He was utterly confident he could shake Xin Hexue's affection for Pei Guangji. While Xin Hexue was heartbroken, he would care for him in every possible way, and Xin Hexue would eventually accept him.
After that, Xi Zhengqing did indeed begin an overt courtship. Like a tireless househusband who got up at four in the morning to cook for his beloved, he consulted a doctor about a nutritional plan and came every day to bring Xin Hexue nutritious meals.
Xin Hexue suspected he made them himself, because the food tasted fairly ordinary, and the soup also looked high in purines.
Xi Zhengqing came every morning without fail. Besides the nutritious meals, whose menus kept changing, and the fresh flowers, which were different every day, his neat, immaculate outfits changed as well, never repeating.
Like a peacock spreading its tail, he sent Xin Hexue signals of courtship.
As the saying went, you couldn't strike a smiling face.
The young man's attitude toward him softened somewhat.
Only occasionally, as Xin Hexue sat on the hospital bed and gazed out the window, did he seem a little melancholy.
Xi Zhengqing knew Xin Hexue was waiting for Pei Guangji to visit, but he no longer intended to approach Xin Hexue under Pei Guangji's identity.
Xi Zhengqing asked, "The doctor said you're fine now and there won't be any other lasting effects. You can be discharged tomorrow. Shall I come pick you up in the morning?"
Xin Hexue nodded quietly.
After Xi Zhengqing left, it began to rain again that afternoon.
There were no peach trees in this city, so even looking down from a high-rise, one couldn't see peach blossoms scattered by the spring rain.
After dinner, Xin Hexue rested for a while and prepared to bathe. Lately, he had been going to sleep earlier, usually reading in bed after his bath and falling asleep sometime after nine.
The next day, he would wake up early again.
His regular routine had helped his body recover well.
Xin Hexue suddenly remembered something and asked: [Is Pei Guangji being treated at Saint Lan Hospital?]
Saint Lan Hospital was a high-end private hospital in the Core District. Thanks to extensive investment, it had the best medical resources in the entire Federation.
K: [Yes. He's upstairs.]
Xin Hexue smiled.
Xi Zhengqing really was overconfident. He hadn't even worried about that, placing him in a room on the floor below Pei Guangji's.
Outside, the sky grew dark.
Dark clouds rolled overhead, and thunder rumbled as though shaking heaven and earth, its booming echoing everywhere.
When Xin Hexue stepped out of the bathtub, the floor was wet, and a puddle of soapy water made him slip and fall.
Someone rushed in from outside, only to be met without warning by the sight of his snow-white body, its more delicate parts flushed pink from the hot water.
His figure had beautiful lines, all pink and white.
The newcomer was struck speechless.
Without a word, he helped Xin Hexue up, wrapped him tightly in a bathrobe, and lifted him into his arms. He stepped through the wet tracks and set Xin Hexue on the hospital bed.
"Thank you..."
He had just taken a fall. Though it wasn't too serious, Xin Hexue still felt a faint, numbing ache in his tailbone.
Xin Hexue looked up and studied him.
Black hair, dark eyes, and dressed in a suit and leather shoes.
He seemed to have hurried over, looking a little travel-worn, his tie somewhat disheveled.
He ventured a question, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "Are you... Guangji?"
"..."
The Alpha's body stiffened for an instant, but it didn't escape Xin Hexue's notice.
Even so, he tacitly accepted it and said, "Yes. I've been busy the past few days. I'm sorry I didn't come see you."
Xin Hexue smiled. "It's all right."
Even his manner of speaking was a close imitation.
Xin Hexue had already guessed who he was.
Pei Ying gently cupped Xin Hexue's chin. "You've gotten a little thinner."
The Klein blue streaks in his hair had been dyed black again, and he had taken out his silver spike earrings.
He and his elder brother, Pei Guangji, had the same parents and similar features. His days with the Pei family had worn down much of Pei Ying's once-restless edge, so even if Jiang Jing were here now, he would probably mistake him for his brother at a glance.
As softly as a kitten rubbing against him, Xin Hexue pressed his cheek against Pei Ying's palm.
His eyelashes were long, their tips slightly curled, with a subtle, suggestive allure.
While Pei Ying was dazed, Xin Hexue asked softly, "Will you stay tonight? It's raining hard outside. I'm afraid it won't be easy to get back."
[Pei Ying's affection points +5]
Pei Ying washed up and got ready faster than he ever had in his life.
When he lay down on the bed fully clothed, he was as rigid as a stiffened corpse.
The bed in the private hospital room was large, certainly big enough for two adult men.
Pei Ying could smell Xin Hexue's cool fragrance all through the bedding. It smelled wonderful, a soothing scent.
The little night-light left on by the bed went out too.
Xin Hexue moved closer and rested against the Alpha's shoulder. His voice was especially soft in the night. "Guangji."
Pei Ying: "Yes?"
He knew Xin Hexue wasn't sensitive to differences in voice, so he only needed to imitate Pei Guangji's manner of speaking.
As Xin Hexue spoke, his breath brushed lightly against Pei Ying's neck. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"
The young Alpha stiffened, unable to stop himself from getting hard.
His blood raced, and Pei Ying's head filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts.
Pei Ying murmured, "Mm."
He propped himself halfway up and found Xin Hexue's lips with extreme slowness, his shadow falling over him.
The touch of their lips was a spark that lit the fuse. A tingling, electric rush of pleasure shot to his brain, and it was as though fireworks had exploded before Pei Ying's eyes.
Having only recently reached adulthood, the Alpha had almost no self-control in front of the person he loved.
He couldn't stop himself. His Adam's apple bobbed visibly as he pried apart the young man's teeth and swept into his mouth.
Xin Hexue sank into the soft pillow. He could barely withstand such a fervent kiss, and his breathing quickened as he wrapped both arms around the Alpha's neck.
The Alpha's hand slipped beneath his clothes, his palm like hot, rough sand as it rubbed against Xin Hexue's waist.
Xin Hexue was sensitive to pain, and especially sensitive to unusual touches as well.
As the large hand moved upward and its fingertips brushed his chest, Xin Hexue shuddered. The Alpha's fuzzy head tried to squeeze in beneath his clothes.
The young man caught his breath and pleaded, "It's very late. Don't do this, Guangji..."
He didn't know that the softer his tone, the more it made someone want to pin him hard against the bed and violate him, heedlessly bring him to tears, then lick them away like a dog.
The Alpha kissed him deeply again.
Outside the window, the rain fell like the white noise of desire.
The thunder grew louder and louder, however. A flash of white light split the night sky, and in the instant it lit up the room, the young man saw the piercings in the Alpha's ears.
"Pei Ying...?"
Cool fingertips touched Pei Ying's ear, and Pei Ying immediately froze, stopping everything he was doing.
A slap came with the next flash of lightning.
The little night-light by the bed came on.
The young man leaned against the headboard, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Pei Ying, you..."
Xin Hexue must have been furious.
Pei Ying watched him by the light. When Xin Hexue was angry and embarrassed, his usually pale face would flush faintly, like a haze spreading across it, and the sickly beauty would suddenly come to life.
Pei Ying couldn't help worrying about Xin Hexue's health, wondering whether his palm hurt from slapping him.
[Pei Ying's affection points +5]
Leaning against the headboard, Xin Hexue coughed uncontrollably until tears filled his eyes, the veins standing out on the hand clutching the blanket.
It was a long time before he looked up and said to Pei Ying, "You've disappointed me so much, Pei Ying."
Pei Ying straightened and stood beside the bed. "I just like you. Why does my brother get to?"
The young man's face truly turned cold. "Get out, Pei Ying. Get out."
When Xi Zhengqing learned that Pei Ying had visited Xin Hexue the night before only to be driven out, he couldn't help taking pleasure in his misfortune. What stupid thing had Pei Ying done?
The next morning, he went to the hospital room as promised to pick Xin Hexue up.
But the room was empty.
Had Xin Hexue gone to take care of the discharge paperwork himself?
Xi Zhengqing frowned. Suddenly, something occurred to him in a flash, and his heart sank. He immediately ran up the stairs.
Fortunately, Pei Guangji's room was at the end of the floor.
The young man was simply standing in the hallway outside the elevator, looking lost. When he saw Xi Zhengqing, he asked tentatively, "Mr. Xi?"
Xi Zhengqing walked over. "It's me."
Xin Hexue visibly relaxed. "So I pressed the wrong floor."
He said he had originally been going to take care of the discharge paperwork, but had forgotten something along the way and pressed one floor too many when he came back.
The weight lifted from Xi Zhengqing's heart. "Then let's get your things first. I'll take you home once the paperwork is done."
Xin Hexue nodded silently.
Xi Zhengqing asked, "Did Pei Ying visit you last night? I heard from him that you didn't seem to get along very well. What happened?"
Of course, Pei Ying hadn't confided in Xi Zhengqing. Xi Zhengqing simply had eyes and ears at the hospital.
Xin Hexue lowered his lashes. Xi Zhengqing couldn't see the emotion in his eyes clearly, and for some reason, his heart skipped a beat.
Xin Hexue said, "He... pretended to be Pei Guangji."
He didn't go into the details, merely stating that one short sentence.
As though he had composed himself again, Xin Hexue said slowly, "I hate deception, so I had an argument with him."
"Mr. Xi, you're my friend too." Xin Hexue turned his head, his words soft and gentle. "Friends should be honest with each other. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"
Xi Zhengqing glanced toward the end of the hallway. Thinking of how he had deceived Xin Hexue at the beginning, he instinctively felt his back tense.
Still, his expression remained unchanged as he followed Xin Hexue into the elevator and pressed the floor button. "Of course. Honesty is a condition for getting along with others. What Pei Ying did really went too far."
Chapter 24: Face blindness (24)
The spring air still felt a little chilly.