Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 40

The next day, with high efficiency, the adjutant checked Pei Ye out of the medical department and escorted him back to Jiang Si’s penthouse.

The fingerprint scanner chimed, and the metal door slid open silently. As Pei Ye stepped into the foyer, his footsteps instinctively faltered.

It was different.

The foyer, once cold, sleek, and strictly functional with nothing but a shoe cabinet, now featured a soft, deep gray rug. On the side wall, a minimalist black walnut wall shelf had been added. Jiang Si’s metal lighter and a rugged wristwatch sat casually upon it, while Pei Ye’s frequently worn black training jacket hung below, looking as if it had always belonged there.

The transformation in the living room was even more pronounced. The cool white primary tone remained, but the space, previously so empty it felt deliberate, was now filled with life. A wide, soft smoke-gray wool blanket was draped casually over the corner of the sofa, accompanied by plush, comfortable pillows in matching tones. On the metal coffee table sat a heavy glass ashtray and a weapon modification magazine, lying facedown as if halfway read.

Even the display cabinet against the wall had changed. Alongside the usual collection of precision instruments and cold weapon models, there was now a strange ceramic mug featuring a cartoon wolf baring its teeth.

The entire space still radiated Jiang Si’s style, hard, modern, and sharp, but it no longer felt like a cold safe house ready to be abandoned at a moment’s notice. It felt like it held traces of a life being lived, perhaps even an indescribable, shared warmth.

Pei Ye’s gaze swept slowly over everything before finally landing on Jiang Si, who was walking out from behind the open kitchen island. He held a glass of whiskey, the ice cubes clinking softly.

“Master,” Pei Ye began, his voice carrying a hint of uncertain wonder. “Were these also prepared by the adjutant?”

He could not imagine the meticulous, no-nonsense adjutant picking out a wool blanket that looked that soft to the touch, or that ridiculous wolf-headed mug.

Jiang Si took a sip of his drink, his eyes scanning the living room with an indifferent expression. “I requested them. I chose some of the furniture myself.” He paused, his gaze grazing the mug as if by accident. “Some of it.”

Pei Ye’s heart leaped, as if struck by something soft yet forceful.

It was Master. Master chose them personally for this home, for him.

A surge of warmth instantly overwhelmed his composure, making his eyes sting. He fought for control, his trembling fingertips tightening around the straps of his backpack. Master was slowly changing this absolute private space for him, allowing Pei Ye’s presence to permeate every corner.

Just then, Jiang Si spoke again. His voice remained flat, but his words were like a stone dropped into a still lake. “If you do not like them, we can go and choose things together later.”

Pei Ye snapped his head up, his eyes meeting Jiang Si’s bottomless gaze.

Choose together? Like an ordinary family?

The thought was so extravagant it nearly choked him. He shook his head hurriedly, his voice tight. “No! I like them very much. I like them a lot. Thank you, Master.”

Jiang Si said nothing more. He simply took another sip of his drink and looked away.

Cute.

That evening, after showering, Pei Ye stepped out of the bathroom enveloped in a mist of moisture and the faint, fresh scent of shower gel. He wore a dark bathrobe tied loosely, his wet black hair dripping water onto the smooth lines of his collarbone.

The living room was dim, lit only by a few ambient lamps. Jiang Si was leaning against the balcony railing, smoking. The night sky outlined his tall silhouette, and the single red ember at his fingertips pulsed in the darkness.

Pei Ye hesitated for a moment before walking over. Hearing the footsteps, Jiang Si turned his head. Smoke blurred his expression, but his gaze landed precisely on Pei Ye’s dripping hair. He frowned and crushed the half-finished cigarette into the ashtray on the railing.

“Come here,” he said, his voice slightly rasped from the smoke.

Pei Ye followed obediently.

Jiang Si walked into the living room, retrieved a hairdryer from beneath the television cabinet, plugged it in, and looked at the stunned Pei Ye. “What are you staring at?”

Pei Ye walked over with stiff, mechanical steps and sat on the rug by the sofa, the spot where he usually sat on the rare occasions Jiang Si allowed him to be near.

The hairdryer whirred to life, and warm air brushed through his hair. A hand with distinct knuckles, light calluses, and a cool temperature threaded through his locks. The movements were not particularly gentle, even a bit clumsy, but they were incredibly thorough, ensuring every root was dried.

Pei Ye’s body was rigid, his heart thudding so loudly it rivaled the noise of the dryer. Master was drying his hair. This made him feel more helpless and more addicted than any reward or command ever had. He closed his eyes, feeling the temperature of the fingertips that occasionally grazed his scalp, nearly trembling.

The whirring stopped, and the world fell silent. Jiang Si unplugged the device and coiled the cord loosely but did not leave immediately. He looked at the top of Pei Ye’s head, where the pale back of his neck was exposed.

“Nothing to ask me?” Jiang Si asked calmly.

Pei Ye slowly raised his head, his eyes slightly dazed.

“About the Jiang family. About me,” Jiang Si clarified.

Pei Ye shook his head almost immediately, his gaze returning to a state of clear obedience. “That is Master’s business. I should not pry.”

Jiang Si looked at him and suddenly let out an extremely soft laugh, one that held no discernible emotion. He said nothing else, turned back to the balcony, and lit another cigarette. The crimson spark glowed again.

He took a drag, looked at Pei Ye through the glass door, and beckoned him over. Pei Ye rose and joined him. Jiang Si held out the cigarette pack. “Do you smoke?”

Pei Ye shook his head. He had undergone much training, and Goshawk back in the First Squad had been a smoker, but he had never tried it himself.

“I will teach you,” Jiang Si said in a tone that allowed no refusal.

Pei Ye hesitated, then took one and placed it between his lips. The scent of tobacco mixed with the cold cedar, it was a smell unique to Jiang Si.

Jiang Si watched his amateurish movements. Keeping his own cigarette in his mouth, he slowly leaned in. In the darkness, the two crimson embers gradually approached until they met.

Jiang Si tilted his head slightly, using his own cigarette to light Pei Ye’s. A tiny flame blossomed briefly between them, illuminating their faces in close proximity. Pei Ye watched the intersecting cigarette tips and felt the other man’s breath against his face. He instinctively looked up into Jiang Si’s eyes.

As the flickering light died out, the balcony fell into deeper darkness, save for the pulsing embers. In Jiang Si’s profound eyes, Pei Ye saw only his own small, clear reflection.

“Cough!” At the first drag, Pei Ye choked slightly, his eyes turning red from the physiological reaction.

“Foolish,” Jiang Si whispered with a light chuckle.

A flush spread rapidly from Pei Ye’s neck to his cheeks. “Master.”

Jiang Si leaned against the railing and shifted his gaze toward the distant, blurred neon lights of the city below. He spoke calmly, shifting the subject with a hint of stiffness.

“My biological family, the Jiang family, to be precise, is a gilded cesspool.” He exhaled a cloud of smoke, his tone cold and mocking. “Jiang Yuan and Lin Fu, my dear parents, only ever wanted perfect tools that could bring greater profit. My eldest brother, Jiang Yi, is the qualified successor: calm, efficient, and devoid of unnecessary emotion. My second brother, Jiang Er, went into politics, and my third sister, Jiang San, controls the media, she is an expert at whitewashing reality.”

He spoke with such nonchalance, as if he were telling someone else’s story.

“Before I was fifteen, I lived like a programmed machine. Every action was for the purpose of meeting their standards. Until I realized that no matter what I did, the only things I would ever receive were evaluations and indifference.” His voice was steady, yet it felt more suffocating than any loud accusation.

“They did not need a son; they needed a polished product named Jiang Si. So, I destroyed the project they valued most at the time and ran away with all the money I had saved over the years. Using the methods they taught me, I built Skeleton.”

Jiang Si turned his face to look at Pei Ye.

“They view me as the family’s greatest stain, yet they fear Skeleton’s power too much to eliminate me openly. This Obsidian operation was nothing more than another ridiculous test to try and get rid of me, or to see where the weakness of this stain lies.” He scoffed and flicked his ash. “Pathetic.”

Pei Ye listened quietly, the cigarette in his hand burning silently. He had never heard Jiang Si speak so much, let alone about his past. His heart felt as though it were being squeezed by a cold hand, aching for the precise, indifferent cruelty his Master had endured. He finally understood where the Master’s near-obsessive need for control and coldness came from, those were the thorns grown to protect himself in a desert of emotion.

“Master,” Pei Ye’s voice was raspy. He wanted to say something, but any words felt hollow.

Jiang Si turned to him. In the darkness where boundaries blurred, he reached out and touched Pei Ye’s left chest over his heart. Through the bathrobe, he seemed to feel the raised texture of the tattoo and the violent thudding beneath it.

“My name is carved here.” Jiang Si’s voice dropped low, carrying a distinct sense of possession. “I picked you up from the trash, Pei Ye. You belong to me. It has nothing to do with the Jiang family, the past, or anything else.”

“Only me,” he repeated, like a declaration and an anchor.

Pei Ye’s breath hitched. His heart felt like it would burst from his chest. He nodded vigorously, his eyes shining brightly in the dark. “Yes. I belong only to you.”

Always have, always will.

Jiang Si gazed at him for a moment, withdrew his hand, and finished the last of his cigarette. “It is late. Go to sleep.”

He turned and walked back into the living room first. Pei Ye was left alone on the balcony. The cigarette had burned down to the filter, and he only snapped out of it when it burned his finger. The night breeze was cool, but it could not chill the burning thrum in his chest.

Something had changed completely. It was silent, yet deafening.