On the first night after bringing Li Yan out of that room, Lu Lianning didn’t notice anything unusual.
He placed Li Yan in the bedroom and returned late that night.
Li Yan was curled up under the blanket, his eyelids drooping, looking rather lethargic.
After showering, Lu Lianning turned off the lights. The moment he lifted the blanket, Li Yan scooted closer, his breathing rapid and nervous, yet he remained silent.
When Lu Lianning reached out to touch him, Li Yan flinched but still pressed his body close.
After a full day of work, Lu Lianning was already a bit irritable, and Li Yan’s constant fidgeting tested his patience. Any thought of letting Li Yan rest for the night—understanding he’d just come out of that room—quickly vanished.
He pulled Li Yan beneath him, impatience clear. “Looking to get fucked, huh?”
In the darkness, Li Yan pursed his lips tightly, a muffled groan escaping as he endured Lu Lianning’s rough movements, his eyes wide open.
The next morning, as Lu Lianning woke up, he noticed Li Yan’s hair had grown long, messy strands covering his eyes.
Lying on his side, Lu Lianning brushed the hair back a couple of times. Feeling dissatisfied for some reason, he woke Li Yan and dragged him to the bathroom.
Li Yan was startled awake and yanked to the bathroom. When he opened his eyes and saw the white tiles, he thought he was back in that room and resisted going inside.
But he was no match for Lu Lianning’s strength. Overwhelmed, he was pushed up against the sink.
“Behave!” Lu Lianning warned in a low voice.
When Li Yan looked up, he saw his reflection in the mirror—his skin slightly darker, cheeks hollow, neck covered in ambiguous marks and deep bite wounds.
His hair hung over his eyes, and through the disheveled strands, his lifeless pupils were filled with fear.
Lu Lianning grabbed a razor from the shelf and began shaving Li Yan’s head, the rough texture of his hair sliding down his face and neck, falling onto his bare feet.
Lu Lianning seemed to take pleasure in the task, performing it with precise care. Despite letting Li Yan go at four in the morning and now, at seven, after just three hours of sleep, he displayed remarkable patience. In fact, he appeared engrossed in the task, thoroughly satisfied as he watched Li Yan’s scalp gradually emerge beneath the shaved hair. Looking at Li Yan in the mirror, he asked, “Do you think it looks good?”
Li Yan hadn’t slept well in a long time. He couldn’t rest peacefully in the dark, and his intense fear of Lu Lianning left him unable to think clearly.
When Lu Lianning was nearby, just keeping his body from trembling was a challenge, let alone engaging in any kind of conversation.
Li Yan could only stare wide-eyed into the mirror, watching Lu Lianning’s lips move. He wasn’t sure if it was his severe sleep deprivation that made him unable to hear Lu Lianning’s voice, or if his nerves were so tense that he couldn’t comprehend what he was saying.
Frustrated by the lack of response, Lu Lianning furrowed his brow. “Speak.”
Li Yan seemed terrified of that frown, knowing it often signaled displeasure and that Lu Lianning’s temper would soon flare.
Seeing the dark expression on Lu Lianning’s face in the mirror, Li Yan hurriedly responded, “I’m sorry.”
Lu Lianning said, “That’s not what I asked!”
Li Yan knew this phrase all too well. He could make out Lu Lianning’s words from his lip movements and almost reflexively gave the expected response. Watching Lu Lianning’s face nervously in the mirror, he stammered, “I don’t… I don’t want to see… Chen Yu.”
Lu Lianning suddenly fell silent. He looked at Li Yan in the mirror, who was still anxiously staring at him, and felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
The dark circles under Li Yan’s eyes were so pronounced that his skin tone couldn’t conceal them. He appeared to be in a very poor mental state. Normally, Li Yan avoided making eye contact, his gaze often darting away.
So, Lu Lianning decided to be generous and show some mercy, choosing not to press him for answers any longer. He reached out and covered Li Yan’s eyes with his hand. “Do you want to sleep?”
To his surprise, Li Yan jerked back, like a startled bird, his eyes filling with panic. He started speaking softly again, repeating, “I don’t… I don’t want to see Chen Yu…”
“Shut up!” Lu Lianning growled, his emotions flashing in his eyes. He glared at Li Yan, focusing on his freshly shaved bald head. “As if being ugly wasn’t enough, now your brain is broken too!?”
At the time, Lu Lianning didn’t take it seriously. He assumed Li Yan was simply exhausted and not fully alert after the torment.
The next night, Lu Lianning didn’t return home until after 2 AM.
When he came back, he noticed the bedroom light was still on. He walked in and found Li Yan asleep, so he quickly took a shower, turned off the light, and got into bed.
But, unexpectedly, Li Yan woke up.
Having rested during the day, he appeared to be in a better mental state. He sat up abruptly, grabbing Lu Lianning’s arm with a sense of urgency, though still cautiously. “Could we… could we leave the light on…”
Lu Lianning was already in a foul mood from an evening of drinking and forced politeness with Lu Anling’s business partners. Seeing Li Yan asleep earlier, he hadn’t wanted to lose his temper for once, but now, Li Yan was pushing his luck.
He snapped coldly, “You just got out of that fucking room two days ago, and you’re already giving me a headache! Haven’t you had enough of the dark? How am I supposed to sleep with the lights on!”
Li Yan immediately shut his mouth, as if terrified of saying the wrong thing again.
Lu Lianning grabbed Li Yan, who was half sitting up, and forcefully pushed him back down onto the bed. “Sleep!”
Later that night, Lu Lianning woke with a dry throat. He reached over, but the space beside him was empty.
In the middle of the night, Li Yan was nowhere to be found in bed!
Where could he have gone? Surely, he didn’t have the nerve to run away!
Lu Lianning sat up, teeth clenched and brow furrowed, ready to explode in anger. Then he noticed a faint light coming from the bathroom door.
He walked over and opened it.
Inside, he found Li Yan asleep, slumped over the toilet lid. His legs were curled up, holding his head where Lu Lianning had left the hair unevenly shaved.
The sight was both ridiculous and pitiful.
Li Yan was still wearing the same cotton pajamas Lu Lianning had put on him earlier that day. They weren’t particularly thick and were buttoned all the way to the top.
Lu Lianning had a grim expression. He reached out and, as expected, Li Yan was cold to the touch. He couldn’t understand how anyone could sleep like this.
Shaking Li Yan awake, he snapped, “Can you stop with these useless tricks in front of me!”
