Zhou Xiao went upstairs, carrying the insulated food carrier in hand containing the medicine Yuqing needed to take.

The lights inside the room were off, and Yuqing’s slender frame was sunken deep into the soft bed.

He was fast asleep, a faint, delicate flush gracing his fair cheeks.

Zhou Xiao recalled what Zhao Fu had just said: how he had run about with Boss Ruan entertaining guests since childhood… and how he had developed chronic ailments as a result.

The sight of Ruan Yuqing curled beneath the blankets was genuinely endearing and stirred a protective pity.

To become a father’s social pawn at such a tender age—Section Chief Wang deserved death, and President Zheng deserved it even more. Zhou Xiao felt that anyone who had ever harbored filthy designs on Yuqing deserved to die. Back then, Yuqing had been so young, understanding nothing.

By the time he grew up and understood the world, he had been confined to the Zhou estate by Zhou Xiao’s father, left to believe that the best possible culmination of his life was to marry him as his lawful wife.

In truth, Ruan Yuqing was quite pitiful.

Every time he used aphrodisiacs, wasn’t it simply to share a bit of intimacy with him?

Zhou Xiao had watched the First Madame growing up, so he knew all too well how much agony a wife suffered when denied her husband’s affection.

Even if he did not love Yuqing, he didn’t want anyone in this world to go mad because of him.

Reflecting with growing tenderness, he unconsciously set the food carrier aside, sat down on the edge of the bed, leaned down, and planted a gentle kiss on the corner of Yuqing’s mouth.

Yuqing’s long hair was splayed smoothly across the sheets, every strand steeped in the scent of jasmine. For reasons unknown, the moment Zhou Xiao caught that scent, an urgent impulse rose within him to nuzzle deep into the other’s embrace. It smelled so fragrant… overwhelmingly fragrant…

Yuqing was actually his wife.

To be honest, the old man had never given him a single satisfactory thing in his entire life. Even with Ruan Yuqing, Zhou Xiao felt he was merely taking pity on him, forcing himself to accept him as if under the sway of Stockholm syndrome.

He was so thin, so fragrant; just how many years had he served by the old man’s side?

The old man certainly knew how to fucking enjoy himself.

With an impassive expression, Zhou Xiao lightly brushed his lips against the side of Yuqing’s face. Feeling a slight tickle, Yuqing furrowed his brows slightly and cracked his eyes open just a sliver. “Eldest Young Master…”

“Mmh…” The half-asleep figure curved his lips into a faint smile, reaching out directly to wrap his arms around the man’s neck. Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Zhou Xiao let out a muffled grunt.

Instead of pushing him away, Yuqing deepened the kiss directly between their lips and teeth, bringing with it a waft of fragrant warmth. When Zhou Xiao pulled back slightly, Yuqing let out a soft laugh. “Is the Young Master afraid of me?”

“What is there to be afraid of?” Yuqing chuckled softly, practically pressing his entire body against the man, a hint of provocation flickering in his eyes.

Propping himself against the soft pillows behind him with the duvet slightly peeled back, Yuqing wore old-style white inner garments—loose and airy, yet outlining his silhouette with exquisite clarity. From his spine down to his waist, he sank into the plush mattress; with his long hair cascading down, he looked like a breathtaking beauty. “Then what was the Young Master doing just now?”

“I only wanted to see if you were awake. Who knew you’d be so…” Zhou Xiao trailed off, his words catching in his throat.

“You didn’t expect me to be so shameless?” Yuqing offered a faint, placid smile. “It seems the Young Master intends to scold me again.”

“Good that you know.” Zhou Xiao tried to sit up straight, but Yuqing’s arms remained looped around his neck. He felt that if he rose, Ruan Yuqing would simply settle into his lap. “Let go!”

“Young Master, I feel rather unwell.”

Yuqing said lazily, “Feel for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

As though teasing a cat or dog, Yuqing’s supple body slid slightly downward beneath the blankets, resting his cheek voluntarily against the man’s palm.

Where did he look three years older?

Yuqing’s face and body resembled a freshly budded jasmine blossom: porcelain-fair, moist, and dewy, driving one to lean in close and bury one’s nose in his chest to inhale every drop of that intoxicating scent.

“Young Master…” The sensation in Zhou Xiao’s palm was impossibly soft; he didn’t dare exert any force.

Zhou Xiao frowned. “Weren’t you sick? You certainly don’t look like an invalid.”

He looked more like a kitten in heat.

“The medicine is terribly bitter.” Nuzzling Zhou Xiao’s palm once more, Yuqing let out a mournful sigh. “What should I do?”

Yuqing’s plump lip bead brushed against the rough skin of Zhou Xiao’s palm.

Zhou Xiao was a man who had handled firearms; he was an expert with blades and guns alike, and fencing was second nature to him. His palms bore calloused ridges, a pair of hands that hardly belonged to an ordinary pampered young gentleman.

“Don’t you have candied dates?” Zhou Xiao hastily yanked his hand back, attempting to turn his head away like a proper gentleman.

Yuqing burst into soft giggles. He hadn’t applied any real force, yet Zhou Xiao ended up falling clumsily onto the bed, looking entirely like the victim of coercion.

Yuqing then planted a loud smack of a kiss onto his lips: “How could candied dates ever be as sweet as a husband?”

Yuqing was merely teasing him.

The truth was, when he had cracked his eyes open earlier, he had already noticed the prominent arousal between the man’s legs.

What a fine foreign-educated student, what a supposed gentleman—turned out he was just a lustful rogue underneath.

“What are you doing!” Kissed so abruptly, Zhou Xiao didn’t shove him away; instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and let himself be pushed flat onto the large bed by Yuqing. “Aren’t you afraid of passing your sickness onto me?”

The expected follow-up kiss never arrived. When he waited a moment and opened his eyes, Yuqing was already sitting obediently on the bedside, sipping his medicine.

Yuqing pointed a crooked finger toward the sofa outside. “Then I shall have to trouble the Young Master to bear with the sofa for the night, lest I pass my illness to you.”

“You want me to sleep on the sofa outside?!” Zhou Xiao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Taking another sip of the brew, Yuqing grimaced at the bitterness and furrowed his brow.

Zhou Xiao shot to his feet in indignance. “You were the one clinging to me! You were the one who refused to book a separate room! And now you put on the airs of the master of the house, ordering me to sleep on the sofa!”

Yuqing held the candied date lazily in his mouth. Just as he was about to spit it out, Zhou Xiao’s palm was already extended before him. “Seeing as you are frail, I’ll allow it just this once.”

Yuqing nodded, spitting the date pit neatly into his palm. “Then I must trouble the Young Master.”

Truly a slap across the face, followed by the pit of a sweet date!

“If only the Young Master didn’t dislike Yuqing so much. I would love nothing more than to share a bed and pillow with you,” Ruan Yuqing murmured lazily, hugging a pillow to his chest.

Zhou Xiao felt a sudden knot of stifled fury lodge in his throat, tight enough to make him cough up blood.

This irritation was entirely different from the bank; looking at someone like Zheng Jiashui, Zhou Xiao simply felt the man was best suited to being a corpse.

Ruan Yuqing, however, was deliberately goading him, itching for him to take the bait and obstinately climb into bed to prove a point.

He refused to give him the satisfaction!

“Aren’t you taking a pillow?” Yuqing asked.

“My bones are sturdier than yours.” Zhou Xiao turned and walked off, his fist clenching the date pit so hard it nearly drew blood from his palm.

“Is the Young Master mocking Yuqing for being older, or mocking Yuqing’s frail constitution?”

Watching his stubborn, retreating silhouette, Yuqing couldn’t help but stifle a quiet laugh.

Zhou Xiao lay on the sofa outside, and the two passed a peaceful night without incident.

The following evening, Li Yuanjing indeed sent an automobile to fetch them for the banquet.

As the hosts were one of the premier prominent families in Shencheng, being late was out of the question.

Zhou Xiao had no strict demands regarding attire; if Yuqing was more accustomed to traditional long robes, so be it. He merely wanted to take him out to see the world, lest he act so pitifully about never having attended a high-society banquet before.

Not wanting to draw undue attention in a long robe, Yuqing had Zhao Fu procure a fairly well-fitted Western suit for him.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Xiao ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace, watching Zhao Fu busy himself like a dutiful lapdog—polishing the leather shoes, pulling up the socks, handling every chore with practiced ease, as though Yuqing’s slender ankles were thoroughly accustomed to resting in his palms.

Zhou Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking: Zhao Fu deserves to die just as much as Section Chief Wang. Their base, groveling nature is identical.

If he dies early, Zhao Fu ought to thank me for sparing him so many years of being a wretched dog.

Dressed in his suit, Yuqing still hadn’t fully shaken off his grogginess. His health had always been fragile; perhaps because Zhou Xiao had been far too ruthless the other day, he hadn’t fully recovered even after two full days.

“With a constitution that weak, stay indoors more often in the future,” Zhou Xiao remarked, sipping his coffee.

“The Young Master wants me to leave the Zhou estate, yet tells me to stay indoors more—which order is Yuqing supposed to follow?” He sat lazily on the sofa, waiting for Zhao Fu to come over and put on his shoes.

Just as those hands were about to touch Yuqing’s ankle again, a loud bang echoed through the room. Zhou Xiao slammed his hand heavily against the table, sending the silverware flying into the air. “Ruan Yuqing, did you not listen to a single word I said before?!”

Yuqing was momentarily stunned. Looking at Zhao Fu’s hand frozen mid-air, he seemed to understand. He reached out to pat Zhao Fu’s shoulder gently. “Step outside for now.”

“Yes, yes, of course… everyone has human rights, everyone is equal…”

“Young Mistress, I…” am doing this entirely of my own free will.

Zhou Xiao naturally saw through his eager, groveling posture. He only despised how the servants in these traditional estates acted like castrated eunuchs—hopeless cases through and through, with servitude bred into the very marrow of their bones!

Fortunately, Yuqing was sensible and compliant.

Looking at him now, Ruan Yuqing possessed a remarkably soft temperament: easily guided, obedient, and thoroughly well-behaved.

__

Author’s Note:

Countdown to conceiving the cub and kicking the man to the curb!! Hehehe [milk tea]