43: Why Are You Being So Fierce
After Qian Kun said that, the emotions he had suppressed for so long finally showed a crack.
Reason told him he had to take it back. If Shen Jin asked why, he should find a perfect excuse, muddle through it, and then keep pretending nothing happened, keep being classmates like always.
However, the words he was supposed to say got stuck. For one brief moment, he thought, maybe he should just let Shen Jin see it.
These delusions that should’ve rotted underground, never meant to see the light.
He could be decisive with anyone else, ruthless, leaving no room at all, except the person in front of him.
Because he liked him too much, and he didn’t dare act recklessly.
Outside the balcony, raindrops slapped the glass in a rhythm, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Qian Kun wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes, completely devoid of the earlier struggle and pain of a trapped beast. A quiet laugh slipped from his throat. He lowered his head and murmured by Shen Jin’s ear, voice deep and pleasant.
“Can you say that again?”
If he hadn’t destroyed the privacy-related parts of the investigation earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have wasted so long fighting a pointless internal battle.
However, Qian Kun knew that even if he could do it all over again, he’d still choose the same.
Shen Jin sensed Qian Kun’s presence suddenly change, still dangerous, yet carrying a trace of… temptation?
A bolt of lightning split the sky. In the sudden white glare, Shen Jin saw the young man’s face clearly. There were no tears, no sweat. Those eyes that always looked half careless were full of laughter.
Shen Jin had never seen Qian Kun show emotion this openly.
Those eyes looked like they were filled with honey.
Shen Jin froze. He felt like Qian Kun had gone mad with happiness.
Inexplicably, Shen Jin relaxed. That sense of impending crisis seemed to have been lifted.
“Why would you think I’m with him?”
“Aren’t you two…” Qian Kun stopped himself mid-sentence.
Shen Jin thought Qian Kun must’ve heard something.
His engagement to Ke Minghuai happened nine years ago. It had only ever been a private agreement between two families. No ceremony, no banquet, and even the people involved hadn’t shown up in person.
Not many families knew. Still, there was no guarantee nobody had spread it around.
Either way, it wasn’t some huge secret. There was nothing Shen Jin couldn’t say to Qian Kun.
“Although there was indeed a mutually beneficial arrangement within what the law allowed,” Shen Jin said, choosing every word carefully, “it’s been terminated, and we’ve already received the paperwork. Strictly speaking, we’re familiar strangers now.”
That phrase was very vivid and clear.
Qian Kun understood immediately. The jab Ke Minghuai threw at him on the phone was probably driven by selfish motives.
With how cold Shen Jin was, and with how things looked when Shen Jin and Ke Minghuai parted downstairs earlier tonight, the termination was clearly a firm rejection on Shen Jin’s side. In the other party’s eyes however, there might still be “room to turn things around.”
Qian Kun was truly overjoyed, he was so happy to the point where even knowing more problems would come piling in, he still couldn’t stop his good mood.
Shen Jin was single, and it was the kind of single where the gap was still wide open. Very available.
He quickly calculated that he was currently in a rather dangerous phase.
The overall trend was rising, but there was always the chance the whole market could crash without warning.
Nine years was not a small number for anyone. It wouldn’t be strange if the other side tried to use old affection to relight a fire.
For a split second, Qian Kun wanted to stuff the person in front of him in his pocket and hide him away where no one could see.
The lights came on.
The dorm suddenly blazed bright, revealing every detail of the two of them.
At this moment, the distance between them, nearly touching, became very conspicuous.
Qian Kun hadn’t physically touched Shen Jin, but if Shen Jin moved even a little, it would basically be walking straight into his arms.
The air turned scorching again.
Qian Kun immediately stepped away, giving Shen Jin space to breathe.
Shen Jin’s gaze flickered. He also hurried back toward his own bed, escaping that oppressive atmosphere. His whole body felt wrong and uncomfortable.
Shen Jin had originally wanted to stay a bit longer, but having experienced Qian Kun’s sudden outburst of ferocity, he was a bit shaken.
He glanced at the heavy rain outside, grabbed the umbrella from the stand, and said softly, “I made plans to meet family. I’ll go first.”
Qian Kun suddenly stopped him. “Wait, can you take this?”
He walked over and pulled out a jewelry box.
Shen Jin thought, so it really was for me. Couldn’t you just let me guess wrong for once?
Oh, thank goodness it wasn’t Tiffany blue.
Seeing Shen Jin stay silent, Qian Kun explained quietly, “I know you don’t accept gifts. This is just a silver chain.”
It was an extremely irrational platinum-plated silver design. On the surface, it looked cheap, like it was worth nothing.
Shen Jin had made it clear on his birthday that he wouldn’t accept gifts.
Mainly because back when he celebrated birthdays, strange Alphas would always send him gifts for no reason. Even if he refused them face-to-face, some would still chase him down and pester him.
After that, Shen Jin only grew colder. He kept thinking, if I were a Beta, that’d be great.
It was precisely because they knew his temperament that Class Nine had given him lunch.
Qian Kun hadn’t planned to give anything either, especially after seeing the jewelry box in Ke Minghuai’s hands.
However, when he left in the morning, he still, as if possessed, tossed it into his backpack.
Under Qian Kun’s burning gaze, Shen Jin slowly took the unbranded, delicate box.
“Can I open it?”
“Of course.”
Inside was a cat-shaped pendant. A round chubby face, a tail curved into an S shape. The design was pretty cute.
“It’s adorable. Where did you buy it?”
Qian Kun went quiet.
You can’t buy it. He made it himself.
He started from learning how to melt silver. A professional craftsman guided him on the side. Qian Kun learned frighteningly fast. He worked through step after step, all the way until he hammered and chiseled out the exact shape he liked. He did it late at night while Shen Jin slept, and on weekends when he went home, learning as he went.
The process wasn’t difficult, and silver really wasn’t valuable. That way, the chance of Shen Jin accepting it was higher.
More importantly, silver oxidizes and turns black.
It needs regular care and polishing.
That would give him one more reason to get close.
Yes, he admitted it, he was shameless.
Shen Jin noticed a tiny star-shaped button on one side of the pendant and asked curiously, “What’s this?”
Qian Kun didn’t hide it. “There’s a GPS tracker inside. The button is for emergency alerts. Press once to activate the backend. Press twice in a row to trigger an alarm, it’ll automatically dial 110.”
“Does it need charging?”
“It does, wireless charging.” Shen Jin’s question sparked a new idea in Qian Kun’s head. He’d figure out a way to make it solar-powered later. The problem was, chips that small hadn’t been developed yet.
Neither of them knew that this short conversation would quietly influence the direction of electronic products and jewelry over the next ten, twenty years.
It would also bring a dying, unknown brand back from the brink, a company that had long been running in the red.
Shen Jin clicked his tongue in amazement. He’d never heard of a necklace with such a wild function. At least, up until now, a trackable necklace like this had never existed.
Seeing that Shen Jin didn’t look annoyed, the harshness in Qian Kun’s eyes finally eased.
Shen Jin studied the pendant. His hair was still half-damp, strands swaying lightly in the air.
So cute.
Qian Kun let out a quiet sigh, forcing down the urge to reach out and touch him.
The Qian family owned a high-tech company called Mu Li. It specialized in protection devices for Omegas. The necklace Qian Kun carried himself was one of its prototypes.
However early investment costs were too high, product sales weren’t strong, demand was small, and R&D funding snapped.
It survived only because other Qian family companies kept feeding it money. It was broke to an almost pathetic degree.
After Shen Jin got locked in that bathroom last time, Qian Kun decided he had to make this platinum-plated silver alarm pendant.
The youth drew trouble like a magnet. He needed more ways to protect himself.
Qian Kun was afraid that one day he wouldn’t arrive in time, and he’d regret it for the rest of his life.
Shen Jin had already decided that no matter what Qian Kun gave him, he’d accept it.
Because Shen Jin knew that only if he took it, Qian Kun would be happy.
Sometimes, refusing hurt far more than accepting.
He didn’t want to use pointless pride to hurt someone who genuinely cared about him.
He owed Qian Kun far too much. He’d never thought it was something he deserved. He could only repay it in whatever ways he could, in his own way.
Holding the necklace, Shen Jin felt his nose sting with a sudden sourness.
Maybe it was because the storm was so heavy. It made his heart feel heavy too.
Could he really ever repay it all?
Qian Kun understood Shen Jin’s “equal exchange” mindset better than anyone. Shen Jin always acted like he shouldn’t take advantage of anyone, not even a little.
From the day they met until now, Shen Jin had always been like this, so sensible it made your heart ache.
Qian Kun had prepared several reasons to talk Shen Jin into accepting it, yet Shen Jin simply took it and slipped it into his bag without hesitation.
Qian Kun’s heart rippled again.
Shen Jin opened the door, about to leave for his appointment, when Qian Kun’s voice came from behind once more.
“Why didn’t you attack me just now?”
Last time at the barbecue stall, Shen Jin took down an Alpha in two, three moves. Even if gender suppression existed, Shen Jin absolutely had the ability to fight back.
He meant the near-aggressive kind of closeness earlier.
Shen Jin pressed his lips together. “Would you hurt me?”
“…No.”
“Then why would I attack?” Shen Jin shot back. “So what the hell was that? Why did you suddenly lose your mind?”
Qian Kun made up a reason on the spot. “I have a grudge with Ke Minghuai. If you had a relationship him…”
Shen Jin replied, “So you thought I was on his side, and that’s why you started distancing yourself from me?”
So that’s why you pulled away from me?
It actually made sense. Qian Kun seemed like a gentleman, easy to talk to, but really, maybe it was just that he didn’t care.
Once he truly cared, he might be dangerous.
Then again, Ke Minghuai was known for treating people well. He rarely offended anyone.
What kind of grudge could they possibly have?
Shen Jin was curious. Should he ask?
Right then, the Xie family butler called. Shen Jin immediately said, “No need to pick me up, I’m coming right now!”
Qian Kun guessed Shen Jin might be about to go catch a bus in this rain. He opened the door on his own initiative. “Come on, I’ll drive you.”
Shen Jin stared at Qian Kun’s back for a moment. He hesitated, then followed.
Qian Kun dropped him off at the Xie residence. The rain had only gotten heavier.
Shen Jin opened the door, about to step into the downpour, when Qian Kun spoke.
“Because I helped you a few times, do you think that if I ever ask something of you, even if you don’t like it, you’ll still agree?”
Shen Jin froze mid-step. He went stiff and didn’t turn around.
Qian Kun’s observation skills were terrifying. When he spoke, it was often a needle straight into the vein.
“I’ll only say this once. When I say I did it ‘casually,’ I mean I was passing by. No matter who it was, I would’ve done the same.”
“Next time, even if it’s me, if you should resist, you have to resist.”
Even if I want to get close, you can still hold yourself back.
Hold back for what? You should beat every person who covets you to death, including me.
And before Shen Jin could respond, there was a hard slam, the car door shut.
Shen Jin stood there, blankly watching the SUV disappear into the curtain of rain.
“Why are you being so fierce?”
Like I’m scared of you.
Shen Jin huffed, face cold as he walked toward the Xie residence.
In his eyes however, there was embarrassment and helplessness he couldn’t shake.
Not long after leaving Shen Jin, Qian Kun got a call from his bodyguard.
It was about the teenager he saved at the club entrance last time. Before discharge, the boy insisted on meeting his “true benefactor.”
Qian Kun had refused yesterday. He hadn’t expected the boy to be this stubborn. If he didn’t see Qian Kun, he refused to leave.
The bodyguard said that starting this morning, the boy had begun refusing to eat.
Qian Kun’s eyes turned sharp. In the dim backseat, he looked like a predator briefly at rest.
His voice dropped colder. “Put him on the phone.”
He’d seen plenty of tactics.
Ever since he was young enough to understand things, he realized the world around him was full of flattery and fawning.
Maybe they wanted what he represented behind him. Maybe it was something else. It didn’t matter.
On the other end, a fragile sobbing voice came through. “Hello. I’m truly grateful to you. I want to see you in person. Thanking you face-to-face is the only sincere way. I’m not doing this on purpose, refusing to eat, I just… I don’t have an appetite.”
It was a voice that could easily awaken someone’s protective instincts.
The type Alphas loved most.
Delicate as a dodder flower.
“I think your greatest expression of gratitude would be leaving the hospital immediately, right now.”
Big tears fell on the other end. Like he didn’t want Qian Kun to hear it, he sniffed quietly. “I’m sorry. Am I bothering you?”
“You are.”
The Omega fell silent for a moment.
Then stubbornly said, “Even if I’m just a stray cat or dog on the roadside, do I not have the right to say thank you?”
Qian Kun pressed a hand to his suddenly throbbing temple, staring at the rain streaming down the window.
Slowly, he said, “Please don’t insult cats and dogs.”
Author’s Note:
They’re very cute, and they won’t repay kindness with betrayal.
.
In the future:
Reporter: Your products sparked a revolution in electronics. Everyone’s curious, how did you come up with the idea to put an alarm device into a necklace?
Qianqian: My wife needed it.
Reporter: Then where did the inspiration for the later improvements?
Qianqian: My wife.
.
For babies who have read another novel and it’s totally fine if you haven’t! The two stories are just loosely linked and can be read separately. Anyway, you might recognize the brand Mu Li. Yep, it’s the same necklace brand Da Jing gave Xi Xi, the one with special meaning, also that extremely irrational platinum-plated silver design. The origin is here~~ Designed personally by a future CEO in the future, and it’s a limited edition with a unit price reaching six figures~
0 Comments