Yu Lang didn’t give Chi Jianqing a chance to answer. He shifted, both hands clamping around Chi Jianqing’s neck.
He pressed downward, every finger seemingly intent on piercing the skin, draining the blood from within.
“No chance to answer,” he growled, spitting the tasteless, chewed mint from his mouth onto Chi Jianqing’s face.
When Chi Jianqing had been standing, the upper half of his face had been obscured by dark, messy hair, concealing his expression. Now, lying down, the strands fell, fully revealing that indecipherable, tempestuous face.
Yu Lang saw, clearly, the indulgence in Chi Jianqing’s eyes.
His neck wasn’t just a neck; it was skin against skin with Yu Lang.
His pain wasn’t simply pain; it was a component of the twisted pleasure Yu Lang drew from him.
“Why are you enjoying this? I told you, I’m really upset right now!”
Yu Lang glared, hands now acting less as force and more as restraints, a leash coiling around Chi Jianqing’s throat.
He issued incomprehensible commands to this massive, almost inhuman figure, whose only possible response was:
“What should I do?”
Chi Jianqing looked up at him, eyes filled with love and devotion, waiting for a clear command from his master.
“How should I act? You’re supposed to pursue me, not the other way around.”
Yu Lang’s hands were guns aimed straight at Chi Jianqing.
“You dare ask how to act? You can’t even do this right and you dare talk about loving me?”
“I’m furious. You’re too stupid.”
The words slipped out sharply.
Yet Yu Lang wasn’t truly angry. He was deliberately venting, cutting off every outlet for Chi Jianqing’s emotions, playing with him, enjoying the sight of him spinning in confusion, hitting invisible walls, helpless.
Like teasing a dog, it was far too entertaining.
The scars on Chi Jianqing’s face spread, his upper face now submerged in crimson, leaving only two deep black pupils, focused yet lost in chaotic devotion.
The whites of his eyes were nearly gone, like two decaying stones.
“What should I do?” Chi Jianqing asked again.
Yu Lang’s mind churned with a cruel idea and he spoke without hesitation:
“Why don’t you pull your heart, liver, spleen and lungs out of that rotten shell and clean them? I know you can.”
Chi Jianqing’s pupils widened, the black of his eyes almost swallowing the rest of his face, trembling in disbelief.
“Do I really have to do that?”
“I told you the way. Whether you do it or not is up to you.”
Yu Lang’s hand became a knife, pointing straight to the center of Chi Jianqing’s throat.
“Loving me is painful.”
He said it with self righteous certainty, dismissing any flicker of Chi Jianqing’s reason.
“If you can’t endure it, you can leave. I never forced you to stay.”
The cracks on Chi Jianqing’s face seemed alive, expanding, decaying. Blood pooled in the fractures, making him look increasingly like a corpse.
“Don’t give me that look as if I’m torturing you! You chose me, you have no right to expect me to take responsibility for your one sided obsession.”
Yu Lang’s hand continued to hover, enumerating every fault in Chi Jianqing’s body, words sharp as pincers, prying open the cracks.
Chi Jianqing’s expression slowly cooled from mania to numbness, teetering on the edge of painful struggle.
Yet his hands clung desperately to Yu Lang’s waist.
Yu Lang leaned over him, unashamed, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
He was a demon, greedily drawing sustenance from the fractured pain beneath him.
“You drank someone else’s wine. That’s your fault. Making me angry is your fault. Now, I’ve given you a chance. I even allow you to stay by my side, you should be grateful, thanking me properly.”
Yu Lang’s body was straight, chin lifted, gaze half lidded, radiating the aura of a god but not a righteous one.
He resembled a seductive, malevolent deity, a twisted serpent coiling among high branches, flicking out his forked tongue, hissing disdain and commanding in a lofty tone:
“Say thank you. Say you love me. Say you will never, ever betray me.”
Chi Jianqing was completely enthralled, intoxicated, as if poisoned by a venomous snake.
“Thank you, I love- ”
His words cut off, stifled by Yu Lang’s hand on his throat.
A wicked smile curved Yu Lang’s lips: “Say you love me? You’re not worthy yet.”
He gripped the switch of a gas lamp, tightening and loosening, forcing Chi Jianqing’s flickering rationality to dance in his control.
Chi Jianqing’s breakdown was inevitable.
The scars multiplied, his face now resembling a shattered mirror, barely holding together, crimson frame enclosing the last fragments. The mirror teetered on collapse, fragile, about to shatter.
“Why are you crying?” Yu Lang lifted his gaze to the sky, hand outstretched. “Oh, it’s raining.”
Raindrops began to fall. Yu Lang murmured, “I’m leaving.”
He freed his waist, stood and walked toward the city.
The gasoline smell softened slightly with the rain but the lingering burnt scent from the engines still stung, dizzying the senses.
Chi Jianqing followed, a shadow clinging to him without hesitation.
Yu Lang stopped. “You can’t go with me. I haven’t forgiven you yet.”
“I’ll do as you say.”
“Then do it. I’ll watch.”
At Yu Lang’s words, Chi Jianqing hurt himself in the thick, murky air, utterly, leaving no trace of reason or pride.
He became an unbound, desperate plaything for Yu Lang.
By the time he looked up, Yu Lang had already walked several hundred meters along the roadside.
Wind rushing through his chest, Yu Lang spread his arms, embracing it fully, breathing deeply.
And Chi Jianqing? He didn’t matter, just a toy. Even if broken, a new one would replace him soon enough.
From start to finish, Yu Lang had never intended to stay and watch Chi Jianqing humiliate himself in self inflicted agony. Nor did he plan to walk home alongside him.
Most of his words were false; the only truth lay in that single sentence:
“Loving me is a painful thing.”
It rolled across the sky like thunder, muffled yet resounding, shaking the clouds.
Chi Jianqing’s black pupils lost focus, dilating unnaturally, scattering like lifeless voids, expanding until they filled the entire eye socket.
He still dragged his battered body forward, inching toward Yu Lang, slow and laborious.
His body was chaotic, his soul in pain.
All that remained were those two dark, hollow eyes buried in flesh and blood, straining with every ounce of energy to follow Yu Lang’s departing figure.
He stared, unyielding, like a sewer rat fixated on morsels it could never reach.
Desire mingled with helplessness. His teeth clenched tighter and tighter, biting until blood trickled down, forcing it down his throat, pretending the metallic taste was Yu Lang.
Even Chi Jianqing didn’t realize it, at this moment, hatred outweighed love.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The magical Realm runs on stories, chaos, and suspicious amounts of coffee.
☕ 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