GBROTAH CH72

Chapter 72: The Room Card

Xie Yuanxing ignored the two incomprehensible text messages, but the other party seemed very anxious and, after a short while, reluctantly contacted him again.

He finally understood what had happened.

Reading the furious accusations in the text messages, Xie Yuanxing couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curl up.

It was a little amusing.

When he returned home, Shen Bianye was sitting on the carpet, leaning against the sofa and playing a video game. Seeing him return, he immediately threw down the controller and walked over.

“Baby.” Shen Bianye naturally planted a kiss on Xie Yuanxing’s forehead and took the things from his hands to set them down.

The next second, he grabbed Xie Yuanxing’s waist, lifted him onto the shoe cabinet, and kissed him without another word.

Xie Yuanxing pushed him, but couldn’t move him.

The wet, smacking sounds of the kiss were intimate, their hot tongues entwining like mating snakes—clinging, humid, and burning with desire.

A large hand covered his slender, thin waist, its fingers subtly trying to creep under his clothes.

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes suddenly widened, and he frantically reached out to stop him, his body trying to retreat.

The space behind the shoe cabinet was empty. Afraid he would lose his balance and fall backward, Shen Bianye finally, and reluctantly, let go.

“Baby, I learned this welcome-home routine for when my wife gets back from a ‘kept man’ tutorial I found online. Do you like it, baby?”

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes held a complicated expression, and his tone was doubtful. “Is there really such a tutorial?”

Shen Bianye raised an eyebrow and declared with complete confidence, “There is, baby.”

“Kept men are divided into several types. Some rely on their looks, some on providing emotional value, and some on their service.”

He leaned in and kissed the corner of Xie Yuanxing’s lips. “Baby, I have all of those, and I can also serve you well in bed.”

“You won’t lose out by keeping me, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips and said coolly, “Unsubscribed.”

Shen Bianye was speechless.

After all that showing off, he was dismissed with a single word. He looked at Xie Yuanxing sullenly, only to see the slight upward curve of Xie Yuanxing’s lips.

The curve was small, but it made Xie Yuanxing’s entire face come alive with beauty. His lips were moist and looked soft and tender, like sweet jelly waiting to be bitten.

Shen Bianye couldn’t resist leaning in to lick, nibble, and peck at them.

The Alpha’s canine teeth were slightly sharp, and the gentle graze against his already kiss-swollen lips sent a minor pang of pain through them.

Xie Yuanxing hissed in pain, covering his mouth as he dodged backward, looking at Shen Bianye warily. “Didn’t I say I unsubscribed?”

Shen Bianye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Baby’s lips are so tender.”

“They look…” He even swallowed, a look of longing on his face. “Like they’re begging to be tasted.”

“They want to be kissed too, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing shot him a glare. Because he was flustered and annoyed, the ends of his eyebrows seemed to carry a hint of passion. With just one look, Shen Bianye felt a stir of desire.

“Baby,” Shen Bianye said, his voice low and husky.

He reached down to take off Xie Yuanxing’s shoes and socks, guiding his feet downward.

The heat on the soles of his feet was so scorching that it startled Xie Yuanxing, who yanked his feet back like a panicked, bristling cat. He quickly jumped off the shoe cabinet and ran away.

He didn’t get far before he was caught and pulled by Shen Bianye into a forced round of mutual assistance by hand.

Xie Yuanxing, his face still flushed, sat cross-legged on the sofa, playing the part of a silent mushroom.

His phone buzzed twice, reminding him.

He had been pulled into fooling around with Shen Bianye the moment he got home and had almost forgotten to ask about the important matter.

Xie Yuanxing asked, “Your dad said you put his contact information on a dating website?”

Shen Bianye’s brow furrowed instantly. Suppressing his dissatisfaction with Shen Zheng, he explained, “Baby, I was just trying to annoy him.”

The fact that Shen Zheng had bypassed him and approached Xie Yuanxing on his own had already made Shen Bianye very unhappy. Putting his contact information on a dating website was just a way of returning the favor.

Shen Bianye clicked his tongue again and said, “Shen Zheng is a man in his fifties, and he’s still tattling. I can’t believe he’d do that.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’ll handle it, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing didn’t actually care about Shen Zheng. “No, I’m just relaying his message.”

“He told me to tell you to unblock his number.”

Shen Bianye nodded perfunctorily, pulling the man into his arms. “I know, baby.”

“Was work tiring, baby?”

He asked eagerly, “Should I give you a massage?”

…

Shen Bianye clearly had no intention of doing what Shen Zheng said. It wasn’t until Shen Zheng had no choice but to change his number that he was finally able to contact Shen Bianye.

On the other end of the line, Shen Zheng’s voice sounded somewhat weary. “I’m in Z City. Let’s meet.”

It was the same coffee shop, only this time, the person sitting opposite Shen Bianye wasn’t a laptop screen.

In the soundproof, private room, the father and son sat down, finding the sight of each other equally irritating.

Shen Zheng looked at Shen Bianye with a complicated expression. “A few days ago, your Uncle Liu, your uncle, and several other shareholders came to see me together.”

“Although it was your uncle who led the charge, I’m still very curious. What means did you use to persuade the other shareholders?”

Shen Bianye said flatly, “What else could it be? Only benefits can make old foxes take the bait.”

“Besides, my mother may be gone, but my uncle is still here. They have to give me some face.”

Putting Shen Zheng’s contact information on a dating site was just a childish way to annoy him.

The only thing that could truly ensure his and Xie Yuanxing’s life remained undisturbed was to use forceful measures.

Shen Zheng said, “I never thought you would go to such lengths for a Xie Yuanxing.”

Shen Bianye sneered, “From the moment my mother found out you wanted to have another child with someone else, she started drugging you to pave the way for my future.”

“Shen Zheng, I’m not an idiot.”

Shen Zheng’s expression grew even more complicated. “You were supposed to be the son I was proud of.”

“I asked you to have an heir for your own good. I wouldn’t even interfere with you being with a male Beta, as long as you were willing to leave behind a descendant.”

“Why can’t you understand?”

“Besides, what’s so great about one Xie Yuanxing? You’ve spent quite a bit on him, haven’t you? The house, money, watches… What has he given you?”

The sarcasm on Shen Bianye’s face faded as he looked at Shen Zheng. “As long as I choose him, he will always choose me, steadfastly.”

Shen Zheng sneered. “Is that so? If he knew that you’re going to die in a few years and that I could take back all the money you gave him, would he still be so steadfast?”

“Don’t be so quick to refute me, and don’t drag those people into a fight to the death with me. I’m not going to snatch back the little things you gave him.”

“But why don’t you let me test him? You’re making such an ugly scene with me here, but for all you know, he doesn’t even take you seriously.”

Shen Bianye said flatly, “There’s no need to test him.”

“He made me a promise.”

Xie Yuanxing had said that a promise never changes.

Shen Bianye believed that he wouldn’t be abandoned again, that he wouldn’t be disliked by Xie Yuanxing because of his lifespan.

As for the money Shen Zheng mentioned, Shen Bianye didn’t think for a second that Xie Yuanxing would be swayed by it.

Xie Yuanxing had never touched the five million he had transferred to his card. During his rare summer break, he diligently worked under the hot sun, all to earn a monthly salary of ten thousand yuan.

Xie Yuanxing was supporting him with the ten thousand yuan he worked so hard to earn.

He wanted to leave all his assets to Xie Yuanxing because he wanted to be good to him. It had nothing to do with Xie Yuanxing himself.

It wasn’t that Xie Yuanxing needed the money; it was that he wanted Xie Yuanxing to accept it.

Shen Zheng said, “If you’re really so certain, why don’t you dare tell Xie Yuanxing that you don’t have many years to live?”

“I know I can’t touch what you want to leave for Xie Yuanxing, so we don’t need to test the money issue. But why don’t you dare tell him the most important thing?”

“Human nature isn’t that noble. I do want another child because of your illness, but aren’t most parents in the world like this?”

“I never even thought about relying on you in the future, but if you die, who do I hand over my life’s work to?”

“Parents are like this, and so are partners,” he looked at Shen Bianye, his words icy. “No one would want a lover who is destined to die young at such a young age.”

“He will abandon you too.”

“If he’s after money, maybe he’ll play along with you for a few years for the sake of the money, and then find someone else after you die.”

…

When Xie Yuanxing got home, he didn’t see Shen Bianye, and while it was a bit strange, he also felt a sense of relief.

He wouldn’t have to explain why he came back so late today.

In his phone’s memo app, tomorrow’s date was marked with the word “Birthday.”

It wasn’t his own, but Shen Bianye’s.

Just before Shen Bianye arrived home, Xie Yuanxing hid a square object, smaller than his palm.

He had just closed the drawer when he turned around.

Shen Bianye was standing silently at the bedroom door like a ghost. There was no telling how long he had been watching.

Xie Yuanxing was speechless.

For once, he stammered, “You… you… when did you get back?”

Shen Bianye sounded as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time, his voice dry. “Just got back. What did you put away, baby?”

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes instinctively flustered, and a light pink blush crept onto his face. “No-nothing.”

“I just put something away.”

Seeing his unusual expression, Shen Bianye strode over and reached out to pull open the drawer.

Thump!

With a muffled sound, the drawer that had just been pulled open a crack was slammed shut by Xie Yuanxing.

The tips of Xie Yuanxing’s ears were burning hot, but he forced himself to remain calm.

“It’s really nothing. Are you hungry? Why don’t we go out to eat today?”

“I thought that creative restaurant we went to last time was pretty good. Let’s go there, okay?”

Shen Bianye called his name, his voice dangerous, “Baby.”

What was it that Xie Yuanxing was so desperate to hide?

Something he couldn’t see, that made him blush… something from someone else?

A love letter? A gift?

Was it from the chef at the restaurant who had praised Xie Yuanxing’s beauty? Or the barista at the coffee shop downstairs who always smiled at him?

The underachieving middle school student Xie Yuanxing was tutoring? A ninth-grader wasn’t that young anymore; it was possible.

He knew it. He should have been picking up and dropping off Xie Yuanxing every day.

Damn it, sending a car over from another city was taking too long, getting delayed day after day. And Xie Yuanxing wouldn’t let him take a taxi to escort him.

Maybe he should just buy a car here.

As Shen Bianye thought about it, his hand on the drawer didn’t loosen.

The poor wooden drawer trembled in the tug-of-war between them. Shen Bianye was holding back, afraid that if he pulled too hard, he would hurt Xie Yuanxing’s hand.

But he was, after all, a top-tier Alpha who exercised regularly. Even holding back, opening a drawer was still very simple.

The moment the drawer was pulled open, a thin room card stared blankly back at them.

Xie Yuanxing touched his instantly burning face with the back of his hand and said in a small voice, “That…”

“This hotel has a water bed… you said you wanted to…”

“Tomorrow is your birthday, so I booked it… I was planning to tell you tomorrow.”

Shen Bianye stared at the thin room card. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and the hand holding the drawer suddenly clenched tight.

The veins on the back of his hand throbbed as two completely different emotions, excitement and bitterness, churned within him.

Xie Yuanxing was looking forward to and preparing for a birthday that he himself had forgotten.

Shen Bianye was not so naive as to misunderstand what the room card meant.

Shen Zheng’s words swirled in his mind—not the ones about distrusting Xie Yuanxing, but the sentence:
No one would want a lover who is destined to die young at such a young age.

Perhaps he should tell Xie Yuanxing.

Not to test him.

But to be honest, to give Xie Yuanxing the right to know and the power to choose.

He believed Xie Yuanxing wouldn’t abandon him, but Shen Bianye also knew himself.

If they became physically intimate, he could never be content with just being lovers; he would want to marry Xie Yuanxing.

Even in death, he wanted his name to appear as the spouse in Xie Yuanxing’s household registration information.

He was giving Xie Yuanxing the power to choose whether or not to have a platonic relationship with him.

If he had never fully possessed him, perhaps he wouldn’t have so much possessiveness.

He wouldn’t be unable to accept that after he died, Xie Yuanxing would fall in love with someone else.