Chapter 60: Broken Skin
Xie Shibai bit onto the cheese pendant, his heart pounding. Unlike the fleeting touch during the biscuit game, the stalemate between them made the warm sensation near his lips distinct.
His pale fingers tightened. He clamped down on the cheese pendant, yet deep down, he wasn’t repulsed by this contact. On the contrary, looking down from above, there were hidden, unspeakable emotions in his heart—complex emotions. Simultaneously, his body’s hunger for skin contact made him uncontrollably addicted to this situation.
The scorching touch and the large area of body contact… The intertwining of crisis and competitive spirit made Xie Shibai’s reaction a half-beat slow, as if he were drowning in it.
Xie Shibai bit the cheese pendant. His cold eyes misted over due to the comfort of the skin contact. His voice was a bit fierce yet muffled and unclear: “Let go.”
Lu Ciheng’s breathing stopped abruptly. The palms holding Xie Shibai’s hands suddenly tightened, then relaxed again for fear of hurting him.
Xie Shibai’s hands regained their freedom. pressing his hands against Lu Ciheng to support his body, he clamped down on the cheese pendant and refused to let go.
Lu Ciheng recovered quickly from his astonishment. Instead, his eyes were rapidly dyed with a thick, dark excitement. Biting the cheese, he leaned back slightly. The pads of his fingers touched the skin of Xie Shibai’s nape, grinding against it. Breaths became scalding in the proximity. He gave a muffled laugh, the meaning unclear: “I won’t.”
He hadn’t expected Xie Shibai to bite directly.
This was simply too pleasant of a surprise.
So surprising that he couldn’t miss this opportunity delivered to his door.
Xie Shibai frowned slightly. Not letting Lu Ciheng control the rhythm, his now-free hand unceremoniously hooked the leather choker on Lu Ciheng’s neck, yanking it forcefully toward himself.
Lu Ciheng let out a muffled grunt. His pitch-black eyes narrowed. Even though his breathing was strangled thin, the excitement hidden in his eyes didn’t diminish; instead, it intensified due to the slight sense of suffocation. His Adam’s apple struggled to roll. As the pulsing veins on the side of his neck felt the touch of Xie Shibai’s fingers, he chuckled lightly. Seemingly handing over dominance with both hands, he actually harbored ulterior motives.
Originally, their lips were just touching to the point of stopping. He approached uncharacteristically, actively releasing his teeth. Just when Xie Shibai thought he had reclaimed the cheese, Lu Ciheng suddenly pressed closer, biting deeper than before. His lips pressed tighter, hot and mixing with the moist exhaled breath, resembling a lingering kiss.
The coin-sized cheese pendant lay horizontally between them, its presence both strong and weak.
Xie Shibai’s eyelashes trembled lightly. He subconsciously hooked the choker in his hand to drag the person away. As the restraint on the neck tightened and breathing became weak, Lu Ciheng didn’t care in the slightest. His palm, veins bulging, pressed against Xie Shibai’s nape, his black eyes staring straight as if he could swallow the person whole.
If not for the cheese pendant lying between them, Xie Shibai felt he might not have been able to breathe.
The sound of his heartbeat was deafening. The suppressed longing for touch erupted, causing Xie Shibai to zone out slightly, clutching Lu Ciheng’s arm tightly.
The priority was to reclaim the cheese first.
Xie Shibai’s fingers grabbed mercilessly tight. Forcefully suppressing his desire for contact, he reached out and placed his hand on Lu Ciheng’s face. His thumb pressed forcefully against Lu Ciheng’s lips. Opening his mouth, he bit forward, looking determined to snatch the cheese back.
“Hiss——”
Xie Shibai didn’t hold back his strength when biting down. Their lips crashed together, spilling out pain, and gradually began to go numb.
His brows furrowed. He didn’t retreat; suppressing the pain, he bit the cheese tightly. His numb lips couldn’t even feel that they were coming into closer and closer contact with the other person, grinding together tightly. It was no longer the simple brush it had been at the start.
Lu Ciheng raised his chin slightly, his jawline clear and deep. His exhaled breath was slightly hot. As he hooked his lips, his lower lip touched the spot that had been bumped painful. His tone became pitiful: “Teacher Xie, you bit it broken. How should you compensate me?”
Xie Shibai paused. His fingers lay across the side of Lu Ciheng’s neck, fingertips grinding the black leather choker. His own mouth was still throbbing with pain. Dangling the cheese, he heard Lu Ciheng’s words the next second. His eyes immediately lowered, glaring fiercely at Lu Ciheng.
“Isn’t it all your fault?”
Lu Ciheng let out a muffled laugh. The tip of his tongue licked the lip that Xie Shibai had bumped. His black eyes stared at Xie Shibai’s lips. His Adam’s apple pressed down as he held Xie Shibai’s hand. “Let me see if the skin is broken.”
Xie Shibai turned his head away. After getting the cheese pendant, he only wanted to leave quickly, to get as far away from the Cat as possible. Who knew if Lu Ciheng would suddenly get possessed by a beagle again?
[Why did you two bump hard enough to break skin just by kissing?] [No wonder the whole entertainment industry thinks you two are real rivals; you kissed until the skin peeled off.] [How much force was that?] [What to do if it hurts from bumping?] [Kiss again of course! Hurry up and lick to heal it!] [CP fans are eating a national banquet too!] [Amazing, this advance and retreat, how is it different from going to bed!]
Xie Shibai stood up, wanting to leave as soon as possible, but a sturdy arm lay across his waist, abruptly pinning him down.
Lu Ciheng narrowed his eyes. His palm cupped Xie Shibai’s jaw, lifting it slightly to carefully observe the bumped lip. His thumb ground against it lightly. The next second, his finger was bitten forcefully.
“Hiss.” Lu Ciheng laughed quietly. “Teacher Xie is so fierce?”
After biting once, Xie Shibai leaned back slightly, reaching out to slap Lu Ciheng’s face. “Don’t touch randomly.”
Lu Ciheng’s cheek rubbed lightly against the pale palm. Having been slapped lightly on the face, his emotions were excited and joyous. Firmly holding Xie Shibai’s palm, under his scorching breath, his lips pressed against Xie Shibai’s palm as if pecking kisses.
A slap in exchange for his palm being licked.
Xie Shibai’s breathing rhythm was a bit chaotic. He stared at Lu Ciheng’s actions, stalling for a few seconds.
The next second, a stinging pain came from his palm. Xie Shibai’s eyes widened slightly.
Lu Ciheng bit into Xie Shibai’s palm, neither light nor heavy. His canine teeth scraped across, his nose sniffing the faint fragrance—quenching thirst by gazing at plums.
Just after biting, his face received a solid slap.
Xie Shibai’s fingers curled slightly. His cold, beautiful eyes stared at Lu Ciheng, who now bore a palm print on his face.
Lu Ciheng’s black eyes harbored a thick, dark light. The tip of his tongue pressed against his canine tooth. His excited breathing was rapid, as if exchanging a bite on the hand for a slap was the most cost-effective deal in the world.
Xie Shibai took the cheese pendant back. Lifting his eyes: “Let’s make a bet.”
Lu Ciheng’s shiny black eyes blinked. Whatever Xie Shibai said, he just went mn-mn. Staring at Xie Shibai’s lips, only one thought remained in his head.
Jabbering on about something… want to kiss.
The bullet comments in the livestream room piled up until the font scrolled so fast it was impossible to read clearly.
[Does it have to be this erotic? Holding the hand and kissing—how is this different from really banging!] [Damn, damn, Lu Ciheng got slapped again.] [He’s dying of pleasure.] [Did he lick Teacher Xie’s hand?] [No, he bit Teacher Xie’s hand!] [Damn, damn, Dog Lu you really are a pervert! Let me bite twice ahhh!] [Yellow (lewd) is very reassuring.] [Eating a national banquet again!] [Who still says they are fake? Who else! Antis, speak up! Solo stans, speak up!] [Solo stans can’t speak. Solo stans are dying from shipping it too.] [Person above, don’t drag solo stans into this, you traitor! Solo stans don’t want to watch them kiss!] [Oh, then why don’t you exit? Is it because you don’t want to?] [Total watch time 489 hours. Is this a ‘pure hate’ solo stan? Hating yet staying in the livestream room 24 hours a day? Even going to work isn’t as diligent as you.] [A solo stan who can squat in a livestream for 489 hours will succeed at whatever they do.] [Those who understand, understand. Stanning them separately is also being a solo stan.]
After Xie Shibai walked far away, he touched the bite mark on his palm. He touched his lips; the tips of his ears turned faintly red without him even noticing. He cursed softly in a low voice. The bite mark on his palm wouldn’t fade, and his palm remained filled with heat. The moist breath left after the contact of lips and teeth scorched his skin; no matter what, the bite mark existed.
Xie Shibai exhaled, forcing himself to shift his attention to the map. After confirming the location, he headed toward the safe first.
On the way, he met Mu Zhenzhen, who had split up from Xu Xiangming.
Learning that Xie Shibai had found a map, Mu Zhenzhen was amazed. “There’s actually a map? Eh, wait, Teacher Xie, didn’t Su Xingran follow you?”
Xie Shibai remembered Su Xingran with hindsight. “We met Lu Ciheng and got separated.”
Mu Zhenzhen sucked in a breath of cold air. “He really went to defend against Senior Lu? I was just saying it for fun, he’s actually that bold?”
Xie Shibai: “……”
“Not really.”
He tried, but Lu Ciheng didn’t take the bait. Later, he just followed like a mad dog.
Mu Zhenzhen didn’t ask for details. In the dim light, she felt Xie Shibai’s face seemed a bit red, but having never seen this before, she thought she was seeing things. The two went to find the safe together.
As Xie Shibai guessed, the safe was standard size, not very conspicuous. It was much clearer with the map. Placed in a room among similarly sized cabinets, it would be easy to miss without careful searching.
Mu Zhenzhen tried to open it. Without a password, it was completely impossible. Frustrated, she asked, “Teacher Xie, are there password hints on the map?”
“No.” Xie Shibai observed the map. The map only recorded a small section. Finding the password hints would likely require finding the remaining two map fragments.
The longer time passed, the stronger the uncertainty. They had no way of knowing how many companions were left on the field. With every companion reduced, their danger level would increase.
The two didn’t linger too long and began rummaging for clues one by one. Xu Xiangming joined the search after returning.
Every room was stripped bare as if a goose had been plucked. The three of them didn’t let anything pass that could be flipped or opened until they found the second torn map.
[Their ability to take action is really strong.] [Why haven’t we seen the other two people?] [Su Xingran is still doing ‘King Qin circling the pillar’ (running in circles) with Li Lechi.] [Laughing to death hahaha, they’ve been circling for half an hour, right? Still not over?] [Never mind the water-releasing Dog Lu, the other cat, Qiao, has already defected. She’s watching Mi Qiran guess his safe password.] [Those two, really… always give the feeling of being divorced but not really divorced.] [Don’t ship it yet. Mi Qiran couldn’t guess it and tried to bluff, annoying Qiao Jiayi. She gave him two options: either figure it out, or die.] [Emmm isn’t this shift a bit too fast?] [Reporting Dog Lu for slacking off!] [He got his fix, right? Good boy, kissing his wife so enthusiastically.] [Amazing. This game really gratified him. He got to catch his wife, chase his wife to kiss him, get slapped, and lick his wife’s hand. Annual爽文 (refreshing/gratifying novel).] [Why did Dog Lu go directly to wait by the safe?] [Waiting for a hare under a tree (camping), obviously. Not even pretending anymore.] [I suspect he’s holding back something bad. Either there’s a trick to the password, or he hid the key on himself waiting for Teacher Xie to come find it.] [Damn, so satisfying, can’t you act out two more episodes!]
Xie Shibai and the others opened one safe first. Time was tight, so they decided to split up to find the other safe.
Fortunately, having explored the game scene repeatedly, Xie Shibai could already match the map to most of the routes. He could navigate freely without the map.
Relying on intuition and guesswork, Xie Shibai pushed open a door and saw Lu Ciheng leaning against the safe in a relaxed posture.
Lu Ciheng leaned against the safe, his posture casual. Still bearing the palm print he had dealt him on his face, he greeted him with a smile: “Fate will always let us meet. We meet again, Teacher Xie.”
Clearly camping and waiting, yet he shamelessly attributed it to fate.
Xie Shibai: “……”
[Sure enough, camping. Despicable!] [Not even acting anymore, straight up throwing the game?] [Looking like this, he’s definitely holding back something bad. Just watch what he proposes in exchange for the password.] [In contrast, really only Su Xingran and Li Lechi are playing the game seriously hahahaha.] [Those who understand this game, understand.] [Su Xingran: Is no one going to speak up for me?] [Laughing to death. Still chasing? Over here, the water-releasing is almost finished. The stalemate for half a day was useless.]
Lu Ciheng slowly approached Xie Shibai, his black eyes holding a smile as he lowered his gaze. “No choice. Since I can’t catch Teacher Xie, I can only use a little trick. The process isn’t important; it’s good as long as the result works.”
He leaned forward slightly. The distance between the two closed. In an instant, it recalled the events in the wardrobe. Xie Shibai held his breath, his hand itching to give the other side of Lu Ciheng’s face a slap too—for symmetry.
Lu Ciheng was unhurried, like a beagle raised by a scammer—putting on a harmless face to lure you in, but inside was a Great Demon King. “Do you want the password? Just add another wish. It’s a very good deal.”
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