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Ye Xingzhou was still in a meeting when he received the news.
Qi Xing and Ye Wanqing were locked in a fierce fight.
When the security guards discovered them and tried to intervene, both sides had already drawn blood. A sharp-eyed guard recognized Qi Xing and didn’t dare to handle it on his own. He didn’t heed to Ye Wanqing’s shouting to call the police and directly reported the incident to Ye Xingzhou’s secretary, which is how Ye Xingzhou found out.
The board meeting ended early and Ye Xingzhou personally went down to the security department.
In the security office, Qi Xing was sulking on the sofa with his legs propped up on the coffee table. Despite having a bruised face, it didn’t diminish his arrogant demeanor even though his in someone else's territory.
Opposite him, Ye Wanqing was bloodied and still baring his teeth while urging people to call the police and shouting that he would make Qi Xing pay, until Ye Xingzhou walked in.
Ye Xingzhou cast a disdainful glance at Ye Wanqing before his gaze fell on Qi Xing.
Faced with Ye Xingzhou, Qi Xing finally felt a twinge of awkwardness and silently turned his face away to reveal the swollen side of his face.
Ye Xingzhou’s expression darkened slightly and Ye Wanqing immediately stood up, ominously saying, “This madman attacked me suddenly in the underground parking lot. I want to call the police.”
He already knew Qi Xing’s identity but now he had nothing to lose. The barefoot are not afraid of the shod [1] and he just wanted to reclaim his dignity, regardless of who Qi Xing was. It would be even better if he could ruin the cooperation between Ye Xingzhou and Ronghua Corporation.
[1] means that those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose.
Ye Xingzhou had heard about the incident on his way there and coldly reminded him, “You threw the first punch. There’s surveillance, so if you want, you can call the police.”
Ye Wanqing felt a moment of guilt but quickly became furious while gritting his teeth. Qi Xing immediately chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, he threw the first punch. If you want to call the police, go ahead. Let the police come and sort it out.”
Ye Wanqing had been beaten badly to the point that he lost a tooth and his face was swollen. In a mutual fight among adults, the police would just mediate, so he wasn’t afraid at all.
After all, he had beaten someone up and he felt good about it.
Ye Xingzhou took out his phone and asked Ye Wanqing, “Do you want me to help you call the police?”
Upon meeting his gaze, Ye Wanqing remembered his younger brother who had been sent away and felt intimidated. He was afraid that Ye Xingzhou would play dirty, so he didn’t insist on calling the police anymore. In the end, he just gritted his teeth and left in a huff.
Qi Xing snorted, “What a coward. Always just putting on airs.”
Ye Xingzhou shot him a cold glance and signaled, “Bring up the surveillance footage.”
Qi Xing was taken aback and immediately said, “What’s the point of watching the footage now that he’s gone?”
Ye Xingzhou ignored him and insisted on reviewing the footage.
Since the boss had spoken, everyone naturally complied and quickly pulled up the surveillance video. Coincidentally, there was a camera near where Qi Xing and Ye Wanqing had been standing, capturing not only clear visuals but also crisp audio.
Ye Xingzhou remained indifferent to Ye Wanqing’s insults but when he heard Qi Xing confront him with “If you insult Ye Xingzhou, you’re messing with me” and “You can’t insult him,” his brows twitched slightly and he looked at Qi Xing with a meaningful gaze.
Qi Xing: “…”
If he had known, he wouldn’t have said anything.
“Let’s go back.”
After watching the footage, Ye Xingzhou said nothing and gestured for Qi Xing to follow him home.
Qi Xing grumbled and reluctantly got up but no longer displaying the arrogance he had shown when facing Ye Wanqing.
Once in Ye Xingzhou’s car, he winced and covered the corner of his mouth while hissing in pain. He had only focused on the thrill of the fight earlier but now the pain was catching up to him.
Ye Xingzhou reached over with his cool fingertips brushing against the swollen part of Qi Xing’s face. Qi Xing instinctively flinched and frowned, saying, “Don’t touch me, you bastard.”
Ye Xingzhou: “Does it hurt?”
Qi Xing: “You try it and see if it hurts.”
But he probably forgot that Ye Xingzhou had been beaten up by him several times before, so this was nothing new to him.
Ye Xingzhou withdrew his hand: “If it hurts then remember this the next time and fight less.”
“Who was I doing it for?” Qi Xing retorted angrily but as soon as he said it, he felt it was pointless. He shot a fierce glare at the bastard and turned his head away.
Back at home, Ye Xingzhou took out a first-aid kit and nodded toward the sofa for Qi Xing to sit down. Qi Xing was full of complaints and was feeling unhappy. Even when he sat down, he didn’t want to acknowledge him.
Ye Xingzhou leaned beside him and pinched his face then stared at his colorful bruises for a moment. Just as Qi Xing was about to lose patience and throw a tantrum, Ye Xingzhou suddenly said, “Thank you.”
Qi Xing was instantly rendered speechless.
Ye Xingzhou took out some ointment and began to treat his wounds.
He disinfected the scraped areas with iodine and applied medicine while another ointment was for reducing swelling, which he gently rubbed on the swollen but unbroken skin.
“Sleeping for a while will reduce the swelling by half. Apply it twice more tomorrow and it should be fine in two days,” Ye Xingzhou casually instructed.
As Ye Xingzhou’s hand rubbed against his face, Qi Xing felt slightly uncomfortable and forced a laugh, “You really have a lot of experience, Ye Xingzhou. You must have used this medicine a lot, huh?”
After he finished speaking, he hissed again and glared at Ye Xingzhou, who had deliberately pressed the cotton swab against his wound.
Ye Xingzhou didn’t bother to argue with him and just finished applying the medicine then washed his hands and went to the kitchen to make a coffee.
Qi Xing followed him. Just when he was about to speak, Yang Kaiming’s call came in. Asking where he was and why he hadn’t arrived yet.
Qi Xing completely forgot about it and awkwardly said, “I’m not going.”
Yang Kaiming: “Did your ‘daddy’ catch you again?”
Ye Xingzhou snatched his phone and answered, “Is there something?”
On the other end, Yang Kaiming paused for a second before quickly saying, “Nothing.” and hung up.
Qi Xing snatched his phone back, “What’s wrong with you?”
Ye Xingzhou let him say what he wanted and continued making coffee.
His own phone rang; it was his uncle calling. But he just left the phone by his side, neither answering nor hanging up and just treating it as background noise.
Qi Xing glanced at the caller ID and laughed, “Are you deliberately teasing that old man?”
Ye Xingzhou: “Let him be.”
The phone rang three times before finally stopping. Qi Xing could almost imagine the old man fuming, “What’s your temper like? That brat just insulted you and you didn’t react at all?”
He could still vividly recall Ye Xingzhou’s calm demeanor while watching the surveillance footage. Qi Xing was genuinely curious; did this person really not care about any of this?
Ye Xingzhou didn’t even lift his eyelids: “Didn’t you already help me beat someone up? Besides, what he said wasn’t even true. Why should I be angry?”
Qi Xing: “Huh?”
Ye Xingzhou handed him the coffee he had just made: “I’m not a bastard. My mom is the legitimate wife, the one who actually married Ye Chonglin.”
Qi Xing’s eyes widened in surprise. Ye Xingzhou continued, “Surprised?”
Qi Xing: “But everyone outside says…”
“Say I’m a bastard?” Ye Xingzhou scoffed lightly, “If they didn’t say that, how would it make Ye Chonglin and that woman seem legitimate?”
When it came to his biological father, Ye Xingzhou not only called him by name but also spoke with a cold disdain while briefly explaining to Qi Xing.
Ye Xingzhou’s mother was indeed the legitimate wife of the Ye family patriarch. When he was young, the patriarch had been infatuated and, in order to marry the impoverished Ye Xingzhou’s mother, gave up his identity as a wealthy heir and eloped with her. They even registered their marriage and had a child but it only lasted a year or two. Reality defeated love and the patriarch abandoned his wife and child then obediently marrying someone more suitable.
“That woman knew about us and my mother’s existence but still insisted on marrying Ye Chonglin. After the marriage, she became suspicious that Ye Chonglin was still in contact with my mother and constantly causing us trouble. In the end, she even sent my mother to a mental hospital. My mother died and I entered an orphanage at eight. At fifteen, I was recognized back into the Ye family by Ye Chonglin because he was getting old and in poor health. He didn’t want the Ye family to be completely controlled by that woman and her three sons, so he thought of me.”
Ye Xingzhou’s tone was as indifferent as if he were talking about someone else’s story. Qi Xing opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. For someone like him, who grew up in a loving family, it would be false to say he could empathize. Yet, hearing Ye Xingzhou say this made him feel uncomfortable for some inexplicable reason, even though it had nothing to do with him.
“So you…”
“It’s not all bad. At least I’ve pretended to be a good son in front of him for over a decade, which made him to trust me. He even gave me most of the company shares. The four of them, Ye Wanqing and his mother included, can only watch me. Although the parasites in the Ye family lean towards them, the other shareholders and directors don’t want the Ye family to become a one-man show, so they’d rather choose me.”
“What happened to your dad?”
Qi Xing blurted out but immediately regretted it. Was it inappropriate to ask about such private matters if Ye Xingzhou was involved?
Ye Xingzhou took a sip of coffee and calmly said, “He had a heart attack and collapsed in front of me but I kicked his medicine away.”
Qi Xing: “Oh.”
Ye Xingzhou’s gaze fell on him: “Are you scared?”
“I’ve said it before, what’s there to be afraid of?” Qi Xing rolled his eyes. When Ye Xingzhou first vaguely mentioned family matters, he had asked this question. He hadn’t felt scared then and he felt even less so now.
Ye Xingzhou suddenly laughed but didn't wait for Qi Xing to react. He set down his coffee cup then leaned forward across the bar table and his fingers brushed against Qi Xing’s still swollen face.
The smile at the corner of his mouth faded while his eyes narrowed slightly and his gaze made Qi Xing feel a strange chill. Ye Xingzhou gently caressed the area his fingers had touched while murmuring, “Qi Xing, now that you know all my secrets, you can’t escape.”
Qi Xing snapped back to reality and ignoring the strange feeling that surged in his heart at that moment. He pushed his shoulder and cursed, “You lunatic, who are you trying to threaten?”
Ye Xingzhou stumbled back a step from his push but didn’t mind. He leaned back against the bar table and leisurely finished the rest of his coffee.
Qi Xing avoided his gaze, which had been fixed on him. Ye Xingzhou’s attitude today was indeed a bit strange, starting from when they left the Ye family building.
He thought for a moment but couldn’t figure out what was wrong with this bastard, so he decided to let it go and let things be.
However, after night fell, Ye Xingzhou held him tightly and do him fiercely, to the point that Qi Xing’s voice was nearly hoarse from shouting, yet he still wasn’t let off the hook. He finally realized that this bastard wasn’t just a little strange today; he was indeed very strange.
Qi Xing couldn’t take it anymore and kicked Ye Xingzhou, who was relentless, “Hurry up, what time is it? I want to go home.”
Ye Xingzhou paused while burying his head in Qi Xing's neck and breathing heavily. Qi Xing was drenched in hot sweat and feeling uncomfortable being held so tightly, “What’s wrong with you?”
Ye Xingzhou looked up and silenced his incessant chatter with a kiss.
Dazed from the kiss, Qi Xing quickly lost the strength to kick or push him away.
Finally able to breathe in fresh air, he grabbed Ye Xingzhou’s face and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you? Are you so moved because I helped you beat someone today that you plan to offer yourself to me? If that’s the case, just lie down and let me take charge…”
The result of his teasing was being ravaged even more fiercely. By the end, Qi Xing couldn’t even curse and nearly losing his consciousness.
He had no idea what time it was when it finally ended. Dazed, Qi Xing fumbled for his phone to check the time with eyes closed and mumbling, “You put on your clothes; I want to go home.”
“It’s past midnight; don’t go back today,” Ye Xingzhou said with one hand still resting on Qi Xing back and gently rubbing it as his voice was also hoarse.
Qi Xing: “I don’t want to; my parents will call to look for me…”
Ye Xingzhou: “I’ve already sent them a message saying you drank too much and are staying at a friend’s house for the night.”
Qi Xing frowned, then forced one eye open to check his phone, which was already turned off.
Forget it; it would be troublesome to go home with a swollen face and he really couldn’t move anymore.
His eyelids drooped again: “I’m going back to my hometown for the New Year with my parents tomorrow. Don’t bother me anymore.”
Ye Xingzhou’s voice drew closer: “How many days will you be gone?”
Qi Xing: “I don’t know; at least I’ll be back after the seventh day of the New Year. I want to sleep; don’t disturb me.”
Ye Xingzhou: “I want to bother you.”
Qi Xing glanced at him in a daze then pulled him down and kissed him on the lips. In his muddled brain, he didn’t even think about the meaning of what he was doing, closing his eyes again, “Don’t disturb me, it’s annoying.”
Qi Xing was probably really tired as he fell asleep completely within two minutes after saying that.
Ye Xingzhou leaned against the headboard. He lit a cigarette as his gaze lingering on Qi Xing’s still swollen face with his hand resting on it and didn't move for a long time.