Shou-Switching System Has Been Bound - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Setting the Trap

The person in front of the door didn’t leave until dawn.

Inside the elevator, Ji Lianyi raised a hand to touch his face, as if confirming whether his mask was properly donned. It hurt slightly when he touched his cheekbone.

The “Puppy” hadn’t held back with that punch last night; he guessed his cheekbone was likely bruised.

Knowing it would hurt, Ji Lianyi’s finger remained there, pressing down repeatedly. He had lost control a little last night. Over the past few years, he appeared to be in perfect control, but in reality, his state had become like a rope stretched to its absolute limit the slightest stimulus would cause him to snap.

Like last night.

But the most out-of-control part of last night wasn’t his urge to “eat” the puppy; the most serious part was that he wanted to end himself. This was a problem he frequently faced over the years.

He had always known that the person he wanted to kill most was himself. Because if he died, all these problems haunting him would vanish.

He pressed his injured hand firmly against his cheek. The pain brought no change to his expression. If the puppy’s answer at that moment had been “I want you to die,” he probably would have leapt from the window.

A pity. Both the puppy and himself had missed an opportunity to end his existence.

Aside from that, he noticed something different.

66: “Are you okay?” It was getting a bit worried about its partner’s mental state.

Ji Lianyi: “In the past, I only wanted to kill those people. Simply kill them.”

66: “Huh?” Isn’t killing people illegal in this world?

Ji Lianyi: “But last night, I wanted to eat him.”

66: “Eating human flesh isn’t healthy, you know~”

Ji Lianyi sniffed the air as if he could still smell the puppy’s fragrance. Strange—there were so many people in the world, and in his thirty-two years he had encountered so many, yet only the puppy possessed this scent that made him “crave.”

The elevator doors opened. A person preparing to enter glanced at him, noticed his injured face, and stood as far away from him as possible after entering.

“It’s more dangerous for you to stand with your back to me like that.”

The other person froze for a moment before turning back to look at Ji Lianyi, wearing an expression that said, Are you talking to me?

Ji Lianyi had a smile on his face, but his eyes were ice-cold. He spoke slowly and deliberately: “Actually, in this enclosed space, it doesn’t matter where you stand. All I have to do is raise my hand.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand. His exceptionally long reach was startling, and the wounds on his hand invited speculation about what had happened to him.

“And I could catch you with ease.”

The other person was somewhat frightened and couldn’t say anything for a moment, his bobbing Adam’s apple silently testifying to his nervousness.

The elevator doors opened. The first floor had been reached.

Ji Lianyi glanced outside and lowered his hand with a gentle smile: “I’m joking.”

He walked out with long strides, the hem of his trench coat brushing against his calves as he moved. The man left behind pressed himself against the elevator wall, only recovering his wits after the doors closed again. He muttered, “Psycho.”

Qi Youli was awakened by his alarm. Groping muddledly for his phone near his head, he finally fished it out from under his pillow and yawned as he turned it off.

His eyes, which were about to close again, suddenly snapped wide open. Instantly awake.

The perverted Uncle had sent him a message!

He quickly tapped it open—it was another link. He didn’t even know what the last link was, but unable to suppress his curiosity, he gave in to his “itching hands” and clicked it. Just like last time, it was blank. Nothing.

“Are you playing me?”

Ji Lianyi, having just showered, sat on the sofa with a glass of red wine. He opened the newly downloaded app on his phone. A phone screen interface popped up, with various apps neatly arranged. He tapped on WeChat; the contact list full of people he didn’t recognize proved this wasn’t his own WeChat.

This was Qi Youli’s WeChat. He saw himself on this WeChat—his contact had just jumped to the top. He clicked on the voice message Qi Youli had sent.

“Are you playing me?”

The man’s voice carried a lazy, hoarse quality of someone who hadn’t fully woken up yet, sounding sticky and muddled.

Ji Lianyi exited the chat interface. He didn’t move, yet the WeChat page scrolled down twice, and then a group chat labeled ‘Work Group’ was opened. He could clearly see every action Qi Youli took. Including what his payment password was.

Qi Youli first sent a “Red Packet” , then sent a voice message. Ji Lianyi clicked the voice message.

“Business was good yesterday. Everyone worked hard. Take the red packets and eat something nice. Let’s keep working hard today.”

After Qi Youli finished speaking, he fell back asleep before even putting his phone down.

Ji Lianyi saw Xia Xu in the chat list. He saw the entire history of the two discussing having an affair right under his nose; it turned out Xia Xu had been the one to actively initiate it. Besides that, there were many explicit photos that didn’t show faces. Xia Xu had sent more of them.

Usually, he’d send three or four at a time, followed by messages to Qi Youli like: Gege, look at my pecs, Gege, look at my abs, Gege, look at my “cck.”

As for Qi Youli, whether out of caution or a lingering sense of shame, when it got to the “look at the c*ck” stage, he would only lift his shirt and pull his pants down a little.

It was to the extent that one could see a bit of the “forest,” while the specifics were obscured by a hand with prominent veins.

Ji Lianyi looked at the photo and took a sip of his wine. He spent the entire day using the phone to learn everything about Qi Youli.

During the day, Qi Youli took two delivery calls, sent a mass message to his client group with a red packet announcing they now had “sparring partners” at the shop, and posted a promotional update on his “Moments.” Three groups of people contacted him to reserve tables, and he received two calls from job applicants.

He also placed an order for a stun baton on an e-commerce site. Ji Lianyi scrolled through his shopping cart; it was a hodgepodge of miscellaneous items.

Beyond that, the boy had sent him three messages. A middle-finger emoji sent at noon. A photo of a puppy lifting its leg to pee on a tree sent in the afternoon, with the caption: “Look, it’s you.”

And a message in the evening: “Has Green Hat Bro’s hat become even brighter today?”

Ji Lianyi still didn’t reply.

Qi Youli had no idea he was being completely monitored. He had nothing much to do at the moment, so he sat behind the cash register brooding over how exactly he could get his revenge. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that stalking him, waiting for him to be alone, knocking him out with a blunt object, and dragging him away was the most feasible option.

But he didn’t have that much time. Plus, the Uncle drove everywhere. Besides, there were people everywhere finding an opportunity to catch him alone and act was quite difficult.

“Sigh…”

“Why is Brother Qi sighing? Is your partner too fierce?~” Yuanyuan, one of the sparring staff, teased. Her eyes flicked toward the band-aid on Qi Youli’s neck.

It was a deep bite mark. One could see the imprint of every tooth, bitten in a perfect circle. Qi Youli had only carelessly slapped two band-aids over it, which failed to cover it completely. It looked both like a perfunctory job and a deliberate attempt to draw attention. It made one wonder if it was some kind of “play” between a couple.

“If only I had a partner.” Qi Youli sighed, resting his hand awkwardly on his neck, cursing Ji Lianyi again in his heart.

Yuanyuan smelled gossip. If the neck had been bitten and it wasn’t a partner… She leaned against the counter: “So, Brother Qi, are you sighing because you haven’t caught them yet? Or because you haven’t confessed your feelings?”

Qi Youli: “Huh?” Where did that come from? Me, confessing to that Uncle? Am I crazy? Not even in the next life!

Two other sparring staff members gathered around. Who doesn’t love gossip especially the boss’s gossip?

“Brother Qi, tell us the details, we’ll give you some advice.”

“Yeah, even though we’re a different gender than your target, there’s strength in numbers.”

They knew Qi Youli was gay. Although the boss hadn’t explicitly stated his orientation and sometimes acted quite “straight,” being gay is hard to hide. Many guys who were obviously “0s” clearly came there just for their boss. Their boss was quite adept at responding to those overt and covert flirtations he even seemed to enjoy it. In contrast, when looking at the beautiful women on his staff, his eyes held absolutely no worldly desire.

Qi Youli instinctively wanted to brush them off, but then he thought that maybe they really could give him some useful advice. He turned it over in his mind and spoke cautiously.

“It’s like this. We’re not together yet. We’re in the… ambiguous, yeah, ambiguous stage.”

“I upset him a while ago, and now he… he won’t talk to me.” Qi Youli scratched his neck guiltily. “I send him messages and he doesn’t reply. He’s also quite busy. How can I get him to agree to meet me?”

He looked at the three of them expectantly.

The three girls thought about it. One suggested: “Brother Qi, you should give him the cold shoulder first, then post photos on your Moments with someone else. Make it look ambiguous. If he has you in his heart, he won’t be able to sit still and will come looking for you.”

Qi Youli thought to himself that this trick was useless. The Uncle had already come for him because he slept with the Uncle’s boyfriend. Right now, the Uncle was a willing “cuckold.”

Yuanyuan shook her head: “Brother Qi, if you truly like him, and since you’re the one who upset him, what you need to do now is give a most sincere apology. If you don’t apologize and just keep talking about other random stuff, the knot will never be untied.”

Another nodded in agreement.

Yuanyuan: “Brother Qi, just send him a message saying you want to apologize and hope he gives you a chance.”

Qi Youli looked at her: “Will that really work?”

Yuanyuan: “As long as you’re sincere enough, he should give you a chance.”

At that moment, customers arrived, and everyone went back to work. Qi Youli thought it over and decided to try. He looked at the chat history; he had just insulted the Uncle half an hour ago. If he suddenly apologized now, even an idiot would know something was fishy.

That Night

Ji Lianyi saw Qi Youli’s Moments. The photo showed an overturned motorcycle with the caption: “F*ck! I almost died just now!”

Twenty minutes later, he received a message from Qi Youli.

“Are you there?”

“You might not believe me when I say this, but I truly want to apologize to you. I’m sorry for doing things that hurt you and for the messages I’ve sent these past few days. I’m truly very sorry.”

“I know I have no right to earn your forgiveness. I’m really regretting it now. Please, give me a chance to apologize to you in person.”

Ji Lianyi watched the messages streaming in. The other party sent a voice message, but quickly unsent it.

“Sorry.”

“Something just happened to me… I just feel like, a person shouldn’t do bad things. I sincerely want to apologize to you and make it up to you.”

The “Puppy” sent a location, it was a restaurant.

“Tomorrow night at 8 PM, I’ll wait for you here.”

“If you don’t come, I’ll keep waiting.”

Qi Youli was squatting by the roadside, waiting nervously. This should be sincere enough, right? The Uncle only needed to scroll through his Moments to see the photo he posted, and then he’d probably believe that Qi Youli intended to turn over a new leaf…

As long as he believed it. A smug smirk crossed Qi Youli’s lips.

Then he’s a giant stupid pig. And I’ll be sharpening my knife to slaughter the pig.

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