Wen Yulan was the type of person who schemed, yet could not control his own heart.
In his heart, he thought of Ming Qi. On the surface, he acted detached and indifferent, as though he only loved painting, yet he still could not let go of the Wen family’s little bit of business. But the Wen family’s business had originally only been propped up by the dowry Wen Hejun’s mother brought into the marriage.
If given the chance, Yu Qinzhou truly wanted to ask him where he got the nerve to think he could have both fish and bear’s paw.
He lowered his eyes to hide the disdain beneath them, his fingers brushing even more gently through the loose strands of hair at the young man’s temple as he asked softly, “Are you upset?”
Ming Qi snapped out of his daze. The look in his eyes plainly spelled out a few words: Wasn’t that an obvious question?
He had genuinely regarded Wen Yulan as a friend.
Over the years, many people had come and gone around him, but it seemed that only Wen Yulan had remained.
Hugging his legs, he rested his chin on his knees and blinked once. But very quickly, the thoughts still tangled around the name Wen Yulan were pulled away by Yu Qinzhou. The man lowered his head to kiss him and said with a smile, “Then let me cheer you up. Qiqi, don’t be sad.”
“How are you going to cheer me up?” Ming Qi glanced at him sideways.
The man curled his long fingers slightly, resting them against his knee, seeming to think seriously for a long while before raising a brow. “Tonight, wherever you want—it’s all up to you?”
Ming Qi: “……”
He remembered last night—being pinned to the bed, begging however he could, and it still being useless.
Embarrassed and angry, he smacked Yu Qinzhou. “I don’t want anywhere!”
Getting off the lounge chair and walking toward the living room, he even turned back once to add, “Separate rooms.”
Yu Qinzhou: “……”
That really wasn’t necessary.
…
Although they still ended up sleeping in the same bed, at least nothing happened. As a result, Ming Qi got his wish and woke up early the next day. Still unwilling to give up, he followed Yu Qinzhou out for a run, only to end up draped over Yu Qinzhou’s back and carried home.
Yu Qinzhou had watched him while running, looking half-dead and complaining that he absolutely couldn’t walk anymore. Yet the moment they got home, Ming Qi jumped off his back like a monkey and chased after Xiao Ba, his eyes full of delight.
Reaching out to grab the back of Ming Qi’s collar as he rushed past, Yu Qinzhou negotiated with him. “I worked so hard carrying Qiqi home. Shouldn’t Qiqi reward me?”
The first things to pop into Ming Qi’s head were, naturally, certain suggestive activities.
Yu Qinzhou leaned lazily against the sofa, arms folded, watching as a faint flush spread across Ming Qi’s face, his expression turning awkward and his eyes darting around.
After a long while, having gone through an internal battle, Ming Qi finally warned him quietly, “Too much indulgence is really bad for your health.”
“Oh? Indulgence?” The man frowned slightly as if confused. Then, under Ming Qi’s widening eyes and growing shock, he innocently asked, “When did I say I wanted indulgence?”
That being said, after saying the word indulgence, Yu Qinzhou’s gaze openly swept over Ming Qi’s flat stomach and long legs. His lips curved into a meaningful smile as he deliberately asked, “Qiqi couldn’t possibly have thought the reward I meant was a reward in bed, right?”
Ming Qi: “……”
Alright. Now he knew it wasn’t.
Damn it, how had he fallen for Yu Qinzhou’s trap again?
But after being tricked so many times, Ming Qi had learned to deny everything to the bitter end. Blinking innocently, he argued, “You were the one who said it, not me.”
Yu Qinzhou laughed at him. “Fine, I said it. Then does Qiqi agree?”
Of course not!
Ming Qi took two steps back and crossed his arms in front of his chest in a gesture of refusal.
“Then at least come to work with me?” Yu Qinzhou bent down, bringing his face close to the young man’s. That absurdly handsome face suddenly being so near made Ming Qi’s breathing stop instinctively for a few seconds. He opened his mouth, seduced by beauty, his lips and nose reacting faster than his brain. “O-Okay.”
At 8:50 in the morning, Yu Qinzhou brought his newly appointed secretary, Ming Qi, through the executive elevator into the top-floor office.
At 9:08, Yu Qinzhou called the secretary’s office and had desserts and drinks sent over. Sitting on the sofa and sipping his drink, Ming Qi drifted off into random thoughts—how did he look anything like a secretary?
Until Xi Yixiu pushed open the door and happened to lock eyes with Ming Qi.
Xi Yixiu froze where he stood for a moment, then turned to look at Yu Qinzhou in considerable shock. “You’re this carefree today? Your partner even came to work with you?”
Yu Qinzhou’s attention rested on the document in his hands. The tip of his fountain pen swept across the paper, leaving behind the bold, flowing signature of Yu Qinzhou. Only then did he lift his eyelids slightly and say in an absent-minded tone, “At least we’re in the office. Be professional. That’s Secretary Ming.”
Xi Yixiu: “……”
Ming Qi: “……”
Xi Yixiu’s gaze landed on Ming Qi once again, and Ming Qi had the sudden urge to turn around and run.
It was one thing for Yu Qinzhou to tease him by calling him Secretary Ming, but why did he have to say it in front of Xi Yixiu too?
He seriously wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.
Xi Yixiu did not miss the young man’s flushed face and reddened ears. Internally, he cursed Yu Qinzhou for truly being shameless. Flirting in front of single people like them—had he ever considered their feelings?!
Then, decisively, he handed the file in his hand to Ming Qi with a solemn expression. “Sorry to trouble you, Secretary Ming.”
Smack.
He turned and left immediately.
Holding the file with both hands, Ming Qi looked at the distance between himself and the door, then at the distance between himself and Yu Qinzhou’s desk. The corner of his eye twitched.
“Secretary Ming—” Chairman Yu, seated at the desk, had already set down his pen. Looking over with a smile, he urged, “Aren’t you going to bring the file over? Delaying important work comes with punishment.”
Ming Qi let the words go in one ear and out the other. Somewhat annoyed, he stepped forward and placed the file down. However, what Yu Qinzhou reached for was not the file, but his wrist.
With only a slight tug, Ming Qi stumbled and dropped straight into the man’s lap.
A little dazed, he looked up.
Yu Qinzhou said, “Secretary Ming, help me turn the pages.”
Ming Qi: “……”
He grumbled inwardly, but his hands obediently opened the file anyway. “Sign here.”
Then, after thinking for a moment, he asked, “Or do you need me to read it to you?”
Yu Qinzhou laughed softly. “That won’t be necessary.”
His gaze then flicked over the young man’s slightly parted lips as he casually added, “That mouth of yours is better suited for other things.”
…
Ming Qi himself didn’t even understand how things had somehow developed to this point.
It seemed that after hearing Yu Qinzhou say better suited for other things, he instinctively sensed danger and braced himself against the other man’s leg to leave. But Yu Qinzhou gave him no chance. One arm wrapped around his slim waist and lifted him onto the cold desktop, while his right hand held the back of Ming Qi’s neck, firmly forcing him to respond to the kiss.
Documents and expensive fountain pens scattered across the desk were swept to the floor.
As Yu Qinzhou leaned over him, Ming Qi’s waist arched uncontrollably backward. When he truly couldn’t endure anymore and his back touched the desk, the man grabbed his ankle and pulled him closer again.
His fingertips tightened little by little against the other man’s arm. Struggling, Ming Qi finally turned his head away, escaping Yu Qinzhou’s control as he panted urgently.
“How come, after all this time, you still haven’t learned how to breathe?”
The man’s husky voice, tinged with amusement, fell beside his ear.
Ming Qi shot him a look and retorted, “I have learned. You just kiss too hard.”
He hadn’t even been given the chance to breathe.
“Then I’ll kiss more gently in a moment.”
This time, Yu Qinzhou really wasn’t lying.
But kisses that were too gentle felt like soft feathers brushing against skin, slowly stirring desire only to leave it unsettled. A mist gathered in Ming Qi’s eyes, the corners tinged red. His fingers weakly reached for something on the desk to grab onto, but there was nothing left to hold. In the end, he could only wrap his arms around Yu Qinzhou’s neck and murmur softly against his ear:
“This feels awful.”
“Be good. I’ll make you feel better soon.”
The moment his fingers suddenly tightened, Ming Qi belatedly realized he seemed to have forgotten something. But desire surged through him like a storm-tossed sea, wave after urgent wave crashing against the shore, completely stripping away his awareness.
He was jolted awake by the sudden ringing of a phone.
Yu Qinzhou let out a quiet hum and soothed him with a hand on his waist. “It’s fine. Just a call. Ignore it.”
But Ming Qi’s gaze had already fallen onto the screen.
“……Wen Yulan?”
“?”
Yu Qinzhou glanced over and clicked his tongue softly. “Then there’s even less reason to answer.”
The ringtone rang again and again. Ming Qi no longer remembered when it finally stopped. He only knew that by the time Yu Qinzhou finally let him go, his whole body felt weak and limp. Sitting on the man’s lap and leaning against his chest, he resembled a fish stranded ashore, deprived of too much water, able only to part his lips and breathe with difficulty.
Only at this moment did the thing Ming Qi had forgotten suddenly return to him.
Resting his forehead against Yu Qinzhou’s chest, his fingers clutching the wrinkled shirt that still had not fully settled after everything, he felt utterly defeated.
This was Yu Qinzhou’s office!
How could they do this kind of thing here?!
He declared fiercely, “I’m never coming here again.”
“Secretary Ming quits after only one day on the job? Doesn’t that sound a little unreasonable?” Yu Qinzhou’s voice carried the lazy satisfaction of indulgence, magnetic and husky. Relaxing back into his chair, he reached for a nearby piece of clothing to drape over Ming Qi.
But Ming Qi suddenly pulled back. His eyes swept over the dampened corner, and he shook his head hard. “Not wearing it.”
Yu Qinzhou couldn’t help laughing. Tossing the clothes aside, he raised a brow. “Then want to take a shower?”
Secretary Ming’s legs were too weak to walk. He could only spread his arms. “Carry me.”
The consequence of Yu Qinzhou carrying him to the shower was that their bath together lasted over an hour.
So much so that when Xi Yixiu pushed open the office door again that afternoon, Ming Qi was still sleeping soundly in the lounge room bed.
Xi Yixiu casually asked, “Secretary Ming went on strike?”
Yu Qinzhou lifted his eyelids lazily. “You need something?”
Xi Yixiu: “Nothing. Just wanted to ask if you wanted to get dinner together tonight—”
Before he could finish, Yu Qinzhou cut him off.
“No. We’re having private couple time. No third wheels allowed.”
Xi Yixiu: “……”
You win.
Rolling his eyes, he muttered, “Fine, don’t eat then,” before turning around and leaving.