24. Alligator

When Xie Yan looked at him with those sorrowful eyes, what kind of emotions did Shen Cizhu have?

“Xie Yan… Why did you come?”

Every word uttered from Shen Cizhu’s throat made his cheeks burn.

Shen Cizhu is in too much chaos, inside his body has been struck by scorching heat, and the inner sides of his thighs are wet and red. His raven-like long hair has sweated and fallen onto his arms, resembling veins emerging from the skin—treacherous yet beautiful.

His body was trembling, weak, and cold. His palms pressed against Xie Hou’s chest, and Xie Hou lowered his eyes, staring from eyebrows to chin.

Every part was thoroughly invaded by Xie Hou’s gaze.

“Shen Cizhu, do you like it?” Xie Hou’s eyeballs gently moved, looking at Xie Yan, who was pale in front of the sofa. “Gege is watching you. Do you like it?”

“Lunatic…” Shen Cizhu’s pupils widened, a kind of speechless beauty.

At this moment, he understood something.

Why did Xie Yan come?

Because of Xie Hou.

Xie Hou made his brother stand aside, within arm’s reach, even the ambiguous spring tide in the air could be smelled.

Was it to show off? Or to provoke his brother?

This shouldn’t be the case… Xie Yan shouldn’t be here…

“… Xie Yan, get out! You fucking… Are you crazy?” Shen Cizhu collapsed, his face filled with the colors of alcohol and desire, his teeth biting his lips, with hatred towards Xie Hou.

Why did he call Xie Yan over…

He closed his eyes, he dared not look at Xie Yan. Xie Yan’s gaze made him unable to escape. Why did he do this with Xie Hou?

This was clearly the thing he feared the most. When he was in a relationship with Xie Yan, they never reached this final step. Xie Yan said he respected everything about him, so he didn’t know what this taste would be like.

But just now, he felt an overwhelming pleasure. He was enjoying the taste Xie Yan brought him, almost obsessed.

But Xie Yan saw it all.

Shen Cizhu’s mind is now in a drunken haze. He doesn’t know what to do to make Xie Yan leave, and he doesn’t know how Xie Yan will treat him.

Is this considered betrayal?

But he and Xie Yan have no relationship anymore.

No relationship…?

Shen Cizhu’s fingertips tremble slightly. He wants to climb down from the sofa, but Xie Hou, like a young mountain, presses him down.

“Xie Hou!!!” “Let go of him… Xie Hou!!!”

Finally, it’s Xie Yan who angrily shouts Xie Hou’s name.

Xie Yan’s eyes are bloodshot, and his fists creak.

In Shen Cizhu’s ears are the sounds of Xie Yan’s fists repeatedly hitting Xie Hou. Each punch carries a hatred and anger with deadly intent. Xie Hou remains silent, allowing his brother to beat him.

Shen Cizhu even hears the sound of bones breaking.

Shen Cizhu sits up, his back covered by dark hair. His skin is snow-white, appearing immaculate in the dim room.

But his facial features are too alluring—from the thick, long, moist lashes to the gracefully curved nose, and the slightly parted lips with a blood-red hue, like a sin that no one can resist.

The furniture is all smashed; in the thunderous crash, all fragile items have become ruins.

“You scoundrel! Xie Hou! What have you done to him! What have you done to him!!! What have you done!!!” Xie Yan presses Xie Hou beneath him, Xie Hou’s face covered in blood and wounds.

“Ge, he did it willingly.”

“He didn’t willingly… He’s most afraid of that kind of thing… Why did you… Why!!! Xie Hou, you tell me!!!” Xie Yan’s voice is hoarse, his roar is like a wind on the verge of breaking, burning into desperate collapse after being scorched by raging flames.

“Xie Hou, your mother killed my father.”

“Now, you’re treating the person I love like this… Do you hate me so much? You might as well kill me… Xie Hou!!! You should have let your mother… kill me together back then…”

Xie Yan’s palms are covered in Xie Hou’s blood, and his wrists are all bruised. As he looks at Xie Hou’s face, an unexpected sense of reluctance starts to emerge.

“Brother, I appreciate your nurturing kindness, so I’m repaying you. Don’t you like everything you just saw? That’s something you can never see in your entire life, right?” Xie Hou, feeling no pain, raises his chin with indifference.

The thin silver moonlight spills onto his skin. His nose is like a snowy mountain, a cold and pure curve piercing directly into Shen Cizhu’s senses.

His amber-colored pupils, like cold jewels, tilt upward. Xie Hou stares fixedly at Shen Cizhu, his cheeks flushed, and a morbid smile tugging at the corner of his lips, his sharp teeth chilling.

Don’t look at me.

Don’t look at me.

Shen Cizhu covers his head, hunches his body, as if avoiding something. His legs are in excruciating pain.

Even after sobering up, he still feels the pain. He doesn’t understand why he did it with Xie Hou.

Was it because of the cheap, substandard wine?

Was it because of Xie Hou’s cold eyes?

Or was it his desire for conquest? His indulgence? Or has he always yearned for that kind of thing?

Does he yearn for it? Yearn to be kissed, to be wholeheartedly needed, to have someone hold him in the throes of impending pleasure?

He always thought these things should come from Xie Yan, not Xie Hou.

He still wanted to go to Rotterdam with Xie Yan, to live in a small house surrounded by apple blossoms…

He has never seen real apple blossoms.

—Creak.

In the midst of the intense contraction and expansion of his numb neural pathways, Shen Cizhu hears the apartment door being pushed open.

He arches his body, arms resting on his knees. Through a narrow gap, he sees that Xie Hou is no longer there.

Xie Hou has left.

The pointed tip of Xie Yan’s leather shoes was stained with blood. He turned off the indoor light, and in an instant, everything plunged into complete darkness.

Shen Cizhu couldn’t see anything.

But he heard Xie Yan’s footsteps, very light, very gentle, with a hint of a fishy smell on him.

Xie Yan slowly squatted down in front of Shen Cizhu, approaching him with a soothing aura.

“Look up, look at me, don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

“Xie Yan… I, I don’t remember… Just now, I kissed him, and then, then I…” Shen Cizhu trembled as he raised his head. In front of Xie Yan, he was forever a child, that fifteen-year-old, lacking love, arrogant, and wholeheartedly dependent on Xie Yan.

To spare him embarrassment, Xie Yan turned off the light.

Shen Cizhu couldn’t see Xie Yan’s eyes, so he raised his hand, exploring with chilly palms to touch Xie Yan’s cheek so close.

His feet touched the ground, with Xie Yan’s warm thighs beneath them. Shen Cizhu stepped on Xie Yan’s thighs, then leaned down, gently trembling as he hugged Xie Yan’s neck.

“It’s okay, as long as you’re happy. Weren’t you happy just now?” Xie Yan’s nose was buried in Shen Cizhu’s neck. He sniffled, as if suppressing a choked emotion.

“Zhuzhu, is your leg injured? Should I go buy medicine for you? After applying the medicine, it won’t hurt anymore… Let’s go home. Xie Hou… I didn’t know he would treat you like that. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do… He’s my brother, my brother… But now, I’m starting to fear him.” Xie Yan’s voice trembled, a hoarseness and helplessness behind closed teeth.

Shen Cizhu couldn’t answer.

He thought it was voluntary, his relationship with Xie Hou, it was voluntary.

But it hurt Xie Yan so much. What did Xie Yan do wrong? Why should he be hurt like this?

Shen Cizhu regretted it now, but why was he regretting it?

He didn’t understand himself.

“Zhuzhu, I’m sorry…” Xie Yan continued to apologize.

He finally extinguished the last bit of anger. He was gentle again, omnipotent, the one who could shelter Shen Cizhu. He murmured softly, “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

If I had been a bit more selfish, if I hadn’t obeyed your father’s command, if he had been ruthless to his benefactor, would I dare to take you away and live together forever?

“I love you.” Xie Yan’s face nuzzled against Shen Cizhu’s neck. “I will love you forever.”

Shen Cizhu lowered his eyes. In the abyss-like darkness, he thought, but I don’t love you.

What should I do, Xie Yan? I can’t find the time when I loved you ah.

He didn’t understand.

When Xie Hou went out, he lifted the black T-shirt, wiping the blood off his face, and continued down to his slender neck.

His face remained exceptionally beautiful, with a clean vigor of life that had recently matured. The clear and slender cheeks carried a glossy glaze, each contour resembling ink strokes.

The youth was covered by the cold exterior called rationality, becoming a snow-white and pure seagull. He looked down on everything, with a hint of confusion.

“Shen Cizhu.” The red mole on his throat moved subtly, and a mouthful of blood was swallowed.

Xie Hou stood outside the door, closed his eyes, and heard his brother crying loudly. It was an undignified, collapsing wail. Shen Cizhu made no sound, Shen Cizhu did not respond to his brother’s despair.

His fingers lifted, pressed against the rose-petal-like lips, then lowered his head. With an ethereal and misty demeanor, he tilted his head slightly, and his gaze spun for an instant.

He concealed the cold smile in this moonlit night.

The moon was imprisoned at the tip of the icy and dark forest, emerald green light like gemstones replaced the silver-white, penetrating the moon’s body. Even the blood had changed its master.

Then his eyeballs slowly moved downward, looking at a car not far from the apartment under the streetlight.

In the rear window, Mr. Xiao coldly revealed a side face. Traces of the passage of time were stored at the corners of his pale eyes, long lashes slightly frowned in an elegant and dense manner.

In a moment of trance, he bore some resemblance to Xie Hou. Both had a calm and detached demeanor when not smiling, amber eyes seemingly sensing something. He lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Xie Hou on the second floor of the apartment.

A long, meaningfully ambiguous stare.

He was the man who had a conversation with Xie Hou on the night of the explosion at the Handshake Tower in the capital.

After Xie Hou got in the car, Mr. Xiao had the several women who had been waiting in the car treat his wounds with the highest-grade medicine.

“The feeling of being beaten by lowly people, is it comfortable?” Mr. Xiao sat on the sofa, his fingertips holding an antique pipe, smoke curling, giving him a cold divinity.

“Xie Hou, my son shouldn’t be humiliated like this.”

“He is my older brother. I did something wrong, and he hit me. I won’t retaliate.” Xie Hou said calmly.

“Therefore, how is it to be with a man?” Mr. Xiao lightly lifted his eyelids.

Seeming indifferent, he continued, “Or watched by your brother himself.”

“It’s really strange. We unexpectedly share the same taste. I also like showing your mother to other men because your mother is too beautiful. That appearance cannot be appreciated by others. What a pity, isn’t it?” Mr. Xiao handed the pipe to a servant. He seemed a bit weary, as if recalling something.

“Xie Hou, do you love him?” he continued.

Xie Hou looked up.

Mr. Xiao stared into Xie Hou’s eyes, pondering for a moment. “Then I can’t let him stay.”

“It won’t affect anything.” Xie Hou’s five fingers clenched, and his bones creaked. “Father, you promised not to harm him.”

“It’s because I loved your mother. You are my son.”

Mr. Xiao was far more ruthless than the now eighteen-year-old Xie Hou.

“Xie Hou, if you inherit my family, I won’t touch him at all. But everything after that must be under my control. You must become the most outstanding successor.” Mr. Xiao’s tone was extremely cold.

“Shen family.” Xie Hou raised his hand to dismiss the women.

“The purpose of my return to the country is, firstly, you, and secondly, the Shen family. You know that.”

“You can try.” Xie Hou tilted his head, his eyes cold.

“Truly my son.” Mr. Xiao showed the first stingy smile of the night, a characteristically rare occurrence. In this aspect, he was quite similar to Xie Hou.

“Welcome to join my family, Xie Hou.” He formally looked at Xie Hou.

After Xie Hou got out of the car, a man silently appeared behind Mr. Xiao. The man bent down, listening to Mr. Xiao’s instructions.

“My son fell in love with a man, just as naive as I was when I was young.” He said gently, “Take care of it, it’s just a child’s play.”

As the subordinate was about to leave, Mr. Xiao stopped him.

Mr. Xiao’s wrist had a string of sandalwood Buddhist beads, and his other hand rested on top, giving it a twist.

“Wait until I bring Xie Hou back to the United States and hand over all my responsibilities, then take action.”

So, a year later, when the letter from the head of the world’s largest financial conglomerate, the American-Chinese man known as “Mr. Xiao,” arrived at the Shen family in the capital, the family head of the Shen family showed a peculiar expression.

Then he looked at Shen Cizhu. “Do you want to meet Mr. Xiao?”

Shen Cizhu took the letter. He looked at the sinister green alligator wax seal, opened it, and found an invitation to a charity auction inside.

The venue was on the Danube River in Budapest.

It was the location of the illegal explosion by an international criminal organization almost a year ago, causing nearly a hundred people to go missing.

Author’s Note:

The plot returns to the first chapter.

The flashback ends.

It’s a wife chasing crematorium, the gong is quite crazy, inherently bad, and he has no morals.

TN:
Other than Xie Yan, everyone else in this story is f*ckin insane!