Reservoir Dogs chapter 40

Mood

Suddenly feeling a heaviness in his chest, Xiao Zhou wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and curled up. He had rejected what seemed like a good choice, only to find himself in a dilemma now.

Even now, Liang Hanqing seemed impeccable. He was indeed working hard for his case, even believing in his remorse and innocence in this incident. He was willing to give him another chance and had sacrificed a lot for it.

There are many people willing to do small kindnesses, but few like Liang Hanqing who could help without compromise. It was also because he was too good, his kindness too burdensome, making Xiao Zhou somewhat unable to bear it. He couldn’t drag such a person into the quagmire he was in, becoming a burden that couldn’t be shaken off. Liang Hanqing deserved to have an omega who understood him, someone caring and gentle, or simply a decent partner.

Because he hadn’t rested enough, Xiao Zhou felt a bit tired when frying eggs early the next morning.

Jiang Chengyuan ate very little breakfast, usually just drinking a cup of black coffee. Xiao Zhou didn’t drink coffee. He made himself eggs and toast, then cut half for Jiang Chengyuan. This way, Jiang Chengyuan would eat a bit too; If he didn’t eat, Xiao Zhou could handle it himself. Since it was originally one serving, there would be no waste no matter what.

That day Jiang Chengyuan had a good appetite and ate more than half of his toast. After Xiao Zhou finished his own portion, he still felt a bit hungry. He planned to buy another loaf of bread from the convenience store downstairs after going to the office.

During breakfast, Jiang Chengyuan listened to the morning news. The TV news reported that the police had successfully cracked down on illegal operations involving “laughing gas,” raiding four illegal trading dens across provinces, arresting key suspects in organized crime, and launching a large-scale crackdown and educational campaign across the province.

Xiao Zhou’s chewing slowed down.

The next news segment covered local affairs: Wansheng Group planned to build the city’s largest amusement center in the western suburbs, encompassing dining and entertainment across five major sections. The project would be supervised by Wansheng Group’s new general manager, Jiang Wenxing, providing another leisure spot for residents of Jiahai City…

Upon hearing a familiar name, Xiao Zhou suddenly looked up. However, the news was brief, lacking further details.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Chengyuan noticed Xiao Zhou’s expression and shifted his gaze from the tablet to him.

“Nothing.” Xiao Zhou shook his head. Yesterday, Liang Hanqing had urged him to reconnect with old friends more, and today he heard a familiar name. Xiao Zhou couldn’t help but feel moved by this coincidence. It seemed that Jiang Wenxing was doing well, having obediently returned to inherit the family business. Jiang Wenxing, as Xiao Zhou’s childhood friend, used to be rebellious and arrogant, always complaining about his father wanting to pass on the burden of the family business to him and insisting he wouldn’t sit in an office wearing suits and ties even if they forced him to. Now, it seemed he had followed his family’s wishes.

Xiao Zhou was genuinely happy for Jiang Wenxing for seeing things through. After all, his previous rebellious behavior almost gave his father a heart attack.

After washing the dishes, Xiao Zhou left for the law firm. Following Jiang Chengyuan upstairs, the firm was currently undergoing renovations to expand its office space, causing some chaos. Jiang Chengyuan’s office was also being renovated, so he was relocated to a quieter area.

As soon as Jiang Chengyuan entered the law firm, he was surrounded by a crowd, pushing Xiao Zhou out.

Xiao Zhou didn’t mind, biting into his bread as he walked towards the renovation area, where in the old office, Sun Xu was busy directing workers in and out, moving sofas and tables, meticulously ensuring nothing got scratched. It was almost as if he should have shouted, “This is authentic huanghuali rosewood!” — he was bustling around non-stop.

The elevator was too small, and some furniture couldn’t be dismantled or fit inside. The floors were too high to safely lower them down. For large items, they could only manually carry them down the stairs, bit by bit, and then lower them out through the windows.

Xiao Zhou knew that Sun Xu was always cutting it close when coming to work, often forgetting to eat breakfast. So he had brought him bread.

Handing the bread to him, Sun Xu’s hungry stomach was cramping, his eyes glinting greedily at the food. He stuffed his mouth and mumbled, “Zhou Zhou, the boss has two clients coming to the office today, so he probably won’t go out. You can go back and rest and come back in the evening.”

This title gave Xiao Zhou a shiver. He corrected him a few times, but Sun Xu had no intention of changing his address, so Xiao Zhou let it be. Watching the workers bustling around, he said, “I have something to attend to later. If Jiang Chengyuan looks for me, call my phone.”

Listening to him, Sun Xu froze in the act of eating. After swallowing some water, he grumbled, “Only you dare to use the boss’s name directly.”

When he mentioned that, Xiao Zhou realized that his way of addressing Jiang Chengyuan seemed inappropriate. “Should I call him Lawyer Jiang?”

Sun Xu finished his bread and said, “No, calling him Lawyer Jiang sounds too formal, as if you’re his client.”

With this and that, why was it so troublesome to address someone?

Sun Xu said, “Just call him by his name. If he hasn’t corrected you, that means you haven’t made a mistake.”

Was that so? Xiao Zhou looked down and twisted the plastic bottle in his hand.

“By the way, there’s been talk in the industry lately that the boss has someone new by his side. Do you know who it is?” Sun Xu casually mentioned.

Xiao Zhou was puzzled. “What do you mean by ‘someone new’?”

Sun Xu winked at him ambiguously. “He’s got himself an Omega. You follow him every day, you must know, right? According to them, he looks pretty ordinary, but tall and fit, quite young, like a male model from a magazine.”

Xiao Zhou almost choked on his saliva, coughed twice, and Sun Xu handed him water. After taking a sip to calm down, he said quietly, “No, he hasn’t been to such places.”

Sun Xu clicked his tongue. “Where do you think I’m suggesting? I’m not saying he’s visiting those places.” Lowering his voice, he added, “The boss has always kept a clean image around him. Considering the environment he’s in, being clean is abnormal. Previously, everyone thought he wasn’t interested, but this is the first time there’s been gossip like this. It’s hard not to be curious. You really don’t know?”

Xiao Zhou tightened the bottle cap and pretended to be clueless, saying firmly, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”

Sun Xu looked suspicious, thinking he was hiding something. Helplessly, he said, “Well, the boss is quite skilled in choosing people. Lips sealed tight as a clam.”

As they were talking, a worker moving a cabinet stepped on the edge of the carpet, stumbled, lost his grip, and the rosewood cabinet leaned dangerously, about to crash to the ground.

Sun Xu yelled in shock and his face contorted in pain. “That’s worth tens of thousands!”

Luckily, Xiao Zhou swiftly stepped forward, lifted it with one hand, braced his legs, leaned back, and shouldered the weight.

“Sorry, boss, it was an accident.” The worker who fell was also startled. He hurriedly got up from the ground, but ended up spraining his foot. He winced in pain, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

Sun Xu went to check on the worker first, then walked over to ask Xiao Zhou, “Are you okay?”

Xiao Zhou hunched over, shouldering a corner of the cabinet, muscles bulging in his arms, his forehead tensed from exertion. He had enough strength to gesture with his free hand calmly, “I’m fine. Take that person to sit over there. I’ll help move things. I’m free anyway.” As he spoke, he adjusted the position of the cabinet on his shoulder and asked another man helping with the cabinet, “Are we going through the corridor?”

The man nodded, concern on his dark face. “Young man, are you sure? It’s quite heavy, and you have to be careful not to strain your back.”

Xiao Zhou smiled, “No worries, I’ve done this before.”

He then coordinated with the man, walking steadily in rhythm towards the corridor.

After several rounds of this, his clothes were soaked in sweat. Xiao Zhou took off his thin jacket, revealing a white V-neck short-sleeved shirt clinging to his body, outlining well-defined muscles. His waist was narrow, his tight jeans accentuating his firm butt and long, straight legs.

Walking from outside into the office area attracted many admiring and envious glances. Sun Xu saw him returning from afar, his eyes fixed on Xiao Zhou’s physique, then exclaimed, “Your body is too fit, like a male model.”

Xiao Zhou wiped the sweat off his chin with the back of his hand and chuckled.

Xiao Ya came over with a few colleagues, carrying boxes of Red Bull and beef jerky for the construction workers.

While Xiao Zhou helped with the work, crouching in a corner assembling furniture, a colleague handed him a bottle of energy drink. “Take a break?”

Xiao Zhou looked up to see a very attractive and sexy female alpha, dressed in professional attire, both efficient and striking. However, her alpha scent was strong, which made Xiao Zhou feel a bit dizzy.

He stood up, and the woman approached him a bit closer. “Xiao Sun said you’re new here? Why haven’t I seen you before?”

Xiao Zhou took the water and instinctively stepped back a bit. “I’m still getting used to it.”

Her bright red lips curled up. “Oh, I see. You’re Lawyer Jiang’s driver. He’s very selective about people.” She took another step closer, pressing against the wall. “I quite like your scent, like the sea, very calming.” Her nose twitched, and she blinked her beautiful eyes. “I know a great Japanese restaurant nearby. Shall we go for lunch?”

As if intentionally releasing a strong aroma, the overpowering scent of rosemary diffused in the confined space, making Xiao Zhou feel short of breath and flushed. Beads of sweat fell from his forehead, sticking to his eyelashes.

“He’s not going.” Suddenly, a hand grabbed Xiao Zhou’s arm and pulled him aside, out of the triangular zone formed by the wall. He was pulled into a familiar embrace, the strong smell of tequila replacing the dizzying rosemary scent.

The woman turned her head and saw Jiang Chengyuan, smiling warmly as he tousled his thick curly hair. “Lawyer Jiang, I didn’t recognize this little brother’s face, so I came to introduce myself.”

Jiang Chengyuan frowned at her. “Tone down your pheromones. The office isn’t the place for this.”

Wu Qian innocently blinked. “I’m just showing some concern for a new colleague.” Despite her words, she did tone down her scent.

As they passed each other, the woman provocatively said, “I can smell it. He belongs to you. Your scent is all over him. You’re not hiding it at all. But marking someone like him, aren’t you afraid the secretary will find out?”

Jiang Chengyuan glanced at her and said nothing in response.

Xiao Zhou felt uncomfortable being held for so long. He broke free and noticed many curious gazes from nearby. Sun Xu stood not far away, holding a bag of beef jerky, his face frozen in shock.

Xiao Zhou felt awkward, not knowing where to put his hands or feet.

But Jiang Chengyuan grabbed his hand and said, “Did I ask you to do this job? You’re covered in sweat; go wash up.”

With that, he dragged him towards the office.

The door slammed shut, shutting out the sight of the outside world.

Although it was a temporary office, it was still quite large, with a small shower room and a restroom. It seemed like one could easily stay here for ten days or half a month.

Jiang Chengyuan picked out a set of clothes from the wardrobe for him. “These are Lin Shen’s office clothes; they should be a bit big for you, but bear with it for now.”

The sweat on his body had dried up, and the clothes fit even tighter, outlining every contour of his body, giving Xiao Zhou a sense of relaxed and vigorous beauty. When he handed over the clothes, Jiang Chengyuan looked at Xiao Zhou again, his eyes darkening slightly. “Don’t do such risky things next time.”

He referred to when Xiao Zhou had rashly attempted to support the cabinet. If the weight had been too much or his posture incorrect, he could have injured himself. 

Since when had Jiang Chengyuan been watching him?

Xiao Zhou also stared at Jiang Chengyuan for a while until Jiang Chengyuan’s eyes flickered, avoiding his gaze for the first time. Xiao Zhou was curious; he had never seen Jiang Chengyuan avoid his gaze before. Avoiding gaze meant feeling guilty or troubled, and Jiang Chengyuan wouldn’t be like this.

Xiao Zhao took the clothes and went to the shower room to take a shower. After all, it was an office, and the shower room was extremely narrow—it was a struggle just to turn around.

When he came out, Jiang Chengyuan was no longer there. Pulling open the invisible door separating the inner and outer rooms, he saw Jiang Chengyuan on the phone. When he saw him come out, he gestured for him to sit for a while.

Lin Shen’s clothes were somewhat loose, fortunately not all formal suits, but also two sets of casual clothes. Xiao Zhou was now wearing a cotton T-shirt and soft pants, his hair half-dry, sticking to his forehead, making him look very obedient and quiet.

Jiang Chengyuan leaned back in the leather chair, the foreigner on the phone still chattering away. He glanced at the person on the sofa, but his mind was no longer focused on the conversation, absentmindedly responding with “mm-hmm” and “yeah.” He remembered the dangerous scene he had just witnessed with Xiao Zhou, steadying himself against the corner of the cabinet, muscles in his arms and legs tense under his tight clothes. Xiao Zhou seemed fine, very confident, which startled him.

As Xiao Zhou went back and forth a few times helping the workers, his coat had been draped over his forearm, the neckline and back of his short sleeves damp with sweat, several workers joked with him, patting him on the shoulder as they walked through the glass door side by side. Xiao Zhou’s brows were relaxed, his eyes shining like translucent obsidian, filled with light. Perhaps it was the glistening sweat on his forehead that made it shimmer so brightly that it was hard to look away. He was indeed young, every cell in his body exuding vigor and vitality.

Tapping his fingers on the table, Jiang Chengyuan quickly and briefly wrapped up the topic on the phone before the other side could react, hanging up.

He motioned for Xiao Zhou to come over, and Xiao Zhou did. Walking up to him, his distinctly black and white eyes looked at him. The faint white scar at the corner of his eye had lightened a lot, leaving only a vague mark. There wasn’t as much hostility as when they first met; he was calm now.

Jiang Chengyuan stared at him absentmindedly for a moment.

Then he saw the now calm young man slowly kneel in front of him, hands resting on his thighs, looking up at him and asking, “Are you in the mood for it?”