Chapter 80

Chapter 80

"080"

Lu Ao easily brought Xiao Lancui into the villa.

It was the same storage room on the first floor as last time.

In the dim room, faint sounds of conversation from the dining area could be heard.

Xiao Lancui tapped away at his phone for a moment, and the screen displayed twelve surveillance feeds from all over the villa, big and small.

Xiao Lancui put in one earbud, and without turning around, reached back and pressed the left one into Lu Ao's ear, while pulling up the dining room feed.

Xiao Jingli's voice came through the earbud, "Your favorite tomato fish fillet, have some more."

On screen, Xiao Anfeng picked up a piece of fish.

They were the only two at the table—Zhao Lan wasn't there.

Only Xiao Liqin had left that day; Zhao Lan was still in the villa.

Xiao Lancui lowered his gaze to the screen, his long lashes catching a thin, flickering wash of pale light from the phone. Lu Ao leaned down and kissed Xiao Lancui's right eyelid.

He pulled back quickly, whispering in Xiao Lancui's ear, "A Lan, that old man is seriously twisted."

Xiao Lancui didn't move. From the other earbud, Xiao Jingli spoke again, "Stir-fried bitter melon with chicken broth—you used to love this."

Xiao Anfeng picked up a slice of bitter melon.

Xiao Jingli's rambling was going to go on for a while. Xiao Lancui turned his head—the phone light only lit a small patch of Lu Ao's face, and without his glasses, Xiao Lancui could barely see him.

Xiao Lancui asked back, "Lu Qing? You think he's wicked?"

Lu Ao leaned in, his features coming out of the darkness. Xiao Lancui saw him smile. "I don't care if he's good or bad."

Xiao Lancui went quiet, turning back to the monitor.

Xiao Anfeng was forced to eat another full meal. He set down his bowl, fists clenched, and said, "I ate. I want to see her."

"I only said you could see Zhao Lan if you ate," Xiao Jingli said, a hint of teasing in his voice. "I never said how many meals."

"You—" Xiao Anfeng shot to his feet, swinging a fist at Xiao Jingli's face.

Xiao Jingli didn't dodge, and sure enough, the fist stopped halfway to his face. Xiao Jingli's tone softened. "See? You do care about me."

Xiao Anfeng couldn't stand it anymore. "I only see you as a father!"

"But I'm not." Xiao Jingli undid a button on his shirt. "I love you, Fengfeng. From the moment—" he said wistfully, "the day your college entrance exam ended, when you ran home from the test center and threw yourself into my arms—I loved you from that second."

Xiao Anfeng had nearly bitten through his lip. "I love you too, but it's the love of a child for a parent." He was on the verge of tears. "Dad, please let me go. I swear I'll take care of you for the rest of my life—"

Bang!

A fist slammed the table, audible both through the earbud and from outside the room. Xiao Jingli's roar was clear even without the earbud in. "Don't you dare! I know—you think I'm too old, that you want younger men."

Xiao Jingli let out a cold laugh. "Drop those delusions right now. Let me tell you, Lu Siye doesn't give a damn that you're missing. And your eldest brother—I told him offhand that you and I slept together, and he couldn't handle it, ditched you and ran. None of them love you. Only me."

Xiao Jingli's eyes were red. "Only I love you, Fengfeng. For you, I gave up Xiao Lancui—my own son. I love you that much, and you can truly remain unmoved?"

Xiao Anfeng stared at Xiao Jingli, biting his lower lip so hard it bled. "Impossible! I will only ever see you as my father!"

He turned and bolted.

Xiao Lancui switched feeds and watched Xiao Anfeng run all the way back to his room on the second floor.

That room had surveillance too.

Xiao Lancui suddenly remembered something. He turned to Lu Ao and asked, "You were climbing around up on the 20-something floor—did you get hurt?"

He meant Royal Garden.

Lu Ao's left eyebrow twitched hard twice.

He couldn't tell if Xiao Lancui was suspicious. A teenage rich kid from a modern family climbing over 20 stories was hardly normal.

He'd actually had an excuse ready for a while, but Xiao Lancui had never asked.

He hesitated for a second or two before saying, "I used climbing gear. Hit some snow and slipped—scraped some skin off my chest. It's healed already."

Xiao Lancui glanced down at Lu Ao's chest. "Let me take a look—"

Before he could finish, Lu Ao smoothly peeled off his jacket, hoodie, and undershirt. In the dim light, his chest and abs were clearly defined.

There were several fresh scars across his chest, plus one old wound.

On Lu Ao's left collarbone.

Xiao Lancui remembered that old scar well—it was bad, very much like an arrow wound.

He looked away. "It's healed. Put your clothes on."

Lu Ao only pulled the undershirt and hoodie back on, grinning so wide it looked like his face might split. "A Lan, you're so good to me."

Nothing new on the monitors for now—Xiao Anfeng sat dazed in his room, while Xiao Jingli opened a bottle of red wine and drank alone in the living room.

Xiao Lancui glanced at Lu Ao. "I'm not being nice to you. I need you to do something."

Lu Ao instantly leaned into his face. "Give me a kiss, and I'll—"

A light, fragrant kiss landed on his lips—just one, then Xiao Lancui pulled back, expression natural. "That's enough. Go find Zhao Lan."

Lu Ao immediately cupped Xiao Lancui's face and leaned in for a long, solid kiss before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Alright, bro."

Lu Ao left, and Xiao Lancui's mouth still tasted of the bergamot and mint he'd left behind—the flavor of bergamot throat lozenges.

Xiao Lancui suddenly felt a craving.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a lozenge, and popped it in. He'd started carrying a few bergamot throat lozenges with him since trying them.

Xiao Lancui sucked on the lozenge as he waited. No word from Lu Ao yet, but something stirred on the monitors first.

Xiao Jingli entered the second-floor room.

The thick smell of alcohol instantly snapped Xiao Anfeng back to attention. He shot up and backed away. "Dad, what are you—"

"Stop calling me Dad!" Xiao Jingli cut him off, his tone reeking of drunkenness.

He stepped closer to Xiao Anfeng, and tears came. "Fengfeng, just think of me as a brand new man. Let's start over—"

"Don't come near me!" Xiao Anfeng instinctively sensed danger, but he was already backed against the wall with nowhere to go. Shaking with fear, he tried to snap Xiao Jingli out of it. "Dad, you're drunk. Go sleep it off in your room. I won't run, I swear I won't..."

Xiao Jingli chuckled darkly. "You can't run anyway—there's cameras all over outside. How the hell would you get out?" He was already right in front of Xiao Anfeng.

Xiao Jingli was big and looming. When Xiao Anfeng reached out to push him away, Xiao Jingli easily grabbed his hands. He lowered his head like he was possessed, sniffing Xiao Anfeng's wrist. "Mmm... baby, you smell so good..."

Xiao Anfeng freaked out, trying to shove him off. "Get off! Get the hell off me!"

It was no use. Xiao Jingli held both his wrists tight, ignoring his squirming, and leaned in to kiss him sloppily. "I love you, Fengfeng... let me have you..."

Xiao Anfeng fought back, but it was pointless. After a bit, Xiao Jingli scooped him up and carried him to the bed, still kissing him and muttering, "Don't be scared, it'll feel good, I promise..."

As they got close to the bed, Xiao Anfeng felt despair. Just then, Xiao Jingli froze, his eyes going wide. He pitched forward without a sound, his grip going limp. Xiao Anfeng tumbled out of his arms and rolled twice on the floor. Through his dazed, starry vision, the first thing he saw was—

A pair of dark brown suede ankle boots.

Xiao Anfeng froze, then slowly looked up. Under the crystal chandelier, a gorgeous face, slightly out of breath, looked down at him.

Xiao Anfeng couldn't speak for a second.

Xiao Lancui tossed aside the baseball bat he'd grabbed from the storage room. It'd taken a lot of effort to knock Xiao Jingli out with one hit.

His breathing slowly evened out. He went to check on Xiao Jingli—there was a little blood on the back of his head, but nothing bad; he'd be out cold for a while. He turned and saw Xiao Anfeng still lying there on the floor, staring up at him. Xiao Lancui frowned. "You can't move?"

He didn't want to help Xiao Anfeng up, so he went to call Lu Ao, but Xiao Anfeng scrambled up. "I can!"

Xiao Lancui put his phone away and tossed a coil of rope to Xiao Anfeng. "Tie him up first."

Xiao Anfeng just stared at Xiao Lancui. Xiao Lancui got impatient. "You don't know how to tie someone up?"

"I do!" Xiao Anfeng grabbed the rope and quickly tied Xiao Jingli up.

Once he was done, Xiao Lancui continued, "Drag him to the bathroom and lock the door."

Xiao Anfeng had been force-fed recently, eating and vomiting in a vicious cycle, leaving him weak. It took him a while to drag Xiao Jingli into the bathroom and lock it.

When Xiao Anfeng came back, Xiao Lancui noticed him furiously rubbing his lips, almost violently, as if trying to scrub off the layer of skin Xiao Jingli had kissed. Xiao Lancui offered him a throat lozenge. "Want some candy?"

The next second, Xiao Anfeng suddenly lunged at Xiao Lancui, arms outstretched as if to embrace him. In a flash, before Xiao Lancui could step back, a long leg swung out and struck Xiao Anfeng square in the thigh. With a pained cry, he was sent flying two meters away, crashing into a dresser with a loud thud.

Xiao Anfeng couldn't move, curling up and groaning in pain as he clutched his leg.

Xiao Lancui was speechless.

He looked at Lu Ao—the young man's face was cold and fierce. Xiao Lancui froze for a moment; something about it felt eerily familiar.

Lu Ao moved to go after Xiao Anfeng again, but Xiao Lancui called out, "Xiao'ao!"

Lu Ao stopped. One second, two seconds...

On the third, he turned back, his brow softened with a gentle smile. "Mm, what is it?"

Xiao Lancui said, "He wasn't trying to hurt me..."

"Mm." Lu Ao replied, "He wanted to hug you."

Xiao Lancui paused. "...Maybe." Seeing those dark eyes instantly welling with hurt, he explained anyway, "He was almost raped by Xiao Jingli. He's in a state of panic."

Lu Ao nodded. "Mm." He asked, "So you want me to leave him alone, brother?"

Xiao Lancui reminded him, "Violence is illegal."

Lu Ao finally smiled, the lingering ferocity on his face dissipating completely. He glanced at Xiao Anfeng, who had stopped moving, then walked back to Xiao Lancui's side, grinning brightly. "Alright, I'll do whatever you say, brother!"

Then, seeking a reward, he leaned his face close to Xiao Lancui's lips. "I found Zhao Lan. Brother, you should reward me..."

Xiao Lancui casually pushed his face away with his left hand and walked around him to check on Xiao Anfeng. Xiao Anfeng wasn't unconscious—still awake. Xiao Lancui examined his thigh. Lu Ao's kick had nearly crippled the leg. He said, "No bone damage, just bruising. Not serious."

Xiao Anfeng nodded. His gaze flickered to Lu Ao, meeting those pitch-black eyes, and he shuddered, quickly looking away. Turning back to Xiao Lancui, his body aching terribly, he whispered, "Who... is this guy?"

Xiao Lancui ignored his question. "I'm giving you two options now."

Xiao Anfeng was taken aback. "What?"

"One: you stay here as you are, wait for Xiao Jingli to wake up, and things go back to how they were."

"No!" Xiao Anfeng trembled with fear, shaking his head and pleading with Xiao Lancui. "I know I've wronged you. I can make it up—I'll do anything you ask. Please, just take me away from here."

"That's your second option." Xiao Lancui smiled faintly. "Take your mother and leave the country immediately. Don't come back, and don't contact anyone."