BF Chapter 66

Zhan Shili’s kiss came down hard, their tangled breaths scorching and chaotic, every breath crushed between their intertwined lips.

The instant his lower lip was bitten, a sharp sting exploded through him, the taste of blood mixing with saliva and seeping over the root of his tongue.

Xu Shen was deeply uncomfortable and instinctively frowned, but the force clamping his jaw forced it open, and the wet, hot tongue immediately stole away all his air.

Their teeth knocked together with a faint sound. Tongue pressed against tongue, forcing him backward, brushing over the sensitive roof of his mouth and making Xu Shen’s Adam’s apple roll repeatedly. The suffocating sensation made his ears ring; saliva he couldn’t swallow in time spilled from the corner of his mouth, only to be wiped away heavily by Zhan Shili’s thumb.

Zhan Shili’s tie hung down over his collarbone, brushing back and forth with their tangled movements. The scent spilling from the car fragrance drifted around the tip of his nose, almost like some kind of implication.

All of it left Xu Shen with nowhere to hide.

He grabbed Zhan Shili’s hair hard and tried to wrench himself free, but Zhan Shili’s palm clamped tightly around the back of his neck and forced him forward. Their noses bumped together, the wet sounds of their entangled mouths mingling with harsh breathing and echoing through the cramped space. A muffled groan escaped Xu Shen’s throat, only to be swallowed by Zhan Shili’s even more ferocious sucking.

“Fuck off—”

Xu Shen cursed in a trembling voice, but the broken lilt of the words was swallowed along with everything else. His shaking knee knocked against Zhan Shili’s hip, only for Zhan Shili to grip his waist and pull him even closer.

Xu Shen turned vicious and bit down hard, clamping his teeth around the tip of Zhan Shili’s tongue. The thick taste of blood immediately spread between their tangled lips and tongues.

Zhan Shili stared into his eyes. Amid Xu Shen’s violent breathing, color had risen to the corners of his eyes, blending into a vivid flush, while the anger and vigilance in his gaze were like blades tempered in fire, sharp and menacing.

If all he wanted was merely provoking Xu Shen, then he had certainly succeeded, but that had never been his true intention.

Xu Shen had never been someone he could control or tame. Zhan Shili had clearly realized that long ago.

Zhan Shili loosened his hold.

Slowing his breathing, he lightly patted Xu Shen’s waist, his voice returning to its usual gentle depth: “Sit over there.”

Xu Shen’s chest rose and fell, his disorderly breathing not yet calmed, the invisible thorns bristling all over him sharp enough to hurt anyone who came near.

Zhan Shili soothed him with his gaze: “Go sit over there. I’ll take you back.”

Xu Shen looked at him coldly without moving, seemingly finding his words completely untrustworthy.

Zhan Shili tilted his head in indication: “Are we going or not?”

Seeing Xu Shen give no response, his voice drew closer again: “Or do you still want to go to my place? Shall we?”

The atmosphere stiffened. A moment later, Xu Shen quickly turned around and moved into the passenger seat.

The car drove off. Xu Shen leaned back against the seat and stopped speaking. From time to time, the light streaming in from the window would glide across his face, casting shadows that obscured the expression in his eyes.

Zhan Shili, trying to make conversation, said, “Those people were after you. It was probably Ma Shouliang trying to get revenge. I warned you before, making too many enemies isn’t a good thing.”

Xu Shen didn’t respond at all, having no desire to bring the matter up again.

So Zhan Shili stopped talking too and drove in silence.

A phone suddenly rang. Xu Shen unlocked the screen and glanced at it. It was his secretary calling.

His secretary had originally been supposed to coordinate tomorrow’s meeting arrangements with Brandon, but after being unable to reach Brandon the entire time, he had no choice but to ask Xu Shen himself.

Xu Shen briefly gave him an explanation without mentioning Brandon.

But the secretary hesitated and said, “Brandon told me earlier that we’d coordinate tonight. He’s always punctual. Now that he’s suddenly unreachable, could something have happened?”

Xu Shen only said, “He just told me there was something going on at home. Take care of your own part and don’t worry about him.”

After the call ended, Zhan Shili beside him suddenly spoke: “If I insist on not letting him go, what does Young Master Shen plan to do?”

Before displeasure could appear on Xu Shen’s face again, he changed his wording, saying, “That assistant of yours really does have a problem and can’t be kept. I’ll help you resolve it so you don’t have to dirty your hands again.”

Xu Shen had no intention of arguing with him anymore and tried to speak calmly: “Brandon is still useful. I’ll deal with him myself. You don’t need to do it for me. Let him go.”

Zhan Shili focused on driving and gave no response.

Xu Shen suppressed his emotions with patience and asked, “Nic, you’ll let him go, right?”

“How much longer?” Zhan Shili finally relented.

Having gotten what he wanted, Xu Shen replied irritably, “Soon.”

Zhan Shili nodded slightly and reluctantly forced a sound from his throat: “Mn.”

Xu Shen looked away. After a moment of silence, he said, “Pull over.”

Zhan Shili turned his head. Xu Shen didn’t look at him: “I need to buy something.”

They had already driven back into the busy downtown area. Zhan Shili leisurely pulled over by the roadside.

Xu Shen opened the door and got out.

Zhan Shili watched him walk into the pharmacy by the street and felt the urge to smoke again. He touched his pocket, hesitated, then ultimately decided against it.

A few minutes later, Xu Shen came back out, got into the car again, and tossed the shopping bag in his hand over to him.

Zhan Shili opened it and glanced inside: Burn ointment, disinfecting iodine, adhesive bandages, gauze…

“You bought these for me?” He was slightly surprised.

Xu Shen turned his eyes away: “Take me back to Langting.”

Zhan Shili lowered his eyes and looked again at the medicine in his hands. No one had ever bought these things for him before, except for Xu Shen.

He reached over, sliding his fingers into Xu Shen’s hair as he stared at him without looking away.

There was still the blood and grime he himself had smeared across Xu Shen’s face, but he had still gotten out of the car looking like that and walked into the pharmacy to buy medicine for him, completely indifferent to the glances from people around him.

Some strange, indescribable emotion surged up inside him, and Zhan Shili lowered his voice: “Seren, when you do this, it only makes me want to let you go even less. What am I supposed to do?”

Xu Shen scoffed.

Zhan Shili truly didn’t want to let him go. Looking at Xu Shen like this, he only barely managed to lock those dark, unspeakable thoughts back into their cage.

Xu Shen wasn’t an ordinary person. Zhan Shili could only relent.

His thumb slowly rubbed toward the corner of Xu Shen’s eye, lightly brushing over it before he finally withdrew his hand.

“Fasten your seat belt.”

Zhan Shili drove Xu Shen back to Langting, and when they stopped, he handed over his suit jacket again. Xu Shen didn’t take it and pushed open the door, only for Zhan Shili to catch his wrist and pull him back: “Put it on before you get out. Don’t catch a cold.”

Xu Shen turned back and looked at him: “You only have one jacket and you’re willing to give it to me, yet why is it that you can’t relent to me in other things?”

Under Xu Shen’s scornful gaze, Zhan Shili nodded: “I’ll change in the future.”

Xu Shen cursed under his breath: “Even a dog wouldn’t believe you.”

He stubbornly insisted on not taking the suit, got out of the car, and before closing the door, he leaned over and said to Zhan Shili in the car, “Send him back to me in one piece. Don’t ruin my plans again. You know what I mean. Handle it yourself.”

His arrogant expression was both a threat and a warning. Though it actually held no deterrent whatsoever for Zhan Shili, this kind of thing truly did work on Zhan Shili: “See you next time.”

Xu Shen ignored him, straightened up, and slammed the car door shut.

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Xu Shen didn’t return to the company until after ten the next morning. As he entered the office, he casually asked the secretary following him inside, “Has Brandon not arrived yet? I just saw that his office door was not open.”

“No,” the secretary explained. “Young Master Shen, you said last night that something had come up at his home, so I assumed he took leave today.”

Xu Shen instructed, “Go make a phone call to ask.”

He sat down behind the desk, turned on his computer, and first handled several work emails.

A few minutes later, the secretary came in and told him that he had managed to reach Brandon, and Brandon would arrive at the company in another half hour.

Xu Shen nodded: “When he gets here, have him come straight in.”

Brandon arrived forty minutes later and came into Xu Shen’s office to greet him.

Seeing that he looked listless, with dark bruising beneath his eyes, Xu Shen asked, “Why couldn’t I get through to you last night? Didn’t I tell you to bring me that document? Where did you go?”

Brandon handed him the document from yesterday, apologized first, then after hesitating, told him what had happened the night before.

After leaving the company and getting into the taxi, the driver had taken him farther and farther, straying off into a remote area. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late. He had been drugged and lost consciousness. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he woke up again, but his hands and feet were bound and his eyes covered, so he had no idea where he was. After another long stretch of time, he was suddenly released and dumped in the mountains. There was no one around, and he hadn’t even seen what the people who tied him up looked like.

“I walked for half an hour before reaching a road. I originally wanted to call the police…”

Xu Shen suddenly asked, “Then why didn’t you in the end?”

The question stumped Brandon: “…They didn’t take anything from me. It didn’t seem like a robbery for money. They even returned the document I brought from the company. I don’t know what they wanted.”

The truth was that he himself felt guilty, and because he felt guilty, he didn’t dare call the police.

Xu Shen didn’t expose him and only said, “You know it wasn’t easy for me to get into the position I’m in now. I have plenty of enemies outside. Who knows who might have wanted to target me and dragged you into it. Knowing that, you still dare stay on as my assistant?”

Under Xu Shen’s gaze, Brandon did feel a moment of fear and the urge to retreat, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, “It’s fine.”

“You’ve got some nerve,” Xu Shen said with an unreadable meaning. “But since nothing happened to you, and this document isn’t confidential anyway, we’ll leave the matter at that. There really is no need to call the police and make everyone know about it. Don’t mention it to anyone else either.”

Brandon could only swallow this bitter pill in silence: “…Okay.”

Xu Shen nodded, signaling that he could leave.

“Young Master Shen, I—”

Brandon seemed as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself. Xu Shen raised his eyes slightly: “What else?”

His double eyelids were narrow, and when he wasn’t smiling, the way he looked at people always seemed cold. Especially now, with the natural authority of someone in a superior position surrounding him, he was more than intimidating enough despite his youth.

Brandon swallowed the words already at his lips, said, “Nothing,” and went out to work.

Xu Shen had no particular thoughts about it. An assistant was only an assistant, truly insignificant. He had kept Brandon by his side for selfish reasons to begin with. He really had wanted to see how Zhan Shili would react, but when the time came to deal with him, naturally he would.

The phone on the desk vibrated, and the screen lit up with a new message.

Zhan Shili: [I sent him back. Young Master Shen, remember what you promised last night. Deal with him soon.]

Xu Shen leaned back in his chair, his finger unconsciously sliding across the screen for a while as he stared at those lines. In the end, he replied:

[That’ll depend on my mood.]

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t/n: oh no… my stock… (reconciliation countdown: 3)

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