Lu Xunji hated how open Xie Ji was about craving his body.
They clearly shared the same craving for flesh, yet he himself was as dark and filthy as a pervert covered in mud.
It was as though, to Xie Ji, this was nothing to be ashamed of.
He never seemed to need to restrain himself.
Perhaps it was because he didn't harbor the same vicious thoughts as Lu Xunji: wanting to make someone beg for mercy through tears, wanting to strip someone of everything they could rely on until all they saw was him, and could only be him, wanting to drag someone down into a boundless sea with him.
It seemed he simply liked a fine body like this, without any lust, without a speck of filth... without a trace of erotic feeling.
It was more like Xie Ji leaving a midnight revel with easy grace, leaving only him behind in utter disarray.
He had always been the only dirty one.
Why? Why?
If you liked something, you ought to go mad for it, sink into it, toss and turn over it, lie awake all night for it, stop at nothing for it.
Madness suddenly flashed in Lu Xunji's eyes. He abruptly seized Xie Ji's wrist, his teeth trembling uncontrollably.
"Ge?" Xie Ji uttered a puzzled syllable, not understanding.
Overcome with hatred, Lu Xunji bent down and bit Xie Ji's shoulder.
Saliva soaked through the thin pajamas. Hot, damp breath came first, followed by a burst of pain.
Before Xie Ji's cry could escape, Lu Xunji brutally stuffed the bath towel into his mouth.
The force of his teeth was far from light. Lu Xunji knew, because he tasted blood.
He raised his head and looked down into Xie Ji's tear-filled eyes.
Xie Ji was really crying this time, from pain. It hurt so much that he hadn't even noticed Lu Xunji's bath towel stuffed in his mouth, or that Lu Xunji was now completely naked.
Lu Xunji tore open Xie Ji's collar and looked with satisfaction at the vivid red mark left on his snowy-white shoulder.
The bath towel was pulled from Xie Ji's mouth in the same motion. It had been shoved in so forcefully that the corners of his mouth were stretched red.
"If you won't let me, then don't. Why did you have to bite me?" Xie Ji's mouth hurt, and so did his shoulder. This body was terribly delicate and couldn't stand pain at all. Tears streamed down his face as he pouted. "I was just joking with you. Even if you were angry, you didn't have to actually bite me. It hurts so much, boohoo..."
Lu Xunji reached out and rubbed a finger over the wound, saying softly, "Still want to lick me now?"
"Boohoo, no, no more licking." Xie Ji cried harder than if his mother had died.
Fuck this world. Even a licking dog had to get bitten by a mad dog.
Born of the same root, why torment each other so eagerly!
"Very good." Lu Xunji wiped the blood from the wound, then turned and fetched a first-aid kit to treat Xie Ji.
As he disinfected Xie Ji's wound with povidone-iodine, he warned him, "No more crying out."
Xie Ji bit his lower lip and endured it. After applying the medicine, Lu Xunji tossed the used cotton swab into the trash and said, "Go to sleep."
Xie Ji stood up and walked toward the bed very obediently.
Lu Xunji changed into a normal set of pajamas and went into the bathroom to wash his face.
The taste of blood still lingered in his mouth. He licked the roof of his mouth.
...I hadn't meant to bite him.
Or to bite so hard.
It was just that he couldn't suppress the desire Xie Ji had stirred up, no matter what. If he didn't vent it, he feared he would do something even crazier.
He didn't want to let himself act on his vile thoughts.
In fact, he had already shown considerable restraint.
At that moment, he had truly wanted nothing more than to shatter Xie Ji and meld him into his own flesh and blood.
When he came out, Xie Ji was lying meekly in bed, the corners of his eyes still wet. At the sight of him, his lashes fluttered, and he quickly closed his eyes.
Perhaps that bite really had hurt him and frightened him badly.
A rare trace of guilt rose in Lu Xunji's heart. He walked over and rubbed away the tears at the corners of Xie Ji's eyes with his thumb. He wanted to apologize, but felt it would be rather pointless.
The harm was already done. No amount of apologies would help.
Why was he so awful?
Lu Xunji climbed past Xie Ji and lay down beside him.
Before long, Xie Ji quietly called his name from under the covers.
Lu Xunji paused. Just as he was about to speak, Xie Ji suddenly threw off the covers over them both and sat up. With lightning speed, he lifted Lu Xunji's shirt, then chomp... bit into his lower abdomen.
Desire arrived before pain.
Perhaps it was because the lights were off and the moonlight was too dim, or perhaps Xie Ji's surprise attack had been too quick to allow much thought. The result was that Xie Ji had bitten far too low, into the part of his lower abdomen that was almost at his inner thigh.
Lu Xunji gave a muffled grunt, his fingers abruptly pressing down on Xie Ji's head.
Xie Ji had always been the type to repay every grudge. He had put every ounce of his strength into this bite, too, nearly tearing off a piece of Lu Xunji's flesh.
Lu Xunji's breathing was very rapid, probably because it hurt so badly.
In the moonlight, he saw Xie Ji lift his head, bright blood staining the corner of his mouth. He raised his brows and smiled at him, his mist-blue eyes full of blatant triumph.
Lu Xunji said, "Ngh... idiot."
Xie Ji braced himself against his abs, pressed his other hand over the wound, and pushed down a little, smiling. "Looks like Young Master Lu has quite a tough mouth."
Xie Ji's bite really did hurt. Besides, he had bitten a place like that, far more sensitive than a shoulder. The pain was definitely far worse than that of his own bite.
He narrowed his eyes, raised a hand to wipe the blood from Xie Ji's lips, and said hoarsely, "Little money pouch, you really are vindictive."
Xie Ji bared his teeth in a grin. "Likewise."
"In that case." Lu Xunji sat up, ignoring his wound, and stared at Xie Ji's neck with an exceedingly dangerous look. "Where do you think I should bite next?"
Xie Ji raised his foot and planted it against Lu Xunji's approaching chest, sneering in the moonlight. The cool, pale light made his skin almost translucent.
He lifted his chin, utterly unaware of his own beauty, and snorted. "Bite my heel if you've got the balls. You can get rid of some dead skin for me while you're at it."
He had thought that this brilliant insult would surely leave Lu Xunji grinding his teeth in fury, then coughing up three liters of blood, yet helpless to do anything.
Instead, Lu Xunji caught his ankle and actually lowered his head.
Xie Ji: "..."
Fuck?
In ancient times, Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. Today, you, Lu Xunji, are gnawing on your opponent's toes?!
No, bro, with that kind of perseverance in enduring hardship and humiliation, you should have been the Quick Transmigration Bureau's top dog back then!