WHV | Chapter 14

Yu Wei changed clothes and went downstairs. The dining table was already full of steaming dishes, but he didn’t see Shi Ciyan anywhere in the living room. Yu Wei called out once, and a head poked out from the kitchen.

“Sit down first. The last dish will be ready in a minute.”

Yu Wei walked over to the table and circled it once, looking at the food that seemed delicious enough to make his mouth water.

Shi Ciyan carried out the last dish and set it on the table, then sat down across from Yu Wei.

“You made all of this?” Yu Wei took the bowl of rice Shi Ciyan handed him without waiting, then picked up a bite of food. His eyes lit up instantly. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t cook?”

“Learned it on the spot. Is it good?”

Yu Wei nodded while shoveling food into his mouth. He had not been in a good state lately, and his appetite had been poor. He did not know whether it was because he had slept well today and finally felt hungry, or because Shi Ciyan’s cooking was genuinely good, but he ate two small bowls.

“Have another bowl of soup.” Shi Ciyan ladled him a bowl. “Pork heart sleep soup, it helps improve sleep.”

Yu Wei had not expected Shi Ciyan to be this thoughtful, to even notice that he had been having insomnia. Looking at the brimming bowl of soup, his heart felt warm. He held the bowl and drank in little sips.

“Where did you get the pork heart and lotus seeds?” Yu Wei craned his neck to peek into the pot. He clearly remembered there had been no pork heart or lotus seeds at home.

Shi Ciyan paused for a moment. “I had a delivery runner bring them.”

Yu Wei nodded. This place was far from the city center, but it was daytime, the weather was good, and if you added a little extra money, there were plenty of delivery runners willing to come.

Shi Ciyan coaxed him into drinking two bowls of soup. After eating and drinking his fill, Yu Wei rubbed his round, bulging stomach and lay comfortably on the sofa. Watching Shi Ciyan’s back as he cleared the dishes, he teased, “You’re pretty talented in the kitchen. Whoever marries you later will be lucky.”

Shi Ciyan turned back and saw Yu Wei stretched out on the soft sofa like a little cat exposing its belly in the sun, lying on his side with a look of complete satisfaction. Shi Ciyan smiled but said nothing, continuing to tidy up.

“There’s a dishwasher. Just put the dishes in there.”

“Okay.”

Shi Ciyan had just walked into the kitchen when the doorbell rang like a催命符.

“Shi Ciyan, open the door.” Yu Wei did not move at all. His bare feet dangled naturally, swaying slowly with lazy ease.

When Shi Ciyan heard his voice and came out of the kitchen, what he saw made his heart soften. He held up his oil-stained hands. “I’ll wash my hands first.”

Yu Wei looked at him, then got up from the sofa. “Forget it, I’ll go.”

Then he suddenly realized this was his house. There were only a few people who knew the address of this villa, and the one who came often was only his mother, Bai Sijia.

Bai Sijia usually came to see him twice a week on average, and she had already come twice this week. Was she here again?

“It’s probably my dad or my mom. You do your thing.”

Shi Ciyan froze for a moment, suddenly so flustered he did not know where to put his hands.

Yu Wei could not help laughing. “What are you so nervous about?”

How could he not be nervous? The whole house was full of alpha pheromones. If Yu Wei’s parents found out that he was already doing this with Yu Wei before they were married, wouldn’t that leave a terrible first impression?

“Then I’ll hide in the kitchen. Call me after they leave.”

“Sure, sure.”

Shi Ciyan went into the kitchen and closed the door. Yu Wei opened the front door, only to find someone he had not expected at all, Lin Zerui.

“Why are you here?” Yu Wei frowned, his face practically spelling out the words bad luck.

The last time he had seen Lin Zerui had been a month ago, when Lin Zerui had been wrapped in bandages from head to toe in the hospital. He had never expected that only a month later, Lin Zerui would be standing in front of him with all four limbs intact.

But…

The hideous scars on Lin Zerui’s body caused a faint physical discomfort in him. The skin on the left side of his face, from his neck up to his ear, was burned into a wrinkled, shriveled mess. Yu Wei looked away. “What are you here for?”

“Won’t you invite me in for a drink of water?”

Yu Wei rolled his eyes and turned to leave. Lin Zerui followed him inside and closed the door. Seeing Yu Wei flop down on the sofa, hug a pillow, and lie back lazily with one leg crossed over the other, his pale foot swaying lightly, a trace of hatred flashed through Lin Zerui’s eyes.

“Yu Wei, do you remember that you’re my fiancée? Our engagement is still in place, and you actually brought some shady person home?”

The whole house was filled with alpha pheromones. The concentration was not high, but their presence was extremely strong.

“Are you crazy? If you want water, go pour yourself a glass in the kitchen. If there’s nothing else, get lost.” Yu Wei could not be bothered to deal with him. He waved a hand and closed his eyes as if to nap. “I still need a midday sleep. See yourself out.”

Lin Zerui sat down by his feet. “I came to see you today for something serious.”

Yu Wei did not even bother to open his eyes. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“Yu Wei, didn’t you always want to marry me? Let’s get married.”

Yu Wei suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, his face full of disbelief. “What makes you think I want to marry you? Lin Zerui, I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet. You came to me on your own, and now you have the nerve to say you want to get married?”

During the past month, his condition had been bad, and both Lin Zerui and that lecher were in the hospital. Yu Wei had temporarily put aside old grudges and had not gone after them.

And yet Lin Zerui had the nerve to come knocking on his door, wanting to marry him.

Yu Wei glanced at the scar on the left side of his face with open disgust. “Look at yourself now. Why would I marry you? I have money, I’m good-looking, I can find whoever I want. Why would I go for a rotten cucumber like you?”

“How am I?” Lin Zerui clenched his teeth, his face darkening. “Tell me, what do I look like now?”

Yu Wei felt a little wary of him. When he had been lying down just now, Lin Zerui had sat at his feet. Now that Yu Wei had sat up, the distance between them was too close. Yu Wei looked at Lin Zerui’s current appearance and, a little afraid, scooted back. Just as he was about to get down from the sofa, a sharp pain shot through his wrist. Lin Zerui yanked him onto the sofa and pressed him down. His other hand clamped onto Yu Wei’s chin, and the pain made tears spill uncontrollably from Yu Wei’s eyes.

“What did you say I look like?” Lin Zerui’s face twisted viciously. He leaned in close to Yu Wei. “Yu Wei, didn’t you like me? Didn’t you want to marry me? Fine, I agree.”

Yu Wei’s chin was pinned in place, and he could not speak. His eyes were wide with rage as he tried to pry Lin Zerui’s hand away. But he was too weak, and all his struggles were useless.

“But Yu Wei, what did you mean by what you just said, and what was that look? Didn’t you like me? How could you look at me with such disgust? Don’t you like the scars on my body? If you don’t like them, then you need to look at them even more carefully.”

Yu Wei could not break free, and he could not speak. He shook his head weakly, tears smearing across his entire face.

Lin Zerui held his chin tightly with one hand and gently stroked his cheek with the other. “I still have a lot of scars under this shirt. Yu Wei, you’d better take a good look.”

He had been discharged from the hospital for almost a week, and when he walked down the street, passersby kept turning back to look at the scars on his body with pity. Even the duck he had spent a lot of money on had retched in bed at the sight of his hideous injuries.

Lin Zerui was filled with hatred.

The one responsible for all of this was the Yu Wei beneath him.

He had spent three weeks in the hospital and thought through many things.

On the day the bar caught fire, he and Wei Yang had run out of the private room one after the other, followed the crowd out, and headed toward the area farther from the fire. But just as he was going downstairs with the crowd, someone bumped into him. He failed to keep his balance and fell to the ground. His back just happened to catch fire. If he had not reacted quickly and rolled on the floor a few times to put it out, he would probably still be in the hospital now, with a burn area far larger than it was.

At first, he thought he had simply been jostled and bumped by someone in the crowd. But later, when he thought about it carefully, the force with which that person had shoved him was strong enough to send him half a meter into the fiery area. No matter how he looked at it, it did not seem accidental.

At that time, Wei Yang had been beside him too, and he had also suffered a reopened wound in the pushing and shoving of the crowd.

The only thing these two incidents had in common was that both of them happened after they had separated from Yu Wei.

He had told his father about this suspicion. His father had immediately gone to the bar to check the surveillance footage and find evidence, but the bar had closed the day after the fire, and the owner had disappeared without a trace. The police also classified the incident as an accidental blaze, and aside from him and Wei Yang, no one had been injured.

That person’s target was obvious. It was him and Wei Yang. He had been certain back then that this matter was inseparable from Yu Wei.

But without evidence, the matter could only end there. Lin Zerui was unwilling. Knowing full well that this was related to Yu Wei, yet being unable to do anything about it, he had never felt so suffocated in his life.

Their company was cooperating with the Yu family, and they needed Yu Wei’s help, so they could not completely break things off for now.

If they got married, everything would be different. After marriage, Yu Wei would be a toy in his palm, to be tormented however he pleased.

But now he actually did not want to get married.

And he even looked down on the scars on his body.

Very good.

Lin Zerui took off his shirt with one hand. The hand gripping Yu Wei’s chin loosened for two seconds. Yu Wei seized the chance to shout toward the tightly shut kitchen door, “Shi… mmph!”

Crack.

Yu Wei felt his jaw bone shift out of place, his bite misaligned, his mouth unable to close. The pain made his whole body tremble.

“Ah… heh…”

It hurt so much.

Why wasn’t Shi Ciyan coming out?

Why had he closed the kitchen door?

“Yu Wei, behave. After today, we can get married. If you’re obedient and agree to marry me, there won’t be any of this later.”

“Mmm-mmm-mmm… heh-heh…”

Yu Wei’s jaw had been dislocated. He could not say a complete sentence. What came out was only broken breaths and muffled, incoherent sounds. Saliva also dribbled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth. Seeing Lin Zerui strip off his shirt, then move on to his clothes, Yu Wei’s tears poured out like a bursting dam. He clutched the hem of his shirt tightly with both hands, resisting in silence.

“Still this stubborn? Yu Wei, it’s the end of the month. Shouldn’t you be going into your heat right about now?” Since Lin Zerui could not get his clothes off, he gave up. He let go of Yu Wei’s clothes, reached around to the back of his neck, and tore off the pheromone blocker patch with one swift motion. Then he ripped off his own blocker patch and tossed it onto the coffee table. “Your body’s full of alpha pheromones. That adulterer didn’t mark you. Perfect, I’ll give you a permanent mark today and turn you into a bitch who has to rely on me for the rest of your life, one sniff of my pheromones and your legs go soft.”

Alpha pheromones surged out in a hurry, gradually covering over the faint green apple scent in the air.

Yu Wei felt a wave of dizziness, and his stomach churned violently. He wanted to run, but his body had no strength left. He was limp all over like a noodle, and Yu Wei used all his strength just to grip the hem of his T-shirt.

“So stubborn.”

Rip.

Lin Zerui grabbed his collar and yanked hard. The thin T-shirt was ripped in half without any effort at all. He could not help laughing. “Yu Wei, how pitiful. Whatever I want to do to you, you can’t stop me.”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…”

“What are you doing?”