14: Profanity

A long, slender cigarette was held loosely between Xie Hou’s fingers. His fingertips were strong and restrained, and with his silver-framed glasses, he appeared surprisingly seductive.

Xie Hou seemed not to notice that Shen Cizhu was watching him. He casually brought the cigarette to his lips, taking a deep drag. Delicate wisps of smoke curled up in the air, forming a shape resembling the last lotus on a snowy mountain.

He continued to play with the Rubik’s Cube, scrambling it once again for the next challenge.

In the play of light and shadow, Xie Hou’s superior bone structure, his unparalleled handsome appearance, overshadowed even his older brother, Xie Yan. Even in this rundown place, he stood out like a lone star, pure as jade, and elegant as a white crane.

One would almost suspect if they were really brothers, but no one did because Xie Hou’s every move was an exact replica of his brother. It was as if they were cut from the same mold.

Both Xie Hou and Xie Yan had a habit of slightly furrowing their brows when they smoked.

Shen Cizhu chuckled softly, and his voice was as gentle as spring sunshine.

Xie Hou seemed to sense something. His cold, phoenix-like eyes glanced over, and there were tiny red dots in the hollow of his throat, as if desire and heat were pouring out from within.

“Not sleeping?” Xie Hou asked.

“Aren’t you sleeping with me?” Shen Cizhu crumpled the paper cup into a thin piece and threw it into the trash.

The advantage of a small house was that they were never too far apart, no matter what they did.

Shen Cizhu walked to the balcony, and the adjacent apartments and their residents were within earshot. He could hear the snores coming from the neighbor’s house clearly.

“Xie Hou, when you were bullied by Zhou Ping and his gang tonight, do you know why I helped you?” he asked.

“Just using me, right?” Xie Hou replied. “Did you get what you wanted?”

When Shen Cizhu stepped in to help him, it was merely to draw out a two-million-dollar gambling debt owed to Zhou Ping and his gang and to use that debt as leverage to make Zhou Ping and his associates willingly follow Shen Cizhu.

Such a smart kid, he got it all instantly.

Shen Cizhu felt content at this moment, but then a bit troubled.

He had to stand on his tiptoes to get a clear look at Xie Hou’s beautiful and exceptionally intelligent eyes.

“I’ve been good to you, helped you out, not just for personal gain, and not just because you’re my… little cousin?” Shen Cizhu smiled. “Xie Hou, you knew long ago that your brother dumped me, right? Why did you pretend not to know back then?”

“Was it to make me think you were innocent? But you’re not innocent at all, and you’re quite adept at using people, aren’t you?”

Tonight, he had manipulated Shen Cizhu to become a witness in a murder case and thereby clear himself of suspicion.

Xie Hou remained silent.

“So you should understand that I’m helping you not because I’m your sister-in-law, but because I have no relationship with your brother anymore. So, why would I help you? Besides using each other and gaining what we need, I actually… like you,” Shen Cizhu lied.

In the moonlight and starlight, amidst the wild, drunken flames, his nose gently approached Xie Hou’s chin. His eyelashes swept across Xie Hou’s lips, innocent in appearance.

Xie Hou’s cigarette was still between his fingers. His fingers were long and bore a silent strength, faintly calloused.

The taste of smoke lingered on Xie Hou’s lips. See, even immortals can get dirty.

“Xie Hou, do you want to try? I can show you the most incredible thing in this world,” Shen Cizhu removed Xie Hou’s glasses, tilting his head back. The skin under his eyes was now as white as snow and slightly red, like a beautiful and sickly rose.

Sickly and yet breathtakingly alive.

The most incredible thing is the moment when pain wraps around you and when you shatter your opponent’s dignity.

His arms circled Xie Hou’s, who had no upper body clothing. He could sense the slight tension in the young man’s back muscles.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Xie Hou finally took him seriously. “Shen Cizhu.”

“You know I’m not normal; I’m insane,” Shen Cizhu shrugged, feigning innocence.

He leaned in, like a predator.

When he reached the perfect distance for a kiss, with their lips nearly touching and their breaths mingling, he stopped just before the perilous moment.

Xie Hou’s expression remained unchanged.

“It’s really strange, Xie Hou, why can only you see through my facade? Only you know… they all think I’m a good person, it’s disgusting. No matter what I do, they believe I’m innocent. It’s infuriating.”

Shen Cizhu lifted his finger to cover Xie Hou’s wrist, slowly taking the cigarette that had been in Xie Hou’s mouth.

“Xie Hou, I don’t want to be seen as innocent. It feels too miserable. It’s only you who believes I’m insane. It’s wonderful… I’m so happy.”

Shen Cizhu put the cigarette to his lips, then suddenly changed its direction. He let the burning end touch his tongue.

“Hiss.”

Fire and flesh seared together.

His tongue turned slightly red and swollen, touched by the burning ember, protruding innocently from behind his white teeth.

Speaking in slow, almost indifferent French, he kept his lips suggestive.

He said, “Je veux te baiser.”

“I want to f**k you.”

Xie Hou was about to speak, but Shen Cizhu suddenly hooked his neck, forcing him to lean down.

His tongue licked Xie Hou’s cheek, passing on the burning sensation and heat, making Xie Hou share in the pain.

He was about to bite Xie Hou’s lips and tongue when Xie Hou preempted him. With cold, rational control, he held Shen Cizhu’s chin as if grasping a snake’s neck.

Shen Cizhu couldn’t move, and his head tilted to the side.

“You should go to bed when you have a fever and not come out to do naughty things, or else—” Xie Hou leaned down with an unruffled tone, lips slightly warm yet distant like frost and snow.

“Je te baiserai avant ça.”
I will f*k you first

Xie Hou uttered some dirty talk in a seemingly proper tone.

His face was illuminated by a dim light from outside the building, briefly engulfed in a cold and dreamy glow that resembled drowning in the brilliant depths of the sea.

This residential area did have streetlights, but they were far away, their soft glow covered by fireflies, casting a gentle light that created a web of moonlight veils across the ground. The area was dimly lit, as if someone had plucked out the divine eyes watching from above.

So the deity didn’t witness Shen Cizhu’s insanity and absurdity.

“But I’m not forcing you. Where would you like to f***?” Shen Cizhu’s tongue flicked slightly, and Xie Hou still held his chin, his palm close.

Shen Cizhu’s tongue licked Xie Hou’s palm, and then a pair of seductive and venomous eyes slowly lifted, their lashes like butterfly wings, giving his red-wine-colored eyes an appearance of naive decadence.

It was as if he genuinely didn’t understand, not even the most basic male and female physiological structures.

Men could do that too.

Shen Cizhu.

Xie Hou’s eyes dimmed slightly.