Second-Generation Heir x Illegitimate Son 29

A few grayish-white clouds hung in the sky, like smoke lingering after a fire had burned out, completely devoid of life.

The room, facing away from the sun and obstructed by buildings, was like a box impervious to light. Let alone the pale and dismal moonlight, there wasn't even the glow of a single streetlamp.

Lin Sui felt as if he were trapped in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by an endless expanse of darkness.

When one's vision became virtually useless, other senses and emotions were infinitely magnified.

As cold chains slid against his arms with his movements, Lin Sui finally realized that his confinement wasn't what he had imagined when he first woke up.

He thought a collar had been fastened around his neck, but in reality, the cold sensation extended downwards from both sides of his neck. The chains crossed over his chest, forming an X shape.

Yan Qin was softer-hearted than him. Even after resorting to such actions and going this far, he was still unwilling to shackle his neck.

"You've grown quite capable."

Lin Sui lay there, turning his head toward Yan Qin's direction, his tone complex and indiscernible.

"It's because Young Master taught me well."

Yan Qin drew closer to Lin Sui, hooking a finger under the golden chains on Lin Sui's body and pressing down with a moderate force.

That existence, which 18th-century European natural theologians considered a useless design by God on the male body, fed back its rightful neural perceptions to the subject and produced a corresponding reaction.

Like a plant breaking through the soil, or a flower bud blooming on a branch.

Yan Qin's voice was respectful and humble, yet the underlying meaning was bold and arrogant.

It carried an inexplicable sense of anger, as cold as the lifeless object used to bind him.

Yan Qin had anticipated that Lin Sui wouldn't be too panicked or enraged. He was far more cunning than people imagined; the soul hidden beneath his arrogant skin possessed a kind of composure and certainty that saw through everything.

The more he was like this, the more it made people want to break him.

To see the arrogant one shed tears, and the dominant one beg for mercy.

"What is Young Master thinking? Are you wondering how you ended up here, or how you are going to escape?"

Yan Qin's voice was deep, like the night wind blowing across a vast ocean, as he intimately whispered to the young man on the bed.

His distinct, articulated fingers nimbly slipped into the young man's soft, pitch-black hair, carelessly rubbing and massaging his scalp.

"It seems you're confident that the Lin Family won't be able to find me?"

Lin Sui felt slightly uncomfortable from the fondling, his brows furrowing tightly.

"I hate dogs that bite."

That thin layer of skin seemed as if it would be rubbed raw by the chains, bringing a slight stinging pain.

Lin Sui disliked pain, so the coldness and disgust in his tone became somewhat more genuine.

"A wild dog naturally cannot compare to a well-behaved house pet, otherwise, you wouldn't be entertaining other thoughts."

"Why did you suddenly get tired of playing? Is it because someone more to your liking has appeared?"

Yan Qin's speaking pace was slow. It wasn't a hysterical interrogation, but a suppressed calmness, like a dangerous underground river flowing silently.

"Young Master is truly extremely generous towards him, hiding him away so well."

Yan Qin's eyes were gloomy. Amidst his immense anger, a hint of a smile unexpectedly surfaced, making him seem all the more dangerous.

"The car I sent to follow you was actually shaken off. Young Master is truly unwilling to let anyone else know his identity; it's quite enviable."

Yan Qin affectionately pressed down on the spot just above Lin Sui's heart. He applied force with his fingertips, feeling Lin Sui's slight tremor without an ounce of pity for its miserable state.

This level of cherishing and secrecy was what truly crushed Yan Qin.

He thought he was the exception.

But now, an existence that seemed even more special than him had appeared. How could he possibly keep himself calm?

Even now, even having gone to such lengths, he couldn't even question him with righteous indignation.

He didn't dare turn on the lights, didn't dare face the light. He was afraid of seeing the cold mockery on Lin Sui's face, and afraid that his own pathetic state would only make Lin Sui despise him more.

His affections were already shattered to pieces. He didn't want to eagerly offer up these broken, un-pieceable fragments with both hands, only to have them ground into powder beneath someone else's toes.

How he wished he could choke Lin Sui's neck and frantically beg for his love, yet he didn't want to make himself look like a miserable loser left with nothing.

Because love could not be begged for; he knew this perfectly well.

He wished he could cut his heart open to show the cold and suspicious man, offering his loyalty and love, but he was afraid of being dismissed with disdain.

How he wanted to tell Lin Sui: 'Six years ago, I picked up a cigarette you discarded. Whenever I missed you, I would carefully take a drag from it, even feeling sorrowful over how fast it burned.'

But he wouldn't tell him this—at least not now. If Lin Sui could love him, perhaps one day he would casually express his past adoration as a joke. But if Lin Sui didn't love him, then this was merely a worthless secret.

With every fraction his mood sank, Yan Qin's fingertips pressed down an inch further.

"I thought Ah Sui's heart was extremely narrow, holding grudges and remembering favors, with enough room for only one person. Thinking back on it now, I misunderstood."

Yan Qin's hand gripped the full-moon whiteness, causing the cyan butterfly fluttering upon it to tremble, swaying unsteadily as if it were about to fall.

Fingerprints surfaced on the soft white brocade, like sparse, slanting shadows.

Lin Sui's emotions fluctuated several times before he bit down on Yan Qin's shoulder—the only place he could reach in his current state.

"Idiot!"

His teeth ground against the shoulder, carrying a faint sense of annoyance.

Only a fool would overthink things; only an idiot would be deceived.

Lin Sui almost preferred Yan Qin to hate him; it would be better than Yan Qin's current idiotic state of pining for what he couldn't have.

Assuming Lin Sui was simply feeling disdainful because of his words, Yan Qin hid his disappointment and stroked Lin Sui's hair. "Young Master's bite is too light. Let me teach you."

Now that the game had changed its rules, the one doing the teaching naturally had to change as well.

Yan Qin caressed Lin Sui's teeth, while the fingertips of his other hand touched something soft and slippery.

Yan Qin finally captured that butterfly, tearing apart its wings, coveting its fragility with despicable pleasure.

"Yan Qin."

Lin Sui called out Yan Qin's name with bloodlust and pain.

His lips were deathly pale, his gaze gloomy and cold, and the words he spat out were like ice-tempered arrows, seeming to want to shred the person in front of him into pieces.

How could Yan Qin bear to see him hurt? Yet at the same time, Yan Qin wished he would hurt even more, so as to firmly brand himself into Lin Sui's heart.

His love wasn't pure and bright; it was like a flower blooming in dark, damp soil. It was normal for others to dismiss it with contempt.

But even so, he still hoped Lin Sui would take an extra glance at it—even if just one glance, even if through unsavory means.

The desire to destroy and the desire to cherish were clearly incompatible, yet at this moment, they surprisingly did not conflict.

The thin golden chains lacked luster in the gloomy, long night, their intertwined coldness imprisoning the withered butterfly.

Lin Sui truly wanted to grab a knife and kill Yan Qin right now. He had never seen anything so ridiculous.

Lin Sui was so accustomed to certain things that his impressions were deeply ingrained, forgetting that the world had already completely changed.

There was no Human Cauldron Physique here, let alone true qi circulating through meridians to keep the body unharmed.

Lin Sui took a few deep breaths and struggled, unable to endure it any longer.

This was true resistance, possessing a momentum of not resting until one of them was dead.

Yan Qin was a little at a loss, not understanding why Lin Sui was having an outburst halfway through. Fearing he had truly injured Lin Sui severely, he pulled Lin Sui into his arms and carried him over to turn on the lights.

The sudden, piercing brightness made Lin Sui narrow his eyes.

A watery sheen surfaced in his sore eyes, blending with the lingering pain.

"I should have sent you to learn those things back then. You haven't improved a bit in six or seven years. If you want to take revenge on me, you really don't have to be so subtle about it."

Looking at the beautiful face brimming with anger, Yan Qin pursed his lips and said in a muffled voice, "I did learn. I was being careful."

He felt a bit hurt and a bit wronged in his heart. Nothing had actually gone wrong; he had been paying attention.

"You learned?" Lin Sui sneered. "I've never seen anyone as stupid as you. This is the result?"

"You come threaten me and try to guess my mind after learning it like this?"

"Useless trash."

Lin Sui was very frustrated—so frustrated that he wished he could throw the System into Yan Qin's brain and let him remember everything himself.

Seeing this situation, an uninformed observer would wonder who was actually tying up whom.

Even reduced to a prisoner, the bad-tempered young master remained arrogant and bossy. Cold light floated in his amorous eyes, and his soft white skin, like rice paper, was painted with a picture scroll of fallen plum blossoms.

Yan Qin looked at him, his gaze murky and indiscernible.

He was about to feel like he was the exception again, but at the thought of Lin Sui treating others even better, his heart turned sour.

"I will do it well."

Yan Qin traced the wings of the cyan butterfly, his eyes dark, like a traveler who had found guidance.

Yan Qin knew that perhaps he shouldn't be like this. He could clearly get what he wanted in a stronger, more irresistible way. But when facing Lin Sui, he simply couldn't remain resolute.

He was always afraid of being completely despised and abandoned, even though he had already reached this state like a desperado at the end of his rope.

He still hoped Lin Sui would love him and treat him specially, but more than that, he was terrified of Lin Sui losing his arrogant and vibrant appearance; he was afraid of seeing him fall from the clouds.

It sounded ridiculous; he was trying to keep a master in captivity.

Love was truly such a complex emotion that Yan Qin himself couldn't figure it out.

"Is that so?"

Lin Sui was expressionless, his face even slightly twisted in sheer fury.

The System let out a rampant, gloating laugh. Lin Sui had no idea what it was so happy about. How could it still be happy in this kind of situation? It was also an idiot.

Yan Qin grabbed Lin Sui's wrists and undid his restraints. He slowly smiled at Lin Sui, "If Young Master teaches me, I will be able to do it well."

Lin Sui's eyes drifted as he looked at the expensive thin chains gleaming under the light, then he beckoned Yan Qin with a hooked finger.

"I hate dogs that bite, with only one exception."

Yan Qin had once said that he couldn't figure Lin Sui out.

It was true in the past, and it was true now.

This was clearly the corruption of a believer, trapping the god in a forbidden land. But he forgot that what kept a god dwelling in the clouds was never an external halo.

A soul exuding a highly toxic fragrance; that multicolored poisonous butterfly was gorgeously colored and endlessly ostentatious.

Divided in two, dissecting words and characters, a winding path leading to a secluded depth.

Yan Qin went crazy for his posture and rejoiced in his bestowal.

The long night was like a devouring abyss, still devoid of light.

Yan Qin had learned. He tenderly pitied his god with love, but at the same time tore off his wings, chewing on his pain.

It was the satisfaction of a devoured soul, a carnival passed down from billions of past selves.

At this moment, he didn't even care whether Lin Sui loved him. The joy of obtaining him was enough to fill all the gaps in his soul, satisfy his despicable greed, and cover up the pain deep within.

He would find the person Lin Sui was hiding and make it so they could never appear in Lin Sui's eyes again.

The faint light of dawn was submerged in the bright lights of the spacious room.

The surrounding houses were still sleeping; only this one room had remained awake from the night until now, witnessing the moon set and the sun rise.

Lin Sui leaned lazily against the soft mattress. The light cast his shadow onto the wall, swaying despite the lack of wind.

He was a decadent rose, a ruined beauty, like a tired butterfly at dusk, softly murmuring in its nest.

The sky had completely brightened.