Chapter 15
Shi Xu had often expressed his dislike for Lin Zhi privately. Previously, Lin Zhi had responded calmly, even returning the sentiment with a smile. This time was different.
Shi Xu’s words seemed to strike a nerve, snapping Lin Zhi’s composure. He lunged at Shi Xu, his fingers barely grazing Shi Xu’s clothes before he dodged.
Lin Zhi’s attack failed. His hand slammed against the floor, the pain not calming him. His eyes widened, fixated on Shi Xu, as if trying to trap him within his gaze, to regain control.
As always, Shi Xu’s gaze didn’t linger on him, quickly shifting away.
In Shi Xu’s eyes, everything, everyone else, was more interesting. He never truly saw Lin Zhi.
Before the blood from the pen touched his fingers, Shi Xu tossed it away in disgust, as if Lin Zhi’s blood would taint him.
“What are you doing?” Shi Xu asked coldly. “Trying to commit suicide now that your plan failed?”
Lin Zhi corrected him, “Not suicide. I want Captain Shi to kill me. Dying by your hand would make me very happy.”
Shi Xu avoided Lin Zhi’s contorted face, his gaze sweeping over the room, lingering on the photos with undisguised disgust. “Disgusting.”
“I’m disgusting?” Lin Zhi laughed, a chilling, unsettling sound. “How can liking someone be disgusting?”
Shi Xu’s brow furrowed.
He was surprised by the word “like.”
Ignoring the blood trickling down his chin, Lin Zhi tilted his head back, looking at Shi Xu with infatuation. “Since my brother first mentioned your name, I’ve remembered you. The first time I saw you…”
Shi Xu had been talking to someone else, glancing at him inadvertently. That single glance, meeting those clear, bright eyes, was Lin Zhi’s undoing.
Shi Xu was shorter and thinner than his brother, his face more suited for the entertainment industry. Without prior warning, Lin Zhi wouldn’t have recognized the famous Shi Xu as this beautiful young man.
He wanted to talk to Shi Xu, to capture his attention, preferably forever.
But his wish was impossible from the start.
Because of his brother’s animosity with Shi Xu, Shi Xu treated him differently, less warmly than others.
Lin Zhi thought this was normal, until Qi Yu appeared. He saw how different Shi Xu’s treatment of Qi Yu was.
Like a rat in a dark nest, he observed Shi Xu, insidiously infiltrating his life, while also making Shi Xu a part of his own.
This room, filled with Shi Xu’s images, was his life source. But he knew he was living in a fantasy.
He wanted to make it real.
The more he learned, the more he wanted to erase Qi Yu, to replace him as the most important person in Shi Xu’s life.
Initially, he just wanted Shi Xu to notice him, to acknowledge him.
But the constant disregard fueled his obsession.
Shi Xu always seemed aloof, distant, not letting anyone in, not even his closest friend.
Lin Zhi wanted to break Shi Xu, to pull him down from his pedestal.
And he wanted to be the first to embrace the fallen god.
Then, to have his god kneel before him, dependent on him for survival.
He anticipated the possibility of failure, knowing his object of affection was powerful. He had planned for that too.
He would die with Shi Xu.
That way, they would be together.
…
A gust of wind blew open the window, scattering the photos. They floated in the air, then froze, transforming into mirrors, reflecting Shi Xu’s image.
The original images were replaced, but the subject remained the same: Shi Xu.
This time, a living, breathing Shi Xu.
Lin Zhi admired his creation, his possessiveness unrestrained. He smiled, reaching out and gently caressing a mirror, as if touching Shi Xu.
“Mine…”
His precious treasure.
As the mirror world materialized, Lin Zhi vanished.
Shi Xu immediately sensed the change, but didn’t react immediately.
He couldn’t completely dismiss Lin Zhi’s words. Ordinary humans weren’t always helpless against espers, but they were often at a disadvantage.
Because they couldn’t fight abilities with abilities, couldn’t predict an esper’s next move, he had to wait and observe.
Suddenly, an invisible hand grabbed his right wrist.
He swung his dagger at the empty air, missing. Then, his other hand was also seized.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged. He wanted to break free, but hesitated.
“You’re mine…”
Lin Zhi’s possessive whisper echoed from somewhere within the mirrors. Shi Xu’s feet were also bound, invisible forces pulling him towards the mirrors.
There was only one Shi Xu, but countless mirrors. To fill them all, he would have to be broken into pieces.
“Mine! You’re mine…”
Facing imminent danger, Shi Xu thought of the noisy, restless pollutant at home.
It had said the same words, and he hadn’t felt this repulsed then.
Why?
Despite being restrained, Shi Xu twisted his right hand, the dagger hitting something invisible. The grip loosened slightly. He seized the opportunity, breaking free.
Before Lin Zhi could react, he lost his hold on Shi Xu.
Shi Xu didn’t know which mirror Lin Zhi was hiding in, and he didn’t want to waste time searching.
He would shatter them all until he found him.
The dagger transformed into a long sword. Shi Xu effortlessly wielded the weapon, taller than himself, shattering the mirrors like glass.
When Tan Xiao arrived with his team, alerted by Shi Xu’s call, Lin Zhi’s room was in ruins.
Shi Xu sat on the only surviving chair, missing an armrest, calmly cleaning the blood off his sword.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up, smiling warmly. “Vice-Captain Tan, this guy is all yours.”
He shifted his foot, eliciting a groan of pain from beneath him.
The stunned onlookers finally noticed Lin Zhi, lying at Shi Xu’s feet, covered in wounds, barely alive.
