"Seasons Hotel?" Mu Chen read the building's plaque as the car entered the driveway. He recognized the area was near his house. He passed by the hotel from time to time. "What do you need to do here?"
"Fetch my stuff and check out," Shen Yuan answered. "I stayed here before returning home that day when I visited Zhou Yi. I didn't think my parents would just disappear like that and completely forgot to check out."
The car pulled over at the drop-off point, and a valet opened the door for them. Mu Chen stepped out and followed Shen Yuan inside. "I could have sent someone to do it for you."
"It's fine. I rather not have people I don't know touching my stuff."
Shen Yuan went to the elevator and tapped his keycard to the reader before pressing the floor number. He doubted Zhou Yi could do anything to Mu Chen in his own house. If he planned to do something more than intimidation, he would do it somewhere else.
With the timing Zhou Yi chose to send that warning to him and how he waited outside his place in the morning earlier, it wasn't a stretch to assume he knew about his date with Mu Chen today. He could only enter his place before Mu Chen's people got there.
There was only one possible reason why he would make such a messy scene. The only place he could go to with his house like that was his hotel. How Zhou Yi knew about the hotel he stayed at…there was no use questioning it at this point.
Since Zhou Yi believed they were on the same side, it didn't need to be said what he wanted him to bring here.
"Now that I think about it, how's Zhou Yi doing?" he deliberately asked. "I didn't visit him anymore like you told me to. He's still in the hospital, right?"
Mu Chen's eyes turned thoughtful, viciousness hiding within. "Do you think it's him?"
The elevator jingled in its arrival and Shen Yuan walked out, Mu Chen following next to him. "With his injuries, it seems unlikely. If it really is his doing though, it still won't make any sense. That's why I asked."
"I told you, didn't I? He's a person who holds a lot of resentment. He's very unstable." Mu Chen encircled his arm Shen Yuan around his waist, his gaze probing. "Why do you care so much about him? We both know he's below your interest."
Shen Yuan only smiled in response as he stopped in front of his room. He rested his hand on the door handle and cast one last look at Mu Chen, his voice soft and faint. "Do you trust me?"
Mu Chen stared in silence for a moment and gave a nod.
Tapping the keycard to the door, it unlocked with a beep and Shen Yuan pushed it open. He threw a fleeting glance at the gap in the bathroom door and went inside without bothering to take off his shoes.
Once he was a few steps away from the entrance hallway, he turned around and faced Mu Chen with a sigh. "This is going to hurt a little."
"What—"
Before Mu Chen could finish his words, a sharp pain stabbed into his heart and froze him in place. He slowly lowered his eyes to see the tip of a glinting cold knife jutting out of his chest. Blood surged into his throat and the taste of iron quickly coated his tongue.
"Cough–!" Blood spluttered out of his mouth, and he fell to his knees. He looked back and hardened his jaw seeing who it was, each syllable he spoke heavy with hatred. "It's. You."
Zhou Yi stared down at him with his chin up high. Though his face seemed indifferent, his eyes glowered with despise. "Monsters like you don't deserve to live long. I won't let you live long enough for you to destroy my future family like what your father did to my parents."
"You think this is enough to kill me?" Mu Chen grabbed the handle lodged in his back and pulled it out without a flinch. Blood sprayed all over as he staggered to his feet, readying the knife in a firm grip.
"No, I don't." Zhou Yi whipped out another knife from his back.
Bzzzt–!
"Urgh!?" Mu Chen jolted from the shock to his neck and collapsed to the floor with a thud. He managed to not pass out, but his body was numb all over, spasming without control. The only one who could attack him from behind…
"As I thought, you really are strong. This much voltage should be enough to take down an elephant." Shen Yuan turned off the taser.
"Ah…Yuan…" Mu Chen gripped Shen Yuan's ankle, digging his claws into his skin. Why…?
Shen Yuan ignored him and turned to Zhou Yi. "Finish him."
Zhou Yi didn't need to be told twice. He stomped his foot onto Mu Chen's head and knelt down. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end for once?"
"Gh–!" Mu Chen's eyes flared red, rapidly turning bloodshot.
"Fortunately for you, I don't get off on torturing people." Zhou Yi raised his knife. "Have fun with your lackeys in hell. I'm sure it's paradise for people like you."
The blade fell with no hesitance and pierced straight into Mu Chen's artery. He choked out another batch of blood and more poured non-stop down his nose and lips. Not a single word could pass the metal stake, only the bloodlust in his eyes could speak for him.
Shen Yuan nodded at Zhou Yi. "Go. Take care of the rest."
Zhou Yi stood up and noticed the hand still clinging to Shen Yuan's ankle. He stomped it like a bug, the crunch of the breaking bone rang crisply in the room, and returned his attention to Shen Yuan. "What about you?"
"I'll deal with things here. Don't worry." Shen Yuan cupped Zhou Yi's face. "You did so well. I will be expecting Young Master Zhou's debut."
"It's all thanks to Senior's guidance." Zhou Yi nuzzled into the comforting warmth and looked at Shen Yuan with unwavering determination. "I will prepare a house for us, Senior. Whenever you want to run away, you can always come to me."
"I'd be disappointed if you don't." Shen Yuan rewarded Zhou Yi with a kiss on his cheek. "Now go."
Zhou Yi's gaze lingered with reluctance, but he obediently nodded and took a step back. He gave one last look at Mu Chen's pathetic, dying body before leaving the room.
Shen Yuan watched him leave and waved at him one last time as he stepped out of the room until the door closed shut. He confirmed Zhou Yi had left through the peephole, locked the doors, and hurried back to Mu Chen.
He wasn't surprised to find he was still hanging, though barely able to keep his eyes open, and curled a proud smile. "You look very cool right now."
"…" Mu Chen stared at his pleased lover unblinkingly. He would've believed his words if it wasn't for the fact he couldn't talk because of a knife blocking his vocal cords.
"Sorry for tasing you, but I have to do it. We both know whether Zhou Yi had a chance or not." Shen Yuan swept his thumb over the corner of Mu Chen's stubbornly persevering eyes. "So, do you still trust me?"
"…"
After a long pause, Mu Chen gave one, silent blink.
Shen Yuan leaned down. "Then, run to me."
Not minding the blood, he pressed their lips together, the temperature of Mu Chen's skin decreasing by the seconds. The blood made it a little slippery and the taste of iron dissolved sweetly into their tongue.
"I get to taste you first." Shen Yuan licked the blood smearing all over his lips in satisfaction. "If you ask nicely, maybe I'll let you taste mine next time."
A little bit of sensation returned to Mu Chen's uninjured arm. He reached up to the knife handle on his neck and wrenched it out with all his strength. He turned his face away just in time to spat out another clump of blood before grabbing Shen Yuan's neck and pulling his face back to him.
"I'm…not done…yet."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Shen Yuan accepted Mu Chen's thirst and yielded his lips to his mercy. Waves and waves of power crashed into his psyche and rolled into his veins like a full moon storm. He kept calm and focused on controlling it, subduing it to his will.
By the time he subdued the last wave, a second heart had beat inside his psyche.
The full weight of the body fell onto his arms, and he opened his eyes to see an empty shell, yet his figure remained reflected in its pupils as if it was all the tombstone it needed. He swept them close and placed the body down.
His job here was done.