Chapter 4040 The more handsome a man is, the better he is at controlling others

The waiter saw the two of them sitting there for a while without taking any orders, looking rather odd. He quickly approached them with a familiar smile on his face. "What would you like to drink?"

They both said in unison: "Osmanthus Oolong."

The waitress felt her intelligence was insulted. She forced a smile and patiently explained, "But this is a coffee shop. If you want milk tea, you have to go next door."

Qin Jixiu was the first to react. He said, "Sorry, two hot American coffees, please."

However, when the waiter brought the coffee, the table was already empty. There were only two hundred-dollar bills lying flat on the table, pressing down on the coaster.

Shi Rui had just said, quite rebelliously, that he wanted to hold hands outside. Qin Jixiu asked him why, and Shi Rui rolled his eyes and said it wouldn't be easy to hold hands across the table. So the two of them left the cafe one after the other, and just as they turned the corner, they bumped into four female employees who were looking in to see what was going on.

The two were originally walking side by side, their hands almost touching, when Qin Jixiu suddenly took a small step to the side, and the distance between them immediately widened.

"Boss Qin is so amazing! Can you find coffee shops around here?" An employee asked with a smile, his tone of voice carrying a hint of deliberate warmth.

Qin Jixiu looked at the person who had spoken, wondering if he had a minor in child psychology in college? Is that something to brag about?

But he still put on a friendly smile and said, "I just happened to see this. It's a hand-ground coffee shop. If you're interested, you can give it a try."

A few people laughed and pushed each other for a while, and finally an outgoing person stood up and asked, "Boss Qin, we're going to karaoke. Would you like to join us? It's our treat!"

Qin Jizheng was trying to figure out how to politely refuse when Shi Rui beside him suddenly spoke in a flat tone, "You guys go ahead. Mr. Qin wants to talk to me about something."

"Hey, Shi Rui, you're coming too!" Another employee immediately chimed in, glancing at Qin Jixiu. "It's not too late to talk business after the singing, what do you think, Mr. Qin?"

Qin Jixiu noticed an inexplicable sour smell in the air. He glanced at his watch and deliberately put on some leadership airs: "You four go first. Remember not to drink or do anything inappropriate. After we finish our discussion, we'll come over if we're free."

Although the four of them felt a little regretful, seeing Qin Jixiu's serious expression, they did not dare to persuade him any more. They could only walk towards the KTV, looking back every few steps.

As soon as the person walked away, Shi Rui's voice turned cold: "Why were you hiding just now? Are you embarrassed to see others seeing you and me walking together?"

Qin Jixiu was initially surprised that he would have such an idea, but after putting himself in his shoes, he felt it made sense. He slowed down his tone and explained, "Don't overthink it. I just think less is more. Besides, even if we want to get close, there's no need to do it in front of outsiders."

Shi Rui's chest felt heavy, perhaps because of Qin Jixiu's nonchalant attitude, or perhaps because he had just spoken softly to his female subordinate. He felt wronged and unwilling, and couldn't help but guess the worst. He wondered if Qin Jixiu was hesitating and regretting because of his "bad family background" and didn't want others to know about their relationship.

For a moment, he completely put himself in the role of a newcomer in the workplace who had no money or power but was working hard to make progress. After he finally got closer to his favorite boss, this heartless boss actually wanted to turn against him.

Shi Rui raised his eyes and asked a pointed question: "Do you feel that I am not worthy of you?"

"No." Qin Jixiu denied without thinking.

Shi Rui's voice tightened. "But I think that's what you think in your heart. You clearly have feelings for me, but you don't take the initiative. You're always wavering, caring about me one moment and pushing me away the next. You want to enjoy the ambiguity, but you won't give me a name."

Qin Ji opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but after thinking it over, Shi Rui's words weren't entirely unreasonable. Shi Rui usually reacted calmly, and it was rare for him to see him questioning someone with red eyes. Suddenly, a hint of teasing flashed in his eyes, and he said deliberately slowly, "If I remember correctly, you said before that you were willing to be my secret lover. Why, are you changing your mind now?"

Shi Rui didn't expect that he would turn the tables and was immediately furious - as expected, the more handsome a man is, the better he is at controlling others.

"But you also said at the time that you didn't have this hobby."

Qin Jixiu stared at the reddened corners of his eyes, and suddenly realized that he had a common male mischievousness. He deliberately said, "Well, I have it now. I want you to be my secret lover, to possess you, but not let anyone know, to let you follow me without any name or status. What are you going to do?"

Shi Rui pursed his lips, feeling depressed. He suddenly understood why Shi Xi had been so heartbroken for that jerk. No one would fall in love with someone just because they were a jerk. It was only after they had fallen in love that they slowly realized the other person's coldness and irresponsibility, but it was too late.

Shi Rui was speechless and could only turn his head away.

Qin Jixiu suddenly felt a little nervous. Had he said something too much and hurt Shi Rui? Was he turning his head away and secretly shedding tears?

He reached out, gently pinched the other person's chin, and slowly turned the person's face around.

Shi Rui met his inquiring gaze, with anger still lingering in his eyes, and raised his hand to push his hand away.

"Are you angry?" Qin Jixiu lowered his voice.

"No."

"That's good." Qin Jixiu nodded, his tone lacking any emotion.

Shi Rui didn't respond and the air was silent for a few seconds.

"Do you still want to hold hands?" Qin Jixiu suddenly stretched out his hand, palm facing up, and held it out to him. Shi Rui was about to reach out for his hand, but he suddenly withdrew his hand and put it in his coat pocket, saying in a considerate manner, "It's normal not to want to hold hands. When you're angry, you really don't want to see people who make you unhappy. How about I go first? Can you take a walk to calm down? Or should I take you back to your room first?"

Shi Rui recalled the gossip he'd heard about Qin Jixiu having been in a relationship before but breaking up. He suddenly felt that Qin Jixiu was a seasoned lover, so teasing him was like teasing a dog. If it weren't for the inconvenience of being on the street, Shi Rui really wanted to pounce on him and bite his neck, letting him taste the power of his canine teeth.

"We made a bet before." Shi Rui laughed angrily, his voice tinged with gritted teeth. "I won three times before you acknowledged my victory once, and then you turned around and denied it. Mr. Qin, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"No." Qin Jixiu chuckled, his tone full of joking, "Where does the conscience of capitalists come from?"

With that, he turned and walked towards the hotel. Shi Rui hurried after him, muttering softly, "You used to share classics with me and ask me to share my thoughts after reading them. You know that men need to be loyal and faithful, otherwise they will end up in a terrible situation. Can't you even practice what you taught me before?"

Qin Jixiu paused, turned around and asked him, "Then can you?"

"I can." Shi Rui said with a firm tone, full of youthful sincerity.

Qin Jixiu's heart trembled, and the touch of emotion just emerged, then dissipated in the snowy sky. If he hadn't fallen on Ye Bo before, he might have been moved by the sincerity in Shi Rui's eyes.

But after experiencing all those deceptions, he knew in his heart that human hearts are the most uncontrollable things. Once they change, they will change, and no amount of trying to hold them back will be of any use.

Shi Rui is a good person, but not so good that he would lose all his clarity, make mistakes in relationships, and hurt himself and his body.

He was once bitten by a snake, and he was afraid of ropes for ten years. He would treat tonight's bet as a romantic impulse during a business trip. Even if he was regarded as a scumbag who broke his promise, it was better than repeating the same mistake.

"Men's promises are like bullshit," Qin Jixiu didn't mind cursing himself. "None of us can guarantee that we'll be devoted to one person forever. There are more temptations around us than you can imagine. Someone might suddenly warm your heart, and you'll burn with passion for someone else. You might think the previous person is a nuisance, become cold towards him, deceive him, hurt him, and want to get rid of him without any burden."

"I can't." Shi Rui's voice was urgent and deep.

Qin Jixiu was unmoved: "No one would tell their partner when they are passionately in love that they will fall in love with someone else or cheat on them in the future. But there will be many people who will say sweet words to you and promise you a long-lasting love. Your promises are meaningless."

Qin Jixiu spoke calmly and indifferently, as if evaluating everyone without any ulterior motives. But Shi Rui felt that what he said was a description of something that had actually happened in the past. Had he been deceived and hurt before, and so he was afraid to give his heart away so easily?

A momentary argument wouldn't change his mind. Shi Rui took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and changed the subject: "It's cold outside, let's go back to the hotel first. You've been flying for such a long time today, you must be tired. Go back and soak in the hot spring in your room, relax, and get some rest early. If you need me for work tomorrow, I can ask Minister Chen for leave."

Qin Jixiu laughed: "How do you know there is a hot spring in my room?"

Shi Rui responded quickly: "I saw the brochure when I checked in."

This is indeed possible, but Qin Jixiu did not delve into it further.

The two walked slowly back to the hotel, their coats were wet with snow. The staff recognized Qin Jixiu and hurried over to him, saying that they could help him dry his clothes.

Qin Jixiu took off his coat, handed it over, and pointed at Shi Rui: "Dry his coat as well, thank you."

The staff member looked at Shi Rui and saw that he was a handsome young man. She had a bold guess about their relationship. She smiled and stretched out her hand to Shi Rui.

Shi Rui smiled at her and politely declined.

Qin Jixiu didn't expect Shi Rui to be so angry and actually reject his kindness. After getting into the elevator, he turned around and asked the person who was standing in the corner with his head down, "Are you protesting against me?"

Shi Rui whispered, "How dare I?"

"Then why refuse something that is good for you?" Qin Jixiu couldn't understand.

Shi Rui slowly raised his eyes.

"I did deliberately not appreciate it. So what? What's Mr. Qin going to do? Get me out of the R&D department? Where will I go this time? Logistics department or the factory floor?"

Qin Jixiu's fingertips suddenly curled up. When this was mentioned, he began to feel guilty again.

"No," he said. "No matter what our relationship is, you'll be fine in R&D unless you ask to be transferred."

"If I ask you, will you agree?" Shi Rui asked.

"Yeah." Qin Jixiu nodded.

Shi Rui stared into his eyes and said word by word: "I want to go back to the president's office."

Qin Jixiu refused without a second thought: "No."

Shi Rui took a deep breath, his tone a little self-deprecating: "You said you would agree, just a few seconds ago."

Just at this moment, the elevator made a "ding" sound, and Shi Rui's floor arrived, and the door slowly opened.

Qin Jixiu said calmly: "I told you, men's words are like shit, don't trust others easily in the future."

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Author's words: See you Thursday