Who Did He Have to Mess With?

At the dining table, Pei Jiaqian poked at the soft-boiled egg on his ramen with his chopsticks, his gaze tinged with longing.

This was a little troublesome.

Brother would get angry if he went too far, right?

And there was Brother's health to consider.

Ah, damn it.

Brother was already working so hard. He should endure it too...

Pei Jiaqian sighed in frustration.

"Does it not suit your taste?"

Seeing his sorrowful expression, Ye Qingpu grew a little worried.

"No, no." Pei Jiaqian hurriedly shook his head.

"Sorry, I got lost in thought. The noodles you made smell amazing, Brother!"

"Then eat more. You've gotten so much thinner lately."

As Ye Qingpu spoke, he transferred the egg from his own bowl into Pei Jiaqian's.

"Brother, eat it yourself. Don't just focus on me. You're so thin I can pick you up with one hand, even though you're over six feet tall~"

Pei Jiaqian's face glowed with happiness.

"Actually... I don't really like eggs."

"Ah... no wonder there weren't any eggs or anything like that in your refrigerator before."

So he simply did not like them much.

Pei Jiaqian silently took note of it.

"Then is there anything else you don't like eating or hate?"

Ye Qingpu set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't think so."

He had previously followed a strict healthy diet, so he could eat a little of almost anything, though he did not particularly enjoy any of it.

"What about fruit? What fruit do you like or dislike, Brother?"

"Grapes. I like grapes."

"What about ones you dislike?"

"Seeded grapes. I dislike them."

Pei Jiaqian froze for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.

He really was adorable.

"What are you laughing at?" Ye Qingpu looked at him in confusion.

"Nothing. I just think Brother is super cute."

Pei Jiaqian propped his chin on both hands, smiling indulgently.

"...I'm not."

Ye Qingpu blushed and rose to clear the dishes.

Pei Jiaqian finished in a few bites, carried Ye Qingpu to the sofa, then turned around and tied on an apron.

Washing dishes was not something a partner should do. Neither was cleaning the house, sweeping, mopping, or doing laundry.

He had to personally handle such trivial chores.

Thinking this, Pei Jiaqian cleaned the kitchen until it was spotless.

He removed his apron in satisfaction, nestled beside Ye Qingpu on the sofa, and wrapped an arm around him.

Ye Qingpu was working on his laptop. Although the company had currently been ordered shut down for investigation, the handovers with many clients could not be neglected.

Pei Jiaqian did not disturb him. He merely brought over the medicine kit, crouched in front of the sofa, and lifted Ye Qingpu's bathrobe.

He carefully cut away the bandage on Ye Qingpu's leg and examined the wound. The stitches pulled tightly against the skin, which was somewhat red.

Heart aching for him, Pei Jiaqian disinfected it and wrapped another thin layer of bandage around it to prevent bacterial infection.

Pei Jiaqian had only seen the trending topic after escaping from home and meeting up with Huo Sili. When he saw Ye Qingpu covered in wounds, he nearly crushed his phone several times.

He immediately investigated Wang Jing. After discovering that the man was scum who had been harassing Ye Qingpu all along, Pei Jiaqian laughed in fury and promptly had someone take good care of that beast after he was thrown in prison.

But it was quite unexpected.

Wang Jing's backer had some influence. He was released in less than half a month.

Pei Jiaqian thought that was perfect. After all, if Wang Jing stayed in prison the whole time, the people looking for him would be quite troubled.

After putting away the medicine kit, Pei Jiaqian cuddled Ye Qingpu affectionately for a while before speaking.

"Brother, I'm going out for a bit."

Ye Qingpu's fingers paused over the keyboard as he turned to ask.

"Now?"

"Mm. It's nothing important, and it's not far. Brother, just work at home. I'll be back soon."

As Pei Jiaqian spoke, he rubbed the tip of his nose against the back of Ye Qingpu's neck.

Ye Qingpu hesitated. He did not know whether letting Pei Jiaqian go out alone in his current state was the right decision.

"Don't worry, Brother. I'm an adult, and I'll be back soon."

"...All right. Be careful on the road. Watch out for cars. Don't look around while walking. If you feel unwell, sit somewhere by the roadside and call me. I'll come pick you up."

Ye Qingpu gave his instructions uneasily.

"Okay~"

Pei Jiaqian kissed his face, then grabbed his coat, put on his hat, and left.

The instant he stepped into the elevator, Pei Jiaqian's face swiftly darkened. The others sharing the elevator were wary of the man radiating displeasure and silently picked up the barking Pomeranian by their feet.

Pei Jiaqian took out his phone and checked it, then pulled his hat brim lower and headed straight for the underground garage.

He sped all the way there, eventually stopping beside an abandoned factory.

Several bodyguards stood watch at the entrance. Upon seeing Pei Jiaqian step out of the car, they respectfully moved aside.

With both hands in his pockets, Pei Jiaqian followed one of the bodyguards into the factory.

It was dark and damp, mottled with moss. The air was thick with the smell of blood and dead rats.

"Oh, you're here."

Huo Sili extinguished his cigarette, took the coat from a bodyguard, and put it on.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Mm."

Pei Jiaqian removed his hat and handed both it and his coat to the bodyguard beside him.

He glanced sideways at the bruised and swollen man tied to an electric chair, his demeanor arrogant and condescending.

"He's been a little uncooperative, so..."

"Don't worry. He was injected with something. He won't die for now."

Huo Sili smiled indifferently.

Pei Jiaqian crouched down, pushing his hair back as a sharpness appeared between his brows.

"Wake him up."

The bodyguard cooperatively poured a bottle of water over him and pressed the electric chair's button. The unconscious man jolted awake at once, letting out a pained howl.

"Wang Jing."

Pei Jiaqian's eyes curved into a lovely arc as he observed the terror, shock, and pain tangled across the other man's face.

"Who... who are you people?!"

Terror filled Wang Jing's bloated face.

"Pei Jiaqian. The partner of someone you once hurt. Greetings."

Pei Jiaqian smiled kindly and extended his lean, strong hand toward the man whose hands were tied behind his back.

"Not shaking my hand? What an impolite fellow."

Wang Jing's pupils suddenly constricted as he trembled and said.

"You... you're that young master who entered a marriage alliance with the deputy mayor's omega family... You're Ye Qingpu's lover!"

Pei Jiaqian's eyes darkened.

"Wrong. I'm his partner."

"You... what do you want...? Do you know who I am?!"

Seeing the sickly look in Pei Jiaqian's eyes, Wang Jing, who had always strutted around without fear, actually began to feel afraid.

"You? I know. A beast as scummy as they come. Thanks to you, Brother's leg injury is still serious."

Pei Jiaqian sighed in distress, rose to his feet, and accepted the brass knuckles handed over by a bodyguard.

"Brother is just too kind. He thought putting you in prison counted as revenge."

"But that won't do. A stupid fucker like you needs to learn a lesson."

"Ah... even if you learn one, you still seem to be scum."

"Fuck, you bastard! What exactly do you want?! Do you think you can touch me? My backer—"

A heavy object suddenly crashed to the ground inside the warehouse.

Several loose strands of hair fell across Pei Jiaqian's forehead from the movement. The stitches on his neck tore open from the force of his punch, and threadlike streaks of blood seeped out.

"Wow. Did you keep boxing in Rome just for this moment?" Huo Sili lit a cigar with great interest.

Looking at the man lying on the floor with his eyes rolled back, Pei Jiaqian's gaze was full of contempt as he signaled for the bodyguards to lift him up.

"Oh dear, at this level, his mouth must be shattered," Huo Sili said, leaning closer to take a look.

Wang Jing's jaw hung loosely, a large chunk of flesh pierced through by the brass knuckles.

Pei Jiaqian took off the brass knuckles and switched to gloves.

His punches cut through the air. Dull impacts echoed through the warehouse, making even the bodyguards standing guard outside feel a chill crawl up their backs.

"Wang Jing."

Pei Jiaqian poured out a bottle of water and signaled for the bodyguard to press the electric chair's button.

The man with rolled-back eyes and a mangled, bloody face screamed and regained consciousness. Seeing the kindly smiling man before him, Wang Jing made broken sounds of pleading from his throat.

Amid the pattering sound of liquid, Huo Sili sneered.

"You pissed yourself? Ha, disgusting."

Pei Jiaqian covered his nose in disgust, removed his gloves, and put on a protective gown.

Seeing the gleaming scalpel in his hand, blood foam continuously spilled from Wang Jing's mouth. His face was full of terror as he struggled desperately to escape.

The bodyguards held up a mirror each in front of and behind Wang Jing.

"Ah... please..."

When faced with an unknown danger, people instinctively imagine countless bloody scenes of themselves being harmed. It was the brain's protective mechanism for the body.

Holding the scalpel, Pei Jiaqian sliced open the skin slightly above the back of Wang Jing's neck.

"If I drive the blade into the muscles and carotid artery, then make a diagonal cut, it could even damage other vital blood vessels and your vocal cords. You might not even be able to make a sound, and you'd lose consciousness within thirty seconds to a minute before dying."

"But you, Wang Jing, my friend, I won't let you die that easily."

With the help of the two mirrors, Wang Jing clearly saw the scalpel slice open his skin, layer by layer... like the technique used to dissect a corpse.

The bodyguards forcibly held his eyelids open. With his jaw shattered, he could not even beg for mercy. Blood foam merely continued to spill from his throat.

"Ah... this is where an Alpha's gland is, isn't it? I haven't operated since returning home, so I'm a little rusty."

Pei Jiaqian smiled in satisfaction at the mass of flesh located between the second and third cervical vertebrae.

A phone suddenly rang jarringly. Pei Jiaqian glanced at it.

"Oh!" Huo Sili picked up his phone and pointed at the screen in surprise.

"I don't recognize it. What are these two characters?"

Pei Jiaqian glanced at it, and his gaze darkened at once.

Wang Jing, on the verge of a mental breakdown, saw through the mirror as Pei Jiaqian, his hands covered in blood, made a silencing gesture.

Huo Sili answered the call for him and held the phone to Pei Jiaqian's ear.

"Hello~ Brother."

"You're not back yet?"

Ye Qingpu's voice came through the receiver, and Huo Sili immediately understood who the caller was.

"I'll be right back, Brother. I'm just picking something up."

Pei Jiaqian's voice was gentle as the hand holding the scalpel ruthlessly, even somewhat roughly, cut out Wang Jing's Alpha gland.

Seeing the man nearly pass out from the pain, Pei Jiaqian's eyes darkened as he stuffed the severed gland into his mouth.

The bodyguard understood at once and poured water into the mouth of the man with rolled-back eyes.

Pei Jiaqian tossed aside the scalpel, removed his gloves, and took the phone.

"Does Brother miss me already?"

"Mm... I miss you, so come back quickly."

"Okay~ I'm coming back now."

He checked himself in the mirror and only put on his coat and hat after confirming that no blood had gotten on him.

Huo Sili turned on the front camera and draped an arm over Pei Jiaqian's shoulder for a selfie.

"Cheers~"

Pei Jiaqian waved his hand and walked out at an unhurried pace.

Huo Sili looked at the barely alive Wang Jing and gave a teasing smile—of all people to provoke, he had to provoke the research institute's most cold-hearted person, the one best at feigning kindness.