🌸 Chapter 10: Drowning in a Summer Night

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Qi Ye stood beneath a parasol tree, an unlit cigarette held loosely between his fingers.

“Mr Qi, I’ve finished checking the sapling inventory.” Xiao Lin jogged over with a tablet in her arms. “It’s just that this batch of ginkgo trees doesn’t meet the required specifications—”

“Return them according to the plans,” Qi Ye interrupted. “Tell the supplier that if they try passing off substandard stock again, we’ll terminate our partnership.”

A notification chimed from the tablet.

Xiao Lin glanced at the screen and suddenly widened her eyes.

“President Cheng… got the Phase Two design rights back!”

Qi Ye’s fingers froze. Strands of tobacco spilled from between them.

“…When did that happen?”

“Just now! The company owned by Director Li’s nephew was exposed for falsifying data. The board unanimously voted to revoke—”

The roar of an engine sounded in the distance.

A Bentley Batur rolled steadily over the gravel of the construction site before coming to a stop. Cheng Shubai stepped out, looking as though he had just rushed back from a meeting.

As the wind swept past, the hem of his coat lifted in a graceful arc.

He adjusted his glasses. Sunlight flashed across the lenses, and the face of his watch reflected a fleeting glimmer.

Everything about him carried that familiar sense of distance—courteous, refined, and untouchable.

The afternoon sun was fierce, illuminating the ginkgo-leaf emblem on his tie clip until it gleamed.

“It’s settled?” Qi Ye asked.

Cheng Shubai nodded and removed his glasses to wipe away the dust that had settled on the lenses.

“Director Li resigned voluntarily.”

The wind picked up suddenly, rustling the parasol leaves overhead.

“So,” Qi Ye said, crushing the cigarette in his hand, “President Cheng is here to inspect the fruits of victory?”

Instead of answering, Cheng Shubai pulled a document from his briefcase and handed it over.

“I’m here to sign a contract.”

The words Phase Two Landscape Design Commission Agreement seemed especially glaring beneath the sunlight.

Qi Ye flipped to the last page.

The client’s signature line had already been signed with three bold, sweeping characters:

Cheng Shubai.

“Not afraid I’ll complain again about how troublesome clients are?”

“I am,” Cheng Shubai replied, drawing out the words with a trace of amusement. “That’s why I revised the terms according to the complaints you posted on your Weibo alt account.”

Heat instantly climbed into Qi Ye’s ears.

His anonymous account—Why Must Clients Torment Me So—was something not even Xiao Lin knew about.

How the hell had Cheng Shubai found out?

The contract pages fluttered noisily in the wind.

Qi Ye’s gaze landed on one of the supplementary clauses:

Party B reserves the right to reject non-essential modification requests.

A thought struck him.

“You planned all of this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

From Director Li’s challenge, to the disciplinary investigation’s intervention, to today’s flawless comeback—

Every step had unfolded with the precision of a carefully written script.

Cheng Shubai didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached out and plucked a parasol leaf from Qi Ye’s shoulder.

A ladybug crawled across the underside of the leaf, its scarlet shell dotted with tiny black spots.

“Well?” Cheng Shubai asked. “Are you signing or not?”

Qi Ye snatched the pen from his hand and forcefully signed his name in the Party B section.

The ink bled through the paper.

His final stroke nearly tore the page.

“Satisfied now, President Cheng?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Cheng Shubai folded the contract away.

Then he suddenly leaned close to Qi Ye’s ear.

“One last step remains.”

His breath brushed lightly against Qi Ye’s ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

Qi Ye instinctively tried to step back, only to have his wrist caught.

Cheng Shubai’s thumb pressed against his pulse.

It was beating far too fast.

“Seven o’clock tonight,” Cheng Shubai murmured.

“I’m coming to collect the interest.”

The shadows of the parasol trees swayed across the ground.

Patches of sunlight filtered through the canopy like scattered gold coins.

Qi Ye watched Cheng Shubai’s retreating figure and couldn’t help remembering the marks he’d left on the man’s lower back during last night’s… argument.

The shadows of the parasol trees stretched long beneath the setting sun, cutting diagonally across the construction site’s temporary fencing.

Qi Ye stood by the window of the site office, absentmindedly rubbing the cap of his pen between his fingers.

Outside, Cheng Shubai was speaking with the contractor’s representative. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing a pair of lean, well-defined forearms.

“Mr Qi, your coffee.”

Xiao Lin set a paper cup on the desk and glanced curiously out the window.

“Why is President Cheng personally supervising the arrival of the trees today?”

“Because the almighty client has too much free time on his hands.”

Qi Ye withdrew his gaze, the bitterness of the coffee spreading across his tongue.

Xiao Lin looked as though she wanted to say something. Her eyes flicked toward the pen in his hand—the Montblanc Cheng Shubai had “returned to its rightful owner” the week before.

“Then… I’ll head over to Area B?”

“Mm.”

After she left and the door clicked shut, Qi Ye set the pen down and pulled a velvet box from his drawer.

Inside lay a simple silver ring.

It glimmered softly in the fading light.

Footsteps sounded outside.

A moment later, the office door opened and Cheng Shubai stepped in, carrying with him the lingering heat of late summer.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Qi Ye snapped the box shut.

“Nothing.”

Cheng Shubai walked over, his shadow falling across the desk.

His tie had loosened slightly, and there was a smudge of dust near his collarbone, as though he had been helping move the saplings himself.

“People from Li’s nephew’s company came to handle the handover,” he said. “They insisted on seeing you.”

“I’m not meeting them.”

“I know. I told them you had a stomachache and weren’t receiving visitors.”

Qi Ye looked up and met Cheng Shubai’s amused gaze.

The sunlight slanted in from the side, casting a small shadow beneath his lashes.

“…Busybody.”

Without warning, Cheng Shubai leaned forward, bracing both hands on the edge of the desk and trapping Qi Ye between his arms.

They were close enough to count each other’s eyelashes.

Their breaths mingled.

Qi Ye caught the faint scent of cedar and earth clinging to him.

“What do you want for dinner?” Cheng Shubai asked.

“Whatever.”

“Then we’ll go to the usual place.”

Qi Ye swallowed.

Cheng Shubai’s gaze settled on his throat, brushing over him like a feather.

“Seven o’clock,” he said as he straightened. “I’ll pick you up.”

The office door opened and closed once more.

Qi Ye slowly unclenched his fist.

Resting in his palm was the silver ring, its edge having pressed a red mark into his skin.

Outside, Cheng Shubai crossed the construction site, his shadow stretching long beneath the sunset.

Halfway across, he suddenly turned back and glanced toward the office window.

Qi Ye instinctively took half a step backward.

Then he saw Cheng Shubai raise his left hand and tap his ring finger with the other.

His phone vibrated.

A message appeared on the screen:

Wear the ring properly. I’ll be checking.

As dusk deepened, the shadows of the parasol trees gradually climbed the wall.

Qi Ye rubbed the engraving inside the ring.

By the time evening settled in, Qi Ye was waiting downstairs outside his apartment building.

He had changed into a black shirt and left the top two buttons undone. The silver ring hung from a chain hidden beneath his collar, the metal resting warm against his collarbone.

Headlights pierced through the darkness.

The Bentley rolled to a stop before him.

The window lowered.

Cheng Shubai rested one hand on the steering wheel. A small ink stain marked the cuff of his white shirt.

Removing his glasses, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Faint shadows lingered beneath his eyes.

“Get in.”

The air-conditioning inside the car was set low enough to raise goosebumps along Qi Ye’s arms.

Cheng Shubai reached over to increase the temperature, his fingertips accidentally brushing Qi Ye’s knee.

“Li’s nephew hasn’t caused any more trouble?”

“He did,” Cheng Shubai replied, turning the wheel. “I told him to go yell at a parasol tree.”

Streetlights slipped past one after another, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across his profile.

Qi Ye noticed a faint scratch behind Cheng Shubai’s right ear.

He had left it there himself during last night’s loss of control in the fire stairwell.

The car eventually stopped behind a private restaurant.

After undoing his seatbelt, Cheng Shubai suddenly leaned across.

“Your collar.”

His fingers brushed Qi Ye’s collarbone as he straightened the folded edge of his shirt.

“It’s crooked.”

Warm breath swept across the side of his neck.

Qi Ye held his breath.

Cheng Shubai’s fingertips paused on the silver chain before hooking the ring out from beneath his collar.

“You wore it.”

“…Mm.”

Seriously, Qi Ye, can you stop being such a coward?

Every time, he’s the one making the first move.

Can’t you show a little backbone?

In a one-on-one relationship there can only be one top!

Stop letting Cheng Shubai steal the position already!

Cheng Shubai looked at him and chuckled softly.

“Very obedient.”

“……”

Ahhhhh, I’m done for.

He’s way too handsome.

Seriously, way too handsome.

How did I never notice when we were together before—

Wait, no.

Damn it, Qi Ye.

You’re a grown man. How can you say you’re done for?

Absolutely not.

No way.

I refuse.

The private room was lit by warm yellow light.

Outside the window stood a ginkgo tree slowly shedding its leaves.

After ordering, Cheng Shubai took a kraft paper package from his briefcase.

“A gift.”

Qi Ye looked up, puzzled.

Opening it, he found an out-of-print copy of The World Atlas of Gardens, signed on the title page by his favorite landscape architect.

“You…”

“I bought it at an auction three years ago.”

Cheng Shubai poured him a glass of warm water and pushed it across the table.

“I never had a chance to give it to you.”

A ring of moisture formed beneath the glass.

Qi Ye ran his fingers over the pages.

His throat tightened.

“Cheng Shubai.”

A knock interrupted him as a server entered with the dishes.

Cheng Shubai picked up a piece of steamed sea bass and placed it into his bowl—the tenderest piece from the belly.

“Eat.”

Throughout the meal, Cheng Shubai kept answering work calls.

Qi Ye quietly ate his fish, his gaze drifting from time to time toward the movement of Cheng Shubai’s throat and the rolled sleeves exposing his forearms.

When Cheng Shubai hung up his third call, Qi Ye suddenly stood and grabbed his tie across the table.

“So annoying.”

Cheng Shubai allowed himself to be pulled forward.

“Mm?”

Qi Ye leaned down and bit his lower lip.

Hard.

Cheng Shubai’s breathing instantly faltered.

His phone slipped from his hand and landed on the carpet with a soft thud.

Outside, ginkgo leaves drifted to the ground.

Inside, only the sound of mingled breaths remained.

Cheng Shubai’s hand settled on the back of Qi Ye’s neck, his thumb slowly stroking a sensitive spot there.

“The ring…” he murmured between breaths.

“Wear it properly.”

Qi Ye released his tie.

The silver chain slipped free from his collar, the ring swinging beneath the light.

Lowering his head, Cheng Shubai pressed a kiss to the ring.

Then he followed the chain upward little by little until he reached the pulse hammering in Qi Ye’s neck.

“Cheng Shubai…”

“I’m here.”

“You…”

Qi Ye tugged at his hair.

Cheng Shubai lifted his head and, almost deliberately, let his gaze linger on Qi Ye’s lips before slowly trailing downward, making heat spread through his entire body.

“Not here…”

Cheng Shubai laughed softly.

“There’s no surveillance here. But if you’d prefer somewhere else… we can go home.”

The night breeze stirred the curtains.

The shadow of the ginkgo tree swayed across the wall.

Looking at Cheng Shubai’s collar, disheveled by his own hands, Qi Ye suddenly thought that maybe this summer could last a little longer.

The entryway light was off.

Qi Ye’s back pressed against the door while Cheng Shubai stepped forward, trapping him between himself and the wooden panel.

In the darkness, the sharp snap of a breaking chain sounded unusually clear.

The silver ring rolled across the carpet and came to rest with a dull thud.

“…Pick it up,” Qi Ye said between breaths.

Cheng Shubai didn’t move.

Instead, he brushed against his burning ear.

“Later.”

Qi Ye’s shirt had fallen slightly open, exposing his collarbone to the cool air.

A shiver ran through him.

Cheng Shubai’s palm settled there, radiating warmth.

“You…” Qi Ye pushed him away slightly and let out a cold laugh. “Wasn’t the whole point to inspect the ring?”

Cheng Shubai chuckled.

“No need to inspect the ring anymore.”

His voice dropped lower.

“I’ll inspect something else.”

Qi Ye swore under his breath.

The rest dissolved into laughter, tangled breaths, and words left unfinished.

Eventually, Cheng Shubai murmured against his ear:

“Want to take a shower?”

“…T-Together?”

The question seemed to flip some invisible switch.

The next thing Qi Ye knew, he had been swept off his feet.

Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around Cheng Shubai’s neck.

His knee bumped the hallway wall.

“Hey—watch where you’re going…”

The bathroom lights flickered on.

Steam soon filled the room, blurring the mirror into white haze.

The shower started.

Hot water cascaded down.

Cheng Shubai’s hand slid through Qi Ye’s damp hair, gently massaging his scalp.

Tilting his head back, Qi Ye let the water run down the line of his jaw and disappear into the hollow of his collarbone.

“The ring…” he said hoarsely.

Cheng Shubai switched off the water.

Wet bangs hung before his eyes.

“It’s here.”

Words became unnecessary after that.

Outside, a late-summer storm arrived without warning.

Rain battered against the windows like an urgent drumbeat.

And inside, amid the lingering warmth and mist, two wandering souls finally found the anchor that could guide them home.

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TRANSLATOR NOTE

From this point onward, (Qi-gong) will be translated as Mr. Qi.

(My translation is far from perfect, so if you see any mistakes please let me know in the comments)

 

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