Chapter 39: Yu Deng, His
Just as he was about to arrive, a waterfall of rain poured down on the car’s windshield. The wipers were old and did very little; he could hardly see the road ahead.
Zhou Yuejun’s heart was with Yu Deng. Fearing that Yu Deng would get soaked while waiting for the bus, his only thought was to pick him up as quickly as possible.
He pulled the car over to the curb, grabbed an umbrella, and sprinted toward the library.
The moment he stepped out of the car, he was drenched to the bone, yet he didn’t care at all.
Zhou Yuejun knew the types of novels Yu Deng liked to read, so he headed straight for those few rows of bookshelves. When he couldn’t find him, he began searching the entire bookstore.
By now, there were very few people left in the shop.
Yu Deng was good-looking—the kind of person everyone had to take a second look at—so Zhou Yuejun went to find the clerk at the entrance.
“Have you seen a very well-behaved boy? He’s carrying a pink bag and comes up to about here on me.”
Zhou Yuejun gestured to his own neck. Yu Deng really wasn’t tall; he was a tiny little thing. He must have suffered abuse when he was younger.
The clerk immediately had an image in mind when Zhou Yuejun mentioned a “very well-behaved kid.”
“Are you talking about the boy who likes to wear short pants?”
Yu Deng loved wearing shorts; he found long pants too hot.
Zhou Yuejun: “Yes. Has he left?”
The clerk thought back. “He just left. Maybe… five minutes ago?”
Learning that he had only been gone for five minutes, Zhou Yuejun assumed Yu Deng had already gone to catch the bus. He thanked the clerk and quickly ran out.
If he was fast enough, he could still catch him at the station.
However, the station was empty. He chased down the previous bus but couldn’t find him on it either.
He searched all the way back home. For such a short distance, he didn’t even think to use his umbrella, charging straight through the rain.
For some reason, Zhou Yuejun felt an intense unease in his heart—a sense of panic and trepidation. He felt as though something was about to happen.
“Xiao Zhou?”
“Is that you, Xiao Zhou?”
Zhou Yuejun’s footsteps were halted by the shop lady at the general store.
She tilted her head, trying to discern Zhou Yuejun’s features from the disheveled face of the “drowned rat.”
Once she confirmed it was him, she raised her voice and shouted loudly.
“Xiao Yu called just now! He said the rain was too heavy, so he’s staying at a friend’s house tonight and won’t be back. He told you not to worry.”
The moment Zhou Yuejun heard Yu Deng’s name, he had ducked under the shop’s awning. Thus, he heard the lady’s words loud and clear.
The shock in Zhou Yuejun’s heart was louder than the booming thunder that seemed ready to split the sky.
He trembled with a horrific chill, then muttered to himself in a daze, “Not coming back?”
Did she mean he wasn’t coming back tonight, or was he never coming back?
He knew all too well the gap between himself and Qiao Fangyu.
Qiao Fangyu came from a wealthy family; the cheapest shoes he wore cost seventy or eighty yuan. He would surely take good care of Yu Deng.
So, had Yu Deng been lured away by Qiao Fangyu?
Zhou Yuejun’s pupils constricted, and his heart pounded with fear. Even the shop lady noticed something was wrong.
“Are you alright?”
Zhou Yuejun snapped out of his daze, his gaze turning dark and sinister. “Is there a phone?”
The lady scrutinized his expression and quickly added, “Yes, I wrote down the number. You should give him a call back.”
When Zhou Yuejun’s call reached the Qiao household, Qiao Fangyu’s mother answered.
“I’m looking for Yu Deng.”
His voice was so gloomy and bone-chillingly cold that it made Mother Qiao’s skin crawl instantly.
“Looking for Yu Deng? He’s upstairs taking a shower right now. You might have to wait a moment.”
Zhou Yuejun couldn’t wait.
The heavy rain had collapsed the trellis on the rooftop terrace.
Mother Qiao had planted some flowers and vegetables there. Having put so much effort into them, she naturally didn’t want them to be ruined by the rain or crushed by the frame.
She, Father Qiao, and the family maid were busy re-pulling the canopy to save the vegetables.
Downstairs, Yu Deng sat on the sofa, drinking the ginger soup Qiao Fangyu had handed him.
The ginger soup had red dates and rock sugar added to it; the taste was spicy yet slightly sweet. It felt warm as it traveled through his body.
However, because the air conditioning was on, he didn’t feel hot.
Since Yu Deng’s clothes were wet, he had changed into a set of new pajamas.
They were a pair Qiao Fangyu had never worn, and they were a bit large on him—loose and baggy. Even with the buttons done up, the collar draped low, revealing a large portion of his chest.
His skin was white; even in a dim environment, it was dazzlingly white, comparable to porcelain glaze.
When he curled his legs up, a section of his calves was exposed—the color of lotus roots and exceptionally tender.
“Dengdeng, eat some beef jerky to tide you over. My mom and the others are upstairs fixing the canopy.”
Yu Deng nibbled on the jerky while watching a program on the color TV. Only then did he remember the call Zhou Yuejun hadn’t picked up.
He had called the construction site first, then the shop, and even the dance hall, but Zhou Yuejun hadn’t received any of them.
He lifted his bottom off the sofa. Just as he was about to walk toward the phone, there was a loud bang on the door.
Qiao Fangyu acted quickly. “I’ll get it.”
He was still immersed in the joy of bringing Yu Deng home tonight, unaware that the moment the door opened, he would feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The beautiful dream turned into a nightmare, all because of the man standing there—soaked and eerily strange.
Zhou Yuejun… really looked like a ghost—a vengeful spirit shrouded in a thousand years of resentment.
His lifeless, lightless eyes swept over Qiao Fangyu. The bone-chilling sensation was like a maggot clinging to the bone.
“Where is Yu Deng?”
His voice was cold. Even the rain had a temperature, but he did not.
Yu Deng vaguely heard his name. Without even having time to put on slippers, he ran toward the door.
But his heart sank heavily, filled with a trepidation that bordered on fear.
Now that Zhou Yuejun was here, Qiao Fangyu knew he couldn’t keep Yu Deng. As he stepped aside, he pouted slightly.
Yu Deng’s eyes didn’t stray from Zhou Yuejun for a second. “How did you…”
The man before him looked as if he had just emerged from the water. His hair was a mess, water dripped from his jaw, and his clothes clung to his skin. He didn’t look exactly pathetic—in fact, there was a certain raw, sensual quality to him.
Zhou Yuejun’s cold eyes narrowed, focusing on Yu Deng’s clothes.
He changed into pajamas?
It seemed he really intended to stay the night at Qiao Fangyu’s house.
Zhou Yuejun suppressed his inner violence, his tone merely stiff and harsh. “Come here. We’re going home.”
His forceful tone brooked no argument; one could only be pressured into compliance.
Qiao Fangyu was more alert than Yu Deng. Sensing the murderous, bloody aura emanating from Zhou Yuejun, he felt uneasy and grabbed Yu Deng’s arm.
“Don’t go with him.” The hostility was palpable.
It was this very action that completely enraged the man.
The physical contact and the act of protection caused Zhou Yuejun’s rationality to be devoured by resentment.
He just wanted to raise his foot and kick Qiao Fangyu to death.
Yu Deng, however, broke free a step ahead of him. “I have to go back.”
Then, he took a step forward, looking as if he were about to throw himself onto Zhou Yuejun.
But after seeing Zhou Yuejun’s expression clearly, he became a bit frightened, acting timidly.
Zhou Yuejun’s anger was doused slightly, making it barely tolerable.
He loosened his clenched fist, wanting to arrogantly pull Yu Deng to his side and declare his sovereignty.
Yu Deng was his.
“Not coming with me?” How laughable.
Zhou Yuejun’s face was filled with mockery and bitterness. “Dengdeng, are you coming?”
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