Chapter 41: Guan Yaoming
Li Dong loosened his collar and cuffs, rolled up his sleeves, then looked around for something to use. He finally found a handy tool on himself: his belt.
Using this to whip the big boss was a last resort, but without a formal, ritual kind of ending, the other man would never understand how serious this was.
He sighed to himself, then raised his hand and brought the belt down. “Pa.” The first strike was not heavy, though the sound was frighteningly sharp.
Guan Yaoming’s brows knit at once. Both the sting and the shock made him glance back at Li Dong, only to watch the second lash fall. He grunted low in his throat. If not for his iron self-control, he would never have endured a beating like this.
“I’m going to whip you. Can you accept that?” Li Dong asked, eyes hard, each swing of the belt already growing more practiced.
“Alright,” Guan Yaoming answered. He turned his face away. “Do whatever you want. I have no objections.”
Then he clenched his teeth and took the whipping. From beginning to end he did not make a sound. He even quietly counted for Li Dong.
Forty-two. Forty-three. Forty-four. Forty-five.
Each lash fell across Guan Yaoming’s wheat-colored back, leaving vivid, blood-red marks.
At the forty-eighth stroke, Li Dong drew a breath and stopped.
He moved close and spoke gently at his side. “Yao-ge, what I want to tell you today is this. In your world, revenge and counter-revenge have no end.” His fingertip pressed lightly at one of the welts. “But in my world, there is an end.” It is not an endless tit-for-tat where you hit me and I must hit you back.
“Xiao Mo,” Guan Yaoming said, voice tight, his face buried in the sofa and slick with sweat.
“This is the last time I will lay a hand on you.” Li Dong lifted his chin. “Take these lash marks and think it through. What is it that I actually want?”
“Okay.” He nodded quickly, the sweat on his face soaking the hair at his brow. He looked downright pitiful.
Seeing the terrifying big boss suddenly so obedient and tame, Li Dong let out a breath in secret. If there had been any other way, he would not have wanted to give up on Guan Yaoming.
“That is that. Punishment over.” Li Dong straightened, cool as ice, then his tone turned soft as water. “Wait for me here. I’ll bring the medical kit and hot water to treat you.” With that, he went to the bathroom to run hot water.
No one saw that when he turned away, his back was drenched in cold sweat.
Truthfully, his heart was racing. He knew very well that if not for how low Guan Yaoming was willing to bow before the man he loved, a small fry like him could do nothing in a world where the strong ruled.
But choosing to step into this circle had been walking a tightrope from day one. Li Dong was not afraid.
As for Guan Yaoming, he lay there on the sofa for quite a while before he came back to himself from the whipping.
After all, when he laid down, he had expected Li Dong to take him hard.
He had not expected, in the end, to receive a thorough and merciless whipping instead. Going by past experience, his back should have been torn open and crisscrossed with blood.
Thinking of that, he panted lightly and called Li Dong’s name. “Xiao Mo.” Yes, he was not disappointed that the little wolfdog had not taken him. In fact, during the whipping his body and heart had surrendered completely.
He liked Li Dong’s cold voice and the way he held the belt. He liked even more the way Li Dong pressed his finger to the welt and spoke softly to him.
Those two extremes were so dazzling it made his legs weak.
A few minutes later, Li Dong came back with hot water and the kit.
While Li Dong cleaned his wounds, Guan Yaoming kept turning his head to look, calling, “Xiao Mo.” Even without words, Li Dong knew exactly what kind of thing he was thinking.
F*ck, beaten like this and still thinking about getting pounded.
However, looking at today’s situation, topping him was necessary. Li Dong didn’t want to miss such a good opportunity for training.
He put down the towel in his hand and didn’t bother undressing much, only loosening up a little bit to facilitate the act.
“Xiao Mo.” The big boss got what he wanted, and his mood shot straight into the clouds.
When he felt Li Dong licking the blood on his body, he was so high he nearly exploded, wanting to cry out.
When this guy fell, he was more wanton than anyone. Li Dong both laughed and felt tender toward him, holding him while teasing in a low voice, “Yao-ge, call me husband.”
“…!!!” Guan Yaoming shook his head hard. That he could not do.
Fine. Li Dong did not force him.
About thirty minutes later, the boss had been thoroughly fed and was currently lying on the sofa unconscious and resting.
Li Dong saw that the water had cooled. He helplessly got up to tidy himself, then went to the bathroom to prepare another basin of water.
“Xiao Mo.” When Guan Yaoming noticed him return, he reached out and took Li Dong’s arm. The face that had just been ravished still held a trace of exhaustion.
“Mm.” Li Dong gently freed himself and pressed the warm towel to his back. “Does it hurt?” This idiot had braced so hard against the pain just now that anyone would think those wounds were fake.
“It doesn’t,” Guan Yaoming said, eyes fixed on Li Dong. “Why do I like you so much?” He was even lower than he had ever been with Zhao Mian. Whipped within an inch and then ridden hard, and still he felt sweet to the bone.
“Because I’m handsome,” Li Dong said perfunctorily. He finished dressing the wounds in a few brisk motions. “Alright. Keep them dry for the next few days. Wait for the scabs to form before you get them wet.”
“Okay. You are not staying here?” Guan Yaoming stared straight at him. “Are you heading back home right away?”
Li Dong wanted to say yes. It was almost New Year. Where else would he go?
But met with that starry-eyed gaze, he hesitated.
He had just whipped him and then handled him without much gentleness. Walking out right after was not his style.
“What do you want, then?” He looked at Guan Yaoming with that indulgent air of someone willing to hear requests, as long as they were not over the top.
“Stay with me here tonight.” Guan Yaoming rubbed carefully at his back. His voice was drowsy. “I don’t really dare go home like this. My parents are there.” The birthday banquet was only a few days away, and the Guan elders had already returned.
“Alright.” The big boss was so well-behaved right now that Li Dong’s heart softened at once. He bent and kissed those sleepy eyes. “I will get the blanket. Sleep properly.”
“Mm.” Tucked under the blanket Li Dong brought, Guan Yaoming murmured, “Thank you, Xiao Mo,” and drifted off, satisfied.
Poor thing, with injuries on his back, he could only sleep on his stomach.
Perhaps because the day had truly wrung him dry, by the time he woke, it was already dark.
He opened his eyes to the smell of food in the room.
“Yao-ge, you are awake?” Li Dong came over, carrying a small pot of vegetable soup, and set it on the table. “Do you want the soup first or the bathroom first?”
“I can manage,” Guan Yaoming said lazily. He lifted the blanket, slid off the sofa in only a pair of sleep pants, and headed to the bathroom.
Li Dong ladled the soup. He tried a bowl himself. Not bad.
The taste was a bit light though. He was not sure whether this meat-lover of a big boss would accept it.
Sure enough, when Guan Yaoming came out and took the bowl, he asked, “Only vegetable soup?”
“There is rice,” Li Dong said.
Though starving, he asked in a small voice, “No meat?”
Li Dong was speechless. “Wait here.” He went into the kitchen, sliced the braised beef, and brought it out.
“Thank you, Xiao Mo.” Eating spicy braised beef, the big boss felt pampered like a baby by his little boyfriend.
“The beef is spicy,” Li Dong warned as he sipped his own bland vegetable soup. “You are injured in back. Do not eat too much.”
“Cough, cough.” Only now did he taste that it was indeed spicy. “When you say ‘back,’ do you mean my back or somewhere else?”
“You cannot tell?” Li Dong gave him a look.
“I do not feel any pain,” he said seriously.
Li Dong gave up and made an X with both hands. “Enough. No discussing that at the table. Eat.”
Clearly the little wolfdog had brought it up himself.
When they had been living together before, they split chores. The one who cooked did not wash, and the one who washed did not cook.
Given the big boss’s honorable injuries, Li Dong both cooked and did the dishes this time.
“My mom’s birthday is in a few days,” Guan Yaoming said, hugging Li Dong from behind at the sink. He spoke very cautiously. “Will you come?”
Li Dong said, “There will be all kinds of former underworld bosses there. Do you think it is appropriate for me, a former undercover and the son of a policeman, to show up?” He was not the real Lin Mo and did not carry any policeman’s mission in his bones.
Still, an ordinary person’s instinct toward the triad world was to keep a respectful distance.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Guan Yaoming said. “Rules are rules. We are us. You cannot lump them together.” He nuzzled Li Dong’s neck like a spoiled big cat. “Come on. I will introduce you to my parents. They know I like men.”
Li Dong blinked in surprise. So Guan Yaoming was already out.
“But my parents do not know,” he said calmly. “We will pick a time to talk about it with them.”
“If your parents cannot accept it, do not tell them yet,” Guan Yaoming said. “I do not mind being hidden.”
“But I do not want to hide you,” Li Dong said. “You are a head taller than everyone. Where would I even hide you?”
The big boss, pampered like a baby, broke into a grin. Then he could not help worrying again. Could Officer Lin, a career policeman, accept the son of Guan Zhentao?
A heaviness settled in his chest. He could not be sure his place in Li Dong’s heart could stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Dong’s parents.
“All done.” Li Dong rinsed the last bowl and set it aside. “Now, would the injured person please proceed to the bathroom? I'll help you bathe.”
“If you do that, I will have strange thoughts,” said Guan Yaoming coolly.
“What strange thoughts?” asked Li Dong.
“Being beaten by you every day,” the big boss said. “So I can enjoy this kind of tenderness.” If it took a broken leg to get this treatment, he would take it.
“…” This idea could be said to be very bold indeed. Worthy of a protagonist bottom with peculiar thought patterns.
The next afternoon, because of the busy celebrations at home, Guan Yaoming had to rush back to oversee things, so he temporarily parted with Li Dong.
In the study, he wrote out a special invitation, then called a subordinate. “A-Gou, come immediately. I have a card for you to deliver to Xiao Mo in person.”
When Liang Gou arrived, he reminded him again, “Mind your tone. Show sincerity. Do not come off as high-handed. He hates being pressured.”
Liang Gou could only take the card with tears in his heart. This was absolutely a thankless errand.
“Understood, Boss.” As a lackey, what else could he do except obey.
When Li Dong received the invitation and opened it, he was immediately amused by the confession-like style inside.
Damn it, idiot boss, love-brained.
“Yao-ge,” he said, unable to help thinking about the man and dialing directly, “what did you send me, a love letter or an invitation?”
“I am a bit busy,” Guan Yaoming said. “I am writing invitations. There are hundreds to do.” After a stretch of nonstop writing, his hand had gone sore and numb.
“Oh, then I will hang up and let you work,” Li Dong said.
“No, I still want to talk to you,” said Guan Yaoming. “Aren’t you going to ask how my wounds are?”
You asked me this morning, and I changed your dressings myself.
“Be good, Yao-ge. Write hard. I will call you tonight,” Li Dong said. He was always warm and patient with his boyfriend. Everyone who had experienced it gave rave reviews.
“No. I will put you on speaker. Keep me company while I write.”
Li Dong wanted to kneel. He regretted making this call with his itchy hands. “Yao-ge, this is important work. Better not be distracted.”
The other end fell silent for a few seconds, then said, “You are right. I will stop writing for now. We can talk for half an hour first.”
Li Dong thumped down on his knees in spirit. “Big boss, please work hard.” Fine, he would stay on mic and keep him company.
“Okay,” came the reply from the big boss, who was pampered like a baby every day by his little wolfdog.
Three days later was Madam Guan’s birthday banquet.
Guan Yaoming booked the city’s largest hotel and cheerfully threw a flowing feast. Anyone could come in to drink and eat as long as they offered a blessing at the door.
At events like this, the seating hierarchy was strict. Ordinary guests could not get anywhere near the main table where Guan Zhentao and his wife sat.
Strangers had to pass strict checks, then were seated separately and dined on a different floor from the invited guests.
That morning, dressed in formal wear, Guan Yaoming greeted guests at the entrance with a few of his brothers. He drew more than a few lingering looks from the women passing by.
“Sixth Uncle, welcome. Please go on inside,” he said with a smile and a nod to each familiar face, even bowing to a few.
The old-timers from the organization, the uncles who had stood as equals with his father, all earned a bow.
“A-Yao, you are looking sharper by the day,” Sixth Uncle boomed, raising a hand to give his nephew a hearty slap on the back.
Guan Yaoming nearly coughed up blood. His back was only four or five days out from that thrashing, the wounds barely healed.
“Sixth Uncle, you look sharp as well,” he said, swallowing the pain and shooting a glance at Liang Gou. “A-Gou, take Sixth Uncle in and look after him.”
“Right this way, Sixth Uncle,” Liang Gou said, breaking into a sweat on his boss’s behalf.
Since he had not hidden the injury, the story of the big boss getting thoroughly whipped by his own little wolfdog had already spread among the close subordinates.
Their expressions then?
Scared sh*tless.
Speak of the devil. A familiar car pulled up.
Normally, the men keeping order at the front would not allow cars to stop at the main entrance, since a red carpet ran right to the door and tire tracks were unsightly.
But not this one. This was Yao-ge’s own car.
Jin Dachuan was driving. He had gone to pick up Li Dong.
When the sedan rolled to a stop, Guan Yaoming lowered his voice and told the little brothers beside him to keep greeting the guests.
Then he strode forward and pulled the door open before Li Dong could do it himself. “Xiao Mo.”
Li Dong sat inside in full formal dress, put together from head to toe. The moment Guan Yaoming helped him out, he became the focus of the entire entrance.
“Thank you, Yao-ge.” Once out of the car, Li Dong let go of his hand. “This is a small red envelope for Auntie’s birthday. A small token of respect.” At the hotel doors, he produced the envelope to hand to the staff taking gifts.
“Alright.” Guan Yaoming took it himself first, then passed it on to the person in charge. “Come on.” He escorted Li Dong in, unable to hide the smile at the corner of his eyes.
Li Dong chuckled at the man’s adorable little move. “How are your wounds?” He asked this several times a day.
“Not bad. A-Gou changed the dressing for me this morning,” said Guan Yaoming.
Li Dong felt a thousand grass-mud horses gallop through his mind. So now literally everyone knew he had whipped Guan Yaoming.
Li Dong was shown to the already-prepared main table, with a seat right beside Guan Yaoming.
The table was nearly full, with only two or three seats left.
“Dad, Mom, honored uncles and elders, this is Lin Mo from my company,” Guan Yaoming said with a smile. “I brought him today to meet everyone.”
Every gaze at the main table shifted to the young man called Lin Mo. Each look held scrutiny and curiosity.
“Lin Mo, this is my dad,” said Guan Yaoming, indicating a middle-aged man with a powerful aura and a prosperous build. He had the unmistakable air of an underworld boss, stern and imposing.
“Hello, Uncle,” Li Dong said with his open, sunny smile, perfectly calm.
Guan Zhentao gave him only a glance and said nothing.
“This is my mom, today’s birthday star,” said Guan Yaoming. Satisfaction lit his eyes as he looked at Li Dong, the heat of it almost scorching.
“Hello, Auntie.” Li Dong bent slightly. “It is your great day. I wish you blessings as boundless as the Eastern Sea and a long life like the Southern Mountain.” He offered his hand with a bright, handsome smile that made Madam Guan give him hers without thinking.
Li Dong took that fair, well-kept hand and brushed a polite kiss across it.
“You are very good-looking,” Madam Guan said. “You look like someone in a movie.” She stared at him, still holding his hand.
“Mom, Xiao Mo is the actor who plays Qin Kong,” said Guan Yaoming, smoothly freeing his boyfriend’s hand from hers.
“Oh, you are the one who played Qin Kong,” she said in delight. “Your film was very good, and the box office was strong.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Li Dong’s peach-blossom eyes curved with easy warmth, drawing looks from all directions.
“Since you are here, sit,” said Guan Zhentao. “A-Yao, go back out and greet guests.”
“Dachuan and A-Gou are outside. I will rest a moment,” said Guan Yaoming. He pulled out a chair for Li Dong first, then sat beside him.
They both reached for the teapot, but Li Dong was a step quicker.
He poured a cup and set it in front of Guan Yaoming. “Yao-ge, have some tea.”
“Thank you.” Whether the tea was hot or cool he did not even register. All he tasted was the dazzling flash of the little wolfdog’s smile. It was enchanting to death.
Little Note:
Second arc is done~ ABO next!
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