Chapter 11

“Th-thank you.”

Xie Xishu was still shaken, staring at Qi Wu in front of him, almost convinced he was hallucinating. It took him a moment to manage a whispered thank you. The backlighting made it impossible for Xie Xishu to discern Qi Wu’s expression.

Just as he remembered—tall, strong, and taciturn.

Without hesitation, Qi Wu reached out and helped Xie Xishu to his feet.

The contact of their skin sent a shiver through Xie Xishu—Qi Wu’s palm was still scorching hot, a heat that always stirred a physiological tension within him.

Even now, he was utterly bewildered.

Not even in his wildest, most absurd imaginings had he expected that the one who would save him from the mad classmate Cheng An would be Qi Wu—the same Qi Wu he had once struck on the forehead with a bottle, splitting his head open. But that was the undeniable truth. The bruised and choked neck still throbbed painfully, mere words were difficult to utter, and a long tear in his school uniform’s collar left much of his chest exposed.

Xie Xishu couldn’t fathom how Cheng An possessed such strength. The school uniforms at San Zhong were actually quite sturdy—the fabric tough and durable—yet in Cheng An’s grasp, it had been torn as if it were soggy paper.

The mere thought of Cheng An sent a bone-chilling cold down Xie Xishu’s spine. He couldn’t help but glance toward Cheng An’s direction. The latter lay motionless on the ground, so silent that Xie Xishu nearly suffocated. Only after a few seconds did he notice the faint rise and fall of Cheng An’s chest, and his heart resumed beating.

Just as he was about to get a better look, Qi Wu approached, his tall figure blocking Xie Xishu’s view instantly.

Qi Wu’s eyelids drooped, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Xie Xishu.

Instinctively, Xie Xishu took a step back, his throat moving as he swallowed dryly. “Cheng An… he seemed… a bit unwell just now, right? Thank you for saving me. If you hadn’t intervened, I don’t know what he might have done… He usually just acts careless, and I never realized how much pressure senior year put on him… You actually held back just now, didn’t you? He should only be unconscious now…”

Before he knew it, Xie Xishu was babbling a flood of disjointed words at Qi Wu, as if that could somehow ease the indescribable tension between them.

Though in reality, it only made him seem even more foolish. When Qi Wu looked at him silently, a tremor still ran through his skin; his body still wanted to shake uncontrollably, to flee.

“…I really do appreciate it.”

Xie Xishu fell silent.

An oppressive stillness enveloped the two, the silence so heavy it felt as if the very air bore weight, pressing down on Xie Xishu’s shoulders and chest.

Finally, Qi Wu broke the long, suffocating silence.

“How can you be so careless?”

He sighed deeply.

His voice was hoarse, and his words oddly out of place.

“I’ve been holding back… for a long time, until now.”

Xie Xishu shivered.

Until this moment, he hadn’t understood what Qi Wu meant. But his instincts screamed at him that the boy before him might be even more dangerous than the motionless Cheng An lying to the side.

Slowly, Xie Xishu realized why he hadn’t felt relief when he saw Qi Wu save him—instead, his anxiety had only deepened.

This alley was so remote. When Cheng An had forcibly dragged him, Xie Xishu had carefully surveyed the surroundings in a desperate bid for help. The street had been utterly deserted; not a single soul in sight.

Then how did Qi Wu find him?

Unless…

Qi Wu had been silently trailing behind him all along, just like Cheng An.

At that moment, the blood coursing through Xie Xishu’s veins felt less like blood and more like shards of red ice.

He stared dumbfounded into Qi Wu’s dark, brooding eyes, his throat dry, voice trembling.

“What do you want to do?”

Xie Xishu had lost count of how many times he had asked that question.

But this was the first time he received a definite answer.

“I want to lick you.”

Qi Wu’s voice was flat, without any fluctuation. Without seeing his face, one might have thought he was saying something utterly mundane and ordinary.

“Y-you said you want to… do what?”

Xie Xishu could hardly believe his ears.

He stared at Qi Wu in disbelief, repeating the question in a whisper.

At that moment, pale sunlight seeped down through the narrow gap above the alley, striking Xie Xishu’s cheek. Qi Wu could clearly see the boy’s face, frozen in place by shock, the faint flush drained from his cheeks.

He looked as pale as a plaster statue.

Fragile and breakable.

A fierce, greedy, overwhelming hunger exploded in Qi Wu’s mind without warning.

An unrestrained desire surged through him, pumped powerfully by his heart, spreading from his chest to every corner of his body.

Qi Wu had thought he had developed some tolerance to Xie Xishu’s scent by now, but in that instant, the boy’s aroma corroded the last remnants of his humanity even faster.

“I want to lick your body,” Qi Wu muttered in a strange, indistinct voice to Xie Xishu.

The part of the scent that betrayed fear grew stronger among the molecules emanating from the boy.

“…Don’t be afraid. I can control myself. I won’t do anything else.”

Qi Wu summoned the last shred of his reason to explain.

“As long as I lick you and get what I want… once I’m satisfied, I won’t hurt you.”

“You’re the one who’s been giving off that scent all along.”

“It’s too fragrant, unbearable.”

“I tried to resist… but, you see, you were just too careless.”

Suddenly, Qi Wu lunged forward and effortlessly grabbed the struggling Xie Xishu.

The moment their skin touched, the boy’s scent surged almost violently into the newly formed sensory organs on Qi Wu’s skin.

That overwhelmingly sweet fragrance engulfed his will like a tidal wave of honey, blurring his vision for a moment.

He gripped Xie Xishu’s trembling, screaming body tightly, breathing heavily as the boy wildly struck his head and face.

Qi Wu caught the boy’s hands and pressed his lips firmly against the palm.

Xie Xishu’sI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.