I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 57

Chapter 57: The Overbearing CEO’s Sweet Talk

In the tent, Huo Li and Chu Qing sat cross-legged, facing each other.

Huo Li’s expression was serious, and his already imposing features looked even fiercer.

Chu Qing glanced at him uneasily and asked in a small, tentative voice, “Mr. Huo… can I hold your hand?”

He reached out, cautiously trying to take his hand.

Huo Li didn’t stop him and gently held his hand back. “Qingbao, were you trying to please me just now?”

“I…” he opened his mouth, his eyes a little red, and held his hand tightly, his head bowed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry…”

He kneaded his hand and said gently, “Silly Qingbao, let me ask you a few questions. Will you answer me, okay?”

“Mmm, okay…!”

He smiled and said, “Between a sponsor and a canary, who is nobler?”

“It should be the sponsor…”

“Of course it’s the sponsor, without a doubt. Then let me ask you, between two lovers, who is nobler?”

He lowered his head. “I… I don’t know.”

“Then let’s put it this way. If Yu Weixi and Feng Yan were together, as each other’s boyfriends, who would be nobler?”

“This…” he said, unsure. “They’re… equal. Lovers are equal.”

“Right,” he said with a smile. “Then who am I to you?”

He sniffled and sobbed, “You’re my… my lover.”

He already knew what he was going to say. He turned his head away, not daring to look at him, his shoulders heaving.

“Mmm, you see, don’t you know?” he sighed, paused, and then gently pulled him into his arms.

“I’m your lover. Why do you have to please me like you’re pleasing a sponsor, a boss, or an outsider? It was like this today, and it was like this yesterday. Qingbao, I’m your boyfriend, not an outsider.”

“But I… I…” he sniffled. “I want to go…”

“I’m just advising you, not controlling you. If you insist on going, can I tie you up and lock you up to stop you?” he said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and kissed his ear. “Am I that bad?”

“But I… I’m afraid you’ll be angry. I’m afraid you’ll be unhappy…” As he said this, he was aggrieved, so aggrieved that his whole face flushed red.

“Don’t leave…”

Before, he wouldn’t have been so afraid, because after all, if you don’t have something, you won’t lose it. He had avoided him, and he had also avoided fear.

But now it was different. When he reached out and grabbed, the thing in his hand was just a small handful, the only handful in his life. If it fell, it would naturally be gone.

“You…”

Huo Li’s heart also felt a sourness.

Why is this little fool always overthinking things.

“Chu Qing, Qingbao, I’m your lover. My being good to you is not charity; it’s my duty. If I’m not good to you, then it’s my fault,” he said, pinching his cheek. “Do you understand?”

His face was a mess. After a long pause, he nodded blankly.

“My being good to you is my duty. If I’m not good to you, you have to scold me, you know?”

He sniffled and said in a trembling voice, “Then what if I’m not good to you…”

“Look at you,” he said helplessly, patting his cheek. “Do you think you can bully me? Can you be not good to me?”

“…”

He turned his head away.

He continued to ask, “Silly Qingbao, if I were not good to you now, would you not like me?”

“No, no…” he said anxiously. “I wouldn’t…”

“Mmm, I know,” he said, gently patting his back to soothe him. “Then put yourself in my shoes. If you’re not good to me, will I not like you?”

He was stunned.

Ah…?

Is it like that?

He continued to explain, “You fight with me, you argue with me, you’re temporarily not good to me… no matter what happens between us, you will still like me, and I will still like you. That’s what lovers are, right? If you like me, I will definitely like you. If you don’t like me anymore… I will still like you.”

He stared blankly at him.

“Qingbao, I love you. Sincerely.”

He was very serious, looking at his eyes as if he were making a vow, and said it word by word.

He grabbed him and could no longer hold it in, crying out loud.

“Silly Qingbao, I’m sorry…” he lowered his head and kissed the top of his hair. “It’s my fault. Don’t cry…”

He buried his head in his neck, his hands wrapped tightly around him.

“Qingbao…” at this point, he couldn’t care about anything else, his heart full of annoyance and guilt.

“Qingbao, don’t cry…”

He stroked his back with one hand and took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket with the other to coax him. “Be good, Qingbao. Eat some candy.”

He sobbed, “I’m not a child…!”

“Alright, then I’ll give you an adult’s candy.”

“Ngh…!”

His eyes widened.

He pressed the back of his head and kissed his lips.

The kiss was gentle and lingering, like a devout prayer, and even more like a lover’s comfort and sweet talk.

“Mr. Huo…” he lay on his shoulder, his body heaving as he sniffled, but he was not crying as much.

“Does an adult’s candy really work?” he said, patting his butt. “You little pervert.”

“I’m not…!” his ears were red, and he hugged him, burying his head in his neck.

“You’re not?”

“No!”

“Then just now…?” he raised an eyebrow, pinched his ear, and said with a smile, “You, you. Where did you learn that?”

“…”

He muttered aggrievedly, “I’m not a child. Don’t I know…”

“Then how did you think of it? Hmm? You little one, look how capable you are.”

“I…” he leaned against him and explained in a small voice, “Mr. Huo was angry, so I wanted to do something that he would like…”

He said helplessly, “I do like it, but if you wrong yourself to please me like this, then I don’t like it.”

“I’m not wronged!” he clarified. “Mr. Huo is my… that. I’m not wronged. I was just a little nervous…”

“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t, don’t say it…” he was also embarrassed thinking about it afterward and tapped his head. “Mr. Huo, forget it.”

“I can’t forget,” he deliberately teased. “It was too tempting. I can’t forget. I’ll think about it every night before I go to sleep.”

“…”

“Mr. Huo! I…”

But before he could finish, he was pressed to the ground by him.

“Mr. Huo…?” he looked at him nervously and saw him lean over.

“N-No, Mr. Huo, no…”

“You can do it for me, and I can do it for you.”

“I haven’t done it yet…”

He looked up and raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have a chance to do it next time. What’s the rush?”

“No, I’m not in a rush! I… ngh…”

His toes couldn’t help but curl.

…

“Little silly, get up. You have class in the afternoon,” he said, pulling him up, who had turned into a puddle of water. “Eat something first.”

He handed him a lunch box.

“Mr. Huo, you eat too…”

“Mmm, I’ll go to the bathroom and come back.”

“Huh?”

His face flushed red.

“Hurry up!”

“…”

But… I feel really sorry for him…?

After all, he’s a man, and he’s my boyfriend. He still has the reactions he should have.

He took a deep breath and chased after him.

“Mr. Huo, wait for me…!”

…

He was late for class in the afternoon, but the students didn’t mind. They were slacking off and drinking coffee with the new assistant.

“Teacher, the new assistant bought us coffee! Come and have some!”
“The assistant specially saved the best cup for you!”

Right… Luo Yucheng is gone, so the production team has hired a new assistant.

“Teacher Chu, we meet again.”
“Teacher An…?!”

He looked at the person in front of him—An Yize—and was both surprised and happy. He hadn’t expected it to be him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming…”

He said with a smile, “It was a last-minute decision today. I thought my schedule wouldn’t allow it before.”

He nodded.

“Now that Xixi has also withdrawn from the show due to injury, it’s a good thing I’m here. I can take care of you more,” he said, patting his shoulder with a smile. “Please take care of me in the future, Teacher Chu!”

“Please take care of me,” he said, letting out a sigh of relief. It was a good thing someone who was easy to get along with, and a friend, had come.

“Teacher Chu, have some coffee!” Wang Zhenglan found the coffee with his name on it from the side and handed it to him.

“Ah, I…”

He had just eaten his fill in the tent and really couldn’t drink anymore, but this was everyone’s kind intention, and he didn’t know how to politely refuse for a moment.

Huo Li smiled, went over, and took the coffee. “Teacher Chu just drank a full stomach of milk. He can’t drink coffee now. I’ll take it for him and keep it warm. We’ll have it tonight.”

“Mmm, mmm… thank you, Teacher An. Thank you all,” he said with a smile and a nod.

A moment later…

Wait?

He suddenly got something, and his ears immediately turned red. He shot a glare at him without a trace.

Huo Li rubbed his nose and left with the coffee, obediently.

“Tsk… you two are so sweet,” he said, rubbing his nose. “I’m suffocating.”

He paused, then smiled shyly.

In any case, the recording had not started yet. The students immediately gathered around and asked.

“Is Teacher Chu with Mr. Bodyguard?”
“Mr. Bodyguard takes such good care of Teacher Chu!”

“When did you guys get together?”

A group of students were like reporters.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and lowered his head, scratching his cheek. “Mmm…”

The room immediately erupted in cheers.

Faced with the overwhelming cheers, he said awkwardly, “We’re doing well now.”

“We wish Teacher Chu and Mr. Bodyguard all the best!”
“Wow, they’re really together!”

“I hope Teacher Chu will always be happy!”

“But… we haven’t planned to make it official yet,” he said, putting his index finger to his lips with a grin. “I hope you can keep it a secret.”

Although he said to keep it a secret, this was already a semi-public announcement. It didn’t really matter if he said it or not. Those who understood would naturally understand.

“Definitely!”
“Don’t worry, Teacher Chu!”

…

After the teaching was over, he returned to his tent and saw him sitting on the side, looking at an electronic document.

“You’re back,” he said, looking up with a smile. “The coffee is in the thermos. I’ve also brought back dinner.”

“Mmm…”

He lowered his gaze and couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked up and looked at him, who was smiling foolishly on the side, puzzled.

“Oh… nothing,” he said, clutching the hem of his clothes. “I just… miss the big tiger.”

“Hmm?”

He said nothing more and just sat down next to him, but after a few sips of coffee and a few bites of his bento, he couldn’t eat anymore.

“Eat more,” he said with a slight frown. Just as he was about to say something, his phone rang.

It was Mr. Pan.

He subconsciously glanced at him, and he immediately said with a smile, “Ah… it’s okay. I’ll go… and wash my hands.”

Just as he was about to get up, he took his wrist. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to hide.”

“Oh…”

“Good evening,” he said.

After he answered, Mr. Pan didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. “News from Z’s side. He and Huo Liao have started to ship the goods.”

“Good.”

The fish had already been hooked, but Huo Liao was stupid, and Z was not. He had dragged it out for a long time to test the waters and was only now officially starting.

He sneered. “They’re busy with business now, very cautious. They probably won’t come to trouble me.”

“That being said, you should still have some experts by your side, just in case. Especially since you have someone else with you now.”

“Mmm.”

The two didn’t talk for long and hung up after they finished the main points.

He looked elsewhere, pretending he didn’t know anything.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Old Pan and I lured Z and Huo Liao into a deal. After this deal is exposed, they’ll be in for it.”

“Oh…” he nodded, then asked a little curiously, “Are Z and Huo Liao your and Mr. Pan’s enemies?”

“I guess so. As for me and Huo Liao… that’s a feud that started with our parents’ generation. Z is a business rival.”

What he didn’t say was that it wasn’t just the feud from their parents’ generation, but also Huo Liao’s restlessness and… his previous life. When it came to him, he would not let it go.

“Oh…”

He naturally understood that he was making it sound light, but it must be a complex and dangerous situation. But he didn’t understand these things either.

“Mr. Huo, just take care of your own safety…” he asked, “Then Mr. Huo’s bankruptcy… was it because of them?”

Huo Li: “…”

He rubbed his chin and said cautiously, “Um… if I say…”

If I say I have a solid foundation, will you beat me up?

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

He rubbed his nose. “Eat more.”

He thought, I’d better think of the right words before I say it properly.

“I can’t eat anymore…”

He lay down and said in a low voice, “I… my head hurts, my back hurts.”

“What?” he said with a frown, putting down his document. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s okay…”

He curled up in his bed and said with a low laugh, “I’ll be fine after a sleep.”

“Take your medicine first.”

He pulled him up and fed him his medicine. Seeing that the pills in the jar were almost gone, he asked, “When are you going to the hospital for a follow-up?”

“I don’t know… after the show is over,” he said, turning his head away. “I’ll go by myself.”

“Be good. I’ll go with you. There’s no room for discussion on this.”

“…” he muttered. And you say you’re not domineering.

He smiled and pinched his nose. “You still want to go alone for this? That’s not sensible. If you don’t let me go with you, I won’t let you go to the audition.”

“Ah…?”

His eyes widened. “Mr. Huo agreed to let me go to the audition?”

“You want to go so much. What else can I do with you?”

“Thank you, Mr. Huo…!” he said, rubbing his back. “I’ll definitely take good care of myself.”

He said helplessly, “Mmm.”

He liked music. Instead of being idle, it was a good thing to let him use music as a source of comfort and learning.

And at that time, the deal on Z’s side should be at its most important stage. It would be a good thing to take him abroad to hide from the storm. He just had to have Starry Sky do a good job of keeping it a secret and not make it public.

Seeing him keep rubbing his back, he asked with a frown, “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.

It was really nothing. It was just the usual discomfort.

He would also feel down and uncomfortable from time to time, even though he should be very happy now.

“Qingbao, shall I read to you?”

“Ah…?”

“In the future, I can read to you before you go to sleep, or watch a documentary, a movie, or something.”

As he spoke, he took out a book. When he was on a date with him before, he had taken the time to buy several books that were suitable for him, all of which were very interesting literature or textbooks.

He lay lazily in bed and did not object.

He held him and began to read slowly.

His voice was low and steady. As he read the words, it was like a poem in the night.

He was nestled in his arms. His arm was around his waist, holding the book, and his head was resting on his shoulder as he read aloud.

When he encountered some obscure parts, he would also patiently explain.

“Mr. Huo knows everything…” he thought. He had said before that he was a rough man, but he knew so much, and he could even understand these books.

“I actually used to read quite a lot. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but it was a habit I developed in college. At that time, the teacher had us finish a book every few days and gave us a reading list.”

Only then did he remember that he had graduated from a famous university in the US.

“Mr. Huo, your alma mater is…?”

He named a name.

He was dumbfounded.

This is… one of the top ten business schools in the world…!”

No wonder…

He raised an eyebrow and pinched his waist with a smile. “What? Is it the first time you’ve discovered that your husband is so amazing?”

“N-No…” he lowered his head. “I just feel that I… I…”

“This is different. There’s no comparison. Look, I can’t even tell the five tones apart, and my Qingbao is a genius musician.”

“…Good,” he lowered his head. “It’s just that I always think of the bad side…”

The doctor had also often told him to change his habitual way of thinking, but he often couldn’t do it. As soon as something happened, besides palpitations and helplessness, there was sadness, and he had no energy to think.

“As long as you slowly understand the principles of how this world works, the laws of all things, many things… are actually not what they seem, and you’ll be enlightened,” he said with a smile. “Qingbao, just read more, exercise more, and live a good life in the future. It will get better and better.”

“Mmm, okay.”

He nodded obediently.

In the quiet night, there was only the chirping of cicadas outside the tent and his voice.

As he listened, he fell asleep.

…