Unmatched Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Desire

Zhao Shuyi’s genuine attempt at coaxing someone was akin to an iron tree blooming. He wrapped his arm around Xie Qi’s shoulder and gently rubbed Xie Qi’s reddened wrist with a comforting pressure. “Does it hurt?”

Xie Qi’s expression was clearly one of suppressed anger, wanting to curse, but under Zhao Shuyi’s tender gaze, the words caught in his throat. After a long moment, he said, “It doesn’t hurt.”

“Then why don’t you… go to the bathroom first?”

Zhao Shuyi kindly reminded him, helping Xie Qi off the bed.

Xie Qi was momentarily slow and embarrassed. His arm was sore, but his legs were still nimble. He didn’t need assistance and went to the bathroom himself. Before closing the door, he shot a complicated look at Zhao Shuyi—before Zhao Shuyi could figure out what that look meant, Xie Qi slammed the door shut, disappearing from view.

“…”

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Zhao Shuyi lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Everyone experiences the three urgent needs, and he could empathize with the pain of needing to use the restroom. Xie Qi had held it in until now, which showed remarkable endurance.

So, after enduring such hardship for so long, what “reward” would he need to receive to not feel disappointed?

“Xie Qi,” Zhao Shuyi walked to the door and asked him, “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll have the hotel send it up.”

“You decide.” Xie Qi’s voice was slightly muffled through the door.

“…”

It was three in the afternoon. The weather outside was sunny and hot, but the bedroom curtains were tightly drawn, casting a dim light that made the atmosphere somewhat ambiguous.

Zhao Shuyi loosened his tie, releasing the accumulated heat of the day from his collar. He then heard the sound of the shower running from inside the bathroom—Xie Qi was taking a bath.

Zhao Shuyi stared at the intricate patterns on the door, considering whether they should go out to eat. The hotel restaurant’s food might not be good.

But Xie Qi looked listless, like a small dog that had fallen into water, lacking the energy to go out.

Zhao Shuyi imagined the scene of the little dog bathing, and his mood became subtly complex—

He felt soft-hearted, but he also wanted to press down on Xie Qi’s head and tease him a few more times.

Why was he so obedient?

Didn’t he say he only liked him “a little”? Now it seemed like it was more than “two points,” right?

Sneaking into his pajamas, traveling thousands of miles late at night to deliver himself, willing to be tied up for a day for a reward he didn’t even know the nature of…

Although he wasn’t good at playing the role of a supportive spouse, these were things that even a typical supportive spouse wouldn’t do.

It was a shame he knew this was “throwing himself at him.”

Zhao Shuyi took off his jacket, adjusted his cuffs, and thought unethically: Being thrown at felt quite pleasant.

He opened the hotel menu, thoughtfully intending to order Xie Qi’s favorite dishes, but after racking his brain for a long time, he couldn’t recall what Xie Qi liked—he simply didn’t know.

Zhao Shuyi wasn’t ashamed. He ordered a few dishes according to his own taste, a mix of Chinese and Western, plus two drinks, and asked the hotel staff to deliver them to the room.

The food arrived quickly, just as Xie Qi finished his shower.

Zhao Shuyi drew the curtains, tidied the bed slightly, and sat at the dining table waiting for him. Xie Qi approached wrapped in a bathrobe, his hair still wet, the damp tips slowly dripping water onto the skin of his nape.

Zhao Shuyi took the towel and personally helped him dry his hair. Xie Qi obediently bent his head, allowing his head to be handled freely. He closed his eyes in enjoyment, like a pet being stroked. After drying, he sat down opposite Zhao Shuyi and began to eat.

“Is this okay?”

“Mm, I’m not very hungry,” Xie Qi said. “Maybe I’m past the point of hunger.”

After the shower, he was much calmer, his emotions less intense. But with the calm came a deeper embarrassment. He regretted letting Zhao Shuyi see such a vulnerable side of him; it was too undignified.

But what was done was done, and the “reward” hadn’t been claimed yet.

Xie Qi looked up and glanced at Zhao Shuyi, silently hinting.

“What do you want?” Zhao Shuyi asked proactively. “I’ll agree to anything I can fulfill.”

Xie Qi’s lips drooped. “So you hadn’t thought about it. You were just humoring me before.”

“You can’t say that. Not having thought about it and humoring you are two different things. I’m not going back on my word.”

Zhao Shuyi couldn’t help but smile. “Soft-heartedness” seemed to have added a filter to his eyes. He suddenly found the Xie Qi across from him more appealing than before, and he couldn’t help but look at him for a few more seconds. He said, “Isn’t it better if you choose yourself than if I give it to you?”

“That works too.” Xie Qi agreed. “Let me think.”

Xie Qi took a while to consider. The meal was finished, and it was already half past four, but he still hadn’t decided. Zhao Shuyi went to the living room to discuss work with Ye Zhao. When he returned, Xie Qi was still standing by the window, racking his brain.

“Is it that hard to think of?”

Zhao Shuyi grabbed Xie Qi’s pajama tie as if grabbing a puppy’s tail, pulling him from the window to his side. “If you don’t come up with something in five minutes, I’m canceling the reward.”

“Tch.” Xie Qi pouted. “I thought of it long ago. I just knew you wouldn’t agree, so I didn’t bother saying it.”

“Not necessarily. Tell me.”

“I know my place. I won’t make unnecessary requests.”

“What kind of talk is that? It’s a mood killer.” Zhao Shuyi hooked his neck and led him to the bed, pressing him against the headboard to interrogate him. “Are you going to tell me or not? Hurry up.”

Xie Qi, full and rested, had recovered his strength. Unwilling to be slaughtered, he flipped the situation, hooking Zhao Shuyi’s waist and overturning him with brute force.

The positions were reversed. Zhao Shuyi was enveloped beneath him, watching as Xie Qi bit open his shirt buttons one by one, clearly feeling the scorching touch of his tongue tip on his skin.

Zhao Shuyi felt uncomfortable from the arousal and couldn’t help but push him. “Say it.”

“…” Whatever the request was, he was certain Zhao Shuyi wouldn’t agree, and he adamantly refused to speak, stubborn as a clam that wouldn’t open.

But usually, when people were being difficult, they would hide or retreat. Xie Qi, however, pressed closer to Zhao Shuyi, using actions to replace the unspoken words, kissing him fiercely and clingily.

Zhao Shuyi understood. “You’re throwing a tantrum.”

“I am not!” Xie Qi’s face flushed. He deliberately changed the subject. “When are we going back to Fengjing City?”

“I’m not sure yet. I have some unfinished business today.” Zhao Shuyi didn’t want to discuss work during private time, but besides Xie Qi, he had no one to confide in. “I came here to investigate my Second Uncle, and unexpectedly, I had a surprise discovery.”

“What?”

“My Second Uncle has apparently been keeping a wife in Shencheng.”

“Ah?”

Xie Qi was very surprised. Zhao Shuyi briefly recounted the events at the branch company today. He said, “Although my Second Uncle is not a good person, he has never had issues with his personal conduct. I thought that secretary named Bai was just an ordinary subordinate, and the rumors about a relationship were false. But Ye Zhao just told me that he investigated the woman’s background. She has maintained a long-term relationship with my Second Uncle for over ten years and even bore him a son. The mother and son are both in Shencheng.”

“…”

Xie Qi looked stunned, unsure how to comment. Zhao Shuyi sneered, “Unexpected, right? He kept it hidden from everyone, even the Old Master before he passed away.”

“Why hide it? Because of your mother?”

“It should be.” Zhao Shuyi sighed. “My mother always said he remained unmarried for her sake. I believed it, and my grandfather believed it too. Otherwise…”

Back then, when Zhao Fengli learned about the affair between Zhao Huaicheng and Qin Zhi, he was furious and couldn’t accept it. Later, seeing his younger son’s deep affection, he couldn’t bear to make things too ugly, so he turned a blind eye.

Who would have thought that the deep affection was a lie?

Zhao Shuyi felt complicated, a little sympathetic toward Qin Zhi. If everything was fake, what did her years of suffering amount to? It was ridiculous.

Not only was she ridiculous, but he was too.

What kind of mess was this?

Zhao Shuyi lowered his eyes. “But tell me, swindlers always have a motive. What did he want from my mother? It couldn’t have been to prepare for that small share of stock, could it? He’s not a prophet. They must have… genuinely had feelings? That’s why he didn’t dare let my mother find out.”

He didn’t intend to excuse Zhao Huaicheng; he was merely trying to understand the situation from his own perspective. Xie Qi, however, was dismissive. “If there were genuine feelings, how could he have a child with another woman?”

“Who knows? Maybe he just wanted a child, and my mother wouldn’t give him one,” Zhao Shuyi said. “Isn’t that how people are? Insatiably greedy, wanting this and that. How many people are pure and steadfast?”

“…”

Xie Qi didn’t say anything. Zhao Shuyi muttered to himself, “My mother actually wavered between him and me for many years, unable to let go of him while also unable to abandon me. This made me feel—”

Zhao Shuyi didn’t want to use “painful” to describe his feelings. He regretted speaking halfway through; he hated revealing too much.

But Xie Qi was listening, his expression serious.

He turned his face away and continued softly, “So back then, I always held onto hope, always felt that my mother would ‘come to her senses’ and return to my side after reconsidering…”

“But she gave up on you.”

“She did.” Zhao Shuyi curved his lips, adopting an indifferent and understanding expression. “I’ve come to terms with it. I don’t blame her. She only gave birth to me; it doesn’t mean she has to love me, right?”

Xie Qi frowned tightly.

“She doesn’t have to sacrifice for me, and I haven’t sacrificed anything for her. The identity of ‘mother’ is not her whole life, and certainly not original sin. She is free to choose who she loves.”

“…”

Zhao Shuyi’s words sounded logical at first, but this viewpoint was truly strange. Rather than genuinely believing it, it sounded like self-consolation.

Xie Qi cupped his face, exposing him on the spot. “You still desperately crave her love, don’t you?”

Zhao Shuyi scoffed, feeling underestimated. “Do you think I live my life depending on the love of others? I’m not a three-year-old child.”

“But I am,” Xie Qi tightened his fingers, gripping his jaw. “I’m a three-year-old child, Brother Shuyi, will you please say you love me?”

Zhao Shuyi paused. “Is that the reward you want?”

Xie Qi was pressing down on him, yet his posture was strangely submissive. A hint of infatuation showed on his handsome face, a desire he didn’t want to display but couldn’t hide because it was too overwhelming, too surging.

Zhao Shuyi unexpectedly liked it very much.

“Stay like that for a little longer,” he said maliciously.

“…What?”

“I don’t love you,” Zhao Shuyi said, feeling a tingling pleasure inside, feigning coldness. “You know that, right?”

He spoke slowly, word by word, observing Xie Qi’s expression. Sure enough, it was even more obvious than the second before. Xie Qi’s pupils contracted, as if his heart had skipped a beat.

What a fresh game. Zhao Shuyi found he enjoyed this kind of drama: hurting Xie Qi, then softening, and repeating the cycle.

He savored this unfamiliar pleasure, repeatedly tasting Xie Qi’s undisguised pain.

But actually, he didn’t want Xie Qi to be sad. —Because he didn’t want it, the feeling was even more intense, as if he were tormenting himself too.

Xie Qi was so fragile. His rare, passionate initiative was instantly chilled by Zhao Shuyi’s cold water. He released his embrace, retreating into his shell like a snail, and said coldly, “If you don’t love me, then don’t. Who cares.”

He then tried to get off the bed.

Zhao Shuyi pulled him back. “I was just teasing you.”

“…”

“Why are you like a sensitive plant, shrinking your head when poked?” Zhao Shuyi hooked his neck and kissed him. “It’s just saying ‘I love you,’ it’s not hard.”

“Then say it.”

“But you’ve never said you love me. You want me to say it first?” Zhao Shuyi haggled. “You demonstrate first. Teach me.”

Xie Qi was slightly annoyed. “I’m not your language arts teacher.”

“Fine, then I’ll have to teach myself.”

Zhao Shuyi’s voice was cold and magnetic. If being a love swindler required talent, he would be an unparalleled genius.

“—I love you.”

His kiss landed on the bridge of Xie Qi’s nose. The heat exhaled from his lips was like a volcanic eruption, possessing the energy to melt everything.

Xie Qi felt hot all over, his eyes glazed over. It was as if he were the one who needed to learn language arts. Lost in a daze, he repeated after Zhao Shuyi, “I love you… Brother, I love you.”