BPDSB Chapter 47: Staying up in the middle of the night and going crazy over nothing!

After being suddenly attacked on the butt, Qin Li was left with unspeakable suffering.

He really wanted to shout and yell to vent the bitterness, disbelief, humiliation, and indignation of having his butt smacked. However, that would only get him treated like a lunatic, and it would also wake the young man. Although he was not entirely sure what kind of defensive mechanism his personal doctor had while sleeping, Qin Li instinctively felt that if the other party were woken up, he would be extremely angry, and the consequences would be terrifying. He had only just managed to placate him, and he absolutely could not allow himself to make the same mistake a second time.

But that slap had really been very heavy. Qin Li felt that half his butt had gone numb. He lay on his side for quite a while before it finally eased up.

He stared gloomily at the sleeping person beside him for a long time.

Thinking how someone who looked so obedient and gentle while asleep could unleash such a thunderous blow in the middle of a dream.

He did not understand.

In the depths of the night, Qin Li lay quietly on his side, observing the person sleeping soundly beside him. His gaze swept inch by inch across the other party’s face. Time passed second by second, yet he did not feel bored at all. This kind of nocturnal activity was far more interesting than when he used to gaze at the moon alone and brood.

Suddenly, the phone placed beside the pillow vibrated once. Qin Li alertly picked it up, making sure the faint vibration did not disturb the person next to him.

He opened it and saw that it was a message from Zhang Li, saying that the lab report was out.

Qin Li froze for a moment, then two seconds later it clicked. This was the test result for those candy tablets. During this period, he had been convinced that his personal doctor harbored ill intent. That evening, he had pretended to be sick and taken advantage of the situation to secretly take one from the bottle the young man carried with him, then immediately handed it over to a trusted aide for testing, all to obtain proof that it was poisonous and use it to bring the young man down.

Qin Li’s expression instantly turned grave.

He stared at the message for a moment. When Zhang Li asked whether he wanted the report sent over right away, he chose yes.

He quietly got up from the bed, slipped down, carefully put on his slippers, and left the room without making the slightest sound, gently pulling the door closed behind him.

Once outside the bedroom, Qin Li’s expression immediately became cold and solemn. He walked a bit farther away before, with a serious and austere expression, opening the electronic lab report.

Qin Li felt that, at present, he had only listened to the young man’s side of the story, and there was no other solid evidence to prove that the young man had truly disobeyed Qin Zhangyuan and done nothing at all. Even if the other party said it was candy, and even if what he had been fed was candy, that still did not guarantee that everything inside that bottle was harmless candy.

What if the young man was truly as cunning as a fox, with medicine inside the bottle, and what he poured out only appeared to come from it, but in reality he had performed some sleight of hand in public, causing both what the other party ate and what he himself ate to be harmless candy?

Was that not also a possibility?

Qin Li did not dare completely rule it out.

As for how he had felt that evening that he had misunderstood the other party and had hurriedly clung on to apologize…… Qin Li subconsciously ignored that matter.

The thought that the young man might be a double agent, and that everything he had said and done that night might have been nothing more than an act to deceive him, made Qin Li narrow his eyes involuntarily, the depths of his gaze fixed on the phone screen filled with grim, icy darkness.

He deliberately moved farther away from the bedroom, went downstairs, and sat at the quiet bar counter.

Under the bright, warm yellow lighting of the bar, Qin Li held his breath and solemnly, slowly opened the electronic lab report.

It was filled with dense text. In the ingredients column, it clearly listed: sodium citrate, aspartame, food additive—sorbitol……

Qin Li skimmed past all of that, intending to look straight at the conclusion.

Then, at the very bottom, the result read: an ordinary piece of candy.

“……?”

Qin Li frowned, staring at the small line of identification text at the bottom. The more he read, the more confused he became, the more dazed he felt.

So it really was just an ordinary piece of candy? Xu Xiliu had not lied to him? Everything he had painstakingly speculated about just now had all been wrong?

Unable to believe it, he called his subordinate. The other end clearly seemed to have expected this. Zhang Li yawned, sleepy and puzzled. “President Qin, why did you have me test a piece of candy in the middle of the night? Is there something wrong with it?”

Qin Li: “……”

He answered stiffly, “Mm.”

“But the results show it’s normal. Nothing wrong at all. It’s just an ordinary piece of candy…… Oh, it even seems to be the same kind Doctor Xu often eats. I’ve seen Doctor Xu eating it before. He even gave me one. Sweet and sugary……”

Qin Li: “……”

What?

This little fox had even given candy to other people?

Why had he never proactively given him any?

Qin Li felt displeased.

Zhang Li yawned again. “Then if there’s nothing else, President Qin, I’ll head back?”

Qin Li: “……Thanks for your hard work. Go back.”

The call ended, and he pressed his lips together, silent for a long while.

To be honest, Qin Li had never made consecutive misjudgments before. Yet the always undefeated him had stumbled repeatedly because of this young man.

This left him dazed and helpless, his emotions complicated.

Qin Li stared at the report for a long time, only closing the page after repeatedly confirming that it truly was nothing more than a piece of candy.

It seemed that he really had misunderstood the other party.

Fortunately, he had looked at the report first. Otherwise, if he had flown into a rage without checking it, he would probably be miserably apologizing again right about now.

Thinking about the stupid things he had done, mistaking an utterly ordinary piece of candy for poison, Qin Li felt an unbearable wave of embarrassment all over his body, as if his toes were about to get to work the next second and dig out a gigantic castle from thin air in this villa.

Especially when he recalled scene after scene. He had pretended to be sick, viciously gripping the young man’s chin and saying those things he thought were justified. The expression on the other party’s face back then was now quite thought provoking in hindsight. At the time, he had thought it was fear and panic. When the other party lowered his head, looking pitiful, it had stirred a spontaneous tenderness in him amid his anger. But now that he thought about it, the young man watching him make a fool of himself must have felt some surprise, yes, but more likely he had been secretly laughing……

And there was also the matter of the other party giving him candy to eat. He had thought it was poison, struggled desperately, refusing to eat it no matter what. In the end, he had still been forcefully pressed into eating it. Even after tasting the sweetness, he had not given up, thinking it was some new kind of disguised poison with a rich flavor……

Qin Li’s face immediately flushed green and red in turns, his thin lips pressed tightly together. The late night was already quiet, and the vast villa felt even more empty because of it. He sat there without moving for a long time, his stiff silhouette carrying an indescribable sense of desolation.

After sitting alone for a while, Qin Li stood up, took out a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet, unsealed it, let it breathe, and poured himself a glass. Sipping the wine, he slowly digested the embarrassment, trying to forget the stupid things he had done.

But as he thought about it, Qin Li could not help but start pondering another matter.

When he had been lying on the bed earlier, a sudden thought had crossed his mind. That the young man’s defiance of Qin Zhangyuan at all costs might be because he had feelings for him. At the time, it had just been a fleeting thought, not something he examined closely. But now, with the lab report also proving the other party’s innocence, if he really followed that line of thought through, Qin Li felt that it might not be entirely impossible.

First of all, he was outstanding. His looks were fairly good. He had noticed that his personal doctor often stared at his face for long stretches of time, which showed that his face held a certain level of attraction for the other party. His figure was also good. The young man had personally praised it before, even touched it a few times. As for health…… he had once been somewhat weak, but was now gradually improving, with a promising future ahead.

And he was also very rich. Leaving the Qin Corporation aside for now, he owned quite a number of properties elsewhere as well. Most importantly, he kept himself clean. His moral conduct was impeccable. For so many years, there had not been a single man or woman around him, nor had he ever been ambiguous with anyone. If his personal doctor had initially been forced by Qin Zhangyuan to come to his side, then after arriving, been attracted to someone like him, fallen into hesitation and inner conflict, and ultimately chosen to defy Qin Zhangyuan and protect him, that did not seem impossible either.

As Qin Li thought, he took small sips of red wine. Without realizing it, he finished a glass and poured himself another, his thoughts continuing unabated. His mind followed this line of reasoning and began to roam freely, recalling memories of his interactions with the young man, trying to find traces of the doctor’s unspoken, unrequited affection for him.

The other party cared deeply about him. This was something Qin Li had never doubted. Xu Xiliu would meticulously remember his physical condition, improve his constitution, and urge him to take his medicine every day without fail. He even gave him a gift to make sure he would take his medicine on time, though that husky dog head alarm clock was a bit ugly……

Beyond that, the other party often smiled at him, and smiled very beautifully, sweetly. If it was not liking him, how could he smile like that? After all, in his impression, this little fox was cunning and cold. Smiles were merely a disguise. Toward others, his smiles were always gentle yet distant. But in front of him, he would unconsciously take off that mask. Qin Li had seen many sides of him. Happy, angry, irritated, helpless, smiling without smiling with the eyes…… so vivid and distinct.

The more Qin Li thought about it, the more it made sense. The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. His breathing could not help but quicken, his blood boiling as he tipped his head back and downed an entire glass of red wine in one go.

If his personal doctor really had secretly developed feelings for him, then had his suspicion during this period not been far too excessive? That little fox was cunning yet sensitive at heart. Could he have been deeply hurt behind the scenes?

No wonder he had been so angry tonight. Qin Li had coaxed him for a long time before he was willing to acknowledge him at all……

Qin Li completely ignored the two sided nature of his own conjecture.

Even after half a bottle of red wine, slightly tipsy and with his gaze a little unfocused, he could not help thinking even more.

Qin Li thought, if that really were the case, then what kind of attitude should he take toward his personal doctor?

Speaking honestly, Xu Xiliu was very good looking. His temperament was excellent as well. Wearing gold rimmed glasses, he was gentle and refined. Taking them off gave him an entirely different feel. Those peach blossom eyes were sharp and beautiful, lively, extremely alluring. And he was especially good at taking care of people. Using that warm, mellow voice to gently nag someone, who could possibly refuse his requests? His personality was also very distinctive. He looked easy to bully, but in reality was extremely cunning, like a little fox that was hard to trick. If someone like that were a partner, the future would certainly be wonderful……

And there was also his figure. His personal doctor had a slim waist and long legs. That fleeting glimpse in the bathroom last time, those fair and beautiful shoulders and back, had been branded deep into Qin Li’s mind.

Recalling that scene, Qin Li’s breathing hitched, and a faint blush rose uncontrollably on his handsome face.

The more he thought about it, the more bashful and excited he became, the itchier his heart felt. In the silent depths of the night, he was wide awake like an owl, drinking red wine, so energized he felt like he could power walk twenty thousand steps.

Without noticing, the remaining half bottle of red wine was gone as well, leaving only an empty bottle behind.

Qin Li hesitated over whether to open another bottle when he suddenly saw, not far away, a slender, upright figure in pajamas standing there. His personal doctor was looking at him from a distance, his voice full of confusion. “It’s the middle of the night. Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing?”

Qin Li’s spirits jolted awake.

Xu Xiliu was half asleep in the middle of the night.

He usually slept straight through until morning and rarely woke up midway. But tonight, for some reason, he had woken up in a daze halfway through. Even after waking, he was still sleepy and muddled, intending to go back to sleep. Yet he sensed that the space beside him was empty.

He had only slept with Qin Li for two days, but that man’s presence was so strong it felt as if they had already slept together for two months. To the point that when the other party was not there, Xu Xiliu could actually sense it even in a half dreaming state.

Not being in bed in the middle of the night was not a good sign at all.

Xu Xiliu’s hazy mind realized this, and he became a bit more awake. He squinted toward the direction of the door and felt that there was no one in the room, not a single sound. There was no possibility that the other party had simply gotten up to use the bathroom. Moreover, Xu Xiliu felt that the room door seemed to be open. He seemed to see a sliver of light from the corridor slipping in through a gap.

The night was quiet to an extreme. Any tiny sound would be infinitely amplified, yet everything around was still silent. That meant the other party had gone out and was not nearby.

Sleeping at night with the door left open was enough to drive someone with obsessive tendencies crazy.

Xu Xiliu, who had only been slightly awake, now became mostly awake. He sat up and looked toward the door, feeling irritable.

What was this dog of a man doing, not sleeping in the middle of the night?

He even went out without closing the door. No sense of decency at all!

……Wait, could it be that he sleepwalked? But he had never seen that before. Or was it that something was off with him again in the middle of the night and he had gone out to lose his mind?

Although not losing his mind where he slept was strangely considerate, losing his mind at all was already worrying enough.

The moment he imagined the man going crazy, the remaining two or three parts of drowsiness vanished instantly. Xu Xiliu let out an irritated cold laugh. He would not be able to sleep soundly anyway, so he might as well put on his slippers and go out to see what the other party was doing.

Following the light, Xu Xiliu went downstairs, turned a corner, and saw someone sitting at the bar counter. The other party had his back to this side and seemed to have been there for quite a while, though it was unclear what he was doing.

He could not help but speak up.

Although he deliberately held back, his voice still carried the irritation of not having slept enough.

After he spoke, Xu Xiliu saw the man in pajamas jolt, then abruptly turn around and stride toward him. Xu Xiliu folded his arms and waited where he was.

When Qin Li saw that the person who had just been filling his thoughts was now standing not far away, a surge of joy rose instantly.

He set down his wine glass and stood up to go meet him. Thoughts he had just been mulling over flickered through his mind. Feeling that his doctor was really quite clingy, coming out to look for him just because he was not in bed in the middle of the night, a softness unconsciously surfaced in the depths of his dark eyes. Happy, he quickened his pace and called out twice, almost eagerly, “Doctor Xu……”

Xu Xiliu did not respond. Squinting his eyes, he waited for the man to come closer and first gave him a careful once over. His steps were steady, his eyes clear. Mm, not gone crazy.

He let out a breath of relief, but once the other party walked up close, he could not help frowning again.

After pausing for two seconds, he suddenly leaned in without saying a word, lowering his gaze and sniffing a few times.

Qin Li had just come to a stop when he saw the young man suddenly tilt his head and move closer, so fast he was caught completely off guard. After leaning in, the other party stopped moving, extremely close. Their noses were almost touching.

At this distance, with this posture, it was hard for Qin Li not to suspect that the young man was leaning in to kiss him. His gaze fixed on the other party’s light colored, full lips. He swallowed with difficulty, his heart racing, the pounding so loud it felt as if it were echoing in his ears.

Qin Li could not help but start letting his thoughts run wild again, wondering if things were developing too quickly.

He had only just realized that his personal doctor might possibly like him, and now the other party was already leaning in for a kiss. Was this not a bit too fast?

Should it not be more like this. He discovers that you like him. He does not say anything. You continue liking him. He gradually comes to like you too. Then you confess. He is surprised and accepts. Then you happily get together. That kind of pace?

Why was the other party suddenly leaning in to kiss him?

To be honest, he was not mentally prepared yet.

Qin Li felt a little nervous.

Then should he agree or not?

If he agreed, how should he lean in to kiss?

Be gentle, or more aggressive, or pretend to be shocked and not move at all?

Qin Li’s heart was pounding wildly. He was already on the verge of losing control and leaning in to kiss when he saw the young man calmly step back. Those peach blossom eyes curved in a half smile that was not quite a smile. “You drank alcohol?”

The shift was completely abrupt.

Qin Li stared blankly. “Yeah. Want some too? It’s from my collection. The taste is pretty rich.”

Kissing after drinking sounded kind of nice. Even though he had never tried it.

Who knew that after he said that, the young man’s expression suddenly changed. The half smile carried a trace of cold irritation. “It’s the middle of the night and you’re not sleeping. You’re drinking here?”

Waking up suddenly and being unable to fall back asleep was already annoying enough for Xu Xiliu.

Discovering that the other party had slipped out without sleeping, with the risk of going off the rails, was even more irritating.

And now finding out that he was drinking alcohol only made Xu Xiliu feel like laughing in anger.

So he really did laugh in anger. He stared at the man for a couple of seconds, then could not help raising his hand and smacking the man’s shoulder. “You’re a patient taking medication and you’re secretly drinking. Do you have a death wish?”

Qin Li was still standing there in a daze, not having processed the direction things had taken, when he suddenly saw the young man raise his hand. A bad instinct kicked in instantly. He reflexively covered his face with one hand and his butt with the other.

Then he saw the slap land on his shoulder.

“……”

Xu Xiliu, irritated, spoke with confusion. “……Why are you covering your face? Toothache?”

He lowered his gaze and glanced at the covered butt. “Your butt hurts too?”

So strange.

Qin Li fell silent. After reacting, his face darkened for a moment. From the young man’s words, he also realized that the other party had not been trying to kiss him at all, but had simply leaned in to smell the alcohol on him.

And he had been wholeheartedly indulging in his own wishful thinking.

He ground his teeth a little, then put his hands down as if nothing had happened.

“……It’s nothing.”

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T/N: Qin Li, aren’t you too delusional?