PBMM CH26

Zhao He leaned against the railing, watching the youth nod excitedly without a second thought. Those eyes held pure trust, just as they did back then. At that time, no matter what he said, He Qing would look at him like this. What was the eight-years-ago him thinking?

He thought, A-Qing is truly adorable, believing in others so easily. What if he gets deceived in the future? So he needed to guard A-Qing at all times to keep him from getting hurt.

After that, it was this A-Qing, whom he believed and trusted the most, who ruthlessly stabbed him in the heart during his most painful moments.

Zhao He’s hands, hidden behind his back, gripped the railing tightly. He still looked at He Qing with a smile, just like eight years ago, but the curled corners of his lips exuded a bone-piercing chill. A-Qing, it’s time you tasted the feeling of being abandoned and thrown away too.

Feng Xinyang opened the balcony door, stepped forward, and naturally placed his hand on the youth’s waist. “How is it, have you finished talking?” The moment his hand rested there, he felt the youth’s stiffness, as if he wanted to dodge but forcefully endured it. Turning his head to clearly see the way He Qing looked at Zhao He, a shadow fell over the man’s heart, though his face showed no trace of it.

Zhao He revealed a meaningful smile to him. “Naturally, we’ve finished talking. Xinyang, your boyfriend is indeed somewhat different.”

Xinyang’s boyfriend… Hearing this term spoken by his first love, the youth’s body violently trembled. He lowered his head to hide it and hurriedly said, “I, I’ll go change my clothes, wait a moment.”

The moment he turned around, He Qing’s eyes turned red. Forcing back his grievances, he practically fled the balcony in a pathetic state. The two men behind him couldn’t see the expression on his face, but that momentary drop in his mood was seen clearly. After he left, Zhao He sneered. “I couldn’t tell, he actually still has a sense of shame.” Just didn’t know if it was put on as an act for them to see.

His disdainful tone made Feng Xinyang frown deeply. “A-He, don’t forget what you promised me.”

“Relax.” Zhao He’s gloomy face was full of nonchalance. “If you don’t agree, I absolutely won’t do anything to him.”

Zhao He’s promise put Feng Xinyang slightly at ease. As long as they didn’t force themselves on A-Qing, he believed that no matter what the two of them tried, A-Qing wouldn’t fall for it. It’s just… “Why do we have to go out for dinner tonight?” Feng Xinyang always felt something wasn’t quite right. “I haven’t seen you guys this attentive before.”

“What are you afraid of?” The gloomy man’s eyes were a deep, dark ink, his expression indiscernible. “With you watching, your little lover will be fine.”

The frivolous address made Feng Xinyang even more displeased, but thinking of the bastard child back home, he pursed his lips. “Ask Ning Feng to come along.”

“He won’t come.” Zhao He let out a mocking light chuckle. “It’s not like you don’t know, he finds it dirty.”

A gathering of the three of them usually meant sharing the same prey. How could Ning Feng possibly come?

“After dinner tonight, I will give you a big gift.” He said softly, “You will be very pleasantly surprised.”

————

Yan Xizhi stood by the door, watching through the crack as the youth took off his shirt. The slightly slender, fair back appeared in his vision, the long, perfect waistline winding down. He licked his lips, eagerly waiting for the youth to turn around. He Qing turned around exactly as he wished, but the next second he met his gaze.

“Ah!” He was startled, reflexively hugging his clothes tightly and taking a step back. “Xi, Xizhi?”

Tsk, got discovered…

The beautiful man grinningly pushed the door open and walked in, naturally shifting the blame. “Is A-Qing not done changing yet? I saw Xinyang and the others were getting impatient.”

“S-sorry…” Truly believing he was too slow and Yan Xizhi had come up to rush him, the youth apologized with slight embarrassment. “I was just changing and found it a bit tight. Maybe I gained some weight, so…”

“Eh, is it this one?” Yan Xizhi conveniently picked up the shirt He Qing had just taken off and gestured with it a few times. Looking at the youth hugging clothes to cover his upper body, a sunny smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Isn’t this shirt perfectly fine? If you feel it’s tight, just don’t button the top two buttons.”

He Qing looked hesitantly at the white shirt. “But…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Trust my taste, I’m an expert in this area. Come, A-Qing, I’ll help you put it on.” Yan Xizhi held the shirt in his left hand and rested his right hand on the youth’s bare, smooth shoulder. The wonderful sensation under his touch made him greedily want more. Before he could press down firmly, the smooth skin slipped away. Unaccustomed to being too intimate with outsiders, the youth’s tone remained gentle and slow, “I’ll do it myself, I’ll be ready right away.”

Yan Xizhi sheepishly withdrew his hand, the corners of his mouth drooping unwillingly. “Alright, I’ll wait for you outside. Hurry up.”

After going out, thinking of the scene just now, his heart itched unbearably. He found Zhao He still smoking on the roof. Without even looking at the pile of half-smoked cigarette butts at his feet, he said impatiently, “That matter you mentioned, it’s settled.”

Zhao He had long anticipated he would agree, unhurriedly exhaling a puff of smoke. “And that plot of land in the north of the city?”

“It’s yours, it’s yours!” Yan Xizhi agreed somewhat urgently, then, thinking of something, he looked at the inscrutable gloomy man with a playful gaze. “I say, handing over the person you like to someone else, won’t you really regret it?”

Zhao He’s face sank abruptly, shooting him a dark, ruthless glare. “Who said I still like him!”

You don’t like him?

Yan Xizhi grinned at the man whose face had drastically changed, the corners of his eyes curving. “Good, you don’t like A-Qing, I like him.”

Anyway, whether he truly didn’t like him or not, after tonight passed, A-Qing wouldn’t like them anymore either.

——

After handling company affairs, Ning Feng rubbed the space between his eyebrows somewhat tiredly. A sharp pain rose from deep within his heart. If it were anyone else, they might have long been rolling on the floor in agony, but he had endured such pain every single day for five years without fail, and could now remain completely unfazed.

No, he couldn’t say without fail.

Thinking of those few days of peace in the hospital, Ning Feng gripped the pen in his hand tightly.

After moving out of the hospital, not only did that excruciating pain not subside, it doubled. He was naturally someone extremely adept at enduring, but having tasted sweetness, the mindset that could once calmly accept the pain no longer existed.

Ning Feng moved back to the hospital, but for some reason, the pain didn’t subside this time.

His face showed nothing, but the heart-wrenching pain accompanied him at all times. If it were an ordinary person, they probably would have gone mad long ago.

The space between his brows furrowed slightly in endurance. With a ding-dong, Ning Feng opened his phone. It was a text message from Feng Xinyang. Looking at the contents, the man’s expression was cold, his demeanor not wavering in the slightest.

_

8 PM.

In a spacious private dining room, the few of them were eating and having a few drinks. The atmosphere was considered decent. Just as Feng Xinyang was wondering if he had judged a gentleman with a petty man’s heart, Yan Xizhi, who had previously said he was going to settle the bill, came in from outside carrying two glasses of wine, heading straight for He Qing.

The beautiful man raised the wine glass with a grin, handing it to the youth. “A-Qing, shall we have a drink just the two of us?”

Without thinking deeply, the youth somewhat shyly put down his chopsticks, took the wine glass, and was about to clink glasses with Yan Xizhi.

Feng Xinyang, sitting beside him, saw the wicked smirk on the corner of Yan Xizhi’s mouth and felt a surge of unease. He hurriedly stopped his lover, smiling as he snatched the glass from his hand. “A-Qing, you’ve already had quite a bit. I’ll drink this one for you.”

He Qing looked in confusion as his lover snatched the glass. He had indeed drunk a bit too much. With a softer tone than usual, he slowly retorted, “I’m not drunk…”

“Still saying you’re not drunk…” Feng Xinyang smiled dotingly and rubbed his hot, flushed cheek. “I’ll drink it for you, be good.”

He had also drunk a fair amount, but having lived a life of debauchery for so long, if he had no other skills, at least he couldn’t be easily out-drunk. Just one glance told him that if He Qing drank this glass of wine, he would definitely pass out. Understanding clearly what Yan Xizhi wanted to do, Feng Xinyang threw a warning glare at the waiting beautiful man. “Xizhi, we have wine here, you don’t need to go outside specifically to get some.”

“Just grabbed two glasses in passing. Xinyang, are you going to drink it or not? If you don’t, let A-Qing drink it, right A-Qing!”

Hearing his name, the flush-faced youth slowly tilted his head back, revealing a faint smile, and softly said, “Yes…”

“Yes, my foot!” Feng Xinyang glanced at his lover in exasperation, tilted his neck back, and downed the strong liquor in one crisp gulp. After finishing, he turned the glass upside down and looked provocatively at Yan Xizhi.

But he saw the beautiful man before him slowly curl his lips, revealing an ambiguous smile. Before he could figure it out, Feng Xinyang suddenly felt his vision blur. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, looking in disbelief at the person opposite him still holding a wine glass. “You…”

Yan Xizhi took a sip of the wine in his glass, set it down, and skillfully supported him to slump over the seat. In his last second of lucidity, Feng Xinyang finally realized: this glass of wine was prepared for him all along. The next second, he plunged completely into dizziness.

Sitting far away, Zhao He saw him collapse and sneered, “Heh.”

He Qing had drunk alcohol and was sleepy. He forced his eyes open, and upon seeing the man slumped beside him, confusion appeared in his eyes. He slightly tilted his head, his soft voice carrying a hint of a question: “Xin… yang? Did you drink too much?”

The youth slowly turned around, picked up the coat on the chair behind him, and slowly and carefully draped it over Feng Xinyang. Then, he happily laid his head down with a smile. The two flushes of red on his fair cheeks made his smile look a bit silly. But in Yan Xizhi’s eyes, it was full of the thrill of soon getting his way.

He reached out a hand towards the groggy youth, resting it gently on him. “A-Qing, A-Qing…”

“…Hm?” He Qing opened his eyes in confusion, his tone soft. “Xizhi, what is it?”

“Xinyang fell asleep, let’s wake him up.” Yan Xizhi looked at the defenseless youth, the beast within his heart eager to pounce.

“Don’t…” He Qing pursed his lips and smiled gently. “Let him sleep.”

“That won’t do.” The beautiful man could hardly suppress the malice and anticipation in his eyes. “He’s the main character tonight…”

He walked over and shoved the unconscious Feng Xinyang. “Xinyang, Xinyang…”

The man opened his eyes blankly, looked at his friend, and blinked sluggishly. “Xizhi…? What are you doing?”

“What do you mean what am I doing? We agreed to be together tonight, why did you fall asleep by yourself.”

He pointed at the bewildered He Qing. “Look, A-Qing can’t wait anymore.”

The half-drunk youth looked in confusion as a slightly swaying Feng Xinyang walked over and hugged him. A familiar voice with an unfamiliar frivolity sounded by his ear: “Sorry baby, did you wait long…”

“Xinyang…?”

Warm breath laced with the scent of alcohol puffed against his nose, and fine, dense kisses fell upon him. He Qing was pinned against the back of his chair by him. He tried to dodge, but a pair of large hands clamped him down tightly. “Xinyang, don’t do this, Xizhi and A-He are still here…”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.” A pair of hands landed on He Qing’s shirt, slowly unfastening the buttons at the top. He Qing sobered up halfway in an instant. He looked along those hands in disbelief and saw Yan Xizhi, full of happiness with a smile playing on his lips. Seeing him look over, the beautiful man smiled at him. “A-Qing, the first moment I saw you wearing this shirt, I was wondering how I should unbutton these buttons one by one.”

The beautiful man leaned over. His magnetic, pleasant voice was full of pleasure as it slid into the ears of He Qing, who was staring blankly at him. He whispered, “Now, my wish has finally come true.”