Chapter 21

Chapter 21

No dog can resist the temptation of a meaty bone.

Jiang Chen’s breathing quickened instantly. His mind went blank. Forget Wang Ming’an, forget meal replacements. He wanted to leave his mark on this body, like a stamp, signifying ownership.

Ling Sheng’s clothes still carried a hint of the Hunan restaurant from earlier, but when pressed against his skin, all Jiang Chen could smell was the clean scent of his skin. Although the fragrance of the shower gel had faded after a whole day, Jiang Chen still felt like he could smell it.

He kissed Ling Sheng’s collarbone, pressing against that patch of skin. To leave a love bite, he needed to apply pressure, but he was a bit reluctant. So he kissed it repeatedly, still not satisfied. He then extended the tip of his tongue and licked the point of his collarbone.

“Just like a little puppy.”

Ling Sheng’s breathing became slightly unsteady under Jiang Chen’s ministrations, but he indulgently stroked his hair, letting him lick and play as he pleased.

Jiang Chen kissed every inch of the hollow of his shoulder, as if choosing a spot, but every place felt good, yet he was reluctant to commit. Finally, Ling Sheng, unable to bear it any longer, urged him, “Hurry up.”

Only then did Jiang Chen rub the tip of his nose against Ling Sheng’s neck. “I want to leave a mark here.”

Ling Sheng let out a low gasp. That whole patch of skin was burning hot. He was a twenty-eight-year-old adult male, normal both physically and mentally. If he weren’t worried that Jiang Chen, being a straight man, might not be able to handle the rapid progress, he wouldn’t have been holding back all this time.

He originally didn’t want the mark to be visible, preferring a spot that could be covered by clothing, but Jiang Chen clearly had other ideas.

Since he was being allowed to leave a mark, he might as well let him have his way. He might as well go all the way to pacify him. It wouldn’t matter if others saw it.

“As you wish.”

Jiang Chen sucked on a small piece of skin between his lips, rubbing it gently before finally applying pressure. Ling Sheng’s skin was naturally fair and, because he spent most of his time in the office, rarely saw the sun. As a result, it was even more delicate and white. Jiang Chen, leaving a love bite for the first time, had no experience. When he finished and looked, he saw a deep red mark on the fair neck. He was excited and leaned in for another kiss.

“Is that okay?”

Jiang Chen was getting addicted. “I want to leave one on your collarbone too.”

Ling Sheng resisted for a second, but then felt Jiang Chen’s lips already pressing against it, so he let him do as he pleased.

But once these things start, it’s hard to stop. Jiang Chen kissed every inch of skin on his neck and collarbone, feeling the burning temperature of his skin and Ling Sheng’s scent. From one love bite to many, he clung to him as if addicted, not wanting to get up.

But the space inside the car was limited, and two grown men were squeezed together like this, especially with Ling Sheng pinned against the car door. He quickly couldn’t take Jiang Chen’s weight anymore and had to push him off.

Jiang Chen was reluctant to get up, and he reluctantly leaned in to kiss Ling Sheng’s lips again, but his lips were already broken, so he didn’t dare to use force and could only touch them lightly.

“Enough…” Ling Sheng was being pressed down by him, making it difficult to breathe. At this moment, the only air entering his nostrils was filled with Jiang Chen’s scent. He swallowed hard, exerted force with his hands, and pushed the man off him. “You’re too heavy. I can’t breathe.”

As soon as the car door opened, fresh air poured in, dispersing the hot, ambiguous atmosphere inside. Only then did the two feel their heated minds slowly clearing.

Ling Sheng returned home and drank a large glass of cold water before finally recovering a bit. He went to the bathroom, pulled open his collar, and saw that the left side of his neck and collarbone were completely red. There were a few places with faint teeth marks. There were five or six marks of varying depths. The deepest one was probably the one Jiang Chen left first, and it had already turned red to the point of being purplish.

“What a dog indeed.”

Ling Sheng smiled, thinking about Jiang Chen’s appearance as he lay on top of him, his muscular back rising and falling like rolling hills. His throat tightened, and he quickly grabbed his clothes and went to take a shower.

The next day, when he arrived at the company, the first person he encountered was Tonio. When Tonio saw the love bite on Ling Sheng’s neck, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Director Ling…” Tonio stammered for a long time before finally reminding him, “I brought foundation.”

Ling Sheng only smiled faintly. “No need.”

Jiang Chen had been considerate enough to leave only one love bite on his neck. The rest wouldn’t be visible unless someone lifted his shirt. Now that he had let him leave them, was he still afraid of people seeing them?

Tonio still couldn’t help himself and leaned closer. “Is it who I think it is?”

Ling Sheng glanced at him, neither admitting nor denying, and only raised a finger to make a “shh” gesture.

Tonio understood instantly, and excitedly and suppressedly whispered, “No wonder it’s Director Ling. You’re eating well.”

Ling Sheng only smiled and didn’t say anything.

Jiang Chen was bothered by Ling Sheng’s question, “Do you understand me?” So he insisted on increasing the amount of time they spent together. Therefore, he decided to pick up Ling Sheng from work every day, no matter what time Ling Sheng finished. He would wait in his car. Ling Sheng was a little helpless about this, but in the end, he indulged him.

As a senior, Jiang Chen had fewer classes. When he didn’t have class in the morning, he would drive Ling Sheng to work. When he had class, Ling Sheng would take a taxi to work in the morning. In the evening, Jiang Chen would wait for Ling Sheng in the underground parking garage in his car. Ling Sheng hardly drove his own car anymore.

Wang Ming’an’s affair quickly spread throughout the universities. Eternity clearly wanted to handle it quietly, as it wasn’t anything to be proud of. They quickly used public relations to suppress the matter. Their main goal was to find out who was manipulating things behind the scenes in the company to prevent bigger accidents. Wang Ming’an was insignificant to them.

But Wang Ming’an didn’t fare well. His family had him take a leave of absence, saying that his mental state wasn’t very good. Jiang Chen didn’t pay any more attention to what happened after that.

“His dad’s real estate company seems to have had some problems. Otherwise, how could Wang Ming’an have been exposed for not being able to pay the money?” Xu Peiya sat opposite Jiang Chen, drinking coffee. “But the most pitiful ones are the girls he dated. I heard they went to the hospital overnight for checkups to make sure they hadn’t caught anything from Wang Ming’an.”

Jiang Chen sat across from her, but was clearly not interested in what she was saying. He kept looking at his phone.

After Wang Ming’an’s affair came out, Eternity terminated contracts with many models at once. But with the winter collection about to launch, the models they signed after Ling Sheng came were suddenly very busy. But Ling Sheng didn’t let Tonio look for him, telling him to focus on his studies and not spend too much time on modeling. When the time came, he could just terminate the contract.

Dealing with the aftermath was much more troublesome, and there were a series of follow-up matters. Ling Sheng said that after this incident, he had also gained some clues about the design draft leak and should be able to resolve it soon. In addition to the new product launch, it was almost the end of the year, with many meetings and reports. He had been very busy recently. They had originally agreed to go to Jiang beach together last week, but Ling Sheng had something come up on Sunday, so they didn’t go.

They hadn’t had a separate date in two weeks.

It was already November. Although it was still hot when the sun came out during the day, the temperature had already dropped at night. It would be cold if they went to Jiang beach any later.

“Jiang Chen! Jiang Xiaohua!”

Jiang Chen suddenly came back to his senses and saw Xu Peiya’s confused and angry face. He realized what she had just called him and immediately said, “I told you not to call me that.”

“If I don’t call you that, I feel like your soul is about to fly away. What are you thinking about that you’re so engrossed?” Xu Peiya asked him.

Jiang Chen couldn’t exactly say he was thinking about a man, so he vaguely said, “Nothing, I just feel like the weather is getting cooler.”

Xu Peiya found it amusing. “It’s November already. In another month, people can start winter swimming in the Yangtze River.”

“Yeah.” Jiang Chen said thoughtfully, “It must be cold at Jiang beach at night.”

Xu Peiya had originally wanted to have a meal with him because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Seeing him looking so preoccupied, she was about to ask him more questions when she heard Jiang Chen’s phone on the table vibrate. He immediately picked it up and looked at it, becoming excited.

Now Xu Peiya was even more suspicious.

Seeing Jiang Chen happily replying to messages, Xu Peiya asked in a casual and joking tone, “Are you texting your girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Chen answered subconsciously, but immediately denied it. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Xu Peiya put her cup on the table. “Tell the truth.”

“I really don’t have one.”

“Confess and be lenient, resist and be severely punished.”

“I really don’t have one.” Jiang Chen was particularly firm. “If I had a girlfriend, how could I not tell you?”

*I just got a boyfriend.*

Looking at his appearance, Xu Peiya also felt that if he really had a girlfriend, Jiang Chen wouldn’t have any reason to hide it from her, so she temporarily believed him. But a girl’s intuition told her that something was wrong.

Just now, Ling Sheng had replied to his message, saying that the company’s affairs had come to an end for the time being, and he would have a break this Sunday and could go to Jiang beach together.

He needed to plan carefully. Checking the time, it was now four thirty. Ling Sheng would have to work overtime again today, probably until ten o’clock. In that case, he should let him sleep a little longer tomorrow. They could go out for lunch and then go to Jiang beach in the afternoon. He needed to remember to remind him to bring a thicker coat, otherwise he would catch a cold. Maybe he could bring two, Ling Sheng definitely wouldn’t mind wearing his clothes. He was working so hard, he should take care of these little things.

Seeing him daydreaming again, Xu Peiya lost the mood to eat with him and told him to get lost.

Jiang Chen remembered that Ling Sheng had said in their last conversation that he also liked dogs, so he called Xie Kun again to borrow a dog.

Xie Kun raised two dogs, both mixed breeds, but they both looked very good. Especially the female, a mix of a Chinese rural dog and a Schnauzer, with dark eyes and gray and white mottled fur. The long fur on the two upright ears drooped down like two small braids. Usually, Xie Kun would put both dogs in the dog cafe while he was at work, letting them work to earn their own dog food, and then take them back after work. Occasionally, when Xie Kun didn’t have time, Jiang Chen would also take the two dogs out to play.

In the end, Xie Kun lent him the female, agreeing to pick up the dog at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

Jiang Chen was very excited. After sending Ling Sheng home in the evening, he couldn’t help but say that there would be a surprise tomorrow.

Seeing his excited appearance, Ling Sheng deliberately asked, “What surprise?”

Being looked forward to made Jiang Chen even more excited. He resisted saying it. “You’ll know tomorrow.”

Ling Sheng’s anticipation for the surprise was far less than the joy he felt seeing Jiang Chen happy. He leaned in and kissed him. “Tell me, I really want to know.”

Jiang Chen returned the kiss, holding his lips for a long time, reluctant to let go, but he still resisted revealing it.

When they parted, Ling Sheng leaned back lazily. He had been too busy recently. When he was focused and immersed, he didn’t feel it, but as soon as he relaxed, he felt very tired. Jiang Chen, looking at the tiredness between his brows, leaned in and kissed him. “If you’re tired, go to rest early. I’ll come pick you up later tomorrow.”

Ling Sheng hummed in agreement, raised his hand to touch his face. “Kiss me again.”