Strictly speaking, neither of them had much experience in this kind of thing.
The only time they’d gone all the way was that one time. Afterward, Chen Mo’s lingering low fever had worsened, and with one thing after another cropping up, Xi Siyan had always remained restrained. Chen Mo had even assumed he didn’t have particularly strong desires in that area.
That was—until things started spiraling out of control.
Just moments ago, the man had still been rational and talking sense. But the next second, he grabbed Chen Mo by the tie, pinned his hands to the armrest of the sofa, and completely restrained him.
Chen Mo’s shirt was half open, his face flushed as he kicked at him. “Let go!”
“Too late for that now, isn’t it?” Xi Siyan pinned him down with his thighs, towering above him. His gaze swept over Chen Mo’s reddened chin and his faintly exposed chest. The movement of his belt brushing against Chen Mo’s felt like a slow, torturous tease.
There was a click.
Chen Mo thought he must’ve lost his mind.
He half sat up, trying to push the man away. “This is your office.”
“No one will come in. The door’s locked.” Xi Siyan pushed him back down with one hand, bent over, and kissed the side of his neck, biting down on that small, pale, fragile spot.
Chen Mo’s waist instantly lost all strength. He tilted his head back and panted, voice shaky. “I didn’t bring a condom.”
“Not needed,” Xi Siyan murmured against his skin.
Before Chen Mo could relax, he felt Xi Siyan abandon his neck and begin moving lower, inch by inch. Chen Mo tensed, and when he realized what was about to happen, his heartbeat nearly exploded in his chest.
Before he could croak out a hoarse “no,” his tied-up hands clenched tight, his upper body snapped straight, and his brain went completely blank.
The sensory and visual overload made Chen Mo’s eyes sting. He gave up resisting entirely, bit down on his lower lip, and cursed under his breath, “Fucking lunatic.”
He didn’t even know where Xi Siyan had learned such skilled techniques—or when the tie around his wrists had been undone. He only knew that, by the end, he was entirely caught up in the chaos and madness. He grabbed Xi Siyan’s hair and yanked him up, kissing him fiercely and without care.
Their breathing tangled and collided.
It was completely different from that clumsy night in a small-town hotel, under the rain, years ago.
Now, both psychologically and physically, Chen Mo understood this kind of thing on a deeper level. Once he let go of worrying about time or place, and once he truly liked the person in front of him, there was nothing shameful about it.
The consequence of his enthusiastic reciprocation was that the leather sofa ended up an absolute disaster.
Originally black, it was now a shade darker—streaked and stained unevenly. A rumpled tie dangled from the armrest, a jacket lay discarded on the carpet, and a wristwatch had been flung onto the coffee table. The entire scene was indecent.
Especially Mr. Chen, who had been carried over to a single-seater armchair, was now holding his forehead, looking deeply regretful. His dazed, tired expression, the lingering red across his skin, and the small tear at the corner of his mouth all revealed just how out of control things had been.
And to be fair, the injury on his lip wasn’t due to Xi Siyan’s roughness.
Xi Siyan came back holding ointment, knelt in front of him, and frowned as he dabbed it on. “Doesn’t it hurt?”
Chen Mo glanced at him, taking in the shirt tucked into his trousers, his lean figure, and his crisp appearance. “You look very proper now.”
Xi Siyan closed the cap and chuckled. “You were the one who got on top halfway through.”
“I was just lust-crazed, alright?” Chen Mo admitted freely, then glanced at the sofa and closed his eyes in pain. “Aren’t you a clean freak? Get someone to change that sofa out immediately.”
Xi Siyan stood up from his squat, placed his hands on either side of the single sofa, and whispered in Chen Mo’s ear, “Change it? If we switch it out every time something happens, wouldn’t that be too extravagant? The bed, the carpet, the sink…”
Chen Mo shot him a look.
Xi Siyan raised a hand in surrender. “Alright, we’ll switch it.”
Even if Chen Mo hadn’t said anything, he would’ve replaced it anyway.
It wasn’t because of some obsessive cleanliness, nor because it looked messy. Although he often used the sofa for naps, this space also received visitors. Xi Siyan couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else soiling it now, so he decided to move it into the adjacent lounge that was still under renovation.
Chen Mo hadn’t driven to the office that day.
So half an hour later, the two of them left the building together.
From the VIP elevator to the underground parking lot.
It was just after office hours. Xi Siyan’s designated parking space was located quite a distance from the elevator exit. As they walked past a blind spot in the garage, they heard a conversation around the corner.
“Is it true? President Xi and that new guy Chen…”
“There’s definitely something going on. Think about it—Huanshang’s investment, the Yang Corporation, all tied to Mr. Chen. And my friend interns at Xinrui. The rumor started from there. When Mr. Chen was hospitalized, President Xi was there constantly. Their relationship’s not ordinary.”
“What’s the big deal? They were high school classmates. Their families have ties. Visiting the hospital isn’t strange.”
“But isn’t it weird that President Xi called Mr. Chen back today? I heard from the secretarial office that when they brought in water, Mr. Chen was still wearing President Xi’s coat and sitting on the sofa reading the news on his tablet. Even Assistant Han wouldn’t dare be that casual.”
“So, President Xi really likes this person. Doesn’t care if he’s meat or vegetables?”
“I’d be happy to, too. Mr. Chen’s really something—you should’ve seen him. That waist, those legs, that face. Do you think he’s gay or bi?”
Chen Mo smiled, opened the car door, and climbed in.
After buckling his seatbelt, he asked casually, “When you first returned to China, the first company you invested in was Huanshang. Was it really because of me?”
“Not entirely.” Xi Siyan started the engine and pulled out of the spot. “Zhu Zhengtao was reported and called back to headquarters. Since I decided to protect him, I couldn’t let Huanshang fall apart.”
As soon as the car exited the parking space, it became highly visible.
The CM employees in the blind spot went wide-eyed.
Staring at Xi Siyan’s face through the open window, they stammered awkwardly, “Mr. Xi…”
“President Xi, are you leaving for the day?”
“Ah, we were just…”
Xi Siyan looked toward them and said calmly, “After work is personal time. But don’t gossip about clients in the company’s parking garage.”
Everyone immediately shrank into themselves, visibly shaken.
Only then did they notice Chen Mo in the passenger seat.
They all spoke up quickly.
“Mr. Chen, we’re sorry!”
“Apologies, Mr. Chen.”
Chen Mo leaned forward slightly, smiling. “Mr. Xi’s being too serious. It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
At that, Xi Siyan rolled up the window and drove out.
Chen Mo glanced back at the employees’ stunned expressions, turned to Xi Siyan with a smirk, and said, “Why so harsh? It’s after hours. Why care what they say? They probably won’t sleep tonight, thinking they’re all about to be fired.”
Xi Siyan tapped the steering wheel. “It’s a major taboo in the workplace. If it hadn’t been you today but another partner, that kind of chatter could’ve seriously affected a decision.”
Chen Mo turned slightly to the side.
Xi Siyan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chen Mo nodded. “Just reminded me of when you were the class monitor back in high school.” Then he asked again, “Are you really that selfless?”
“Yes,” Xi Siyan replied honestly. “I just don’t like hearing that anyone else is thinking about you.”
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. “You just gave that noble-sounding speech about ‘clients’—was that before or after you pinned the client in your office and did whatever you pleased?”
Xi Siyan seemed to have been touched somewhere sensitive and said helplessly, “Stop messing with me. I’m driving.”
The car rolled smoothly along the road.
Chen Mo was indeed a little hungry. He pulled out his phone to check for food options nearby.
But not long after they started driving, a loud noise sounded ahead.
“What happened?” Chen Mo looked up.
Xi Siyan’s phone rang. He connected it via Bluetooth and tapped the button to answer.
“Mr. Xi,” came the voice of a bodyguard. Chen Mo had heard it before.
Xi Siyan said, “What’s going on?”
The bodyguard reported, “There’s been a chain collision ahead. It’s rush hour, and the fire and ambulance are stuck in traffic behind. It’ll be a while before we can get through.”
Chen Mo looked at the thick black smoke billowing up from the bridge in front and frowned. “Looks like a car caught fire. Lao Gou’s hospital is the nearest—should be the first emergency team on site.”
They were quite close to the scene and were already on the bridge.
Suddenly, someone up ahead started shouting along the roadside:
“Help! Please help! There’s a car up front about to explode, and there’s a kid and two adults still inside!”
Chen Mo instinctively opened the car door, but was held back by Xi Siyan.
“I’ll go,” Xi Siyan said. “You stay here.”
“Let’s go together,” Chen Mo insisted. “Maybe I can help.”
Xi Siyan paused for two seconds. He didn’t object. He opened the door and got out.
There were many others around already running toward the accident site.
As they got closer, it became clear that the burning car was in bad shape. Someone had just rescued a child from the crumpled vehicle, but the couple was still inside. The woman’s legs were pinned, and the man was unconscious with blood on his forehead.
The flames made it difficult to get near the back seat. Acrid smoke filled the air, and some of the bystanders began to falter.
There were cries, screams, car horns—all in a chaotic mix.
Someone said, “It’s no use… There’s no way. The fire’s too big.”
“Everyone step back! Clear the area!”
At that moment, Xi Siyan poured a bottle of mineral water over his coat, rushed forward, and used it to shield himself as he approached the flaming car. The crowd around went briefly silent. Then, spurred by his example, a few more people surged forward.
The husband was pulled out first.
His wife was harder to reach. The fire had spread fast and was already licking close to her face. When Chen Mo passed a tool he had picked up to Xi Siyan, he turned and stared at him silently.
Xi Siyan reached in and tried to pry up the steel plate crushing the woman’s ankle. As he forced it upward, the deformed car door rebounded suddenly. Without thinking, Chen Mo stuck his foot in to jam the door open.
A sharp edge tore into his leg, and blood began dripping down.
Xi Siyan froze slightly when he saw it.
Chen Mo noticed and said, “It’s fine.”
The atmosphere was tense.
Even though there were many cars on the road, most of the onlookers remained conscious of the danger and kept a safe distance. At the heart of the chaos, only seven or eight people remained working frantically near the burning vehicle.
Ten seconds… nine… eight…
Finally, the steel plate gave way. The woman was pulled out in an instant by the others standing by.
Xi Siyan stood up and shouted, “Run!”
Boom! The car exploded just after they’d run a few meters away. Even so, they were still caught in the blast wave.
A sharp ringing erupted in the ears of those too close.
Xi Siyan held Chen Mo tightly as he ducked down and noticed that Chen Mo had been hit in the forehead by flying shrapnel.
“You okay?” he asked, seeing that Chen Mo looked a little disoriented. He watched his lips move and could understand that he was trying to ask the same thing.
Xi Siyan shook his head, though the ringing in his ears continued.
But then came something even more disorienting.
Voices—faint, distant—began to flash through his mind. It was as if he were overhearing conversations that didn’t belong to him.
——Chen Mo in our class is so annoying. He always acts like he’s above everyone else.
——Brother Yan, I heard Li Rui is bothering Chen Mo again. You warned him last time not to cause trouble in our class, but he didn’t listen.
——The plan to go abroad is set. There’s no room to change it.
——Chen Mo? I think he flunked his math on the college entrance exam. Why are you asking about him? He’s ambitious—he’ll probably join the Yang family and try to seize power sooner or later.
——The lead on this cooperation project with Yang Corporation is their VP—Chen Mo.
——Mr. Xi, we just received word. Mr. Chen seems to have been in an accident.
——The medical examiner confirmed at the scene… the individual was pronounced dead on arrival.
