Qi Jing’s mind went completely blank. He tilted his head back to look up at Bo Chengyan. “Sir…”
His wrist was suddenly yanked over, and the smart wristband was snapped back into place. It had a tracker inside.
Qi Jing hadn’t expected that taking it off would trigger an automatic alarm. But why hadn’t that happened at home?
“Because I set it that way,” Bo Chengyan said coolly.
Qi Jing almost thought he’d asked the question out loud, but he hadn’t spoken at all. How had Bo Chengyan known?
“Go say goodbye to your classmates.”
“And don’t come to places like this again.”
The manager had watched the entire exchange, and a strange suspicion grew heavier in his mind.
Not a single word of scolding.
Qi Jing lowered his head to look at his wrist. It had been gripped so tightly that it hurt, leaving a red mark.
The young man looked up and asked, “Are you mad at me, sir?”
Bo Chengyan hadn’t even responded yet when Qi Jing hurried over, his eyes misting up in moments.
He reached out, seeking a hug.
But his wrist was gripped again. Bo Chengyan pried his fingers open, revealing the pinch marks.
Qi Jing stammered, “I-I was nervous.”
Bo Chengyan reached up and pinched the back of the young man’s neck. His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled Qi Jing away in the opposite direction.
Like handling a cat.
“Be good,” he said with a frown. “Go say goodbye to your friends. We’re leaving.”
~~~
Thirty minutes later—
Qi Jing settled into the luxury car, clutching his backpack. He pursed his lips and tilted his head up to look at Bo Chengyan.
He drew in a breath.
Then quietly let it out.
He sat obediently, all muffled and still.
Bo Chengyan waited for a good while, but no stray thoughts came. The young man himself seemed free of any distractions.
When he glanced over, Qi Jing’s grip on the backpack was slipping bit by bit. His eyelids had already drifted shut.
Bo Chengyan frowned in confusion. How had he gotten so sleepy the moment they got in the car? Still, he reached over and gently took the backpack away.
Qi Jing’s body was already leaning crookedly. Without the backpack for support, he naturally slumped against the man beside him, his head coming to rest on Bo Chengyan’s shoulder.
“…”
But this time, Bo Chengyan didn’t push him away.
A hand brushed the hair from the young man’s forehead. The swelling there had already faded.
~~~
Qi Jing woke to a blast of cold air. The car door had been opened at some point. He gazed blankly out the window at the unfamiliar scenery. This wasn’t Brocade River Villas.
“Little Jing?”
Bo Chengyan prompted him. He’d originally reached out a hand to steady him, worried he might tumble out, but then thought better of it. The young man was plenty old enough.
He pulled his hand back.
But it was too late.
Qi Jing had already grabbed it. He stood outside, twisting his head around as if searching for something.
“Someone’s holding your backpack for you.”
Qi Jing nodded at that, then tilted his head up to look at Bo Chengyan again.
Bo Chengyan slipped his hand free. Panic flashed in Qi Jing’s eyes in an instant. He gripped tighter, his gaze turning misty.
He was led forward a couple of steps.
Then his hand was pried loose.
A tightness lodged in Qi Jing’s throat, something he couldn’t quite voice. What was he supposed to do?
He looked utterly pitiful.
Bo Chengyan stared at him for two or three seconds before reaching out to touch the young man’s neck. In a low voice, he said, “Don’t hold my hand out in public.”
[Why?]
“No reason.”
Qi Jing stood there, looking all aggrieved. After two or three seconds, the assistant spoke up. “Little Jing, this way.”
He followed along.
The wave of sadness faded quickly, replaced by curiosity.
Qi Jing hadn’t explored much of Capital City before, especially not in the last couple of years. Bo Chengyan had worried he’d fall behind at school and hired private tutors for him.
They’d filled up nearly all his winter and summer breaks…
It had worked out well enough, though. His grades had stabilized in the middle to upper range.
Qi Jing had no idea why anyone was watching him. He’d kept a careful distance from Bo Chengyan, and the elevator seemed private—no one else around.
It took them straight to the 26th Floor.
The assistant led him out, but Bo Chengyan pressed the button to go back down on his own.
Qi Jing blinked in surprise.
“Aren’t you coming?”
The assistant melted at the words, a smile just starting to form.
From not far off came Bo Chengyan’s voice. “Little Jing.”
The young man turned and hurried after him, not forgetting to add, “Goodbye.”
~~~
This was the first time any family member had stepped into the office…
The elevator doors slid shut.
Bo Chengyan rubbed his brow, unsure how to handle things. But the moment they entered his office, Qi Jing took hold of his hand.
Qi Jing looked up. “No one’s around now.”
“…”
The 26th Floor was expansive. It seemed the entire level was office space, done up in dark tones with mostly wooden furniture.
One whole wall was lined with bookshelves. A sofa sat nearby, and off in the distance was what looked like another room.
Qi Jing thought it resembled a massive living room—comfortable, too. No wonder Bo Chengyan rarely went back to Brocade River Villas.
“You like me?”
Qi Jing snapped back to attention. Realizing what the question meant, he nodded solemnly.
Bo Chengyan waited a long time. No inner voice emerged.
It only gave him a worse headache.
He guided Qi Jing to the sofa. Irritably, Bo Chengyan undid a few buttons on his shirt and checked his wristwatch.
A meeting was coming up.
Only twenty minutes left.
Qi Jing had been sitting, but he stood up behind Bo Chengyan and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
Bo Chengyan was caught off guard. He looked up at the young man. Qi Jing’s features were exceptional, like a delicate doll from a shop window.
Especially those eyes—light brown, with a natural warmth that put anyone gazing into them at ease.
“What’s wrong?”
Qi Jing said earnestly, “I shouldn’t have gone to the Yuan Sheng Clubhouse and ordered a host.”
Straight to the point.
Crystal clear.
Bo Chengyan’s eyelid twitched faintly. He crossed his legs and looked up at Qi Jing, forcing patience into his voice. “…So why did you order a host?”
Qi Jing was terribly nervous. Without thinking, he clasped his hands behind his back. He hadn’t expected to see Bo Chengyan again after just one day—let alone after messing up.
The young man wasn’t good at lying. Sincerely, he replied, “I wanted to learn.”
“Learn what?”
“How to please you.”
Bo Chengyan’s expression shifted. His gaze flicked away from Qi Jing for a moment, then returned after a pause. Puzzled, he asked, “Why do you need to please me?”
“Aren’t you keeping me?”
Bo Chengyan froze completely. The rumors outside did paint it that way, and he’d never bothered denying them.
After all, the young man did help fend off a lot of nuisances.
But he’d never put it in those terms himself.
“They say I’m your goldfinch.”
Qi Jing stood straight, hands still behind his back, eyes lowered to the man. He bit his lip. “Please don’t replace me, okay?”
“I’ll learn.”
He was always quick on the uptake.
Time ticked by slowly.
Bo Chengyan nearly laughed from sheer exasperation. In a soft voice, he asked, “So what did Little Jing learn?”
The young man took a couple of small steps forward.
Bo Chengyan watched him with cold eyes.
Qi Jing’s heart pounded wildly.
[How did it go again?]
[The hand… it was the hand…]
[…Uh, what if he won’t let me hold it?]
His eyes filled with confusion.
But right then, Bo Chengyan extended his hand. Qi Jing grabbed it happily.
Bo Chengyan’s brows remained furrowed.
Qi Jing’s cheeks flushed red. He clasped the man’s hand and tried to draw it upward, but it was too heavy.
He was tugged forward a step.
Qi Jing’s face tilted slightly downward—
At that moment, a commotion erupted at the door. It burst open without a knock.
“I just don’t believe it! Why won’t Bo Chengyan see me? Aren’t I his favorite little sister?”
“Stop blocking me!”
Her voice cut through like a knife. The moment the door flew open, it turned shrill and grating. Qi Jing startled, his foot slipping. He slammed hard into the leg of the coffee table.
He tumbled down.
A clumsy fall right into Bo Chengyan’s arms.
Bo Chengyan scooped him up lightly by the waist and settled him on his lap. Blood was already seeping through Qi Jing’s white sock.
Bo Chengyan’s gaze turned icy as it fixed on the intruder.
“Get her out.”
It was Chen Jiangqiao, the eldest daughter of the Chen Family and Chen Zhuo’s younger sister. She was fresh out of university, and her family wanted her to pursue further studies.
But instead of hitting the books or finding a job, she dreamed only of becoming Mrs. Bo.
The Chen and Bo families went back to their patriarchs, who had been comrades-in-arms. Bonds remained, and ties were close, but that old joking betrothal from their youth had long been scrapped.
Especially after Bo Chengyan had seized control of the shares.
Chen Jiangqiao burst into tears on the spot. She didn’t even wait for security—she bolted in disbelief.
Qi Jing had no idea who she was. Pain radiated from his injury, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He could barely stand it.
He wanted to cry, too.
“S-Sir…”
Bo Chengyan immediately summoned Lin Se, skipping the rest of the meeting entirely. He didn’t set Qi Jing down.
He just held him like that.
“It’s not looking good. What did he do to make it this bad?” Lin Se slipped the sock off the young man. The fibula was dislocated, blood flowing freely.
He hurriedly applied emergency care.
Lin Se said gravely, “Look, I’m not great with this. You should take him to the hospital.”
Qi Jing’s face had gone pale from the pain. He murmured softly, “Thank you.”
Lin Se’s heart melted in an instant. What a good-looking kid. Mildly, he replied, “You should thank him, too.”
The phrasing came out a bit oddly.
“There’s a wheelchair downstairs. Use that.”
“No need.”
Bo Chengyan scowled and lifted Qi Jing into his arms. He headed straight downstairs.
The meeting was, of course, postponed to the next day.
~~~
Nine o’clock that evening—
Hospital emergency room.
Qi Jing had been crying the whole time. Silent tears, because manually resetting a dislocated fibula was no easy task.
They’d tried several times.
He’d tried more than once to bite his lip, but Bo Chengyan noticed each time and pinched his chin. “Lin Se, go grab a cotton swab.”
Qi Jing tried to pull his chin free, but it was held fast. The tears on his cheeks were carefully wiped away.
Just then, a different doctor from the ER stepped in and gave his ankle a hard shove.
It popped back into place.
Tears welled up in Qi Jing’s eyes again.
It hurt.
The boy couldn’t help biting his lip; it was definitely going to break the skin… A metallic tang of blood filled his mouth.
Bo Chengyan withdrew his finger. It was bitten through, with tooth marks still visible around the wound.
Lin Se hurried over and paused, blinking. “Whoa…”
“Here, Cheng. You can use it.”
An acute fibular dislocation required an X-ray and MRI after manual reduction to confirm proper alignment and rule out any hidden damage.
By the time the full process was complete, it was well past midnight.
Qi Jing sat in a wheelchair, his ankle now swollen and wrapped in a full cast.
His eyes were still rimmed in red.
When he caught sight of Bo Chengyan’s hand, he stared in a daze… Had he done that? Had he bitten him?
Lin Se had nothing better to do, so he couldn’t help his curiosity about this kid—the boss couldn’t even give him telepathic instructions. Why couldn’t he hear his inner voice?
The young man had ordered some delivery porridge and held it out. “You’re Little Jing, right? Want some porridge?”
Qi Jing had stopped crying by now, but he had no appetite from the pain. He still had more tests ahead.
In a muffled voice, he said, “Sorry, I don’t want any…”
Lin Se waved his hands hurriedly. “No worries, no worries. But going so long without eating on an empty stomach isn’t good for your gut, Baby.”
Qi Jing really didn’t want any… His eyelids were swollen from all the crying.
But at that moment, Bo Chengyan snatched the porridge. His left hand still bore the wound, which he’d simply disinfected.
Qi Jing’s chin was pinched again as Bo Chengyan’s dark shadow loomed over him.
“Be good. Open up.”
The boy blinked in confusion.
[I don’t want…]
His teeth were pried apart by Bo Chengyan’s fingertip once more, and the porridge was forced down his throat.
“Mm…”
Bo Chengyan gently rubbed the back of Qi Jing’s neck to soothe him. “You need to eat at least a little.”
Lin Se watched the scene unfold and crossed himself over his chest. “God forgive. God forgive.”
~~~
