Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 42

It was the night before the Skeleton operation, inside the penthouse apartment.

The night was deep. Only a single floor lamp was turned on in the living room, spreading a pool of warm, yellow light. Having finished his work for the day, Jiang Si leaned back against the sofa. An unlit cigarette was held between his fingers while his other hand casually flipped through a tactical tablet resting on his knees.

Pei Ye sat on the rug a short distance away, leaning his back against the sofa. He was wiping his habitual dagger with meticulous and focused movements. A rare sense of tranquility flowed through the air. The tension usually present before an operation seemed to be temporarily sealed away outside.

Jiang Si shifted his gaze from the tablet screen to Pei Ye’s lowered neck and slightly tensed wrists. The light softened the lines of the younger man’s profile. That posture of total concentration and submission made him look like a large dog that had retracted its claws.

“Pei Ye,” Jiang Si suddenly spoke, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silence.

Pei Ye immediately stopped his movements and lifted his head, looking at him with an inquiring gaze. “Master?”

Jiang Si’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment as if he were deep in thought. Then, he asked in a slow, deliberate manner, “Back when you were at the bottom, did you ever look for a partner?”

Pei Ye was stunned. He had clearly not expected Jiang Si to ask such a thing. A partner? What was that? Did he mean a romantic partner? Why was Master suddenly asking him this?

He instinctively shook his head and answered quickly. “No.” He paused for a moment and then added in a tone that suggested it was a matter of course, “I did not need one. I was not interested.”

His world was very small, so small that it only had room for Jiang Si alone. He only had one goal: to become stronger, to become useful, and to stay by his Master’s side. Everything else was a redundant and meaningless distraction to him.

Jiang Si was not surprised by this answer. He had seen many people, but this was the first time he possessed someone of a type so pure it bordered on obsession. He flicked the unlit cigarette butt, his tone unreadable. “Neither men nor women?”

The tips of Pei Ye’s ears grew slightly warm. He did not understand why his Master was suddenly interested in this, but he answered honestly nonetheless. “Neither.”

He hesitated for a second, then lifted his head to look directly at Jiang Si with a desperate sort of sincerity. “I only want to belong to you.”

The words slipped out, carrying a heat that far exceeded mere loyalty. After speaking, he froze, seemingly shocked by the undisguised emotion in his own words. He hurriedly lowered his head, his fingers tightening unconsciously as he gripped the sheath of his dagger. “I mean, I love you, Master.”

After explaining, he could not help but constantly observe Jiang Si’s reaction out of the corner of his eye. What would Master think this time? Would his reaction be different from the one in the hospital room?

Looking at the other man’s flustered yet hopeful state, that inexplicable feeling surged within Jiang Si again. He was quite cute.

Jiang Si’s strange sense of curiosity seemed to be satisfied, yet it also felt as if it had been piqued further. His little dog always managed to strike unexpected nerves in the most direct ways. He only wants to belong to me. Does he even know what belonging means? Does he know what it entails? And love? Why can he say that word so easily? Is it because the object of that love is me?

Jiang Si did not pursue the questions further. Instead, he chose a different approach. He leaned forward and picked up the metal lighter from the coffee table. With a click, he lit it. The flame jumped for a moment, reflecting in his deep eyes and expressionless face. He leaned toward the flame to light the cigarette between his lips, took a drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

The crisp scent of cedar filled the air. Then, as if mentioning it casually, he locked his gaze on Pei Ye through the thin veil of smoke. “What if I need something more than just a blade?”

He was testing him.

Pei Ye’s heart contracted violently, nearly leaping out of his chest. He snapped his head up, meeting Jiang Si’s eyes, which betrayed no emotion yet seemed capable of drawing out a person’s soul. Something more than a blade? What else could there be?

He instantly thought of those ambiguous, blurry, and intimate thoughts that he never dared to dwell on, yet which occasionally surfaced in the dead of night. His blood seemed to rush to his head and then surge through his entire body. He opened his mouth, but his throat was too dry to make a sound.

He looked at Jiang Si, noting the other man’s calm and even scrutinizing expression. It was as if Jiang Si were merely evaluating the additional uses of an object. A profound sense of shame and an indescribable longing to be chosen washed over him. He clenched his fists until his nails nearly dug into his palms. He used all his strength to steady his voice, though a slight tremor remained. “I… everything I have belongs to you. Whatever you need, I am willing.”

It was not “yes” or “I understand.” It was “I am willing.”

This was a total surrender, an offering, and a resolution to hand himself over completely. Jiang Si watched him quietly, observing how those eyes shifted from initial shock and panic to a settled state of tragic determination and heat. The smoke rose slowly between his fingers, blurring the extremely complex emotion that flashed briefly in his eyes.

Is that so?

He seemed to have obtained the answer he wanted, yet he also seemed to have drawn out more things that required thought. Ultimately, he only let out a very soft chuckle, though it was impossible to tell if it was out of satisfaction or something else.

He leaned back against the sofa again, took another drag of his cigarette, and shifted his gaze back to the tablet. His tone returned to its usual coldness. “I see. Go and rest. There is a mission tomorrow.”

It was as if that earth-shattering conversation had never happened.

However, Pei Ye remained frozen in place. His heart hammered like a drum, and the blood in his body was screaming. What did Master mean just now? He needed something more than a blade. What was it? He did not dare to ask. He could only force himself to lower his head, his voice slightly raspy. “Yes.”

He stood up and walked toward his room with stiff, awkward movements. He felt as if he could still feel that substantial gaze on his back.

Jiang Si listened to the door close gently while the cigarette between his fingers burned silently. I need something more than just a blade? He did not know why he had asked that question either. But seeing his little dog’s look of total trust and lack of reservation just now, a dark, controlling part of him seemed satisfied. Consequently, he wanted to test further and demand more.

As for what he specifically wanted, he had not fully thought it through yet. But tonight, Pei Ye’s reaction had undoubtedly pleased him greatly. It was the most ambiguous and unspeakable kind of pleasure. Jiang Si looked down at the burning tip of his cigarette and remembered Pei Ye’s face, which had turned pink from being flustered.

In the silence, he suddenly let out a very soft laugh.

“Cute.”

He felt like locking him up and keeping him all to himself.