Chapter 41: A Giraffe’s Neck Is Curved Too

When Qiao Xu stepped out of the restroom, Xu Si'an and Yu Chuan were chatting. Seeing Qiao Xu appear, Yu Chuan returned to his cold, aloof demeanor.

Xu Si'an felt a bit helpless. "Chuan, don't be so hostile toward her."

Yu Chuan gave a light scoff. "You like her, I don't. As long as you aren't hostile, that's fine."

Xu Si'an picked up the bag Qiao Xu had left on the bar counter and led her out of the lounge bar by the hand.

"Don't mind him, Chuan is a good person."

Qiao Xu took her bag back. "I don't mind."

As Xu Si'an kissed her, he gave her lower lip a wicked suck. "Long Island Iced Tea."

Qiao Xu murmured an acknowledgment and got into the car. The Long Island Iced Tea was her painkiller.

"I want to stay at my own place tonight."

Sensing she wasn't in a good mood, Xu Si'an didn't press her. "Alright."

In the parking lot, another black Bugatti was hidden in the darkness, where two people inside were kissing fervently.

Correction.

It was a fervent, forced kiss.

Si Shen knew exactly how to control He Yanxun; it didn't take long for He Yanxun’s bones to turn to jelly.

"Still hurting?"

"Get lost!" He Yanxun moved his neck, cursing the neurotic man under his breath. On the surface, he looked like a proper gentleman, but in private, he was a starving stray dog.

"That means it doesn't hurt."

"Right here?"

Si Shen reached out to open the glove compartment of the passenger side and pulled out a bottle of oil and a small packet.

"Holy shit, Si Shen, are you a pervert? Keeping this kind of stuff in the car?"

Si Shen’s slender fingers calmly unscrewed the cap of the lemon-scented oil. "No one sits in my car but you."

He Yanxun unbuckled his seatbelt, intending to get out, but Si Shen pressed the lock button—the kind that deadlocks the doors.

"Unlock it, I’m getting out."

He tightened the cap on the oil, placed it in He Yanxun’s palm along with the packet, and pulled the seatbelt back over him to buckle it again.

"I'll give you some time to consider it. Let's go somewhere else." This car was too flashy, and he didn't have a fetish for being watched.

"Consider my ass. I’m not agreeing to anything."

"I didn't 'order' you today, President Si doesn't need to be at work."

On New Year's Eve last year, He Yanxun had gotten drunk and called for a designated driver, accidentally dialing Si Shen instead. By the time he was in the car, he was too drunk to recognize anyone and kept chatting incessantly with the "designated driver."

"How come you look so much like that dog Si Shen? Hey driver, do you like men or women?"

Si Shen’s voice was calm as he replied, "Men."

"Oh, you really are a lot like that Si-dog."

"That animal—it's one thing that he turned gay himself, we're brothers so I don't mind—but the bastard is actually trying to turn me gay too."

"I am straighter than a giraffe's neck."

Si Shen glanced at the man above him. "A giraffe's neck is curved."

"Impossible, I am straight."

The car pulled into the villa where Si Shen lived. After parking, he said, "If you want to know if you're straight or not, why don't we verify it?"

He Yanxun became interested. "How do we verify it?"

Si Shen brought his handsome face close to his. "Try it with me."

Just like that, he was tricked by that dog into "trying it" for an entire night. All his dignity, self-control, and purity were shattered like glass shards. After that night, the sore He Yanxun, unable to move for two days, refused to believe he was the bottom. He insisted on proving that even if he were gay, he would be the top.

Si Shen was willing to indulge him, but the facts proved he couldn't be the top. In the end, his healed wounds hurt for another two days.

—

The black Bugatti pulled into a hotel not far from the bar. He Yanxun threw another fit.

"I want to go home, take me home."

"You just said your ass would hurt in my car, and Chuan probably thinks I'm too poor to afford a hotel room."

Si Shen unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'll give you two choices: the hotel or the parking garage at my place."

He Yanxun’s expression changed as he glared at him. "I choose to go home."

"Fine, let's go to your parking garage."

"I said I want to go to my home."

Si Shen paused for two seconds, then started the car and drove toward He Yanxun’s house. "You have ten minutes to think about it. No one watches my parking garage."

"If we go to your place, that bottle of oil in your hand is going to be empty."

Unfortunately, He Yanxun was a "straight man" who refused to accept his fate, determined to fight Si Shen to the death. The outcome was that the oil ran dry and his soul was scattered.

...

Xu Si'an dropped Qiao Xu off at her small rented apartment.

"When are you moving into my place?"

"I have no such plans. Go back and get some rest, it's very late."

Xu Si'an took her hand and walked into the elevator with her. "I'll leave once I see you safely inside."

When they reached her door, Xu Si'an finally let go. "Go on in. Get some sleep, and don't smoke."

Qiao Xu nodded.

"Xu Si'an."

"Hmm?"

She stood on her tiptoes, pressing her red lips against his thin ones in a light kiss.

Xu Si'an froze for a second before holding the back of her head to deepen the kiss she had initiated. He wrapped his arm around Qiao Xu's waist and lowered his head. She didn't need to stand on her tiptoes; he would bend down, he would lower his head.

The taste of Long Island Iced Tea gradually spread, becoming uncontrollable.

Xu Si'an rested his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. Qiao Xu's cheeks were flushed even deeper. It seemed she really was drunk.

"I don't want to leave."

Qiao Xu pushed him away. "No, you have to go."

Xu Si'an pressed his hand against the nape of her neck, gesturing for her to look. "How do I go?"

"Walk with your feet."

Qiao Xu stepped back into the apartment, waved her hand, and closed the door.

The man let out an angry laugh, resigned to his fate as he stepped into the elevator. Once in his car, he immediately lit a cigarette to suppress his surging desires. He was truly afraid he might lose control and rush back upstairs.

He really needed to get her to move in soon.

The apartment next to Qiao Xu's had long been renovated, but their relationship had only recently softened, and Qiao Xu was often coaxed back to his place. This place couldn't be revealed just yet, or he’d have nowhere to sleep when they argued.

As soon as Xu Si'an entered his home, the dog curled up on the sofa jumped over. It looked behind him, and seeing no one else, its ears drooped.

"Didn't see me?"

"You little ingrate, who buys your kibble, who buys your toys, who buys your treats?" Xu Si'an ruffled its head. "In a couple of days, you'll be moving in to squeeze in with your mom."

He went upstairs to take a shower and poured himself a drink. With Qiao Xu gone, it was hard for him to fall asleep. He had gotten so used to pestering her to sleep with him recently that he had forgotten what insomnia felt like.

At 12:00 AM, the lights were still on in Xu Si'an’s study. He wasn't joking about wanting to bring down the Shen family. Xu Si'an never left his opponents a chance to catch their breath.

"Post the evidence of the Shen Group's excessive heavy metal levels."

Song Jia, who was just about to go to bed, was forced back up to continue working like a slave.

Qiao Xu, having finished her shower, lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

*“You should look at the scars he got proving his innocence.”*

*“His WeChat top-pinned contact is your old account, you should take a look.”*

He Yanxun’s words played in her mind like a slideshow. After tossing and turning for a long time, Qiao Xu grew agitated.

She got up and pulled open the drawer. Before her hand could touch the medicine box, she pushed it shut, got out of bed, and changed her clothes.