In a hurry, Qiao Nan turned around, pretending he was just looking for a book but couldn’t find one, his face showing just the right amount of surprise.
“Didn’t Zhao Bo say the meeting would take another half an hour? It’s over already?”
There was an early end.
Actually, he’d received a message from Zhao Bo, saying he’d already arrived and didn’t want to keep him waiting too long.
Pei Xu looked at him and replied, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the bookshelf.
When he saw that one file folder had been moved, his brows twitched almost imperceptibly, but he looked back at Qiao Nan, asking with deep meaning, “Nan Nan, what were you just doing?”
“It was too boring, so I was just looking for something to read.”
Qiao Nan didn’t meet his eyes, instead walking away from the bookshelf and plopping down on the sofa.
“Why did you have Zhao Bo bring me over to Xu Nan?”
Pei Xu said, “I just wanted us to go home together. Nan Nan, don’t you want to go back with me?”
Qiao Nan couldn’t answer that.
Actually, when he first learned Pei Xu wouldn’t be picking him up himself, he’d felt a bit inexplicably annoyed.
But now, hearing him say this, Qiao Nan raised his chin with a reserved air and declared righteously, “I don’t.”
Pei Xu laughed, looking like he didn’t believe his words at all.
“How about we get dinner before heading back?”
Qiao Nan was eager to leave this place, afraid that if he stayed any longer Pei Xu would notice something was off, so he nodded repeatedly.
“Let’s eat hotpot at the place across the street. I’m hungry anyway.”
Pei Xu had no objections and went out with him.
Qiao Nan led, Pei Xu followed.
When closing the door behind him, Pei Xu glanced once more at the bookshelf, confirming that the file folder had indeed been moved.
To be safe, he’d moved most of the sketchbooks and photo albums to Platinum Court, leaving only this one in the lounge.
Occasionally, when he was tired from work and took a break, he’d flip through it.
Qiao Nan must have seen everything.
Pei Xu closed the lounge door, composed himself, and walked toward Qiao Nan with a smile.
***
The two of them went to the hotpot restaurant in the mall across from Xu Nan Technology, the one Qiao Nan loved.
It was late autumn turning to early winter, and Nanjiang had already grown cold.
The steaming hotpot did a great job of driving away the chill.
Pei Xu was in charge of cooking the food; Qiao Nan was in charge of eating, his lips turning bright red from the spice.
He picked up his iced cola and took a big gulp, finally feeling his mouth wasn’t so numb.
His eyes darted around before landing on Pei Xu.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Pei Xu placed the cooked beef tripe in Qiao Nan’s plate and replied unhurriedly, “I’ve been a bit inflamed lately.”
It would have been a normal thing to say, if only he hadn’t looked at Qiao Nan with that ambiguous, heated, lingering gaze as he spoke.
Qiao Nan understood belatedly, but didn’t rise to the bait.
Instead, he suddenly remembered the file folder in the lounge.
Always thinking about all sorts of nonsense, no wonder he’s inflamed.
He pretended not to understand, continuing to cook food in the hotpot.
But in his mind, he was thinking about that sketch at Platinum Court.
He wanted to confirm his suspicions.
“Tomorrow morning I’m going to shoot arrows with Qian Chuan and the others. The archery range is close to Platinum Court, so I won’t go back to Binjiang tonight. I’ll just stay at Platinum Court.”
Pei Xu glanced at him and smiled in agreement.
After they finished hotpot, they went straight back to Platinum Court.
Qiao Nan was already quite familiar with this place.
Like a king inspecting his territory, he made a few rounds before picking a bedroom for himself.
“I’ll stay in this one.”
The guest room he chose happened to be diagonally opposite Pei Xu’s master bedroom, quite far apart.
Pei Xu gave him a half-smile, as if tacitly agreeing.
“Go ahead and do your own thing for a while. I still have some work to finish up.”
With that, he went into the study.
Qiao Nan watched his back, pondering what excuse he could use to go into the study and verify his suspicions.
***
But in truth, after entering the study, Pei Xu didn’t have any real work to do.
He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling bookcase and unlocked one section with a combination lock.
Inside, the folders were neatly arranged and labeled by date.
Pei Xu’s fingers brushed over the perfectly lined-up folders, his eyes darkening slightly.
If Qiao Nan wanted to look, he’d let him.
He was bound to find out sooner or later anyway.
Pei Xu left the cabinet door half open, glanced at the visual glass wall hidden behind the curtain, then slowly walked out.
Qiao Nan was sitting on the living room sofa playing with his phone, facing just the right direction to see the study.
When he saw Pei Xu come out, he stood up naturally.
“Finished your work? I want to use the computer.”
Pei Xu had almost no secrets from him in this regard.
Qiao Nan used to come and go from his study as he pleased, and even knew his computer password.
He just needed to act as usual.
As expected, Pei Xu nodded.
“I’m done. Go ahead, I’ll take a shower.”
Qiao Nan entered the study with perfect composure.
To avoid looking suspicious, he deliberately left the door open.
He sat at the desk first, pretended to fiddle with the computer for a while, and only after hearing the master bedroom door close did he stand up, ready to check the wall adjacent to the master bedroom.
But his gaze was first drawn to the half-open bookcase.
Inside the black solid-wood bookcase, gray file folders were neatly lined up, their spines labelled and numbered by date.
They were exactly the same as the file folder he’d found in the lounge.
His heart suddenly sped up.
Without hesitation, he walked over to the cabinet.
He randomly pulled one out and, seeing the carefully preserved sketches inside, felt a surge of indescribable emotions.
Heart palpitations, nervousness, maybe even fear, but not the kind that made him want to run away.
More like confusion.
He was gripped by the panic of realizing he might never have truly known Pei Xu.
Remembering when Pei Xu had told him, “This is the real me,” Qiao Nan suddenly felt lost.
He flipped through folder after folder mechanically, his brain lagging from the flood of information, not even noticing when Pei Xu came in.
“Nan Nan, what are you daydreaming about?”
Pei Xu’s low, gentle voice sounded in his ear, startling Qiao Nan so much he jumped, goosebumps rising on his back.
He turned around and saw Pei Xu standing just behind him, his gaze shifting ambiguously between Qiao Nan and the bookcase.
Fortunately, he’d already put the folder back without being noticed.
Pei Xu was probably just suspicious. Qiao Nan’s overheated mind spun rapidly, and he calmly said, “I remember there’s a copy of ‘The Marquise de Sade’ here. I was just talking about it with Qiu Ran and the others earlier, and there was a disagreement about a plot point. I wanted to check it.”
Pei Xu made a noncommittal “oh,” his gaze lingering on the bookcase, but it was hard to tell if he believed him or not.
He beckoned to Qiao Nan, gesturing for him to follow.
“I read that book a while back. It’s over here.”
Qiao Nan followed him to the desk, only to see Pei Xu sit in the large leather chair and pull open a drawer to his left. “It’s right here.”
There were indeed a few books in the drawer.
Playing along, Qiao Nan hesitated before reaching in, but was caught off guard when Pei Xu grabbed him by the waist and pulled him onto his lap.
He was pressed against the edge of the desk, with the heavy wooden desk in front of him and Pei Xu’s broad, warm chest behind him.
Only one thought filled Qiao Nan’s mind: he’s been found out.
He tried to squirm away in a panic.
“What are you doing?”
“Nan Nan saw everything.”
Pei Xu tightened his arms, his chest pressing closer, the tip of his nose brushing lightly against Qiao Nan’s neck.
Having just showered, he was casually draped in a bathrobe, the collar slightly open so Qiao Nan could feel the heat radiating from his skin.
It was scorching.
“It was on purpose!”
Qiao Nan realized now that Pei Xu must have noticed in the lounge and had been playing along with him the whole time.
This was clearly a trap.
Pei Xu gave a short, low laugh.
“Is there anything else Nan Nan wants to know? I’ll tell you everything.”
Qiao Nan kept a straight face. “Let me go first, then I’ll tell you.”
But Pei Xu said, “There’s something else you haven’t seen yet.”
He took out the books from the drawer, then pulled out a remote control from the inner compartment.
With a press, the decorative blinds on the wall opposite the desk slowly rose, revealing the master bedroom hidden behind.
Qiao Nan’s pupils contracted.
He didn’t even have the strength to struggle, just stared blankly.
“Are you scared, Nan Nan?”
Pei Xu watched his expression closely, his fingers gently tracing the line of Qiao Nan’s face.
Qiao Nan shook his head.
He’d already guessed, so when it was confirmed, he wasn’t scared.
Pei Xu smiled, softly biting his earlobe.
“Do you like the pictures I drew for you?”
“When did you learn to sketch?”
“During the time I was tutoring you.”
Back when Qiao Nan suddenly decided in his second year of high school to apply to the art academy, Pei Xu found a top art tutor for him and personally crammed him on cultural subjects.
He learned to sketch then.
Remembering how Pei Xu had to work on his graduation thesis while tutoring him late into the night, Qiao Nan’s tone unconsciously softened as he muttered, “Pervert.”
Learning to sketch just to draw these indecent things.
“That counts as being a pervert?”
Pei Xu laughed so hard his chest shook, his hand wandering as he pressed Qiao Nan closer.
“There are even more perverted things. Do you want to try?”
Qiao Nan did not. He shook his head desperately and tried to struggle, but Pei Xu had already found his weak spot.
His resistance quickly crumbled, and all he could do was cling to Pei Xu’s arm, panting against his chest.
Pei Xu turned his face and kissed him.
The double stimulation made Qiao Nan’s eyes redden with unbearable emotion, tears gathering at the corners.
Maybe feeling he’d compromised too quickly and lost face, he pressed his lips together, refusing to make a sound.
Which only made the tears at the corners of his eyes seem even more fragile.
Pei Xu’s lips traveled upward, licking away the tears at the corner of his eye.
Tasting the salty bitterness, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you like it now?”
Qiao Nan’s answer was to turn his head and bite Pei Xu’s finger hard.
Pei Xu hissed, but laughed even more delightedly.
In the end, Qiao Nan was completely limp in his arms.
When his mind finally returned, realizing he’d compromised once again, Qiao Nan felt both shy and angry.
He tried to muster his weak limbs to leave, but Pei Xu wouldn’t let him go, insisting on a satisfactory answer.
“Nan Nan, do you like it?”
Pressed tightly against him, Qiao Nan immediately sensed danger.
Between two evils, he chose the lesser.
Reluctantly, he said, “I like it, okay?!”
His voice was hoarse, tinged with desire.
“That’s more like it. Nan Nan isn’t allowed to lie.”
Pei Xu, satisfied, held him and walked toward the bathroom.
He was gentlemanly again, his tone gentle as he asked, “Still have any strength left? Do you want to wash yourself, or should I help you?”
Qiao Nan’s cheeks flushed red.
He shoved him hard out of the bathroom.
“I can do it myself!”
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