Gu Ziheng stared coldly at Chi Mingzhou for a moment, then turned his gaze to Chi Chen and asked, “A-Chen, could I stay at the Chi residence for two days?”
Being looked at this way by his crush, Chi Chen’s brain short-circuited for a moment. He didn’t even notice Chi Mingzhou’s displeased glare and, jumping ahead of Chi Mingzhou, agreed without hesitation, his voice full of joy, “Of course!”
Chi Mingzhou’s expression stiffened. He turned to look at Chi Chen with dark, unreadable eyes.
When Chi Chen caught his gaze, the smile on his face faltered.
Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Why is Uncle angry?
The shrewdness he usually displayed in front of Feng Mian had vanished completely at this moment.
Chi Mingzhou narrowed his eyes and said quietly, “It’s almost lunchtime. A-Chen, go buy us some lunch.”
Chi Chen, not suspecting anything, took out his phone to order delivery, asking, “What would you and Ziheng like to eat?”
Chi Mingzhou gave him a mirthless smile, “I don’t want delivery. Go to that new shop on the west side of the city and get some takeout. No need to rush back.”
Chi Chen opened his mouth to ask why, but the words died in his throat. He realized belatedly that Chi Mingzhou was trying to get rid of him because he had something to say to Gu Ziheng in private.
Sensing the impatience in Chi Mingzhou’s eyes, he didn’t dare to linger any longer. He nodded hurriedly and rushed out of the ward.
Although he wasn’t much younger than Chi Mingzhou, he both respected and feared this uncle of his.
Once he left, the room fell silent.
Gu Ziheng no longer needed to maintain his fake smile; he looked at Chi Mingzhou, who was standing not far away, with full alertness.
Feng Mian’s face was as pale as paper. Seeing Chi Mingzhou approaching step by step, his eyes filled with terror, and his body trembled violently. The horrifying scenes from yesterday flooded his mind, the visceral pain almost tearing him apart.
He found himself holding his breath, staring fixedly at the approaching man. With the IV needle in the back of his hand, he had nowhere to run.
Though Chi Mingzhou was looking at Feng Mian, he spoke to Gu Ziheng, “How aggrieved you must feel, Mr. Gu. To get close to your crush, you’re actually willing to smile at a second-generation heir you’ve always looked down upon. My foolish nephew is so happy right now; if he knew the truth, he would probably be devastated.”
Smiling faintly, he reached the side of the hospital bed and slowly raised his hand to stroke Feng Mian’s cheek, murmuring, “You both went to the same high school and university…” His hand slid down, following Feng Mian’s neck until it reached his collar.
The body beneath his palm was trembling faintly.
Feng Mian looked up at him, eyes unblinking, his entire body rigid clearly terrified to the extreme.
A strange, twisted smile surfaced in Chi Mingzhou’s eyes. Looking at Gu Ziheng across the bed, he suddenly used force, violently tearing open Feng Mian’s collar. The sound of ripping fabric accompanied Feng Mian’s gasp of alarm, echoing through the ward!
Seeing the scene before him, Gu Ziheng’s pupils contracted sharply!
On Feng Mian’s porcelain-white skin were spots of hickeys and bite marks. His chest was even more startling; bloody, deep tooth marks were everywhere, as if someone had carved alien desires into white jade—a scene both bloody and wanton.
Chi Mingzhou’s hand rested unscrupulously on those marks, pressing down just enough to draw a cry of pain from Feng Mian.
Chi Mingzhou looked at the stunned Gu Ziheng, almost provocatively. “Have you ever done something like this?”
Feng Mian’s eyes were bloodshot, the despair in them like a tidal wave threatening to drown him.
He pushed against Chi Mingzhou’s hand, choking back a sob. Ignoring the IV needle in his hand, he tried to pull his ruined clothes together in a panic. The needle ripped out during the struggle, and blood from the injection site began to stain the white sheets. Feng Mian pushed frantically at Chi Mingzhou, begging in a hoarse, broken voice, “Let go! Let go!”
He didn’t even notice the blood from his hand staining his white shirt. With his unsightly marks exposed to others, it felt as though his last shred of dignity had been torn away. Gu Ziheng’s look of shock felt like invisible hands shredding the little self-respect he had left.
Chi Mingzhou gripped his collar tight. Nearly breaking down, Feng Mian didn’t think twice before sinking his teeth into the back of Chi Mingzhou’s hand. Chi Mingzhou pulled his hand away and delivered a brutal slap across Feng Mian’s face. With a sharp slap, Feng Mian’s head was whipped to the side. His mind went blank, and everything before his eyes blurred.
Chi Mingzhou reached out and grabbed his jaw, his every word dripping with coldness. “Acting so chaste now—why don’t you tell him how you spent yesterday?”
He stared at Feng Mian with a cruel smile. “Yesterday, your fluids were all over me. I should have recorded you looking like that trash to enjoy later, and to let Mr. Gu see exactly what kind of slut the person at the tip of his heart is in private!”
Feng Mian’s cheek was red and swollen, tears overflowing from his eyes. Looking at the man before him in despair, he spoke in a hoarse voice, “Just kill me… Chi Mingzhou, just kill me…”
Chi Mingzhou laughed grimly. “A wretch like you… killing you would be letting you off too easy. A fate worse than death is exactly what you deserve.”
Gu Ziheng lunged up and threw a heavy punch toward Chi Mingzhou’s face, his anger no longer contained.
Chi Mingzhou was caught off guard and struck. The force made him lose his grip on Feng Mian, and he stumbled back, his face momentarily numb, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
Trembling with rage, his eyes bloodshot, Gu Ziheng shouted, “Chi Mingzhou, that’s enough! What does Feng Mian owe you?! When you were in the orphanage, didn’t you promise you would spoil Mian-mian like your own younger brother? How can you face what you said back then by treating him like this now?!”
Back when Chi Mingzhou was living out in the world and grew up in the orphanage, Feng Mian was there too. At that time, the Gu family had donated to that orphanage several times. As the future sole heir of the Gu family, Gu Ziheng had visited a few times, becoming close with Chi Mingzhou, who was around his age.
Back then, Chi Mingzhou was gentle and bright, taking care of Feng Mian, who was much younger, like a doting older brother. Even after leaving the orphanage, he would occasionally come back to volunteer for Feng Mian’s sake. He hadn’t shown a shred of the darkness and ruthlessness he had now; the current Chi Mingzhou seemed like a completely different person from back then!
Chi Mingzhou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring with ill intent at Gu Ziheng, who was standing up for Feng Mian.
There wasn’t a hint of anger on his face, but the smile at the corner of his lips made one’s blood run cold. He said softly, “He doesn’t deserve to be treated well by me. He has no heart.”
“Gu Ziheng, everything I do now is just what he owes me. He, Feng Mian, deserves it!”