The Sickly Beauty Can’t Escape the Obsessive Lover - Chapter 14

The booming DJ music in the bar seemed to abruptly fall silent.

Chen Jifeng and Xie Lin both frowned simultaneously, turning their gazes toward the two.

Jing Yuan was too terrified to lift his head, one hand held firmly by Ji Yan while the other clutched his Ultraman mask, afraid that Ji Yan might catch a glimpse of his face.

Under the immense psychological pressure, he dared not make a sound, nor could he escape, his heart pounding wildly.

He recalled the story the supervisor had told him.

He had spilled wine all over Ji Yan’s pants—would Ji Yan break his arm for it?

Ji Yan was the ruthless villain who killed without shedding blood!

Jing Yuan was on the verge of tears, shrinking his head pitifully and desperately trying to retreat backward.

Chen Jifeng hesitated, glancing at the terrified Ultaman with a thoughtful expression. “Ji Yan, it seems like he can’t speak. Maybe we should just let it go.”

Under normal circumstances, Chen Jifeng wouldn’t comment on Ji Yan’s way of handling things. But today, he felt the Ultaman was quite pitiful. There was no need to teach him a lesson.

Jing Yuan shot Chen Jifeng a grateful look, then glanced at his wrist, still tightly gripped by Ji Yan. The edges had already turned red, and it hurt terribly.

Suddenly, his nose tingled with emotion. Sniffling, he pulled out the night’s tips from his pocket and handed them to Ji Yan—even the 40-yuan wage was included.

It was his fault for soaking the man’s pants.

He would pay for it.

Soon, Ji Yan’s guarded and cold expression softened slightly. Perhaps it was because Jing Yuan’s thin shoulders were trembling so violently that Ji Yan loosened his grip. Jing Yuan immediately pulled back his aching wrist, rubbing it gently.

Xie Lin, after all, was Jing Yuan’s nominal boss. Seeing that Jing Yuan truly had no ill intentions and hadn’t acted deliberately, he waved a hand dismissively. “Hurry up and leave. Don’t be so careless next time.”

Jing Yuan nodded his drooping head and scurried away.

As Ji Yan watched the Ultaman’s retreating figure, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the slender frame bore an uncanny resemblance to Jing Yuan.

Even their height seemed similar.

He glanced down at his thoroughly soaked pants, his tone displeased. “I’m leaving first.”

Xie Lin stood up as well. “Don’t go. I have clean clothes in my suite. Change into them and have another drink with us.”

Ji Yan lowered his eyelashes indifferently. “Not in the mood.”

Seeing that Ji Yan was genuinely tired, Chen Jifeng didn’t try to stop him. “Get some rest.”

“Mm.” Ji Yan picked up his coat and strode away.

…

Meanwhile, Jing Yuan returned to rest by the stage, drenched in cold sweat. Perhaps because everyone was drinking and dancing, the temperature in the nightclub wasn’t particularly high.

Jing Yuan’s uniform was already half-soaked. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, he slipped into the restroom and quietly removed his mask.

Underneath the mask, his forehead was covered in cold sweat. His soft, light-brown hair was damp with perspiration, sticking messily to both sides of his cheeks. If not for the makeup, Jing Yuan’s complexion would have looked terribly pale.

Resting his sore right wrist lightly on the sink, Jing Yuan felt a tightness in his chest—partly due to the noisy environment. He crouched weakly in the corner, feeling utterly drained and devoid of strength.

Five minutes passed, and a clear, gentle voice sounded beside Jing Yuan’s ear.

“Are you okay?”

The young man speaking wore the same uniform as Jing Yuan, though the style suggested he was a nightclub server.

He was thin, with strikingly beautiful eyes.

“Do you need help?”

Jing Yuan wiped the sweat from his temple with his wrist and struggled to stand. “No, I’m about to get off work.”

The young man breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good. Are you the new college student who started today?”

“Oh.” Jing Yuan lifted his weary fingers, ever mindful of his appearance, and straightened the wrinkled uniform.

The young man said, “Go home and rest well.”

Jing Yuan nodded, then carefully studied the young man before him: “Thanks.”

The young man scratched his head: “You’re welcome.”

With that, Jing Yuan picked up the Ultraman mask and slowly made his way out, leaning against the tiled wall of the restroom.

The young man watched Jing Yuan’s thin, frail figure and finally believed what his friend had told him.

The new colleague was indeed pretty, but so small and far too thin.

…

Finally, it was time to get off work. After removing his makeup, Jing Yuan took a taxi home. Today, not only had he failed to earn a single penny, but he’d also ended up spending 80 yuan of his own money.

The more Jing Yuan thought about it, the more anxious he became, so upset he nearly shed golden tears.

On WeChat, Li Mo asked if he would come tomorrow. Jing Yuan agonized for a long time before declining, citing health reasons.

The current workload was indeed a bit too much for him, so he decided to work only once every three days.

Li Mo, aware of his situation, didn’t press further. After reminding him to take care of his health, he didn’t reply again.

Jing Yuan slumped against the car window, admiring the night scenery outside while the evening breeze made him ache over the loss of 640 yuan.

But Ji Yan’s suit must have been expensive. Spilling wine on a guest was indeed careless. It was only because Ji Yan was wealthy and didn’t mind that he let it slide. Anyone else would have made a fuss.

Sneaking back home through the fence, Jing Yuan tiptoed forward, afraid of waking anyone. It was 11 p.m., and his presence here at this hour was far too strange.

The Ji residence was enormous, like a castle.

Jing Yuan quietly slipped into the living room and was about to press the elevator button when footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

“Who’s there?”

Jing Yuan flinched, then turned around with a smile. “It’s me.”

Ji Yan’s tall figure slowly approached. The room was too dim, and only the cool moonlight outlined his silhouette.

“What are you doing here so late instead of sleeping?”

The lights in the living room suddenly turned on.

Jing Yuan immediately raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare, taking the opportunity to cover them and deliberately avoid looking at Ji Yan.

“Oh… I couldn’t sleep.”

Ji Yan walked over to stand opposite Jing Yuan, seeming to notice something unusual.

In an instant, a cold finger brushed against Jing Yuan’s lips.

Jing Yuan’s eyes widened abruptly, and he took a step back.

With a subtle expression, Ji Yan raised his ring finger. “There’s lipstick on your mouth.”

Jing Yuan inwardly cursed his luck and hastily wiped his lips in a furtive manner. “My complexion wasn’t looking good today, so I put on a little lipstick.”

Ji Yan seemed to have some reservations about this answer, his cool eyes slightly narrowing. “Lipstick contains toxic substances.”

Jing Yuan looked up, his lively eyes darting subtly. “A man dresses to please his admirer. Of course, I want to look better in your eyes.”

Ji Yan let out an almost imperceptible scoff, as if he didn’t believe a word of it.

Jing Yuan glanced at him, and a sudden inspiration struck. He decided to seize the moment.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

Jing Yuan narrowed his eyes, turned around, and plopped onto the sofa in a huff. “I wore lipstick for you, and you’re laughing at me.”

“Hmph, if you ask me, you’ve never liked me at all.”

“Don’t talk to me from now on. Let’s draw a clear line between us.”

This string of accusations left Ji Yan momentarily speechless. Leaning against the elevator, his gaze fell on Jing Yuan’s slightly disheveled hair, a look of confusion in his eyes.

Why the sudden anger?

“You liked me so much before. It must have all been an act.”

Jing Yuan’s mouth continued to chatter incessantly, subtly seeking revenge for the bar incident in both overt and covert ways.

Hearing this, Ji Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, his right hand in his pocket twitched, and his expression grew visibly strained.

The living room fell into a prolonged silence.

“Is Yuan Yuan in a bad mood today?”

Suppressing his suspicion, Ji Yan walked over and sat down beside Jing Yuan. “Why are you acting like a little firecracker?”

Jing Yuan’s wrist still throbbed with pain.

In an instant, a sour ache surged up his nostrils again.

“You don’t care about me at all. You come home so late every night—I never get a chance to see you.”

Tears welled in Jing Yuan’s reddened eyes as he let out a soft sob.

“Are you out carousing? Or have you found someone else and forgotten about me? Just smell your clothes—they’re covered in all sorts of perfumes.”

Ji Yan watched Jing Yuan’s performance, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips, curious as to why the other would suddenly say such things.

If he didn’t know the truth, he might almost believe that Jing Yuan was deeply in love with him.

For some reason,

the irritation from being splashed with alcohol earlier in the evening suddenly felt a little lighter.

Leaning back against the sofa, Ji Yan rested his head lazily on his hand, gazing with interest at Jing Yuan’s round head.

It reminded him of a white stray cat he had raised as a child.

That little cat was quite the actor. It would fiercely swipe its paws at strangers, but in front of him, it would always meow pitifully.

Unaware of the truth at the time, he had once believed that the cat clung to him because it felt insecure and unwanted by the rest of the family.

It wasn’t until later, when he saw the cat nestled arrogantly in his grandfather’s lap, demanding dried fish with an air of superiority, that he saw through its true nature.

The days spent with that little cat were among the few cherished memories of his childhood.

Time slipped quietly by…

By the time Jing Yuan finished his tearful complaints, he realized Ji Yan hadn’t responded to him for a long while.

Rubbing his damp eyes, his voice slightly hoarse, he said, “You must be tired of me. I’ll go now.”

Just as he stood up, a lean, strong arm wrapped around his waist.

In the next moment, he was pulled into a broad embrace, his slender ankles lifting off the ground.

Ji Yan held him and slowly headed toward the stairs. “I have indeed been neglecting you these past few days. Let me spend more time with you tonight.”