Chapter 49: He wasn’t afraid of any retribution

Ji Jinxuan did not return until late at night.

When he pushed open the bedroom door, the room was still in complete disarray exactly as he had left it.

Xu Lin sat on the bay window with his knees drawn up, his face buried in his knees.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Lin slowly lifted his head and glanced over. He gave Ji Jinxuan a brief, silent look and said nothing.

Ever since Ji Jinxuan had flipped the mattress and smashed the phone that afternoon, Xu Lin had known he must have gone out to find Shuangshuang. But there was nothing he could do to stop him.

He guessed that with Zong Xi protecting her, Shuang-shuang would most likely be fine, but he still could not shake his worry.

After Ji Jinxuan left, Xu Lin was alone in the bedroom.

He could vaguely hear some indistinct voices drifting up from downstairs. Ji Jinxuan had arranged for quite a few people to work in the villa now.

Xu Lin had never seen any of them before.

Ji Jinxuan must have given them orders.

After their earlier commotion, all that crashing and banging, with Ji Jinxuan nearly tearing the room apart, no one had dared to come up and check. It was as if this room was a man-eating cave, and Xu Lin the treasure hidden inside by a monster—anyone who dared to glance at him would be torn to shreds.

At that thought, he laughed bitterly at himself. What precious treasure? He was nothing but a discarded scrap of grass that Ji Jinxuan had grown tired of.

Xu Lin could not move freely. He shuffled back to the bay window and pressed his face against the glass, looking down.

Since his escape attempt by setting the fire, the number of bodyguards around the villa had doubled. Some of them even had guns holstered at their waists. Xu Lin had only ever seen guns in movies. He did not understand how Ji Jinxuan could get his hands on them.

Were they going to shoot him the next time he tried to escape?

Was that what Ji Jinxuan had ordered?

His gaze lingered on one Alpha’s waist for a few turns. The man seemed to notice, looked up, and met Xu Lin’s eyes. In less than a second, as if Xu Lin’s gaze carried a deadly poison, the Alpha abruptly looked away.

With the previous escape attempt as a lesson, there were now guards both inside and outside. Even with Ji Jinxuan gone, Xu Lin had no chance to run again.

He sat there in silence until nightfall, waiting for Ji Jinxuan.

He tried to read something from Ji Jinxuan’s expression, but could not. Ji Jinxuan looked calm, as if he had merely taken a stroll.

After returning, Ji Jinxuan silently began cleaning up the room, saying nothing as he cleared the mess he had made. He could have called someone to do it, but he insisted on doing it himself—Xu Lin did not know what he was so stubborn about.

The mattress was put back in place, covered with fresh sheets and pillowcases, neatly arranged. He walked over to the bay window and reached for Xu Lin. Xu Lin slapped his hand away.

“How is she?” he asked.

Ji Jinxuan looked at him and said nothing.

His silence only made Xu Lin more agitated. He urgently needed an answer, “Speak. Is she alright?”

Ji Jinxuan finally spoke, “What, are you that worried about her?”

“…” Xu Lin gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Ji Jinxuan answered: “She’s perfectly fine.”

With that, he lifted Xu Lin in his arms, carried him to the bed, and set him down.

As soon as his body touched the sheets, Xu Lin scrambled backward, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Ji Jinxuan watched his movements. After a long pause, he asked coldly, “What did you think I would do to her?”

Xu Lin did not want to answer his question. He kicked his feet and said, “Unlock me.”

His feet had been shackled all afternoon. The handkerchief Ji Jinxuan had tucked between the metal and his skin had long since been pulled out, and his ankles were red and raw from chafing.

Ji Jinxuan lowered his head, sat down on the edge of the bed, took Xu Lin’s ankle, and unlocked the shackle on his right foot.

He rubbed the scrapes on Xu Lin’s ankle. Xu Lin felt ticklish and tried to pull his foot back, but Ji Jinxuan gripped it tightly, holding it in place. He could not pull free.

Xu Lin lost his patience. “What are you doing!”

Then Ji Jinxuan unlocked his left foot.

The shackles fell to the floor with a clatter.

Xu Lin blinked. The weight on both his feet was gone. He was free. But he did not move. Instead, he looked at Ji Jinxuan with suspicion and wariness, unsure what trick he was playing.

Ji Jinxuan released his foot and, between his long fingers, held out something to Xu Lin.

It was the black ID card.

Ji Jinxuan’s own.

Xu Lin grew even more suspicious. “What… what do you mean?”

Ji Jinxuan asked in return. “Don’t you want to leave?”

“…” Ji Jinxuan had kept him locked up all this time, used every tactic, caught him once when he ran, and had sworn he would never let him go. So why, after going out today, had he suddenly changed his mind?

Now he said he would let him leave. Xu Lin definitely wanted to go. But the more he thought about it, the stranger it felt. He was afraid it was a trap, afraid to make a rash move, yet he could not put his finger on why.

He hesitated for a long time. Ji Jinxuan kept holding out the card.

Finally, Xu Lin reached out and took it, clutching it in his hand.

He glanced at Ji Jinxuan. Confirming that he would not stop him, he immediately got out of bed. Just as he was about to leave, Ji Jinxuan said, “What’s the hurry. Change into something else before you go—it’s not too late.”

Xu Lin looked down at his pajamas. They were, indeed, not suitable.

He still could not believe it. “You’re really letting me go?”

Ji Jinxuan asked in return, “Are you going?”

“…” Of course he was going.

He did not know what Ji Jinxuan was up to, but he could not afford to overthink it. Afraid that Ji Jinxuan might change his mind, he hurried into the walk-in closet and changed into a T-shirt and pants as fast as he could.

Ji Jinxuan stood behind him, watching. Xu Lin did not care anymore.

“You’re going home soon. Are you happy?”

Xu Lin did not want to answer.

Ji Jinxuan blocked the closet doorway. Even after Xu Lin had changed, he did not move aside. Xu Lin had to squeeze past him. As they passed close to each other, Ji Jinxuan’s breath brushed against Xu Lin’s ear, and he asked, “Will you think of me?”

Without looking back, Xu Lin left the room and went downstairs.

The housekeepers in the villa were gone. When he opened the front door, several Alphas were standing guard outside. They all froze at the sight of him. Just as they were about to react, they caught sight of Ji Jinxuan following close behind Xu Lin. They stiffened and exchanged uneasy glances.

Clearly, they were just as surprised by Ji Jinxuan’s sudden change of heart.

Ji Jinxuan stepped forward, draped a coat over Xu Lin’s shoulders, and handed him a set of car keys.

“Take my car.” In the yard sat Ji Jinxuan’s sports car.

Xu Lin looked at the keys, then at him, seeming hesitant.

Seeing this, Ji Jinxuan smiled and said, “Want me to drive you?”

“…” Xu Lin took the keys. His fingertips brushed against Ji Jinxuan’s palm and felt a damp coldness.

Something about Ji Jinxuan felt off.

Ji Jinxuan lowered his hand and closed his fingers into a fist. He asked again, “Will you think of me? After you go back, can I come see you? Can I come find you?”

He always had to ask questions with obvious answers. Xu Lin replied coldly, “No. Don’t come.”

Ji Jinxuan blinked slowly, his voice hoarse, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “So we’re really done? We’ll each go our separate ways?”

“…” Xu Lin frowned. “That’s how it was always supposed to be.”

With that, he turned, got into the car without looking back, and did not see the way Ji Jinxuan’s face suddenly crumpled, or his gaze darken.

Xu Lin started the engine and stepped on the gas. The car began to roll forward slowly, but before it had gone ten meters, a loud bang shook the vehicle. It lurched uncontrollably and would not move. He slammed on the brakes and looked back in shock.

Outside the window, Ji Jinxuan was aiming a gun at him. Wisps of pale blue smoke drifted from the muzzle, carried away by the wind.

Xu Lin’s scalp prickled.

Bang. Ji Jinxuan fired again. The car tilted slightly as he shot out the tire.

After the initial shock, Xu Lin was consumed by rage. Without thinking, he jumped out of the car and stormed toward Ji Jinxuan, shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you having fun playing with me?!”

Who could not see what he was doing? Ji Jinxuan had never intended to let him leave!

So what was all this for? To make a fool of him?

He reached Ji Jinxuan, grabbed the gun barrel, and pressed it against his own forehead, his eyes wide with fury. “Go on! Shoot me right here! Kill me if you have the nerve!”

Ji Jinxuan moved the gun aside, grabbed Xu Lin’s wrist, and yanked him into his arms with such force it felt like he was trying to crush his bones.

He pulled the ID card from Xu Lin’s pocket and threw it to the ground.

He aimed the gun at the card and pulled the trigger. The consecutive blasts made Xu Lin’s ears ring. Ji Jinxuan held him with one hand, his face expressionless, firing until the magazine was empty.

When the noise stopped, the card on the ground was riddled with holes, barely recognizable.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder.

Ji Jinxuan tossed the gun aside, grabbed Xu Lin’s cheeks with one hand, pulled him close, and said, “Yes. I never planned to let you go. I let you go, and you really would have left? Let you go back? Let us be done with each other? Give you what you want? Give you the chance to be with someone else? Dream on!”

Xu Lin frowned and shouted, “What the hell are you talking about—”

Before he could finish, Ji Jinxuan hoisted him over his shoulder, ignoring his struggles, and carried him back to the room.

“Ji Jinxuan! Let me go! Damn you—” Xu Lin was pinned to the bed. Ji Jinxuan said nothing, his face cold as he pried Xu Lin’s mouth open and tried to force pills down his throat. Xu Lin refused, using his tongue to push the white tablets out one by one. The bitter taste filled his mouth, making him want to gag.

“Ji—”

When Ji Jinxuan saw he would not swallow, he tossed a few pills into his own mouth, chewed them up, lowered his head, covered Xu Lin’s mouth, and forced him to swallow.

Xu Lin squeezed his eyes shut. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, the taste of medicine coating his teeth.

He swallowed with a gulp—inevitably, it all went down. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “What did you give me!”

Ji Jinxuan did not answer. He pinned Xu Lin’s limbs beneath him and waited silently for the drug to take effect.

“Do you think that by locking him up and keeping him from going out or contacting anyone, he’ll always belong to you? Dream on! The person he hates most right now is you! He despises you! He loathes you! He will never love you again!”

Xu Lin struggled, trying to bite Ji Jinxuan’s wrist near his face.

Ji Jinxuan stared at him, letting him bite. Soon, the pressure of Xu Lin’s teeth on his wrist began to weaken. Xu Lin’s eyes grew hazy, his vision blurring.

“He’s so wonderful—he can find another Beta! Find an Omega! Anyone would be better than you! Anyone! Keep deluding yourself, keep making excuses, keep blaming others for your own mistakes! I’ll be waiting for the day you get what you deserve!”

Xu Lin closed his eyes and fell unconscious.

Ji Jinxuan stroked his face and held him in his arms.

It had been a long time since Xu Lin had let himself be held so quietly.

He took out his phone and made a call. As soon as the other end picked up, he said, “Come over immediately.”

The person on the other end acknowledged and the call ended.

Ji Jinxuan traced Xu Lin’s brows and eyes, his fingers stopping at his lips.

After a moment, he lowered his head and gave him a light kiss.

His fingers moved to the back of Xu Lin’s neck.

He rubbed the skin there, pressing with his fingertip. Through the layer of flesh, he could not feel anything. But he knew something was inside.

Earlier, the old doctor he had brought to examine Xu Lin had told him:

“Mr. Xu Lin is a bit different from ordinary Betas. There is a gland at the back of his neck. According to his examination reports, that gland should have lost function in his early childhood. However…”

“However what?”

“Perhaps due to the long-term infusion of high-grade pheromones in recent years, this gland has recently shown signs of regrowth. If Mr. Xu Lin is willing, with high-grade pheromones and supplementary medication, the probability of recovery is about fifty percent.”

“Recovery?”

The old doctor had concluded, “He will re-differentiate.”

Re-differentiate.

That was not a bad thing.

If he differentiated into an Omega, he would never leave.

Ji Jinxuan kissed Xu Lin’s forehead and murmured, “It will be fine soon.”

Retribution?

He was not afraid of any retribution.