Chapter 263: This Life—The Beginning (IV)

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Chapter 263: This Life—The Beginning (IV)

“Keke~~” Qi Chen dropped down beside Shang Ke with a grin. “Brother Dong invited me to the fitness club. Come with me.”

“I’m busy.” Shang Ke was in the middle of redesigning the world—where was he supposed to find the time? His fingers hammered at the keyboard without his head lifting.

“Don’t be like that! Come with me.” Qi Chen wrapped his arms around Shang Ke’s waist and shamelessly began to wheedle.

“I said I’m not going. Move, move—don’t get in my way.” Shang Ke pushed him aside in annoyance.

Qi Chen looked wounded. “If you’re not going, then I’m not going either…”

Go or don’t go. Who cared?

“Then I’ll stay home and become your personal accessory—the kind with a built-in prank function.”

Shang Ke’s hands paused. He turned to look at him.

Qi Chen immediately flashed two rows of white teeth and smiled with the innocence of harmless livestock.

Shang Ke: “Why do I always want to kill you?”

Qi Chen: “Because your love runs deep.”

“Get lost.”

An hour later, Shang Ke and Qi Chen arrived at the Vitali Fitness Center.

Brother Dong was waiting for them by the pool with several other friends they knew well.

“Shang Ke, you got out of the hospital and did not even invite us to celebrate? That is seriously lacking in brotherly feeling.” Brother Dong looked him up and down in mock outrage.

Shang Ke smiled. “I know you all like to have fun. How could I invite you out before I had fully recovered?”

Brother Dong laughed loudly. “And how are you now? Fully recovered?”

“Yes. Fortunately.”

“Good.” Brother Dong patted his shoulder. “Go warm up. We’ll swim a few laps in a bit.”

Shang Ke nodded and went to the side.

Brother Dong’s real name was Yang Xudong. His family had been friends with the Qi family for generations, and he and Qi Chen were inseparable buddies. They shared the same bad habits; both were notorious playboys.

“I’m telling you, Qi Chen.” Brother Dong leaned back in his chair and glanced sideways at him. “I heard you made Song Yuanyuan suffer terribly a while ago. That is not usually your style.”

“It’s true.” Qi Chen leaned back lazily. “All women are adorable in my eyes, but there is one condition: they must not cross my line.”

Song Yuanyuan was the culprit who had gone to trouble Shang Ke and indirectly caused the accident that put him in the hospital. Qi Chen had spent considerable time investigating her. Once he confirmed his target, he had people beat her severely; she probably would not dare show her face for a year or two. Qi Chen did not think he had gone too far. She had left Shang Ke in a hospital bed for more than nine months and nearly kept him from waking forever. Not killing her was already mercy.

“Oh? What line?” Brother Dong asked with interest.

“Obviously…” Qi Chen’s gaze fell on Shang Ke, and his voice trailed off.

Shang Ke had already taken off his T-shirt and was wearing only swimming trunks. His body was well proportioned, his skin smooth, his muscles firm, and his waist slender. His long, straight legs traced elegant lines as he warmed up.

Qi Chen had always known Shang Ke was handsome, but he had not expected him to look even better with his clothes off—so good that Qi Chen’s temperature seemed to rise several degrees.

When Shang Ke finished warming up, he leapt into the pool and shot toward the far end like a flying fish.

Brother Dong whistled. “I never knew Shang Ke was such a good swimmer.”

Qi Chen had not known either. He had never seen Shang Ke display anything like the skill of a competitive swimmer: graceful movements, astonishing speed, and not a single breath taken on the trip there and back.

Quite a few people nearby were drawn to Shang Ke and watched him in amazement.

“Wow!”

Shang Ke emerged from the water in a burst of spray. Wet hair clung to his cheeks, his slightly parted lips were bright and glistening, and the light in his eyes shimmered like ripples on the pool. For an instant, he seemed to steal every bright color in the entire swimming hall.

“Master Xun, what do you think?” A middle-aged man followed beside Wei Xun with respectful, nervous deference.

Wei Xun walked forward at an unhurried pace without making any comment.

Cold sweat gathered at the middle-aged man’s temples. He did not dare ask again and could only follow in trepidation.

At that moment, Wei Xun suddenly stopped.

“Master Xun, is there something you need?” the middle-aged man asked at once.

Wei Xun ignored him. Through the glass, his deep gaze fell on the swimming hall and accurately caught a familiar figure among the indistinguishable silhouettes.

Shang Ke—wet, dripping, and completely naked. (The swimming trunks: Could you please stop automatically omitting me? I may be small and delicate, but I am still very much present.)

A man walked over to Shang Ke, handed him a towel, and leaned close to whisper in his ear. Their manner was unmistakably intimate.

Wei Xun narrowed his eyes and studied the man. From his height and build, he recognized him as the one who was always around Shang Ke: Qi Chen.

“Would you like to swim, Master Xun? We have a private pool. If you are interested…”

The middle-aged man’s words went unheard. Wei Xun stared at Shang Ke, and something strange gradually surfaced in his cold eyes.

“My Ke, how do you keep your skin so smooth? It feels wonderful.” Qi Chen’s hand slid over Shang Ke’s back and came to rest on his rounded buttocks.

Wei Xun’s eyes sharpened. An unknown fury shot through his chest, nearly burning Qi Chen to ash.

How. Dare. He!

“Master Xun?” The middle-aged man took a frightened step back.

Wei Xun turned to him. “Didn’t you want to work with me?”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“Do something for me.” Wei Xun’s voice was cold. “Close the fitness center immediately. Shut it down for at least three days, whatever excuse you use.”

“All right, no problem.” Even if it meant a massive loss, he had to smile and accept it.

“In three days, I’ll arrange for you to meet Director Shen.”

“Thank you so much, Master Xun.” The middle-aged man was ecstatic.

Wei Xun ignored him. After one more glance at Shang Ke inside the fitness center, he turned and left.

Shang Ke had just finished showering when the broadcast announced that the fitness center was closing temporarily.

Brother Dong and the others looked unpleasant. They did not lose their tempers on the spot, but they had certainly marked the person in charge of Vitali. They all had substantial backgrounds; although none was as prominent as Wei Xun, they were not people an ordinary person could afford to offend.

“What was that bald man thinking?” Qi Chen complained on the way home. “He knew we were there. How dare he close the place?”

The “bald man” was the person in charge of Vitali.

“What does it matter? Maybe he really had an urgent matter.” Shang Ke scrolled through a webpage on his phone and answered casually.

“What urgent matter could be more urgent than offending us? Do you think he’s…” Qi Chen turned toward Shang Ke, but the words died on his lips as soon as he saw him.

Shang Ke sat in the passenger seat with one leg slightly bent, his body relaxed against the backrest. His lowered head revealed a stretch of pale neck and a delicate profile. The sunset outside cast a soft golden outline around him. He looked like a Persian cat: lazy and soft.

Qi Chen stared, momentarily dazed.

Shang Ke casually raised his head. His expression changed, and he cried, “You ran a red light!”

A truck passed so close it nearly scraped the back of their car.

Qi Chen hurriedly pulled himself together and refocused on driving, averting a disaster.

They were nevertheless stopped by traffic police soon afterward. Points were deducted, a fine was issued, and the incident was recorded.

Shang Ke stared at him. “What is wrong with you?”

Qi Chen shot him a quick look and sighed. “Spring has arrived. It is time to fall in love.”

Shang Ke: “…”

Qi Chen did not show up again for the next ten-odd days. Apparently, he really had gone off to date a whole group of beautiful women.

Shang Ke had no time to care. He was dismantling various appliances and reassembling their components. Finding a factory to produce new parts would waste too much time; he was still in the experimental stage. Appearance did not matter yet—only the data did.

Ding. A new text message arrived on his phone.

But Shang Ke, absorbed in his work, did not hear it.

In his hotel room, Wei Xun waited more than ten minutes without receiving a reply from Shang Ke, and his mood grew worse. He picked up his phone and sent another message, then went to shower. When he came out, there was still no reply.

Wei Xun tossed the phone beside his pillow, lay down on the bed, and reluctantly closed his eyes.

In the haze of sleep, he saw his hand resting on someone’s back, his fingers sliding down the spine to the curve of the hips. The warm, yielding touch made his whole body burn. A desire unlike anything he had known urged him to explore more deeply. Tight hidden flesh, scorching friction, pleasure that reached the marrow… Wei Xun turned the person beneath him over and, unsurprised, found a familiar face. He looked down from above and took possession with forceful control.

Wei Xun’s eyes flew open. A ferocious light flashed in them, sharp enough to devour a person, while surging desire burned through his body and set every nerve alight.

Wei Xun sat up, his expression unreadable. From the corner of his eye he saw the phone on the pillow, reached for it, opened Shang Ke’s name, and sent him a message.

The result was the same: his message vanished into silence.

Like a man seized by an obsession, Wei Xun sent a second message, then a third…

He continued until he noticed the time on his phone: 1:23 a.m.

After a moment of silence, Wei Xun threw off the blanket, quickly changed into casual clothes, grabbed his car keys, and rushed out of the room.

At that moment, Shang Ke had just finished assembling his first component and dragged his exhausted body into the bathroom.

Water rushed through the bathroom, filling it with steam. Shang Ke was enjoying the warm shower when the door suddenly opened and a broad-shouldered figure strode in.

Shang Ke’s heart jolted. He thought a thief had broken in, but then he recognized Wei Xun.

“How did you get in?” Shang Ke shut off the shower and asked in astonishment.

Wei Xun stood rigidly before him, radiating a pressure that made the legs weak.

“It’s late. What do you want?” Shang Ke felt uneasy, as if a vast and ominous aura were bearing down on him.

Without a word, Wei Xun removed his jacket, pulled open his shirt collar, and unbuckled his belt…

Hey. This was not the direction the scene was supposed to take!

Shang Ke stared at him in astonishment.

“What—what are you trying to do?” Shang Ke asked a question that did not require an answer.

“Rape you.” Wei Xun answered with blunt efficiency.

“!”

Shang Ke wailed inwardly: He had not even started his offensive! Why were they suddenly charging straight to the endgame? What happened to the agreement that they would only be brothers?!

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