Mind Reading Fails

Jiang Qiao had been preoccupied all afternoon with Fu Zhilan going to see Shi Junyi. At the shooting range, he missed the target several times out of distraction.

Unable to find his rhythm, he went to the combat arena instead. But he was in such poor form that one careless moment earned him a whip kick to the abdomen from a burly Black man under Shi Youxi, nearly making him vomit bile.

After finally waiting until nightfall, he washed up, put on some fragrance, and climbed up to Shi Junyi's window—only to find it locked.

Through the glass and curtains, he could still vaguely make out two figures inside.

One was sitting and one was standing. Judging by their builds, they had to be Shi Junyi and Fu Zhilan.

They seemed to be talking, but unfortunately, the window's soundproofing was too good. He could not hear a thing.

Shi Junyi reclined against the single armchair in his bedroom, having stared at Fu Zhilan standing across from him for nearly ten minutes.

Fu Zhilan did not understand Shi Junyi's intentions and could only wait quietly for him to speak first.

As for Shi Junyi, no matter how he looked at him, he felt that boys like Fu Zhilan were far from uncommon. Even among that type, he did not seem particularly outstanding.

At least, compared to Yan Wei, who had come before, he fell somewhat short.

Shi Junyi could not see what was so special about Fu Zhilan that made Jiang Qiao treat him so differently.

Whenever Fu Zhilan appeared before him, Jiang Qiao seemed so tense that even his hair was on edge.

Fu Zhilan grew a little uncomfortable under Shi Junyi's gaze. Half-kneeling, he picked up a whiskey glass from the coffee table, poured Shi Junyi a cup of hot water, and pushed it before him.

After a long while, Shi Junyi finally said, "Come here."

Obediently, Fu Zhilan shuffled forward on his knees across the carpet until he reached Shi Junyi's side.

He was still wearing the servant's uniform, with one button at the collar undone. From this upward-looking angle, his collarbone showed faintly in and out of view.

It had much the same effect as Yan Wei's earlier display of bare shoulders, only considerably more subtle.

Shi Junyi reached out and pinched Fu Zhilan's chin. "Did you come to the Shi family because of Jiang Qiao?"

Fu Zhilan froze, then hurriedly shook his head. "No! I didn't know he was at the Shi family."

Shi Junyi did not hear Fu Zhilan's thoughts.

"Then what did you come for?" Shi Junyi asked again.

Fu Zhilan blinked his large, innocent eyes. His voice was clear and carried an air of purity. "I came to work. My friend said the Shi family offered good benefits, so he introduced me to the job."

Shi Junyi still did not hear Fu Zhilan's thoughts.

Under normal circumstances, there were only two possibilities. One was that Fu Zhilan's words matched his heart, and he had no other thoughts while speaking.

The other possibility was that Shi Junyi's mind-reading ability had failed on Fu Zhilan.

Shi Junyi gave nothing away, but inwardly, he found it strange. Ever since that incident in his childhood, he had always been able to hear others' thoughts through physical contact.

There had never been an exception before.

So he asked, "What is your relationship with Jiang Qiao?"

Fu Zhilan answered obediently, "We're just ordinary university classmates."

"Ordinary classmates?" Shi Junyi raised a brow.

"Roommates," Fu Zhilan added.

Shi Junyi suddenly chuckled and said casually, as if making small talk, "I thought you liked him."

Fu Zhilan hurriedly denied it. "We're just good friends. He's always taken good care of me. I don't like him, it's just that he..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence and did not continue.

Shi Junyi looked at Fu Zhilan's seemingly innocent face, yet his instincts told him Fu Zhilan was not telling the truth.

That could only mean he could not read Fu Zhilan's mind.

He released Fu Zhilan's chin, closed his eyes, and leaned back.

"He likes you?" His tone was calm, and he did not even open his eyes.

Yet for some reason, those four words made Fu Zhilan shudder.

He opened his mouth and stammered, "I... I don't know."

Shi Junyi did not move. His silence made Fu Zhilan feel as though the air in the entire room had frozen solid, suffocatingly oppressive.

He did not know what he had said wrong, but Shi Junyi was clearly in no good mood.

Was it because of Jiang Qiao?

But why?

Fu Zhilan knew very little about Shi Junyi. Before this, he had only known him as someone unfailingly gentle and polite in public, the picture of a flawless, perfect man whether on magazine covers or in television interviews.

But over the past two days at the Shi family, he had also heard rumors that Shi Junyi's private temper was not particularly good and that he could be rather unpredictable.

Besides, the original Jiang Qiao had liked Fu Zhilan for a long time and was undoubtedly the top, while Shi Junyi clearly did not look like someone willing to be pinned beneath another man.

Everyone knew that two tops together never ended well.

So Fu Zhilan did not think too much of it, assuming only that Shi Junyi was simply in a bad mood.

His legs were starting to go numb from kneeling, yet he did not dare move carelessly. Just as he was silently suffering, Shi Junyi said coolly, "Leave."

He let out a long breath and obediently answered yes, quietly reminding himself that haste made waste. A person like Shi Junyi had to be won over slowly.

When Shi Junyi heard the outer door close and knew Fu Zhilan had left, he slowly rose from the sofa, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains.

Sure enough, Jiang Qiao was standing on the narrow windowsill, pressed close to the window with a broad grin, a rose clenched between his teeth.

Shi Junyi yanked the curtains shut and lay back down on the bed.

Jiang Qiao stood outside the window, feeling as though Shi Junyi had glared at him before closing the curtains.

Fu Zhilan, that little slut, must have said something to Shi Junyi that he should not have.

He sighed. The sentimental were always wounded by the heartless. Why was he always the one getting hurt?

Shi Junyi switched off the bedside lamp, yet sleep was nowhere to be found.

With his back to the window, after hearing the sound of someone knocking on the glass outside every ten minutes for the seventh time, he finally got out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and opened the window.

Jiang Qiao nimbly climbed in. Seeing the vase on Shi Junyi's small table, he casually added today's rose to it.

Then, shamelessly spreading his arms, he hugged Shi Junyi. "Why did you leave me outside, big brother?"

Shi Junyi could not push him away, so he raised his leg and drove his knee into Jiang Qiao's lower abdomen.

He did not think he had used much force, but Jiang Qiao immediately clutched his stomach and collapsed to the floor.

Shi Junyi kicked Jiang Qiao twice. "Stop playing dead."

Jiang Qiao did not move, and the pain on his face did not seem fake.

Shi Junyi frowned. The moment he crouched down, Jiang Qiao grabbed him, pulled him down, rolled over, pinned him beneath himself, and kissed him.

An old pervert like Jiang Qiao had never been subtle about this sort of thing. Any advantage he could take, he would take to the fullest—otherwise, he would not be content even in death.

Shi Junyi's lips hurt from the impact. He bit Jiang Qiao back, refusing to stop until the faint taste of rust spread through his mouth.

Jiang Qiao hissed and released Shi Junyi. "Couldn't you be gentler?"

Damn it, he's like a dog.