Chapter 05: Violence and Ambiguity
Chapter 5
Walking around the stage, we walked into the secret corridor. The deliberately camouflaged skirting was equipped with white light strips, illuminating the dim and quiet road to prevent any guests from getting hurt.
After briefly explaining the situation to the manager, Wenxi followed Yanjue to Area B. The corridor in Area B was not long. After passing a door, there was a long and cold staircase in front of them.
The moment the door opened, a gust of cold wind blew out and blew straight across everyone's faces. The door behind them closed again, and for a moment, the only sound in the closed stairwell was the creaking footsteps of four people walking on the iron stairs.
The stairs spiral downwards, leading straight to the bottomless underground.
"What kind of aesthetics does Ji have? Every time I come here, I feel like this stairwell is a murder scene." Zheng Yuting rubbed his arms, the chains hanging from his lips and ears rattled, and he complained as he looked down: "Scary."
"Spinning down, we will become lambs to be slaughtered in Area B." Cen Tan commented: "What a bad taste."
Wen Xi really couldn't imagine that there was such a staircase behind the corridor. It was gloomy and there was a wall lamp hanging on the wall of the staircase. Although the brightness was higher, it was reflected by the wall, revealing an unpleasant cold white.
Zheng Yuting and Cen Qin were walking in the front, chatting about funds and securities. Wen Xi followed behind them. Their conversation echoed in the empty and enclosed space, mixed with the sound of footsteps. It was inexplicably ethereal and made Wen Xi's scalp tingle.
He turned his head back and saw that Yan Jue had missed the line by a few steps and was walking at the end of the team, following slowly. The man's tall and slender figure blocked the endless staircase behind him. The wall lamp shone on his cold profile, without any expression, but it made people feel at ease for some reason.
Wenxi stopped.
The boy has short hair that slightly covers his ears, looking fresh and simple. When he looks up at people, his soft black hair spreads out, revealing his clear eyebrows and eyes. The ends of his eyes are raised, and a cold white light is on top of his head and scattered under his eyes, shining brightly.
The two people in front walked forward on their own, keeping a distance between them. There was still a large section of stairs left. Wen Xi just looked up at him without blinking.
Yan Jue lowered his eyes and looked at her, his eyes dark and heavy, and walked to the outside of Wen Xi: "What's wrong?"
Wen Xi held Yan Jue's hand, which was hanging at his side. The man's body temperature was warm, and when their palms touched, a warm current flowed through him. Satisfied, the corners of his mouth curled up, "Of course I'll wait for you."
His gaze shifted to their clasped hands again, and his tone had an indescribable feeling: "Wenxi, don't you want to hold hands with me?"
Wen Xi was stunned when he heard this question. He didn't mean to say no to holding hands with Yan Jue, but he quickly realized that Yan Jue was asking him why he shook his hand away when they were at the booth. He then asked why he didn't hold her hand immediately when he was offered the wine glass.
He shook his head and retorted: "No one doesn't want to hold hands."
The sound of a door opening and closing was heard from downstairs, the air flow slowed down, and the stairwell became quiet in an instant, but soon the whole space was filled with the boy's complaining voice.
Wen Xi raised her head slightly, her expression was clear in the cold white light, the tips of her ears and nose were blushing, her red lips were tightly pursed, and she looked at people with an accusing look in her eyes, "You obviously know the reason, but you still want me to tell it to you myself."
"Then why let go?"
Wen Xi bit her lower lip and whispered, "Someone else is watching."
Yan Jue stared at him with drooped eyelids, as if he didn't understand.
Wen Xi was quiet for a moment, lowered his head slightly, and shook their hands, which were intimately held. Yan Jue looked at the soft hair on his head and heard the boy muttering softly: "I have never held hands with anyone else. My brother is the first person to hold hands with me. They were watching from the side. I had no experience and didn't know what to do. I... I was shy, so I let go."
Wen Xi looked up and saw the small mole on his Adam's apple rolling up and down with a large amplitude. Looking up, he saw Yan Jue staring at him without blinking.
He said: "With me here, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Wenxi nodded.
After he responded, the hand that was held was immediately and forcefully taken over the dominant position. The man's bony fingers broke through Wen Xi's defense without any explanation.
Wen Xi watched helplessly as the other party forced them to interlock their fingers with an irresistible momentum. The adult man's big palm with bulging veins tightly clasped his palm, and their ten fingers were intertwined, hot and powerful.
Wen Xi's breathing became rapid and he looked up in panic, only to see Yan Jue's gaze finally becoming frank. The man's eyes were deep and dark, like a whirlpool sucking people in. He said word by word, "Hold hands now, don't be shy and let go."
"May I?"
"Wenwen."
Wen Xi's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded repeatedly like a stuck mechanical doll.
"OK."
*
Pushing open the front door, the empty silence was swept away by the roaring applause and shouts. The stage was in the center, surrounded by elevated auditoriums with a gap forming an aisle at the door, where Cen Tan and the other person were waiting for them.
When Zheng Yuting saw their hands holding together, he let out a strange cry. Wen Xi's face turned red and he looked at Yan Jue, who gently patted the back of his hand. Wen Xi calmed down again and stayed beside Yan Jue, looking around.
Cen Tan put away his phone and said, "Let's go. The location is upstairs."
They arrived a little late, and there weren't many empty seats, not even a row seat that could accommodate four people. Zheng Yuting and Cen Qin sat in the front row, while Wen Xi sat in the back next to Yan Jue, holding hands and placing them on Yan Jue's legs.
As soon as they sat down, a dull vibration rumbled, and the stage level with the ground slowly turned. Amid the cheers of the crowd, a huge sunken arena in ancient Roman style came into sight.
Wen Xi tilted his head to look at Yan Jue, who was playing with his fingers with his eyes downcast, twisting them from the fingertips to the base, like playing with walnuts, one after another, with a dull expression, and it seemed that he was not interested in the upcoming performance.
The thin calluses on the man's fingertips made his skin itchy when they rubbed against his skin. Wen Xi hooked his finger as if he was ticklish. The index finger that was pinched swam to the man's palm like a little snake and scratched it a few times. Yan Jue paused, then gently held the boy's soft fingertips and watched the performance quietly.
The lights in the auditorium dimmed and Wen Xi frowned.
In the center of the stage, a male host dressed as a medieval nobleman introduced the rules of today's arena performance in a rhythmic manner. The duelists faced off against each other for five rounds, and at the end of each round, the five winners would fight in a melee to determine the final uncrowned king.
In fact, having introduced this far, Wen Xi does not think it is worth it for so many people to spend a lot of money to watch the show.
Sure enough, the next second, the male host smiled and added that the final winner is the auction item for tonight, and the highest bidder will get the right to use it for one night. Under the condition of not harming life and physical integrity, one night of complete control.
The organizers even gave it a high-sounding name that fits the topic - Violent Ambiguity.
After the host finished his introduction, he left the stage. The lights in the entire B area dimmed. The only light in sight was the incandescent lights of the Colosseum.
Two handsome and strong men with bare upper bodies walked out slowly from both ends with weapons in their hands. They had fierce eyes and roared viciously at the audience on the stage. Following the host's order, the two men who were originally interacting with the audience quickly rushed towards each other with weapons in hand.
In fact, it is not difficult to imagine what kind of performances the rich and famous are flocking to but cannot see in the light. Violence, blood, sex/love, money and power are nothing more than the dark side of human nature that clamors for release the most but cannot be played openly.
Wen Xi's curiosity slowly faded, and after hearing the dirty talk, she completely lost interest in continuing to watch. Cen Tan and Zheng Yuting in the audience chatted about the contestants' moves and routines, and seemed to have no interest in the final auction.
The smell of alcohol, cigarettes and screams mixed together and rushed straight into Wen Xi's head. He regretted following him a little.
Turning around, I saw Yan Jue leaning lazily on the chair, fiddling with his mobile phone, typing with his left hand, but it didn't feel very smooth.
In the chaos, Wen Xi smelled a familiar woody scent, then he rested his head on Yan Jue's shoulder. Seeing that Yan Jue did not push him away, Wen Xi moved inward along the shoulder line little by little, and finally put his face against the side of his neck, sniffing the woody scent to avoid the attack of strange smells and sounds.
Yan Jue looked at the furry head nestled in his arms. Wen Xi rubbed his face unconsciously, unaware that her breath swept over the man's neck again and again. She was not done with sniffing like a puppy, but she also raised her little face, stared at him intently, and whispered, "Brother."
"Thank you for bringing me to see the show. This is my first time watching it."
Yan Jue put away his phone and looked at him, asking, "Do you like it?"
Wenxi blinked and said politely, "I don't like today's show at all," but added, "But I'm very happy to be able to watch it with my brother.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true." It was true in every sense. Of course, Wen Xi didn't say it. He supported the man's thighs, raised his head and leaned close to the man's face, looking into his dark and calm eyes, and asked: "Then do you miss me?"
"I did."
It didn't sound like a lie, so Wen Xi felt a little relieved.
"Why aren't you wearing a skirt today?"
Wen Xi was stunned by the question, and remembered the time when he sat on someone's thigh while wearing a skirt. The presence of his left hand touching the man's thigh suddenly increased. He stammered to explain: "Actually... I only wore it that one time, and I happened to meet my brother. My usual job is to deliver wine in the scattered area, so I don't need to wear a skirt. And I didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't wear one."
"Have you just arrived at Niye?"
"Yes, today is the sixth day." Wenxi asked: "Do you think it's weird for boys to wear short skirts?"
"Not weird, it looks cute on you."
Being praised so directly, Wen Xi's ears blushed, and she pressed on: "Then next time brother comes to Niye, you can tell the manager or me in advance, and I will help brother wear a skirt again."
Wen Xi was actually being a little cunning when he said these words, but the effect was very good.
"Let's add WeChat." Yan Jue took out his phone and called up the QR code: "It will be more convenient to communicate this way."
"Okay." Wen Xi took out the mobile phone he had prepared from his side pocket. There was a chubby piggy bank printed on the back of the phone case. He scanned the code to add it. Ding, the screen jumped to Yanjue's WeChat homepage. The nickname was a simple "Y." and the avatar was a landscape photo.
"Added successfully."
Yan Jue looked down and saw the latest addition in the list, "Stream Becomes the Sea". The avatar was the blue color that symbolizes the sea, and there was a fat, stick figure fish in it.
When he moved his eyes away from the phone avatar, Wen Xi had already put away her phone. Amid the noise, she tilted her head and looked at him intently. The light was dim, but the small mole on the tip of her nose was still clear. She said coquettishly, "Brother, if you come to Niye again, please notify me in advance via WeChat so that I can prepare."
"Because I only dress my brother in little skirts."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
