Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The rain began to patter. Not long after Xiao Hang's early departure, Chen Zui, after a quick "Let's meet again," also left the bar. He now stood in a narrow alley beside it—more accurately, a mere crevice between two buildings, a place rarely traversed.

He held a black umbrella, not standing rigidly upright, but leaning forward slightly, much like the handle in his hand, shielding a small area in front of him from the downpour.

The streetlights from the main road, diffused by the rain, cast a hazy glow over half his body, making him appear almost divine.

Jiang Mo emerged from the bar, his mood heavy and somber. He glanced up at the rain; under the lights, the drops fluttered like dancing butterflies—neither heavy nor light. Regardless, he had no umbrella.

He felt no fear of the rain; perhaps his mind needed a good drenching to clear itself.

Jiang Mo walked silently into the rain, his steps unhurried. Turning left, he passed the alley when a sudden meow caught his attention, making him pause and look over.

In the alley, a man in a sharp suit held a black umbrella. The night breeze ruffled the hem of his coat, revealing a pristine white shirt, fitted snugly to his body, hinting at his lean, strong physique.

A tiny black kitten sat before the man, its white paws neatly tucked together, its round little head tilted up, staring intently. Occasionally, it extended a pink tongue to lick its mouth.

It was sheltered beneath the black umbrella, completely protected from the wind and rain.

For some reason, Jiang Mo was captivated by the sight. The man squatted down, balancing on the balls of one foot, causing faint creases to appear on his polished leather shoes.

He then reached out and gently stroked the kitten's head.

In the darkness, beneath the curtain of rain, the man's outstretched hand was illuminated by the headlights of a turning car on the main road, radiating a sacred, almost divine glow.

The man left the black umbrella with the kitten and stood up, now exposed to the rain.

The man turned abruptly, and Jiang Mo's gaze suddenly met the dark pupils behind his glasses.

It was him.

Chen Zui gave the bewildered Jiang Mo a fleeting glance before looking away. He walked with an unhurried pace toward the alley entrance where Jiang Mo stood, pausing briefly as he passed. With a hint of amusement in his voice, he said, "You can't steal the kitten's umbrella."

With that, he continued on without another glance.

Jiang Mo remained frozen. The kitten turned its head, curiously observing him. Man and cat stared at each other for a long moment until another tiny meow brought Jiang Mo back to his senses.

He didn't recognize me.

Of course, he probably doesn't even remember who I am.

Maybe he didn't even notice what I looked like that day.

For some reason, Jiang Mo felt a faint pang of disappointment. He moved the kitten closer to the wall, where it was more sheltered from the wind. He then crouched in front of it, studying its round little head before slowly extending his hand.

He lowered his eyelashes, and in that moment, it was hard to say what he was truly caressing.

——

Ao Tian: "Wow, the favorability rating has reached 7! That means we only need to increase it tenfold to fulfill one condition."

It sounded quite promising.

Chen Zui: "Well, you are quite remarkable, capable of both conjuring rain and a stray kitten."

Ao Tian beamed, flattered: "Hehe, it's nothing, really. If you need anything else, just let me know anytime."

Chen Zui, steering with one hand: "Thanks. But you can stop the rain now. After all, there are still so many stray animals without umbrellas."

Ao Tian: "Understood."

The rain outside stopped almost instantly. The windshield wipers swept across the glass. Chen Zui hadn't driven far before pulling over to the side of the road. Soon, he spotted Jiang Mo riding a shared bike on the adjacent electric bike lane through his rearview mirror.

Chen Zui raised an eyebrow. He thought he saw something in the man’s arms…

The shared bike zipped past like a gust of wind.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Chen Zui felt that Jiang Mo seemed less gloomy than before.

He gently pressed the accelerator and followed.

Jiang Mo first returned home, then emerged carrying a shoebox. Chen Zui followed quietly behind him. With his mercenary skills, it was effortless to remain undetected by Jiang Mo.

Jiang Mo headed toward a green space in the residential area.

Chen Zui watched from behind a nearby building. Jiang Mo searched around but didn't seem to find what he was looking for. He stepped out of the green space and walked toward another.

Chen Zui wondered what he was searching for.

This time, Jiang Mo found it. Under the streetlight, Chen Zui could clearly see what was in his hand—a glue trap with a fat, dead rat stuck to it.

Chen Zui: A rat?

Remembering the small creature he had seen in Jiang Mo’s arms earlier, he worried Jiang Mo might be planning to feed it to…

Jiang Mo placed the rat in the shoebox he had been carrying and walked into the building where Chen Xiu lived. Chen Zui let out a sigh of relief, glad his assumption was wrong.

Jiang Mo left the dead rat at Chen Xiu’s doorstep. He stared at the door as if he could see through it, his expression dark and menacing. After a long moment, he finally turned and left.

When Jiang Mo returned home, he first checked every corner of the house. Nothing was out of place. He then opened his laptop and pulled up the newly installed surveillance footage. After confirming that no suspicious individuals had appeared, he finally relaxed.

Just as he was about to collapse onto the sofa—

"Meow~"

The little kitten on the floor let out a tiny mewl and raised its paw to scratch the sofa, only to get its claw caught. Jiang Mo watched for a moment before carefully freeing the kitten.

Chen Zui soaked in the bathtub. A flameless diffuser emitted a faint fragrance, and a glass of red wine sat on a small table beside him. He picked up the wine glass and savored a sip.

The rich aroma of wine lingered on his tongue.

His face was flushed from the hot water when he suddenly remembered: "He doesn’t have a hobby of dissecting small animals, does he?"

Ao Tian: "The book doesn’t mention that, so probably not. It says the small animal corpses he uses to scare Chen Xiu are all ones he found. Stray cats, dogs, and rats die easily. It’s not hard to find them if you look carefully."

Ao Tian: "I just don’t understand—if he likes Chen Xiu, why does he use animal corpses to scare him?"

Chen Zui: "It’s a form of intimidation."

Ao Tian: "I see. Is the wine good?"

Chen Zui took another sip: "Not really."

Ao Tian sounded puzzled: "Then why are you drinking it?"

Chen Zui gently swirled the glass. The bubbles in the bathtub almost completely covered his body. His skin was a healthy white, his broad shoulders exposed above the water. His collarbones were straight, and a small pool of water collected in the hollow of his throat, shimmering under the light like a translucent scale.

Chen Zui: "For that light, euphoric feeling."

Jiang Mo woke up from a dream, pulled out his phone from under the pillow, and saw no message with a "?", which made him appear less tense. He then opened the surveillance app to check outside the door but saw no one.

Just as he was about to put away his phone, he noticed a corner he had seen earlier in the surveillance footage.

He bolted upright.

Every hair on his body stood on end. He reopened the surveillance app, adjusted the angle of the door camera, and pointed the lens toward the ground, where he saw a familiar shoebox.

In the soundless night, it lay there quietly.

Fine sweat appeared on Jiang Mo's forehead. His face now looked as pale as if he had been dead for three days. The box certainly wasn’t returned by Chen Xiu—Chen Xiu wasn’t brave enough.

This box must have been placed here by that bastard!

Which meant he knew what Jiang Mo had done to Chen Xiu. He knew everything… He was telling Jiang Mo that he knew everything, threatening him…

Jiang Mo slammed his fist hard onto the bed.

His eyes were nearly bloodshot.

That night, Chen Xiu, whom Jiang Mo had been voyeuristically watching, slept soundly thinking of Xiao Hang. Chen Zui, after drinking some alcohol, also drifted into a peaceful sleep with relaxed brows. Only Jiang Mo got out of bed, turned on the living room light, opened the door, and stared at the box seemingly confronting him at the doorstep.

Two additional words were written on the box: "Open it."

Concise, like a command.

Jiang Mo knew what was inside the box—he had put it there himself. But since the other person left such a hint, the contents must have been replaced.

A thought warned him: it was Pandora’s box and should not be opened.

Yet driven by human curiosity, Jiang Mo opened the box. His pupils shrank suddenly, and his body trembled uncontrollably with rage.

Inside was a photo.

The very photo he had taken and sent to the other person.

"Fuck!"

Jiang Mo snarled, furious yet powerless, and kicked the box down the stairs. He leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily, feeling as if he was being driven insane.

As the box tumbled down, the photo floated out and landed on the staircase.

Although there was no face visible—

Jiang Mo’s eyes darted toward it. He had never actually looked at it after taking the photo. Had he really exposed that much? That thing was almost completely visible!

His bloodless face flushed red instantly.

He was actually quite good-looking, especially when blushing.

Jiang Mo rushed out, retrieved the photo, tore it to shreds, and threw it into the trash.

He ran to the bedroom, grabbed his phone, and, blinded by anger, didn’t send a message but directly made a call.

Answer the phone!

You damn bastard!

He bit his lip and paced around the living room.

Chen Zui was awakened by the phone ring. Seeing the caller ID, he was fully alert, turned over, and pressed the answer button.

His end actually connected, but the person on the other side fell silent.

Only their breaths, in the deep night, traveled back and forth between both ends of the call, falling into each other’s ears.

One barely holding back.

One calm.

"Click."

Jiang Mo instantly hunched over like a cat about to bristle, belatedly realizing it was the sound of a lighter.

The other person was smoking.

At a moment like this, the other could still leisurely smoke.

It infuriated him.

Chen Zui listened to the increasingly rapid breathing on the other end. Jiang Mo was about to break.

Breaking is the first step to losing a negotiation.

"What do you want?" Jiang Mo finally asked.

"I don’t like your camera," Chen Zui said, exhaling smoke.

"Do you want Chen Xiu to know the truth?" he asked with a laugh. To Jiang Mo, that laughter was no different from a torturer’s blade.

Chen Zui: "Checkmate, baby."