Chapter 32 A Gentle Kiss

The restaurant's overhead lights were very bright. Under such lighting, almost every subtle reaction of the other person could be seen clearly. He could even clearly feel the body in his arms trembling slightly.

Under the white light, Ying Shixue's skin was almost transparently white. He suddenly turned his face, his black, glassy eyes looking at him, and said again, "No."

For a moment, Ying Shixue almost thought that Song Mingli wanted to kill her, or that he wanted to use another method to make her pour out all her thoughts.

Finally, Song Mingli slowly released his grip on him, gently smoothed his sweat-dampened hair, and tucked it behind his ear. His movements were so gentle, as if the imposing man from just moments ago was not him at all: "It's alright, you don't want to talk about it now."

"One day, I will make you whole, and tell me yourself."

"Stop avoiding me, or I can't guarantee what I might do to you."

"You don't want to see that happen, right?"

-

After that day, Ying Shixue indeed stopped avoiding him. At least she knew to come to his study to spend some time with him after dinner.

Song Mingli's study is decorated in black, white, and gray tones, with a wooden bookshelf and desk, and a black leather chair, exuding a very simple and business-like style. The only exception is a warm yellow soft fabric sofa next to the desk. Usually, while Song Mingli is working at the desk, Ying Shixue will be holding a book or notebook, with a small blanket draped over her, lazily nestled in his special seat.

After a hearty meal and a bath, the comforting atmosphere often makes me sleepy after only a few pages of a book.

He gets up early during the day and is young, so he easily gets sleepy at night. Sometimes when Song Mingli checks on him at eleven o'clock, his little head is already nodding or he is asleep on the sofa.

Usually, in the end, Song Mingli would pull the small blanket up to cover his shoulders and then carry him back into the house, blanket and all.

Ying Shixue's eyelashes drooped quietly, casting a light shadow on the small patch of smooth skin under her eyes, and her petal-like lips were pursed.

With practiced ease, Song Mingli deftly placed one hand across the person's back and the other behind their knees, then with a slight effort, lifted the person up in his arms.

Ying Shixue seemed to sense something, opened her sleepy eyes, recognized the figure in front of her, and then seemed to feel relieved after confirming something again. She hooked her arm around his neck, rubbed her cheek against his neck, and then lowered her head to continue sleeping soundly.

Song Mingli tightened his grip on him for a moment, then slowly controlled the pressure so as not to hurt him.

Within his own territory, under the lamplight, the soft, fragrant body of the beautiful woman nestled serenely in his arms, completely unguarded, as if he were the most trustworthy person in the world.

Song Mingli carried him steadily all the way back to the bedroom and gently placed him on the big bed.

The bedroom lights were off, only the light from the outside corridor shone in through the poorly concealed door.

Song Mingli sat on the edge of the bed, gazing intently at the sleeping face. After a moment, he tidied the slightly messy hair on Ying Shixue's forehead, then leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.

In the end, he simply tucked the blanket around the person to make sure there was no cold air intruding and they wouldn't catch a chill before leaving the room and silently closing the door behind him.

The room returned to silence and darkness. In the stillness, the person who should have been fast asleep opened their eyes, propped themselves up on the edge of the bed, and sat up.

Having shed the formal attire required during the day, the soft fabric of her loungewear accentuated her slender back. In the dim light, half of her figure seemed to disappear into the darkness along with the boundless night.

Ying Shixue lowered her head slightly, then after a while raised her head, letting her back lean against the headboard, her eyes open, staring at the thick, indistinct ceiling.

-

The KTV atmosphere was incredibly lively. As soon as you entered, you were greeted by deafeningly hot music, and the ambient lights shone with dazzling colors. Men and women on the dance floor revelled to the rhythm of the music, dancing wildly.

A middle-aged man, not very tall but with a sturdy build, wearing a black jacket and a black baseball cap, cautiously looked around to make sure no one was following him before pulling his cap brim down. He then walked down the long corridor and pushed open a door to a private room.

Inside the private room, a song by a popular singer was playing. Shen Shao Cui carefully closed the door. In the dim light, a person with an extremely graceful figure and long legs was nestled in the sofa of the booth, eyes closed, seemingly listening intently to the song.

"Young Master Ying," Shen Shaojie swallowed hard, hearing himself speak, "You summoned me here?"

The man he called Young Master Ying opened his eyes at this moment, propping his chin up with one hand. In the pale, dim light, his features appeared even more strangely beautiful and unsettling, like a flower in full bloom. He nodded to the sofa seat next to him and smiled slightly: "Manager Shen, please sit."

In reality, Shen Shaojie is not as upright and steady as he appears. In fact, the fact that he was able to sit in the position of general manager of this large group at the age of forty is due to his own abilities, in addition to the fact that he was placed there by Sheng An and that Sheng An secretly cultivated him.

At least he knew that the humble and harmless secretary in front of him during the day, who seemed to have a very low status, had been properly recognized by Song Qi as the second young master when he was first brought back to the Song family five years ago, although there had been little information about him in recent years.

Having risen to this position, even if he doesn't know how far things might go, it's crucial to maintain a necessary level of caution and have a backup plan. Unless absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to have a direct conflict with the young master in front of him.

But Ying Shixue seemed to have no idea what subtlety or tact meant. She opened her phone to a file and threw it straight at him from the table.

Shen Shao Cui looked at the wine glass with suspicion and took it, then his pupils contracted and he stood up abruptly. The movement was so big that he almost knocked over the upside-down wine glass on the table. The glass spun around a few times and then crashed to the ground with a crisp sound.

"Don't be nervous, keep reading—" Ying Shixue sat on the sofa, her posture casual and natural, even having the leisure to play with an unlit cigarette in her hand.

As he continued down the list, Shen Shao Cui's fingers began to tremble. On it lay a complete record of all the kickbacks he had received from both sides at Sheng An SK over the years, and of how he had embezzled public funds by abusing his position as the economic supervisor!

No, how could this be... Did Xi Bojian tell him even this? Didn't they just establish a cooperative relationship half a month ago? Yet Xi Bojian only knew about the transfer of funds from Sheng'an. Where did he find such detailed records of transactions?

Ying Shixue broke the cigarette in her hand and pressed it into the ashtray on the table. Her two fingers, drawn out by the movement, were extremely long and pale, even showing a kind of cold texture: "Many years ago, you started using the natural way of being closest to the company's accounts to secretly transfer many funds to a black account overseas, and then after several transfers, they returned to your hands. The largest one a year ago was as high as six million, and recently, you transferred another eight-figure sum."

As expected of someone who has survived years of hard work in the business world, Shen Shao Cui clenched his fist and said, "So... Young Master Ying, no matter what, we are now a community of shared interests. In SK, you won't find anyone more friendly to you than me. In Sheng'an..." Shen Shao Cui scoffed, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes, "Xi Bo Jian himself can't even figure things out. How could he possibly abandon me? I'm one of the few people who support him."

“You’ve misunderstood, Steward Shen,” Ying Shixue leaned back, her beauty appearing strangely alluring from this angle. “I just have something I’d like to ask you.”

A hush fell over the room. Shen Shao Cui finally picked up his phone, the light revealing the fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead, and handed it to him: "Here's your phone back..."

Ying Shixue reached out to catch it, but suddenly everything happened in the blink of an eye. Shen Shaocui swiftly turned his palm into a claw and attacked his throat!

If this were to happen, Ying Shixue's throat bones might be dislocated, and the next second, something cold would be applied to Shen Shaocui's carotid artery.

—Under the white light, the sharp blade is as thin as a cicada's wing yet indestructible, its edge flashing briefly at the tip.

Ying Shixue's eyebrows and eyes were as hard as ice, and her hand gripping the knife hilt was extremely steady: "Where is the source code of the replaced chip virus?"

-

"You're injured."

Song Mingli pulled open his collar and frowned when he saw the abrasions on his shoulder.

Ying Shixue turned his head, and then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red abrasion on his back shoulder. It was from when he was fighting with Shen Shaocui in the private room, and he was accidentally bumped hard on the floor and scraped.

"How did this happen?" Although the living room of the villa was large, at this time of night, all the servants had gone to rest and sleep, leaving only the two of them.

Ying Shixue was speechless. He was too tired after finishing his work that day. He looked at the scrape and saw that it was just a small scratch, so he just washed it quickly, covered it with his clothes, and fell asleep.

Unexpectedly, after a few days, it not only did not get better, but the affected area expanded further, even becoming red, swollen, and inflamed.

It was also because the neckline of her loungewear was too loose that the clothes opened a little when she inadvertently bent over, and people could see her.

Ying Shixue pursed her lips, lowered her eyelashes, and did not explain. Song Mingli had already draped a small blanket over his legs and turned to get the first-aid kit.

It's orange-yellow, embroidered with many plump little tits and various decorative flowers.

Such blankets are placed casually in many places throughout the villa, just like the thick cashmere carpets that are laid out on the floor every winter, so that you can cover yourself with them whenever you need to.

The blankets are soft to the touch, and each one has a different floral pattern, but without exception, they are all in warm colors.

These blankets were designed and made under Song Mingli's supervision. Ying Shixue once asked why, despite his previous preference for a minimalist style with black, white, and gray decor, he was willing to place these colorful and mismatched blankets throughout the villa.

Although Song Mingli was not as imposing as he is now, he already showed signs of becoming an unassailable figure in the future. Upon hearing this, he looked up from the computer. Ying Shixue had been exquisitely beautiful since childhood, and her exquisiteness had developed into a coldness. Most of the time, she was aloof and cold.

At this moment, wrapped in a small blanket with a pattern he personally selected and supervised the sewing of, she nestled with some soft, warm-colored little animal. With her snow-white, soft cheeks and bright black eyes, she tilted her head and looked at him with some confusion. She looked exactly like the round-bellied little clumsy bird on the blanket, tilting its head to look at humans.

“Hmm,” Song Mingli answered the question seemingly casually, “They’re a good match.”

Later, Ying Shixue also discovered that even now, Song Mingli still loves to buy him all kinds of clothes and shoes. For a period of time, after he grew taller during puberty, Song Mingli would give him all kinds of elaborate and gorgeous new clothes. So much so that sometimes he would feel that the other party was playing a dress-up game with him, like a beautiful doll that needed to be carefully cared for.

He was lost in thought when Song Mingli returned with his medicine box.

Having suffered from bumps and bruises since childhood, Ying Shixue's family had a complete supply of various liniments for sprains and abrasions. Ying Shixue sat cross-legged on the sofa, with Song Mingli standing behind him. A strong hand covered his neck, pressing down slightly, and he opened the collar of his clothes a little, as if checking the extent of the abrasions on his back.

Ying Shixue obediently let him hold her down, knowing that he was probably not in a good mood at this time, and that it would be troublesome if she did not cooperate.

Finally, Song Mingli seemed to have finished assessing the injuries, and released his grip on the back of the neck, his voice indifferent:

"The wound area is too large, so we took off our clothes."