Futile Devices Scans

Lin Yi grabbed Zhou Ruo An by the tie and violently slammed him into the entryway.

The security door crashed shut behind them with a thunderous bang. A twist of his fingers, and the lock clicked into place.

Zhou Ruo An’s back struck the wall. He let out a muffled grunt, but with tape over his mouth, all the curses were trapped in his throat.

His hands were pinned above his head by Lin Yi and held firmly against the cold wall. Their chests were pressed tightly together, and Zhou Ruo An could clearly feel a heartbeat that was not his own, pounding violently against his chest again and again.

Lin Yi’s breath was close enough to touch—warm, damp, carrying a faint trace of alcohol mixed with the lingering chill of the outdoors. It felt like a warning of danger, instantly tightening every one of Zhou Ruo An’s nerves.

He tried to turn his head away and avoid Lin Yi’s burning gaze, but the other man seemed to have anticipated it. Lowering his head slightly, his nose nearly brushed Zhou Ruo An’s ear. “Now you know how to hide? Then why didn’t you dodge when that woman tried to kiss you?”

Zhou Ruo An’s brows knitted sharply, fury blazing in his eyes. Without hesitation, he slammed his forehead toward Lin Yi with all his strength. Caught off guard, Lin Yi instinctively twisted aside, and the force restraining him loosened slightly. Seizing the brief opening, Zhou Ruo An exploded into motion and tore his wrists free.

Ripping the tape from his mouth, he nearly roared, “Lin Yi, what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

His pale skin had flushed crimson with anger, as though scorched by fire. Even the tips of his ears were red. “She was a spy Zhou Ran Ming planted beside me. I was just putting on a show.” Every word was bitten off with force, as if he wanted to carve the sentence into Lin Yi’s skull. “You think I don’t know what she’s trying to do? You think I’m stupid enough to let her lead me around by the nose?”

Lin Yi leaned forward slightly. “A spy? Then why did you panic when you saw me, hmm?” His thumb ground heavily across Zhou Ruo An’s lips. “Does putting on a show require kissing?”

“Panic?” Zhou Ruo An suddenly laughed, though ice filled his eyes. “Lin Yi, have you really started treating me like your personal property? Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to interfere in my private life or care whether I have women around me?” He seized Lin Yi by the collar. “Not only will I kiss them, I’ll do much more with them in the future. On the day I get married, I’ll personally send you a wedding invitation, Brother Lin.”

The expression on Lin Yi’s face instantly froze. After a long silence, he took a step back, shedding the oppressive pressure around him. “That’s my fault for being cheap. I forgot what kind of person Zhou Ruo An is.” His gaze swept over the wrinkles in Zhou Ruo An’s collar. “Do you remember the promise you made when you asked me for help? No one by your side for half a year. Forgotten already?”

Zhou Ruo An slowly straightened his shirt, though his fingers trembled faintly. “Half a year?” He looked up, mockery in his eyes. “Half a year becomes another half a year, then another. Lin Yi, are you planning to keep me locked beside you for the rest of my life? I’m a normal man, not some perverted homosexual!”

“Zhou Ruo An.” Lin Yi’s voice became calm again, as though merely stating a fact. “I shouldn’t have trusted you. And I shouldn’t have gone soft.”

A chill suddenly ran through Zhou Ruo An. This version of Lin Yi was terrifying. He cast a glance toward the apartment door and quietly shifted his footing.

Yet the taller man effortlessly blocked his path. A hand under his chin forced his head upward.

Right. Against Lin Yi, there had never been any escape route. What a joke.

As fear receded, anger rushed in to fill the void. Raising a hand, he clamped down on Lin Yi’s wrist and met his gaze directly. “So what now? Going to force yourself on me again? Besides this kind of method, what else are you capable of?”

“What else?” Lin Yi’s thumb slowly stroked the skin along his jaw. His voice was as light as a feather. “People like us perverts naturally do things that are even more perverted.”

“What else?” Lin Yi’s thumb slowly stroked the skin along his jaw. His voice was as light as a feather. “People like us perverts naturally do things that are even more perverted.”

Before the words had fully fallen, he suddenly exerted force. One hand twisted Zhou Ruo An’s arm behind his back and shoved downward. Caught completely off guard, Zhou Ruo An was dragged forward. His knees hit the floor with a heavy thud, and his forehead slammed against Lin Yi’s thigh. In that instant, it felt as though his spine had been snapped in half.

“Kneel properly.” The low command crashed down from above.

Zhou Ruo An froze. “What are you trying to do?” He struggled to stand, but Lin Yi’s hand pressed against the back of his neck, fingers buried deep in his hair.

Then the man extended a leg and planted his foot firmly behind Zhou Ruo An’s knee. With a hard push downward—

“Lin Yi, you motherfucker!”

The knee that had just lifted from the floor was forced back down.

“An An, be good. Don’t make me hurt you.”

Zhou Ruo An suddenly lifted his head to glare up at the tall man. Grinding his teeth, he mocked, “When Old Ding died, I knelt. One more time for you won’t make any difference.”

Lin Yi lifted Zhou Ruo An’s chin. There was no warmth in the gaze that fell upon him, while his free hand slowly moved to his own belt.

“An An, the way you still think so innocently feels unfamiliar to me.”

Zhou Ruo An’s expression froze instantly. His face turned pale as paper as he stared at the hand undoing the buckle. “Lin Yi, you’re going to…?” He shook his head. “No.”

Lin Yi kept his left foot pressed against Zhou Ruo An’s leg, forcing him to remain kneeling before him, unable to stand.

“I always worried you wouldn’t be able to accept it, so I never made you do it before. But since I’m a pervert, I don’t have the luxury of caring anymore.”

The belt loosened.

Terror flashed through Zhou Ruo An’s eyes. He struggled desperately, trying to break free, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

Lin Yi gripped his jaw.

“Open your mouth.”

Zhou Ruo An’s face turned livid. His eyes looked ready to spit fire. Clenching his fists, he threatened through trembling lips, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll bite it off?”

Forcing his jaw open with his fingers, Lin Yi replied, “Then we’ll both become eunuchs. Even then, I’ll find other ways to do whatever I want to you.”

“Don’t.” Zhou Ruo An’s voice grew increasingly unclear. “Lin Yi… please.”

Lin Yi’s expression remained cold and unmoved.

He struggled. He resisted. He bit. In the end, all that remained was numb endurance.

After kneeling for so long, his knees felt as though needles were stabbing into them. Eventually he could no longer support himself and slumped sideways, only to be yanked upright again by his hair. His chin was forced high once more, his posture arranged all over again…

Afterward, Zhou Ruo An was dragged into the bathroom.

Lin Yi helped him sit against the wall, then lifted the toilet lid and turned on the water.

Zhou Ruo An remained dazed, staring blankly at the stream of water. Only after Lin Yi had straightened his clothes and flushed the toilet did he pour him a glass of water.

“Rinse.”

A beat too slow, Zhou Ruo An accepted the glass. He lifted it to his lips, then lowered it again. Looking up at the cold-faced man before him, he gathered all his strength and finally managed to speak. His voice was hoarse, as though scraped raw by iron.

“Lin Yi. From today onward, we are irreconcilable enemies.”

Supporting himself on the sink, he rose to his feet and stared directly at the taller man.

“One day I’ll marry, have children, and live my life. And you? You’re nothing more than a flea in my life. A tiny, disgusting flea.”

“A flea?”

Lin Yi stepped forward.

“Are fleas usually this big?”

Before Zhou Ruo An could respond, Lin Yi grabbed him by the collar.

“Looks like An An still has plenty of energy left. Then don’t waste it talking tough.”

Zhou Ruo An was thrown onto the bed. Zhang Jin’s old alarm clock sat on the bedside table. The cheap two-yuan battery had somehow lasted for over a year. As the wooden bed shook, the clock hands continued advancing one tick at a time…

By dawn, even the dogs in the urban village had not begun barking yet.

Lin Yi stood beside the bed, fastening his buttons. Looking at the figure beneath the blanket, he said,

“Yesterday you called yourself my property, didn’t you? That’s right. Zhou Ruo An, you are my property now. Every time you get involved with a woman, I’ll lock you up once. Don’t fool yourself into thinking I won’t. When I say something, I mean it.”

He walked to the door, then turned back.

“Oh, and don’t try any childish revenge schemes. I’m too busy to deal with you lately.”

The apartment door opened.

Then closed.

Lin Yi’s footsteps gradually faded away.

An arm emerged from the tangled blanket. A glittering men’s bracelet encircled the wrist.

The bracelet was removed and hurled at the wall with all the strength he could muster.

After that motion, the arm seemed completely drained of energy. It fell limply onto the blanket. A long while later, as though gathering one last bit of strength, the hand fumbled through the clothes on the bedside table, found a phone, and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly.

Bai Ban’s listless voice came through.

“Brother Zhou, what’s up? I just got off work at the bar. I’m exhausted. Please don’t tell me you’re assigning me something.”

“Nothing important.” Zhou Ruo An’s voice was hoarse, like scorched earth struck by lightning. “Let’s get a drink sometime.”

“Sure. When?”

Zhou Ruo An casually named a time.

Then added, “Oh, right. Don’t bring your brother. He’s pretty busy lately.”

Bai Ban’s voice suddenly dropped lower, sounding mysterious.

“Yeah, he really is busy lately. Then it’ll just be the two of us.”

“Okay.”

Previous

Main

Next