Chapter 96: So This Is What Gets You Off

Jiang Shi slapped him across the face.

Cheng Ye ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek; it stung. “Angry?”

Jiang Shi didn’t speak, reaching up to pull his clothes closed.

Both of their bodies bore mottled marks. A large patch on Cheng Ye’s suit pants was damp and dark, his zipper still open. He casually zipped it up and knelt before Jiang Shi.

“If you’re going to hit me when you’re angry, you’ll need more force than that.”

Jiang Shi’s chest heaved violently. He leaned against the cold glass, taking a long moment to come back to his senses.

Their positions had reversed. Now he was on top, and Cheng Ye was on the bottom.

The man’s eyes had returned to their usual warmth, staring straight at Jiang Shi. His voice held a hint of seduction. “Are you very angry? I cursed at you, ignored you, even forced you against your will. Jiang Shi, is there a fire burning in your chest? Are you even thinking, what right do I have to treat you like this…”

Slap—

A slap, harder and louder than before, landed.

Cheng Ye’s head snapped to the side. He reached up and felt blood. He licked his lip and a smile appeared.

Jiang Shi’s fingertips were trembling, his expression much colder than usual. “So this is what gets you off?”

Cheng Ye smiled and said, “It does.”

He said, “I know what I did was wrong, and I know you’re very angry. You can hit me, curse at me, and if you’re still not over it, you can even stab me with a knife. But if you don’t tell me next time something happens and choose to swallow your anger instead, I’ll do this to you again.”

The environment he grew up in had made Jiang Shi accustomed to these small grievances. It wasn’t that he didn’t care; it was that no one cared about him. Voicing his grievances seemed pretentious, so he could only learn to endure. Over time, it became a habit, and it was as if he really didn’t care.

But even the smallest harm is still harm. No matter how accustomed you are, a needle prick will still hurt.

Cheng Ye understood him. He usually looked slow and lazy, but his temper was more stubborn than anyone’s. He could have coaxed Jiang Shi with gentle words, but what then? Jiang Shi wouldn’t necessarily listen to him. In the future, when he encountered frictions he felt were unnecessary to mention, he would still subconsciously hide them.

Like Wang Zekai, like Huai Zhang…

When it came to Jiang Shi, Cheng Ye didn’t like surprises. Whether it was hate or love, he wanted to be the first person Jiang Shi thought of, no matter what he did.

His actions had an effect, but it was clear that his life would not be easy for a long time to come.

As he was thinking this, the next second, a pillow from the bay window was thrown at his face.

“Get out.”

Cheng Ye went to give Jiang Shi a bath.

Naturally, Jiang Shi was not willing. Their bath was like a clattering battle.

Half an hour later, Jiang Shi came out, clean. His face was flushed, half from the steam, half from anger. The two faint finger marks on his chin were no longer visible.

In contrast, Cheng Ye looked much worse. His suit was completely soaked, a bright red handprint on his cheek. His forehead had been hit by something again and was swelling up.

He himself seemed to feel no pain. He found clothes for Jiang Shi to change into, and afraid of getting him wet with his own dampness, he changed his own clothes as well.

The most intense exercise Jiang Shi had done these past two days was having sex with Cheng Ye at night. When it came to a real fight, he was no match for him. The other man pinned him to a chair like a little chick.

He kicked out, and Cheng Ye just stood there and let him kick. He took the hits and caught whatever was thrown at him. But taking a beating was one thing; he didn’t miss a single thing he needed to do. The hairdryer blew Jiang Shi’s face back.

Jiang Shi opened his mouth to curse, but his mouth was filled with wind from the hairdryer.

He: “…”

Cheng Ye stood behind him, his fingertips running through the gaps in his hair, combing through his slightly long hair, gentle and meticulous, with a patience he didn’t even have for himself.

The bite mark on the web of his thumb was still oozing pale red blood. Cheng Ye casually wiped it with a tissue and lowered his head to seriously dry Jiang Shi’s hair.

After making sure every strand was dry, he tucked the man back into bed and very consciously went to kneel outside the room.

Jiang Shi rolled over in bed. He turned his head and saw Cheng Ye kneeling ramrod straight at the bedroom door, his handsome face a miserable sight.

He gritted his teeth, grabbed the cup from the bedside table, but held back some of his strength when he looked at his face.

The cup smashed at Cheng Ye’s feet, sending shards scattering everywhere.

“You think I’ll forgive you just because you’re kneeling?”

Cheng Ye didn’t even frown. “If you don’t forgive me for a day, I’ll kneel for a day. If you don’t forgive me for a month, I’ll kneel for a month. If you still don’t forgive me, I can kneel for a lifetime.”

He looked at Jiang Shi. “You can do whatever you want to me, but you have to listen to me.”

Jiang Shi’s hand on the bed recoiled slightly. Looking into those eyes, he realized that over all these years, Cheng Ye had never changed.

The long time together and the unconditional indulgence had made Jiang Shi forget that his true nature was paranoia and possession.

Completely and utterly.

By the time he thought back on these things, there was no shadow of anyone else in Jiang Shi’s mind. It had all been replaced by another person in another way.

Hate is more memorable than love.

Jiang Shi closed his eyes.

“Get out. I don’t want to see you.”

Cheng Ye went downstairs.

He sent a message to the housekeeper, asking her to come and cook.

Although the housekeeper was puzzled why her employer had changed his mind so suddenly, she got paid to cook, so she came as told.

As soon as she arrived, she saw Cheng Ye kneeling downstairs.

The housekeeper was startled. As she got closer and saw the injuries on Cheng Ye’s face, she was startled again.

“Oh my! Mr. Cheng, what happened to you? Why are you kneeling here, and with all these injuries on your face?”

Cheng Ye said, “It’s my fault. That’s not important. Jiang Shi is angry. Please make something nice for him to eat, to help him recover.”

The housekeeper thought Mr. Cheng should probably get his own head checked first.

Jiang Shi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Fuming, he got out of bed.

The glass shards at the door had already been cleaned up by Cheng Ye. The door was tightly closed. He stood up, tiptoed stealthily to the door, and pressed his ear against it to listen. He heard nothing.

He pursed his lips, conflicted for a long time, and finally, quietly opened a crack.

The hallway outside was silent, not even a shadow of a person in sight.

“…”

Leaving so decisively. Don’t ever come back.

He closed the door, went back to the bed, found his phone, and contacted Liu Heping.

[What happened on set today?]

Liu Heping was even more confused than he was.

[What’s wrong? I was in meetings at the company all day. I don’t know anything.]

Jiang Shi typed.

[I’ll give you five minutes. I want all the information about the set.]

Liu Heping: “…”

Half an hour later, Liu Heping belatedly replied.

[I asked. Chuanyu Entertainment pulled their investment, and our company took the opportunity to invest a sum. We’ve always been rivals with Chuanyu. A new broom sweeps clean, and this new broom swept through the film crew. We were always suppressed by them before, and now we finally got some sweet revenge, and avenged you in the process.]

Jiang Shi slowly typed a question mark.

[Is that really how it is?]

[The boss just talked to me. He said something like you’re an employee of the company, and if you’re wronged, you must tell the company, and the company will definitely stand up for you… He talked for a long time but didn’t even know what role you were playing, or even remember your name. He probably just used your name as an excuse to give them a hard time.]

Liu Heping then sent a long voice message.

“Actually, the two companies have a long-standing feud. In the past, whenever our company’s artists went to a crew invested by Chuanyu, they would be treated unfairly to some extent. But you know our company’s situation; we don’t have the power, so of course, the artists didn’t dare to say anything. The reason those staff members treated you like that was half because of Huai Zhang’s popularity, and the other half was this reason.”

“I’m also responsible for this matter. Actually, under these circumstances, I shouldn’t have let you take this script. Although the role of the painter has few scenes, it’s very stunning if played well. I thought the total screen time would only be a few days, and I figured nothing would happen. I didn’t expect…”

He added.

“I have to say, our company’s move was really insidious. Not only did they get revenge on their rival, but they also earned a good reputation for being protective of their own. But doing it this way, I’m afraid people will think you have connections.”

Jiang Shi was speechless for a long time.

[Brother Liu, have you ever considered that maybe I really do?]

[How is that possible…]

Liu Heping replied quickly.

[I know your situation very well. If you really did, how could you not get a single good resource for so many years?]

[Besides, the unwritten rule in the industry has always been that actors are eager to expose their sugar daddies, not the other way around, with the sugar daddy making a big show of fawning over the actor.]

[Although they said it was for you, they overdid it, so it doesn’t seem like it. If you think about it carefully, everyone has probably figured it out.]

[The boss just talked to me. He told you not to overthink it and just do what you need to do. By the way, you’ve never had an assistant, right? The higher-ups have assigned one to you. He’ll probably be here in a couple of days.]

Jiang Shi subconsciously glanced towards the door. The doorway was still quiet.

He asked Liu Heping.

[Who is the new leader of our company?]

[His name is Chen Lang, but I heard he was sent down from above. I see he’s been recruiting new directors recently. I guess he won’t be staying here once things stabilize. As for anything more, my level isn’t high enough to know.]

Liu Heping urged him.

[The director only gave you a seven-day break. It’s up the day after tomorrow. Don’t just eat and sleep at home. Move around a bit, and don’t eat too much. You won’t look good on camera if you get fat.]

[Then sign me up for a class.]

Liu Heping thought he had finally come around and was very gratified.

[Son, have you finally decided to work out?]

Jiang Shi replied.

[Sign me up for something like boxing, kickboxing, or martial arts. Preferably something that can take down a nearly 1.9-meter-tall man in one move.]

Liu Heping: “…”

This wasn’t coming around; this was just wishful thinking.

The housekeeper knocked on the door. “Mr. Jiang, dinner is ready.”

Jiang Shi didn’t really want to eat, but for some reason, he let out a cold snort in his heart and went out, swinging his hands.

The housekeeper was waiting for him at the door, her gaze towards him very complicated.

Jiang Shi touched his face. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

The housekeeper hesitated, then spoke, then hesitated again. “Mr. Jiang, I know I’m just an outsider and shouldn’t say anything, but in matters of love, there are always bumps in the road. You have to learn to be tolerant in life, that’s how people can last long together…”

When he reached the top of the stairs, Jiang Shi finally understood what the housekeeper meant.

The man was kneeling there, ramrod straight. Kneeling was just kneeling; he didn’t look at anything, didn’t do anything, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes downcast, quietly waiting for time to pass.

Jiang Shi paused, stopping his steps. The next second, Cheng Ye looked up at him.

The housekeeper was still persuading. “Look at what’s happened to Mr. Cheng’s face. You’re still making him kneel…”

“Auntie.” Cheng Ye interrupted her. “I was the one who made the mistake first. I forced him against his will, made him do things he didn’t like, and even cursed at him. Don’t you think I deserve it?”

The housekeeper immediately fell silent.

Jiang Shi pressed his temples, a headache coming on. “Auntie, you can go home for now. You can come back tomorrow to clean up.”

The housekeeper glanced at the two of them, didn’t dare to say anything more, tidied up, and left.

Jiang Shi looked down at Cheng Ye from above, then ignored him and ate his dinner by himself.

After he finished eating, the man was still kneeling, not having moved an inch.

Jiang Shi stood in front of him. “You think I’ll go soft on you just because of this?”

Cheng Ye laughed. “Give me another chance, and I’d still do it. I still say the same thing: if you’re unhappy, you can kill me, but you have to listen to me.”

Jiang Shi couldn’t help but kick him.

After kneeling for an entire afternoon, Cheng Ye’s knees were already numb. With Jiang Shi’s kick, he immediately stumbled and fell to the ground.

The next second, his hair was grabbed by Jiang Shi, and his head was pulled up. “So, doing it with our clothes on this afternoon was part of your plan too?”

Thinking of the afternoon’s scene, Cheng Ye felt all the blood in his body rush downwards.

“No.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’ve wanted to do you like that for a long time.”

His gaze was direct and naked, landing on Jiang Shi without any concealment. “If you think this is unfair, I can be naked, and you can ride me while you’re fully dressed.”

At this thought, Cheng Ye became even more excited, his eyes more feverish than when he was fully clothed himself.

“If Young Master thinks what I’m doing is humiliating you, then you can humiliate me back. I’m even willing to wear a collar and be led around the streets like a dog on a leash.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Jiang Shi was simply at a loss for words.