PBMM CH49

“A-Qing.” Just as the youth was feeling bewildered, a gentle voice sounded from behind. He Qing stiffened, turning his head little by little, and sure enough, he saw Lu Linguan sitting behind the head of the bed, a book still in his hand.

Under the youth’s stunned gaze, the young man stood up with a smile, putting down the book in his hand and replacing it with a small bowl of soup.

A jade spoon scooped a spoonful from the bowl, gently brought to the youth’s dry, cracked lips by the young man. “You must be hungry. Drink this bowl of soup first to warm your stomach.”

As he spoke, he pushed the spoon forward a bit. The lips, no longer rosy but still beautiful, didn’t move at all. Lu Linguan slightly raised an eyebrow, meeting the youth’s gaze.

He Qing’s entire body was aching. With tears seemingly in his eyes, he looked at Lu Linguan with red rims. “What are you doing.”

“Feeding you soup.” The refined young man acted as if he didn’t understand what he was asking. The spoon in his hand moved forward a bit more, pressing against the youth’s lips. He was as gentle as if he were coaxing a temperamental little boyfriend. “Hurry and drink it. I timed it so it would be perfectly warm. If it gets cold later, it won’t taste good.”

“If you don’t drink it soon, your stomach will start hurting. Be a good boy.”

The familiar gentleness, the familiar actions—gestures that once made He Qing feel sweet—now brought him endless agony. With red eyes, he shook the thin iron chain on his wrist. “I’m asking you what this is! What is this!”

“A-Qing.” The smile on Lu Linguan’s face faded.

He gently stroked the youth’s tender, smooth, and fair cheek, saying softly, “Don’t you like me? I like you too. From now on, you will stay here and keep me company forever, okay?”

Reminded by his words, the youth looked around. This was a white room. The windows, the door, the blanket, and even the bed beneath him were all white.

He looked in disbelief at the high windows. They weren’t glass windows, but old-fashioned wire mesh. A few small windows were distributed at the highest part of the room, eliminating any possibility for a person inside to escape.

Seeing him look at the windows, Lu Linguan also looked up, explaining, “Don’t worry, A-Qing. The room has 24-hour heating. Even if these windows are open, it won’t be cold.”

“Are you imprisoning me now?”

The slender silver-white iron chain clung to his wrist. He Qing looked at the person he liked in despair. “Why?”

“Because I like A-Qing.” Lu Linguan smiled gently, uttering this sentence smoothly.

Acting as if he didn’t see the youth’s self-deprecating expression, he continued on his own, “Does A-Qing want to die? Is it because you have no one to protect you anymore and can’t survive?”

Thinking of how he felt when he learned from others that the person in front of him had nearly succeeded in committing suicide, his grip on the spoon tightened. “How could you be so cruel as to leave me behind? Didn’t you say you liked me? Didn’t you say you wanted to be with me for a lifetime? Has A-Qing forgotten all these things?”

The youth looked at the person in front of him, who was still smiling gently but whom he completely didn’t recognize anymore. He shook his head, pale-faced. “I haven’t forgotten…”

“You forgot…”

Lu Linguan paused, thinking he was talking about him betraying him to be with Mo Chuyu. “It’s fine. Anyway, we can still be together for a lifetime now.”

Saying this, he put down the bowl in his hand. “A-Qing isn’t drinking, so you must not be hungry yet. Let’s do some exercise, you’ll be hungry in a bit.”

The young man’s hand landed on the cuff of the youth’s clothes. A clinking sound of the iron chain rang out as his hand was slapped away forcefully.

Slapping his hand away, the red-eyed youth hugged his shoulders. “What are you doing!”

Lu Linguan smiled. It was no longer feigned gentleness, but the smugness of getting what he wanted. “Doing you.”

Pushing the person heavily onto the bed, the panicked trembling of the person beneath him and the faint fragrance in his hair all intoxicated Lu Linguan.

The refined young man thought somewhat seriously that he should have done this a long time ago, but it wasn’t too late now.

He gleefully pinned down the youth’s endlessly struggling hands, pressing down on him. Amidst his despairing cries, he slowly unbuttoned his clothes.

The delicate, fair, and tender skin was exposed slightly as the youth struggled continuously. Even though it was only a small patch, in Lu Linguan’s eyes, it was as if he were looking at the most precious treasure.

His body grew hot, and his hands involuntarily used a bit more force.

“Get off!!”

“Go away!”

“Linguan! Lu Linguan!!”

From stern reprimands, to panic, to pleading, the proud He Qing lowered his head, crying and begging him to let him go.

He loved Lu Linguan, but being treated like this by the person he liked was worse than death.

“Let me go… let me go…” How could the physically weak youth resist Lu Linguan, who exercised year-round? No matter how much he cried out or struggled desperately, beside the silver-white iron chain, the youth’s last piece of clothing was undone.

Looking at the patch of fair, tender, and smooth skin beneath his hands, Lu Linguan’s hand paused. He looked at the youth, who was sobbing non-stop. At this moment, that usually arrogant face was full of fragility.

Seeing him look over, hope appeared in the youth’s red and swollen, crying eyes. “Linguan… I beg you…”

“A-Qing…” Lu Linguan tightened his grip on the youth’s hands. He leaned down and said gently, “I love you.”

He originally wanted to kiss his lips, but the youth turned his head and dodged desperately. Thus, the kiss landed in his hair. Lu Linguan didn’t get angry; he looked up with a smile and kissed downwards.

“You said you would protect me.” A tearful voice rang out in despair.

Lu Linguan’s movements paused for a moment before continuing. “Yes, I lied to you.”

I lied to you…

The youth’s eyes were blood-red. Tears fell, and he closed his eyes in despair. The person on top of him pressed down completely.

[A round of Pipe Dream coming up!]

——

“I’m sorry, the license plate was fake. We are currently checking the surveillance footage. I believe we can get the results in an hour at the fastest.”

The man’s expression was icy, the aura surrounding him oppressive to a terrifying degree. His slender, well-defined fingers tapped the desk restlessly. He said coldly, “Go.”

Watching the person leave, Zheng Chenke finally stood up. Just as he stood, his vision went dark, and he was barely caught by the worried-looking butler beside him.

“Young Master Zheng, you should eat something.”

“I’m fine.” Zheng Chenke steadied himself, rubbed his temples, and turned his head to look at the butler. “How is the investigation going?”

“The little young master never really had any enemies at school. There’s only one classmate he had some friction with, named Wang Yuecheng. Would you like to see him, Young Master Zheng?”

The man nodded silently. As he walked outside, his footsteps suddenly paused. “You said He Qing hasn’t eaten anything since Uncle He passed away. His stomach problem should be flaring up by now.”

Heartache filled the butler’s eyes. “The little young master was abused too severely when he was young. Now, if he misses even a single meal, his stomach hurts terribly. He absolutely must drink soup before meals, otherwise it will still hurt. I wonder if the little young master has eaten.”

Zheng Chenke frowned abruptly. “Abused?!”

The gray-haired butler nodded. “It was before you arrived, Young Master Zheng. At that time, the little young master was only a few years old and couldn’t even speak very clearly. Madam developed mental issues and said she was taking the little young master on a trip. By the time they were found, the little young master was covered in injuries, and his stomach was already ruined. Although we’ve been carefully nursing him these past years, he still can’t go hungry.”

Zheng Chenke had never heard of this incident. In his eyes, He Qing had always been a spoiled, high-and-mighty young master. Although he never bullied others or flirted around, his everyday “I am the center of the universe” attitude was enough to make people dislike him.

He never imagined that the arrogant and pampered youth actually had such a miserable childhood.

“Madam’s mental state was unstable back then. She beat the little young master when she was unhappy, and beat him when she was happy too. They traveled for a total of three months. Master happened to be at the most crucial period for the company and didn’t pay attention. The whole thing was only discovered because Madam committed suicide, and her body decomposed. The smell prompted neighbors to call the police. I heard that when the police opened the door, the little young master was sitting next to Madam’s decomposing body, eating raw rice bit by bit.”

“Such a small child. When he left, he still called me Grandpa Butler, smiling in Madam’s arms. When he came back, he was just a bag of bones. If someone spoke a bit loudly, he would tremble in fear. One night I went to check on him in his room, and I found he had turned off all the lights and was hiding in the closet crying, saying that this way, Mom wouldn’t be able to find him…”

“Young Master Zheng…” As the butler spoke, his face was covered in tears. He slowly knelt down, old tears streaming down his face. “I know the little young master’s relationship with you is not good, but he really has suffered… I beg you, I beg you, for the Master’s sake, don’t be so heartless. At least let him stay at home, so he won’t be bullied by others outside…”

“Ever since he was brought back, Master even doted on the little young master to the point of spoiling him. But he never bullied anyone because of this. Now that Master is gone, and you kick him out, the little young master doesn’t know how to do anything. Isn’t this just sending him to his death!!”

Hearing the last sentence, Zheng Chenke’s action of helping him up paused.

The scene of the youth standing by the edge of the bridge wanting to jump flashed through his mind. He slowly helped the butler up, and ultimately voiced his lingering knot in his heart: “When I see him, I think of my parents.”

“I’m sorry. Once we find him and bring him back this time, I will move out.”

He ultimately couldn’t let it go. Even knowing that He Qing was just a child when the accident happened, how could his parents’ lives be glossed over with such a flimsy reason?

He couldn’t stand seeing He Qing bullied outside, but he also couldn’t bring himself to treat him well. All Zheng Chenke could do was stay far away.

The tear-stained butler was stunned. “Your parents? What does this have to do with the little young master?”

“I’ve already investigated. The reason my parents died back then was because He Qing secretly sneaked into the car, causing the car to lose control. My parents died on the spot, and he was resuscitated. Uncle He knew all of this, too.”

Zheng Chenke clenched his fists tightly. “In any case, once we find him this time, I will move out.”

“Impossible! That is absolutely impossible!” The butler wiped his tears and said decisively, “During the time CEO Zheng and the others had their accident, the little young master hadn’t completely recovered yet. Master was busy with work and didn’t know, but those of us who took care of him were crystal clear. As long as no one told him to do something, he could sit quietly for an entire day. How could he possibly do something like secretly sneaking into a car!”

“There is absolutely a mistake somewhere!”

Zheng Chenke’s pupils shrank sharply, his hands gripping so hard his veins popped. If it was as the butler said, then what exactly happened back then?

He stood stiffly for a long time before asking hoarsely, “He Qing… he…”

Just as he spoke, someone stood outside the door and knocked.

“CEO Zheng! We found the car!”