IMGH Chapter 42

Tenderness That Could Not Be Dissolved

Qiu Rui quietly weighed Jiang Yi’s proposal and decided to agree to his conditions for now, in order to keep him in check.

The plan had only just begun, and he still needed to use Jiang Yi to make contact with Han Yuancheng. If he fell out with Jiang Yi at this point, setting aside whatever extreme actions the man might take against him — Jiang Yi’s refusal to cooperate or arrange a meeting with Han Yuancheng alone would deal a devastating blow to the plan. Han Yuancheng was currently under Qiu Chen’s complete surveillance, and the slightest misstep would leave no chance for a comeback.

Qiu Rui would not allow anyone to interfere with his plan. He was the kind of person who made use of every available resource, and he had already seen through Jiang Yi’s infatuation with him. If it could be turned to his advantage, he didn’t mind exploiting it.

Having weighed the pros and cons, Qiu Rui’s expression softened slightly, though his tone remained ice-cold. “I accept your bet. I will make sure you lose beyond any doubt.”

Jiang Yi smiled gently, the corners of his lips curving upward with an effortless, confident grace. A gleam stirred within his dark eyes, growing deeper by the moment — like the most distant star in a faraway sky.

He did not respond to Qiu Rui’s words. He simply gazed at him steadily. Qiu Rui met that luminous stare without flinching, and their eyes locked — sharp edges clashing in silence, sending countless sparks flying between them.

Neither of them yielded, and neither was willing to look away first. Then, a sly flash crossed the corner of Jiang Yi’s eyes, and he tugged at the corner of his mouth, giving Qiu Rui a wink. “Qiu Rui, don’t look at me like that — it’ll make me think you want me to kiss you.”

Qiu Rui’s expression hardened. After a brief flicker of surprise, he curved his lips into a cold smile. “Jiang Yi, your self-importance is truly something to behold. I hope you manage to stay this smug until the bet is over.”

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow. “A person always has something they’ll go to any length to obtain — and what I want to obtain is you. So just wait to become the bride of the Jiang family in half a year’s time.”

Though Qiu Rui’s face remained composed, he had already cursed Jiang Yi every which way in his mind. Knowing Jiang Yi’s personality well enough, Qiu Rui decided not to continue this tedious and shameless exchange any further.

“Enough. Just remember your promise and follow my arrangements. Everything will be settled in half a year.”

With those cold words thrown out, Qiu Rui turned his gaze away and ignored the man entirely.

Jiang Yi knew that Qiu Rui was done wasting words on him. He pursed his lips and lay back down on the bed. Rolling over to face Qiu Rui’s direction, he stared with great interest at the male ghost on the small sofa.

The scorching gaze landed on him, and Qiu Rui fought hard to suppress the rage quietly burning in his chest, forcing himself to ignore the man across the room. Though his face remained calm, his brows knitted together almost imperceptibly.

Eventually the man abandoned all pretense and began openly studying him with undisguised relish. The shameless stare made Qiu Rui deeply uncomfortable. He looked up and shot a fierce glare back — and the man quickly ducked his head beneath the blanket. Qiu Rui’s sharp gaze landed on nothing but soft cotton. He withdrew his eyes helplessly and lowered his lids. Before long, that maddening burning stare found him again. Qiu Rui snapped his eyes open, and the man dove back under the blanket once more. After this repeated itself several times, Qiu Rui found himself caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation at the man’s childish antics.

Before long, the gaze pressing against his back vanished. Qiu Rui glanced over and saw that the man had his eyes tightly shut, his long lashes casting a faint shadow on his eyelids beneath. His nose bridge was high, his nose straight. He appeared to be sleeping rather soundly — with his features fully relaxed, he actually looked quite striking. Especially his lips, which were softly pressed together in a beautifully curved line, neither too thick nor too thin. Qiu Rui’s gaze drifted there without thinking.

“Qiu Rui, don’t look at me like that — it’ll make me think you want me to kiss you.”

The man’s teasing words suddenly pierced into his mind. Qiu Rui muttered a quiet curse and pulled his gaze away.

He seethed inwardly at himself for having stared so absently at this insufferable man.

Although Qiu Rui currently existed in the form of a soul, he still needed to eat and sleep at regular intervals. Feeling the weight of fatigue, he slowly closed his eyes and gradually drifted off.

A gentle glow of warmth — like the tenderness of early spring — fell across the face of the male ghost on the sofa. At some point, the man in the bed had opened his eyes, and those dark pupils were so soft it seemed as though water might spill from them.

He lay there, motionless, staring — so utterly entranced that he couldn’t even bring himself to blink.

The moon climbed to the height of the sky… and then it sank… crows called in the fading dark… the darkness retreated and the sky began to pale. Only then did the man close his weary eyes, the corners of his lips still faintly curved — still holding a tenderness that could not be dissolved.