Chapter 76
Dando opened his mouth in surprise. But what Pei Huai was interested in was not his answer, but the way he pressed against his throat, cutting a line of blood as a deterrent.
"Everyone, stand back," he said. He then gestured to Zhu Zhiyang, who was behind the cover, to bring the disabled Xiang Mingqi out. If the gun barrels were turned, the tip would sink deeper into the flesh.
"...Do as he says." Dando raised his hands and sighed into the hijacker's ear. "Do you hate me that much?"
The knife across his throat pressed against his trachea, forcing him to shut up.
The surrounding gunmen paused, looking at each other for a moment before finally obeying their superiors' orders. They retreated to the sides to clear the aisle. Pei Huai raised his chin, letting the other two clear the way while he remained behind to control the hostages and help them escape the villa. Dando was very cooperative. Even when they climbed over the garden threshold and headed directly for the parking area, he did not signal the sniper on standby.
When they were dragged to the rendezvous point at the Bangkok Hotel, Pei Huai quickly put away his knife, pushed him aside, and got into the car to leave.
Dan Duo gently pulled him: "You know I won't let go like this." Before he could finish speaking, Pei Huai turned around and elbowed him, throwing the unconscious Dan Duo to the side of the road, then got in the car and headed to the hospital.
After the crisis was resolved, Zhu Zhiyang was called to Duan Heng's car, leaving Xiang Mingqi and Pei Huai to spend time with the driver and co-driver. As the car started, the driver adjusted the rearview mirror and smiled at Pei Huai: "Hey, our boss's sweetheart has... changed her mind? What's going on? Are you tired of the last guy?"
"Just say less. She has a spoiled temper." The passenger hit him.
"Yeah, with a figure like yours and a face like yours, who wouldn't change men frequently?"
Pei Huai wasn't known for his sharp tongue, and he didn't argue. Silently, he bit the bandages around his wrists with his teeth. His eyelashes cast a thick, thick shadow across his eyelids. Xiang Mingqi couldn't bear to watch. "Who cares if someone changes their boyfriend? What's wrong with their relationship?"
"What's wrong with me?" the other man snorted coldly. "The boss treats him like a jerk, and he runs field work every day. His performance is among the best. Besides, what field workers does our company have? Just a bunch of slackers. It's easy to collect debts from them. And what's the result? He ran away, and he's even messing with us with his new mistress."
"Yeah." The co-pilot lit a cigarette and echoed, "I don't know what's wrong with the boss. He called and we have to accompany him out on field work in the middle of the night."
The driver smiled and stretched his arms forward. "I'd like to advise him to clear his mind and stop being summoned and dismissed at will."
"Then I'd like to offer you a piece of advice." Xiang Mingqi seemingly nonchalantly toyed with the folding dagger in his hand, retracting the blade with a click. He rolled his eyes upward, glaring at them. "If you dare open your mouth again, I'll have your heads." He slashed the blade's spine against the passenger's headrest, adding a bit of force.
The car fell silent. The MPV, bouncing along the bumpy ride, entered the half-finished tunnel. "Are you okay?" Xiang Mingqi leaned in and whispered, amidst the scattered lights of nearby traffic lights.
He could see that Pei Huai hadn't recovered from his fatigue yet, and was drowsily leaning against the leather seat, using his toy as a pillow. Hearing someone talking to him, he barely raised his eyelids.
"Um."
"They don't know what you've done for the Bangkok Hotel." Xiang Mingqi stretched out his five fingers and held them, then kissed his eyelashes. "Maybe you think there's no point in explaining, brother, but I won't let them talk nonsense. Don't even think about it."
Pei Huai rarely glanced at his face, his Adam's apple trembling slightly.
At that moment, the sudden deceleration caused the tires to scream. The car swerved out of control, only to be pulled back by the steering wheel in time. As they swayed from side to side, they noticed that the passenger window was being held by someone's arm. Because the window was half open, an arm first invaded the car's interior, groping for the switch from the interior panel and pressing the window lift button. Then, with a firm grip on the roof rails, the girl's nimble figure slid down from the hardtop in a crunch-up position, squeezed into the passenger seat, and peered into the back seat: "Is there any room inside?"
"Su Minxian, you're crazy, don't get in the car like that!" The passenger was so frightened by her that he quickly supported his strong thigh and helped her to the back seat.
"What? I haven't seen the handsome guy in our company for a while. You won't let me catch up with him?"
"Then don't climb in through the car window!"
"What do you care where I'm coming in from? Hey, you're steering that car, you're gonna hit the mailbox." Su Minxian grabbed the steering wheel with her right hand and steered it back. The left wheel sparked on the curb, the shock absorbers squeaked, and then, with the accelerator fully depressed, she rushed back into the convoy. The car behind her was so frightened that its brakes locked and it slowed down.
She took advantage of the chaos, used her hands and feet to jump over the seat to the back seat of the car, and sat next to Pei Huai.
"We haven't seen each other for so long, why don't you say hello to me first?" She smiled.
"Hello."
Su Minxian patted his shoulder without surprise: "Yes, this answer is mine."
This beautiful girl, with shoulder-length hair, a one-shoulder top, and cycling shorts, came here for no apparent reason. She said she was going to see Pei Huai, but in reality, she was arguing with Xiang Mingqi, her chin in her hand. She asked him what qualities make a good man. Xiang Mingqi raised his hand to answer: honesty, self-respect, initiative, enthusiasm, positive energy, taking care of the housework, being sweet-talking, and being able to coax a partner. He also said that he had to report if he went out to buy potato chips after 10 o'clock. Su Minxian nodded in agreement.
"Question two, have you ever thought of taking this handsome guy for yourself?"
"Yes. Not only that, I think about it every day." Xiang Mingqi answered loudly like a military trainee, "I want to kiss here and leave a mark, and I want to touch there and leave a mark. I want to hide my brother and not let others see him."
"Answer me, why!"
"Because I just learned the line from a novel!"
"Are you a pervert?"
"I am."
"Louder, are you a pervert?"
“I’m a pervert!!!”
"Very well, here's a peanut brittle. I like your honesty. Now I officially declare that you passed!"
"Great! I passed!" The two of them high-fived each other, and even bumped shoulders. Su Minxian turned to look at Pei Huai, who was stunned, and gave him a thumbs-up. "I've asked for you, good man, don't worry."
"Thank you, you are the first kind person in the world who said that Brother Pei Huai and I are a good match."
About halfway through the ride, Su Minxian stood up and handed everyone a lollipop. She rested her elbows on the back of a chair, biting the candy bar and studying Pei Huai. "Just to be clear, I have no say in what happens to you at the Bangkok Hotel. I'll always be on your side."
Pei Huai squeezed the candy's rainbow wrapper in his palm, but hesitated to peel it off.
"I've worked with you for several years, and our eyesight is very good. Our boss is not like that. This guy is blinded by love and will definitely be angry with you." She pushed the licorice-flavored hard candy against her right cheek with her tongue, puffed her cheeks, took out a cigarette from the cigarette box, and flicked it to Pei Huai.
Her lighter was chrome-plated, the kind that burned kerosene. It was flipped upside down, its wheel twirling like a toy with her middle finger. So when she put her nose close to it for a light, the flame held steady. "You must be under a lot of pressure," Su Minxian said, pulling back and lighting her own.
"No."
"Don't treat me like a fool. Your face would have burned when I was this close to you before." She laid back on the headrest with a natural expression, raised her chin, and blew a smoke ring onto the roof of the car. "Go back and get some sleep. Don't always put the responsibility on yourself. It's been fourteen years, aren't you tired?"
Pei Huai held the cigarette butt in his mouth and looked into the unknown distance.
At this point, the driver finally couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Don't smoke in the car!"
After arriving at the hospital, Su Minxian slipped away, using the excuse of something else. Xiang Mingqi reasonably suspected she was trying to avoid the night watch. Because he was sleepy, Pei Huai only met with Duan Heng once, telling him that his injury would not hurt as much once he woke up. Duan Heng nodded, revealing a rather unpleasant smile.
"Thank you. And."
Pei Huai looked at him.
"Please tell Teacher Liu. I kind of... want to go back."
"good."
After a comprehensive examination, the medical staff said Pei Huai was fine, but Xiang Mingqi would have to be hospitalized for a few days for observation. Xiang Mingqi looked at him, his eyes almost pleading: "Brother, I'll give you my bed. Can you stay with me tonight?"
Pei Huai didn't refuse.
As a result, when they arrived at the single ward and turned around to unbutton his coat, Xiang Mingqi couldn't wait to grab his belt and pull him towards himself, not forgetting to stare into his eyes and smile.
"Brother, will there be a reward kiss today?"
First, a bite. Getting a kiss from Pei Huai wasn't difficult. As long as he was willing to give it, he wouldn't give anyone the chance to hesitate. To him, a kiss was a reward, more than just the monotonous sucking of lips. And Xiang Mingqi was content with the monotony between them.
He didn't like closing his eyes at times like this.
He liked looking at Pei Huai, liked admiring him up close. His three-dimensional facial features had a strong visual impact, making people intoxicated. His hand groped under his senior's chest, unbuttoned his shirt, and wandered over the clean skin of his waist.
His abdominal muscles were stretched tight. His hands traced the mermaid lines on either side to the ribs, and below the thin shoulders, the body he caressed was tight and handsome. Pei Huai's chest muscles were well-developed, but due to the lack of fat, his body could not form overly strong muscles, so they were only a thin layer. He couldn't help but grasp and knead them.
He found it unbelievably tempting.
The kiss ended with Xiang Mingqi's hands gripping his chest, pinching and squeezing, and the kiss deepened. "Stop touching me," Pei Huai complained, slapping his hands away. He was then dragged back to bed and asked to watch a bedtime movie together. Xiang Mingqi lay beside him, her head resting on the bed, her phone held high. Pei Huai must have been sleepy, breathing softly against his neck, avoiding the light.
"Do you want to sleep?" he asked in a low voice.
Pei Huai, who was dozing off, looked really pleasing to the eye, and he nodded slightly.
"Brother, I've been thinking, what will happen to us once the Bangkok Hotel and Jingshan Real Estate resolve their dispute, once you've avenged the man you wanted to kill, and once everything is over?" He turned off his phone, turned over, and pressed his forehead against his senior's. "Will we stay here forever? Or will we leave and go wherever we want to go?"
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know." He clasped his fingers tightly around Pei Huai's and shook them happily. "As long as you don't leave me, brother, as long as you only have my scent on you, I'll be fine with anything."
He stood up and wanted to kiss his lips, but there was no sound in his arms, leaving only the faint sound of breathing in the drizzling night.
-
Pei Huai woke up a little after midnight, when it was still dark. Xiang Mingqi was sprawled out in a deep sleep, unconscious. Pei Huai, a light sleeper, heard some commotion outside the hallway and rolled out of bed, pulling on his coat as he walked out. Pushing the door open, he saw several medical staff rushing into the adjacent ward.
He remembered that Duan Heng lived there.
Pei Huai had a bad feeling. As he quickened his pace, he almost brushed past a familiar figure. The figure leaned against his neck and whispered, "He's paid me back now."
"...Yan Xu?" He stopped and recognized the owner of the voice.
Yan Xu lowered the edge of his hood, preventing anyone from seeing his expression. "You don't need to arrest me. He's dead. He was still under the anesthetic effect when the pillow went down. Your commission is over. That female teacher won't be interested in whether I'm dead or alive. I'm going back to my gutter, and you... can continue with your life."
"He owes you something."
"I don't owe anything." He put his hands in his pockets and said, "At least, I don't owe anything now."
Pei Huai walked in stiffly, watching the figure being rescued, watching the peaks and valleys of the heartbeat stretch straight to the end, without saying a word. He didn't know how long he stood there, and even when the doctor took off his hat and asked him about the situation, he didn't remember what he said.
Someone handed him a phone, saying it belonged to Duan Heng. It had no password, but contained an unfinished diary entry.
The person I admire most told me that if I just get some sleep, the pain will go away. Okay, now that we've come to this, I'm not going to skimp on the medical bills. My tooth hurts so badly.
[But after paying the medical bills, I'll probably just have steamed buns tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. I looked it up and there's still a process to go through to retake the enrollment exam, and I've almost forgotten everything I learned in middle school. It's a headache, but I hope it works out.]
I also hope that tomorrow will be like today. A sunny day.
-
It was already late at night when Xiang Mingqi woke up and learned the news. He also received a call from the cat cafe clerk about Zhuangzhuang's disappearance.
When he found Pei Huai, he was standing on the steps outside the hospital. Zhuangzhuang had somehow managed to get there, covered in dust, and was tugging at Pei Huai's shoelaces with his paws. He bent down, picked up the cat, and sat quietly against the wall, combing its fur.
"Xiang Mingqi." He buried his face in the cat's belly and said, "You asked me where I wanted to go before, right?"
"Brother, do you have any ideas now?"
"...I want to go home. Back to Coal Valley." He looked up, a kind of bone-chilling loneliness on his face. "There won't be sunny days here anymore."
At his feet, tucked inside his phone case, was a business card. It was folded and yellowed. On the back was a line of text, rubbed to the point of fading.
That's life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com