Chapter 64: Two-Faced Phoenix Man 23

Chen Ming hadn’t set foot in a bar for quite some time.

He had been tied up for a few days with some business at the Chen Family’s branch company in S City. With his flight back to Huajing scheduled for tomorrow, his rowdy group of friends had naturally dragged him out for one last night of fun.

Chen Ming grabbed a casual drink at the bar and let his gaze drift aimlessly over the clusters of people pressed close together.

Faces flushed with lust were bathed in the bar’s kaleidoscope of lights and shadows, resembling bloated white plastic bags swollen with alcohol, their colors distorted and hazy.

They kissed passionately, fingers intertwined intimately, like the closest of lovers—though in truth, they might well be total strangers who had only just met that night.

The bar’s central music shifted unnoticed to a new track, a piercing love ballad blending with the cacophony of flirtations, kisses, and chatter, stirring an restless heat in everyone’s hearts.

In this environment of casual excess bordering on outright debauchery, Chen Ming found himself unusually calm. He lowered his head and unlocked his phone.

The screen glowed with a soft white light as his fingers slowly scrolled, studying whatever was on it with the focus of someone poring over a priceless artifact.

Someone spotted him sitting alone and nursing his drink, plopping down beside him and craning over to peek. But Chen Ming guarded it fiercely, snuffing out the screen and slamming the phone face-down on the table the moment the guy got close.

His friend caught just a fleeting glimpse and grinned mischievously. “Come on, Young Master Chen, you’re at a bar but not out there playing the field to unwind? Just sitting here drowning your sorrows and creeping on someone’s Moments?”

Chen Ming’s expression turned awkward. He downed his drink in one gulp and turned toward the dance floor. “What are you blabbering about…”

Before he could finish, his face drained of color, twisting into a mask of disbelief and fury.

His friend blinked in surprise and followed his line of sight.

It was just another couple locked in an embrace, lost in a heated kiss—nothing out of the ordinary in a place like this.

The only standout was the young man with the perfectly proportioned figure. The elegant curve of his profile was stunning, evoking images of a beauty painted on a lantern, her features shimmering in the flicker of candlelight.

He seemed to have stepped straight out of that artwork—a living, breathing vision of sensuality.

In the split second his friend was dazed, Chen Ming was already storming over, rage blazing in his eyes.

Unable to hold back, the friend called after him, “Hey, Chen Ming, is that your wife? You charging in like that to catch him in the act?”

Chen Ming didn’t look back, only grinding out through clenched teeth, “None of your business. Stay out of it.”

His friend watched with wide-eyed curiosity, stealing a few extra glances, but ultimately hung back.

“Jiang Rang!”

The furious roar cut through the noise as Chen Ming stormed up and yanked the young man’s slender white arm—draped around another man’s neck—away with brute force.

Chen Ming was dressed in a black jacket that day, the work vest beneath hugging his full, muscular chest. The youth was thoroughly drunk; the sudden pull sent him stumbling half into Chen Ming’s embrace.

The other man, interrupted mid-makeout, was naturally pissed. But before he could utter a word, Chen Ming’s fist sent him sprawling to the floor.

The man in the black jacket had hair roots gleaming darkly cold. One arm wrapped around the flushed, drunken youth, his icy gaze fixed on the guy on the ground as he growled, “Get lost.”

Provoked like that, the man wasn’t about to back down easily. But before he could retort, Chen Ming’s buddies sauntered over with grins, half-joking, half-threatening as they hauled the guy away.

Chen Ming’s chest heaved with ragged breaths, his face a storm of conflicting emotions. The man who was usually all jokes and no seriousness now looked uncharacteristically strained, his dark eyes reflecting the youth’s creamy cheek, soft as magnolia petals.

There was no denying Jiang Rang’s beauty. His drunken, slightly wilted head resembled a magnolia blossom drenched by rain, exuding an intoxicating aura of desire.

Chen Ming’s throat bobbed, his knuckles digging into the youth’s slim waist, frozen in place.

The crowd around them was thick, and though few paid them any mind, Chen Ming still felt eyes boring into his back like needles. On impulse, he half-dragged the youth to the shadowy cover of a nearby pillar.

“Jiang Rang, you still with us? Do you know who I am?”

Jiang Rang didn’t respond. His eyes fluttered half-open in a haze, dark and fathomless like a midnight sea. Chen Ming was a touch taller, and they were pressed close; the youth’s black pupils shimmered with moisture.

He seemed to be straining to focus, trying to make out the man before him.

It was a long moment before Chen Ming heard him murmur, “You… you’re Chen Ming.”

Chen Ming pressed his lips tight, a faint heat blooming in his chest.

A belated fear began to creep into his heart, like a crow cawing shrilly in the dead of night, sending chills down his spine.

The man couldn’t help but grip his drink tighter, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Why come here to drown your sorrows?”

Jiang Rang mumbled for a long moment, his pale face showing a blank expression. Only after a while did a suppressed emotion seem to emerge amid the flush on his cheeks, reflected in the mirror.

The young man said in an extremely soft voice, “Because I’m happy.”

Chen Ming frowned and gritted his teeth. “What did you say?”

He wanted to say, How can you do this to Lu Xiang? But those simple, obvious words refused to come out no matter what.

The drunken youth, thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, tried his best to raise his voice in a dazed slur: “I-I said I’m happy!”

“I just wanted to come here and have fun! I don’t want him controlling me, pressing down on me. Chen Ming, Chen Ming, Chen Ming—I don’t like him, you know that?”

Chen Ming watched him in silence, the saliva pooling in his mouth growing hotter and hotter. His lips and tongue nearly took control, forcing the question out against his will.

Then who do you like?

Who would you like?

He didn’t ask.

Because a gentle, intoxicating fragrance turned into a sharp blade, nearly slicing his throat. And those soft lips pressed forward eagerly, sucking the blood from between his teeth and sealing off any cry for help.

Chen Ming could barely move.

He let his brother’s lover pin him down in this pitch-black, utterly unsafe world, kissing him with fervent passion.

He tried to convince himself that he couldn’t move, that he was forced into it. But the tightening arms around him and his increasingly ragged breathing betrayed his shamelessness all too clearly.

Jiang Rang didn’t just kiss him. Sometimes he pecked lightly, sometimes he nuzzled into his neck like a child, like splashes of water softly covering the man’s neck, elbows, and chest.

Chen Ming couldn’t help but turn his face away, his voice hoarse. “Jiang Rang, stop…”

The youth lifted his head slightly, his beautiful features revealing a thirst that bordered on bitterness. But he seemed utterly exhausted at last, his body unable to sustain that wildly rebellious flame. So he simply collapsed into his master’s arms and passed out.

Chen Ming tightly held the youth, who was completely immersed in his embrace. His head tilted back slightly against him, his breaths coming in endless, soft puffs into the air.

The black jacket was already soaked.

But before the man could even catch his breath, a shocked voice exploded right by his ear.

“Chen Ming? What are you doing here? And who’s in your arms…?”

Chen Ming jolted in terror. Instinctively, he buried the youth’s face deeper into his chest, his facial muscles nearly rigid.

He looked up. The newcomer wore a beige cashmere sweater, exuding an elegant air with a saintly face. The moment his gaze fell on Chen Ming and Jiang Rang, his brows furrowed in disbelief.

“Ji Mingyu, it’s not what you think…”

Ji Mingyu wasn’t about to believe him. The man’s blue eyes contracted sharply in shock, his silver wire glasses unable to hide the accusation in them.

“Not what I think? Chen Ming, you know full well how close you are to Lu Xiang. How could you poach his man? Lu Xiang asked me to keep an eye on Jiang Rang for him these past few days. I was even wondering if he was being too strict, but now it looks like no matter how careful you are, you can’t guard against a thief in your own house.”

Chen Ming’s face turned ashen. His lips trembled as his struggling morals and worldview tore him apart from the inside. He wanted to confess outright his covetous feelings for his friend’s lover, but his cracked lips refused to part.

He could do nothing—just as he wanted to push the youth away, but when the other nuzzled stickily into his neck with a soft hum, he could only freeze helplessly in place.

Ji Mingyu’s phone screen lit up. Chen Ming’s sharp eyes caught the words “Lu Xiang” displayed on it.

Ji Mingyu’s expression had calmed. The man sighed and said in a placating tone, “Chen Ming, don’t do anything stupid. You know Lu Xiang’s temper. If he finds out, never mind what happens to your Chen Family—have you even thought about Jiang Rang at all?”

The phone buzzed incessantly. After a long moment, Chen Ming, head bowed, finally moved his throat. No one could see the look in his eyes, but it was clear his emotions were off.

Chen Ming said, “Don’t tell Lu Xiang. Pretend tonight never happened.”

As he spoke, he gently scooped up the drunken, radiantly beautiful youth and walked toward Ji Mingyu.

Watching the youth lean into another man’s arms, Ji Mingyu’s voice came out dry and raspy, like a wrung-out sponge. “Take good care of him. If you need any help in the future, just come to me.”

Ji Mingyu’s tensed palm bulged with veins, but his expression remained utterly calm. The man even put on a show with a sigh. “Fine, get going. I’ll do my best to keep this from Lu Xiang. I’ll take him back soon. Lu Xiang’s watching closely, so I’ve got to snap a photo for him…”

Chen Ming fell silent for a long while before murmuring a quiet thank you and leaving the bar.

Only once the man’s figure faded from view did Ji Mingyu’s slender hand slowly trace down the young man’s spine. His touch was gentle, almost careless.

“The guy’s gone. Still putting on an act?”

The young man let out a low hum, as if he had truly passed out from the drink.

Ji Mingyu chuckled softly. Without another word, he half-supported the youth, his crimson lips drawing close to the other’s rounded earlobe. The silver-white snake chain dangling from his ear gently brushed the young man’s cheek.

With a smile in his voice, he murmured, “Really asleep?”

There was no reply, though the youth’s closed eyes shifted ever so slightly—sly as a mountain cat with sleek, soft fur.

Ji Mingyu’s arm curved around the youth’s waist. He was endlessly patient, murmuring as if to himself, “Since you’re out cold, why don’t we just grab a room nearby?”

Jiang Rang couldn’t hold back any longer. He snapped his eyes open and shoved the man away with crisp efficiency, stretching lazily.

He shot Ji Mingyu a sidelong glance and tsked. “Weren’t you just threatening the poor guy? Now you’re the one planning to make off with the goods?”

Ji Mingyu let out a low laugh. The tension in his fingers eased, and the shadows in his eyes receded a touch.

He slipped back into that refined young master’s guise.

But Jiang Rang knew exactly what lurked beneath the polish. The youth yawned, dark eyes half-lidded and shimmering with faint moisture that he wiped away casually. A hint of amusement colored his tone. “Gotta say, Chen Ming’s more interesting than I expected.”

“The Chen Family’s young master is just so… pure.”

Ji Mingyu studied him closely for a long moment, then nudged his silver-framed glasses up with a fingertip. Smiling faintly, he said, “His type? He couldn’t handle you. You had him spinning in circles.”

Their exchange was far from ordinary, yet Ji Mingyu’s face held a casual normalcy, laced with indulgent affection.

Propping his chin, Jiang Rang eyed the striking man before him, his deep black gaze inscrutable. “So, who do you think could handle me?”

Their eyes locked for a heartbeat. Light and shadow intertwined, black depths merging with blue seas. Emotions brimmed, on the verge of spilling over—then shifted away, unnaturally, by mutual accord.

The undercurrent was too potent.

Hidden in the shadows, Ji Mingyu’s fingers trembled with near-manic intensity. After a stretched silence, his sharp fox eyes narrowed. In a hushed voice, he said, “So, Jiang Rang… the real prey you were after tonight was me?”

As he spoke, the silver snake earring swayed in an eerie arc.

Jiang Rang merely smiled. A subtle gu intent rippled across his beautiful features.

He laughed. “If you wanna frame it that way, I’m game.”

“After all, you’re gorgeous. I wouldn’t be losing out.”

The tremors in his fingers intensified, quivering up his arm.

But in that moment, no one would notice the anomaly.

~~~

Jiang Rang had, for a fleeting instant, been blinded by beauty.

Ji Mingyu’s looks were exquisite—leagues beyond Zhou Yichun, by any measure.

Add in his impressive lineage and a temperament that synced perfectly with his own, and he made an ideal bedmate, a flawless backup option.

Yet once they were truly tangled in the sheets, Jiang Rang discovered the sheer scale of some people’s hidden depths.

A facade of saintly elegance, more feral than a mangy street mutt.

Ji Mingyu appeared so poised and refined, but even if it was all pretense, some essence should have seeped into his bones.

It hadn’t.

He offered no mercy, knew no exhaustion, recognized no bounds.

Those ocean-blue eyes lay half-veiled by thick lashes dripping with sweat, shielding his madness, his pathology, his ecstasy… and the shadowy leviathan coiled in those azure depths.

Jiang Rang remained oblivious, but midway through, terror took root all the same.

In his blurring vision, a delusion gripped him: he would be pinned, impaled forever in this alien sea of white.

Regret flared hot and fierce, but the youth had no strength left to fight. He could only sink, deeper into the mire.