Chapter 3: Low-Quality Pleasure

Yu Hanli's expression was as cold as winter snow as he walked over. His slender, pale fingers gripped a corner of the blanket and pulled it up, covering Xu Ci's bare, delicate shoulders.

"You've misunderstood," Yu Hanli said indifferently. "I asked you here purely for a quality night's sleep."

Misunderstood?

If you don't want to sleep with me, then why did you willingly give me ten million? To precisely target poverty?

Did you not only want the outcome, but also a specific narrative arc?

Xu Ci was too deeply influenced by novel plots to understand why Yu Hanli would coldly refuse.

Frowning, he pondered for a few seconds before realizing. He asked earnestly, "Teacher Yu, do you not like it when I take the initiative?"

He paused, then earnestly agreed with himself, "That's true. After spending so much money, just a by-the-book experience would definitely not be worth it—not high-quality."

Yu Hanli: "......"

He was quite good at self-consistent logic.

The tips of his pale fingers tightened.

Alright.

Xu Ci sat up from the covers, discarding his shyness. He leaned in actively, nudging his nose against Yu Hanli's cheek. His faint but fervent breath brushed against the man's earlobe. One hand loosely gripped Yu Hanli's tie, while the other stroked the cold, patterned metal of his belt buckle. He whispered seductively, "Shall we?"

Xu Ci didn't make any bold moves. He was a professional actor, and he knew that the most alluring thing about innocence was its restraint.

Yu Hanli maintained a cold, indifferent expression, but he knew the situation had escalated because he hadn't explicitly refused Xu Ci. He should have slammed the door and left, yet he'd given Xu Ci the opportunity to make the first move. This was highly unusual.

Xu Ci gently bit Yu Hanli's Adam's apple, his pearly-white fingertips lightly tracing the contours of the man's well-defined abs, feeling the power hidden within each muscle. The touch was intimate yet restrained, perfectly balanced.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Yu Hanli's forehead. Xu Ci noticed it too. Though inexperienced, he wasn't a fool. Anyone with eyes could see Yu Hanli was clearly aroused.

To show triumph would be vulgar.

"Still nothing?" Xu Ci licked his reddened lip, feigning innocence. "If Teacher Yu isn't in the mood today, we can always reschedule."

Just as Xu Ci was about to withdraw his hand, Yu Hanli caught it.

Dark desire surged in Yu Hanli's eyes. Wearing thin gold-rimmed glasses, he looked both sexy and refined. His voice was husky as he said, "Continue. Don't be so gentle, like a cat scratching. Put some force into it."

"......"

This man was such a hypocrite.

Just a few minutes ago, he'd been resisting, but seeing the even more blush-inducing, heart-pounding scene, Xu Ci's ears burned red.

He knew that stopping abruptly now was a bit malicious.

Yu Hanli flipped him over, pressing down on him from behind with forceful dominance. His thin lips brushed against Xu Ci's flushed ear, his voice sharp: "Students these days are quite skilled, aren't they?"

Xu Ci's skin was scraped by the metal zipper on Yu Hanli's trousers, a faint yet unavoidable friction that made him detect a hint of jealousy in Yu Hanli's words. He figured the man wanted him to assure him that this was his "first time" or something similar.

But was that even necessary?

Xu Ci closed his eyes, refusing to speak.

What's wrong with being a student? he thought. So I don't have practical experience, but that doesn't mean I haven't browsed porn online. Is Yu Hanli living under a rock?

What followed became uncontrollable.

Madness, primal.

Enough to make one blush and heart race.

Xu Ci's delicate and frail body soon struggled to breathe. Terrified by the suffocating sense of drowning, his soft lips parted, desperately gasping for the thin oxygen in the air.

This body was too weak. His chest heaved violently, ribs aching and going numb inch by inch. The cold air, like knives, slashed across his tongue and throat, yet it was an unexpectedly rare sweetness.

He was truly suffocating.

He loathed his own sickly body.

Yu Hanli lowered his gaze.

The next moment—

He pinched Xu Ci's delicate chin, leaned in, as if to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Though mentally prepared,

The moment Yu Hanli's lips neared his, Xu Ci couldn't help but burst into tears.

He didn't know what he was crying for—

Was it because the family he loved most inexplicably hated him?

Or because he was dying?

Or because he, who yearned for fairytale love, was now secretly indulging in the lowest forms of pleasure?

Xu Ci turned his face away, weakly covering his lips with the back of his hand, preventing Yu Hanli from touching him.

"Don't kiss me."

This small gesture shattered the carefully crafted atmosphere of intimacy and tenderness.

This was just a transaction after all.

"Still quite delicate," Yu Hanli's eyes turned cold, his smile mocking.

He was clearly displeased.

Though he presented a refined and cultured facade, his inner wildness and savagery couldn't be fully concealed.

He suddenly tightened his grip.

Xu Ci's beautiful, almond-shaped eyes widened slightly.

... He had no idea what he had done to offend this revered deity.

After a few seconds, Yu Hanli reached out and covered Xu Ci's lips. His knuckles pressed lightly against the sides of his cheeks as he murmured, "Didn't your teachers tell you in school not to breathe through your mouth during exercise? At best, it dries out your respiratory tract; at worst, it can lead to lung infections from pathogens. Try breathing through your nose, Xu Ci."

His tone was utterly serious.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was engaged in an academic discussion in a solemn university lecture hall.

"......"

Yu Hanli's cool palm pressed against Xu Ci's mouth.

Suffocation, torment.

He could only try to flare his nostrils.

His breathing grew rapid, but the metallic, sweet pain in his throat, like the sensation of coughing up blood, gradually subsided.

"Adjust your breathing. Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Yu Hanli gradually released his lips, his voice soft and reassuring.

A blush spread across Xu Ci's temples, his consciousness growing hazy.

He faintly heard his phone ring, the melodic tones dancing across his taut nerves.

"Do you want to answer it? Xu Ci?"

After a night passed, Xu Ci woke up again, finding himself in a VIP ward at Kyoto Private Hospital. A silver needle was inserted into his slender arm, and cool medicinal fluid flowed into his body through the IV drip.

He had woken up in a hospital ward, not a morgue.

Heh, another day I'm alive thanks to this little hypochondriac.

Though Xu Ci's heart yearned for pure love, his conscience was in turmoil.

But he had to admit, last night had nearly killed him with pleasure.

This hospital was one of the Yu Corporation's medical ventures, ensuring absolute privacy. Yu Hanli's status as a national superstar wouldn't cause him any trouble here.

A doctor in a white coat entered with a medical chart and asked Yu Hanli, "How long were you at it yesterday?"

Yu Hanli disliked discussing such intimate matters. "Does it matter?"

"Of course," the doctor replied.

"From 7 PM to 12:30 AM. We weren't at it continuously; we spent a lot of time giving him water and bathing him."

The doctor was startled, but quickly regained his professional composure and offered reasonable advice: "Your partner has heart disease, making prolonged sexual activity unsuitable. Intense sexual acts could trigger a cardiac event. You should be grateful he didn't have an attack while you were being so wild. He also has a slight fever, likely due to an infection. Check him later and apply some medicine. After such a long session, he's definitely swollen. It would be best to refrain from sex for the next two weeks. Focus on nourishing him; his body is severely depleted."

Yu Hanli was unaware of Xu Ci's heart condition, only knowing he had a frail constitution.

Finally, the doctor added, "Also, President Yu, delayed ejaculation is a medical condition. Even if it doesn't lead to future complications like prostatitis, it can still harm your sexual partner. You should get checked out at the urology department when you have time."

Yu Hanli: "......"

After the doctor left, the room fell into a brief silence.

Xu Ci's pale skin was covered in the marks of their passionate encounter. His thin, delicate skin was easily marked, and though it didn't hurt, the sight was rather shocking.

Yu Hanli asked, "Does it hurt there? Should I apply some medicine? Are you hungry? The doctor said you should stick to soft, liquid foods like congee for now."

Xu Ci, lacking energy, picked up Yu Hanli's phone from the nightstand and scrolled through the group chat messages.

Yu Hanli had mentioned in the group chat before he left yesterday that everyone assumed he was just out having fun and didn't worry much about him.

The unfamiliar numbers on his phone all came from an IP address in Kyoto.

Without a doubt, they were from Xu Chongchen.

After scrolling through the phone for a while, Xu Ci looked up and said, "No need. I'll check it myself later."

The pleasure had been intense, but the prolonged intensity had left his lower back feeling uncomfortably cold.

Xu Ci had no desire to sleep with Yu Hanli again anytime soon. Moreover, last night's events had proved that Yu Hanli completely lacked self-control.

Fearing another outburst, Xu Ci lowered his gaze. The long, slender lashes cast faint shadows on his pale eye sockets, making him look utterly docile. He sipped some warm congee and took some anti-inflammatory pills.

Xu Ci's throat was narrow, so he had to take the pills one by one. Some lacked sugar coatings, and he hated the bitter taste. His finely arched eyebrows furrowed and didn't smooth out.

He soon lost energy again.

Xu Ci set an alarm and burrowed back under the covers to sleep.

Xu Daming was aghast. "You actually used me? You know I despise pimps more than anything! Tell me, did you coerce her or force her? Surrender now, and the sentence will be lighter."

Yu Hanli ignored his melodramatic outburst. After a few seconds, he said, "Go to Chunjiao Pharmacy and find the best traditional Chinese medicine doctor to examine Xu Ci. If the medicine can be made sweet, use that instead of bitter."

Xu Daming: "......"

Do you even have sweet-flavored Chinese medicine at home? You can't be this much of a overbearing CEO.

Although Xu Daming was shocked by Yu Hanli's transgression, he could somewhat understand it. Moreover, Xu Ci didn't seem forced or distressed.

After all, having worked in the entertainment industry for so many years, he'd never seen a boy as beautiful as Xu Ci, with such a pure and clean aura and such rare, delicate features.

When two such beauties admire each other, it's natural they'd end up in bed.

Yu Hanli had created so many vivid characters in film history; he couldn't possibly be clueless about love.

At five in the afternoon, the alarm clock rang.

Xu Ci woke up and looked through the window at the setting sun, feeling hollow inside.

"Would you like some water?" Yu Hanli's voice came from beside him.

Xu Ci only then realized Yu Hanli was still there. He was sitting in a chair beside the hospital bed, his long legs crossed, flipping through a stack of scripts.

"No, thank you," Xu Ci said. "I plan to go back to school now."

"I don't think your current condition is suitable for returning to school. You should rest for at least two or three days."

Xu Ci was silent for a second before saying, "I'll take a taxi later."

Seeing Xu Ci's determination to return to school, Yu Hanli didn't insist further. "I'm heading back to the company anyway. I'll give you a ride."

When Xu Ci arrived at Kyoto Film Academy, his legs still felt a bit unsteady.

Whenever he remembered everything that had happened yesterday, it felt like a residual electric current was surging from his tailbone to the crown of his head, making him involuntarily curl up and resist the lingering pleasure embedded in his bones.

Yu Hanli, that bastard.

The black SUV stopped outside the dormitory area.

Xu Ci came down from upstairs and happened to run into his roommates, Song Qi and the other two, returning to the dorm with dinner.

Song Qi rushed forward and said, "CiCi, where have you been? We ran into Xu Chongchen at school today and heard you broke up. I never liked that guy anyway—what a scumbag, you just can't get rid of him."

Xu Ci looked at him.

Song Qi froze when he saw Xu Ci's outfit.

Xu Ci had delicate, sensitive skin, especially on his neck. Even a playful puff of air would make him curl up, refusing to be blown on. Because he was ticklish, he always wore low-cut shirts to avoid the friction of the fabric.

Yet today, he was wearing a high-necked, cream-white checkered shirt that completely covered his neck.

Song Qi casually asked, "CiCi, no one bothering you, right?"

Xu Ci smiled sweetly. "Nope."

Lao Er glanced at the car—its license plate was priceless, so rare it could serve as a benchmark for social status in elite circles. Not to mention it was a custom-made sports car.

"Whoa, that's some luxury ride," Lao Er said. "I heard there's only one like it in all of Kyoto. Wasn't it some... what's-his-name? A huge celebrity, I think?"

Just as he was racking his brain, trying to recall the man's name, Xu Ci boldly admitted, "It's Yu Hanli's."

Hearing that name, even with the privacy film on the car windows, Lao Er's blood ran cold. He didn't dare look inside.

"What? You know Yu Hanli?" Third Brother exclaimed. "Holy shit, that's insane! Didn't you say the Xu family wasn't even worthy of associating with the Yu family? Spill the beans—how did this happen?"

Yu Hanli also glanced at Xu Ci through the window.

There was no confidentiality clause in their agreement, and he understood Xu Ci's desire to show off.

Everyone who had ever come into contact with him practically wanted to broadcast to the world that knowing him was an unparalleled honor.

And besides, they had slept together.

The next moment, Xu Ci said earnestly, "In this film industry winter, Actor Yu is moonlighting as a ride-share driver. He's quite pitiful, really."

Yu Hanli: "......"

You're really broadcasting me like this in public?

Still, he didn't care about maintaining appearances.

That night had brought him an unparalleledly wonderful experience. He had developed a deep interest in both Xu Ci as a person and his alluring body.