William turned a threatening glance towards Maylin. Adam, for his part, was distraught and didn't know how to counter the slander he had just expressed without being rude to his boss. The tension between them was palpable.
The ambassador was about to intervene when he was interrupted by a loud laugh. Astonished, the group turned to look at Lord Dashwood, who was laughing heartily.
"My dear girl, it is unlikely that two young men of such high performance as Mr. Carter and Mr. Blake could be a couple." Externalized the man. "Indeed, they are very close, but they are certainly not romantic partners. And believe me... I'm an expert on the subject," he concluded, winking at the girl.
Her cheeks flushed violently when she heard this tacit confession; offended and embarrassed, Maylin left the group without a word to anyone. Her mother ran after her, apologizing to everyone.
Adam and William giggled under their mustaches, trying not to be noticed. Then, once
"Have you succeeded?" Adam asked "Yes and no. Those two never came close, but on the upside, I overheard a few snippets of conversation between our thug-ramp and...your grandfather? May I call him that?" "Call him Ming. He was never my grandfather. What's this about anyway?" "I'm not sure. You know my Mandarin's a bit dodgy, despite your lectures, but I think they're interested in getting their hands on Lord Dashwood's publishing empire:" "Impossible! That cannot happen," Adam declared. "I need to do more research. I can't base my article on hearsay." William affirmed, getting up abruptly from the couch he was pondering on. "And how do you intend to do that?" asked Adam. "I'm going back to London tomorrow and try to convince the boss to send me here for some time. Once I've convinced him, I'll get your father to help me get my visa as quickly as possible." "It's not that simple! This time you got in because you had a di
A resounding thump echoed inside the apartment. With one fluid movement, Shàng Wèi trapped an incredulous Adam between his body and the front door. Thin, eager lips assailed the prisoner's mouth as large hands crushed his slim waist against the wooden surface. Mouth, jaw, neck, shoulder blades were marked mercilessly. Every inch of skin was marked by a long trail of kisses and bites. It was impossible to remain insensitive to such an assault, but Adam tried to resist anyway. With shaky hands, he tried several times to push Shàng Wèi's body away from his own. But, unfortunately, the attempt at rebellion did not stop the latter's eagerness. On the contrary, it seemed to spur him to intensify his test of strength. With the entirety of his body, he had succeeded in pinning him down while willing hands snuck under his shirt to caress his turned back. It was clear that only one of them could win that fight—body against body, mind against mind. Neither was w
"Who did that?" she asked lapidary, pointing her finger. "Who did what?" Adam asked, surprised. The girl inhaled and exhaled a few times before speaking again. "You have a hickey, the size of a walnut at the base of your neck. And don't tell me you knocked somewhere because I don't believe it anyway. Now tell me who did that." Lying would have been useless because, looking at Claire's angry face, he understood that she already knew the name of the culprit. "Shàng Wèì," he mumbled, looking away from the screen. "I knew it!" cried out the girl. "Have you lost your mind? Or did it liquefy? God! Of all the people you could sleep with, you had to roll yourself up with him like a spring roll?" As much as the situation wasn't the best and his sister's anger was tangible, Adam couldn't stop himself from laughing, further infuriating his sister. "Don't laugh; the situation is tragic. Now, where is that handsome man? Is he listen
"I'll be going then," Lizzie said, picking up her purse from the back of the counter. "Are you sure you don't need a hand? I can stay a few more minutes." Claire cast an eye toward the antique grandmother over the literary nook. It was already marking 10 p.m. "Go ahead; it's very late. You opened up by yourself this morning; you need to rest. Besides, it's only a few chairs to set up. As soon as I'm done, I'm closing up." Claire answered her. "See you in the morning, boss. Have a good night." Lizzie wished her. After greeting the girl, Claire went back to setting up the room. That evening, they hosted one of their Meetings with the author, so they kept the library/tea room open past closing time. The turnout of customers and curious people had been terrific, and they had to increase the number of seats to accommodate as many as possible. Those kinds of initiatives were attracting more and more people, and the work for the two girls wa
Yen Chien smiled as he looked at Claire's serious face. She had the expression of someone about to walk on hot coals. And it was amused. "Hellooo," Lizzie greeted him. But, as soon as he turned to look at her, the girl blushed. "Lizzie, a customer is calling you from table 3. Why don't you go and see what he needs?!" Claire said in a commanding voice. The girl turned away, keeping her eyes and her dumbstruck smile on him. "You've already earned a fan. Not bad for the first day." Said the store owner jokingly as she filled out the paperwork resting on the counter. "It's too bad that the only fan I want is rather coy about me at the moment." He earned a dirty look. "Do you want to break the world record for the fastest layoff in history?" She asked him. "No, no, no. I don't want to." He replied, leaning against the counter with a vast innocent smile plastered on his face. "Well, then come on back here. I'll explai
Adam picked up the calendar to mark the newly agreed appointment for the following day. Then, with regret, he noticed that Christmas was only a few days away. It was amazing how time had flown by; he had been in Beijing for almost two months now. Work had absorbed him so much that he had forgotten that Christmas was not a holiday in China. Still, a working day like any other and, as such, he would not be able to spend the holidays with his family as he does every year. He would break the news that evening at the group call. In fact, even managing to organize a call with the whole family was an epic feat. Everyone's work schedules and the fact that they lived in four different time zones didn't make it easy, Especially since the two most problematic time zones were his and George's, thirteen hours apart. This meant that, in turn, the two brothers had to put up with their sister's rants and their mother's worries as soon as they woke up. It was torture
Adam waited until his colleague had left to look up the desired name. Then, after a few moments, he discovered that Kan Te had not only not left but had founded a thriving computer security consulting firm. The biggest problem was getting in touch with him and convincing him to help. After all, he was an important person now, and the two of them hadn't spoken in years. He probably wouldn't waste his time on him. He made a note of the company's address and wrote down the number of the switchboard. He would go there immediately. "Yuan Bo, I have to go out right away; they moved my 5 p.m. interview. So I'll work on the article remotely, okay?" he reported to the editor-in-chief. "Sure, go ahead, Adam. I'll see you tomorrow." Adam darted out of the office. He had to pick up his PC at home and buy a new mobile phone and a new card before going to Yung Kan Te. Adam was so deep in thought that he didn't hear a voice calling him, and when he r
Adam was astonished. How dare he arrogates to himself the right to enter and stay in his house? "You can get out of my way," he told Shàng Wèi after recovering from his astonishment. Adam had no intention of letting him pass. Instead, by talking, he had placed himself between Shàng Wèi and the front door, blocking the way in. What amazed him most was the total lack of knowledge of the facts he was demonstrating. He pretended to be innocent, despite all signs pointing directly to him and the old man. "Don't be stupid. I won't let you out of my sight for a moment." Said Shàng Wèi, taking a step closer to him. "Ah! Of course, you have to make sure he doesn't do anything so you can appease the old man. Very clever." "How many times do I have to tell you that I know nothing about this whole thing?" "You can say it over and over again, but I wouldn't believe you anyway." And with one last contemptuous glance, h
"Jiejie, have you seen George?" Claire turned to answer Margaret coming towards her. "No, why?" She asked her. "I asked him to take care of Matthew so that I could finish getting ready," Margaret explained to her, cradling the newest addition to the family in her arms. "Maybe he went to William's to finish the preparations for the ceremony. You know he still cares about these things, even though he doesn't do them anymore." "Um...He wasn't at William's. Someone else was there instead." Her friend and sister-in-law reported evasively, turning red like a pepper. Claire rolled her eyes, already assuming who was in William's room. "Was Wĕi Qí there by any chance?" She asked, with a slightly threatening tone in her voice. But before Margaret could answer, they saw George appear at the end of the corridor. "Darling, I'm sorry. I went to see something with William and Wĕi Qí." Said his brother, taking his little boy in his arm
Four years later... In the semi-darkness of the room, a cadenced sound of bodies coming together could be heard. The two figures clinging to the bed were teasing and tormenting each other with impressive skill. The moans of pleasure they both let out with each new thrust filled the walls of the room like a hymn to passion. The soft blond waves were scattered on the pillow, forming almost a golden areola around the young man's face. A heavenly sight, especially after a long week apart. "Say it!" The succession of thrusts became more and more inflamed. A light coating of sweat covered the golden skin of the body above him. "Say it!" One more thrust, deeper. His body was overcome with enjoyment; he was in the throes of shivers of pleasure from that powerful, rough movement inside him. The calloused hand wrapped greedily around his erect member, subjugating him in its jerking grip. "Say it! Or I'll s
A month later... "Mom! Why did you do that?" Adam's disdainful wail echoed in the small bathroom of the hospital room. "Love, you looked like a bum. So I had to fix you up." "Yeah, but not like that!" The boy complained again to his mother. Then, he held a small mirror in his hands and looked at his completely bearded face with disgust. "I look like a student like that." He whined. "What's going on in here?" Chun Chu's good-natured voice came from the door of the room. "Hello, Dad. Can you tell your grandson that he's fine like this?" Said Hui Ying in exasperation. "Chun Chu, seriously, am I okay?" Adam cast a pleading look towards his grandfather. By now, the shadows of the past were dissipating. Chun Chu had become a fixed presence in their lives, especially Adam's. Although he and his siblings were not yet fully accustomed to this new adult figure at their side, there was no doubt that, on both sides,
A figure dressed in white entered the room. The movements were slow and measured. As a result, the figure had a fragrance that differed from the smell of laundry soap and disinfectant, which could be smelled throughout the hospital. She approached the bed with a circumspect step and, after glancing at the sleeping patient hidden by the immaculate sheet, drew a syringe filled with a colorless liquid from his pocket. Very calmly, so as not to wake the patient, she took the drip thread, which was sticking out from under the covers. Then she inserted the thin needle, letting the transparent liquid flow slowly and inexorably towards the perforated vein. Once the injection was complete, she put the syringe away and gently placed the drip back in its original position. An evil chuckle escaped the figure's crimson lips before she turned on her heel to leave the room. "You'd have to have a specialist diploma to perform this kind of operation. B
Shàng Wèi strolled non-stop in front of the operating room door. The red light above the door had been emanating its evil aura for five hours. He still bore the marks of the struggle. But it was nothing serious, thanks in part to Wĕi Qí's excellent plan. If it weren't for him, all of them would probably have lost their lives during the rescue operation. Jai Li had managed to bribe all the Ming family's security guards, and Shang Chiang had hired a gang of thugs affiliated with one of the city's most giant bosses. It was a small army of about thirty people with the worst intentions and armed to the teeth. But Wĕi Qí, in his cunning, had managed to disguise the Interpol agents as his company's bodyguards. As a result, the small handful of men had managed to neutralize the criminals and catch a fleeing Shang Chiang quickly. And when the police finally caught up with them, those agents had already vanished, leaving Wĕi Qí's men to take credit for the succ
"Xiao Wū Mù!" "Mmm..." "Wake up!" "Mmmm... nooo..." "Xiao Wū Mu, wake up!" "Five more minutes." A crystal-clear laugh echoed faintly in his ear as two mighty arms wrapped around his waist. "We have class this morning." "I don't want to go. It hurts all over." Adam grumbled sleepily, sinking his head under the covers. "Ohhh! Does my little doll hurt? Please show me where. I'll kiss you to take the pain away." So said the deep voice, mouthing at him. A cheeky hand came down and gently cupped his bottom. Adam grabbed the pillow and hurled it at his molester's head. "Ouch!" The moan of pain roused him from his light sleep. Reluctantly, he squinted his eyes, sighing in exasperation. Then, very slowly, he sat up, grimly observing the culprit of his lack of rest. Hēi Sé looked at him with a naughty and satisfied look. He looked like a big, proud cat that had just eaten its prey. And, con
"What do you mean by that?" Hui Ying asked. "Don't play innocent with me. I know how devious you can be. How did you curry favor with our father after stabbing him in the back? How?" "I didn't ingratiate myself with anyone." Hui Ying defended herself. "DON'T LIE!" the shrill voice of Jia Li boomed along the concrete walls. After clearing her throat and regaining some control, she began to speak again, "If you didn't ingratiate yourself with him, how come you and those abominations of yours appear in his will, huh? How can your children, and not mine, be the future heirs of Ming Pharmaceutics?" "What?" Hui Ying asked in amazement. "I said stop playing innocently with me!" "I don't know anything about it, Jia Li. I never spoke to our father. You know, you were there too when we visited. He never spoke to us." "Evidently, despite my best efforts to keep you apart, you must have managed to find a way to communicate with him
"You idiot! Where do you think you're going?" Wĕi Qí suddenly opened the door and removed the key from the ignition. Shàng Wèi looked at him, furious. "What do you think you're doing? Give me back the key now, and let me go." "Where, to the slaughterhouse? Use your head. Do you think they're going to roll out the red carpet for you when you get there? And let you take Adam away, like nothing happened, huh?" He asked angrily. "Don't nag me. Give me the key." He ordered again, raising his voice. Shàng Wèi was beside himself with anger at Wĕi Qí's attitude. He was getting in his way, and just at the moment when he wanted to run to save his Wū Mù. "Get out of the way, Wĕi Qí." He intimated again, seeing that his friend had no intention of letting him go. "You will have to knock me out." The latter challenged him. Shàng Wèi was waiting for nothing else. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment but reaching Adam as soon as
"Hooked!" George said with satisfaction, staring at his laptop screen. Shàng Wèi looked at the man's smug face. "Maylin just turned on her mobile phone. So now we know where she is." He explained briefly. "What's the address? I'll send some men there right away." Said Wĕi Qí, stepping closer to see the newly requested information. "I want to go too." So said William, approaching in turn. "Don't even think about it." Wĕi Qí immediately objected, glaring at him. "But..." His protest was silenced by a hasty kiss. "No buts." He told him as he pulled him away, patting his bottom lightly. William sat down next to Shàng Wèi with a childish pout. "Your friend is just insufferable." He commented with a sigh. Shàng Wèi looked at him in amazement. It was the first time William had ever spoken to him without his usual snooty air. The two of them had never had a good relationship in the past, and his irration