Xie De ran into Wei Yanchi as soon as he left the music room. The guy was crouched by the stairs, as though he had been waiting specifically for him.
"Wei Yanchi, what are you doing here?"
Wei Yanchi looked up at Xie De, his dark eyes focused and earnest. Then he stood, walked over, and stubbornly took his hand. "Mr. Xie De, we've been apart for twenty-seven hours. I've been waiting here for you."
Xie De looked down at the hand holding his, patted his shoulder, and walked on, slipping his hand free in the process. His tone was teasing. "Only twenty-seven hours? We're bound to spend much longer apart in the future. You can't follow me around forever."
"Why not? I could be your assistant, sir. I don't have anything else to do anyway, unless it's something you want me to do."
A lighthearted smile entered Wei Yanchi's voice, but his eyes followed Xie De with intense desire, like a greedy dragon gazing contentedly at its treasure.
Xie De chuckled and glanced sideways at Wei Yanchi, one eyebrow raised. He was paying the price for his earlier impulsiveness and carelessness. Of course, teasing him with Wei Jianye had probably contributed too. In any case, this guy was revealing more and more of his true nature around him.
He wasn't nearly as well-behaved as before.
"Having the eldest young master of the Wei family work as my assistant would really be a waste of your talents. I remember your master, Daoist Liu, mentioning on the ship that he wanted you to carry on his legacy. Now it seems your ambitions don't reach very far, do they?"
Wei Yanchi made no attempt to hide his desire for Xie De. Rather than reining it in, he became even more brazen, meeting