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After it was completely dark, the mountain forest was filled with howling winds.
Qi Xing shivered and inched closer to Ye Xingzhou, "When will your people arrive? We can't possibly stay here all night, can we?"
"I don't know," Ye Xingzhou replied. His eyes were closed and his fingers tapping rhythmically on his knee, seemingly to keep himself from dozing off. "This forest is quite large, and it's dark now. It won't be easy to find us. You said it yourself; my phone might be broken or out of battery."
Qi Xing was speechless and cursed Yang Kaiming in his heart for being unreliable, but it was of no use.
"Cold?" Ye Xingzhou touched his hand. The pampered young master’s palm was icy, indicating he had indeed been through a lot today.
Qi Xing immediately withdrew his hand but didn’t move away. Being next to Ye Xingzhou, a source of warmth was comforting enough for him not to be stubborn.
Of course, he still had to complain: "Can you not take advantage of me for once?"
Ye Xingzhou scoffed, "Is touching once considered taking advantage?"
Qi Xing couldn’t be bothered to argue further, so he closed his eyes and emptied his mind. Although it was uncomfortable in such a ghostly place, he, being carefree, surprisingly fell asleep and instinctively leaned towards the heat source as his head rested on Ye Xingzhou's shoulder.
Ye Xingzhou leaned against the mountain wall and was not moving. Qi Xing's hair brushed against his face, slightly tickling him. Now, it was hard to tell who was taking advantage of whom.
He rarely felt like laughing as this fleeting emotion quickly sank into the depths of his eyes, disappearing without a trace.
His fingers continued to tap on his knee and Ye Xingzhou's thoughts drifted. The only person who had seen his true self and wasn’t afraid of him was probably this little wildcat beside him.
From the initial intention to savoring the moment then to the subtle stirring of feelings, it all happened in an instant. From the moment this person left and then returned and reluctantly said he would carry him.
He had cared for very few people—his mother and Lin Zhinian from the past. But his mother was dead and Lin Zhinian had left; they had all abandoned him without looking back.
Qi Xing was also the only one who returned.
………….
The search and rescue team found them just before dawn. Not only were Ye Xingzhou's bodyguards there but Qi Ronghua and his wife had also arrived.
When they were brought down the mountain and saw his frantic parents, Qi Xing truly felt guilty and embarrassed to the point of wishing he could pretend to have amnesia.
Qi Ronghua went to greet Ye Xingzhou while Wang Cuilan held Qi Xing's hand and asked with concern if he was hurt anywhere. Qi Xing was absent-minded as his gaze repeatedly drifted to Ye Xingzhou, who was talking to his father as his heart was anxious, fearing that this guy would report him directly.
It wasn’t until Ye Xingzhou was helped into the car that his gaze suddenly turned to Qi Xing. Despite the distance of over ten meters and the dim light, Qi Xing seemed to clearly see the meaning in that person's eyes, clearly written as "I'll settle the score with you next time."
Qi Xing silently turned his eyes away. Settle the score? I haven't finished settling mine with you yet.
When Qi Ronghua returned and saw Qi Xing, he wanted to scold him but Wang Cuilan shot him a glare. Seeing the exhaustion on this kid's face, he ultimately held back and just said, "Get in the car."
Wang Cuilan worriedly asked if they should go to the hospital. Qi Xing quickly replied, "No need, I'm fine. Just a scrape on my palm but I want to eat something more right now."
His mother immediately said, "Then let's go home and your dad will cook noodles for you."
By the time they got home, it was already past six in the morning. Qi Xing, while holding a bowl of noodles wider than his face, wolfed it down while Qi Ronghua watched with a frown.
Once the kid was full, he immediately asked, "What exactly happened? How did you end up in the mountains with Ye Xingzhou? Did you set him up to get into trouble?"
Qi Xing pouted, "He really reported me to Dad? How shameless."
Qi Ronghua's finger tapped his forehead, "Stop talking nonsense. How could Young Master Ye report to me? It was Yang Kaiming who said you didn’t come back at midnight. And I called your godfather and he said you went off with Ye Xingzhou. I couldn't reach Ye Xingzhou, so I contacted his secretary and found out he went into the mountains. Later, Yang Kaiming called me and explained everything you asked him to do. He said that the people he sent didn’t see you and couldn’t reach you. He was worried you might be in trouble, so they came to me."
Qi Xing cursed Yang Kaiming a few more times in his heart then realized something was off: "His people didn't see us? Then who came looking for us with knives today?"
That group had called out Ye Xingzhou's name right away, so it was actually Ye Xingzhou's own trouble he had brought upon himself?
Thinking about this, Qi Xing's face darkened. He had initially thought he was in the wrong so he stayed behind to accompany Ye Xingzhou all night but it turned out he was just the innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
"You still have the nerve to say that," Qi Ronghua was furious, "What did I tell you? I warned you repeatedly not to provoke Ye Xingzhou and you actually spent money trying to set him up? What kind of grudge do you have against him to escalate things to this point?"
Qi Xing didn’t want to explain: "I just find him unpleasant."
Qi Ronghua exclaimed, "You—"
"Alright, alright, let’s all just say a little less. After a whole night of trouble, aren’t you tired? Let’s all go to sleep after eating." Wang Cuilan stepped in to mediate while giving Qi Xing a look.
Qi Xing set down his bowl and quickly slipped back to his room.
After a quick shower, he collapsed onto his bed and slept until noon.
Qi Ronghua didn’t scold him anymore. After lunch, he directly told Qi Xing to change clothes, saying he would take him to the hospital to apologize to Ye Xingzhou in person and leaving him no room to refuse.
Qi Xing was reluctant but ultimately was dragged into the car by his father.
Ye Xingzhou was still in the hospital. Besides a sprained ankle, he had bruises all over. He even has a slight infection which results in having a low fever and needing to stay for observation for a day.
In the private hospital's high-end ward, Qi Xing followed behind Qi Ronghua, acting submissive. He listened as his father sat down and politely apologized to Ye Xingzhou. Saying his son was young and didn’t know better and then asking Ye Xingzhou to forgive him and not to hold it against him.
Ye Xingzhou leaned back on the sofa while wearing a hospital gown. The abrasions on his face had been treated and he didn’t seem weak at all. Compared to the disheveled state he was in last night in the mountains, he looked quite composed now.
Qi Xing felt annoyed watching this. Qi Ronghua raised his hand and slapped the back of his head: "Apologize to Young Master Ye."
Qi Xing was unhappy and glared at Ye Xingzhou, who was also looking at him leisurely, as if watching a joke.
This made Qi Xing even more displeased. After hesitating for a moment, he heard Ye Xingzhou pretentiously say to his father, "Uncle Qi, there's no need for that. I know Qi Xing was just playing around with me, so it’s nothing serious. What happened yesterday has nothing to do with him, rather, I was the one who got him into trouble."
Hearing this made Qi Xing's skin crawl. He didn’t know if it was because Ye Xingzhou had directly called his name or the tone he used but it was all too pretentious.
Although what he said wasn’t wrong—he was indeed dragged into trouble by Ye Xingzhou.
With Ye Xingzhou's attitude, Qi Ronghua seemed to relax a bit and the two exchanged a few polite pleasantries.
Qi Ronghua had social engagements in the afternoon, so he planned to leave but Ye Xingzhou suggested Qi Xing to stay behind: "I’d like to have a private chat with Qi Xing, is that okay?"
Qi Ronghua hesitated. His son had provoked Ye Xingzhou and although Ye Xingzhou said it was fine, he still felt uneasy. Moreover, he didn’t know his son’s orientation but it was well-known that Ye Xingzhou had previously brought a man in and out. With his son being so beautiful, what if this guy had his eyes on him?
Qi Xing certainly didn’t want to stay but when he looked down, he saw a new message on his phone.
"If you don’t want me to bring up your affairs with those flirty people in front of your dad, just obediently stay."
Qi Xing: "…"
He suppressed the urge to smash his phone and proactively told Qi Ronghua, "It’s fine, Dad. I’ll just chat with Young Master Ye for a bit. You can go ahead with your business."
Qi Ronghua was still uneasy but since Qi Xing had said so, he only hesitated for a while before leaving.
Once the hospital door closed, Qi Xing plopped down onto the single sofa his father had just vacated and dropped the pretense: "What do you want now?"
Ye Xingzhou sat up then leaned forward and took his hand.
Qi Xing didn’t react in time and Ye Xingzhou had already turned his hands over to examine the iodine-stained palms.
"Are there any other injuries? Does it hurt?" Ye Xingzhou asked him.
Qi Xing quickly pulled his hand back: "No need to worry about me; you should take care of yourself."
Ye Xingzhou's words made him uneasy. He would rather this person not say anything kind than use this almost caring tone to inquire about him.
He could retort against the sarcastic jabs but he truly didn’t know how to deal with this soft approach and just wanted to run away.
Ye Xingzhou noticed his reaction and smiled slightly.
Seeing that expression, Qi Xing blurted out, "You’re not really secretly in love with me, are you?"
As soon as he said it, Qi Xing immediately regretted it and wished he could slap himself.
"Secretly in love with you?" Ye Xingzhou repeated the words with his gaze carrying a deep meaning as he leaned back into the sofa, "You’re quite narcissistic."
Isn’t that right? Yesterday at the farm, he had already asked a similar question and Ye Xingzhou had told him he was overthinking it. Yet today, he actually asked the same stupid question again.
Qi Xing felt awkward. But he couldn't be blamed as this bastard's attitude was just too strange and couldn't help but to overthink.
Ye Xingzhou then asked, "Has anyone pursued you before?"
Qi Xing: "…What was it to you?"
"Just asking," Ye Xingzhou replied, "You can just consider me being curious."
Qi Xing frowned. Many people had pursued him; after all, it was a fact that he was beautiful. There were both men and women but he wasn’t interested in women and most of the men were either unattractive or had ulterior motives. In short, none of them caught his eye.
"What about someone like Lin Zhinian? What did you see in him?" Ye Xingzhou changed the subject.
Qi Xing replied unhappily, "Teacher Lin is good-looking and talented. What’s wrong with liking him? Should I like you, a beast in human clothes?"
Mentioning Lin Zhinian reminded him of the good deed this bastard had done, making him feel too embarrassed to pursue Lin Zhinian now. Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy.
"Young Master Ye, your question is quite interesting. As according to Teacher Lin, you two used to have something going on, right? Have you never had feelings for him?"
Ye Xingzhou raised an eyebrow: "What did he say to you?"
Qi Xing replied sourly, "He said you two knew each other long ago and it was he who didn’t cherish you back then, which is why you missed your chance. Now, if there’s an opportunity to make amends, he wants to start over with you."
After saying that, he almost made himself sick with jealousy. Why was he telling Ye Xingzhou this? Was he passing messages or creating opportunities for them to reconcile?
Ye Xingzhou, however, was unfazed: "He’s just being one-sided."
Qi Xing glared at him: "Wasn’t it also one-sided when you forced me?"
…Forget it, why was he even wasting words with this bastard?
Qi Xing stood up, intending to leave but accidentally tripped over the coffee table leg and ended up stumbling forward and landing right next to Ye Xingzhou, who instinctively held him down.
"Let go." Qi Xing immediately tried to push him away.
Ye Xingzhou leisurely released his grip and as Qi Xing stood up again, he suddenly asked, "What do you think about my proposal from yesterday?"
Qi Xing took a moment to realize Ye Xingzhou was referring to the idea of being friends with benefits and his face instantly flushed: "Are you shameless?"
Ye Xingzhou's gaze lingered on his face and reminded him in a low voice: "Playing hard to get gets boring after a while."
Damn it.
Qi Xing kicked directly at the injured ankle of this bastard: "Get lost."