After saying those words, Lin Min’s face turned a deep shade of crimson.
He had not expected Zhou Jin to act this way, cursed by the man’s words while being confronted by such a physical reaction. He desperately wanted to leave before Wei Chi discovered them. Otherwise, the embarrassment for both him and Zhou Jin would be unbearable.
The beautiful husband did not realize how alluring his expression of suppressed shame appeared to the man watching him. A man could trap him in his arms with a single hand. One could likely muffle his mouth and scare him with a few threats until he became so terrified that he would tearfully offer his compliance just to be released. He did not know that seeing such a sight would only make a man want to do things that would frighten him even more.
“Why are you so afraid? Did you never do these things with your husband?” Zhou Jin’s low voice was husky.
He maintained an air of indifference. He was young, so it was only natural for him to be aroused easily. He felt that his reaction was simply a sign of vitality, unlike Lin Min’s late, older husband. He assumed the widower was this scared only because the dead man must have been frequently incompetent.
Zhou Jin stared at the beautiful husband’s red lips. An inexplicable thirst made his Adam’s apple bob violently. He wanted to say something harsh, but his voice was parched, and the muscles in the arm wrapped around Lin Min’s waist were as hard as stone. He was so foolish, sitting obediently on a man’s lap at a time like this.
As Zhou Jin breathed in that fragrance, he felt a conflicting urge. He wanted to push away this little widower who was making things difficult for him, yet he also found himself pressing the man closer into his embrace, as if that could hide his uncontrollable physiological reaction.
Outside the car window, the enemies of Xie Mingyuan had mostly been dealt with by the people Zhou Jin brought. Zhou Jin intended to set the little widower down, but the car suddenly lurched forward again. The part of him that had been accused of being uncomfortable did not subside from the shock; instead, the tight squeeze and friction made it even harder to ignore.
Zhou Jin swore under his breath. It was unclear if he was cursing the attackers outside, his own uncooperative body, or both.
Hearing his words, Lin Min’s cheeks burned. He realized Zhou Jin was teasing him again. With a flushed face, he struggled to break free from the man’s hot palms. However, he misjudged his position. In his haste, he exerted too much force and nearly tumbled into Wei Chi’s lap instead. He was only able to sit properly after a pair of hands gripped his waist to steady him.
Lin Min suddenly felt that Wei Chi was a good person. He instinctively huddled closer to him. Because he could not see, he missed the sight of the cold man’s clenched fists and the blue veins bulging on the back of his pale hands. It looked as though he were enduring something intense.
Aside from that initial accident, nothing else happened on the way to the bank. Lin Min took a small box from the staff. Knowing it was not the time to open it, he cradled it in his arms, planning to look at it once they returned to the villa with the two players.
Lin Min already had a guess about the contents. The players’ main quest was to successfully send Xie Mingyuan off after the seven-day wake. The side quest was to investigate the cause of death. The items in this box likely pertained to those tasks.
Cradling the slightly aged wooden box, Lin Min kept his sightless eyes lowered. His long lashes cast small shadows on his cheeks, and his black, pearl-like eyes remained hidden. He was completely lost in his own thoughts. He did not realize how much the sight of him holding his husband’s belongings with such a focused and fragile expression bothered the other two men.
This was especially true for Zhou Jin, who had finally managed to cool his temper. Just moments ago, this little widower had been lying obediently in his arms. Now, as soon as he had something belonging to his old flame, he clutched it like a treasure and forgot the rest of them existed.
Consequently, Zhou Jin deliberately kept a cold face and remained silent, waiting for the little widower to speak to him first. He waited the entire way back. Even when they got out of the car, the little widower did not spare him a glance. He simply walked toward the villa clutching his precious box. One might think the box itself was his husband.
Lin Min did indeed want to avoid talking to Zhou Jin, especially after what had happened in the car. His own desires were naturally faint, so he could not understand how Zhou Jin could be so reactive at any given moment.
After getting out of the car, Lin Min exhaled deeply. Hearing Fu Chenyuan call his name, he carefully walked toward him. As he approached, he realized he was not the only one in the villa. There was also a faint scent of blood. He was about to step closer with his box when he heard Fu Chenyuan’s gentle, steady warning.
“Mr. Lin, there is a pool of blood ahead. Be careful not to step in it.”
As the husband startled and nearly tripped, Fu Chenyuan reached out with a gloved hand to steady him. He did not expect the panicked beauty to instinctively grab his wrist and dive into his arms like a cat afraid of getting its paws dirty.
Before Fu Chenyuan could react, he felt his rough palm support something incredibly soft. A cool cheek pressed against his neck. The hand resting on Lin Min’s waist stiffened as he felt his entire palm enveloped by the soft flesh there. His knuckles must have bumped something, because the shivering husband suddenly let out a whimper. His eyes grew damp and red as if he could not bear it.
Lin Min froze for several seconds after making such a shameful sound. He clearly realized he had bumped into something, or rather, something had bumped into him. His whimpering stopped abruptly, and his entire pale, beautiful face, including his ears, turned bright red.
Lin Min frantically tried to pull away from Fu Chenyuan, but his footing was unsteady. His waist was held firmly by that large hand, making it seem as if he were rubbing against the man’s chest instead.
“I am sorry! Mr. Fu!” Lin Min remembered they were outside. He was both ashamed and afraid, and his wet eyes were unfocused.
He struggled to get down but worried there might be more blood nearby. For a moment, he could only remain trapped in that powerful embrace. Every sensation in that area was being felt clearly. Lin Min tried his best to control his trembling and ignore the scorching heat of the man’s palm.
Fortunately, Fu Chenyuan was a gentleman. As Lin Min was about to bury his head in the man’s chest, Fu Chenyuan finally moved, placing the beautiful husband down in a clean spot. Fu Chenyuan’s expression remained warm and handsome. Nothing in his demeanor betrayed the dark thoughts he had while the husband was shifting against him.
He ignored the glares from the other two players inside the villa. Was this how the little widower hooked men, making them lose their minds and fight over him? By intentionally pressing his softest parts against a man’s palm? If Fu Chenyuan were not a straight man, he might have kindly helped make that area even more rounded.
“Thank you.” Lin Min blinked his vacant eyes. He did not sense the man’s dark gaze. It was only when he felt the solid ground beneath his feet that he felt a sense of security. Afraid that someone had seen what happened and curious about the situation in the villa, he tilted his pale face up and tugged on the man’s sleeve. “What exactly happened?”
Lin Min knew Fu Chenyuan had a good temper, so he was not as afraid of him as he was of Zhou Jin. In this moment of insecurity, he actually clung tighter to the culprit. He heard Fu Chenyuan pause as if deciding whether the truth would be too frightening.
“Someone found several bodies with guns outside the villa. You do not need to worry. The person who found them has already called the police. I will handle everything.”
Bodies were found? Lin Min’s eyes widened. His head had been spinning from the previous incident, but now he was fully alert. He had not expected actual deaths. Although he knew this was a horror instance, Lin Min was still a newcomer, and his legs felt weak. He had to be supported by Fu Chenyuan’s hand to avoid a humiliating fall. Thinking about how the players were younger than him, he paled and tried his best to appear calm so they would not look down on him.
Since Lin Min could not see, he did not notice that the other men in the room looked completely unsurprised. This was especially true for Zhou Jin, who was still staring at him with gritted teeth. To Zhou Jin, a few deaths were seemingly less upsetting than seeing the beautiful husband get close to another man.
“I suspect these people were coming for you. Mr. Xie made many enemies over the years.” Fu Chenyuan had not expected a mere mention of bodies to scare the man so badly.
Had Xie Mingyuan never let him encounter such things? It seemed the instance boss really loved his wife, keeping him hidden and well-protected in the villa. Fu Chenyuan lowered his eyes to look at the pale husband. He decided to speak plainly about the identities Xie Mingyuan had worked so hard to hide from his wife, both the legitimate and the illegitimate ones.
Lin Min’s eyes widened slightly. He had not realized his husband, who was usually refined and obedient to him, had such a complex background. He had thought Xie Mingyuan was only disobedient in bed. Now that the man was dead, Lin Min, as the heir to the estate, had become a target. His situation had shifted from being hunted by the boss and players to being hunted by multiple factions.
Realizing this, his face turned quite pale. A strange chill washed over him, and he instinctively reached up to pull the collar of his thin jacket tighter. Fu Chenyuan went to negotiate with the others, leaving Lin Min standing there dazed, clutching the box from the bank. Part of this was staying in character, but another part was genuine anxiety. He instinctively began to rely on his deceased husband, forgetting that the man was eventually supposed to kill him.
When Fu Chenyuan returned, he saw the beautiful husband standing silently with the box. The man’s soft, mid-length black hair slid forward over his shoulder, revealing skin so white it was dazzling, as well as a cluster of red marks on his nape. Fu Chenyuan’s footsteps faltered. His gaze lingered on those marks. Was he so afraid of having no protection that he would obediently offer his neck for his husband’s young subordinate to leave those traces?
Fu Chenyuan looked at the dependent husband, feeling a strange surge of emotion. Lin Min did not know what the man was thinking. Hearing the news, the color drained from his face. Although he did not fully understand the details, he knew he was now a living target.
Lin Min pulled the collar of his knit sweater tighter. His lips, once red, were now pale. In his daze, he did not notice Fu Chenyuan staring intensely at him.
“I did not expect them to move so quickly,” Fu Chenyuan said, his voice carrying a hint of worry. “We cleared out some of them before we arrived, but it seems the rest are still restless.” He looked into Lin Min’s vacant, dazed eyes. “Until we deal with these threats completely, we may have to bother you for a while longer.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature in the room dropped significantly. Fu Chenyuan stopped in his tracks, his gaze freezing on the soft plush slippers the husband was wearing. On the floor beneath the light-colored slippers, there was a clear, partial footprint of a man’s dress shoe. It stood out prominently on the dry floor. It looked as though an invisible, tall, dark figure was looming over the oblivious husband, staring maliciously at the man who coveted his wife.
Fu Chenyuan’s gaze behind his glasses grew deep, but his expression remained perfectly gentle. He did not say anything; he simply looked away.
“Okay. Then I will have to trouble you all.” Lin Min’s sightless eyes focused trustingly on Fu Chenyuan.
It was a good thing for the players to stay. He did not notice anything wrong with them; he only felt a cold chill brush against the red marks on his neck. He flinched uncomfortably, but he assumed it was just a draft and did not pay it much mind. Lin Min was not surprised that the players were staying. After all, they had to keep an eye on the boss to ensure Xie Mingyuan was sent off successfully. If they failed after seven days, the danger level of the instance would multiply.
He pulled his collar tighter against the draft. Lin Min only wondered why the wind had picked up so suddenly. He did not see where Fu Chenyuan was looking. He followed Fu Chenyuan back into the house. Just as he stepped into the villa, Lin Min felt as if he had walked into a large, icy, and familiar embrace. A cold, damp sensation touched his ear, as if he had been bitten.
Then, a low, brooding voice whispered.
“Baby.”
“How can you let these wild men live in our home?”