Chapter 67.2
Editor: SimoB
The young Marquis raised his eyebrows and drawled lazily, “I can live just fine without Father’s support. At most I’ll just go through the ha.s.sle of writing a few programs and selling them.”
His voice was like a siren’s, mesmerizing and able to stir the hearts of others.
Looking at Shi Qing, whose expression seemed to say, “this stuff’s so troublesome but I’ll do it if I have to”, Qin Yunsheng had a sudden suspicion.
He asked, “Did you never reveal your talents before because it was too troublesome?”
“Uh-huh.”
The young Marquis lazily leaned on Qin Yunsheng, “I don’t do this for the salary, so why be a tryhard? I get by just doing the bare minimum.”
The officer was a bit dazed.
Yeah, that would make sense.
Why was it that everyone thought Shi Qing was a useless mooch when he could create such advanced computer chips and hack into the Science and Technology Inst.i.tute’s systems?
It was because he wasn’t here for the salary.
For the lazy and headstrong young Marquis, he wasn’t bothered with revealing his true abilities unless it was necessary.
After all, even if he really was a useless mooch, he would still lead an unrestrained life of leisure that was better than that of 99.9% of the people on Earth.
Bigshot Researcher Shi Qing, who pretended to be a useless mooch, cut back to the main topic. His voice, that grew soft from fatigue, radiated laziness.
His words may sound sticky like he was acting spoiled, but their meaning was very clear cut.
“Qin Yunsheng, why are you afraid when I’m not? Besides, you pounced on me first today, so you have to take responsibility.”
He said this in a brutally unreasonable way while slipping his slender and pale fingers into the officer’s grasp.
He didn’t stop until Qin Yunsheng held onto his entire hand.
Qin Yunsheng: “……”
What do you mean by ‘pounced’?
That was a self-defense maneuver minimizing harm to his opponent.
He struggled one last time and tried to free his hands as he spoke. “Professor Shi, I’m sorry but this isn’t appropriate…”
“What are you doing?!”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the young Marquis whose body was too delicate to even touch.
“It hurts…” Shi Qing whimpered like he was in agony. The corners of his eyes began to redden as he brought his slender fingers to his lips and carefully blew on them.
While doing so, he didn’t forget to stare daggers at the officer, who was somewhat overwhelmed by his sudden actions.
“Why did you hit me? Why can’t we just talk nicely for once?”
Qin Yunsheng: “I didn’t, I just moved…”
“Who uses this much strength just to move? Ow, it hurts…”
The young Marquis, holding his hand, thoroughly reproached the officer.
“You were just getting revenge, weren’t you? Deliberately hurting me to satisfy your twisted desires.”
Qin Yunsheng: “Professor Shi, I really didn’t do it on purpose. I just wanted to pull my hand awayk2026;”
Shi Qing snorted, “Why did you pull it out all of a sudden? As I thought, you were trying to get revenge on me.”
Seeing that the officer still wanted to argue, the young Marquis lifted his chin.
“What are you trying to say? I’m warning you, this is your last chance to apologize to me! If you don’t, don’t even think about getting that explanation from me!”
Qin Yunsheng: “……”
He scrubbed his forehead helplessly and softened his voice like he was coaxing a child.
“Professor Shi, I’m sorry for hurting you. I’ll take more care next time.”
The young Marquis snorted, “There’s going to be a next time?”
The officer said agreeably, “That was a slip of the tongue, sorry.”
This managed to satisfy Shi Qing, whose mouth quirked up slightly with a little smugness. “Fine, I guess you’re sincere enough. I forgive you.”
He agreed so quickly that Qin Yunsheng was actually a bit unsettled.
The officer asked tentatively, “What about the explanation?”
Shi Qing: “Don’t worry, I’m a generous guy who always keeps his word. You’re allowed to think about it now.”
Qin Yunsheng: “……..”
So he was literally talking about thinking?
He was ready to admit defeat to this clever little Marquis who could still be foolish at the most critical moments.
The officer gathered himself and stopped playing around.
He would seriously apply himself.
“Professor Shi, this matter is non-negotiable. Although I’ve never been in love, everything I’ve learned since I was a child says that feelings aren’t something to be toyed with. A person like you, who wants to pretend to be a couple to mess with me or your cousin, isn’t someone I can accept, so let’s stop here.”
Shi Qing stopped yawning into his hand and squeezed his fingers into the other’s hand again. Watching how the office was torn between his desire to pull away and his desire to not hurt him, a slight smile appeared on his fox-like face.
“So you’ll only be with someone who genuinely likes you?”
Qin Yunsheng was confused by the hand that wormed into his own. He took some time to answer. “Yes, I don’t approve of treating feelings like a game.”
Shi Qing: “What a coincidence, I feel the same way!”
Qin Yunsheng looked at the evil looking and unruly Shi Qing who was widely known to be a playboy: “…”
He had familiarized himself with the young Marquis’ history before taking on this mission.
He was your standard dandy.
And now this guy was telling him that he didn’t approve of treating feelings like a game???
The officer frowned, unmoved.
“Professor Shi, please don’t joke. I’m being very serious about this.”
“Who isn’t?”
Shi Qing stood on tiptoe, his lips next to the other man’s ear. He deliberately lowered his voice to no more than an airy whisper.
“Qin Yunsheng, can’t you see that I’m also being very serious with you?”
The young Marquis smiled as the officer stiffened. He took advantage of the other person’s reluctance to hurt him and grabbed onto Qin Yunsheng’s finger, causing him to meet his eyes.
Taking in Shi Qing’s delighted smile, Qin Yunsheng thought he rather resembled a lovely little flower blossom.
And when this little flower began to show off its charm, it was simply irresistible.
It seemed to be saying, “pick me, pick me now”, “Look at how pretty I am, take me home”, “I’m fully bloomed so take me home” and so on.
The officer, who’d been single since he was born, was almost unable to restrain himself.
Fortunately, his willpower prevailed.
Shi Qing’s tender fingertips deliberately stroked the calluses on his palm.
The officer took a deep breath. He still looked calm on the outside.
“How do you know that I don’t like you?”
Qin Yunsheng choked on air.
The young Marquis’ tone could be described as light-hearted. “I’ve said it before, I like men and you happen to be my favourite type.”
Qin Yunsheng could feel the other party’s soft fingertips stroke the calluses on his hand.
It reminded him of the silky tofu he bought last year during a shopping trip.
He started blinking 1.5x faster than when he was happy. His heartbeat was also nearly 1.2x faster than usual.
Shi Qing rested his head on his shoulder, “If you don’t want to pretend to be a couple…”
The little Marquis’s words trailed off. He wasn’t finished yet, but Qin Yunsheng’s heart was already trembling.
When a person that was always arrogant and proud began to act cute and sticky, their attack power rose by 200%.
And right now, this delicate voice was saying, “Then let’s do it for real.”
“You like me, and I like you.” The little Marquis’ words lightly fell into the officer’s ears like snowflakes. “Although I’m afraid of pain, I’ll bear with it if you promise to be gentle.”
Qin Yunsheng: “……”
He felt like his heart had stopped beating.
The only thoughts running across his brain were…
What did that mean??
What was that supposed to mean?!!
While he was busy doubting life, Shi Qing slowly squeezed his fingers back into the officer’s hand.
“Come, hold my hand nicely. We’ll really be a couple from now on, so you have to treat me right.”
Qin Yunsheng’s brain had gone completely blank.
Something didn’t add up.
Common sense told him that Shi Qing was definitely playing tricks again.
How could a dandy playboy like him stay true to Qin Yunsheng alone?
These sweet words were just trying to trick him into submission.
But as he held the little Marquis’ soft and tender hand, the officer just couldn’t say no.
His face was filled with helplessness and his ears were flushed a deep red. He unconsciously continued to hold onto Shi Qing’s hand.
The officer felt like he was being swallowed into a trap filled with marshmallow fluff.
He tried to stay afloat, but the sticky sugar dragged him back down.
He tried to shout for help, but his mouth was filled with sweetness.
He tried to stay reasonable only to turn and discover that the logical part of his brain had long since been overwhelmed by the fluffy marshmallows.
The little Marquis rested his head gently on the officer’s shoulder, his voice soft and sticky, his tone quiet and timid.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is there something wrong with me? I really do like you… You just have to say a single sentence, that’s all.”
Pitiful, spoiled, and intensely sweet.
–Crack!
Qin Yunsheng heard all the defenses around his heart shatter.
He had shamefully fallen.
“Alright.”
His goal accomplished, the marshmallow instantly transformed back into a dominatrix.
The little Marquis leaning on his shoulder straightened up. The timid look on his face returned to smug arrogance in a split second.
“You’re not allowed to go back on your word!”
Qin Yunsheng stared at Shi Qing, who had discarded all pretense upon achieving his goal.
“…”
The little Marquis smirked as he took a step back and proudly pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Don’t even try to deny it because I recorded everything. You promised to be my boyfriend!”
Qin Yunsheng: “……”
He watched as Shi Qing replayed the recording. He looked quite pleased with himself as his own pitiful and weak voice came out.
After the little Marquis finished showing off his evidence, his nose was even higher in the air than before.
He ordered the officer around, as demanding as ever.
“The meal you bought is already cold, go buy me another one.”
Well, with one key difference.
He was even more demanding than before.
After all, Qin Yunsheng was now officially his boyfriend.