Chapter 67: Two Faces
Fingers with thin calluses pressed neither lightly nor heavily against his fair abdomen. Xie Shibai’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he subconsciously sensed a hint of danger. Even with the overdose of “catnip,” his crisis awareness remained. He gave Lu Ciheng a bewildered look.
The slightly rough fingers slid downward against his skin, the intense sensation causing a tremor to run down his spine.
Xie Shibai lifted his foot and stepped heavily onto Lu Ciheng’s abdomen, pressing down with force. His voice was a bit fierce, his breath unsteady: “Don’t touch randomly.”
Kissing was just treatment; what was touching other places supposed to be?
It felt like he was just treating him as a therapeutic tool.
Lu Ciheng pressed the tip of his tongue against his canine tooth, his gaze dark as he withdrew his hand with a look of regret. Xie Shibai’s kick had no sense of propriety; Lu Ciheng grabbed the sole of Xie Shibai’s foot and ground his thumb against it.
Xie Shibai’s toes curled. It tickled so much he subconsciously wanted to retract his foot, but Lu Ciheng held it firmly. He bit his lower lip lightly, his cheeks slightly flushed. “What are you doing?”
Lu Ciheng lowered his eyes. His fingers floated up to Xie Shibai’s waist, thumb touching the fair abs. With deliberate malice, he said, “Teacher Xie, you stepped on me and it hurts. Give me some compensation.”
Xie Shibai was tickled a bit. Pursing his lips, he was long accustomed to Lu Ciheng’s behavior of demanding compensation at such moments. “Nonsense, I didn’t use force.”
He should have used more force just now to kick Lu Ciheng off.
Lu Ciheng propped himself up above him, the tip of his nose touching Xie Shibai’s, a smile hidden at the corner of his lips as he acted shamelessly: “That won’t do either. You still owe me so much work injury compensation from before.”
Xie Shibai’s eyes widened slightly. Since when?
Lu Ciheng’s thumb landed on Xie Shibai’s jaw, gazing at the rosy lips. His Adam’s apple rolled. “Teacher Xie, I’m going to take it myself.”
Xie Shibai stalled for a few seconds. In the next second, his lips were captured. The seam of his lips was licked forcefully, leaving a sticky, wet sensation. Lu Ciheng’s thumb rubbed against the fair skin. When Xie Shibai took a breath, the tip of his tongue pushed in, licking across the soft oral cavity to hook the moist tongue and suck.
Lu Ciheng’s kiss seemed intent on sweeping away all the saliva in the person’s mouth. It was a deep kiss, leaving very little time for breathing. Like driftwood floating on the sea, when Xie Shibai tried to grab something else, Lu Ciheng, driven by possessiveness, grabbed his hand, not allowing him to touch anything other than himself—he could only hold on to him tightly.
Xie Shibai seemed to have completed the transition from skin contact phobia to skin hunger. Every contact surface secreted a lazy sense of comfort.
Black hair scattered messily on the sheets. Xie Shibai sank completely into it. The kiss changed from a deep kiss to pecking kisses. His rosy lips were kissed until they were wet, sticky, and full, slightly opening and closing as he gasped.
Like a puppy, Lu Ciheng nuzzled him with the tip of his nose, pecking him many times, unable to put him down. He pressed against him to suck and bite, then released. He wanted to kiss harder, but felt that continuing would lead to problems. Helplessly, he could only rub against the lips to relieve the infinite longing in his heart.
In the end, Lu Ciheng happily earned himself a one-hour cold shower experience.
After the cold shower, worried that his body was too cold, he took another hot shower—like a scheming beagle taking a catnip bath just to seduce a kitten.
The effect was obvious. After the temperature dropped at night, the soundly sleeping Xie Shibai rolled into Lu Ciheng’s embrace on his own.
As the recording for the second phase of Infinite Heartbeat was nearing its end, Xie Shibai received a message from Zhou Chengping: Grandfather Xie had woken up and specifically named him for a meeting.
After communicating with the production team, Xie Shibai rushed back to the hospital. He had a premonition that there would be so many things to deal with next that he wouldn’t be able to participate in the concluding recording of the second phase.
The VIP ward, which should have been very quiet, was crowded with people outside. The gazes directed at Xie Shibai were not friendly.
Xu Ruixin wore a fake smile on her face, looking ingratiating and fawning, but in reality, her eyes were full of vigilance against an enemy. Even if she wished Xie Shibai dead, she disguised it seamlessly in front of so many people.
The difference was that everyone present was a fox, and with their ancestral acting skills, no one looked down on anyone else.
The Xie family was built from scratch by Grandfather Xie, absorbing quite a few Xie family members. What Grandfather Xie valued most in his life was the Xie Corporation; he never kept useless people. As a result, the hearts of the Xie Corporation’s upper management were unpredictable and extremely complex. The Xie family branch members who had followed along since the early days of the venture and stayed were rarely fools; infighting was the most common occurrence.
Xie Huacheng was disappointing and had no hope of inheriting. The Xie family branch members all wanted to enjoy the cake alone, fighting amongst themselves in secret. Before they could rejoice for long, Grandfather Xie began cultivating Xie Shibai as the heir, his attitude clearly suppressing everyone harboring evil designs.
Xie Shibai had been accustomed to such gazes since childhood. Expressionless, he passed through the crowd. Before pushing the door open, he heard an old coughing sound from inside.
Compared to the outside, the VIP ward was exceptionally quiet and empty.
Grandfather Xie was leaning against the hospital bed. He didn’t look too seriously injured; his head was wrapped in bandages, and he had an IV needle in his hand. Even after a car accident, his dignified appearance hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Zhou Chengping stood beside the bed, respectfully handing water to Grandfather Xie.
Grandfather Xie took the water and drank a mouthful. “Did you see clearly those people outside? They can’t wait for me to die right now. The root cause of all this is you, unfilial thing, marrying a man.”
Xie Shibai looked at him without a ripple on his face. Every sentence was within expectation, devoid of any novelty or change. “Seeing that you are still so energetic, Grandfather, I am relieved.”
Originally, Grandfather Xie personally raising Xie Shibai in the Xie family’s main residence had dispelled the thoughts of most people with evil intentions; it seemed they had given up on dividing the cake. But when the news of Xie Shibai’s marriage got out, and the fact that his partner was a man, it reignited people’s hopes. Everyone outside the ward was trying to become the ultimate power holder.
“Bastard!” Grandfather Xie cursed.
Xie Shibai’s attitude was lazy. “Grandfather, have you investigated the cause of the car accident?”
Grandfather Xie frowned. “Assistant Zhou, any results from what I asked you to investigate?”
Zhou Chengping glanced at Xie Shibai and replied, “Still investigating.”
Grandfather Xie’s face sank, and he said expressionlessly, “Hurry up. Assistant Zhou, has your working ability declined to this extent? I want to see results in two days.”
Zhou Chengping’s palm tightened. “I understand.”
After he left, only Xie Shibai and Grandfather Xie remained in the ward.
This time, uncharacteristically, Grandfather Xie didn’t force Xie Shibai to divorce. He just repeatedly asked about Lu Ciheng’s situation.
He was old but not senile. He could clearly distinguish how much help the Lu family could bring to the Xie family. With the Lu family present, they could easily obtain more projects, including the development of the new city.
Although he opposed Xie Shibai marrying a man, if it was the Lu family’s child, it was indeed the smallest loss.
Inside the ward, Grandfather Xie clearly indicated that he needed Xie Shibai to shoulder the responsibility.
Grandfather Xie was used to covering the sky with one hand. Before the car accident, he strictly controlled the thoughts of every Xie family branch member; his desire for control had reached a terrifying level. But this car accident thoroughly shattered the power center he had always manipulated.
The thoughts of those with evil designs popped up like bamboo shoots after rain. Grandfather Xie knew, but his body couldn’t support him to prune them violently, so he added this expectation onto Xie Shibai.
In the name of testing Xie Shibai—only in this way could he be competent for the Xie family.
He wouldn’t slowly release power; Xie Shibai had to find a way to catch it himself. Involving inheritance issues, everyone would do their utmost, and the biggest enemy among them was the nominal heir, Xie Shibai.
Grandfather Xie handed the water cup to Xie Shibai. “This is the last chance I’m giving you. You’d better be capable and don’t let those guys snatch the Xie Corporation away.”
Xie Shibai put the cup back, mocking in the depths of his eyes, but flattered, “Okay.”
Grandfather Xie was tired and waved his hand to signal Xie Shibai to leave.
As Xie Shibai turned around, he heard Grandfather Xie call him.
“Pour me a glass of water.” Grandfather Xie was irritable. “Why didn’t Assistant Zhou pour even a glass of water?”
Xie Shibai stopped abruptly, staring tightly at Grandfather Xie sitting on the hospital bed.
After calmly pouring the water and leaving, he went straight to the attending physician. However, Grandfather Xie had forbidden the doctor from revealing his condition to anyone outside, not even Xie Shibai’s relatives.
Grandfather Xie’s physical condition was kept strictly confidential.
Abnormality signals a demon. A thought flashed through Xie Shibai’s eyes.
After passing through the corridor, the people at the VIP entrance all surrounded him, asking about his well-being with warmth and concern for Xie Shibai.
“Heard you got married. Wish you a harmonious union for a hundred years and an early birth of a precious son.” “Is your grandfather okay? How is his recovery?” “What did he say about the company?”
Everyone talking at once flooded into Xie Shibai’s head in an instant. The dense contact made irritation spill out from the bottom of his heart. Chen Qisheng’s call came in at the same time. Xie Shibai didn’t linger; answering the phone, he walked straight away.
Xu Ruixin, standing aside, noticed the caller ID that flashed on Xie Shibai’s phone.
Her face with the fake smile instantly turned dark, staring gloomily at Xie Shibai’s back.
On the other end of the phone, Chen Qisheng’s voice was somewhat exhausted. “Regarding your mother’s cause of death, and the specific circumstances of your disappearance back then, everything has been investigated clearly. There is quite a lot of information.”
Xie Shibai received the file sent by Chen Qisheng and sat in the car, listening quietly.
That Ming Yu suffered from bipolar disorder was something Xie Shibai had heard about when he was very young. The data after Chen Qisheng’s investigation bloodily revealed how Ming Yu developed depression and then transitioned into bipolar disorder.
Looking at the words on the document, Xie Shibai’s breathing was heavy, and his fingers tightened. “It was because of me.”
Chen Qisheng immediately said, “No. Your getting lost back then was orchestrated single-handedly by Xie Huacheng. Xu Ruixin spent a large sum of money to bribe the nanny, which is why she deliberately took you out of the car. Sister Chen Yi found the psychologist who helped Ming Yu with treatment back then. She expressed that Xie Huacheng shirked responsibility, making Ming Yu mistakenly believe that her single-minded desire for divorce led to negligence towards you, causing you to get lost. She looked at the treatment records from that time, but it’s been too long and the records are incomplete. It can be confirmed that it was induced by psychological gaslighting (PUA).”
And after Xie Shibai was found following his childhood disappearance, Grandfather Xie knew the cause and effect clearly, yet still took Xie Shibai away. Concealing the situation was the final straw that crushed Ming Yu.
Nausea rose in Xie Shibai’s stomach.
Chen Qisheng: “As for the family that took you in after you got lost, since it’s a tourist destination abroad, it’s uncertain if they were tourists or locals. Investigating will be relatively difficult. I bought a plane ticket and flew directly over to find out.”
Xie Shibai gave a ‘mn’. “Thank you for your hard work.”
After hanging up, Xie Shibai drove away from the hospital. His head was full of information from Chen Qisheng’s file, driving aimlessly without a destination.
When Xie Shibai came back to his senses, he found he had subconsciously returned to Lu Ciheng’s home.
Lu Ciheng was still at the show’s recording site at this moment. The Xie family was in chaos, and no one cared about the reality of his marriage; he could have chosen to return to his own home.
Xie Shibai was silent for a few seconds. Just as he held the door handle and turned to leave, he heard rustling sounds at the door.
A familiar voice came from outside the door.
“Lu Biao, you’re getting heavier and heavier. Half rations for this month, don’t whine at me. Your dad has been back all day and hasn’t replied to messages; he’s about to abandon us father and son. Can you have a sense of crisis? If you don’t maintain your figure at a time like this, what will you use to keep your dad?”
“Woo wang woo wang!”
“Tsk, got bold haven’t you, biting me.”
“Woo wang woo wang!”
Xie Shibai listened quietly to the two dogs arguing. The irritable emotion in his heart miraculously disappeared in an instant.
The door opened. Xie Shibai saw Lu Ciheng, who had rushed back travel-worn, and the puppy Bobby struggling at his feet, not wanting to leave the elevator.
Lu Ciheng looked at Xie Shibai. Surprise flashed across his expression, followed by a smile. He said to the stubborn puppy, “Bobby, your dad is actually home.”
Xie Shibai: “……”
He remembered that wasn’t the name he called just now.
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