Unexpected Incident 1

Sheng Ke asked, "Where are you going? Want me to give you a ride?"

But Zou Yan was striding away so fast that he was already out of earshot.

Sheng Ke could only turn to look at the bouquet.

Oh well. If he couldn't give him a ride, delivering the flowers would do.

At six thirty that evening, Xie Yibai sat on pins and needles in his hotel room. He had arranged to meet Zou Yan at seven, but after thinking it over, he realized seven was dinnertime.

So he drew the blackout curtains. With only the lights on, the room could just about pass for late at night.

Xie Yibai wore nothing but a bathrobe. What he had on underneath was a little indescribable, so he didn't dare look in the mirror.

He thought about how his mother had given him such a beautiful body and raised him to be healthy. Yet he was going to use it to please someone else. How sad.

But Zou Yan liked him so much already. He was repaying a kindness!

Repaying someone with your body was perfectly common!

Even common sadness was still sadness.

When would he be free of those four words: "no choice in the matter"?

Xie Yibai sat in a daze at the foot of the bed. He was actually quite easily embarrassed and could never accept exposing his shame to someone's scrutiny and appraisal.

Never mind. Zou Yan would dote on him.

Xie Yi felt around at the head of the bed and turned off all the lights in the room. He crawled under the covers in the dark, like a soft snail retreating into a shell that wasn't hard at all.

Keeping the lights off was perfect. Now this was a surprise.

Zou Yan would have to hold him before he could unwrap his present.

If nothing could be seen, his blushing and embarrassment would go unseen, as would his tears and heartache. He could treat it all as a dream.

Dreams ended.

Thinking of it that way, he immediately felt relieved.

Sheng Ke stood outside the room holding a bouquet. He checked the key card again to make sure he had the right room, then held it against the sensor and unlocked the door.

But inside was a stretch of gloomy darkness, so quiet it didn't seem anyone was there.

He stepped inside with an armful of fragrant pink blossoms. Just as he was about to insert the key card into the slot to turn on the power, he heard a faint plea from deep in the darkness.

"Could you not turn on the lights?"

Sheng Ke's hand hovered in midair. The corridor light shone from behind him, outlining his figure and spilling across the intricately patterned carpet. A pair of bare lower legs stepped across the boundary between light and dark, like branches of coral growing in an underground river. Their toes were delicate and slender, their shins gracefully upright, held perfectly still.

"Um... come in first and close the door. Don't turn on the lights." Xie Yibai kept everything above his knees hidden in shadow.

The man entering was very tall, carrying a huge bouquet. His hair and clothes were hidden by the petals, and with the light behind him, he was nothing but a murky, dark silhouette.

The door clicked shut.

Sheng Ke didn't know what was going on. He had come to deliver flowers, and in his confusion, he happened to follow Xie Yibai's instructions. Once he understood what this was about, he set the bouquet on the floor, intending to explain who he was and why he had come.

What he didn't know was that Xie Yibai was walking toward him, his bare feet making no sound on the carpet.

A second before he could speak, a pair of slender arms climbed around his shoulders. Then came a firm, certain kiss, almost sacrificial in its intent, sealing his lips.

That was not the main event, but merely the opening prelude.

Sheng Ke's mind was still caught in a blank whirlpool when several slender fingers replaced the soft, warm lips, pressing coldly against his mouth.

"Don't say anything... It took me a lot of resolve to do this." Xie Yibai secretly worked up his courage. With his other hand, he took the man's hand and placed it at the edge of his loose robe. "Do you want to touch..."

Sheng Ke tried to pull his hand back. Unfortunately, he was a little too late. When his fingertips touched the hot, smooth skin, he found himself unable to speak.

He didn't know whether Zou Yan would forgive him for being unable to resist the teasing, but an instinct and impulse that overrode reason were plainly buried within him.

Forgive him for being so curious, forgive him for finding temptation hard to resist, forgive him for being a monster in human skin. As though afraid his prey might escape, he clamped one hand around that delicate neck and bit down excitedly, cold-blooded and predatory.

Chapter 40: Unexpected Incident 1

The hotel's thick blackout curtains were tightly drawn, shutting out the light and disturbances outside.

Before coming here, Sheng Ke had never thought of doing anything to Xie Yibai. He had lived a simple, uncomplicated life since birth. Since childhood, his favorite thing had been to shut himself in his study, stay indoors, and watch movie after movie.

After a troublesome move, he and Zou Yan became neighbors. That worked out nicely: Uncle Zou was a producer, and he could watch as many movies as he wanted.

He had spent more than twenty years in the company of films. It wouldn't be wrong to call it a fetish. As teenagers, his peers had all been dating, like a pack of cats in heat eager to climb over the wall. While Zou Yan stayed out all night on dates, he was still in his study watching movies.

Nothing soothed his restless heart better than images on a screen.

He was a strange man, the same inside and out.

Everyone had physical needs, but they could be suppressed through busyness and exhaustion. He could throw himself into shooting films, editing and compositing, then exercise, ride horses and play ball. When he was tired, he would go home, fall into bed and sleep without thinking about anything.

Every waking moment of his life had been filled with stories, light and shadow, leaving no room for anything else.

But Xie Yibai had entered his mind in the form of stories, light and shadow. He had written a great deal about Xie Yibai and drawn a thick book of storyboards.

When he stood here tonight, holding that unfamiliar body in the dark-it was slighter and more slender than he had imagined, yet a tremor of

reunion after a long separation

returned to his body. It was as though he held not someone else, but the protagonist of his story, a story that had yet to be realized and existed only as an idea. And so he was holding his own imagination.

This was his. No one could take it away.

On top of that, he really hadn't experienced much physical stimulation. It was hard to say he had any resistance to this sort of thing. He had also discovered that self-control and resistance were not the same thing at all.

By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already made a terrible mistake, the kind that could not be undone.

Xie Yibai felt like a meaty bone being pinned down and gnawed by a dog. Panic at the thought of being torn apart and swallowed drove him to struggle. "Y-you don't have to be in such a hurry!"

As soon as he spoke, the other man followed the sound of his voice and kissed his lips again.

Xie Yibai's whole body ached from being squeezed and bitten, and his brain was turning to mush. Deprived of light, his hands and feet were as clumsy as a blind man's, and he could only let himself be handled.

Though this small world was pitch-dark, the vertigo of the world spinning around him remained clear. He heard ragged breathing and the faint rustle of rubbing fabric. Large hands seemed to be everywhere, tugging at his limbs and dragging him into an utterly unknown abyss, plunging him into surging, soft waves.

The rolling waves caressed him, now impatient and scorching, now cold and gentle.

Today he had grown a tail, a fox's tail covered in snow-white fur, fluffy and soft.

Sheng Ke felt it and wondered what it was. Thinking it was something that had accidentally been left on the bed, he grabbed it and tossed it aside.

The person in his arms let out a short scream, like a small animal seized by its weak spot, and sobbed as he pounded on Sheng Ke's shoulder. "Can't you be gentler..."

Sheng Ke reflected that he had indeed been a little rough, but the furry object met with resistance and wouldn't come off.

He had no idea what to make of Xie Yibai's reaction and was utterly bewildered. Only when he felt his way up the tail did he begin to understand.

He kissed the not-too-bright fake fox with tenderness, then gripped the base of the tail and gave it a tug.

Xie Yibai wrapped his arms and legs around Sheng Ke's back. Like a wind-up doll with its spring pulled out, he whimpered and burst into tears.

At one moment, a torrent and tsunami descended on both their minds, sweeping in with irresistible force and overwhelming the entire room.

Xie Yibai was tossed about helplessly in the raging waves. He spread his fingers and clutched at everything he could grasp, but there was no driftwood or saving straw, only a broad back and the protruding bones at the nape of a neck. It was like a fierce, enormous creature carrying him across the wilderness with sharp teeth clamped around his neck.

He hadn't expected that once this started, it would go on and on.

Xie Yibai was soft-boned. When he couldn't take it anymore, he called for Brother Yan. But no matter how sweetly he spoke or begged for mercy, Zou Yan was as if deaf, saying nothing and paying him no heed.

In the intervals between stupor and confusion, he grew suspicious.

Why is he like this...

Is he really not going to say a single word?

As Xie Yibai knew him, Zou Yan was never one to let things fall silent. He would have said something, whether to coax him, praise him or tease him.

Could Zou Yan really be so obedient? I told him to shut up, and he did.

But what kind of love was this, with nothing but actions and no communication?

Or is this just what happens when someone holds it in for too long? They put their heads down and use brute force without knowing how to flirt.

But he didn't have much energy left for deep thought, because brute force was frightening too.

The dream that drained his strength lasted into the second half of the night. Xie Yibai woke with a start and came to his senses, his throat parched.

Sheng Ke lay awake in the dark, staring absently at the ceiling. When he noticed the person beside him had woken, he turned to look.

Xie Yibai found the control panel beside the bed and fumbled until he turned on a wall lamp. He wanted to get out of bed and pour a glass of water.

But the moment his toes touched the floor, his knees gave way and his upper thighs cramped. Unable to keep his balance, he fell back onto the edge of the bed.

"Are you all right?" A hand reached out from behind and steadied his arm.

Xie Yibai's head was still spinning, but the voice jolted him. Had I heard wrong?

That doesn't sound like... Zou Yan.

The thought, as terrifying as the end of the world, scared him out of his wits. He turned around in shock, and the instant he saw that face, the fright nearly made his soul fly away.

Sheng Ke met those wide eyes full of terror, and his heart abruptly began to race too. "You... listen to me..."

Xie Yibai didn't scream. Cold all over and at a loss, he asked, "Y-you, why are you here?"

What's going on? Was I dreaming? What on earth-is this? Aaaah!!!