TLSOTMTKOGAYWHTDI Chapter 38
by VolareQi Yanwang used his hand to cushion the back of his head, pinning him against the wall.
In the flickering green light of the emergency lamp, the bloodshot eyes of the little wolfdog were clearly visible.
“Who is he? Was it him who just sent you a message?”
Zhuo Huaimo looked up at him, “I don’t want to argue with you right now!”
“Where did he touch you?”
Qi Yanwang nibbled at his Adam’s apple as it bobbed, his palm pressing down along his waistline, “Here, or…”
A violent kiss crushed the unfinished words, but he tasted a salty, metallic flavor.
“Hiss—”
Qi Yanwang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingertip, but the other hand still clamped his waist, unwilling to let go.
A fire was raging in his heart, but when he looked up, he saw the fatigue and disappointment in Zhuo Huaimo’s eyes.
Qi Yanwang panicked instantly, cupping his face in his hands,
“You, what’s wrong? I just…”
Zhuo Huaimo pushed him away, his voice frighteningly calm,
“Go back first if you have nothing else, I have a dinner engagement tonight!”
After saying that, he opened the door and returned to his office alone.
Qi Yanwang chased after him and ran into Yu Fengran, who was coming out of the break room with a cup of coffee.
Yu Fengran handed him the coffee,
“Want to talk?”
On the company’s rooftop, Qi Yanwang and Yu Fengran stood side by side. He watched Zhuo Huaimo change into a suit and drive his Cullinan away from the company.
Yu Fengran took a sip of his drink,
“Huaimo wants to take the company public. An entertainment company can’t rely on top-tier idols and idol dramas forever. ‘Early Spring’ is key to the company’s transformation. It can open up overseas distribution channels, and the company is just one step away from going public!”
He glanced at Qi Yanwang, his tone light, “Are you with Huaimo?”
Qi Yanwang was surprised by Yu Fengran’s directness, but not entirely. As Zhuo Huaimo’s partner, his judgment was always sharp.
Without Zhuo Huaimo’s authorization, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to deny it either. He finished the drink in his hand, looked into the distance, and crushed the can.
Yu Fengran smiled and continued, “If it’s just for fun, just playing around, don’t interfere with each other too much, but if…”
He looked into the distance, paused, “It wasn’t easy for Huaimo to get where he is today. When he first debuted, Gu Chen Zhou took a liking to him. He used the dirtiest, most despicable methods to try to get him, throwing all kinds of mud at him. The time he was drugged and sent to a private room, he broke a glass himself and stabbed it into his thigh to escape.”
“I watched him pull out the broken glass with my own eyes.”
Yu Fengran took a deep drag on his cigarette, his voice hoarse,
“That night he had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, clutching the broken glass and saying… saying that as long as he didn’t die, he could always grow his skin back.”
Qi Yanwang’s eyes churned, and a memory surfaced of the two of them in bed. He had stroked the scar and asked,
“How did you get this scar?”
The man smiled nonchalantly, “A dog bite!”
Qi Yanwang’s clenched knuckles turned white, his whole body trembling.
He had never imagined that such a high and mighty, dazzling person could have such a painful, dark past.
He was even angrier at his own carelessness, why hadn’t he seen the fragility beneath his nonchalance?
The wind on the roof carried away Yu Fengran’s cigarette ashes. Qi Yanwang spoke softly,
“You like him too, don’t you?”
The metal railing trembled as he gripped it, and the crushed can rolled to their feet.
Yu Fengran watched the distant traffic, his Adam’s apple bobbing three times before he spoke,
“That year he was held down on the table and drugged, and I grabbed a bottle but someone twisted my arm behind my back. Now, he wants to go public, and I can’t find any investors besides Gu Chen Zhou.”
He snuffed out the cigarette butt, and forced a bitter smile, “Can someone who can’t even take the blame for him say they like him?”
Qi Yanwang’s pupils shrank suddenly, his face burning.
Yu Fengran patted him on the shoulder, leaving him alone on the rooftop.
The crystal lights in the private restaurant reflected a bloody light in the Burgundy wine glasses.
Gu Chen Zhou, who didn’t like people being late, had been waiting for a full forty minutes.
Zhuo Huaimo was doing it on purpose!
At 19:51, Zhuo Huaimo walked into the restaurant right on time, his tone light,
“Sorry, the traffic was a little heavy!”
He maintained a polite and proper smile, saying “sorry,” but there wasn’t a trace of apology in his eyes.
“It doesn’t matter! The longer the wait, the more mellow the wine becomes!”
Gu Chen Zhou poured him wine himself.
Zhuo Huaimo lowered his eyes and looked at the red wine in the glass, and those dirty memories resurfaced again. His tone was light,
“I’ve quit drinking!”
Gu Chen Zhou raised his glass and gently touched it against his.
“Clink—”
The crisp sound of the clink echoed throughout the space. Gu Chen Zhou took a sip of the wine in his glass and chuckled,
“No drugs! President Zhuo isn’t the nobody he used to be, and I don’t bother with those petty tricks anymore!”
He suddenly stopped swirling the wine glass and looked up at him,
“Just consider it a welcome back party for me!”
Zhuo Huaimo took a shallow breath and took a small sip, but when he wiped his mouth, he spat it into the napkin.
Gu Chen Zhou suddenly grabbed Zhuo Huaimo’s wrist, which was resting on the edge of the table,
“I’m really not used to seeing you like this. Back then, the knife you stabbed me with took seven stitches, that was something!”
The corners of Zhuo Huaimo’s mouth turned up in a mocking curve,
“I always knew that President Gu was perverted, but I didn’t expect this kind of perverted masochism. You should have said so earlier, I would have arranged it for you!”
Gu Chen Zhou walked to his side and pinched his chin,
“This mouth is getting sharper and sharper!”
“I’m here today to discuss the investment in ‘Early Spring.’ If President Gu isn’t interested, I don’t think there’s anything to talk about!”
Zhuo Huaimo pushed his hand away and prepared to get up to leave, but he was pushed back into the chair.
Gu Chen Zhou returned to his seat and said slowly,
“The money can be in place tomorrow, and I can even add 40%!”
“Snap—”
The crab claw broke, and he used the tip of the knife to lift Zhuo Huaimo’s tie, “I want you…”
Zhuo Huaimo suddenly chuckled, drawing circles on the tablecloth with the red wine,
“President Gu, you couldn’t do it back then… you have even less of a chance now!”
He sighed softly, “It looks like this meal isn’t going to happen. You can enjoy it, I’m allergic!”
Gu Chen Zhou held down the hand he was about to use to get up, “Wait, if you don’t like this plan, I have others!”
As he spoke, he threw a script to Zhuo Huaimo,
“Let Qi Yanwang play the lead role, sign the contract, and the investment will be in place immediately!”
Zhuo Huaimo picked up the script and saw that it was a dual male lead, with large-scale intimate scenes accounting for more than 60% of the film, obviously not a film that would be released through normal channels.
Zhuo Huaimo, who had been holding back all night, threw the script directly at his face,
“Why don’t you just say you want him to strip!”
He picked up the steak knife and held it against Gu Chen Zhou’s Adam’s apple, “Don’t even think about using the same tricks you used on me seven years ago on him, otherwise…”
He slowly moved the knife down to his lower abdomen and pressed down hard,
“I don’t mind helping you remember what it feels like to get seven stitches!”
As he spoke, he threw the steak knife on the table with a “clang” and turned to leave!
“Zhuo Huaimo!”
Gu Chen Zhou suddenly called out to stop him, “Don’t forget, your gambling agreement is only half a year away from expiring, and that’s all of your assets!”
In the rainy night, inside the black Land Rover, Qi Yanwang looked at his watch for the 17th time.
The windshield wipers frantically swished back and forth, much like the way his heart was pounding.
His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, and the raindrops snaked down the car window like the repressed emotions within him.
He looked at his watch for the 18th time, each tick of the minute hand felt like a cut in his heart.
The car was filled with the heavy smell of smoke, and the ashtray was full of cigarette butts. He remembered Yu Fengran’s words on the rooftop, the scar on Zhuo Huaimo’s body, and the man’s always indifferent smile.
“Damn it!”
He slammed his fist on the steering wheel, the horn blaring harshly in the rainy night.
He wanted to rush in and smash Gu Chen Zhou’s hypocritical face, but he couldn’t. He could only sit here like a coward, watching his light face the darkness alone.
Qi Yanwang took a deep breath and buried his face in his palms.
He vowed that this situation could only be the “last time”!
“Bang—”
The car door was suddenly opened, the unique woody fragrance and slightly sweet smell of alcohol emanating from Zhuo Huaimo.
He leaned against the back of the seat, tearing open his tie with one hand, his face full of exhaustion, and his cool eyes half-closed as he looked at Qi Yanwang.
“I knew you’d come!”
Zhuo Huaimo turned his face to the side, looking at his pale face reflected in the glass, his voice light,
“Hold me!”
Qi Yanwang climbed from the center console to the back seat, looking at him with heartache.
The rain poured down, the raindrops hitting the roof of the car with a dense sound.
Qi Yanwang tightly held Zhuo Huaimo in his arms, his fingertips almost digging into his shoulder blades.
Zhuo Huaimo, who exercised regularly, had a well-proportioned body, but at this moment in Qi Yanwang’s arms, he looked particularly thin.
Zhuo Huaimo raised his hand, his cold fingers gently pressed against Qi Yanwang’s lips, his voice low and hoarse,
“Don’t say you feel sorry for me, show me with your actions.”
Qi Yanwang’s breath hitched, his canines gently biting Zhuo Huaimo’s nape, the leather seats making subtle rubbing sounds in their movements.
Zhuo Huaimo’s shirt still retained the aroma of red wine and an unfamiliar fragrance.
Warm liquid dripped onto Zhuo Huaimo’s cold skin, Qi Yanwang’s eyes turned red, and tears fell silently.
Was he crying?!
Zhuo Huaimo’s heart tightened, did Qi Yanwang already know the origin of the scar?
He reached out and grabbed Qi Yanwang’s hair, trying to make him look at him and confirm his emotions.
Qi Yanwang grabbed his wrist and suddenly pressed him against the car window.
The rain snaked down the glass like tear stains, and the crisp sound of metal buckles flying off mingled with the muffled thunder, echoing in the car.
When the last rumble of thunder exploded, Qi Yanwang’s canines pierced Zhuo Huaimo’s shoulder blade, his tiger’s mouth stuck at his Adam’s apple, locking his sobs in his trembling chest.
Zhuo Huaimo’s drooping wrist rested on Qi Yanwang’s leg, the car window reflecting the wet hair of the two, like two wild beasts licking each other’s wounds after a fight.
The car lights cut through the rainy night, and in the darkness, a figure held a black umbrella, quietly watching all of this.
“Nineteen, twenty…”
Gu Chen Zhou’s fingernails holding the umbrella handle were already embedded in his palm, but his face was still wearing a faint smile,
“The little wolfdog has good stamina, but… his teeth haven’t fully grown in yet.”
His eyes were cold, and the figure under the umbrella looked particularly lonely in the rainy night.
After a moment, he turned and left, disappearing into the vast rain, leaving only a trail of broken moonlight.