Time to Settle the Score

Shi Junyi's expression turned a little strange at that, as if surprised. "You didn't know?"

He had thought that before Jiang Qiao ever tried to hook up with him, Jiang Qiao should have already known about something everyone in high society knew.

Yet Jiang Qiao said righteously, "You never told me."

Shi Junyi frowned. "It's only a business marriage. We don't see each other often."

Jiang Qiao said angrily, "I don't accept that."

Shi Junyi stared at him. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Jiang Qiao had not originally intended to bring this matter into the open. Shi Junyi's engagement had not been a recent development.

The fact that nothing had come of it by now showed that Shi Junyi and that woman were destined to have no spark between them.

But Jiang Qiao could not stand Shi Junyi acting like this. With the alcohol going to his head, he grabbed Shi Junyi by the collar and bit down on his lips.

"Now, I'm your fucking boyfriend."

The taste of blood spread through their mouths. Shi Junyi punched Jiang Qiao in the stomach, forcing him to let go.

Then he grabbed Jiang Qiao by the hair and kissed him back fiercely.

Panting heavily, he found time to say against Jiang Qiao's lips, "Puppy, as long as you behave, I'll give you whatever you want."

That night, the two of them abandoned the Shi family bodyguards, who were still diligently standing watch a block away.

They hailed a taxi at the roadside and returned to Jiang Qiao's small villa downtown.

While Shi Junyi was not paying attention, Jiang Qiao guiltily entered the door code. The moment they got inside, he dragged Shi Junyi onto the sofa.

For all Shi Junyi looked like some immortal beauty, when it came to certain things, he was anything but humane.

Fortunately, Jiang Qiao was sturdy, tough, and good at enduring pain. Only then could he enjoy endless pleasure through the repeated torment of being driven to death and back.

In another sense, they were quite well matched.

Afterward, the two curled up on the neatly made bed in the master bedroom when Shi Junyi suddenly said, "Jiang Qiao, it's time to settle the score."

Jiang Qiao was groggy. "Settle what score?"

Shi Junyi patted his cheek. "Shi Youxi."

Jiang Qiao instantly sobered up. "I'm innocent!"

"I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you feeling guilty?" Shi Junyi asked.

"I'm not. I didn't do anything with him, so why would I feel guilty?" Jiang Qiao said.

Shi Junyi knew Jiang Qiao well. He would not give up until he saw the coffin.

He said, "At 3:10, I sent someone to find you in your room. You weren't there, so he went to the training grounds."

"I was at the shooting range," Jiang Qiao said.

"Yes, with Shi Youxi." Shi Junyi supplied.

Jiang Qiao sat up and explained, "Not with him. I just happened to run into him, and he kept following me."

"Why did he follow you? Why not someone else?" Shi Junyi asked.

Jiang Qiao felt like a husband being interrogated by his wife after she caught him talking alone with a female coworker.

If he said they had only discussed work, he might still survive.

But if he said the female coworker had come to confess to him, he probably would not live to see tomorrow's sun.

This was merely a common misconception among men: that sometimes they had to downplay the important parts and use well-intentioned lies to maintain domestic harmony.

Jiang Qiao was just an ordinary man who had never been in a relationship, so naturally, he made this small mistake too.

"How would I know? Maybe because I did a little business with him before, and he wanted to do it again?" Jiang Qiao said.

But Shi Junyi was not an ordinary wife who would easily believe her husband's nonsense.

He sneered. "Is that so? Then after that, you carried him to his bedroom and stayed there for three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. What did you do?"

Jiang Qiao fell silent.

He looked at Shi Junyi. "Who was that? Following and spying on us with a stopwatch?!"

Shi Junyi's expression did not change. "Sang Ye."

"Yesterday, you said it was Chen Sheng!" Jiang Qiao was astonished by Shi Junyi's practiced skill at covering for his subordinates.

"You heard wrong." Shi Junyi refused to admit it.

A competent employee deserved the protection they were due.

He pinched Jiang Qiao's cheek. "I'm asking you a question, Jiang Qiao."

Seeing that he could not bluff his way through it, Jiang Qiao could only say vaguely, "He told me to go with him."

Shi Junyi tightened his grip.

Jiang Qiao's cheeks ached from the pinch, and he nearly started drooling.

He raised a hand to hold Shi Junyi's wrist and softened his tone. "I rejected him, brother. I swear."

"What else did you do?" Shi Junyi loosened his grip slightly.

"Nothing." Jiang Qiao said.

I shouldn't have fucking hit him.

Shi Junyi's gaze sharpened. "Jiang Qiao, don't lie to me."

Jiang Qiao's Adam's apple bobbed. His instincts told him Shi Junyi was not trying to bait him; Shi Junyi had already decided he was not telling the truth.

Right now, he had two choices before him.

He could gamble on it, deny everything to the bitter end, and wait until Shi Junyi produced real evidence before forcibly arguing his way out of it.

If that failed, however, the goodwill he had built up with Shi Junyi would plummet, while his credibility would be completely wiped out.

Or he could tell the truth, sincerely admit his mistake, deeply reflect on it, seriously examine himself, and promise there would not be a next time.

As long as his attitude was sufficiently sincere, once he weathered Shi Junyi's current anger, they could make up. At most, he would take a couple more punches.

Jiang Qiao quickly weighed the pros and cons. Before Shi Junyi could lose his temper, he stuck out his tongue.

He panted as he moved closer, lowering his head to nuzzle Shi Junyi's neck.

Wrapping both arms around him, he whispered, "Brother, I was wrong. Forgive me. I didn't mean to touch him."

"He's just a little bean sprout, skinny as ribs and sausage. I don't even like him. I treated him like a kid."

"In this life, I'm brother's in life and brother's ghost in death. Just wave your hand and I'll give you my life. I swear there's nothing between him and me."

"Other than selling him a few magazines, I haven't done anything shameful with him. Stop holding it against me, okay?"

That was just how Jiang Qiao was. His skin was thick enough that he could say any kind of sweet, pleading nonsense.

He completely disregarded whether someone as big as him was really suited to acting cute.

Shi Junyi held the back of Jiang Qiao's neck with one hand and braced himself against the bed with the other, supporting the weight of their upper bodies.

Jiang Qiao's warm breath brushed against his neck. Shi Junyi knew Jiang Qiao was no longer lying, but Jiang Qiao's reckless hands still deserved punishment.

So he leaned back slightly and pressed down on the back of Jiang Qiao's neck.

"I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Jiang Qiao had not expected Shi Junyi to be so easy to talk to in bed. Even the final punishment could not really be called punishment.

He had worried for nothing all that time.

But once dawn came, his status as boyfriend came to an end. After leaving Jiang Qiao's little nest and returning to the Shi family home, Jiang Qiao obediently went back to his own dormitory.

When they said goodbye, he did not even spare Shi Junyi a glance, leaving Shi Junyi quietly displeased.