Chapter 9: After Becoming the CEO’s Sickly White Moonlight 9
“Hey Beauty, wait a moment.”
Qu Shenyi tugged at Pei Yu’s cuff and stretched out his palm, handing him a small black object.
Pei Yu pinched it between his fingers to measure it; it was about the length of a small finger joint. It was a miniature voice changer that could be clipped behind a collar.
Pei Yu: “Thank you.”
Qu Shenyi: “No need to be polite, these things were all prepared by the auction house.”
Most of Pei Yu’s face was hidden beneath the silver-white mask, revealing only a small portion of his chin to allow for speaking. Qu Shenyi stared for a long time, then touched his own.
“This mask isn’t very strict, huh.” At the very least, the part Pei Yu had exposed didn’t look like his own at all.
Fortunately, the two of them were similar in height and weight, so those who weren’t familiar with them wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Pei Yu ignored Qu Shenyi’s sigh and observed the layout of the auction hall.
It was no different from most auction houses. Directly in the center of the entrance was the auction stage, facing neatly arranged seats, while behind Pei Yu was the surrounding auction gallery.
Qu Shenyi: “Seated in the auction gallery are professional bidders. My seat is over there.”
Qu Shenyi pointed to a spot, and Pei Yu nodded after confirming it.
“You came for the jewelry.” Pei Yu looked at Qu Shenyi with profound meaning.
This was not a question.
Qu Shenyi’s eyes darkened slightly: “How did you know?”
“I guessed.”
The position slightly to the left in the first row was a very good spot. The lighting at an auction could be deceiving; under the lights, issues with a jewelry piece’s water type and impurities could be concealed. At the same time, through the auctioneer’s deliberate placement and covering, flaws could be hidden.
Those who frequently visited auction houses would know this. Qu Shenyi not calling for a professional bidder was likely because he wanted to avoid bidding on fake jewelry.
Qu Shenyi leaned his body forward, approaching Pei Yu, and said with a smile: “Beauty, you are cuter when you’re a bit dumber.”
He tilted his head, his dark red lips curling up, but in an instant, his eyes looked as if they were dipped in poison.
Pei Yu took a step back to widen the distance: “Don’t worry, I am not in the same group as Jiang Chen. I won’t snatch things from you.”
He methodically raised a hand to press down on Qu Shenyi’s shoulder, looking straight into Qu Shenyi’s eyes without the slightest grudge, and whispered in a low voice: “Of course, whether others want to snatch it or not, I wouldn’t know.”
Pei Yu’s tone was chilling, yet Qu Shenyi inexplicably heard a hint of schadenfreude in it. Then, Qu Shenyi grabbed Pei Yu’s wrist, rubbed his fingers against it a few times, and smiled.
The sinister and wicked aura hidden deep in Qu Shenyi’s eyes quietly dissipated. He licked his lips and said: “It’s just an ordinary auction item, whoever wins the bid gets it. There’s no such thing as snatching or not snatching.”
Although he said this, Pei Yu could clearly feel Qu Shenyi’s tense emotions. With a forceful pull, he withdrew his hand and calmly shot Qu Shenyi a sideways glance.
The auction hadn’t started yet, but quite a few people had arrived. Pei Yu and Qu Shenyi’s conversation was completely inconspicuous amidst the mingling crowd.
Everyone who came had put on a mask. As Pei Yu’s gaze shifted, he spotted a familiar figure. His brow twitched fiercely, and he quickly took off the brooch on his chest and pinned it onto Qu Shenyi.
Qu Shenyi: “?”
Before Qu Shenyi could react, his hand was grabbed by someone who suddenly dashed over. The transmitted temperature gave Qu Shenyi goosebumps all over his body.
Liu Feiyu asked with concern: “Little Yu, I’m sorry, I was a bit slow when registering my information… There are too many people here and everyone is wearing a mask, so I couldn’t find you for a moment. That bastard Qu Shenyi didn’t bully you, right?”
The bastard himself, Qu Shenyi: “…”
Pei Yu instantly switched accounts to Qu Shenyi: “Oh my, President Liu, let’s be reasonable. I am such a pure and innocent young man, how am I a bastard?”
Qu Shenyi turned his head in shock: “?!” You kid are acting already?
Qu Shenyi swore that choosing the black suit over the red suit before leaving the house was the biggest mistake he had ever made.
Otherwise, how would he have given Pei Yu the opportunity to perform.
Seeing “Pei Yu” completely stiff, Liu Feiyu thought he had been taken advantage of by Qu Shenyi and was too embarrassed to speak, so he began to show frantic concern.
Qu Shenyi was so disgusted that his goosebumps fell all over the floor. When he shook off Liu Feiyu’s hand, he couldn’t help but rub it behind his back.
Liu Feiyu was confused: “Little Yu? You…”
“It’s nothing, Brother… Liu. President Qu and I had a great time walking around. President Qu is a very good person.”
Qu Shenyi threw an arm around Pei Yu’s shoulder and patted him like good brothers.
Qu Shenyi covered his mouth with his hand and whispered softly: “Beauty, this admirer of yours isn’t up to par. He can’t even recognize you once you put on a mask?”
Pei Yu: “Maybe he’s blind.”
After all, he was a playboy who had been soaking in wine and women for a long time in the original text. Having half a brain to survive until the middle of the plot’s development was already him trying his best.
Pfft—
Qu Shenyi was so amused that he couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.
“Little Yu, the auction is about to start. We should take our seats.”
Seeing the interaction between Qu Shenyi and Pei Yu, Liu Feiyu couldn’t help but interrupt.
When entering the auction hall, Pei Yu had already told Qu Shenyi his seat number. At first, Qu Shenyi thought Pei Yu did it to make it easier to find him after the auction ended. Now Qu Shenyi realized that this guy was truly planning to use his identity to bid.
Although he didn’t know what Pei Yu’s goal was, Qu Shenyi was happy to see what kind of medicine this person was selling in his gourd.
Qu Shenyi grabbed Pei Yu’s hand, slid his finger across his palm a few times, and blinked: “Beauty, I’m counting on you.”
—
Pei Yu picked up the teacup placed on the side table at hand and took a sip of tea. The fresh fragrance of West Lake Longjing tea slowly spread in his mouth.
He crossed his hands, taking his time to scrutinize the tall figure in front of him.
The man was tall, dressed in a meticulously ironed silver-gray suit. The muscles beneath the suit seemed ready to burst out, with every inch displaying male hormones. His slicked-back hair revealed his smooth and full forehead. Even with three-quarters of his face covered, one could tell this was a terrifyingly oppressive and handsome man.
Pei Yu let out an internal “yo”. As expected of the protagonist Gong in the book, this two-point-eight-meter aura was telling everyone he wasn’t someone to be trifled with, even with his face covered.
“What are you doing here?”
“Coming to an auction is naturally to bid on things. Otherwise, did I come to the hotel to keep a little lover?”
Pei Yu imitated Qu Shenyi’s cynical and frivolous demeanor to absolute perfection. Jiang Chen hated this look of Qu Shenyi the most; that look in his eyes that treated others like trash was like maggots attached to bones.
Jiang Chen coldly snorted: “President Qu’s lifestyle is famous outside, it wouldn’t be strange no matter what you do.”
“Not at all, not at all. Compared to President Jiang, I naturally fall short. After all, President Jiang, you have surpassed your master.”
Jiang Chen: “…” Who are you scolding?
Seeing that Jiang Chen’s eyes were about to spew fire, Pei Yu continued to switch to Qu Shenyi’s account and babbled non-stop: “Apologies, President Jiang, I studied abroad since I was young, so my classical Chinese isn’t very good… Is this how you use this phrase?”
These apologetic words only sounded completely punchable to Jiang Chen. He leaned one hand on the side table, staring into Pei Yu’s eyes, the aura around him freezing.
“President Qu, how come you’re picking up and eating the things you didn’t want when you were young now that you’ve grown up?”
Jiang Chen looked straight into Pei Yu’s eyes, as if wanting to find even the slightest trace of anger from the person in front of him. However, to his disappointment, this time Qu Shenyi was actually terrifyingly calm.
After a long time, Pei Yu finally spoke: “Maybe because I am a nostalgic person.”
Jiang Chen: “?” Hah?!
Jiang Chen felt that there was something wrong with Qu Shenyi’s brain today, as nothing he said was normal. Leaving behind a “you just wait,” he turned and left, rushing off as frantically as if his butt was on fire.
Pei Yu watched Jiang Chen leave and spotted a thin, frail figure at the back door. When being pulled away by the sleeve by Jiang Chen, he turned his head and glanced in the direction of the auction gallery.
The half of the face exposed was about seventy to eighty percent similar to the original owner when he was a child.
Taking the “stand-in for the beloved” trope to the absolute extreme.
What a pity, Pei Yu was not the original owner, and Xu Zaizai was vastly different from how he was now.
Qu Shenyi was already getting a headache from Liu Feiyu’s constant nagging, occasionally having to fend off his wandering hands. When he saw Jiang Chen walking towards Pei Yu and the two of them with their faces almost pressed together, he almost directly kicked Liu Feiyu away.
It wasn’t until Jiang Chen left that he finally unclenched his tightly gritted teeth.
Having been constantly ignored, Liu Feiyu was getting a bit impatient: “Little Yu, what are you thinking about? What exactly does Old Master Pei like?”
“Why are you rushing me! Shut up! You fucking idiot!”
Qu Shenyi was even more impatient than him.
Liu Feiyu, who was scolded into a daze, blinked his eyes.
Qu Shenyi’s angry expression stiffened, and he let out two dry chuckles: “I meant, don’t be in a rush, Brother Liu. I will slowly tell you what Grandpa likes, you… silly person.”
Translator’s Note:
- Pure and innocent young man (黃花大男孩): A gender-flipped internet slang derived from “yellow flower maiden” (a virgin girl).
- What medicine is sold in his gourd (葫蘆里賣的什麼葯): A Chinese idiom meaning wondering what trick someone has up their sleeve.
- Surpassed your master (青出於藍而勝於藍): A famous Chinese proverb meaning “indigo blue is extracted from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant it comes from”, commonly used to mock or praise someone for outdoing their predecessor.
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