Chapter 63

His grip was so strong that when his five fingers clasped Shan Li's neck, the inertia was so strong that it almost pinned him to his feet. Pei Huai didn't exert much force, but lifted his forearm from under his opponent's armpit, raised it with one hand, and directly elbowed the corner of the glass with the other hand.

One strike, two strikes, and the cracks spread out in a web-like pattern. With the third strike, the shield suddenly exploded, sending fragments careening past his arm and flying into the air.

Shan Li shielded his face with his arm, but the back of his hand was pierced by a shard of broken glass. As soon as the window corner broke, Pei Huai grabbed his employer by the back of his collar like a chicken and threw him...out of thin air.

Squatting over to the window, Pei Huai held onto the side railing and looked back at someone - the man who appeared at the lowest point in his life, who dressed him, tied his collar, and combed and dyed his long hair with his own hands, just stared at him quietly, his lips tightly drawn.

He looked more haggard than before. This was the first time Pei Huai had seen dark circles on that face. Zhu Zhiyang had rarely been like this before; he was the face of the Bangkok Hotel in the Kensos section. Even when faced with the most challenging commission, he would never leave his three-piece suit, cufflinks, and bow tie. This was his motto. But now, his usual reserve and demeanor were shattered, and standing before him was nothing more than a shell burned by jealousy.

Pei Huai withdrew his gaze from the crowd. He didn't want to explain. No matter how Zhu Zhiyang looked at him or blamed him, some roads were destined to be irreversible from the moment they were embarked on.

After confirming Shan Li had landed safely, he climbed into the car. He rolled down, grasping the drainpipe with his bare hands as the world spun, hanging upside down for half a second to adjust his landing position. After sliding down about three centimeters, he let go and landed on the flower bed with the lightness of a cat. He removed the bandage on his wrist as he walked, expressionlessly, and followed the car.

In the back seat of the Bentley, Pei Huai hesitated to mention the Bangkok Hotel. However, Shan Li, anticipating this, stopped him before he could open his mouth. "I promise you, I won't touch the Bangkok Hotel for now. But the Han Group's affairs won't be over so easily."

Seeing his tacit attitude, the man immediately asked, "Mr. Pei, were you injured anywhere just now?"

Pei Huai glanced at the other person's bloody hand and didn't respond.

"I'm glad you're okay." He leaned back and crossed his legs. "I really didn't expect that the partner of the Han Group would actually be your old employer. It shouldn't be possible. The tax office and the court have completely blocked them. At least with the capabilities of the Bangkok Hotel, they can't offer anything that would interest Han Shaochen. But he must have made an offer."

"people."

Shan Li leaned over to his collar, and the refreshing scent of soap made the surroundings smell pleasant for a moment: "You are very smart, Mr. Pei. I suspect that what Han Shaochen wants is not 'things'." The injured hand reached out and slowly and gently wrapped his hand.

"—he wants you."

After returning to Jingshan Real Estate as soon as possible, Shan Li sent someone to call Duan Heng to a conference room to question him.

Ever since the Dexing Family disbanded, the Han Group had unilaterally severed ties with him. This organization, which housed homeless children, was Han Shaochen's own initiative, unrelated to his father, brother, or the company's stance. Duan Heng had no idea what was going on. He had never had any close contact with the Han Group's executives.

After listening to this, Shan Li rubbed his chin meaningfully for a while.

It was common knowledge that the Han Group had supported the Dexing family. Even if that was just a whim of Mr. Han, why did he want Pei Huai? For him. This young master, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was willing to clash with a threatening international corporation.

He still couldn't figure it out. So after the meeting, he pulled Pei Huai aside and asked in a low voice, "Have you met him before?"

"Yes."

"You should have told me this beforehand, so we wouldn't be so passive." Seeing Pei Huaili didn't bother to pay attention, he just shoved his shoulder away and walked away. Shan Li stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, his attitude noticeably softening. His tone was almost coaxing, "I'm sorry. After going through those life-threatening situations, it's hard to calm down. But you know I don't mean to blame you. I just want an answer: Do you have any idea why he wants you?"

"I don't know." Pei Huai answered honestly, "I don't think he likes me."

"How do you know?"

"The first time we met, I put a knife to his neck and said I was looking for a cat."

Shan Li finally lost his words. Coincidentally, Pei Huai didn't want to argue with him anymore and went to work on a report in the printing office. Around that afternoon, Shan Li was busy with a meeting and couldn't leave, so he sent someone to inquire about him. He said he was deeply grateful for his help during a previous meeting and asked if he needed anything: a concert, a check, real estate, an imported car, anything material. Just ask.

Pei Huai also replied without giving me face: "I'm just doing my job, no need to make a fuss."

When he went downstairs to buy coffee, Duan Heng seemed to be possessed by someone and chased after him, asking excitedly what happened in the morning, why the boss had to go to the infirmary for bandaging, and why he wanted to talk to him just now.

Pei Huai didn't answer, letting him ask. As he walked, his peripheral vision drifted into the shadows of the alley around the corner—someone was moving. Watching them.

He stopped in time and seemed to be casually choosing coffee in front of a vending machine.

The young partner was still chatting happily in the front, and after a few words, he realized that the person hadn't caught up, so he turned back with a grumble. Unexpectedly, as his vision shifted, a force suddenly rushed from behind, strangled him from under his arm, and lifted him up.

Pei Huai clicked on the coffee bar, browsed from left to right, and calmly listened to the struggle and noise that sounded at the same time.

"Don't move. While that person over there doesn't notice..."

"Are you done yet? Don't fucking touch me. I told you, I'm not going. I'll never go back with you, even if I die! Why don't you just give up on this and just do your job properly?"

"Listen to what you're saying, kid!" The woman dragged him back unwillingly. Duan Heng struggled repeatedly but failed, his cries shrill, causing Pei Huai, who had wanted to stay out of the matter, to turn his head and look at him.

The boy immediately grabbed at him as if he was grabbing a life-saving straw, waving his hands and kicking his legs.

"Save me, save me!" But he didn't expect that even with such a tragic cry, those cold eyes only glanced at him once and then left.

Pei Huai bent down, picked up the can of coffee from the delivery port, pried the pull ring with one hand, and drank it slowly.

His partner also broke down at this time and said, "Help, can you please stop watching the show and come help me? I'm really going to be dragged away now--!"

A window seat in a coffee shop.

"S-Sorry, so you're his colleague? I thought you were one of those people who forced him to do bad things." The girl with her hair tied up in a bun, her forehead almost touching the table, bowed nearly 90 degrees, and rubbed her red forehead embarrassedly. She introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Liu Wenxiu, Duan Heng's new teacher at his previous school. I teach physics. Um, um, I really didn't expect that. I'm sorry."

Pei Huai simply nodded out of politeness and handed the conversation over to the grumpy-faced Duan Heng beside him. Duan Heng folded his arms on his elbows and turned his face away, clearly not wanting to talk to his former teacher.

But Teacher Liu's attitude was serious.

"You can retake the exam and start your studies over again. I'm not saying your current job is bad, but if you work harder, you'll at least have more options."

"It's none of your business."

"Duan Heng, I want to help you. I can't watch the child who used to ask questions and answer questions with a blushing face even when he couldn't learn, and who was warm and loyal to everyone, become a stranger." She bit her lip and reached out her hand reluctantly, "Your face is hurt."

"Don't touch me."

"Duan Heng."

"Don't be so friendly. What? You're going to pay my debt? You're going to take the cold shoulder from all those people? It's easy to talk without any pain." The young man sneered rudely, "Do you think I'm like you guys, with a good family background and a clean record, that I can do whatever I want?!"

The bottom of the cup hit the table hard, burning his hand, but Duan Heng didn't even blink.

"I know you..."

"If you haven't experienced hunger, lost your parents, been pointed at and talked about on the street, and never had debt collectors come to your door, then don't talk to me about understanding."

"Duan Heng, that's not what I meant. You should listen to me."

"If that's not the case, don't you think these words to me are cruel?" He slowly bit the straw of his milk tea, scraping the edge of the opening with his index finger. "Teacher Liu, if your father owes money to many people, leaving you with nowhere to go and making you look down upon for the rest of your life, do you hate him?"

"Hate it. But I will also look at this matter rationally."

"But I can't do it. I hate him. I didn't even tell anyone that on the night of his funeral, I almost flushed his ashes down the toilet." He put the milk tea aside and stared into her eyes seriously. "You know nothing, Teacher Liu. Don't pretend to understand me. How can you care about my life more than I do?"

"I just wanted to help you."

"Then I'll say it again. No need." Duan Heng's attitude was also very clear, "If you have nothing else, go back. I don't have time to take you during working hours."

He had just thrown his arm to his right, turning to Pei Huai to wave him off, when he saw a smiling face appear behind the glass facade on their side. Duan Heng jerked in surprise, then noticed that Pei Huai's hand had been suspended in mid-air for a long time.

For the first time, his hand, which was extremely steady even when shooting, was so shocked that he accidentally spilled half a cup of coffee on the ground.

—Then, Xiang Mingqi, who had been hit hard on the forehead, shamelessly joined the afternoon tea. He rubbed the bumps on his head, heartbrokenly took Pei Huai's arm and rubbed against him.

"My brother is mean to me, beats me, and bullies me. He's so nice." Duan Heng said, looking as if he was about to faint. Teacher Liu spit out a mouthful of coffee and huddled aside to wipe her mouth.

"How did you find this place?"

"Anyway, it's definitely not stalking. Stalking is too much, only a pervert would do that. It's just that every time my brother and I meet, it's fate."

Pei Huai was too lazy to accept such an obvious lie.

"By the way, what were you talking about just now?" Xiang Mingqi leaned forward, took his coffee, took a sip, and asked Duan Heng proactively - because of his uninvited arrival, the other party was forced to the left side of Teacher Liu and was biting the straw dejectedly.

"Nothing, they just want to force me to go to school." Duan Heng didn't give him a good look.

"Good for school."

"ha?"

"After graduating from college, you can meet someone like Brother Pei Huai." Xiang Mingqi put his arm around his senior's shoulders and pulled him into his arms, saying proudly, "Come on, you ask me why I went to college? Of course, it was to get past those people who had a crush on handsome guys. What if he's sapiosexual? Right? That would give me some extra points during the interview."

A hand ruthlessly pushed his face to the side.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

"Then I'll go too. Brother, which room do you want to go into? Let's go together." As soon as they entered the compartment, Xiang Mingqi put on a fierce posture that would not allow anyone to refuse him. He hooked his waist, threw himself on the door panel, and kissed him fiercely.

The two kissed passionately, their breaths sometimes hot, sometimes eager, carrying a fierce urge of sexual desire being released. Pei Huai pushed him down onto the toilet lid with one hand, lifting his waist to straddle his thighs.

Xiang Mingqi ran his hands down his senior's chest, lifted his shirt, and slid in to rub his abdominal muscles: "Brother, you have such strong muscles. You have a great figure. I want to kiss you under your belly."

Before he could finish his words, Pei Huai raised his hand and pinched his chin, forcing it up a little. This subtly gave him a sense of pressure that made it difficult to continue.

"But I don't want to."

Xiang Mingqi was so excited by the satisfying touch of his muscles that he gasped for breath: "It's been several days. I haven't seen you, brother, for several days. I miss you so much. It would be nice to touch you." He leaned against Pei Huai's abdomen and sniffed greedily, his breath hot. "You don't smell like other men, that's great. Haah, you are mine, such a handsome and sexy brother belongs to me..."

He sucked the bruises on his senior's perfect lower abdominal muscles, breathing heavily and low, and kept peeking at him from under his bangs.

"Really?" A hand tugged at the brown hair from the back of his head, forcing his chin up, and a kiss followed for a moment. "That depends on your performance, little pig."