PTGWD Chapter 12: Jealousy

Fang Xingzhou had a terrifying dream.

In the dream, countless tentacles intimately entwined him, suckers wriggling as they sucked on his skin, gently and cruelly hurling him towards heaven again and again, like an inexhaustible perpetual motion machine, unwilling to stop until it had drained him of all moisture.

He felt like he was drowning more than once, struggling to wake up, but still unable to break free, repeatedly pushed to the brink of collapse by intense sensations, only to be pulled back by those beautiful tentacles from the edge of the cliff.

All night long, they feasted on him with gusto, like cruel demons wearing angelic disguises. Yet even so, he still found them dazzlingly beautiful, too beautiful to look at directly, as beautiful as the “jellyfish” that had tempted him in the water all those years ago.

This realization filled him with pain and despair. In the dream, he seemed to be constantly shedding tears, as if he had returned to twenty years ago, crying in despair, holding an empty glass bottle after losing his beloved.

At the moment his tears and body dried up together, he thought he was going to die.

It wasn’t until sunlight hit his eyelids that he opened his eyes, finding his vision blurry, his cheeks damp, and his body inexplicably trembling.

Something warm was licking his tears, similar to the tentacles in his dream but subtly different.

He blinked forcefully, and soon, an impeccable face came into view, with eyes as clear as glass beads sparkling in the sunlight, staring directly at him.

Fang Xingzhou’s pupils contracted, his consciousness slipping into the gap between dream and reality, still watching this face without regaining his senses.

“Zhouzhou,” the voice in front of him was slightly hoarse, tinged with satisfied laziness, “why are you still crying? Somewhere hurt?”

Fang Xingzhou blinked slowly.

Once his brain started to wake up, the memories of those intensely unforgettable nightmares began to recede like a tide. While he remembered the moment of waking up vividly, in the blink of an eye, only a vague shadow remained… Just like when the “jellyfish” left him all those years ago.

He desperately tried to grasp onto the memories related to the tentacles from last night, sweating on his forehead, but nothing stayed.

It was just a dream…

A… somewhat strange dream.

In the end, only this shallow thought remained in his mind.

He blinked in confusion again, moving his body and realizing that he was completely naked, entwined with someone else’s limbs. Their body temperatures melding together, as if nothing could separate them anymore.

His memories were still confused. He subconsciously cherished the warmth of this moment, moistening his dry lips, murmuring, “Am I crying…?”

Lu Jianchuan leaned in, gently kissing the corner of his moist eyes, his palm tracing the delicate curves of his body back and forth, as if savoring the delicacy of last night, “Hmm, darling, you are crying so sadly. Tell me about it?”

Fang Xingzhou’s throat was already completely hoarse, each word causing a stinging pain, “I don’t know…I think I dreamt of… a jellyfish.”

Lu Jianchuan’s expression flickered, his lips curling up, as he lightly brushed his eyelashes with his fingertip, lowering his gaze and asking, “A jellyfish?”

Fang Xingzhou: “Yes.”

Lu Jianchuan hugged him tighter, “What does it look like? Is it beautiful? Do you like it?”

“Very beautiful,” Fang Xingzhou didn’t hesitate, “Extremely beautiful, so beautiful that it’s indescribable. I used to like it very much, but… I lost it.”

Lu Jianchuan’s breathing became somewhat rapid.

His eyes burned, sweeping inch by inch over his lover’s moist face. He lowered his head slightly, asking softly, “Did you cry because you dreamed of losing it?”

Fang Xingzhou fell silent for a moment, “Perhaps.”

Lu Jianchuan couldn’t restrain himself any longer, biting his lover’s lips fiercely, using his tongue, much less skilled than the tentacles, to push apart his teeth, eagerly invading and plundering, extracting the soft and juicy moisture inside.

He took Fang Xingzhou’s hand, placing it on his own abdomen, his voice muffled yet excited, “It’s okay to lose it. Let’s make another one, exactly like the ‘jellyfish’. After it hatches, we’ll raise it by our bedside. How about that?”

The bedroom was warm with heating, Fang Xingzhou was sweating all over from the kisses, confused and unable to understand the meaning of Lu Jianchuan’s words, just subconsciously leaned closer, close to Lu Jianchuan’s skin.

Slowly, he squinted his eyes slightly, recalling the events before he passed out in this long and intense kiss.

— He went to attend Lu Jianchuan’s engagement banquet, met a police officer named Li, was taken to the rest area, and lost consciousness there, remaining unconscious until now.

As memories returned, he felt like he was falling into an icy abyss, as if he had tasted a candy coated with poison, experiencing the bitter taste hidden inside after licking off all the sweet outer layers.

Every organ twisted in pain and jealousy. Fang Xingzhou moved, finally realizing how exhausted his muscles were, while Lu Jianchuan was full of excitement and vitality.

His eyes became clearer and his expression colder, but he didn’t push away Lu Jianchuan, who was indulging in kisses, only reaching under the pillow with his hand, finding it empty.

The knife that used to be hidden there was taken to the engagement banquet and now unfound.

Fang Xingzhou paused and, as if nothing had happened,embraced Lu Jianchuan’s shoulders. The latter became even more excited, a drunken crimson tinting the corners of his eyes. He murmured his name and tossed around words like “egg,” “child,” and some illogical nonsense.

Soon, his knuckles firmly gripped Lu Jianchuan’s throat.

Fang Xingzhou pinched his chin, slowly pulling him away from his lips, his deep and intense pupils enunciating each word, “Lu, Jian, Chuan.”

Lu Jianchuan licked his lips ungratified, his gaze still on Fang Xingzhou’s lips, his face wearing a radiant smile, responding, “Yes,My wife.”

Fang Xingzhou’s chest heaved, revealing a chilling smile, asking, “Why were you sleeping in my bed on your engagement night?”

Before Lu Jianchuan could respond, Fang Xingzhou’s other hand also grabbed his neck, slowly tightening it, as if reluctant to hear any more of his sweet talk.

Lu Jianchuan’s face began to flush red, but he didn’t struggle, letting Fang Xingzhou choke him, even hugging his waist.

At this moment, these intimate actions seemed particularly ironic. Fang Xingzhou’s voice became completely hoarse, almost squeezed out from his throat, “You betrayed me…”

Lu Jianchuan just smiled, his pupils filled with gentle focus, opening his arms and revealing his chest to him.

Fang Xingzhou couldn’t bear such a gaze, rolling over and pressing against him, his breathing becoming rapid, both hands tightening around him. There was a moment when goosebumps rose on his body, and he felt a desperate anticipation for what might happen next.

“Even if you’re engaged to another woman, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just die together now,” he pressed his lips against Lu Jianchuan’s, gently kissing the soft petals, “Today is February 14th, our tenth anniversary. Isn’t it meaningful to die on this day together? Hmm?”

As his strength increased, Lu Jianchuan’s face grew redder, and he stuttered, “No… don’t…”

Upon hearing this response, all the warmth in Fang Xingzhou’s eyes vanished, leaving only a cold gaze.

Lu Jianchuan: “…I can… be turned into a specimen… put on the bedside… to accompany you…”

Fang Xingzhou was stunned, he stoped.

Cold sweat began to form in his palms. He subconsciously glanced at the bedside, which was clearly empty. In a daze, he seemed to see a giant jellyfish, preserved as a specimen, staring at him with lifeless crimson eyes.

His sweating hands seemed to slip, unable to hold onto the warm neck. He stared at the face in front of him without blinking, for some reason, he began to tremble all over, as if he himself was about to suffocate.

He can’t, do this..

Lu Jianchuan gave him three chances, but he couldn’t bring himself to act even once.

Why… had they come to this point? Was it because of the child? Was having a child really that important to Lu Jianchuan?

Fang Xingzhou bit his tongue, his expression defeated, his hands slackened, trembling as he collapsed onto Lu Jianchuan, admitting defeat.

Lu Jianchuan immediately held him close to his chest, took a few breaths, and whispered in his ear the answer to the initial question, “Darling, we got engaged last night. Isn’t it normal to sleep together? You were happy last night, clinging to me, touching my te… uh, praising my good looks.”

Fang Xingzhou closed his eyes, unwilling to say another word.

Lu Jianchuan took his right hand, kissed the ring on his ring finger, and continued, “Look at our engagement rings, do you like them? Yesterday’s engagement banquet didn’t go as you expected. Nothing happened between me and Wang Fei. My engagement partner can only be you. The engagement banquet was… for…”

As he said this, he abruptly stopped.

He recalled the information Li Xuan had shown him, detailing how to “recover” from the failed engagement. The first piece of advice given to him was: do not mention the egg.

For a normal human being, using “the egg” as an excuse for betrayal was unacceptable to anyone. It had to be done gradually, first resolving the crisis of trust, then slowly inform him about the egg…

Lu Jianchuan held back, explaining according to the plan from the research institute, “…It was for cooperating with the police. Although Wang Fei looks like a delicate young lady, she is actually a very dangerous serial killer, and I happen to be her next target. Fortunately, the police knew about her plan in advance, played along, and made me a bait.”

“Last night, the police successfully arrested her at the engagement banquet. But the case is highly confidential, and the details will probably only be officially disclosed after the trial,” he continued, “I will never betray you. If that day comes, you can turn me into a specimen and put me by the bedside.”

A few seconds of silence.

Fang Xingzhou slowly opened his eyes, meeting Lu Jianchuan’s sincere gaze, looking at him for a long time before shifting his gaze to his own hand.

Due to work reasons, he never wears any jewelry on his hands.

But at this moment, a dazzling gold ring adorned his ring finger.

He furrowed his brows slightly.

Lu Jianchuan asked eagerly, “Do you like it?”

From human aesthetics, the ring was simply ugly beyond description.

 

But Fang Xingzhou could be sure that the aesthetic was so tasteless that it must have been personally chosen by Lu Jianchuan. Moreover, it fit perfectly and was likely custom-made. Lu Jianchuan must have spent a lot of time preparing for it – after all, it wasn’t easy to buy such an ugly custom-made ring.

His chest tightened slowly, and he looked back at Lu Jianchuan’s face, the face that he would never forget. A smile slowly appeared on his lips.

“I love you so much that I’m going crazy,” Lu Jianchuan gently flicked his messy hair behind his ear, his voice lazy and gorgeous, “Xingzhou, you can never doubt this.”.”

 

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gradual reconciliation continuous