Chapter 24: Is This Amount of Pressure Okay?
Fu Yue supported his hands on the marble countertop, leaning forward slightly. Ji Hanmo didn’t speak, but Fu Yue heard the slight friction of medical rubber. This was followed by a soft yet clear “snap”—the sound of medical latex gloves being pulled and snapping snugly against the wrist.
Then, he heard the sticky, moist sound of fingertips dipping into ointment. In the bathroom where only their breathing remained, these two sounds were infinitely magnified.
Fu Yue’s breathing grew labored. He bit his lower lip hard, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Should I run? Fu Yue asked himself in his mind.
However, the shameful touch he had anticipated didn’t arrive. A sensation of coldness landed on his back. The coolness was slowly spread by fingertips. This was followed by a familiar scent of ointment drifting into the air—the fragrance of peppermint and herbs. It was the medicine prescribed by that private doctor yesterday.
“Is this amount of pressure okay? Does it hurt?” Ji Hanmo’s deep voice rang out in the quiet space, his tone sounding perfectly normal.
Although the Fu family butler had gone easy on him during the “family law,” his originally smooth back was still covered in hideous wounds. Yesterday, they were red welts, but now the color had deepened.
At this moment, Fu Yue’s spine trembled slightly; it was hard to say if it was from the stinging of the wounds or something else. The cool sensation continued to spread like a clear spring, soothing the pain on his skin. It was actually… somewhat… extremely… comfortable.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Fu Yue answered honestly.
Ji Hanmo gave an “Mmh,” his movements of applying the medicine gentle and focused. Fu Yue’s body, which had been stiff to the limit from fear, finally relaxed.
Sorry for imagining you as a beast who wanted to toy with me just now; that was my fault. Fu Yue apologized to Ji Hanmo silently in his heart.
The gloved fingertips carefully avoided the few areas where the skin was broken, patiently circling around the red swelling. However, in the next moment, Fu Yue’s body couldn’t help but tremble. It was Ji Hanmo’s finger accidentally brushing against the muscle lines of his side waist.
“Your body is very tense.” Ji Hanmo clearly noticed Fu Yue’s reaction. “What is it? You shouldn’t be such a cautious person. In the past, you were surrounded by so many admirers…”
Fu Yue’s body stiffened for a second.
“I’ve changed,” he responded. “I don’t want to be in a relationship right now.”
“Heh.” Ji Hanmo let out an extremely light laugh. That laugh seemed to brush past the back of Fu Yue’s neck, sending a shiver through him.
“Fu Yue, I’m not asking about your love life. I’m just not sure if you’ve just switched to a different ‘way of playing’?”
Fu Yue was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, “Chairman Ji can understand it as me finding a new way of living, not playing.”
“A way of living?” Ji Hanmo seemed to be savoring the words Fu Yue used.
After about half a minute, he spoke again: “So, are physical relationships still within the scope of what can be traded for you?”
Ji Hanmo brought up the old topic again, forcing Fu Yue to complain internally once more about the original owner’s recklessness.
“There won’t be things like that anymore,” Fu Yue said decisively.
“Is that so?” Ji Hanmo’s voice suddenly grew light.
With a “snap,” the used medical gloves were taken off and thrown into the trash. Ji Hanmo’s hand pressed extremely slowly across Fu Yue’s lower back, moving with increasing pressure.
“Then does it feel normal here?”
Fu Yue shuddered.
Ji Hanmo’s low laugh rose, his voice suddenly appearing by Fu Yue’s ear: “Your body is much more honest than your mouth. You’ve been trembling while I was applying the medicine; were you afraid, or… expectant?”
“No!” Fu Yue spat out these two words almost through gritted teeth.
Damn it! Fu Yue condemned himself harshly in his heart. To be precise, he condemned the original owner’s disappointing body that liked men. A numb, tingling sensation spread uncontrollably from where Ji Hanmo’s palm had brushed, all the way to his limbs.
“Chairman Ji,” Fu Yue suppressed the abnormality in his body, “I hope you respect me.”
The hand on his waist was withdrawn.
“I’m just seeing if your injuries damaged the parasympathetic nerves.” Ji Hanmo’s tone returned to its previous flat state.
Fu Yue nodded subconsciously, only realizing after a few seconds that he was talking about—those unspeakable physiological reactions. Yet Ji Hanmo said it with a straight face. Fu Yue could only pretend he didn’t understand, though his breathing grew heavier.
Click.
Ji Hanmo snapped the cap back onto the ointment and placed it on the sink. Fu Yue didn’t turn around. Ji Hanmo looked at the back of Fu Yue’s head knowingly. He stopped his footsteps as he reached the door and looked back at Fu Yue, who was still leaning against the counter:
“Perhaps you need to stay here for a bit longer.”
Fu Yue’s face turned black instantly. He didn’t turn to look at Ji Hanmo, merely answering with an “Mmh.” Ji Hanmo considerately closed the door for him.
In the lounge, Fu Yue had a dark face and closed eyes. He tried hard to study several complex algorithms in his mind to forcibly suppress the heat that shouldn’t belong to him.
Night fell, and the city lights began to glow. On the third floor of an inconspicuous old Western-style house in the center of Haicheng.
Shen Junnian sat in a leather sofa, legs crossed, in a relaxed posture. This was a private cigar bar. With its strict membership system, it served as both a social venue and a place where second-generation heirs liked to come. They could relax and talk business at the same time.
Shen Junnian held a Punch cigar in his hand. Sitting across from him were his two childhood friends, with a proposal for a new energy project spread on the table.
“…So, my point is, instead of competing with them for the downstream market, it’s better to cut in directly from the upstream.” Shen Junnian flicked the ash. “My team is already in contact with companies in Australia.”
“Moving that fast? Young Master Shen’s sense is keen enough.”
Just then, the door of the private room was pushed open, bringing a gust of wind. It was Shen Junnian’s good friend, Zhou Fengjun.
“Junnian, someone saw Fu Yue at the Ji Group today.” Zhou Fengjun sat down and nudged Shen Junnian with his elbow. “What’s going on? When that old man from the Fu family kicked him out, wasn’t that the perfect opportunity for you to swoop in and win the beauty? Why did you let him get away to the Ji family?”
Shen Junnian’s expression turned a bit unsightly.
“Mmh,” he responded, “yesterday, I proposed to him.”
“Proposed?!” The three people present spoke in unison, their faces full of shock.
“And then? What happened?” Zhou Fengjun’s gossipy soul was burning fiercely.
Shen Junnian took another puff of his cigar and said slowly, “But he didn’t agree.”
Zhou Fengjun slapped his thigh: “I knew it! The diamond must not have been big enough! For a pampered young master like Fu Yue, if you don’t have a pigeon-egg diamond of over ten carats, can you move him?”
Shen Junnian glanced at him like he was looking at a fool: “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing yesterday; I hadn’t prepared a diamond ring at all.”
“You dared to propose without a ring? Buddy, that’s a pretty bold move,” Zhou Fengjun teased.
Su Zhefei, who hadn’t spoken, shook his head: “Junnian, although everyone knows your feelings for Fu Yue are sincere…” Su Zhefei’s family and the Shen family were long-time family friends, and he had known Fu Yue for a long time. This youngest Fu son had been dazzling since childhood, and although his personality changed drastically in high school, Shen Junnian’s pursuit had been as firm as gold.
Su Zhefei gave a heartless evaluation: “But this proposal of yours wasn’t bold; it was stupid.”
“What do you mean?” Zhou Fengjun pressed.
“Blinded by lust!” Su Zhefei looked like he was disappointed. “At a time like that, how could you propose?”
“Why can’t he propose?” another youth asked.
Su Zhefei looked disdainful: “No wonder you three are all single. What kind of person is Fu Yue? His self-esteem is higher than the sky. What he needed most when he was in trouble was respect, equality, and a harbor where he could catch his breath.”
Su Zhefei paused. The expression on Shen Junnian’s face had changed from confusion at the beginning to clarity.
“Crap, how did I make such a low-level mistake?” Shen Junnian looked distressed; he had already realized the problem.
“How so, how so?” Zhou Fengjun was still asking.
Su Zhefei explained slowly: “A proposal in that scenario isn’t a proposal at all, but a forced marriage. What Young Master Shen offered wasn’t love, but robbery while the house was on fire. Fu Yue is already a high-difficulty target; it’d be a miracle if he agreed.”
“Sigh, you can’t blame Young Master Shen.” Another youth said. “The calmness and agility he shows in business—once he’s in front of Fu Yue, his IQ and EQ drop to zero. A hero cannot pass the hurdle of a beauty.”
Shen Junnian had already closed his eyes in misery, crushing his cigar into the ashtray. Indeed… it was a miscalculation. He had been too impulsive.
His friends nearby finished the topic of Fu Yue and began to tease each other. Su Zhefei was a regular in the romantic scene, but when they gathered, he would always look at Zhou Fengjun, while Zhou Fengjun was looking at another person in the distance.
Shen Junnian could no longer listen to their idle chatter. His mind was entirely filled with how to make up for his mistake.
Three days passed; they weren’t long, but they weren’t short either. Yet they were enough for a terrifying habit to quietly take root. Fu Yue found that he had already grown accustomed to the “cohabitation” life with Ji Hanmo.
Every morning, they sat together in that Rolls-Royce and ate breakfast in the cabin. At noon, they went to the canteen together. Fu Yue didn’t make a death-defying request to go to the employee canteen to receive everyone’s stares again. In the evening, they went home together. The main reason was that he had no money for a taxi; otherwise, he would have chosen to eat the company’s overtime midnight snack before returning.
He could even enter Ji Hanmo’s walk-in closet openly and pull open drawers in front of him to borrow his “clothing.” What made him feel the most helpless was the daily application of medicine. Fu Yue was now numb to undressing in front of Ji Hanmo, his face remained unchanged as he unbuttoned his shirt with exceptional proficiency.
Fu Yue had originally thought that if Ji Hanmo touched him inappropriately again, he would charge him! However—Ji Hanmo’s movements since that time in the lounge had been disciplined and restrained. Fu Yue hadn’t had another chance to lash out.
The intensity of work at the Ji Group also far exceeded Fu Yue’s imagination. This high-pressure environment sparked the competitive spirit in his bones. During work hours, he completely immersed himself in the design of the top-level architecture, his brain operating at high capacity. Combining his real-world experience with the [Business Talent] buff provided by the system, Fu Yue’s performance was extremely smooth.
In the blink of an eye, it was 8 PM. Fu Yue knocked on the door of Ji Hanmo’s office.
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