DREB CHAPTER 55

“Is this not working anymore? How did you become so fragile?” Lu Lianning’s tone was harsh as he looked at Li Yan, who lay there wide-eyed and speechless. His frustration bubbled over.

With a cold face, he revealed his cruelty. “Even if the front’s ruined, the back can still be used.” Li Yan’s physical state didn’t concern him in the slightest.

After leaving those words behind, Lu Lianning buttoned his shirt and left the room.

Li Yan remained alone on the large bed in the master bedroom. It took him at least ten minutes after Lu Lianning left to finally start slowly moving his body.

His expression remained blank and dazed, as though he needed time to process the things Lu Lianning had said.

Gradually, he bent his legs, positioning himself on all fours with his forehead pressed against the mattress. He hesitantly reached down toward his lower body.

But there was no sensation at all.

As the reality of his situation sank in, Li Yan’s sorrow and shame rose to the surface. His wide, unblinking eyes suddenly brimmed with tears.

He slowly curled his legs up, as if trying to cover the source of his shame. Tears began to stream down his face, and he looked deeply wronged.

At first, his sobs were quiet, but as the emotions he had been holding back erupted, he buried himself under the blanket and cried harder. He cried so intensely that he gasped for breath, his face turning red.

He felt stupid and utterly pathetic.

Lu Lianning sat on a sofa, his hair slightly tousled, and his shirt still wrinkled from earlier. Resting one arm on his knee, he rubbed his forehead.

He turned to the butler and instructed, “Bring him some congee, and prepare a couple of light dishes.”

The kitchen had already been working on the meal, and within five minutes of Lu Lianning’s command, the butler carried a tray upstairs. When he reached the door of the master bedroom, left slightly ajar, he heard the suppressed sobbing from inside.

The butler paused, his hand raised to knock.

When the butler returned downstairs with the untouched meal, Lu Lianning frowned and was about to lose his temper. “He refused to eat!?”

The butler replied expressionlessly, “He’s crying.”

Lu Lianning seemed slightly surprised, his expression changing. “Crying?”

“Yes,” the butler confirmed.

If not for Lu Lianning deliberately tormenting Li Yan in bed, there had never been another moment when he had seen Li Yan shed tears.

Li Yan seemed nearly impossible to hurt. Even when he pretended to be timid and afraid, Lu Lianning had never seen him cry over anything.

When Lu Lianning went back upstairs and quietly opened the door, Li Yan had already cried himself to sleep. There were dried tear stains on his cheeks, and the bed sheets beside him were damp. It was unclear how much grievance he had endured, but it was evident he had been crying for quite some time.

Li Yan’s legs were curled up and exposed, with a few buttons on his pajamas torn open.

Lu Lianning gazed at him for a moment with his eyes lowered, then found a pair of pajamas and dressed him. He covered him with a thin blanket and raised the room’s temperature by two degrees before quietly leaving.

“Don’t wake him up. He can eat when he wakes up on his own. He didn’t sleep well last night, so he’s probably exhausted now,” Lu Lianning instructed the butler downstairs.

Lately, Li Yan hadn’t been sleeping soundly, constantly waking up startled, though no one knew what haunted him in his dreams.

The butler silently nodded.

Lu Lianning was putting on his jacket, ready to leave. Just as he reached the door, he stopped abruptly and stared at the butler. “Do you think I went too far this time?”

The butler answered evasively, “If you keep him locked up like this, he might end up losing his mind.”

Lu Lianning stayed silent, pressing his lips together. After adjusting his collar, he strode out the door.

Li Yan slept until mid-afternoon. When he woke up, the butler brought him a meal. Looking depressed, Li Yan didn’t even bother getting out of bed. He sat up slightly to finish his food.

For some reason, Lu Lianning returned home earlier than usual that evening.

He came back just after dark, around seven o’clock.

He had dinner downstairs, and by eight, he entered the room. Li Yan lay on his side, deliberately turned away, his thin shoulders jutting out, sharply outlined beneath his pajamas.

Li Yan first heard the sound of footsteps, then felt the bed dip as Lu Lianning sat down behind him.

The moment Lu Lianning’s hand touched his shoulder, Li Yan jolted as if he’d been shocked by electricity. He quickly turned and backed away, his eyes filled with fear and wariness.

Lu Lianning withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, his gaze lingering on Li Yan.

“Why were you crying today?” Lu Lianning lowered his head slightly as if trying to scrutinize Li Yan’s expression more closely.

Li Yan clearly didn’t want to respond.

Noticing Li Yan’s unwillingness to cooperate, Lu Lianning mocked, “Is it because you can’t get hard anymore? What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re still dreaming of being with an Omega one day. Do you think you’ll ever need to use the front again?”

Li Yan’s eyes immediately reddened. He lowered his eyelids, avoiding looking at Lu Lianning.

Lu Lianning had more to say but stopped when he saw Li Yan’s reaction. With a sigh, his tone softened a little. “Let me see.”

Li Yan didn’t move.

Lu Lianning reached out to grab him.

Suddenly, Li Yan became frantic, gripping his pajama pants tightly, his face filled with fear as he looked at Lu Lianning and cried, “No… I really can’t anymore… I’ll use my mouth… I’ll help you with my mouth, okay?”

“I didn’t say I wanted anything. I just said, let me see…”

But Li Yan wasn’t listening. Panicking, he scrambled backward, his voice rising as he continued to scream.

No matter how big the bed was, it still had edges. Li Yan’s unsteady movements caused his upper body to slip off, and with a “bang,” his head hit the corner of the nightstand.

Lu Lianning barely managed to grab him in time, stopping him from falling completely off the bed.

As Li Yan was pulled back, his vision darkened. His head felt muddled, and everything in his sight blurred. He couldn’t even describe the sensation at the back of his skull.

Lu Lianning was saying something through gritted teeth, but Li Yan couldn’t make out the words.

All he saw was Lu Lianning approaching, a shadow looming over him, and it looked as though he was raising his hand.

So, Li Yan quickly raised both hands to protect his head.

Lu Lianning’s hand froze midair, bewildered by Li Yan’s reflex to shield his head, as though he genuinely expected to be hit.

Had he ever hit him before?

Lu Lianning thought carefully. Yes—two years ago, he had whipped Li Yan with a belt.

The hand suspended in the air slowly clenched into a fist. Lu Lianning looked down at Li Yan, trembling beside him, arms wrapped around his head, and forced himself to suppress his emotions. “Move your hands. Let me see where you hit your head.”

“I’m not going to check down there anymore. Just let me look at your head.”

“You brought this on yourself, didn’t you?”

“Being ugly is one thing, but if you knock yourself stupid, you’ll be even more annoying.”

Lu Lianning rambled on, almost as if talking to himself. But in the end, he didn’t touch Li Yan’s body again.

“Move your hands. We’re not doing anything tonight.” He felt like he might really lose his temper if Li Yan didn’t cooperate.

This offer sounded like a tempting bargain. Slowly, Li Yan moved his hands away.

Lu Lianning leaned in closer, gently turning Li Yan’s head until it rested on his leg.

There was a large bump on the back of Li Yan’s head, clearly visible beneath his short hair.

Lu Lianning was extremely annoyed. “Why were you dodging! There’s no way that doesn’t hurt after knocking yourself like that!” His expression was grim as he scolded Li Yan further, “Tell me, what else can you do besides causing trouble for yourself all day!”