Shou-Switching System Has Been Bound - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Licked

 

Ji Lianyi stepped out of the restroom.

 

On the other end of the line, Qi Youli was unaware that the call had been disconnected and continued mutter to himself. He licked his parched lips, his consciousness gradually drifting away. In the final second before falling asleep, he uttered one last sentence:

 

“No one is that good to me…”

 

Ji Lianyi taught two classes a week. Before entering the classroom, a student called out to him.

 

“Professor Ji.”

 

He turned around. The male student jogging toward him was tall and fashionably dressed, but there was a flicker of unease in the gaze he leveled at Ji Lianyi.

 

“Is something the matter, Student Yuan Lin?”

 

The unease in Yuan Lin’s eyes was replaced by a flash of surprise, which he quickly hid. “Professor, you recognize me?”

 

Since he had changed his look, even his family hadn’t recognized him. Yet, Professor Ji had. Joy, like a bird with newly grown wings, took flight from his heart, wanting to fly straight into Ji Lianyi’s arms.

 

“Of course I recognize my own student. The new style suits you well.” Ji Lianyi always maintained an encouraging attitude toward his students. “So, did you stop me for a particular reason?”

 

Yuan Lin had simply been desperate for the man to see his new self. He twitched the corner of his mouth stiffly. “I just wanted to say hello, Professor.”

 

Ji Lianyi smiled but said nothing further.

 

The two entered the classroom one after the other. Not a single classmate recognized Yuan Lin; everyone was whispering in shock about where this sudden heartthrob had come from.

 

Ji Lianyi curled his index finger and tapped the lectern. “Save the eye candy for after class. For now, let’s look at our books.”

 

the students chuckled.

 

Nursing a hangover, Qi Youli sat up with a mess of hair. Frowning, he tapped on the voice message he had sent the “Uncle” last night. Well, just normal insults, he thought, plus a mention of wanting to fck him.*

 

Strictly for revenge, of course.

 

No problem there. However, he was curious about that two-minute voice call. He assumed he had just kept rambling, but what would that Uncle have said?

 

He couldn’t imagine it.

 

Raking a hand through his hair, he lay back down. Hearing a yapping sound, he reached down by the bed and scooped up the whimpering, clingy puppy.

 

The little thing knew how to act spoiled, sticking its tongue out to lick him.

 

He twisted his head away. “Don’t mess around. Sleep with me for a bit.”

 

He hugged the little guy and drifted back into a second sleep.

 

He probably didn’t even bother talking to me, Qi Youli thought. A two-minute call is hilariously short. I could curse him out for twenty minutes no, two hours! Two days!

 

Ji Lianyi left the classroom with his water bottle. Xia Xu requested a voice call; as soon as he answered, he heard the younger man’s energetic voice: “Gege, I’m here to pick you up from work!”

 

“Are you at the school?”

 

“Mhm, at the gate. It’s still early, so I can walk around campus with you.”

 

“Alright. I’ll come get you.”

 

“Muah~”

 

Ji Lianyi had always understood Xia Xu’s little games of “claiming territory.” Under the guise of picking him up for a stroll, Xia Xu wanted everyone at the university to know that Ji Lianyi belonged to someone, so they shouldn’t even think about it.

 

Ji Lianyi had always played along, and this time was no exception.

 

He turned down the hallway toward the entrance. Behind him, Yuan Lin’s expression turned ugly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. When he saw Ji Lianyi and Xia Xu walking as a pair on campus, his eyes practically flew out like daggers to slice Xia Xu into a thousand pieces.

 

Xia Xu hooked his hand into Ji Lianyi’s, their fingers interlaced, swinging them gently as they walked. He gave shy smiles whenever students greeted Ji Lianyi.

 

“Gege really is popular.”

 

“It just means you have good taste.”

 

This answer completely dissolved Xia Xu’s sour jealousy. He looked at Ji Lianyi with adoration. Aside from being a bit older and… lacking in “that” department, Gege really had no flaws.

 

He hoped that when he reached that age, he could also become a man radiating mature charm like Gege.

 

“My taste is definitely the best.”

 

The sweeter they were, the darker the eyes watching them became.

 

For Xia Xu, life continued to pass peacefully. Gege remained attentive and thoughtful. The only issue was that they hadn’t “done it” once lately. It had been a week since Gege said he wasn’t in the right state, and Gege still showed no interest in that area.

 

He didn’t know how much longer this would last.

 

The few times he had strayed before had both fed him and made him more addicted. These past few days, he felt perpetually unsatisfied, but he didn’t dare show it in front of Gege for fear of putting pressure on him—or letting Gege think he was just some slut whose head was filled with nothing but sex.

 

He had to maintain his image; he knew Gege liked the “pure” type.

 

“Sigh…” He let out a breath.

 

“Excuse me, classmate. Do you know the way to the library?”

 

Xia Xu looked up, his eyes brightening. He blushed slightly at the sudden appearance of a handsome guy. “The library is… it’s over there—”

 

He pointed.

 

The stranger looked in the direction he was pointing, but couldn’t see any buildings through the trees. He looked troubled. “Would it be too much trouble for you to lead me there?”

 

He pressed his hands together, looking at Xia Xu expectantly. “Please, please?”

 

Xia Xu was completely unable to resist. Shyly, he said, “Alright then.”

 

The two walked toward the library.

 

“Thank you so much. My name is Yuan Lin. What’s yours?”

 

Ji Lianyi was taking a walk in the park. For the past week, the “puppy” had been very quiet. The red dot on the app simply moved back and forth between the pool hall and an apartment complex every day.

 

It seemed he was working quite diligently.

 

The park at night was lively people running, dancing, singing, taking care of children, and couples.

 

He liked silence, but he needed to put himself in crowded, noisy environments to practice restraining his desires. Until he became “normal,” this would be a lifelong task.

 

Over the past few years, he seemed to be getting better at it. But only he knew that the suppressed desires were growing more intense with time.

 

Suddenly, everyone ahead ran in one direction. Faint sounds of an argument broke out. He didn’t have the habit of watching dramas, so he moved to the side, intending to walk around the back of the crowd.

 

As he reached the back, screams suddenly erupted. People began to panic and scatter. Ji Lianyi was shoved back. Through the gaps in the crowd, his shifting vision caught the sight of splashing blood. The red clearly hit the ground, but it felt as if it had landed in his own eyes, staining his gentle gaze crimson.

 

He stood frozen, staring fixedly ahead.

 

A knife plunged into a man’s neck. The spraying blood was, in his eyes, the most beautiful fountain in the world. The pungent scent of iron was carried into his nostrils by the autumn wind, making his own blood boil. The desire for slaughter nearly seized control of his body.

 

Qi Youli yawned as he closed the shop. Business had been slow lately, so he wanted to hire some more host players; he had finally finalized that this week.

 

Revenge was important, but making money was more important.

 

As an orphan with no background or backing who relied entirely on his own hustle, money was everything. He knew he didn’t have any grand talents; being able to manage a shop like this was already a feat.

 

His next plan was to save money and buy an apartment.

 

With his own place, he would finally have a home. He had been working toward this goal since he ran away from the mountains at thirteen because he couldn’t survive there.

 

It’s just that housing prices rose faster than he could earn.

 

Rough stuff.

 

At 3:00 AM, Qi Youli rode his motorcycle through the unobstructed streets. The sky and streets at this hour were his most familiar sights. When he was too young to be hired, he scavenged; later, he worked construction all “early to rise, late to bed” jobs.

 

It took him nine years to become the man he was now, finally having a place to settle in this city.

 

No matter the trouble, he could solve it.

 

This Uncle would be no exception!

 

The elevator opened slowly. Qi Youli fumbled for his keys as he prepared to step out.

 

Someone was standing outside.

 

First, he saw a pair of sneakers. He thought it was strange for someone to be heading out at this hour.

 

He had barely lifted his gaze halfway when a hand violently snatched him out of the elevator.

 

“F*ck!”

 

His habitually dejected eyes instantly widened with ferocity. Before the other man could slam him against the wall, the hand holding his keys swung with the force of a gale.

 

His fist was clenched around the head of the keys. If he landed a direct hit on flesh, he would definitely leave a hole.

 

The motion-sensor light flickered on due to his curse.

 

The sudden light made him squint, then widen his eyes as he recognized the man.

 

I didn’t go looking for trouble, but you came to me.

 

Blinded by rage, Qi Youli didn’t notice that Ji Lianyi’s face looked different than usual. It was no longer expressionless; it was ecstatic.

 

Too ecstatic. His gaze was fixed so intently on Qi Youli’s face that his movements were half a beat slow. Though he dodged the fist, he didn’t dodge the keys hidden within it. A bloody scratch opened on his neck.

 

Ji Lianyi didn’t even blink. He stared dead at Qi Youli. He was no longer wearing high-collared clothes to hide his neck; the marks Qi Youli had left there before had already faded into invisibility.

 

He looked complete and healthy.

 

Qi Youli threw another punch while simultaneously bringing his knee up toward Ji Lianyi’s crotch.

 

Tonight, he was going to beat this guy until he knelt and called him Daddy!

 

Then he’d drag him into the apartment.

 

And f*ck him raw!

 

His eyes flashed with ruthlessness as he attacked with everything he had. Ji Lianyi was forced to let go, blocking the strikes with his arms. A single hit made his arm go numb.

 

The motion-sensor light went out.

 

In the darkness, their eyes were like wolves, hungry and fierce. In the next second, they lunged at each other simultaneously.

 

They wanted to tear each other apart, taste each other’s flesh, and grind each other’s bones to satisfy their hunger!

 

The light flickered on and off as their limbs collided.

 

Qi Youli bit back his curses. He lived here; he didn’t want the neighbors coming out to see this.

 

He still had a reputation to uphold!

 

Aside from the increasingly heavy breathing, the only sound was the muffled thuds of fists hitting flesh.

 

They fought from the elevator to a neighbor’s door, and then into the stairwell.

 

The next time the light came on, they had fought their way back to the elevator. Both their faces were “painted” with bruises, and their clothes were torn and messy. There were footprints on Ji Lianyi’s shoes and pants. Qi Youli’s face and neck were red, clearly from being choked.

 

Qi Youli gasped for air, sweat sliding down his forehead. Summoning his remaining strength, he swung an increasingly heavy fist at Ji Lianyi.

 

Ji Lianyi’s breathing was still relatively steady. His boxing training wasn’t for nothing; he won the battle of stamina effortlessly.

 

He caught Qi Youli’s incoming fist, twisted it hard, and threw him.

 

Qi Youli was spun half-around. Before he could regain his footing, his shoulder was seized, and his face was slammed into the wall. The impact made his cheek sting, and he let out a muffled groan of pain.

 

He thrashed his body, struggling.

 

Ji Lianyi didn’t strike again. He simply pinned him there. The light went out. In the darkness, the two silently vied for dominance, their interlaced breaths burning hot.

 

Their bodies were pressed tightly together, just like that time in the pool hall.

 

One remembered the feeling of suffocation.

 

The other savored that feeling as a delicacy.

 

Ji Lianyi’s fingers on Qi Youli’s shoulder twitched. He felt an irrepressible urge to press them against the boy’s throat.

 

Fireworks went off somewhere outside, and the motion-sensor light flickered on.

 

Ji Lianyi saw Qi Youli’s sweat-slicked neck, the veins prominent from his forceful resistance.

 

It stimulated his senses.

 

He suddenly lowered his head, his mouth opening to reveal dangerously white teeth. His pink tongue couldn’t wait, pressing against the vein a second before he licked it.