The Third Year After The Breakup, He Knelt and Begged to Get Back Together - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: “Qi Mingfeng, if you don’t like me…”

At three in the morning, Qi Mingfeng returned to C City. Just as he hailed a taxi inside the high-speed rail station, a call abruptly vibrated through his phone.

Qi Mingfeng glanced at it and saw an unfamiliar number.

Assuming it was a spam call, he hung up without hesitation.

But a few seconds later, the number called back persistently.

Only then did Qi Mingfeng answer.

“Hello, Sister-in-law…”

Sister-in-law?

Qi Mingfeng: “You must have the wrong number.”

He was about to hang up when the person on the other end hurriedly said, “Qi Mingfeng, Teacher Qi, it’s you, right?”

Qi Mingfeng was even more puzzled now. “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend of He Xian’s. Sister-in-law, He Xian is drunk at the AA Club. Come and pick him up.”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t want to go. There were all sorts of people at clubs, and He Xian’s social circle was full of mutual friends with Ruan Zhiyan.

If news reached Ruan Zhiyan that he was back, or especially that he was by He Xian’s side, Ruan Zhiyan would likely start some new scheme.

He didn’t like going out since returning to C City; aside from being busy, this was part of the reason. He just wanted to live out these three months peacefully and then run away with Qi Huan.

But the person on the phone gave him no chance to refuse.

Left with no choice, Qi Mingfeng had the driver change course to the club.

After providing his name at the front desk, a staff member led him to the third floor.

He pushed open the door to the private box, and the people inside instantly turned their gaze toward him in unison.

Qi Mingfeng was, after all, a singer who had performed at concerts for tens of thousands of people; he swept a calm gaze across the room.

He didn’t see He Xian.

Someone stood up and said to him, “Sister-in-law, He Xian just went to the restroom, he’ll be back in a second. Come, come, sit down first, Sister-in-law.”

The way this person said “Sister-in-law” felt incredibly bizarre to Qi Mingfeng.

One must understand that He Xian’s entire circle of friends used to look down on him, calling him a little plaything clinging to He Xian’s thighs. They felt Ruan Zhiyan was He Xian’s true partner and treated him with cold indifference. Why would they call him “Sister-in-law” now?

It wasn’t as if the sun had risen in the west or red rain was falling from the sky when he arrived.

But now wasn’t the time to ponder this.

Although Qi Mingfeng didn’t know who had called him, he remembered the person in front of him: Qian Xiang, Ruan Zhiyan’s good friend.

Ruan Zhiyan would surely find out about his return soon, and Huan’s illness was at a critical stage.

He smiled and waved his hand. “President Qian, don’t throw that title around. I’m just a little lover kept by President He. If he hears you, he might get upset.”

Qian Xiang’s smile froze on his face.

Qi Mingfeng had no desire to stay with these people and asked, “Where is President He? I’ll go to the restroom to find him.”

Qian Xiang gestured for him to look behind him.

I couldn’t be that unlucky…

Qi Mingfeng turned around and saw He Xian, whose face was pitch black.

“Everyone, get out.” He Xian had been drinking. His voice was already deep, but his current tone was so dark it made one’s skin crawl.

Qi Mingfeng instinctively started to follow the crowd out, but He Xian grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

Only the two of them remained in the massive private box.

Qi Mingfeng forced a smile, feigning concern. “Why did you drink so much?”

He Xian: “What did you just say?”

He Xian’s grip on his arm tightened. Qi Mingfeng didn’t resist, enduring the pain while maintaining his expression. “I didn’t say anything wrong. That’s what they’ve always thought.”

“…”

He Xian thought back to the past. At the beginning, for the sake of Qi Mingfeng’s career, the two had indeed not gone public.

Later, once they both had solid footing and time passed, everyone around them knew about their situation.

But back then, he and Qi Mingfeng had been in a conflict, and he had deliberately stayed close to Ruan Zhiyan. The people around them followed the wind… and their attitude toward Qi Mingfeng had indeed been poor.

He Xian said in a low voice, “I’ll set them straight.”

Only then did Qi Mingfeng pull his arm away, lowering his eyes as he spoke. “It’s fine. I don’t care.”

He Xian let out a laugh that sounded utterly mocking. “You don’t care?”

A split second later, the world spun. Qi Mingfeng was slammed into the nearby sofa by He Xian.

A massive dark shadow pressed down on him, almost entirely enveloping him.

“He Xian, what are you doing…”

He felt danger and instinctively tried to push He Xian away, but the other man was as immovable as a mountain.

He Xian’s brows were furrowed tight, his eyes startlingly dark. “You don’t care that I’m on the trending searches with Ruan Zhiyan. You don’t care that I don’t come home and wear new clothes the next day. You don’t care where I’ve been spending my nights lately. You don’t even care how others view our relationship—what do you care about?!”

As Qi Mingfeng tried to think of an explanation, He Xian continued, “And that idiot streamer who’s throwing dirt on you—your live stream room can’t even continue, and you didn’t think to tell me? What do you even take me for?”

“Qi Mingfeng, say something!”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t dare look at He Xian. “Regarding Ruan Zhiyan, it’s because I trust you.”

He Xian: “Trust me? Didn’t you trust me before? Didn’t you still pick fights with me anyway?”

Qi Mingfeng: “Things are different now than before…”

“What’s different!”

He Xian remembered Qi Mingfeng’s choice of words earlier and mocked him.

“Oh, you used to be my boyfriend, but now you consider yourself a little lover I’m keeping.

“I traveled so far to find you and bring you back. I squeeze out time every day to go home and eat with you. You spend your days glued to your phone, and at night you’re still listening to classes, then previewing and reviewing the next day—did I say anything?

“I’ve practically been worshiping you like an ancestor, yet you treat yourself like a little lover.

“Fine. Today I’ll show you exactly what kind of treatment a ‘little lover’ gets!”

He Xian leaned down and blocked his lips, biting out the scent of blood in a clumsy struggle. Qi Mingfeng tried once more to push him away, but He Xian firmly pinned both of his wrists and pressed him down completely.

Qi Mingfeng had spent most of the past month sitting; he had no way to match the strength of He Xian, who was taller, exercised regularly, and had specifically trained in combat.

When the cold air from the air conditioner blew against him without obstruction, he completely panicked. “He Xian, what are you doing!”

He Xian spoke against his ear, “Aren’t you supposed to not care?”

Qi Mingfeng: “We’re outside! Don’t…!”

The sweltering heat of He Xian’s breath made his cheeks burn. He Xian didn’t stop his hands, his eyes staring fixedly at Qi Mingfeng’s face, refusing to miss a single change in expression. “I’ve just been too good to you.”

…

A familiar humming sensation swept over him, and his brain and body felt sharp pain simultaneously.

That excessively noisy sound ignored all barriers, ringing deep within his brain, nearly drowning out everything. It felt as if he would explode from the inside in the next second, making it impossible to tell if he had cried out in pain.

Seeing Qi Mingfeng’s features twist slightly, He Xian wasn’t feeling particularly good himself.

He suddenly realized a problem.

Qi Mingfeng hadn’t begged for mercy.

Not just this time—ever since Qi Mingfeng had returned, he would agree to whatever He Xian wanted to do, but during the process, there was almost no verbal communication.

He wouldn’t say he liked him; he wouldn’t hold him tight; he wouldn’t kick him away in a fit of temper.

Now, Qi Mingfeng would rather endure it silently, even pointlessly clutching at inanimate objects for support, rather than say a single word to soften the situation.

This was wrong.

It shouldn’t be like this between him and Qi Mingfeng.

He Xian felt an unprecedented sense of hollowness and urgency.

He grabbed Qi Mingfeng’s neck, forcing his averted face back toward him. “Qi Mingfeng, are you… are you not that… not that…”

The words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t say them; he didn’t even want to hear Qi Mingfeng’s answer.

Qi Mingfeng didn’t hear He Xian’s murmur. He finally managed to recover a bit from the pain, gasping for breath, cursing He Xian as a beast in his heart.

But He Xian didn’t let him off easily, lightly patting his face and telling him to speak.

Qi Mingfeng said weakly, “Speak about what?”

He Xian’s voice was very deep. “Say you like me.”

Qi Mingfeng tried to read He Xian’s lips through the mist of tears in his eyes. When he understood what He Xian was saying, he suddenly laughed.

By what right did He Xian think he deserved to hear a sincere “I like you” after everything they had been through, and especially now, while he was treating him like an animal?

He really wanted to ask He Xian: In your eyes, am I really that cheap?

His nearly silent laughter sounded like a clap of thunder in He Xian’s ears, blasting the hollow in his chest even wider.

He Xian gripped his neck, his hand tightening.

“What are you laughing at!”

Qi Mingfeng knew He Xian wouldn’t actually strangle him to death, but the instinct for survival still forced him to try and pry He Xian’s hand away. Yet He Xian’s hand was like it was welded shut; even as fingernails left bloody marks on him, he wouldn’t let go.

“Qi Mingfeng, if you don’t like me, why did you come back with me?!”