Futile Devices Scans

In the dimly lit room, only heavy breathing could be heard. Sometimes Zhou Ruo An hated his own body. Touches he had once despised so intensely now brought him pleasure with such ease.

The arms braced on either side of his body were covered with darkened skin and dense, mottled marks. Zhou Ruo An raised a hand and gently traced those marks with his fingertips, sliding from the wrist all the way to the chest. Finally, his fingers came to rest over the place where his heart was beating, and he asked softly, “I heard you almost died on the back mountain?”

Lin Yi lowered himself and lightly kissed the corner of Zhou Ruo An’s lips. “That’s not nearly as dramatic as it sounds. I just got bitten by a few mosquitoes.” Pressing close to Zhou Ruo An’s ear, he smoothly changed the subject. “Why did you talk to Ren Yu like that?”

The gentle chastisement brought a lingering pleasure that flowed like a quiet stream. Immersed in it, Zhou Ruo An took a moment to react before smiling. “Thanks to you, I’ve had my meridians opened up. I’ve started thinking that maybe men aren’t so bad after all. Ren Yu is good-looking, refined, highly educated, and useful to me. He’s not a bad choice.”

Looking down at him, Lin Yi saw the blatant provocation shining in those desire-clouded eyes.

Reaching toward the nightstand, he picked up a cigarette pack and casually flicked the lid open with his thumb. Before the cigarette had fully slid out, it was caught between his teeth. It was the sort of slim cigarette that seemed better suited to someone with Zhou Ruo An’s elegant appearance. Normally, it looked slightly out of place clenched between Lin Yi’s fierce features, but now, with the slender cigarette resting between his lips beneath those sharp brows and eyes, it inspired an inexplicable sense of apprehension.

“You like refined men?” Lin Yi opened the bedside drawer and reached inside, rummaging through it. “No wonder you look down on me.”

He pulled out a small black box connected to two thin wires. At the end of each wire was a delicate clip.

The clips were studded with rhinestones that reflected a cold gleam.

Alarm flickered through Zhou Ruo An. For the first time, he regretted speaking without thinking.

He immediately changed his tune.

“Actually, I don’t like refined men that much.”

With the cigarette between his teeth, Lin Yi lifted his eyes and replied in a slightly muffled voice, “Perfect. Then tonight we’ll try the rough type.”

Before Zhou Ruo An could protest, a chill touched his chest. Before he could even demand an explanation, a matching clip had been attached to the other side.

“Lin Yi!” With his hands restrained, Zhou Ruo An could only glare at him. “I told you I don’t like this stuff.”

Lighting the cigarette with one hand, Lin Yi let the blue-gray smoke drift from the corner of his mouth. The cigarette rested between his fingers.

“And I told you before that I don’t like hearing those kinds of jokes from you. Since Young Master Zhou can’t seem to remember, I’ll just have to make a stronger impression.”

With that, he pressed the switch on the box.

A fine electric current surged through him.

At the most sensitive places, amid the faint sting of metal, it felt like an invisible insect delivering tiny bites. At first it was only a small point of sensation on the skin, but soon a tremor like a silver thread spread along his nerves, carrying a strangely gentle sort of aggression as it slowly traveled throughout his body.

Everywhere it passed, sleeping cells seemed to awaken one after another. Every nerve fiber became a vibrating string, playing a secret melody of trembling notes. The sensation felt both like being soaked in warm water and lightly brushed by feathers, making him instinctively curl in on himself.

“How does it feel?” Lin Yi bent down and brushed his lips against Zhou Ruo An’s in intermittent kisses. “We can always turn it up another level.”

“Don’t.” Even Zhou Ruo An’s voice carried a faint tremor. Trying to appease Lin Yi, he tilted his chin upward slightly, making it easier for him to kiss him.

Lin Yi was unmoved.

Pulling back slightly, he studied him.

“You like someone like Ren Yu?”

After taking a drag from his cigarette, he set it in the ashtray and freed a hand to pull Zhou Ruo An closer.

“How much do you like him?”

“Not at all.” A flash of white burst across Zhou Ruo An’s vision, but he still gave the answer most advantageous to himself. “I don’t like Ren Yu.”

Lin Yi’s fingers settled on the control switch. There was not a trace of softness on his face.

“You were praising him just now. Good-looking, refined, highly educated, and useful.”

Before the sentence had even finished, the indicator light for the second setting lit up.

Zhou Ruo An shuddered violently.

It felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart, squeezing it tight before releasing it into a frantic, uncontrollable rhythm.

His breathing grew ragged. His scalp tingled. An indescribable sensation swept through him, equal parts bewildering and alarming.

At last, Lin Yi released his restraint and gathered Zhou Ruo An into his arms. Holding him close, he spoke coolly beside his ear.

“An An, you’ve never complimented me before.”

At that moment, Zhou Ruo An was obedient beyond belief.

Wrapping his arms around Lin Yi, he tilted his head in search of his lips. Once he found them, he spoke against their warmth.

“I’ve always thought you were handsome. You’ve got a great body too.”

Lin Yi’s gaze darkened.

“What else?”

The electric current seemed to have muddled Zhou Ruo An’s thoughts. Growing impatient, he sought a deeper kiss.

“You’re cold to everyone else, but you only indulge me. You’ve always protected me.”

Lin Yi parted his lips slightly, allowing Zhou Ruo An to get what he wanted while still leaving him unsatisfied.

One hand settled at the side of his neck. His thumb lightly pressed against his Adam’s apple.

“What else?”

“And…” Zhou Ruo An opened his hazy eyes and stared deeply at Lin Yi. The current flowing from the black box began at his chest, spread throughout his body, and eventually returned to his ribcage, resonating with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

Listening to the faint tremble of that heartbeat, Zhou Ruo An raised a hand and picked up the solitary cigarette still burning beside them. Bringing it to his lips, he inhaled deeply. His soft words drifted out together with the smoke.

“And… you might be the only person in this world who loves me. The only person who loves a piece of trash like me.”

Lin Yi froze.

Then he kissed him fiercely.

Even as he kissed him, he extinguished the cigarette, pulled him tightly into his arms, and held him there.

“Zhou Ruo An, for once in your damn life, you finally said something human.”

Lin Yi had lost some control.

The last traces of clarity Zhou Ruo An possessed vanished beneath the force of his actions.

His fingers slid frantically across the bed, like a drowning man searching for a lifesaving piece of driftwood. By accident, they brushed against something cool and metallic. Before Zhou Ruo An even realized what he had touched, the indicator light for the third setting on the black box suddenly illuminated, shining with a dazzling brightness.

In an instant, a powerful sensation mixed with faint pain shot through his entire body. Every inch of skin felt as though it were being lightly pricked by countless tiny needles. Goosebumps erupted everywhere, and every hair on his body stood on end.

Zhou Ruo An’s chin lifted high. His toes tightened involuntarily. His entire body became like a bowstring drawn to its limit, helpless and tormented amid the sudden storm.

Lin Yi hurriedly reached to lower the setting, but his wrist was suddenly seized.

Zhou Ruo An caught his hand and guided his fingers into his mouth.

Behind the faint sheen of tears in his eyes lay something deep and dangerous.

Lin Yi heard him say,

“After complimenting you so much, do you want to hear one of your flaws?”

The beautiful young man lifted his gaze and gave a soft, mocking snort.

“You’re pretty average in bed.”

“Fuck.”

Lin Yi laughed.

Lowering his head, he kissed him.

“Looks like I’ll have to work harder.”

On the wall, their shadows shifted constantly beneath the rising moon, while the fingers gripping the floral bedsheets tightened more and more…

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