IMGH Chapter 77

Tonight, I’ll Have You

“What? You want to back out?” Qiu Rui teased, looking at Jiang Yi. “I never knew a man with skin as thick as yours could still have moments of hesitation!”

Jiang Yi lowered his head, suddenly unable to meet Qiu Rui’s eyes, which shone as bright as stars. “I’m just afraid you’ll regret it later!”

Qiu Rui was left speechless. The man before him looked so ill at ease, his uncertain and hesitant expression making him seem so lonely and helpless.

“Jiang Yi, lift your head!”

Qiu Rui’s voice rang out above him, carrying an authority that brooked no resistance.

Jiang Yi dazedly tilted his head up, and before his eyes, Qiu Rui’s handsome face gradually drew closer.

He felt a faint coolness brush against his lips. Jiang Yi froze. By the time he came back to his senses, Qiu Rui had already returned to his original position.

Catching sight of the man’s dumbstruck expression, Qiu Rui could barely conceal the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

It was the first time Qiu Rui had ever kissed him of his own accord.

The brief moment of intimacy had felt dreamlike, so surreal it hardly seemed real.

Jiang Yi closed his eyes and forcefully buried the bittersweet feeling welling up inside him. To have earned Qiu Rui’s love in this lifetime — he could die without regret.

When he opened his eyes again, the confusion and unease from before were gone. He looked at Qiu Rui with a roguish grin, grinding his teeth. “You little vixen, how dare you sneak-attack me — you’ll pay for it tonight!”

“What did you say?” Qiu Rui glared at Jiang Yi, his expression ferocious.

Jiang Yi grinned cheekily. “Nothing at all! Rui’er, you must have misheard!”

Seeing Jiang Yi revert to his usual shameless self, Qiu Rui actually let out a breath of relief.

Qiu Rui narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, studying Jiang Yi.

Being stared at like that made Jiang Yi’s heart itch unbearably. He was half-tempted to whip out a Soul-Departure Talisman right then and there, pin Qiu Rui down, and have his way with him completely.

“Keep staring at me and I’ll eat you up!” Jiang Yi bared his teeth and lunged forward in mock attack, shooting Qiu Rui a fierce warning.

“How childish!” Qiu Rui let out a cold snort, shot Jiang Yi a sideways glance, and drifted away.

Jiang Yi followed close behind. “Rui’er, where are you going?”

“Just looking around. Now that it’s finished, I haven’t been here yet.”

The resort villa was a newly developed project under Shengqiu International. When scouting the location, Qiu Rui had already taken a great liking to the place. It was just that he was usually too busy with work to find time for a vacation. Now that he had the chance to come see it, Qiu Rui was clearly in quite a good mood.

He settled into the leather sofa in the suite, gazing at the lush greenery outside the window, and lazily narrowed his eyes in contentment.

That languid, cat-like ease — Jiang Yi couldn’t look at him enough. He was absolutely smitten.

After a long while, Qiu Rui turned his head and said impatiently, “What are you staring at?”

Jiang Yi gazed at Qiu Rui with an infatuated look and murmured, “At Rui’er. My Rui’er is the most beautiful of all.”

“Childish!” Qiu Rui looked away, his cheeks flushed.

Jiang Yi chuckled softly. His Rui’er was just too thin-skinned — he couldn’t handle even a little teasing.

Glancing at the scenery outside the window, Jiang Yi remarked sarcastically, “Is your cousin brain-dead or something? This resort is clearly built in the style of an ancient imperial palace — and then he had the nerve to stick a pure European-style dining hall inside it. No matter how you look at it, it’s a complete mismatch!”

“Who says steak can’t go with Erguotou? East meets West — isn’t that rather nice?” Qiu Rui said with a light smile.

(TL: Erguotou (二鍋头) is a type of strong Chinese white liquor, usually around 50–60% alcohol, traditionally from Beijing.)

At first, Qiu Rui had shared Jiang Yi’s view and held Qiu Chen’s haphazard blend of Chinese and Western styles in considerable contempt. But he had since come to realize that Qiu Chen’s design was actually quite ingenious.

The resort villa covered a vast area. The original design had been entirely in the style of classical Chinese architecture.

At some point, Qiu Chen had come up with the idea of splitting the entire resort in two.

The eastern half was pure classical Chinese in style; the western half was pure European palace in style — taking the fusion of East and West to its absolute extreme.

What had initially seemed a jarring design was separated by an artificial lake. The clear, jade-green waters served as a brushstroke through space, dividing two worlds while somehow blending them together in perfect harmony.

Qiu Rui ultimately gave Qiu Chen’s bold design high praise.

“Rui’er, your cousin does have a few tricks up his sleeve after all!”

After hearing Qiu Rui’s explanation, Jiang Yi suddenly felt that Qiu Chen wasn’t entirely without merit. Setting aside his underhanded ways, he was actually a fairly capable entrepreneur.

“In truth, Qiu Chen is not far behind me. It’s just that his ambitions were too grand — Grandfather was afraid those ambitions would hold him back, which is why he didn’t hand the Qiu family to him.” Qiu Rui sighed with a tinge of regret. “Qiu Chen is a very worthy rival. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have grown so quickly.”

“In that case, maybe I should thank him,” Jiang Yi said with a laugh. “If not for his scheming and plotting, I would never have had the chance to meet you in this lifetime. So Qiu Chen might just be the matchmaker who brought us together!”

“If not for Qiu Chen, I never would have met a rascal like you either,” Qiu Rui sighed with a tone of resignation.

“Rui’er, am I really that bad?” Jiang Yi looked at Qiu Rui with a deflated, defeated expression.

“It seems like you’re not quite that bad either,” Qiu Rui rested his chin in one hand, brow furrowed, as though making a genuine effort to identify the man’s redeeming qualities.

Jiang Yi watched him with eager, puppy-dog eyes, waiting for Qiu Rui to pay him a compliment.

But after quite a long wait, the expected praise never came. Dissatisfied, Jiang Yi scooted over to Qiu Rui’s side, gave him a playful nudge, and launched into an enthusiastic pitch. “Rui’er, I’m great, honestly! I can cook, I can do housework. I’m handsome, tall, and make you feel safe. And best of all — I am completely and utterly devoted to you, without so much as a wandering thought. A good man like me is truly one in a million!”

When he finished, Jiang Yi watched Qiu Rui with wide, expectant eyes, awaiting his final verdict.

“Mm, sounds a lot like my Xiao Hei,” Qiu Rui said at last, nodding in full agreement with the man’s self-assessment.

Xiao Hei?

That name didn’t exactly sound like a person’s name!

Jiang Yi sensed something was off. “Who is Xiao Hei?”

“My German Shepherd. Died of illness a few years ago. Since you’re here, you can take its place.”

Qiu Rui held back his laughter. The man’s utterly crestfallen look made his mood feel as warm and refreshing as a spring breeze.

“Oh, so that’s how it is — you little vixen, how dare you compare me to a dog!” Jiang Yi bared his teeth. “Just you wait and see what I do with you!”

“Jiang Yi, are you sure there’s anything you can do to me?” Qiu Rui’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at Jiang Yi with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Just you wait, little one. Tonight.

On the surface, Jiang Yi put on a defeated front, but his mind was already racing through a hundred different schemes.

Tonight, he would absolutely have Qiu Rui.