A violent shudder ran through Lin Shuosheng’s entire body. He could no longer endure it.
For a moment, he even felt that the massive shadow looming over him was not Qin Shun at all but some monstrous creature that merely resembled him.
The monster had seized him.
And it was consuming him.
That sticky, damp, clinging sensation, after so many years, seemed to reconnect itself to the very ends of his nerves, awakening memories he had tried desperately to forget.
Pain seemed to churn through every limb and bone in his body.
What did Qin Shun mean by saying, “You actually knew what would happen”?
He didn’t know.
Five years ago, he had thought those chaotic kisses were some kind of ritual of humiliation, if they could even be called kisses at all and yet, if they weren’t kisses… then what else could they have been?
Perhaps it had been hatred.
Sometimes men were creatures that had never truly evolved. Even after thousands upon thousands of years, they were still the same as their primitive ancestors, using dominance over another male to prove their superiority within the group.
The most vicious way for one man to humiliate another was to violate him.
Qin Shun had not only scorned his dignity.
He wanted to trample his body as well.
And the worst part of it all,
No matter how desperately he resisted, it was completely useless.
The overwhelming shame nearly drove Lin Shuosheng to the brink of madness.
At that moment, describing him as sobbing uncontrollably would not be an exaggeration.
His body had stopped growing when he was twenty years old. He had never become taller or stronger after that. In Qin Shun’s grasp, he felt utterly overpowered.
Completely.
Effortlessly.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he asked, his voice on the verge of breaking, his chest feeling as though it were being torn apart.
“I’m repaying you,” Qin Shun said.
As he spoke, he leaned down and kissed Lin Shuosheng’s eyes.
When the strong said such things to the weak, it was nothing more than a decorated form of mockery.
Lin Shuosheng trembled violently.
“I never wronged you… did I?”
Qin Shun lowered his head again and kissed his lips.
The moment the tip of Qin Shun’s tongue brushed against them, Lin Shuosheng immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Qin Shun seemed almost amused by him. As though he were playing with something delicate, he gently pinched Lin Shuosheng’s cheek and coaxed him softly.
“Uncle, open your mouth. I want to kiss you.”
But Lin Shuosheng only clenched his teeth even harder.
He had so little strength left in his body. If he used it to resist in one place, he had none left to defend another. His knees were already losing their strength.
Then suddenly, Qin Shun’s searching movements paused.
Several quiet sounds followed.
Through his tear blurred vision, Lin Shuosheng saw Qin Shun straighten his body slightly and lower his gaze, looking down at something.
And then, he heard Qin Shun laugh.
The lights in the room were dim.
With a faint trace of amusement in his voice, Qin Shun said, “Uncle, ever since a long time ago, you’ve been unusually careful about how you dress. No matter when it was, you always wrapped yourself up tightly. Even when you washed up, you would avoid me. Back then, I used to think, you were very shy.”
“So that’s how it is- ”
“You have alopecia areata, don’t you?”
At the moment those words fell, Lin Shuosheng also seemed to surrender to fate, ceasing all movement.
As if deceiving himself, he closed his eyes.
His pale, sharply defined shoulder blades and slender neck lay exposed against the pillow.
The pillow was incredibly soft, so soft that it seemed easy to sink into it completely.
Qin Shun looked down at him, observing the strange mixture of meekness and stubbornness on his face. Instead of softening, something in him hardened. A faint smile curved at his lips.
This was a world where the strong survived and the weak were eliminated.
A weak and helpless man like Uncle was bound to be bullied by someone stronger.
If that was the case, it might as well be him who devoured him.
It felt as though he had returned from the brink of death.
Lin Shuosheng only woke up in the afternoon.
He was alone in the bed.
Yet the bedsheets, the blanket, the pillow, everything was spotless and clean, as though nothing had happened.
Only the lingering ache in his body reminded him that it had not been a nightmare.
It took an enormous effort of will for him to climb out of bed.
Still wrapped in the heavy blanket, he staggered over to the wardrobe and randomly pulled out two pieces of clothing, putting them on in a hurry.
The door was not locked.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into a maid.
“Good afternoon,” the maid greeted politely, maintaining a professional tone. “Before the master left for the company, he gave instructions. What would you like to eat? There’s shark fin soup warming in the kitchen. Shall I bring you a bowl to fill your stomach first?”
Lin Shuosheng asked, “Have the clothes I changed out of yesterday dried yet?”
The maid replied, “They were already dried last night using the dryer.”
Lin Shuosheng fell silent.
“….”
Ha.
He truly was an idiot.
Lin Shuosheng laughed in anger.
“Please return them to me.”
He should go to the police station and report Qin Shun.
As Lin Shuosheng walked along, the thought suddenly came to him.
But he had left in such a hurry that he only now realized there wasn’t a single coin left in his pockets. He didn’t even have enough money to take the bus. Exhausted, dragging along his heavy, aching body, he could only continue walking on foot.
He regretted it deeply.
He had long known that Qin Shun was a venomous snake kept close to the chest, so why had he allowed himself to harbor even the slightest hope?
He should have cut off all contact completely.
They should have lived and died without ever seeing each other again.
Even more despairing was the realization that he had gotten lost.
Looking in every direction, he had no idea where he was.
Then he spotted a church.
He walked inside.
Someone was striking the bell.
Dong… dong…
A priest with hair as white as frost sat in the prayer pew, murmuring something softly under his breath.
Lin Shuosheng stepped forward and asked for directions.
The priest patiently explained the way, his gaze gentle and compassionate.
“My child,” he said kindly, “is there some pain you wish to confess to me?”
It was as though the priest could see straight through him.
Lin Shuosheng’s face turned pale in an instant.
He fled in panic.
By the time he finally found his way home, it was already evening again.
There was no one in the house.
He hurried upstairs to ask about it.
Mrs. Wang smiled knowingly.
“Your mother was already sent to the hospital today to receive the best treatment. Mr. Qin is truly kind hearted, he’s covering all the expenses and has arranged everything properly. Oh yes, Mr. Qin is downstairs right now.”
Inside the car, there was no one else except him and Qin Shun.
Qin Shun was driving personally.
It was a brand new sports car. The interior was lined with genuine leather seats, soft and comfortable.
Rong City was a great metropolis.
The night there never truly slept.
The car sped through the streets like a streak of quicksilver, weaving between lanes. Moonlight and neon lights flowed past the windows in shimmering streams.
“At this hour, can visitors still see patients in the hospital?” Lin Shuosheng asked.
“For ordinary wards, no,” Qin Shun replied. “But VIP wards put the customer first.”
This society was ruled by money.
That was what Lin Shuosheng thought silently.
Qin Shun continued speaking.
“Originally, I wanted to bring you with me to arrange the hospital admission. I called your name twice but unfortunately you were sleeping too deeply. There were also matters at the company that required my attention. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay with you, Uncle.”
Lin Shuosheng stared at him blankly, his lips parting slightly.
It seemed Qin Shun had already guessed what he was thinking.
“You want to ask how I managed to handle everything on your behalf, don’t you? I’ve taken care of you since I was young. Of course I know where you like to keep your documents and with this face of mine, when I pretend to be a good person, no one ever suspects anything.”
He continued, “Now you can relax. In the future, you can live at my place and I’ll take care of you. Uncle, I’m sorry. Yesterday I was in too much of a hurry and didn’t get the chance to show you the study.”
“Didn’t you once tell me that your ancestors were a scholarly family back in your hometown? I went to take a look. I’ve already arranged a study for you, exactly the same as the one you described…”
When he realized there was no response from the passenger seat, Qin Shun turned his head to look.
Lin Shuosheng was crying again.
Qin Shun slowed the car and pulled over at the side of the road.
“Uncle.”
He reached out and held Lin Shuosheng’s icy cold hand.
“You really haven’t changed. You’re still just as fond of crying as ever.”
Tears fell one by one, landing on the back of his hand and on the fabric of his trousers.
Through clenched teeth, Lin Shuosheng forced out a few words.
“Out of everyone you could mess with… why did it have to be me?”
“I only want to mess with you.”
After saying that, Qin Shun leaned closer.
Lin Shuosheng, now with some experience, immediately reacted. His face was streaked with tears, flushed red as he quickly turned away to avoid him.
“The gossip tabloids in this city chase after you every single day,” he said hoarsely. “Aren’t you afraid someone might take a picture? You’d end up with no place to hide even in death…”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
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← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · UncleChapter 2 · Ran AwayChapter 3 · TimidChapter 4 · DeceasedChapter 5 · Grow upChapter 6 · CharmChapter 7 · EndureChapter 8 · Biological FatherChapter 9 · ContestChapter 10 · MisunderstoodChapter 11 · BreakChapter 12 · ReunionChapter 13 · MeetChapter 14 · To clearChapter 15 · InstructionsChapter 16 · RegretChapter 17 · SecretChapter 18 · Subtle SophistryChapter 19 · GuestChapter 20 · KissingChapter 21 · Extra 1Chapter 22 · Extra 2Chapter 23 · Extra 3Chapter 24 · Extra 4Chapter 25 · Extra 5Chapter 26 · Extra 6Chapter 27 · Extra 7Chapter 28 · Extra 8