BPDSB Chapter 40: “Doctor Xu, you’d better not do anything that betrays me……”

At this moment, Qin Li also heard the hurried sound of footsteps coming from not far away. He subconsciously twisted his head to look, and saw the housekeeper who had rushed over, witnessed this chaotic scene, and then stood in place with a subtly complicated expression on his face.

The three of them looked at each other.

At this instant, a trace of confusion that was visible to the naked eye seeped out from the gloomy and unfocused black eyes of Qin Li.

Uncle Zhong really came.

This little fox did not lie to him?

Xu Xiliu was being pressed down, his hands held fast, his face also being pinched, completely unable to move at all. The glasses on the bridge of his nose were crooked and askew, looking as if they would fall off the next second. His heart had been hanging the whole time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the housekeeper standing frozen in place, not knowing what he was thinking. Feeling extremely helpless, he opened his mouth and called out, “Uncle Zhong……”

At the very least, come and rescue him first.

The housekeeper shuddered, instantly coming back to his senses.

He answered with an “ai,” and hurriedly started walking again.

The housekeeper felt that his own sir, more or less, had some improper intentions toward the other party. Last time, he had accidentally run into it. Taking advantage of the gap when Doctor Xu was treating him, he had pressed the person to the ground and kissed him. Fortunately, the doctor had a gentle temper and did not take it to heart. He had even repeatedly been so attentive to their sir’s illness.

If you asked him, Doctor Xu was good-looking and had a good temper. It was normal that sir had taken a liking to Doctor Xu. If he had taken a liking, then he should pursue him boldly. Like last time, sending flowers was great. Taking advantage of an episode to do this and that to the person was really not decent.

He sighed, stepped forward, and prepared to pull them apart.

“Sir, please let go of Doctor Xu first……”

Qin Li froze when he heard this. After repeatedly confirming that the housekeeper walking toward them was not a hallucination, he slightly furrowed his brows. Before the housekeeper could pull them apart, he released his grip first, stepped to the side, rubbed his still faintly aching brow, and completely woke up.

“I……”

He had just let out the beginning of a sentence when his voice abruptly stopped upon his gaze catching sight of the purplish-red, purplish-red^[1] color on his own collar.

What was this thing?

Looking again, it was the same on his hands, on his wrists, on his pants as well. Turning his head to look, the area around his desk was a complete mess, all of it filled with that kind of purplish-red, purplish-red color that was dazzling enough to blind a person’s eyes.

Qin Li was so shocked that he lost his voice. His black eyes widened, his whole person more clear-headed than ever before, his voice hoarse and strained. “I…… what happened here?”

Seeing that the man had taken the initiative to let go, the housekeeper froze for a moment. After realizing something, he nervously looked toward Qin Li and confirmed, “Sir, you just now seemed to be about to have another episode. Are you alright now? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“……I’m fine.”

Qin Li said, his expression complicated.

There was nothing particularly uncomfortable about his body, aside from his eyes feeling a bit dry from staring at the display screen for too long. There was also a headache, probably because it had started hurting when he was dazed earlier. Now that he was clear-headed, the headache was also gradually fading. After Qin Li rubbed his brow, he completely recovered, his black eyes clear.

He thought of something and looked toward the computer over there, the look in his eyes becoming even more complicated.

Earlier, he had been sitting there staring at the surveillance footage. He remembered that there had still been a fruit plate placed on the desk at the time. Inside, it seemed to be red-fleshed dragon fruit, and it had even been personally delivered by his private doctor. It was just that he had not paid any attention to the thing at all, focusing entirely on the surveillance. He also had not been able to see any problems no matter how long he watched, getting stuck in a dead end. This dragon fruit was probably turned into this state during his brief moment of daze.

These thoughts flashed through Qin Li’s mind. Some crazy images, such as him treating the dragon fruit as a mouse and gripping it frantically, squeezing it until juice burst out and splashed everywhere, as well as scenes of him dazedly licking the liquid at hand, replayed back and forth in his head, making him involuntarily close his eyes.

He felt embarrassed to the point that his toes curled against the ground.

This kind of awkwardness caused him to not make a sound for quite a while, only standing stiffly in silence.

The study became a bit quiet for a moment, a strange atmosphere spreading.

The housekeeper looked at Qin Li, seeing that his speech was coherent and that he had calmed down, and froze.

He had put aside what he was doing and rushed over as soon as he received Xu Xiliu’s call. He had originally thought that Qin Li had another episode. Who knew that this time the situation was not quite the same as before. Sir had actually taken the initiative to wake up without any medication intervention.

The housekeeper was a little nervous at first. After reacting, he became very happy instead.

This was a good thing!

It showed that sir’s condition was slowly recovering.

Given time, he would definitely be able to completely break free of it!

He happily looked toward the young man over there, wanting to share a bit of this.

Xu Xiliu’s side was very quiet, or rather, it carried a kind of calm, rippleless, mind-like-still-water quiet.

After being released by the man, he finally let out a breath, straightened up, and moved his back and shoulders, which hurt a bit from being pressed against the wall and bumped.

Next, Xu Xiliu touched his face, which hurt a little from being pinched, and subconsciously lowered his head to straighten his clothes. The wrinkles in the fabric were easily smoothed out, but the purplish-red fruit juice that had stained it was spread in mottled patches. One could imagine it would be very difficult to wash out. There was only one ending for it, to be scrapped and thrown away. He could not help feeling a bit melancholy.

His vision was a little blurry. Xu Xiliu narrowed his eyes and discovered that several drops of purplish-red liquid had also splashed onto the lenses. He took off his glasses and simply used the corner of his clothes to wipe them. After wiping for a long time, they still were not clean. He figured he would have to get some water. Depressed, he ultimately could not help letting out a sigh.

What kind of sin was this, exactly.

The housekeeper saw the young doctor standing there quietly, the gold-rimmed glasses taken off and held in his hand. His peach-blossom eyes were lowered. On the side of his fair face were several frightening purplish-red fingerprints stained with fruit juice. There were also marks at his waist, clearly formed from being tightly wrapped by someone, not to mention the many patches of color rubbed onto his clothes.

The gentle smile that had always been in the other party’s eyes was gone. From head to toe, he was permeated with a kind of raw, erotic aura after having been ruthlessly messed with, as if he might shatter at any moment, making one unable to help having their smile stiffen.

This was far too inappropriate!

His family’s sir looked downright bastardly because of this.

The housekeeper felt a surge of indescribable discomfort. In the end, he still softly said toward Xu Xiliu, “Doctor Xu, I’m really sorry……”

Hearing this, Xu Xiliu glanced at the housekeeper. Although inside he was so frustrated he wanted to curse someone out, on his face he still revealed a shallow, gentle smile. He shook his head, indicating that this was not the housekeeper’s fault.

It was never the housekeeper’s fault to begin with.

If anyone should be cursed, it should be the protagonist gong.

Dog of a man.

He paused, then thought of something. With an expression that was hard to describe, he said again, “But in the future, the manor really should stop eating dragon fruit. It’s not the dragon fruit’s fault, it’s just not very suitable……”

The housekeeper glanced around at the surroundings and deeply agreed.

Following the sound, Qin Li, whose toes were awkwardly digging into the ground, also subconsciously looked toward Xu Xiliu over there.

At a single glance, he saw the fingerprints on the other party’s face, purplish-red, purplish-red, exactly the same as those on his own body. Comparing the size of the fingers, they were clearly pressed on by himself, and he could not help feeling a bit guilty.

To be honest, Qin Li had never seen his private doctor in such a bedraggled state before.

Usually, from head to toe, he was meticulous. His peach-blossom eyes were full of smiling intent, his lenses so bright they could reflect light. Whether sitting down or standing up, he would smooth his clothes until the wrinkles were neat. He was fastidious to an absurd degree. But now, not only were there horizontal fingerprints stretching across his face, his clothes were also a complete mess. He was standing there with his head lowered, silently wiping his lenses. After wiping for a long time, they still were not clean, looking aggrieved and wronged, which made Qin Li feel even more guilty.

Within that guilt, there was also a trace of subtle tenderness, an urge to pull the person into his arms and coax him.

Only, this strange thought had just emerged when it was suppressed by another.

Qin Li could not help thinking darkly. Who told this little fox to be suspected of having ties with Qin Zhangyuan. Was he wrong to want to cut off all potential dangers?

Standing at the doorway making a phone call and making him misunderstand, did the other party really have no problems at all?

As he thought, he could not help thinking again of the completely normal surveillance footage. No matter how he watched it, it could not change the fact that the other party had not done anything bad. And just now, when he questioned the other party about making the call, the other party said it was to call Uncle Zhong over, and the very next moment Uncle Zhong indeed arrived. This also showed that the other party did not seem to have lied.

This made him look like he was being unreasonable and making trouble.

The darkness in Qin Li was shattered in an instant. He looked again at the young man over there, who was keeping his head lowered and not even looking at him, and felt rather uncomfortable. He clicked his tongue inwardly. Unable to restrain himself, he walked over and extended his hand.

“Doctor Xu……”

Then he saw the other party warily take two steps back, staring at his purplish-red, purplish-red hands.

“What are you trying to do?”

Qin Li. “……”

He suddenly remembered the words from a moment earlier, when the young man had said he was dirty.

He used his other, slightly cleaner hand to rub his brow.

Seeing this, the housekeeper hurriedly pushed the two of them out of the study and said, “Sir and Doctor Xu should both go out first. Since sir is clear-headed now and nothing happened, there’s no need to worry anymore. You two should go wash up and change clothes first. I’ll bring people to clean this place up.”

Xu Xiliu also really could not stand how dirty he himself was, and nodded first, preparing to return to his room.

Qin Li subconsciously followed.

When they reached the area near the two bedrooms, Xu Xiliu continued forward. In the second before he was about to turn into his own room, his arm was grabbed by someone.

He turned his head and glanced back, discovering that Qin Li had used the slightly cleaner hand to grab him.

He snorted inwardly. Anyway, the clothes were already dirty. They would have to be thrown away. No matter how particular he was, it was useless. But in the end, he still paused his steps along with the pull. He shot a sideways look over and said irritably, “What is it?”

“Take a shower.”

Qin Li said it subconsciously.

Qin Li answered instinctively.

He was thinking that he really had been a bit unreasonable just now. Setting aside whether there had actually been any involvement, the fact was that he had wrongly accused the other party and gotten him covered in filth. If he did something wrong, he should take responsibility. Since he was at fault, then he should be responsible for getting the person cleaned up. As for whether Xu Xiliu had betrayed him or not, if that betrayal was truly nailed down beyond doubt, then he could always make him pay it back with interest later.

The more Qin Li thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. His dark eyes lowered as he stared at the young man before him, whose entire body gave off an indescribable, ravaged kind of beauty. He emphasized, “Take a shower with me.”

“…What?”

Xu Xiliu suspected there was something wrong with his ears. Otherwise, how could he have heard something so terrifying? But the moment he saw the man’s serious expression, he realized this was reality, not his imagination. That only made him even more irritated. “Why should I wash with you? I can wash by myself.”

“No.”

Qin Li refused, enunciating each word: “You got dirty because of me. I need to wash you clean.”

Xu Xiliu felt goosebumps rise all over his body. The more he listened, the more wrong this sounded.

He stared at the man for a moment, suspecting the other was just pretending and not actually awake at all. His gaze paused briefly on the man’s face, which still looked very handsome even though the side of it had been splashed with purplish-red fruit juice. He clicked his tongue, turned around, and forcefully pried open the hand gripping his sleeve. “Think whatever you want, it’s not necessary. Anyway, I’m not washing together with you.”

Qin Li: “The bathroom by my bedroom is bigger, and it has more showerhead modes. The bathtub is big too.”

Xu Xiliu: “I just like low-end ones.”

“It’s hard to wash off. I can help you do it.”

“It’s fine, I’ve got a lot of strength. I can scrub it off.”

The two went back and forth like this. Xu Xiliu did not budge at all, and Qin Li pressed his lips together.

Xu Xiliu spoke as he continued to forcefully pry at Qin Li’s hand.

Who knew he could not pry it open at all. The other was gripping him extremely tightly.

Noticing that Xu Xiliu might be getting the idea of stripping off his clothes and running away directly, he even adjusted his grip, changing from tugging at his clothes to clutching his arm.

Now he really could not leave.

Xu Xiliu immediately widened his eyes and glared at him.

He laughed in anger: “Since when did Mr. Qin turn into a rogue?”

Qin Li frowned. His pair of black eyes were still gloomy and fierce, but at this moment they oddly carried a hint of seriousness. He patiently explained, “I did not intend to be like this. My emotions were off just now, and I did something bad. You are unhappy now. Because this was caused by me, I want to take responsibility……”

“I forgive you, all right? I do not care. Let go.” Xu Xiliu smiled.

On the surface, the smile looked pleasant. In reality, when he was prying at Qin Li’s hand, he spitefully pinched him a few times.

Qin Li naturally felt it. He pressed his lips together, then increased the strength of his grip and pulled him straight into the large bathroom attached to his bedroom, still repeating that same line about having done something wrong and needing to take responsibility.

Xu Xiliu was about to be nagged to the point of losing his temper. On top of that, as time ticked by, he felt the fruit on his body turning sticky and unbearably uncomfortable. He was also afraid that if it went on too long, the pigment from the juice would seep into his skin and become even harder to wash off. If he went out later with red marks all over his face, did he have any shame left at all?

So, like a deflated balloon, he compromised. “Fine, fine. We’ll wash together, we’ll wash together. Stop wasting time and hurry up.”

Qin Li first closed the bathroom door before finally letting go of Xu Xiliu’s hand.

In return, he got a white-eyed glare from Xu Xiliu.

Xu Xiliu felt that there was nothing wrong with two men washing together. On top of that, with the culprit still right there beside him, if he could not get clean he could always curse at the other a few times. With that thought, he agreed.

He did not bother with what Qin Li was doing and only wanted to hurry up, take off his clothes, and get in to wash. He set the glasses in his hand aside and, without another word, started undressing. He was decisively efficient about it. In the blink of an eye, his top was already half off. So when Qin Li turned back around, he only managed to blurt out a single “You” before his eyes were flooded with a vast expanse of snow-white.

The young man had his back to him as he undressed. Both hands grabbed the hem of his clothes and lifted it upward, effortlessly taking off most of it in one motion. His fair, slender shoulders and back were completely exposed to the air. Under the warm-toned lighting of the bathroom, that pale color seemed to be dyed with a layer of warmth, like warm jade. The butterfly bones on either side were astonishingly beautiful. With the slightest movement, they hooked out a hint of desire. His back was thin yet supple, the lines tightening as they went down, his waist firm, lean, and narrow……

Qin Li was so shaken that he froze in place, his black eyes staring straight at the other person, not knowing how to react.

He had not seen it before and had not had any thoughts about it. Now, he felt that his doctor’s shoulders and back were damn good-looking. If there were sweat beads rolling down on them, how would that even be survivable? And that waist was so thin, it felt like it could be grasped with one hand……

The more he looked, the hotter his eyes felt, his chest felt warm, and even his nose felt hot.

All of a sudden, with a soft patter, a drop fell onto the floor.

Qin Li blankly reached up and wiped, only to see a smear of bright red.

After Xu Xiliu finished taking off his top, he noticed that things around him had gone quiet. Curious, he turned his head to take a look. With that one look, his heart instantly leapt up into his throat.

He hurried over in three quick steps, staring at the man in shock. “Qin Li!”

“What’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly get a nosebleed? And so much of it!”

Xu Xiliu instinctively reached out to cup the other’s face, wanting to touch him but not daring to. In shock, he saw several more drops fall onto the floor tiles in such a short span of time. Under the man’s nose, two straight streaks of bright red hung down, making him look both miserable and utterly bewildered.

Even that handsome face looked pitiful now. The aura of a gloomy big shot was instantly cut in half.

“How could you suddenly get a nosebleed when you were perfectly fine? You do not have some illness I do not know about, do you? Or did you bump into something just now?”

Qin Li looked at the young man in front of him anxiously cupping his face, long fingers brushing against his cheeks, running over without even bothering to put his clothes back on. Because they were facing each other head-on, with the other directly in front of him, all he had to do was lower his gaze to see the beautiful sight of the young man’s bare chest, waist, and abdomen. His mind instantly heated up, and his nose heated up again as well.

“I……”

“Ah, it’s bleeding again. Are you really okay?”

Xu Xiliu cried out in shock, watching helplessly as even more bright red blood flowed out. He could not figure it out no matter how much he thought about it, yet he had no choice but to grow serious. Not seeing any tissues, he grabbed the clothes he had just taken off and pressed them against the other’s nose to temporarily stop the bleeding, then turned to head out.

“Wait here for me for a bit. Do not tilt your head back. It would be bad if you choke. I’ll go call Uncle Zhong and grab some hemostatic medicine for you on the way……”

He had not even taken a step when the man suddenly grabbed him.

After Qin Li came back to his senses from that dazed moment, his expression darkened. His face was pitch-black, his dark eyes deep and stormy, on the verge of an outburst, mixed with a trace of disbelief.

He actually got a nosebleed just from looking at the other person’s back?

Impossible.

He did not believe it.

It had to be because the weather was too dry.

Qin Li’s black eyes were deep and gloomy, his aura cold and congealed, still very much that crazed big shot.

Yet at this very moment, he still had no choice but to stand there stubbornly. With one hand, he held the clothes the young man had stuffed into his hands to stop the bleeding. The bloody smell at the tip of his nose mixed together with the fragrance of flowers and fruit. With the other hand, he gripped the young man tightly, refusing to let him go out. Even though the redness had spread from his ears down to his neck, he remained stiff and obstinate, stubbornly tight-lipped. His voice sounded as though it was being forced out through clenched teeth: “I’m fine.”

“It’s just that the weather is too dry. Stuff it a bit and it’ll be fine. No need to take medicine.”

Xu Xiliu turned back, suspicious. “Is that so?”

It was spring recently, and the weather had been a bit dry, so that explanation did make some sense.

But wasn’t this nosebleed flowing a little too much?

It looked kind of scary.

“Yes.” Qin Li ground his teeth, doing his best not to give himself away. For that purpose, his gaze wandered everywhere, anywhere except toward that snow-white sight. “It’s just because spring is too dry. I just need to drink more water normally. It’s not a big deal.”

“……Alright,” Xu Xiliu compromised. “Then let me see whether the bleeding has stopped.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward, wanting to pull the man’s hand away to check the situation.

Who knew that the moment he got close, the other person suddenly turned around. The movement was so fast it was like he had springs installed, leaving Xu Xiliu stunned.

Touch him again, and he twisted away like a mimosa, dodging every time, refusing to let Xu Xiliu touch him.

“What are you hiding from? It’s not embarrassing. Don’t avoid the doctor,” Xu Xiliu laughed, a little exasperated.

“……No need. I feel like it’s already stopped.”

Qin Li answered in a muffled voice, with a faint trace of panic still audible in his tone.

“Alright then.”

Xu Xiliu sighed helplessly. “Then I’ll go wash up first.”

Qin Li froze for a moment. When he reacted, he immediately turned around, just in time to see the young man with both hands hooked at the waistband of his pants, about to take them off. They had even slid down a little already. His pupils instantly widened, his gaze snapping over as if magnetically pulled straight toward a certain spot.

A surge of some kind of impulse rose up again in the bathroom, making his head feel hot and his nose feel hot too. Another wave of heat rushed out……

Qin Li’s face darkened again, but he could not worry about anything else anymore. With lightning-fast reflexes, he averted his gaze and swiftly yanked the young man’s pants back up with a sharp swish. At the same time, his other hand clamped onto the man’s arm, and in a flash he sent him out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a bang. The next second, the nosebleed started again. From inside, he said stiffly and awkwardly, “I think washing together is a bit inappropriate. Doctor Xu should go back and wash instead……”

Xu Xiliu stood there staring at the closed bathroom door in front of him, completely stunned, utterly unable to make sense of this surreal turn of events.

After a long while, he ground his teeth and laughed.

Fine.

You’re really something.

You were the one who wanted to wash together, and now you’re the one who doesn’t.

Why do you have so much bullshit going on?

If it were not for seeing how pitifully miserable the other was with that nosebleed, Xu Xiliu would really have gone over and punched him to make him bleed even more. Gritting his teeth, he rolled his eyes on the spot, let out a cold laugh, and left.

In the rush just now, his clothes had been used to stop the other’s bleeding. Now he was bare from the waist up. Instead of going through the front door, he took the balcony passage, sprinted back to his own room at top speed, and went straight into the bathroom.

Standing beneath the showerhead, Xu Xiliu washed while forcefully scrubbing the dragon fruit juice off his face. At the same time, he was grinding his teeth and viciously cursing the protagonist gong in his heart, calling him a fucking idiot.

The past couple of days had been relatively calm, and he had almost forgotten just how much of a bastard this guy was, how much he liked to mess with people.

Just wait.

He would definitely get it back.

Dog of a man!

Xu Xiliu took this shower in a murderous mood, cursing the protagonist gong a hundred times over in his heart.

After finishing, he put on his pajamas and stood in front of the mirror, carefully examining his face. Reflected in the mirror was his appearance. He had a very clean, refined, good-looking face, but his pair of peach blossom eyes carried a hint of seductive allure. When he wore glasses it was fine, able to conceal it a little. Without them, it became especially obvious.

At present, the lower half of that face, especially the side of his face, his cheeks, and his chin, had been scrubbed so hard they were bright red. The purplish-red color of the dragon fruit juice was gone, which put him at ease, but the moment he touched that slightly red, warm skin, anger flared up again, and he cursed that man as a fucking idiot once more.

He splashed his face with cold water and went out.

At dinner that evening, even though they were sitting at the same table, Xu Xiliu barely paid the man any attention.

He chatted with the butler with a smiling face, spoke gently with Chef Zheng, looked at the sky, looked at the ground, looked at his plate, but his gaze did not drift toward Qin Li even a bit.

The other clearly looked like he wanted to strike up a conversation. His eyes kept poking toward Xu Xiliu, and he even tried coughing a couple of times to draw his attention. He was immediately shut down by Xu Xiliu, who did not even look sideways as he said, “Is Mr. Qin catching a cold? I can prescribe you some cold granules to drink.” Xu Xiliu ate with a mild smile on his face, but the pair of chopsticks in his hand moved fiercely, like concealed weapons.

Qin Li’s expression turned complicated, and he shut his mouth.

After dinner, Xu Xiliu turned around and went straight back to his room, planning to go to bed early tonight to calm his anger.

He was afraid that if he slept too late, the more he thought about it, the angrier he would get, to the point of losing sleep.

He lay on the bed, gradually calming down, letting his thoughts sink deeper and deeper, until there was nothing at all……

Then, from behind the distant curtains, came two clear tap tap sounds.

As if afraid he had not heard them, there were two more.

Then another two.

Extremely regular and restrained, yet also extremely shameless.

Xu Xiliu snapped his eyes open. In the darkness, his good-looking face twisted for a moment as he smiled toward the balcony. If a sound could come from that direction, then it was either a ghost, or that idiot man whose room connected to his.

Very well, very well. Not only had he toyed with him earlier, now he was even disturbing his sleep, was that it.

Xu Xiliu’s anger flared instantly. He did not even bother putting on slippers, stomping over in quick steps. After turning on the light, he yanked the curtains open with a sharp pull.

Behind them, separated by a glass door, there was indeed a tall, slender figure hidden in the darkness.

When the other saw him, he opened the door and came in, his entire figure disappearing into the warm light of the room.

Xu Xiliu might have been angry, but the smile on his face only grew more pleasant, his temper seeming so gentle it was practically nonexistent. He gave two soft heh heh laughs, his voice mellow and mild, gentle and refined, yet his words were dripping with sarcasm. “Mr. Qin, you’d better give me a reason for disturbing my sleep.”

After not seeing the other all evening, Xu Xiliu took a proper look now. The mess on Qin Li’s body had already been cleaned up. That handsome face was still very good-looking—just especially infuriating to look at.

Hearing this, Qin Li paused. His gaze lowered slightly as he handed something over.

“……You left your glasses with me. I brought them back for you. They’ve already been washed clean.”

Xu Xiliu lowered his head and took a look. It really was his glasses.

But the moment he thought about how those glasses had ended up with the other person, his anger flared up again.

Without any courtesy, he reached out to take them, not even bothering to say thank you.

Who knew that at the instant he reached out, the other person actually pulled them back.

Xu Xiliu froze for a second. His peach blossom eyes widened, a ball of anger gathering at the bottom of his gaze.

“What do you mean?!”

Qin Li gave a light cough and smiled, looking somewhat ingratiating. “I’ll help you put them on.”

Then, without waiting for Xu Xiliu to respond, he directly set the glasses onto the young man’s nose bridge. He even carefully adjusted the position. His fingertips brushed against the soft skin beneath, making Qin Li feel a bit distracted and restless. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked the other over.

With the addition of the glasses, the person in front of him instantly gained an extra touch of gentleness, his temperament uniquely alluring.

Xu Xiliu closed his eyes for a moment, his tone growing even calmer. “……Have you ever seen anyone sleep while wearing glasses.”

Qin Li froze.

He also realized the problem, his body stiffening.

The matter with the shower really had been handled poorly on his part. He had clearly wanted to take responsibility and help wash the other clean properly, but who would have thought that the moment he looked, he would get a nosebleed. Embarrassed and flustered, he had no choice but to send the young man back.

That evening, he had been wanting to find a chance to explain that he had not done it on purpose, but who knew the other would not pay him any attention at all. The young man smiled warmly at everyone, yet did not even look at him once. That made Qin Li feel somewhat uncomfortable. He brooded for a while, until he noticed the glasses left in the bathroom. Feeling a bit relieved and not thinking too much about it, he washed them clean and brought them over.

Thinking of this, Qin Li awkwardly lowered his voice and apologized. “Sorry.”

“There was a bit of an accident. Next time we can wash together again……”

He said it stiffly.

Next time?

Xu Xiliu nearly rolled his eyes on the spot when he heard that.

What a rotten mouth. Even an apology could be so infuriating. Once again, he seriously doubted how the original novel’s protagonist shou had ever taken a liking to him.

But since things had already been said to this point, Xu Xiliu did not want to stay angry any longer. Prolonged anger was bad for his health. Given the man’s awkward, gloomy temperament, managing to say a single “sorry” probably already felt like it was costing him his life. So Xu Xiliu decisively accepted the apology, with only one thought left in mind: going back to sleep.

“Alright. Since Mr. Qin has said that much, I won’t hold it against you. It’s late. Go back and sleep. Good night.”

As he spoke, he moved to push the other person back.

Unexpectedly, his hand was caught by the man.

“Wait,” Qin Li called out. “I……”

He had not actually been thinking of anything, only speaking on instinct.

But when he met the young man’s puzzled gaze, a thought suddenly formed in his mind. He spoke again. “I want you to sleep together with me.”

“What?” Xu Xiliu was shocked. His voice shot up. “What are you talking about? I’m a doctor. I sell my skills, not my body!”

He felt like this state of mental disorientation was contagious.

Right now, he felt pretty disoriented himself.

“Not like that,” Qin Li hurriedly refuted him, his words becoming smoother the more he spoke. “It’s like last time, when you stayed by my side watching me sleep. I fell asleep very quickly and slept very well. So this time I want it to be the same. It can help relieve my insomnia symptoms.”

As Qin Li spoke, he suddenly felt that this was actually a rather ingenious solution.

His personal doctor was slippery like a loach. Clearly suspicious, yet there was never any concrete flaw to grab onto. His temperament was sly as well, making everything Qin Li did seem like a joke.

But if he could keep the other under his watch at all times, never letting him out of sight, perhaps the problem would resolve itself.

Qin Li found himself a reason and successfully convinced himself. His tone grew more confident as well. “So, Doctor Xu, would you like to sleep together with me?”

After hearing all this, Xu Xiliu still felt speechless.

So why did he think of asking him?

Was he some kind of human sleeping pill?

Besides, was he sure he couldn’t sleep because of insomnia—and not because he’d slept all day?

So many points to complain about that he did not even know where to start.

Just as he was about to refuse righteously, he suddenly heard a heavenly sound by his ear: “More money.”

“If Doctor Xu agrees, the price is negotiable,” Qin Li gave a light cough.

His gaze stayed fixed on Xu Xiliu’s face.

Xu Xiliu froze on the spot.

Damn it, another money attack!

This made things very difficult for him.

After struggling internally for a long while, Xu Xiliu cautiously asked, “……Paid daily?”

Qin Li answered immediately, “Of course.”

Xu Xiliu then furrowed his brows and pondered for a few seconds, before lifting his eyes to look at the man stubbornly staring at him, then furrowed his brows and pondered for a few more seconds.

He felt that the man’s inability to sleep was, for the most part, probably because he had slept the entire day. At this point, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he still would not be able to fall asleep. Even sleeping pills would likely be half as effective, so he himself obviously would not be of much use.

But the other person seemed very persistent. If he did not agree, he would probably be pestered for a long time, just like before. After all, this was a gloomy big shot who never failed to get what he wanted. Xu Xiliu did not want to waste his sleeping time on something this stupid. Anyway, sleeping was sleeping no matter where it was.

Of course, earning a bit of money on the side was also nice.

Even one night was still money earned.

After thinking it over, Xu Xiliu’s expression softened quite a bit. He lifted his chin and nodded.

“Alright then, I agree.”

If he was going to sleep beside him, then the man had better be prepared to be kicked off the bed. Perfect. If he got kicked a few times at night, then the next day he would not want to continue anymore. Xu Xiliu would get one night’s pay, vent his anger, and end up with some peace and quiet. Three birds with one stone. Beautiful.

Seeing this, Qin Li felt inexplicably pleased inside. He narrowed his black eyes slightly, but his face gave nothing away, still wearing that gloomy, flat expression as usual.

He led the young man into his room and lay down on the large bed.

Xu Xiliu obediently lay down as well. While the man took advantage of the moment to fetch an extra blanket, he quickly opened his phone and watched classic edited scenes from martial-arts action films.

When Qin Li came back and saw this, he could not help asking out of curiosity, “Why are you watching this? Doctor Xu likes wuxia films?”

“No,” Xu Xiliu answered decisively. “For sleep aid purposes.”

They say that looking at a beauty under the moon only makes them more beautiful. Looking at one in the darkness is no less so.

The night was like a layer of faint, bewitching gauze, gently draped over the other person. The young man lay there quietly. His hair was a little tousled from his sleeping position, his light-colored lips closed, and those lively, beautiful peach blossom eyes were shut as well. His whole person gave off an unprecedentedly well-behaved air.

What Qin Li had said about sleeping together to treat insomnia had been nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment remark. It was only now, when the other was lying beside him and already asleep, that he truly realized this reality.

……This was fine too.

With the person staying by his side, never leaving his sight, whatever he did would be within Qin Li’s grasp.

Qin Li thought silently.

His gaze slowly swept over the young doctor’s face. The more he looked, the cuter he found him—especially the flesh at the sides of his face, fair and soft. He really wanted to pinch it; the texture would surely feel very good.

Qin Li did not notice in the slightest how abnormal his thoughts were. He quietly reached out, gently pinched the young man’s cheek, narrowed his eyes, and felt a dark thrill rise in his heart.

But on the surface, he still had to put on that sinister, chilling expression. His fingertips slid from the young man’s cheek all the way to his lips, and in the end he pinched up the young doctor’s chin, letting out a cold laugh. “Doctor Xu, you’d better not do anything that betrays me……”

Xu Xiliu was sleeping deeply, but he felt it was noisy, like a mosquito buzzing nonstop.

Half-asleep and muddleheaded, he had no awareness at all of hiding his true temper. He immediately muttered a curse, “Fuck, you’re so damn noisy. Get lost.”

Right after that, he irritably slapped out with his hand.

A crisp pa sound rang out.

In the dead of night, it was especially quiet, making the sound especially clear.

Everything instantly went silent—so silent it was frightening.

Xu Xiliu satisfiedly turned over and slept soundly.

And on the other side—

After a few seconds, a figure in the night slowly lay back down.

Qin Li covered the side of his face that had been slapped, his expression full of disbelief.

His dark eyes were unfocused as he questioned his very existence in the depths of the night.

---

T/N: Haha QL getting slapped unintentionally is so satisfying I wish XX will know he got to vent somehow~

Another monster chapter — phew! 😮‍💨 Shamelessly asking for coffee, ’cause I really struggled with this one lol ☕😂

Anyways, I’ll probably not update in the next two, but I’m free on Thursday and Friday, so I’ll try to get as many advanced chapters as I can during that period so you receive regular updates for a while~