ASSHKHME Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Disturbing the Peace

At that time, Chen Zhuo had hit his head and was in a semi-conscious state.

In his parents’ arms, he didn’t feel much fear, just a strong desire to sleep.

The rescue vehicle arrived late at night after receiving the message.

The headlights illuminated the continuous rain and the minivan buried in the rubble.

Chen Zhuo vaguely felt himself being carried out.

Lightning tore through the thick darkness, and thunder “boomed” as it arrived. He briefly regained consciousness and saw his father lying in a black body bag, half of his body crushed and bloody, and his mother, who had been stabbed in the abdomen by a sharp object and bled to death.

That blood was really red.

After Chen Zhuo was rescued, he was unwilling to speak for a long time. His ears were filled with the constant roar of thunder, and his eyes were filled with dazzling red.

The Xu family hired a psychologist for him, and with the help of medication, he slowly returned to a normal life of studying.

However, he inevitably developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Whenever he heard thunder, Chen Zhuo would return to that rainy night.

His chest felt as if it had been split open by a sharp axe, and icy wind poured in, whistling and Peel outthe flesh, leaving only a battered heart to beat.

The room was bright and quiet, and he could hear the muffled thunder and the crackling rain hitting the glass windows.

Chen Zhuo curled up on the sofa, his face pale, his raven-like eyelashes casting small shadows under his eyes, struggling to maintain a calm demeanor: “Brother, I’m really okay. I’m all grown up. Don’t always worry about me. Live your own life.”

“You always say these things that make me…” Xu Qingyou hesitated.

Chen Zhuo pretended to be nonchalant and said, “Qingyou-ge, it’s been ten years. I’m fine.”

Chen Zhuo heard unfamiliar voices on the other end of the phone, meaning Xu Qingyou was probably still working.

“Hurry up and get back to work. I’m playing games. I’ll call you if anything happens. Oh, just relax, don’t delay your important work. Bye, bye.”

Chen Zhuo put down the phone, and the smile on his face faded.

He knew in his heart that Xu Qingyou was probably the person in the world who cared about him the most.

But precisely because of this, he didn’t want Xu Qingyou to always worry about him.

This affection was too heavy and difficult to repay, but he should at least try to ease his mind and not become a burden.

Chen Zhuo buried his face in his hands.

The image of his parents’ death, accompanied by the sound of thunder, flooded his mind again. The unbearable grief, like the rising tide of icy seawater, overwhelmed him, making it impossible to breathe.

He had returned to that point in time countless times in his dreams, stopping his father from going on business trips and saving his parents time and time again. In his dreams, he was still a child with a happy family, but when he woke up, all that was left was a pillow soaked with tears.

That emptiness and sorrow after waking up almost killed him.

Chen Zhuo grabbed his hair hard, his eyelashes moist, and exhaled a trembling breath. He turned the TV up as loud as it could go, loud enough to drown out all other sounds.

But the thunder in the depths of his memory still roared.

The death of loved ones was a lifelong dampness. After ten years, he still couldn’t escape that rainy season.

The ashtray was gradually filled with cigarette ash, and the air was filled with the smell of nicotine.

Chen Zhuo exhaled a smoke ring, half-Squint his eyes as he watched the movie playing on the screen through the swirling smoke.

It was an art film, and the male lead was his favorite actor, who had retreated from the peak of his career to behind the scenes. According to paparazzi reports, it was to be with his homosexual lover.

The in-room phone seemed to be ringing, but Chen Zhuo didn’t care and didn’t feel like answering it.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang persistently during a still scene in the movie. Chen Zhuo frowned and shuffled in his slippers to open the door.

Outside the door was a staff member in uniform, with a professional smile on his face: “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Chen. We received a complaint from a guest that the volume of your TV is too loud, affecting other people’s rest. Please turn it down a bit.”

Chen Zhuo had a cigarette between his fingers and was very Depressed: “Okay, I understand.”

The staff member noticed that his face was pale and asked with concern, “You look like you’re not feeling well. Do you need help? We have professional doctors here.”

Chen Zhuo rubbed his forehead: “I’m fine, thank you.”

Just as he was about to close the door, a familiar voice came from the hallway: “Is this a hotel or a movie theater? It’s so noisy!”

After separating from Chen Zhuo, Xie Yu felt agitated, so he went to the Clearin the resort to have a drink. He had just gotten out of the elevator when he heard loud background music, which was annoying.

Following the sound in a fit of anger, he came face to face with Chen Zhuo, who had partially opened the door.

“Chen Zhuo? What are you doing? Even old ladies dancing Square dancedon’t turn the volume up that loud.”

Xie Yu’s gaze swept across Chen Zhuo’s pale lips, and he raised his hand to support himself on the door of the room, preventing him from closing it. “You’re disturbing the peace, and you’re still right?”

The staff member was afraid they would have a conflict: “Young Master Xie, Mr. Chen has already agreed to turn down the volume.”

Xie Yu used force and pushed the door open wider. Before squeezing in, he said to the staff member, “We’re friends. Go do your work.”

“Bang–” the door was closed.

Xie Yu strode into the room as if he were familiar with the place, covered his ears, found the remote control, turned the volume down to mute, and looked at the ashtray on the coffee table, “How much have you smoked? Are you trying to ascend to heaven?”

The world was immediately quiet, and only the howling wind and rain outside the window and the rumbling thunder could be heard.

Chen Zhuo’s body trembled almost imperceptibly in the thunder. He reached out to grab the remote control from Xie Yu, annoyed: “Xie Yu, what are you doing! Give it to me!”

The cigarette in his hand was not extinguished, and the ashes, carrying sparks, fell on Xie Yu’s lower abdomen, burning a hole in his pants and almost scalding his skin.

Five centimeters further down was Little Xie.

Xie Yu panicked and patted the ashes off his pants, “Chen Zhuo, did you do that on purpose!”

“Crazy.”

Chen Zhuo smiled, took the remote control with the cigarette in his mouth, turned the volume to a normal range, wrapped himself in a blanket, curled up on the sofa again, and ignored him.

Xie Yu could sense Chen Zhuo’s change. His aggressiveness was obviously reduced, and his face didn’t look good. He seemed to be trembling when the thunder rumbled just now.

He thought of the tattoo on Chen Zhuo’s chest, sat on the other side of the sofa, and asked seemingly casually: “Are you afraid of thunder?”

Chen Zhuo bit his cigarette butt, and his eyelashes flickered: “No.”

Xie Yu didn’t ask further, leaned over and took the cigarette from Chen Zhuo’s mouth, “Don’t smoke, how much have you smoked? I didn’t see you being addicted to cigarettes in the dorm.”

Chen Zhuo turned his head and blew smoke at Xie Yu, his voice emotionless, indifferent: “You’re so nosy.”

Xie Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that the smell of nicotine was mixed with the scent of citrus.

“Nonsense, secondhand smoke is more poisonous. This room smells too smoky. I’ll open the window to let some air in.”

As soon as he made a move to get up, his arm was grabbed by a hand Extendfrom the thin blanket.

The knuckles were distinct, and the fair white back of the hand showed blue veins, which was very cold.