Getting Carried Away

By the time Shi Junyi returned to the Shi family, it was already the evening three days later.

At the time, Jiang Qiao had just finished underwater combat training. His hands and feet had been bound before he was pushed into a four-meter-deep pool and made to free himself as quickly as possible.

He had only been learning swimming, diving, and knot-tying for a short time. He had practically endured until the oxygen in his body ran out before barely managing to break free and surface.

After several rounds, he was completely exhausted.

He returned to the second basement level, took a sauna and a shower, then lay facedown on a massage table while waiting for the masseuse to fetch the essential oil.

Just as he was drifting off, he felt a pair of large hands press against his waist.

Both the warmth and the pressure were different from the masseuse's.

Jiang Qiao gave a soft hum and said quietly, "You're back?"

Shi Junyi poured essential oil into his hands, rubbed it warm, and worked it into Jiang Qiao's sore, swollen muscles from overtraining.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

Jiang Qiao chuckled. "I recognized the smell."

Shi Junyi smiled too. "You really are a little dog."

"Where did you go without taking anyone with you?" Jiang Qiao asked.

"Belgium. I took over a business deal and brought you a gift."

Jiang Qiao was not particularly interested in gifts. What he cared about more was Shi Junyi himself.

He rolled over and sat up, grabbed Shi Junyi's tie before he had time to change out of it, and asked, "Did you lock the door?"

"Sounds nice enough, but would you dare let me make any noise?" Jiang Qiao scoffed.

They were in an ambiguous bed-partner relationship now. Every time they got intimate, it felt like cheating.

Shi Junyi had no intention of bringing Jiang Qiao into the open and letting Old Master Shi come looking for trouble.

Yet hearing Jiang Qiao say that made Shi Junyi inexplicably irritated.

He pressed a hand against the back of Jiang Qiao's neck, ---------- sealing Jiang Qiao's mouth so he could not make a sound.

No matter how Jiang Qiao resisted, he would not allow him to make the slightest sound.

Jiang Qiao had a temper too. He got angry at Shi Junyi, so he did not climb through the window that night.

Yet just after midnight, he heard the door quietly open.

Shi Junyi wore pajamas and carried a box in his hands. Sitting by Jiang Qiao's bed, he said, "Your temper's really grown, Jiang Qiao. Have I spoiled you too much?"

Jiang Qiao leaned against the headboard, watching him with a smile. "What are you saying, brother? I haven't cried, made a scene, or tried to hang myself. How exactly has my temper grown?"

Shi Junyi burst out laughing. "I'd quite like to see what you'd look like crying, making a scene, and trying to hang yourself."

Jiang Qiao clicked his tongue. "That's too bad. I haven't learned those moves yet, so brother will have to wait a little longer."

Jiang Qiao did not know why, but he felt that Shi Junyi had been especially kind to him since returning. Looking into Shi Junyi's eyes, he asked:

"Did you miss me? Or did you do something that wronged me?"

Shi Junyi looked Jiang Qiao straight in the eye. "What could I possibly do that would wrong you?"

Jiang Qiao raised a brow. "For example, going on a date with your fiancée."

Shi Junyi touched Jiang Qiao's face. "Don't bring that up, Jiang Qiao. I don't want to pick a fight with you."

At once, Jiang Qiao felt anger well up in his chest. "So you really did go on a date?"

Shi Junyi frowned. He felt that he had made things clear enough from the beginning. He had never promised Jiang Qiao anything, and he had asked him whether he accepted a bed-partner relationship.

Jiang Qiao had agreed to it himself.

But honestly, he had been terribly busy lately. Absence made the heart grow fonder, and he really had missed Jiang Qiao a little. He had not come to see him today to quarrel.

So he deliberately softened his tone and told the truth. "No. But we met in Belgium. It was only dinner with both families."

Jiang Qiao asked, "Did you talk alone?"

Shi Junyi said, "No."

He was not lying. They really had not.

Jiang Qiao asked again, "Did you give her a gift?"

Shi Junyi lowered his head and kissed Jiang Qiao. "No."

Only then did Jiang Qiao's anger subside. He rubbed his forehead against Shi Junyi's. "Then what did brother bring me?"

Shi Junyi lifted the small box before Jiang Qiao. "Open it and see."

Jiang Qiao opened the lid. Inside were two bottles of Duvel beer and several boxes of Lindt chocolate.

They were not expensive, but both alcohol and sweets were forbidden items for the Shi family's bodyguards.

Jiang Qiao grinned. "I'm going to hide them in the safe."

Shi Junyi then took an exquisite little velvet box from his pajama pocket.

"Then keep this one on you."

Looking at the lovely little box, Jiang Qiao's heartbeat abruptly sped up.

He blinked at Shi Junyi. "I should put it on myself? Since you're already giving it to me, why not be a little more romantic? Put it on for me?"

He watched Shi Junyi open the little box.

Inside was a stud earring.

A Radiant diamond stud earring.

At the sight of that enormous diamond, more than half of Jiang Qiao's joy from moments ago vanished.

He lowered his eyes and tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I thought you were going to give me a ring."

So he had gotten carried away.

Shi Junyi did not answer Jiang Qiao directly. He only said, "I saw that you had pierced ears and thought this would suit you."

Diamonds, beer, chocolate.

Belgium's three great specialties, the three elements of love.

Shi Junyi had given him all of them.

Yet he had deliberately passed over a ring and chosen a stud earring instead.

Jiang Qiao did not ask anything more. Before Shi Junyi could make a move, he took out the earring himself and put it in his left earlobe.

Then he smiled and said, "Thank you, brother."

Shi Junyi watched Jiang Qiao's lashes, much thicker and longer than most people's, curve beautifully along with his captivating eyes.

Yet he felt that Jiang Qiao was not as happy as he looked.

He was not even as happy as when he had first seen the beer and chocolate.

Shi Junyi did not ask, nor did he read Jiang Qiao's mind, because he knew why.

He wanted to warn Jiang Qiao not to like him too much, and not to think too highly of himself.

But looking at Jiang Qiao's face, the words caught in his throat.

At that moment, Shi Junyi suddenly felt that the distance between them was too close, so close that they were about to cross beyond a simple bed-partner relationship.

That was not right.

It was not part of his plan.

So he abandoned his original intention of sleeping in the same bed as Jiang Qiao. Rising to his feet, he said, "Get some rest. I'm going back."

Jiang Qiao did not act cute and stubbornly cling to Shi Junyi as he usually did. He only took Shi Junyi's hand, brought it to his lips, and gently kissed the back of it. "All right. Good night, brother."

Shi Junyi had been busy for more than half a month. Now that he finally had some rest, he returned to his room that night but tossed and turned for half the night without falling asleep.

The next day, he unusually slept until nearly noon.

He got out of bed, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains. It was rare fine weather since Binhai Special Zone had entered its cold season.