Chapter 33: Uninvited Guest

Chapter 33: Uninvited Guest

Lu Yan never gave an answer, perhaps even he himself couldn't figure it out.

He gazed at Yu Zechuan for a moment before finally smiling. "Let's eat. The food is ready."

The beer braised duck was never made; the remaining ingredients were stored in the fridge. Yu Zechuan wanted to say something but couldn't find the words, so he remained silent.

They ate their meal together in silence, the only sound being the clinking of utensils. Lu Yan thought about the USB drive in his pocket and felt that handing it over to the police was the best solution. That way, Jiang Boyun would receive his due punishment, and Yu Zechuan could have his revenge.

Unfortunately, Yu Zechuan didn't want Jiang Boyun to go to prison. He just wanted him dead. Once Jiang Boyun was behind bars, he wouldn't be able to take matters into his own hands. Hence, in his previous life, even though he had obtained the accounts, he didn't hand them over to the police.

Lu Yan couldn't give the evidence to the police either, at least not yet. Otherwise, as soon as Jiang Boyun was locked up, he would follow suit, and that would be worse than being killed by Yu Zechuan.

Lu Yan found himself amused. Indeed, handing over evidence to the police and letting go of hatred was typically the protagonist's route in TV dramas. But more often than not, people like Yu Zechuan held onto their grudges, willing to risk everything for revenge.

"Yu Zechuan..."

Curiosity struck Lu Yan, and he asked, "Is there anything in this world that you still hold dear?"

Yu Zechuan paused with his chopsticks mid-air, not lifting his head as he replied, "No."

Lu Yan persisted relentlessly, "Then is there something you've always wanted to do but haven't had the chance?"

"There is," Yu Zechuan unexpectedly answered. He put down his chopsticks and gazed at Lu Yan with an enigmatic smile, leaving the other unsure if he was joking or not, "I've always wanted to kill two people, but haven't had the opportunity to do so. Does that count?"

Lu Yan: "..."

Indeed, he had unnecessarily asked that question.

Lu Yan silently ate, wishing he could turn invisible. Yu Zechuan, however, sensed something off and furrowed his brows in suspicion. "Why would you ask this out of the blue?"

Lu Yan: "Just a casual inquiry."

Yu Zechuan's tone was somber. "I despise it when others lie to me."

Lu Yan realized that this statement was a lethal blow to him. Helplessly, he lifted his head and leaned back into his chair with a nonchalant air. A fleeting hint of a smile flickered in his eyes. "Isn't it normal for me to inquire about someone's preferences if I were interested in pursuing them?"

Yu Zechuan was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Lu Yan wants to pursue me?

However, before he could process this, Lu Yan's next words brought his soaring heart crashing down. "But then you mentioned killing someone. I figured I should forget it. If you end up in jail, who would I turn to for comfort?"

With a cheerful smile, Lu Yan finally made Yu Zechuan realize that his previous statement was just a joke. But instead of relief, Yu Zechuan felt inexplicably terrible, as if an unseen rain had poured into his heart, known only to himself.

Yu Zechuan spoke coldly, "I don't need you to chase after me."

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Yu Zechuan made a great show of clattering his utensils. "I'm not interested."

Lu Yan expressed his regret. "Then you've missed out on a perfect young man."

Yu Zechuan held back his frustration, but eventually couldn't resist asking, "If you were pursuing someone, what would you do?"

Lu Yan countered with a question of his own, "If someone were pursuing you, would you find anything in this world worth holding onto?"

Yu Zechuan fell silent, unsure of how to respond. For the first time, he seriously pondered for a moment before answering hesitantly, "If that person is someone I like..."

If it was someone he liked.

"Maybe so."

In that instant, Yu Zechuan saw Lu Yan suddenly smile across the table. His slender eyes curved into crescents, reminiscent of a warm winter sun that dispelled the dampness of late autumn.

Yu Zechuan frowned. "What are you smiling about?"

Lu Yan had assumed Yu Zechuan's heart was as cold as stone, but to his surprise, there was still a hint of normal human emotion in him. He shook his head and picked up a piece of food. "Nothing."

There wasn't much food on the table, just enough for the two of them. Leaning back in his chair lazily, Lu Yan glanced at the remaining scraps and said on purpose, "Why don't you do the dishes?"

He figured that a young master like Yu Zechuan would probably never wash dishes, and even if he did, he wouldn't take orders from anyone. To his surprise, Yu Zechuan shot him a cold glare before actually getting up and heading to the kitchen to wash the dishes without a word.

"..."

Huh, has the world turned upside down?

Lu Yan glanced out the window at the gloomy sky, sensing an impending storm with rolling thunder. He fetched a beer from the fridge and entered the kitchen to watch Yu Zechuan washing dishes. Sipping his drink, he inquired, "How old are you this year?"

Yu Zechuan replied surlily, "Does that concern you?"

Lu Yan said, "I'm just curious."

Yu Zechuan paused, then softly spoke a number, "Twenty-nine."

Recalling that he had spent his best five years behind bars, a heavy stone seemed to weigh on his heart, casting a persistent gloom in his eyes.

Lu Yan calculated, "That makes you three years older than me. Not bad."

Yu Zechuan was surprised to learn he was actually older than Lu Yan. He halted his dishwashing and asked, "What's so good about that?"

Fixing him with a serious gaze, Lu Yan said, "You're only twenty-nine. Assuming nothing unexpected happens, you still have a long life ahead of you."

"Boom!"

A sudden bolt of lightning slashed through the darkness, as if startling the stack of dishes in the sink, which tumbled down like a small landslide, clattering loudly, momentarily drowning out the sound of the rain.

Lu Yan knew it wasn't an accident because Yu Zechuan's hands were trembling.

Despite his attempt to maintain composure while washing the dishes, all the color drained from Yu Zechuan's face. The sound of rain and thunder outside made him feel damp and uneasy, and his thoughts began to spiral out of control. His heavy breathing filled the air, revealing the deteriorating state of his health.

Lu Yan was the first to sense something amiss. He frowned and held Yu Zechuan's hand, asking, "Are you feeling unwell?"

The warmth of Lu Yan's palm slightly soothed Yu Zechuan's tense nerves. With a hoarse voice, he replied, "No."

After Yu Zechuan spoke, he continued to wash the dishes, doing so slowly and meticulously, as if prolonging his stay at Lu Yan's could keep him from returning to his dark, solitary room and the hallucinations that threatened to drive him mad.

"Stop washing, we'll do them tomorrow."

Recalling that Yu Zechuan seemed to have had a similar episode during another stormy night, Lu Yan held a cold beer can to Yu Zechuan's lips, his deep voice soothing to the ear, "Take a sip."

Although Yu Zechuan hesitated, Lu Yan persisted, forcing him to take a mouthful. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, leaving a chill behind. Lifting his gaze, Yu Zechuan saw Lu Yan smiling at him in the light, his handsome features profound and captivating. Unaccountably, Yu Zechuan felt a bit tipsy, "You're Ayan?"

He remembered that this man's name was Ayan.

Lu Yan tilted his head slightly, "What do you need?"

Yu Zechuan: "Nothing much, just felt like calling your name."

Washing away the soap from his hands, he suddenly found himself at a loss for what to do. He didn't want to go home and had no valid reason to stay here any longer.

Fixing his gaze on Lu Yan, Yu Zechuan saw him sipping his drink slowly and asked impatiently, "When are you going to get drunk?"

Lu Yan chuckled, swaying the empty can in his hand, and asked with curiosity, "Do you really want me to get drunk?"

Yu Zechuan didn't reply. In the dim light, he gazed at Lu Yan, tilting his head slightly. This posture revealed a rebellious streak within him. "So what if I do?"

"..."

Silence fell as Lu Yan lowered his eyes, focusing on Yu Zechuan's vulnerable Adam's apple. Like a hunter zeroing in on its prey, he was waiting for the right moment to bare his sharp fangs and pierce through his target's throat.

Unable to resist, Lu Yan moved closer, and Yu Zechuan didn't dodge or retreat. When their warm lips finally touched, Yu Zechuan closed his eyes, and things escalated quickly.

Lu Yan had previously mentioned that once they crossed that physical boundary, it would inevitably happen again and again, like an addictive drug. He was convinced that Yu Zechuan's decaying, near-death soul held an irresistible allure for him.

Yu Zechuan craved the warmth Lu Yan provided, especially on such a damp and cold rainy night. He kissed the man back fiercely, feeling his tongue bruised but finding a sense of fulfillment. He whispered hoarsely, "I don't want to go home..."

"Not going back then."

Lu Yan held him, stumbling together onto the couch in the living room. Yu Zechuan, having experienced his first time the previous night, unintentionally pulled at his wound, causing him to wince and grimace in pain, his face turning pale.

Thus, Lu Yan's actions became gentle once more. He clasped Yu Zechuan's slender, pale fingers, feeling the calluses on them carefully before lowering them to his lips for a kiss. "You can think of this place as your home."

Lu Yan kissed Yu Zechuan's eyebrows, eyes, and scar. His hair brushed against Yu Zechuan's cheeks, causing an uncomfortable itch. However, the man's kissing skills were exceptional; even if Yu Zechuan was an iceberg, he gradually melted into water under his touch.

Yu Zechuan's gaze grew unfocused, yet he couldn't resist asking, "If you wanted to pursue someone, what would you do with them?"

Lu Yan drawled playfully, "Make～love?"

Recalling the man's recklessness the previous night, Yu Zechuan pinched his shoulder with increased force, somewhat displeased. "Anything else?"

Lu Yan chuckled. "Watch a movie?"

Yu Zechuan relaxed his grip slightly. "Anything else?"

Lu Yan: "Cook?"

Yu Zechuan's fingertips slipped away quietly, surrendering under Lu Yan's every response. He didn't know if this man liked him or if he was just a one-night stand, but he couldn't deny that these answers stirred his heart.

Lu Yan whispered, "I'll do many things with him in the future, but we'll have to wait. There's still a long way to go."

Unbeknownst to Lu Yan, his words ignited a faint anticipation within Yu Zechuan for the concept of "the future," like a spark igniting tobacco.

After all, he was only twenty-nine, and his life had barely reached its third act.

He hadn't met someone he truly liked yet, hadn't tasted the sweetness of love, and hadn't obtained that sincere heart that eluded him through countless game restarts.

In the darkness, Yu Zechuan couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut. When he reopened them, a faint redness tinged his eye sockets, revealing a vulnerability distinct from his daytime demeanor. "Why are you so kind to me?"

As if afraid that Lu Yan was unaware of his troubled past, he forced a smile, the sarcasm thinly veiled. "I've been to prison...and I'm disfigured..."

"Are you not afraid that I might be a bad person who could kill you?"

Lu Yan thought to himself that a man willing to pay one and a half million to clear his debts couldn't be all that bad. Initially, he believed Yu Zechuan to be an emotionally detached person, with a heart colder than stones soaked in a frigid pond. But as they spent more time together, he realized how deeply Yu Zechuan cherished emotions.

So much so that he couldn't tolerate any imperfections.

He had merely given her a bouquet of flowers and an inexpensive box of chocolate, yet Yu Zechuan had fallen for the trick, his heart swayed.

Such a person is not inherently bad, merely more susceptible to the whims of fate.

"I'm not afraid, but please, don't kill me."

Yu Zechuan nestled in Lu Yan's broad and warm embrace, feeling for the first time that a thunderstorm wasn't too unbearable. He listened to the man's rapid heartbeat, gradually closing his eyes, as his eyelashes cast a dense shadow: "Then don't lie to me."

With his head tilted sideways, Lu Yan vividly recalled the words the other player had spoken before their demise in the previous game: "What if it's a lie for a lifetime?"

Yu Zechuan, upon hearing this, silently opened his eyes, ready to respond. But just then, a sudden rush of urgent doorbell rings echoed from the outside, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Ring-a-ding-ding..."

Yu Zechuan furrowed his brow in suspicion. "Who's looking for you?"

Lu Yan was momentarily taken aback. "I'm not sure. I'll go check."

He then grabbed the air conditioner blanket, draping it over Yu Zechuan's disheveled form before rising from the sofa and heading towards the door. The room beyond was dimly lit, and through the peephole, the figure was barely discernible. Lu Yan thus cracked the door open, frowning as he asked, "Who is it?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a tall figure silently appeared at the door. The corridor light flickered on in response to the sound, illuminating the vague outline of the man. Lu Yan's eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized the intruder, his expression instantly shifting.

"It's you?!"