SM Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Mingqian, I’ll Tell You a Secret

Chapter 61: Mingqian, I’ll Tell You a Secret

“Ye Lai,” Li Xun turned his head and called to Ye Lai, “I’ll go cut him off.”

Ye Lai only snapped out of his daze when he heard Li Xun’s voice and frantically sped up to chase after him.

The figure ahead was moving quickly, bypassing the street corner next to the hotel and running into a dark alley. Fu Xiang clearly knew the surrounding routes well, leading them on a chaotic chase through the twists and turns of the alley.

As Li Xun chased, he observed, quickly figuring out the alley’s layout. He directed Ye Lai to cut him off from the other end. Soon, the two of them cornered Fu Xiang in a dead end.

The alley was narrow, piled high with construction waste and various garbage, emitting a putrid and rancid stench. The person in the alley was pacing back and forth, trying to find a chance to escape, but the alley was several meters high, making escape impossible.

“Spit, you damned scum, how dare you come and harass Ye Lai again? Why didn’t they sentence you to death back then? Eight years is too good for you,” Li Xun cursed as he spat on the ground.

Ye Lai walked ahead, picking up a broken iron rod with exposed spikes from the side of the wall, dragging it along the ground. The sound of scraping echoed in the alley.

The figure in the alley was completely indistinguishable. Ye Lai traced the shape of the demon in the darkness, wishing he could tear him to shreds.

“Fu Xiang, you dare show up in my life.”

“Fu Rui…”

“Don’t call me that,” Ye Lai interrupted him, suddenly raising the iron rod and charging forward, swinging it at the dark figure. “My name is Ye Lai, my name is Ye Lai, my name is Ye Lai.”

Fu Xiang dodged the first blow, trying to rush past and escape, but Li Xun blocked the way, kicking him back, sending Fu Xiang crashing into the alley wall.

The two blocked him, and he couldn’t escape.

“Cough cough, I say, my adopted son, long time no…” Fu Xiang coughed a few times, but didn’t finish his sentence before a solid blow landed on his knee, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse to the ground, supporting himself with his hands and gasping for breath.

Now that he was closer, Ye Lai finally saw the vicious and disgusting face clearly. The sight of yellow teeth made the string inside Ye Lai’s body snap with a “bang,” the broken string lashing out at Ye Lai.

Li Xun didn’t even see Ye Lai’s movements clearly. It was the ultimate power unleashed by the human body under stimulation, faster than a normal person could move.

Ye Lai pinned Fu Xiang down, each punch landing heavily on flesh and bone, even the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

“Fu Xiang, you devil…”

“Why are you still following me?”

“How long have you been following me? Huh? Talk, how long have you been following me?” Although Ye Lai was asking, he didn’t give the person underneath him a chance to speak, not wanting to hear the answer at all.

“Why don’t you just die?”

“Why don’t you just die?”

“Scum, why aren’t you dead yet!”

Ye Lai’s hysterical roar pierced the night, crashing against the walls on both sides of the alley, shattering into pieces, bouncing around in the air.

In the darkness, Fu Xiang’s hands struggled, finding a piece of broken brick above his head. He raised it to strike Ye Lai. Li Xun, who had been watching all along, wouldn’t let him hurt Ye Lai. He kicked the brick out of Fu Xiang’s hand, then ground his heel hard on Fu Xiang’s wrist.

Li Xun waited until Ye Lai’s emotions had subsided before stepping forward to pull him away, afraid that he would lose control and kill him.

“Ye Lai, that’s enough,” Li Xun pulled Ye Lai off Fu Xiang. “It’s not worth throwing yourself away for a piece of trash. He won’t die, but he won’t be comfortable for the next few months.”

Fu Xiang’s face was swollen like a pig’s head, unrecognizable. Saliva mixed with blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, smeared all over his face and neck. He lay on the ground rolling around, arms protecting his head, the painful cries like a raven vomiting blood, extremely unpleasant.

The raven vomited black fluid: “I am garbage, and you are stained with the smell of garbage, you will never be able to wash it clean…”

Ye Lai listened blankly. The knife he had gripped tightly in his youth, the violent energy of that moment, pierced through time and extended to the depths of Ye Lai’s eyes.

He broke free from Li Xun’s hand, raised the iron rod with its iron spikes high, and brought it down heavily. Li Xun grabbed the iron rod, cold sweat breaking out on his body.

After a few seconds, Li Xun finally realized that Ye Lai was aiming off from the start. The iron rod was aimed at the ground.

A drop of turbid sweat trickled from Ye Lai’s forehead and fell to the ground.

Shattered.

–

–

After handing the man over to the police station, the police checked their files and showed no sympathy for Fu Xiang, who was lying on the ground unable to speak, howling half-dead. They only felt disgust.

After giving his statement, Ye Lai sat stupidly on the chair, motionless, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, trembling non-stop.

Li Xun stood up and kicked Fu Xiang again, unable to contain his anger. He was stopped by a uniformed officer standing nearby, who warned, “Alright, this is the police station, no fighting.”

Li Xun retracted his leg and stood still. “Police officer, you have to arrest this person. He has a criminal record. He illegally detained our child for almost a year, torturing him until he was barely human. He almost kidnapped my brother as well. In the end, he was only sentenced to eight years. He was just released not long ago, and now he’s stalking us again. You have to arrest him…”

“Sister Xun,” Ye Lai’s voice was weak as silk as he called out to Li Xun.

“I won’t say anymore, I won’t say anymore,” Li Xun looked at Ye Lai, feeling a little heartbroken.

Because Fu Xiang was only stalking and hadn’t caused any actual harm, but had been beaten half to death instead, Fu Xiang was only warned not to stalk or approach Ye Lai again.

Back at the hotel, Ye Lai went into the bathroom and didn’t come out. The new scar on his palm was itching. Ye Lai turned his wrist, opening his wet, red palm. The slightly raised scar, with its pink edges, seemed to wriggle.

Ye Lai scratched his palm desperately and washed himself frantically. He used the shower gel seven or eight times, wanting to wash the “garbage smell” off his body.

Sweat mixed with water covered his body. Remembering what Fu Xiang had said to him, Ye Lai frantically poured water over his body, wishing he could scrub off his skin.

Scrub it off and he’d be clean.

In the end, Ye Lai scrubbed his entire body until it was blood red.

Before he could suffocate from the steam, a sudden wave of pain struck him. The pain started from the center of his chest and spread to his chest, back, limbs, and head…

His body slowly submerged in the bathtub, the water flowing over his mouth and nose. After a moment of suffocation, Ye Lai suddenly opened his eyes, propped himself up on his arms and crawled out of the bathtub, dragging his legs out of the bathroom.

That panic had never stopped…

–

–

The promotional event in H City didn’t end until 7 p.m. As soon as Sheng Mingqian left the venue, he greeted the others and headed straight for the airport.

He had to fly to another city the next afternoon, but Sheng Mingqian still booked a plane ticket. An uneasy feeling rose in his heart. Without seeing Ye Lai, he couldn’t feel at ease.

The plane landed smoothly, but the unease in his heart grew stronger.

Standing in front of Ye Lai’s room, Sheng Mingqian called Ye Lai first. He heard the phone ringing from inside the room, but no one answered until the call ended.

On the second call, Ye Lai answered just as the ringing was about to end. Sheng Mingqian hadn’t spoken yet, but the labored breathing coming from the phone was audible through the receiver.

Sheng Mingqian pressed the doorbell. “Lailai, I’m at your door. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

There was no response. The phone disconnected.

Ye Lai was trembling all over with pain. His arm moved, and the phone in his hand fell to the floor with a thud.

Sheng Mingqian took his ID to the front desk to register. The receptionist who registered him was the same one who had given them medicine last time. Seeing that it was Sheng Mingqian, he registered the room number without asking many questions and gave Sheng Mingqian a new room card.

Ye Lai hadn’t locked the room from the inside. Sheng Mingqian swiped the card and opened it.

As soon as Sheng Mingqian pushed the door open, he heard a painful, suppressed sob mixed with broken breaths in the room.

Sheng Mingqian’s heart jumped. He quickly walked inside. Ye Lai was hugging his knees, curled up on the large white bed. The quilt only covered his lower body, draped over his waist. Ye Lai was soaked in water, the sheets, pillows, and quilt already wet. His cheeks were flushed red, and his whole body was trembling.

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Mingqian walked over, pulled the wet quilt off Ye Lai, and scooped him into his arms.

Ye Lai was so dizzy with pain. The toxins flowing through his body were screaming. He vaguely heard Sheng Mingqian’s voice. His fingers moved upward, grabbing Sheng Mingqian’s collar. “It hurts, Mingqian, it hurts…”

“I’ll take you to the hospital, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Sheng Mingqian said Tormented as he held Ye Lai, frantically grabbing a bath towel from the foot of the bed, wiping the water off his body, then taking off his coat to wrap Ye Lai’s body, holding him tightly in his arms. He hugged him tightly, then loosened his grip, afraid of hurting him.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital, I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Ye Lai resisted with all his strength, despite being weak.

“You’re sick.”

The pain made Ye Lai hallucinate, thinking he was dreaming. In his dream, he saw Sheng Mingqian. His damp eyes opened a sliver. Sheng Mingqian was in that sliver. He struggled to lift his eyelids. His vision was covered in layers of film. The bright air was swirling, and the figure in the air flickered.

Ye Lai only felt pain. He scratched his arms. Soon, his hands were grasped by Sheng Mingqian. Unable to scratch himself, unable to find an outlet to relieve the pain, he turned his head and bit the wrist that was holding his hands.

Sheng Mingqian gritted his teeth and endured, letting Ye Lai bite his arm, not moving.

The sound of flesh tearing was amplified in Ye Lai’s ears. He hated the taste of iron, but the bloody smell was mixed with the scent of pine trees covered in snow, rushing into his mouth and unexpectedly invading his body, enveloping him tightly.

Ye Lai found that faint, cool scent familiar and reassuring. He sniffed forcefully and remembered that it was Sheng Mingqian’s scent.

The pain in his body was suppressed by the pine scent, gradually diluting the screaming toxins. The poisonous vines and branches that Entangle around Ye Lai’s body withered and fell.

After a few more seconds, Ye Lai slowly let go, blood oozing from the corners of his lips. Sheng Mingqian’s arm already had a deep, bloody tooth mark.

“Mingqian, I’m scared,” Ye Lai was still under the impression that he was dreaming, calling out Sheng Mingqian’s name without restraint. “I think I just saw you.”

“I’m here, I’m here, I’m back,” Sheng Mingqian said, trembling, kneeling on the wet bed, his arms around Ye Lai’s body, wrapping him in his embrace. “I’m here, don’t be afraid.”

“In the dream, you can actually talk to me,” Ye Lai said weakly, his breath louder than his words.

“I’ll take you to the hospital.” Sheng Mingqian held Ye Lai, but as soon as he moved, Ye Lai began to struggle desperately, his hands gripping the bedsheets, refusing to let go. “I’m not in pain anymore, I’m not in pain…”

Ye Lai was too resistant. Sheng Mingqian was afraid of hurting him, so he held him and didn’t move.

Ye Lai gasped a few times and said, “I used to think about solving him in my own way. Everything would be over, once and for all.”

“Who? Solve who?”

“Fu Xiang.”

The name was unfamiliar at first, but Sheng Mingqian quickly associated it with someone from “The World on the Bough.” A murderous rage flashed in his eyes.

“But that year you told me that a knife, whether used to target others or yourself, is not the right choice. That year, I threw that knife away.”

Ye Lai spoke incoherently. “I finally escaped.”

“Yes, I know, I know.” Sheng Mingqian gently touched Ye Lai’s face.

“Mingqian, I even saved a child later. After I ran away, he found another boy in a wheelchair. He said that without legs, he couldn’t run away. Luckily, I got there in time. The child wasn’t hurt. Am I amazing?”

“Amazing, especially amazing, we’re the most amazing…”

Sheng Mingqian was Stinging by Ye Lai’s words, his throat filled with thick fluff, falling into the black hole with Ye Lai’s voice.

“Mingqian, I’ll tell you a secret.”

“What secret?”

“I used to have a very good friend. He was a Clown. Whenever I was unhappy, the Clown would do magic tricks for me, would make me balloon animals. When he smiled, the corners of his mouth painted with red paint would turn up a lot.”

As Ye Lai spoke, he closed his eyes and imitated the Clown’s movements, tilting his head back and forcefully raising the corners of his lips. “That’s how he smiled.”

Sheng Mingqian held Ye Lai’s face in both hands, pressing his forehead against his, kissing away the watermarks and tears on his face, and kissing away the traces of blood at the corners of his lips. Finally, he took Ye Lai’s fingers and pressed them against his lips, smiling forcefully. “Is this how he smiles? I can do it too. From now on, I’ll be your Clown…”