The night lamp cast dim, flickering shadows that gently draped over Lu Chi’s beautiful face. His eyelashes were long, the tips catching a faint golden glow. When he looked over with a soft smile, it gave off an illusion of gentleness.
Especially when his jaw was being held.
The oversized palm cradled two-thirds of his face. Lu Chi tilted his head, seemingly obedient as he leaned into that hand, then lowered his gaze and placed a feather-light kiss on the skin.
Soft and delicate.
Yet Liang Jiashu felt as if his palm had been burned.
He was the one gripping Lu Chi, but he was also the one unable to inflict any real pain.
Liang Jiashu stared at him for a long moment, emotions churning in the depths of his pitch-black eyes, though his voice betrayed none of it. “Take a guess,” he said.
Guess who those obscene toys on the table were meant for.
Lu Chi laughed again, peeled his hand off to take a glance at the metal table, then nestled his face right back into that palm, deliberately asking: “Liang Jiashu, do you really want to use them on me?”
Do you want to lock me up, cage me, control me?
His cheek pressed warmly and fearlessly against Liang Jiashu’s hand, intimate and soft. Liang Jiashu swallowed hard, but, after a long silence, he let out a slow, shaky breath.
…Lu Chi was always like that. No matter how wildly Liang Jiashu lost control, he remained entirely unaffected.
When he received candid photos of himself, he only glanced at them and casually put his phone down to keep eating. When sent groveling videos, he watched with interest, nodding and saving them like he was adding to a collection.
Text bombardments, nonstop calls, stalker-level threats… None of Liang Jiashu’s obsessive, insane tactics worked. Lu Chi looked delicate on the outside but was utterly calm and powerful underneath. In fact, he was the worst type of madman. Unshakable and completely unflappable.
Even now, as Liang Jiashu pinned him beneath the dim glow of a night lamp, Lu Chi simply smiled at him and naturally ordered to turn the lights on or off.
For the first time, Liang Jiashu didn’t know what to do.
If he could, he would cuff Lu Chi right on the spot, never let him pull that warm-and-cold, near-and-far act again. He even wanted to use those vulgar toys and force the truth out of him…
…What do you actually want?
Say it.
Whatever it was, Liang Jiashu was sure he could give it.
The lab was quiet as the two stood within a pool of light. Because of their close proximity, their shadows overlapped, looking like lovers leaning into one another. Maybe Lu Chi got tired of standing. He leaned against the metal table, silent for a moment, before suddenly speaking: “Liang Jiashu, can we talk?”
He figured maybe what he and Gong No.1 needed was a proper conversation.
Silent treatment was a bad approach. Lu Chi knew he’d been treating the protagonist group like soulless NPCs so far, which was precisely what allowed Liang Jiashu to spiral so far out of control.
Just like how he could coldly watch as Gong No.2 and the Main Shou suffered.
But Liang Jiashu was too obsessed, more wolf than dog. Let him freeze for long enough, and he’d sink his teeth right into your throat, seeking warmth.
Liang Jiashu paused. A few seconds later, the grip on Lu Chi’s jaw slowly loosened, though his strong arms still stayed locked around his waist.
“…Alright. Let’s talk”, he finally answered.
Lu Chi nodded as well. He searched for the right words and was just about to begin when…
“Wait.”
Liang Jiashu suddenly leaned down and swept aside the pile of vulgar toys cluttering the table, pushing them out of sight. Then, he pulled a fresh fleece blanket from the cabinet and laid it flat across the cold, empty metal surface. After that, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Lu Chi’s waist. With the ease of placing a porcelain doll, he lifted himup and gently set him down on the blanket, carefully positioning him.
Liang Jiashu glanced at the blanket to confirm it was enough to keep Lu Chi from getting cold, then let go with a neutral expression.
“Okay, go on.”
Lu Chi: “…”
The young man’s eyes were pitch black, his expression calm and natural as he didn’t seem to think anything about what he’d just done was unusual. But compared to wiring money, giving gifts, or lurking in the shadows to spy on him, that kind of quiet attentiveness felt more instinctive, like something done out of genuine affection.
Lu Chi stared at Liang Jiashu. After a pause, he suddenly, and somewhat inexplicably, patted the space beside him and asked: “Want to sit together?”
“…”
Liang Jiashu’s eyes flickered with a strange look. He shook his head before answering: “No need. I’m not tired.”
Lu Chi muttered under his breath: “I’m not tired either.”
“I know. You don’t act like this when you’re tired”, Liang Jiashu answered, without even a slight pause to think.
The light above them glowed warm and soft as Lu Chi blinked. After a few seconds, he lazily asked: “Oh yeah? And how do I act?”
Liang Jiashu glanced at him and replied in a flat voice: “You swing your legs when you walk. Your limbs look like they’re about to fall apart. Your eyelids droop like you’re annoyed. You subconsciously keep looking for something to lean on.” Thinking a bit more, he added, still expressionless: “But you’ve got long legs and a nice build, so it doesn’t look bad.”
He’d already noticed this last time at the FOM entrance. When Lu Chi was tired, he turned extremely lazy, like a plush toy whose metal frame had been yanked out. Or one of those tall inflatable tube guys swaying in the wind at the entrance of a mall. He looked like he could pass out and fall asleep right there, utterly boneless.
Of course, he was so good-looking that even as a “deflated” tube man, he’d still look amazing.
“…”
Lu Chi went silent for a long time, completely forgetting the original topic. Then he managed to squeeze out a question: “Is it that obvious?”
Surprisingly, Liang Jiashu shook his head again, answering: “Not really.”
He’d only noticed because he was watching Lu Chi every second of every day, constantly observing him, picking up on every subtle change.
The truth was, Lu Chi carried himself very well, probably a result of long-standing habits. Only occasionally did he drop his guard and let those little, careless moments slip through.
And Liang Jiashu absolutely adored those unguarded moments.
Or rather, he craved getting closer to the real Lu Chi. Craved peeling away the charming, always-in-control, ever-smiling surface and reaching the soul beneath it.
“…”
Before they knew it, the conversation had drifted far from its original point, as the tense atmosphere from earlier had dissolved into something lighter and more casual, like two friends chatting idly.
Their eyes met. Liang Jiashu looked into Lu Chi’s eyes and suddenly spoke: “Lu Chi, I’ve thought about it over and over.”
Lu Chi made a soft sound, waiting quietly for the young man to continue. “Thought about what?” he patiently asked.
“From the day we met until now, every conversation, every encounter, every single expression you’ve made…”
Lu Chi paused. Then he heard Liang Jiashu calmly ask: “Lu Chi, did I do something wrong?”
Is that why you suddenly grew cold and distant?
That past week, Liang Jiashu had been consumed by an unfamiliar, suffocating kind of frustration and darkness. That night at the nightclub, Lu Chi had already signed the agreement. Liang Jiashu had assumed that, at the very least, it meant Lu Chi had tacitly accepted his approach. After all, he’d looked at him with those soft eyes, followed him home, even bent down and kissed his fingertips, smiling with a gleam of sly delight.
Like a blooming, vibrant lily.
But after just one night, Lu Chi vanished without a word. All the messages, questions, and probing turned into meaningless stones tossed into a cold, silent ocean, never to receive a response.
At his most desperate moment, Liang Jiashu even stood alone outside Lu Chi’s apartment in the dead of night, behind icy concrete walls, trying to imagine what the person inside was doing.
Was he asleep? Preparing his lesson plans?
Or maybe he’d just stepped out of the shower, too hot to bother with a hair dryer, humming softly while rubbing a towel over his damp hair.
As for the neighbors surrounding his apartment? Of course, Liang Jiashu had already “kindly invited” them to move out as soon as possible. So in the echoing, empty corridor, he could stand motionless, picturing the door swinging open and Lu Chi lifting a brow, flashing him a lazy smile.
The silence was stifling, and Lu Chi looked at Liang Jiashu. Because the metal table wasn’t very tall, sitting down made him a full head shorter than Liang Jiashu for once. But when he heard the young man’s question, he looked up at him, eyes wide in disbelief, a smile tinged with exasperation.
“You tell me”, he said. “Liang Jiashu, I assumed you had at least some understanding of the law. Following people and secretly taking photos of them is illegal. Beating someone until they vomit blood and fracture bones is illegal. Forcing people to record videos apologizing on their knees is also illegal.”
“Everything you’ve done these past few days… All of it is illegal. And wrong.”
Lu Chi looked at him, recalling that ridiculous organ donation agreement Liang Jiashu had sent, and felt a headache coming on. He sighed, rare for him, and spoke with the tone of an older brother earnestly lecturing someone: “If I went to the police and handed them the evidence you sent, you’d already be in jail waiting to be sentenced. Got that?”
This might be a fictional world, but it still had laws. The protagonist was only twenty, never mistreated or abused, so why had he gone full outlaw?!
Lu Chi looked directly at Liang Jiashu. His smile was gone now, replaced by the stern demeanor of a senior correcting a wayward student. “This is what I meant when I said we should talk”, he continued. “Liang Jiashu, you can’t keep doing this.” Then, he reached over and casually picked up a leather whip with sharp metal barbs from the table, then lifted an oversized metal gag. While frowning, Lu Chi asked: “Do you think this is normal?!”
Those things had long passed the realm of “kink.” They were borderline torture devices, ah!
“All because someone you’ve known for less than two months went silent for a week, you start stalking me, going off the rails, dragging me here, grabbing me, restraining me, then laying out a full display of toys like this?!”
“You think you’re clever just because A University has blind spots in its surveillance?!”
As soon as Lu Chi finished speaking, Liang Jiashu frowned in return. “I wasn’t going to use these on you”, he answered calmly. “They’re for you to use, to vent your anger on me.”
You see those pink, fluffy, padded handcuffs? That’s the only thing I chose for you to use…
…But was that even the point?! Wasn’t the real issue that everything was straight-up illegal?!
Lu Chi shut his eyes, then suddenly grabbed Liang Jiashu by the hair and yanked him down until their faces were nearly level, forcing eye contact. He then looked him over from head to toe, voice frosty as he said, “Liang Jiashu, stop dodging the point. Violence is the lowest form of release. Only the most pathetic people resort to using force and abuse.”
He still held that whip in one hand, its sinister black leather coils loosely wrapped between pale fingers. Under the light, faint violet veins stood out beneath his skin like streaks of crystal. His voice was cold, as smooth and hard as jade. Lowering his gaze, he gently tapped Liang Jiashu’s cheek with the barbed end of the whip.
“If I were truly angry, I’d have told you to get lost, not let you hang around, shamelessly clinging to my heels like some desperate dog.”
Clatter.
Lu Chi tossed the whip to the floor. His eyes were cold and piercing, a beauty so intense it was frightening, sharp and biting.
It was the first time he’d shown that side of himself to Liang Jiashu. In truth, Lu Chi never had a good temper. After all, he grew up in an orphanage. He’d been adopted three times… and abandoned three times.
The families who adopted him were nice enough. There was no abuse, no mistreatment, and they were happy when they brought him home. Since he was cute, they never treated him badly.
Until they had biological children of their own.
Human love and energy were finite.
In his first home, he lasted a year and a half. The second, eight months. The third, just three. Each time, he’d leave the orphanage holding someone’s hand, only to return alone, dragging a suitcase.
Because of a bizarre rumor that he could bless pregnancy upon infertile couples, some desperate people even came to adopt him for that reason. In the end, the orphanage director took pity on him and stopped letting anyone take him away.
To be fair, none of it was truly anyone’s fault, but Lu Chi hated the looks from the neighbors. Especially the looks he got from nosy middle-aged men, with their mix of sympathy, morbid curiosity, and the frightening touch of something else… Those judgmental, condescending, deep, and perverted stares only made him want to punch them.
So he did punch them.
And got both his eyes blackened in return.
Unwilling to take it lying down, he started collecting bottles after school, selling comic books, and peddling cigarette boxes, using the money to enroll in a martial arts class for the summer. By the end of it, he led a gang of kids to fight back, beating those disgusting unemployed uncles black and blue.
And when everything was over, he even pretended to cry for sympathy, earning himself the favor of kind mothers everywhere.
But by the time he grew up and entered the entertainment industry for money, he finally had fans who truly loved him.He cherished that sincerity… Held onto it like a bird that never stopped flying.
Too desperate to ever find a safe island to land on.
He kept flying and flying.
Until one day—smack!
He dropped from the sky, just like that.
What a disgraceful way to die.
Lu Chi took a deep breath and forced himself to focus again. He looked seriously at Liang Jiashu and said, “Did you understand what I just said? Next time you buy this kind of stuff, I’ll shove it into your mouth myself.”
Under the soft light, he looked down at the young man, a warning from above. The white shirt hugged his narrow waist, and because of the way he was sitting, the fabric clung to his skin, revealing the faint, sculpted lines of his abs.
His voice was cold.
His expression was wicked.
…And it was hot as hell.
Liang Jiashu stared at him, his gaze turning predatory and almost feral, like he wanted to devour Lu Chi whole with just his eyes, searing him inch by inch. But amid the heat consuming his rationality, Liang Jiashu caught on to one particular word.
“Next time?”
There was still… a next time?!
He thought Lu Chi would be utterly disgusted with him after today… after everything he’d done. That whole week, he had no idea what was wrong, and he tried everything, but nothing worked. He even considered breaking into Lu Chi’s apartment, kidnapping him, and locking him up in his own home.
But when he stood in front of that door, listening to Lu Chi humming softly as he towel-dried his hair… That clear voice, rising gently from behind the wall…
He stayed there, head down, quietly listening. Then turned and left, without saying a word.
Because more than anything, Liang Jiashu wanted Lu Chi to be happy.
Always happy.
So he returned to A University, watching him openly from across the classroom. He would’ve kept his distance, if not for the burning, fevered gazes from the students… If not for seeing a new message from Gu Yanyan while hiding in the dark.
He couldn’t bear the thought of Lu Chi looking at anyone else.
As for the props he gathered, they were real. However, they weren’t intended for their perverted purposes. They were meant to pile in his lab, so he could stand there, alone, fantasizing that Lu Chi was next to him.
Practicing his apology to the air.
And once he was done apologizing… He’d start over, pursue him again.
If Lu Chi refused, he’d keep chasing.
Even if it killed him.
The lab was silent. Lu Chi looked at him and sighed, his brows raised in exasperation. “Yeah, there’s still a next time”, he answered.
The boy had gone completely insane just from one week of silence. If this kept up, the entire world might as well collapse, and they could just lie down and wait for the end. So Lu Chi looked at him and winked playfully, teasing: “Otherwise, what if you go telling everyone I turn boneless when I’m tired?”
Under the warm night lamp, Lu Chi gave a light, stunning smile.
Was it an illusion?
Those pale brown eyes were so bright. When they looked over, Liang Jiashu could feel the heat rushing through his blood, his heart ready to combust.
If Lu Chi were like a bird, utterly free, then Liang Jiashu was destined to be an island with long legs, chasing after him forever.
Suddenly, Liang Jiashu stepped forward, reaching out to gently grasp Lu Chi’s wrist. The man didn’t pull away. Instead, he stayed still, letting him hold it. His smooth, warm skin pressed into Liang Jiashu’s palm, his wrist slender and sharp-boned.
Liang Jiashu stared down at him for a long time, then softly asked: “Why?”
Lu Chi raised a brow, about to kick his shin and tell him not to push his luck. But the next second, something seemed to occur to him…
Liang Jiashu paused, watching as Lu Chi tilted his head, suddenly intrigued, and started rifling through that shameful pile of toys. After a moment, he pulled something out: a thin, sleek, leather-and-lace accessory…
A black thigh garter.
The kind that wraps around your upper leg.
Lu Chi turned to him, pinching the garter lightly between two fingers, then dropped it gently into Liang Jiashu’s palm. A few seconds later, he lightly scratched the calluses in his palm with the tip of one finger, asking: “Young Master Liang, weren’t you the one who wanted to use this on me?”
He smiled, voice like a hook…
As he deliberately called him Young Master Liang.
………………………………..
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