The body lay quietly on the bed, and the three people in the room remained silent.
After a moment of silence, Lu Zixi was the first to break it: “Did you notice anything at the scene?”
“It was too dark, I didn’t notice anything,” Lu Yue’s expression obscured by the dimness, as if the air around him was tainted with gloom.
Lu Zixi knew Lu Yue wasn’t lying and asked softly, “I think we should call the police first, let them come to the scene and see if they can find anything.”
Lu Yue suddenly looked up, “We can’t call the police!”
At the drop of his words, the assistant standing aside flashed a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Lu Zixi was startled by his reaction, “Why not call the police?”
Lu Yue looked at him, “The company is in a critical period right now. We can’t let the media know about this.”
“What about He Lang? Don’t you suspect this wasn’t an accident?”
Lu Yue calmly said, “That’s why I want to ask you for a favor. I know you have many friends at the police station. Can you ask them for help?”
Lu Zixi looked at Lu Yue’s pleading eyes, smiled helplessly, and there was a strong sense of pity in his eyes. “You know I won’t refuse your request.”
Lu Yue turned his head away, aware of Lu Zixi’s obvious gaze, unable to respond, especially with He Lang lying here.
Having agreed to Lu Yue’s request, Lu Zixi was about to leave, but when his eyes caught sight of the bruised ankle inadvertently exposed from Lu Yue’s pants cuffs, he immediately turned back.
“How did you injure your foot?” Lu Zixi held Lu Yue’s leg, and lifted the broken cuff of his pants. The normally fair and slender ankle was now swollen, bulging painfully under the light.
Perhaps applying too much force, Lu Yue couldn’t help but emit a cold hiss, causing Lu Zixi to immediately release his grip, though his palm still cradled the pale foot.
“I accidentally sprained my ankle on the way back,” Lu Yue said, instinctively struggling. “I’m fine.”
“You’re injured like this and still say you’re fine!” Lu Zixi couldn’t bear the pain in his heart but didn’t want to scare Lu Yue either. “Do you have ice at home? I’ll help you apply a cold compress.”
“No need, I’ll take care of it myself later. You should go back.” Lu Yue hurriedly declined. To be honest, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with his foot injury right now, and he didn’t want Lu Zixi to do these things for him.
“Xiao An, I just want to help you.”
It’s really annoying.
The tall assistant clenched his sleeve to vent the frustration deep inside, then approached calmly, stopping in front of Lu Zixi, his lips curling into a perfect arc. His voice was smooth as he said, “Mr. Lu, I’ll take care of Mr. Gu. It’s late, let me escort you out.”
He Lang’s gaze remained fixed on the hand supporting Lu Yue’s foot by Lu Zixi until that hand let go, then his gaze slowly shifted away.
“Well, then, I’ll leave first.” Lu Zixi glanced at Lu Yue one last time, noticing that he was still staring blankly at the body lying on the bed. He sighed and then turned to leave.
After seeing off the guest, the tall assistant returned to the room.
In the light, the young man’s back was hunched, though he was only thirty years old. He became like a lamp that’s run out of oil and read to die. His face resembled a frost-covered leaf, pale and desolate.
His gaze lingered on one spot, following it to a cold corpse.
It was his own body.
Quite ironic.
The man’s mouth opened slightly, but then quickly closed it again quietly.
“Do you need me to apply cold compress for you?” the man, as his assistant, asked earnestly.
“Thank you, it’s not necessary,” Lu Yue replied, pursing his lips.
“Please don’t mention this matter to anyone,” it took a long time before the young man with his back turned slowly spoke, but his voice was like an old pendulum clock, hoarse and low.
The man obediently complied, “Yes, Mr. Gu, I’ll head back now.”
The black hand on the wall clock had already pointed to twelve when the assistant reached the door, but it was only then that the young man behind him suddenly said, “It’s dark out, you should stay here for the night.”
Lu Yue knew Zhou He’s address, and driving back from here would take at least two hours.
“Well, thank you, Mr. Gu.”
As soon as the man stepped out of the bedroom, Lu Yue’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly. It’s not easy to sit there with a dead expression for a long time!
Looking at the body lying on the bed again, the first thing Lu Yue wanted to do was to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth. He had actually kissed a dead person! It was really disgusting!
No, he needed to rinse his mouth now!
Just as Lu Yue was about to act, a warning sound from 001 immediately pierced his mind.
[Host, host! Now is not the time to relax! Don’t ruin your character setting!]
Lu Yue gritted his teeth inwardly, [Even though He Lang is gone, do I still need to pretend?]
001 weakly said: [Even though He Lang is not here, he installed surveillance here.]
Lu Yue’s eye twitched, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
When did he install surveillance?
001: [To be precise, surveillance was installed in every room.]
Lu Yue felt like dying inside: [When did he do it?]
001: [Just now.]
At this moment, Lu Yue wished he could whip He Lang’s corpse.
But when he thought about the consequences, he restrained himself.
Since he wanted to play, then let’s play along.
In the darkness, the faint glow from the phone screen illuminated the surroundings. The soul that should have passed away was now observing every move on the screen through the assistant’s eyes.
The person on the screen was Lu Yue.
He seemed to have just come out of the bathroom, with damp hair hanging on his forehead, like black feathers dampened by rain.
The young man was dressed in dark blue pajamas, with the collar wide open, revealing a large expanse of his slender neck and snow-white chest, making people wonder.
The man in front of the screen had a dark look in his eyes. He naturally knew how delicious the body in front of him was. It was a pity that beneath that harmless and gentle face lay such a cruel heart.
Such a gentle and restrained person could actually betray him and be intimate with other men.
Lu Yue, who had just come out of the bathroom, carefully walked to the bedroom, enduring the pain with each step. His ankle had swollen up like a steamed bun, but unfortunately, he couldn’t treat the injury because of that damned surveillance.
The thought of He Lang watching his every move made Lu Yue want to burst into tears. The constant tension felt like walking on a tightrope, with the danger of falling to pieces with one wrong step.
Indeed, He Lang was an extremely dangerous man.
Who knows when he might go crazy again, putting Lu Yue’s life near to the death door. Also, Lu Yue didn’t want to restart from a saved file.
Fortunately, our little Lu Yue had been through countless battles. Although his opponent this time was vicious, with the right approach, reducing that blackening value was still possible.
Lu Yue: [001, quickly block my sense of pain.]
001: [Ah? Host, there’s no danger right now.]
The implication was, what mischief are you up to now?
Lu Yue: [Although He Lang doesn’t want to kill me right now, he certainly doesn’t want to see me doing well. So, what we need to do now is to confuse the enemy.]
001 puzzled: [How to confuse?]
Lu Yue: [——Pretend to be pitiful, constantly act pitiful, never show any signs of relaxation or ease.]
001 “Oh”ed, as if suddenly understanding, then followed Lu Yue’s request to block 80% of the pain. Then, it automatically turned into a watcher, silently watching Lu Yue’s performance of acting pitiful.
The bedroom was dimly lit, Lu Yue stood at the door, his eyes turned to the man lying peacefully on the bed.
How he wished the man lying there was just asleep at this moment, how he wished he could call out to him and he would open his eyes and smile at him.
But he knew how cold the body lying there was, he knew that the body no longer had a heartbeat, he knew that He Lang would never open his eyes again.
Just three days ago, they were still lying here together, embracing each other to sleep, but now his He Lang had left him.
Why?
Why did the dead person have to be He Lang!
Why did He Lang have to leave him!
Lu Yue’s heart was in agony, He Lang’s name was like a brand that had fused into his heart, and now that he was forcibly removed, his heart was torn apart, dripping with blood, in excruciating pain.
Lu Yue’s steps were heavy, like a goose without its mate, struggling between grief and confusion.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice what was under his feet, and Lu Yue suddenly fell forward.
The heavy thud echoed clearly in the man’s ears even through the screen. He Lang’s robust black pupils contracted, then he saw the young man slowly sit up, while bright red liquid flowed from his fragile knees.
Lu Yue’s ankle was already severely swollen, and now it was bleeding, making his situation extremely miserable.
However, Lu Yue himself seemed not to mind at all. He moved his body extremely slowly, his slender upper body trembling as he struggled to straighten up, as if every movement took immense effort.
As he reached the bedside, Lu Yue’s entire face turned pale, sweat beading on his forehead and cheeks.
Then, Lu Yue gently lay down beside the corpse, just like usual, stretching out his arms to embrace his lover’s waist. Although the body beside him was cold and stiff, Lu Yue hugged him tightly without a care in the world.
Then, like countless other nights, he placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his lover’s lips.
This was their goodnight kiss they exchanged every evening before cuddling up and falling asleep.
Although Lu Yue received no response, he contentedly pressed close to his lover’s ear, softly speaking sweet words, “Goodnight, Ah Lang.”
Seeing Lu Yue like this, the man outside the screen felt a sudden tightness in his heart, followed by a low, mocking laugh.
Are you deceiving yourself even though you know that’s a corpse?
Gu An, are you just acting?
Although he questioned this in his heart, He Lang knew that Lu Yue wasn’t acting – he didn’t know he was still alive, still here, monitoring him.
And precisely because he knew this, He Lang inexplicably felt a twinge of pity.
Pity? He actually felt pity for this person who betrayed him!
He Lang stared fixedly at the figure on the screen, the hatred in his eyes seeming to pierce through the screen, turning into tangible blades aimed at Lu Yue’s chest, ready to cut open his heart and see what lay inside.
Gu An, I will never be kind to you, and I will never pity you!
I will only make you live in eternal suffering!
That’s the price for betraying me!