HL 38

A thunderbolt struck Xu Nanxiao’s heart. He felt as if something had exploded inside him, his entire brain trembling.

He slowly straightened up, staring at Zhou Yu. “What’s your relationship with him?”

“Friends. Friends for twenty years—we grew up together.” Zhou Yu lifted his chin slightly. “And you, Xiao Ge?”

Xu Nanxiao replied coldly, “Roommates.”

“That’s good.” Zhou Yu nodded. “For a moment I thought you sounded like the lady of the house.”

Hearing such a blatant provocation, Xu Nanxiao frowned slightly.

Just as the atmosphere between them grew tense, the sound of a fingerprint lock clicking came from outside. Ying Yusheng called out as he changed his shoes, “Nan Xiao, I bought you some newly released pastries.”

When he walked over and saw Zhou Yu behind Xu Nanxiao, his body paused slightly.

“Perfect timing—your childhood friend came looking for you,” Xu Nanxiao said with a cold laugh. “You showed up just in time.”

Ying Yusheng asked Zhou Yu, “Why are you here?”

“Sheng Ge, I came to pick up my things. Since I’m about to leave, why don’t you walk me out?” Zhou Yu gave a shy smile, then turned to Xu Nanxiao and said meaningfully, “I’ll probably see you around. Goodbye, Xiao Ge.”

Before the two of them left, Ying Yusheng glanced back one last time toward Xu Nanxiao’s direction, only to find that Xu Nanxiao had already gone into his room, the door tightly shut.

He didn’t seem to care at all who Ying Yusheng was with or where he was going.

“Hey, how was my performance?” Zhou Yu’s voice interrupted Ying Yusheng’s thoughts. They walked side by side, and Zhou Yu grinned, seeking praise. “Cousin.”

Ying Yusheng turned his attention back to him and said with a slight warning: “Adding lines on your own doesn’t make you a good actor.”

“Too bad that even with all my added lines, he still didn’t get jealous.”

Ying Yusheng smiled, half-lidding his eyes, neither confirming nor denying.

Zhou Yu hadn’t lied—he used to live here. Because it was close to his university, and since the place was empty anyway, Ying Yusheng had lent him this property. For four years. So wasn’t it indeed “his” and “Ying Yusheng’s” home?

“Come to think of it, that guy looks familiar.”

“…”

After posing the question, Zhou Yu answered himself: “Ah—I remember now. He’s the guy who killed Qingyang Ge. I saw him once in court.”

Zhou Yu leaned in, grinning widely: “Sheng Ge, you’re hooking up with your brother’s killer? That’s fucking insane. Does my aunt know? What do you think she’d say if I told her?”

“She knows,” Ying Yusheng replied lightly.

Zhou Yu paused, then looked Ying Yusheng up and down in disbelief. Soon, he burst out laughing: “Hahaha, that’s brilliant! Ge, absolutely brilliant. You know what I admire most about you?”

“Hm?”

“It’s your mindset—treating everyone like a dog on the street. I could spend my whole life trying to learn that.” Zhou Yu paused. “Then do you know why I’m helping you play along?”

Used to Zhou Yu’s erratic personality, Ying Yusheng knew it was better to just go along with him rather than try to understand him. So he asked, “Why?”

“Because watching someone like you play the dog for someone else is where the real fun is,” Zhou Yu said.

Dog? Who?

It took Ying Yusheng a couple of seconds to realize Zhou Yu was talking about him.

How interesting. How could he be anyone’s dog? Xu Nanxiao was his little dog, his kitten, his bird in a cage.

“But what exactly do you…” Zhou Yu started to say something, then suddenly stopped. He changed tack and said to Ying Yusheng, “Something got in my eye. Take a look for me.”

“How old are you?”

“I wouldn’t hurt you. Just help me look.”

Ying Yusheng was about to turn away and ignore him when Zhou Yu grabbed his collar and yanked him down.

But when he looked, the other’s eyes were clear and bright—nothing like someone who had something in them.

Between intelligent people, words weren’t necessary; a single glance sufficed.

Since Zhou Yu’s eyes didn’t have anything in them, that meant the gesture was for show—someone was watching them.

As for who was watching, the answer went without saying.

The two of them held that position without moving until Zhou Yu gently pushed Ying Yusheng away. Only then did he glance behind him with his peripheral vision, and sure enough, he saw Xu Nanxiao standing in the shadows of the hallway.

“Cousin, you owe me one,” Zhou Yu said.

Ying Yusheng gave a helpless smile: “I hadn’t planned on using such petty tricks.”

“But petty tricks are often the most effective,” Zhou Yu said, patting Ying Yusheng on the shoulder.

Xu Nanxiao hadn’t followed Ying Yusheng—he’d just wanted to take out the trash on his way down.

And incidentally saw Ying Yusheng and Zhou Yu “kissing.”

Ying Yusheng leaned down, Zhou Yu stood on his tiptoes, and the two of them stayed perfectly still. That image burned itself onto Xu Nanxiao’s retina. He stared without blinking until his eyes grew dry and raw from the winter air.

Two men kissing—fucking disgusting.

Had Ying Yusheng really taken a liking to Zhou Yu?

Right out in public, no shame at all. All the queers in the world should just die out.

What a joke—a week ago he was kissing me, and now he’s kissing someone else? That’s what your feelings are worth?

Just thinking about it made him lose his appetite. He’d move out in a few days.

Ying Yusheng wouldn’t treat him as well as before anymore. He’d fallen for someone else. Xu Nanxiao knew what love-struck fools were like—besides their beloved, their eyes couldn’t hold anyone else.

I don’t give a damn.

No, I can’t let this happen.

Two opposing thoughts grappled, fought, and tore at each other in Xu Nanxiao’s mind, each landing heavy blows on his nerves until he felt dizzy and disoriented.

He staggered a step, steadied himself, and looked up only to find that Ying Yusheng had already returned, standing silently in the sunlight just outside the hallway.

“What are you doing down here?” Ying Yusheng asked with a calm smile. That smile reminded Xu Nanxiao of Zhou Yu—the two of them were almost identical.

“…Taking out the trash.”

“Why not wait until tomorrow morning for the housekeeper to do it?”

Xu Nanxiao couldn’t answer.

But Ying Yusheng didn’t press. He waited quietly for Xu Nanxiao to finish taking out the trash and come back, and the two of them walked into the elevator together.

In the elevator, no one spoke. Xu Nanxiao pursed his lips, his expression a bit dazed.

“What were you and that kid doing just now?” Eventually, Xu Nanxiao was the one to break the silence.

“He got something in his eye. I was helping him check.”

Xu Nanxiao sneered: “Lies.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Ying Yusheng said gently. “How could I lie to you?”

The elevator doors opened. Ying Yusheng stepped out first and pressed his fingerprint to the sensor lock on the door.

“Have you taken a liking to him?” Xu Nanxiao suddenly said from behind Ying Yusheng. “Your taste sure swings wide.”

Ying Yusheng pushed the door open but didn’t walk in, nor did he turn around.

Finally, Ying Yusheng said lightly, “But he can do things for me that you can’t.”

Xu Nanxiao froze, then clenched his jaw.

Seeing that Ying Yusheng was about to go inside, Xu Nanxiao finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed Ying Yusheng by the shoulder, seized his collar, and shoved him hard against the wall of the private elevator foyer.

The next second, Xu Nanxiao kissed him directly.

If it could even be called a kiss—it was more like lips smashing together. Their teeth cut the inside of their mouths, and the taste of blood instantly filled the air.

That metallic taste triggered a primal, repressed bestial urge in humans. Ying Yusheng’s pupils contracted sharply. But before he could savor it, Xu Nanxiao pulled away just as quickly.

“What, a kiss? Who the fuck can’t do that?! Don’t you underestimate me!!” Xu Nanxiao wiped his mouth and shouted at Ying Yusheng, his face flushed red.

Ying Yusheng’s mind went blank. A rare, dazed expression appeared on his face.

When he finally processed what had just happened, he began to laugh quietly, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“The hell are you laughing at?”

“No, it’s nothing—I just didn’t expect you to kiss me out of nowhere.” Ying Yusheng looked up, his eyes startlingly bright, filled with an ineffable tenderness and emotion. “But what was that kiss—like an elementary schooler’s? Is that how you kissed all those women before?”

Before he finished speaking, their positions reversed. Ying Yusheng took the lead and kissed him back.

Unlike Xu Nanxiao’s mere lip contact, Ying Yusheng’s kiss was ferocious—utterly at odds with his refined appearance.

The kiss and the air were both thick and sticky, closing in like an inescapable net, robbing Xu Nanxiao of his voice and breath. Ying Yusheng forced Xu Nanxiao’s chin up high, opening his throat to facilitate friction and probing.

Xu Nanxiao had never been on the receiving end of a kiss before. He felt his lower spine go weak, his whole body sliding down the wall. But Ying Yusheng’s knee pushed between his legs, propping him up and grinding him against the wall.

After what felt like an eternity, Ying Yusheng finally released Xu Nanxiao. Xu Nanxiao coughed twice, limp against Ying Yusheng’s leg, his brain numb, his abdomen twitching occasionally.

“See,” Ying Yusheng said, slipping his fingers into Xu Nanxiao’s mouth, simulating a sexual motion as he roughly toyed with the other’s soft tongue.

He smiled and whispered in his ear, “That’s what a kiss is.”