The person who entered kept his head down, so he didn’t notice Cen Jin standing at the entrance of the bedroom at first.
Recognizing the intruder’s figure immediately, Cen Jin felt his heart tighten and hurried back onto Talon’s bed.
Having walked across the floor only in his socks and not wanting to dirty Talon’s bed, he knelt on top of the mattress.
Due to nervousness, he grabbed a corner of the quilt to cover his legs, clutching it with both hands. He deliberately slowed his breathing and stared intently at the bedroom door.
When Weixin saw the neat row of shoes placed at the doorway, he paused. The size of these small leather shoes was noticeably much smaller than the sneakers beside them clearly belonging to an outsider.
Mann asked from behind, “What’s wrong?”
Following Weixin’s gaze, he too spotted the small leather shoes.
Unlike the rigid Weixin, Mann wasn’t as inflexible. Although the Hunter Code required them to remain austere and clear-minded, Mann rarely restricted himself within such rigid rules and regulations.
Mann patted Weixin’s shoulder, motioning for him to keep an open mind. “It’s normal. Talon is a man, too; having needs is completely natural.”
“No wonder he didn’t answer calls or reply to messages. We’ve gone and ruined his good mood.”
Wearing an understanding expression, Mann made a move to step back out of Talon’s apartment.
However, Weixin coldly spat out a few words: “You forgot what he said when he left.”
Mann paused, his gentle smile fading slightly.
Realistically speaking, whoever Talon chose to pursue had nothing to do with either of them.
Yet, thinking of how Cen Jin had looked yesterday left Mann feeling a bit unsettled.
He knew very well what kind of person Talon was.
Innocent young men like Cen Jin were the easiest to be deceived by men like Talon.
Putting aside his nonchalant attitude, Mann walked right inside without bothering to change his shoes, even as Weixin stood frozen at the doorway.
To disrupt Talon’s plans, the two of them showed an eerie tacit agreement at this moment, making no loud noises as they walked with determined purpose toward the bedroom.
The further inside they went, the more distinct the sound of running water from the bathroom became.
Mann cast a peculiar look back at Weixin, just as Weixin was closing and locking the bedroom door.
Weixin also glanced toward the bathroom door.
The mere thought of what would transpire between Talon and Cen Jin if he hadn’t come to stop it left him with an indescribable feeling in his chest.
If Cen Jin wasn’t in the living room, where else could he be?
The answer was already obvious.
Both Mann and Weixin walked into the bedroom.
Even when intentionally muted, the sound of hard shoe soles treading on the floor still produced faint noises.
Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Cen Jin grew increasingly nervous, his hands sweating as they gripped the quilt.
In that brief span of time, he had conjured countless excuses in his mind, including why he happened to be inside Talon’s apartment.
Cen Jin considered these fabrications quite well-woven, but a voice suddenly ringing out in his head completely threw him off balance.
Your shirt button isn’t done up properly; the bite marks are showing.
Ahhhhh—!
Why didn’t you say so sooner?!
A shadow cast from the left side of the bedroom doorway and came to a halt.
Staring fixedly at that patch of shadow on the floor, Cen Jin felt his heart leap into his throat as he frantically fumbled to button his shirt.
After pausing briefly, the figure resumed walking toward him.
Just as Mann appeared in the doorway, Cen Jin finished fastening his button and lowered his hands.
Mann said, “Cen Jin…”
Biting his lip, Cen Jin looked timidly at the two hunters standing at the entrance.
In that instant, an impulse to run away actually flashed through his mind.
However, with the two hunters blocking the bedroom door completely, Cen Jin knew that any movement on his part would result in being intercepted.
The legs tucked beneath his hips began to go numb, and the soreness caused Cen Jin’s entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
Noticing Cen Jin trembling as he stood close by, Mann softened his voice. “Don’t be afraid.”
Unsure of what Mann was thinking, Cen Jin remained silent, merely gazing at them in a daze.
Seeming genuinely afraid that Cen Jin might bolt, Mann and Weixin seated themselves on his left and right respectively.
Feeling both sides of the mattress sink, Cen Jin thought about shifting into a more comfortable posture. The moment he started to rise, Weixin caught him.
“Don’t move,” Weixin commanded coldly, tossing out the two words like frost.
Though Weixin was always like this, it still gave Cen Jin the creeping illusion that he had somehow provoked the man.
Cen Jin hurriedly dropped his lifted hips back down, pressing his weight once more against his heels.
My legs are so numb.
Left with no other option, Cen Jin could only grip the quilt tighter.
Noticing the action, Weixin asked, “What are you trying to hide?”
I’m not hiding anything.
For a moment, Cen Jin failed to process the remark, staring blankly at Weixin.
Not expecting any reply, Weixin reached out and yanked the quilt directly out of Cen Jin’s hands.
Startled by the abrupt movement, Cen Jin’s arm jerked. Instead of letting go, he clutched it even tighter.
The sudden tug forced a tiny, mosquito-like whimper from his throat.
Frowning, Weixin gave the quilt another pull.
Cen Jin’s arms and entire upper body swayed with the force, yet he still refused to release his grip.
Biting his lip and avoiding Weixin’s gaze, Cen Jin stubbornly engaged in a silent tug-of-war.
Mann hadn’t expected Weixin to act so abruptly either; it looked entirely too much like bullying.
Seeking to smooth things over, Mann intervened, “He might be cold. Just let him keep it.”
Realizing how bizarre his behavior looked, Weixin took the opportunity Mann provided to let go.
Cen Jin let out a quiet sigh of relief, but the next second, Mann asked, “Is Talon taking a shower?”
The answer was self-evident, yet Mann asked anyway.
Cen Jin cast a sideways glance toward the bathroom and let out a soft, affirmative hum.
“Cat got your tongue?” Weixin snapped impatiently.
Slightly furrowing his brow, Cen Jin glanced at Weixin. The resentment in his look instantly evaporated the moment it met Weixin’s cold glare, scattering the courage he had just managed to muster.
Cen Jin lowered his head again, idly pinching the duvet cover to distract himself from the lingering numbness in his legs.
A strange sense of grievance suddenly welled up inside Weixin.
Why won’t he look at me?
If he hadn’t done anything wrong, what was there to fear?
“Why is Talon taking a shower?” Weixin demanded expressionlessly.
All the excuses Cen Jin had prepared earlier were useless now he couldn’t recall a single one.
Evasively and stammeringly, he offered, “Because, his clothes got dirty.”
“Hmph,” Weixin sneered.
Mann pressed on, “Why did he want you to wait on the bed?”
Cen Jin flicked his gaze up at him. Despite maintaining a gentle expression, Mann suddenly felt just as altered and unfamiliar as Weixin.
Do they suspect me of trying to harm Talon?
Cen Jin always reacted a beat behind.
Instead of rushing him, Mann simply waited with quiet patience.
“Because… I don’t know. He carried me… told me to wait here…”
“Carried you?” Weixin’s brow twitched.
Cen Jin lightly bit the tip of his tongue, wanting to say something in defense.
Yet under Weixin’s intense scrutiny, the lie teetering on the edge of his tongue dissolved back into silence.
“He brought you into his bedroom and made you wait for him on his bed,” Weixin said, enunciating each word clearly.
Cen Jin’s earlobes grew hot.
Even though truly nothing had happened, the way Weixin phrased it made the situation sound utterly ambiguous and strange.
Unrelenting, Weixin continued, “You do whatever he tells you to do? If he tells you to get on his bed, you get on it?”
Mann chimed in with another question: “What did he do to you before he went to shower? Why is the bed so messy?”
Cen Jin certainly couldn’t tell them that the mess was caused by his frantic scramble onto the bed to hide after searching Talon’s room out of fear of getting caught.
Having no idea how to explain himself, Cen Jin closed his eyes and flatly refused to answer. “I don’t know…”
“Get down.” Placing a hand on Cen Jin’s back, Mann nudged him gently forward.
With his legs still intensely numb, Cen Jin had to support himself with both hands, crawling on his knees toward the edge of the mattress.
Though an ordinary posture, the conversation that preceded it naturally conjured up provocative imagery.
The air grew stagnant for a fraction of a second.
Coughing awkwardly behind a closed fist, Mann dragged his gaze away from the indentation of Cen Jin’s waist.
Weixin was much bolder. Counting on the fact that Cen Jin wouldn’t notice him staring from behind, he brazenly took in every detail of Cen Jin’s figure, his gaze lingering longest on the feet clad in sheer black calf-length socks and the curves facing his direction.
Just as Cen Jin prepared to step directly onto the floor, Mann caught him and seated him firmly on the edge of the bed.
“Why is there only one shoe?”
“…The other one fell off.”
“Where did it fall?” Mann started to reach for it.
Cen Jin hastily grabbed the hem of Mann’s shirt. “In… in the bathroom.”
Mann stiffened.
Looking back down at the hand that had just released his shirt and was now slowly falling away, Mann somehow found himself reaching out to clasp the small fingers.
Cen Jin’s hand was so tiny that Mann could enclose it completely within his own palm.
“Let’s go out to the living room first,” Mann said. “I’ll carry you.”
Pushing against Mann’s abdomen and tilting his head back to look up at him, Cen Jin said earnestly, “It’s fine, I can walk myself.”
Walking over and catching sight of the mismatched slipper by the bedside, Weixin recalled Cen Jin’s earlier words, and his mood soured with unexplainable irritation.
“You two really know how to play wild. From the bathroom to the bedroom, and Talon actually remembered to shower, ha? truly remarkable.”
Neither Mann nor Weixin had expected such blunt phrasing from Weixin; both of their complexions shifted.
Cen Jin bit down hard on his lower lip. He wanted to refute the claim, but had no idea how.
Should I tell them we were just drinking blood?
That would only make things infinitely worse.
“Not denying it?”
Watching Cen Jin endure the grievance in silence only increased Weixin’s irritation.
“Talon never brings anyone home normally. Besides, he’s still a virgin.”
Enduring as long as he could, Cen Jin finally snapped, “So what if he’s a virgin? What does that have to do with—”
“So he doesn’t have any condoms at home,” Weixin interrupted, fixing his gaze on Cen Jin to catch every micro-expression.
Cen Jin froze, his mouth hanging open without a word.
“So having held back for over twenty years, he won’t care about your feelings. He’ll torture you until you can’t even cry out, until you pass out cold.”
“When you wake up, you won’t even be able to walk. If you need to use the restroom, he’ll hold you up like a toddler and humiliate you. You won’t be able to stop him at all; you’ll just be left crying with a hoarse voice. Do you think crying will make him let you go?”
Standing right in front of Cen Jin and looking straight down into his eyes, Weixin recited the brutally vicious warnings with a completely deadpan expression, as if speaking of trivial weather.
“No, it will only make him push harder. From the balcony to the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and finally the bedroom. Fluids flowing everywhere without a valve to stop it. He’ll drain you dry in every corner of his house until not a single drop is left.”
Breathing heavily, Cen Jin felt a mix of intense humiliation and anger.
Clenching his fists tightly as he stared into Weixin’s icy-cold face, he found himself entirely devoid of words.
His body trembled involuntarily. No one had ever spoken to him like this before, especially not right to his face with such harsh insults.
Ever since Weixin mentioned the lack of protective measures, Cen Jin had tuned out the majority of the terrifying speech.
The predator aura radiating from Weixin was so overwhelming that it made Cen Jin feel as though Weixin were the actual vampire and he himself the helpless human.
Unsure of how to handle a situation spiraling this far out of control, Cen Jin could only bite his lower lip and tense his entire body, desperate to stop his unworthy frame from trembling.
He could sense the extreme danger emanating from Weixin at that moment—it felt as though the hunter might actually slaughter him like a rogue vampire.
This was a primal terror etched straight into his bloodline.
Especially for a weak vampire like Cen Jin.
Only now did Cen Jin truly comprehend the weight behind Weixin’s title as the Chief Hunter, especially given that Weixin wasn’t even planning to harm him yet.
Deciding that Weixin had crossed a line, Mann shoved Weixin away from Cen Jin.
Finally able to catch his breath, Cen Jin relaxed his rigid shoulders.
Lifting Cen Jin into his arms, Mann paused briefly as he brushed past Weixin.
Yet, feeling the person in his arms tighten their grip around his neck, Mann simply gave Weixin a complicated look before carrying Cen Jin straight out of the bedroom.