Chapter 9: Butterfly Bones

“What book is so interesting?”

Kui Ming pressed himself completely against Xie Jun’s back, wrapping both arms around him. Xie Jun felt like he was being hugged by a bear.

Kui Ming’s gaze fell on the book Xie Jun was holding, and suddenly, a thought struck him. “You’ve been looking at it for so long and you’ve only read three pages. You clearly weren’t actually reading the book, were you?”

Xie Jun closed the book and raised his hand, causing Kui Ming to instinctively shrink back.

Xie Jun recalled a saying he’d seen online before: Just raise your hand, and you’ll know if the dog’s been hit before, which made him chuckle. He gently kicked Kui Ming, “Go lock the door.”

Kui Ming sprang up immediately and quickly locked the door.

Xie Jun sat on the bed with his back to Kui Ming, raising his arms to pull off his sweater. As he did so, the shape of his shoulder blades became especially pronounced, like a butterfly poised to take flight.

Kui Ming’s mouth went dry, and he couldn’t help but swallow hard.

The soundproofing in his house was excellent, but he still turned on the TV.

The TV was showing a fencing match.

Both competitors held their swords, advancing and retreating, attacking and defending.

The tips of their swords occasionally struck the opponent’s body, earning a point when they hit the target area.

Hitting the arm or the tip of the opponent’s sword, however, did not score any points.

The blades crossed, scraping against each other.

Breaths came in gasps, and sweat glistened lightly on their skin.