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As noon approached, Ye Xingzhou had arranged a lavish feast to entertain his guests.
Since they were old classmates, there was no need for too many formalities when discussing business; they chatted directly at the dining table. Choosing to meet on a day like today was mostly about friends gathering with business talk being secondary.
Qi Xing could only eat a couple of things but he didn’t complain like he had in the morning. Instead, he enthusiastically helped Ye Xingzhou attend to the guests—specifically, the beautiful man he had his eye on.
“Little friend, no need to fuss and just sit down. I can handle it myself,” Ning Zhiyuan said with a smile and declined Qi Xing’s offer to pour him a drink and just gestured for him to sit.
Qi Xing’s mouth twitched slightly. Being called “little friend” by someone he was interested in was a bit embarrassing.
Reluctantly, he sat back down. He caught a glimpse of Ye Xingzhou’s disdainful look directed at him, which clearly read “contempt.”
Cen Zhisen chuckled at the sight and teased Ye Xingzhou, “Your little friend is quite amusing.”
Ye Xingzhou’s expression remained cold: “You all can do as you please and don’t mind him.”
Qi Xing scoffed inwardly; if you don’t want me here, then why call me to sit? Is it fun to mess with me?
Ye Xingzhou ignored him and turned back to discuss business with the other two.
Cen Zhisen had brought Ning Zhiyuan along to persuade Ye Xingzhou and Qi Xing to invest personally and partner with them to establish an investment company focused on promising emerging industries: “I’ll be investing as well but it won’t be related to the Cen family’s company as I’m using my own money. This small investment company won’t compete with Ye’s Corporation and it’s nowhere near the scale of Ronghua Corporation. The investment doesn’t need to be too large as it’s more of a side project. If it goes well, then there’s no need to worry about making some pocket money. I wonder if you two are interested?”
Mentioning Ronghua Corporation right off the bat showed that he was well aware of Qi Xing’s background and he was including him in the pitch.
Qi Xing was somewhat surprised and instinctively glanced at Ye Xingzhou. He realized that he had invited him here because he was eyeing his money?
Ye Xingzhou didn’t explain and only told the two across from him, “We don’t have time to manage a new company.”
“You don’t need to worry about that; I don’t have time either,” Cen Zhisen laughed, then pointed to Ning Zhiyuan beside him. “I specifically brought him along to recommend him to you. He graduated from an Ivy League business school and worked in our company for several years and even reached the position of Executive Vice President. With his education and experience, he should have no problem managing a small investment company. The new company will be entirely under his responsibility. If you trust my judgment, why not give it a shot? I can’t guarantee how much you’ll earn but I can assure you, you won't lose money.”
Ning Zhiyuan then casually chatted with Ye Xingzhou while analyzing the investment market trends with impressive insight, clearly knowledgeable.
Qi Xing listened absentmindedly and just kept thinking about money.
Investment?
His father was wealthy but what about him? Hmm?
Ye Xingzhou didn’t respond immediately and only said, “We’ll think about it.”
Halfway through the meal, Qi Xing felt a bit uncomfortable in his stomach and excused himself to rest in the bedroom.
Ye Xingzhou brought him some medicine along with warm water: “Take your medicine.”
Qi Xing replied weakly, “You should attend to your guests. It’s not good to leave them alone outside; why bother with me?”
Ye Xingzhou frowned: “Are you feeling very unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No,” Qi Xing quickly shook his head and swallowed the medicine.
As he set the cup down, he peeked out towards the dining room and sighed, “Your old classmate’s younger brother is good-looking, highly educated, and capable that he even reached the position of Executive Vice President in your old classmate’s company. Why is he trying to go out on his own now? Are you really considering investing in them?”
Ye Xingzhou replied, “You can’t resist good-looking people, can you?”
Qi Xing choked: “...Who can’t resist? Isn’t it you who can’t resist me? How dare you say that about others?”
Then he saw the same contempt in Ye Xingzhou’s eyes as before and he felt irritated: “Get lost, I don’t want to see you.”
“You either think about your ‘big brother’, ‘little brother’ or ‘daddy’, Is that all that’s on your mind?” Ye Xingzhou mocked him.
Qi Xing retorted sourly, “I don’t know about others being ‘big brothers’ or ‘little brothers,’ but calling you ‘daddy’ isn’t wrong. You’re even more generous than my dad; one night and I get a new car. Who can be more extravagant than you? To put it bluntly, isn’t it just a transaction of money and pleasure? What’s wrong with calling you ‘daddy’?”
Ye Xingzhou reached out and pinched his chin: “Transaction of money and pleasure?”
Qi Xing replied, “Isn’t it?”
Ye Xingzhou asked, “Do you think anyone would believe that?”
Qi Xing shrugged: “I believe it myself.”
“Then you can say it’s true,” Ye Xingzhou’s fingers rubbed against his chin, “Say it again.”
“I won’t say it again,” Qi Xing pushed his hand away, “You’re so full of yourself.”
Ye Xingzhou said, “You’re out of money? When you were throwing money around trying to spend five million on a painting that wasn’t worth it, weren’t you quite extravagant?”
“How can you still bring that up? I don’t even know who ended up spending eight million to buy a painting just to make a beauty smile. I didn’t even spend that five million.” Mentioning this, Qi Xing’s tone became even more sour. That bastard Ye Xingzhou always knew how to hit the sore spot.
Ye Xingzhou stared into his eyes and Qi Xing felt like laughing but couldn’t.
He turned his gaze away.
Neither of them spoke again.
One stood and the other sat. Each lost in their thoughts for a moment as the atmosphere became somewhat delicate.
Ye Xingzhou spoke again: “If you don’t want to engage in a transaction of money and pleasure with me, you can earn your own money. You don’t have to worry about your parents controlling you. About what we discussed at the dinner table, are you interested?”
Qi Xing looked up: “Can it really make money? How much do I need to invest?”
Ye Xingzhou replied, “If you want to invest, I’ll join you. You can invest two or three million, and if it’s not enough, I’ll cover the rest.”
“No need for that; I still have two or three million.”
Qi Xing was indeed a bit tempted. Although his father had given him an unlimited credit card to spend as he pleased, but he would still get scolded for excessive extravagance. His mother would secretly give him extra pocket money and he had about several million from her over time. However, being treated like a child by his parents at his age was quite annoying.
“This is all my savings; if I lose it…”
“If you lose it, I’ll cover you,” Ye Xingzhou said calmly, “If you earn, it’s yours; if you lose, it’s mine.”
Qi Xing replied, “That’s too generous.”
Ye Xingzhou said, “Aren’t you calling me ‘daddy’?”
Qi Xing fell silent as he realized he was just teasing him but he adapted to the role quite quickly.
After finishing the meal, Ye Xingzhou and Cen Zhisen stepped outside under the eaves to smoke and chat.
“Is your little friend feeling better? I find him quite amusing. I didn’t expect your taste to be like this. It’s surprising. I remember you used to look down on such spoiled rich kids. What has changed?” Cen Zhisen laughed as he spoke.
Ye Xingzhou ignored him as his gaze fell on the snowman built in the yard. Cen Zhisen noticed it and raised an eyebrow: “Did your little friend build that snowman? Is that your tie? You actually let him get away with this?”
After a long pause, Ye Xingzhou simply said, “It’s well built.”
Cen Zhisen shook off the ash from his cigarette as his smile deepened: “You really are something. It’s been a while and you’ve changed.”
Ye Xingzhou took a deep breath of smoke and finally said, “We’ll invest the money. You can run the company. But in the future, don’t bring that brother of yours around too often.”
“Why not?” Cen Zhisen started to say but then realized and sigh, “Alright, I promise not to bring him around your little friend unless necessary. Is that okay?”
Ye Xingzhou didn’t respond as his gaze lingered on the round, comical snowman while slowly finishing his cigarette.
Qi Xing pushed open the window and saw Ning Zhiyuan alone in the backyard. He called out to him.
Ning Zhiyuan was washing his face by the sink with droplets of water on his face. He shook his head and smiled when he heard the voice: “Little friend, didn’t you say you were feeling unwell?”
Qi Xing leaned out then jumped through the window and walked over to Ning Zhiyuan: “Why are you washing your face with cold water outside? Isn’t it cold?”
“It’s fine as a little cold wakes me up,” Ning Zhiyuan said nonchalantly. “You should take care; that Young Master Ye said you were in the hospital getting an IV last night. You need to be careful and take care of your health.”
Qi Xing looked at his water-splashed face again and confirmed once more that he was indeed good-looking, better than anyone he had ever liked before. If it were in the past, he would have gone all out to pursue him but now…
Ning Zhiyuan lit a cigarette and noticed Qi Xing staring at him, asked, “Little friend, why are you staring at me?”
Qi Xing awkwardly replied, “Why does everyone call me little friend? You’re not that much older than me, are you?”
He took out his phone: “Shall we add each other on WeChat?”
Ning Zhiyuan smiled and reminded him, “Although you look good, but I’m straight. You’re not really trying to hit on me, are you? And by the way, Cen Zhisen and I aren’t in a ‘big brother-little brother [1]’ relationship; you’ve misunderstood.”
[1] Like Qi Xing and Ye Xingzhou relationship
Qi Xing: “…………”
It was a bit embarrassing to be overheard talking about people behind their backs.
He cleared his throat and raised his chin: “Isn’t it okay to make friends? I just like to befriend good-looking people.”
“Sure, I like that too,” Ning Zhiyuan said casually while exchanging WeChat IDs with him.
Qi Xing was satisfied. As he put his phone away, he tilted his head and said, “But still, my ‘daddy’ is a bit better looking.”
Ning Zhiyuan chuckled: “Well, that’s good.”
After the guests left, Qi Xing took another nap in the afternoon. When he woke up, it was already past four. The room with the curtains drawn was dimly lit with only a bedside lamp on. Ye Xingzhou was leaning beside him and reading a book with his silver-framed glasses perched on his nose.
Qi Xing’s eyelashes fluttered slowly as he looked up at his face. Ye Xingzhou hadn’t worn glasses for the past couple of days and he had almost forgotten what he looked like in front of others.
He stared at him for a moment until Ye Xingzhou’s gaze fell on him: “What are you looking at?”
Qi Xing shrank back under the covers and unwilling to admit he had been staring: “I wasn’t looking at you; you’re just full of yourself.”
What he had said to Ning Zhiyuan was true; in his eyes, Ye Xingzhou was indeed better. If it weren’t for this person’s annoying aura then he might have been the one he noticed first at the charity gala that night.
But to pursue Ye Xingzhou? No, thank you.
Lost in thought, Ye Xingzhou’s hand quickly slid from behind his ear down the side of his neck, causing Qi Xing to shrank his neck.
But the more he dodged, the more that hand pursued him as the places it brushed against are igniting a fire within him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ye Xingzhou calmly reading and Qi Xing felt displeased. Not wanting to appear weak, he threw off the covers then climbed onto Ye Xingzhou’s lap and snatched the book from his hands then tossed it to the floor.
Ye Xingzhou looked up and Qi Xing smiled while his fingers intentionally brushed against the hard muscles of his thigh as he leaned forward.
The hand resting on his waist tightened and Qi Xing wrapped his arms around Ye Xingzhou’s neck, breathing close: “Daddy, do you want it?”
Ye Xingzhou frowned: “Get down.”
Qi Xing refused and deliberately provoked him: “Do you want it or not?”
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter if he wanted it; after all, he was a patient.
But seeing Ye Xingzhou unable to maintain his composure brought him satisfaction.
Ye Xingzhou’s gaze bore into him and Qi Xing chuckled softly while feeling increasingly pleased.
But the next second, he found himself pulled down onto the bed with Ye Xingzhou’s voice low: “Qi Xing, don’t provoke me.”
Qi Xing defiantly replied, “Are you serious? I don’t mind as long as you’re interested but what if I need to go to the bathroom halfway through? Ouch—”
Ye Xingzhou’s hand slipped into his waistband and gripped the base of his thigh.
“Here.”
Qi Xing kicked out: “I don’t want it.”
This was even more embarrassing than a direct approach; he wouldn’t accept it.
“Do you think you have a choice in this transaction of money and pleasure?” Ye Xingzhou reminded him while biting his earlobe.
Qi Xing cursed, “Bastard…”
Ye Xingzhou knelt up as he took off his glasses and tossed them onto the bedside table then slowly began to unbutton his shirt. Starting with the top button as his movements deliberate with his eyes remained fixed on Qi Xing, his gaze commanding and unyielding.
Qi Xing looked up at him as his throat bobbed slowly but unable to say “no” anymore.
As Ye Xingzhou’s body descended again, Qi Xing raised his hands then wrapped it around Ye Xingzhou.