Chapter 47: Is there something here

Clatter—

The sound of things being knocked over was startlingly loud in the silent villa.

“Get out!”

A pile of dishes came flying out of the master bedroom door, accompanied by an angry shout. Food and shattered porcelain scattered across the floor.

The cleaning staff in the villa did not dare to lift their heads. They focused on their own work.

Their heads were down, but their ears could not be closed. The sound of arguing drifted continuously from the master bedroom upstairs.

The fire Xu Lin had set had destroyed most of the first floor. Because it had been put out in time, the flames had not spread elsewhere. The burned furniture had all been replaced with new pieces. The corners still bore traces of smoke and scorching that could only be removed by hand.

They had been here for about five days, and the upstairs had been fighting for five days. Every time they came, the noise from that room never stopped.

A few minutes later, Ji Jinxuan walked out of the master bedroom.

His expression was calm, but the finger marks on his cheek were obvious, and there were bloody scratches on his neck.

One of the bolder staff stole a glance, then quickly looked away as if pricked by a needle.

Ji Jinxuan ignored the mess on the floor and walked straight toward the study.

As soon as he disappeared, the cook who had been preparing meals stiffly got up, her face full of distress, and hurried upstairs to clean up the food scraps on the floor.

While cleaning, she sneaked a peek at the half-closed bedroom door.

She knew there was someone behind that door. But who it was, what they looked like—no one knew except this Young Master Ji.

She was from District Thirteen. She had originally been a cook at a small restaurant. Then this Young Master Ji had found her and hired her at a high salary to cook here. He had no other requirements—just to make the local dishes that residents of District Thirteen liked.

Hometown cuisine was her specialty, and her employer was generous. She had thought this job would be a perfect fit. But no matter how much she cooked, the person who never showed their face inside that room refused to eat a single bite.

She thought she was about to be fired. She did not want to lose this well-paying job. Thinking the food might not suit their taste, she had once gathered her courage and nervously asked Young Master Ji what kind of dishes the person inside liked, so she could learn to make them.

At the time, Young Master Ji had been silent. He could not answer.

He had looked very gloomy—angry, but also, it seemed, guilty.

In the end, she never got a clear answer.

She could only keep trying through trial and error.

She thought to herself: people from Dan City would not suddenly take an interest in District Thirteen cuisine. So was the person inside also from District Thirteen?

Every time her thoughts went there, she stopped herself, not daring to pry further.

No one could pry into Ji Jinxuan’s secrets. She certainly would not dare.

Xu Lin had thrown the dishes and cursed Ji Jinxuan out. Within minutes, Ji Jinxuan returned.

In his hand was an unopened tube of nutritional supplement.

Ever since Ji Jinxuan had locked him up, Xu Lin could not even get out of bed. Occasionally, using the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, Ji Jinxuan would let him off the bed for a bit of relief. But even then, he was not free—Ji Jinxuan followed him everywhere, watching to see if he was really taking care of “biological needs.” Xu Lin, under his constant surveillance, was both angry and embarrassed. He told Ji Jinxuan to get out of the bathroom. Ji Jinxuan would not move. He just waited him out.

In the end, Xu Lin really did need to take care of his biological needs, and under Ji Jinxuan’s watchful eye, he was completely defeated.

Ji Jinxuan’s patience was maddening to Xu Lin.

Who could endure such surveillance?

Xu Lin could not stand it, so he gave up and threw in the towel. Fine. If he would not let him out of bed, then he would not get out.

He knocked over every bit of food brought to his mouth, refusing to eat or drink. This tug-of-war lasted three days. Xu Lin’s lips were dry and peeling. He lay listlessly curled up on the bed, not speaking to Ji Jinxuan, not looking at him. His defiance was clear.

Ji Jinxuan broke first. Just moments ago, he had grabbed Xu Lin’s chin and tried to force-feed him. Xu Lin had fought back with all four limbs. After a struggle, the food had been knocked over, and Ji Jinxuan had left. Xu Lin thought he had finally won this round.

He had underestimated Ji Jinxuan.

Ji Jinxuan stood by the bed, looking down at Xu Lin. The fresh scratches on his neck were from Xu Lin’s recent struggle—he had scratched him while fighting back against being force-fed.

Xu Lin glared at him with hatred.

Ji Jinxuan opened his mouth, brought the nutritional supplement to his lips, drank it down, then grabbed Xu Lin’s cheeks and leaned in.

Xu Lin’s cheeks were squeezed painfully, forcing his mouth open. The supplement was poured in, forced down his throat and into his stomach. Ji Jinxuan did not pull away after delivering the supplement. He held Xu Lin down and kissed him for a while longer, only stopping when Xu Lin bit his tongue.

Ji Jinxuan extended his bloodied tongue and licked the supplement off the corner of his lips, watching Xu Lin.

Xu Lin coughed and sputtered, his face flushed red.

Ji Jinxuan reached over to pat his back.

“I have plenty of ways. Don’t make things harder on yourself.”

Hearing this sarcastic remark that seemed to mock his own incompetence, Xu Lin’s eyes burned red with fury. Without thinking, he bit down hard on Ji Jinxuan’s neck, right there in front of him.

Under his teeth was the pulsing vein—Ji Jinxuan’s most vulnerable spot was held between Xu Lin’s teeth. But Ji Jinxuan showed no awareness of having his weakness seized. Being bitten by Xu Lin, he actually laughed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he reached out and wrapped his arms around Xu Lin, pulling him close, tighter and tighter. He ignored the teeth on his neck. His embrace was like that of two lovers in a moment of tender intimacy.

Xu Lin knew he was biting hard. But his teeth were not that sharp. Other than leaving some teeth marks, he could not break through the blood vessels beneath the skin.

Xu Lin remembered when he was a child, before he met Pu Sha, wandering the streets of District Thirteen alone. A stray cat had kept him company. It was a black cat, scrawny but fierce. Once, it had gotten into a fight with a stray dog several times its size. It had swiped its claws, puffed up its fur, and lunged at the dog’s neck, holding on. It was still fierce, did not back down. But its teeth and claws were no threat to the dog. If Xu Lin had not arrived in time to chase the dog away, that black cat would surely have been torn apart.

He felt like that cat now—using all its strength but still unable to win.

He tried to let go, but Ji Jinxuan pressed the back of his head, not letting him pull away. His lips were forced against Ji Jinxuan’s neck.

Ji Jinxuan rubbed the back of Xu Lin’s neck and said softly, “You should bite me here.”

When he spoke, his throat vibrated, traveling from Xu Lin’s teeth into every nerve ending in his body.

Xu Lin’s scalp tingled.

Ji Jinxuan kissed the top of his head and said, “Bite me, alright?”

The most vulnerable and sensitive spot for Alphas and Omegas is the gland at the back of their necks. Without permission, even touching it could be considered assault. But Alphas are different from Omegas. If an Omega is bitten, they can be marked, and once marked, they belong to that person for life.

Alphas, however, have glands that are weapons for conquering Omegas—carriers for releasing pheromones. Even if bitten, they cannot be marked. It does not mean anything.

To put it playfully, it is just foreplay.

A flirtatious game.

But on the other hand, voluntarily offering one’s gland like this is also dangerous. If Xu Lin had malicious intent, if instead of biting, he had used a sharp object to pierce Ji Jinxuan’s gland while his guard was down, destroying it—Ji Jinxuan would be finished.

Given Ji Jinxuan’s rank, this gesture was no different from cutting open his own heart and placing it in someone else’s hands to toy with.

But Xu Lin had no interest in toying with his heart.

He was not Ji Jinxuan.

“Who would bite you. Disgusting.”

Ji Jinxuan’s body stiffened at those words.

Xu Lin shoved him away with all his strength, pulled the covers over himself, and burrowed inside, no longer looking at him. The silver shackle on his ankle clanked.

Ji Jinxuan stood there silently for a long time, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

Through the blanket, he stroked Xu Lin’s head.

After a moment, he bent down and kissed it.

He believed that Xu Lin’s defenses would soften. It would just take time.

He had plenty of time. Xu Lin’s feelings would change eventually. He would accept him again.

No matter how long it took.

Xu Lin would not eat, so Ji Jinxuan fed him nutritional supplements. Time after time, he would grab his chin and force it down.

One resisted. One force-fed. Day after day.

At first, they still exchanged words, even if only to argue. Later, it became a silent struggle, as if an invisible, taut string stretched between them. Whoever lowered their head first, whoever relaxed their grip—that string would snap, and with it would come an avalanche, an earth-shattering collapse.

One day, after who knew how many such sessions, Xu Lin was force-fed most of the supplement. Half of it spilled out from the corners of their pressed lips during the struggle, dripping down his chin and onto the bedsheet.

It left a stain.

An obvious spot of mess.

After they parted, Xu Lin was gasping for breath. He raised the back of his hand and wiped his mouth fiercely, rubbing until his lips went pale, not stopping. His disgust was written all over his face.

Ji Jinxuan watched him for a moment, unmoved. Then his gaze shifted to the stained bedsheet. He frowned.

He left and returned quickly, carrying a stack of clean sheets and pillowcases.

Xu Lin tensed.

Ji Jinxuan unlocked Xu Lin’s ankle shackle and carried him to the bay window nearby. He put down a cushion for him to sit on. Afraid that Xu Lin might try to run, he used the other end of the shackle to lock his other ankle.

Both of Xu Lin’s feet were now chained, trapping him on the bay window. But surprisingly, he did not make a scene. He fell into an eerie silence, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ji Jinxuan’s movements. He barely dared to breathe.

Ji Jinxuan stripped off the pillowcase and threw it on the floor, then the soiled bedsheet.

Xu Lin was so nervous that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

He rolled his eyes and said, “My feet hurt. Unlock me! Why are you chaining both my feet? Am I some kind of prisoner?”

Ji Jinxuan glanced at him and said, “I’ll be done soon.”

He continued changing the sheets.

Xu Lin had never expected that Ji Jinxuan, this pampered young master, would one day voluntarily change the bedsheets himself.

He bit the inside of his cheek nervously.

When he had set the fire, he had left in a hurry. After messaging Shuangshuang, he had not had time to deal with his phone. It was still stuffed under the mattress.

He had remembered the phone when he was already at the dock, and there was no turning back.

He had harbored a faint hope. He thought the fire would at least reach the second floor and destroy the phone. Even if it did not burn, changing the sheets was such a minor task—it would never fall to Ji Jinxuan personally. He would not find it.

After being brought back, Ji Jinxuan had kept him under constant watch. Xu Lin had never had a chance to dispose of the phone.

So now…

“Unlock me!”

Xu Lin rattled the shackles loudly.

He did not dare to show his panic too obviously, afraid Ji Jinxuan might sense something. But as he watched Ji Jinxuan peel back layer after layer of bedding, his palms grew sweaty with tension.

If Ji Jinxuan found it, if he saw Zong Ningshuang’s phone—what then? He would find her.

“Ji Jinxuan, are you listening to me?!”

Xu Lin roared. Only then did Ji Jinxuan put down the sheets. He walked over, but instead of unlocking the shackles, he tucked a handkerchief inside them, as if worried that Xu Lin might chafe his skin when he rattled them.

“I’ll be done soon.”

Then he turned back and continued stripping the bed.

Xu Lin was beyond frustrated.

Why did his obsessive cleanliness have to flare up now? Damn it!

Xu Lin gritted his teeth and called out impatiently: “Ji—”

He barely got one word out when Ji Jinxuan suddenly looked up and stared at him. His hands stopped moving. His gaze was fixed on Xu Lin. There was no obvious expression on his face, but his eyes suddenly grew dark, cold as ice.

Xu Lin froze.

Ji Jinxuan studied him carefully, tilting his head.

Thump, thump.

Xu Lin could not speak. He looked away. He curled up on the bay window, facing the glass. Behind him, the silence was so deep he could hear a pin drop.

Ji Jinxuan seemed to have stopped moving.

Xu Lin could not see him, could not hear him. Uneasy, he lifted his eyes and looked at the reflection in the window.

There he saw Ji Jinxuan, also looking at him.

Their eyes met in the glass.

Xu Lin’s breath caught. He slowly looked away.

He lowered his head and stared at his feet for a while. Half a minute later, he looked up at the window again.

Their eyes met once more.

Ji Jinxuan was still watching him.

Xu Lin’s heart began to pound wildly, thudding so hard it felt like it would leap out of his throat.

Ji Jinxuan threw down the clean sheet he had not yet laid out. Then the pillow.

Xu Lin heard these sounds and unconsciously held his breath.

Ji Jinxuan looked down at the mattress before him.

“Is there something here?”

Xu Lin’s pupils contracted sharply.

Before he could react, Ji Jinxuan grabbed the edge of the mattress and flipped it over with one heave, as easily as turning over a playing card. It landed on the floor with a dull thud. The gust of air it stirred lifted the curtains; a light piece of fabric fell across Xu Lin’s face, blurring his vision. Then the cloth slid down over his brow, his nose, and slowly dropped to the side, swaying gently.

His hazy vision gradually cleared.

Clack.

A small phone fell to the floor.

It slid to Ji Jinxuan’s feet.