Delicate and Tender

Jiang Qiao leaned half his body out the car window, wildly spraying bullets with his rifle. Shen Guiyi floored the accelerator and smashed another way out beside the collapsed wall they had entered through, escaping with Jiang Qiao.

The black SUV sped down the empty road. Ma Wen's bodyguards either had been frightened off by Jiang Qiao's reckless attack, or had already received news of their employer's death.

After the two drove onto the road outside the estate, the bodyguards stopped pursuing them.

"Was the mission completed?" Shen Guiyi asked.

Jiang Qiao caught his breath, tore off his mask and goggles, and lit a cigarette. "Wait for the funeral notice."

Shen Guiyi chuckled. "Not bad."

"Thanks, Sister Guiyi. It was a pleasure working with you," Jiang Qiao said.

"Don't mention it. You saved me funeral expenses."

Shi Jiao was very particular about skincare and self-care. By the time Jiang Qiao and Shen Guiyi returned to the Shi family under the stars, she had long since gone to bed.

"She's got a lot of nerve. Isn't she worried something might happen to you on a mission?" Jiang Qiao asked.

Shen Guiyi answered as if it were only natural, "What's there to worry about? Whether you keep your life depends entirely on your own ability. If I'm meant to die, then even if she stays awake until dawn, I'll still die."

Jiang Qiao considered it. "True."

The two chatted as they walked. When they entered the first-floor lobby of the Shi family home, intending to return to their quarters, they found the elevator slowly descending from the second floor.

When the doors opened, a boy stepped out.

He wore a soft, loose white knit sweater and shorts that fell just past his thighs.

His features were exquisite, almost feminine.

He was the same type as Fu Zhilan, though slightly taller, with beautiful proportions between his head and shoulders, as well as his upper and lower body.

He looked somewhat familiar, as though Jiang Qiao had seen him somewhere before.

Chris followed behind him. He ignored Jiang Qiao and merely nodded at Shen Guiyi in greeting.

Then he led the boy toward the parking garage.

"What a little sissy—" Shen Guiyi whistled, offering her assessment as she watched the boy's retreating back.

Jiang Qiao frowned. "Who was that?"

Shen Guiyi stepped into the elevator. "Yan Wei, a popular young idol from one of the entertainment companies under the group."

A bad feeling rose in Jiang Qiao's chest. "What's he doing here?"

"The eldest young master's room is on the second floor, and Chris works for him. What else could he be here for? Looks like that iron tree's finally bloomed," Shen Guiyi said.

Jiang Qiao's face instantly darkened.

Unaware of it, Shen Guiyi continued, "So delicate and tender, prettier than a little girl. You can't help looking twice just watching him walk by. If—"

Jiang Qiao's expression grew darker and darker. He cut her off. "Between me and him, who do people like more?"

Shen Guiyi was baffled. "You? You're a tough, solid-grown man. Why compare yourself to him?"

"But little cuties like that probably prefer your type."

Because of the attack and the bidding project for the new plot of land intended for the CBD, Shi Junyi had worked day and night for three days straight.

It was not until the afternoon that he finally uncovered the employer behind the group that had attacked him at night several days earlier.

It was related to the bidding matter—one of the two contractors that had failed to secure the project.

For them to dare take such a huge risk and target Shi Junyi, it certainly could not have been mere dissatisfaction. It could only mean someone within the Shi family group had intervened and promised them enormous benefits.

For example, if Shi Junyi died, they could find a way to alter the notice of award.

Men died for wealth, birds died for food.

That was why those people had dared to take such a desperate gamble against Shi Junyi.

Though enough troublesome matters had piled up to fill a basket, Shi Junyi had still found himself thinking uncontrollably of Jiang Qiao several times over the past few days.

Especially before going to sleep.

He had to admit that Jiang Qiao was indeed someone with an incredibly strong presence.

Whether for good or ill, Jiang Qiao could always claim a place in others' hearts in all sorts of ways, making himself impossible to forget—and difficult to erase once remembered.

Shi Junyi rarely drank, except occasionally when he was irritated.

He sat in the corner of the sofa, swirling the wineglass in his hand as he expressionlessly looked at the row of bodyguards before him.

Summoned here in the middle of the night, no one dared feel dissatisfied, much less make a sound. Every one of those tall, burly men had lowered his head, obedient as a flock of quails.

Shi Junyi scrutinized them, growing more dissatisfied the longer he looked.

Chris was European; his body odor was too strong.

Sang Ye was too greasy. Looking at him made Shi Junyi uncomfortable.

Zhang Liang was far too muscular. He would definitely snore in his sleep.

Axu was truly too ugly. Looking at him too much in the middle of the night would inevitably affect one's sleep.

Only Chen Sheng had a moderate build and looked clean enough to be barely acceptable.

Shi Junyi lightly tipped his chin at Chen Sheng. "Stay. Sleep with me. The rest of you can go back."

The men looked at one another, all seeing shock and fear in each other's eyes.

Chen Sheng broke out in a cold sweat. "Young... Young Master..."

Shi Junyi raised a hand, signaling for him to shut up.

Chen Sheng did not dare resist. Under the sympathetic gazes of his companions, he remained behind.

"Go take a shower," Shi Junyi said, leaning against the sofa.

Chen Sheng swallowed. "Young Master, I showered this afternoon."

Shi Junyi raised a brow and glanced at him. "Take another one."

Chen Sheng felt unbearably uneasy. He had served the Shi family for five years and had never received an order like this.

Even when assigned to night watch, he had always stayed in the living room or outer room. Being ordered to sleep with someone was a first.

Trembling, he said, "Then I'll come back after I wash up..."

"Shower here," Shi Junyi said. "There are pajamas in the cabinet. Change into them yourself."

Chen Sheng felt like crying but had no tears. He squeezed out a response from his throat. "Okay."

Then he walked into Shi Junyi's bathroom with the same hand and foot moving together.

When he emerged, Shi Junyi was leaning against the headboard, quietly reading a foreign-language book whose words Chen Sheng could not understand at all.

When Shi Junyi saw Chen Sheng come out, he patted the bed. "Get up here."

Chen Sheng stiffly walked to the bedside and barely sat down, supporting himself on half a buttock. He did not dare breathe too loudly.

Just as he finished mentally preparing himself and was about to lift his legs onto the bed—

Shi Junyi suddenly changed his mind. "Forget it. Get out."

Something was wrong.

They were both men. They were both bodyguards.

Yet the moment Shi Junyi thought of Chen Sheng lying in the same bed as him, he found it completely unbearable.

It was an entirely different feeling from when he faced Jiang Qiao.

Having received the order, Chen Sheng practically sprang off the edge of the bed and fled the bedroom without looking back.

Shi Junyi lay down and stared at the bedroom's ceiling light, attributing the problem to Chen Sheng's appearance.

He still was not good-looking enough.

At the very least, he was far inferior to Jiang Qiao.

Shi Junyi thought about that night when he and Jiang Qiao had shared a room and slept in the same bed.

He picked up his phone and called Chen Sheng. "Transfer a male model from the company. Or an artist."

Chen Sheng immediately replied, "Yes, Young Master. Do you have any requirements?"

Shi Junyi had almost said, Someone like Jiang Qiao.

Then he remembered that little duck who had been flirting with Jiang Qiao, as well as the lace panties he had tossed into Jiang Qiao's wardrobe.

He changed his words. "Fair, delicate, and pretty."

Chen Sheng asked, "Now?"

"Now," Shi Junyi said.