“I’m not…” He Xingzhou subconsciously retorted, but halfway through, he suddenly realized something and stopped abruptly.
The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, and a clear hesitation appeared on He Xingzhou’s face.
Xiao Can stared straight at him, watching him with surprise, confusion, and confusion, suddenly feeling amused.
But in the end, he couldn’t laugh.
The grievances he had suffered from being marked flooded his heart all at once. Xiao Can’s eyes warmed up, then tears began to blur his vision.
He lowered his head, tears falling straight to the ground.
The little bird on his shoulder seemed to sense his emotions, hopping left and right a couple of times and making chirping sounds different from usual.
He Xingzhou was awakened by this sound, his face turning red in hindsight, awkwardly reaching out, “D-don’t cry! I…you…”
“Don’t touch me.” Xiao Can brushed away his hand.
There wasn’t much force in it. He Xingzhou’s hand froze in midair, afraid to move forward but unwilling to retreat, holding it up awkwardly.
He moved his lips and said again, “Don’t cry.”
His tone seemed to be pleading.
“This isn’t crying!” Xiao Can wiped away his tears, “I’m angry! You have the nerve to talk about holding me responsible, you should be thanking your lucky stars that I didn’t call the police to arrest you!”
He Xingzhou’s hand slowly clenched into a fist, finally pulling back.
“So, you mean, we… I did that to you…” He struggled to speak, his expression conflicted, “That day…”
“It’s rare,” Xiao Can sneered coldly, “You feel ashamed and can’t speak? Is it hard to say that you raped me?”
He knew that He Xingzhou was not in control at the time, influenced by drugs, but at this moment, he was completely controlled by intense emotions, with no regard for the other’s feelings.
Yes, He Xingzhou didn’t do it intentionally, and he was also a victim.
But what had he done wrong?
He Xingzhou didn’t explain, looking somewhat dazedly at him, only murmuring after a while, “I’m sorry.”
His voice was very soft, almost indistinct.
“I’m sorry.” He quickly repeated it loudly once, then covered his face with his hand, took a deep breath, exhaled deeply, and said again, “I’m very sorry.”
Seeing this, Xiao Can’s momentum diminished by half, and the desire to attack in his chest vanished.
He suddenly realized something.
Although he had endured a lot of pain because of the mark, he felt resentment towards the person in front of him but didn’t feel hatred.
“It’s been so long anyway, and since you don’t remember, I can’t say ‘it’s okay,’ but I don’t want to pursue it anymore,” he softened his voice a bit.
He Xingzhou frowned, “What do you mean…”
Xiao Can looked away, softly saying, “Let it go.”
“That’s not possible,” He Xingzhou insisted, “This isn’t something that can just be let go.”
“Then what?” Xiao Can countered, “Do you want to do something for me? Otherwise, turn yourself in.”
He Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly after a moment, “Okay.”
Xiao Can couldn’t help but laugh in frustration, “Then go ahead, but don’t mention my name when you do. I don’t want to embarrass myself with you.”
“Without a victim, the police probably won’t listen to me,” He Xingzhou said helplessly.
“Then forget it, don’t you understand?” Xiao Can said.
He Xingzhou’s brow furrowed tighter, shaking his head, “No, since I know, I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Why are you so annoying,” Xiao Can asked, “What do you want to do?”
He Xingzhou didn’t answer immediately, apparently without a standard answer in his mind.
After a few seconds of silence, Charlie, still standing on Xiao Can’s shoulder, suddenly flapped his wings and shouted, “Woke up! Woke up!”
Both of them were suddenly stunned.
He Xingzhou reacted first, reaching out to grab the inexplicably excited Charlie, quickly walking to the claw machine, bending down to open the delivery port, and throwing Charlie in.
“Shut your mouth,” he said to the confined Charlie, “Adults are talking, what’s it got to do with you!”
When he turned around, Xiao Can’s eyes had a hint of vigilance.
He Xingzhou took a step forward, and Xiao Can took a step back.
“Don’t come any closer,” Xiao Can took another step back, “Do you want to do something to me with your so-called ‘can’t let it go’?”
“I…” He Xingzhou licked his lips, “If you think it’s okay…”
“I don’t think it’s okay,” Xiao Can interrupted him, “You took advantage and now you want me to bear the consequences. You’re dreaming!”
There was a flapping sound from behind as Charlie struggled in the claw machine.
“Let him out!” Xiao Can commanded, “Why are you bullying him!”
He Xingzhou seemed to want to explain, but after hesitating for a while, he still obediently returned to the claw machine. However, when he opened the delivery port, Charlie remained unmoved, excitedly standing in the middle of a pile of capsule toys, stretching his neck to look at the claw.
“I didn’t come here to play with you,” He Xingzhou said.
Charlie looked eagerly at the claw, impatiently stomping his feet.
“What’s wrong with playing with him?” Xiao Can felt sorry for Charlie, “You threw him in yourself!”
“I…” He Xingzhou glanced back at Xiao Can, then picked up a coin with a stern face and fiercely threw it in.
He operated the claw while complaining, “We’re clearly discussing a serious topic.”
Xiao Can thought, I don’t want to discuss this with you at all.
“Okay, let’s say that,” He Xingzhou moved the joystick, causing Charlie to run back and forth, “I’m not trying to take advantage of you, I just… I just feel that as the one who made the mistake, I shouldn’t have no response, I…”
“Anyway, I won’t be with an impotent person.” Impatient Xiao Can started to attack personally.
He Xingzhou turned around instantly, “I already said I’m not!”
“I don’t care if you are or not, but what I saw last time was…” Xiao Can dared not meet his eyes, “Furthermore, everyone knows you are.”
“I did it to clear your name, didn’t I?” He Xingzhou said.
He completely let go of the joystick. When Charlie saw the claw stop moving, he was already prepared to be caught. But after waiting for a long time, the claw didn’t move at all, and it gradually lost patience and began to yell.
He Xingzhou turned around, hitting the confirmation button hard, and then turned back to argue with Xiao Can, “How much did you drink that day? Don’t you remember?”
“How much? So what if it was a lot? I drank more than you, why wasn’t I drunk?” Xiao Can completely opened the argumentative mode, “You blame me for your poor alcohol tolerance? You blame me for your impotence? Is it also my fault if you become infertile in the future?”
He Xingzhou raised his hand and then put it down, endured for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said, “I’m not.”
“I won’t admit that I’m also helpless against you,” Xiao Can said.
He Xingzhou took a step forward, “Do you really want me to prove it?”
Xiao Can, who was addicted to arguing, was taken aback and lost his momentum, “What do you want to do? I, I, I, I’ll really call the police!”
“No Alpha can withstand such insults,” He Xingzhou’s face darkened.
He seemed to be about to prove it on the spot, which frightened Xiao Can quite a bit.
“Back then, you were the one who broadcasted it to the whole world!”
“I did it for you!”
Xiao Can was momentarily speechless.
At this point, Charlie, who had been in position again for quite some time, made an urging sound.
He Xingzhou didn’t even turn his head, haphazardly operated the joystick behind his back, and continued, “Each to his own, that thing… I was wrong. But you also can’t be so heartless, can you?”
“You forgot to insert the coin,” Xiao Can pointed at the motionless claw inside the machine behind him.
He Xingzhou was speechless, turned around, inserted a coin, and complained, “Can’t you focus a little and talk to me properly?”
“You’re playing with the claw machine, and you blame me for not being focused?” Xiao Can retorted.
He Xingzhou couldn’t help but laugh at his unreasonable words, “Didn’t you ask me to play with him?”
“I asked you to play with him, and you played with him. Then why didn’t you listen when I said to forget about it?” Xiao Can asked.
This time, He Xingzhou couldn’t find words to respond.
Xiao Can took a deep breath, “Even if you’re perfectly functional, I won’t be with someone who doesn’t like me.”
“I…” He Xingzhou hesitated, and his hand stopped manipulating the controls.
“Anyway, I’m a hypocrite, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back, I’m the type you hate the most,” Xiao Can said, feeling wronged, then became angry, “Do you think sacrificing yourself to be with me is a great sacrifice?”
He Xingzhou shook his head helplessly, “Why do you speak of yourself like that?”
“You said all of these things yourself!”
“I never said you were hypocritical…”
“But that’s what you meant,” Xiao Can said, “You said I flattered others.”
“Well, you did… When you record your shows, what’s your attitude towards those people? Aren’t you clear about it yourself? Are you the same as you are privately?”
“I’m clear about it, and I’m also clear that you don’t like me,” Xiao Can’s emotions flared up, gradually becoming less restrained with his words, “But whether you like me or not, I don’t care! Because I don’t like you either! Why am I always harsh on you? Because I hate you from the bottom of my heart!”
After he finished speaking, he gasped for breath for a while, quickly realized that he had gone too far, wanted to make amends, but couldn’t bring himself to do it for a moment, feeling embarrassed.
The air fell into silence, and Charlie, who had been waiting for the claw to move, also remained quiet.
He stood still in the pile of capsules, tilting his head slightly to observe the two.
“…I’m sorry,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can’s frustration suddenly swelled in his heart. He was thinking about how to make amends when he saw He Xingzhou sigh deeply, then walk to the sofa and sit down.
“You’d better go to the hospital and get checked. You’re very likely to have hyperthyroidism,” he said to Xiao Can.
Xiao Can’s head buzzed with anger, grabbed the pillow beside him and threw it at He Xingzhou’s head.
He used quite a bit of force, but the soft pillow couldn’t generate much impact.
He Xingzhou easily blocked the attack with his hand, put the pillow back on the sofa, adjusted its position, and then asked, “So… what kind of person would you be with?”
This sudden change of topic was too abrupt.
Xiao Can was still stunned, and He Xingzhou asked again, “Do you have someone you like?”
“What’s it to you?” Xiao Can asked.
“Just curious,” He Xingzhou said, “Suddenly, I really want to know the answer.”
“I’m not obligated to tell you,” Xiao Can said, taking out the mask he wore when he came and said, “I’m leaving.”
He was in a terrible emotional state now, and if he continued like this, who knew how many inappropriate words he would blurt out.
At the same time he took out the mask, a silver metal object on a chain slipped from his pocket.
“You dropped something,” He Xingzhou stood up and squatted down again, intending to pick it up for him, but hesitated when he reached out his hand.
Xiao Can lowered his head, feeling a shock in his heart.
What fell on the ground was He Xingzhou’s pheromone pendant.
He quickly bent down to pick it up, stuffed it back into his pocket haphazardly.
At the same time, he comforted himself in his heart, thankful that Tan Zhen hadn’t told He Xingzhou that he would take the pheromone sample to make a pendant. Most people were not sensitive to their own pheromone scent.
Moreover, He Xingzhou had never seen this design before, so he probably couldn’t guess what was hidden inside.
