Chapter 12: Touched Something Hard
He glanced at Qi En’s lower abdomen again.
The milk tea bag was blocking the view, so he lifted the bag up.
But that slight movement was enough to startle Qi En awake.
Qi En opened his eyes groggily, paused for a beat, and then sat up with a start.
Subconsciously, he hugged the bag in his arms tightly, looking exactly like a little chick guarding its food.
Yet, if anyone really wanted to snatch it, one tug would be all it took.
Constrained by the seatbelt, he could only flap his little “wings” helplessly in the seat.
Qi En had slept so hard his double eyelids were prominent, and his gaze was exceptionally clear.
He stared fixedly at Cheng Xun’s hands. When he spoke, his sharp accusation was tinged with a sleepy, coquettish softness: “What are you doing?”
Cheng Xun’s expression didn’t change, as if the person who looked like he was “stealing” wasn’t him.
“Nothing. I saw you were uncomfortable sleeping with the seatbelt digging in, so I wanted to unbuckle it for you.”
“Really?” Qi En tilted his head, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Really.”
“Then why didn’t you just wake me up?”
“I did, but you didn’t wake up.”
“Alright.”
Qi En clamped the bag between his legs and twisted his body to undo the seatbelt.
He struggled with it for a while but couldn’t get the buckle open.
Nor did Cheng Xun offer to help.
Qi En had to look up and ask, “Can you help me unbuckle this?”
“Sure.”
Qi En looked at his hand.
Compared to his own, it was huge.
A slender finger hooked upwards, and with a click, the buckle released.
Qi En froze for a moment. “Oh, you have to hook it up, not press it down.”
“Mn.”
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier? You just watched me struggle for so long…” he grumbled.
Cheng Xun pretended not to hear. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. I said, thank you for driving me back.” Qi En got out of the car and scampered off fluffily.
Fortunately, he remembered how to open the car door.
“Let’s add—” Cheng Xun’s voice faded into the quiet night breeze, “—each other on contact…”
Qi En scanned his face to enter the residential complex. He was just about to message Dash to say he was safe when his hand grasped nothing in his pocket.
Oh, right.
The phone was dead; he put it in the bag.
The bag… where was it?
Qi En braved the phantom night breeze and fluffily walked back out.
The car was still stopped outside the complex.
Cheng Xun, in his formal suit, was leaning against the car body. One hand was in his pocket, the other holding the cheap milk tea bag that looked completely out of place with his noble air.
Qi En didn’t want to look too anxious. He suppressed his hurried steps and walked over.
But Cheng Xun’s words almost made him break character.
“What did you pack in here? It’s a bit heavy.”
“N-nothing!” With only a few steps left, he walked faster and reached out to Cheng Xun. “Give it to me, thank you.”
The thanks were given reluctantly.
Cheng Xun handed the bag back to him.
The moment Qi En took it, he turned his back to check the contents.
Good, nothing was missing.
It seemed this scalper still had some professional ethics.
Perhaps he didn’t do anything to damage his reputation because he wanted to develop a long-term client.
“By the way.”
As soon as the man spoke, Qi En instinctively raised his guard.
He felt the other guy was up to no good again.
Why did he keep staring at him? Did Qi En look like he had a lot of money?
Qi En looked listless. “What is it?”
Cheng Xun: “Is there something on your waist?”
Qi En was stunned. “What?”
“Looks like a bug.”
“It crawled inside.”
“It’s quite big, and black.”
Cheng Xun said three sentences in a row.
“Ah…” Qi En’s voice trembled, a hint of a sob squeezing out at the end.
“Don’t move, I’ll get it out for you.”
“Mn…”
He couldn’t move anyway; his whole body was frozen stiff.
Cheng Xun approached him, leaning down slightly.
His breath brushed against Qi En’s neck, causing Qi En to shrink back sensitively.
The next second, those hot hands landed on Qi En’s shoulders.
He even squeezed the shoulder gently. “Don’t be nervous, it might not be a bug.”
“Okay,” Qi En responded with a short, clipped sound.
But his nervousness didn’t decrease in the slightest.
Cheng Xun lifted his hand slightly, grabbing the hem of Qi En’s shirt, and looked up at him. “Can I?”
Qi En didn’t dare look down, nor did he know what Cheng Xun was asking. He nodded blindly.
Then he felt his clothes being lifted.
Huh?
Why does my stomach feel cold?
That spot… that seemed to be where the weapon was hidden.
Qi En’s reaction was a beat too slow.
The miniature compound crossbow clipped to his pants was tugged. The night wind took the opportunity to pour in, the chill making Qi En shiver.
He snapped out of it and pressed down on Cheng Xun’s hand.
“You, you…”
“I saw wrong. It’s not a bug.” Cheng Xun’s tone was flat, making it hard for Qi En to tell if Cheng Xun knew what it was or not.
“Mn, it’s not a bug. Then hurry up and take your hand away.”
“But you’re pressing on my hand.”
Qi En looked down. “Oh, oh.” He let go.
But Cheng Xun went back on his word. Taking advantage of the opening, his fingers pressed against Qi En’s stomach, and in one go, he removed the miniature folding crossbow.
Qi En sucked in his stomach, trembling uncontrollably.
“My—”
He stopped himself just in time, almost blurting out the weapon’s name!
“Why do you have something like this on you? It’s very dangerous.”
Cheng Xun’s tone was a bit stern.
Qi En instantly lost his confidence, his voice going weak. “What about it…”
As if he didn’t know what it was, he asked Cheng Xun back.
Cheng Xun frowned, composed himself, and asked, “You don’t know what this is?”
“I don’t know.”
To be honest, Cheng Xun didn’t know exactly what it was either, but from its appearance, it was some kind of miniature weapon.
The precision of the weapon didn’t match its weight. The material seemed to be some new technology, making it very light overall. Even clipped to pants, it wouldn’t fall off.
Such things weren’t hard to buy, but they were expensive.
Did he use the money earned from streaming to buy this?
Why? For self-defense?
But with something like this, without systematic training, an amateur could easily hurt themselves using it.
Cheng Xun could bet that Qi En definitely didn’t know how to use it.
After all…
He lifted his eyelids to glance at Qi En in front of him.
Qi En lowered his head, stealing glances at him from time to time.
His hands were clasped together, fingers gripping so hard they were bloodless.
Leaving that aside, the place Qi En hid the weapon was also a bit…
Too naive and simple.
Having filmed those kinds of videos and photos, did he really not understand that a man’s lower region is a very important area?
The firing port of the weapon was pointing right down. What if it misfired?
Cheng Xun sighed.
Then, under Qi En’s pleading gaze, he put the weapon into his own pocket.
Qi En reached out quickly to grab it but was a step too late, only catching Cheng Xun’s shirt.
“That’s mine.”
“I know. That’s the cab fare,” Cheng Xun said indifferently.
“How can you do this? I don’t agree!”
That was something Qi En had bought with great difficulty. He had bargained with Kai Xingwen for a long time; it cost him three hundred!
“Didn’t you say we’d use something as collateral?” Cheng Xun said calmly.
“But you can’t take this! I already gave you candy.” Qi En was anxious.
“Too little, and they were melted,” Cheng Xun said.
“You people…” Qi En stifled the urge to curse, his voice softening. “So you thought the candy was too little. Then you should have told me. I gave you four, and I still have more.”
Qi En struggled to dig into his pocket. He had broken into a cold sweat, and his clothes were sticking to his skin, making it hard to retrieve anything.
“The last one. I’ll give it to you, give that back to me.”
Qi En held the last candy between his fingers, offering it to Cheng Xun.
Seeing Cheng Xun not taking it, he got a little desperate. He grabbed Cheng Xun’s hand and tried to place it in his palm.
But Cheng Xun wouldn’t hold it, letting the candy slide from his palm.
“Hurry up and hold it.”
Qi En’s lower lip was unconsciously bitten, leaving a pale mark when released.
He had to press on Cheng Xun’s fingers, trying to make him close his hand.
But the size difference between their hands was significant. Qi En couldn’t wrap around Cheng Xun’s hand; it looked more like he was offering his own hand into the other’s palm.
Things having come to this, Cheng Xun had to hold it.
He took the opportunity to hold Qi En’s hand, curling it into a fist and wrapping it within his palm.
Qi En froze for a moment, then his ears turned even redder.
He pulled his hand out forcefully, but Cheng Xun wasn’t holding on tight. He fell backward instantly.
Fortunately, Cheng Xun caught him quickly.
Cheng Xun knew what he was doing, and he knew why Qi En was so anxious.
He just didn’t feel safe leaving such a dangerous thing, something that could take a life at any moment, with Qi En who knew nothing.
Qi En’s face was beet red—not from shyness, but from anger.
He forced himself to calm down and began to persuade Cheng Xun in a soft voice: “I gave you what you wanted, give that back to me.”
Qi En’s eyes stared fixedly at Cheng Xun’s trouser pocket.
Cheng Xun felt numb all over from that burning gaze. He had to take a few steps back, turning his body slightly.
But his action made Qi En think he was going to run away.
Qi En ran over, wanting to grab him.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Xun didn’t get in the car but stood by the door.
Qi En couldn’t brake in time and slammed right into him.
He even stepped on Cheng Xun’s shoe.
A gray footprint appeared on the shiny black leather.
Cheng Xun: “…”
“Ugh…” Qi En covered his nose.
The chest was so hard; it hurt.
Qi En’s physiological tears spilled out a little.
His vision suddenly blurred. With a blink, water droplets rolled down from the roots of his eyelashes, hanging precariously.
He lowered his head, looking at Cheng Xun’s leather shoes, and murmured, “If you don’t like candy, I’ll give you something else. Anything is fine, just don’t be too excessive.”
The more he spoke, the more fragmented his voice became.
By the last sentence, his voice even cracked.
“Are you crying?”
At first, Qi En only dared to cry silently, afraid to make strange noises.
But with that one sentence from Cheng Xun, he couldn’t hold it back anymore. The tears flowed more and more.
His eyes couldn’t see anything.
He could only wipe the tears away with his hands.
His palms and the backs of his hands were wet, and his whole face was smeared wet too.
He didn’t have tissues to wipe his tears; his bag only had money.
Oh wait, he didn’t even have money anymore.
Only a pile of cold equipment and weapons remained.
Thinking about it that way, Qi En wasn’t that sad anymore.
If only he could get the most powerful weapon back.
Disregarding whether snatching things directly would make him hated, Qi En raised his hand and reached for the other’s pocket.
But his vision was blurry; he couldn’t see clearly, only the general location.
He touched something hard.
That must be his weapon.
But his weapon had been warmed up.
He tried to reach into Cheng Xun’s pocket. After failing, he scratched unwillingly at the edge of the weapon through the fabric.
His mouth kept yelling, “I bought it with money, give it back…”
The damn scalper wouldn’t talk to him, nor give the thing back.
He just stood there panting.
Qi En snatched even harder.
Tears blocked his eyes, so he wiped them.
Hands got wet, so he rubbed them on his arms, wiping with his sleeves.
His muttering gradually evolved into small sobs: “That’s mine…”
After a long time, Cheng Xun finally spoke: “But it’s dangerous. If you want self-defense, other weapons are better. I can buy them for you.”
Qi En: “I don’t want to, I just want this one wuu wuu.”
Cheng Xun: “This one is too small. The power is low, and the protection is poor. It’ll hurt you.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, you’re just scamming me… You took my money, my candy, and now you’re robbing my weapon… You damn scalper, I’m going to call the police… I’m going to expose you online, I’m going to kill… forget it, I’m going to call the police to come arrest you wuu wuu…”
Qi En cried harder and harder, becoming incoherent:
“It’s expensive… lots of money.”
“Give it back, give it back…”
“If you want it, can’t you buy it yourself? …Why rob someone else’s.”
“I’m a professional, how would I hurt myself? I’m not that stupid…”
Recommended Reads
![Does A Broken Mirror Reunion Exist in Esports? [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/esports-225x300.png)
![Enemies on a Narrow Road [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/enemies-on-a-narrow-road-214x300.jpg)
