Chapter 54 Escape

Chapter 54: Escape

Li Wangyue was locked up in this wooden cabin, with no clue what was going on outside.

Ting Zhenxi would hang around sometimes, other times vanish without a trace. When Li Wangyue wouldn't eat, he'd come back at night with glucose and syringes.

He couldn't get out. Once, he tried to make a break for it over the back garden wall, but the second he climbed out, someone was waiting to block him and brought him back to the cabin.

He thought of a million ways to call for help, but every single one got shut down.

Eventually, Li Wangyue couldn't even get out of bed. A long chain was locked around his ankle, keeping him stuck in the bedroom—the bed and bathroom were his whole world.

Ting Zhenxi even put a tracker on him. Li Wangyue searched every inch of himself but couldn't find it, until he accidentally brushed his inner thigh and felt a sharp sting, and only then noticed a tiny wound.

This psycho had buried the tracker under his skin.

Every time he got near a window or door, an alarm would scream through the whole place.

Every night, he was trapped in that man's arms, staring into the dark, wanting to touch that spot but not wanting to face how humiliating it was.

It felt like it was burning.

Sometimes Li Wangyue would break down and ask if he'd killed Li Ping.

Ting Zhenxi said no, he hadn't.

Li Wangyue said, then let me see her, then.

Ting Zhenxi said no, he couldn't.

Other times, he'd just sit on the bed in silence, counting the birds flying over the forest outside, thinking it'd be better if he jumped too.

"Can't sleep?" the guy behind him asked.

Li Wangyue went stiff. He closed his eyes and didn't say a word.

"Want me to tell you a story?"

Still nothing.

Ting Zhenxi pulled him tighter, burying his face in his neck, his voice tired: "Goodnight."

The room stayed quiet for a long time. The breathing behind him evened out.

Li Wangyue finally said, "I can't sleep."

Ting Zhenxi opened his eyes. "Why?"

"I sleep all day. How the hell am I supposed to sleep at night?"

"Feeling sorry for yourself?"

"Just bored. You won't let me do anything, so I've got no way to burn off my energy."

"Oh, the little dog needs some enrichment."

"..." Li Wangyue hated that tone, hated that nickname.

Ting Zhenxi turned on the light and shifted over him. "Want me to help you burn off that energy?"

Li Wangyue turned his head stiffly. "Ting Zhenxi, what the hell is wrong with you? Is that all you ever think about?"

"Playing with this," he said. He reached into the nightstand on Li Wangyue's side and pulled out a crossword puzzle, frowning in a weird way. "What did you think? What were you expecting?"

Li Wangyue choked, completely speechless.

He handed the puzzle to Li Wangyue, then pulled out a fountain pen and held it out. Just as Li Wangyue reached for it, he pulled it back.

"What?"

"You tell me the answers, I'll fill them in."

Li Wangyue sneered. "Afraid I'll stab you with it?"

"You might not be above that."

"What a coward." Li Wangyue taunted coldly. "You used to love playing around. Never saw you so scared of dying."

"Only with you. Don't you like that?" Ting Zhenxi flipped through the puzzle.

"You..." Li Wangyue realized his words had no effect on him and could only fume in silence.

"Play." Ting Zhenxi rested his chin on Li Wangyue's shoulder.

Li Wangyue stared at the clues, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. He filled in a few answers haphazardly, and Ting Zhenxi wrote them down, quietly waiting for his next answer.

He fell silent.

Ting Zhenxi waited, not urging, not speaking, as if he weren't there.

Li Wangyue counted the squares, trying to fit letters in, and asked softly, "How long are you going to keep me locked up?"

"Hmm?"

"When are you going to let me go?" Li Wangyue's fingers slid over the squares, finding the words didn't match, and started counting again. "It has to end sooner or later."

"Why would you think that?" Ting Zhenxi didn't understand.

"Do you think you can keep me locked up here forever? Won't someone notice I'm missing and call the police?"

Ting Zhenxi looked at him seriously. "You're right. It seems I still have many people to deal with."

"You..."

"Just kidding." Ting Zhenxi tapped the paper with the end of the pen. "Look at the next line."

But Li Wangyue didn't look.

"Are you planning to keep me locked up for life?"

"It sounds like you want to be with me for life."

"You know exactly what I mean." Li Wangyue's voice was flat.

Seeing that he wouldn't play anymore, Ting Zhenxi pulled the crossword paper over and started writing himself.

Li Wangyue's eyes followed the tip of his pen.

"This kind of in-between relationship, do you really want it?"

Ting Zhenxi didn't pause his pen at all.

Li Wangyue's voice grew softer, kind of dazed: "Wouldn't it be better to just go live a normal life? This is too twisted, it's not normal. You're still young..."

Ting Zhenxi put down the pen.

"Li Wangyue, you're only a few years older than me. Don't act like you're my big brother..."

His eyes flew open.

Li Wangyue grabbed the fountain pen he'd just put down, flipped him over and pinned him, raised the pen high and stabbed down hard!

Ting Zhenxi's face didn't change; he just tilted his head a little.

The pen sank deep into the pillow, skidding sideways. Li Wangyue's hands trembled, his cuffs clinking, as he hung his head and sobbed.

"You went soft." Ting Zhenxi turned his head to look at the man sitting on top of him. "My eyes are right here, not on that pillow."

He raised a hand, gently stroking Li Wangyue's heaving back, like a reward or comfort.

"Get off me." Li Wangyue threw the pen on the floor.

Ting Zhenxi glanced at it, then tucked the blanket around Li Wangyue. "All out of steam? Time to rest now."

Li Wangyue didn't want to look at him. Tears ran down his face and soaked into the pillow.

Ting Zhenxi wiped his tears away.

"I never thought of you as a brother. But if you want, I can call you that." Ting Zhenxi turned off the light, and in the darkness, his voice echoed. "After all, getting taken by your own brother is way hotter than by some stranger."

Li Wangyue thought he was crazy.

And he felt just as crazy for even trying to reason with him.

Ting Zhenxi gently patted his back to get him to sleep. Outside, the wind picked up, making the leaves rustle.

Li Wangyue closed his eyes, clutching the metal strip he'd pried off the pen.

Earlier, he hadn't eaten, couldn't sleep, said he wasn't used to the bed.

So Ting Zhenxi had moved everything from the villa, recreating Li Wangyue's villa bedroom exactly in the cabin.

He brought his stuff, including this pen from his professor.

He never imagined it might save him one last time.

-

Ting Zhenxi's schedule was hard to predict; sometimes he left early, sometimes he stayed at the cabin all day.

Only when he was home did Li Wangyue get a chance to walk around. Only then could he step out for air or head to the lake, though Ting Zhenxi always followed.

One end of the chain was on Li Wangyue's wrist, the other in Ting Zhenxi's hand.

The chain tugged, pulling Ting Zhenxi's hand up.

"What's wrong?"

"You've been on your phone a long time today," Li Wangyue said.

"Had stuff to do."

"I want to walk by the lake."

Ting Zhenxi didn't ask why. He got up with him. "Let's go."

A breeze came from the lake, and Ting Zhenxi got him a jacket.

Sitting on the bench, Li Wangyue gazed at the shimmering lake surface. He noticed the lake also had a wooden bridge, long since fallen apart. Guess Ting Zhenxi didn't come to this cabin much either.

They hadn't been sitting long before Ting Zhenxi's phone wouldn't stop ringing. He kept listening but barely answered, just a few "mm-hmms."

Li Wangyue listened to him, his mood going up and down.

"Your birthday's coming up, isn't it?" Ting Zhenxi suddenly changed the subject.

Li Wangyue was caught off guard. "I'd forgotten."

He really had forgotten. His birthday was around late winter, when the willows started to bud.

When he was little, his mom would hold him up to touch the green shoots, saying he was his parents' hope, the hope of spring.

But he didn't like winter. Late winter was still winter.

"What birthday gift do you want?" Ting Zhenxi asked.

"Freedom," Li Wangyue said immediately.

"Come on, don't talk crazy. I'm serious."

Li Wangyue was silent for a long time.

Ting Zhenxi stared at the lake. "Take me to that coffee shop you always go to that day."

He meant the coffee shop where Ji Zhijia had a membership card.

Li Wangyue didn't agree. He looked down at the little bugs on the bench.

Ting Zhenxi took his last call, stood up, and the chain pulled taut. Li Wangyue hurried to follow.

Ting Zhenxi moved quickly, as if in a rush, but still locked his cuffs to the headboard.

The cuffs Ting Zhenxi bought were probably for fun—very sturdy but lined with soft velvet, gentle on the skin.

Li Wangyue caught a glimpse of the bandage on his sleeve.

There was blood on it.

"What happened to your hand?"

Ting Zhenxi glanced down and pulled up his sleeve. "Cut it myself."

"Why?" Li Wangyue frowned.

"You're mean to me, so I hurt myself for fun," Ting Zhenxi said matter-of-factly.

Li Wangyue knew it was just another of his twisted games.

"Suit yourself."

Ting Zhenxi lowered his sleeve, but Li Wangyue couldn't help grabbing his hand again. "What the hell happened?"

"Infected, inflamed," Ting Zhenxi said.

"What kind of wound? How did you get it?"

"The tracker," Ting Zhenxi said, like it was no big deal.

Li Wangyue instinctively thought of the device buried in his own thigh.

"...What tracker?"

"It's a pair with yours, monitors vitals. Long story short, if I die, you're screwed too."

"You're seriously messed up." Li Wangyue ripped off his bandage. "Get the first aid kit."

"Won't work, can't take it out." Ting Zhenxi shoved his hand away. "As long as your tracker's on, this one stays buried in my flesh."

"Then shut it off!" Li Wangyue shouted at him, grabbing his collar through gritted teeth. "Why the hell are you dragging me into this? You're a coward, too scared to die alone, so you gotta drag someone down with you..."

Ting Zhenxi just watched him lose it, silent.

Li Wangyue ripped open an antiseptic swab with his teeth, unwrapped the bandage, poured hydrogen peroxide over the wound, and quickly patched him up.

Ting Zhenxi took out his phone and turned off the tracker.

Li Wangyue didn't expect him to give in that easy. He glanced at it, then continued cleaning the wound.

Li Wangyue almost felt a phantom pain himself, but Ting Zhenxi acted like nothing was wrong. He really wondered if the man's pain receptors were broken.

He put on fresh ointment and wrapped it tight, taking out some of his anger.

But when he looked up, he saw Ting Zhenxi watching him with this look.

Li Wangyue leaned down to put the kit away, but Ting Zhenxi lifted his chin and pinned him against the headboard for a rough kiss.

Li Wangyue shoved his shoulder, but Ting Zhenxi grabbed his wrist and pinned it to the side.

Ting Zhenxi still had a wound on his lip, freshly scabbed from when he had forcibly kissed Li Wangyue before.

The guy never seemed to feel a thing. Sometimes Li Wangyue seriously wanted to cut open his prefrontal cortex to see if he had any damn emotions.

"That's enough, get the hell out." Li Wangyue turned his face away, panting, his expression dark.

"Use me and throw me away, how shameless," Ting Zhenxi said, grinding his thumb into Li Wangyue's lower lip, watching it bleed, then bending down to lick it off before letting him go.

Ting Zhenxi's car left the cabin and disappeared from sight. Li Wangyue slumped back on the bed, staring out the window like always.

Under the blanket, his hand clutched a metal strip he'd pried off a pen, and he started trying to pick the lock.

His hands were sweaty, his heart pounding like a drum. The metal strip clicked in and out of the lock, an irritating sound.

Suddenly, a sense of release came as the metal strip plunged deeper.

Li Wangyue froze, then twisted it hard.

Click.

The shackle slid onto the bed.