34
On the way back to the hotel, Qi Zhao glanced at Qi Wei, who was sitting beside him in the back seat, Qi Wei’s words still echoing in his mind.
Just a little concern and worry, and Qi Wei was so happy.
Was it because he liked him too much, or because he had never received…
It should be the former, right?
Qi Zhao thought that no matter what, Qi Wei shouldn’t have never received even a little bit of genuine care.
Because Qi Zhao had a “battle” to fight tomorrow, Qi Wei didn’t cling to him for too long. He dropped Qi Zhao off at his room and watched him enter before turning to go to his own room.
The high-definition surveillance footage had been sent to his email. Qi Wei clicked on it and saw Qi Zhao walking with him in the private restaurant’s courtyard, them eating together, and later, them sitting on the veranda, eating watermelon…
Qi Wei watched it once, then rewound it and played it in slow motion, using the keyboard and mouse to take screenshots, and finally setting the image of him and Qi Zhao sitting side by side on the veranda as his desktop wallpaper.
Qi Wei gazed at his computer screen tenderly. Since he couldn’t sleep… he might as well watch it again.
The next morning, when Tang Huaiyuan’s assistant knocked on Qi Zhao’s door to ask him what he wanted for breakfast, he saw Qiu Ji standing guard.
He recognized Qiu Ji, of course, so after a moment of hesitation, seeing that Qiu Ji wasn’t stopping him, he tentatively rang the doorbell.
And then…
Qi Wei opened the door.
Assistant: “?!”
Eyes wide with shock.
His speech was a little slurred. “S-Second Young Master Qi.”
Qi Wei seemed quite approachable. “Are you here to discuss something with Qi Zhao?”
The assistant instinctively replied, “I was just going to ask Team Leader Qi what he wanted for breakfast…”
Qi Wei raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to look inside. “Ah Zhao, the assistant Tang Huaiyuan assigned you is quite thoughtful.”
His tone was a bit strange. Before the assistant could understand what he meant, Qi Zhao walked out, giving Qi Wei a helpless look.
Qi Wei met his gaze and smiled slightly. Qi Zhao turned to his assistant. “Thank you, but there’s no need to trouble yourself. You can go eat first. Come back with the materials at ten, and we’ll do a final confirmation.”
The bidding started in the afternoon.
“Okay.”
The assistant nodded quickly. “Then I won’t disturb you.”
Although Qi Wei wasn’t releasing his pheromones, the pressure…
The assistant wisely chose to retreat.
But as he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of Qi Wei reaching out and taking Qi Zhao’s hand, murmuring, “Ah Zhao, don’t be angry. I thought it was Qiu Ji looking for me, so I opened the door.”
“…I’m not angry.”
Then Qi Zhao sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “I just find it a little amusing that you’re even jealous of this…”
The assistant didn’t hear the rest of their conversation.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know about Qi Zhao and Qi Wei’s relationship; after all, he was one of Tang Huaiyuan’s most trusted assistants. He was just a little surprised… It wasn’t his first time meeting Qi Wei, but his impression of him was…
Well.
A businessman.
An absolute businessman, a capitalist, a cunning wolf in fox’s clothing.
But this Qi Wei…
Was he possessed?
And Qi Zhao’s demeanor was also different.
After interacting with Qi Zhao for the past few days, the assistant felt that the former eldest son of Qi Mao’s reputation as a genius was well-deserved. Especially Qi Zhao’s sharp mind and efficient work style… always made him feel a sense of awe.
But the way Qi Zhao spoke just now… was full of indulgence.
The assistant thought that these two didn’t seem like they were in a contractual relationship.
Qi Wei had come to find Qi Zhao early in the morning, bringing breakfast with him.
It was still local Z Country breakfast: soy milk, youtiao (fried dough sticks), and cifantuan (sticky rice rolls). He knew Qi Zhao’s habits. Even if he had work in the afternoon, he would still wake up early, so Qi Zhao could have a fresh breakfast as soon as he finished washing up, not having to go hungry even for a moment.
Qi Zhao didn’t ask how Qi Wei had timed it so perfectly. In the adult world, some things were understood tacitly.
Besides… Qi Zhao himself didn’t mind, so it didn’t matter.
Qi Zhao hadn’t changed his clothes yet, and neither had Qi Wei. So Qi Zhao asked him, “Will you go to the company after having lunch with me?”
Qi Wei nodded. “I’ll go for an inspection after the lunch break.”
Qi Zhao knew he wanted to accompany him to the bidding venue and couldn’t help but feel a little helpless. “You know this isn’t my first time participating in a bidding.”
So there was no need to worry about him.
Qi Wei slowly reached out, and Qi Zhao didn’t dodge, letting him wrap his arm around his waist, his head lowering to rest in the crook of his neck, his voice muffled. “I won’t get out of the car. I’ll just take you to the entrance and watch you go in.”
Qi Zhao didn’t understand why it had to be so complicated, but he knew that if Qi Wei insisted, he couldn’t refuse.
It wasn’t that Qi Zhao couldn’t say no; if he insisted, Qi Wei would listen. But the sensitive, insecure alpha would overthink it, and his already unstable gland would become even more so.
There was no need for that.
So Qi Zhao agreed.
But after agreeing, he thought for a moment and asked, “Qi Wei, is something wrong? I feel like you’ve been a little… different since we arrived in Huating?”
Qi Wei hadn’t been this clingy in Kyoto, as if he couldn’t let him out of his sight for even a second.
The room he booked was also next to his, and the doors faced each other in an L-shape, so if Qi Zhao left his room to go anywhere, he would definitely pass by Qi Wei’s door.
Qi Wei paused, not surprised that Qi Zhao had noticed, but when Qi Zhao asked, the arm that was loosely around his waist tightened involuntarily, pulling Qi Zhao closer, their bodies pressed against each other through their clothes.
Qi Zhao tilted his chin up slightly, waiting. After a few seconds, amidst the sound of their heartbeats, which he couldn’t tell whose was louder, he didn’t get an answer from Qi Wei, so he spoke again—
“Qi Wei?”
He was thinking that if Qi Wei didn’t want to say anything, he wouldn’t ask, when Qi Wei said softly, “You used to dote on Qi Wense a lot. Are you… still attached to the Qi family because of him?”
Qi Wei couldn’t even bring himself to say the words “go back” or “return.”
So it was because of this.
Qi Zhao didn’t question how Qi Wei knew he used to dote on Qi Wense. He wanted to reassure Qi Wei, but his feelings for Qi Wei… he hadn’t sorted them out yet.
So he could only use the contract as an excuse.
“Qi Wei.”
Qi Zhao said softly, “We’ve signed a contract. You don’t have to worry.”
However, these words didn’t seem to reassure Qi Wei.
Because the alpha, who had been holding him with one arm, now embraced him tightly with both arms, binding him to himself like a chain.
Qi Wei no longer leaned against his neck in a show of vulnerability, but raised his head, his large hand pressing against the back of Qi Zhao’s head, pulling him closer.
Qi Zhao was caught off guard, his face buried in Qi Wei’s chest. He paused slightly, his body stiff from awkwardness, but he didn’t push Qi Wei away.
He was afraid that if he pushed, this insecure alpha would lose control on the spot.
“Ah Zhao.”
Qi Wei lowered his head, burying the lower half of his face in Qi Zhao’s hair, his hot breath and voice washing over Qi Zhao. “You know very well.”
Qi Wei’s voice was soft. “If you want, that contract can be voided at any time.”
From seven years ago, when he stopped Qi Zhao and blurted out that he could dig out his gland for him; from Qi Zhao’s return, their reunion at the dinner table, when Qi Wei couldn’t help but go all in, staking everything he had on Qi Zhao with a single sentence; from his loss of control during his rut, yet still regaining his sanity because of Qi Zhao’s fear, holding his hand and pulling the trigger of the tranquilizer gun…
He had lost completely.
So what if there was a contract?
So what if he had schemed for so many years?
The moment Qi Zhao appeared, the moment he stood before him, he had discarded all his cards, his carefully laid plans ruined, with nothing left to truly bind Qi Zhao to him.
Because Qi Zhao definitely knew.
Qi Zhao moved his head and met Qi Wei’s dark eyes, his breath hitching before he lowered his gaze again.
He did… know.
If he wanted to leave, he could easily make Qi Wei let him go. Contracts and agreements were useless between them. Because Qi Wei truly loved him.
Not a twisted love born from possessiveness, but a possessive and controlling desire twisted by love.
But what answer did Qi Wei want from him now?
A lie-filled “Don’t worry, I like you too”?
Qi Zhao lowered his head further, his forehead resting against Qi Wei’s chest.
He didn’t want to lie to Qi Wei.
Qi Zhao moved his lips, and after a moment of silence, he finally spoke. “Qi Wei, I don’t want to lie to you.”
Qi Wei paused, then held Qi Zhao even tighter.
His arms truly tightened, so tight that Qi Zhao felt a momentary difficulty breathing, even forced to tilt his head back, his mouth slightly open to catch his breath.
But even so, Qi Zhao didn’t push him away, just letting Qi Wei hold him with a strength that threatened to crush him, and slowly said, his voice slightly strained, “But I can promise you, I will never leave you.”
He reassured Qi Wei, “I promised you, I won’t leave you, no matter what happens. So even if I did dote on Qi Wense before, I won’t leave you.”
Qi Wei hummed in response. Qi Zhao didn’t know if he had heard him, but the alpha’s arms didn’t loosen their grip, and he even murmured softly, “So you really did dote on Qi Wense a lot.”
“…”
He hadn’t used “a lot,” and there was an “even if” before it.
Qi Zhao sighed. “Qi Wei, he’s my younger brother, we’re related by blood. At least to the past me, he was family.”
And…
Qi Zhao opened his mouth but didn’t speak.
Qi Wei also remained silent. After a long silence, just as Qi Wei was about to say it was okay, Qi Zhao spoke again.
His voice trembled almost imperceptibly, the unfamiliarity of laying bare his heart, also a testament to his courage. “Perhaps, in your eyes, I was carefree and unrestrained before, but actually, I was also subtly trying to please Qi Mu, to please Jiang Qingyue. As if that would make us a real family… That’s why I was good to Qi Wense.”
It wasn’t exactly doting, but a kind of fear and insecurity that he had only realized today.
He was afraid that if he wasn’t close to them, he wouldn’t be part of the family.
Qi Zhao didn’t like facing that version of himself; he found him childish and ridiculous.
But he had to admit that at this moment, just releasing a small part of the darkness hidden in his heart made him want to throw it all out.
Because it was truly tiring.
Especially since he knew that Qi Wei was someone who could accept him completely, flaws and all.
So Qi Zhao, without realizing it, leaned closer into Qi Wei’s embrace, his voice muffled. “Thinking about it now, it was really silly.”
Did true family require such desperate attempts to please?
Qi Wei closed his eyes and held Qi Zhao even tighter, the jealousy gone.
He lowered his head, burying his face completely in Qi Zhao’s hair, his voice even hoarser than Qi Zhao’s. The heartache revealed by Qi Zhao’s few words made the alpha feel at a loss, making him want to rip off the heads of Qi Mu, Jiang Qingyue, and Qi Wense and present them to Qi Zhao.
Such a clumsy way to seek affection.
But he also knew that Qi Zhao wouldn’t like that.
So he could only offer what he considered pale words of comfort. “It wasn’t silly.”
Qi Wei whispered, “Ah Zhao is the smartest person in the world.”
But these words were enough for Qi Zhao.
Because what mattered wasn’t what Qi Wei said, but the emotions he conveyed. “Qi Wei, thank you.”
He thought he could better face this competition with Qi Wense this afternoon, perhaps their last one.
Consider it… a final closure.
Thinking of this, Qi Zhao suddenly remembered something. “By the way, I want to borrow a hundred million from you. Is that okay?”
He knew Qi Wei would agree.
Having a debt in Qi Wei’s hands would probably make him feel a little more secure, right?
