Chapter 39: Love’s Remedy
Xi Leng’s hazel pupils constricted sharply, like a wild animal’s eyes adjusting to the dark.
But in humans, such a change was caused by intense emotional fluctuations.
Like, for example, fright.
He abruptly pushed away the chest pressing close to him, his moist phoenix eyes wide with shock.
Min Zhi only now seemed to snap out of a daze.
He raised a hand to his chest, where he had just been forcefully pushed, his brows slowly furrowing.
Xi Leng opened his mouth, trying to explain his reaction: “I…”
What should he say? That it was an instinctive reaction to being kissed? That his feelings for Min Zhi were just those of a fan for his idol? Then how could he explain those outrageous words on his fan account…
As he struggled, Min Zhi suddenly lowered his head, his expression unreadable.
Even ignoring the novel’s plot, he knew very well that Min Zhi was a talented and successful top star, adored by countless people, his pride self-evident.
How could he accept being pushed away?
Xi Leng, conflicted and unsure how to face him, lowered his head further, revealing the back of his ear, where the piercing was.
With his head bowed, his spine slightly curved, his prominent neck bones seemed like some kind of sharp and flamboyant accessory.
Xi Leng opened his mouth again, feeling a burning and tingling sensation where his lips had been touched.
He unconsciously touched his lips, then suddenly—
Thud!
Min Zhi collapsed to his knees without warning.
Xi Leng was startled, forgetting about what just happened, rushing over and asking anxiously: “…What’s wrong?”
Min Zhi looked up, his handsome face covered in sweat, his moist, dark eyes fixed on him.
Xi Leng’s heart pounded inexplicably.
Min Zhi clearly looked unwell. However, a strong hand grabbed his scarf, pulling him closer.
Their lips met again.
Even with prior experience, Xi Leng’s pupils constricted once more, unable to push him away immediately.
Moreover, Min Zhi used considerable force, pulling him down as well. He braced himself against the wooden floor, trying to regain his balance, momentarily letting his guard down, his lips easily pried open.
This unfamiliar sensation made his body stiffen, completely forgetting to resist.
Then, teeth.
Min Zhi’s movements were clumsy and unskilled, driven purely by instinct. He didn’t know how to kiss, but he knew how to leave his mark. Like treating the other person’s tongue as jelly, sucking on it, and their lips as marshmallows, nibbling on them.
Under the moonlight, amidst the sound of rain, the clumsy, instinctive venting gradually found its rhythm.
The presence of the tongue stud was very strong, Xi Leng felt his teeth scrape against it a few times, creating a symphony of sounds in their mouths.
As the nimble tongue darted in again, Xi Leng quickly bit down on the tongue stud.
Min Zhi groaned, finally stopping.
He was no different from a wild beast. Like hitting a snake at its vital point, only biting down on the tongue stud could stop his assault.
Xi Leng gripped his shoulders with both hands, glanced at the wet, protruding tongue, and slowly released his bite.
He then gently pushed Min Zhi away, on high alert, afraid of a third attack.
A layer of moisture glistened in his hazel eyes, but his gaze was firm.
“You’re drunk.”
His tone was certain.
But Min Zhi actually laughed, even chuckled.
He then expertly curled his tongue around the metal stud, coated with their mingled saliva, as if it wasn’t enough, then grazed his lips against Xi Leng’s again.
Xi Leng hesitated, uncomfortably withdrawing his hands from Min Zhi’s shoulders, his eyes warily fixed on him as he slowly stood up, supporting himself against a nearby chair.
Min Zhi remained sitting on the floor, then suddenly lowered his head again.
Having fallen for it once, Xi Leng wouldn’t offer himself up a second time.
He simply stood a meter away and asked: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Min Zhi braced himself with one hand, his short hair plastered to his pale cheeks with sweat.
He couldn’t answer Xi Leng’s question, only pressing his other hand against his chest, silently inhaling and exhaling.
“Ha…”
He could pierce his own ear without flinching, disinfecting it with alcohol himself; he was definitely someone with a high pain tolerance. But now, he was covered in cold sweat, the back of his shirt drenched, all color drained from his face.
It felt like a knitting needle had suddenly pierced the soft flesh of his chest.
A huge hole was carved in his heart, a burning liquid gurgling out.
His mind was blank with pain.
This was far more like a curse than his music.
An irresistible fate, like a raging flood, towering waves.
Preventing him from getting close to Xi Leng.
Why?
No, how dare it?
Rather than questioning fate, or asking why Xi Leng had pushed him away twice, he had a more pressing need now.
Although greedy and feeling like he hadn’t had enough, he could only curl up, asking weakly: “…Do you have any painkillers?”
The wild beast who had been acting recklessly just now looked as pitiful as a drowning man.
Xi Leng pursed his lips, telling him to wait, and immediately went downstairs to get the medicine.
…
He didn’t know when, but the black hair tie was gone.
In the middle of the night, Xi Leng looked in the mirror, touching his slightly chapped lips, recalling Min Zhi’s beastly, terrible kissing skills.
His naturally curly hair was already messy, and now, without the hair tie, after being ruffled by those beastly claws, it was a complete disaster.
He couldn’t even fool himself into thinking it was just a hallucination.
He cupped his hands, splashing cold water on his face, then raised his arms, running his hands through his messy hair.
His whole face appeared in the mirror, covered in shimmering water droplets, slowly sliding down. Only the few on his eyelashes lingered, on the verge of falling.
A drop of water fell into his eye as he was lost in thought. He blinked, snapping out of his daze, grabbing the towel and roughly wiping his face dry, his movements forceful, as if trying to erase a difficult memory.
After a while, lying on the large bed, Xi Leng finally calmed down.
Just like how he used to deal with the messes in his life and work, how he dealt with his gloomy and miserable life, he took out his phone, putting an end to tonight’s drama.
He sent two messages to Min Zhi.
Leng: 【It’s okay】
Leng: 【I still really like your music】
He naturally hoped Min Zhi was too drunk to remember anything, so he didn’t specify what was “okay,” to avoid further awkwardness, and assured Min Zhi that he wouldn’t unfan him over such a trivial matter.
Liking Min Zhi’s music was also true.
But he thought, perhaps Min Zhi had forgotten about the medicine, so he kindly reminded him: 【You took a painkiller around 11 pm, don’t drink any alcohol within 24 hours】
After a while, he picked up the phone on his nightstand, turned on the screen, and sent three more words: 【See you tomorrow】
It was 2 am now. The day after tomorrow was the second recording of “Unlimited Escape Room.”
But Min Zhi never replied.
He was probably asleep, after all, he was that drunk.
Xi Leng’s sleep had always been poor.
Before leaving his family, he suffered from insomnia, unable to sleep due to anxiety and fear. Later, he ran away and found one of the most wonderful things in this world—alcohol.
Having solved the problem of falling asleep, he started having frequent dreams.
Incredibly vivid dreams, or perhaps reality was the nightmare. Those dreams were often replays of the past, hallucinations invading his waking moments, nightmares intruding when he was most vulnerable.
In his sleep, he unconsciously curled up, pulling the thick blanket over himself, shielding his vulnerable throat.
The knife was too sharp. He tried to block it with his hands, his clothes, the blanket, but he still heard the tearing of fabric, a sharp sound, then the piercing of skin, his nerves screaming.
In his dream, his body’s protective mechanisms didn’t work, he couldn’t pass out, only able to endure the pain, all resistance futile.
Blood vessels ruptured, one after another, he heard the dripping sounds, one after another.
His long, bony hand reached out from under the blanket, clutching at the air. The dreamer suddenly jolted awake, sitting up in bed, clutching the blanket tightly, his chest heaving, gasping for breath.
Xi Leng quickly touched his neck, his hand cold and clammy. Confirming he was still alive, a throbbing pain started in his head.
He reached for his phone on the nightstand, expertly opening the music app, going to Min Zhi’s playlist, and playing a random song.
[I was born rebellious, I won’t yield to anyone]
[You say no this, no that, no everything]
[False hope, hypocritical salvation, just wanting me to give up]
It was “Rebellious Bones.”
He thought silently.
He curled up on his side, the phone beside him, close to his ear. His unfocused gaze fell randomly on a white T-shirt hanging on the clothes rack.
A line of black letters on the shirt, a quote he found online in his past life, the only French sentence he understood.
At the time, before truly experiencing death, he had written that sentence on the shirt with firm resolve. On the front, over his heart.
—Fate cannot make me submit.
His gaze returned to the faintly glowing phone, the album cover spinning like a hypnotic top.
The surging rock music echoed in the spacious and silent master bedroom.
[Stubborn like fate]
[Who told me to be born rebellious]
[You say I’m aloof, eccentric, arrogant, conceited]
[Sorry, my answer]
[Is still “no”]
Xi Leng’s breathing gradually calmed down, the tension between his brows easing.
He suddenly remembered asking Min Zhi, his face contorted in pain, if he needed painkillers. Those eyes, always so intensely direct.
He took a pill from the bedside table, returned to the loft, and carefully handed it over.
Min Zhi didn’t look away as he swallowed the pill, his gaze fixed on him, scrutinizing him, studying him, with an intensity that seemed to pierce his skin, capturing his soul.
“…Are you feeling better?” he asked hesitantly.
“Mm-hmm, the pain is gone.” Min Zhi pressed his hand against his left chest. “Your medicine is very effective.”
As if nothing had happened in the loft, Min Zhi went home, washed up, and rested.
But in the quiet of the night, amidst the unrestrained rock music, a random thought appeared, like colliding planets, bang! Sparkling brightly.
Xi Leng held the phone by his pillow, feeling the music’s vibrations in his palm, the headache like ripples spreading outwards, then slowly dissipating, disappearing without a trace.
Min Zhi’s voice still lingered in his ears, repeatedly saying “no” to fate.
A thought gradually became clear, surfacing with a splash.
His songs also seemed to have become his digital painkillers.
