared.
Where exactly did everything go wrong?
His thoughts were a hopeless tangle. He could not make sense of any of it. He had imagined countless possibilities, but never once had he imagined that Jiang Shao might harbor these kinds of thoughts about him.
Am I still dreaming?
Jiang Shao looked at Qi Mu’s dazed expression and inexplicably found it rather cute. This man was always so composed, gentle, and steady that seeing him lost and helpless created an unexpectedly adorable contrast.
Jiang Shao had never been the type to torment himself internally.
Qi Mu not liking him and wanting to fire him had indeed made him extremely hurt, angry, and miserable, but hadn’t he gotten to kiss this man now?
Since you chose to shoulder everything yourself, I’ll collect everything I want from you a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
This was your own choice.
I won’t give you the chance to regret it.
Jiang Shao gently stroked Qi Mu’s face. Under his bewildered gaze, he leaned toward his ear and let out a low chuckle. “I’ll collect a little interest for today.”
Then he turned and left without hesitation.
Qi Mu had to brace himself against the desk just to remain standing.
Long after Jiang Shao had left, he finally began to recover.
Gathering his courage, he slowly raised a hand and lightly touched his lips, only to jerk it away immediately as though he had been burned.
Thanks to his spectacularly delayed reaction, his pupils only now began to quake.
So Jiang Shao really did have those kinds of thoughts about him!
But how was that possible? Jiang Shao was Long Aotian! He hated gay men, and he still had an entire harem waiting for him. How could he possibly like a man?
But Jiang Shao’s lingering, tender, yet aggressively possessive kiss could not lie.
How could someone kiss another person like that if he did not like him?
This was utterly absurd.
Had even Long Aotian gone off-script?
Qi Mu’s entire worldview lay shattered at his feet. It took him considerable effort to pick up the pieces and awkwardly fit them back together again.
At last, he assembled an explanation that barely made sense.
He did not know what Jiang Shao was thinking…
But Qi Mu was merely an insignificant cannon fodder character. In this world, he could never be Jiang Shao’s final destination.
Besides, in that dream, Jiang Shao had not only possessed a huge harem but also countless fleeting romances, all of which vanished as quickly as flowers blooming for a single night. Perhaps now… Qi Mu had simply become one of them. Aside from being a man, he did not seem fundamentally different from any of Jiang Shao’s other affairs…
Long Aotian would never give up an entire forest for a single tree.
Love had always been little more than an insignificant embellishment in his life.
Even if Jiang Shao had become momentarily confused and developed an interest in him, once the novelty wore off and he met somebody else he liked, he would forget Qi Mu even existed.
He would leave him and continue living his own life.
Qi Mu slowly exhaled.
If that was how things would turn out, then after carefully considering it, this might actually be the best possible outcome under his current circumstances.
After all, Long Aotian never killed one of his romantic entanglements. He was extremely tolerant toward his harem. If he had this sort of interest in Qi Mu, then ordinarily he would never make the weather turn cold and bankrupt his company. And as long as Qi Mu satisfied him, he probably would not go after Yu Yue Ning or Xu Wei Ran either. In a certain sense…
Had his crisis been resolved?
Qi Mu was struck by another wave of absurdity.
So all he needed to pay now was himself, and that would be enough to extinguish Jiang Shao’s anger and spare him from bankruptcy and suicide.
The treatment afforded to a harem member really was different from that of cannon fodder.
But what left Qi Mu even more speechless was…
Under normal circumstances, if somebody told him to repay a debt with his body or anything of the sort, Qi Mu would absolutely call him insane and contact the police. Yet now that Jiang Shao was doing exactly that, why did Qi Mu somehow feel the relief of someone who had narrowly escaped death?
Damn it. Had this cursed fate actually brainwashed him?
Qi Mu was so exasperated by his own wild thoughts that he laughed.
But the laughter quickly died.
He lowered his eyes dejectedly and stared into space, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. It was not only because his first kiss had been with a man, but because, unbelievably… he had actually enjoyed it a little.
Qi Mu raised a hand and covered his eyes.
Have I become some kind of pervert?
A long time passed.
Qi Mu bent down, picked up the scraps of paper from the floor, and fed them into the shredder to destroy the evidence. Only after ensuring that nothing in the office looked unusual did he quietly leave the company and go home.
＊
The next day was Monday.
Qi Mu opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
After an entire night—
He had slowly sorted through his thoughts and completely calmed down.
No matter what, he had benefited considerably from borrowing Jiang Shao’s luck before. Those benefits were already something he owed Jiang Shao, to say nothing of the fact that Jiang Shao had been plotted against because of him…
Things had already reached this point. Whatever Jiang Shao wanted to do to him, Qi Mu would not resist. He simply had to think positively. He was a grown man—what was a little loss?
Besides, considering everything he had gained from Jiang Shao, it was debatable who had actually suffered the loss.
So be it.
Once Jiang Shao was satisfied, tired of him, bored with him, no longer wanted revenge, and lost interest, he would naturally leave.
At that thought, Qi Mu finally relaxed.
Now that he knew what he had to pay, and the price remained within a range he could accept, there was no reason to continue feeling anxious or terrified.
It was much better than waiting for an unknown sentence to be handed down.
Good.
It was not a death sentence.
Just a suspended sentence.
Qi Mu got out of bed, washed up, brushed his teeth, and prepared for work. He had already been absent for several days. But when he looked in the mirror, he discovered a hickey on one side of his neck.
It was not in an especially conspicuous location, but even his collar could not cover it.
Qi Mu frowned in distress. He had nearly forgotten about this problem. Was he going to spend the foreseeable future constantly unable to face other people…?
Helplessly, Qi Mu took out his phone and prepared to message Zhan Xiao Hui that he still could not come to work today.
But before he could, another message appeared.
It was from Jiang Shao.
Jiang Shao: President Qi, still not coming to work? I’m already here.
Qi Mu stared stiffly at the message for a long time. The hickey on his neck seemed to begin heating up, burning as it reminded him of what he had promised Jiang Shao last night.
That bastard is doing this on purpose, isn’t he?
He really had celebrated too soon.
Qi Mu knew things could never have ended that easily. So Jiang Shao had been waiting for him here.
Like a hero marching toward certain death, Qi Mu closed his eyes. Then, with great difficulty, he typed two words: Coming.