Chapter 45
In the car.
Shen Yan sat quietly in the passenger seat, glancing nervously at the man beside him from time to time.
Su Yunzhe’s face was calm, cold, and distant, giving nothing away.
But the more he tried to keep his composure, the more uneasy Shen Yan became.
What exactly was Su Yunzhe trying to do?
He had suddenly appeared, inexplicably beaten Duan Yang, and then said no more than three sentences. Then, he went full “cold, domineering CEO mode,” not even giving any hint through his gaze. He simply dragged Shen Yan out of the bookstore, into the car, and had driven in silence ever since.
Shen Yan looked out the window at the increasingly desolate surroundings, his anxiety rising. Was Su Yunzhe planning to take him somewhere remote to vent his anger and kill him?
When people get nervous, their memories become extremely sharp. Shen Yan suddenly recalled an event from the original book involving Duan Yang. Once, during filming, the wires broke, and Duan Yang fell from a height of three stories. Though he only broke a leg—thanks to the protagonist halo, which ended up strengthening his bond with the original lead—the incident had been orchestrated by Su Yunzhe, who had intended to kill Duan Yang.
Then, remembering how Su Yunzhe had been so brutal when beating Duan Yang, Shen Yan could no longer sit still. Instinctively, he shifted his stiff body away from the man and cleared his throat. He cautiously tried, “Um… where are we going?”
At that moment, he regretted his words.
Why had he foolishly said “do as you wish”? He should have resisted a little more!
After all, the bookstore had been a public place, and there were people there who weren’t familiar with him—editors, publishers—Su Yunzhe couldn’t possibly kill him in front of them, could he?
Although, judging by the fact that no one had dared to speak or intervene when Su Yunzhe had pulled him away, they probably just filmed everything to have evidence if something happened.
But at least there was evidence!
Now, who knew what Su Yunzhe had in mind for him?
Unaware of Shen Yan’s spiraling thoughts, Su Yunzhe turned his head and glanced at him. His voice was as indifferent as always. “There’s a mountain up ahead. It hasn’t been developed yet. A while ago, I heard some people say they saw wolves around here at night, though I’m not sure if it’s true.”
“Wolves? You’re kidding, right? How could there be wolves around here? The area around B City has been developed for years—there are no wild animals left,” Shen Yan instinctively retorted.
But before he could finish his sentence, the car took a turn and entered a narrow, hidden dirt road. The surroundings grew even more desolate, and in the distance, he could see a bald mountain looming under the darkening sky.
There was no sign of life around, no buildings in sight—only the occasional eerie cry of a bird.
Shen Yan swallowed nervously, looking at Su Yunzhe with a pale face. His voice trembled, “Su Yunzhe, what… what are you planning to do? Killing people is illegal, and you’ll have to pay for it.”
“I know,” Su Yunzhe responded calmly.
Shen Yan froze, wondering if Su Yunzhe didn’t quite understand him. He quickly continued, “Even if you don’t do it yourself, if you cause someone’s death through your actions, it’s still considered murder. And you can’t think this place is so remote that no one will notice, right? The law always catches up. Someone will find the body eventually.”
“Body?” Su Yunzhe turned his head to look at him, a half-smile on his lips. “Have you ever heard of wolves eating people and leaving behind a body?”
Shen Yan’s vivid imagination immediately conjured up a gruesome image: him being bitten on the neck by a wolf, blood pouring out. He instinctively touched his neck, uncertain, “Well, the bones should still remain, right? With the technology we have today, they’ll definitely find some trace. And when they do, you won’t be able to get away.”
Su Yunzhe seemed to think this over, nodding thoughtfully. “You’re right! So, what should we do with the bones?”
Suddenly, he stopped the car, furrowing his brows as if genuinely considering the question.
Shen Yan was truly scared now. Seeing that Su Yunzhe was seriously pondering how to dispose of the body, he quickly reached for the car door to escape, noticing it wasn’t locked.
But in the next moment, something seemed to cross his mind, and he hesitated. His hand retracted, and he glanced back at Su Yunzhe, who was still lost in thought over how to get rid of the evidence. Shen Yan gingerly extended a finger and tapped Su Yunzhe’s sleeve, then immediately pulled it back. His voice was soft and submissive, “Su Yunzhe, how about… you just beat me up, like you did with Duan Yang earlier? I know, I might be worse than Duan Yang, but you can hit me twice if you want. Three times even, just… not all at once.”
Su Yunzhe finally stopped considering his options, looking at Shen Yan. “Why aren’t you running? The door’s unlocked.”
Uh…
Where could he run to? There was no village in sight, and the car was still moving. Where could he go? If he could run, would he be here, stuck with Su Yunzhe?
Of course, Shen Yan didn’t voice his thoughts. He gave a nervous smile and said, “I already said I was wrong, right? And that I’d let you do whatever you want. What I said counts, doesn’t it?”
“Even if I leave you out here for the wolves?” Su Yunzhe asked.
Shen Yan stared at him, hoping to see some sign of joking in Su Yunzhe’s calm, unreadable face, but there was none.
At that moment, Su Yunzhe reminded him of the man he had first met—his expression always cold, and the things he said could only be taken at face value, without any deeper meaning.
Shen Yan hadn’t seen this side of Su Yunzhe in a long time.
He wasn’t sure when it had changed, but somewhere along the way, Su Yunzhe had stopped acting like a cold, domineering CEO around him. The smiles became more frequent than the frowns, and no matter what Shen Yan did or said, Su Yunzhe never got angry with him.
But now?
It seemed he was really angry this time… and maybe he wouldn’t forgive him.
Shen Yan felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He lowered his head and stayed silent for a while, then gritted his teeth and nodded. “Okay. Even if you throw me into the mountains for the wolves, I’ll stand by my words!”
Su Yunzhe looked at him, his eyes darkening. “Good to see you’re prepared. We’ll be there soon. Don’t regret it.”
Shen Yan didn’t say anything else, simply gazing out the window, his mind preoccupied.
Now, the fear and anxiety that had gripped him earlier seemed less important. Another feeling slowly took its place—disappointment.
In the end, it was clear—Su Yunzhe could never accept him being a man.
Although Shen Yan had known this would be the outcome for a long time, facing it now still didn’t make it easier. It was as if, deep down, he had held onto some hope.
Hope that…
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly, feeling foolish for still clinging to that illusion.
Su Yunzhe didn’t throw him into the mountains for the wolves, mostly because there were no wolves in the area.
The road came to an end, and on the far side of a mountain, there was a villa—it belonged to Su Yunzhe.
Su Yunzhe parked the car in the garage and got out, only to realize that Shen Yan was still staring off into space.
He didn’t disturb him. Instead, he walked around, opened the passenger door, unbuckled Shen Yan’s seatbelt, and simply hoisted him over his shoulder, turning to carry him inside.
Dizzy from the sudden movement, Shen Yan finally snapped back to reality and realized he was being carried.
What the hell!?
He almost screamed in shock and instinctively tried to break free, but Su Yunzhe slapped him on a sensitive spot and coldly warned, “Don’t move.”
The sting in Shen Yan’s backside made him quickly lose all desire to fight back. The reality of his situation hit him hard, and he slumped like a defeated quail, hanging his head and remaining still.
Once inside, Su Yunzhe dumped him onto the couch. Shen Yan shifted uncomfortably, trying to rest on the side of his body that wasn’t sore, but still kept his head down, looking like he had given up.
“Here’s your chance to explain. Based on your explanation, I’ll decide what to do with you,” Su Yunzhe said, sitting opposite him casually, his eyes half-lidded as he watched Shen Yan.
Shen Yan hesitated before slowly lifting his head. He met Su Yunzhe’s gaze, which was as unreadable as ever. Su Yunzhe’s posture was relaxed, but his eyes were intent.
Shen Yan bit his lip, thinking for a moment, and then decided to try one last time to explain.
“When I first met you, I had just escaped from Duan Yang’s villa. He’s crazy—he didn’t want to divorce me and locked me up. I tried everything to escape, but I couldn’t get out. In the end, I stole a wig and skirt from the housekeeper and dressed up as a girl to trick them. But they caught on quickly and chased after me, so I had no choice but to run into the street and flag down a car. And… I ran into you. You saw that my wallet fell, but you deliberately didn’t tell me…”
“You blaming me?” Su Yunzhe interrupted slowly.
“No, no,” Shen Yan quickly shook his head. “I mean, at the time, I didn’t have any money, and I was afraid Duan Yang would catch me, so I thought I might as well dress up as a girl and find a job. I could make some money to get by, and it would keep Duan Yang from finding me. I… I really didn’t mean to deceive you.”
The words seemed to get stuck in Shen Yan’s throat. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he wasn’t trying to lie. He paused, then something inside him shifted, and he looked up at Su Yunzhe. “Forget it, there’s no point in explaining now. The truth is, I deceived you—from the very beginning, and even later on. In the end, I wronged you, and I apologize.”
Su Yunzhe didn’t respond right away. He simply asked, “When you ran, were you escaping from Duan Yang, or from me?”
Shen Yan hadn’t expected Su Yunzhe to ask that, but now that everything had come to this, he wasn’t going to hide anything.
“From you.”
“Why?”
“I knew you had started liking me as if I were a woman. But if I stayed and didn’t tell you the truth, I’d be a scumbag, deceiving your feelings. I didn’t want to be that kind of person. But I also didn’t have the courage to tell you the truth. Everyone knows how much you hate homosexuals. If you found out you’d been deceived by a man, could you forgive me? So, after thinking it over, I decided I had to run.”
Su Yunzhe listened quietly and then nodded indifferently. “Okay, I understand most of it. So…”
He stood up and walked over to Shen Yan. He bent down, one hand bracing the back of the couch as he leaned in close, locking eyes with Shen Yan.
“Now, are you ready to let me do whatever I want with you?”
Shen Yan instinctively shrank back. He met Su Yunzhe’s emotionless gaze, and his heart started racing wildly in his chest.
He thought, whatever is going to happen, will happen. It’s better to face it now than to suffer longer.
So, with a resigned sigh, he nodded. “Do whatever you want.”
Then, closing his eyes, he braced himself for whatever cruel punishment Su Yunzhe had in store for him.
What would Su Yunzhe do? He couldn’t possibly really kill him… could he?
Shen Yan froze entirely, clearly feeling soft lips pressing against his, the familiar scent surrounding him.
He opened his eyes in disbelief and found himself face to face with Su Yunzhe’s long, thick eyelashes, only inches away.
Su Yunzhe… wasn’t he supposed to be getting revenge on him?
Why was he kissing him?
What kind of revenge was this?
Shen Yan’s mind went blank, struggling to process the situation, but before he could make sense of anything, his lips betrayed him, accepting the kiss.
It wasn’t until Su Yunzhe adjusted his grip around his waist, shifting to a more comfortable position before kissing him again, that Shen Yan snapped out of his daze. He pushed against Su Yunzhe’s chest with both hands, his eyes fogged and confused. “You… you… what are you doing?”
Su Yunzhe’s voice was a little hoarse as he whispered near his ear, “Didn’t you say I could do whatever I want? Well, I’m planning to… first, have my way with you, then, kill you.”
Shen Yan was stunned. What was going on here?
He had imagined a thousand ways Su Yunzhe might get back at him, but he never once considered this.
How could this be?
Su Yunzhe… was this really happening?
No, no way…
No way this could be happening!
Just as Shen Yan was still processing his confusion, Su Yunzhe had already started to remove his clothes.
Panicked, Shen Yan grabbed Su Yunzhe’s interfering hand, his eyes wide with alarm. “Su Yunzhe, you… you’re… kidding, right? I’m a man, seriously… damn!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Su Yunzhe had already taken matters into his own hands, verifying his words. Afterward, he nodded in satisfaction, “I believe you now!”
