Blatant indulgence

It was the weekend.

Li Shu had planned to come in Cheng Zhen's family car, but when he set out that morning, Chen Yannan's car was already waiting at the school gates. Seeing Xue Chen waving at him with particular warmth from the passenger seat left Li Shu with an indescribable feeling.

He still remembered that night, when Pei Song'an had rubbed his lower belly while explaining:

"People can become blind when they harbor romantic fantasies about someone else. They go against their own hearts and go to great lengths to create a false image, often just for a single moment."

Li Shu understood at once. "I get it. That's being lovesick."

Seeing how quickly he caught on, Pei Song'an asked, "Speaking from experience?"

Li Shu really couldn't explain his suffering. All he could do was sigh with world-weary resignation. "Stop roasting me, stop roasting me. I only made the mistake every man makes."

Pei Song'an: "..."

Kangjia Manor.

The manor rarely felt this lively. Usually, Pei Song'an brought a handful of friends over for a small gathering, where their conversations had nothing to do with personal interests and were simply about keeping in touch. Though the atmosphere today wasn't as pure, it was lively, at least.

The keys were handed to the valet.

The moment they got out of the car, Li Shu and Cheng Zhen disappeared. Cheng Zhen, in particular, was a social powerhouse, and the two of them slipped into an unfamiliar circle with almost no resistance.

Chen Yannan indulged him, his gaze following Li Shu's figure. He watched the spring breeze flutter his shirt hem and the sunlight fall across his profile. His clear, luminous eyes were astonishingly beautiful, capable of melting frost with ease.

Xue Chen took it all in and interrupted at the right moment. "Li Shu and I are the same age, but he feels so much younger than me."

Chen Yannan withdrew his gaze, and the opening the breeze had blown open closed again. Still, his voice held more pleasure than anything else:

"Everyone has a different temperament. You have your good points, and he has his."

Xue Chen smiled. If he hadn't heard that Chen Yannan had severely warned Jiang Junyi the very night Li Shu was injured, and that Jiang Junyi had even taken a leave of absence the following day, he really would have believed Chen Yannan treated them equally.

Not far away, Pei Song'an was talking to Zhu Sichun.

"What show are you putting on today?" Zhu Sichun sprawled in a lounge chair. Everything he had to study both in and out of class lately had drained him completely. He glanced at Pei Song'an standing beside him, then lowered his eyelids, unable to bear looking.

Sometimes, Zhu Sichun thought this friend of his was a monster.

How could someone be so damn good at this and that alike?

When he pushed himself, he really didn't care whether anyone else survived.

Pei Song'an picked Li Shu out of the crowd with unerring precision. He was sneaking a drink like a furtive puppy, only to pull a pained face after one sip. Pei Song'an gave a faint smile.

"If you're curious, I can tell you in advance."

"Oh, give me a break. You'd be that kind?" Zhu Sichun glanced at him, then drawled sarcastically as understanding dawned, "Everyone's saying the crown prince rarely takes the initiative to invite so many people over. Just what sort of novelty are you going to treat us all to?"

Pei Song'an said nothing, his attention entirely on Li Shu nearby.

A rich kid tried to sling an arm around Li Shu's shoulders. Li Shu dodged and shook his head like a rattle drum. When his eyes met Pei Song'an's, they lit up with delighted surprise, and he came bounding over like a puppy.

"Pei Song'an, Pei Song'an, do you have any juice? My mouth tastes so bitter."

Pei Song'an had a servant bring a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Li Shu clutched the glass and gulped it down, his lips rosy. In no time, he had finished more than half.

Amused, Zhu Sichun teased him. "Li Xiaoshu, weren't you getting drunk at your birthday party? Why can't you drink now? Is someone keeping you in line?"

Those words startled Li Shu so badly that he nearly spat out the orange juice he had just swallowed.

Unbelievable.

Of course you rich people wouldn't understand.

In his family, smoking or drinking before adulthood carried the death penalty.

But how was he supposed to explain that?

Just as Li Shu was racking his brains for an excuse, Pei Song'an glanced at him without betraying anything and spoke, shutting Zhu Sichun down outright:

"Why are you picking on him? If he wants juice, let him have juice."

Zhu Sichun: "???"

What was this all of a sudden?

Chi Yelai arrived late because something had come up at home.

As soon as he came in, he saw Li Shu, Pei Song'an, and Zhu Sichun getting along merrily. A little confused about the situation, he walked over to Chen Yannan.

"Xiaoshu's been getting so close to that Pei fellow lately. Aren't you going to do something?"

Chen Yannan had noticed them long ago, but before he could speak, Xue Chen smiled and linked his arm through Chen Yannan's.

"Xiaoshu's already an adult. If Yannan keeps controlling him like this, he'll turn rebellious sooner or later. I think this crown prince is pretty good. Whatever their relationship is, it sounds impressive when you mention it."

Chi Yelai glanced at him without speaking.

It was true that many people wanted a connection with the crown prince, but a business relationship was different from an intimate one. With the former, even withdrawing meant merely handling things as business. The latter was like stepping into a mire. By the time you realized you wanted to escape, you would have to lose a layer of skin first.

The music in the manor stopped abruptly.

The staff led everyone to the shooting range on the other side of the manor, where numerous upright human-shaped targets came into view. Two stood out in particular, covered in black cloth. From every angle, they looked different from the others.

Looking at those two things, Xue Chen suddenly felt a bad premonition rise in his heart for some reason.

Pei Song'an put on his earmuffs and held the gun, his eyes focused and calm behind his safety glasses. He said nothing, merely raising a hand to signal for the two black covers to be removed.

The two men who had left bruises all over Li Shu appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Oh my God! What is he going to do?!!!!"

The crowd's cries made Li Shu's heart skip a beat.

Li Shu turned his head in disbelief and saw Pei Song'an close his eyes, then open them again. Light fell from above, spilling brilliance over his hair.

The pounding against his eardrums grew louder and louder. A realization, its outline gradually sharpening, took shape inside him, clamoring wildly.

Then he saw the tall man raise his arm. His strong, healthy arm tightened beneath the fabric, muscles bunching. His expression in profile was utterly open, making the blood race and even filling the heart with lust.

Bang-

A deafening shot rang out.

The bullet passed beneath the man's armpit, leaving a fresh bullet hole in the human-shaped target.

Watching the smoke curl from the muzzle, the blazing intensity in Li Shu's eyes churned. Scalding emotion traveled through his veins and every limb, filling his heart little by little.

So when Pei Song'an had said, "If the Li family can't protect you, the Pei family will," he hadn't been joking or speaking casually. He truly was giving him confidence and backing him up.

Pei Song'an's lips curved. His dark, burning gaze brushed over Li Shu's smooth face, first meeting Xue Chen's guilty eyes, then colliding with Chen Yannan's unreadable gaze.

Slowly drawing his feet back together, Pei Song'an patted Li Shu's waist, neither lightly nor heavily. The faint blue veins rising slightly on the back of his hand carried an indescribable desire.

His gaze lowered to Li Shu's soft, warm lips. His tone was restrained, yet unable to suppress its naked aggression.

"Know how to shoot?"

"You take the next shot."