"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall."
Bang!
The bullet tore through Shi Yuan's shoulder. He bit down on the pain, refusing to give Du Chen the satisfaction of a scream.
"Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."
Bang! Bang!
Two more shots. His leg. His side. Blood soaked through his suit, warm and sticky against his skin.
Shi Yuan knelt in the middle of the warehouse, hands bound behind his back. The concrete was cold against his knees. The rain hammered the roof like drums at an execution.
Du Chen stood before him, gun raised, reciting a nursery rhyme like a lullaby.
"All the king's horses and all the king's men." He stepped closer, the barrel finding Shi Yuan's temple. "Could not put Humpty Dumpty together again."
He laughed. Low and pleased.
"Any last words, Shi Yuan? I'll be sure to pass them along."
Shi Yuan looked up at him. Blood dripped down his face from a cut above his brow. His body screamed. His vision blurred at the edges.
And he smiled.
"Any last words?" He tasted blood on his lips. "Alright. Buddha, God, whosoever's up there—" He raised his voice, addressing the ceiling, the rain, whatever might be listening. "I want a husband that will spoil me in my next life. Love me to no end. Kiss my feet and be my slave. Yes, he should be a wife slave. I've suffered way too much in this life, don't you think?"
Du Chen's smile faltered.
Shi Yuan's eyes snapped back to him, sharp and bright and full of something that looked almost like victory.
"And Du Chen? Do you think you've won?" Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth. "I also have a surprise. One that will haunt you even after my death. See you in hell, bastard."
Bang!
Darkness followed.
"Ding! Target character detected: Qi Yan!"
"Ding! Current target affection level: -100%!"
When Shi Yuan regained consciousness, he felt his body burning with heat.
Desire had overridden his mind, driven purely by physical instinct.
He was in an extremely humiliating position, groveling at a man's feet as if begging for his pity.
His mind cleared for a moment.
He looked up.
A man stood towering over him. The room was dimly lit, but he could make out the man's sharply defined features and icy, disdainful gaze.
Shi Yuan opened his mouth to speak, but his own voice startled him.
"Who are you?"
His voice was soft and weak, laced with unfulfilled desire.
The man's voice was low, laced with mockery.
"Weren't you the one who showed up at my door yourself? Don't recognize me now?"
"I'm Qi Yan."
Shi Yuan's mind was in chaos. A torrent of foreign memories flooded his mind, sending his briefly clear thoughts back into chaos.
"What did you give me? You..."
The man suddenly leaned down, gripping Shi Yuan's chin and staring into his eyes, his voice cold and heavy.
"Just something to make you obedient. Did you really think I'd want to touch you? I only wanted to see you groveling like a dog."
Shi Yuan was furious. As an assassin, he had never suffered such humiliation in his life!
Other than dying!
He slapped the man across the face out of nowhere, but the blow was weak and soft, almost like a gentle caress.
Furious at his own lack of strength, Shi Yuan was seething with curses.
Qi Yan was stunned.
For a moment, Shi Yuan seemed... off. Wasn't he always the desperate, pathetic type?
Seeing his expression, Shi Yuan let out a cold, breathless laugh.
"Did you enjoy that?"
Qi Yan...
Shi Yuan mustered all his strength to take a step back, sitting on the floor with his back against the large bed behind him, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Though physically at a disadvantage, his aura was undiminished, radiating a disdain that seemed to look down upon the world.
Beneath him was a cold wooden floor. The man before him was a tempting sight.
The hunger in his body intensified.
The assassin could certainly take care of himself.
But...
Why should he?
The instigator before him looked pretty damn good. Even knowing it was a trap, Shi Yuan decided to take the plunge.
"You'd better pray you never fall into my hands one day, or I'll end you. Qi Yan…"
Qi Yan stared at the defiant young man before him.
The youth was beautiful, with delicate, ethereal features. His fair face was flushed with lust, dotted with beads of sweat like dew on jade petals.
Tempting...
Yet now, the young man's face was full of arrogance, looking down on him with unyielding defiance.
Gazing at the youth whose eyes glistened with unshed tears yet feigned ferocity, Qi Yan felt an inexplicable urge to conquer him. His voice unconsciously took on a hint of desire.
"But right now, it seems only I can end you."
Shi Yuan sneered coldly, tearing open the first two buttons of his collar.
"What are you waiting for? If you're not man enough, get lost! The rent boys at brothels move faster than you!"
These words were like adding fuel to the fire.
No man could stand them.
Qi Yan crouched down, grabbed Shi Yuan by the collar, lifted him onto the bed, and pinned him beneath him. His face was inches away, his voice low, his words carrying a hint of suggestion.
"Let me show you if I'm a man or not..."
A charged atmosphere filled the air, growing thick and heavy, saturated with the musky scent that made hearts race and faces flush.
Tears welled in the corners of Shi Yuan's eyes, tracing glistening arcs down his cheeks.
Falling, shattering...
In every lucid moment, he'd manage to curse Qi Yan.
"Is that all you've got?"
Qi Yan barked a laugh, unable to bear such doubt!
He proved it only with action.
Qi Yan had no patience for bickering.
The silk sheets on the bed were pushed into crumpled folds, emitting fragmented sounds like the misty rain of Wukong in the depths of autumn...
Qi Yan wiped away the tears sliding from the corners of Shi Yuan's eyes, his voice low and seductive.
"Don't cry out, weren't you so tough-talking?"
Shi Yuan's eyes, usually sharp, were now misted over, with a pitiful, helpless look.
"You talk too much. Does your mouth do anything else other than talk?"
The air gradually eased, and Shi Yuan, worn out from the tumult, fell asleep.
Qi Yan stopped, gazing down at the sweat-dampened beauty before him, his fingers tracing the perfect contour of his cheek.
A touch of tenderness.
A hint of pity...
But suddenly, he realized his own moment of weakness, snatching his hand back as if scalded. He got off the bed and headed for the washroom.
When he returned, he saw Shi Yuan lying on the bed like a discarded rag doll, covered in red marks, looking utterly pitiful.
Qi Yan paused before finally turning back to fetch a warm towel, gently cleaning his body.
Before he could dwell on it, likely from the cool towel, Shi Yuan woke up.
Another wave of heat surged, and Shi Yuan instinctively wrapped around him.
Qi Yan asked cautiously,
"Shi Yuan, ... have you been with anyone before? Don't tell me you're so good at this, out of instinct.."