Shen Jibai's promise struck Ye Jingchuan as utterly absurd.
It was Shen Jibai who had disregarded his wishes and forced him into this disgraceful situation. Now the perpetrator was acting as though he couldn't live without him, as though all of this were Ye Jingchuan's fault.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, yet he had no way to vent the turmoil in his heart.
In the end, he could only force down his discontent and turn away indignantly.
A gleam of triumph crossed Shen Jibai's eyes.
He knew Ye Jingchuan too well. That was precisely why he knew how to handle him, how to make him bite the hook even against his will.
In excellent spirits, Shen Jibai climbed onto the bed with practiced ease.
He put an arm around Ye Jingchuan's waist and lay beside him, speaking close to his ear. “Jingchuan, you're attending the funeral with me shortly. Whatever happens, you can't avoid it.”
Ye Jingchuan's breath caught. His whole body went taut, like a small animal driven into a corner.
Shen Jibai pressed his face against his back, his warm breath spilling over Ye Jingchuan's neck, making the skin damp and ticklish and leaving him uncomfortable all over.
Ye Jingchuan never put up with discomfort over little things. He immediately kicked Shen Jibai hard. “Shen Jibai, go to sleep properly. If you don't want to sleep, get out!”
“All right. I'll sleep.” Shen Jibai smiled in surrender and obediently closed his eyes.
Soon, apart from their quiet breathing, there was only the patter of rain outside.
Before long, the rain stopped and the horizon turned pale.
Gentle sunlight filtered through the window onto Ye Jingchuan, still asleep on the bed.
His face was extraordinarily beautiful, yet a lingering gloom lay between his brows.
Shen Jibai had awakened long ago. Instead of waking him, he began admiring him.
But as he watched, he grew restless.
Callused fingertips traced Ye Jingchuan's face, beginning with his brows, then his nose, and finally his lips.
His lips were beautifully shaped. After last night's attentions, they were a little too full and red, like roses wet with dew, with a distinctive allure.
Yet that mouth never said anything to please him. He both loved and hated it.
Shen Jibai's breathing grew uneven. He watched Ye Jingchuan like a hungry wolf, his heartbeat quickening until it ran out of control.
Slowly, he leaned down, covered Ye Jingchuan's lips with his own, and began savoring them.
He forced open the gates and drove straight in, invading that private territory and taking what he pleased.
Still half asleep, Ye Jingchuan could only dimly feel someone “eating” him. A faint sting was followed by the rapid loss of air, and he began to suffocate.
He couldn't wake, but he was already resisting instinctively. It did little good. Instead, he was subdued.
His breathing grew more rapid, his face flushing from lack of oxygen, his brows knitting in discomfort.
At last, unable to endure it, he was forced fully awake by the suffocating sensation.
But the moment he opened his eyes, he found Shen Jibai's hateful face right before him. He froze, utterly at a loss.
Three seconds later, shame flashed across his face. His fierce voice betrayed his uncertainty. “Shen Jibai, are you sick in the head? Let go!”
“I said, let go!”
Shen Jibai acted as though he hadn't heard. His grip on Ye Jingchuan's waist did not loosen. Now that he was awake, Shen Jibai pressed him even more brazenly.
“Mmph!”
Driven to desperation, Ye Jingchuan bit him.
Blood came immediately, its metallic taste spreading.
Shen Jibai felt the pain but still did not release him.
Ye Jingchuan fought fiercely, yet couldn't withstand his assault.
Shen Jibai was like a clinging serpent spirit: seemingly winding itself gently around him, but only to make catching and killing its prey easier.
Ye Jingchuan could find no opening to turn the tables.
In the end, predictably, he lost.
In neither of his lives had he encountered anyone as deranged as Shen Jibai. He didn't know how to deal with him and couldn't fend him off.
But Shen Jibai was right about one thing. He was a madman, and once he lost control, no one could stop him!
“Mmph...”
Ye Jingchuan now knew how painful kissing could be. In his heart, he wanted nothing more than to strangle Shen Jibai on the spot!
Just as he could hardly breathe, Shen Jibai finally released him.
But his kisses didn't cease. They traveled downward to Ye Jingchuan's Adam's apple.
Ye Jingchuan trembled involuntarily, breathing rapidly, unable to say what he was feeling.
It was utterly unfamiliar!
And although there was air all around him, he still felt unable to breathe, as though he were suffocating.
“Enough! Shen Jibai, stop!”
He cried out, struggling in Shen Jibai's arms.
But Shen Jibai didn't stop. He caught his chin and forced his head up.
Ye Jingchuan instinctively tensed, staring at him, afraid he would go further.
Suddenly, Shen Jibai bent down and took his Adam's apple into his mouth, grazing it gently with his teeth as though in warning.
Ye Jingchuan's eyes widened in astonishment. He went utterly still, as though turned to stone.
Shen Jibai watched him and found him beautiful like this, enough to set his heart itching.
Once Ye Jingchuan recovered, he clenched his right fist and swung at him hard.
Shen Jibai only smiled and caught the attack with ease.
An Alpha who refused to obey needed to be taught a proper lesson. Otherwise, he would never learn his limits!
This time, Shen Jibai abandoned gentleness. He bit savagely into Ye Jingchuan's scent gland.
Ye Jingchuan frowned in pain and reflexively kicked at him.
Unfortunately, he missed.
Still, the kick won him a brief respite.
Shen Jibai had to let him go.
Standing a short distance away, he extended the red tip of his tongue and lightly licked the blood from his lips. “Jingchuan, your blood is so sweet.”
With a sick, entranced expression, he stared unblinkingly at Ye Jingchuan's exposed chest.
The violent struggle had pulled his pajamas open, revealing a small stretch of finely shaped collarbone.
Scattered red marks covered it, making the intensity of the previous night plain.
Shen Jibai's heated stare made Ye Jingchuan's scalp prickle. He swallowed reflexively and tried to escape.
A powerful impulse suddenly surged through Shen Jibai.
He seized Ye Jingchuan's ankle chain and forcibly dragged him back.
Then he lowered his head again and bit his collarbone.
Ye Jingchuan stiffened, his face shifting between white and livid.
Unable to bear any more, he raised his hand and swung hard at that handsome face.
Shen Jibai did not dodge. He allowed Ye Jingchuan to slap him forcefully.
In an instant, a bright red handprint appeared on his striking face.
Ye Jingchuan's palm tingled painfully from the slap. He complained inwardly:
His skin was so thick it hurt to hit him!
He frowned. The anger he had suppressed all day was close to erupting.
But he knew he couldn't beat Shen Jibai now.
Shen Jibai was a lunatic, more terrifying than a devil when he went mad. For now, Ye Jingchuan could only endure.
Just as they reached a standoff, someone knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
Three polite knocks, then silence.
A light flashed in Ye Jingchuan's eyes. Anyone coming to Shen Jibai at a time like this must hold considerable influence in the family.
Surely Shen Jibai couldn't continue behaving so outrageously.
He had not yet become head of the Shen family. He couldn't compare to Shen Xiuchen as he had been before, nor could he truly do whatever he pleased.
But after Shen Xiuchen's burial, he would inevitably take that position. And then... Ye Jingchuan needed to find a powerful protector before it was too late.
Otherwise, who knew what this lunatic would do?
“Jibai, the head of the family is to be laid to rest. As his own brother, you must not miss the appointed hour.”
A grave, authoritative voice came from outside. It sounded elderly.
Ye Jingchuan couldn't identify the speaker, but Shen Jibai could.
Frowning, Shen Jibai glanced at Ye Jingchuan before answering. “I understand, Third Uncle. I'll attend my brother's funeral on time. I still have something to do here. Please see to the other matters first.”
Having received an answer, the Shen family's Third Master, Shen Liangzhou, left.
As the footsteps receded, Ye Jingchuan's heart sank.
He had thought this might offer an opening. Instead, Shen Jibai had sent the man away with a few words.
Either he didn't want to interfere... or he couldn't!
“Jingchuan, we can't waste any more time. My brother is about to be buried... Thinking that I won't be able to touch you all day makes me so unhappy.” His voice fell. As he finished speaking, he wrapped both arms around Ye Jingchuan and held him tightly.
Ye Jingchuan was forced to accept the overpowering embrace, but that didn't mean he was entirely helpless.
Out of sight, his hand was pinching the soft flesh at Shen Jibai's waist as hard as he could.
But Shen Jibai seemed unable to feel pain. He refused to let go.
Eventually, even pinching him became exhausting.
Fine, Ye Jingchuan thought. The sooner this ends, the sooner I'm free of it.
Jingbai Cemetery.
The fine rain continued without respite.
Shen Xiuchen's urn had been placed inside the grave. He rested peacefully within, never to be disturbed again.
Flowers of all kinds surrounded the headstone.
An oppressive darkness hung over the entire cemetery, lending it an eerie air.
Black umbrellas opened one after another. Raindrops struck them with sharp patters.
Dressed in black with a white chrysanthemum pinned to his chest, Ye Jingchuan held an umbrella and slowly approached Shen Xiuchen's headstone. He laid the chrysanthemums in his hand before the grave.
“Papa.”
As he drifted into thought, three-year-old Shen Jingyu walked past him. Pointing his little hand at the headstone, he asked in his childish voice, “Why did they put Daddy's picture on a rock?”
Looking at the child's small, thin back, Ye Jingchuan felt something wrench hard inside his chest.
Back then, Shen Xiuchen had been set up by a rival, and an obscure Omega celebrity who had turned to adult films unexpectedly took advantage of the opportunity. After a single night, the Omega conceived Shen Jingyu.
The minor celebrity had hoped to rise in status through the child, only to discover that Shen Xiuchen would acknowledge the baby but not its other parent.
Afterward, the celebrity made many mistakes, ultimately bringing about their own death and causing Shen Jingyu to be born before seven months. He had been frail and sickly from birth, with congenital heart disease as well.
So when Shen Jingyu was sent to Ye Jingchuan, he was a sickly little thing. Ye Jingchuan had always feared that one moment's inattention might cost the child his life.
Fortunately, he had raised him safely from a babbling infant to the child he was now. His health was still poor, but he no longer fell ill and needed hospitalization at the slightest provocation.
Ye Jingchuan's deep love for little Yu was far more than mere words.