Shattered

"Goodbye, Senior Shen."

After reaching his front door, Song Nianxing smiled and waved at Shen Siyi, who had brought him home and was downstairs.

The livestream had ended as the two of them prepared to head back, marking the official end of this week's broadcast.

Only after watching Shen Siyi return to the RV did Song Nianxing look away. Holding the plush toys he and Shen Siyi had caught together that day, he opened his front door.

The door had barely opened, and before he could turn on the lights, a figure rushed out of the darkness and slammed him against the wall.

His back struck the cold, hard wall. Tears instantly spilled from Song Nianxing's eyes, and the pain left his mind dazed.

The instant the thought Could this be that creep? flashed through his mind, he struggled in terror, trying to escape.

But his reaction prompted a familiar voice to ring out in the darkness.

"Shen Siyi can touch you, but I can't? Song Nianxing!"

As those words fell, the lights suddenly came on. The abrupt glare made Song Nianxing squeeze his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, he saw Jiang Jingzhe's eyes, frighteningly red and filled with rage. His hands gripped Song Nianxing's shoulders tightly, his expression twisted; he had clearly already begun to lose his reason.

Song Nianxing had never seen Jiang Jingzhe like this. That unfamiliarity made him instinctively afraid. His eyes, wet and red with tears, blinked in panic, and the tears immediately fell like beads from a broken string.

Watching him, Jiang Jingzhe had just reached out to wipe his tears, but Song Nianxing was like a frightened rabbit, wanting only to get away as quickly as possible.

And in Jiang Jingzhe's eyes at that moment, his attempt to dodge was clearly an immense provocation.

"You're dodging me? You're dodging me! Why didn't you dodge Shen Siyi? Ever since you were little, you've hated physical contact. Sometimes you wouldn't even let me touch you. Why does Shen Siyi get to? Why!"

His eyes bulged as his grip on Song Nianxing's shoulders grew increasingly, uncontrollably tight. "You can even sleep with him. Are you so lonely and desperate without me around, so fucking cheap? If you really like men, tell me! It's not like I can't make you feel good."

Song Nianxing looked at him in disbelief. "Jiang Jingzhe, you bastard!"

At that, Jiang Jingzhe actually laughed. "What? Did I hit the nail on the head? I'm a bastard? Today is our birthday, Song Nianxing. How could you go on a date with Shen Siyi?!"

"Didn't you choose Qiu Bailu too?" Song Nianxing shouted, unable to bear it any longer.

Jiang Jingzhe visibly stiffened, then began radiating coldness.

"You're talking back to me? You're actually starting to talk back to me now. I chose Qiu Bailu because I'm bound by a contract. Why can't you be a little more understanding? You just have to be unreasonable. That's no reason for you to choose Shen Siyi! Or did you do it because you listened to him? I knew he was no good. Stay with him, and sooner or later he'll lead you astray!"

"What does Senior Shen have to do with this? Senior Shen is a good person. You shouldn't talk about him like that." Song Nianxing interrupted him and began struggling again. "Let go of me!"

As Jiang Jingzhe listened and watched, his expression darkened beyond his control. "I shouldn't talk about Shen Siyi? You're defending him that much? You think he really likes you? You have no idea how calculating he is. He's nothing but a scumbag, deliberately plotting against me. Only you would be stupid enough to fall for his lies."

"You've gone too far!" Song Nianxing's temper flared too.

It was Shen Siyi who had helped him when he was most helpless.

He was always so kind, comforting him so gently. Someone like that shouldn't be spoken of that way by Jiang Jingzhe!

"I've gone too far?" Jiang Jingzhe asked, his eyes full of incomprehension. "You're the one who's gone too far, Song Nianxing. You don't even realize how deeply he's deceived you. Or do you feel closer to him because you've slept with him?"

God only knew how devastated he had been that day when he heard Chen Mingyi say that Song Nianxing had chosen to go on a date with Shen Siyi on this very day.

Only after feeling a piece of his heart suddenly go hollow did he realize with a shock that his feelings for Song Nianxing weren't so simple.

He could reject Song Nianxing, but Song Nianxing couldn't reject him, much less be with someone else!

So he would do anything to make Song Nianxing keep obediently staying by his side!

Coming back to himself, Jiang Jingzhe's gaze grew increasingly unfocused as he looked at Song Nianxing. His body kept pressing closer, and a crazed smile formed on his lips. "Then let's sleep together too. I can do it too. Don't leave me. You can't choose him. You can't. You should be mine. You were when we were little, and you should be now!"

After speaking, he tilted his head and leaned toward Song Nianxing.

Song Nianxing's pupils suddenly contracted. The instant Jiang Jingzhe's alcohol-laced breath washed over the side of his neck, he could bear it no longer and dodged, using almost all his strength to break free of Jiang Jingzhe's hold.

A smack rang through the room.

The anger, terror, and clamor of a moment ago all turned, in an instant, into a wisp of wind blowing in through the window.

Soundless stillness spread between them.

Jiang Jingzhe raised a hand and touched the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth after Song Nianxing's slap. His gaze lingered on his fingertips for a moment before shifting stiffly back to Song Nianxing.

The disbelief in his eyes turned into a dense mist, and his lips strained into an unreadable smile. "You hit me? Why didn't you refuse when Shen Siyi touched you? He can, but I can't? Song Nianxing, are you fucking keeping yourself pure for him? Fine. Very good. From today on, you'd better never come looking for me again!"

Song Nianxing stared at his hand, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Only when Jiang Jingzhe slammed the door with a loud bang did he startle back to himself.

Just then, his phone vibrated twice more.

Song Nianxing was already on the verge of breaking down. He crouched and picked up his phone, not quite daring to look. He thought that if it was a message, he wouldn't read it, afraid it would be another one from that creep, so he only dared to glance at it.

The instant he saw that the screen showed an incoming call from the PD of "Heart-Stirring Moments," he finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The PD briefly went over the timing of the next livestream, told him they would be changing locations and might add a segment where the guests would stay together in pairs, and asked for his thoughts.

Song Nianxing did relax a little as he talked to the PD.

But the instant he hung up, two messages suddenly popped up on the screen.

[Found you, baby.]

[Image]

The image showed the area downstairs from Song Nianxing's home!!

He had only recently moved here after receiving that creep's package last time.

Yet the other person had found out again!

That creep really seemed to know everything about him. The messages had arrived right after the PD's call ended, so it had to be someone who knew he would definitely look at his phone at that moment!

Now they knew where he lived again, and had gone even further by appearing right near his home. What would he do if they grew even more deranged and came for him tonight?

Song Nianxing felt cold all over. He hastily crouched and curled into a ball, his mind filled with nothing but What do I do? What do I do?

Jiang Jingzhe... Jiang Jingzhe had just told him never to come looking for him again, and that slap... This time, they were truly finished.

Why did it have to be now!

His gaze swept across the room and settled on the plush toys lying not far away, dropped on the floor during their confrontation. Song Nianxing's breath involuntarily caught.

Right! Shen Siyi!

With trembling hands, he picked up his phone again and quickly found Shen Siyi's name in his contacts.