Reservoir Dogs chapter 41
You really wanted to be found out
Jiang Chengyuan was stunned, but instinctively felt the heat and pressure from the hands placed on his thighs, causing a tightness in his lower abdomen.
Xiao Zhou frowned slightly, tentatively saying, “I have something to do later. Can I help you with anything?”
Looking down at him condescendingly, Jiang Chengyuan suddenly smiled. Although he was smiling, there was a clear fierceness in his eyes. Lifting his hand, he cupped Xiao Zhou’s chin, lifting his face, “You can do this? When did you learn?”
Neither of them had tried this kind of thing before. If they did it, they did it simply and straightforwardly. Jiang Chengyuan didn’t force him to do these things; using the mouth and tongue was for pleasure and intimacy. If one side was unwilling, it would be humiliation and torment, and neither side would necessarily enjoy it.
“No, I can try.” Xiao Zhou was eager to get away. He saw that Jiang Chengyuan was in a different state today and didn’t know what it meant. This was the least impactful way to do it.
Jiang Chengyuan’s gaze remained harsh and scrutinizing before slowly relaxing. Since it was suggested voluntarily, he was happy to accept.
The grip on Xiao Zhou’s chin loosened, and as Jiang Chengyuan’s hand left, his fingers pried open Xiao Zhou’s lips, touching the row of white teeth inside, “Cover your teeth, don’t bite.”
Xiao Zhou lowered his head, just about to raise his hand to unzip him, but Jiang Chengyuan grabbed both of his hands, “No hands, we agreed only the mouth.”
There was a hint of teasing and playfulness in his tone. Xiao Zhou’s spine stiffened, and he suddenly felt a bit ashamed. Kneeling like this to serve, stumbling and awkward, inexperienced and nervous, his eyes were red in a moment.
Jiang Chengyuan covered the back of his head with his hand, his fingers entangled in the roots of his hair, partly guiding and partly exerting force.
Halfway through, the door was knocked on, and Xiao Ya said that Lawyer Ji had come.
Startled, Xiao Zhou raised his head abruptly, about to retreat, but was pressed down again, unable to break free.
Jiang Chengyuan tapped his knee with his leather shoe, “Go under the table.”
He crawled over on his knees. The desk was large, but there was a wooden support board in the middle underneath, making the space for hiding very cramped. Xiao Zhou tried to curl up his body, his back against the board, but it was still somewhat cramped.
With all the light blocked, his other senses became exceptionally sensitive. Taste and smell, the scent of male hormones were magnified several times, thick and stimulating. Then there was Jiang Chengyuan’s voice, allowing the person to come in.
The door creaked open, and the sound of leather shoes stepping on the soft carpet was almost inaudible.
His heart was beating fast, about to burst out of his chest. Xiao Zhou felt so nervous he almost wanted to vomit.
Proposing such a thing made him feel like a clown, and Jiang Chengyuan was deliberately playing with him.
A wave of nausea rose, but he was stifled. Tears welled up in his eyes, ready to fall with any movement.
Yet Jiang Chengyuan continued to speak unhurriedly, and Ji Yang showed no sign of leaving.
“The food factory Xu Juan owns is about to be demolished. Hundreds of employees in the factory will be laid off and need to be resettled. Zhou Jun’s money isn’t enough. He was arrested, and the money has been transferred. Now someone is leading a disturbance, asking for compensation from Wan Sheng Group.”
“Director Jiang intends to keep this matter low-profile, not let this become big news, which would affect the subsequent development progress. Money can be given, but not too much. This is essentially a conflict between them and the food factory. Wan Sheng’s involvement is out of humanitarian concern, to avoid trouble and prevent accidents.”
“This is a check for ten million. You can handle it however you like. Anyway, this is all Director Jiang is willing to give. After deducting what’s for the employees, the rest is yours. How much you earn depends on your skills.” Ji Yang, who was initially sitting opposite, stood halfway up, leaning across the table to push the check forward.
Xiao Zhou could clearly feel a small shadow fall in the gap between the table and Jiang Chengyuan’s body. Ji Yang just needed to lean a bit more forward to see what was happening underneath.
Out of nervousness, he reflexively swallowed. Then he heard a muffled groan from above, and a hand reached down to grasp his jaw, forcing his mouth open.
By this time, Ji Yang had already sat back down. He saw Jiang Chengyuan’s face suddenly turn strange, his lips tight, and his features extraordinarily tense, as if he was enduring something.
“Are you okay?”
Adjusting his posture, Jiang Chengyuan suppressed his emotions, his face returning to calm. “It’s nothing.” He picked up the check. “Tell Director Jiang I got it. There was no need for you to make a special trip for such a small matter.”
Ji Yang smiled, “I get paid to take on others’ troubles. I don’t have other skills, so I can only run errands.” He paused, cautiously raising his eyes to ask, “Is your back pain acting up again? Did you see the doctor I introduced before?”
Jiang Chengyuan shook his head, “Old problem. It flares up when it’s cloudy or rainy, can’t be cured.”
“Didn’t you say the ointment worked well before? Should I bring you a couple more patches?”
Jiang Chengyuan’s gaze deepened. His dark eyes were profound, his facial features pronounced, with noticeable shadows on his nose bridge and brow bone. Time hadn’t left him unmarked.
Ji Yang suddenly remembered when he first met Jiang Chengyuan in freshman year—handsome and aloof like snow on a mountaintop, proud enough to look down on people with just his chin. He never smiled or talked much. No one could have imagined this person could be so eloquent in a moot court debate, leaving the professor speechless.
Ji Yang, coming from a family of lawyers, always knew that being a lawyer required a certain presence—stable and strong in court, but adaptable and flexible to attract clients. At first, he thought this person wasn’t suited for the role, suggesting he should just become a civil servant for desk work. Someone so aloof, how could they fit into society? But he was surprised to see a completely transformed Jiang Chengyuan after graduation—able to smile frivolously, bend his back, withstand cold shoulders at banquets without losing his temper.
But did he prefer the old Jiang Chengyuan who chased away his harassers, or the current versatile Lawyer Jiang? Ji Yang realized he still liked the old one more—a cold-faced meddler. As a law student, he once got tricked helping an old lady and still didn’t catch on.
Ji Yang leaned back in his chair, smiling slowly as he recalled the past.
“Anything else?” Jiang Chengyuan asked, looking up.
“Since I’m here, let me treat you to lunch,” Ji Yang said.
Jiang Chengyuan half-jokingly replied, “You being here isn’t that rare. It’s like you almost clock in here.”
Ji Yang wasn’t offended. “I know a nice French restaurant in the new district. The chef is from abroad, Michelin one-star. Care to join?”
Jiang Chengyuan nodded, “Alright, but I have a client coming later.”
“No problem, I’ll wait for you.”
Xiao Zhou’s whole body tingled when he heard this. He was about to go crazy. So, Ji Yang wasn’t leaving? In this awful situation, feeling nervous and ashamed, Jiang Chengyuan couldn’t be any better off. Did he get a thrill from being watched doing this? Anger surged as he deliberately tightened his mouth.
The sudden stimulus made him hit the partition behind, causing the table to shake violently.
Ji Yang abruptly looked at the table, as if his gaze could pierce through it.
The scent he had been ignoring, assuming it was just indoor fragrance, suddenly became obvious. Ji Yang realized what it was.
Jiang Chengyuan first remained silent, his fingers gripping the table edge, his pale cheek tinged with a light red. He glanced at Ji Yang, exhaled, and said slowly, “You should step out first. I’ll find you later.”
His voice was low, slightly hoarse, thick with emotion, like viscous honey or melted sugar.
Ji Yang, looking at the now-calm table, first appeared shocked, then his expression turned complex. He stood abruptly, stepped back, and staggered out, “Forget it, since you’re busy, I won’t disturb you.”
He fled, almost as if chased by wild beasts.
Knowing he had been discovered, Xiao Zhou’s face turned pale, his limbs stiff and numb, huddling together. He had bitten the inside of his mouth until it bled, a metallic taste spreading.
Jiang Chengyuan grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him out. “You really wanted to be found out?”
The sudden exposure to bright daylight made Xiao Zhou squint uncomfortably for a moment.
…
He went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, using strong tea to dilute the taste somewhat.
The tea he spat out still had traces of blood. His tongue probed the raw spot, feeling a bit of a sting.
Jiang Chengyuan’s client had arrived, and he went to the meeting room, leaving Xiao Zhou alone in the office.
Xiao Zhou used cold water to smooth out his messy hair that had been grabbed. His lips were still unusually red, and his gaze was unfocused. His shirt was torn open at the front, revealing some marks. He buttoned it back up, wincing as the fabric brushed against his chest.
Once he was tidied up, he buttoned his collar to the very top, neatly covering everything. He looked at himself in the mirror and was momentarily stunned—the expression in his eyes was different, somewhat unfamiliar.
His phone vibrated. It was Liang Hanqing asking if he had come out yet.
Xiao Zhou thought for a moment and asked if Liang could come pick him up.
Liang Hanqing’s call came quickly. “Where are you?”
Xiao Zhou tried to speak, but his vocal cords were so damaged that his voice came out like a saw cutting wood.
Liang Hanqing asked, “What’s wrong with your voice?”
Xiao Zhou smiled bitterly. “Didn’t sleep well yesterday, maybe caught a cold.”
Liang Hanqing said, “Then I’ll take you to get some medicine later. Send me your location, and I’ll come pick you up.”
After sending his location, Xiao Zhou quickly packed up and left the office.
As the door opened and closed, several pairs of eyes peeked over the cubicle partitions, but quickly withdrew when met.
Sun Xu saw him and, looking pained, whispered in his ear, “You really kept this hidden. But how could the boss even lay hands on his own nephew?”
Xiao Zhou was puzzled. “I’m not his nephew.”
Sun Xu realized his mistake. “Ah, I misunderstood.”
Xiao Zhou didn’t know that during the time he was in the office, the gossip circulating in the law firm had already changed several times. Sun Xu had always thought he and Jiang Chengyuan were relatives, as he had always explained it this way. But the way they interacted seemed too intimate for an uncle-nephew relationship. Plus, when Ji Yang came out of the office with a dark face and a panicked demeanor, it led people to wild speculations. Some even said Jiang Chengyuan was so depraved he wouldn’t spare his own nephew, suggesting a long-standing affair only now brought to light. This made people think Jiang Chengyuan wasn’t just maintaining a clean image but had a perverse taste, preferring the nurtured type. They even speculated that what happened in the office was so obscene that someone like Ji Yang, who was used to such things, couldn’t stand it and stormed out.
But since they weren’t relatives, it meant Xiao Zhou was just an ordinary lover.
Sun Xu looked at Xiao Zhou’s overly rugged face, deliberated, and then whispered, “I’m only telling you this because it’s you. I wouldn’t mention it to anyone else. I don’t discriminate against this stuff; we’re all just trying to make a living. If the boss likes you, that’s your skill. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. The boss is wealthy. The more you can get now, the better. When you part ways, you won’t lose out, right?”
Xiao Zhou didn’t understand what he meant. Sun Xu frowned at his expression and added, “I mean, don’t take it too seriously. It’s easier to talk money than feelings. I’ve been under Lawyer Jiang for two years, and while I admire his professionalism, I can’t agree with his personal conduct.”
“I’m not talking about the cases he takes. I know the internet says he only cares about money, helping those he shouldn’t. But that’s his skill. The profession of a lawyer is like that. I’m talking about how he used to climb up using an omega, and after getting engaged, when that omega’s family fortune declined, he unilaterally broke the mark. You know, an abandoned omega has a terrible fate. When I said he was clean, I didn’t mean he was morally upright. I just thought he had no real feelings. If even marriage is a tool for him, how could he suddenly be devoted to someone?”