Gold-Devouring Bottom: A Guide to Pampering - Chapter 25

The main lights in the small lounge had been turned off, leaving only the soft, warm glow of the perimeter LED strips cascading down.

The person sleeping on the sofa looked incredibly well-behaved. Curled on his side with his head pillowed on a cushion, his phone had slipped to the floor beside him.

Ye Xiuchen paced forward, approaching silently.

From his vantage point, Shen Xinghuai looked exceptionally endearing. His eyelashes were thick and long, tilting upward slightly at the tips—an alluring sight that made it difficult to look away.

Shen Xinghuai slept peacefully while Ye Xiuchen watched in silence. His gaze drifted slowly over the boy’s brow, the bridge of his nose, and finally came to a rest at his lips.

The upper lip was slightly thin with a delicate philtrum, while the lower lip was pink and plump, resembling a soft, chewy peach-flavored gummy. As he stared, Ye Xiuchen’s eyes gradually darkened, and a perverse, inexplicable impulse surged within him.

He wanted to rub those lips red, crush them swollen, break them. If he didn’t, the tight, physical tension in his chest would find no release.

He took a step forward and crouched by the sofa. He slowly raised his hand, inching closer until his fingertip was nearly grazing Shen Xinghuai’s lip.

“Pah! What kind of trash is this!” Shen Xinghuai shouted with righteous indignation, his sleep-muttered curse perfectly articulated.

Ye Xiuchen: “…”

Ye Xiuchen’s hand froze by the boy’s lips. He was completely petrified. After a long moment, the hand suspended in mid-air turned back toward his own face to wipe away the stray spray of saliva.

Right. What kind of trash, indeed? Who could have guessed that someone who looked so sweet while sleeping would be cussing someone out in his dreams?

After that outburst, the boy fell silent again. Ye Xiuchen waited a while, but there were no signs of him waking. He leaned down and carried him back to the bedroom. He couldn’t afford to waste too much time; he still had two stacks of documents to review.

When Shen Xinghuai woke up the next morning, he was a bit dazed to find himself in the bedroom.

He checked the spot beside him; it was empty. The blanket he had specifically left for a certain someone was folded neatly, showing no signs of having been used.

He only remembered waiting in the third-floor lounge last night, and then everything was a blank. Did Ye Xiuchen not come home? Perhaps Uncle Ming had found someone to bring him back.

Downstairs, everything was as usual. Uncle Ming was in the conservatory with two gardeners, watering the plants.

Seeing Shen Xinghuai, Uncle Ming stopped his work. “Mr. Shen, what would you like to eat today?”

Shen Xinghuai idly brushed the leaf of a succulent nearby. The white powdery coating of the plant rubbed off onto his fingertip, and he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. “Did Brother not come back last night?”

“The Young Master came back quite late. You were likely already asleep. He went out again early this morning.”

“Oh.” Shen Xinghuai stood there for a bit. Truthfully, he wanted to go out too, but his leg was still slightly stiff and he walked with a faint limp, making it inconvenient.

After two more days of lounging at home, his leg was finally fully recovered, and his gait was back to normal.

But ever since that night, Ye Xiuchen had effectively evaporated. He hadn’t shown his face once.

Shen Xinghuai had tried to contact him several times, but the calls were always picked up by a secretary or an assistant. The replies were essentially identical: “Busy with negotiations,” “In a meeting,” “At a business dinner,” or “In a rush.”

After a while, Shen Xinghuai got the distinct impression that Ye Xiuchen was avoiding him.

In the original plot Shen Xinghuai had “seen” in his dreams, Ye Xiuchen only went to the company to keep up appearances. He never participated in actual business matters; he was a dedicated manufacturer of social scandals. Meetings, dinners, and negotiations had absolutely nothing to do with him.

To say he was busy with those things every day, only a fool would believe it.

Shen Xinghuai couldn’t figure it out and eventually couldn’t be bothered to try. Bored out of his mind, he headed to the backyard to hit some golf balls.

He had just taken a swing when Uncle Ming approached with a grim expression. “Mr. Shen, your father and brother are here to visit. What should we do?” Uncle Ming had been present the last time Shen Hong brought the police to the door; he had zero goodwill toward the Shen father-and-son duo.

Shen Xinghuai finished his swing elegantly, the lines of his shoulders and back pulling into a smooth, lithe curve. Only after the ball stopped did he turn to Uncle Ming and say nonchalantly, “Kick them out.”

Uncle Ming agreed in principle, but Shen Hong and Bai Xiang’an were refusing to budge, tearfully begging for a meeting. “Mr. Shen, your father seems to be in some trouble. He said if he doesn’t see you today, he’ll wait at the gates forever.”

Shen Xinghuai sighed and leaned his club against a stand. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Fine, let them in. I’ll settle things with them once and for all.”

He walked over to sit in the shade of a parasol. Moments later, Uncle Ming led Shen Hong and Bai Xiang’an over.

From a distance, Shen Xinghuai saw that both their faces were pulled so long they practically touched the ground. It gave him the fleeting illusion that Uncle Ming was leading two donkeys toward him.

Once they reached him, Uncle Ming stepped back to wait at a distance.

When Shen Xinghuai looked at Shen Hong again, the man was already weeping, his face looking even longer. “Xinghuai, you’ve brought such ruin upon me! The Shen family is destroyed because of you!”

“You provoked Lu Yan and then hid here at Ye Xiuchen’s place, leaving the rest of us to face the consequences. Now, Lu Yan is blaming everything on the Shen family. Our business can’t survive!”

The father and son worked in tandem, immediately trying to drop a massive burden of guilt onto Shen Xinghuai’s shoulders.

Shen Xinghuai glanced at them and said flatly, “If the company can’t survive, then file for bankruptcy. Do I really need to teach you that, too?”

Shen Hong’s tearful face froze, his eyebrows shooting up in anger. “What madness are you talking about? That company is my life’s work! How can you say ‘just don’t do it’ so easily?”

Shen Xinghuai looked at him, speechless. “You’re at your age; why are you still so dramatic? The company is failing, I suggest bankruptcy and you refuse—what else do you want? Are you planning to find an aging ‘overbearing CEO’ to marry into the family for a bailout?”

“You! How can you be so cold-blooded!” Bai Xiang’an interjected, his voice dripping with faux-sweetness. “Aren’t you a member of the Shen family? Don’t you have any responsibility for the business failing? It breaks my heart to see Dad worrying about the business every day.”

“If your heart aches, then help him yourself. My abilities are limited; I can’t help you.” He pointed toward the front gate. “Take care on your way out. And don’t come looking for me again.”

Shen Hong and Bai Xiang’an hadn’t expected such a blunt, straightforward refusal. They stood there, stunned.

In their memory, while Shen Xinghuai was cold, he was soft-hearted and couldn’t stand to see others suffer. The person before them was a complete stranger.

Shen Xinghuai’s patience was gone. “Don’t just stand there. Leave. And don’t say I didn’t warn you—Ye Xiuchen has a terrible temper. If you happen to make him unhappy, you can imagine the consequences for yourselves.” He waved to Uncle Ming in the distance. “Uncle Ming, show our guests out.”

The father and son arrived in despair and left in disgrace.

Once outside the gates, Shen Hong’s expression turned vicious. “How heartless! Raising that son was a total waste!”

Bai Xiang’an looked back at the high-walled villa, his eyes full of envy and resentment. “Dad, since he won’t help, we’ll have to find another way.”

All of the Shen family’s business dealings had been halted, and clients were canceling contracts left and right. In just two days, Lu Yan had driven Shen Hong into a corner. “Xiang’an, what other way is there?”

Bai Xiang’an’s eyes gleamed with calculation. “Every debt has its debtor. Since he’s the one who provoked Lu Yan, we’ll just deliver him to Lu Yan ourselves. Once Lu Yan has him, he won’t take his anger out on us anymore.”

Shen Hong stopped in his tracks, looking pensive. “Based on his attitude today, I doubt he’ll agree to see Lu Yan.”

Bai Xiang’an grabbed his father’s arm and lowered his voice. “Dad, the company is on fire. Who cares if he’s willing? He won’t hide in Ye Xiuchen’s house forever. The moment he steps out, we find a way to get him to Lu Yan.”

Shen Hong hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly. “Fine! We do it your way!”

The confrontation had killed Shen Xinghuai’s mood for golf. He leaned back on a lounge chair, curling his legs to inspect the healing injury on his knee.

Nearby, a few maids responsible for cleaning were in the laundry room, chatting as they cleaned carpets. They weren’t far away, so their conversation was perfectly audible.

He didn’t pay much attention at first, but his ears soon perked up.

“Does that method really work?”

A maid in her thirties wearing an apron spoke with absolute confidence. “It works! I’ve been through it; trust me on this! You just ‘freeze’ him out. Ignore him. If he calls, say you’re busy. If he wants to meet, say you don’t have time. In a few days, he’ll give up, stop pestering you, and vanish on his own.”

Shen Xinghuai looked down at his knee. He felt like he had just taken an arrow to the chest.

Wasn’t that exactly what Ye Xiuchen was doing to him?

His little brain turned the thought over seriously until, suddenly, he had an epiphany. Ye Xiuchen’s conscience had finally kicked in—he was going to set him free!

Heavens! Happiness had arrived so suddenly; he hadn’t even considered it a few days ago.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Ye Xiuchen’s number. It went unanswered. He sent a message; it vanished into the void.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that he received a reply:

I’m busy.

Two short words. Then, the man went silent again.

Shen Xinghuai looked at the reply. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was. Given Ye Xiuchen’s awkward personality, he probably didn’t want to say “leave” to his face, so he was avoiding him, waiting for him to just quietly disappear.

This was perfect! He could guarantee a disappearance so stealthy it would be as if he’d vanished into thin air!

Shen Xinghuai headed downstairs in high spirits and notified Uncle Ming to prepare a car, claiming he needed to head out.

Once the car reached a bustling commercial street, Shen Xinghuai told the driver to pull over. “You can head back. Don’t wait for me, and tell Uncle Ming I won’t be coming back.”

The driver, having no idea what was actually happening, looked at him in shock. “Mr. Shen, what do you mean by ‘won’t be coming back’?”

Shen Xinghuai pushed open the car door. “It doesn’t mean anything special. Just relay my exact words to Uncle Ming; he’ll understand.”

Shen Xinghuai stepped out onto a flourishing commercial district, his slender, elegant figure quickly disappearing into the crowd.

By evening, Uncle Ming was standing at the gates of Yujun Garden, looking out with anxious eyes.

When the driver returned that afternoon and relayed Shen Xinghuai’s message, the butler immediately sensed something was wrong. Shen Xinghuai’s phone was unreachable, and the people he sent to search the commercial street and its surroundings found no trace of him.

Ye Xiuchen was still in meetings. His phone was with his secretary, and Uncle Ming didn’t dare interrupt.

Finally, a black car pulled into the courtyard. The man who hadn’t shown his face for two days stepped out.

Ye Xiuchen walked into the foyer with long, confident strides, a high-end shopping bag in his hand. Compared to the night he had returned late, his face looked even more exhausted, but he seemed to be in a good mood.

Uncle Ming hurried forward, instinctively reaching for the bag, but Ye Xiuchen pulled it back. “It’s for Shen Xinghuai. I’ll give it to him myself. Where is he?”

Uncle Ming’s hand froze in mid-air. His expression was grim as he stammered, “Young Master, Mr. Shen, he isn’t here.”

“Out having fun?” Ye Xiuchen walked toward the elevator on his own, with a trembling Uncle Ming trailing behind him.

Normally, Uncle Ming wouldn’t follow him when he indicated he was going upstairs. Ye Xiuchen turned, slightly surprised. “Go on with your work. You don’t need to follow me; I’m going up to rest and wait for him.”

“Young Master!” Uncle Ming didn’t know how to break the news. “Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen, he.”

The elevator doors slid open. Ye Xiuchen didn’t step inside. Instead, he stared at the hesitating butler until his gaze turned cold and his good mood evaporated completely. His voice was laced with a chilling frost: “Did he run away?”