Unmatched Chapter 18
byChapter 18 Too Clingy
They spent the entire day in the office.
After eating a light lunch in the afternoon, Xie Qi seemed unable to snap out of it. Dazed and excited, he dragged Zhao Shuyi into the lounge and they did it again.
Xie Qi was thin-skinned. Though he didn’t say it, Zhao Shuyi could tell he was very dissatisfied with how he had been dominated earlier. He felt the need to make sure Zhao Shuyi couldn’t get out of bed to restore his dignity.
Zhao Shuyi had never been so reckless—spending an entire afternoon doing this at the company.
From one o’clock until six, he never left Xie Qi’s embrace. Xie Qi constantly demanded passionate kisses, his fingers threading through Zhao Shuyi’s hair, pressing down hard on the back of his head, forbidding any resistance.
Xie Qi was so forceful, controlling Zhao Shuyi completely until he couldn’t move, that it was hard to say there wasn’t an element of bravado involved.
But the more he acted this way, the more Zhao Shuyi wanted to laugh, cooperating fully and letting Xie Qi do whatever he pleased. Later, when he was genuinely exhausted and couldn’t move, Xie Qi finally felt satisfied. He unilaterally declared victory and took Zhao Shuyi to shower with him.
During this time, the secretary knocked twice, which was a rare moment of nervousness for Zhao Shuyi.
Xie Qi, immersed in the romantic atmosphere he had feigned, seized the opportunity to force Zhao Shuyi to say “I like you.” Zhao Shuyi complied, each word light and airy, deliberately whispering into Xie Qi’s ear, asking, “You love hearing that? Do you really like me?”
Xie Qi stiffened, and the subsequent flurry of activity nearly made Zhao Shuyi lose his soul.
As dusk fell, they finally left the office to have dinner.
By this time, Zhao Shuyi was clean and freshly dressed. From his appearance, no one could tell what scandalous things he and Xie Qi had been up to, but he was actually feeling a little weak in the knees.
Xie Qi pretended to be solicitous, wrapping the hand holding the car key around Zhao Shuyi’s waist, unable to hide his smugness: “Should I help you walk?”
Zhao Shuyi forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “Why don’t you just carry me? The parking garage is far.”
He intended to mock Xie Qi, but Xie Qi always took jokes seriously. He immediately scooped Zhao Shuyi up in his arms. The world suddenly spun, startling Zhao Shuyi, who nearly dropped his phone.
“Are you insane?”
“You’re the one who can’t take a joke.” Xie Qi walked steadily, carrying him to the elevator. “Don’t you like being carried like a princess? Or should I give you a piggyback ride?”
“…”
Fortunately, the executive hallway was empty, or Zhao Shuyi would have lost all face on his visit to Ringzhou Group headquarters.
The strange thing was that at moments like this, Xie Qi’s thin skin vanished. It was as if he could be thin-skinned or thick-skinned at will, incredibly flexible.
Zhao Shuyi struggled free and gave him a look of exasperation. Xie Qi actually laughed, quickly following him into the elevator. As soon as the door closed, he leaned in and kissed him.
The car key pressed against Zhao Shuyi’s waist through Xie Qi’s palm, hard and uncomfortable.
Zhao Shuyi was forced to lean back, his shoulder hitting the elevator wall, his chin slightly raised, his lips parted. His tongue felt like it was about to be swallowed. Xie Qi kissed him exceptionally deep, seemingly never tiring despite having kissed him a thousand times today.
“Are you being a little…” Zhao Shuyi struggled to squeeze out a sentence, “too clingy?”
“Am I? I’ll be more careful next time,” Xie Qi said, acknowledging his mistake with great restraint.
However, Zhao Shuyi soon realized he was just paying lip service.
For a long time afterward, Xie Qi escalated his behavior. Every night, he insisted on doing it with Zhao Shuyi at least once. Afterward, he needed a long goodnight kiss, a morning kiss upon waking, a farewell kiss before leaving, a greeting kiss upon returning home, a make-up kiss after arguments, and a spontaneous kiss whenever he felt happy… They acted more like a real couple than actual lovers.
Zhao Shuyi reflected that it was his fault for letting Xie Qi taste the sweetness of “love” that day, which caused him to spiral out of control.
But Zhao Shuyi couldn’t blame Xie Qi. He himself was enjoying the pleasure brought by the hormones, using it to relieve the pressure from his family and work.
The situation had been tense recently. Zhao Huaicheng was constantly maneuvering. His people went to Zhao Fengli almost daily to sway his opinion and used the media to build momentum, promoting how excellent and popular Zhao Huaicheng was, and how Chaoyang Group needed to be handed over to him for better development.
Not only that, but he also personally went to Zhao Fengli to complain and play the emotional card.
Zhao Shuyi heard from the Old Butler that on September 3rd, his Second Uncle arrived with a pot of spider plant, kneeling by the Old Master’s bedside for the entire morning.
He spoke about events from decades ago, recounting how once, when he was nine, he accidentally ruined a flower his elder brother was growing—it was that exact type of spider plant, extremely cheap, a common roadside plant, nothing valuable. Yet, he was beaten for it.
Both parents said it was his fault. Why did he go into his elder brother’s room to cause trouble? Why couldn’t he ever learn?
Another time, he and his elder brother were kicking a ball and accidentally hit their mother’s cat. Although his elder brother was the one who kicked the ball, his brother was secretly wicked and escaped punishment by pretending to be good, while he was beaten again for talking back after trying to explain himself.
Zhao Fengli had a fiery temper when he was young, and his wife was the same; neither spoiled their children. Moreover, they were busy with work and often not home, completely unaware of the friction between the two brothers.
When he grew older, Zhao Huaicheng finally learned to behave, but he fell into another kind of pain: his achievements in all areas lagged behind his elder brother.
His parents had long stopped hitting the children, but they constantly lectured him: “Look at your elder brother, he excels at everything he learns. Why are you so disappointing?”
Zhao Huaicheng held the Old Master’s hand and said that in his effort to prove himself, he had lived half his life in his elder brother’s shadow.
His elder brother had passed away early and was enjoying peace, but he alone had helped their father shoulder the heavy burden of Chaoyang Group from the age of twenty until today. He deserved credit even if he didn’t have merit. How could they now let his little nephew, who was still wet behind the ears, step over him? What would outsiders think? Even if he didn’t care about power or profit, where would he put his old face?
The Old Butler recounted to Zhao Shuyi that his Second Uncle knelt for a long time, weeping bitterly. The Old Master initially cursed him out, but later sighed repeatedly and started crying too.
Zhao Shuyi’s heart sank upon hearing this. He mocked himself, thinking it was his fault for not being good at playing the victim; otherwise, he should have gone to cry a few times to win favor.
But Zhao Shuyi had always disdained vying for favor. What was the point of affection gained through elaborate schemes?
What was rightfully his would be his. What wasn’t, he didn’t care for.
Zhao Shuyi asked, “And now? What is the Old Master thinking?”
The Old Butler said, “I don’t know.” Lawyers came every day, but the will hadn’t been finalized yet, and the contents were confidential. No one but the Old Master himself was allowed to see it.
Zhao Shuyi’s heart chilled halfway.
While he was on the phone, Xie Qi walked past and overheard a few sentences. He asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t secure the succession rights?”
Zhao Shuyi didn’t respond. Xie Qi spoke cynically: “Why not just forget it? You’re married to me now. I’ll split Ringzhou with you; you’re not short on money.”
Zhao Shuyi walked to the window, lit a cigarette, and let the smoke drift outside. After a long pause, he said, “The Old Man arranged for me to marry you precisely because I can’t ‘forget it.'”
“Then what does your grandfather mean?” Xie Qi was slightly confused. “Since he favors you, surely the will includes your share?”
“Who knows,” Zhao Shuyi said wearily. “He never actually favored me; he just needed me to work myself to death for him. If my Second Uncle were willing to listen to him, I wouldn’t be involved at all.”
Xie Qi was stunned: “Is that so? I thought he liked you quite a bit.”
“You’re overthinking it.”
Zhao Shuyi took several deep drags of the cigarette but couldn’t taste anything. Xie Qi had walked over at some point and was watching him silently.
Zhao Shuyi remembered that Xie Qi hated smoke, which was why he specifically came to the window to smoke. He hadn’t expected the man to walk right up, eager to inhale secondhand smoke.
Zhao Shuyi put out the cigarette. Xie Qi trapped him against the windowsill and asked, “What are your own thoughts?”
“What thoughts?”
“If you weren’t constrained by your grandfather, if you could choose freely, what would you want to do?”
Zhao Shuyi paused slightly: “I haven’t thought about it.”
—Because he had never had a choice.
The year he was born, the “Chaoyang White Tower” began construction. Eight years later, the building was completed. His father, the chief person in charge, was already gone, and Zhao Shuyi became the substitute, personally carried by Zhao Fengli to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
That was the only time his grandfather had ever held him. Amidst the deafening sound of the salute cannons, Zhao Fengli taught him to grow up well and not to be playful, or else “the white building behind us will collapse.”
The young Zhao Shuyi didn’t understand, only finding it terrifying.
He thought the building would truly collapse, and afterward, he walked past it cautiously every time, afraid that a stone would fall from the sky and hit his head.
“Even without considering him, I’m not willing to give up,” Zhao Shuyi looked directly at Xie Qi and said in a deep voice. “The White Tower was built by my father. I should be its owner.”
Xie Qi was not at all surprised by this answer. He kissed Zhao Shuyi’s lips: “Then beg me, Zhao Shuyi. I’ll help you.”