64: Torture

Once Yan Qinghe made up his mind, he began preparing for the evening's events.

Since it was to be an "interrogation under torture," he naturally needed some "torture instruments." He had already used all the wedding gifts Yan Zhuoyan sent last time; bringing them out again likely wouldn't have much of a deterrent effect.

Yan Qinghe checked the time; it was still early. So, he opened his phone and ordered a large batch of new toys—expedited, same-city delivery—guaranteed to arrive tonight.

Busy as a bee, Yan Zhuohua had no idea he had already been exposed. At noon sharp, Yan Zhuohua went up to the 24th floor to have lunch and take a break.

As soon as he entered, he found Yan Qinghe sitting behind the desk, busy with something on his phone.

"Qinghe?" Yan Zhuohua walked toward Yan Qinghe. "What are you doing? It's time to eat."

Hearing Yan Zhuohua's voice, Yan Qinghe reflexively switched his phone's screen.

"Just checking tomorrow's schedule." Yan Qinghe's heart pounded. After placing his order, he had unexpectedly discovered many new things in the related recommendations, opening the door to a whole new world for him. He had been so engrossed that he hadn't even noticed Yan Zhuohua opening the door.

That was close; he almost got caught by Zhuohua looking at those things. Yan Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief and turned off his phone.

"Let's eat. Aren't you tired today? Finish up early so you can get some more sleep." Yan Qinghe took the approaching Yan Zhuohua's hand and led him to lunch.

"It's alright. It's just that a few things happened to pile up today. Once I'm done with today, there won't be much to do tomorrow." Yan Zhuohua tilted his head, stretching his stiff neck.

Nothing to do is good. If there's nothing to do, can't I "carry out the sentence" without any reservations? I won't even have to worry about his work tomorrow. Yan Qinghe pressed him down onto the sofa to massage his shoulders and neck, feeling quite satisfied.

While enjoying Yan Qinghe's massage, Yan Zhuohua suddenly felt a chill.

"Stop massaging, let's eat first. I'll be fine after a short rest later."

The two finally sat down to begin their lunch.

The busy day finally came to an end, and the items Yan Qinghe purchased had arrived.

Just as they reached the front door, Yan Zhuohua noticed a large box sitting there.

"What did you buy? Such a big box." Yan Zhuohua bent down, wanting to see what was inside.

"Don't be in such a hurry. It's a 'surprise' I prepared for you; you'll find out later. Let me carry it; it's a bit heavy." Yan Qinghe timely stopped Yan Zhuohua from opening the box, picked it up himself, and carried it all the way back to their room.

Although curious, Yan Zhuohua didn't follow. Since it was a surprise, it was better to maintain a sense of mystery.

Dinner was simple today, and by nine o'clock, both had finished washing up. Yan Zhuohua lay on the bed, swinging his feet while happily scrolling through his phone. He was indeed quite exhausted today and planned to check his social feed before going to bed early.

Yan Qinghe walked in from outside with his phone in hand.

"Zhuohua."

"Hmm?" Yan Zhuohua didn't take his eyes off the screen, responding to Yan Qinghe only with his voice.

"I heard you skipped work the day before yesterday to prepare a gift—a surprise for me because I was angry." Yan Qinghe's voice sounded somewhat seductive. "Where's the surprise?"

Yan Zhuohua froze instantly.

Where would a surprise come from? He had rushed back to the company within three hours; how could he have had time to prepare a surprise to cover up that lie?

Wait, it wasn't about the surprise. Yan Qinghe just said "angry," but they hadn't been angry at all.

Yan Zhuohua's heart rate gradually accelerated. It's over, I've been caught.

"I just... I just went out for afternoon tea and happened to run into Uncle." Yan Zhuohua still intended to deny it at first. "I was afraid he'd say I skipped work for no reason again, so I lied to him a little."

"Is that so?" Yan Qinghe chuckled.

"Of course it is!" He also knew the excuse was a bit weak and hoped Qinghe would quickly gloss over it and let him off the hook.

Yan Qinghe sat on the edge of the bed and gently placed his hand on the small of Yan Zhuohua's back.

"Zhuohua, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The Tracking program Second Brother designed for us can't just locate us; it can also check our travel history from the past week."

The room fell silent instantly.

Yan Qinghe felt the waist under his hand tense up from nervousness and gave it a light pat.

"Go and bring over that box I carried up today."

Yan Zhuohua was exceptionally well-behaved at this moment, immediately getting up to fetch the box from the corner.

Yan Qinghe opened the box in front of him, and Yan Zhuohua's face instantly went from pale to a deep crimson.

"I'll give you one chance. Come clean now, and I might still let you off."

Yan Zhuohua was a bit scared, but he still shook his head firmly.

"Fine." Yan Qinghe wasn't surprised by this outcome. "Then I'll just have to use some measures."

"We'll try the items in this box one by one. We'll only stop when you're ready to confess. I remember that in the past, you couldn't even last long with just one; I wonder how long you can hold out with all of these combined. It's nine o'clock now; let's begin! Don't worry about 'enduring the punishment'; I already went out and requested tomorrow off for you."

A cruel night began. Before long, the faint sound of Yan Zhuohua's sobbing voice drifted from the bedroom.

This time, Yan Qinghe was determined to get the secret Yan Zhuohua was hiding out of him. So, even though he saw Yan Zhuohua weeping piteously and heard his intermittent pleas and attempts to curry favor, Yan Qinghe did not stop the "interrogation."

It was midnight; Yan Zhuohua had already held out for three full hours.

He felt like he was on the verge of collapse, yet the stimulation on his body kept him conscious.

Amidst the chaotic thoughts from the endless torment, Yan Zhuohua struggled to think. Actually, the matter was almost resolved, so there was no harm in letting Yan Qinghe know. If he didn't say anything now, once Zhao Mingting compromised in a few days, wouldn't he have to make everything public anyway? He'd still have to explain it then.

Thus, when Yan Qinghe asked him once more if he wanted to confess, Yan Zhuohua finally couldn't hold out any longer and agreed.

But Yan Qinghe was no longer satisfied.

"Isn't it a bit late to confess now? You'll have to pay a bit more of a price, won't you?"

His mind hazy, Yan Zhuohua nodded haphazardly.

Yan Qinghe was finally satisfied. He added, "You're not allowed to refuse that training uniform you banned last time, and the remaining toys in here..."

Yan Qinghe was asking for too much, droning on and on.

Yan Zhuohua really couldn't take it anymore and hurriedly interrupted him, "I agree to everything, I'll agree to anything, just let me go..."

The three-hour ordeal of "interrogation" finally ended.

Yan Zhuohua lay on the bed gasping for breath, trying to calm the lingering sensations left by the "interrogation" on his body.

"Here, have some water to soothe your throat." Yan Qinghe gently brought over a glass of water and fed it to Yan Zhuohua. "Once your throat feels better, you should start coming clean."

Yan Zhuohua eagerly finished the glass of water and leaned against the headboard as Yan Qinghe wiped the water stains from his lips. Watching Yan Qinghe's considerate actions, he cursed inwardly that this man was a master of pretense—cruel in his methods and unwilling to let him rest before jumping straight into the questioning.

"Now, tell me. What have you been hiding from me?"