CH 56.2

the autonomous car drove all the way back to the villa. it wasn’t until the lights on the ground floor and the second floor of the house were on that he sensed something was wrong…

someone is in the house?

only at this moment did xiao zhenyun belatedly recall the afternoon phone call where si di emphasized three days with a hidden agenda. it wasn’t three days; it was clearly three hours. si di must have finished work early and was waiting for him at the airport when he sent the voice invitation.

xiao nian was also momentarily puzzled, then realized, “si di and xiao jiali are back?”

“seems like it.” xiao zhenyun raised the corner of his mouth, and as soon as he got out of the car, he eagerly wheeled his wheelchair inside. there was no one in the hall, only xiao jiali peeking out from behind the door of a room, looking as if he had seen a ghost when he saw xiao zhenyun. “good evening, mr. xiao…”

“you’re back?” xiao zhenyun smiled, “where’s si di?”

“captain si is waiting for you in your room on the second floor.” xiao jiali whispered. he then lowered his gaze and timidly waved to xiao nian. “nian nian, come over. i, i need to talk to you about something.”

“what’s the matter that you’re so hesitant to say?” xiao nian walked over with a stern face, and xiao jiali pulled him into the room and closed the door.

xiao jiali’s behavior made xiao zhenyun feel a subtle sense of something. he frowned, thinking, could it be that si di had prepared some surprise in his room that was inappropriate for minors?

after all, not telling him that he would return today was to create a surprise, right?

he suddenly remembered si di’s previous behavior of building a nest in his bed using his clothes when he lacked comfort. maybe if he opened the bedroom door now, he would see si di sleeping soundly in his comforter, perhaps even without clothes, only wearing the limited edition gemstone wolf collar.

xiao zhenyun slowly pushed open the bedroom door and saw si di, neatly dressed. an electric shock collar, magnetic bracelet, and anti-bite muzzle were all perfectly worn. si di sat gloomily on the single chair by the bed, not offering a warm welcome. he didn’t speak or make any movements, just stared expressionlessly at the newcomer.

“back?” xiao zhenyun didn’t receive a warm welcome upon entering the room, feeling strange. he moved a few steps forward, and suddenly noticed the intense red light flickering on the electric shock collar. without needing to ask much, he emitted his guide element: “your emotions are very unstable. did you get injured in the spiritual domain again?”

si di didn’t answer his question, only asked wearily, “what did you go out for?”

xiao zhenyun was not dull, and he certainly understood the reason behind si di’s question with that tone. though he didn’t know how the sentinel learned about the events of the afternoon, he knew that this was not the time to brush it off with words like ‘nothing happened.’ so, xiao zhenyun immediately spoke the ‘truth’: “i planned a confession ceremony at the rose garden for you. at 6 p.m. this afternoon, i had si chu play your role for a confession rehearsal.”

“let si chu play me?” si di stood up, his wolf tail forcefully pounding the ground, and his turquoise eyes filled with fierceness. “xiao zhenyun, do you think i’m so easily fooled?!”

he raised his voice, his face slightly contorted with anger. “have i not made it clear that i’ll believe every word you say to me? but if i find out you’re lying, i will make you pay a huge price.”

“i didn’t lie to you.” xiao zhenyun unconsciously tightened his grip on the wheelchair’s armrest. “you can ask si chu about what happened today.”

seemingly angrier due to xiao zhenyun’s sophistry, si di’s collar even emitted a warning sound, displaying that it was releasing electric shocks. xiao zhenyun immediately increased the release of his guide elements. no matter what, he couldn’t let si di enter a spiritual breakdown at this moment. otherwise, for the sake of survival, he might have to jump off a building. “si di, there must be a misunderstanding… tell me the reason you’re so angry.”

with a fierce gaze from his azure eyes, si di looked at xiao zhenyun as if he could devour him whole, sneering, “fine, i won’t give up until i hit the south wall.1the phrase ‘hit the wall’ is a slang expression that conveys reaching a point where further progress or advancement becomes difficult or seems impossible.”

he strode forward, grabbing xiao zhenyun’s collar and lifting him off the wheelchair, effortlessly hoisting him onto his shoulders with legs draped over his back. xiao zhenyun clung to the fabric on si di’s back to prop himself up. “are you taking me to…”

he saw si di kick open the wardrobe door with a forceful blow, and xiao zhenyun fell silent. the colors drained from his face.

si di figured out the code to the secret door leading to the basement…

if he could, xiao zhenyun would have changed the code early on, making it six zeros or six ones. but in the original work, it was explicitly stated that the basement door code was si chu’s birthday. to maintain the fidelity of the plot, he had no choice but to stick to the original password.

previously, xiao nian had warned him that si di had discovered the mechanism of the secret door, but si di never mentioned it to him. xiao zhenyun mistakenly believed that si di wasn’t concerned about this matter, and later, his forgetful nature completely cast aside this hidden landmine…

si di strode into the already opened secret door, throwing him onto the table in the basement. unable to resist, si di grabbed xiao zhenyun’s neck, pushing him down on the table and leaning over to hold him in place. with xiao zhenyun’s scattered black hair, he gritted his teeth and threatened, “speak! what is all this!”

xiao zhenyun’s hands gripped si di’s forearms, struggling to say, “let go… for fuck’s sake, let go!”

it wasn’t until he saw the guide’s face turning slightly red due to lack of oxygen, the antlers painfully growing upward, that si di let go, breathing heavily as he stepped back. xiao zhenyun immediately covered his neck, retaliating with a punch, angrily questioning, “are you really trying to kill me?!”

si di’s face was turned by the punch. he paused, listening to the guide’s coughing, then turned back in fury to tear the photos of si chu on the wall. however, there were too many photos, each one dripping with blatant desire and malice, captured from angles that resembled voyeurism, like mold growing in the dark corners, too unsightly to be revealed.

“pervert! xiao zhenyun, you’re truly a pervert. i’ve warned you countless times to stay away from si chu a bit. i genuinely thought you had changed, i genuinely believed you, believed that you liked me. but it turns out… you just upgraded your tactics, learned to approach si chu by using me as a stepping stone… and you even pretended to be affectionate. xiao zhenyun, how could you bear it? how could you endure being intimate with me? were you cursing me in your mind every time i kissed you, calling me disgusting, accusing me of being delusional?”

“…i’ve been so foolish and pathetic these past few days!” si di glared fiercely at xiao zhenyun. the latter, covering the red mark on his neck, struggled to sit up. behind him was the only wall not covered in photos, and si di’s gaze happened to pass by xiao zhenyun’s complex, misty blue eyes, catching sight of the newest photo of si chu—

it was from last month when si chu left and returned, when xiao zhenyun ‘accidentally left’ a gift box in si chu’s bag. the doorbell display captured him with his face pressed against the screen. in the image, si chu’s nostrils were bigger than his eyes, staring straight at the screen. his amber-colored round eyes even looked a bit cross-eyed. it was undeniably ugly. it felt abnormal that someone would hang this photo on the wall to admire every day.

si di paused in his words, glancing over xiao zhenyun in confusion and then looking at the fourth wall, the one he had always ignored without a serious glance.

hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). i hope you enjoyed the story! if you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ