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A week later, it was time for the investment roadshow, shuttling between several major cities.
In his spare time, Qi Xing had to meet with investors and institutions individually while occasionally attending dinner parties.
Every day, he was so busy that he barely had time to rest. Because as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning, he had to start working and at night, he fell asleep in exhaustion. Occasionally, he would glance at his phone and tease Ye Xingzhou, which he considered a way to relax.
"In a bit, we have to meet with big funds. The appointment is at four in the afternoon. If you're tired, you can close your eyes and take a nap now."
Qi Xing was slumped on the hotel lobby sofa when he heard Li Zechen say this and just let out a weak groan.
Li Zechen sat down on the single sofa opposite him. Seeing him like this, he couldn't help but smile.
A young master who grew up in a privileged circle probably had never experienced such hardship.
It was indeed not easy for Qi Xing to hold on for so many days and face those hyena-like investors without showing fear or being taken advantage of.
After a moment of daze, Qi Xing lazily picked up his phone and took a selfie, capturing half of Li Zechen's leg in the frame.
He was quite satisfied and edited it together with the roadshow photo that his assistant had just sent him and posted it on his Moments.
In just a few minutes, he received seven or eight likes and comments, all from Yang Kaiming and a few others. Boringly praising him for becoming more and more like an elite talent.
Qi Xing couldn't be bothered to reply as it wasn't meant for them anyway.
It was just past three in the morning in China and his daddy was probably sleeping.
He did this almost every day.
Taking various photos to post on Moments and inadvertently letting Li Zechen show a leg, a hand, or even half a face. Although Ye Xingzhou didn't seem to react, he didn't believe that Ye Xingzhou had no reaction.
Just keep pretending then and let's see how long you can keep it up.
Putting away his phone, Qi Xing sat up and stretched his neck. Although he was tired but he couldn't sleep here. He casually asked Li Zechen, "Is there a mall upstairs in this hotel? I want to go shopping. Do you want to come with me?"
Li Zechen was tired but since Qi Xing said he wanted to browse the mall, they went together.
The mall was filled with various luxury goods. After wandering around aimlessly, Qi Xing felt a bit disinterested and finally stopped at a men's boutique. His gaze swept over a row of different styles and expensive tie clips in the glass display case. He casually called over a staff member and pointed to one, saying he wanted to see it.
Li Zechen curiously asked, "You want to buy a tie clip?"
Qi Xing smiled but didn't answer. He picked out one inlaid with a ruby, took it from the staff and held it up in front of Li Zechen while looking up at his face.
This guy's demeanor was too sunny and cheerful, completely different from his daddy.
The dazzling ruby was a bit overwhelming for him. If it were Ye Xingzhou, it would definitely look good on him.
Thinking this, he decisively asked for it to be wrapped up. Li Zechen raised an eyebrow, "For someone special?"
"Just a friend." Qi Xing replied and took the wrapped item and casually stuffed it into his pocket. He clearly did not want to explain further.
This could be considered a Labor Day gift, which he would give to Ye Xingzhou the next time they met.
In fact, whether it was Qingming Festival or Labor Day, it was just an excuse. He simply wanted to buy something nice for his daddy.
This mindset was probably like those little kittens catching birds or mice to give to someone they liked. Ye Xingzhou knew but Qi Xing might not be fully aware.
Li Zechen's gaze paused slightly while watching the smiling corners of Qi Xing's lips, as if he understood something.
Qi Xing didn't notice his gaze and went to swipe his card to pay while feeling quite satisfied. "Let's go."
Returning to New York was the day before the official listing. Qi Xing, who should have been excited, was instead exhausted and just wanted to finish quickly and go back home.
After dinner that evening and he returned to the hotel, just as he was about to enter his room, a delivery person brought a large bouquet of red roses and asked him to sign for it.
Qi Xing was somewhat puzzled. After signing and waiting for the delivery person to leave, he saw a card tucked inside. When he opened it, it turned out to be a message from Li Zechen and wishing him good luck for tomorrow in advance.
Qi Xing clicked his tongue and turned around to see the delivery person leaning against the wall with crossed arms and smiling at him. "Do you like flowers?"
Qi Xing replied, "They're just okay."
Li Zechen nodded with a smile, "As long as you like them."
Qi Xing said, "Well, these roses?"
"No other meaning," Li Zechen explained, "The card says it’s to wish you good luck tomorrow and may you achieve success."
If he said there was no other meaning, then there was no other meaning. Qi Xing entered the room, placed the flowers down and turned to look at the person who had followed him in. He scanned him up and down and decided to clarify, "Actually, I added you on WeChat because my parents asked me to. You understand what I mean, right?"
Li Zechen was not surprised. "You have a partner, the one you bought the tie clip for. But your family isn't satisfied?"
Qi Xing didn't deny it. "Sort of."
Li Zechen asked, "Can you tell me about it? Don't worry, I won't spread it around. It's just a casual chat."
"I don't know how to say it," Qi Xing looked up at the sky while hesitating before saying, "I do have a partner. My mom doesn't mind but my dad isn't satisfied. He thinks he's not a good person."
"Not a good person?" Li Zechen was genuinely surprised. "Is he really not a good person?"
Qi Xing shrugged. "That's what my dad thinks."
Li Zechen asked, "So is he a good person or not?"
Qi Xing couldn't answer that himself. Defining Ye Xingzhou simply as good or bad was too one-sided. "I don't know but I like him regardless of whether he's a good person or not."
Li Zechen's expression became somewhat subtle, probably doubting that he was being deceived by some wild man, just like his dad. Qi Xing felt a bit uncomfortable and thought for a moment before explaining, "Actually, he treats me quite well."
Li Zechen asked, "Taking photos every day and posting them on Moments, is that to show him?"
Qi Xing shut his mouth. Feeling a bit embarrassed to be called out for using someone as a tool.
The other party took it as a tacit agreement. "What's the reason? If it's a stable relationship, you wouldn't need to put in these little efforts, right?"
Qi Xing sighed, "I just... want to stimulate him a bit. He's too comfortable because he was always in control and I feel like I'm being led around by the nose, like a fool."
He knew what Ye Xingzhou wanted to hear but refused to say it out loud, even choosing specific days to dangle it in front of him and making him guess and think about it day and night. He could have said it first but with Ye Xingzhou's attitude, if he said it first, he would have lost completely.
He had to win this time.
To put it simply, he just wanted to see Ye Xingzhou lose his composure and go crazy for him.
This awkward thought wasn't something he could share with anyone but with Li Zechen, an old friend who was familiar yet not too familiar, he could chat a bit.
Li Zechen understood and asked with a smile, "Now I'm curious about what kind of person he is. How long have you been together?"
Qi Xing replied, "Not long, it just started."
"Just started?" Li Zechen said regretfully, "If I had known earlier, I would have been more proactive."
Qi Xing felt a bit embarrassed. "That wouldn't have helped; I don't like your type."
He used to like delicate pretty boys but now he liked Ye Xingzhou, this pretentious guy. His taste had long since gone awry.
Li Zechen shrugged with a smile. "Alright, I guess I was being overly sentimental. But if you want to stimulate him, just posting a few photos isn't enough. Come on, let's go out tonight."
Qi Xing hesitated, "Now? We have to make a list tomorrow..."
Li Zechen said, "You can come back early. Don't worry. You haven't enjoyed the nightlife here yet, right? Want to go?"
After three seconds of hesitation, Qi Xing relented, "Okay, let's go."
By the time they arrived at their destination, night had just fallen and New York's nightlife was just beginning.
The neon signs flashed exaggeratedly. Dazzling the eyes and tattooed naked men at the entrance warmly welcomed guests. Even before entering, they could hear the raucous sounds inside.
The place Li Zechen brought Qi Xing to was, unsurprisingly, a gay bar.
As soon as they stepped inside, a wave of heat hit them, followed by the deafening sounds of voices and booming music. Even for someone like Qi Xing, who frequented nightclubs, he couldn't help but raise a hand to rub his ears.
The scene before him was just as he imagined, filled with men dancing closely together and unabashedly entangled while releasing their excess hormones.
As they made their way in, they bumped into others several times and occasionally hands from who knows where would reach out to touch him. Qi Xing could no longer tolerate it and grabbed a hand that almost touched his backside and push the person away forcefully while glaring at them.
The one who touched him was a tall, muscular white man, who laughed and whistled after being pushed, even winking at him.
Qi Xing rolled his eyes and Li Zechen, walking in front of him, turned back to pull him along and give a warning glance to the person who had harassed him, dissuading them from following.
"Come on and don't get into conflicts with people."
He pushed Qi Xing down at the bar, ordered two drinks and handed one to him. "Why such a big reaction? Have you never been to a place like this before?"
Qi Xing downed half a glass of alcohol and replied irritably, "I hate it when ugly people touch me."
Of course, he had been to gay bars before, but rarely. First, Yang Kaiming and his group had no interest in such places, so going alone was pointless. Second, he had been teased like this before and this young master felt embarrassed, so beat the guy up on the spot, which made him reluctant to go back afterward.
Li Zechen sat down while drinking and laughing. "So, your partner must be very good-looking then?"
Qi Xing replied, "That's obvious."
If Ye Xingzhou weren't good-looking, he would have long since dismembered him and fed him to the dogs.
"Since you're in a place like this then relax a bit and drink." Li Zechen clinked glasses with him.
Qi Xing casually poured the drink into his mouth. Although this place wasn't great, the drink Li Zechen ordered was quite good.
They chatted while drinking and occasionally glancing at the performances on stage.
There were pole dancers, uniform play, and little whips—everything one could imagine. Qi Xing found it amusing and asked Li Zechen, "Do you come to places like this often?"
"Occasionally but just to take a look and have a few drinks because I don't play around." Li Zechen reminded him with a smile. "Just enjoy the view, so your daddy doesn't find out and think I'm leading you astray."
Qi Xing scoffed.
Another person thought of him as a kid but they didn't know that he did many things with his daddy.
...Well, okay, he hadn't done what was being performed on stage.
After a round of performances, the stage changed again and now a singer was up. Performing lively country music and temporarily pulling the audience from the earlier frenzy.
Qi Xing felt his ears were much better now and propped his head up to listen to the music while leisurely drinking and felt increasingly comfortable.
Seeing him like this, Li Zechen smiled then set down his drink and gestured to him before heading to the front of the stage.
Qi Xing was a bit confused, only to see Li Zechen pick up an accordion and join the band performing.
A spotlight shone on him and the handsome East Asian man played the accordion with a bright smile, drawing whistles and cheers from the audience below.
Qi Xing couldn't help but want to whistle too. There were so many good men in this world, so why was he hanging on that bastard Ye Xingzhou?
Maybe it was the alcohol because after a couple of drinks, he felt a bit lightheaded.
He raised his phone, switched to video mode and filmed Li Zechen performing for a few seconds then turned the camera to scan the men below, who were embracing and entangled in ambiguous intimacy.
Afterward, he edited the video and posted it on Moments but choosing to let Ye Xingzhou to only see it and even added the location of the bar.
After posting, he exited and casually opened the WeChat chat with Ye Xingzhou while feeling a wave of irritation.
The message he sent last night still hadn't been replied to. Was it fun to leave him hanging?
Bastard Ye Xingzhou.
"Are you doing this on purpose? Deliberately ignoring my messages?"
"If you don't care about me then I don't care about you either. Who needs you?"
"I'm having a great time here. Little brother Li is much more interesting than you."
"Bastard."
After waiting for half a minute, he felt it was pointless, so he retracted the messages one by one and turned off the screen.
Unknowingly, he downed two more drinks before he put down his glass and stood up while swaying as he made his way through the crowd to the restroom.
Even this place had people sneaking in to get cozy. Two men, one black and one white, were locked in a passionate kiss by the sink. They only pulled apart reluctantly when they saw Qi Xing enter then left while tugging at each other.
Qi Xing walked to the urinal, thinking to himself that they could kiss all they wanted because he wouldn't watch.
He thought that these Americans were particularly open-minded.
There were indeed some who were open-minded. Because from the innermost stall came the creaking sound of the door, accompanied by unrestrained gasps and moans from men. Qi Xing shook his head while listening for a moment and felt inexplicably envious.
He walked to the sink and turned on the water. The sound of running water couldn't drown out the increasingly loud moans.
Qi Xing slowly washed his hands while glancing at his slightly tipsy face in the mirror. He lightly closed his eyes and turned to leave.
He didn't immediately return to the bar. Instead, he casually picked a corner seat in the venue. The murky, hot air around him made him feel even more stifled. He raised his hand to tug at his shirt collar, trying to get some air, when suddenly he froze.
Someone approached him from behind. Before he could react, a black silk scarf slid down from above and blindfolded his eyes, plunging him into darkness.
For a moment, Qi Xing thought he smelled a familiar scent. His muddled brain took a moment to realize that he was in New York, thousands of miles away and that person couldn't possibly be here.
In the next second, he began to struggle violently but it was too late.
The silent man hoisted him up and quickly retreated from the noise.