Chapter Eight: Love and Pain
After her father's case was settled, Yun Yao moved into a quiet, upscale detached villa in the suburbs of Nanhang City, which Qin Rao had specially arranged for her.
He owed her an immeasurable debt of gratitude and money, and had no right to refuse her.
That night, Qin Rao reaped the sweet fruit of her long-planned scheme.
Under the dim, hazy light of the crystal chandelier, a handsome young man with slightly damp hair sat quietly on the bed, wrapped in a white yukata.
Qin Rao lifted his perfectly shaped chin, her direct gaze slowly tracing the boy's exceptionally handsome features, and then his youthful, yet beautifully sculpted, body.
She praised him approvingly, "Honey, you're so beautiful."
She recalled the boy's stunning dance, "But there is someone even more beautiful than you now, the one dancing on stage."
Her eyes darkened, and her fingers brazenly stroked the boy's slender nape. "Now, he's all mine."
Seeing that the boy didn't speak, Qin Rao pressed her red lips to the corner of his cool lips and whispered sensually in his ear, "Do you know what to do next? Do you want me to teach you properly..."
Yun Yao turned his head away and gazed at the woman calmly, like a jade statue in front of a lotus, silently and undisturbed by all the storms and turmoil.
Faced with Qin Rao's flirtatious teasing, he slowly spoke, without a trace of panic: "Qin Rao, you don't think I've never had a girlfriend, do you?"
Qin Rao's expression darkened slightly, but she quickly raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Oh? You mean your school's beauty queen, your first love?"
"You know?" Yun Yao pressed.
“Heh,” Qin Rao chuckled, releasing the boy and leaning back calmly against the bedside. “Baby, I first met you when you were sixteen, and I’ve known everything about you ever since.”
“I not only know the girl’s name, but I also know that you only dated for a few months and broke up with her after your mother passed away.”
A vague yet dense layer of pain welled up in Yun Yao's heart.
For a period of time before his mother's car accident, he was still immersed in the beautiful and passionate relationship of his first love.
The young boy and girl, who shared the same ideals and were mutually attracted, naturally engaged in intimate acts.
But fate is always cruel. Overwhelmed with grief over the anniversary of her maternal grandparents' death, her mother died in a car accident, and Yun Yao lost the most important part of her life forever.
He began to blame himself for being so engrossed in the pleasures of love that he hadn't paid attention to his mother's long-standing emotional distress and hadn't been there for her all the time.
The happiness I felt at that moment seemed to have become an unforgivable sin.
He felt he could no longer love anyone. He didn't deserve to be happy anymore.
Therefore, he broke up with his first love. He sincerely hoped she could find a better partner; he could no longer bring her love and joy, and he couldn't hold her back. This was also a secret punishment he inflicted upon himself deep within his heart.
Qin Rao watched him lose himself in memories, and the boy's previously calm face now faintly revealed pain.
Although watching a beautiful woman suffer is a great pleasure, she now has absolutely no desire to turn important moments in her game into occasions for reminiscence and spiritual dialogue.
So she patted the spot next to her and teased in a flippant tone, "What good could a little brat like that be? Honey, you don't know what I'm capable of."
Suppressing his grief, Yun Yao looked up at Qin Rao with a puzzled expression and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Are you really an old friend of my mother's?"
Qin Rao, a person who is greedy, absurd, and keen on manipulating everything in the world, is the complete opposite of her mother.
"Of course." Qin Rao didn't understand why the boy suddenly asked that question. Was it to remind her of her relationship with his mother and make her feel ashamed and give it up? That boy was too naive.
She continued teasingly, "I also have to thank your mother, otherwise I wouldn't have met you. Darling, you are my best gift, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, the young man interrupted her insincere words, "You always tell people how my mother helped you back then, and how grateful you are, but in reality, you actually..."
Yun Yao stared intently at Qin Rao and said, word by word, "She's just a pervert."
There was no accusation in the boy's tone; it was as if he were simply stating a trivial fact.
Qin Rao burst out laughing.
She felt a bit of an unexpected delight today; things were getting more and more interesting. She curled her red lips and said, "Yes, you're right, baby. I can show you something even more perverted today."
Qin Rao raised her fingertips, adorned with richly colored nail polish, and slowly stroked the boy's dew-like lips. Her words were both an alluring invitation and a ruthless command: "Come here."
Yun Yao grasped Qin Rao's mischievous hand, and the two gazed into each other's eyes in the dim moonlight. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense…
What's inside? Yun Yao wondered, perhaps a trap of desire, perhaps an abyss of pain.
But suffering seems to be what he deserves.
...
A few days later, inside the huge villa, a Filipino housekeeper whose Chinese was not very fluent was quietly instructing the servants to set the dining table for the masters.
It was neither early nor early, and shouldn't have been mealtime, but since it was the master's special instruction, the housekeeper could only do her best to comply.
Most of the servants in the Qin residence came from Southeast Asia with Qin Rao. Some of them had dark skin, while others had brown or white skin. Regardless of their appearance, they were all taciturn, but they were very efficient in their work.
Once everything was ready, the housekeeper quietly made her way to the master bedroom on the third floor.
The door to the master bedroom wasn't closed properly, and a snow-white garment of unknown origin was tossed around the doorway, the messy situation subtly hinting at a certain scene.
The housekeeper cautiously stopped outside the half-open door, not looking up to pry into the privacy of the master bedroom. She simply raised her hand and gently knocked on the door, saying softly in broken Chinese, "Master, lunch is ready."
There was no sound from inside the room. The housekeeper waited a while and then knocked on the door again.
There was some noise in the room this time, and a pleasant young voice could be heard urging him on, slightly hoarse.
Then came the voice of their owner, Qin Rao, who responded lazily, but her voice carried an undisguised satisfaction.
Then, there was another noise, and the faint sound of water came from inside the slightly ajar door...
The housekeeper simply lowered her head and waited patiently.
This is the third day since Qin Rao summoned them here. For the first two days, the hostess and the handsome young man had stayed in their room and hadn't gone out much.
Last night, the lady of the house instructed her to prepare the meal and provide reminders at this time today.
As servants, they are not allowed to pry into any of their master's private affairs; they only need to do their job perfectly according to their master's instructions.
Finally, the door opened completely from the inside.
Qin Rao walked out wearing a Patek Philippe watch, her expression calm and languid, a faint smile on her unmade-up face.
She turned and gestured to the housekeeper.
After the housekeeper left, Yun Yao came out of his room. He needed to go home today to organize his materials; he planned to end his leave of absence and continue his studies.
When Qin Rao looked at him, her gaze held a hint of passion. She reached out and hugged the boy, pretending to complain, "Baby, is it really necessary for you to go to school?"
She leaned closer and kissed his earlobe affectionately. "Why don't we do it like the other day? We weren't even up yet yesterday at this time. I rarely give myself a break, so why don't you stay and rest with me for a few more days?"
After Qin Rao finished speaking, Yun Yao took her hand off her waist, took a few quick steps, and once they were a little distance apart, the young man turned back and said, "No, I told you yesterday, I'm going back today."
Qin Rao had indeed promised the boy yesterday; after all, even she sometimes succumbed to his advances, almost playfully. She sighed and said indulgently, "Alright, then I'll take you there after we finish eating."
Qin Rao arranged for a driver to take her and the boy to his home to collect the relevant documents, and then dropped them off at the gate of the most famous dance academy in Nanhang City, where the boy studied.
"Honey, to be honest, the impact of your father's affair probably hasn't disappeared yet. Aren't you afraid that if you go back to school now, those people will start gossiping again?" Qin Rao asked the boy as the car stopped.
Seeing the boy remain silent, she shifted her gaze, took his hand, and coaxed, "In my opinion, why don't we continue with your leave of absence for now? Once things have calmed down, I'll arrange things and find you a better school. Or, if you don't want to continue studying, that's even simpler. I'll support whatever you want to do. You know I have plenty of resources."
She coaxed gently, "If you ask me, darling, you're already excellent enough. You don't need to go back to school at all. Life is only a few decades long, and there are so many wonderful things waiting for you to experience. I'll take you to experience more things in the future, and you'll see that being confined to one school is the most boring thing ever."
Yun Yao turned to look at the woman who seemed exceptionally sincere. He shook his head and said softly but firmly, "No, I want to finish my studies."
"As for what others are saying..." The young man smiled faintly as he faced the chilly wind that was beginning to blow out the window. "Let them say what they want."
After saying that, Yun Yao picked up her backpack, thanked the driver, glanced at Qin Rao, and walked into the campus.
Qin Rao watched the boy walk away, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yun Yao..." Qin Rao slowly murmured the name, a hint of madness appearing in her sharp eyes. She curled her red lips and sneered to herself, "Our game is about to officially begin. This time, how long can you let me bet?"
She took out a cigarette, lit it herself, and then, just as it reached its peak, callously extinguished it with her own hand.
The flesh on her fingertips, scalded by the flames, throbbed with pain, yet Qin Rao laughed heartily amidst the agony.
"I'm really looking forward to it..." She savored the sweetness and uniqueness of this prey. "I love watching you. You must be much more interesting than those cheap idiots who only have pretty faces, Yunyao."
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