Chapter 19#
He thought, he needed a hug.#
Qin Mu slowly recovered his senses, withdrawing his thoughts, and looked down at Jian Yunshen.
He suddenly recalled the past documented in the records.
The hand that was originally on his back slowly slid down. Qin Mu had an excellent memory; with just one glance, he remembered the approximate locations of those scars.
His palm gently brushed over the long-healed scars through the fabric. Although the pain had long since vanished, it returned with a vengeance at this moment.
Jian Yunshen’s back stiffened, his body involuntarily tensing. He heard Qin Mu’s soft inquiry: “Does it still hurt here?”
What expands at night is more than just bad emotions.
Otherwise, how could he detect a hint of softness in Qin Mu’s tone?
Jian Yunshen slowly relaxed and looked up at him.
“You know everything?”
His black pupils quietly reflected Qin Mu’s image at this moment, like a small, beautiful lake or sea.
It was written very clearly in the records.
After Jian Xin gave birth to him, there was a period when she was very kind to him.
Although not as wealthy as others, at least he had experienced a period of being cherished.
Until he was in his second year of junior high, Jian Xin became addicted to drugs.
From then on, no matter how excellent Jian Yunshen’s grades were at school, his mother never appeared again.
He always carried injuries, and countless early departures and part-time jobs were noted next to his file.
He even missed the middle school entrance exam in his third year due to injuries.
Qin Mu gently stroked Jian Yunshen’s back, as if comforting him.
Jian Yunshen’s long eyelashes trembled, and the heart beating in his chest felt as if it had been crumpled.
It was both sour and painful, with even bloody water continuously spreading, tightly blocking that spot in his chest.
He suddenly felt pain again.
Those old scars from adulthood seemed to regain sensation at this moment. Beneath the fabric, his back revealed bloody wounds, constantly tearing and reassembling.
He stubbornly stared at Qin Mu, wanting to etch every slight change in the man’s expression into his mind.
He refused to blink, even as his eyes grew sore.
Qin Mu sighed softly, extended a hand, and gently pulled him into his embrace.
The broad chest carried a searing warmth, dispelling the resentment that Jian Yunshen hadn’t yet had time to feel.
Although Qin Mu carried a choking scent of tobacco, Jian Yunshen couldn’t feel any dislike at this moment.
Qin Mu hadn’t originally intended to comfort this crybaby.
He had long guessed that with his prideful personality, saying it in front of him would probably backfire. Given his character, he wouldn’t gain any favor, and getting pricked with blood would be the least of it.
But he thought, perhaps he also needed a hug.
During a hug, bones might feel a dull ache, but body heat is transferred, breaths intermingle, and two hearts draw infinitely close.
One cannot see the other’s expression, thus all inner emotions can be revealed and fully accepted.
Yet, through the beating of hearts, all true emotions can be fully expressed.
He thought, he needed a hug.
Qin Mu released his grip. As he pulled back, his collar was clutched by Jian Yunshen.
He buried his face in Qin Mu’s shoulder, his muffled voice conveyed through the bones:
“Just a little longer.”
The next day, Qin Mu got himself ready and headed to Qin Group.
Qin Yanchen had assigned him an assistant, who had contacted him the day before.
The assistant was thoughtful and thorough; when Qin Mu parked that morning, he found his name already registered in the parking garage.
The position Qin Yanchen arranged for him was neither too big nor too small. It seemed on par with Qin Zheng’s, but it wasn’t. Qin Zheng dealt with the company’s core departments, the center of power transition, which was the best position for building connections, gaining experience, and earning recognition.
However, the department Qin Mu was in was jokingly referred to as the company’s “cold palace” (a term for where out-of-favor concubines were kept).
He had been there all morning, and only two idle projects came to him for a signature.
Rather than saying Qin Mu was there to work, it was more like he was there to collect a free salary.
Qin Mu didn’t mind much. He propped his legs on the desk and played a mobile game.
Wen Xing knocked on the door. When he entered, he saw Qin Mu in this hopeless “spoiled rich kid” image.
But a spoiled rich kid wouldn’t dutifully come to work, much less write a proposal next to an idle project.
That proposal didn’t look like something an ignorant rich kid could write.
Wen Xing smiled, put down the coffee he was holding, pushed up his glasses, and said in a gentle yet professional voice: “Manager Qin, there’s a meeting at three this afternoon. The topic is summer stationery procurement and expenditure.”
Qin Mu’s fingertips paused, his game character died, the screen went black, reflecting his slender jaw.
He had never heard of such a minor matter requiring a special meeting.
He looked up at the straight-standing Wen Xing, whose file was still by his hand.
Qin Mu started a new game, his tone as nonchalant as ever: “Were you with Qin Zheng before?”
Wen Xing nodded with a smile, his tone unchanged: “Yes, I followed Deputy Manager Qin for a period.”
In the original novel, Wen Xing didn’t have many mentions; he was simply the perfect assistant every male lead needed, capable of piloting a plane and catching a subway, an all-rounder.
Just hearing him switch between “Manager Qin” and “Deputy Manager Qin” showed that Wen Xing deserved the title of “perfect assistant” from the book.
He wondered how the male lead could bear to send him over.
Qin Mu let out a laugh, his slender fingertips sliding across the screen: “Don’t you know the principle of serving only one master? What, are you here to monitor me?”
“How could that be?” Wen Xing still smiled gently, his tone calm and unhurried: “It’s just that I had some work conflicts with Deputy Manager Qin, and I wanted to come and learn from Manager Qin.”
Qin Mu found these words pleasant to hear.
He raised his eyes, “Alright, you can go.”
Wen Xing retreated. Before closing the door, he smiled and asked: “Manager Qin, for our future harmonious coexistence, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
“Hmm, ask away.”
“Are you gay?”
“……”
Qin Mu placed his phone face down on the desk, propped his chin, and looked at him, a faint smile playing on his lips: “Are you being discriminatory?”
Wen Xing smiled and explained: “Of course, that’s not what I mean. I have no intention of prying into your private life.”
“However, if your sexual orientation is male, and you happen to need me to investigate background information, I cannot do it.”
“I will not do anything illegal.”
Wen Xing said the last sentence with utmost firmness.
Qin Mu: “……”
Alright, high moral bottom line.
He seemed to know why Wen Xing had been transferred here.
He waved his hand: “There aren’t that many things for you to do; just focus on your duties.”
Hearing this, Wen Xing’s smile became a little more genuine. He nodded slightly at him and then withdrew.
During lunch break, Qin Mu’s phone suddenly received a message.
【I’ve arrived.】
He glanced at it, grabbed something from the drawer, and headed straight downstairs.
The coffee shop downstairs wasn’t very crowded at this time. When Qin Mu arrived, he saw the person sitting obediently by the window, an empty coffee cup in front of him.
Qin Mu sat down opposite, looking up.
The other person was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a khaki vest over it. His skin was dazzlingly fair, and the sunlight cast a warm golden edge around him. His hair was dyed golden-orange under the sun. He blinked his long eyelashes slightly and smiled at Qin Mu.