Chapter 57: A Beautiful Dream, or a Nightmare?

This journey across the entire country really did feel a bit like a honeymoon trip—unfortunately, it was a little too short.

The schedule looked slightly rushed, and occasionally a few uniformed personnel carrying special credentials would quietly appear. But perhaps because Yu Wangxiao was not in a hurry at all, that sense of haste was imperceptibly reduced to the minimum during the trip.

The money that needed to be spent was spent. The local specialties that needed to be eaten were eaten. Souvenirs and local products were packed up by the crate. Chen Ming had even brought a professional camera that looked like heavy artillery, enthusiastically searching for good angles to take photos of them everywhere, while casually snapping a few scenic shots as well. The people and the landscapes in his lens all turned out quite photogenic.

If they had not realized in North City that the attackers were unconsciously going mad, and that even hotel ingredients were no longer safe, they probably would have stayed in the mountains for a few more days to try more of the local fresh mushroom soup.

Lin Jiangye was probably the only one who had suffered a little. For several days in a row, he had eaten too many stones in one go, processing them harmlessly at the fastest speed and with the highest efficiency… and now he had indigestion.

Or rather, he was over-nourished.

“Yu Wangxiao, are you sure I haven’t gotten fat?”

On their first day back in A City, they planned to quickly take a bath and wash off the dust of travel. But Lin Jiangye stopped in front of the bathroom mirror, motionless, falling into deep thought.

“No.” Yu Wangxiao answered very quickly. He sat on the edge of the bathtub, slowly adjusting the water temperature without even raising his head.

“Who says no? I feel like even my butt has gotten rounder… You didn’t even look at me!” Lin Jiangye paused mid-sentence, then suddenly turned to stare at him. “Yu Wangxiao, are you suddenly too embarrassed to look at me again? Is that it?”

“Mm, that’s it.”

Yu Wangxiao untied his bath towel. Still without turning his head, he slowly buried himself in the blue water covered with bubbles.

Such an honest answer and action actually left Lin Jiangye unsure of how to respond.

Ever since Lin Jiangye had put his safety first and forcefully demanded that he follow Yu Wangxiao everywhere at all times, Yu Wangxiao had become like this.

After prolonged eye contact, Yu Wangxiao would be the first to look away. If they chatted too long, he would become thirsty and drink water. When kissing, he would heat up more easily, warm and scalding to the touch like a furnace, and soon become breathless.

Probably because of the side effects brought by emotional fluctuations, those scents that only Lin Jiangye could smell had become even more intense, rich, and layered. They had suddenly become impossible to ignore at all times, as if Yu Wangxiao had accidentally been fitted with some kind of pheromone setting.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, Yu Wangxiao himself would already be asleep, but Lin Jiangye would be so hungry from the scent that his mind became completely clear. He would stare wide-eyed at the ceiling in a daze… until he could not bear it anymore, turned over, hugged Yu Wangxiao, and bit him a few more times. Then neither of them would sleep the whole night.

Lin Jiangye felt a little helpless, and also a little like laughing. After careful consideration, he suspected that Yu Wangxiao’s abnormal reaction was still because they were not familiar enough with each other.

“I think it’ll be fine once we sleep together,” Lin Jiangye said seriously after following him into the bathtub and sitting face to face with him. “Yu Wangxiao, we really should have done it earlier. I already said before that we should.”

If they got to see each other’s most unbearable side earlier—the side that lost all reason, completely lost expression control, and exposed every terrible sound, scent, and reaction—then since everyone would definitely be the same, wouldn’t they get used to it after doing it a few times?

“…Mm, you’re right.”

Yu Wangxiao sighed softly. By now, he could understand Lin Jiangye’s train of thought, and for once, he actually agreed with it.

Even so, he still wanted to avoid prolonged eye contact for now. Yu Wangxiao picked up the shampoo, pressed Lin Jiangye’s shoulders, and slowly turned him around so that his back faced him.

A luxurious amount of shampoo was evenly spread through his wet black hair. Without a word, Yu Wangxiao leaned close and suddenly began washing his hair, easily working up a large amount of foam.

The water temperature had also been deliberately adjusted higher. The bathroom was filled with hazy steam, making everything indistinct.

These sudden actions, one after another, were too deliberate. Lin Jiangye wanted to laugh even more, but he was too comfortable to resist, so he could only narrow his eyes and relax, saying faintly, “Yu Wangxiao, is it really necessary?”

“…It is.” Yu Wangxiao’s hand rested on his shoulder, giving him a damp, warm, reassuring touch. The way he lightly kissed the tip of Lin Jiangye’s ear seemed like an apology, yet also like deliberate mischief. “Tuantuan, let me be willful too, just this once.”

Lin Jiangye’s breathing paused slightly. The relaxation he had just felt instantly disappeared, and he said gloomily, “Why is it still three days until your birthday? Fine, fine, I’ll endure it… But let’s make this clear in advance. If you still dare to act like this three days from now, I’m really going to bully you.”

“Alright, I promise.”

Perhaps because there was no need for eye contact, Yu Wangxiao’s tone became much more natural. A moment later, he continued with a faint smile, “Actually, if you want to bully me, that’s fine too. You’re very welcome to.”

“Hey, hey, don’t say any more! Yu Wangxiao, I’m still very young. Don’t test me.”

“You are the child of the moon. If we calculate based on actual years, wouldn’t I be the younger one?” Yu Wangxiao suddenly seemed thoughtful.

“Theoretically, that actually seems right?” Lin Jiangye froze, then realized it really was true. He had lived a little too long. In human eyes, he could be counted among fossils.

“Gege.”

“…Wait! Wait, that’s not right, is it?”

“They all like calling you that.” Yu Wangxiao gently curled his lips. “Gege, can’t I?”

Lin Jiangye felt as if his ears were burning. He instinctively took a deep breath, but quickly realized that deep breathing would only worsen his reaction, so he hurriedly stopped. “No. No, no, no. I can’t hear that from you. I can’t take it.”

“Then what should we do? Mm… Think of a way to shut me up?”

Lin Jiangye carried out his suggestion, and the effect was outstanding.

***

For the next three days, Lin Jiangye took leave again.

He did as he said. Every day, he followed Yu Wangxiao’s overly healthy routine and moved with him. He absolutely refused to leave Yu Wangxiao even half a step, and protests were ineffective.

They woke early for morning exercise, took showers, dried their hair, changed into slightly different styles of shirts and handmade suits, selected ties in suitable colors, and even cufflinks and watches had to be matched carefully.

The strict and stable schedule made Lin Jiangye dizzy. He also did not understand fashion. He could only tell that Yu Wangxiao inexplicably became extremely handsome, with a kind of indescribable charm.

When Yu Wangxiao read documents in the car, he would occasionally wear plain protective glasses. The cold-toned frames sat on his high nose bridge, covering the gentle quality hidden in his dark eyes… The cool contours and restrained abstinence that were suddenly emphasized made him so handsome it was a bit excessive.

Lin Jiangye drank a lot more ice water in those few days. Amid his faint suffering, he was forced to repeatedly and profoundly realize one problem.

Clothes really made the man.

He had already decided what to wear on Yu Wangxiao’s birthday.

Of course, the torment was only a problem they had to face when they went out together. Since he had been mentally prepared, happiness still occupied a larger part of life. Accompanying Yu Wangxiao to work was actually quite fun.

Yu Group was a massive entity. During work hours, it even felt a little like a small society with every necessity provided, where clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all satisfied.

The headquarters consisted of two towering buildings facing each other, occupying the most prime location in the city center, yet there was also a spacious garden specifically for employees’ activities. The gym and café each occupied an independent large floor.

Looking down from the high-rise, outside the building was the intersection of river scenery and the blue sea horizon. Inside the building were large patches of snow-covered branches. In summer, one could still see deep green.

This place was good for Lin Jiangye’s eyes.

When Yu Wangxiao occasionally became angry, the gloomy look of his brows pressing down over his eyes was not very good for He Chen, but it was still very good for Lin Jiangye’s eyes.

Even though the sweating He Chen secretly complained about his pica, Lin Jiangye’s stance remained firm—an angry Yu Wangxiao was unbearably sexy.

As for Yu Wangxiao’s own office, heh, it was not much.

Although it had floor-to-ceiling windows with an unobstructed view of the sunset, the decorative style was still utterly frigid. Other than black, white, and gray, there was nothing. It was exactly the same as the original apartment in Longjing Bay.

At that moment, Lin Jiangye occupied his large lounge chair. After waking up from a nap, still half-dazed, he vaguely thought he was still in Longjing Bay from a month ago and had never gone out.

“The little garden is designed so beautifully. Why don’t you even keep a single plant in your office?” Lin Jiangye could not help complaining faintly. “Is going to work like going to prison for you?”

“I didn’t care before. Looking at it now… it really is prison.”

Yu Wangxiao’s expression stiffened slightly. He lowered his eyes and sighed softly. He stood in front of the sink, slowly drying his hands.

Because Lin Jiangye really did follow him even to the bathroom. That conversation had happened inside the restroom.

But now, Yu Wangxiao no longer had the right to refuse, because Lin Jiangye’s worries had already come true.

In the ventilation duct of the top-floor restroom, he had discovered two cobras, one big and one small. They had clearly been deliberately stuffed there by a cleaner, and the snakes had even been provoked in advance, shaken awake from hibernation.

If Lin Jiangye’s ears had not been sharp enough, even the most capable bodyguards would not have been able to immediately locate them. After all, snakes in winter had extremely low body temperatures, requiring very powerful thermal imaging equipment to locate quickly. By then, it would not only have been Yu Wangxiao who was unsafe; the entire building’s employees might have suffered.

As for the cleaner, his only connection to Lin Bingsheng was that… a few years ago, while working part-time hauling goods, he had delivered several truckloads of tables, chairs, benches, and barbecue grills to Lin Bingsheng’s “farmhouse.”

Goods delivered, payment made. After that, there had been no benefit-based connection whatsoever.

Now he was retired and worked as a cleaner at Yu Group, earning some employee benefits and retirement security. That was all. When he was caught, he was also in a dazed state and did not understand what madness had possessed him.

“Human social relationships are truly tangled and intertwined. Too many people had brief contact with him. If we rely on arresting people alone, we’ll never catch them all.” Lin Jiangye sighed, appearing very serious. “My decision really was correct.”

“…If you hadn’t touched my waist while I turned around, I would believe you.” Yu Wangxiao rubbed his brow bone, finding it hard to describe his current mood.

In details like this, he and Lin Jiangye were complete opposites.

Lin Jiangye truly did not care about being “seen.” As long as the setting was legal, he could happily carry a micro-camera with him. When changing clothes, he would even deliberately lean close to the camera and reveal a teasing smile.

Yu Wangxiao would not tell anyone that, because of this, he had bought a special large-capacity hard drive and stored many high-definition front-facing photos of Lin Jiangye, sorted into different folders by smiles and cold expressions.

As for himself… Because he still could not fully relax, he only discovered after returning home that his shoulders were actually sore, and the side of his neck was unusually stiff.

Lin Jiangye finally found an opportunity to give him a massage. He pressed Yu Wangxiao down onto the sofa, smiling as he took off the man’s shirt, righteous and confident. “If you don’t believe me, then don’t. Today I touched your waist. Tomorrow you can touch mine. That’s called give and take.”

“…Agreed?”

Yu Wangxiao buried his face in the pillow and confirmed hoarsely.

“Agreed. Now don’t move around… relax.”

Lin Jiangye softened his tone, poured a few drops of essential oil into his hands, and rubbed them until his palms were slightly warm. The fragrance quickly spread.

The soft citrus scent of bergamot quietly filled the air, paired with the cool woody aroma of tea tree. Yu Wangxiao liked it. It allowed his tense mind to quickly ease.

This was also a specialty they had bought while traveling, though Lin Jiangye’s evaluation of it was average.

After all, he had smelled better.

“Comfortable? Aren’t you enjoying it?”

Twenty minutes later, warm fingertips smoothly passed over his spine and slowly stopped at the beautiful dimples of his lower back, curiously pressing them.

Yu Wangxiao should have cared, but his voice was growing lower and lower, almost barely able to answer. “Mm… I’m about to fall asleep.”

“Then sleep well.” Lin Jiangye was very satisfied with the effect. He bent down and gently kissed the back of Yu Wangxiao’s neck, whispering, “Actually, I’m enjoying it too.”

A visual feast.

This man, who had long maintained exercise and a frighteningly balanced diet, truly did not have a single bit of excess flesh. His shoulder and neck lines were beautiful even when not tense. Even with his whole body sunk into the soft sofa, every line remained in its most attractive state, like a vivid and fragrant living painting.

Yet Yu Wangxiao rarely basked in the sun and did not like outdoor sports much, so the muscles of his back had an almost translucent cold-white tone, making the clear blue veins easy to see. After essential oil was applied, touching him even carried a cream-like smooth, soft texture. This was a charm unique to relaxed muscles.

He had taken far too good care of himself. Lin Jiangye had to use great effort to control himself, and at least did not personally lean down to bite him.

“Good night. Happy birthday.”

It was midnight. The prosperous A City was still brightly lit, noisy and peaceful, with traffic everywhere.

Lin Jiangye’s tense nerves quietly relaxed, and in the quiet bedroom, he spoke softly.

Yu Wangxiao had long since fallen into a dream drifting farther and farther away. He had not slept this deeply in a long time, to the point that he could not even notice Lin Jiangye’s movements or voice.

This was a perfectly timed wonderful thing, because Yu Wangxiao was someone who rarely dreamed.

It was very strange, but truly rare.

Lin Jiangye had actually secretly squatted and watched for almost half a month. Originally, he had only wanted to fulfill their agreement, saying that in the future, he would only walk into Yu Wangxiao’s dreams… but he had never once succeeded.

No wonder Yu Wangxiao had never dreamed of him. Instead, certain people who loved to dream had dreamed of him, almost causing family conflict.

But this was good too. The birthday present for Yu Wangxiao could start from an unprecedented beautiful dream.

Lin Jiangye quietly curved his lips, tucked Yu Wangxiao’s blanket around him, wrapping him tightly to make sure he absolutely could not move around… Only then did he gently lie beside him and close his eyes.

A few seconds later, Lin Jiangye smelled an extremely familiar scent of gasoline.

Burnt metal mixed with a faintly sweet smell of blood. Complex and chaotic.

His eyes suddenly opened. He found himself suspended above the night sky, wearing an almost unfamiliar pitch-black cloak. His long hair danced lightly in the wind, and the hood covered half of his face, revealing only those hollow, indifferent silver-white eyes.

A fierce appetite rose abruptly, turning into hunger that almost made his breathing tremble. He instinctively looked down. A cold scythe flew out of his hand, and he subconsciously wanted to immediately lock onto that special, vivid, extraordinarily delicious-smelling soul.

“…Hey, hey? Wait, wait!! Come back!”

The next instant, Lin Jiangye’s expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he dove down, chasing after the rapidly flying scythe and hurriedly retracting the weapon sharp enough to cut through souls.

Yu Wangxiao looked at him expressionlessly, raising an eyebrow slightly.

This man looked so attractive even half-transparent. His brows and eyes were full of distant scrutiny and vigilance. His pale lips were stained with dark red blood. He had clearly died once, yet his presence had not weakened in the slightest.

His shirt was torn and ragged. Fresh tiny wounds bloomed across his cold white skin like rose vines, truly beautiful.

Lin Jiangye awkwardly hid the scythe behind his back, lightly licked the corner of his lips, and swept his greedy, blatant gaze inch by inch over Yu Wangxiao’s soul.

A soul that belonged only to him.

“Yu Wangxiao, I’m going to eat you. Do you think… this is your beautiful dream, or a nightmare?”