IMGH Chapter 60

Torment You Until Nothing Remains

In the days that followed, Chen Yuhe frequently invited Jiang Yi out. After all, it was a girl extending the invitation, and Jiang Yi couldn’t bring himself to refuse out of politeness.

The two of them spent time together in a lukewarm, neither-close-nor-distant manner, yet in the eyes of others, they appeared unmistakably like a couple. At the very least, that was what Jiang Yi’s mother, Madam Xiao Wenya, believed.

Xiao Wenya was very fond of Chen Yuhe and had nothing but praise for her.

She called Jiang Yi nearly every day, asking him to report on how things were progressing between the two of them. When Jiang Yi told her they were simply spending time together as friends, Xiao Wenya completely lost her composure. Inwardly furious at her son’s obliviousness, she slammed down the phone, rushed over at breakneck speed, and unleashed a relentless barrage of criticism and lectures on Jiang Yi.

Three hours later, Jiang Yi finally managed to soothe his mother’s feelings and saw Xiao Wenya out the door.

He collapsed onto the sofa, his heart filled with bitterness.

He had just been mulling over how to dissuade his mother from the idea of having him marry and start a family — and how to draw a clear line between himself and Chen Yuhe once and for all — when his phone suddenly rang.

Jiang Yi picked it up and looked. It was Han Yuancheng calling.

He answered, exchanged polite pleasantries as usual, and arranged with Han Yuancheng the time for their next meeting.

The following day, Jiang Yi went to the agreed location. Han Yuancheng had already arrived ahead of him, and the moment he saw Jiang Yi walk in, his gaze abruptly turned fervent and intense.

Jiang Yi didn’t need to think to know who that scorching look was directed at. Even though Han Yuancheng couldn’t see Qiu Rui, his gaze still lingered on the space beside Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi felt a surge of jealousy, and his feelings toward Han Yuancheng grew increasingly unfavorable.

Though inwardly irritated, he concealed it well on the surface. He looked at Han Yuancheng with a smile and said in a perfectly polite and courteous tone, “Mr. Han, sorry to have kept you waiting. There was traffic on the way — the roads here in Z City really are quite congested!”

He was the picture of an overseas returnee who had just come back from abroad and hadn’t yet readjusted to life back home.

Han Yuancheng smiled warmly and said, “I only just arrived myself!”

The two sat across from each other, as though old friends reuniting after a long separation. Jiang Yi went from talking about international news to sharing amusing stories from around the country, rambling from one topic to the next. Throughout it all, he never once steered the conversation toward the real purpose of the meeting. Several times Han Yuancheng tried to bring the subject back on track, only for Jiang Yi to play dumb and drag the conversation even further off course.

How could Han Yuancheng not see that Jiang Yi was doing this on purpose? He didn’t let it bother him, and continued chatting warmly with Jiang Yi — the two of them seemingly enjoying the conversation quite a bit.

After about an hour of meandering talk, Jiang Yi felt the time was about right. If this goes on any longer, my precious one is going to blow a fuse! Though a fuse-blowing would be rather entertaining, Jiang Yi was still someone who knew when to prioritize. He took a sip of coffee to clear his throat and said with a light cough, “I didn’t expect to find Mr. Han such wonderful company! My goodness, we’ve already been chatting for over an hour — look at me, I’ve completely forgotten to get to the actual matter at hand!”

The apology was on his lips, but there was not a trace of it in his eyes.

Han Yuancheng’s smile remained gentle and warm. “I feel the same way — Mr. Jiang is truly easy to talk to!”

“Then let’s get down to business.” Jiang Yi set down his coffee cup.

Qiu Rui glanced at Jiang Yi with an amused look. “Done chatting?”

Jiang Yi shifted his gaze toward him and gave him a deeply affectionate smile, saying softly, “Rui’er, you must have gotten impatient waiting!”

Jiang Yi kept his voice light as he said this, but pitched it at exactly the right volume for Han Yuancheng to hear.

Han Yuancheng hadn’t expected Jiang Yi to address Qiu Rui with such intimacy. He was momentarily startled, and then he watched as Jiang Yi leaned forward, his expression unmistakably suggestive as he gazed at the empty seat beside him, murmuring softly, “Rui’er, hurry up and get to business — I’ll be waiting for you.”

And when he finished speaking, he couldn’t resist throwing a flirtatious wink at the empty space beside him. The look in his eyes was soaked in undisguised, tender longing — enough to deepen the furrow in Han Yuancheng’s already slightly knitted brow.

Jiang Yi had done all of this as a residual effect of his jealousy. Throughout his conversation with Han Yuancheng, Qiu Rui’s gaze had remained fixed on the man sitting across from them — so intently focused that Jiang Yi had nearly suffocated from the sourness swelling inside him.

Jiang Yi was angry. Very angry.

He had noticed that his possessiveness toward Qiu Rui was growing stronger and stronger. He wanted Qiu Rui’s eyes and heart to hold only him. And only him alone.

So naturally, a man consumed by too much jealousy would inevitably do a few petty, childish things.

Qiu Rui had seen through Jiang Yi’s little scheme long ago. Rather than being annoyed by someone’s overly intimate antics, he curved his lips into a smile — a smile that was beguiling and wickedly enchanting, so much so that Jiang Yi found himself staring, eyes glazed over.

Jiang Yi was still lost in his daze when Qiu Rui’s smooth, warm voice drifted slowly into his ear. “Rest assured — I’ll torment you until there’s nothing left of you.”