PBMM CH14

Even though he knew Lin Cheng harbored ill intentions, He Qing still couldn’t resist the temptation to see Lin Chi. In the end, like prey trapped in a spiderweb, he became entangled deeper and deeper.

————

His eye mask had been removed. With both eyes, he could see with utter clarity: the person who claimed to like him, who promised to protect him, was currently resting his arm around someone else’s waist, weaving through the crowd.

“Congratulations, wishing you both a long and happy life together…”

“Thank you.” Lin Chi’s polite, distant voice cut through the crowd and reached He Qing’s ears with crystal clarity.

Lin Chi thanked one person after another, until finally his gaze locked with He Qing’s. The instant he saw that pale face, the blood in his entire body froze.

How… how could this be…

Sun Yumeng, held in Lin Chi’s embrace, noticed her fiancé’s odd behavior. She spotted He Qing as well, her brows furrowing at first before walking over with a hint of surprise: “He Qing, you’re here too? Where have you been these past few days? The homeroom teacher said you asked for leave…”

He Qing felt as if he had split into two people. On one hand, he felt so sorrowful he could die, yet on the other, he smiled woodenly at the happy girl as if nothing was wrong: “I was sick… I wasn’t feeling well these past few days…”

“So that’s how it is. Thank you for coming to celebrate my engagement with A-Chi… A-Chi… A-Chi?”

Sun Yumeng turned around, only to see her fiancé still rooted to the spot. “What’s wrong with you? Hurry up and thank He Qing!”

Lin Chi’s eyes flickered. Looking at the teenager watching him with a calm gaze, he suddenly had an overwhelming premonition: if he didn’t explain things clearly right now, A-Qing would leave him forever.

This feeling sent sheer panic through his heart. He suddenly lunged forward, roughly grabbed the boy’s hand, and dragged him out of the crowd.

“A-Chi!! A-Chi!!” Sun Yumeng’s hands clenched tight, glaring fixedly at their retreating backs before gritting her teeth and following after them.

Zhang Xu had watched the entire scene in utter bewilderment before suddenly snapping to his senses: “Holy shit!!” He tossed aside his wine glass and scrambled to follow.

All the way, Lin Chi could feel that the wrist in his grasp put up no resistance at all, remaining utterly docile. This allowed him to relax slightly. Driven by an urgent rush of adrenaline, he pulled him all the way to the deserted left corridor and blurted out anxiously, “A-Qing, listen to my explanation!”

He Qing’s face was drained of all color, yet his eyes still shone brightly as if filled with stars. His voice was slightly hoarse, stripped of its former soft sweetness: “Alright, speak.”

Lin Chi opened his mouth, only to find that he had no idea what to say.

Seeing him like this, He Qing offered a bleak smile. “A-Chi, you won’t even bother to lie to me anymore?”

“Sending me to your father’s bed—is that what you call liking someone?”

“Do you know how happy I was when you said you’d take me away?”

“Do you know how desperate I felt when I took off the eye mask and realized the man who slept with me was actually your father?”

The teenager who once always looked at him with shy adoration now had nothing left in his eyes. That pitch-black void threatened to swallow Lin Chi whole. Staring at the lifeless boy, heartache and guilt crushed down upon him like a boulder.

“A-Qing…”

He wanted to say he had had no choice; he wanted to say he truly liked him. Yet facing those eyes, he couldn’t utter a single word.

“Am I a toy to you?” He Qing paid no attention to his silence, continuing in a hollow murmur, “When you’re happy, you play with me for a bit. When you’re not, you throw me to someone else, regardless of whether I want to be discarded or not, right?”

It felt as if countless dense needles were stabbing into He Qing’s heart. He fought desperately to hold back his tears, his reddened eyes fixing upon the silent person before him: “In the beginning… weren’t you the one who confessed first?”

Zhang Xu caught up just in time to hear He Qing’s words. Catching sight of Sun Yumeng staring at the two in disbelief, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly rushed forward to shield Lin Chi.

“He Qing, if you want to blame someone, blame me! Back then when we played Truth or Dare, I was the one who suggested A-Chi pick any random guy to confess to! None of us expected you to actually like A-Chi and cling to him nonstop! A-Chi was just soft-hearted and couldn’t bear to tell you the truth! Now that he’s getting engaged, stop clinging to him!”

The teenager’s already pale face drained of even more color. Dazed, he took a step back, his gaze toward Lin Chi filled with complete estrangement.

A Dare?

He clung to him?

Lin Chi looked at Zhang Xu in disbelief as well, wanting to roar at him to shut up, but in the next second, he caught sight of Sun Yumeng.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Xu glanced at the stunned Sun Yumeng, discreetly nudging Lin Chi to keep him quiet before turning back to the frozen He Qing: “A-Chi and Yumeng have a wonderful relationship. There’s no point in you continuing like this. If you don’t believe me, ask Yumeng. Yumeng…”

He waved Sun Yumeng over, speaking with utter nonchalance: “You tell him.”

Sun Yumeng hadn’t fully wrapped her head around the situation, but glancing at Lin Chi’s sullen expression, she walked over with deep suspicion: “A-Chi, is what Zhang Xu said true?”

She cast a disgusted glance at the deathly pale He Qing, whose eyes were fixed rigidly upon them: “Is He Qing really a pervert who likes men, constantly clinging to you?”

He Qing looked at Lin Chi. In the end, Lin Chi was the first to look away. “A-Qing, it was just a game of Dare.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have picked you.”

It felt as though something had shattered.

He Qing stood dazed. Zhang Xu left, Lin Chi left, and Sun Yumeng gave him a look of contempt before leaving as well.

Echoing in his ears was the girl’s shrill voice: “A-Chi, you should stay far away from perverts who like men from now on! Good thing the college entrance exam is in a few days. Once we’re in university, we won’t be at the same school as him anymore. Going to school every day with a disgusting pervert—it’s just too sickening!”

A sickening… pervert?

He Qing’s heart felt as though it had been violently ripped from his chest. It didn’t hurt, yet it felt hollow and desolate, offering not a single glimmer of hope.

Unsure of how long he had been standing there in a daze, a pair of long legs suddenly halted in front of him. A large, distinctively-knuckled hand gently patted his head, drawing the unresisting teenager into an embrace. “Don’t be afraid.”

Lin Cheng held the boy’s head. Where the teenager couldn’t see, he gently patted his back with heartache, yet the corners of his lips curled into a satisfied smile. In his gentlest tone, he said, “Lin Chi doesn’t want you, but I do.”

“He will marry a woman, but I won’t. We will be together forever, alright?”

That voice, laden with temptation, slipped into He Qing’s ears. He closed his eyes, clutching the hem of the man’s shirt, inhaling the fresh scent of mint on him, and could hold back no longer, weeping bitterly.

Holding the boy’s frail, slender body, Lin Cheng soothed him with boundless patience. When the boy grew exhausted from crying, his sobs subsiding into quiet hiccups and his eyes barely able to stay open, he could still feel the man’s gentle pats against his back, radiating a reassuring warmth.

By the time Lin Chi finally managed to placate Sun Yumeng and rushed over in a hurry, what he saw was the teenager nestled dependently in Lin Cheng’s embrace, his entire frame tucked into his chest.

Sensing someone approaching, the man raised his eyes slightly. His aloof gaze swept over Lin Chi, before casually looking back down to continue coaxing the sniffling boy.

“A-Qing, you must be tired. Let’s go home.”

Naturally, He Qing didn’t respond, but the man didn’t mind. Scooping him up in his arms, he strode directly out of the corridor.

The boy’s eyes were swollen shut from crying, so he naturally didn’t see the man carrying him as he brushed right past Lin Chi.

[Ding! Lin Chi favorability: 99.]

Cradled in the embrace, enveloped by the mint fragrance at the tip of his nose, He Qing drifted into a muddled sleep.