His Venomous Former Boss Chased Him And Beat Him Fiercely Chapter 36

Piercing the Ear

The next day, Kong Xunwen opened his eyes, then closed them again, tightly.

He couldn’t do this anymore.

He carefully assessed the situation. Although today felt acceptable, doing this every day probably wasn’t a good idea.

Kong Xunwen felt heavy, pressed down by the person beside him, feeling slightly breathless. He pulled back the blanket and looked inside. It was Qiu Zhijie’s arm, resting on his waist.

Their pajamas had shifted during the night, allowing the arm to rest unimpeded on his waist, skin against skin.

He gently moved the arm away.

The arm was removed, but soon enough, it returned. Kong Xunwen turned his head and was immediately kissed on the cheek.

Qiu Zhijie was still groggy: “Awake?”

The arm tightened around him again.

Kong Xunwen felt helpless. He turned over, cupped his hand around his mouth and Qiu Zhijie’s ear, and amplified his voice: “Time to get up.”

The sudden sound next to his ear made Qiu Zhijie jump. The look of helplessness transferred from Kong Xunwen’s face to Qiu Zhijie’s.

Kong Xunwen chuckled.

“Why do you always wake up so early?” Qiu Zhijie stroked the young man’s messy hair, venting his frustration on it. He used a little force, making the already disheveled hair even messier.

Kong Xunwen tried to shrink away, dodging, but he was completely trapped in the man’s embrace. He gave up and retorted, unconvinced: “It’s not early now.”

Qiu Zhijie looked at him, eyes slightly narrowed and still hazy, a hint of a helpless smile on his lips: “Are you sure?”

He lifted Kong Xunwen’s arm and showed him the time on his watch.

Six twelve.

It was indeed a bit early.

Kong Xunwen blinked: “I used to wake up very punctually.”

Qiu Zhijie closed his eyes, rolled over, and pulled the young man tightly back into his arms, this time with more force. He didn’t argue: “Alright, alright, sleep a little longer.”

Kong Xunwen struggled to lift his head to look at Qiu Zhijie’s face: “I’m up. I feel like I can’t fall back asleep.”

Qiu Zhijie not only didn’t let go but pulled the young man even closer, resting his chin on the crown of the youth’s head, locking him in place: “No, you’ll keep me company.”

Kong Xunwen poked the chest in front of him, assessing him with a subtle tone of mild disdain mixed with amusement: “CEO Qiu is so clingy.”

Qiu Zhijie, eyes closed and slightly drowsy, smiled: “I am.”

The person who claimed he couldn’t sleep eventually drifted off again. It was a rare morning where Qiu Zhijie woke up first. However, he wasn’t in a hurry to get up. He turned his head and lightly kissed the young man’s forehead before rising.

The youth buried under the blanket immediately turned over, completely flipping around, his back facing Qiu Zhijie, with only a few strands of messy black hair visible above the covers.

Qiu Zhijie chuckled softly before heading to the bathroom.

After washing up, he returned to the bedside, leaning close to the youth. His lips were slightly cool. He first checked the wound on the lower lip; after just one night, it was almost healed.

Kong Xunwen was still deep in sleep when he suddenly felt a sensation of being suspended in the air.

The last time he felt this while sleeping was when he was a growing teenager. The feeling instantly woke Kong Xunwen up, and he realized his current predicament—he was being carried by Qiu Zhijie.

He quickly reached out and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and shoulders, instantly eliminating the distance between them.

Qiu Zhijie liked this feeling. Both their pajamas were thin, and pressed together, their body temperatures merged, creating a sense of intimacy.

Kong Xunwen was still immersed in his recent dream and was not happy about being startled awake: “What are you doing?”

Qiu Zhijie looked completely serious: “Time to get up.”

“Put me down,” Kong Xunwen’s heart was still racing.

Qiu Zhijie didn’t let go until they reached the staircase, where he finally obediently set the person down.

The commotion had completely woken Kong Xunwen up. He yawned after being put down. Since he wasn’t going back to sleep, he took lazy steps toward his own room downstairs.

Fortunately, Qiu Zhijie had the sense to grab his slippers for him.

The man who should have been heading to the kitchen followed close behind. Kong Xunwen turned around, confused: “Why are you following me?”

Qiu Zhijie looked innocent: “Waiting for you to wash up.”

Not understanding the man’s thought process and still feeling a bit sleepy after waking up, Kong Xunwen didn’t press the issue and simply ignored the person following him step by step.

But after he finished washing up, Qiu Zhijie dragged him to the kitchen anyway.

Kong Xunwen: …

Fine, he’d tolerate it, considering he was making breakfast for him.

After breakfast, Kong Xunwen was scrolling through live streams—painting streams. Now that he was streaming himself, he realized some issues with his own channel, and watching others sometimes helped him learn.

Qiu Zhijie, however, didn’t start working. Instead, he came downstairs holding something.

Kong Xunwen heard the footsteps and looked up. His eyesight wasn’t great, so he couldn’t clearly see what Qiu Zhijie was holding. He squinted but still couldn’t make it out, so he simply asked: “What are you holding?”

Qiu Zhijie took large strides, quickly descended the stairs, and was soon standing in front of Kong Xunwen.

The young man stared intently at the object in his hand, finding it somewhat familiar.

Qiu Zhijie handed the item directly to him and sat down beside the youth: “Didn’t you say you were going to help me pierce my ear before?”

Kong Xunwen flipped through the tools packaged in a small bag.

Yesterday, he had specifically researched ear piercing. He knew the whole process well. With proper handling, modern piercing tools allowed people to pierce their ears at home.

However, most people still chose to go to a hospital or a specialized place.

The main reason was that searching for ear piercing often brought up particularly shocking scenes of improper procedures.

Kong Xunwen had scrolled past many images of blood streaming down people’s ears.

He swallowed hard, looking up at Qiu Zhijie. The other man looked quite expectant. Kong Xunwen asked, nervous yet confused: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll mess it up?”

“Aren’t you sensitive to pain?” He recalled that fact.

He remembered an accident at a themed fashion show last year. Qiu Zhijie’s arm was scratched by a splinter, a long, thin cut that wasn’t actually large, but his reaction at the time was significant. That was when the explanation came out.

Qiu Zhijie wasn’t entirely calm, but compared to the thought of the youth personally leaving a mark on him, the pain seemed to transform into pleasure.

He paused when he heard the question, remembering the incident from last year. He had only mentioned his pain sensitivity then because he was forced to expose his weakness, which left a deep impression on him.

Whenever he thought about it before, he felt uneasy.

But now: “So you were paying attention to me back then.”

The man’s dark eyes lit up slightly, and the corners of his pressed lips held a hidden smile, as if saying, See, it wasn’t just one-sided back then.

Kong Xunwen watched him for a while. Undeniably, he had been paying attention to the other man at the time, but… he was his direct superior!

What truly made him remember the incident until now was when colleagues anonymously brought it up in the group chat later, linking pain sensitivity with… certain other things.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to the man’s shoulder. Yesterday, he had accidentally left a scratch there. He hadn’t thought much of it then, but now the scene suddenly became clear. Qiu Zhijie’s reaction had been a bit intense.

“Hmm?” Qiu Zhijie leaned closer, seemingly unaware of Kong Xunwen’s wandering thoughts.

Kong Xunwen quickly pulled his gaze back, nodding haphazardly: “Alright, let’s start.”

But Qiu Zhijie stopped him. Although he wanted the youth to leave a mark on him, he didn’t want a major incident.

The man leaned back slightly, his eyes hesitant: “You know what to do, right?”

Kong Xunwen recalled the videos he watched, finally regaining his focus. His brows furrowed, and his eyes filled with seriousness: “I watched the tutorial yesterday.”

He looked around, suddenly stood up, took a few steps, and then turned back, pulling Qiu Zhijie along. The man was much taller than him, but at the moment, he was inexplicably docile, following behind without saying a word, despite his confusion.

Kong Xunwen led Qiu Zhijie to the dining table and had him sit in the chair.

Qiu Zhijie looked up slightly, putting Kong Xunwen in the higher position.

Kong Xunwen turned to go wash his hands in the kitchen, planning to put on gloves and disinfect everything afterward. But the person who was supposed to be sitting behind him restlessly followed.

He turned around.

Qiu Zhijie looked at him innocently. Seeing him pause, he stepped forward and hugged him from behind.

“Didn’t I tell you to sit there?”

“Where are you going?”

“Just washing my hands.”

“You didn’t say. I thought you were going to abandon me and leave.”

Kong Xunwen looked down at the hands tightly wrapped around his waist, which didn’t loosen despite the explanation: “Fine.”

After washing his hands with the human weight attached, when they walked back, the person who had been hugging him from behind was now standing beside him, with only one arm still resting on his waist.

Kong Xunwen settled the man back into the chair.

The atmosphere began to grow serious. Before putting on the gloves, Kong Xunwen laid out the instructional video he had watched earlier, along with the manual from the tool kit.

Qiu Zhijie followed his gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Kong Xunwen was now unable to pay attention to his surroundings. He took a deep breath, put on the gloves, sprayed alcohol for disinfection, and then took out the piercing tool, disinfecting it again.

Finally, he looked at Qiu Zhijie’s… earlobe.

Qiu Zhijie: Don’t move, don’t move.

The cool glove touched his earlobe. The youth’s breath was close, along with the scent of honeysuckle on him.

The honeysuckle scent was strong. After successfully drying honeysuckle the first time, Kong Xunwen had picked it several more times. The house was now imbued with the scent, and consequently, the youth who handled the honeysuckle most often also carried the fragrance.

Mixed with his body temperature, it was exceptionally warm. Qiu Zhijie liked to press against the warm skin and inhale the scent.

He suddenly lost focus. The slight coolness on his earlobe was no longer his concern; his senses were completely occupied by the youth.

The alcohol was applied and quickly evaporated.

His earlobe felt slightly hot.

Kong Xunwen was extremely focused, following the instructions step by step, having already dismissed the video tutorial on the phone beside him.

Finally, the sharp, pointed tip pressed against the soft earlobe, creating a small indentation.

Kong Xunwen forcefully applied pressure, instinctively wanting to close his eyes, but he held back. His entire face was tense as he stared at the opening being made.

The tool was pulled out.

The body beneath his hands trembled slightly; Qiu Zhijie had felt the pain.

Blood immediately seeped from the pierced spot on the earlobe. A small plastic rod was inserted, with a red bead of blood at the tip, looking like a ruby stud.

Qiu Zhijie gritted his teeth. The sharp, momentary pain felt prolonged and continuous to him.

He glanced sideways and saw the youth pause briefly before continuing his movements. Soon, a mirror was placed in front of him, reflecting his reddened earlobe and the freshly made piercing.

And beside him, the youth was tidying up the tools, feigning composure.

The pain persisted, but the man suddenly smiled. He looked at his earlobe with appreciation, then reached out and poked the youth.

Kong Xunwen pursed his lips. He was actually sensitive to pain too, especially after witnessing that scene. It was almost empathetic; he felt as if his own ear had been stabbed.

The poke startled him momentarily. He then reacted, swallowed, and looked over, instinctively avoiding the earlobe: “What?”