Chapter 21: Being the Third Wheel

The night wind was chilly, sneaking in through the car window, mingling with the light, quickly dissipating the warmth inside the car, leaving only cold silence. The shadows cast by the light obscured most of Song Chunhui’s lower face, blurring his expression, leaving no one to guess what he was thinking.

Li Huan didn’t care what Song Chunhui was thinking, nor did he mind the phone that had been thrown out. He only knew that the little walnut in his palm had suddenly wilted, making it hard to play with. If he really scared the four-eyed guy, how could he continue to have fun?

He quickly closed the car window, shutting out the cold and light, and hugged the man still nestled in his arms tightly. With his other hand, he continued to play with the walnut while coaxing Song Chunhui. “Just kidding, I didn’t back it up.”

Li Huan’s hand moved up to stroke Song Chunhui’s fluffy head, first patting it, then rubbing it. The black hair was soft and smooth, feeling nice to the touch. There was no pungent smell, only a faint scent of soap.

He had wanted to do this earlier. His fingers ran through Song Chunhui’s hair, gently scratching twice, then he said, “I just saved a copy in a file for a keepsake. Now that you’ve smashed my phone, it’s gone.”

What a load of crap about keepsakes, isn’t it still a backup?

In that brief half-minute, Song Chunhui only thought of one question—if he strangled someone with a belt, how many years would he have to sew in prison?

Still feeling deflated, Li Huan, who had been holding back for four days, had little patience left. He thought to himself that Song Chunhui must have come prepared tonight, probably because of the unexpected phone call he overheard yesterday. Feeling guilty and scared, he was eager to run away. Otherwise, how could he have shown such an obsequious attitude towards Director Wang?

“What are you afraid of?” Li Huan’s lips curled into a smile, using a mix of soft and hard tactics. “I did hear it yesterday, very clearly, but I don’t have any evidence of your corruption to report to headquarters. Besides, you’re my wife, and I can’t bear to.”

Hearing the threatening tone laced with laughter, Song Chunhui felt a chill down his spine. How could he have underestimated this fresh-out-of-college student? Time and again, he was played like a monkey, losing all face and dignity.

“How about this,” Li Huan suggested, “Wife, you share some of the profits with me, and then we’re partners in crime.”

Just a second ago, Song Chunhui had been silently warning himself not to let a brat easily ruin his life, not to lose, and to fight for dignity even if he couldn’t win face. However, at this moment, anger wrapped in despair instantly overwhelmed his rationality. He lost all scruples and suddenly threw out the tool he had secretly fumbled for earlier.

The belt drew an arc in the darkness, precisely wrapping around Li Huan’s neck. Song Chunhui’s right hand quickly tightened the other end, using all his strength to strangle him, his mind filled with murderous intent, forgetting his loose waistband. He almost straddled Li Huan, hitting his head on the car roof without realizing it.

His eyes were red with anger, and he was determined to fight to the death, even if it meant losing everything.

The rough belt rubbed tightly against the skin, and Li Huan’s throat emitted a “hissing” sound. As Song Chunhui continued to strangle him, his voice grew weaker, but he didn’t struggle. Instead, he used both hands to pinch Song Chunhui’s exposed buttocks. Every time Song Chunhui tightened the belt, he would squeeze harder, as if deriving a different kind of pleasure from the impending suffocation.

“I’ll kill you, you beast!” Song Chunhui roared, “I’ll kill you!”

On the brink of suffocation, Li Huan listened to Song Chunhui’s hysterical curses and heavy, sexy breathing, his eyes gradually filled with obsession. He was completely unaware, his mind filled with thoughts of how this man named Song Chunhui was truly exciting, and how he wanted to finish him off tonight.

“You deserve to die!” Song Chunhui tightened the belt even more, his palms starting to hurt, until the salty pig’s trotters on his buttocks suddenly lost strength and let go. He was momentarily stunned, then instinctively loosened his grip.

The belt fell silently, making a soft “plop” sound.

The sound was light, but to Song Chunhui’s ears, it was like a thunderclap. His whole body trembled violently, his face turning pale, and he collapsed into the “corpse’s” arms, his body going limp.

His breathing was erratic, gasping for air, trembling uncontrollably, his eyes filled with panic and fear. His heart was gripped by a huge sense of guilt, unable to believe he had really killed someone, a living, breathing person.

“Xiao Li?”

Song Chunhui’s vision was blurry, unable to see clearly. His glasses had been taken off by Li Huan during the kiss, and he didn’t know where they had been thrown.

He pressed himself against Li Huan’s chest in a panic, trying to catch a heartbeat with his ear, but there was none. The car was eerily quiet, and he could only hear his own “thump, thump, thump” of his racing heart.

“Xiao Li, Xiao Li…”

Song Chunhui frantically raised his hand, trembling as he touched Li Huan’s mouth and nose, his fingers pressing firmly against the philtrum, searching repeatedly, each second stretching into eternity.

In the brief yet endless minute, he never detected even the faintest breath.

He was really dead.

Everything was ruined.

This path of life had come to an end.

Song Chunhui was utterly despondent, plunged into complete despair. His mind replayed the trivial fragments of his past life like a revolving lantern, realizing that there was no sunshine after the storm.

He was the only college student in the village.

This was already the highlight of his life, and there would be no more.

His whole life was a joke. Tomorrow, the company would spread the news, then it would be on the news, passed back to headquarters, and then back to the village. No one would care about him or understand him, only spit on him and laugh at him as a murderer.

Faced with Song Chunhui’s embrace, Li Huan was overjoyed, grateful for his decent diving skills, holding his breath was no big deal.

But this four-eyed guy was really easy to scare. He didn’t even notice Li Huan deliberately blocking his heart with his hand. How silly, just a touch would have revealed the truth.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Li…”

Li Huan held back his laughter, ready to suddenly hug Song Chunhui to scare him, but paused when he heard a faint sniffle in the darkness, followed by another “I’m sorry,” this time with a trembling end.

Maybe he had gone too far?

“I’m really sorry…”

Living such a failed life, Song Chunhui held back the sour heat at the tip of his nose, trying hard to control his collapsing emotions, fumbling in his pocket for his phone, wanting to send a WeChat message to his junior to entrust his affairs, to compensate all his savings to Li Huan’s family.

He couldn’t face Li Huan’s family.

But his hands were shaking badly, his unbuttoned pants wrinkled and stuck at his thighs. The more he couldn’t get his phone out, the more aggrieved he felt, hating that even a small phone was against him, not letting him have peace before he died.

Why couldn’t it just let him…

Song Chunhui took a heavy sniff, and suddenly, a pair of strong arms hugged him tightly. He was so scared that his soul almost left his body, his whole being stiffening like a stone, unable to move.

“Wife, I’m so touched.” Li Huan hugged Song Chunhui tightly, turning his head to kiss his warm cheek. “Hearing you cry, I came back to life!”

“…”

“Next time, don’t try to murder your husband.”

“…”

“Turn your face, let me kiss you.” As soon as he finished speaking, Li Huan felt a gust of wind brush past his cheek, and with a crisp “slap,” his left cheek was slapped hard, his head tilting to the side from the force.

“I’ll f*** your grandpa!” Song Chunhui cried over his inescapable fate, realizing he had been played by Li Huan once again. He couldn’t control his emotions, grabbing Li Huan’s neck with his bare hands, cursing and swearing.

“You little bastard, your heart and liver are all black! You’re a waste of space! If I wasn’t afraid of going to jail, I would have killed you just now. What are you to dare ride on my head, born with a mother but not taught by one, today I’ll teach you a lesson for her!”

His cheek was burning.

Li Huan had been disciplined at home, but his dad only used a ruler to hit his palm, and his mom only scolded him verbally, never willing to hit him.

Since birth, this was the first proper slap he had received, different from the previous accidental one, Song Chunhui aimed for his face.

He grabbed Song Chunhui’s unruly wrists, his fingers closing in on the wrist bones. Taking advantage of Song Chunhui’s cry of pain, he hugged him, turned him around, and pressed him down on the seat, pinning him down before speaking, “Do you have to force me to be rough? You can’t beat me, so why bother.”

“F*** your mother!” The car’s small space made it hard for Song Chunhui to break free. He thought it would be safer without a bed, but in an instant, his legs felt cold, his trousers, thermal pants, and underwear all gone.

“Damn, wearing such thick thermal pants.” Li Huan only managed to pull out one leg, the limited space making it hard to move, so he let the thermal pants hang on Song Chunhui’s right ankle.

In utter despair, Song Chunhui had even thought about where to scatter his ashes. When he couldn’t stop the tears, he considered it as mourning for himself. After all, no one would cry for him, and crying over this shitty life wasn’t shameful.

With emotions rising and falling in a short time, Song Chunhui was physically and mentally exhausted, unable to curse anymore. He pathetically covered his eyes with his arm, out of sight, out of mind.

“I really almost suffocated just now, and you’re still throwing a tantrum, even slapped me.” Li Huan was quite angry, but also a bit frustrated.

It was his first time dealing with a man for so long, and only Song Chunhui kept throwing tantrums at him. He had never seen such a unique person, clearly enjoying it to death, wrapping him so tightly, yet whining when he pulled out, both wild and needy. It seemed he had to make some sacrifices to win over this four-eyed guy.

The car was excessively quiet, and in his breakdown, Song Chunhui remembered the WeChat message from his online dating partner earlier, suggesting they could start with a voice call.

He was eager to deal with the video and photos, to clean them up before facing this relationship.

Smelling the pleasant soap scent on Song Chunhui, Li Huan hesitated for half a second before decisively leaning down, thinking it was better to suffer first and enjoy later. Luckily, it was a small walnut.

Song Chunhui wanted to try one last time, to talk to Li Huan properly, but just as he was about to speak, his whole body felt like it was being ignited by fireworks, “boom,” rapidly boiling, something crashing through his veins, his whole body trembling with the intense heat. He was half-opened his mouth, stunned, his head dizzy. When he realized what Li Huan was doing, he panicked and grabbed Li Huan’s hair, trying to push him away. This was something even his first love despised, never done for him, dead gay people were indeed terrifying.

“Xiao Li! What are you doing, get off!”

Damn it, Li Huan was speechless with himself, lowering his status for a nagging four-eyed guy, he must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, yet the four-eyed guy was ungrateful, simply asking for a beating.

“Are you a pervert, dead gay, get off!” Song Chunhui couldn’t take it, the sky he had painstakingly rebuilt collapsed again, collapsing miserably.

Soon, Li Huan realized something was wrong. Song Chunhui’s mouth, which was just shouting and making noise, was either calling him a pervert or a dead gay, but the hand pulling his hair refused to let go, did he want it or not, the answer was obvious.

“Get off.”

Li Huan remembered a classic line from “The Legend of Zhen Huan” that his cousin forced him to watch, fitting perfectly with the current four-eyed guy, so he quickly lifted his head, dropped a line, “Flirty people are just pretentious, don’t pull my hair, it affects my performance,” and continued his grand plan.

“…” Song Chunhui’s breathing gradually quickened, his chest heaving violently, his wildly beating heart pounding against his chest, feeling like it would jump out of his throat. When the moment came, he suddenly felt scared, as if he had been infected with a terrifying virus by the gay, he had to stay away, immediately stay away.

Li Huan didn’t have time to dodge, getting a mouthful from Song Chunhui, his face instantly darkening. He quickly got up, opened the car window, stuck his head out, and vomited the Song family’s descendants, unable to clean it up, he spitefully turned back to kiss Song Chunhui, his tongue forcefully entering, touring the other’s mouth.

“Mm mm mm!” Tasting the strange flavor, the still-dazed Song Chunhui was once again terrified.

Li Huan didn’t linger long, quickly retreating. The dim streetlight cast a corner of light through the car window, he stared into Song Chunhui’s frightened eyes, maliciously smiling, “Did you enjoy it?”

“…” The cold wind poured into the car, Song Chunhui shivered.

“Just now you were shouting and making a fuss, such a big temper, now you’re pretending to be mute with me?” Li Huan’s hand pressed against little Song, deliberately rubbing twice, telling Song Chunhui, “I’ll go down to pick up the phone, wait for me obediently.”

Song Chunhui wanted to get up, but with Li Huan’s arm pressing him down, he had to cooperate and nod.

As soon as Li Huan got out of the car, he dared not put on his pants or shoes, with his thermal pants and underwear still hanging on his ankle, he embarrassingly crawled from the center console to the driver’s seat. Fortunately, he found his lost glasses on the passenger seat, quickly pulling off his pants, now he was safe.

The phone screen was shattered, the body had several bumps, Li Huan unlocked it to find it still usable. Just as he pocketed it, the roar of a car engine sounded, and Song Chunhui’s broken Mercedes sped away like an arrow from a bow, leaving him in the dust.

Good for you, four-eyed guy.

The night temperature dropped sharply, the cold wind howling.

Wearing only a shirt, Li Huan’s face was gloomy, staring at the spider-webbed phone screen, opening the video in the album, watching and listening.

*

Arriving downstairs at his place, Song Chunhui shrank his head, cautiously looking around, making sure there wasn’t a soul in sight before embarrassingly crawling back to the back seat.

Hastily putting on his pants and shoes, he was still worried, fearing the road’s surveillance cameras might have caught him driving with his bare butt, tonight was a major embarrassment.

Once inside, the first thing Song Chunhui did was rinse his mouth, then shower, especially washing that area several times, feeling uneasy while doing so.

The HIV prevention medication had arrived in the evening, but he hadn’t taken it yet.

Actually, Song Chunhui didn’t really want to take it, thinking that medicine is three parts poison, feeling that even without illness, taking it might cause one. But tonight, Li Huan had done that to him with his mouth, he was really scared, he should take it, couldn’t delay any longer.

Just as he took out the medicine, a knocking sound “bang bang bang” came from the door.

Song Chunhui looked at the door, feeling uneasy again, not believing Li Huan would be this crazy. The knocking continued “bang bang bang,” he quietly approached, and a terrifying voice followed from outside.

“Song Chunhui, open the door, I saw the light on.”

For the first time being called by his full name by Li Huan, Song Chunhui was uneasy, hesitating whether to turn off all the lights in the house, but he was afraid of the pitch-black darkness, turning them off now wouldn’t help.

“I know you’re behind the door, not opening, huh?”

“…” Song Chunhui pretended not to hear.

“Then I’ll shout loudly, wake up your neighbors upstairs and downstairs, let them see how you, a heartless man, wronged me. I’ll count three, two, one, you decide.”

“…” Song Chunhui thought Li Huan wouldn’t be this shameless.

“Three.”

“…” Only this brat would be embarrassed.

“Two.”

“…” Absolutely can’t open, opening means it’s over.

“One.”

“…” Song Chunhui pressed against the door, straining his ears to listen outside, his heart pounding, still thinking Li Huan wouldn’t be this shameless, at this hour, going crazy here.

“Song Chunhui! I made you feel good! You put on your pants and—” Hearing a “click,” the door opened, Li Huan stopped just in time.

He looked at the serious, cold face appearing in the door crack, directly grabbing the door frame, pushing it open, hugging Song Chunhui as he entered, kicking the door shut, and hugging him tightly, trying to draw warmth from him.

“What the hell are you doing? Get back to the dorm!” Song Chunhui cursed.

“Damn, really a heartless man.” Li Huan rubbed his face against Song Chunhui’s warm cheek, “I’m freezing, at least leave me some clothes! I spent twenty bucks on a ride here, reimburse me!”

Twenty bucks could cover Song Chunhui’s three meals a day, reimbursement was out of the question.

He couldn’t push away Li Huan’s tall, strong figure, not knowing how to handle it, this brat didn’t even give him time to run away overnight, just barged in like this.

Li Huan then took a look at Song Chunhui’s place, a small one-bedroom apartment, not much furniture, slightly shabby, but the bed in the bedroom was quite large, about 1.8 meters.

He keenly noticed the medicine on the living room table, thinking Song Chunhui had some illness, let go of him to take a look, it was actually HIV prevention medication.

“Why did you buy this, do you need me to show you a health report?”

A health report would be great, Song Chunhui didn’t want to take the medicine, frowning, “You guys like to mess around, who knows if you have syphilis, go check it out tomorrow, harming others and yourself, won’t die well.”

“…” What should have been an angry matter, Li Huan ended up laughing.

Sometimes he really admired Song Chunhui, the conversation led to this, so he seriously clarified for himself, “First, I’m very healthy. Second, only with you did I not use protection. Third, today was my first time using my mouth.”

“…” Song Chunhui didn’t dare to recall.

“Wasn’t it to make you happy, always throwing a tantrum at me.” Li Huan said, “Do you think I really want to be this business manager?”

The dead gay’s mouth was too good at fooling, Song Chunhui couldn’t listen to any of Li Huan’s words.

He was silent for a moment, then weakly spoke, “Xiao Li, I have a girlfriend.”

Li Huan didn’t care, just curiously asked, “Fangfang? Or that Meng Sijun?”

“None of your business, anyway, I have one.” Afraid of being ruined, Song Chunhui took a step back and kindly advised, “Whether you want to be this manager or not, I’m planning to resign, if you want to learn, I’ll teach you, if not, forget it. I have a younger brother your age, I also see you as a brother, no other relationship is possible, but we can be brothers, you call me ‘Brother Song,’ and we can get along normally like brothers, okay?”

“Brother Song.” Li Huan cooperatively called out.

Song Chunhui was stunned, thinking his words had successfully reached Li Huan’s heart, but then felt something was off, if it worked, it wouldn’t have come to this.

“If you have a girlfriend, you have one,” Li Huan smiled, “I don’t mind being the third wheel, as long as you’re responsible for me.”

Hearing this, Song Chunhui, whose worldview was shattered, exploded on the spot, his barely stabilized emotions spiraling out of control again, pointing at Li Huan’s nose and cursing, “I didn’t ask you for emotional damage compensation, you little bastard still have the face to ask me to be responsible? I’ll be responsible for your grandpa, get out quickly! If you don’t, I’ll call the police!”

“Why are you throwing a tantrum again?” Li Huan suddenly found Song Chunhui’s exasperated look quite amusing, always fierce with his words, but obedient when his lust took over. He still smiled, “I’m thinking of you, willing to be the third wheel, and you’re ungrateful.”

Ungrateful…?

Song Chunhui had a headache, unable to think of how to scold this shameless thing, his face thick enough to cover several skyscrapers.

Having said what needed to be said, Li Huan swiftly moved to Song Chunhui, scooping him up horizontally, giving him no time to react, taking three steps into the bedroom, placing him on the bed, and forcefully pressing down.

“What are you doing!”

“You know what.” Li Huan easily restrained Song Chunhui, planting a kiss on his lips, smiling as he warned, “If you’re not obedient, I’ll tie you up.”

“Get off.” Suddenly, his neck hurt, teeth nibbling on his skin, Song Chunhui was on the verge of a breakdown, gasping for mercy, “Xiao Li, don’t do this, I really have a girlfriend.”

“Actually, I don’t really want to be the third wheel,” Li Huan nibbled on Song Chunhui’s ear, “Your girlfriend definitely doesn’t understand you like I do, break up for me.”

“You f***ing… hiss…”

“Do you want her to see our sex video?” Li Huan slightly backed off, looking into Song Chunhui’s eyes, repeating the question, “Do you?”

“…” Song Chunhui was already broken, what couldn’t this little bastard do?

Li Huan’s lips curled up, saying, “Just scaring you, I won’t show it to anyone, only I can see your wild side.”

“…” Song Chunhui painfully thought, let it all end, let the earth explode quickly.

Seeing Song Chunhui’s look of utter despair, Li Huan didn’t like it, teasing him, “I can let you go tonight, just call me ‘husband’ once.”

“Get out!”

“Still have the energy to be fierce with me.”

…

The moonlight outside was hazy, the real night had just begun.

The room was lit with an ambiguous warm light, casting two overlapping shadows on the curtains, tightly entwined, seemingly inseparable.

Song Chunhui bit the blanket, refusing to make any sound, but didn’t last two seconds before his chin was pinched, an aggressive kiss swallowing all his breath.

He had never hated anyone so much, hating to the point of pain, and when in pain, he comforted himself, telling himself it was okay, everything would pass.

Life was too bitter, always needed some fun, if you couldn’t resist, then just lay back. The rooster he was with tonight, to be honest, was quite enjoyable, not a loss, not a loss, just enjoy it.

The rest of the accounts, wait until dawn to settle.

However, three hours later, in a daze of sleepiness, Song Chunhui was on the verge of collapse, lying on Li Huan’s chest, yawning, impatiently cursing,

“You beast, are you done yet…”

“Almost, don’t rush me.”

Song Chunhui was really sleepy, his hand unconsciously rubbing Li Huan’s firm chest, finding the feel quite nice, so he comforted himself, better than nothing, make do, at least it wasn’t a flat chest, soft and all.

He gradually fell asleep.

Listening to the steady breathing, Li Huan felt completely comfortable, suddenly wanting to smoke, maybe set off some fireworks to celebrate, finally taking down this four-eyed guy, it wasn’t easy.

Tomorrow, he’d pack up his things, move in by noon.

The next morning.

Still in a dream, Li Huan was slapped awake, thinking something had happened, opening his eyes to see Song Chunhui, with the same expression as his WeChat avatar, arms crossed over his chest, standing by the bed, glaring at him.

“Get up, get out!”

“…”