Chapter 21: Locked Up

Chapter 21: Locked Up

When Wen Yu came to, he realized something was covering his eyes.

All he could see was an unbroken, dead blackness.

A thick strip of cloth was cinched tight over his eyes, blocking out all light.

The scrapes on his body felt like they'd been slathered with ointment.

Had the teacher come to save him? And what about Lou Xuemeng?

Wen Yu went still for a few seconds.

He was tied up, the floor beneath him was cool, and his feet brushed against something fuzzy—a blanket.

But weirdly, why wasn't he in bed?

Wen Yu was too weak. He twisted his arms, bound above his head, trying to work the blindfold loose, but he couldn't reach it no matter what, and his hands ached badly.

Panic hit him for a second, and he squirmed forward like a worm.

His foot bumped into something—an iron bar.

That's when Wen Yu realized he was in a cage.

A dull thud sounded behind him as the door shut.

Wen Yu lay on the ground, blindfold still on, "Is... is anyone there?"

The air reeked of unfamiliar tobacco and blood.

A sour wave of dread churned in Wen Yu's stomach, his rear facing the front of the cage.

Poor Wen Yu was still scared of the dark. His whole body locked up, instinctively trying to pull back, but a big, cold hand pressed down on his shoulder.

The palm was broad and strong, fingertips ghosting over his collarbone.

"You're awake."

The man's voice rippled by his ear—distorted, like static.

Wen Yu shook even harder, the cloth over his eyes soaked with cold sweat.

The suffocating masculine presence behind him closed in, cutting off any way out.

"Who... who are you?"

The second Wen Yu spoke, the man scooped him up and laid him on the soft bed.

The boy's clothes carried a faint, sweet, bloody scent.

"Let me go... please..."

The cloth over Wen Yu's eyes was already drenched in cold sweat, clinging wetly to his eyelids, making it even harder to breathe.

The man leisurely pressed a kiss to Wen Yu's forehead.

The static-laced voice drifted by, "Good boy, let hubby *you, okay?"

Wen Yu felt like those words had burned him.

"I don't want to... I don't want to," the boy babbled, his voice shaking uncontrollably, sounding wronged but unable to cry, "Please let me go, I'm begging you, I got lost trying to find my friend."

Wen Yu fumbled to explain, "I really just got lost... I don't know this place, please, let me go..."

The man's burning palm pressed against Wen Yu's waist, and he grabbed something from the bedside.

Big print.

Wen Yu screamed in terror, fear flooding his whole body.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He wasn't a dance major; he couldn't do that.

Wen Yu sobbed out loud, "Let me go, wuwuwu."

A hand gently stroked his cheek.

"Good baby, I love you."

Wen Yu wailed.

The air around him was filled with a faint fragrance.

Wen Yu passed out from fear.

The next day, he woke up starving.

His stomach growled, just like it had yesterday.

Wen Yu nervously reached down to touch his stomach.

He didn't dare take off the blindfold, scared the man would hurt him again like yesterday.

The man opened the cage door and stepped in, carrying a bowl of soft meat porridge.

Wen Yu was too hungry to fight back. He was forced to lean against the man's chest, still trembling, as the man fed him patiently like a little pet.

Wen Yu's stomach felt warm, and after eating, he felt a little better.

The man set the bowl on the bedside table. Once Wen Yu regained some strength, he shoved the bastard away.

The boy instinctively bit the man's arm, drawing blood, thinking the injured man would let him go. He pushed again, but he never expected—

Instead, the man yanked him close and crushed his mouth against Wen Yu's.

Wen Yu couldn't breathe, and it was unbearable.

"Ha..."

Tears welled up in Wen Yu's eyes, and he looked so pitiful it was almost unbearable.

The man looked at his half-dead expression and let him go for now, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes.

"Next time you bite hubby, I'll pull out all of baby's teeth, got it?"

The man pinched Wen Yu's chin, his big hand squeezing his cheeks, making his face puff out, streaked with faint, salty tears.

Wen Yu's shoulders trembled, his mind going completely blank for that instant. He shook his head vigorously, the blindfold soaked through.

The suffocating sensation gripped his throat.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry," Wen Yu stammered in panic, "Please don't pull my teeth out... okay?"

The man let out a low chuckle, his grip on Wen Yu's waist seemed to tighten, while his other hand kept groping him.

Wen Yu collapsed limply against the man, his body cold and damp, too exhausted to even cry.

The man casually grabbed a few tissues and wiped the tear tracks from Wen Yu's face, his tone gentle, "Be a good boy, baby."

"Look at this mess you made." The man's tone carried a hint of disdain, yet he still pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around him.

Wen Yu was sensitive, scared and embarrassed at the same time, as the man carried him to the bathroom.

Water splashed everywhere—it was Wen Yu's first time being so exposed with another person.

"I don't want to... I don't like you..." Wen Yu sobbed with his eyes covered, "You're such a pervert—I'll call the cops and have you arrested!"

"So dirty," the man mocked, watching him weakly resist despite his limp limbs, "Scared to take a bath?"

"Your hubby takes such good care of you," the man said, kissing the boy's body, "How could you have your own hubby arrested?"

"Or is it, baby? Do you prefer those roommates who bullied you?"

"Now that I think about it, why didn't you get back at them? Don't you have that good friend of yours?"

"Do you like that good friend of yours too?"

The man's voice took on a strange tone, and Wen Yu's neck felt ice-cold, as if someone had pressed ice against it.

The pervert beside him grew even bolder, making Wen Yu's legs go numb.

"Those people who bullied me... I... I hate them..." Wen Yu answered cautiously, choking on his words, "And you're... you're someone who bullies me too."

"You'll all get what's coming to you."

Wen Yu somehow found the courage, his mouth staying stubbornly defiant.

The man paused for a moment, then burst into laughter—low, carrying a morbid kind of pleasure. "What's coming to you?"

Wen Yu's earlobe was bitten, instantly turning bright red.

A terrifying, charged male voice hummed, "Baby, you're adorably silly."

"Believe it or not, baby, one day even going to the bathroom will require begging your hubby?"

The man said cruelly, his hand moving to the back of Wen Yu's neck, "You'll need hubby for everything—feeding you, even bottle-feeding you."

The more Wen Yu heard, the more he wanted to get away—it was too terrifying!

"I never did anything to you... wuwuwu," Wen Yu broke down sobbing, his voice still soft and weak.

The man seemed different now—before desire came a pang of heartache, and he began to soothe Wen Yu.

After bathing him, he held Wen Yu and coaxed him to sleep.

Wen Yu seemed to have cried himself exhausted, his eyes fluttering shut as he drifted off.