Chapter 64: Desire for Control
Xie Shibai’s pale fingertips brushed against the black leather choker, touching the skin on the side of Lu Ciheng’s neck. The warm sensation felt like it pulled him back from the icy seawater. The matters of the Xie family seemed to be shut outside the door along with Lu Ciheng’s voice. The temperature of the short-term recording hut was actually warmer than outside.
The pulse under the skin beat powerfully. The other party’s movement of frankly exposing the side of his neck was unreserved, giving Xie Shibai the feeling that even if he deliberately tightened his hand, Lu Ciheng wouldn’t dodge, and would even allow him to take control.
Dangerously fueling the desire for control hidden in Xie Shibai’s bones.
Xie Shibai’s fingers tingled slightly. The temperature belonging to Lu Ciheng transmitted from his fingertips to his spinal cord, alleviating much of the slight nausea caused by breathing the same air as the Xie family. He hooked the choker, finding that the gap could easily accommodate his fingers; it didn’t exist in the way Lu Ciheng claimed, affecting his breathing. He asked, “Where is it tight?”
He felt it could be tightened by another notch.
Lu Ciheng narrowed his eyes. Although Xie Shibai hadn’t pulled him, he still leaned in, offering his neck to the person as if he were an owned beagle wearing a collar. “Strange. It was very tight just now, but it got better as soon as Teacher Xie touched it.”
Xie Shibai: “……”
He let go. In the next second, Lu Ciheng frowned again, revealing the unchanged choker on his neck, his eyes smiling all the while. “It got tight again. Teacher Xie, help me quickly, I’m going to lose my breath.”
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng’s dramatic act. The more he looked, the more he felt Lu Ciheng wearing the collar resembled a noisy beagle, barking werwer and being somewhat annoying.
Did not filming for too long give Lu Ciheng acting withdrawal?
He bypassed Lu Ciheng, expressionless. “Why doesn’t it just choke you to death.”
Lu Ciheng’s lips hooked up, dragging out the ending note: “Teacher Xie, how can you just watch someone die without saving them?”
Xie Shibai petted the drowsy Potato Puppy. “Mn.”
Lu Ciheng followed. “You said you’d help treat my illness before, but now you won’t treat it. Even if I choke to death you won’t save me. Sigh, who made me a discarded husband.”
Xie Shibai: “……”
So noisy.
How exactly did he sign the agreement back then?
“Move, I want to shower.”
Lu Ciheng stuck to him relentlessly, asking, “Teacher Xie, coming back so late, is there anything you want to drink or eat? Are you tired? Is there anywhere on your body that feels uncomfortable?”
Xie Shibai was really getting a bit annoyed. The voice by his ear was simply too loud. For some reason, he could always imagine Lu Ciheng as a beagle barking werwerwerwer, as if he would tear the house down in the next second.
He reached out and hooked the collar on Lu Ciheng’s neck, yanking it tight without mercy.
Lu Ciheng’s breath hitched. His eyes hid a look of as expected; he lowered his head obediently, letting Xie Shibai yank him tight with force, bringing him a slight sense of suffocation. His black eyes shone with a halo of excitement.
Xie Shibai stared at Lu Ciheng for a few seconds. His other hand slid across Lu Ciheng’s cheek. Just by pressing his pale, slightly cool fingers against it, he could easily detect Lu Ciheng’s excitement. What was humiliating slaps to others seemed like a reward to him; getting hit felt very good.
Xie Shibai’s eyes narrowed slightly. He changed the slap to pinching Lu Ciheng’s face, deliberately not wanting to watch him get rewarded. “You are so noisy. Puppies are all very quiet.”
Lu Ciheng pressed the tip of his tongue against his canine teeth, his black eyes sparkling. Being pinched hard on the face felt good too; anything Xie Shibai gave him was a reward to him.
Xie Shibai frowned slightly, unable to help saying, “Lu Ciheng, are you a pervert?”
Being pinched on the face on purpose makes him this happy?
Moreover, being grabbed by the collar and deliberately choked—Xie Shibai could see the side of Lu Ciheng’s neck was slightly red from the collar, yet those amber-tinted eyes shone with excitement. Just the gaze made one curl their fingers as if burned.
Lu Ciheng admitted frankly, “Mn.”
Xie Shibai: “……”
The phone on the table vibrated.
The sudden ringtone interrupted their conversation. It was Lu Ciheng’s phone. Xie Shibai let go of the hand holding Lu Ciheng’s collar. Lu Ciheng was still reluctant to part, but frowned upon seeing the caller ID.
“Teacher Xie, wait for me a moment, I’ll go take a call.”
Xie Shibai’s gaze swept over Lu Ciheng’s phone. Watching him go to the balcony to answer the call, he felt irritable for no reason. He simply found the phone in Lu Ciheng’s hand an eyesore. Even a collar couldn’t control a human-shaped dog.
Should add a chain.
Xie Shibai stared at Lu Ciheng’s back for a few seconds. Suddenly, his spine went cold, and his fingers curled tight, startled into a cold sweat by his own subconscious thoughts.
What was he thinking just now?
Xu Ruixin’s words suddenly surged into his mind.
The Xie family members were born with a strong desire for control. Grandfather Xie, who started from nothing, planned his son’s life down to the minute and second, determined to prune a perfect bonsai.
Xie Huacheng’s resistance against Grandfather Xie turned into repressed control that erupted onto Ming Yu.
The Xie family became a gilded cage, forever trapping a bird.
Xie Shibai held his breath, looking at Lu Ciheng’s back, his fingers ice cold.
A speculation about himself was hidden vaguely in his heart.
He might really be just as Xu Ruixin said.
On the balcony, Lu Ciheng’s face was cold. He instructed Zhuang Bo not to let Ye Yingpu expose any victim information—not even marketing accounts could do it—to prevent secondary harm to people after the exposure.
Zhuang Bo noted it down and simultaneously informed Lu Ciheng of the suspicious points regarding Grandfather Xie’s car accident.
“Should we investigate further?”
Lu Ciheng turned around, noticing the closed bathroom door. “Mn, investigate as soon as possible.”
By the time he finished the call and returned to the room, Xie Shibai was already resting.
Lu Ciheng lightly touched Xie Shibai’s cheek, skillfully pulling the person into his arms. He buried the tip of his nose in the side of Xie Shibai’s neck like huffing a cat, greedily sniffing the clear fragrance.
The pace in the seaside hut was very slow. The only crisis was that aside from seafood, prices at the seaside were high. Their living expenses were about to be overdrawn. Facing a financial crisis, the production team left them channels to earn living expenses: they could catch seafood to sell in town, or work hourly jobs in town. Just like a normal marriage, relying on oneself to exchange for the bread that supports love.
Everyone prioritized catching seafood to obtain food from the sea.
Although catching seafood was convenient for getting food, eating too much seafood really got tiresome. Lu Ciheng also didn’t want the things Xie Shibai ate to be too monotonous, so he actively proposed trying beachcombing, determined to let Xie Shibai eat fresh vegetables.
Perhaps because they had eaten seafood for a while, everyone’s expressions were a bit hesitant at the mention of seafood, but they all supported Lu Ciheng’s decision and went beachcombing with him.
Xie Shibai was assigned a crucial task by Lu Ciheng.
Watch the Potato Puppy and prevent it from running to the seaside to roll in the mud. But the Potato Puppy was very interested in the beach; one moment of inattention and it was prone to running all over the place.
Xie Shibai followed the small path to find it, feeling helpless upon seeing the puppy digging and rolling.
He squatted down and poked the puppy’s head.
Then, he smelled a bit of cigarette smoke.
Qiao Jiayi was standing not far away, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, vastly different from her usual image. Seeing Xie Shibai, she greeted him: “Teacher Xie.”
Xie Shibai nodded in acknowledgement.
Qiao Jiayi stubbed out the cigarette. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly asked, “Teacher Xie, can I ask a question?”
Xie Shibai queried, “What question?”
Qiao Jiayi: “How is your relationship with Senior Lu maintained?”
Xie Shibai was stunned for a few seconds. The question was out of syllabus. “Why ask me?”
Qiao Jiayi: “Feel like your relationship is very successful.”
Xie Shibai fell silent.
He and Lu Ciheng appeared to have a very good relationship?
Qiao Jiayi sighed. “Forget it, our situations are different, there’s no reference value.”
Xie Shibai: “……”
Different? Did she discover that he and Lu Ciheng were in an agreement?
Qiao Jiayi’s addiction to smoking was a bit heavy. She subconsciously touched the cigarette pack, holding it in her hand and squeezing it. “Mi Qiran and I started as a contract romance. Compared to your normal romance, maybe the method was wrong from the start.”
Xie Shibai looked abruptly at Qiao Jiayi, his expression astonished.
The difference was, he and Lu Ciheng were only an agreement.
Their location was a bit remote, and the cameras hadn’t followed them up yet.
Qiao Jiayi simply wanted someone to listen to her: “At the start, the company just wanted to find people to form a CP to stir up heat. They chose the two of us. Fake dating turned to real marriage, and now divorce. Sure enough, a relationship that starts wrong simply can’t last.”
Xie Shibai was a bit distracted. From their position, he could see the beach not far away. Watching Lu Ciheng’s figure, Qiao Jiayi’s words echoed in his mind.
“Agreements won’t have good results?”
Qiao Jiayi murmured, “Mn. The start was wrong, so everything done later is wrong. Thinking about it now, if another person proposed to him, he would also agree to marry them.”
Xie Shibai’s fingers tightened. He had seriously investigated the feasibility of genetic determinism. Furthermore, he already had very obvious thoughts of wanting to control Lu Ciheng. Even a phone call from an unknown person made him feel irritable towards the phone, and he even wanted to carve his own name on Lu Ciheng’s collar.
He should control himself in time.
Xie Shibai bit his nail, staring at Lu Ciheng’s back, his heart filled with anxiety.
Overly conflicting emotions induced a reliance on caffeine. After saying goodbye to Qiao Jiayi, Xie Shibai uncharacteristically drank six cups of coffee in a row.
The taste of instant coffee was worlds apart compared to the coffee Lu Ciheng hand-brewed.
That evening, Lu Ciheng frowned looking at the obviously incorrect number of instant coffee packets in the trash can.
Xie Shibai was emotionally anxious and kept drinking coffee but didn’t ask him for it; instead, he drank this instant coffee he usually despised.
Recalling the day, the words they spoke were few and far between. Lu Ciheng’s eyes darkened. A unique canine intuition made him realize a problem instantly.
Xie Shibai might be avoiding him.
Lu Ciheng narrowed his eyes, his face somewhat cold. He considered himself a person with heavy possessiveness—so heavy he wanted to lock Xie Shibai up every moment so only he could see him, only he could touch him. But once that terrifying possessiveness leaked even a little, it would frighten the person. Everything gained through pestering and stalking could vanish in smoke, so he could only endure and restrain himself.
Detecting Xie Shibai’s tendency to avoid him instantly raised his vigilance. There were already two eyesore rivals in the show; his sense of crisis soared. He couldn’t determine if Xie Shibai had discovered his thoughts and thus wanted to stay far away from him.
But if it really came to that time, Lu Ciheng couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t make a move to lock the person up.
Once a person tastes sweetness, they can’t go back—let alone a mad dog who has put on a collar.
Recommended Reads
