Chapter 38: The Art of the Coquettish Spouse
The low growls and sounds of impact from the bedroom didn’t last long, but they were more than enough to leave Jiang Zhaosheng, waiting outside, feeling irritable. He set down his water glass, walked to the guest room door, and kicked it open.
The scene inside was exactly as expected.
Bai Yu’s glasses were crooked and his hair was a mess. He was languidly wiping a red mark from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, his eyes fixed on his opponent with icy disdain.
Opposite him, Qin Yichuan was clutching the wound on the back of his neck, blood seeping through the edges of the fresh bandages once more.
Clearly, after their brief silence, the conflict had escalated into a short-lived physical brawl.
Seeing Jiang Zhaosheng standing in the doorway with an expressionless face, Bai Yu knew he was angry. His heart tightened, and he quickly spoke up to smooth things over.
“Mr. Qin seems somewhat dissatisfied with my treatment. He became a bit… emotional.”
Qin Yichuan was livid, struggling as if he wanted to lunge forward again. “You damn four-eyes, you’re full of shit! Just now you clearly—”
“Oh? Which of you little children wants to tattle first?”
Jiang Zhaosheng stayed at the threshold without entering. In truth, he wasn’t even angry. Looking at this chaotic, “chicken-flying-dog-jumping” scene, his heart didn’t feel a single ripple.
However, the look in his eyes was one of pure pity—the kind one might reserve for two stray dogs rolling in a mud pit, getting themselves filthy while somehow believing they were being heroic.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two men.
The two Alphas, who had been at each other’s throats just a moment ago, fell silent simultaneously. Even though Jiang Zhaosheng hadn’t said much, the atmosphere felt like a kindergarten teacher catching two little boys misbehaving. An inexplicable sense of guilt spread through both men.
They instinctively moved away from each other, pulling back the restless, surging pheromones that saturated the air.
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t bother with them further. A second glance felt like a waste of his time. He turned and walked back to the living room, leaving the two silent men in a room full of awkwardness.
He sank heavily into the sofa and rubbed the space between his brows as a wave of irritability and powerlessness crashed over him. The shadow of Shen Qiming, the stupid and out-of-control bickering of the Alphas before him… it all made him feel suffocated.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhaosheng felt a desperate urge to smoke a cigarette or drink some hard liquor. He wasn’t addicted to such things and knew they were harmful, but in this moment, he needed something to numb the edge of reality.
“Do you have cigarettes? Or alcohol?” he asked, not directed at anyone in particular.
Bai Yu keenly captured the frustration in Jiang Zhaosheng’s voice. Grasping at the chance for redemption, he asked:
“Do you have any at home?”
“Jiang Wan keeps a strict eye on me. There probably aren’t any,” Jiang Zhaosheng stated flatly. He didn’t seem to find it odd to ask his “guests” to fetch him supplies in his own home.
“The convenience store downstairs should sell them. What brand do you want? And what kind of liquor?”
Since they couldn’t exactly send Qin Yichuan out while he was wrapped in bandages, Bai Yu took charge. He stepped back into the role of a helpful friend, knowing Jiang Zhaosheng needed an outlet and refraining from preaching about healthier methods.
“Anything,” Jiang Zhaosheng replied, closing his eyes and leaning against the back of the sofa, too drained to think.
Bai Yu didn’t press further. He simply nodded. “Wait for me.” He turned and headed for the door, his movements crisp and efficient.
The moment Bai Yu left, the guest room door creaked open just a crack. Qin Yichuan, clutching his throbbing neck and grimacing, crept out like a thief. Remembering his earlier behavior, a cold sweat broke out across his back as he stole a cautious look at Jiang Zhaosheng on the sofa.
He sat down on the far end of the sofa, not daring to get too close. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t help but speak:
“Um… Jiang Zhaosheng. Honestly, I think… you don’t need to be that afraid of Shen Qiming.”
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t open his eyes, nor did he acknowledge him.
Qin Yichuan continued on his own:
“Look, no matter how powerful he is, so what? He loves you… or rather, he’s obsessed with possessing you. That is his greatest weakness.”
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t feel that letting Qin Yichuan see his fear was shameful. If someone had to see him at his most pathetic and bedraggled, Qin Yichuan was, ironically, the person he worried about the least.
“Mhm. And then?”
Am I really having a conversation with this idiot? Jiang Zhaosheng thought, staring at his ceiling behind closed lids. Maybe I’m getting too nostalgic…
“You should use that against him! Just like how you stab me in the heart every time, you should stab him right in his! Let him feel the agony of a broken heart for once!”
Seeing that Jiang Zhaosheng wasn’t getting angry, Qin Yichuan lowered his voice slightly and continued:
“Besides… I think Shen Qiming’s shadow over you is so deep that it makes you instinctively reject any Alpha who shows interest in you.”
“Actually… actually, you could totally turn the tables and use them.”
Jiang Zhaosheng kept his eyes closed. His breathing seemed to have leveled out a bit as he listened in silence, offering no reaction. Qin Yichuan couldn’t begin to guess what he was thinking.
“And then?” After a long while, Jiang Zhaosheng asked.
Encouraged, Qin Yichuan continued his “lesson”:
“Seriously! You have to learn to use your advantages! For example… you could try acting a bit spoiled with them? If your attitude is softer, many things become a lot easier to handle…”
At this, Jiang Zhaosheng finally opened his eyes. Those jewel-like eyes gazed quietly at Qin Yichuan. When he wasn’t angry or annoyed, the feminine shape of his eyes was incredibly prominent, reminiscent of a deep, bottomless lake or sea—an inner world approaching absolute stillness.
“For example?” he asked tonelessly, his voice devoid of ups and downs.
Qin Yichuan felt a bit lightheaded under that gaze. He had only been speaking off the cuff… but since he had started, he had to see it through. Steeling himself, he performed an incredibly childish and embarrassing demonstration on the spot. He pressed his palms together, held them against his cheek, and squeezed out a “cute” expression as he looked at Jiang Zhaosheng.
“For example… like this? Act like you really admire them and need them…”
Looking at his “display,” Jiang Zhaosheng’s eyes finally flickered with a vivid emotion: the pity one uses for a fool.
Qin Yichuan’s face flushed red, but he still coaxed:
“Give it… give it a try? Just once?”
Jiang Zhaosheng remained silent for two seconds. Then, under Qin Yichuan’s watchful gaze, he actually raised his hands. With a deadpan expression, he pressed his palms together and held them against his left cheek, pausing for a second. Then, he moved them to his right cheek and tilted his head.
“—Like this?”
No expression, no tone, not even a change in his gaze.
The coldness of Jiang Zhaosheng’s face combined with that youthful gesture created a bizarrely contrasting and lethal effect.
Regardless, Qin Yichuan was thoroughly conquered. His mind was filled with that one cheesy, dramatic line: I’d give you my life.
He abruptly covered his nose, the tips of his ears turning a blood-red as his heart hammered like a drum. Jiang Zhaosheng had performed it with zero soul, so why was the impact so devastating?!
To hide his loss of composure, he coughed twice and hurriedly grabbed a pen from the table, focusing on Jiang Zhaosheng’s manuscript. He pivoted the topic at lightning speed:
“Ahem! Th-that… the map you drew of Shen Qiming’s old strongholds has a few errors. I’ve updated it for you based on the latest intel. I also marked a few of the new safe houses he’s set up…”
Jiang Zhaosheng lowered his hands. He’s actually useful.
Qin Yichuan wasn’t completely without merit; for instance, his memory was excellent. Jiang Zhaosheng’s draft map was now covered in dense markings. As he looked at the layout—far more rigorous than he had imagined—and the constantly updated bases, a profound sense of powerlessness began to seep into his heart.
He gave up on looking at Shen Qiming’s map, leaning back against the sofa and staring at the ceiling as he murmured to himself:
“…He really is impressive. I almost want to just buy a boat ticket and run away to some tiny island where no one knows me.”
If Qin Yichuan’s markings were correct and Shen Qiming had developed this rapidly over the years, Jiang Zhaosheng truly was a bird in a cage.
Seeing Jiang Zhaosheng in this rare, vulnerable state with his guard down, Qin Yichuan felt that urge to protect him and make him happy surge up again.
He carefully watched the man’s expression and inched closer, his voice softening:
“That’s exactly why you should try acting spoiled. What does it matter how much money or power Shen Qiming has?”
“You can find… other ‘pursuers’ to help! Don’t try to carry it all on your own. Let me teach you.”
As he spoke, he once again pressed his palms to his cheek, his eyes shining as he looked at Jiang Zhaosheng to demonstrate:
“Just say… ‘Husband, help me’? How about it? Give it a go?”
Jiang Zhaosheng gave him a lazy side-glance.
Qin Yichuan only said this because he wanted Jiang Zhaosheng to return to his normal state—even if that meant the man grabbing him by the hair and beating him. He just wanted the Alpha to vent his emotions. This version of the man before him felt like someone he couldn’t quite grasp, and it made his heart race with anxiety.
Just then, Bai Yu returned with the cigarettes and alcohol, placing a pack and a lighter on the coffee table.
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t question the fact that Bai Yu had bought a pack of “ladies’ cigarettes.” He tore open the box, pulled out a slender cigarette, placed it between his lips, and leaned down to light it.
He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled a cloud of grey-white smoke, the haze blurring his overly exquisite features.
Bai Yu instinctively went to the kitchen to get glasses. Jiang Zhaosheng leaned back, the slender cigarette held between his jade-like fingers. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. The tar scent of the ladies’ cigarette was light, mixed with the aroma of mint and peach—Jiang Zhaosheng must have crushed the flavor capsule in the filter.
Watching him smoke, Qin Yichuan was dazed. He couldn’t help but think that if anyone with a “hand fetish” saw this, they wouldn’t be able to look away.
But Jiang Zhaosheng ignored him, leaving him feeling a bit embarrassed by his previous performance.
He scratched his head, about to say something else to cheer him up.
“Stupid dog…” Jiang Zhaosheng finally deigned to turn his gaze back to him, speaking as if talking to himself. “Hand.”
Qin Yichuan glanced around the living room and understood instantly—Jiang Zhaosheng wanted to use him as an ashtray.
This was a bit…
As if possessed, he obeyed.
Jiang Zhaosheng reached out. He didn’t flick the ash from the cigarette. Instead, he took the glowing red cherry and cruelly pressed it out into Qin Yichuan’s open palm.
“Sss…”
There were calluses on his palm, so the small flame wasn’t enough to leave a lasting wound, but a sharp, stinging heat still radiated through him. Qin Yichuan gritted his teeth and didn’t pull back. He stared straight at Jiang Zhaosheng, as if this trivial physical pain was far less important than capturing every single shift in the expression of the person before him.
Jiang Zhaosheng tilted his head slightly, taking in the Alpha’s look of endured pain before languidly withdrawing his hand, leaving the crushed cigarette butt in the center of Qin’s palm. Then, he tilted his face up and exhaled a final wisp of white smoke. The haze drifted over his gorgeous eyes, making him look like a spirit stepped out of a kaleidoscopic ukiyo-e painting—an ethereal creature specialized in enchanting hearts, yet carrying the scent of the mortal world.
He gave a tiny smile. Using a voice made slightly raspy by the smoke, he softened his tone, looked into Qin Yichuan’s eyes, and said:
“Husband, help me.”
Qin Yichuan: “!!!”
Bai Yu: “???”
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