Seeing Ye Qingxian frantically rummaging around in his crotch, everyone was a little dumbfounded as well. It seemed they had truly misunderstood Zhu Ping'an.
If they had still believed that Zhu Ping'an had poisoned him just moments ago, Ye Qingxian's actions were now proving it through deeds: he was clearly the one with strange proclivities, and it had nothing to do with Zhu Ping'an.
Something strange had grown in his mouth, and the next moment he had started rummaging around in his crotch. Such behavior was simply too suspicious. Even Yan Shubing could not help taking two steps back and eyeing Ye Qingxian suspiciously.
Ye Qingxian noticed the change in everyone's gazes. He wanted very much to stop, but it was simply too itchy.
When the athlete's foot had grown on his face before, he could scratch it directly. But now he could only scratch through his trousers. It was like scratching an itch through a boot—it did nothing to relieve the itch and only made it worse the more he scratched.
Just as Ye Qingxian was about to speak, Zhu Ping'an beat him to it.
"Brother Ye, you don't need to say anything. I understand, I understand! This is my fault too. I was the one who ambushed you, I know. You've always held a grudge against me anyway, so just put it all on my head."
"You!" Ye Qingxian's eyes were bloodshot, and he was panting like an ox. How could he not realize that Zhu Ping'an had tricked him again?
In his fury, his blood qi surged violently, and Ye Qingxian felt that certain place grow even itchier.
"Qingxian Ge, don't be afraid. This can be cured. I'll stay with you." Yan Shubing gave Ye Qingxian a concerned look, but she did not dare approach him.
That was no different from placing the final straw on the camel's back. Ye Qingxian spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted once more.
"Ah! Brother Ye, why put yourself through this? Going bareback feels great for a moment, but catching a disease sends you straight to the crematorium." Zhu Ping'an shook his head with an expression of regret.
The eight male martial artists from the Leng Family nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.
Martial artists had vigorous qi and blood, so their needs were naturally vigorous too. But if you played around and still refused to use protection, weren't you courting death? Getting infected was only a matter of time.
When Ye Qingxian woke up, the first thing he saw was still Zhu Ping'an's broad face, wearing a radiant smile.
"Brother Ye, you're awake?"
"Zhu Ping'an!" Ye Qingxian ground his teeth. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Nothing at all. I just saw that you'd fainted and kindly took care of you for a while. Why are you reacting so strongly?" Zhu Ping'an blinked innocently.
"Come with me!" Ye Qingxian strode toward the back of a broken stone pillar.
Zhu Ping'an raised an eyebrow. He wanted to see what Ye Qingxian was up to. To guard against the unexpected, he clenched the Rosemary Incense refined by Leng Tianyan in his palm. This stuff could knock someone unconscious in an instant—a necessary treasure for murder and plunder.
Behind the stone pillar, Ye Qingxian stood there with his hands behind his back, his expression cold. Every so often, he scratched his Kun.
"Brother Ye, why did you bring me here?" Zhu Ping'an asked, blinking.
"Zhu Ping'an, there were too many people outside just now. I'm kneeling to you!"
With a thump, Ye Qingxian actually dropped straight to his knees and began sobbing, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
Zhu Ping'an: "..."
His face was filled with bewilderment and confusion. This time he was not pretending—Zhu Ping'an had genuinely been baffled by Ye Qingxian's outrageous maneuver.
"Zhu Ping'an, Ping'an Ge, Ping'an Dad, you're my living dad! Please let me off! Could you stop targeting me? I was wrong before. I was reckless with my mouth and looked down on everyone. Please, I'm begging you, spare me!"
Ye Qingxian hugged Zhu Ping'an's thigh, hot tears constantly welling from the corners of his eyes.
He was genuinely afraid now.
Ever since he had encountered Zhu Ping'an, he had not gained the slightest advantage even once. From beginning to end, he had done nothing but suffer setback after setback.
"Ah, Brother Ye, to be honest with you, it really isn't that I want to target you. I was forced into it too."
Zhu Ping'an sighed. If he could live a happy and peaceful life, he would also like to be a carefree salted fish. He was only eighteen, still a virgin. He merely wanted to stay alive—what had he done wrong?
Mining opportunities from Ye Qingxian, the originally designated male lead, was currently the most efficient way for him to grow stronger.
"Who forced you? Tell me, and I'll beat that son of a bitch to death!" Ye Qingxian hurriedly declared his loyalty.
"Really?" Zhu Ping'an asked with a half-smile.
"Really! You'll be my dad from now on. As long as you stop targeting me, I'll do anything you ask! I can even give Yan Shubing to you." Ye Qingxian was utterly resolute. As he spoke, he even reached down and scratched his crotch.
Zhu Ping'an's eyebrows rose slightly as he marveled at the fickleness of fate.
The Second Male Lead was about to turn the male lead into his lackey. What was he supposed to do? Waiting online—urgent!
"Don't worry, Brother Ye. Yan Shubing is still yours. I simply enjoy being a bootlicker. If I really manage to win her over, it won't be fun anymore."
"Since you've put it that way, then I won't target you anymore either. We'll work together. Whenever we encounter opportunities, we'll split them between us—thirty-seventy, how about it?"
Zhu Ping'an considerately helped Ye Qingxian up from the ground. After thinking it over, he decided that instead of constantly chasing Ye Qingxian down, it would be more convenient to cooperate with him directly. There was probably no more useful tool than Ye Qingxian in this world.
"Thirty for you and seventy for me?" Ye Qingxian asked tentatively.
"Oh, I understand. You want me to hold your seventh-day memorial ceremony in three minutes, right? No problem."
The moment Zhu Ping'an finished speaking, Ye Qingxian's eyes flew wide with fright, and he waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, no! I take thirty, you take seventy!"
"Mm, that's more like it, Brother Ye. Here, eat this." Zhu Ping'an tossed a pill to Ye Qingxian.
"What is this?" Ye Qingxian's expression shifted between light and dark. Could Zhu Ping'an be trying to control him with poison?
"This is an antidote. I just gave you more than a dozen kinds of poison. The cauliflower on your tongue is only one of them. If you don't detoxify yourself, the others will erupt soon too." Zhu Ping'an smiled shyly.
Ye Qingxian: "..."
He suddenly felt that kneeling down and begging Zhu Ping'an for forgiveness had truly been the right decision. Going against this fellow was simply too deadly.
A man's knees were worth their weight in gold. This was precisely the moment to cash them in.
After swallowing the antidote Zhu Ping'an gave him, the cauliflower on Ye Qingxian's tongue indeed began to recede. But the unbearably intense itch coming from his crotch did not lessen in the slightest.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. There is no antidote for athlete's foot. You'll have to buy some Athlete's Foot Spray and use it yourself." Seeing that Ye Qingxian seemed puzzled, Zhu Ping'an took the initiative to explain.
Ye Qingxian: "..."
In the silence, he could not help scratching several more times.
"Brother Ye, congratulations to us on turning hostility into friendship." Zhu Ping'an wore a radiant smile.
"Um... Ping'an Dad, could I trouble you with something?" Ye Qingxian could not help speaking up.
"Go ahead."
"Could you refrain from revealing our relationship to outsiders? Can we keep acting as usual?" Ye Qingxian asked.
"Of course. I don't care about a mere false reputation. Just cooperate with me properly."
Zhu Ping'an shrugged indifferently. In the end, he and Ye Qingxian did not actually have any deep-seated enmity. If Ye Qingxian was willing to diligently serve as his tool and help him survive his death tribulation, then truly turning hostility into friendship was not impossible.
Of course, if Ye Qingxian was still plotting something, Zhu Ping'an did not mind letting him have a really good time.
"Good!"
Only after Zhu Ping'an agreed did Ye Qingxian nod excitedly. He then reined in his smile, resumed his former arrogant bearing, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly walked out.
"Qingxian Ge, what did you go talk about?" Yan Shubing hurriedly asked when she saw Ye Qingxian emerge.
"Nothing. I just taught Zhu Ping'an a lesson and made him recognize his place."
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