Zhou Xuying was a total pervert.
He forced He Qian to call his name during meals, over and over again. In fact, the first time he did this, He Qian suffered an unimaginable punishment.
He Qian took a deep breath, having never held much hope that Zhou Xuying would let him off easy. As Zhou Xuying opened the thermal container, He Qian bit his lip in shame.
“Zhou, Zhou Xuying.”
“Make your tone firmer, more indifferent.”
“Zhou Xuying.”
“Incorrect.”
“Zhou Xuying.”
“Too fawning.”
He Qian’s face turned cold. “Zhou Xuying, Zhou Xuying, Zhou Xuying, Zhou Xuying!”
He Qian called out with shifting tones until he finally sounded annoyed.
“He Qian,” Zhou Xuying responded.
Zhou Xuying had a pleasant voice. His Beijing accent was not heavy; he spoke very pure Mandarin with a low and sexy tone.
He Qian asked, “What is it?”
Zhou Xuying set down his spoon. The emotions in his eyes were on the verge of spiraling out of control, yet they were well hidden. Zhou Xuying slowly closed the lid of the porridge. “I have agreed to your request to go to school.”
Half a month ago, He Qian had raised the idea of attending university to Zhou Xuying. In his original world, He Qian was a student at the China University of Political Science and Law. He was one of the few high achieving elites in the Beijing circles who did not need to go abroad to bolster his credentials.
But everything changed after he arrived here. In this world, he had no identity, no parents who loved him, and no warm home. Even if he were kidnapped or his body dumped in the wilderness, no one would know who he was.
“China University of Political Science and Law. You will live off campus.”
Zhou Xuying deliberately emphasized the last words. The implication was self-evident: He Qian still had to remain a “caged bird.”
“Fine.”
He Qian had no right to refuse, but it did not matter. This would be a good start. He Qian felt a faint sense of anticipation.
Zhou Xuying pushed the thermal container aside, his left hand trembling slightly. As if he were immune to pain, he skillfully picked up a contract and began flipping through it. The watch strap on his wrist brushed against the paper, making a rustling sound.
He Qian watched Zhou Xuying in silence. His gaze shifted to the blood stained bandage on Zhou Xuying’s hand.
Zhou Xuying only ever sought out He Qian for intimacy. He Qian rarely spoke to Zhou Xuying, and when he did, it was mostly painful curses after being tormented. They almost never shared a calm conversation. Given such a relationship, why did Zhou Xuying save him last night, even at the cost of severing his own hand tendons?
He Qian’s thin lips moved slightly.
“I have given you three chances. Do not challenge my bottom line.”
Zhou Xuying sharpened his tone, which was rare. Those bone chilling words caused He Qian’s speech to catch in his throat, and he swallowed it back down. Zhou Xuying closed the document and pressed his large hand onto He Qian’s thigh. The force of his tightening fingers felt as though he might crush the man alive.
“If you run again next time, there will be a punishment.”
He Qian’s face turned a shade paler. Punishment from Zhou Xuying was something He Qian hardly dared to imagine. With palms covered in a layer of cold sweat, he left.
Three days later, Zhou Xuying fulfilled his promise and sent He Qian to study at the China University of Political Science and Law. He Qian did not try to escape again, but he had not given up. He realized clearly that he could not escape under Zhou Xuying’s nose in Beijing. Furthermore, he needed a degree from a prestigious university.
He wanted to become a lawyer. One day, He Qian would definitely send Zhou Xuying to court!
The class bell rang.
He Qian packed his books and walked toward the school gate. Every day after classes ended, he had to shed his identity as a student and return to the Zhou residence to be a “canary.”
Just as He Qian reached the main gate, Chen Ran chased after him holding some books. “He Qian! Wait a moment! Wait a moment!”
Chen Ran was He Qian’s classmate. He was outgoing and enthusiastic. Since He Qian had just transferred into the class, Chen Ran took extra care of him, and the two usually sat together during lectures.
“We took each other’s books by mistake,” Chen Ran said, smiling as he handed the book to He Qian.
He Qian checked it. “I am sorry.”
As they exchanged books, Chen Ran handed two oranges, which he had been carrying all afternoon, into He Qian’s arms. “Try these; they are very sweet.”
He Qian nodded in thanks. Chen Ran suddenly threw an arm around He Qian’s shoulder enthusiastically. This behavior was not strange; Chen Ran treated all his classmates this way.
“He Qian, where are you going?”
“Going back.”
“Being a Beijing local is great; you can live off campus.” Chen Ran smiled and looked at his phone with its cracked screen. “Oh, I have two tutoring sessions to get to. I am almost late, so I will head off first.”
Chen Ran waved at He Qian with a smile and ran off hurriedly. Not far away, the window of a Rolls Royce lowered. A wisp of white smoke drifted out. Zhou Xuying rubbed the square box in his fingers, his gaze darkening.
Zhou Xuying called He Qian, his tone unfriendly. “Get in the car.”
He Qian walked over quickly. As he opened the car door, Zhou Xuying stared at the oranges in his hand, his brow furrowing deeply.
“Throw them away,” Zhou Xuying said.
He Qian asked, “Why?”
He looked at the one and a half oranges in his hand, then at Zhou Xuying’s cold eyes. He deliberately ate them in front of Zhou Xuying and gripped the orange peels in his hand.
Zhou Xuying’s expression turned hideous.
Unsurprisingly, as soon as they arrived home, He Qian was subjected to punishment. It was relentless and frantic. His fair back was pressed against the wall, and his books lay scattered across the floor. The corners of He Qian’s eyes were flushed red, but he did not beg for mercy.
Zhou Xuying placed him on the sofa. After he had his fill, He Qian lifted his head wearily, his pupils unfocused as he looked at Zhou Xuying’s back.
Zhou Xuying was picking up the clothes from the floor. Under the cold white fluorescent light, the tattoos covering his back looked eerie. One half depicted a woman in red with a supple, boneless frame, her body partially floating in the clouds. The woman’s eyes were cold and sharp, with one eye covered by a yin yang mask. The other half was a “Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin” motif, with a yin yang mask tattooed onto the coffin. It was mysterious and unsettling.
He Qian’s hand rose weakly. He moved his thin lips with exhaustion. “Zhou Xuying.”
Zhou Xuying put on his shirt and sat back on the sofa. He placed He Qian’s head on his lap and ran his fingers through He Qian’s hair, stroking it.
“Speak.”
Zhou Xuying coldly picked up a cigarette from the table, held it between his lips, lit it, and exhaled smoke with a rogue like air.
“I want to find a job.”
“No,” Zhou Xuying refused immediately.
“I do not want to spend your money.”
“Why?”
“You are a rapist!”
He Qian’s tone was not soft at all. His voice carried thorns, stabbing into Zhou Xuying’s heart like a needle and catching his breath. He Qian wanted to send Zhou Xuying to prison. Therefore, the relationship between him and Zhou Xuying had to remain a one sided, forced one. If he spent Zhou Xuying’s money, the nature of it would change.
Zhou Xuying held the back of He Qian’s head with one hand and laid him back on the sofa. “I will not agree.”
He looked down at He Qian from above. His stern facial features tightened, and his body went rigid. Only after a long moment did Zhou Xuying soften his tone.
“I have to go abroad for a trip and will return in one week. During this time, do not let me find out that you have become close to any man. You know what kind of person I am. I will not hit you, but I have plenty of ways to torture others.”
Zhou Xuying stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, fastened his shirt cuff with one hand, and looked at the bruise on He Qian’s forehead.
“Apply some ice to your forehead,” Zhou Xuying said in a flat tone.
Even if he cared, he still would not grant He Qian his freedom. He could not let He Qian die in front of him again!