PE Ch37: Contract

That absurd, terrifying thought appeared in Pan Yinchuan’s mind once again.

And in the tense atmosphere, it gradually expanded.

Pan Yinchuan couldn’t stand this oppressive feeling. He wanted to struggle out of Huai Yu’s embrace; he wanted to look the Alpha in the eye and talk to him as equals.

But as soon as he moved, Huai Yu pressed down on him even harder.

The Alpha continued to look down at him… but finally spoke. He asked, “Overdue, huh?”

“Yes. The date written in the contract should be June 12th,” Pan Yinchuan said in a calm tone.

“What date is it today?” Huai Yu’s tone still revealed no emotion.

Pan Yinchuan answered honestly, “It’s July 3rd.”

“Overdue by twenty-one days. I’ll have Assistant Zhang pay you for the extra days.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need.”

The room fell silent again.

Why isn’t he saying anything?

Why isn’t he saying anything?

Under this enormous pressure, Pan Yinchuan felt like the buffer around him was about to collapse.

“Mr. Huai, the contract has expired.” Pan Yinchuan had to repeat himself.

“Yes, I know. It’s overdue, so I said I’d have Assistant Zhang pay you for it.”

“What I mean is… the contract has expired, and I should leave.” Pan Yinchuan forced himself to make his point clearer.

“Why?” Huai Yu uttered three words.

Pan Yinchuan lifted his face but couldn’t see Huai Yu’s expression because of the backlight.

This made him feel very passive.

Why? What do you mean why? The contract has expired.

Pan Yinchuan thought for a moment. Was it the wrong time to bring this up? Men with insufficient sleep tend to have worse tempers?

Pan Yinchuan felt this couldn’t continue, so he said, “I shouldn’t disturb your rest. You should rest well first, and then we can talk about this later…”

Huai Yu’s temples throbbed even harder.

He slowly loosened his grip and responded, “Okay.”

A softening attitude! That’s a good sign! Pan Yinchuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Huai Yu lay back down and said in a low voice, “Go take a shower.”

Pan Yinchuan quickly got up, only to realize his entire back was soaked with cold sweat. The wind from outside made him shiver.

Pan Yinchuan quietly turned around and went down the wooden stairs.

But this time, the wooden stairs didn’t make the happy, loud noises they did before.

His excitement wasn’t for coming to see me.

It was just to remind me the contract had expired.

Huai Yu was acutely aware of this.

He closed his eyes and quickly opened them again. His eyes were bloodshot, giving him a somewhat frightening appearance.

But his rational mind told him, after three days without proper sleep, he should close his eyes and drift off. Otherwise, if the Alpha’s primal instincts went out of control, he might end up killing Pan Yinchuan right on the bed.

Huai Yu made a call: “Send up a sedative.”

A moment later.

He changed his mind and said, “Make it three.”

Downstairs, after Pan Yinchuan finished his shower, he didn’t dare go back to the attic. He just sat by the window, staring outside.

A servant made him a cup of coffee and asked, “The sir is back, so why are you still unhappy?”

Pan Yinchuan took the coffee and said, “Thank you,” but didn’t answer the question.

The whole day until dark, Huai Yu didn’t come downstairs.

In the middle of it, Huai Yu’s subordinate went up once and left.

Anyway, after waiting so many days, another day or half a day didn’t make a difference. Pan Yinchuan pulled himself together, ate as usual, and then went to sleep in the bedroom. He couldn’t use the attic now.

But it looked odd this way. Huai Yu was the legitimate owner, yet he was sleeping in the attic.

That night, Pan Yinchuan thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he did, though he didn’t sleep well, having several strange dreams.

When he woke up, he couldn’t remember what he dreamed about, just a strong sense of anxiety remained.

He held his chest as he walked downstairs to the dining room. Huai Yu was there, eating and talking on the phone.

Seeing him come over, Huai Yu abruptly put his phone face down on the table.

“Mr. Huai,” Pan Yinchuan greeted him as he approached the table.

Just like the day after their first night together.

Polite but distant.

Huai Yu raised his eyelids slightly: “Sit down. The contract has expired. Do you think I won’t even feed you?”

Hmm? This sounded like a softening attitude, and a significant one!

Pan Yinchuan pulled out a chair and sat down. The servant quickly brought him breakfast. The previous feeling of strangeness and distance instantly vanished.

It seemed Huai Yu had almost finished eating. He put down his chopsticks and watched Pan Yinchuan eat.

His gaze made Pan Yinchuan feel a bit uneasy.

Huai Yu suddenly asked, “Have you counted how many months I haven’t been by your side?”

Pan Yinchuan almost choked on a small glutinous rice ball.

Was he going to count the “gap periods”? And make up for all that time?

Pan Yinchuan swallowed the rice ball with water and quickly responded first: “Yes, you haven’t been around for several months, but I’ve still been under your protection. So, it looks like I owe you a lot. How about letting Assistant Zhang calculate and deduct the money for those months?”

Huai Yu chuckled, but the laughter didn’t reach his eyes at all.

“Pan Yinchuan, do you think that’s appropriate?”

Clearly, it was impossible to have an equal conversation with Huai Yu.

Pan Yinchuan had no choice but to say, “Then what do you think is appropriate?”

Huai Yu walked behind him and said, “The button is crooked.” Then he reached around to help him re-button it.

“Take your time eating,” Huai Yu said, and then left the dining room first.

Not giving a clear answer only made one more anxious and on edge.

Pan Yinchuan hurriedly finished his breakfast and followed him out. When Huai Yu saw him come out, he asked, “So fast? Don’t you want to eat a bit more?”

Pan Yinchuan shook his head, feeling his mind becoming muddled again.

Mostly because the sense of oppression from Huai Yu was too strong.

Huai Yu beckoned to him, “Come here.”

Pan Yinchuan walked over and stood beside him on the terrace.

“How about this…” Huai Yu started to speak.

Pan Yinchuan’s mood relaxed a bit.

“At least you should stay another night, don’t you think?” Huai Yu stared at him.

Pan Yinchuan could clearly sense Huai Yu’s displeasure.

But if he was displeased, why insist on staying another night?

“This deal has already been very favorable, Pan Yinchuan.” Seeing him not respond for a while, Huai Yu’s tone sank, pressing him against the terrace railing.

Pan Yinchuan was caught off guard by the pressure and quickly grabbed Huai Yu’s shoulders, afraid of falling.

Huai Yu didn’t look at his startled expression, just lowered his head and kissed him fiercely, roughly. The button he had just re-buttoned was torn off and flew away.

Pan Yinchuan’s blood rushed to his head, feeling tense and frightened… The railing beneath him creaked under the strain. In just a few seconds, his adrenaline surged to the highest point.

“Well? Have you thought it through?” Huai Yu pinched his earlobe and asked in a low voice.

In Pan Yinchuan’s eyes was the reflection of the Alpha’s current expression.

Cold, domineering, leaving no room for negotiation.

Pan Yinchuan nodded.

A fleeting light passed through Huai Yu’s deep eyes, perhaps the reflection of the sun.

Pan Yinchuan’s vision blurred, and suddenly he felt a chill on his lower back as his shirt was lifted.

“Huai Yu!” he exclaimed.

Huai Yu patted his hair, picked him up, and carried him back into the house: “Save your strength; you’ll need it to scream later.”

Pan Yinchuan knew he was in a bad mood and swallowed the rest of his words.

But what was there to be in a bad mood about?

Just because he brought up the contract expiration? Did it make Mr. Huai feel humiliated?

“Look at me,” Huai Yu said coldly.

All the lights in the room were on. After being laid on the bed, the lights stabbed into Pan Yinchuan’s eyes, making him squint before reopening them.

Maybe it was because they hadn’t seen each other for a while.

At this moment, the Alpha made Pan Yinchuan feel as if they had returned to their first meeting, so domineering and cold that it was somewhat… unfamiliar.

No, even more intimidating than their first meeting.

In a daze, Pan Yinchuan felt his wrist tighten.

He looked up.

His hands were tied.

His expression changed slightly, and he reverted to calling him, “Mr. Huai!”

Huai Yu’s expression remained unchanged. He lowered his head close, almost completely enveloping him. The Alpha asked in a low voice, “Not happy?”

What kind of question was that?

Who could be happy being tied up?

Huai Yu pressed his lips, rubbing them back and forth, and said flatly, “I’m not happy either.”

As he spoke, he pried open Pan Yinchuan’s mouth, not allowing it to close again.

Pan Yinchuan couldn’t speak, and his hair quickly became drenched with sweat.

It was already summer, and although it was cool in the mountains, the house was heating up due to rapid breathing, and the sticky sensation quickly spread across his skin.

Pan Yinchuan couldn’t make a sound, and Huai Yu didn’t speak again either.

He just… wouldn’t let Pan Yinchuan’s mind wander at all. Even when the light made it hard to keep his eyes open, he insisted that Pan Yinchuan look at him.

The buffer was forcibly shattered.

Pan Yinchuan felt like he was going to break too, his blood rushing madly, his whole body burning hot.

He wanted to remind Huai Yu.

Huai Yu kissed his chin but didn’t immediately withdraw. Instead, he first untied his hands and carried him to the wardrobe.

The wardrobe had a password lock.

Huai Yu pressed him against the cabinet door while entering the password. How could he do it right while multitasking?

Pan Yinchuan was so weak he was sliding down. He leaned against Huai Yu, wishing he could help him enter it.

“Huai Yu… Mr. Huai…” he muttered Alpha’s name indistinctly, “I’m going to die…”

The rest of his words didn’t come out. With a “ding,” the password was accepted. Huai Yu pulled him away from the door, which swung open, revealing rows of buffers inside.

Huai Yu grabbed one and put it on his wrist.

Then he closed the cabinet door, pressing Pan Yinchuan against it, letting him fully experience the Alpha’s underlying madness beneath his calm exterior.

The clock on the wall made a faint ticking sound.

Time passed bit by bit, and Huai Yu finally let him go.

But as soon as his feet touched the ground, he was flipped over again.

With his back to Huai Yu, the glass surface of the cabinet reflected their postures and expressions.

Pan Yinchuan’s gaze felt burned, and after a quick glance, he looked away.

After a long silence, Huai Yu suddenly asked in a low voice, “Why do you want to go back?”

This question… was strange.

Going home… needed a reason?

“Do you miss your parents?”

Pan Yinchuan tightly pressed his lips, not making a sound.

“Or do you just want to leave me?”

Pan Yinchuan opened his mouth, hoarsely squeezing out four words: “I want… to go home.”

When he was trapped in Nanta City, he wanted to go home. Taken away by Huai Yu, he wanted to return to Jiuhe City. And now, it was the same…

Why does there need to be a reason?

Just like a kite that needs to be reeled in after being flown.

“Do you know whose interests these kinds of contracts are meant to protect?” Huai Yu asked softly by his ear.

Pan Yinchuan’s pupils widened, his muddled mind cleared a bit, and he spat out a word with an unpleasant expression: “Yours.”

“Dates are just numbers,” Huai Yu said.

Pan Yinchuan didn’t expect him to renege on the agreement just like that and immediately struggled fiercely.

Huai Yu also didn’t expect him to be so angry. He pressed down on Pan Yinchuan’s back and said in a low voice, “Actually, there are many other options… You can stay with your parents, you can go to the central city together…”

Pan Yinchuan felt as if he was electrified, both angry and paralyzed.

He trembled slightly and shouted, “I don’t want to! I don’t want this!”

They shouldn’t be tied together like this.

Huai Yu’s status could protect him and his parents, which was a good thing. But at the same time, his status also meant various troubles. Pan Yinchuan didn’t want to delve deeper into that circle.

He just wanted to get back on track.

Pan Yinchuan struggled and knocked over the items on the nearby low table.

Huai Yu’s face turned even darker, and he grabbed his wrist.

Pan Yinchuan had always been relatively agreeable, not taking things too seriously. He rarely fell out with people, and the only time he lost his temper with Huai Yu, he bit him hard and made him climb out the window…

The last time he got this angry, who was it at?

It was at Yu Jianan.

When he realized that he might be no different from Yu Jianan…

“Pan Yinchuan.” Huai Yu firmly grabbed him and brought him back to the bed. His expression was cold, and his eyes were tight, as if he might show a terrifying side at any moment.

Pan Yinchuan panted heavily, his eyes red from either sweat or the lights. He barely held onto Huai Yu’s shoulder, stammering, “You said it… Why doesn’t it count?”

“I’m just giving you a better option.”

Pan Yinchuan was furious, his chest heaving violently.

Huai Yu grunted, pressing against his waist: “Alright, relax.”

What to do?

Pan Yinchuan didn’t know what to do either.

From the start, he didn’t expect Huai Yu to back out of this matter.

In fact, if Huai Yu really didn’t keep his word, there was nothing Pan Yinchuan could do…

Just like without Huai Yu’s help, he probably couldn’t do anything to Yu Jianan either.

The more Pan Yinchuan thought about it, the angrier and sadder he became.

He couldn’t think straight at all!

Huai Yu quickly pressed the side of his neck a few times to soothe him: “Pan Yinchuan! Alright, forget what I just said. Don’t be angry… Pan Yinchuan! Open your mouth and breathe!”

The Alpha’s expression grew darker and darker.

Pan Yinchuan stared at his face, feeling like the scene was shaking.

Huai Yu opened a drawer, where the last unused sedative lay.

He injected it into Pan Yinchuan.

He slept restlessly, groggy and with a splitting headache.

When Pan Yinchuan realized he was waking up, he suddenly sat up.

He moved his hands and kicked his legs.

…He wasn’t tied up.

Pan Yinchuan breathed a sigh of relief.

With his back to the Alpha standing by the window, he slowly turned around. He was back in formal wear, but the exposed areas around his shirt collar still showed signs of being scratched and bitten.

Pan Yinchuan scanned him expressionlessly, then met Huai Yu’s gaze.

Huai Yu bent down and picked up the contract on the bedside table.

“I had your copy brought over too.”

A “snap” sounded.

The lighter’s lid flicked open, a flame quickly engulfing the contract in the man’s hand.

Huai Yu casually tossed it into the copper basin at the foot of the bed.

He said, “You can leave now.”

…He relented again? This time he wouldn’t go back on his word, right?

Pan Yinchuan lifted the blanket to get out of bed but almost rolled over.

Huai Yu reached out to steady him: “What’s the rush?”

Pan Yinchuan: .

You think about why I’m in a rush?

Huai Yu seemed to realize the answer to that question quickly, his eyes flashing as he said, “Jody will drive you to the airport. There’s a regular line at the airport. You can take a regular commercial flight back. Any problem with that?”

Pan Yinchuan: “No problem.”

Pan Yinchuan didn’t feel any disparity in treatment at all.

Huai Yu said nothing more and got up to have someone come in and pack his luggage.

Pan Yinchuan said, “No need for luggage.”

Huai Yu stared at him.

But Pan Yinchuan told the truth: “I don’t have any luggage. Everything brought here was arranged by you.”

“Then just leave like this.” Huai Yu pushed open the door and left.

Pan Yinchuan estimated that with Mr. Huai’s status, getting so angry, he probably wouldn’t see him again after leaving.

But as he stepped out with unsteady steps to get in the car to the airport, Huai Yu came out.

The gem-encrusted cane that seemed to symbolize power and status was back in his hand.

Huai Yu stood on the steps, just like when he first came to the courtyard at Xiuling and encountered him.

High above, indifferent, arrogant.

Pan Yinchuan thought for a moment, was he preparing to say goodbye?

“Pan Yinchuan.” Huai Yu called his name, then walked up to him in front of everyone and lowered his voice: “Do you have many grievances against me?”

Asking this now?

Pan Yinchuan hesitated.

This felt like a trick question. If he answered wrong, what if he got detained again?

“If there are things I’ve done wrong, I can change.” Huai Yu’s voice lowered further.

But it still reached the ears of those around them.

They immediately looked as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, their eyes wide with shock.

Pan Yinchuan was also stunned for a moment.

But he still firmly shook his head and said, “No need, why should you change for me?”

Huai Yu pressed his lips together hard, his tone slightly cold as he asked again, “Why? Why not?”

Why?

Why must there always be a reason?

Pan Yinchuan thought for a moment: “Because I’m straight.”

In an instant, the air went completely silent.

Everyone looked as if their world had just collapsed.

Huai Yu seemed to be nailed to the spot.

He had considered too many possibilities. If Pan Yinchuan was dissatisfied with him, there must be a specific reason for that dissatisfaction. Addressing it should be a simple matter.

But… there was no specific reason.

Because from the beginning, it was a mistake.

Pan Yinchuan, however, felt relieved, thinking, I didn’t say anything bad about you, so you can’t turn against me.

He said softly, “I’m leaving now, Mr. Huai. Goodbye.”

He quickly got into the car, wincing as his butt hit the seat.

At that moment, the car window rolled down. Pan Yinchuan thought for a moment and added, “Mr. Huai, thank you. Thank you for taking me away from Xiu Ling and for dealing with the Yu family issue. I wish you… well, all the best.”

After he finished speaking, the window rolled back up.

Huai Yu’s car had anti-peeping film, the black film completely covering Pan Yinchuan’s face.

It was as if this person had unexpectedly entered his world and then suddenly vanished into darkness.

The car sped away.

A bodyguard stepped forward, “Sir, should we send an armored car to follow?”

Huai Yu nodded expressionlessly and turned to go back.

The others hurried to follow. As soon as they got close, they were overwhelmed by a strong pheromone pressure, forcing them to kneel down.

“Sir? Are you… are you alright?”