The Dumped Ex-Boyfriend 4

Ye Ming would have loved to rest at home for a few days, but considering he was penniless, he could only heave a sigh and go out looking for work. At times like these, he missed his experience points more than ever... He had once possessed riches beyond measure!

And the money Qin Yi had given him was there to look at but not to spend. That was a particularly exquisite form of torture.

Finding suitable work immediately, with cash paid out quickly enough to tide him over, wasn't easy. Besides, Ye Ming had no intention of finding another steady job. This was only a brief transitional period before his return to a life of luxury, after all. He just needed to look pitiful. So he chose to hand out flyers.

888 expressed profound contempt for his utter lack of ambition.

[888: You're that certain Qin Yi will take you back? I think he'd applaud if you died out here.]

[Ye Ming: See, this is where you don't understand humans. He might look vicious on the surface, but if I really died, he couldn't bear it. Humans are just so contradictory~ So conflicted~ Ah~ Parted from those they love, stuck with those they hate, unable to get what they want or let go~]

[888: ...]

[Ye Ming: I can't wait to move into my Qin Yi's mansion. Let the sugar-daddy arrangement hit me harder and faster!]

[888: Nice daydream. How about finishing those flyers first?]

[Ye Ming: ...]

Ye Ming stood out on the street under the blazing sun all afternoon. By the time he collected his pay that evening, he was dog-tired. He passed one delicious-looking restaurant after another with longing eyes, then finally bought himself a five-yuan bowl of fried noodles from a roadside stall.

A young couple sat beside him as he ate. The girl held a puppy in her arms and clearly adored it. The two of them happily petted the dog while flaunting their affection for each other.

Ye Ming met the puppy's eyes. Its coat was sleek and glossy, its big eyes moist. It basked in their caresses, tongue hanging out as it grinned foolishly at him.

[Ye Ming: I was wrong. One of life's great misconceptions is "dog-tired"—dogs aren't actually as tired as you are.]

[888: ...]

Ye Ming finished his noodles with a desolate expression. Just as he was about to get up, his phone rang. A familiar number appeared on the screen.

He raised an eyebrow. He wasn't at all surprised that Qin Yi had found his phone number. What surprised him was that Qin Yi hadn't changed his own number in three years... The phone rang insistently, but Ye Ming made no move to answer.

[888: Why aren't you picking up?]

[Ye Ming: I'm dying to. I've been waiting so hard for this call I could wear my eyes out... But I can't let him think I've been waiting. I'll answer on his third try.]

[888: What if he stops calling?]

[Ye Ming: I think he'll keep trying. If he really doesn't... that's fine too. Calling him back in a bit will have the same effect. What matters isn't the outcome, but the painful struggle I go through along the way. ^_^]

888 wanted to laugh sarcastically right in his face.

The ringing stopped. After a while, sure enough, it started again.

Ye Ming cupped the phone in both hands. When the third call was just about to time out, he answered with lightning speed!

There was a moment of silence before Qin Yi's icy voice came over the line. "You weren't answering."

Ye Ming pressed his lips together and said stiffly, "Didn't hear it."

Qin Yi gave a cold laugh but didn't expose the clumsy lie. Instead, he said, "Well, you've heard it now. Be at the Yunting Hotel within an hour. I'll be waiting. Oh, and... I suggest you don't entertain any thoughts of running away. That wouldn't be very wise."

He hung up immediately.

Ye Ming paused, then opened his map app to check the route. Finding he had plenty of time, he dawdled around for a while before taking a cab to the hotel.

He arrived exactly one hour and ten minutes later.

Following the room number Qin Yi had given him, Ye Ming went up to the eighth floor. He adjusted his expression before raising his hand to knock.

The door opened after a single knock. Qin Yi stood there in a bathrobe, apparently fresh from the shower. Water still dripped from his hair, lending his stern face a particular sexiness. He glanced over Ye Ming and said flatly, "Come in."

Ye Ming lowered his eyes slightly and walked inside without expression. He didn't ask why Qin Yi had summoned him.

There could only be one reason. Qin Yi wanted him now, and he still owed Qin Yi a million yuan. Naturally, he was expected to come whenever called.

Qin Yi watched him, missing none of the emotion suppressed in his eyes. His lips curved into a cold smile. "You're ten minutes late."

Ye Ming clenched his hands at his sides. "Traffic."

Qin Yi held an index finger before his lips and wagged it gently, mockery in his deep, dark eyes. "The reason doesn't matter. What matters is that you're late."

Ye Ming stared steadily at him. After a moment, he suddenly pulled his lips into a smile. "What do you want to do about it, then?"

Qin Yi's gaze turned cold. He seized Ye Ming's shoulder and slammed him against the wall! Leaning forward, he brought his mouth close to Ye Ming's ear. His voice was merciless. "It seems you still haven't learned your lesson. Or understood your position."

Ye Ming closed his eyes. The next instant, he was thrown to the floor, his clothes torn off!

...

Ye Ming passed out, then woke again. The tearing pain in his body couldn't compare to the pain in his heart. His consciousness drifted, as though he had returned to the past... This had once been the lover who shared his bed. Now he seemed like a complete stranger.

The merciless possession and torment brought home just how much Qin Yi had changed.

What pain, what agonizing choices had his lover endured over those three years to become like this? Ye Ming couldn't bear to think about it. He had done this himself... He had turned his lover into this man.

Every bit of it tormented his heart and interrogated his soul—had he really made the right decision back then?

But there was no turning back, was there...?

No matter how painful, no matter how heartbreaking, he had to keep going.

Qin Yi stood. Looking down at Ye Ming's wretched state, he curled his lip in disdain. He walked aside and returned with a roll of bills, then seized Ye Ming by the ankle, dragged him roughly toward him, and pushed the money inside him.

Then he patted Ye Ming's face and smiled. "Keep it safe. You worked hard for it."

Ye Ming's lashes trembled. He slowly opened his eyes, their dark depths holding restrained sorrow, but said nothing. As though it didn't matter how he was treated. As though... he still loved the other man deeply, and that was why he could endure all this...

Meeting that gaze, Qin Yi froze for a moment. A flicker of heartache and pity passed through him, swiftly smothered by irritation. How could he possibly still feel sorry for this man? It was that innocent face that had fooled him back then. By now, he had long since seen what lay beneath it. How could he possibly be deceived again?!

That fleeting pang only reminded Qin Yi not to forget the humiliation this man had once inflicted on him!

He had told this despicable liar he loved him countless times... To speak of love to a man like this was to defile the very word.

And back then, how had this man looked at him as he foolishly offered up his heart like some clown, only to have it trampled underfoot?

Qin Yi's fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. He had thought he could control his emotions, but perhaps he had overestimated himself. Because sometimes, he truly, truly... wanted to kill him!

"Get out." Qin Yi stared fixedly at Ye Ming, each word distinct. "Get out. Now!"

Ye Ming looked into Qin Yi's reddened eyes, momentarily dazed. He seemed unable to understand why the man who had just been humiliating him was suddenly furious. Had everything he'd done just now... not even eased his anger a little?

Ye Ming lowered his eyes and climbed out of bed, but the slightest movement drew his brows together. Pain and shame nearly shattered his composure. He grabbed his clothes, put them on haphazardly, and left without looking back.

Watching him go, Qin Yi suddenly drove his fist hard into the wall, leaving a smear of blood.

He had only wanted revenge. Why could this man still stir his emotions? There was no way he still cared about him! That was right... He only hated him.

Those once-sweet memories, stripped of their beautiful shell, held nothing but deadly poison.

Little by little... it ate away at his heart.

...

After that day, Qin Yi went an entire week without summoning Ye Ming again.

[888: Qin Yi doesn't seem very interested in seeing you anymore.]

[Ye Ming: Remembering the past just hurt his pride a little. Give him some time to recover, and he'll come looking for me again. He's a very devoted, persistent man, after all. You can tell from the fact that he hasn't changed his phone number in three years. ^_^]

If Qin Yi truly wanted to bid farewell to that unbearable past, he should have changed his number. Because that number... was one they had chosen together, and it held far too many memories of their time as a couple.

Ye Ming's gaze grew thoughtful. Qin Yi truly hated him, but perhaps even he hadn't realized that his fixation contained more than hatred.

Yet reason told him he shouldn't love Ye Ming anymore, so he deliberately explained everything he did as hatred.

Sure enough, a few days later, Qin Yi texted to summon Ye Ming again. This time it was a different hotel, followed as usual by sex and money changing hands. But Qin Yi didn't lose control of his emotions again. He seemed to have calmed down completely.

Though he hadn't moved into the mansion yet, Ye Ming had at least gotten an early start on life as a kept man. Qin Yi generally summoned him once every two or three days and paid him each time, the amount depending on his mood.

A month later, Ye Ming counted the money and discovered he had saved tens of thousands without realizing it. Still a long way from a million, but not a small sum either. Guarding this fortune every day while living on the barest scraps, he finally decided to change his circumstances. Besides, he thought the time was about right.

That day, a torrential rain began while Ye Ming was on his way home from work. Without an umbrella, he was soaked to the skin. By the time he got home, he had developed a fever.

[888: Your temperature is rising. This body is a little frail. I told you to wait until the rain stopped.]

[Ye Ming: The fever is exactly what I wanted. We can't just keep going like this without making progress. Selling my body alone won't lower Qin Yi's darkening score anymore. He needs a different kind of stimulus.]

[888: Such as?]

[Ye Ming: How about me nearly dying? Oh, and don't help me. Just let the fever burn.]

[888: ...What are you talking about? You make it sound as if I would help you.]

[Ye Ming: ...]

[Ye Ming: You're cold! You're heartless! You're unreasonable! You were clearly looking out for me just now!]

[888: You misheard.]

Filled with grief and indignation toward 888, Ye Ming went to sleep without taking any medicine.

By the next day, his fever had rendered him unconscious. Qin Yi called again, but this time Ye Ming genuinely didn't hear it, much less see the dozens of missed calls on his phone.

...

Qin Yi slapped his phone onto the desk in irritation, his eyes cold. He had thought Ye Ming had learned to behave. Who would have expected him to dare ignore his calls again so soon? Did he think this would let him get away?!

To prevent Ye Ming from vanishing again, Qin Yi had ordered people to follow and investigate him from the very first day they reunited. He knew exactly where Ye Ming lived.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, then picked up his coat and walked out.

Before long, he arrived outside Ye Ming's building. Looking up at the dilapidated three-story structure, he frowned. He had known Ye Ming lived here, but the actual sight still troubled him.

Uncollected trash littered the stairwell. Someone had dumped foul dishwater on the floor, giving off a nauseating stench.

His face grim, Qin Yi climbed the stairs and knocked on Ye Ming's door. A long time passed without any response. His eyes darkened. Suddenly, he drove his foot into the door! With a crash, the wooden door flew open!

The apartment consisted of a single shabby, sparsely furnished room. Qin Yi spotted Ye Ming lying on the bed at once. A sneer on his lips, he strode over, caught Ye Ming's hand, and yanked hard. "You—"

He had barely uttered the word before his expression changed. The instant he grasped Ye Ming's wrist, he felt its abnormal, scorching heat. His pull sent Ye Ming tumbling to the floor, yet there was still no response...

Qin Yi looked at his own hand. After a few stunned seconds, he finally came to his senses and reached out to touch Ye Ming's forehead.

The young man's body was burning, his breathing faint. He had clearly been unconscious for some time.

If he hadn't come today... or if he had only thought to see him several days later...

What would have happened?

This man would have died in some filthy corner where no one knew... By the time Qin Yi remembered him, his body might already have begun to stink.

An unprecedented terror rose within Qin Yi. Without even pausing to consider why the thought frightened him so much... he scooped Ye Ming up and rushed him to the hospital!

Thanks to prompt treatment, Ye Ming's life was not in danger, though he had yet to regain consciousness.

Only after arranging everything did Qin Yi sit beside his bed, hatred, heartache, disgust, and other complicated emotions tangled in his eyes.

The young man lay in the hospital bed, his thin body almost swallowed by it. An IV ran into the back of his hand. His skin was so pale it was nearly transparent, the blue veins visible beneath. His eyes were tightly closed, and he seemed to be in pain, sleeping restlessly.

Qin Yi had always known Ye Ming was struggling. He knew he lived in filthy low-rent housing, knew he worked hard every day just to survive, knew he was exhausted... Yet he had deliberately humiliated and tormented him, wanting to see him even more miserable, in even greater pain.

Even then, Ye Ming couldn't possibly understand the despair and agony Qin Yi had felt.

He had even thought that if Ye Ming really died one day, he would have only himself to blame. Qin Yi would feel nothing but satisfaction.

But now Ye Ming really had nearly died. Qin Yi had nearly tormented him to death... Was he truly happy?

[Ding! Qin Yi's darkening score -5. Current darkening score: 70.]

Qin Yi clenched his hands tightly, his knuckles cracking. What was wrong with him? Could he still not let go of this despicable liar?

No. He simply didn't want to let him off so easily... Wouldn't dying so quickly be getting off too lightly?

...

With treatment, Ye Ming's fever soon subsided. It was only a cold; it left as quickly as it had come, and he woke not long afterward.

Lying in bed, he felt ravenous. He was just about to get up and find something to eat when 888 informed him that Qin Yi was coming back. He promptly abandoned the idea and lay there looking weak and haggard.

Qin Yi had just finished a meeting. He had been distracted all day. Even while listening to reports, all he could see was Ye Ming's pale face against the hospital bed. As soon as the meeting ended, he came straight to the hospital.

The moment he entered, he saw that Ye Ming was awake.

Ye Ming noticed him too. A complicated emotion flickered through his dark eyes, but he said nothing.

Qin Yi looked at him, his gaze settling on his slightly chapped lips. He poured a glass of water, helped Ye Ming sit up, and brought it to his mouth.

Ye Ming's eyes wavered, as though some emotion was about to break free of his control. He silently took a sip. Only after a long while did he speak in a hoarse voice. "Thank you."

Qin Yi set down the glass. At those words, a faint smile appeared on his face. "No need. It was no trouble. You do still owe me a million, after all."

The light in Ye Ming's eyes dimmed.

"Leave the hospital as soon as you're well. I paid your medical bills up front. You'll have to pay those back too." Qin Yi caught Ye Ming's chin, his gaze cold. "And... once you're discharged, you're moving into my house. No more of those miscellaneous jobs, either. Your job now is to serve me properly. Don't get your priorities backward."

Ye Ming's expression changed slightly. "I've done everything you asked. There's no need for this."

Qin Yi caught the flash of shame, anger, and unease in his eyes. It only strengthened his resolve. Since you're so afraid of being around me, all the more reason not to let you escape! When you betrayed me and left, you never imagined you'd end up in my hands again one day, did you?

"Who says there's no need?" A mocking smile played on Qin Yi's lips. "What if you try faking an illness to avoid me again? I'm paying to enjoy you, after all. I can't have you pulling some stunt every few days. If you're going to sell yourself, at least learn how to behave."

Ye Ming couldn't help protesting. "I didn't—"

"You don't want to?" Qin Yi was smiling, but his eyes were icy. "What have you got to object to? Wasn't moving into the Qin family home your dream? Wasn't my status what attracted you in the first place? What's wrong with giving you exactly what you wanted?"

He brushed a hand over Ye Ming's neck, his voice chilling. "Don't worry. Everything you want... I'll give it all to you."

I once treasured you and loved you deeply, but you threw that love away like a worn-out shoe. Now you're nothing but a cheap plaything. All of this... is what you chose.

Qin Yi's icy voice washed over Ye Ming, seeming to freeze his body solid. Those hate-filled murmurs reminded him of everything he had once done.

What he suffered now was merely cause and effect coming full circle.

So be it. If this would make you happy, why should I cling to my ridiculous resolve? Besides, this was the only thing I had left to offer you in recompense.

And with what little time I had remaining, I ought to be content simply to stay by your side.

Even if I was so contemptible in your eyes... at least I was still beside you.

Ye Ming closed his eyes, looking utterly exhausted. He uttered a single word.

"Okay."

Author's Note:

Ye Ming: Finally, the life of luxury I wanted! I've dreamed of this day. QAQ

888: Get lost.