The Dumped Ex-Boyfriend 3

Ye Ming's eyes widened in disbelief, his face flushing crimson with shame and anger. He shoved Qin Yi away and staggered back a step. "I'm leaving!"

Boss Hu's gaze sharpened. Since this was the man Mr. Qin wanted, how could he simply let him leave? He was about to stop him when Qin Yi suddenly spoke, calling him back. "It's fine. Let him go."

Boss Hu froze. He was having trouble figuring Qin Yi out. Did he intend to let Ye Ming off or not?

Ye Ming gave Qin Yi a long look. As he turned away, a flicker of pain crossed his eyes, and he resolutely pushed open the door and left.

With Ye Ming gone, Boss Hu stood there, unsure whether to stay or go. Until he understood Qin Yi's attitude, he didn't dare simply leave. While he was wavering, Qin Yi said, "Please, sit."

Boss Hu was overwhelmed by the honor. Qin Yi was actually inviting him to sit! He hurried over and took a seat, looking ready to follow his every command.

Qin Yi slowly turned the wineglass in his hand and gave a seemingly dejected sigh. "My old friend doesn't seem very pleased to see me. I wonder if you have any suggestions, Boss Hu?"

Boss Hu's eyes lit up. He chuckled confidently. "You've misunderstood, Mr. Qin. You're his benefactor. How could Xiao Fang possibly be unwilling to see you? He just hasn't come around yet. I guarantee he'll be happy to see you!"

Qin Yi gave him a meaningful look and a soft laugh. "I see. That puts my mind at ease. Here's to a pleasant partnership."

......

Since no one stopped him, Ye Ming left the private dining room without trouble. He let out a heavy breath and rushed into the restroom.

[888: That's it? Three glasses of wine? His darkening score only dropped by five points. What if he refuses to have anything more to do with you?]

[Ye Ming: He won't. The moment he hinted that Boss Hu should set me up, he made it clear he wasn't going to let me off easily. That's a good sign. What worries me most isn't him wanting revenge—it's him deciding we should go our separate ways and let it go. As long as I have a chance to interact with him, there'll be a way to get rid of his darkening score.]

[888, after a moment of silence: But... what was that about asking you to name your price?] 888 couldn't quite follow Qin Yi's thought process.

[Ye Ming: Well, let me give you a little freestyle, and you'll understand!]

[888: ???]

[Ye Ming: Check it out! My ex-boyfriend's tall and fine, broad shoulders, slim waist, abs and legs for days. Money ain't what matters, baby, skills in bed are where it's at, wow~ We were so in love back then, but reality tore us apart~ Though I coldly threw him away, now we meet again, and he still wants to buy me back, buy me back, yo~ yo~ yo~!]

888 once again felt the urge to beat his host to death.

After what had happened, Ye Ming naturally wasn't going back to the party. Instead, he left the hotel and took a cab home.

[Ye Ming: I'm sleepy. Bro, keep an eye on Boss Hu for me, would you? I think he's getting ready to make his move.]

888 very much wanted to ignore Ye Ming. But he was, after all, a system with professional integrity. No matter how trashy his host was, he wouldn't let his personal feelings interfere with his work.

Having drunk so much the night before, Ye Ming slept in the next morning with a clear conscience. The sun was high by the time he dawdled into the office. On the way, 888 filled him in on the results of the previous night's surveillance.

[888, after some thought, tried to dissuade him anyway: Are you sure you want to see Boss Hu now?]

[Ye Ming: Yes. After what happened yesterday, how could I possibly keep working for him as though nothing had happened? Obviously, the normal thing to do is resign and get out of there.]

[888: He guessed you would do that. That's why he spent the night setting a trap for you.]

[Ye Ming: Not surprising at all. Boss Hu was a crooked construction foreman to begin with. He has absolutely no scruples, and he happens to want to suck up to Qin Yi. He'll do anything for a little profit. That's why I chose him in the first place. One look and you can tell he's a perfectly qualified cannon-fodder wingman. And of course I have to cooperate and let Qin Yi get his revenge. Given how much he hates me, the first priority is to let him blow off some steam before I can take the next step. There's a saying that perfectly describes Qin Yi's attitude toward me right now.]

[888: What saying?]

[Ye Ming: If you're doing well, that's a devastating bolt from the blue.]

[888: ...]Sending this scumbag to his doom was clearly the right decision.

Ye Ming was a little pale from his hangover. Rather than going to his own office, he went straight to Boss Hu.

Something flickered in Boss Hu's eyes. He smiled. "Xiao Fang, what brings you here?"

Remembering Boss Hu's behavior yesterday, Ye Ming understood his desire to curry favor with Qin Yi, but he still couldn't help resenting it. His voice was somewhat cool. "I'm here to resign."

Boss Hu's smile faded a little. "I advanced you three months' salary, and now you want to resign before you've even worked two months? That hardly seems appropriate."

Ye Ming had come prepared. Taking out the last of his money, he said, "Here are two months' salary. Please count it." Then he turned to leave.

But as soon as he reached the door, two tall security guards strode in and blocked his way, staring at him coldly. Clearly, they had no intention of letting him leave.

Anger flashed in Ye Ming's eyes. He turned back to Boss Hu. "What is this supposed to mean? I've already returned the salary. Now let me leave."

Boss Hu didn't even glance at the money on his desk. Disdain passed through his eyes, and his tone changed as well. "Mr. Fang, considering you're a friend of Mr. Qin's, I honestly don't care whether you repay that little bit of salary."

"Then why won't you let me go?" Ye Ming asked grimly.

Boss Hu's expression abruptly turned icy. "The salary doesn't matter. But you're going to explain the million yuan missing from the accounts today!"

Ye Ming went still. "What million yuan?"

Boss Hu tossed out a ledger. "I went through the accounts you handled during your time here and found that a million yuan in construction payments never arrived. But the other party says they transferred it to us long ago. You were the only person who handled this transaction... Hand over the million, and I won't make things difficult for you today. We can settle this privately. How does that sound?"

Ye Ming snatched up the ledger and quickly flipped through it. At last, his expression changed. He looked up furiously. "I never took any money from the company. This is slander!"

Boss Hu watched him coldly, all trace of his usual friendliness gone. "I have more than just this. The evidence is conclusive. Don't tell me you're going to deny it?"

Ye Ming trembled with anger. He took a deep breath and stared coldly at Boss Hu. "Why are you framing me?"

"Framing you?" Boss Hu said contemptuously. "You're the one with sticky fingers, embezzling company funds, and you have the nerve to accuse me of framing you? You really can't judge a book by its cover. You look so clean and respectable. Who would have thought you'd do something like this? I bet you're a habitual thief."

Ye Ming's face flushed with rage. He pointed at Boss Hu. "You—you're a filthy liar!" With that, he tried to charge out.

The two security guards were ready. A fist slammed into Ye Ming's abdomen. He hadn't expected them to resort to violence without warning and doubled over in pain. They roughly dragged him back and forced him into a chair. Before he could react, they had tied his hands to the armrests with rope!

Boss Hu got up and approached him. "You steal the money and then try to run away? Looks like I'll have to call the police."

Ye Ming glared at him with hatred. The man had come prepared. If he really called the police, Ye Ming would never be able to clear his name. His eyes reddened as he forced out each word through clenched teeth. "Why are you doing this?"

What reason did Boss Hu have to go after him like this? That was what he couldn't understand. Unless it was because... A possibility suddenly occurred to Ye Ming, and his entire body went rigid.

Boss Hu gave nothing away. He merely said coldly, "You have an hour to decide whether to pay me back or wait for me to call the police. I suggest you think carefully before answering."

Ye Ming had just returned every cent he owned to Boss Hu. Where could he possibly find a million yuan? But if the police got involved... his career would be completely ruined. Nor could he bear having a stain like that on his record. Anxiety flooded his face.

The two guards stood silently behind him. Boss Hu lit himself a cigarette and spoke through the drifting smoke. "You'd better give me an answer soon. I've never had much patience."

Time ticked away. Ye Ming's palms were slick with cold sweat, and his mind was in chaos. For the moment, he couldn't think of any way out. Despair filled his heart.

Just then, a knock sounded outside. Knock, knock, knock—the sound broke the stagnant atmosphere in the room. Ye Ming instinctively turned toward it, his heart suddenly racing.

Who could it be...?

At a look from Boss Hu, one of the guards immediately went to open the door.

Ye Ming stared at the man who walked in, at that familiar, composed, handsome face... For some reason, his eyes instantly reddened. His voice caught slightly. "Qin Yi..."

Qin Yi's appearance here at this exact moment was, in fact, hardly good news for him. It seemed to confirm the very suspicion he least wanted to believe... Yet in that instant, Ye Ming suddenly wanted to try one more time, to deceive himself just once. Perhaps things weren't what he thought.

Perhaps none of this had anything to do with Qin Yi.

Ye Ming looked up at him. The faint hope in his eyes was as fragile as thin ice that would shatter at a touch. "Can you help me?"

Qin Yi's lips curved in an ambiguous smile. He walked toward Ye Ming, step by step, then bent down to gaze into his slightly reddened eyes. His voice was low and pleasant. "What trouble have you gotten into that you want my help with?"

Ye Ming's lips trembled. "I... I've been framed..."

"Oh?" Qin Yi raised an eyebrow, as though only then noticing Boss Hu. He asked coldly, "Did you frame him?"

Boss Hu looked the picture of righteous indignation. "Mr. Qin, Mr. Fang is your friend. How would I dare frame him? I have evidence that he stole a million yuan from the company. I never imagined he was that sort of person!"

Qin Yi glanced at the ledger in Boss Hu's hands, making no attempt to take it or examine it. Instead, he turned back to Ye Ming with a look of disappointment and said mildly, "After three years apart, I thought you might have stopped doing things like this. Apparently, a leopard really can't change its spots."

Hearing Qin Yi's indifferent voice, seeing the bone-deep coldness in his eyes, Ye Ming felt his heart slowly sink to the very bottom.

The truth could not have been clearer.

For an instant, it was as though he had returned to three years ago. Three years ago, he had taken that million yuan.

All his life, even at his poorest and most desperate, he had held fast to his principles... He had done only one thing that weighed on his conscience, and it had tormented him for three full years.

—Using the most despicable means, he had hurt the person he loved most, who loved him most in return.

A mere million yuan meant nothing to Qin Yi now. Back then, however, it had been almost everything he had.

It wasn't Boss Hu he owed a million yuan. It was Qin Yi.

Ye Ming closed his eyes, hiding the pain in them. When he opened them again, his expression had calmed. Lowering his gaze, he said, "Boss Hu is right. I shouldn't have hoped I could get away with it. Call the police."

Everyone in this world had to pay for their mistakes. If this was what Qin Yi wanted, he had no reason to resent it.

His behavior just now had been laughable. What right did he have to ask Qin Yi for help?

Watching the calm expression on Ye Ming's face, Qin Yi's gaze grew colder still. Heh... Did you think I'd let you off if you pretended to repent and confess? Did you think this would count as atonement?! Simply calling the police would be letting you off far too easily!

No. This was only the beginning.

A low chuckle rose from deep in Qin Yi's throat. He turned to Boss Hu. "I'm sorry something like this happened. Fang Xiao is my friend, after all. I'll repay that million for him."

Boss Hu beamed. "Oh, Mr. Qin, what are you saying? As long as you're willing to vouch for him, there's no need to repay the million. Consider it a gesture of friendship."

"Even brothers should keep their accounts straight," Qin Yi said mildly. "All the more so with friends."

Boss Hu nodded repeatedly. He had always known how to read a situation. "Quite right, Mr. Qin. In that case, I won't refuse. With your word, I'll leave Mr. Fang in your hands. I have something to take care of, so I'll be going. Make yourself comfortable here. I guarantee no one will disturb you!"

With that, he hastily left with the two security guards.

Ye Ming watched it all without expression. The moment he realized Qin Yi had set him up, he had abandoned any hope of a reprieve. Besides, all of this had been his fault to begin with. Now he had simply come full circle.

Qin Yi pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Ye Ming. His dark gaze settled on him, as though trying to see right through him. After a long silence, he suddenly asked a seemingly inexplicable question. "Do you love money that much?"

Ye Ming pressed his lips together until they turned pale. At last, he uttered a single cold word. "Yes."

At that answer, it was as though an unsolvable question that had haunted Qin Yi through countless nights had finally been answered. He no longer needed to doubt or struggle. After three years, he had finally heard the answer from the man himself. In that instant, some heavy black shackle fell away completely, and the caged beast in his heart roared to tear free.

Yet he was smiling, almost regretfully. "Why not try to talk your way out of it? Isn't lying what you do best?"

Ye Ming turned his head aside, seemingly unwilling even to look at him.

Qin Yi seized Ye Ming's chin in one hand. With considerable force, he slowly turned his face back.

Ye Ming went pale with pain. Forced to look into Qin Yi's eyes, he saw a glimmer of brutality in those pitch-black pupils, a searing hatred on the verge of spilling out.

Ye Ming stared into those eyes, unable to look away... On the other side of this world, he too had spent countless nights waking from nightmares, dreaming of Qin Yi's hateful eyes. Now he had finally seen them for himself. So this was what they looked like—not so very different from his dreams.

So Qin Yi really did hate him this much...

He had gotten what he wished for, after all.

Qin Yi lowered his head and bit the corner of Ye Ming's mouth. The metallic sweetness of blood spread where their lips and teeth met. He laughed softly. "Yesterday, I told you to name your price. But you refused."

Humiliation surfaced in Ye Ming's eyes, but he couldn't break free of the grip holding him.

Qin Yi's hand stroked Ye Ming's neck and lightly undid his shirt buttons, revealing the faint outline of his collarbones and a small patch of pale, smooth skin... This body, which had once utterly bewitched him, still stirred him now. Yet it only made him want to torment its owner more cruelly.

"So now I'll name the price." Qin Yi's smile was mocking.

Ye Ming briefly closed his eyes, as though finally accepting reality. A bleak smile appeared on his lips. "Then how much are you offering? With your current net worth, Mr. Qin, surely too low a price would be beneath you?"

At those words, Qin Yi's hand abruptly stilled. His chest heaved once, and he raised his hand and slapped Ye Ming across the face with a sharp crack!

The blow knocked Ye Ming's face to the side. After a moment, he turned back and continued, "I owe you a million. Since you don't intend to call the police, how many times do I have to sleep with you? Give me an exact number. It's better to keep the accounts straight."

Bloodlust flashed in Qin Yi's eyes, as though he wanted to tear the man before him to pieces. He suddenly kicked the chair hard, sending both Ye Ming and the chair crashing to the floor! Then he seized Ye Ming by the collar and hauled his upper body up, staring into his eyes at close range, as if determined to discover just how much more vile and contemptible this man could be.

Beneath that lovely, delicate face, his heart was nothing but filth!

"Who do you think you are? Do you think you're still in any position to bargain with me?" Qin Yi's voice was chilling, each word seemingly forced through his teeth. "Or do you think a cheap whore like you is worth much?"

"I'm not worth much. But you're willing to pay." Ye Ming flicked out his tongue, licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

Those words finally snapped the last thread of Qin Yi's restraint. His reason collapsed completely, leaving only a surging hatred that wanted to destroy everything. He gripped Ye Ming's throat and tore open his shirt with his other hand. Buttons snapped off and scattered everywhere!

Ye Ming squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to let Qin Yi see the sorrow in them.

He shouldn't have come back. In the end, though, he simply couldn't let this man go. But it was all right... He could still let Qin Yi go on hating him.

......

Qin Yi stretched his arms into his jacket and unhurriedly straightened his collar. Only when he had finished did he seem to remember that Ye Ming was still on the floor. His contemptuous gaze swept over Ye Ming's body. Then he suddenly took a wad of cash from his pocket and, without looking at it or counting it, tossed it straight into Ye Ming's face.

Ye Ming lay curled on the floor, his body mottled with marks, blood still trickling down between his legs. The bills striking him made him stir slightly. After a long while, a trace of awareness slowly returned to his eyes.

He stared blankly at the money on the floor. Slowly shifting his body, he knelt and expressionlessly picked up the bills one by one.

Qin Yi stood over him, looking down at it all. Watching this man kneel there without a shred of dignity, collecting money from the floor. Watching him sink to such a wretched, degraded state.

Do you understand now? This is the ending you deserve.

[Ding! Qin Yi's darkening score −5. Current darkening score: 75.]

The corner of Qin Yi's mouth lifted. "Put that body to work earning money. Don't forget, you still owe me a million—and you'll pay me back with interest!"

With that, he turned and left.

Ye Ming silently watched Qin Yi's departing figure. Only when he was certain the man wouldn't return did he struggle to his feet, dress, and leave the company. This time, no one stopped him. Fortunately, it was nighttime, so no one saw the sorry state he was in.

He returned to his rented room and collapsed wearily onto the bed.

888 had been quiet for much of the journey. Although he disapproved of his host's behavior and thought he had brought this on himself, seeing him in such a miserable state... he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him. After thinking for a long time, he finally spoke.

[888: You know, you don't have to do this mission...]

[Ye Ming: How could I not? I'm counting on him for my experience points!]

[888, suddenly a little angry: Are experience points that important? Important enough for you to go this far?] Even knowing his host had the system's protection, watching a storyline like this was genuinely painful.

For once, Ye Ming didn't immediately answer. Instead, a complicated expression crossed his face. His lashes trembled. He seemed deeply distressed, yet he spoke in a careless tone. "It's nothing. I expected all of this."

888 had never seen his host look like this outside of a mission performance. Suddenly, his heart ached terribly for him, and he had no idea what had come over him.

Ye Ming added, "There's only one thing I didn't expect."

[888 couldn't help asking: What?]

[Ye Ming: I didn't expect Qin Yi to still love me so much! Hahahahahahaha!]

[888: ...]

[Ye Ming: Big bro, turns out you're the cold-outside, warm-inside type! I'm so touched, hahahaha!]

[Ye Ming: First, Qin Yi didn't call the police on me. Second, he didn't have me dragged off with a sack over my head. Third, he didn't kick me out of his life. Instead, he went to all that trouble setting things up just to punish me personally with his body! Most importantly, he even paid me afterward! If that isn't true love, what is?!]

[Ye Ming: He's as good in bed as ever. No, he's even wilder and more exciting than before. The only little drawback was that it hurt a bit at first. Mm... You can't expect everything to be perfect. Still, thanks for caring. Mwah, love you!]

888 desperately wanted to go back three minutes and chew up and swallow every word he had just said!

With the tender gaze of a man looking at his lover, Ye Ming carefully counted the money Qin Yi had given him. He sighed with heartfelt emotion. "My Qin Yi is as generous as ever. What a shame I can't use this money for now."

Reluctantly, he locked it away in a drawer and sighed. "How could someone with as much backbone as me spend money earned by selling himself?"

[888: I dare you to change that expression and say that again.]

[Ye Ming: ^_^]

Author's Note:

Qin Yi: If you're doing well, that's a devastating bolt from the blue.

Ye Ming: Sob, sob, sob.

888: If you're doing well, that's a devastating bolt from the blue.

Ye Ming: ...Why are you joining in?