Chapter 4 The Apocalypse 3
Scalding hot water poured down Cheng Ce's broad back, the flow rapid and fierce, like sharp arrows piercing the fresh whip marks on his back.
The pain pierced the nerves sharply, but after the pain subsided, an even more intense pleasure surged forth.
Cheng Ce braced himself against the bathroom tiles with one hand, the muscles in his arm and back bulging clearly from tension. Blood-tinged red water trickled down his taut muscles, meandering across the tiles.
He suddenly clenched his fist, restraining his strength, causing the veins on his large knuckles to bulge.
The composure and calm he had maintained just moments before crumbled completely the moment he entered the bathroom. His pupils dilated with excitement, churning with obsession, pleasure, and gratification. He even experienced some embarrassing and grotesque physical reactions as his long-suppressed desires were finally satisfied.
Fortunately, Lu Xuejin didn't see it.
Cheng Ce recalled everything that had happened in the side room. He had only allowed Lu Xuejin to whip him, yet the young man had shown such a fearful and timid expression, his knuckles trembling slightly as he gripped the whip handle. If he had seen more, this kind-faced and handsome young man, with his exceptionally weak nature, would probably have fled far away in panic.
He took advantage of her vulnerability, tempting her with a high salary when she desperately needed money to support her child. Lu Xuejin endured her fear and discomfort and lashed out at him only for the sake of his child.
The hot water flowed over his groin, and the muscles there tensed up instantly.
Thinking this way, I felt even more exhilarated.
The emptiness deep within his body and soul was briefly satisfied. Cheng Ce turned around and looked at the blurry figure on the white ceramic tile.
Lu Xuejin was very talented. Despite it being her first time, she completed it so perfectly, leaving behind intricate and interwoven marks, like a painting. Cheng Ce thought that once Lu Xuejin fell asleep, he would need to take a picture to commemorate the occasion.
Moreover, after everything was over, Lu Xuejin's eyes were red at the corners, and his eyelashes were wet with tears. His kind nature made him hold back his tears and carefully ask, even when faced with someone who had made such an unreasonable request, "Are you... are you alright?"
At that moment, Cheng Ce almost sighed.
He didn't realize that with his appearance, once he revealed that caring, tender look, it was as if a clam had quietly opened its shell, revealing its softest interior and its most treasured jewels to humankind. How could this not arouse covetousness?
Cheng Ce was curious about how Lu Xuejin had managed to survive all by herself and raise a child without having the child taken away and hidden away in her home by someone with ulterior motives.
A person who is impeccable in both appearance and character—even if it's only the first day of meeting, even if there's only a brief, inappropriate encounter, Cheng Ce's long-dormant heart still beats uncontrollably for him.
Cheng Ce recognized this unfamiliar emotion. It wasn't out of covetousness for color, but rather a deeper, more savage impulse—wanting to crush Lu Xuejin in one gulp, yet also wanting to hold him in the palm of his hand and carefully protect him, as if he had done just that in his past life.
Stepping out of the bathroom and changing into pajamas, all aggressive emotions vanished, leaving only a faint smile on her lips.
Therefore, we must plan carefully and approach him step by step, cautiously.
...
With a creak, the door finally opened. Luo Mingchuan, who had been sitting on the sofa for a long time, suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at the doorway.
Lu Xuejin appeared in the entryway, his hair smooth and silky, his eyes bright and clear, his exposed skin flawless and without any visible marks. He hadn't returned all night, yet he seemed to be in excellent condition, clearly having had a good night's rest.
On the other hand, Luo Mingchuan, despite staying at home, tossed and turned due to inexplicable anxiety and could hardly fall asleep, spending almost the entire night without sleep.
"Mingchuan, didn't you sleep well?" Lu Xuejin noticed his red eyes at a glance and immediately came over, bending down to take a closer look. "Are your eyes bothering you?"
Luo Mingchuan shook his head, his voice hoarse: "Insomnia."
The scrutinizing gaze remained fixed on the young man. Just as Luo Mingchuan was about to ask him where he had been last night, Lu Xuejin said cheerfully, "I found the teacher! I heard that he was a special-grade teacher at No. 1 Middle School before he retired. He has a very good temper and is good at teaching. I've discussed it with the teacher, and we've agreed that he can teach online every morning and afternoon. Is that okay? The teacher is getting old, and it's too hot for him to go out."
Lu Xuejin's eyes curved into crescents, her face beaming with obvious joy.
Luo Mingchuan keenly caught the tutor's title: "How much?"
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Lu Xuejin straightened up. “The boss paid salaries yesterday, and I’ve already paid the tutoring fees.”
When he woke up in the morning, he found that Cheng Ce had transferred 50,000 yuan to him, and the other party must have been very satisfied with his "service".
So fast?
And is a month's salary enough?
Luo Mingchuan's intuition told him that something was very wrong.
He knew Lu Xuejin's job—a bartender with sales as an additional job, earning a maximum monthly salary of ten thousand yuan. However, hiring a top-tier teacher for long-term one-on-one tutoring would cost far more than that in a lump sum.
Yesterday I was worried about tuition fees, and overnight I suddenly had the money? Did I borrow money from friends?
But Lu Xuejin hadn't returned all night... This fact quickly dispelled Luo Mingchuan's other guesses. He twitched his nose slightly, catching a faint, unfamiliar fragrance emanating from her collar.
...
"Baby," Dongyao rolled to Lu Xuejin's feet, asking in confusion, "Why did you agree to Cheng Ce's request? I don't think he's a good person."
[Although he is also a fragment of your husband, he is not as abundant as the male lead. You only need to focus on Luo Mingchuan. Besides, this time the contribution value only increases by a fixed amount, which is not much.] The system doesn't understand the intricacies of human relationships and asks whatever comes to mind.
Lu Xuejin smiled slightly: "No rush, take another look."
The living room sofa had been used for several years; it was narrow and short. In the afternoons, he liked to sit on the side by the window and prepare vegetables. At this moment, the other side of the sofa pressed down heavily. Although there was only an arm's length between Lu Xuejin and Luo Mingchuan, she clearly felt a wave of heat and oppression wash over her.
Luo Mingchuan was a massive man with an extremely strong presence. His bare arms were covered in a mix of old and new knife scars, and there was an old burn scar on the web of his hand. With such a large heat source, no one could ignore his presence.
He lowered his head, his eyes gloomy as he stared at the half-healed wound. A wicked impulse surged within him to tear it open again and watch the blood gush out once more. Being in a room with another person, in the sweltering afternoon with the cicadas chirping and the hot air from the fan blowing, was an extremely ordinary scene. The sense of security contained within the mundane order made Luo Mingchuan restless and extremely uncomfortable.
After sitting for a short while, Luo Mingchuan got up to go back to his room. As he left, he leaned over to take the vegetable basket from Lu Xuejin. Just then, he suddenly noticed Lu Xuejin subtly dodge to the side.
He was taken aback.
He paused in his steps, his gaze lingering hesitantly. Instinct beat his thought, and he reached out to touch the stray hairs on Lu Xuejin's forehead.
He meant to say that there was something on your hair.
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Xuejin stood up abruptly, walked quickly to the window, and reached out to pull the already tightly closed curtains shut.
Luo Mingchuan's hand froze in mid-air for a long while before slowly falling down.
The jawline tightened instantly.
Something's not right.
After the sun had subsided a bit, he rarely went out, but he accompanied Lu Xuejin to the supermarket to buy rice, oil, and vegetables. He kept a distance from Lu Xuejin, observing her carefully in secret.
Lu Xuejin was very familiar with the supermarket staff; he seemed to get along well with everyone, and no one disliked him. When the staff saw him from afar, they would greet him with smiles and enthusiastically remind him of the recent promotional offers.
However, Luo Mingchuan noticed a subtle detail: if the employees were male, Lu Xuejin would deliberately keep her distance from them to avoid physical contact.
"..."
Luo Mingchuan's expression gradually turned cold, and a terrifying fierce look appeared between his brows. People passing by saw him from afar and subconsciously took a detour.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess; he couldn't even remember when he left the supermarket and got home. Cooking, washing dishes, taking a shower… all night long, Luo Mingchuan kept pondering Lu Xuejin's unusual behavior.
Why why why—
He wasn't good at dealing with people, but he was definitely not stupid. Lu Xuejin's behavior was completely as if she had been touched too much by a man, to the point that her body instinctively resisted.
Those subtle tensions on the other person's face as he approached, the slight trembling of their eyelashes, the actions of wanting to dodge yet forcibly restraining themselves...
Luo Mingchuan wasn't particularly sensitive to people's appearances, but at this moment, he carefully recalled Lu Xuejin's face.
Details that I never noticed before are now emerging one by one.
Her soft, white fingers were free of calluses; her clumsy and awkward movements while doing housework suggested she rarely did housework; her monthly allowance was always deposited into her account on time and in full, never late or short... Did Lu Xuejin really just find a sales job when she was alone in another city?
With his personality, what can he possibly sell?
The more I think about it, the more flaws I realize.
Having not returned home all night, my body suddenly smelled of an unfamiliar scent, and I suddenly had an abundance of money—
Luo Mingchuan's chest heaved violently a few times, his teeth clenched, a sharp heartache and violent anger swept over his body, like dry wood meeting fire, crackling and burning into a blazing inferno.
He suddenly stood up, clutching his clothes to his chest, and frantically conjured up a strange, imaginary enemy in his mind. The self-destructive desires that had once been hidden deep within his body surged toward the enemy—he wanted to kill him!
His anger burned ever brighter, surging and overwhelming him. The overwhelming emotions made it difficult for him to bear, and he slammed his taut fist against the wall.
A muffled thud.
"Mingchuan?" A moment later, Lu Xuejin's weak question came from outside the door.
Luo Mingchuan spoke, his voice terribly hoarse: "...It's nothing. I just accidentally dropped something."
His handsome face was completely shrouded in shadow.
[Dedication Points +20]
Dong Yao was shocked and completely bewildered: [???]
The host only expressed concern verbally, so why did the contribution value skyrocket?
Lu Xuejin gently picked it up, saw the system's dizzy and confused expression, and smiled: "Want to know why?"
Dong Yao nodded immediately.
"Wait a few more days, and you'll understand."
Why is the host keeping us in suspense...? Dong Yao sighed resentfully. But the host who occasionally acts mischievously is actually quite cute QWQ.
...
The next day, Luo Mingchuan began his disorienting tutoring journey. Lu Xuejin bought a second-hand tablet, and after breakfast, he started attending classes, which lasted until noon. After a two-hour break, the classes continued until four o'clock in the afternoon.
Having promised Lu Xuejin, Luo Mingchuan had no intention of being perfunctory and listened attentively from beginning to end. However, his brain was naturally slow to grasp knowledge. The white-haired master teacher on the other end of the screen patiently explained and used various teaching methods in turn, but the test points that he had forced into his head in the morning had completely disappeared by the afternoon.
During the break between classes, Luo Mingchuan cleaned, did laundry, and watered the flowers. Lu Xuejin said he would cook the meal, but Luo Mingchuan pushed her out of the kitchen without giving her a chance to object.
His tone was very firm: "You're not allowed in the kitchen anymore."
Lu Xuejin had no choice but to stay at home during the day with nothing to do but help Luo Mingchuan wash fruit—he didn't know how to peel fruit either, so Luo Mingchuan had to make the fruit cutters himself after class.
Even so, the contribution value continues to increase at a fixed rate.
I really can't understand the hole.
After rinsing away the remaining dish soap foam at the bottom of the bowl, Luo Mingchuan heard Lu Xuejin say outside, "I'm going to work. Mingchuan, remember to review what the teacher taught tonight and get some rest."
The door closed gently. Luo Mingchuan turned off the water, dried his hands, changed into a black outfit, and lowered his wide-brimmed hat to cover most of his face.
He left silently, quickly went downstairs, and caught up with Lu Xuejin, who hadn't gone far.
Luo Mingchuan was completely unaware that he was being followed; he believed it was to protect Lu Xuejin.
Although he didn't particularly like his cheap and weak older brother, it didn't mean he would just stand by and watch Lu Xuejin be bullied.
Who exactly is that person?
His cold, dark eyes narrowed slightly as he disappeared into the crowd and headed towards Lu Xuejin's workplace.
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