Chapter 31 Part 1

“Ke Zhengchu! I was really angry!”

The sole of his foot ached from the pressure, and that hard, stone-like thing still carried warmth. In an instant, Zhong Nian felt a jolt of electricity shoot up from his foot, making him tremble uncontrollably.

He sat up straight, pushing and hitting, smothering Ke Zhengchu’s face with a pillow while cursing nonstop: “You really are sick! Have you no shame doing something so heartless? I’ll beat you to death, you bastard! No sense of decency at all… I shouldn’t have bothered with a lunatic like you!”

He couldn’t shake him off. His foot hurt from the rubbing, and in his shame and urgency, he disregarded everything and clawed at the wound on Ke Zhengchu’s shoulder.

“Ugh…”

Ke Zhengchu gasped, his shoulder and back shuddering.

Seeing him in pain, Zhong Nian eased up a bit: “Will you let go or not!”

Ke Zhengchu lifted his face. His hair had been messed up completely by Zhong Nian, and his originally pale face now flushed with an unnatural, pleasurable red.

In the unlit night indoors, Zhong Nian could only make out his pair of eyes, the surging brightness within filled with a certain longing for him.

That alone was more than enough. Zhong Nian knew at a glance that this man hadn’t backed off from the pain—in fact, he suspected the guy was enjoying it.

Zhong Nian was somewhat frightened by the extent of Ke Zhengchu’s pathology, and even more afraid of the desire in those eyes. He quickly grabbed the man’s hair and pushed his head away.

He used force, but Ke Zhengchu’s scalp tightened painfully, yet he let out a low chuckle, twisting his head and licking Zhong Nian’s wrist with his tongue.

“You!” Zhong Nian shuddered all over and yanked his hand back. Several strands of black hair clung to his fingers, wrapped around them.

Before he could shake them off, his hand was seized again and pulled back to Ke Zhengchu’s shoulder: “Little Nian, give me a little more.”

Zhong Nian had already felt a bit of wetness—it must have been the wound reopening and bleeding.

Hitting him out of anger was one thing, but being pulled into passively hurting him was another. It wasn’t Zhong Nian who got the painful pleasure from it.

No matter how hard he hit, it just left him feeling frustrated.

Zhong Nian curled his hand up, refusing to claw anymore, and gnashed his teeth: “Why don’t you give me a knife? I’ll just stab you to death.”

“Really? You’d do that?” Unexpectedly, Ke Zhengchu was overjoyed. Somehow, he knew about the pair of defensive scissors Zhong Nian always kept under his bedding at the head of the bed. He reached under precisely and pulled them out, shoving them into Zhong Nian’s hand with the sharp end pointed at his own vital spot over his heart. He then grabbed Zhong Nian’s other hand and placed it on his neck to choke him.

“Little Nian, do it to me.”

Not just Zhong Nian—even the viewers in the Live Stream Room were startled.

【You’re not serious, are you?】

【Die-hard fan wants to die? Don’t dirty my wife’s hands, aaaaaah!!】

【Two slaps should’ve been enough, now you’re pushing your luck.】

【Wife is shaking, so pitiful and cute hehe.】

【I want that too.】

【Seems like there’s no solution for this kind.】

The eagerness in Ke Zhengchu’s tone sent chills down Zhong Nian’s spine. His hand shook as he flung the scissors away and slapped Ke Zhengchu hard across the face in retaliation.

“Playing this crazy—you really don’t value your life?”

Ke Zhengchu covered the overlapping palm prints on his face and laughed silently.

“I knew Little Nian cared about me.”

Zhong Nian: “…”

Fine, a slap was a slap—at least better than stabbing.

Zhong Nian, already mentally exhausted and too lazy to get angry, gave him another “smack”: “Quit while you’re ahead, Ke Zhengchu. Don’t make me hate you.”

The starving hound that had tasted sweetness reined in its ferocity, retracting its slobbering fangs and turning back into an obedient house dog.

Ke Zhengchu rubbed against Zhong Nian’s knee: “Don’t hate me.”

“Then let go,” Zhong Nian said coldly.

This time, Ke Zhengchu obediently retreated, got off the bed, and even thoughtfully brought Zhong Nian his water cup.

Zhong Nian drank and caught his breath: “Go back to your own bed. I’m going to sleep.”

Watching the man climb into bed and settle down obediently, Zhong Nian’s heart finally steadied.

He smoothed out his messy bed bit by bit, patted the pillow, and lay down peacefully.

But that night, he was destined not to sleep well.

–

“How did you end up this exhausted?”

In the kitchen, Jie Wen handed Zhong Nian a cup of brewed coffee with milk and sugar added.

Zhong Nian cradled it and took a sip, his long lashes drooping listlessly. The exhaustion between his brows was unmistakable; his eyelids barely stayed open. Before he could speak, he yawned first: “Don’t ask. Last night, a mad dog latched onto me and wouldn’t let go. It tossed me around for ages.”

Jie Wen laughed: “There are no dogs on the ship. How’d you dream that up?”

Zhong Nian had his suffering but couldn’t voice it, so he gave a miserable smile.

Jie Wen was always considerate: “After this, I’ll go deliver meals with you. All the hostages are back in their rooms now. The few left in the casino were split up into batches and locked in the large suites on the fifth floor to save manpower. It’ll take you longer running around alone.”

“This morning’s thing?” Zhong Nian was a bit surprised.

Zhan Lu shook his head: “Last night. I finished cleaning the kitchen late and overheard them instructing the team leader.”

“I see…”

Being locked in the fifth-floor large suites should be better than the casino, Zhong Nian thought. He remembered those were tea rooms with nice environments.

But of course, the kidnappers came first priority.

With no one left in the casino, there was no need to go there anymore. He’d thought it’d be troublesome to hunt them down one by one for delivery, but luckily word came down that they’d eat in the restaurant themselves afterward—no need for special individual service.