Chapter 48 Part 2

But after they devoured the steaks and sides, polishing off the last of the red wine, Zhu Ran clutched his full stomach and suddenly understood Huo Boyan’s hobby.

It was like how his boss always bought a coffee when visiting clients. They in the arts talked endlessly about abstract things—including Zhu Ran himself.

In those moments, Zhu Ran felt detached from life, floating high above it all—psychological trauma, artistic ideals, family feuds, billions in assets… They walked among these abstract concepts, turning themselves into tools, means, symbols. Sometimes it made life feel meaningless, the whole world fake.

But miraculously, as long as there was food, as long as people needed to eat—even just passing a street stall and catching a whiff of food—that lofty detachment slammed back into the body. The paper-thin figure in mid-air was inflated by desire with a pop, grounded, from abstract to real.

Zhu Ran and Huo Boyan cleared the dishes together and brewed a pot of Pu’er tea. He poured a cup for Huo Boyan but didn’t ask what had happened.

Everyone had their own hurdles, and Zhu Ran himself was a quiet type who rarely opened up, even now that they were dating. He didn’t think complete honesty was required. If Huo Boyan didn’t want to say, that was fine. He just wanted to be there for him when he was sad.

After hesitating, Zhu Ran awkwardly reached out and hugged Huo Boyan. Though not as tall and broad as him, he was still an adult and could steadily hold someone despite the size difference.

Like soothing the Border Collie at Wang Xingchen’s house, Zhu Ran gently stroked Huo Boyan’s head.

Huo Boyan sensed Zhu Ran’s care and turned to hug him.

Unlike the cold treatment Zhu Ran had endured in childhood, Huo Boyan’s had been much happier. His parents’ relationship had always been deep, and he’d absorbed it from a young age. Even after they died when he was 14, the qualities and emotional patterns were ingrained in him.

Of course, his later twisted personality had other causes.

But at his core, Huo Boyan knew how to be a decent person in the worldly sense and how to maintain a healthy intimate relationship.

Now that he was with Zhu Ran, he wouldn’t hide these things. He’d introduce Zhu Ran to his parents sooner or later anyway.

Huo Boyan filtered out the family’s dirty people and dealings, succinctly telling Zhu Ran that his parents had died in a car accident years ago, and he’d been investigating the truth ever since. Recently, he’d finally gotten some leads.

Of course Zhu Ran knew about this; it had been big news. Rumors said the rivalry between Huo Boyan and Huo Zhixiao stemmed from it—Huo Boyan had even once suspected Zhu Ran of being Huo Zhixiao’s spy.

Back then, Huo Boyan had been extremely guarded against him, but now he was spilling everything.

Zhu Ran felt touched, but at the same time, terrified. He didn’t know how to respond to this trust, like holding a heavy heart in his hands without knowing what to do with it.

With emotions piling up too thickly, Zhu Ran didn’t know what to say. His comforting words felt inadequate, so he simply leaned up and kissed Huo Boyan.

This kiss was much gentler, restrained movements and breaths. Huo Boyan controlled his emotions and actions, watching Zhu Ran’s expressions closely to ensure he was comfortable. From a beast on the brink of losing control, he became a gentleman again.

But Zhu Ran still remembered Huo Boyan’s ferocity at the door. Maybe that was his true self.

“Huo Boyan, you don’t have to take such special care of me,” Zhu Ran whispered boldly into his ear. “I’m ready. You can do whatever you want to me…”

Huo Boyan’s eyes darkened as he pinched Zhu Ran’s chin. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I know,” Zhu Ran tilted his head up, devoutly kissing Huo Boyan’s Adam’s apple. “I like you. I want you to be happy.”

The last word broke off in Huo Boyan’s mouth as the storm descended.

Huo Boyan had a happy childhood and knew what a healthy relationship looked like. Without mishaps, he could have grown into a mentally healthy person—like the gentle, gentlemanly facade he put on, the type Zhu Ran liked.

But his parents’ deaths, the brutal scheming in his complex family, and the near-hopeless pursuit of the truth had gradually turned him cold, ruthless, and violent.

These two starkly different experiences and values clashed, shaping Huo Boyan’s twisted soul.

This was wrong.

He loved Zhu Ran and should treat him well.

But who could define right and wrong?

Precisely because he loved Zhu Ran, he had to possess him, plunder him, make him completely his.

Huo Boyan undid Zhu Ran’s outer clothes, his beastly gaze sweeping over Zhu Ran’s body.

Under that gaze, Zhu Ran’s body trembled almost imperceptibly. He had strong self-esteem by nature and hated being at a disadvantage, barely holding himself back from fleeing.

But he’d already said the words, and he truly meant them. The fear was just from unfamiliarity. Zhu Ran’s face flushed red with shame, trembling like he might bolt at any moment, but his gaze on Huo Boyan was resolute, carrying the devout sincerity of a religious martyr offering themselves.

Huo Boyan watched quietly, tracing Zhu Ran’s forehead, nose bridge, lips, and Adam’s apple lightly with the arm of his glasses…

Huo Boyan’s nearsightedness was less than 100 degrees, which hardly affected his vision at all. He wore glasses mostly to maintain his affable persona. The glasses had been off his face for a while now, and the metal frames felt icy cold with high hardness as they trailed over the skin, stirring up a terrifying shiver. The unfamiliar sensation of something not skin amplified this strange fear even more.

Zhu Ran’s breathing grew rapid, and his fair skin instantly flushed with a large patch of red.

The metal glasses leg traveled downward, warmed by Zhu Ran’s body heat, transforming the initial icy stimulation into an unbearable numbness and itchiness.

Zhu Ran could no longer maintain his outward composure. He grabbed Huo Boyan’s wrist and curled up his body in a pleading manner.

“Huo Boyan, no more…”

Huo Boyan put the glasses back on, peering through the lenses at Zhu Ran’s eyes. He deliberately made himself sound frightening: “You’re really not afraid? I’ll do some very excessive things to you.”

Yet Zhu Ran somehow mustered his courage again from somewhere. He met Huo Boyan’s gaze with a dazed but firm tone: “I’m not afraid. I believe in you.”

In an instant, countless dark emotions flashed through Huo Boyan’s eyes. He wanted to see Zhu Ran scream, cry, and beg for mercy, with every part of his body marked by traces left by Huo Boyan himself.

But soon, he closed his eyes and suppressed all those emotions. His world was fraught with crises everywhere, yet only with Zhu Ran did he find a fleeting moment of peace.

Then he opened his eyes. First, he maliciously pinched Zhu Ran’s nose tip, then let out a very soft laugh: “Little dummy pig, I was just teasing you.”

Under Zhu Ran’s shocked gaze, Huo Boyan said in a very gentle tone: “Haven’t I told you before? I’m the traditional type.”