Chi Yu’s sudden movement startled Feng Mian, who hurriedly retreated a step and pulled his collar shut. He looked at him uneasily, his lips parting as he was about to speak, but Chi Yu beat him to it.
“Don’t be nervous. We’re under the same roof, and young men are full of vigor. My cousin isn’t exactly a gentleman, so it’s no surprise that something happened between you two.”
Feng Mian’s lips moved, and he turned his head away, unable to find the words.
That wasn’t left by Chi Chen…
He didn’t dare to dwell on it and hurriedly explained, “Those words were things your cousin told me to say. I didn’t mean to talk about you behind your back.”
He knew full well that of everyone in the Chi household, Chi Yu was the one who despised him the most.
Chi Yu appeared to be a sunny young man, but in reality, his nature was perverse, tyrannical, and prone to bullying the weak. He scoffed at Feng Mian’s arrival; while he acted like a well-behaved junior in front of others, he hurled verbal abuse at him in private. The things he had just said about liking Chi Yu would likely make any sane person nauseous.
Feng Mian felt completely exhausted.
He wasn’t doing this by choice, yet he was being kicked around like a ball, loathed by everyone, with no room to resist.
Chi Yu said nothing, only staring at him with deep, dark eyes, a smile of unknown meaning playing on his lips.
Feng Mian felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze. Seeing Chi Yu silent, he lowered his head and tried to pass by him. Chi Yu didn’t block him, but after Feng Mian had walked a few steps away, Chi Yu called out softly.
“Brother Feng Mian.”
Forced to stop, Feng Mian turned around with stiff movements to look back at him.
Chi Yu’s eyes curved into crescents, his lips parting slightly. “My cousin is often away from home; you are welcome to come find me anytime at night.”
He didn’t state it explicitly, but they weren’t children; both understood exactly what he meant by “coming to find him” at night. Feng Mian’s hands at his sides clenched into tight fists. The feeling of being insulted made him incredibly furious, making it difficult even to breathe.
What do they take me for? I am a living person with dignity, not some prostitute who spreads his legs for just anyone!
He had a thousand words trapped in his heart, yet he couldn’t say a single one.
In the eyes of the Chi family, he was inferior. Nobody cared about his dignity; if he displeased them, being beaten was considered normal. He had no status whatsoever to negotiate with them.
Remaining silent, he lowered his head and walked toward the exit of the backyard.
He wanted to take the back stairs up to his room, but upon reaching the door, he saw a familiar silhouette.
He kept his head down, trying to pretend he didn’t see him, but the man spoke first.
“Your eyes are red. Knowing the Chi family agreed to the marriage, are you so happy that you’ve cried tears of joy? Truly a pathetic bitch who will do anything to climb the social ladder.”
The man’s voice was deep, unhurried, and refined, even as the vulgar words spilled from his lips.
Feng Mian lifted his gaze to look at him and stopped in his tracks.
Chi Mingzhou walked slowly toward him, watching the tear-streaked eye sockets of Feng Mian with mockery. With an ambiguous touch, he reached out to wipe the tears from the corner of Feng Mian’s eyes. “If I hadn’t proposed the marriage to the Old Master, he would never have agreed to it. As compensation for the many nights I’ve slept with you, are you satisfied?”
Their interaction was intimate, yet Chi Mingzhou’s words made Feng Mian’s heart turn cold.
Feng Mian looked at him in disbelief. “You…”
Chi Mingzhou’s expression showed no fluctuation, as if this meant nothing to him.
With the relationship of a marriage alliance cemented, Feng Mian was destined to be controlled by the Chi family forever. Should he ever do anything to disgrace the Chi family, his fate would inevitably be worse than death.
Chi Mingzhou was undoubtedly forcing him into a dead end!
Feng Mian’s lips moved, wanting to speak, but it felt as if something was lodged in his throat, making his eyes ache and burn, unable to recover for a long time.
Warm tears rolled down his cheeks. He stared blankly at the man before him, his voice distorted and hoarse. “Chi Mingzhou, do you hate me that much? You hate me so much… that you want me to suffer a miserable death?”
Watching his tear-stained face, Chi Mingzhou remained unmoved, a cold, thin smile playing on his lips. “Have you ever thought in your whole life that we would meet again? That the orphaned child from the orphanage who had nothing would become the long-lost son of the Chi family Old Master?”
“A pathetic bitch who climbs the social ladder like you deserves a miserable death.”
Gu Ziheng had always believed that Chi Mingzhou’s various kindnesses to Feng Mian at the orphanage were those of an older brother toward a younger one. Only Chi Mingzhou knew they had been in a relationship for a long time.
He was seven years older than Feng Mian. He watched Feng Mian grow up step by step, waiting patiently, waiting until his lover could handle him.
When he reached adulthood, the orphanage no longer had the obligation to provide for them. After leaving, he would occasionally come back to volunteer just to take care of Feng Mian. Back then, he didn’t have the means to take Feng Mian away, so he could only wait.
He wanted to give Feng Mian a better life. The night before Feng Mian was to leave the orphanage, it happened to be Feng Mian’s birthday. He had prepared a cake for him, intending to take him to their new home, but that night, everything changed.
Feng Mian’s father had found him and adopted Feng Mian directly. The person who had always been gentle and obedient in his eyes suddenly lashed out at him with vicious insults, knocking the cake he had spent so long preparing onto the floor.
All of his sacrifices over such a long time had been nothing more than manipulation.
Looking at the tear tracks on Feng Mian’s face, he hooked his lips into a smile. “For all these years, I’ve been watching your every move. Seeing you live a life worse than death puts my mind at ease. It really is karma—a pathetic bitch like you won’t have a good end. Everything you have now is what you deserve.”
Feng Mian looked at him with red eyes. Their gazes met, and everything had become a thing of the past.
Feng Mian remained silent for a moment, then asked slowly, “If I died, would you stop hating me?”
Chi Mingzhou spat out four words: “Death clears all debts.”
Feng Mian lowered his head in silence, replied with an “um,” and walked past Chi Mingzhou, his lips parting to whisper in a voice so weak only he could hear.
“Between us, the debts will soon be cleared…”
Chi Mingzhou watched his back, his eyes narrowing, a strange expression gradually rippling within his gaze…
Feng Mian returned to his upstairs bedroom and locked the door from the inside.
He dragged the nightstand over to block the door and hung a glass cup on the door handle.
An inescapable sense of helplessness swirled within Feng Mian.
A small nightstand, a single glass cup—how could these possibly stop Chi Mingzhou? Yet, this was the only way he could find even the slightest sense of comfort.
He let out a weary sigh, wiped his face, turned, walked to the bed, and slowly closed his eyes.
A tiny drone hovered outside the window, recording everything.
Chi Yu leaned back lazily on the bedroom sofa, watching the scene on the screen. He couldn’t help but frown, a flash of confusion crossing his eyes.