“Who said I was going to choose him as a slave?” Li Miao chuckled softly. “Security, throw this rule-breaker out.”
The entire hall erupted in uproar. No one had expected things to turn out like this.
The gloom in Shen Yu’s eyes faded a little.
At the order, the security guards immediately stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Luo by the arm.
“Let’s see who dares!” Shen Xingze looked a little disheveled as he grabbed Jiang Luo’s other arm.
Was Li Miao trying to humiliate him in front of everyone?
“Let him stay, and I’ll agree to one condition of yours.” Shen Xingze looked up at Li Miao, his tone indulgent.
“Who do you think you are?” Li Miao smiled. “Security, throw this troublemaker out too.”
At the masquerade ball, the king’s orders were above all else. The security guards no longer hesitated and threw Jiang Luo and Shen Xingze out of the venue together.
After the nuisance was gone, Li Miao turned his finger and pointed at Shen Yu, lifting his chin.
“I choose him.”
One standing, one sitting, the two stared at each other across the distance.
Shen Yu looked at Li Miao for a while. Under the gazes of the crowd, some eager for a show, some pitying and sympathetic, he silently walked onto the stage.
Shen Yu stopped in front of Li Miao, slowly bent his knees, knelt before Li Miao, and under Li Miao’s smiling gaze, removed the corsage and offered it with both hands.
Li Miao took the corsage from Shen Yu’s hands, idly toying with it between his fingers, and used the toe of his glossy black leather shoe to tilt Shen Yu’s chin up.
In front of everyone, Li Miao leaned down slightly, his tone ambiguous. “What should you call me?”
In front of everyone, he spoke a secret only the two of them could understand.
Shen Yu’s eyes were dark and deep. “Master.”
“That’s way too disrespectful.” A special admittee below the stage went pale, a little frightened.
Another special admittee sighed. “No kidding. All you can say is that this guy’s unlucky.”
“I want to patrol my territory.” Li Miao looked at Shen Yu leisurely, the end of his voice curling like a hook.
Shen Yu knew Li Miao definitely didn’t mean something as simple as accompanying him on a lap around the venue.
Very obediently, he turned his back to Li Miao, knelt on one knee, and raised one hand beside him, palm up.
Li Miao stood up, stepped his leather shoe onto Shen Yu’s thigh, placed the hand wearing the black gemstone ring into Shen Yu’s palm, and with that leverage, sat firmly astride Shen Yu’s shoulders.
After confirming that Li Miao was seated securely, Shen Yu stood up steadily.
Amid everyone’s cheers and salutations, the king of the ball rode around the venue once on the slave’s neck.
Li Miao’s methods for tormenting people were endless; before he had even settled down for a moment, he came up with a new trick.
The kneeling figure had his hands tied behind his back, full of sexual tension, and looked up slightly at the person on the throne.
Li Miao held a bunch of plump grapes in his hand, his arm slightly raised, the grapes hanging above Shen Yu.
“Here, have some grapes.” Li Miao smiled wickedly.
Shen Yu’s eyes were very deep, like a whirlpool; once you looked in, it was hard to get out.
Li Miao deliberately held the grapes high, so Shen Yu could only tip his head back to eat them, the beautiful line of his neck stretching upward.
“Fuck, he really knows how to play.”
“Who is this special admittee? Does anyone know him?”
“What? You want to fight Li Miao for him?”
At the sound of Li Miao’s name, everyone below the stage who had been itching to make a move immediately cooled off.
Shen Yu finally bit into a grape and was just about to lower his head.
“Don’t move.” Li Miao’s voice rang out.
Shen Yu paused and obediently held that pose.
Li Miao had someone bring over a screen.
The next scene could only be seen by him alone.
Through the screen made of soft silk gauze, Li Miao and Shen Yu’s silhouettes were hazy and indistinct.
A black lace ribbon blocked Shen Yu’s eyes.
The long ribbon wound around Shen Yu’s eyes, hanging in the air and fluttering slightly with each breath.
Losing his vision made Shen Yu catch his breath.
“Open your mouth.”
Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, then obediently opened his mouth.
The next second, red wine fell through the air into Shen Yu’s mouth.
With his vision gone, his other senses became sharper. Shen Yu could clearly feel the wine slowly trickling down his chin.
From Li Miao’s angle, the visual impact was even stronger.
The dark red liquid flowed down Shen Yu’s neck, all the way down, disappearing into the deep V-neck.
His beautiful Adam’s apple kept bobbing with each swallow.
His chest rose and fell, and the crystal-clear wine reflected the light.
When the lace ribbon was lifted away, Shen Yu’s gaze was already somewhat unfocused.
He looked thoroughly bullied.
Li Miao hooked Shen Yu’s chin, his tone proud. “I really like you like this.”
Li Miao leaned down slightly, his warm breath brushing Shen Yu’s ear. “Remember, this side of you, only I can see.”
After the ball ended, everyone went home satisfied.
Only Shen Yu, like a fool, followed closely behind Li Miao.
Head lowered, Shen Yu stepped deliberately, one step at a time, on Li Miao’s shadow.
Like it, don’t like it. Like it, don’t like it…
Li Miao suddenly stopped, and Shen Yu, failing to react in time, almost ran into him.
“What is wrong with you today?” Li Miao looked at Shen Yu with scrutiny.
The major villain in the book couldn’t possibly be a masochist, could he?
What was wrong with him? Shen Yu wanted to know that too.
He still couldn’t forget the doctor’s meaningful expression yesterday when he took that school uniform and the matching perfume to see him.
The day before, at the hospital.
“There is no difference.” The doctor held the test sheet in his hand. “The difference between these two scents is almost nonexistent. At the very least, the human sense of smell cannot detect it.”
“But why does only the scent on the clothes work?” Shen Yu frowned.
The doctor glanced at Shen Yu. “This scent belongs to a person, doesn’t it?”
Shen Yu nodded.
The doctor set down the test sheet and said earnestly, “Is it possible that your emotional anchor is not the scent, but this person?”
“You said before that your manic agitation is linked to this scent, right? That smelling the scent makes the manic agitation worse? Then it’s very likely because you subconsciously dislike this person. Just stay away from him.”
Shen Yu said, “Then… what if the manic agitation only eases when I’m close to him?”
“Then it’s the opposite.” The doctor looked at Shen Yu, his expression turning meaningful.
“You like him.”
Even though he had already guessed as much from the doctor’s words, Shen Yu still felt struck by lightning at that moment.
He… likes… Li Miao?
What a joke.
Yet Li Miao, that madman, seemed to have guessed something and always kept him at arm’s length, admiring the way he lost control of his emotions while struggling to keep them in check.
Li Miao had just been active, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. The scent on him was even stronger, making him… want to gather him into his arms, into his flesh and bone.
Looking at Shen Yu’s heavy gaze, Li Miao realized for the first time so clearly that he was the biggest villain in the book.
“You…”
The next second, Li Miao was suddenly pulled into Shen Yu’s arms.
It usually didn’t feel this way, but Shen Yu’s shoulders were surprisingly much broader than Li Miao’s, easily enough to wrap someone up.
Li Miao instinctively wanted to struggle free, but Shen Yu’s arms were like iron; there was no breaking free.
Shen Yu closed his eyes and buried his face in the hollow of Li Miao’s neck.
At last, he felt long-lost peace.
Fine, he would admit it. What attracted him perhaps wasn’t the scent of citrus, but… Li Miao.
“Shen Yu? Shen Yu!!”
No one knew how long had passed before Shen Yu finally came to, and Li Miao’s anger had already burned to its peak.
“Slap!”
Shen Yu’s face turned to the side.
Not a trace of a smile remained on Li Miao’s face.
Damn it, he hated this feeling of being out of control and at someone else’s mercy.
Especially after knowing he would die at this person’s hands in the future.
And that author he had never even met face-to-face… what right did they have to decide his life or death with just a few words?
“Who do you think you are?” Li Miao’s eyes were ice-cold as he pried Shen Yu’s chin up to make him look at him.
He did like Shen Yu’s face, but that didn’t mean Shen Yu could act recklessly in front of him.
A wild dog needs training, but that didn’t mean his patience was infinite. A dog that bit people, he would not keep.