Chapter 29: Yaoxing Academy 29 Part 2

Tears streamed down Lu Zhou’s face. “Xun Ji, we’re not nothing to each other.”

The night breeze gently brushed over the black-haired youth’s scarred body, swirling around and tangling with the golden-haired youth’s locks peeking from under his cap brim.

“Crying again?” Xun Ji felt somewhat helpless; his mood was truly rotten today, and he seemed to have bullied the other too harshly without meaning to.

Xun Ji removed his Duckbill Cap and took off his Black Mask, covering the nearest camera.

“Then tell me, what are we?”

Lu Zhou had not realized he was crying. Whenever he faced Xun Ji, his body always betrayed him, doing everything to please Xun Ji.

It was the same now.

“…Little Dog… and Master.” His mind lingered in the rejected emotion, but his lips answered first.

Xun Ji chuckled softly.

“Fine, if you say so, then that’s what it is.”

Lu Zhou realized it belatedly.

Tears still fell from his eyes, but his heart suddenly pounded wildly, as if the shock and pain had instantly drained from his body.

He did not know what magic Xun Ji had cast; a mere soft laugh had brought him from death to life.

Lu Zhou’s full attention fixed on the person before him. A long-suppressed impulse surged like floodwaters unleashed, overwhelming him.

He said, “Whatever I say, that’s what it is?”

The smile at Xun Ji’s lips faded slightly. After a long moment, he replied gently, “Whatever you say, that’s what it is.”

Lu Zhou’s pain-blurred pupils lit up brilliantly in an instant. He struggled to rise and blurted urgently, “Xun Ji, I…”

“Wait, are you sure you want to say it like this?” Xun Ji looked at his wretched state with some headache.

Lu Zhou froze for a moment, then reacted. His palms frantically groped in the mud, grabbing a Silver Star and jamming it onto his neck.

The Star clicked into the Collar, stopping the shocks.

He impatiently wiped the mud from his hands on his pants—but his pants were not much cleaner, only making them dirtier.

Xun Ji took his hand and gently wiped it with his own sleeve.

Lu Zhou’s entire body trembled faintly. He thought it was the aftershocks, but when he spoke, he understood.

—This was excitement.

“Xun Ji, did you come specifically to find me?” he asked. “You guessed during the day that I was in this game, so you came for me, right?”

“Yes.” Xun Ji nodded.

“Even though you were so angry, you still came for me, right?”

“Yes.” Xun Ji nodded again.

“I don’t like joining these games. I don’t like hurting others.” Lu Zhou said urgently. “I just wanted the prize money, I wanted…”

“I know.” Xun Ji soothed. “I know everything.”

“You know everything?” Lu Zhou leaned closer. “What do you know?”

“Everything about you.” Xun Ji did not hesitate. “Lu Zhou, I know all about you.”

Hot breaths mingled inches apart.

“I have one last question.” Lu Zhou’s voice dropped to a whisper. “At the Winter Sports Meet, why did you do that to me?”

Xun Ji had not expected him to ask this now. He paused silently for a moment before answering honestly.

“I didn’t plan to really hurt you.” he said. “It was just an accident, I…”

A scorching pressure crushed down on his lips, cutting Xun Ji off.

The grass behind them crackled crisply as it broke. Fragile blades were crushed to dust, scattering over them, while the thicker, sturdier ones swayed vigorously, completely shielding the two figures rolling on the ground.

Though the mud was soft, the sudden pounce still made Xun Ji hiss instinctively. But even that tiny sound was swiftly swallowed by Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou’s kiss was less a kiss and more a chaotic gnawing.

“Xun Ji, Xun Ji, Xun Ji, Xun Ji…” he murmured incessantly. Sharp teeth nipped and bit at Xun Ji’s lips viciously again and again, yet when they met the soft flesh, they dared not bite hard, rubbing softly and ingratiatingly instead.

“Mm… you really are a Little Dog!” Xun Ji pushed him away forcefully, thumb brushing his numb lips and drawing a thread of blood.

He touched his lip—no break. Instead, Lu Zhou had a small bloody nick on his.

It had hurt earlier, so he bit back subconsciously.

Xun Ji coughed lightly. “You’re bleeding.”

Lu Zhou’s tongue licked his lower lip as he loomed over, arms braced, staring intently.

“You’re not scolding me? Not hitting me?”

Xun Ji countered, “I hurt you at the sports meet—aren’t you scolding or hitting me?”

“I believe you.” Lu Zhou’s eyes were dark as night, bright as stars. “If you say it, I believe it.”

“What if I said I really meant to hurt you?”

“I don’t believe it.” Lu Zhou stated firmly.

Xun Ji laughed in exasperation. “You just said you believe whatever I say.”

“If it were before, I might have hated you.” His voice was muffled, his breath scorching. “But now I don’t want to hate you… no matter what, I don’t want to hate you…”

The words trailed off into overlapping lips.

“…I like you.”

Lu Zhou kissed Xun Ji clumsily, over and over, kiss after kiss, earnest and tender, bittersweet.

“Xun Ji, I like you… I like you so much… like you… like you… like you…”