Chapter 27 Part 2

The undercurrents of slaughter, survival, turbulent waves, and sorrowful tides beneath the surface conveyed themselves clearly to Shen Yu from two meters away, through the wind-tousled strands of hair, the spark at his fingertips, the taut finger bones, and the sharp, rigid jawline.

Shen Yu hadn’t done anything wrong, yet his heart skipped a beat.

Neon lights flickered on either side in the darkness, the wet ground reflecting a bizarre, motley world.

Noticing Shen Yu’s gaze, the man leaning against the car flicked away his cigarette ash.

As if suddenly realizing, he slightly lifted his chin, a smile curving his lips. “Ah, did I interrupt?”

His voice was unexpectedly hoarse and raspy.

Shen Yu’s heart jolted inexplicably.

He let go of Zhang Miaomiao, but the girl was swaying all over, impossible to steady. Shen Yu glanced around and finally propped her against a nearby pillar to prevent a fall.

Zhou Jinsheng’s eyes were deep and dark as he silently watched them.

Once everything was sorted, Shen Yu walked up to Zhou Jinsheng. “Zhou Jinsheng, what are you doing here?”

Zhou Jinsheng kept his head lowered, saying nothing. For some reason, his thoughts blanked out for a moment.

Many years ago, on that humid night, Shen Yu had said:

“I like girls like you.”

Girls.

Heh.

A long, suffocating silence stretched out. Zhou Jinsheng clearly felt his heart start to throb painfully, one beat after another—like a barbed cloth wrapped around a hammer, pounding and nailing into his heart, trying to drive out the source of all the pain.

But it hurt too much—sour, swollen, agonizing. So painful he wanted to rip his heart out.

Turns out he could still feel pain.

Zhou Jinsheng sneered inwardly. His inhuman eyes lifted slightly, gaze first landing on Shen Yu’s arm, then shifting to Zhang Miaomiao leaning against the pillar.

Finally, the man withdrew his gaze and looked back at Shen Yu, bloodthirsty menace buried in his eyes, staring unblinkingly.

Zhou Jinsheng countered, “What, I can’t be here? Then when can I? When you’re climbing into someone else’s bed?”

What the—? How had this mud been slung at him??

Did he, Shen Yu, need to climb into beds??

Shen Yu hurriedly spoke, trotting out the classic line every “cheater” uses when caught. “Zhou Jinsheng, hear me out—”

A strong arm suddenly shot out with fierce, manic force, clamping Shen Yu’s wrist.

Shen Yu’s center of gravity lurched forward. In the next second, he was yanked hard, his waist and back slamming tight against the car body.

The car, chilled by the night’s cold air, was freezing.

Damn, how long had Zhou Jinsheng been here?

Without waiting for Shen Yu to think further, Zhou Jinsheng grabbed his wrist and pinned it above his head. His legs forcefully suppressed Shen Yu’s struggles while his other hand firmly cupped the back of his head. Their breaths intertwined as he unhesitatingly leaned down and kissed his lips.

A frictional sting flashed across instantly.

Shen Yu frowned and instinctively tilted his head back. The hand cupping his nape clamped down like iron pliers on his nape and neck, pressing until the muscles there ached sourly.

Zhou Jinsheng completely imprisoned him. He lowered his eyes, leaned down, bit open the soft lips before him, and sucked the seeping blood. His teeth grazed the tiny fissures of the wound.

Shen Yu strained his bound wrists apart, but Zhou Jinsheng’s strength was astonishingly great. He couldn’t break free even with both hands.

Pain shot through Shen Yu’s lower lip. He frowned, bent his knee, and thrust and retracted it, colliding with the solid waist and abdomen.

Zhou Jinsheng let out a muffled grunt, and the restraining force loosened.

Shen Yu seized the opportunity to break free from Zhou Jinsheng’s hold. With a spin, he reversed their positions and pressed the man against the car body. His solid arm barred Zhou Jinsheng’s neck as he said angrily, “Zhou Jinsheng, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

“I’m going crazy?”

Zhou Jinsheng repeated viciously. Though clearly in the inferior position, his presence was overwhelming. He arched his upper body, ignoring the arm across his neck as he drew close to Shen Yu. Hot breath burst out, and veins bulged on his forehead from oxygen deprivation.

Scorching heat transmitted through Shen Yu’s arm. As he pressed inch by inch, his arm nearly snapped Zhou Jinsheng’s neck. He clearly felt the shape of the Adam’s apple and bones.

Fuck, at this rate, he’d strangle Zhou Jinsheng to death sooner or later.

Shen Yu’s expression changed.

If Zhou Jinsheng didn’t want to live, he shouldn’t drag him down with him!

A storm of emotions swept across Shen Yu’s face, and his grip loosened accordingly. In that split second, Zhou Jinsheng seized the chance and surged upward.

The tables turned. Shen Yu felt the world spin as Zhou Jinsheng gripped his shoulders once more and pressed him against the car body.

But this time, it was his chest pressed to the car.

Scorching breath clung tightly to his back. Sprawled on the cold car body, Shen Yu’s mind filled with a flurry of curses.

Zhou Jinsheng grabbed his hands and bound them at his lower back. Finding nothing handy, he yanked out the tie from his shirt. The black tie neatly bound Shen Yu’s pale wrists tightly together.

Shen Yu struggled outward with his hands but couldn’t break free.

Zhou Jinsheng tied a dead knot in the tie, yanked open the back car door with his arm, and shoved the man inside. He fished a shiny silver handcuff from the storage compartment, cuffing one end to Shen Yu’s right hand and the other to the seat.

With his hands cuffed behind him, Shen Yu kicked his suit-panted legs toward Zhou Jinsheng. Unable to hold back, he cursed, “Zhou Jinsheng, you fucking let me go!”

Zhou Jinsheng said nothing. His palm, like a scorching branding iron, gripped Shen Yu’s kicking ankle tightly. His eyes darkened as he parted the man’s legs, his broad, solid body smoothly pressing Shen Yu onto the back seat.

The shackles emitted crisp struggling sounds. Zhou Jinsheng roughly tore open Shen Yu’s clothes, bit his neck and collarbone, and tore and bit downward, sucking blood.

Shen Yu almost suspected the man had some cannibalistic fetish.

Zhou Jinsheng rose slightly.

Under the dim light, their gazes intertwined, both chests heaving violently.

Zhou Jinsheng leaned down and suddenly went to kiss his lips.

Shen Yu instinctively turned his face away to dodge the kiss, explaining, “I have nothing to do with Zhang Miaomiao. She was just drunk—”

The lips landed on his cheek, then behind his ear.

Just a soft, light brush.

Shen Yu used his actions to tell him that he and Zhang Miaomiao were squeaky clean.

And in the same way he’d rejected Zhang Miaomiao, he rejected him.

Zhou Jinsheng’s movements stiffened. Frenzy and destructive emotions dragged him down. The ferocious beast in his heart nearly broke free from its cage, wanting to tear the man before him to shreds. Terrifying emotions flashed through his dark, misty eyes.

After a silence, the man’s low voice rose again in the cramped space, like a devil’s whisper: “What about He Qian?”

Shen Yu was stunned. Wasn’t this about Zhang Miaomiao? Why He Qian all of a sudden? And what was with that tone!

Director He, danger!

Zhou Jinsheng gripped Shen Yu’s ankle, the gun callus scraping over his skin. He stared at Shen Yu, looking down at his profile. “Shen Yu, I’ve always been puzzled. Why do you invest so much energy in He Qian’s movie? Why even personally participate in the filming?”

“Because—”

Shen Yu paused.

Even he had to admit—

This was indeed hard to explain.

Facing Zhou Jinsheng’s questioning, Shen Yu tried to gloss over it. “I’m very optimistic about this movie. Participating in the filming is just to generate more buzz—”

Zhou Jinsheng reached out, gripped his jaw, and wrenched it forward, forcing Shen Yu to meet his eyes. “Why are you optimistic about this movie?”

Shen Yu couldn’t answer. Zhou Jinsheng’s eyes deepened. “Because of He Qian?”

Director He, danger!

Shen Yu, even more danger!

“Because—”

His legs dangled in the air, the fabric of his suit pants pressed tightly against Zhou Jinsheng’s scorching, taut, solid muscles. Heat transferred, and blood surged to his brain under gravity.

Shen Yu’s mind raced. He instantly grasped something, slightly lowered his eyelids, and let his voice rise high before falling low:

“…It’s like our story.”

Zhou Jinsheng frowned. He knew better than anyone Shen Yu’s talent for spouting nonsense and misleading others, so he naturally didn’t believe him.

But for some reason, hearing those words and seeing Shen Yu’s expression made his heart crack inch by inch, like a tortoise shell.

Zhou Jinsheng released Shen Yu’s ankle, silently rose, and locked the back door tight. Even Shen Yu’s furious “Fuck, you better let me go!” after reacting was coldly shut out.

Zhou Jinsheng straightened his cuffs and smoothed the wrinkles.

But the cracks in his heart couldn’t be smoothed away.

The man lowered his head. With a click, sparks flew from his fingertips as he lit a cigarette.

Under the light, the bluish-green smoke rose lonely and cruelly in the air, blurring Zhou Jinsheng’s facial contours. Only his tense jawline was visible.

Zhang Miaomiao swayed unsteadily, clutching the bottle, her mind still fuzzy. She stared dumbfounded at everything before her.

The man leaning against the car seemed to notice her gaze and glanced at her. That glance wasn’t particularly clear, yet it was like two abyssal wastelands, swallowing all life and darkness.

She didn’t recognize him, but her innate sense of danger told her this man was extremely dangerous. Even the most powerful figures she knew would have to bow their heads before him.

A dangerous man, indifferent to everything, wielding supreme power.

Zhang Miaomiao’s drunkenness sobered up by seven parts in an instant. She felt as if she’d fallen into an ice cellar, waves of icy chill emanating from her entire body.

The man looked at her and parted his lips.

No sound, just the shapes of his mouth.

One word at a time, declaring sovereignty.

He. Is. Mine.

From lighting to burning to extinguishing, the cigarette took only five short minutes. The man gave her one last look, opened the driver’s door, and got in.

The black luxury car shot into the road like an arrow loosed from a bow. As it departed, over a dozen identical cars hidden in the darkness followed suit, instantly blending into the city’s steel framework and becoming part of the neon-flashing, boundless brilliance.

Clang—

Finally able to breathe freely from that oppressive suffocation, Zhang Miaomiao relaxed inwardly. The plump bottle slipped from her hand and shattered into shards of glass.

Zhang Miaomiao’s palms were sticky and hot with sweat. The hairs on her back all stood on end. A wave of fear and lingering dread washed over her, and she nearly burst into tears.

Mommy, had she set her sights on a man she absolutely shouldn’t have?

But—

It really wasn’t a problem of her lacking charm. She felt relieved.