Chapter 53: The Cycle of Karma
After handing over his gift and exchanging pleasantries with familiar elders for a while, Chen Jiamu found an excuse to slip away into a corner.
Emerging from the restroom, he wandered aimlessly through the corridor. The An family had always been close with his own, and he had grown up running wild in this very courtyard. He knew the place like the back of his hand.
He found a gazebo, sat down, and pulled out his phone to reply to his friends’ messages one by one.
Unbeknownst to him, a figure in the shadows behind him was watching silently.
Just as he was in the middle of a game, Chen Cheng called. She asked where he was and told him to come to the front hall immediately.
Hanging up, Chen Jiamu stood up to leave. But the moment he turned around, he saw a familiar silhouette.
Their eyes met. Chen Jiamu’s pupils constricted, and his fists instantly clenched at his sides.
Why is he here?
Shouldn’t he be in Su City?
His breathing grew heavy, and a buzzing sound filled his ears. Chen Jiamu struggled to regulate his breath, pretending nothing was wrong.
He wanted to take the long way around to leave the backyard, but Li Qi was standing right on the only path out. With no other choice, he steeled himself, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and tried to brush past him.
“Jiamu…”
In the next second, his wrist was seized, and Li Qi’s low voice resonated in his ear.
“Why are you still so…”
Chen Jiamu intended to say something harsh, but when he looked into those eyes—brimming with exhaustion—the cruel words died in his throat.
“Let go,” Chen Jiamu said, trying to shake him off. But Li Qi’s grip was iron-tight; he couldn’t shake him loose at all.
“Are you sick?”
“Let go of me!”
Seeing that Li Qi wasn’t listening, Chen Jiamu’s temper flared. He used his other hand to pry at the fingers, clawing at them several times before barely managing to free his wrist.
Shooting him a glare, Chen Jiamu turned to head toward the front hall. But Li Qi stuck to him like a leech, grabbing him and dragging him into a narrow alleyway nearby.
Li Qi hugged him tightly, refusing to let go, burying his face in the crook of Chen Jiamu’s neck and planting soft, intermittent kisses there.
“Are you crazy?!”
“I told you, I can’t keep wasting time with you! I have things to do!”
Pressed together in the cramped space, Chen Jiamu felt a mix of shame and rage. He slammed his fist solidly into Li Qi’s body several times.
Sensing Li Qi’s hands wandering inappropriately, Chen Jiamu truly got angry. He brought his knee up sharply and slapped Li Qi across the face. “Li Qi! Wake up!”
He thought that would stop him. Unexpectedly, Li Qi laughed. “Yeah, I am sick.”
“That’s why I spend entire nights just thinking about you.”
Saying this, he pressed in again. Chen Jiamu braced his hands against Li Qi’s chest, trying to create distance between them.
But he had underestimated Li Qi’s strength. Li Qi grabbed both his wrists and yanked them upward, used his thigh to force Chen Jiamu’s legs apart, pinched his chin, and kissed him.
“Mmph…”
Caught off guard, Chen Jiamu’s mind went blank.
Li Qi’s kiss was aggressive and overwhelming. With his hands pinned, Chen Jiamu had no way to resist other than to be forced to accept it.
Feeling Li Qi’s leg starting to rub against him dangerously, Chen Jiamu panicked and bit down hard on the tip of Li Qi’s tongue. In pain, Li Qi finally pulled back.
Chen Jiamu’s mouth was free, but the corner of his lip had been bitten open by Li Qi.
Both of them had bright red blood on their lips, their breathing ragged and chaotic.
Chen Jiamu licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring at him with a hoarse voice. “Let me go.”
“If you don’t want my sister to walk in on this ugly mess, you’d better let me go.”
In the narrow space, only the sound of their rapid breathing remained. Li Qi lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions from Chen Jiamu.
“So, Jiamu… do you hate me?”
After a few seconds of silence, Li Qi looked up again. The corners of his eyes were tinged with red, and he looked so pitiful that it seemed a single harsh word might shatter him completely.
Chen Jiamu was left speechless by that stare. Did he hate Li Qi?
If he hated him, he wouldn’t have tolerated Li Qi messing around with him. But asking him to accept this twisted relationship was a hurdle his heart couldn’t yet cross.
“No, but…”
“But I really don’t have time to waste with you. I have a lot of things to do.”
Chen Cheng’s issues at the company were already giving him enough of a headache; he simply didn’t have the energy to deal with Li Qi right now.
Seeing that Chen Jiamu wasn’t repulsed by him, fireworks exploded in Li Qi’s heart. It felt as if a jar of honey had been spilled in his chest.
“Whatever you need to do, I’ll help you.”
Li Qi leaned in as he spoke, their faces only a finger’s width apart. His warm breath was thick with desire.
Chen Jiamu’s heart skipped a beat. Staring at Li Qi, he enunciated every word: “Let go of me first. If I don’t show up soon, she’s going to come looking for me.”
“We can talk about us later. Be good.”
Chen Jiamu was gradually learning how to handle Li Qi’s weaknesses. As long as he didn’t resist too overtly, Li Qi wouldn’t do anything too extreme.
“Really?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
“Then kiss me once.”
“You…”
Chen Jiamu was speechless. How could Li Qi be such a rascal? But having given his word, he couldn’t back out now, or else it would be a disaster if Chen Cheng discovered them.
Thinking this, Chen Jiamu lifted his head and gave him a shallow peck on the lips. But Li Qi wasn’t satisfied. “Not enough.”
“Then let go of me.”
The moment Chen Jiamu spoke, Li Qi released him with lightning speed. Shaking out his sore arms, Chen Jiamu sighed helplessly, reached up to hold the back of Li Qi’s head, and kissed him earnestly.
Tongues intertwined, the wet sound of kissing filled the air. Chen Jiamu actually didn’t hate this feeling.
Because at eighteen, the moment those lips had grazed his neck, he knew he was a goner.
So, if Li Qi was entangled with him now, it was simply the karma from the seeds he had sown back then.
Years ago, he had pestered Li Qi. Now, it was Li Qi’s turn to pester him.
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