The Third Year After The Breakup, He Knelt and Begged to Get Back Together - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

But he could no longer find a sense of peace from He Xian…

Qi Mingfeng quickly thought through all the happy events of his life, but he still couldn’t feel happy. He simply buried himself in He Xian’s shoulder to hide his expression.

He heard He Xian let out a light chuckle, and a vibration traveled through their pressed chests: “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer. He Xian turned his head and took his earlobe into his mouth, his warm breath filling Qi Mingfeng’s ear: “Did you prepare a cake for me?”

Qi Mingfeng shuddered instinctively: “Don’t you dislike sweets?”

He Xian’s large hand moved to his waist: “Then I’ll eat something else.”

For the first time, Qi Mingfeng was glad He Xian wanted to do it.

This way, he could temporarily forget everything and give himself time to buffer.

The night was deep. At Qi Mingfeng’s insistence, not even a small lamp was turned on in the bedroom. The waning moon provided just enough light to shroud the room in a hazy veil, casting shifting shadows amidst the sounds of impact and someone’s cries.

He Xian held Qi Mingfeng tightly amidst the sweat. Today, the person in his arms was exceptionally cooperative, and a sense of fulfillment flooded every cell of his body.

The matter of getting engaged to Qi Mingfeng was a bit sudden, but then again, not entirely sudden.

Recently, he felt more and more that Qi Mingfeng was different from how he was two years ago.

He knew his own tongue was sharp. Previously, Qi Mingfeng would bicker with him, and the two would laugh off their playfulness. If he did something wrong, Qi Mingfeng would tell him and communicate with him.

Now, Qi Mingfeng was more obedient, but communication had become sparse. Although everything he said received a response, it just wasn’t the same.

So, when he heard Qi Mingfeng use the phrase “little lover” in the clubhouse booth last time, he was angry but also secretly a bit happy.

Qi Mingfeng was still unhappy about some of the things he had done; he still had a temper with him.

However, those three words still felt like a thorn in his throat.

Was it because he felt he had no status and didn’t feel secure by his side?

Then what was the big deal about going public?

When he realized he wanted to settle down with Qi Mingfeng, he didn’t feel irritated; instead, he felt a sense of peace, as if “it should have been this way long ago.”

After they were engaged, not as many people would lust after Qi Mingfeng.

Sometimes he would visit Qi Mingfeng’s live stream. Besides professional discussions, the bullet comments were filled with countless cries of “husband” and “wife.”

Qi Mingfeng wasn’t even in the entertainment industry anymore and didn’t even show his face during the stream, yet he could still see these people shouting nonsense.

If Qi Mingfeng wore a ring, the situation would surely improve.

And Qi Mingfeng had been too obedient lately. Not that being obedient was bad, but it always made him feel something was off—perhaps he had been frightened in the booth last time.

His person should still be a bit willful.

For example, the next time Qi Mingfeng went to pick him up, he could swagger in, flash the ring, and look down on everyone: “I am He Xian’s partner, here to take him home.”

He Xian hated restraint, but thinking of that image, he unconsciously let out a smile.

If he had known that Qi Mingfeng agreeing to a proposal could bring this much joy, he would have gone public long ago. He could have even saved himself a bunch of subsequent messes. He deeply felt that the two years apart were the biggest waste of his life.

Qi Mingfeng had already fallen into an exhausted sleep. He carried him to wash up, changed the bedding, and lay back down together. His fingers constantly toyed with the engagement ring, and then he took Qi Mingfeng’s hand, pulling it to his lips for a kiss.

Time was too short; when they actually got married, he would make an even better one for Qi Mingfeng.

In his grogginess, Qi Mingfeng felt He Xian’s small movements, but he had no strength left to care.

With too many stray thoughts, Qi Mingfeng began to dream in the latter half of the night.

He dreamed of his arguments with He Xian.

At that time, his conflict with He Xian had escalated, and all his public appearances had been cut off. Ruan Zhiyan took advantage of the situation, spreading false rumors online to blacken his reputation. He no longer relied on He Xian’s channels and tried to secure work on his own, but all attempts ended in failure.

Zhou Zhiqian stood up to speak for him, which instead pushed his conflict with He Xian to a worse level.

He Xian demanded he promise never to contact Zhou Zhiqian again. He questioned He Xian in return—why was he making demands when He Xian had never considered his feelings while Ruan Zhiyan was coming in and out of their home? Furthermore, He Xian still had a marriage contract with the Ruan family, and he wasn’t recognized by the Ruan family at all.

The two had a massive fight, but in the end, it was he who bowed his head and compromised.

He knew He Xian just had that kind of temper, but he loved He Xian and wanted to spend a lifetime with him; he couldn’t stay stuck on this matter forever.

To ease the relationship, he invited He Xian to travel together, thinking that a change of environment might help digest the recent rift.

They went to a small island abroad. That was when his popularity was at its peak. Even after fleeing abroad, photos of him and He Xian at the beach were taken and uploaded online.

Qi Mingfeng suggested using the opportunity to go public. He Xian glanced at the trending search and, without a word, found Meng Ying to have everything scrubbed away.

That night, He Xian received a call from Father Ruan, saying Ruan Zhiyan was seriously ill and hoping He Xian could return to see him.

Human life was paramount, so they could only return home overnight.

But after returning, Qi Mingfeng discovered that Ruan Zhiyan’s “serious illness” had nothing to do with medical gravity. Most likely, he had seen him and He Xian on the trending search and faked the illness to ruin their vacation.

In the matter of breaking him and He Xian apart, Ruan Zhiyan had always been full of clever schemes.

The trending search about him and He Xian was removed, yet news of the head of the He family visiting his marriage partner flooded the media in a short time.

Returning home, Qi Mingfeng pushed the reports toward He Xian and couldn’t help complaining: “It’s so hard to go public with me, yet so simple with Ruan Zhiyan.”

He Xian was unhappy because his vacation had been interrupted and was currently sending people to make trouble for the Ruan family. Hearing this, he said irritably: “Not going public was for the sake of your work.”

Qi Mingfeng: “Do I still have work now?”

He Xian threw the phone aside: “If you hadn’t stayed in contact with Zhou Zhiqian, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Qi Mingfeng was also harboring a stomach full of fire and met He Xian head-on: “I don’t have a marriage contract with Zhou Zhiqian. It was purely out of interest that we wanted to collaborate.”

“The one I have a marriage contract with is the Ruan family. Why don’t you get the Ruan family to recognize you then?” He Xian roared. “And you—with so many capable, prestigious, and skilled people in the circle, you don’t collaborate with them, but it has to be Zhou Zhiqian?”

Qi Mingfeng: “You insist on Ruan Zhiyan, why can’t I insist on Zhou Zhiqian? At the very least, he is my junior apprentice from the same mentor.”

He Xian pinched his chin, his eyes full of coldness: “As long as I am here, it is impossible for you two to collaborate.”

Qi Mingfeng felt He Xian was being unreasonable.

Although he was the biological child of the Ruan family, the Ruan parents had raised Ruan Zhiyan for over twenty years; naturally, their feelings were deeper than for a son who suddenly appeared. Moreover, Ruan Zhiyan was constantly sowing discord.

The Ruan parents did not want his history of being a vagrant to be known. They wanted him to abandon Qi Huan and change his name and surname before he could return to the Ruan family.

Qi Mingfeng, of course, could not agree, so he was never recognized by the Ruan family.

The Ruan family didn’t recognize him, but he didn’t believe that lacking their recognition meant he was worthless. He also didn’t think that without He Xian, he wouldn’t be able to carve out a path for himself. What right did He Xian have to be so overbearing, and why were his double standards so severe?

The plan to ease the relationship died then and there, and the two parted on bad terms.

Coincidentally, Qi Huan graduated from university and planned to go abroad for further studies. Although Qi Mingfeng always reported good news and hid the bad, Qi Huan still sensed the problems between him and He Xian and urged him to go abroad together.

That same night, He Xian went out to drink with others. In a bad mood, he spoke his true thoughts, which were recorded by someone with an agenda.

Their relationship further spiraled toward collapse. The tottering dam was finally swept away by the flood, making it nearly impossible to rebuild.

…

At 5:30 in the morning, Qi Mingfeng woke up with an aching back and a sore body.

The powerful heartbeat felt as if there were no barrier; he was still held in He Xian’s arms. Upon looking up, he saw He Xian’s sharp jawline.

Having consumed too much physical energy yesterday and dreaming all night, his consciousness was so muddled that he couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality.

Qi Mingfeng moved his fingers. The engagement ring sat quietly at the base of his finger; the sensation of a foreign object made him feel both physically and psychologically uncomfortable.

He tried to move He Xian’s arm as lightly as possible to find some freedom for himself. But just as a gap the size of a fist opened between them, a force suddenly came from his waist, pulling him back abruptly.

He Xian glanced at the sky and grumbled dissatisfiedly: “Whether you go to bed early or late, why do you wake up at this hour? Is there something wrong with your sleep quality? I’ll have a doctor come over to check on you in a bit.”

Qi Mingfeng: “No need, I’m just a bit hot.”

He Xian grabbed the AC remote and lowered it a few degrees: “Fussy.”

Qi Mingfeng: “…”

Were he and He Xian using the same dictionary?

Fortunately, He Xian needed to adjust the AC and temporarily let him go. Qi Mingfeng took the opportunity to move his body, but the soreness from muscle overexertion made him let out a “hiss.”

He Xian laughed lowly, and his hand pressed against his waist to begin rubbing.

Qi Mingfeng hurriedly pressed down on He Xian’s hand, pleading: “Let me rest a bit.”

He Xian slapped his hand away: “What are you thinking? I’m just rubbing it for you. Sleep a bit longer. And that broken schedule of yours—change it quickly. It’s not like you’re seventy or eighty years old.”

He Xian was a high-energy person; he never neglected work or fitness, and his blood circulation was strong. His palms were always on the warmer side, and the rubbing on the waist was actually very comfortable.

In the past, He Xian would also rub his waist like this, and he would often fall into a deep sleep amidst the comfort and security He Xian provided.

It was precisely this comfort and security that gave him the illusion that He Xian loved him.

But today was different from the past. Qi Mingfeng had too much weighing on his heart; he couldn’t sleep at all.

Ruan Zhiyan would definitely not let things go so easily. Qi Huan had finally managed to get his life back; if those things were leaked…

His thumb brushed over the ring. Qi Mingfeng didn’t believe He Xian wanted to get engaged because he loved him.

He Xian had no taboos; perhaps he didn’t even understand what marriage represented. He just wanted to give him an expensive gift, which he could withdraw at any time he was unhappy.

He looked at He Xian.

He Xian had closed his eyes again. His handsome features looked like a painting in the morning light.

Actually, He Xian was very handsome—a particularly masculine kind of handsome. But the halo of his status and the pressure he had accumulated over the years often caused people to overlook his looks.

Humans are visual creatures; Qi Mingfeng naturally liked He Xian’s face, but he liked the security He Xian brought him even more.

Although he had to carry the burden of his and Qi Huan’s lives from a young age, he wasn’t so weak as to hate fate. It was just that because he had no family, he lacked a lot of guidance. He Xian’s appearance filled that void.

He Xian would tell him how to do many things better, pointing out the path while providing a safety net, allowing him to venture out with peace of mind and continue upward.

But he could no longer find a sense of peace from He Xian.

He Xian would give him much, but he would also snatch back even more at any time.