Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Xie Zhigui, ask yourself, you've never thought of me as a good person, nor have you ever considered treating me with your true heart."

Xie Zhigui lifted his head, attempting to defend himself, "No, I..."

But Ming Feiyu had no interest in hearing more. Whatever he said, it was Ming Feiyu who had been misunderstood, who had been scolded. Why should Xie Zhigui appear as if he was the injured party, forever righteous?

"I told you I killed the rabbits, and you believed it. If I had said I didn't touch them, would you have believed me?"

Xie Zhigui stammered, "I, I would have..."

"You wouldn't have!"

A layer of frost formed between Ming Feiyu's brows, his breath as sharp as the biting wind of winter, stinging Xie Zhigui's face.

"Because in your heart, I am an unforgivable monster, sinister and cunning, full of schemes, only knowing how to kill and feed on blood! In your eyes, I am the vilest beast, whose mere touch disgusts you, doesn't it!"

Xie Zhigui furrowed his brows in retort, "I've never thought that."

Yet subconsciously, he dared not meet Ming Feiyu's gaze.

"Liar!"

The wooden panel that Xie Zhigui was leaning against shattered under Ming Feiyu's strike! A cloud of white dust billowed around them, spreading into the forest, the shockwave so powerful it seemed to flip his soul, rendering Xie Zhigui's legs immobile, every bone tingling with numbness!

Covered in dust from head to toe, his hands shaking uncontrollably with sheer terror, the dust falling from his lashes with each tremulous shudder, as if he were softly weeping.

It took nearly all his strength to stand firm and breathe; the residual force was too overwhelming.

He had never before been so acutely aware of Ming Feiyu's monstrous identity and strength. It was terrifying, a fear that emanated from the soul. If Ming Feiyu had struck him with such force, he might have ended up like the wooden panel, reduced to ashes.

Yet at this moment, Ming Feiyu chose to lift his chin, examining him closely, seemingly oblivious to Xie Zhigui's trembling and horrified pupils. He disliked the dust on this face and sought to wipe it all away, his actions tender yet his gaze and tone utterly cold and fearsome.

He sighed slowly, "Xie Zhigui, the pity, sympathy, and kindness you favor, I indeed lack them all. Only the weak require such things, and I have never felt sympathy for the insignificant."

"If I decide to do something to you, do you think you could escape?"

Ming Feiyu's gaze drifted downward, his fingertip flippantly tracing from Xie Zhigui's cheek down his neck, to the top button of his shirt, which he provocatively undid in front of Xie Zhigui, followed by the second, the third...

The buttons were metallic, and the scraping of his nails against them produced a grating sound.

The facade was being undone, bit by bit.

Xie Zhigui closed his eyes in despair, unwilling to see, and even more afraid to meet Ming Feiyu's gaze.

Ming Feiyu unfastened his outer garment, his fingertips pressing against that vibrantly red heart; even through the fabric, the ferocity of its beats was palpable.

"Xie Zhigui," Ming Feiyu's throat was filled with a bitter taste, each utterance of the name fueling his resentment.

"Do you really feel nothing for what I do to you?"

Is there a feeling? Xie Zhigui questioned himself.

Disregarding Ming Feiyu's monstrous identity, their distorted surrogate relationship, and the reality of being confined here, Ming Feiyu would be the perfect and considerate lover.

He cared for him meticulously, knew how to be close without being annoying—if it weren’t for the constant worry about escaping and the fear of being killed, Xie Zhigui thought he might accept a life together with him.

But those premises were nearly impossible to satisfy, and thus, the subsequent acceptance was nonexistent.

Moreover, Xie Zhigui was lucidly aware that Ming Feiyu’s gentleness and affection were never meant for him; they were for his lover. He was nothing but an interloper, exploiting this love.

Harbor feelings?

It was as ludicrous as asking him to commit suicide on the spot.

Yet, he didn’t want to die; he wanted to return to see his family and friends, he needed to find a way to first calm the raging Ming Feiyu.

So, after steadying his emotions, Xie Zhigui raised his head, boldly facing Ming Feiyu’s wrath.

"There is, I know you treat me well."

He spoke softly, deliberately showing a hint of fear and vulnerability, even allowing his eyes to show a trace of dependency.

It was extremely disarming.

Xie Zhigui tried to take Ming Feiyu’s hand, the one that had shattered the wood and also embedded small splinters into the flesh. Carefully and tenderly, he began to remove them. His eyes cast down, his demeanor meek and compliant, he appeared obedient. Ming Feiyu’s fingers twitched but didn’t withdraw, his gaze fixated on him unwaveringly.

"Does it hurt?" Xie Zhigui asked.

Ming Feiyu’s voice was husky: "It hurts."

"Don't do this in the future, it's needless for you to get hurt."

Xie Zhigui hesitated before speaking, "It was wrong of me to let the rabbit bite you last night, I'm sorry."

"There's no need to say that to me."

The wind lifted the hair at his cheeks, revealing a patch of dirt on his face that hadn’t been wiped clean. As Ming Feiyu reached out, Xie Zhigui involuntarily flinched at the sight of his long, sharp nails.

Sensing the shift in Ming Feiyu’s gaze, he quickly wiped his face clean.

And he added as an excuse, "Your hand is injured, it's inconvenient for you. I can clean it up myself."

However, Ming Feiyu withdrew his hand, letting it hang by his side, his gaze upon Xie Zhigui cold and silent, the silence now transferred to him.

Was his pretense seen through?

Time passed and the air grew chillier, Xie Zhigui found it unbearable, feeling both cold and awkward.

His clothes, half-undone, hung precariously at his waist. His hair, disheveled by the wind, covered half of his face. Covered in dust, he must have looked both ugly and wretched, yet Ming Feiyu seemed to be looking at something else.

The air was so quiet, it felt as if it had solidified.

Until Ming Feiyu broke the silence, "Is it torturous, not speaking?"

Xie Zhigui blinked in slight surprise, then nodded honestly, "A bit."

Ming Feiyu gave a rueful smile, as if recalling something, with a touch of resentment, "This is how you used to torment me."

"What?"

Xie Zhigui's eyes widened slightly. He did not recall ever treating Ming Feiyu with indifference. Searching through all his memories of their time together, he found nothing like what Ming Feiyu described.

No matter what, he wouldn’t rudely treat someone he didn't know well with cold indifference.

Could it be that Ming Feiyu was mistaken, had confused his memories, mixing him up with his lover?

Xie Zhigui guessed that must be it.

Was he venting his resentment for his lover onto him?

Xie Zhigui worried, fearing that what he dreaded most had still happened.

A peripheral glance at the dust on the ground sent a shiver up his spine, creeping over his scalp.

He longed to live, not to become dust upon the ground.

"Ming Fei Yu," he managed to suppress the tremor in his voice.

Xie Zhi Gui met his gaze with what he hoped was the most sincere tone he could muster: "I will trust you more from now on and will not accuse you rashly anymore."

Xie Zhi Gui's soft apology and cajoling often made it difficult for others to distinguish between sincerity and pretense, seeming to cause a momentary lapse in Ming Fei Yu's guarded demeanor.

He ventured boldly once more, coming closer and slowly embracing Ming Fei Yu, whose body was cold, making it an uncomfortable embrace. Yet Xie Zhi Gui pressed closer intentionally, rubbing against his chest as if seeking a sense of security from a lover.

Ming Fei Yu must have felt it.

"Ming Fei Yu."

"...Hmm?"

This time, Ming Fei Yu responded to him.

Seizing the opening, Xie Zhi Gui continued to pry: "I will be the substitute you desire, I won't make you angry anymore."

Ming Fei Yu was about to embrace him when he heard this, and the softening look in his eyes once again fell into a chasm of endless, desolate frost.

He was frozen stiff, his fingertips icy, a chill emanating from deep within his bones, yet there was a fire raging in his chest, right where Xie Zhi Gui was pressed against him, shaking with fury!

It turned out that whether cajoling with a soft voice or feigning anger to intimidate, Xie Zhi Gui never offered his true feelings.

The trust and dependence he desired, Xie Zhi Gui could feign at will to satisfy him. Their relationship was not even that of a boss and subordinate but one of insincere gestures accompanying the stubborn infatuations of another, all unwillingly played out.

"Very well."

Ming Fei Yu still embraced him, with great force and an intense, unwarranted resentment, making Xie Zhi Gui quite uncomfortable, as if Ming Fei Yu wished to break his body just so.

"You're holding too tight, I can't breathe..."

He pushed against Ming Fei Yu's chest, trying to create a little space to breathe, but Ming Fei Yu bit him on the neck instead, punishing him with a bite that was far from gentle.

"Ah, that hurts—"

"Don't move!"

Xie Zhi Gui froze in an instant, fearful of having his neck bitten through.

"Good, Xie Zhi Gui. Just keep being obedient, and don't let me catch any proof of your deceit."

"Otherwise... I will truly kill you."

The icy breath by his ear birthed a dangerous sensation within Xie Zhi Gui, as if he were entwined by a venomous snake, constricting him tightly, suffocatingly so, while its damp, flickering tongue licked his earlobe and neck, eliciting shivers.

Would he die under this snake's covetousness, or would he escape from death's grasp? No one knew, not even the wind that quietly observed their struggle.

Ming Fei Yu held the person in his arms expressionlessly, gazing into the distance where the sky had darkened completely, taking with it all the warmth and brightness from his eyes, leaving behind an aura as dark, chilly, dangerous, and mysterious as the jungle at night.

He could never let go of Xie Zhi Gui; even if they were to perish in this fierce cold wind today, even if Xie Zhi Gui harbored extreme hatred towards him in his final moments, he would not loosen a single finger.

People who are stubborn to the extreme can only be moved once in their lives; whoever intentionally provokes them must take responsibility for a lifetime.

Back then, a heartless person lured him into this sweet, entangling illusion with selfish motives, seduced him into a fall in a tender trap to deceive him of longevity and health. He should have known then that there are some people you cannot deceive, because they take lies seriously and commit their hearts to guarding them.

Xie Zhi Gui felt a warm, sticky fluid trickling down his neck into his shirt, likely the blood from the bite.

It was painful and uncomfortable, but he dared not reach up to touch it.

Ming Fei Yu was still watching him.

"Xie Zhi Gui," Ming Fei Yu sighed by his ear with a ghostly lament, "don't deceive me again."