On How To Defeat Dr. Qing Leng Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Just once, let’s clear things up

Wen Yelan curled his fingers slightly in his pocket.He tried to ring the doorbell several times but took back his hand. When he could hardly bear to leave, the heavy solid wood door was opened from the inside.

Pei Yan stood at the door, wearing only a dark cashmere sweater, his sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, and a few bulging veins on his exposed forearms.

He seemed to be rushing to the door, his breathing a little short.The warm light in the living room spread out from behind him and enveloped Wen Yelan.

Their eyes met in the air.

Pei Yan looked at Wen Yelan standing at the door.He was wearing a simple gray coat and a V-neck white sweater that made his neck long, and his cheeks were flushed by the night wind.

He looked thinner than a few days ago, but his eyes were still like the lake under the Everest glacier, clear and cold, with a hint of unnoticeable alertness and confusion at the moment.

He just stood there quietly, as if he was incompatible with the luxurious environment around him, but strangely attracted all of Pei Yan’s attention.Pei Yan was almost stunned, his heart seemed to have been lightly hit by something, and it was so soft that it was completely soft.

However, the next second, Pei Yan’s brows furrowed.His eyes fell on Wen Yelan’s coat – the buttons were not buttoned properly, and the collar of the sweater underneath was a little loose, exposing a small section of her delicate collarbone.On such a cold night, taking a taxi from the city, this journey…

“Why are you wearing so little?” Pei Yan’s voice contained a hint of imperceptible reproach, but more of a concern and self-blame that even he himself was not aware of: “It’s so cold outside, but you don’t know how to button up your coat properly? What if you get cold again?” As he spoke, he subconsciously reached out his hand to help him button up his coat.

His movements were natural, with a kind of intimate concern.

But when Wen Yelan reached out his hand, his body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and he subconsciously took a small step back to avoid his touch.

Pei Yan’s hand froze in mid-air.

The atmosphere instantly became a little stagnant.

Wen Yelan lowered his eyes, avoiding Pei Yan’s gaze that instantly turned serious, and whispered, “It’s not cold.”

Pei Yan took back his hand and looked at him with complicated eyes.Wen Yelan’s resistance was like a tiny thorn piercing his heart.He knew that the impact of that storm on Wen Yelan’s heart was far deeper than he imagined.He took a deep breath and stepped aside to get out of the way: “Come in first, it’s cold outside.”

Wen Yelan walked in silently.

The room was no different from the last time I came here, except that there was an extra pair of slippers at the entrance, which seemed to be specially prepared for me.

Pei Yan closed the door to block out the cold air outside.He watched Wen Yelan take off his coat, and the white sweater underneath made his figure even thinner.He took Wen Yelan’s coat, and his hands felt cold, making his heart feel tight again.

“What do you want to drink?” Pei Yan tried to keep his tone as natural as possible and led him to the living room: “Hot water? Milk? Or…tea?” He remembered that Wen Yelan liked to drink something hot when he was tired.

“Just hot water, thank you.” Wen Yelan sat down on the sofa with a somewhat reserved posture. His eyes quickly glanced at Pei Yan, and finally fell on his intertwined fingers.

Pei Yan went to the kitchen and poured a glass of warm water back and handed it to him.Wen Yelan took it, and his fingertips inevitably touched Pei Yan’s. The cold touch made Pei Yan frown again.

He sat down on the sofa opposite Wen Yelan, with the large coffee table between them like an invisible gap.

“Project…” Pei Yan tried to find a safe topic to start with.

“Pei Yan.” Wen Yelan interrupted him. He raised his head and looked directly at Pei Yan. In those ice-blue eyes, Pei Yan’s figure was clearly reflected at this moment, and a complex emotion was clearly reflected.There was excitement and confusion, but more of it was a deep, almost overflowing panic: “For me, you have to go through such a big circle.” He paused: “The loss to you in dealing with Zhao Hua is not small. Is it worth it?”

He finally asked the question in person.

Pei Yan saw the uneasiness in his eyes, and his heart seemed to be soaked in sour liquid.He knew that concealment and deception would only push Wen Yelan further.He nodded and admitted simply: “It’s not small, but it’s worth it.”

“Why?” he asked, with an imperceptible choking in his voice: “Why do you have to do this? We…we are not even familiar. If it is just because of Mount Everest…”

“I want to help you.” Pei Yan interrupted and looked at him, his eyes frank and hot: “On Mount Everest, when I saw you had to bow to people like us for that broken generator; when I saw you were clearly wronged, but you would only carry it by yourself; when I saw you losing the opportunity that should have belonged to you because you insisted on those so-called noble things… I wanted to help you.”

His tone gradually became excited: “I know that my method may be unacceptable to you and make you feel scared. But I couldn’t think of a better way at the time! I can’t just watch you be buried like this, stepped on by the garbage! Wen Yelan, you deserve better, you deserve all the best resources and opportunities to complete your research and realize your value!”

“Because it’s you, it’s worth it.”

His words were like a fire, hot and direct, trying to melt the ice around Wen Yelan.

Wen Yelan looked at him blankly, his mind going blank for a moment.The sincerity and heat in Pei Yan’s eyes were like a bright light, making his eyes sore and his heart beating wildly in his chest. A strange, sour and slightly sweet heat flowed to his limbs uncontrollably.

For a moment, he was almost melted by the flames.It was almost necessary to believe that everything Pei Yan did was really out of pure kindness that he could not understand, rather than the whim game of a rich man that he feared, or worse, an investment that required him to pay a high price.

But the trance only lasted less than three seconds.

Those cold memory fragments of his childhood were like poisonous snakes lurking in the darkness, swooping out and biting his nerves hard.

His parents took his brother to a banquet and locked him in a dark room;

Those so-called “friends” smiled and gave him candies while pushing him into the mud;

There was also the look in his eyes that was mixed with surprise, disgust and pity after he cautiously confessed his love to the senior student whom he once ignorantly liked, and his words that were like an ice pick: “Wen Yelan, you are so disgusting. Men like men? If you weren’t good-looking, who would care about you, with a body like this…”

He was afraid of this emotion, he was afraid of Pei Yan’s fire, he was afraid of the uncontrollability behind the flame, and he was afraid that if he indulged, he would eventually be burned to the ground.

So, Wen Yelan said.

“Thank you.” The voice was almost inaudible: “But… I’m not used to owing favors.”

He raised his head, not looking at Pei Yan, but focused on the tall green plant in the corner of the living room: “You helped me a lot. I… don’t know how to repay it.”

Pei Yan’s heart ached when he saw him like this.He wanted to say, “I don’t want you to pay me back,” and “You just need to be nice,” but he knew that these words were meaningless to Wen Yelan, who was currently in a difficult situation.

Wen Yelan took a deep breath, as if she had summoned up a lifetime of courage, and finally turned her eyes to Pei Yan.In those eyes, the previous alertness and confusion were gone, leaving only an almost cruel calm and determination.

“I think… maybe this is the fastest.” He said, raising his fingers and landing on the collar of his white sweater, and then, under Pei Yan’s disbelieving gaze, he began to slowly unbutton one by one.During the movement, his fingertips trembled slightly, but the expression on his face seemed to be completing a cold ritual.

The delicate collarbone was completely exposed to the warm air, and then the thinner chest. The skin looked extremely white under the light, and even light cyan blood vessels could be seen.

Pei Yan’s brain couldn’t make any reaction for a while, and his whole figure was frozen.He looked at Wen Yelan’s movements and the look on his face that was mixed with humiliation and self-loathing but pretended to be calm. His heart had hurt all night and he could hardly breathe.

The moment Wen Yelan’s fingers touched the belt buckle at his waist, Pei Yan suddenly jumped up from the sofa and stepped across the coffee table, his movements so fast that he stirred up a gust of wind.

He grabbed Wen Yelan’s wrist with such force that Wen Yelan frowned in pain.

“Wen Yelan!” Pei Yan’s voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, with uncontrollable anger and… hurt emotions: “What the hell are you doing?!”

He was so angry that his eyes were red and his chest was heaving violently. Looking at Wen Yelan’s pale and beautiful face, he wanted to shake him awake: “Do you think I did this for you because of this?! In your eyes, I, Pei Yan, am this kind of person? Huh? I use money and power to force you into a corner, just to fuck you once?!”

Wen Yelan’s body trembled at his roar. The pain in his wrists and the undisguised anger and pain in Pei Yan’s eyes caused a crack in the psychological defense he had built.He tried to break free, but Pei Yan held him tighter.

“Otherwise…” Wen Yelan tilted his head, his voice was low and hoarse, with a taunting tone: “Apart from that, what else can I give you? Mr. Pei, once is enough, let’s forget it…”

He felt that he was dirty and despicable, that he would even think of using this method to put himself in such a humble position. What was the difference between himself and Fan Qingzhi?It’s just that the order is different.

Pei Yan looked at his unfocused eyes and the numb expression of “whatever you want” on his face, and felt that he had never been so powerless.He thought that his honesty and hard work could at least earn him a little bit of trust and the possibility of getting closer.

“Liang Qing?” Pei Yan was so angry that he was shaking all over, his eyes were filled with surging anger and a deep stabbing pain: “Wen Yelan, what do you think of me? And what do you think of yourself?!” He flicked Wen Yelan’s wrist away, and the force was so strong that Wen Yelan staggered back. Under the open collar of her sweater, her thin chest heaved violently.

Pei Yan looked at him like this, and the exposed, fair skin hurt his eyes under the light.He closed his eyes, forcing down the anger that was almost out of control. When he opened it again, there was only fatigue in his eyes.

“Get lost.” Pei Yan’s voice was hoarse, carrying an unprecedented sense of alienation and disappointment: “Take your ‘Qing Gao’ and disappear from my eyes immediately.”

The word “go” was like a dagger tempered with ice, stabbing accurately into Wen Yelan’s heart.It was more unbearable than any yelling or questioning.His face instantly turned pale as paper, and his lips moved, but no sound came out.

He buttoned the sweater buttons one by one silently and stiffly, his fingers clumsy because of the coldness and trembling.The movements were slow, with a ritualistic humiliation and embarrassment.

Wen Yelan kept his head down, not daring to look at Pei Yan.

After buttoning the last button, he pulled up his coat, turned around, and walked toward the door like a puppet that had lost its soul.He didn’t look at Pei Yan again, nor did he hesitate.

Pei Yan stood there, with his back to him, his fists clenched, his knuckles turning white from exertion.He listened to the slight and staggering footsteps behind him, and listened to the sound of the door being opened and then gently closed.

“Click.”

A soft sound separated the two worlds.

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