Yu Lang’s scalp went numb, as if that knife were slicing into his own skin.
From the crown of his head to his chin, from left ear to right, there wasn’t a single spot that wasn’t buzzing violently.
“Seriously a landmine…”
Yu Lang muttered under his breath. He gathered the crushed mint candy on his tongue and shoved it against his teeth.
One hard bite, chewed to powder.
With a wet Ptui, the mint fragments mixed with saliva were spat rudely onto Chi Jianqing’s face.
Green mint shards blended into the dark, congealed blood.
Chi Jianqing’s self harm froze.
He wiped the debris from his face and gathered it in his palm.
This time, he didn’t put it into his mouth. Instead, he focused on Yu Lang, puzzled as to why he was being rewarded.
The silver ring on Yu Lang’s lower lip gleamed like a blade.
He pulled another mint candy from his pocket, tore open the wrapper, tossed it into the air, tilted his head back and caught it in his mouth in one smooth motion.
“Go on, cut. Why stop? Keep going. Slice that fake face of yours into jelly strips, mix it with chili oil, stir it around, then toss it into the sewer as kitchen waste. Even sewer roaches would be disgusted by your rotten face.”
Yu Lang snatched the helmet and put it on, revealing only a pair of eyes filled with contempt.
Through the fogged visor, he flicked a careless glance at Chi Jianqing.
From inside the helmet came a casual insult.
“You were ugly to begin with. A few more cuts just make you uglier. Ugly enough to scare people to death.”
“Am I really that ugly?”
Yu Lang ignored him.
“I’ll work hard to satisfy you.”
Looking at the scars on that man’s face, then at his current, deeply insecure expression, Yu Lang muttered softly, “Pathetic simp.”
Yet the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift secretly, a faint hum of inexplicable satisfaction escaping through his nose.
Chi Jianqing’s face was like a piece of white cloth, being stitched together with invisible thread.
The wounds closed.
The scars remained.
Two thin, intersecting dark marks twisted like venomous snakes.
At the tail of the wound, tiny beads of dark blood still oozed out, sliding down into a dirty, thin line.
Like a snake’s tongue, exuding unstable danger.
The knife was sheathed, then slipped back into his pocket.
When Yu Lang turned to leave, Chi Jianqing reached into his pocket and took out an item.
Yu Lang froze the instant he saw it, yanking off his helmet and lunging forward to snatch it.
“When did you take that?!”
In Chi Jianqing’s hand was the necklace Yu Lang had stolen.
“Give it back!”
“No.”
With that, Chi Jianqing flung the necklace hard across the road. It streaked like a meteor and vanished swiftly into the flow of traffic.
Yu Lang dropped the helmet and sprinted after it but before he could take even one step, Chi Jianqing twisted his wrist.
Not grabbed. Not held.
Twisted.
Both hands clasped together, wrenching Yu Lang’s slender wrist.
“Let go!” Yu Lang glared at him, then snapped his gaze back toward where the necklace had disappeared.
“Is it that important?”
“It’s very important!”
The two of them were almost talking past each other, like a chicken and a duck arguing. On the surface, they seemed to be discussing the same thing but the meanings were completely different.
Chi Jianqing was asking about a person.
Yu Lang was talking about an object.
The vinegar jar was subjected to a flurry of kicks, stomps and whirlwind punches from Yu Lang.
Chi Jianqing, meanwhile, exerted force with both hands, twisting in opposite directions as if wringing out a towel.
Yu Lang’s body, which had been charging forward with momentum, instantly went limp as if his tendons had been yanked out. A long, drawn out siren like scream burst from his throat. The veins along his neck bulged high, his entire body flushing red like a roasted duck.
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much.”
Yu Lang half crouched beside Chi Jianqing’s legs. His right hand was raised high, still trapped inside Chi Jianqing’s massive meat grinder.
“Haah… haah…”
Cold sweat slid down his cheeks, his gasping breaths nearly drowning out the roar of passing cars by the roadside.
“Let go of me!”
Yu Lang swung his left hand and threw a full punch.
It didn’t hurt. Not at all.
“Let go! What if someone else picks it up!”
Seeing that Chi Jianqing still hadn’t moved, Yu Lang opened his mouth and bit down.
Through Chi Jianqing’s pant leg, he bit hard into the calf.
Only then did Chi Jianqing show a trace of reaction. He knelt down, bringing himself level with Yu Lang’s gaze.
He kept twisting Yu Lang’s hand, half threat, half pressure.
“I can buy you a new one.”
Hidden in his voice was a faint, hard to catch note of grievance and coaxing.
“Anything he gave you, I can give you.”
“Really? You’ll really buy me one?”
“Really.”
Yu Lang’s expression instantly shifted from torrential rain to clear skies.
“One exactly the same?”
Chi Jianqing nodded, then shook his head.
Yu Lang’s expression changed from sunny to overcast.
“I’ll buy you a better one.”
Yu Lang’s sky finally burst into full sunshine.
He let out an “aiyo” and hurriedly stood up, licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue, grinning happily.
“Oh wow, look at all this trouble. You should’ve said that earlier.”
Yu Lang put on a show of gently rubbing Chi Jianqing’s face, coaxing him softly. “Does it hurt? Does it hurt at all?”
Chi Jianqing looked at Yu Lang with that same dull, devout expression, like a believer facing a god, clumsy and at a loss.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Chi Jianqing answered honestly. He didn’t feel pain.
“If it doesn’t hurt, then I won’t touch it.” Yu Lang withdrew his hand and stuffed it into his pocket.
“……?”
Yu Lang turned around and swung himself back onto his motorcycle, patting the back seat to signal Chi Jianqing to get on.
The helmet was still on Chi Jianqing’s head, because Yu Lang thought it had gotten dirty.
The motorcycle’s back seat was the highest point of the bike and Chi Jianqing was big, solid and heavy.
Yu Lang felt like his butt cheeks were being subjected to some indecent form of pink tinged violation. How could it be packed this tightly, so snug it was almost a negative distance?
For the sake of the fully diamond studded gemstone necklace, Yu Lang calmly persuaded himself to let it go.
And also for the sake of that fully diamond studded gemstone necklace, Yu Lang somehow ended up moving into Chi Jianqing’s house.
Because the thing was custom made by hand and delivered door to door and Yu Lang’s place didn’t even have a door, he had no choice but to stay at Chi Jianqing’s place.
Yu Lang slept in the master bedroom. Chi Jianqing went to the guest room.
They spent the night without incident.
The next morning, Yu Lang opened his eyes.
Beside the pillow lay a pale, humanoid shape drenched in blood. Mottled red streaks spread outward in all directions.
The bedding seemed to have grown a heart, blood flowing through it like veins branching out across the body.
Yu Lang’s phone screen was open to a Douyin feed, which happened to be broadcasting breaking local news.
“A wealthy businessman surnamed Zhou was discovered dead in his home at six this morning. The state of the body was extremely brutal. The perpetrator is still under investigation. Citizens with information are urged to come forward.”
Yu Lang stared at the blood soaked unknown object beside him and cautiously leaned closer.
He extended a finger and poked it.
The unknown object let out a curved, muffled groan, like tires screeching against asphalt during a sudden brake, rough, spoiled and clingy.
“It hurts.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The chapter is finished. The chaos is not.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Dead HusbandChapter 2 · Ghost ChaseChapter 3 · I’ve been fooled againChapter 4 · I need lots and lots of loveChapter 5 · I’ll kill you!^^Chapter 6 · Haha, really!Chapter 7 · This is what it means to be love-struck.Chapter 8 · We meet again, my loveChapter 9 · The little snakeChapter 10 · I’ve been fooled againChapter 11 · The daily routine of sasaeng fans following othersChapter 12 · Inferiority complexChapter 13 · It hurtsChapter 14 · Want to go out? Sure!Chapter 15 · Damn it!Chapter 16 · My wife hitting me is a reward for meChapter 17 · Licking sweatChapter 18 · The vinegar was friedChapter 19 · What a clever tactic, Chi Jianqing!Chapter 20 · Loving me is a very painful thing.Chapter 21 · The words may be rough, but the principle is soundChapter 22 · It wasn’t just two hitsChapter 23 · Turns out I’m not 3, I’m 1!Chapter 24 · Easy To CoaxChapter 25 · Confessing loveChapter 26 · DearChapter 27 · Honey, it felt so good when you scolded me.Chapter 28 · Let’s go after tearing off the human skinChapter 29 Part 1 · Honey, I caught you!Chapter 29 Part 2 · Honey, I caught you!Chapter 30 · Little Blind CrippleChapter 31 · How could I give up? I’ve given you my heart.Chapter 32 · The gloomy CEOChapter 33 · X-harassmentChapter 34 · Little third wheelChapter 35 · I am Chi JianqingChapter 36 · I am his husband, and you are?Chapter 37 · CarChapter 38 · Broken carChapter 39 · I want to kiss youChapter 40 · Silly babyChapter 41 · Chop off hands and feetChapter 42 · Ships and DeathChapter 43 · Chi Jianqing participated in the battle royale and finally obtained a ticket to meet Yu Lang.Chapter 44 · You bastard, get out of here!Chapter 45 · Bad cats can only be forced to love.Chapter 46 · Circle the fox’s tail and rub it back and forthChapter 47 · It hurts so muchChapter 48 · The Second World EndedChapter 49 · Brainless and grumpyChapter 50 · I don’t like you anymoreChapter 51 · I haven’t thought of a title yetChapter 52 · You smell so good, let me hug you and pet youChapter 53 · A big dog bit a kitten’s muzzleChapter 54 · Captive canariesChapter 55 · Male Ghost StrikesChapter 56 · I told you to be quiet!Chapter 57 · I have decided to bestow upon you the title of my wife.Chapter 58 · We’re talking about loveChapter 59 · I really, really like you!Chapter 60 · I want to eat your noodlesChapter 61 · Don’t abandon your puppy!Chapter 62 · What a blissful ending!Chapter 63 · Extra 1Chapter 64 · Extra 2Chapter 65 · Extra 3