T/N: Thank you once again to DashingRavens for the donation! I thought the bonus chapter was too short, so I tossed in an extra one!

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Lu Qi was quickly angry to the extreme at Mu Nanqiao. How could such a smart person be defenseless against the scumbag who bullied him? He watched as Mu Nanqiao took the glass of wine and began chatting with Lin Yuan, the golden liquid swirling in the glass with a clear light.

But Lu Qi had clearly seen what that bastard Lin Yuan put into the glass.

He watched the glass vigilantly, but unfortunately didn’t have time to take out his mobile phone and take a picture for evidence.

Mu Nanqiao held the glass and didn’t pay attention to what Lin Yuan was saying. He seemed to be chatting with Lin Yuan, but in fact, his thoughts were all on the little deer huddling in the corner.

He set down his wine glass and turned toward that baseball hat at the bar, then picked up the wine glass and turned his head back. He couldn’t hide the smile on his lips, and could only raise his hand to cover his mouth and cough.

The glass was switched twice, and Lin Yuan’s face darkened. “Did you hear what I said?”

Mu Nanqiao finally turned his eyes toward him.

“Does it matter whether I heard? It’s all nonsense.” In a good mood, he leaned back on the bar counter, a smile on his face and a gleam in his fox-like eyes. There was not enough time for the lingering sentiment to disperse, but faced with this eyesore, his tone was chilled. “Mr. Lin has motives other than drinking, and this ceasefire is a sham. Getting me to drink the wine you brought was your original intent, right?”

Lin Yuan’s eyes grew cold, and his feigned kindness just now was seen through and torn apart bit by bit. He was sure that Mu Nanqiao wouldn’t drink, so he sneered and was about to speak when Mu Nanqiao gave him a meaningful look.

Raising his hand, Mu Nanqiao pressed the glass of wine to his lips and actually drank it in one gulp. He drank a little hastily, and a bit of golden wine flowed down from the corners of his lips, moistening his Adam’s apple.

Lin Yuan was stunned. He didn’t know where this was coming from, but instinctively sensed that something wasn’t right and took a step back.

At the same time, a person suddenly appeared next to Mu Naniqao and slapped him on the back. “Spit it out, spit it out!”

Lin Yuan: ……

This person’s voice was quite familiar.

When he took a closer look, it turned out to be Lu Qi.

Lu Qi was so anxious that he turned the brim of his hat to the back of his head and patted Mu Nanqiao’s back: “Spit it out! I saw him throw a little white pill into it.”

Mu Nanqiao: “Cough, cough, cough…..cough cough…..”

He turned his head and gave Lu Qi an innocent look. His eyes were a little wet from coughing, and he opened his mouth to show Lu Qi.

His thin lips were a pale pink, and his tongue was red. He had actually swallowed it!

Lu Qi almost jumped on the spot. With such a short distance, he couldn’t even have run this fast in a hundred meter sprint! But he had already drunk it!

“Are you a child? Your mouth is so quick.” Lu Qi turned his head and glared at Lin Yuan. “What did you put in it? Did you drug him to do something nefarious?”

Lin Yuan was going insane. With no care for embarrassment, he shouted out: “I’m not interested in him! Who would be interested in someone who held him down and beat him, ah! I’m not a masochist! What I really want is you!”

The well-rounded Wife Xiao Lu could not be fooled, and his face said: that is not necessarily the case.

Lin Yuan felt dizzy. He did add something to Mu Nanqiao’s wine, but his original intention was to wait for the drug to take effect, and when Mu Nanqiao went to the private box to rest, he would send in a little duck. It would be best if Lu Qi arrived and happened to run into the two of them doing something.

But why had Lu Qi come so early? Now Lu Qi happened to be here when Mu Nanqiao drank. Wasn’t he spending money just to entertain others? He should just give them a room card!

What the hell was this injustice!

Lu Qi did see the text message from Lin Yuan about the car being sent to pick him up, but he was not a fool. Why would he get into the scumbag’s car? He could still afford the taxi fare! What’s more, he hadn’t seen Li Yimiao in a long time and planned to come in advance to see his cousin.

Before he set off, Lu Qi was a little angry.

No matter whether Mu Nanqiao was a driver or a CEO, there would be no difference in Lu Qi’s attitude toward him. The root of the problem was that Mu Nanqiao had lied. It should be known that he was really worried about Mu Nanqiao’s livelihood at first, but in the end, this guy clearly had no worries about food and clothing.

The little flame of anger burned brightly. When he came in, he saw Mu Nanqiao sitting in the corner.

The man was sitting at the intersection of light and shadow. He had a handsome profile, a tall, straight figure. His long legs were crossed, and two buttons on his black shirt were unbuttoned at the collar. The hair falling across his forehead covered his eyebrows, and his expression was full of a cold arrogance that Lu Qi had never seen before. He smiled and greeted everyone, but always stayed away from the crowd.

Lu Qi held his chin and admired this beauty. The more he looked at him under the lights, the more breathtaking he was. The little fire in his heart flickered in the breeze, swaying from side to side, and ultimately went out with a pop.

It couldn’t be helped. Lu Qi made a mistake that any man would make. Looking at that face, he couldn’t help but think that regardless of the facts, could it be that he was suffering some hardship?

He would wait until he heard his explanation.

And as a result, he saw Mr. Mu swallow the drink Lin Yuan handed him in one gulp!

Lu Qi nearly rushed over and grabbed Lin Yuan’s collar to ask what kind of drug it was, but Mu Nanqiao hugged his waist and rubbed his head, pushing him behind him.

“Be good.” Mu Nanqiao said: “What would you do if you bumped into someone while rushing in front?”

He rolled up his sleeves and raised his hand to pull off his tie, stuffing it into the small bag hanging against Lu Qi’s chest.

He blinked his eyes, smiling softly and cunningly. “Let me do it.”

When he turned around, he no longer looked so gentle. Stepping over the obstructive decorations on the ground, he walked straight toward Lin Yuan.

As soon as Lin Yuan saw his expression, he felt a dull pain in his newly-healed wrist and ribs. He turned around unthinkingly and started to run away, but the people around him had long been drawn in by the commotion here. The faces that looked familiar or unfamiliar were basically all well-known people in the circle.

He hesitated for a moment between being shameless or not, and missed his chance to turn around and run away. Seeing that Mu Nanqiao had already reached for a chair, he simply took the initiative to pick up a bottle of wine from the bar.

Lu Qi was a little worried, but Mu Nanqiao easily twisted his thin waist and dodged.

Watching this, Lu Qi felt relieved, and his eyes turned from worried to complicated.

He was a black hole when it came to sports, and was also a homebody, so he was not very good at them at all. But even a person who had never eaten pork had seen a pig run. Mu Nanqiao was not only good at fighting, but was simply an expert, and his steps were very methodical. In comparison, Lin Yuan really only had a bit of ruthlessness and nothing else.

Therefore, Lin Yuan didn’t last two minutes. After taking a beautiful side kick from Mu Nanqiao, he fell into a booth and knocked down a bunch of glasses with a clang.

The scumbag lay on the floor surrounded by a bunch of drinks and broken glasses, howling miserably.

Wu, this was the legendary white moonlight who was too weak to take care of himself? Lu Qi touched his chin and thought that there were still similarities between the two of them.

For example, the position where they chose to kick the scumbag was the same.

. . . . . . . .

When they came out of the bar, Mu Nanqiao’s assistant was still negotiating with Lin Yuan’s assistant. For some unknown reason, the Lin family didn’t have any intention of calling the police and were trying to keep it low-key.

One of the two parties entered the hospital once more, and the other walked down the road with Lu Qi.

Opposite the bar was a music square with a light show, along with a musician holding a guitar and singing. The two people walked slowly along the outer circle of the square. Disordered light and shadow fell on Lu Qi’s white short-sleeved shirt like smudged oil paint. It also fell on Mu Nanqiao’s black shirt, leaving little spots of light on the smooth, silky material.

“I’m sorry.” Mu Nanqiao apologized in a low voice: “When I saw you at the bar, I figured Lin Yuan told you about my identity. But it’s not that I deliberately hid it from you. I’m just a general manager, it’s not like I’m the emperor trying to go incognito. There’s nothing to hide.”

His attitude was pretty good. Lu Qi glanced at him, unsure if he was angry or not. Although Mu Nanqiao had lied, it hadn’t hurt him, but as a friend, he still didn’t feel good.

“So why did you do it?” Lu Qi took off his hat and gripped the hair that had been pressed down. “Can you tell me?”

He asked casually, but to his surprise, Mu Nanqiao nodded without any hesitation. His handsome face was filled with sincerity. “I can tell you.”

This time, Lu Qi felt a little awkward. The two of them walked to a relatively secluded corner and found a bench to sit down. 

The cicadas chirped and the night wind blew. Mu Nanqiao fell silent again.

Lu Qi whispered: “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.”

“I was wondering where to start.” Mu Nanqiao turned his head to look at Lu Qi, some kind of emotion surging in his narrow eyes. “En, let’s start with my dad having a car accident and having to go to Sweden for treatment. The story is actually…..rather cliche.”

When Mu Chuanbai had a car accident, Mu Nanqiao had just graduated from middle school.

The situation was critical at that time. Talia asked around and found a Swedish expert who could operate on Mu Chuanbai, and had to immediately take him abroad for treatment.

At that time, Mu Chuanbai had been alienated from the Mu family for many years. He had opened a small company of his own and could be said to have an affluent life, but in the face of enormous medical expenses, it was inevitable that he was financially strapped.

Talia didn’t know when Mu Chuanbai would wake up, but her son was still underage and needed to continue his education, so it was not suitable for him to go to a foreign country with them.

Mu Chuanbai had once said to Talia that the Mu family were all relatives in the end. Because of this sentence, Talia made the wrong decision.

The young Mu Nanqiao was sent to his grandfather’s house. In name, he was a young master of the Mu family, but in fact, the junior members of the Mu family could bully him.

“I could have a full meal, but I had to be served last. Sometimes they took a long time to eat, and the food got cold.” Mu Nanqiao stared at a point in the void and suddenly smiled. “It’s rather funny, isn’t it? The Mu family, with assets in the hundreds of millions, used this method to squeeze out a child.”

Lu Qi didn’t think it was funny at all. He pursed his lower lip and quietly moved in Mu Nanqiao’s direction. He raised his hand and put it down with no place to rest it, feeling that it would be very misleading for him to rashly grab his hand.

But he really didn’t know how to comfort people.

As he hesitated, Mu Nanqiao reached over and gently grabbed his hand.

Lu Qi blinked and held it back.

With their fingers intertwined, Mu Nanqiao felt the warmth from his palm and continued: “As for me, at first I thought it was because I wasn’t good enough. Later, I found out that it had nothing to do with what I did. I had never been bullied like this as a child, and if someone hit me, I would definitely hit them back. Even if I won, I would be punished to kneel, but at least I was satisfied.”

“Later, that dog Mu Rui didn’t dare hit me at home, so he did it at school and relied on the power of numbers to win. After beating me, he would take photos to show his father. I didn’t want to see the disgusting faces of that father and son, so I wouldn’t go back to the Mu residence.” Mu Qi thought about that old warehouse and rubbed the back of Lu Qi’s hand with his thumb. “But the money my mom left me was still in his hands. Mu Chuansong refused to let me live on campus, so I had no choice but to work part-time and rent room 502. At that time, room 502 was still group rental housing, so the environment was very poor, but the rent was cheap.”

“I could rest there without having to worry about cold water being poured on me in my sleep.” Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyelashes and gripped Lu Qi’s clean, slender fingers. “This is why I moved back into 502. I have trouble sleeping elsewhere, and always feel like someone is going to jump out and attack me. In 502, the situation is much better.”

“So that’s why I’m in 502.” He exhaled a long breath. “After all these years, I’m still trapped there. As long as one of those people is still living a good life, I can’t get out.”

Lu Qi said nothing for a long time, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “So you didn’t say anything at first, because if you did, you would have to explain your…..”

Psychological trauma.

“I’m sorry, ah…..” Mu Nanqiao lowered his head like a little mushroom caught in the rain. “I shouldn’t have…..”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lu Qi said softly. “From the day I met you, I knew you had something to say.”

En, this……

If you met someone at a bar who treated you as a duck, could you really have a heart-to-heart relationship with him?

He hesitated to speak, and finally shut up in a well-behaved manner, with an “as long as you’re happy” look.

Mu Nanqiao knew what he was thinking by his tangled look and flicked his forehead, angrily amused.

He leaned back and raised their intertwined hands. Looking up at Lu Qi’s clean, slender fingers, he said with a sigh: “Sometimes I hope you pity me, so that I can take advantage of your weakness, but sometimes I don’t want you to pity me, so that it doesn’t influence your judgment……”

“I won’t stay with you just because I sympathize with you,” Lu Qi retorted in a low voice. “You’ve experienced a lot of terrible things, but now you’ve grown into a very good person. Of course there are things that are more attractive to me.”

“En?” Mu Nanqiao became interested and asked, “For example?”

Lu Qi didn’t realize that this was a trap to lure him to confess his affection, and thought about it seriously. “En, for example, your face…..”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He was amused by Lu Qi’s frankness, and said while laughing: “I thank my parents for giving me the ability to serve others…..”

Lu Qi blushed and quickly interrupted him: “I haven’t finished speaking yet. Of course there are other things……huh? Mu Nanqiao? What’s wrong with you?”

The man sitting opposite him had suddenly gasped and frowned slightly.

“It seems…..I don’t feel very good.” His voice became hoarse as he spoke, his eyes misty, and he raised a hand to tug at his collar.

Lu Qi: ……

Why did he look like this, as if spring love was overflowing, ah…..

“Didn’t you say that the effect of the drug would go away if you went out and got some air?” Lu Qi panicked. If Mu Nanqiao hadn’t been holding his hand, he would have spun around in circles. “What should we do now? Do you need to go to the hospital? Should I call 120?”

“No need.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head and reached to push back the strands of hair over his forehead. The straight lines of his brow were exposed, and the long, narrow hook-like tips of his eyes were stained by a bit of crimson, making the small mole at the end of his eye even redder.

He glanced at Lu Qi with blurry eyes, and the Adam’s apple on his slender neck rolled, as if he was suppressing something.

Like a charming fox spirit.

Lu Qi patted his cheek with the other hand to keep himself calm. After some thought, he still needed to call 120. He had heard a lot about these messy things. The consequences of misusing such a drug could be large or small, and they couldn’t risk any problems.

He would quickly ask an angel in white^[1] to collect this evil-doer.

As soon as he took the mobile phone out of his bag, Mu Nanqiao reached out and pressed it back.

“Don’t make trouble.” Lu Qi smacked Mu Nanqiao’s hand away, but Mu Nanqiao pressed it back down again.

Mu Nanqiao closed his eyes and murmured, “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

“Then what do you think we should do?” Lu Qi pulled out of his grip and smacked his hand angrily, using a bit of force. There was a slap, and a red mark appeared on the back of his hand. “Don’t lie or think about wicked things, I’ll sue you for sexual harassment! Get up quickly, we’re taking a taxi to the hospital!”

It could be said that Lu Qi was anxious, otherwise he would have seen the corners of Mu Nanqiao’s lips twitching as he obviously held back a smile.

“Okay.” Mu Nanqiao seemed to compromise: “Then my assistant must be informed. He has all my documentation.”

“Oh, oh.” Lu Qi felt a little strange. “It’s so troublesome for a general manager to be hospitalized? If your assistant asks why you’re going to the hospital, won’t it be a kind of social death? And which department should you go to?”

He glanced faintly downward.

Mu Nanqiao: “…..Does it look good?”

Lu Qi shifted his gaze, thinking that nothing had changed, ah. If it was Lin Yuan who drugged him, there wouldn’t be any change in Mu Nanqiao. Maybe it was because of…..

Mu Nanqiao took a deep breath and stretched out his hand, saying: “Let’s go. Help me.”

“Cough…..” Lu Qi reached out his hand to help him.

But it didn’t feel right. Mu Nanqiao didn’t seem to put any weight on him at all, only holding his shoulder loosely. The two took steps side by side, and Lu Qi frowned in confusion.

Just at this time, Mu Nanqiao lowered his head and spoke in his ear with a smiling voice. The sound was obviously not loud, but it made his ears slightly numb.

“En, although whiskey has a lot of stamina, there’s no need to go to the hospital over it. Which department would I be admitted to?” He finally couldn’t help but laugh. “Did I forget to tell you that I didn’t drink the wine Lin Yuan gave me? I exchanged it with one of the glasses on the bar.”

Lu Qi: ……

“Mu. Nan. Qiao!” He stomped on that stinky fox’s foot, and his sneaker left a distinct mark on the leather shoe. “You’re a big liar!”

This stomp was substantial, and Boss Mu reaped the consequences. He nearly jumped up on the spot, but regained his composure. He quickly caught up with the little deer he had offended, who was running away, and had to coax in a low voice: “I was wrong, there won’t be a next time. Do you want to go home? Mu-shifu drank today and can’t drive. How about we take a taxi back?”

Lu Qi finally returned to his senses.

Having been teased by Mu Nanqiao, the heavy sourness in his heart had faded a lot, as if it had been swept up into the night sky by the evening breeze.

Lu Qi slowed down and looked back at Mu Nanqiao.

This man was following him at a leisurely pace, his fox eyes constantly trained on him. The fog in his eyes seemed to have greatly dissipated, and his eyes were clear and focused.

He really wasn’t willing to let others pity him, let alone use other people’s pity to achieve his own goals.

Even though he was facing a person whose heart was easily softened, he didn’t bother to use this method.

He caught up with Lu Qi and walked side by side with him, asking with a smile: “Are you still angry?”

Lu Qi huffed and turned his head.

His ears silently turned red.

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[1] An “angel in white” is a an honorary title for a doctor or nurse. ⮐

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Chapter Nineteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-One