ACMS 36

Chapter 36 – The Ultimate Tonic

After Qiao Le said that, the air fell into silence, with a faint hint of humor hanging in it.

Shen Hechuan’s eye twitched slightly. With a blank expression, he said, “The wool still comes from the sheep. You really know how to do business.”

Earning money from Shen Hechuan just to compensate Shen Hechuan—how is that not just taking wool from the sheep’s back?

Qiao Le couldn’t help laughing at himself after hearing that, but since the timing wasn’t right, he could only pinch his thigh to hold back. Still, the corners of his tightly pressed lips betrayed him.

Shen Hechuan’s eyes lowered slightly, and the moment he saw the twitch of Qiao Le’s lips, he knew he was trying not to laugh.

He can even laugh? Looks like, to Qiao Le, what happened last night wasn’t all that serious after all.

With that thought, Shen Hechuan’s eyes gradually darkened. He braced himself on the bed and leaned toward Qiao Le. “If you want to laugh, then laugh. Why hold it in?”

The sudden approach startled Qiao Le. He instinctively tried to dodge, but Shen Hechuan pinned both of his hands above his head.

The posture was far too aggressive—especially when neither of them was wearing anything.

Qiao Le blanked out for a second. When he came to, he saw Shen Hechuan above him, gazing down.

There was only a thin blanket between them, but one of Shen Hechuan’s legs was pressing down on his knee, and he didn’t dare move.

One wrong move, and it’d be like last night again—lightning striking dry wood.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Shen Hechuan asked.

Say what?

A man this gorgeous was right in front of him. And even worse, he had the teeth marks he left on his chest last night.

Qiao Le swallowed hard, his voice a little airy. “You’re too close. I… don’t know what to say.”

“Is that so?” Shen Hechuan chuckled lowly, exposing the lie. “But you sure had a lot to say last night when you were lying on top of me.”

Qiao Le: “!!”

Have you no shame?! It’s so early and you’re already saying stuff like that?!

But he was too embarrassed to say it out loud—after all, the one who did the shameless thing was him.

“I was drunk. I don’t even remember what I said,” Qiao Le protested. “How can you take issue with the nonsense of a drunk man?”

“Oh?” Shen Hechuan didn’t say whether he believed it or not. He just leaned in and asked, “Want me to help you remember?”

Qiao Le felt like his brain had turned to mush, instinctively following his lead. “How will you help me remember?”

“By letting your body recall it.” Shen Hechuan got even closer, their noses almost touching. His voice was low, seductive. “If you’re willing, I can help you recall everything… down to the last detail.”

Qiao Le: “!!”

Who are you?! Why are you such a flirt?! Get off of Shen Hechuan right now!!

They’d done far more intimate things last night, and yet now, just this little closeness was enough to make the air around them feel scorching hot. Qiao Le even started sweating a bit, fumbling over his words. “N-no need for that…”

“Aren’t we in a contractual relationship?” he whispered, trying to remind him.

Shen Hechuan raised an eyebrow. “So you really are sober now. You even remember our agreement.”

As he spoke, he released Qiao Le’s wrists and instead pressed their palms together, threading his fingers between Qiao Le’s.

It was easy to feel how warm and damp Qiao Le’s palm had become.

So nervous?

Shen Hechuan laughed softly. He’s nothing like the bold man from last night.

“What are you laughing at?” Qiao Le asked, confused.

Keeping their palms together, Shen Hechuan gently enclosed Qiao Le’s hand in his own, speaking lightheartedly: “I’m laughing at how bold you were when you were drunk, and how timid you’ve become now that you’re sober.”

Qiao Le: “…”

Those words dragged last night’s memories back up in full force, and his face flushed red.

He had been drunk, yes, but not so drunk he couldn’t remember anything. Last night’s events were far too vivid.

He remembered how he tugged Shen Hechuan’s short hair, how the overwhelming waves of pleasure had brought tears to his eyes.

He remembered being guided by Shen Hechuan, yielding to desire over and over again.

Everything—every detail—was far too clear. So much so that even just touching palms now made a heat rise within him, hard to bear.

The worst part was… he realized that even while sober, he didn’t exactly mind doing those things with Shen Hechuan again.

“Why are you quiet again?” Shen Hechuan asked. “Doing the math? How much are you planning to pay me, Boss Qiao?”

That “Boss Qiao” had a teasing lilt to it, and Qiao Le thought maybe he really wasn’t sober yet—because from that title, he actually heard a trace of fondness.

Qiao Le felt he should be more assertive. He said sternly, “I wasn’t doing any math. Didn’t you say before that you didn’t lose out? That you wouldn’t take any money?”

“That’s right, I didn’t lose out.”

Shen Hechuan finally kissed him, gently biting his lips. “So there’s no need to apologize. I didn’t mind.”

In fact, he enjoyed it.

He didn’t say that part aloud—but his actions made it clear.

Qiao Le was kissed until his head spun. He wanted to say, You didn’t mind? Did it ever occur to you that I might?

But a tiny voice inside stopped him.

Because… he didn’t really mind either.

…

It wasn’t until he climaxed once more under Shen Hechuan’s hand that Qiao Le finally started to come back to his senses.

He watched Shen Hechuan wipe his fingers with a tissue, the movement somehow suggestive, and quickly closed his eyes.

Just a second ago, he’d been scolding himself for crossing the line again—and yet the next, he was already losing control again just by looking at the guy.

Qiao Le, you’re really hopeless!

Resigned to his fate, Qiao Le collapsed back onto the bed. His body was still tense and weak from the pleasure, and he didn’t want to move at all.

Morning really is when a man’s self-control is at its lowest. I just made the same mistake every man makes.

He tried to brainwash himself.

Beside him, Shen Hechuan rolled out of bed, casually grabbed a robe and put it on. He went into the bathroom to wash his hands, then came out and poured Qiao Le a glass of warm water. “Here, drink some. Your throat sounds hoarse.”

“…” Qiao Le pulled the blanket over his face, his voice muffled beneath it. “Stop talking. Can you just be a decent person for once during the day?!”

Shen Hechuan chuckled, reaching out to pull down Qiao Le’s blanket and asked, “What exactly are you so shy about? Aren’t we in a legal relationship?”

“We’re in a contractual relationship!” Qiao Le shot up from the bed, trying to remind him—but the sudden movement made his waist ache.

Just how many times did they do it last night? It was even more intense than the first time.

“A legal contractual relationship,” Shen Hechuan corrected as if explaining, “reasonable and lawful, nothing shameful about it.”

Qiao Le: “…”

That… actually made sense. But something still felt off.

It felt like he had fallen into a trap—but he couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong.

“What are you worried about?” Shen Hechuan asked. “You’ve seen my health report. I’m completely clean. There’s nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Qiao Le said, “That’s not what I meant—”

Then, at the mention of the health report, Qiao Le suddenly realized something. He flipped over, leaned over the side of the bed, and peered into the trash can and around the bed.

Where was it? Why wasn’t it there?

“What are you looking for?” Shen Hechuan asked.

Qiao Le turned back to him and asked directly, “Did you not wear a condom last night?”

Shen Hechuan: “…”

They locked eyes for a moment before Shen Hechuan nodded. “I didn’t.”

Qiao Le: “!!”

“There weren’t any at home.”

They hadn’t planned for anything like this, so naturally there weren’t any around. And no one else in the house would’ve dared to meddle in such things. So—nothing had been prepared.

And in that kind of situation yesterday, it wasn’t like Shen Hechuan could go out and buy some.

So they had gone in completely raw.

Completely. Raw.

Actually, Qiao Le had already suspected it—he didn’t remember that part at all.

“Sorry,” Shen Hechuan said. “I cleaned you up afterward. Got everything out.”

Qiao Le: “…”

How could you say “got everything out” so calmly? You were the one who put it in—wasn’t it your job to take care of it afterward?

Whatever. It was done.

At least he couldn’t get pregnant, Qiao Le consoled himself.

Seeing Shen Hechuan’s apologetic look, Qiao Le recalled that he was the one who made the first move last night, and felt a little embarrassed. He waved it off and said, “It’s fine. We’re both healthy, no harm done.”

“Mm.” Shen Hechuan nodded, then gently reminded, “Do you want to put some clothes on?”

“Hm?”

Qiao Le looked down at himself and realized he was naked, lying on his stomach at the edge of the bed, completely exposed to Shen Hechuan.

Was there really any difference between this and putting up a sign saying, ‘Come get some’?

His brain buzzed. He grabbed the blanket and covered himself. “Where are my clothes?”

Shen Hechuan’s eyes flickered with amusement. “I’ll get them for you.”

He fetched a set of loungewear for Qiao Le, then went to the bathroom to wash up. Qiao Le took the chance to get dressed in a hurry. When Shen Hechuan came out, Qiao Le rushed in to wash up himself.

Once they were both done, they headed downstairs. At the turn of the staircase, they heard Aunt Liu scolding someone about bringing the wrong soup.

They had woken up late—Wu Huilan and the others had already finished breakfast and were sitting with Qiao Man, helping her with homework.

When Qiao Man saw them come down, he called out, “Brother! Uncle Shen! Good morning!”

“Morning,” Qiao Le walked over and greeted Wu Huilan but didn’t see the old man or Shen Zhenghe.

“They took Old Master Yang out for a walk,” Wu Huilan said. Her eyes casually swept past the marks on Qiao Le’s neck, and she gave a knowing smile.

It looked like the relationship between the two was going well—no need to worry, and the wedding preparations could begin soon.

“Tired from yesterday?” Wu Huilan asked gently.

Qiao Le shook his head. “It’s fine. I just drank a little too much. I’m just glad I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“I had someone make you some hangover soup. Drink a bit later,” Wu Huilan said kindly. “Next time, take it easy. No one blames you.”

Qiao Le wanted to say the hangover soup hadn’t worked—he’d had a big bowl of it last night and still got drunk out of his mind.

Then he heard Wu Huilan say, “A-Zhen made a mistake last night. She gave you the wrong soup—it wasn’t the hangover soup.”

Qiao Le: “…Wrong soup?”

“Yes,” Wu Huilan said. “It was a health tonic I had specially prepared from an old herbalist’s prescription—‘The Ultimate Tonic.’ It’s very effective.”

Qiao Le: “…”

Case closed.

No wonder he’d felt like he was on fire last night.

The Ultimate Tonic… was very effective.

It almost drained Shen Hechuan dry.