Chapter 30 Jealousy/Sleeping in each other's arms! Sharing a pillow...
"oops!"
With a perfectly timed gasp, two overflowing glasses of scarlet liquid on the silver tray, as if calculated at the perfect angle, were precisely splashed onto the front of the two men's expensive suits and trousers, instantly spreading large, glaring stains.
"Damn it! You're asking for it!" The 200-pound fat man who was about to grope Cheng Qiqi suddenly sprang up, looking at his soaked and sticky chest in a fit of rage, his roar echoing throughout the private room.
Beside them, Cheng Qiqi's boss also had a livid face and hurriedly wiped the other person's clothes with his sleeve: "Brother Wei, let me wipe it for you right away."
In an instant, as Lin Suxing splashed wine on the two men, gasps of surprise rose and fell from the male and female escorts in the private room.
They had never seen a waiter so clumsy that he would spill wine on a customer!
These "bosses" are all unpredictable and extremely irritable. They would beat and scold these people who were drinking with them for even the slightest displeasure. Since they had already boarded this "pirate ship" and were filmed as evidence in private videos, they could only silently endure it.
The rich kid Wei Ge, who had wine thrown at him by the waiter, is no ordinary person. He is a typical second-generation heir born into a family that combines politics and business, possessing wealth beyond the imagination of ordinary people, as well as extremely powerful backing.
Under the protection of such power and money, he always disregarded rules, was violent, and often beat the girls and boys who accompanied him to drinks. If anything displeased him, he would use unimaginable methods to torture and abuse these innocent people.
Several thin young girls had been beaten by this fat, strong man until they vomited blood and cried uncontrollably. Afterwards, the man was not punished in any way; he only gave them some money as compensation.
But now, that tall, handsome waiter actually smashed a whole tray of wine glasses on the ground and on Viagra, and even spilled the wine all over that devilish Viagra!
Several girls had already begun to tremble unconsciously, their backs felt cold, and their eyes were red: this handsome young man was definitely not going to escape the devil's "revenge," and they were also very likely to be targeted by him and suffer a beating!
Cheng Qiqi was so shocked she couldn't speak. She realized that Lin Suxing had deliberately spilled the wine!
In the instant the chaos erupted, Lin Suxing bowed repeatedly with a standard look of panic and apology on his face, but his hand hanging at his side moved with lightning speed, grabbing Cheng Qiqi's cold, trembling wrist.
The force was firm and scorching.
"Come with me now." When Cheng Qiqi heard Lin Suxing say this, she didn't even have time to think before she was suddenly pulled up from the sofa by a force!
Ignoring the curses behind them, Lin Suxing grabbed her and, like a swift gust of wind, rushed straight towards the heavy door amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.
No one expected things to develop this way, so Lin Suxing and Cheng Qiqi, who ran away quickly, successfully escaped the private room. The door closed behind them, shutting out the noise and the faint smell of leaves.
Cheng Qiqi's mind was still buzzing, but the real touch on her wrist and the hurried footsteps beside her told her that this was not a dream: "Su Xing, if you bring me out like this, they will cause you trouble!"
Although Cheng Qiqi was relieved to be rescued, she was also very worried about whether Lin Suxing would be resented by those wealthy businessmen.
"Let's leave the cruise ship first. They'll definitely send security to chase us." Lin Suxing knew that if they were caught by those people's bodyguards, they would be in big trouble. So without hesitation, he pulled Cheng Qiqi and continued walking out.
"Damn it! He did it on purpose! When did Zizhu Pavilion become a place where people can come and go as they please?" Wei Ge's eyes were bloodshot, and he had already fallen into a state of violent madness.
Another boy next to him was kicked hard to the ground, howling in pain, but he seemed completely oblivious to the boy's cries, only roaring, "Security! Security! Catch that damned little bastard who kept me drunk! And that girl, since he likes playing the hero, I'm going to take care of him right in front of the girl he likes!!!"
The guests nearby didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he was doing; instead, they watched the farce with amusement.
"Bang!"
The heavy door of the private room, painted with ukiyo-e prints, was suddenly smashed open from the outside in an almost violent manner, the loud noise instantly drowning out all the commotion and curses.
The next second, instead of the club's security guards, a group of swift and well-trained figures in black combat uniforms rushed in.
Wearing goggles, they moved in perfect unison, the standard-issue submachine guns gripped tightly in their hands gleaming coldly in the dim, ambiguous light, instantly placing every corner of the entire private room under absolute control.
"Don't move!"
"Everyone, put your hands behind your heads and squat down against the wall!"
The short, cold, and emotionless commands fell like hailstones.
The once arrogant businessmen froze instantly, their anger turning to astonishment, and then to deathly paleness.
A cigar fell from someone's hand onto an expensive carpet, sparking a few flecks, but no one dared to pick it up.
The young men and women who were nestled beside them were terrified, their faces turning pale, letting out suppressed screams, and huddling together, trembling.
Nobody knows why a tiaozi suddenly appeared here.
In the chaos, the well-trained combat team displayed remarkable efficiency. One group, armed and on guard, maintained control of the area; while another group moved with a clear objective. They went straight to several cleverly concealed decorative panels and cabinets within the private room, skillfully prying open hidden compartments.
Soon, several sealed packages, clearly not belonging to normal consumer goods, were found. Inside, neatly packaged white powder crystals and brightly colored pills were discovered!
The leader, a man in black with epaulets indicating his rank, swept his cold gaze across the ashen-faced, sweat-drenched "big shots" in the room. His voice, coming through his mask, had a metallic quality:
"Upon receiving reliable intelligence, it was discovered that a large-scale illicit drug trade and illegal sex trafficking were taking place on the Aurora. The S City Special Police Detachment arrested more than 50 people at the scene, seizing both the drugs and the suspects."
The wealthy businessmen who were just thinking about how to retaliate and how to save face are now like spineless people, trembling and desperate in the face of the dark muzzle of a gun and irrefutable evidence.
"Do you know who I am? How dare you arrest me!" Some people were still putting up a stubborn resistance, trying to intimidate the search and rescue personnel by revealing their identities.
"Officer, this is all a misunderstanding! We had no idea they were hiding these things, how could you arrest me?" Some people even pretended to be innocent, trying to mislead the public.
But these law enforcement officers did not listen to their excuses.
The previously arrogant businessmen were now ashen-faced. Some tried to sweep the contraband off the table, but were quickly subdued by well-trained operatives who handcuffed them with cold handcuffs.
The elegantly dressed escorts screamed and huddled in the corner of the sofa, covering their heads with their hands. They were pulled up one by one to have their identities verified, and then handcuffed one by one.
The guests, who had been chatting and laughing to the melodious jazz music, were terrified by the shocking noise when the door to the private room was broken down. Panic spread rapidly through the crowd like a plague.
Some people tried to rush towards the exit, while others hid behind pillars, trembling and peering out. The banquet hall, which had been elegant and orderly just moments before, was now in complete chaos.
"Oh my god! What's going on?"
"Police! Special police!"
"Get out of here! Don't cause trouble!"
Lin Suxing felt Cheng Qiqi's body trembling slightly, so he grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Don't look back, let's go!"
While everyone's attention was drawn to the dramatic changes and commotion inside the private room, he grabbed her and quickly disappeared into the chaotic crowd, heading towards the relatively safer employee passageway, which was opposite to the exit.
*
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows lies the somber cityscape at night, where countless lights are blurred into a sea of light by the rain. Rainwater silently slides across the cold glass, leaving winding, crisscrossing streaks that separate the interior from the exterior into two distinct worlds.
Only one lamp was lit in the study.
It was a genuine leather table lamp with a brass base, standing on a low black walnut table by the window, emitting a warm yellow halo that was limited in scope.
The light precisely illuminated the uniquely shaped five-needle pine bonsai on the low table, and the person tending to it.
Li Xinian, dressed in dark gray loungewear, stood in the center of the light and shadow. He leaned slightly forward, his left hand resting lightly on a sturdy branch, while his right hand held a small, specially made pair of scissors with an extremely thin blade.
The five-needle pine in the bonsai is not as gentle as the usual one. Its trunk is twisted like a dragon, its bark is cracked like scales, and its needles are short and hard with a very special dark green color.
"The incident involving Zizhu Manor on the Aurora yacht has already started to spread through the media. All of its clubhouses have been sealed off, and the contraband has been found by the J authorities. Li Shilan was detained, but has been released on bail by the patriarch. He is currently kneeling and apologizing to the patriarch at the old mansion."
His subordinate, Karl, stood three steps behind him with his head bowed, reporting in a low voice.
Li Xinian's pure silver scissors precisely cut off a thin branch growing in the opposite direction, making a crisp "snip" sound.
His expression remained unchanged; he merely gave a faint "hmm," as if he were dealing with a trivial matter.
“Furthermore,” Carl hesitated slightly, “our people noticed that Mr. Lin Suxing was also on the Aurora tonight, and even went into the Zizhuxuan private room.”
The scissors paused for a moment.
A hint of disapproval flashed in Li Xinian's gray-blue eyes: "He shouldn't have been in a place like that."
As far as he knew, the banquet hosted by Li Shilan was entirely for the purpose of power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions. Those who would attend such a banquet were either wealthy and powerful lechers or scheming individuals who wanted to curry favor with the powerful.
Sensing that Li Xinian seemed particularly concerned about Lin Suxing's matter, Karl continued to recount the details: "Yes... and it seems that he didn't do it for anything else. After bringing the wine in, he spilled all the red wine on Zhao Wei, which made the other party furious and say that he would make him pay. However, before Zhao Wei could call for help, the police entered the private room and took them all away."
Li Xinian raised his eyebrows slightly, and the corners of his lips curved into a barely noticeable arc.
It turns out he just didn't like the person and went there on purpose to cause trouble.
The way a pretty kitten bares its teeth and claws should be quite cute.
"This time, Mr. Lin disguised himself as a waiter to sneak into the private room and splashed wine on Zhao Wei in order to protect a model girl who had been brought into the Zizhuxuan private room. Our people paid attention to his movements and saw them take advantage of the chaos to leave the yacht together and return to the Lin family."
"Snap!"
A crisper, clearer sound than before! The carefully nurtured, graceful relic trunk was severed at the root, falling from the vigorous branch and landing on the expensive Persian carpet, looking particularly out of place.
Li Xinian stared expressionlessly at the broken piece of dead wood, his knuckles turning slightly white from gripping the scissors so tightly. The oppressive aura emanating from him caused his subordinate, who was reporting, to lower his head even further and hold his breath.
For... a model girl?
A nameless fire suddenly welled up in his heart, cold and sharp. It was the displeasure of something that belonged to him being shown its sharpness by someone insignificant.
He was clearly not entirely certain that "it" was Lin Suxing, but his already undisguised possessiveness had begun to stir and sway his emotions.
The study fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint sound of the wind outside the window.
Karl keenly sensed the sudden drop in air pressure and unconsciously softened his breathing.
He dared not look up at Li Xinian's expression, but he could clearly hear the extremely subtle yet chilling "crunching" sound of the pure silver scissors rubbing against his palm as they were gripped tightly.
The eldest brother always pursues extreme precision when pruning bonsai. Just now, his pruning was done with a rare, almost destructive, ruthlessness in both force and angle.
Karl's back was already damp with a thin layer of sweat. He kept his mouth tightly shut, realizing that the detail he had just added about "saving the beauty" had probably offended Li Xinian.
"You can go now." Li Xinian spoke with a cold expression, showing no sign of anger, and his voice was as usual.
But Karl had been with Li Xinian for twenty years, so how could he not hear it?
"Yes." Karl bowed his head in response and silently left the room.
Just one sentence can sway the boss's emotions... It seems the boss has a lot to say about Lin Suxing.
*
After a busy day and settling Cheng Qiqi and Cen Xu in, Lin Suxing logged into the companion module again.
Outside the window, a pixelated downpour was raging.
Thick, white diagonal lines tapped densely on the glass, creating a soft, rustling sound effect, typical of rainy days.
Suddenly, a pale, jagged bolt of lightning tore through the deep blue night sky, instantly turning everything inside into a cold, bright light, followed by a deep rumble of thunder.
Amidst the alternating bright and dark light, a pixelated figure representing each year sits on the edge of the bed.
He was wearing dark blue pajamas, and the tablet screen in his hands was frozen on a complex interface of documents and charts, but he wasn't looking at it. His eyes, made of pixels, were staring at the raging rain outside the window, and his small hands were clutching his clothes.
Lin Suxing frowned and stared intently, suddenly remembering that there seemed to be a line in Niannian's information card: [Disliked things: Thunderstorms]!
I'm terrified of thunder every year, so I really need his company at this time!
*
Li Xinian sat leaning against the headboard, with only a dim wall lamp on. Although he held a tablet in his hand, his attention was not on the paper at all.
He is waiting.
As the familiar, cool scent of moss and pine quietly filled the air, his fingers gripping the edge of the tablet tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then he forced himself to relax.
He raised his eyes and looked at the faint outline of light gradually gathering by the bedside. In the dim light, his gray-blue eyes revealed a rare, just-right, forcibly suppressed vulnerability.
He silently gazed at the hazy light and shadow for a moment before speaking softly in a voice lower than usual, even slightly hoarse:
"...You've arrived."
Just then, a blinding flash of lightning streaked across the window, illuminating almost the entire room, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that seemed to explode right on the roof.
Li Xinian's body trembled slightly with the sound of thunder, not in an exaggerated startle, but rather in a subconscious, restrained tension.
He lowered his eyelashes, concealing any emotions that might be revealed in his eyes, put the documents aside, and unconsciously clenched the bed sheet beneath him, his knuckles turning slightly white.
[There's a lot of thunder tonight, are you alright?] The ghost wrote a line of elegant handwriting in the air.
“...It’s nothing, I’m used to it.” He said in a low voice, his tone revealing little emotion, but the slight tremor and the deliberate avoidance of the other person’s “eyes” conveyed a message more powerfully than any words: “I’m uncomfortable, but I’m trying to hide it.”
He knew it would hurt.
The faint light indeed floated uneasily, moving closer to him. A clear message of concern conveyed: [Are you... afraid of thunder? I won't laugh at you, you can tell me.]
Li Xinian did not answer immediately. He turned his head slightly and looked at the rain curtain outside the window, which was once again illuminated by lightning. His profile looked somewhat lonely in the light and shadow.
He gave a very soft "hmm," like a sigh.
“When I was little… I experienced some unpleasant things.” Li Xinian spoke vaguely, his gaze tentatively fixed on the ball of light. “So, will you stay here tonight?”
Finally, she thoughtfully added, "If you have anything else to do, it's okay to leave first."
To retreat in order to advance, to feign weakness in order to capture.
This was the method Li Xinian told Wang Shunduo, and it was also the principle he himself practiced.
The faint light almost without hesitation drifted toward Li Xinian, and a cool, soothing touch gently covered the back of his hand that was gripping the bed sheet, with an irresistible tenderness, smoothing out his tense fingers little by little.
The reply was equally concise and to the point, even carrying a hint of gentle reassurance:
[Okay. I'll stay with you, go to sleep.]
Li Xinian obediently relaxed, letting the invisible force soothe him, but a sense of triumph flashed through his heart.
He folded the blanket, turned to face the direction of the faint light, and closed his eyes.
The thunder and rain continued outside the window, but he could clearly feel that "it" was right next to the bed, never leaving its side.
He knew he had made the right bet.
Take advantage of the other party's weaknesses and proceed cautiously step by step.
This gave him a secret thrill more than any business negotiation or family infighting.
As the next clap of thunder sounded, he unconsciously moved a little closer to the source of the cool aura. And as he expected, the other party did not flinch at all, but instead enveloped the protective aura even more tightly.
Li Xinian opened his eyes, patted the empty space next to him, the movement so natural it was like a habit that didn't require thought: "It's not appropriate for you to stand here, you should lie down for a while too."
*
As soon as Li finished speaking, the interface instantly displayed the interactive option: [Lying in bed].
Lin Suxing tapped her finger lightly and felt as if she were lying on a soft and elastic bed, with a fluffy blanket at her feet, carrying the warmth of another person's body.
A warm, damp breath seemed to spray onto his face, making his face flush instantly.
He's the kind of person who becomes talkative when he's shy, and at this moment he started rambling on and on: "Niannian, once I've accumulated more points, I'll be able to send you useful gifts. If you need any help from me, be sure to let me know."
After saying that, he casually pressed the [Character Creation] option in the system's pop-up interaction menu.
As the faint light drew closer, the bed beside Li Xinian silently sank in a small section, forming a subtle arc resembling a human figure.
...year after year?
No one has ever called him that before.
A sudden look of surprise flashed across Li Xinian's gray-blue eyes.
Before he could react, a hand made of faint light with a hazy outline gently reached out and, with a cool touch, carefully pinched his cheek.
The movements were extremely gentle, carrying an obvious sense of intimacy and probing.
Li Xinian's body stiffened for a moment.
No one had ever dared to do such a... presumptuous and childish thing to him.
The expected displeasure did not arise; instead, it felt as if a feather had lightly tickled my heart, creating a strange, itchy ripple.
They were so close that they could touch each other with just a reach of their hands.
The emotions surging in his chest seemed to grow increasingly intense, and those clear emotions had taken on a concrete name, making it impossible for Li Xinian to ignore or deny them any longer.
"Your presence is enough." Li Xinian looked at the hazy light beside him and couldn't help but raise his hand to stroke the area surrounded by the soft glow.
Under "its" protection, he has traversed countless darknesses to reach where he is today. He is now capable of standing on his own, owning most of the Li family's business empire, and able to resolve any trouble.
People feared and dreaded him, but only "it" would pinch its own face, call him "Nian Nian," and repeatedly say that it would protect him.
His fingers passed through it, but Li Xinian felt as if he were touching warm, smooth skin.
This time the text appeared a little slower, but it was particularly direct: "I don't think it's enough. You have to understand, if you like someone, no matter how good you are to them, it's never enough."
like.
Its feelings for him... were liking, it was love.
Complex and contradictory emotions ultimately defeated reason, driving Li Xinian to open his arms to the other person and make a more intimate gesture, one that he also deeply desired.
He gave the other person no more time to hesitate. His arm, with an undeniable gentleness, wrapped around the hollow and pulled the cool energy tightly into his embrace.
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