My Weak Lover Became A Weird Boss - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: He is Dead—”What exactly were you doing during that time?”…

The horizon was beginning to pale, and the ribs in the pot had long since grown cold.

Yet, that man surnamed Pei still seemed full of vigor. He pressed down Wen Zhu’s trembling hands, softly kissing the side of his face.

Wen Zhu tilted his head back, gasping for air. Before he could even catch his breath, his mouth was blocked again. He let out a muffled groan, then bit down hard on the man’s neck, baring his teeth: “Pei Qingshan, I really want to kill you.”

The Professor’s bite was merciless, immediately drawing blood, but Pei Qingshan didn’t mind at all; instead, he seemed even more excited.

He turned his head to kiss the crown of Wen Zhu’s head, his deep, hoarse voice carrying a note of encouragement: “Try it. How do you plan to kill me?”

“My dear, biting alone won’t kill me.”

The thick-skinned Commander Pei pinned him to the bed, his arm encircling Wen Zhu’s shoulder. He pinched Wen Zhu’s cheeks, forcing him to look up, his thumb grazing the bright red blood on his lips.

Only when he felt the person beneath him was completely saturated with his own body heat did he lean into Wen Zhu’s ear and whisper with satisfaction,

“But you could squeeze the life out of me.”

“…”

It was very late by the time Pei Qingshan had gotten home, but Wen Zhu hadn’t expected that after working and overtime, followed by a three-hour “midnight snack” run, the man would still have the energy to keep going until dawn!

The next day was Saturday. Wen Zhu had no classes. He was pulled out of bed in a daze by Pei Qingshan, who had just returned from a morning run, to drink a bowl of congee.

In the blink of an eye, it was already afternoon when he woke up again.

His whole body was aching. At that moment, Wen Zhu decided never to complain about his husband’s frequent business trips again.

After all, Pei Qingshan being home for too long was the greatest threat to him!

“Awake? Good timing, come out and eat.”

Pei Qingshan’s talent for braising ribs wasn’t outstanding, but he was decent at steaming shrimp or fish.

“You’re not at work today?” Wen Zhu was somewhat surprised.

Pei Qingshan’s hand paused as he set down the chopsticks. He took Wen Zhu’s bowl to serve soup: “Yeah, took a day off.”

Wen Zhu felt Pei Qingshan’s expression was a bit strange, so he added: “Did I disrupt your mission yesterday?”

He thought for a moment and supplemented: “After all, you were just promoted.”

It seemed the first mission had been messed up.

“No, it has nothing to do with—” Pei Qingshan instinctively began to protest, but halfway through, he thought of something and suddenly smiled. Staring at the red marks near the corner of Wen Zhu’s mouth, he raised an eyebrow: “So, do you plan to compensate me?”

“Yes.” Wen Zhu handed him the chrysanthemum tea next to him, saying coldly, “Drink this and cool down.”

Seeing his scheme exposed, Pei Qingshan didn’t feel ashamed. He smoothly accepted the tea, squeezing Wen Zhu’s cool fingertips: “It’s just a normal day off, don’t overthink it.”

“So, the case is basically over?” Wen Zhu stirred his soup, acting casual.

“Hard to say.” Pei Qingshan was clearly unwilling to let Wen Zhu have too much contact with such matters and brushed it off.

After the meal, Pei Qingshan consciously went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

The phone on the table had been vibrating almost since the moment Wen Zhu woke up, or perhaps earlier.

But Pei Qingshan seemed determined to ignore it and focus on his day off.

Wen Zhu’s gaze fell on his back as he wore the apron. This item added an unearned sense of domestic warmth to Pei Qingshan, making it easy for one to indulge in the illusion of such a harmonious and ordinary life.

But looking closely, there was a strange incongruity.

Like when Wen Zhu saw him at “Rouqu.” The magnificently decorated private room was like a multi-layered painting. Perhaps due to the “exposure effect,” Pei Qingshan sat lazily in the middle of the sofa, standing out excessively.

People instinctively avoided the two-meter radius around him. If this were a realistic painting, the artist would likely be trying to express the central figure’s high status or the deterrent fear his traits projected onto others.

Wen Zhu didn’t hide his curiosity about that room. When the men saw him, their first reaction was to report to Pei Qingshan. He seemed to be deeply trusted by these people.

Seven years is a long time for a human. During these seven years, Wen Zhu had been like a fractured soul—half of him trying hard to integrate into this seemingly safe human society, the other half coldly resisting becoming a true member of the species.

He thought the person he understood best was the husband who was his closest social connection of seven years, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

His cool fingertips traced a scar on the protrusion at the top of Pei Qingshan’s spine as the man leaned over to wash dishes. The scar was jagged and long; even after all this time, it remained indelibly etched on his skin.

The next second, Pei Qingshan turned without warning and grabbed Wen Zhu’s wrist. Wet droplets of water snaked down their intertwined arms, dripping onto the floor.

“How did you get this?”

Realizing Wen Zhu was referring to the scar on his back, Pei Qingshan looked up: “Just a scrape from a business trip.”

Wen Zhu frowned: “A scrape left such a big scar?”

“Yeah, a layer of skin was taken off.” Pei Qingshan used his thumb to smooth out the furrow in Wen Zhu’s brow.

“Does it hurt?”

“It hurts, hurts a lot.” Pei Qingshan rested his chin on Wen Zhu’s head. “It really hurts.”

If Adjutant Liao, who doubled as the Finance Minister, were here, he would be heartbroken.

If that man named Pei had used this kind of acting when dealing with the Council of Elders, would the Beidou Bureau ever have to worry about funding again!

Wen Zhu’s other hand traced down his spine.

He remembered Pei Qingshan’s back had many scars, countless deep and shallow ones. He opened his mouth to ask if those were also “scrapes,” but his mouth was blocked by a kiss from a Pei Qingshan who had misinterpreted his touch.

A warm tongue licked the scar at the corner of Wen Zhu’s lip over and over again.

“Wait…” Wen Zhu tried to pull back but was held firmly by a powerful arm.

“Don’t wait, don’t wait.”

“Pei—someone is knocking!” Wen Zhu abruptly pushed away the giant canine-like man acting up at his mouth, giving him a sharp, warning glare.

He then stood up to answer the doorbell that had suddenly visited on a weekend.

“Mr. Wen, hello.”

To his surprise, standing at the door was a group of imposing strangers Wen Zhu had never seen before.

“Wen Zhu, 30 years old, Professor at Linjing University. Records show you are married, parents deceased, has a younger sister teaching in Binchuan.”

Wen Zhu sat in the dark interrogation room. Times had changed; the last time he was here, he was the arrogant one demanding a person’s release. This time, he had somehow become the prisoner.

The man across from him wore a formal suit that suggested a powerful agency. His right eye was filled with fine, metallic light—a mechanical eye that rotated slightly slower than his left. He loomed over the interrogation table, his presence intimidating.

“Mr. Wen, do you know Zhou Sui?”

The young professor sat upright in his chair. Aside from a bit of confusion, no other negative emotions could be seen on his face. Hearing the name, he thought for a moment and said carefully: “Yes, Zhou Sui is my student. Has something happened to him?”

Tang San’s mechanical eye locked onto Wen Zhu’s face as he slowly uttered three words: “He is dead.”

Only then did a hint of appropriate surprise appear on the young man’s handsome, calm face. He gasped: “What? How could this happen?”

“The last call before his death was apparently to you.” Tang San couldn’t find a flaw, so he stood up straight. “Surveillance shows that you happened to leave your home on the night the victim was murdered.”

—And found a “361-degree” blind spot in the 360-degree surveillance of Linjing, perfectly evading traffic cameras.

“Would you mind telling us what you were doing during those three hours, from the time you left at midnight until you returned at 2:00 AM?”

Tang San’s tone was polite and gentle, but his questioning was aggressive.

He was a master of interrogation. Sure enough, under the pressure of evidence, the calm professor finally fell into a suspicious silence.

What did this mean?

Last night, Wen Zhu hadn’t gone out to buy ribs; he had gone specifically to see Zhou Sui?

In the middle of the night, to see Zhou Sui?

That handsome, sunny, twenty-something male student who was close to Wen Zhu?

Wen Zhu seemed to hesitate for a long time—so long that even Pei Qingshan, who had been sitting silently in the observation room, raised his head.

His obsidian-like eyes fixed quietly through the one-way glass onto that cool, pale face.

Two hours earlier—

Tang San had suddenly appeared at their door with his men, taking Wen Zhu away with great fanfare.

None of these men failed to recognize the famous Commander Pei. One could guess whose hand was behind this with their toes.

“Boss Pei, do you want to reveal your identity to your lover now?” Tang San softly stopped the cold-eyed Pei Qingshan.

If anyone had the mind to observe, they would realize things were more interesting than they appeared.

Tang San only brought one squad upstairs, but downstairs, at least thirty men were lying in wait. As the captors, they seemed incredibly wary of their prey.

“Quan Qi sent you?” Pei Qingshan’s gaze carried a chilling intensity. He said impatiently, “Does he not even want his right hand anymore?”

Under that casual glance, Tang San involuntarily took a step back, then gritted his teeth: “General Quan Qi asked me to convey his highest regards to you.”

Only the two of them were left in the room. Wen Zhu had been taken outside by others, but without Pei Qingshan’s nod, no one was leaving today.

Tang San braced himself: “By rights, as a family member of the suspect, you should recuse yourself.”

“Suspect?” Pei Qingshan’s mood was clearly foul.

“…” Tang San’s mechanical eye flickered as he immediately corrected himself, “Cooperating witness.”

In the end, Tang San deployed everyone he brought to Linjing and reaped a great harvest: not only did he bring back a cooperating witness, but he also brought back a Commander Pei who had been AWOL for a long time.

Seeing Pei Qingshan enter right behind Tang San, Liao Xin feigned surprise: “Boss, weren’t you playing hooky today?”

“Get lost, don’t talk for the sake of talking.” Pei Qingshan pulled out a chair and sat in the observation room with his arms crossed, staring intently at the scene inside.

He had received the notice yesterday, and Tang San arrived today. They had been prepared for a long time.

Tang San was somewhat of a right-winger and belonged to Quan Qi’s side. This matter clearly showed the Security Academy wanted Quan Qi to intervene. Everyone knew the relationship between the head of the Beidou Bureau and Quan Qi was like fire and water.

The intention of the Council of Elders was clear.

Linjing had been messy lately. You, Pei Qingshan, used hard tactics to forcibly take over the economic hub, and they didn’t say anything. But the safety of the hub couldn’t rest on one person alone. Quan Qi is, after all, the Vice General of the Security Academy; the “10.20 Explosion Case” would be investigated by the two of them in cooperation.

Even the good-tempered Liao Xin cursed them as “old scoundrels” when he got the notice.

They just didn’t want Pei Qingshan active anywhere except for the Frontline!

Nominally, the Beidou Bureau belonged to the Security Academy, but everyone knew that because of the sensitive and complex nature of the cases it handled, it had always stood independent of the three major national agencies.

Before Pei Qingshan joined the Beidou Bureau, those years the “Red Tower Project” had just begun. Many things weren’t perfected; performance was poor, and costs were high with little return. No side was willing to take over that mess.

It was only later, when Pei Qingshan became the Commander-in-Chief, that he won battle after battle to reach where he was today.

As a result, peace hadn’t lasted long before people started impeaching Pei Qingshan for holding too much power. They dismantled the Beidou Bureau’s original integrated financial system and moved it upstairs.

Throttling weapons, throttling funds, throttling manpower.

More and more people were eyeing that seat in the Beidou Bureau. Adding to that, Pei Qingshan himself had some issues that weren’t exactly secrets but were currently being kept vague. He could only watch as more and more shackles were placed upon him.

Even the gentlest big cat will bristle sometimes, let alone a man named Pei, who was an arrogant lion.

The reasoning was that Linjing was only a high-risk area and hadn’t been officially designated as a Frontline war zone; thus, the Beidou Bureau had no power to reject Quan Qi’s intervention.

In the words of Pei Qingshan’s undisguised rage during his report—”What the fuck do those desk-jockey logistics guys know about the Frontline?”