Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The young man's voice was feeble as he asked, "Second Brother, can you move away first?"

But Ming Fei Yu was unmovable like a mountain, his body forming a cage that trapped the young man in the small rocking chair, heedless of his pleas for mercy.

“Don’t move around, and don’t touch.” Ming Fei Yu warned him.

The youth sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Ming Fei Yu bit the tip of his finger, letting a drop of blood fall into the wound on the youth’s face. His expression was focused and tender as if handling a delicate, beautiful, yet disobedient porcelain doll. The wounds miraculously began to heal quickly.

“Uh, um… what is this?”

“For healing.”

The young man felt an itching on his face and plaintively called out again, “Second Brother, it’s itchy, stop it.”

His eyelashes brushed over Ming Fei Yu’s fingertips, like a gentle kiss, stirring something within him. Ming Fei Yu suddenly wanted to soothe the reddened corner of his eye, but the youth tilted his head back to evade.

“I’m truly tired, I want to go inside and rest,” he implored, looking into Ming Fei Yu’s eyes with a pleading gesture.

Ming Fei Yu relented, “Alright.”

Before the young man could breathe a sigh of relief, Ming Fei Yu picked up a cup of tea from a small table beside them and brought it to his lips. The tea was pale in color with an enticing fragrance.

"Drink it, and sleep peacefully."

“……”

The young man’s face paled significantly. He glanced at the cup, then at Ming Fei Yu, and turned his head away, biting his lower lip.

"...I won't drink it."

Ming Fei Yu gently turned his head back, reminding him with a smile, "A bet is a bet."

Those words were searing, causing his ears to redden once more.

He hastily raised his neck in retort, "It was your meddling that prevented me from getting out!"

Ming Fei Yu replied indifferently, "But the fact remains that you did not make it out."

"You lost."

Ming Fei Yu brought the teacup closer.

"Quickly now."

"If you can't afford to lose, you shouldn't gamble. Don't try to outsmart me with your little tricks."

He had fallen for the scheme not because the young man was particularly adept, but simply because the one laying the trap was himself.

And the young man was well aware of this.

"...Is there no other way?" He still tried to leverage Ming Fei Yu's soft spot for him.

But this time, Ming Fei Yu was not willing to let him off.

"No, you also lost last time and still owe that debt. We will settle it all together now."

The young man, reminded of the incident Ming Fei Yu mentioned, felt an involuntary tremor in his wrist, his heart still recoiling from the memory.

He feigned calmness and ventured a negotiation, "How about next time, we could postpone it to..."

"No, it has to be today. I can't wait any longer."

"Don't make me force it down."

“……”

Ming Fei Yu remained resolute, unswayed by the young man's protests. He held the back of the young man's head, forbidding any attempt to turn away, while his other hand brought the cup to his lips, nearly forcing the tea down his throat.

The youth, using hands and feet, kept him at a distance no greater than two fists apart, holding a defensive stance that prevented Ming Fei Yu from advancing. But Ming Fei Yu's aggressive nature was too strong; their gaze locking felt like the resounding clash of blades slicing through the rain, a confrontation too intense for anyone to endure.

Their eyes locked in a silent standoff.

Minutes passed—

"Enough! Second brother, stop looking at me like that."

It was truly exasperating.

"I'll drink!"

"...Fine, I'll drink, isn't that enough?"

His voice of surrender gently rose in the wind.

Releasing his hands, he dropped his guard, and with a reluctant swallow, extended his head and hesitantly took a small sip.

Seeing him lick just a tiny bit, like a kitten with milk, Ming Fei Yu thought it was as if he hadn't drunk at all—whom was he trying to fool?

Taking a deep breath and containing his impatience, he commanded in a deep voice, "Finish it."

"No! I've already had some, don't push me."

The young man reassumed his previous defensive posture, feeling dizzy from just that little sip, fearing the rest might burn him up entirely.

After all his futile struggles, he had failed to leave and had only given Ming Fei Yu an advantage.

Ming Fei Yu persisted, proffering the tea again, coaxing him, "Have a bit more."

"I don't want it, it's unpleasant," he complained with a pained frown.

"Stop being stubborn; my patience has its limits."

Ming Fei Yu pried the youth's hand away from his mouth, pinned it to his side, and once again brought the cup to his lips.

"Take it away! I won’t drink!"

"Be good, throw your tantrum after you’ve finished drinking."

The overly sweet and cloying fragrance was torture, stirring the little he had ingested to start wreaking havoc in his body, causing restlessness. The young man desperately turned his head to evade, but for every dodge, Ming Fei Yu pursued, like a relentless dance between bird and fish.

Left with no choice, the youth ceased his struggle, pretending to comply with a drink.

Seizing the moment of Ming Fei Yu’s lax attention, he wrested his hand free, steeled his heart, and swung to knock the cup away.

Ming Fei Yu’s quick reflexes allowed him to dodge, but he still received a sharp scratch, his hand marked with a stark line of blood that stood out, shocking the young man into stillness.

Ming Fei Yu lowered his eyelids, the scent of blood infiltrating his nostrils. He wiped the blood away unhurriedly, yet the youth knew his last shred of patience had worn thin.

"I—I'm sorry."

If apologies still held any currency.

Sensing the shift, the young man instantly retracted his claws, resuming his customary innocent and harmless demeanor.

To be honest, despite his temper, the mere signs of Ming Fei Yu's anger could still unsettle him.

He dared not make another move, for angering Ming Fei Yu would not result in the gentle coaxing he was currently receiving, but in violent reprisals that would leave him in tears, suffering the consequences alone.

This lesson was learned through countless painful encounters with Ming Fei Yu.

But no matter, a little submission and sweet-talking should do the trick in moments like this.

Capable of resilience, the young man carefully hooked his fingers around Ming Fei Yu’s collar, giving a gentle tug, and faced Ming Fei Yu's unguarded expression with a strained, appeasing smile.

"Second brother, I didn't mean to..."

Before he could finish, Ming Fei Yu had grasped his wrist, yanking him up from the rocking chair to collide against his chest, the chair jolting as if on the verge of tipping over, and instinctively seeking security, he wrapped his arms around Ming Fei Yu’s neck.

As he looked up, he found himself in an intimate gaze with Ming Fei Yu.

He was momentarily dazed, and then, swiftly, a greater panic took hold, for the way Ming Fei Yu looked at him had changed.

"Do you realize how infuriating your antics are every single time?"

"What are you planning to do?"

Ming Fei Yu regarded him with a tone that was chilling to the bone, "You really need to learn your lesson."

Otherwise, he would repeat the same mistake countless times.

No amount of affection could endure such depletion.

Ming Fei seldom spoke to him this way; it was a warning that once the indulgence ended, it signaled real anger. He needed to heed the caution.

The young man finally felt fear, his eyes trembling with unease.

In the midst of speaking, his waist was firmly grasped. By the time the young man realized, it was too late. This embrace could entrap someone tightly against the chest, almost as if their hearts were pressed close, listening to each other's beating rhythm.

The youth thought Ming Fei Yu intended to force the tea down his throat, watching his every move with wary anticipation. Unexpectedly, Ming Fei Yu drained the cup himself, tossing the empty vessel aside with a clatter.

Caught off guard and bewildered, the youth felt Ming Fei Yu's other hand swiftly capture the back of his head, his lips sealing over his, a kiss imbued with an air of undeniable assertion, as the tea was entirely transferred to him.

"Mm, mm—" His eyes widened in terror, immobilized as his arms were pinned.

After the transfer, Ming Fei Yu did not immediately retreat but instead, relaxed his grip, deepening the kiss into a tender entanglement.