Lu Huaiqian’s heart was stabbed.
For a moment, he didn’t know whether to take back the gift and flowers he’d already offered.
He knew Shi Yi hated it when he gave him flowers.
Hated him doing anything at all related to lovers, flowers, movies, dates, intimate pet names, none of it, nothing a couple in love would do, was allowed.
Before buying the flowers, he’d hesitated over whether to buy them or not.
If he bought them, he worried Shi Yi would be unhappy, but if he didn’t, he felt that after all it was their third anniversary, and Shi Yi had said he was preparing him a gift too.
In the end, holding onto a thread of hope, he’d bought them anyway.
Coming back and seeing the scene Shi Yi had set up, he’d thought he hadn’t been wrong to buy them.
But now it looked like he’d been wrong after all.
“Sorry, don’t be angry, I won’t buy them next time.” Lu Huaiqian took the flowers back, still holding up the two exquisite gift bags. “Will you take the gift, though? It’s the sports car you like, a limited edition, only a few units in the whole world. It’ll definitely be cool to drive.”
Shi Yi lowered his eyes again to look at the things in Lu Huaiqian’s hands, still didn’t take them, but the coldness and disdain in his eyes faded, replaced by an unreadable, mysterious emotion.
“A gift? As it happens, I have a gift for you too. I think you’ll definitely like it.”
Before Lu Huaiqian could react, Shi Yi grabbed his arm directly and pulled him toward the guest room where Chen Shi was.
Lu Huaiqian felt the warmth around his wrist, and that leaping, joyful feeling in his chest began rising again, unstoppable.
“Chen Shi, you can come out now.”
Shi Yi opened the door. Chen Shi put away his phone, stood up from the chair, and with a standard professional smile on his lips, quickly stepped toward Shi Yi and Lu Huaiqian, bowing slightly in greeting, “Young Master Shi, President Lu.”
Shi Yi said, “Chen Shi, lift your face up, let President Lu get a good look.”
Chen Shi very obediently raised his face and said again, “President Lu.”
At the same time, Shi Yi let go of his hand, crossed his arms, and leaned against the doorframe with a look of malicious glee, turning his gaze toward Lu Huaiqian along with Chen Shi, watching Lu Huaiqian’s face closely, not missing the slightest change in his expression.
“So, President Lu, do you like this gift? It wasn’t easy finding one this fitting.”
The moment he saw the school uniform on Chen Shi’s body, Lu Huaiqian froze for an instant.
By the time he made out Chen Shi’s face clearly, his breath caught sharply, and something in his chest seemed to shatter along with it.
Pain spread out from deep within his body, mixed with more emotions than he could count.
Sadness? Grief? Or, humiliation? Or was it numbness?
Or a crushing helplessness? And an exhaustion too heavy to put into words?
He couldn’t say.
He only knew his throat felt gripped by an invisible hand, leaving him unable to breathe, his whole body pricked with needles until he could barely stand.
Over these three years, he had already hurt more times than he could count. Every time he thought his heart had turned into an impenetrable wall that could no longer be hurt so easily, Shi Yi always managed to surprise him and land another heavy blow.
He didn’t blame Shi Yi.
He never had.
He didn’t have the right to blame him either.
It was his own fault.
It was he who had dragged Shi Yi into this abyss, it was only right that Shi Yi took revenge on him.
He was willing to accept whatever punishment Shi Yi gave him.
But sometimes, sometimes, he still hoped, in vain, that Shi Yi could be just a little, just a little less cruel to him, could pity him just a little.
But it had never happened, not once.
Over a thousand days and nights, not once, not the smallest bit.
Shi Yi would never pity him.
Even if Shi Yi could pity a beggar, he would never pity him.
He really had been wrong.
From the moment he made that request, he’d known he was in the wrong, but he always thought, what if? What if Shi Yi came to accept him?
But there was no “what if” in this world, and no such luck.
He’d wanted to give Shi Yi a better life, never imagining this wasn’t at all what Shi Yi wanted.
He really shouldn’t have been so selfish, shouldn’t have indulged in such a foolish, hopeless wish.
Watching the light in Lu Huaiqian’s eyes dim bit by bit, pain and grief spreading little by little, the color slowly draining entirely from his face, Shi Yi felt an indescribable satisfaction.
“Husband, why aren’t you saying anything? Hm? Too happy for words?”
Lu Huaiqian’s whole body was trembling from the pain, it took every ounce of his strength just to keep himself from collapsing to the floor.
After a good while, he finally took a deep breath, forced down the surging emotion, and said in a voice trembling and nearly pleading, “I’m sorry, Xiao Yi, will you let him go, please? Can you let him leave?”
The more pained Lu Huaiqian’s expression became, the more pleased Shi Yi was. He didn’t even care that Lu Huaiqian called him Xiao Yi, and kept mocking him with his arms crossed, “What, husband, you don’t like this gift of mine?”
Lu Huaiqian rarely ever interrupted Shi Yi, but he did now, “I don’t like it. Please, Xiao Yi, please just let him leave, all right? Please.”
Ever since he’d been found and brought back by Lu Heng, as the heir to the Lu Group, Lu Huaiqian had never begged anyone for anything again, yet now he seemed to have fallen into the dust with humility and pain.
Shattered at the slightest touch.
Shi Yi savored Lu Huaiqian’s suffering with pleasure once more, then finally, showing great mercy, nodded and agreed to Lu Huaiqian’s request, “Fine, since you don’t like it, never mind then.”
With that, Shi Yi turned his triumphant gaze to Chen Shi, who was standing there dazed, and said, “Sorry about that, Chen Shi. My husband doesn’t like it, so I’ll have to trouble you to go on out now.”
Chen Shi certainly wasn’t going to refuse. He nodded at once in agreement and quickly left the villa.
In the enormous house, only Shi Yi and Lu Huaiqian were left, suppression, suffocation, and mockery tangled together, oppressively thick.
He’d known from the start that Lu Huaiqian would never agree to this, and he’d never actually expected Lu Huaiqian to take a liking to Chen Shi.
He’d only wanted to watch Lu Huaiqian suffer, and now that the goal was achieved,
Chen Shi had left, and he’d had his fill of savoring Lu Huaiqian’s pain.
There was no longer any need to stay any longer.
Shi Yi withdrew his gaze, and without so much as another glance at Lu Huaiqian, as if throwing out trash, turned and went straight upstairs, threw himself onto his bed in satisfaction, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Sticking the knife into Lu Huaiqian’s heart really did feel good, but after the good feeling passed, it was, well, just that.
Lu Huaiqian’s reaction had been too flat. He’d thought Lu Huaiqian would explode, but it turned out to be nothing much after all.
A pity.
Now that this round of the game was over, what should he play next?
Really a headache.
Never mind, take it slow, there was plenty of time yet.
When someone knocked on his door from outside, Shi Yi had just finished a round of his game.
And in this house, the only person who would knock on his door was Lu Huaiqian.
Normally he wouldn’t bother answering.
But he’d won the last round of the game, and Lu Huaiqian’s earlier reaction had pleased him, so he didn’t pretend not to hear it this time, he got up and opened the door.
He wanted to see what Lu Huaiqian was looking for him for this time.
“What do you wa—”
nt.
Shi Yi’s words were cut off by Lu Huaiqian, standing in the doorway, reeking of alcohol.