Chapter 39: If You Make Me Happy Tonight, I’ll Let You Keep These Legs
Shen Yanzhou held the steel rod, his gaze fixed on Lin Yuan’s wet little face.
He noticed the boy had bitten through his lip; blood was trickling down the corner of his mouth.
It mixed with his tears and dripped onto the floor.
Shen Yanzhou felt a piercing ache in his heart.
Lin Yuan couldn’t hold out anymore, and he was nearly at his limit too!
Looking at that fragile, easily-broken body—especially those straight, slender legs—how could he possibly bring himself to swing that rod?
Shen Yanzhou sighed.
“Lin Yuan, you’re very scared, aren’t you?”
“We’ve slept together, after all. I don’t have the heart to cripple your legs. How about I give you a choice?”
His voice had softened significantly.
Lin Yuan opened his teary eyes, his brows tightly knitted as he looked at him.
Shen Yanzhou licked his lip. “If you make me happy tonight, I’ll let you keep these legs.”
Lin Yuan naturally understood what “making him happy” meant.
What could he do to make him happy?
The answer was obvious.
Lin Yuan felt a wave of humiliation surge in his heart.
He didn’t want to!
But he truly couldn’t endure the consequences of the other choice.
Tears flowed silently.
A sense of fatalistic sorrow welled up in his heart.
After a long while…
He nodded slightly with a look of pain and helplessness, his small head drooping weakly. “Alright…”
Shen Yanzhou secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He threw the steel rod onto the ground.
He pulled another cigarette out and held it between his fingers without lighting it.
Only then did he realize that the back of his shirt was soaked with cold sweat.
The one being punished was Lin Yuan, but it felt as though it had actually been him!
Lin Yuan whimpered, making a low, small sound.
“Can you untie me? My hands are numb…”
Shen Yanzhou reached out and carefully released the restraints on his wrists and ankles.
Because his body had only just recovered and he had just endured such an ordeal, Lin Yuan had no strength left.
Once the restraints were removed, his body went limp, and he fell directly into Shen Yanzhou’s arms.
Shen Yanzhou hurriedly caught him, picking him up in a bridal carry.
Lin Yuan originally wanted to struggle out of the embrace, but he had no strength at all.
He could only allow the man to hold him.
He turned his head away and wiped the tears from his face with his small hand.
Only then did Shen Yanzhou notice that the boy’s palms were bleeding from where his nails had pierced them.
Another pang of pain hit his heart.
Looking at the small person in his arms—three dark red marks on his fair skin, tears streaming down his pale face—he was filled with a sense of “brokenness.”
Shen Yanzhou couldn’t help but hold him a bit tighter.
“Xiao Yuan, be good. Stay by my side obediently! As long as you don’t run, anything is fine!”
Lin Yuan gave a somewhat numb “Mhm.”
Holding the small person, Shen Yanzhou left the basement.
As they passed through the corridor and returned to the main hall of the front villa, Uncle Chen came over to say that dinner was ready.
With a glance, he saw Lin Yuan nestled in Shen Yanzhou’s arms.
When he saw the boy looking nearly breathless, his heart skipped a beat.
He sighed and shook his head inwardly.
Three days ago, the Master’s bodyguard captain had brought a group of workers to the villa.
They seemed to be there for construction.
They were busy in the back courtyard for an entire day.
After they finished and left, the gossipy Uncle Chen went to take a look at the small building in the back.
That was when he discovered they had renovated the basement.
The various strange and terrifying things inside made Uncle Chen’s head spin and his eyes blur.
He knew exactly who those were prepared for.
The Master was truly enraged this time.
On the night Lin Yuan was found and sent to the hospital, the Master hadn’t returned home.
It was only the next evening that he saw him.
He looked despondent and dejected, not touching a single bite of dinner.
Uncle Chen had tremblingly told him that Young Master Yu had used schemes to trick him into letting Lin Yuan leave.
He felt very sorry for Lin Yuan, as the boy had suffered.
Shen Yanzhou had shaken his head with a bitter smile, telling him that Lin Yuan wanted to escape himself and had asked Yu Yi’an for help.
It was just that he had trusted the wrong person and overestimated his kindness.
Only then did Uncle Chen understand, and he broke into a cold sweat for Lin Yuan.
Their Master was naturally extreme and ruthless.
This matter was a huge blow to him.
In the end, most of his rage and resentment would likely be taken out on Lin Yuan.
Now that he had set up such an interrogation room, god knows how he would torment that child.
Seeing Lin Yuan now with his eyelids drooping and covered in wounds, Uncle Chen felt a bit of pity.
Shen Yanzhou shifted his body slightly, blocking Uncle Chen’s view with his own frame.
“We won’t go to the dining room. Have someone bring dinner to the bedroom,” he instructed.
“Yes, Master.”
Looking at Shen Yanzhou carefully carrying the boy upstairs, Uncle Chen shook his head slightly.
Returning to the bedroom, Shen Yanzhou carried Lin Yuan into the bathroom.
In the luxurious constant-temperature bathtub, he had already had the servants prepare the water, adding rose petals and soothing essential oils.
“Xiao Yuan, take a bath and then eat, okay?” Shen Yanzhou asked softly in Lin Yuan’s ear.
It gave Lin Yuan a fleeting illusion.
It was as if the storm-like torment he had just endured from this man was merely a nightmare he had dreamed.
He shook his head weakly. “It hurts. I don’t want to touch the water…”
Shen Yanzhou pursed his lips. “Ge will help wash your back, avoiding the wounds. Okay?”
Lin Yuan didn’t refuse again.
He was covered in cold sweat; if he didn’t wash up, he would truly be uncomfortable.
But he couldn’t bring himself to strip naked in front of the man.
“Then… can you turn around? I’ll get in the tub, and then you can turn back.” Lin Yuan made a request.
Then he lowered his head, waiting for an answer.
Shen Yanzhou nodded. “Mhm.”
With that, he gently placed Lin Yuan on the non-slip mat beside the tub.
He turned around.
Lin Yuan rubbed his aching wrists, slowly took off his clothes, and slipped into the tub.
He used the layer of vivid red rose petals to conceal the lower half of his body.
Shen Yanzhou sat on a small stool beside the bathtub.
Looking at the three dark red marks on the boy’s fair skin, he felt a bit dazed.
He let out an involuntary breath.
He picked up a bath sponge and wetted Lin Yuan’s back.
…
As he gently scrubbed his back, he muttered to himself.
…
He seemed to be seeking confirmation from the boy, or perhaps trying to comfort himself.
With a surge of resentment in his chest, Lin Yuan gritted his teeth and said, “Yes, it doesn’t hurt at all! I was born to be beaten!”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
his eyes dimmed.
“Do you think I wanted to lay a hand on you?” His voice dropped, yet it remained soft.
“You’re always so disobedient. What choice do I have?”
Lin Yuan stopped speaking.
After a moment of silence…
“You said just now that as long as I don’t run, anything is fine?” He tilted his head slightly and asked.
Shen Yanzhou nodded. “Mhm.”
“Then… can I make a request?” he asked in a low voice, his tone tentative.
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou’s lips quirked into a smile he didn’t even notice, and his eyes brightened instantly.
Excellent!
Being willing to make a request meant he was willing to start building a relationship!
“Mhm, let’s hear it.”
Lin Yuan’s small hand toyed with the petals on the water’s surface, his phoenix eyes lowered.
“Can you… not always lose your temper and scare me so fiercely in the future?”
Shen Yanzhou didn’t hesitate. “I can.”
Lin Yuan seemingly didn’t expect him to agree so readily.
Shen Yanzhou also didn’t expect his request to be so simple.
His heart ached for a split second.
Lin Yuan stopped talking.
He leaned his body back against the soft headrest of the tub.
Shen Yanzhou used the sponge with body wash to gently scrub his shoulders.
His fingers took the opportunity to stroke him tenderly.
Lin Yuan didn’t resist.
He gently closed his eyes, feeling very, very tired.
He was already satisfied that Shen Yanzhou could treat him with such tenderness.
Shen Yanzhou avoided the marks and finished washing the boy’s upper body.
Then he carefully applied a layer of ointment to the whip marks.
“I’m going out first. When you’re done, come out and we’ll have dinner in the room.”
As Shen Yanzhou spoke, he gave a soft kiss to Lin Yuan’s damp shoulder.
“After dinner, we have ‘serious business’ to do!”
He stood up and left the bathroom.
Translator’s Note: Shen Yanzhou is such a walking contradiction. He goes from “I’ll break your legs” to “Let me rub your back with rose petals” in the span of an hour. The contrast is jarring! Also, Lin Yuan’s request is so humble it’s actually sad. “Please don’t be scary” is basically the bare minimum. I hope the “serious business” isn’t too rough on poor Lin Yuan.
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