Chapter 2
At the end of the alley, the school bully Lian Yun was suddenly hugged from behind.
His eyes were covered, and fear made his whole body stiff.
"Did you cancel your account to avoid me?" The voice was cold, yet distinctly familiar. "I've found you."
How could he be the top student in the grade?
Ye Lingchen, whose radiance was as bright as the moon atop a mountain peak.
How could it be him, making himself use rope to trace patterns of skin beneath his shirt, winding like rose vines?
How could it be him? He held his tail high and lightly swept it across the camera.
Unbelievable tears soaked the other person's palm, and Lianyun was suddenly released.
Did I scare you?
When his eyelashes drooped, they resembled ink lines drawn by a brush. Ye Lingchen's expression was indifferent, and his voice was as cold as a spring.
Despite making so many unreasonable demands, the man's gaze remained unmoved, as if burning incense before a Buddha.
Perfect as a jade sculpture, clear as a new moon.
Was he really the one who said those things?
When the fingertips touched her cheek, Lian Yun's heart pounded, and she couldn't help but slightly pull away.
Ye Lingchen didn't touch himself, but instead withdrew his hand.
“Rope marks are a type of avant-garde art.” The young man paused. “It might sound a bit hard to accept, but it’s a very serious genre.”
"But of course, it's hard to find models, so I had no choice but to resort to this."
His pupils, like molten amber, were enough to draw moths to a flame at dusk.
"Moreover, your body lines are so beautiful that it's impossible to look away."
It's so beautiful.
It's so captivating that you can't take your eyes off it.
Even though it's something that goes too far, why does my heart still race when I hear what the other person says?
Lian Yun warned himself to stay calm, but Ye Lingchen invited him to his home to see the rope-marked artwork.
But he forgot to refuse.
Lian Yun knew that the Ye family was very prominent, but when he actually saw the other party's house, he couldn't help but be stunned.
It is a Su family garden villa with ever-changing scenery, where the wind rustles through the bamboo groves and roses bloom on the trellis.
In the courtyard, koi carp exhale shimmering golden bubbles, creating countless ripples.
Ye Lingchen led him into the dark room in the study.
Several photographs and paintings hang inside, their intricate and delicate textures and clean, sacred tones suggesting that believers have imprinted their prayers on their skin.
It is indeed the work of a top-tier artist.
Lian Yun turned her head and was surprised to see Ye Lingchen's drawing of herself in the corner.
His face was only visible at the chin, his shirt billowing like smoke, beneath which countless bruises snaked.
It's as if flames are emerging from beneath her skin, giving birth to rosebuds that burn themselves out.
And a single tear, falling there, teetering on the verge of falling.
The brushstrokes were pure and beautiful, like depicting a fragile mirage, leaving even the clouds stunned.
The dark room was small. He took a slight step back, but bumped into Ye Lingchen.
The other person gently supported his waist, and then quickly let go.
Ye Lingchen said his family disliked his painting and photography, and he didn't know how many of his works had been burned.
But this is the only dream he wants to hold onto.
His expression didn't change much; he just lowered his eyes.
Like a tiny, gloomy insect hidden in thick eyelashes, it gnaws at Lianyun's heart.
You must really like it to show such a forlorn expression.
“Me,” Lian Yun said, taking Ye Lingchen’s sleeve. “I can be your model.”
Ye Lingchen paused for a moment, then slightly curled the corners of his lips.
Like thousands of golden butterflies fluttering their wings, the sunlight in the youth's eyes dissipated, revealing a deep, dark valley.
He said, "Okay."
**
Ye Lingchen helped Lian Yun's father transfer to a better hospital, and the cost was actually lower than before.
The compensation given to Lian Yun was also tripled.
"But what I want to do next is sculpture."
Ye Lingchen was very tall, and when he looked down at people, he had a somewhat distant and condescending air about him.
"Is that alright? For structural accuracy, I need to use my hands to confirm the details of your body."
The other person paused for a moment, and Lian Yun thought it might be because her face was burning.
"If you mind, I can cover my eyes."
Ye Lingchen's eyes were calm, like the moon reflected in a clear river.
"Of course, you can refuse."
Lian Yun shook his head.
For some reason, he trusted him a lot.
Perhaps it was because of the help the other person had given me, or perhaps it was because of the purity in their eyes.
Perhaps because he is the softest secret in Lianyungang's heart.
But when she was actually pinned down, her skin wrapped in a plain gauze shirt, Lianyun felt as if she were on fire.
Outside, cypress trees sway in the wind, and light filters through the carved windows, making dusk feel like a glassy rain shower, showering down on the skin.
Ye Lingchen was wearing a black eye mask and his lips were very light in color.
His nose was high and straight, with a jade-like sheen, and his features resembled a temple sculpture shrouded in shadow.
Long, slender fingertips first slipped inside the back of her neck, gently caressing her a few times, before slowly sliding down to her shoulder, bringing a warm, sandy touch.
The man leaned closer, his breath brushing against her neck, his hot palms gradually pressing against her waist.
Almost falling into the man's arms, Lian Yun involuntarily stiffened, her breathing becoming disordered.
Ye Lingchen's other hand gently encircled his wrist, his five fingers gradually probing between his fingers, like silver fish swimming between them.
Lian Yun's heart pounded as the other person's fingertips caressed the calluses on each of his fingertips.
The gentle touch almost made his heart froth with cream.
When their palms touched, Lian Yun wondered, does this count as holding hands?
He was almost intoxicated by Ye Lingchen's aura, and his whole body was somewhat tipsy.
In the sea of my heart, thousands of silver fish swim through the coral reefs, and ripples spread throughout my body.
When Ye Lingchen removed his hands, Lian Yun actually wished that the other's fingertips could linger a little longer.
If she got any closer, Ye Lingchen would kiss her—
This thought, like a bolt of lightning, startled Lianyun, who was burning up and breathing erratically.
Ye Lingchen's expression was aloof and cold, like a cold peak reflecting the moon.
Is the other person truly acting for art, while I'm the one who's thinking?
Lian Yun felt ashamed of his own distracting thoughts.
He knew that if things continued like this, he would lose control of his suppressed emotions and sooner or later completely destroy their relationship.
Finally, he and Ye Lingchen became friends.
That's not right.
Lian Yun shoved Ye Lingchen away, grabbed a coat and wrapped it around himself, then ran out.
Ye Lingchen only considered her as a friend and a model.
Don't overthink it.
Unwilling to lose himself in the repeated encounters, Lian Yun deliberately avoided Ye Lingchen whenever he sought him out in the following days.
Ye Lingchen would send messages every day to inquire about things, whether it was something to do, needing to go home, or feeling unwell, but Lian Yun would refuse with various excuses.
My father has found a kidney donor for the surgery, and the funds have been raised. The donor has already helped us so much.
We can't ask for anything more.
So when his father suggested that he go on a blind date and get engaged to his former neighbor, he did not refuse.
He knew his family needed to get rid of debt, and that was the only way.
Lian Yun never expected that he would run into Ye Lingchen just as he sat down and his neighbor handed him a bouquet of roses.
The young man looked over expressionlessly, but his pupils were like bottomless pools, swallowing all the flowing light.
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