Chapter 52: Two-Faced Phoenix Man 11

Lu Xiang didn’t care what kind of gift the young man gave him. As the heir to the Huajing Lu Family, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he had seen every good thing under the sun.

What he truly cared about had never been the gift itself.

Even so, when the young man pulled him into that renowned wedding ring store with a smile playing in his eyes, the man still found himself holding his breath.

In that instant, his thoughts piled up like dry tinder, needing only a spark to erupt into an uncontrollable blaze that would scorch away all reason.

Jiang Rang’s poise was far too polished. He didn’t act like a first-time visitor at all—more like a longtime patron. No sooner had they stepped inside than a beautiful sales assistant approached with familiar ease.

“Mr. Jiang, your custom ring has arrived. Are you here to pick it up today?”

As she spoke, the sales assistant noticed the man standing beside the young man.

He was tall and lean, his features sharp and handsome. Slightly wavy black hair framed his face in a casual, aloof style. Every movement carried a lazy authority, yet his gaze never left the young man’s profile.

“This must be your partner.”

The sales assistant turned to Lu Xiang with a warm smile. “Mr. Jiang put so much care into this pair of rings. He was personally involved in the design and engraving, and he even bought the exclusive rights to this unique piece. In other words, this pair is one of a kind in the whole world.”

“You two must be so happy together. Are you planning to get married?”

Same-sex marriage had only recently been legalized in the country. Heterosexual unions were still the norm, but same-sex ones were no longer anything shocking.

Lu Xiang’s throat bobbed slightly. It felt as though a fine misting rain had fallen over his chest, soaking his pounding heart and lungs in a haze of dense, damp kisses.

He had never imagined that the young man’s words from before had been entirely sincere.

Just one month into their relationship, Jiang Rang had broached the subject with him in earnest.

The young man’s tone had been gentle and tentative, his upturned eyes brimming with sincerity as he declared with utmost gravity, “Lu Xiang, I’m not the type to play around. Sure, I was wild and reckless in my younger days, but I’ve come to recognize my mistakes since then.”

“I’ve given it a lot of thought. From now on, I’ll only date someone if marriage is the endgame.”

He had said it with such conviction, as if he were baring his heart for his lover to see.

Lu Xiang might have harbored some doubts back then, but now they were drowned out by the surge of his emotions.

This was a venerable chain of wedding ring boutiques, renowned internationally for its designers’ distinctive styles. The store even had a unique policy: to purchase a pair of rings, both partners had to be present in person with their IDs, and each person was allowed only one such purchase in a lifetime.

That gimmick made it hugely popular with couples.

Lu Xiang couldn’t help reflecting: No wonder the young man had been fielding so many calls from unknown numbers lately, always stepping away to take them. And no wonder he’d insisted Lu Xiang bring his ID before they headed out tonight.

It had all been leading to this moment.

“Marriage is a bit premature,” the young man said, his lashes fluttering shyly as he turned a soft gaze on the man who was staring so intently at him. “His birthday’s coming up soon, and I couldn’t think of anything to get him. Then it hit me—we’ve never gotten couple rings, so…”

The sales assistant smiled kindly. “You love him very much.”

The words landed like a thunderbolt ripping through the night sky, flushing both their faces with heat.

Jiang Rang held his composure, but Eldest Young Master Lu looked utterly dazed.

For all his haughty, aloof exterior, his panic revealed his tiger teeth peeking over his lip, lending him an unexpectedly pure charm.

The young man couldn’t suppress a soft chuckle. The man caught it immediately. Lu Xiang pressed his lips together and said nothing, but his grip on the young man’s wrist tightened.

As if he wished he could fuse himself into the young man’s very blood and bone.

“Alright, Eldest Young Master Lu, I wasn’t laughing at you.”

Jiang Rang’s lips curved, his eyes sparkling with playful mischief.

There amid the glittering diamonds, the young man’s skin gleamed fair and silken, his features refined and striking. To the one who loved him, the sight was utterly intoxicating.

Lu Xiang averted his gaze slightly, reining in the thunder of his heartbeat.

He probably hadn’t even realized it himself, but as their time together deepened into true intimacy, his attention had shifted. No longer did he fixate on that seductive, addictive scent that clung to the young man.

Before he knew it, Lu Xiang had grown attuned to his every expression and gesture.

The young man had a sweet tooth; when he savored something delicious, his lovely eyes would narrow in lazy bliss, like a contented cat.

When he was happy, he’d light up with excitement and share it all with Lu Xiang. When he was down, he’d lower his gaze or pick absently at his fingers.

Back when they had just started dating, even though the young man never breathed a word of it, Lu Xiang knew he was still a little afraid of him. Despite his best efforts to seem pliant and perfectly normal, whenever the man drew close, he’d instinctively pull back just a fraction, keeping that subtle, estranged distance.

It was only natural—subconscious reactions couldn’t be faked. Lu Xiang knew he’d resorted to underhanded tactics to coerce him into this, so reaping what he’d sown was no surprise.

But what truly made him happy was the young man’s transformation.

Jiang Rang unfolded like a mimosa plant slowly stretching out its leaves, one careful step at a time. Whether Lu Xiang was guiding him or he’d finally let go for real, the youth gradually grew willing to draw truly close to the man. These days, he was even comfortable with physical contact.

The young man would affectionately sling an arm around his waist, boldly knead his cheeks, and even brush those sharp fangs with soft fingertips.

Sometimes Lu Xiang even wondered if he’d ever truly had germaphobia at all—everything about Jiang Rang felt utterly soothing.

Perhaps these feelings, this attentiveness to his every shift, these tender touches—they could all be swept up under the banner of love.

In the instant the man zoned out, a delicate silver men’s ring slipped onto his finger.

It was a lovely little thing, gleaming brightly even through his hazy vision—like an ornate stud or a softly fluttering butterfly. There was no ignoring it.

A gentle voice, ethereal as violin strings, chimed softly by his ear.

That otherworldly timbre queried his heart: “A-Xiang, do you like it?”

The man’s fierce brows softened as if rinsed in warm water, the beauty mark beneath his long lashes nearly melting into a teardrop.

He said: I like it.

I like the ring. And I like you.

Everyone around, hearing that perfect response, broke into smiles straight out of a fairy-tale ending. They offered warm congratulations as the couple took their relationship to the next level, as if at any moment they’d witness these lovers step into the hallowed halls of love and marriage.

Jiang Rang’s lips curved in a smile as he slowly, idly twisted the silver ring on his finger.

The youth’s dark eyes gazed tenderly at Lu Xiang, the rippling flecks of light in his pupils weaving a sweet, blissful daydream around the man before him.

His eyes drank in the layered waves of affection surging in the man’s gaze. His ears rang with the crowd’s blessings. But what was his heart whispering?

His heart was a venomous scorpion, rasping in a sinister hiss: “Just wait two more years. In just two more years, you’ll hit legal marriage age.”

“Once you’re married to him, his power, his money, his connections, his resources—they’ll all be yours in time.”

Surging desire and wild, feverish fantasies turned the youth’s eyes nearly blood-red. Endless greed, gloom, madness, and hunger flickered through those beautiful, gentle-as-water depths before slowly fading.

The faint buzz of his phone yanked him back from that scorching reverie.

Jiang Rang instinctively unlocked his screen for a glance.

The messages that popped up were like a writhing tangle of thin snakes, dense and scalp-prickling.

They all came from one person. Zhou Yichun.

Jiang Rang’s brows furrowed slightly, an inexplicable tremor stirring in his chest.

Truth be told, he and Zhou Yichun had kept up sporadic contact these past few months. Jiang Rang had wanted to cut him off clean—after all, now that he’d snagged Lu Xiang, Zhou Yichun was little more than a worthless castoff.

But the youth knew that half-blind bastard’s nature all too well. Zhou Yichun might be a useless mutt, but his obsession ran deep. No telling if he’d lash out in a suicidal frenzy. Jiang Rang had schemed so hard to earn Lu Xiang’s trust, with glory practically within reach—he wasn’t about to let some mangy stray ruin it.

So lately, he’d been stringing the man along with half-hearted replies, sweet-talking and lying to keep him focused on treatment.

But something must have slipped tonight, because Zhou Yichun was blowing up his phone like a lunatic.

The messages started out normal enough, just asking where he was.

With no reply forthcoming, the tone devolved into outright mania.

Like a husband catching his wife in the act.

“Jiang Jiang, where are you right now?”

“Why aren’t you replying? What are you doing?”

“Who are you with? Why are you ignoring me?”

As the texts kept flooding in, Jiang Rang cursed under his breath and moved to block the number—only for a call to ring through.

“Bzzz—”

The vibration cut sharp and grating. The youth’s hand shook as he killed the call, shooting a guilty glance at Lu Xiang beside him. Their eyes met just as the man’s brow arched ever so slightly.

Jiang Rang’s heart skipped a beat. He forced his expression to remain steady and smiled casually. “It’s nothing, just a harassing call.”

But almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the phone rang again.

The young man’s face turned ashen in an instant. His mind was filled with venomous fury, itching to curse out the mangy mutt who had ruined everything, but he kept up his calm facade. He waved his phone at the man and said, “This time it’s a friend. Seems like he has something urgent. I’ll step out to take it.”

Lu Xiang’s eyes narrowed slightly. His sharp, upturned peach-blossom eyes scanned the young man’s composed cheeks. Meanwhile, the shop assistant continued explaining how to care for the rings. In the end, the man showed no signs of suspicion.

Jiang Rang gripped his phone tightly, his slender knuckles turning a sickly grayish-blue.

The moment he stepped out of the Wedding Ring Custom Shop, the young man’s straight, gentle posture slumped. He leaned against the railing outside, as if his bones had suddenly melted away.

“Beep… beep…”

The line connected in eerie silence, but the instant it did, Jiang Rang unleashed a torrent of abuse. “Zhou Yichun, what the hell is wrong with you today? What are you bothering me for? I told you already, I don’t like immature people who disturb others like this. Look at yourself—what kind of mess are you?”

There was only silence on the other end. Jiang Rang could faintly make out heavy footsteps and snippets of muffled conversation from bystanders.

After a long moment, a prickling intuition hit him like an electric shock, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

The footsteps on the phone seemed to be drawing closer—and then the light above his head was blotted out by the tall, gaunt shadow of a figure.

Jiang Rang whipped around and collided with a bloodshot eye brimming with tears.

Why only one eye? Because the man’s other eye was wrapped impenetrably in stark white medical gauze.

Zhou Yichun’s entire demeanor was unnervingly off. He looked like a fading afterimage on the verge of vanishing, his pallid cheeks a dull gray that evoked characters from an 18th-century silent film.

The bandaged eye didn’t seem like it was healing; paired with the man’s twisted expression, it gave the instinctive impression that the eyeball beneath had been pierced and gouged out by some sharp blade.

His chapped, withered lips trembled faintly, as if he’d suffered some profound betrayal or blow.

In that instant, Jiang Rang realized the truth couldn’t be hidden any longer.

Fine by him. He’d been planning to ditch this useless dog for good anyway.

If Zhou Yichun knew his place, great. But if not…

Before Jiang Rang could gather his thoughts, the gloomy figure lunged like the gaping maw of a beast, trapping him in an embrace reeking of illness and ruin.

“Jiang Jiang… Jiang Jiang…”

Zhou Yichun was shaking violently. He clung to the young man desperately, like a pitiful child futilely hugging a crumbling sandcastle.

Jiang Rang was utterly startled, goosebumps erupting all over his skin. He pounded on the man’s back with all his might, veins bulging faintly on his forehead.

No doubt about it—if he had a knife right then, he would have plunged it straight into the man’s heart and twisted it viciously.

“Get off me! Are you insane, Zhou Yichun?!”

Exhausted from struggling, Jiang Rang was still pinned tightly in the unnaturally feverish man’s arms.

Zhou Yichun’s fuzzy forehead rested against the young man’s smooth neck, his hot, wet breaths and tears sticking to the skin like a slimy slug.

Jiang Rang felt like vomiting.

It wasn’t until Zhou Yichun sensed the young man’s limbs gradually going limp that he slowly pulled back.

Smack!

A sharp slap whipped the man’s head to the side, leaving a vivid red handprint blooming on his deathly pale, emaciated face.

“Zhou Yichun, have you lost your damn mind? Who gave you permission to touch me?”

The young man’s face was flushed crimson, his expression one of pure hatred, as if he wanted to tear the man apart.

Zhou Yichun slowly lifted his head, seemingly deaf to the young man’s words. Blood trickled from his cracked lips as he rasped, “Jiang Jiang, why didn’t you reply to my messages? Why didn’t you pick up?”

“Why… are you with him?”

As he spoke, the man hunched over in evident agony, his face twisting into an expression of utter humiliation and breakdown.

Jiang Rang’s fingers clenched subtly. After a long pause, he closed his eyes briefly, a shadow of sullen impatience crossing his handsome features.

He looked down at Zhou Yichun with the disdain one might reserve for trash and sneered. “I don’t reply if I don’t feel like it. I don’t pick up if I don’t want to.”

“You still have the nerve to ask why I’m with him? Who are you to me? We’re just friends. Why should I wait for you? Just because of that pittance you gave me? I can pay you back right now.”

The young man’s words were almost vicious. “Ten thousand enough? A million?”

Zhou Yichun stared at him in near numbness. After a long moment, the man seemed to collapse entirely. He seized the young man’s arms with a fierce grip, his eyes bloodshot as he rasped in bitter hatred, “Jiang Rang, Jiang Rang—you promised me. You clearly promised. You said that when I came back, we would…”

Jiang Rang let out a sudden laugh. But once it started, he couldn’t stop. The young man laughed until tears welled in his eyes. Slowly, he curbed the mocking curl of his lips and fixed the man—whose expression was steadily chilling—with a sardonic half-smile. “When you came back, we would what?”

Zhou Yichun’s lips quivered. It was as if he could no longer bear the cruel jest. In that instant, his mind shattered completely. Even the pupil of his normal eye began to dart wildly, horrifying like a monster burrowed into that pale, ghastly shell of a body.

Jiang Rang’s gaze shifted slightly. A malice thick as syrup suddenly churned in the young man’s chest.

He thought: If Zhou Yichun just lost his mind right here—if he went utterly mad, beyond even recognizing him—then wouldn’t he finally be free?

Jiang Rang narrowed his eyes, eager to prod the man further. But in that very moment, the man before him fell eerily still.

That scarlet eye seemed to split open another pair in a haze, glaring at the young man with a chill as sinister as ghosts, sending shivers crawling over his skin.

Zhou Yichun drew slowly closer to the visibly startled young man. His lips twisted into a maniacally deranged grin as he murmured, “Jiang Jiang… sweet Jiang Jiang… good Jiang Jiang… are you really sure you don’t want me anymore?”

“I’ve got screenshots of every flirty message we ever exchanged, Jiang Jiang. And tons of photos from the time we lived together. I wonder if Jiang Jiang’s current boyfriend would get upset if he saw them…”

Jiang Rang’s cocky bravado evaporated in an instant, doused like a flame under icy water.

His eyes reddened, those limpid pools shimmering like spring water. Suddenly, he spoke to the man in a soft, wheedling whisper. “Zhou Yichun, what do you mean by that…? You know how I get sometimes—I just spout nonsense.”

“Yichun, we’ve shared so many years together. No one else can compare. Lu Xiang? That’s just a fling, same as back in middle and high school. I only went for him because of his money. But Lu’s got too much power and influence. I can’t shake him off right now…”

Sensing the man’s hand easing its grip, Jiang Rang quickly clasped those fingers in his own. He cooed tenderly, “Yichun, Yichun—wait for me, okay? He’s too powerful; we can’t cross him. I’ll figure out a way to dump him soon. You believe me, right?”

Zhou Yichun gazed at the young man without expression. Only after a long pause did a look of profound sorrow etch itself across his pallid features.

He knew Jiang Rang was lying to him. He knew he was being pathetic. But even a lie—even something fake—would do.

Just don’t abandon me.

A metallic taste rose in the man’s throat, as if blood might spill from it at any moment. He caressed the silver ring on the young man’s finger, murmuring in a mechanical litany like a self-induced trance. “Okay, Jiang Jiang. I believe you. I believe you…”