Chapter 86: The Handsome Widower Lures Him In. Shirt Stays… Is That What They’re Called?
[Right, husband?]
Le Can held the words in his mouth, the tail end of his inner voice arching upward. It was like a light feather gently brushing over the heart, leaving a palpitation in the only person who could hear it.
Under the pure silver half-mask that fitted the contours of his face, a flash of a smile crossed Xi Yun’s indifferent eyes.
A shadow fell from the man’s superior brow bone, and the eyelids in the shadow slowly lifted. In a moment unnoticed by anyone, his faint gaze bypassed the extra, passionate red rose on his lapel and quietly met the youth’s playful eyes.
A silver half-mask, pale thin lips, and a fleeting glimpse followed by the slow closing of those silver-gray heterochromatic eyes. A body that seemed to have thinned quite a bit, and the sickly feeling of being unable to walk brought by the wheelchair beneath him…
A broken widower? A handsome widower?
The feeling of “loss of appetite” caused by Xi Yun’s discipline was instantly thrown to the wind, and Le Can suddenly experienced the feeling of a racing heart once again.
For three whole days, the person who had called him every day but refused to show his face was finally seen in person. Le Can let out a slow sigh in his heart, and the inner voice he deliberately transmitted also carried a hint of resentment.
[CEO Xi, oh CEO Xi, it’s really hard to see you…]
Xi Yun’s closed eyes trembled, but in the end, he did not open them again.
After Le Can fell from the cruise ship, he had searched for traces in the vast sea and then secretly rescued him after finding him. Throughout the entire process, Xi Yun had severely overextended his ability.
It was only after using up the limited jade he had brought on board, combined with three days of self-recovery, that he could occasionally open his eyes briefly in dim environments. Any more than that was impossible.
Xi Yun could have left after showing his face when the masquerade ball began. He had stayed in a quiet corner just to wait for a certain youth to find him…
Though the other’s face was completely covered by a mask, the vivid energy brought by his innate unruliness and flamboyance remained as it always was.
The pale face that had repeatedly appeared in his mind over the past few days was now covered by the wine-red figure full of charm and craftiness. The haze remaining in Xi Yun’s heart also gradually dissipated.
He had already had someone keep an eye on Jian Yu’s side. At tonight’s masquerade ball, the youth—hiding his identity—could play to his heart’s content.
However, without being certain if Jian Yu had any other moves, Xi Yun still intended to wait until they returned to land before announcing the news that Le Can was safe and sound.
And if he did that, he couldn’t give Le Can any response.
Xi Yun raised his hand to pluck the rose from his neck, his fingers rolling the stem to remove the thorns before placing it on his lap.
At least, not right now under everyone’s watchful eyes…
However, for certain low-quality guests who disturbed other passengers, as the owner of the cruise ship, since he had seen it, he naturally wouldn’t handle it by just standing by.
The man wearing the golden mask had a dark expression after being rejected. He dodged the flower thrown at his face, and after seeing the powerful figure the “ungrateful” person was attempting to cling to, he suddenly laughed with a twisted and triumphant face.
“Hahahahaha! Do you even know who you just pointed to?”
Le Can looked at the red rose on Xi Yun’s knee, taking a moment to cast a faint, cold glance at the golden-masked man who was ruining the atmosphere, then withdrew his gaze with indifference.
The person whose eyes said [I’m waiting for you to kneel and beg me] looked to him like someone with [I am an idiot] written on their face. One more glance would be a desecration of his eyes and soul.
“Who else could it be?”
He looked sideways at the object of the golden-masked man’s awe and undisguised jealousy, pretending to be oblivious and speaking with a casual attitude, “I just need to know that this person looks better than you.”
At the same time, in his heart, Le Can was deliberately teasing the man a few steps away who had only looked at him once since they met.
[Hmm, Xi Yun, who are you to me?]
[The marriage partner who is legally mourning for me? The worrying ‘daddy’ who manages my food, drink, and early sleep? Or… the man who has kissed me and even used ‘manual gear’?]
Recalling the various past events, Le Can’s throat couldn’t help but feel parched. He conveniently took a glass of genuine champagne from a passing waiter and took a light sip.
It entered his mouth with a fruity fragrance, and small bubbles rolled on his tongue; overall, it was very refreshing. Thus, the parched Le Can subconsciously took another large gulp.
After drinking, he unfaithfully complained loudly in his heart.
[Sigh… it’s just that ‘manual gear’ is too tiring. When can my husband change to a different way of driving?]
Xi Yun, who was about to speak, suddenly froze on the spot.
The bodyguard nearby who had leaned down and was waiting to hear an order didn’t receive any news for a long time, so he couldn’t help but squat down and ask in a low voice.
The golden-masked man, who had lost face once again, clenched his fists and lunged forward, reaching out with both hands to grab Le Can’s loose collar.
“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! I’ll kill you!”
Le Can indifferently watched the person lunging at him, taking a leisurely step to the side, then at the moment he brushed past the man whose eyes were gleaming with malice, he raised his foot and kicked the other’s ankle.
As everyone knows, the ankle is a fragile place but not life-threatening.
Only the golden-masked man—whose eyes flashed with panic—was heard screaming as his knees hit the floor heavily. Like a cooked shrimp, the man curled up in pain, clutching his leg on the floor, the veins on his neck and face bulging and turning bright red.
The scream was quite coarse and unpleasant. Le Can slowly withdrew his leg, covering one ear with one hand while holding his glass with the other, leisurely drinking the remaining champagne.
“You’re wrong. I don’t drink toasts, nor do I drink forfeits.”
Le Can hated drinking the most; his alcohol tolerance in both worlds was very low. If someone tried to persuade him to drink, they would be stepping on his nerve.
Though the “toast and forfeit” the golden-masked man spoke of weren’t literal drinks, in essence, they were the same thing. Le Can hated this kind of forced matter, and when he kicked, he didn’t hold back at all.
After all, he still remembered the foul words the other had used not long ago.
However, the vengeful youth had just discovered that this champagne was different; it could temporarily be placed outside the list of hated drinks.
Le Can, who didn’t often try champagne, didn’t know that although champagne generally has an alcohol content of around 12%, its aftereffects are greater than red wine of the same strength.
To someone who didn’t often drink, it was truly an “alcohol assassin.”
Xi Yun, in a moment of inattention, had acquired a slightly tipsy youth propping up half his face. He reached out to cover the rose on his knee, having understood the scene that had just occurred through the bodyguard’s recount.
The man who was rolling on the ground in pain had been restrained and taken away by the cruise ship’s security shortly after falling. The ears of the crowd returned to their previous peace.
Some who had been itching to step forward and strike up a conversation had sheepish expressions and tucked away their little thoughts.
Though the youth in the fox mask was as passionate as a ball of fire, so eye-catching that a group of people wanted to be like moths to a flame, fire was something that could easily burn those who got too close.
With such a temper and high standards, forget it, forget it…
Xi Yun slowly tightened his palm, loosely holding the bright and intense red rose in his hand. He gave a low instruction for someone to stay and protect Le Can’s safety, then let go and prepared to leave.
Le Can narrowed his misty peach blossom eyes, watching the figure of the man disappear around the corner, then slowly stood up straight and followed with unsteady steps.
Some who were still secretly watching out of the corners of their eyes couldn’t help but shake their heads. It was both a regret and a pity for the self-important beauty. Of course, within this pity, there was also a hint of contempt.
A brainless person thinking they could reach the sky in one step by relying on their looks was likely to break their legs…
There were also some with filthy minds who felt that with such a top-tier item delivering itself, the cruise ship owner—who liked men and happened to be lonely—would probably go with the flow and enjoy the meat delivered to his mouth.
After all, his partner, with whom he had just held a wedding, had fallen into the water, yet the three-day auction still proceeded. Though people were left near the fall site for search and rescue, the Aphrodite had only stayed for one extra night before setting sail again the next day.
Deep affection? In the face of profit, it seemed a bit insufficient.
Le Can—who didn’t know he had harvested two waves of sympathy using two identities—wasn’t surprised that no “roadblocks” appeared on his path.
He rubbed his slightly dizzy brow, passing through the long corridor and finally stopping before the door of a lounge.
The door to this lounge didn’t have a regular key lock but a code lock that Le Yao was familiar with. Le Can reflexively reached out and entered a string of numbers. With a beep, he used the code he used to go to the secret space every day to unlock the door…
With a click, the door opened a crack.
Le Can’s brow arched, his eyes scanning the electronic lock with an indiscernible emotion before it went quiet again. Then, with a light laugh, he pushed the door and entered.
Since someone had thought through everything so thoroughly, how could he fail to live up to such good intentions?
In the dim room where no lights were turned on, a familiar back sat before the floor-to-ceiling window, silently facing the vast horizon outside, not saying a word.
Le Can slowly took a step back and closed the door with his back. With another click, the only light from the corridor disappeared.
Le Can kicked off his shoes and stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet, slowly approaching the person by the window, his steps as light as a graceful cat.
The dark environment did not affect Le Can. Though his limbs were a bit soft in his tipsy state, his consciousness was unusually clear, more so than ever before.
Stopping behind Xi Yun, the youth’s slender fingers traced along the man’s ear, bit by bit following the contour of the silver half-mask.
“Waiting for me to come?”
Not a single soul could be seen on the way, and the door lock code was the same. Such obvious little thoughts could be seen through at a glance even by a drunken Le Can.
“Mhm.” The low voice carried a hint of raspiness.
Le Can hooked his finger and scraped the man’s high nose bridge in a good mood. When Xi Yun raised his eyes to look at him, Le Can spun around and straddled his lap.
A fleeting kiss landed on the thin lips, followed by his soft body—scented with wine—pressing down heavily, burying his dizzy head into the man’s neck.
“Hmm, let me lean on you for a bit.”
[Dizzy…]
Xi Yun lightly pursed his lips, raising his hand to hold the person before him.
Le Can didn’t raise his head, his fingers fumbling in the darkness beneath him. After a while, his hand pulled something out.
He tilted his head without leaving Xi Yun, narrowing his eyes to look at what had just poked his leg.
A red rose with messy petals and wilted leaves from being pressed.
—The rose he had given Xi Yun outside.
Unable to stop himself from laughing, Le Can lowered his arm and opened his mouth to bite the Adam’s apple that was rolling at the side of the man’s face. He didn’t use force, just taking a bite and then holding it in his mouth to carefully lick where he had left a tooth mark.
In the darkness, a muffled groan came from his ear.
The corners of Le Can’s eyes arched as he silently raised his head, his lips parting to bite off a tender petal.
[Why are you still keeping this rose?]
Under the hazy moonlight, his full lips—holding the petal—pressed down. Amidst the entanglement of lips and teeth, the rose petal was crushed into pulp, squeezing out red juice that stained the pale thin lips above.
“Yaoyao…”
[Is it because I was the one who gave it?]
Urgent kisses fell densely, blocking any chance of speaking. The coolness of the night was ignited, burning the two bodies that were constantly pressing together until they were scorching hot.
In the chaos, Le Can reached out and grabbed one of Xi Yun’s hands.
[You should know, letting me in… I might not be satisfied with just the usual kisses and hugs…]
The kiss at his mouth abruptly stopped, but the heavy breathing in his ear gradually increased.
Finding a chance for a halftime break, the smile in Le Can’s eyes deepened as he held the man’s hand and led it slowly to a certain undulation.
[Shirt stays… that’s what they’re called, right?]
[They’re rubbing my legs and it hurts. Be a good man and help me… take them off?]
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