The cool beauty forcibly bids for top A: Chapter 21

“A… Achoo!“

An old saying goes that sneezing once means someone is scolding you.

“Achoo!“

Sneezing twice means someone is missing you.

“A… A… Achoo!“

Sneezing three times usually means you caught a cold.

Shen Yanzhou struggled to open his eyes. The tip of his nose was red and his vision was still a bit blurry, but he unexpectedly looked right into a pair of dark, wet, puppy dog eyes.

Those eyes stared at him without blinking, their gaze focused and direct.

Only right now, this face, which usually had a wild and handsome charm, was dotted with tiny, glistening drops of water. Even his eyelashes were wet, making him look disheveled and comical.

Shen Yanzhou understood in an instant. His sneeze just now had been too loud, and he had sneezed right into the man’s face.

He turned his face away awkwardly, his voice carrying the raspiness and nasal tone of someone who had just woken up. “What… What are you doing?“

The man did not reach up to wipe the saliva from his face. Instead, he leaned in a little closer. That wet face, combined with the innocent puppy dog eyes, radiated a grievance like someone who had been bullied but dared not speak up.

“Continuing to kneel,” he answered honestly.

“I am sorry, Master. Last night, as I was kneeling, I got too sleepy and accidentally fell asleep on the floor.“

“The floor was too cold. I might have sleepwalked by accident, instinctively looking for something warm, and… and accidentally took Master’s blanket. I did not do it on purpose. Please do not be angry, Master.“

“Cough… Cough…” Shen Yanzhou coughed twice on purpose. He was the one who had laid the man down on the rug and covered him with the blanket, but since the man thought he had sleepwalked, he did not need to come up with an explanation.

He waved his hand listlessly. “Forget it, get up.“

Hearing this, the man did not get up. He remained in his kneeling position, slowly and carefully extending his two large hands.

Right in his palms, he held the tube of metal ointment upright and asked earnestly, “Master… do you want me to help you apply the medicine?“

Apply medicine?

This was indeed an urgent need for Shen Yanzhou. Although it did not hurt as much after a night, the swelling was still there, and even a slight movement felt chafing.

But…

Applying medicine meant he would have to lie face down on the bed, lift his backside, and offer his private area right in front of this man. This look was just like a loose Omega in heat for a man. He really did not want to strike such a pose.

“No need, I am mostly recovered.” He gripped the blanket tightly, shrinking back into the bed, signaling the man to beat it.

The man watched his face slowly turn pink while cold sweat broke out on his forehead, understanding what was going on in an instant.

“Is Master… shy?” he tilted his head and asked bluntly.

“Do not talk nonsense!”

“Yes, I am talking nonsense. Actually, I am the one who is shy,” the man coaxed, playing along with his words. “Master, how about I get on the bed to hold you and apply the medicine under the blanket?”

Seeing that Shen Yanzhou did not refuse.

Taking an inch and wanting a yard, the man crawled onto the bed, lifted the blanket, and slowly squeezed the ointment onto his hand.

“Master, actually, you do not have to lie face down.”

He whispered in Shen Yanzhou’s ear, his warm breath spraying against the sensitive earlobe. “Holding you like this to apply it means Master cannot see how I am putting the medicine on you.”

“But Master needs to open your legs a little bit to make it easier for me to apply the medicine.”

“Master, if you do not know how to open them, you can actually rest your legs on mine.”

As the man said this, one hand held him in his arms while the other hand very skillfully placed his long legs over his own, then smoothly applied the medicine.

The man was skilled, but that did not mean Shen Yanzhou was.

Even though he knew the man would not hurt him, Shen Yanzhou still trembled all over, slumping limply into the man’s embrace. The tip of his nose grew even redder than before, and a layer of moisture welled up in the corners of his eyes.

He bit his lower lip, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“Master…”

Feeling the tremors passing through the skin, the man’s breathing gradually grew heavy. He rested his chin in the crook of Shen Yanzhou’s neck, nuzzling around like a clingy puppy, his voice dark and husky.

“Master’s body temperature… is so high.”

The nuzzling made Shen Yanzhou’s neck itch. “Shut… Shut up… Stop talking.”

“Are you done?”

Darkness surged in the depths of the man’s eyes. “Not yet.”

“It needs to be fully absorbed to heal faster.”

Making things up as he went, the man tightened his arms around him even more, pulling him closer.

“What should I do, Master?”

He buried his head in Shen Yanzhou’s silver hair, which radiated a rose fragrance, his voice muffled.

“It is so warm, I do not want to let go.”

Shen Yanzhou was squeezed so tight he could barely breathe. He pushed against the man’s chest. “The medicine is on, so let go. I need to go to the office.”

Only then did the man reluctantly let go, yet he still clutched tightly to the cuff of his sleeve.

“Master.”

He raised his head, his dark eyes filled with earnestness and even a little nervousness as he asked an abrupt question out of nowhere.

“Am I ugly?”

Shen Yanzhou looked at him in bewilderment. “What?”

“Am I ugly?” the man repeated.

Shen Yanzhou looked down to examine the face.

A high bridge of the nose, deep eyes, a sharply defined jawline, and that untamed, wild temperament… To be honest, even if this face were placed in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, it would be a top tier existence.

“You are not ugly.” Shen Yanzhou shook his head.

The man’s eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately followed up.

“Then am I handsome?”

“You are passable.”

He leaned closer, a cautious competitiveness in his tone. “Master, compared to your younger brother, who is more handsome?”

“Shen Xici?” Shen Yanzhou asked.

The man nodded.

You are.

“Shen Xici, probably,” Shen Yanzhou replied.

The man’s eyes cast downward.

“Master, then between Dr. Su and me, who is more handsome?”

You are.

“Dr. Su, probably,” Shen Yanzhou replied.

This time, the man even drooped his ears, looking truly hurt.

“What about compared to the man with the rum scent on him that day?” he asked unwillingly.

“Rum? Fu Sihan?”

The man nodded, yet he feared his heart would sink even further upon hearing the answer.

“There is no comparison between you and him.”

The man’s heart sank completely, and his arms holding Shen Yanzhou slowly loosened.

“There is no comparison between you and him,” Shen Yanzhou repeated.

“You are way more handsome than him.”

Hearing this, the man’s previously dimmed eyes flashed with ecstatic light.

His slumped dog ears seemed to perk right up.

He plunged his head straight into the crook of Shen Yanzhou’s neck and took a deep sniff. “Master, what do you want to eat tonight?”

At the mention of what to eat, Shen Yanzhou instantly perked up. “Do you know how to make claypot rice? The kind from the Temple Street open air food stalls.”

He gestured as he spoke, like a greedy cat. “It needs to have premium Chinese sausage and liver sausage, sliced paper thin and spread over the rice. Most importantly, it needs to have that crispy rice crust at the bottom, scraped off as a whole golden piece that crunches loudly when you bite into it.”

“And that sweet soy sauce needs to be drizzled along the edge of the pot, making a sizzling sound and sending up smoke.”

As he spoke, his Adam’s apple moved slightly; he was truly craving it.

Watching his vivid expression, the man’s heart completely melted.

He wanted to kiss him so badly.

Thinking of Shen Yanzhou’s non stop chattering mouth, his gaze traced the elegant shape of his lips inch by inch, his Adam’s apple bobbing intensely.

He really wanted to kiss him so badly.

Their eyes met.

Shen Yanzhou seemed to notice the almost tangible aggression in the man’s gaze. His words stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere became thick and dangerous as the tips of their noses brushed against each other.

The distance was so close that it felt as if whoever made the slightest move first would kiss the other.

The man tried to turn his head away, the fingers supporting him at his side slowly tightening as his nails dug deep into the bedsheets. He had never been this nervous even when beating people up barehanded or having a gun pointed at his head, but he was incredibly nervous now.

Even though they had already shared more intimate physical contact.

But he was afraid that Shen Yanzhou would dislike it, push him away, and ignore him.

In the end, he still admitted defeat under the gaze of those silver gray eyes.

The madness in the depths of his eyes was forcefully suppressed into a dense tenderness. He restrainedly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and very lightly nuzzled the back of his fair hand.

“Alright.”

“As long as you like it, I will make anything.”

Central, Shen Corporation Headquarters Tower.

Shen Yanzhou sat in his large black office chair. Even here, a soft lumbar cushion had been specially added behind him. This was forced upon him by that dog before he left the house this morning, saying he was worried the office chair would be too hard and rub against his wound.

“Brother, this is the latest development progress for the New Territories land plot, as well as the financial summary from the last quarter.” Shen Xici stood in front of the office desk, wearing a deep blue suit that made him look thoroughly like an elite professional.

Shen Yanzhou took the files and asked, “Has there been any abnormality in the company lately?”

“Everything is normal on the business side. However…” Shen Xici paused, a hint of doubt entering his tone. “Shen Xiuming’s side has been a bit too quiet.”

“Too quiet?”

“Yes. Sending him to that godforsaken project team in the New Territories should have made him throw a massive fit, given his usual loud and incompetent nature. Or he would have run to Second Uncle to cry about you suppressing rivals.”

Shen Xici frowned. “But these past two days, not only has he not made a scene, he has been clocking in right on time every day. He even locks himself in his temporary office frequently, staying there for the whole afternoon, and has turned down many gatherings with his crowd of fair weather friends.”

“Abnormal behavior indicates hidden trouble.” Shen Yanzhou closed the folder.

“For that useless waste to suddenly change his nature is abnormal no matter how you look at it. Xici, do you remember? At the banquet last night, quite a few people came to probe for news about the New Territories development, which shows someone is eyeing that place.”

“Xici, send someone to keep an eye on him.”

“Alright, Brother, I will have someone keep watching him.”

“Brother, there is one more thing. Regarding the information on Lame Ho that you asked me to check earlier…” Shen Xici pulled out a tightly sealed manila envelope from the very bottom of his briefcase.

“I have news, but the result is not very good.”

“The man called ‘Lame Ho’ has the real name Chen Hao. Ten years ago, he was a quite famous enforcer.”

“But…” Shen Xici’s tone turned solemn. “He is dead.”

“Dead?”

“Yes. Exactly one month after the accident with Mom and Dad.” Shen Xici opened the file envelope, pulled out a photocopy of a death certificate, and pushed it in front of Shen Yanzhou.

“The police case closure report says ‘slipped and fell into the sea while intoxicated’. By the time the body was discovered in the muddy beach over by Stanley, it had been soaking for several days and was gnawed beyond recognition by fish. Only those three fingers on his left hand could be used to verify his identity.”

Shen Yanzhou’s gaze fell upon the red “Case Closed” stamp.

“How coincidental.”

“Right after finishing the dirty work, he turns around and ‘falls into the sea while drunk’. Dead men tell no tales, and even the body was eaten by fish… This is an attempt to sink all clues into the ocean and wash everything completely clean.”

“Brother,” Shen Xici could not help but say, “For the past ten years, Grandfather said it was an accident. The maritime bureau’s report, the salvage team’s testimonies, and even the black box data from back then all pointed to an accident.”

“Brother, do you feel that this was not an accident at all?”

“How could it possibly be an accident?” Shen Yanzhou said with certainty.

“If it were an accident, why did Father specifically leave both you and me on shore before heading out to sea that day, and even lock the most important seal inside a Swiss bank safety deposit box?!”

“If it were an accident, why did it take a full four hours after the distress signal was sent for the maritime department to receive the message?!”

“Four hours! On the high seas, four hours is enough to die ten thousand times!”

Shen Yanzhou pulled a cigarette from the pack on the desk. His hand trembled slightly, and it took two tries to strike the flame before it lit.

“I never believed it was an accident. Chen Hao is dead, and the clue is broken. However, Lord Lai would not bring up this sort of thing at this time for no reason.”

“I always feel he has an underlying meaning. If all else fails, we can only send people to the Kowloon Walled City to keep investigating.”

“Alright, Brother, I will continue to follow up.”

Just then, the private phone resting on the desk began to chime repeatedly with text message notifications.

Shen Yanzhou frowned. He originally thought it was some spam messages, but it turned out to be a succession of bank transaction alerts.

[Your American Express Black Card ending in 8888 was used for a purchase at the Lane Crawford department store counter: SK-II Men Facial Treatment Essence Set…]

[Purchase: Tom Ford Oud Wood Eau de Parfum (50ml)…]

[Purchase: La Mer The Treatment Lotion…]

[Purchase: Men’s Deep Cleansing Mask, Styling Hair Clay, Aftershave…]

What is this dog… doing?

Did he completely empty out Lane Crawford’s men’s counter?

The image of that man holding him this morning, asking him with a serious and persistent look if he was ugly or handsome, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Could this dog actually have appearance anxiety?

“Brother?” Shen Xici, who had been standing by his side the whole time, keenly noticed the shift in Shen Yanzhou’s mood.

Shen Yanzhou snapped out of it and put away his phone. His gaze fell upon his young and handsome brother. Thinking about it, Sanqianwan was about the same age as Xici, both two years younger than him.

“Xici,” Shen Yanzhou rested his chin on his crossed hands and asked, “Do men of your age… get appearance anxiety?”

Shen Xici was completely stunned, unable to keep up with his brother’s train of thought at all. “Huh? Appearance… anxiety?”

“Yes.”

“Like constantly asking you ‘Am I ugly’ or ‘Am I handsome’, and even running off to buy a bunch of skincare products and colognes they normally never use, frantically comparing themselves to other men?”

“…”

The fingers Shen Xici used to hold the folder instantly tightened, and the mask of a gentle elite on his face almost slipped off.

He knew Shen Yanzhou all too well.

His brother would never pay attention to such boring and superficial questions unless it concerned the dog his brother kept.

That man… actually used such a low class, childish, and calculated method to vie for his brother’s attention? Could his brother really be taking it to heart? Thinking he was attractive?

“Brother, what man who is normally busy with his career would have time for that?”

“Only those pretty boys who have no real capability and can only live off their faces, or use it to curry favor, would be this superficial,” Shen Xici said sourly.

“A pretty boy currying favor?”

Shen Yanzhou raised an eyebrow. The image of that dog’s honey colored skin and rock hard muscles flashed through his mind, looking completely mismatched with the term pretty boy no matter how he looked at it.

“Brother,” Shen Xici could not help but take a step forward, asking tentatively, “The reason you let him touch you and keep him around…”

“Is it not just because he is handsome?”

“So, you think he is handsome too?” Shen Yanzhou countered.

The expression on Shen Xici’s face froze.

Admitting he was handsome felt worse than death. But refusing to admit it would make him look narrow minded, and his brother’s words clearly implied that he thought the dog looked quite good.

Seeing that he did not answer, Shen Yanzhou shook his head. “Forget it, let him be.”

He looked down again at the long list of skincare products on his phone, thinking to himself:

Still… those jars and bottles, does that silly dog even know how to use them?

No. 7 Repulse Bay, second floor bathroom.

The marble countertop was a cluttered mess of various unopened skincare boxes. SK-II, La Mer, Tom Ford… the colorful bottles were squeezed together.

The man was bare chested with a bath towel wrapped around his waist. Facing the mirror, he was studying the face mask in his hand with a dead serious expression.

That face, which usually carried a fierce look, was currently smeared with a thick layer of black, mud like substance, supposedly a deep cleansing volcanic clay mask.

Because it was applied too thickly and unevenly, he looked as though he had just rolled around in a coal mine, leaving only a pair of dark, gleaming eyes and two nostrils visible.

Buzz

The old fashioned cellphone resting by the sink suddenly vibrated.

The man glanced at the caller ID and picked up. Before the other side could speak, he spoke first, his voice somewhat muffled because he was afraid of stretching the face mask on his skin.

“If it is nothing important, do not waste words. I am busy.”

“Boss?” On the other end of the line, Jiang Xu’s voice carried a hint of anxiety. “Something huge happened! The old fox who runs the gang suddenly changed his mind and says he must see you tonight, otherwise that shipping route to Southeast Asia…”

“Not seeing him.”

The man refused without the slightest hesitation. Holding a small spatula, he was carefully filling the mask into the fine lines around the corners of his eyes.

“Tell him I have something more important tonight.”

“Something more important?” Jiang Xu was stunned. “Could it be that the Fu family is making another big move? Or do you want to personally intercept that shipment, Boss?”

“I am using a face mask.”

“I have to cook dinner for Mr. Shen tonight.”

“…Huh?”

The other end of the line fell into a dead silence.

Only after quite a while did Jiang Xu find his voice again.

“Bo… Boss? Am I hearing things? What did you say you are doing? A… a face mask?”

“Yes,” the man responded calmly, checking the time on the instruction manual while he was at it. “I need to leave it on for another fifteen minutes. This thing says it removes blackheads and shrinks pores.”

“Wait… Boss, what kind of shock did you receive?” Jiang Xu’s voice was trembling. “Did Mr. Shen complain that you are… too rough?”

“Jiang Xu,” the man suddenly called his name, his voice both earnest and bewildered.

“Do you think I am handsome?”

“Huh?”

“Tell the truth.” The man looked at his black mud covered self in the mirror, his eyes somewhat gloomy. “Do not give me a half hearted answer.”

“Handsome! Of course you are handsome!”

Jiang Xu shouted with a powerful instinct for survival, “Boss, you are the number one most handsome man in the Kowloon Walled City!”

“Is that so?”

The man’s voice did not brighten up because of these words; instead, it grew even deeper.

“Since I am so handsome…”

He raised his head and rubbed a handful of mud off his face in annoyance, his gaze as lonely as a big dog rejected by its owner.

“Then why does he not think I am handsome?”

“Why is he not even willing to kiss me?”

Jiang Xu: “…”

“Boss, when it comes to relationships…”

Jiang Xu was just about to offer a few words of comfort when suddenly, another urgent electronic tone beeped on the other end.

“Wait! Boss!”

Jiang Xu’s voice changed abruptly, his previous teasing tone vanishing instantly, replaced by absolute dread and tension.

“An intelligence report from Grey Wolf! We just intercepted a call log from Lord Lai’s subordinates!”

“Get to the point.” The man was staring at his ridiculous self in the mirror, wondering if he should wash off this miserable layer of mud.

“Someone transferred a massive sum of money to Lord Lai!”

Jiang Xu spoke incredibly fast, his voice trembling.

“They say they are going to stage a multi car pileup accident inside the Hung Hom Cross Harbour Tunnel, and the target vehicle is a black Maybach!”

“What is the license plate number?” the man demanded.

“HK 1023.”

October 23rd, First Frost.

This day happened to be Shen Yanzhou’s birthday.