After the Straight Male Incubus Became a Heartthrob - Chapter 36

Ye Lin could not understand Gu Jiazhi’s train of thought, so he could only use the most pale and powerless way to prove himself. “Anyway, just do not misunderstand, that is all.”

Gu Jiazhi found it impossible to argue, and he was truly distressed. He knew he was rich and handsome, so it was normal to be liked by others. However, he could not be liked by his brother’s boyfriend, especially someone like Liang Wenle, who was very difficult to handle.

“Does your head still hurt?”

Because Gu Jiazhi was lying flat, Ye Lin rested his face on his arm, leaning against the edge of the hospital bed so he could look into Gu Jiazhi’s eyes and speak softly. He had a youthful face; with his bright, watery eyes looking up and his cheek pressed against the back of his hand, he appeared even more innocent and naive. However, the collar of his clothes was wide, revealing a few marks. They were undoubtedly left by Liang Wenle, appearing strikingly red.

Gu Jiazhi felt an itch in his heart and silently cursed Ye Lin for intentionally seducing him. He simply closed his eyes and tried to send him away. “If you leave, my head will stop hurting.”

Ye Lin realized that Gu Jiazhi disliked him and wanted him to leave immediately. But in the past, Gu Jiazhi would have wanted to stay by his side every day. He would never have spoken in such a tone. Did losing his memory turn him into this?

Ye Lin felt unhappy. He straightened up and warned him, “Gu Jiazhi, you dare kick me out! When you recover your memory, I will make you pay!”

He spoke with such confidence, as if having been pampered by Gu Jiazhi for a period allowed him to completely disregard the man’s illness and make threats. He is just an illegitimate son of the Ye family. How does he dare to threaten me?

Gu Jiazhi frowned slightly and brushed him off indifferously. “You speak as if I were very familiar with you before. Please, you are just a somewhat good-looking illegitimate son. You rarely had the chance to even come into contact with me. Do not try to act close here. I am only being polite to you for Liang Wenle’s sake.”

This sentence was like a sharp blade slicing through a beautiful painting of scenery, revealing the mottled wall behind it, full of dirt, cracks, and ugliness. Ye Lin stared at him, speechless, as if looking at a stranger. He suspected that the person wrapped in layers of bandages had undergone a soul swap; this was completely different from the Gu Jiazhi he knew.

Gu Jiazhi had been willing to play along for the sake of Ye Lin’s beauty, but Ye Lin had been coming to the hospital to bother him so often lately that he had to speak harshly. Moreover, it was the truth. For someone like Ye Lin, if he had not latched onto Liang Wenle, he would never have had the chance to meet someone of Gu Jiazhi’s status in this lifetime.

Ye Lin pondered for a moment and asked him, “Gu Jiazhi, do you look down on me?”

Hearing this question, Gu Jiazhi’s heart instinctively trembled, like hearing thunder on a rainy day. He quickly opened his eyes to look. He saw the disappointment in Ye Lin’s eyes, and as the younger man grit his teeth, it added a touch of resentful beauty. His gaze drifted over Ye Lin’s fair, delicate cheeks, and he decided to say a few kind words.

“It is not that I look down on you. You are actually quite impressive to have tricked Liang Wenle and made him so obedient to you. But I am much smarter than Liang Wenle; I will not be easily deceived. Do you understand?”

Ye Lin’s tone turned cold. “I never wanted to cheat you out of your money. You are not even as wealthy as Liang Wenle. Your bank card even contains the thirty million I gave you.”

Gu Jiazhi was stunned, his eyes wide with shock. “Do not spread rumors. I have never lacked money since I was a child. How could I ever take your money!”

Ye Lin let out a cold laugh, stared into his eyes, and asked, “Gu Jiazhi, tell me the truth. What was your first impression when you met me?”

Gu Jiazhi brushed him off impatiently. “Beautiful, smart, and resourceful. I am praising you now, so do not go back and complain to Liang Wenle so he comes to scold me.”

Ye Lin lost the mood to continue the conversation. He stood up and walked toward the other ward. He carefully recalled the details of his past interactions with Gu Jiazhi, but something felt off. At the very beginning, Gu Jiazhi had taken him back to his apartment and helped him pay off his loans. Later, he had even taken him in and provided him with food and shelter. Was that purely out of kindness?

Birds of a feather flock together. If Liang Wenle had poor character, was Gu Jiazhi really an upright, good person? Hearing Gu Jiazhi’s tone today, it felt exactly like when he was first looked down upon and belittled by Liang Wenle.

Ye Lin knew the character of the rich second-generation heirs around Liang Wenle. They were born into wealth, spent their lives in luxury, were idle and ambitious, and could obtain everything without effort. They also enjoyed looking down on others. He always felt that Liang Wenle deserved to be tricked by him, preferably until he lost everything.

But Gu Jiazhi had been different. He was warm-hearted, loyal, and a very good person. Yet today, it felt as if the Gu Jiazhi in his memory had vanished. Just like that dream, the man complained about him and then turned into white smoke.

After leaving the ward, Ye Lin’s steps were heavy. He instinctively leaned against the wall. He rarely experienced such strong emotional fluctuations, and it was only because of Gu Jiazhi. He looked up suddenly and saw Gu Zhe in his ward, watching a movie. No one else was around.

Ye Lin felt miserable, so he burst inside, grabbed the remote, cut the power, and threw it into the trash can. The movie sound vanished, but Gu Zhe remained stable, calmly looking at him. “What is it? You were treated poorly by Gu Jiazhi and were not willing to take it out on him, so you ran here to act wild with me?”

Ye Lin looked down at him from above like he was looking at a pathetic creature, a smirk appearing on his face. “I came to see your retribution! It makes me happy. Look at how miserable you are. You cannot move any part of your body; you can barely move your neck.”

Gu Zhe was not affected by the verbal attack. Instead, he observed the disappointment and dissatisfaction in Ye Lin’s eyes with interest. He then spoke mockingly, “I am still better off than Gu Jiazhi. I heard he has forgotten you completely. It must hurt, does it not?”

Ye Lin clenched his fist slightly. “Do not go looking for a beating!”

Gu Zhe finally laughed, his mood improving. “It is better that Gu Jiazhi forgot you. It saves him from messing around at Fanxing with you or fighting with me. He is such a stupid pig!”

Ye Lin suddenly remembered that it was this bastard who had pretended to be Gu Jiazhi, causing him to be misunderstood. At the same time, Gu Jiazhi was injured and lost his memory, becoming a stranger. Since he could not settle the score with the intended target, torturing Gu Zhe was a viable alternative.

With that thought, he crouched beside the hospital bed. He reached out and poked Gu Zhe’s cheek through the gauze. The cheek was covered in external wounds that had not yet healed. A light poke would not worsen the condition, but it would trigger waves of stinging pain.

Gu Zhe was soon in too much pain to speak, and he stared intently at Ye Lin. Seeing his painful expression, Ye Lin grinned, revealing his white teeth. He smiled innocently. “I am just touching you. How could it hurt?”

Gu Zhe grit his teeth to suppress any sound. He wished he could cut Ye Lin down, his gaze full of hatred and defiance. Ye Lin loved this situation, being hated by someone who could do nothing about it. It greatly satisfied his desire for revenge. He did not dare poke too many times, fearing the condition might worsen and cause trouble with the Gu family.

He stopped intentionally and asked, “Gu Zhe, apologize to me and call me ‘Daddy,’ and I will stop torturing you.”

Gu Zhe would rather die than submit, his gaze firm. “Do as you wish. I will not die anyway. I will never satisfy someone like you.”

Ye Lin made a tsking sound, trying to scare him. “Are you not afraid of being disfigured? You will be mocked by everyone.”

Gu Zhe’s tone remained calm. “In the face of powerful resources and status, appearance is not worth mentioning. Go ahead.”

People in high positions are never belittled for their appearance. When someone is wealthy, people automatically apply various positive filters, including beauty, intelligence, education, and character. Even if Gu Zhe were disfigured now, once he held the power of the Gu family and enjoyed vast resources and connections, there would still be many people flattering him. No one would belittle him.

Ye Lin understood this truth. He let out a couple of cold laughs and gave another hard poke. “You are not afraid of disfigurement, but are you not afraid of the pain? I am telling you, I will come here every day to torture you until you recover.”

Gu Zhe completely disregarded this arrogant statement and even mocked him. “If you had that kind of perseverance, you would have been successful long ago. I do not believe you can stick to it.”

Ye Lin leaned in close, staring into his eyes. “I promise you that every day of your life from now on will involve a shock.”

The distance between them was only a few hairs apart. They were close enough to hear each other’s breathing and feel the warmth of their breath. Gu Zhe could clearly see the fine down on Ye Lin’s face and smell the faint fragrance on him. He could not help but hold his breath, trying to distract himself.

Ye Lin noticed movement in the hallway and realized someone was coming, so he left early. He might not have patience for doing good deeds, but he certainly had plenty of energy for doing bad things.

In the days that followed, he often came to the hospital. He would see Gu Jiazhi first and then go to torture Gu Zhe. However, he spent much more time in Gu Zhe’s ward than in Gu Jiazhi’s. Torturing the stubborn Gu Zhe was far more interesting than talking to the cold Gu Jiazhi. Since Gu Jiazhi had forgotten him for now, he did not bother to say much, planning to wait until the man recovered his memory.

Recently, while Gu Zhe was taking his afternoon nap, Ye Lin would pull back the curtains and use a mirror to reflect sunlight directly onto Gu Zhe’s eyelids to prevent him from sleeping. Gu Zhe could not sleep, and his eyelids felt hot and uncomfortable. He would also bring smelly food, like durian, and place it right next to Gu Zhe. If Gu Zhe turned his head to avoid it, Ye Lin would move it to his nose and rotate it 360 degrees around him. To avoid being caught, he would ventilate the room before leaving.

But he was not always lucky enough to find Gu Zhe’s room empty; he often had to wait. Ye Lin had plenty of patience and willpower. He even planned to dress as a ghost to scare Gu Zhe in the middle of the night.

At ten o’clock at night, he went to Gu Jiazhi’s room. He waited for the Gu family to leave before going to scare Gu Zhe. Gu Jiazhi had become accustomed to him visiting for a short while before leaving, but today he saw him holding red embroidered shoes, a long black wig, and puppet props.

“Are you taking those things to scare someone?” “Yes. Look at how realistic these props are!”

Ye Lin waved the wig. He turned it over to reveal an intricately crafted and lifelike face prop with blood flowing from its seven orifices. Gu Jiazhi felt his hair stand on end and avoided looking at the props. “You aren’t scaring me, are you?”

Ye Lin continued to fiddle with the props, visualizing the effect in his mind. “No. Why would I scare you? I want to scare Gu Zhe.”

Gu Jiazhi breathed a sigh of relief but could not help mocking him. “Forget it. Gu Zhe is not afraid of these things. Besides, he is scarier than a ghost.”

Ye Lin did not believe it and put on the ghost mask. “Am I scarier than him now?”

Gu Jiazhi rolled his eyes helplessly. He no longer doubted his relationship with Ye Lin; he suspected Ye Lin had a grudge against Gu Zhe. However, he was happy to see Gu Zhe suffer, so he complimented him. “Yes, yes, you are much scarier than him now!”

Ye Lin was satisfied and waited patiently while searching for various tutorials online. He was not serious when it came to real work, but he was very focused on pranks.

After three in the morning, the hallway was completely deserted. The medical staff on duty were so tired they were yawning, with little energy to pay attention to anyone. After confirming that Gu Zhe was asleep, Ye Lin quietly slipped inside.

He placed one red embroidered shoe at the door and then placed a pair next to Gu Zhe. He put others in different spots and then intentionally made a sound to wake him up. Sure enough, Gu Zhe opened his eyes and saw a pair of shoes next to him. He sighed, knowing it was another prank, and simply ignored it.

Ye Lin crouched under the hospital bed, waved the wig a few times, switched to the terrifying face, and played sound effects. Gu Zhe spoke helplessly. “Stop wasting your time. Come out.”

Ye Lin continued using the other props. But even after using them all, he had not scared Gu Zhe. He had no choice but to stand up and turn on the light. Stung by the light, Gu Zhe closed his eyes with a tsk and waited to adapt before opening them again.

Ye Lin angrily kicked the bedside table and complained, “Why are you not afraid? This is ridiculous. Any normal person would be afraid of these things.”

Having been tortured by him for so long, Gu Zhe only felt mentally exhausted. “You certainly have a lot of time to spend on these boring tricks.”

Ye Lin dejectedly picked up the props, thinking about selling them second-hand. However, as he was counting the items, his face turned pale with terror. Gu Zhe noticed his terrified expression. Ye Lin was staring intently at the eleven embroidered shoes in his hand; there was still one he had not picked up at the door.

Immediately, Ye Lin threw all the red embroidered shoes away. “Ah! I clearly remember there were only five pairs! How can there be an extra shoe!”

“Perhaps you remembered wrong.” “Impossible! I specifically told the shopkeeper I only wanted five pairs! I wanted to set up a formation to suck your yang energy!” “Check the purchase record.”

Gu Zhe was almost dying of laughter. Setting up a formation to suck yang energy? He is like a leftover from feudal times. He is truly sick.

Ye Lin was trembling with fear. He had purchased them in a physical store and had not asked for a receipt, so it was impossible to double-check the quantity. But he remembered clearly that there were five pairs of embroidered shoes. How could there be an extra one, making it six pairs?

The number five was auspicious, but six was not. Perhaps there really was something dirty in the room! Ye Lin wanted to run out, but he saw the lights in the hallway flickering, and that single red embroidered shoe was still there. He suddenly hallucinated someone wearing it, leaning against the doorframe and looking at him.

So scary, so scary!

Ye Lin kicked away the props on the floor, crouched beside the hospital bed, and grabbed the edge of the blanket tightly. He looked around and said with a trembling voice, “If there is a ghost, harm him first! Do, do not harm me!”

Gu Zhe wanted to laugh but explained helplessly, “You just remembered wrong. You actually bought six pairs. Alright, leave now. I want to sleep.”

“I did not remember wrong! How could I remember wrong? I bought them specifically according to a guide!”

Ye Lin had not even finished middle school properly; his cognitive ability was limited, and he was stubborn. In such a dim and cold environment, once something unusual happened, he would not think deeply; he would only be afraid.

“Sigh. Then when are you leaving?” Gu Zhe yawned. He admitted that he had been tortured by Ye Lin today and just wanted a good night’s sleep.

“I am not leaving. I cannot leave now. I feel like that shoe is at the door, waiting for me to walk into the trap!” “Go and kick that shoe away, and everything will be fine.” “No, I am not going. Gu Zhe, do you know what it means for five pairs to become six pairs?”

Ye Lin dared not look at the door. He turned his head to look at Gu Zhe, his lips trembling. “It means that something, a ghost, is wearing the sixth pair of embroidered shoes in this room.”

Seeing him acting so timidly with his shoulders slumped and looking pitiful, Gu Zhe intentionally stared behind him and said with a serious expression, “Do you feel a chill on your back? I see a girl in a red wedding dress behind you.”

When people are afraid, they naturally feel a chill on their back. Ye Lin turned his head without thinking. He happened to face that ghost mask with blood flowing from its orifices, and his mind automatically visualized a terrifying female ghost.

“Ah!” Ye Lin screamed. He instinctively gripped the blanket tightly and buried his head, pleading in a low voice, “Help! Please do not kill me!”

Gu Zhe was now completely awake. Thinking about how he had been tortured by Ye Lin lately, he intentionally said, “She disappeared again. How strange. That skin prop looks so realistic. Where did you buy it?”

Ye Lin answered stutteringly, “It was, it was the famous Xu’s Shop online.”

Gu Zhe sighed. “Then I think I know why there is such a dirty thing in the room. Xu’s Shop claims to be a century-old store that can be traced back to a coffin shop during the Republican era. Now that cremation is popular, their business has declined, so they switched to making horror props. Their props are popular online because they are so realistic. According to some disclosures, their props are realistic because they are the real thing. Take your embroidered shoes, for instance; they were probably stripped from the feet of a newly deceased bride. And the skin masks are likely from dead people as well.”

“What? Real dead people!” Ye Lin was stiff with terror and on the verge of a breakdown.

“Yes. You must have touched the skin prop, right? Was it smooth and tender, just like real human skin? Then it is real.”

Gu Zhe was intentionally scaring him. In fact, current technology is very advanced, and many materials like silicone can mimic human skin.

“It, it seemed like it!” Thinking of the smooth touch, Ye Lin’s face turned pale.

“I guess that female ghost was brought here by your skin prop. She has resentment in her heart and wants to torture you. She will only be satisfied once she takes you to the underworld.”

“Ah! No!” Ye Lin was so scared that he pulled back the blanket, crawled inside to hide, and tightly covered the edges so not a single breath of air could escape.

The beds in the high-end wards were very large, enough to accommodate three people, and were soft and comfortable. For most people, a blanket serves as a protective shield; as long as the whole body is covered, one can protect oneself from being attacked by ghosts outside. Ye Lin was in this state. He was extremely afraid and covered the blanket tightly so no light could get in. Only with a heat source nearby could he feel safe.

Gu Zhe had not expected him to pull such a stunt, but he could not push him away. He could only watch as Ye Lin crawled closer and closer. He quickly spoke up to remind him, “Do not get too close. My injuries have not healed yet.”

Ye Lin was already crying, his tears flowing freely. He pleaded softly, “I, I will be careful. Can you see if that ghost is still there?”

Gu Zhe did not want him to stay. “She is gone. If you go out and apologize to her, she will leave.”

Ye Lin was still crying and refused to believe him. “No! I know what you are thinking! You just want me to go out so she eats me, just to keep yourself safe!”

Gu Zhe could not understand his logic. “It is just a blanket; it cannot stop her. Why would I think that?”

Ye Lin was stubborn. “It can stop her! It is safest inside the blanket.”

Gu Zhe regretted it; he should not have scared Ye Lin. He had to admit, “Fine. Everything I just said was a lie. Xu’s Shop was also made up. There is no ghost. Go out now, everything is fine.”

Ye Lin was scared witless, his logical thinking was muddled, and he firmly believed there was a ghost outside. No matter what was said, he refused to go out, insisting on waiting until daylight.

Gu Zhe tried to reason with him. “You are huddled in my blanket. If someone finds us tomorrow morning, they will think we are having an affair. Go out quickly.”

Ye Lin would not listen. He was still trembling like a frightened chick. “Let them misunderstand. Nothing is more important than my life.”

Gu Zhe tried to persuade him to leave from various angles, but it was useless, so he simply gave up. About an hour later, Ye Lin fell asleep from crying. He was still curled up on his side like an infant returning to the womb. Gu Zhe looked down at him and saw that his eyes were swollen from crying, and his cheeks and nose were red, looking pitiable.

If he could move his hands and feet now, he would probably hold Ye Lin and kiss his red eyelids. But as soon as the thought occurred to him, he felt he was sick. Why should I pity a fool like Ye Lin who brought this on himself?

Gu Zhe thought this way while staring at Ye Lin, remembering that day in Gu Jiazhi’s apartment when Ye Lin had thrown himself into his arms and demanded things all night.

Scaring people was fun, but both Gu Zhe and Ye Lin suffered the consequences. The former could not sleep well and was mentally exhausted. The latter was left with a lingering fear; the next morning, he paid someone to collect the props and return them to the shop before returning to the villa, looking out of sorts.

The morning sun was soft, having a skin-blurring effect on faces, making it perfect for photos. Liang Wenle took a few selfies with his phone. Hearing someone open the door, he went downstairs to look and saw Ye Lin returning from outside. He looked as if he had spent the night out, looking haggard. Who knew what guilty things he had been doing?

The more Liang Wenle thought about it, the angrier he got. He called out loudly to stop him, “Where did you go last night?”

Ye Lin looked up at Liang Wenle, not yet fully recovered for a moment. Realizing it was Liang Wenle, he immediately threw himself into his arms and complained while crying, “Wenle, I am so scared! I feel like I am being haunted by a female ghost! She wants to take my life! You must save me!”

Liang Wenle’s shoulder was soaked by the tears. He lifted Ye Lin’s face and saw his eyes were swollen, so he reached out to wipe them. “What on earth happened to you? You are acting crazy and talking about female ghosts.”

Ye Lin did not dare mention Gu Zhe, so he lied and said that after watching a ghost movie, he bought props to play with and ended up scaring himself. Liang Wenle saw Ye Lin trembling and crying so sadly that he believed he was truly scared and had not gone out to fool around. “Oh, there are no ghosts in this world. Ghost movies are fake. Do not be afraid.”

Ye Lin tried to burrow into Liang Wenle’s embrace again, sobbing. “There really are ghosts! People online say I will not live long and need to perform a ritual with a substitute!”

Liang Wenle could not help but laugh out loud. “You are so hilarious! Hahaha!”

Ye Lin had a bitter face. He grabbed Liang Wenle’s sleeve and pleaded softly, “You, you go and find a master to resolve this for me. I am truly terrified.”

Liang Wenle patted his back and scolded him, “You deserve it. Who told you not to go to the movies with me? You might as well be scared to death.”

Ye Lin wailed, “I, I will never leave your side again. Do not leave today, Wenle. Stay home and keep me company, okay?”

Liang Wenle liked the way he cried and depended on him. Regardless of whether the female ghost was real, he agreed first and then proposed, “We will talk about the master later. Come out with me tonight; I have prepared a surprise.”